Fortuna Faveat... may fortune favor us

I know the Obama camp is fond of claiming that McCain-Palin would be more of the same, but that isn’t quite accurate. America would find itself in a much worse position should McCain-Palin win in November. As reported over at Wired today, John McCain would make the simple act of researching somatic cell nuclear transfer (aka “therapeutic cloning”) illegal, going well-beyond the current Bush administration policy of simply not funding such research.

I spent far too much of my life researching stem cell research as a research assitant in graduate school, so it is a topic that is (thankfully no longer) near and dear to my heart (Edit: I need to find a way to use the word “research” a fourth time in this sentence). The current Bush policy makes us look like morons to the rest of the world, who have been glibly blowing past the United States in this essential technical front. Bush himself is not opposed to stem cell research (or abortion, the issue at the heart of this debate), but uses the issue as a tool to pander to the anti-choice lobby. This cynical attack on academic pursuit and therapeutic science is bad enough.

Evidently, if you elect McCain-Palin, they will put us further away from this technological vanguard by criminalizing even the privately-funded research that is going on in this country. It is worth pointing out that McCain is not anti-choice himself, so this little gem must surely be 1) a signing bonus for Mrs. Palin and 2) a major ploy to sate the anti-choice movement to which she belongs.

The last eight years have cast the United States as the land of unintelligent dolts in the eyes of the world. This McCain-Palin policy not only will continue to hogtie our scientists, it will actually incarcerate them. We are supposed to be the nation where anything is possible. Instead, we are starting to resemble the Holy Roman Empire, down to the incarceration of scientists. Galileo, anyone? This is simply unacceptable.

As I’ve pointed out in this space before, I’m no fan of Obama, either. I am voting for whichever third party candidate is highest in the polls come election day, in the hope that they will garner enough votes to get federal funding in the next election. You see, only when you have choices can you really hope to be free.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest particle accelerator, is going to be fired up on Wednesday, September 10. The LHC will replicate the “big bang“, allowing scientists the nearest approximation of watching the creation of the Earth. I saw a NOVA report about this giant piece of science a few months ago and I recall thinking at the time, “Huh, I wonder if that will bring about the end of the Earth?” Evidently, I’m not the only one. A commenter over at the Make blog expressed a similar, if more eloquent, concern:

This experiment is sick and those that think it a joke are sick. The scientists are terrorists in threatening mass destruction. They have no right to veto my existence, the lives of my children, life on earth in all its wonderous beauty and complexity. They have no right to threaten the people of Earth with mega death.“Wilhelm”
Commentator at Make blog

Dave Mustaine is really hoping this guy is wrong. Fortunately, all you have to do is believe the same scientists that may be about to destroy the world. They say these fears are completely unfounded.

Whew! That is a relief. Still, it is probably best if we all do our very best to enjoy the next three days. Slàinte!

Those of you that have spent any amount of time with me have undoubtedly heard me rant about the dangers of RFID tags (and their awesome potential). Well, here is a great clip of Adam Savage (of Mythbusters) speaking at the HOPE hackercon about their experience when trying to do an episode about this modern harbinger of informatic doom. The first 2:30 is the key part on RFID and the next 2:30 includes Adam’s take on the crap shows that have spawned out of the Mythbuster’s mold…and yes, this is yet another piece in the puzzle that is my love affair with the geniuses over at BoingBoing.

Amory is the co-founder and Chief Scientist for the Rocky Mountain Institute. I’ve been following this excellent American ever since I spotted him on The Science Channel’s Eco-Tech, talking about how our cars only use .03% (that’s three hundredths of one percent) of the fuel to move the car’s driver. The rest is lost to moving the heavy vehicle itself and to the inefficiencies of the internal combustion engine. Watch this fascinating segment above.

Evidently, I was very late in jumping on the Lovins bandwagon. He has been the authoritative voice on U.S. energy policy since 1976, as I learned from this recent clip (below) from the Charlie Rose show (July 15, 2008) The interview runs about 28 minutes and every minute is informative and exhilarating. Hope has that effect on me.

These days, it is exceedingly difficult to find reasons to be proud to be an American. I’m sure to get a lot of blowback from my “conservative” readers (Hi Dad! Hi Grandpa!) for saying that, but it is my truth and I’m sure I’m not alone in that. Hell, ask Michelle Obama. (note: I think it was very brave of her to say what she said about her American pride. The truth shall set us free.)

My point, which I will now finally illuminate, is that Amory Lovins is a great reason to be both proud to be an American and incredibly frustrated with where we are today in America. He’s been saying the same things for the last 30+ years and his ideas have been unable to gain appreciable traction until…wait for it…starting…now. I don’t imagine he would ever enter the political sphere as a candidate, but his vision and wisdom are both vital to the future of the United States. Can you say Secretary of Energy? Dream a little dream and it may come true. What a wonderful world that could be, eh? Watch these videos and then study up on what the RMI is up to, won’t you?

I got this gem from my good friend Sim. You can send it to someone yourself just by clicking on it. You can also find many other irreverent (and eco-friendly) cards at someecards.

This is something I’ve been wanting ever since I first got a digital camera. There is now open source “firmware” for Canon digital cameras that will instantly provide an actual battery meter! I don’t know how many times I’ve been using my camera (Canon SD630), knowing that the battery must be running low but having no idea how close to empty it was until the dreaded, blinking red battery icon shows up.

This is but one of many additions available with this method that is akin to, but not actually, a firmware update. Actually, you just put a couple files on your SD card and it takes care of the rest, all with no risk of damaging your camera! If it isn’t what you want, you just take out the card and the camera boots normally. It truly is a revelation. I haven’t tried it myself yet, but I can’t wait to get home to the camera to give it a shot!

If the lights are flickering, please bear with me as I upgrade.

Upgrading now complete. I’m now running strong with Wordpress 2.5 and loving it! Thanks for your patience.

I was transfixed while watching this creation that sprung (literally) from Boston Dynamics with DARPA funding. It reminds me of both the Imperial Walkers on Hoth and a deer running around with its head cut off. Dubbed the “Big Dog“, it will surely haunt my dreams. Definitely worth a look.

A worldwide campaign to ban plastic bags such as those given out in grocery stores has been soundly rejected by UK scientists.

The widely stated accusation that the bags kill 100,000 animals and a million seabirds every year are false, experts have told The Times. They pose only a minimal threat to most marine species, including seals, whales, dolphins and seabirds.

It seems the whole issue surrounding this global movement relates back to a typo in an Australian study in 2002, quoting a Canadian study from 1987.

The central claim of campaigners is that the bags kill more than 100,000 marine mammals and one million seabirds every year. However, this figure is based on a misinterpretation of a 1987 Canadian study in Newfoundland, which found that, between 1981 and 1984, more than 100,000 marine mammals, including birds, were killed by discarded nets. The Canadian study did not mention plastic bags.

Once again, numbers don’t lie, but liars use numbers.