Ponderings of a Scientist

So apparently nice relaxing weekends don’t inspire me to blog. So just few things for prosperity’s sake:

1. Running a road race on the first hot day of Spring, not a good idea! I think I’m going to have to drink all the water in the river outside my window to be re-hydrated again. Unfortunately, by then I will have died of Giardia (sp?)!

2. Teenage boys are rude! No surprise there, just an over abundance of them in my life lately has caused major annoyance.

3. I feel like I should round the list of with a third comment, but I can’t think of anything…um.. Go Red Sox!!

P.S. to K.P., the bag does look like a cat!

What a novel idea! Baltimore County Maryland, in hopes of
curbing the amount of stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, has
initiated an education and coupon campaign to convince homeowners in urbanized
areas to buy and plant trees. Tree help
runoff by 1) slowing rain’s progress to the ground and 2) absorbing lots of
the water (and pollution) in the soil. In
addition trees improve air quality and act as natural air conditioners when
appropriately placed in a yard.

The normal method of decreasing runoff is costly updates to
stormwater infrastructure (at least $150,000 per detention pond), Instead
Baltimore County is going to spend $50,000 in the form of $5 off coupons to
purchase trees (only Native species) in addition to creating educational
brochures aimed at increasing the success of planted trees. For their part neighboring nurseries
contributed another $5, to make the total coupon value $10, that leaves about
$15 per tree in cost to the homeowner.

What a brilliant, innovative approach. Instead of better handling the polluted water
(at a high financial cost), Baltimore County is spending $5 for every $20 contributed
by the private sector to actually remediate water pollution, and improve air
quality, energy usage and esthetics all at the same time.

Check out the program’s website for more information.

According to the National Priorities Project, a nonpartisan research group, the share of income taz revenue going to the military has increased by 20% since 2000, while tax money going to the environment had decreased 19% and money going to job training has decreased 21% in the same period. Twenty-nine (29) cents of every tax dollar goes to the DoD, “the result of a 70% increase in military spending since 2000.”

facts and excerpts from the “Federal Times” newspaper (5-1-06).

I’m seriously speechless if you can believe that. The gall of the Energy companies!!!! You have to watch the ad (you’ll need quicktime to view). Carbon Dioxide a life quality improver not a poison!!

I was just thinking about the public library. Dover has a great library that I use regularly. Really why would anyone buy fiction (something you will read once, maybe twice) when they could get it for free from the library. It amazes me how few people use this resource, the FREE resource. The whole library concept actually amazes me, in the world where nothing is free and everything can be found on the internet libraries have held tight to their niche and are doing well.

In thinking about public libraries I started to think about all the services I value in society and it seems all of them are grossly underfunded. Why is that? Don’t people want 1) free books, 2) quality educations for their children, 3) sufficiently manned and equipped police and fire departments? I think the problem is that our tax system is f**ked! I would certainly agree to tax increases for the above services if I was convinced the money would go to those services. However, it seems the more we pay the less we get back!!

Well at least the Majors, Governors and Senators of the country keep getting raises, because they are doing such a good job using my tax money and creating legislation I support (think of the close, but not quite banning of smoking in restaurants in NH - boy I’m sure glad that didn’t pass that would of seriously cut into my chances of lung cancer in the future). **Notice** the previous paragraph was all sarcasm for those of you that have a hard time noticing sarcasm.

In summary, the one thing I value that is actually funded at a more then meager level is broadcast sporting events. And as much as I like watching the Bs and the Sox, they are entertainers getting paid millions, yet our civil servants are lucky to make 40K!! What is wrong with people!!!

One day an ominpotent voice came through my iPod nano and said, “Heidi,
you humans have upset me with your lack of conscience and caring and for that I bring you global warming.
With global warming comes the evaporation of the oceans into the
atmosphere, causing wild all powerful storms to occur on Earth in rapid
succession. There will be massive snow and rain storms, violent
lightning, tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes and droughts. You must find a
way to save the good people and the animals. I wouldn’t suggests
an Arc, you need something bigger and better. Use lots of fossil
fuels, no one will need them when I’m through.”

Okay so maybe that didn’t happen, but my apartment is just barely dry. Check out the photos.
The vertical metal bar in some of the photos demarks the normal
water/land line (where our deck meets the river). Most of the
first floor residence have been evacuated to the Holiday Inn.

My new(ish) boss gave me this book as a gift. I really like my boss because we are both innovative thinkers in the work environment, so essentially I get a lot of freedom with projects. I’m not sure how either of us came to be this way, but I will describe my boss a bit so you understand where he is coming from with this book. As far as I can tell he was a former hippie (although he may be a bit young for the full 60s movement). He was in the Peace Corp in Africa and then returned home to get his PhD. He had his own consulting business before working for the feds. He is all about personal growth and is constantly reading books on leadership and our role on Earth and recently completed the national leadership program put on by our federal employer. So he gave me this book, as best I can tell, as some sort of leadership technique combined with own joint interests in earthy like things.

To the book review… Well it was written by a woman who runs The Peace Company, a Vermont based company, now influential enough to be a good guy lobby group in D.C. The premise is “108 simple ways to create a more peaceful world”. Of the 108 ways I bought into maybe 70 and would consider performing (or already perform) 45 or so. The book swings from way too touchy feeling and philisophical, to very reasonable (but not necessarily practical) to damn smart.

I finished the book a few days ago and I’m still conflicted on 1) how I feel about the book and 2) how to describe it. So below I will layout the organization of the book, read over the chapter descriptions and decide for yourself whether you would be interest. A copy is on my bookshelve for anyone in the NH area who would like to borrow it or you can check out The Peace Company site.

Chapter 1: Inner Peace (a bit fruity for me.. but don’t stop reading it gets more practical)
Chapter 2: Peace with Family and Friends (good advice, habits I should learn and follow)
Chapter 3: Peace for the Children (not there yet with the kid thing.. but could be good in the future)
Chapter 4: Peace at Work (good advice, habits I should learn, but would have a hard time following given some of my coworkers)
Chapter 5: Peace and Public Affairs (sort of weak)
Chapter 6: Peace and Coexistence (things I know, but can never use thanks to NH’s lack of diversity)
Chapter 7: Peace and Reconciliation (…but I like holding a grudge)
Chapter 8: Peace and Social Change (Yes, but wishful thinking)
Chapter 9: Peace and Nonviolence (again, I agree, but not likely to happen)
Chapter 10: World Peace (only for the really devoteed i.e. volunteering everywhere for the rest of your life)
Chapter 11: Peace and the Environment (YES; this is my kinda peace)
Chapter 12: Peace and Spirit (I’m way too agnostic for this chapter)

Intro and Epilogue: The epilogue makes a better introduction, read it first.

Each Chapter discusses the topic in reference to “four principles of peace, community, cooperation, non-violence, and witness.” I didn’t so much get the “principles of peace”, but I did like how they were used as a bulleted review at the end of each chapter. The end of each chapter also listed resources relevent to that kind of peace and gave a few anecdotes from peace follows (I think the anecdotes were one of the books highlights, but that’s because I like reality better than philosophy.)

Dinner Time! You’re all smart decide for yourself if you want to read the book.

So I was at the library last weekend and stumbled upon the newest release from one of my favorite authors, Anita Shreve. A Wedding in December is about a wedding which leads to an intimate renunion of a group of high school friends. The plot is minimal (one weekend in an inn in the Berkshires, although +1 for the frostbite softball), while the novel focuses on character development. Personally, when I read modern fiction I’m looking for plot (think crime dramas and other mysteries easily converted into movies), when I want character development I read classic literature. I stuck this book out, but it was slow at the beginning and boring at points, and when I finally developed an interest in the characters the book ended! I was so caught off guard by the book ending, that I actually turned the page thinking (not hoping, really thinking) there was more. The main point as I see it goes something like this: “Man my live took a left turn after high school and although my life may look happy and wonderful, its really lacking something. If only I had married the high school sweetheart; if only I had told her/him how I felt, if only… Oh well its too late I will go back to my unfufilling life now that I have realized it sucks, sigh.”

My recommendation: If you have no other books on you list, check it out at the library (woot public libraries rock (expanded blog on this later)). I wouldn’t pay money for it. If you’ve never read Shreve before I suggest The Weight of Water or pretty much anything else she has written before you read this.

“A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world.”
- John le Carre

Americans work too much! Why, probably because we want too many things. Americans also drink too much coffee.

I would expand on these thoughts to create something of substance, but it’s Friday afternoon and I get to leave work early. So rather then continue to type I think I will go home! I promise more words of wisdom and ignorant opinionations will be posted this weekend.

As I promised the last XX of our group I have posted a link to her new blog on my page (see the side bar). Now I’m the only woman left in the NH crew, ah testosterone overload!! Unless I want to play lots of video games and lots more contact sports (I wanted to link to a picture of me playing hockey here, but our network is super slow this morning, so you will just have to imagine me as a hockey player) , I think I need to do one of the following: 1) get some new friends, 2) move away and have no friends, 3) reconnect with my old friends.

Back to work. I will post on something intellectual tonight.