Experimental HEP News - Not Even Wrong
Hmm. Sounds to me like there is a distinct possibility that the LHC is not going to have its teething issues sorted by the end of this year after all.
My pet theory that this was sabotaged from the future still stands.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Meanwhile, in Bahrain
Gulfnews: Bahraini woman jailed for kissing in public
A Bahrain woman was jailed for 20 days after she kissed a Bahraini man in public and got into an argument with the police.I hope they report his sentence.
The couple was caught by a police patrol as they were getting intimate inside a car, according to the court papers. However, when the police wanted to arrest them for "indecent behaviour in public", the woman shouted at one of the officers, saying that what she and the man were doing was "none of their business".
She was eventually arrested and the Lower Criminal Court convicted her of public indecency and insulting a policeman carrying out his duties. The Bahraini man is being tried separately.
Do not just read Bolt on climate
Oh dear. Andrew Bolt has recently taken to citing (alleged) cooling oceans as a reason for not believing in AGW.
If you are inclined to convinced by this, you should at the very least read this recent post at Skeptical Science which addresses the issue in detail and gives the "big picture" that skeptics like to leave out.
Skeptical Science is (fortunately) active again, and is an excellent resource for checking up on the claims of Bolt, Marohasy and their mates.
If you are inclined to convinced by this, you should at the very least read this recent post at Skeptical Science which addresses the issue in detail and gives the "big picture" that skeptics like to leave out.
Skeptical Science is (fortunately) active again, and is an excellent resource for checking up on the claims of Bolt, Marohasy and their mates.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Personal parasite update
Are urban tapeworms on the rise?: Scientific American Blog
This story combines two of my interests: parasites and Japan!:
Speaking of parasites, my daughter came out of the toilet at McDonalds last week and announced loudly "There was a worm in my poo!" When I expressed doubt, she told me its head was moving and it was really true. She was not particularly bothered by the discovery; she was pretty excited in fact.
I am not sure what to do about this. I think it more likely to be a case of mistaken identity. The most common kid's intestinal worm in Australia is the threadworm, but I believe they are not so obvious, and she has none of the classic signs.
We are awaiting another sighting, this time at home.
Readers will be informed if positive identification is made. (I bet you're glad you read this blog....)
This story combines two of my interests: parasites and Japan!:
Once the bane of rural Japanese villagers, a paper in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases reports on the spread of the the salmon tapeworm Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense. The parasite, which can reach lengths of 39 feet (12 meters), has been steadily increasing its global distribution and prevalence – mostly among yuppies with a hankering for sashimi and ceviche.An easy solution: cook your fish.
One hospital in Japan reported 14 cases last year, up from 3 cases in 2000. And starting in 2006, the tapeworm has been popping up for the first time in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, farm-raised salmon from South America have been plagued by a closely related tapeworm that normally infects perch and other freshwater fish.
Speaking of parasites, my daughter came out of the toilet at McDonalds last week and announced loudly "There was a worm in my poo!" When I expressed doubt, she told me its head was moving and it was really true. She was not particularly bothered by the discovery; she was pretty excited in fact.
I am not sure what to do about this. I think it more likely to be a case of mistaken identity. The most common kid's intestinal worm in Australia is the threadworm, but I believe they are not so obvious, and she has none of the classic signs.
We are awaiting another sighting, this time at home.
Readers will be informed if positive identification is made. (I bet you're glad you read this blog....)
Hitchens on Iran
Don't call what happened in Iran last week an election. - Slate Magazine
A good column by Hitchens here, with this interesting anecdote:
Update: There was a very funny election analysis on The Daily Show:
A good column by Hitchens here, with this interesting anecdote:
Mention of the Lebanese elections impels me to pass on what I saw with my own eyes at a recent Hezbollah rally in south Beirut, Lebanon. In a large hall that featured the official attendance of a delegation from the Iranian Embassy, the most luridly displayed poster of the pro-Iranian party was a nuclear mushroom cloud! Underneath this telling symbol was a caption warning the "Zionists" of what lay in store.
Update: There was a very funny election analysis on The Daily Show:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Irandecision 2009 - Election Results | ||||
| ||||
A must read review on Plimer
Heaven + Earth - review by David Karoly - Science Show
I reckon this is the most convincing anti-Plimer review that has come out thus far. Andrew Bolt and his followers should read it. (By the way, when I say "anti-Plimer," I mean against his arguments. The review is free of ad hominem attack.)
I reckon this is the most convincing anti-Plimer review that has come out thus far. Andrew Bolt and his followers should read it. (By the way, when I say "anti-Plimer," I mean against his arguments. The review is free of ad hominem attack.)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Viewing recommendation
Engineering Connections, currently showing on SBS at 7.30 on Saturday evenings, is proving to be very enjoyable. Last week's episode covered everything you never thought to ask before about how they build the most gigantic North Sea gas rig. Have a look at a very short version here.
Oh. I see there is only episode left. Pity, for those of you who have missed it.
Oh. I see there is only episode left. Pity, for those of you who have missed it.
The Return (details pending)
I am currently contemplating possible topics for a return post. It will either be about sex, engineering, Japan, the Illuminati, Kevin Rudd, ocean acidification, religion or the weather; or a combination of two or more of those themes*. Back soon.
* Tim. Exercise your creative skills and come up with a poem touching on all of those topics. Chop chop.
* Tim. Exercise your creative skills and come up with a poem touching on all of those topics. Chop chop.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Just stop it
I need to stop posting for a while. Work is busy, some stuff will be happening at home, and I need to know that that I can exercise self control for a change. (I'm finding it really hard not to post lately, even though I know I should be spending more time catching up on work.)
I have also just passed the 4 year mark with this blog. Time does indeed fly.
Not sure how long this will take, but I absolutely, positively will not be posting for 14 days; that is, unless Kevin Rudd is caught in flagrante delicto with a member of cabinet, in which case I will come back here to laugh.
I have also just passed the 4 year mark with this blog. Time does indeed fly.
Not sure how long this will take, but I absolutely, positively will not be posting for 14 days; that is, unless Kevin Rudd is caught in flagrante delicto with a member of cabinet, in which case I will come back here to laugh.
The modern Gnostics of St Mary's (in exile, not due back any time soon)
I should really stop watching the services from "St Mary's in exile", but they hold a sort of morbid fascination for seeing how far the self delusion of Peter Kennedy and his followers can go.
This is, remember, a congregation which thinks it's terribly unjust and unfair that they should be told by their Archbishop that they are outside of the Catholic Church.
Yet, in today's homily, (not in written form on their website yet, you have to watch the video from the 10 minute mark) we learned from Peter Kennedy that:
* "the jury is still out" as to whether Jesus really existed or not. If he did exist, he was nothing like the Catholic Church has traditionally told us he was like. But anyway, it doesn't really matter if he existed or not. Because:
* the early Christians were all Gnostics who didn't see Jesus as a real historical figure, but only as a metaphor for "awakening" (the awakening being that God is all, All is One; you know - that sort of mystical mystery stuff.)
* that Constantine and the Council of Nicea is what stuffed up the church by going all anti-Gnostic
* modern scientists say there are billions of galaxies (true) and billions of universes (highly speculative)
* that the term "relational matrix" is a cool one for "God"
* that the power of goodness keeps coming out of creation. (I suppose the "relational matrix" sees to that, but it certainly makes it rather unclear as to what Kennedy thinks of animal suffering and evolution.)
As I've said before, I'm no university educated expert on theology and the history of Christianity, but I know enough to be mightily irritated by Kennedy and Fitzpatrick's modus operandi, which is to take a grab bag of whatever bits and pieces of revisionist history, scriptural exegesis, modern physics and speculative science they have found of interest over the last 20 years, and preach it to their congregation as if it were not academically controversial, and not a clear repudiation of Catholic doctrine and teaching.
Every homily contains statements which are exaggerations, over-simplifications, or simply misleading; but if it appeared in one of Peter or Terry's favourite recent authors, they'll repeat it anyway.
I still can't work out Peter Kennedy. I don't understand why his congregation think so highly of him. While this may be unfair, he comes across to me as probably an overly emotional man (with this aspect accounting for what some people describe as his "spiritual" nature,) but a not particularly bright one who is easily swayed by whatever radical re-assessment of Christianity he has read last. It remains my conviction that he should have just left the priesthood early in his career and led a normal life, instead of just having the ersatz family he found by living with a priest who had a son.
But instead, he seems to have decided to make a career of deliberately encouraging people to follow into his mystical, Gnostic, quasi-Eastern mystery-based replacement religion for Catholicism, under the pretence that this was clearly the way of all early Christians before it was corrupted. Perhaps I am being unduly charitable in suggesting that it's all because he is not so bright; maybe there is an element of dishonesty in there too.
Surely some in his congregation are going to start saying to themselves soon "gee, I don't really know that we are Catholic anymore," or even "perhaps I should read some counterclaims to a lot of this stuff Peter goes on about." We can only hope.
UPDATE: I see that the St Mary's blog has linked to this post. Welcome, gnostic heretics!
I note that, since this post was written, there was a later sermon in which Peter Kennedy claimed that a lot of his recent ideas were from books that his congregation had suggested he read, so that it was more a case of the congregation had led him to these radical ideas, rather than the other way around.
Well then, my characterisation of Kennedy as leading his group into Gnosticism may be wrong, but it makes no difference to my key point that it is rather ridiculous for them to claim they are upset that the Archbishop should say they are not Catholic if their position is that the physical reality of Christ himself (not just his resurrection!) is neither here nor there.
Visitors may also be interested in my recent post regarding Karen Armstrong's new book on God. After all, someone has probably already handed a copy of it to Kennedy to read.
This is, remember, a congregation which thinks it's terribly unjust and unfair that they should be told by their Archbishop that they are outside of the Catholic Church.
Yet, in today's homily, (not in written form on their website yet, you have to watch the video from the 10 minute mark) we learned from Peter Kennedy that:
* "the jury is still out" as to whether Jesus really existed or not. If he did exist, he was nothing like the Catholic Church has traditionally told us he was like. But anyway, it doesn't really matter if he existed or not. Because:
* the early Christians were all Gnostics who didn't see Jesus as a real historical figure, but only as a metaphor for "awakening" (the awakening being that God is all, All is One; you know - that sort of mystical mystery stuff.)
* that Constantine and the Council of Nicea is what stuffed up the church by going all anti-Gnostic
* modern scientists say there are billions of galaxies (true) and billions of universes (highly speculative)
* that the term "relational matrix" is a cool one for "God"
* that the power of goodness keeps coming out of creation. (I suppose the "relational matrix" sees to that, but it certainly makes it rather unclear as to what Kennedy thinks of animal suffering and evolution.)
As I've said before, I'm no university educated expert on theology and the history of Christianity, but I know enough to be mightily irritated by Kennedy and Fitzpatrick's modus operandi, which is to take a grab bag of whatever bits and pieces of revisionist history, scriptural exegesis, modern physics and speculative science they have found of interest over the last 20 years, and preach it to their congregation as if it were not academically controversial, and not a clear repudiation of Catholic doctrine and teaching.
Every homily contains statements which are exaggerations, over-simplifications, or simply misleading; but if it appeared in one of Peter or Terry's favourite recent authors, they'll repeat it anyway.
I still can't work out Peter Kennedy. I don't understand why his congregation think so highly of him. While this may be unfair, he comes across to me as probably an overly emotional man (with this aspect accounting for what some people describe as his "spiritual" nature,) but a not particularly bright one who is easily swayed by whatever radical re-assessment of Christianity he has read last. It remains my conviction that he should have just left the priesthood early in his career and led a normal life, instead of just having the ersatz family he found by living with a priest who had a son.
But instead, he seems to have decided to make a career of deliberately encouraging people to follow into his mystical, Gnostic, quasi-Eastern mystery-based replacement religion for Catholicism, under the pretence that this was clearly the way of all early Christians before it was corrupted. Perhaps I am being unduly charitable in suggesting that it's all because he is not so bright; maybe there is an element of dishonesty in there too.
Surely some in his congregation are going to start saying to themselves soon "gee, I don't really know that we are Catholic anymore," or even "perhaps I should read some counterclaims to a lot of this stuff Peter goes on about." We can only hope.
UPDATE: I see that the St Mary's blog has linked to this post. Welcome, gnostic heretics!
I note that, since this post was written, there was a later sermon in which Peter Kennedy claimed that a lot of his recent ideas were from books that his congregation had suggested he read, so that it was more a case of the congregation had led him to these radical ideas, rather than the other way around.
Well then, my characterisation of Kennedy as leading his group into Gnosticism may be wrong, but it makes no difference to my key point that it is rather ridiculous for them to claim they are upset that the Archbishop should say they are not Catholic if their position is that the physical reality of Christ himself (not just his resurrection!) is neither here nor there.
Visitors may also be interested in my recent post regarding Karen Armstrong's new book on God. After all, someone has probably already handed a copy of it to Kennedy to read.
What's that big yellow thing in the sky, then?
Forecasts of 'barbecue summer' for UK come with health warning | UK news | The Observer
According to the Observer:
According to the Observer:
And what exactly constitutes a spell of hot weather there?:Temperatures could today reach their highest so far this year and Britain can expect to bask in the heat until Wednesday, say forecasters.
But doctors have warned that the spell of hot weather - which is likely to return throughout much of the summer, according to meteorologists - could ultimately trigger a rise in numbers of skin cancer cases unless care is taken by sunbathers.
Oh, from an Australian perspective, that's pathetic!Yesterday, the Met Office said it expected temperatures would reach at least 23C (73F) throughout most of Britain.
"There is just a chance that it could top 26 degrees, which we experienced on Friday, and so make Sunday the hottest day of the year so far," added forecaster Andy Hobson.....
"The high temperatures and sunshine should last until Wednesday, when clouds will begin to build up over Britain," Hobson added.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Please, donate to find a cure for Tim
This is pretty funny. As I noted earlier this week, Tim of Will Type for Food fame did not like Samson and Delilah, a new Australian film. Found it quite boring and tedious, and could not understand the critical acclaim.
Shortly after expressing this view, it won a prize at Cannes. It was Tim against the world.
Well, we all thought, Cannes is full of left leaning critics who, just like David Stratton and our local crowd, would warm to a film about the social problems plaguing Central Australian aborigines.
But today, conservative Andrew Bolt writes a kind of review praising the film too. In fact, he says it is "impeccably paced," yet the pacing seemed to be exactly the thing that Tim criticised.
Clearly, Tim is suffering from some unusual form of cognitive deficit. He needs treatment.
Given sufficient funds, I can imagine a sort of reverse Clockwork Orange treatment: strapped in a dentist's chair, eyes pried open, but this time injected with some pleasure inducing substance while re-watching the film, until he gets it, just like the rest of the world.
Either that or I should just go see it to reassure Tim that he is not wrong. I love pre-hating Australian films, after all.
Update: Alternatively, I suppose there could be a sort of failed critic's gulag set up, presumably in some location that is extremely boring so as to ensure that, when they are allowed to watch a tedious film again, it seems thrilling by comparison. Readers are free to suggest the most appropriate Australian location for such a camp. I'm thinking parts of South Australia, myself, although even the quietest town there still has the thrill of avoiding acid barrels.
Shortly after expressing this view, it won a prize at Cannes. It was Tim against the world.
Well, we all thought, Cannes is full of left leaning critics who, just like David Stratton and our local crowd, would warm to a film about the social problems plaguing Central Australian aborigines.
But today, conservative Andrew Bolt writes a kind of review praising the film too. In fact, he says it is "impeccably paced," yet the pacing seemed to be exactly the thing that Tim criticised.
Clearly, Tim is suffering from some unusual form of cognitive deficit. He needs treatment.
Given sufficient funds, I can imagine a sort of reverse Clockwork Orange treatment: strapped in a dentist's chair, eyes pried open, but this time injected with some pleasure inducing substance while re-watching the film, until he gets it, just like the rest of the world.
Either that or I should just go see it to reassure Tim that he is not wrong. I love pre-hating Australian films, after all.
Update: Alternatively, I suppose there could be a sort of failed critic's gulag set up, presumably in some location that is extremely boring so as to ensure that, when they are allowed to watch a tedious film again, it seems thrilling by comparison. Readers are free to suggest the most appropriate Australian location for such a camp. I'm thinking parts of South Australia, myself, although even the quietest town there still has the thrill of avoiding acid barrels.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Everyone needs a hobby...
While looking around for any blogs commenting about Peter Kennedy and this week's Australian Story, I found a Melbourne blogger who has this as the first line in his blog sub-title:
"My most present concern to-day is the denounciation of the extremes of pornography,i.e., BESTIALITY."
His occupation is "lay-theologian". Keeps him occupied, I guess.
"My most present concern to-day is the denounciation of the extremes of pornography,i.e., BESTIALITY."
His occupation is "lay-theologian". Keeps him occupied, I guess.
"A slow motion time bomb"
Arctic thaw could prompt huge release of carbon dioxide : Nature News
It's all about what happens when permafrost stops being being permafrost:
It's all about what happens when permafrost stops being being permafrost:
Scientists have long debated how the global climate might be affected by thawing of the Arctic's permanently frozen soils, known as permafrost. When permafrost melts, microbes decompose organic matter in the soil, producing greenhouse gases. But when plants have access to warmer, deeper soils, they grow faster and take in carbon dioxide....The end result:The study by Schuur and his colleagues, published today in Nature1, shows that after 15 years of thaw, plants initially grow faster and take in more carbon than is released by the melting tundra, so the ecosystem is an overall carbon sink. But after a few decades, the balance shifts and the ecosystem becomes a source of carbon.
"The plants are growing faster, but after a few decades the rate of carbon loss from the soils is so high the plants can't keep up," says Schuur.
It's estimated that permafrost soils store about twice as much carbon than is currently present in the atmosphere2, and the stores of carbon are unlikely to run out any time soon. "It's a slow-motion time bomb," says Schuur.
Extrapolations of the experimental findings to the whole Arctic region suggest that CO2 emissions from future permafrost thawing could be roughly a billion tonnes per year — of the same order of magnitude as emissions from current deforestation of the tropics. Burning of fossil fuels releases about 8.5 billion tonnes of CO2 a year.Note that the experiment also does not look at the release of methane, a much more powerful greenhouse gas, from ex-permafrost.
Polar ocean acidification on track?
Rate of Iceland Sea acidification from time series measurements
I haven't read any commentary on this bit of research into the measured drop in ocean pH around Iceland, but it sure sounds like it is in line with predications made about how the polar oceans will suffer first under ocean acidification from CO2. Here's the conclusion to the paper (bold is mine):
I haven't read any commentary on this bit of research into the measured drop in ocean pH around Iceland, but it sure sounds like it is in line with predications made about how the polar oceans will suffer first under ocean acidification from CO2. Here's the conclusion to the paper (bold is mine):
The anthropogenic increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide affects the Nordic Seas both at the surface and at depth. In the surface, the pH has decreased from 8.13 to 8.08 between 1985 and 2008, and the aragonite saturation (Ò), which is naturally low 10 anyway, decreased from 1.6 to 1.5 between 1985 and 2008. In the deep water, the pressure effect adds to the low temperature, and above the depths of about 1500 m, the aragonite saturation horizon is shoaling at a rate of about 4myr−1. This shoaling results from extensive vertical mixing which transmits atmospheric signatures to waters as deep as 1500m (Messias et al., 2008). Large areas of the benthos are thus 15 undergoing a rapid transition from being exposed to waters that are supersaturated to being exposed to waters that are undersaturated with respect to aragonite. There is an urgent need to clarify the effects of these changes on associated benthic ecosystems, especially at shallower depths, where the population of carbonate forming benthic biota are much greater.
Labor State loves coal
Clive Palmer announces Galilee Basin coal mine funding | The Courier-Mail
I'm sure I heard the Queensland Treasurer praising this new massive coal mine (on line in 2013) on the radio yesterday, but I can't find a link right now.
I'm sure I heard the Queensland Treasurer praising this new massive coal mine (on line in 2013) on the radio yesterday, but I can't find a link right now.
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