Saturn's frigid moon Titan may be friendlier to life than previously thought. New calculations suggest Titan's hydrocarbon lakes are loaded with acetylene, a chemical some scientists say could serve as food for cold-resistant organisms.
...An estimate made in 1989 suggested bodies of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan would contain a few parts in 10,000 of acetylene.
...Data from the Cassini spacecraft and the Huygens probe, which parachuted to Titan's surface in 2005, helped Cordier's team re-calculate the lakes' likely composition. ... The team found that acetylene would be hundreds of times as abundant as the previous estimate, making up one part in 100 of the lake's content.
"Having about a per cent of acetylene is potentially interesting from the life point of view," says team member Jonathan Lunine of the University of Arizona in Tucson. The idea of acetylene-eating organisms on Titan is "highly speculative" but intriguing, he says.
...Tokano pointed out in a recent study that without mixing, hydrogen and acetylene would stay in separate layers of the lakes, limiting reactions between them that might otherwise power exotic organisms.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Food, Glorious Food
Of course, Julia Child never had to work with acetylene:
I'd Buy That For A Dollar!
If I had a dollar, so to speak! That's quite cheap, even as an initial bid!:
Financier Carl Icahn has offered $156.5 million to acquire the partially built Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort, which has been stalled in bankruptcy court since June, according to the resort's chief operating officer.
At a bankruptcy court hearing today in Miami, Icahn bid $105 million plus $51.4 million of debtor-in-possession financing, said COO Howard Karawan.
Penn, which said last week it had offered $50 million plus $51.5 million of DIP financing for the Fontainebleau, dropped out after raising its bid to $145 million, said Penn spokesman Joe Jaffoni.
Both bids are dwarfed by the $2 billion that has already been spent on the 3,800-room casino resort, which sits toward the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The property is slated to go to auction in January.
Icahn, whose bid would likely represent a "stalking horse" floor for the auction, was not immediately available for comment.
"Initially, nobody wanted to play the stalking horse ... the bid has now doubled," Karawan said. "We still have 60 days to run before the auction."
He said Fontainebleau's representatives have had meetings with more than 40 other interested parties.
Penn National, which owns casinos and racetracks throughout the United States, but not in the gambling centers of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, has estimated it will take at least another $1.5 billion to complete the Fontainebleau resort, which is about 70 percent finished and partly exposed to the elements.
Penn's decision to drop out of the initial bidding is in line with the company's previous expressions of reluctance to overspend in a market still reeling from the impact of the global economic recession.
"While many scenarios could still play out, today's action underscores Penn's financial discipline," Barclays Capital said in a research note.
Icahn acquired the Strip's Stratosphere hotel and casino out of bankruptcy in 1998, but sold that property in 2007, along with three smaller casinos, to Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) for $1.3 billion
Early Decision
The Brits knew. The neocons decided to attack Iraq before Bush assumed office. September 11th was their "Reichstag Fire", their ready-made excuse to proceed:
The chairman of the British Joint Intelligence Committee in 2001 told investigators Monday that elements of the Bush Administration were pushing for regime change in Iraq in early 2001, months before the 9/11 attacks and two years before President George W. Bush formally announced the Iraq war.
Sir Peter Ricketts, now-Secretary at the Foreign Office, said that US and British officials believed at the time that measures against Iraq were failing: "sanctions, an incentive to lift sanctions if Saddam allowed the United Weapons inspectors to return, and the 'no fly' zones over the north and south of the country."
Ricketts also said that US officials had raised the prospect of regime change in Iraq, asserting that the British weren't supportive of the idea at the time.
"We were conscious that there were other voices in Washington, some of whom were talking about regime change," Ricketts said.
The head of the British Foreign Office's Middle East department, Sir William Patey, told the inquiry that his office was aware of regime change talk from some parts of the Bush Administration shortly after they took office in 2001.
"In February 2001 we were aware of these drum beats from Washington and internally we discussed it," Patey said. "Our policy was to stay away from that."
"We didn't think Saddam was a good thing, and it would be great if he went, but we didn't have an explicit policy for trying to get rid of him," he added.
...Interestingly, the head of Britain's Intelligence Committee told investigators that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared to be in charge of US policy on Iraq until the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"Up till then we felt that dealing with the State Department, we were dealing with the people who were forming the policy," Ricketts said.
British investigators are probing how Britain got into the Iraq war and if officials misled the public. Already, a leaked report has shown that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair covered up British military plans for a full Iraq invasion throughout 2002, claiming at the time that Britain's objective was "disarmament, not regime change."
According to Britain's Sunday Telegraph, the leaked report condemns the almost complete absence of contingency planning as a potential breach of Geneva Convention obligations to safeguard civilians. Coalition forces were “ill-prepared and equipped to deal with the problems in the first 100 days” of the occupation.
Drought Optimism
Drought in the Colorado River Basin is quite bad now.
Nevertheless, the long-range forecast is good for California and the Southwest.All hail El Niño, merciful God of the Pacific! I must find a chicken to sacrifice, or, failing that, perhaps a squirrel, or something!
Sodium Distortion
I've been paging through photos of 2009 Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats looking for a needle in a haystack - pictures of that Aussie fellow I encountered at the Tonopah gas station this summer. No luck, but some of the photos are beautiful and interesting.
I agree with Bob - this is a good name!
Pantokrator
Via espvisuals:
This church in Colombia, named Pantokrator which is Greek for 'all powerful', is designed for devotees who want to express themselves through heavy metal.
Monday, November 23, 2009
El Niño, Down Under
So how has El Niño been doing in Australia this year?Over the last year, a NW-SE dry stripe is evident. The pattern is broadly similar to past El Niños, but still different enough - what's that wet stripe across the north? - to excite interest.
At Barnes & Noble
It seemed like a trip to the book store was in order. I was reading in the Wilson Quarterly about a new book by Carol Berkin called "Civil War Wives: The Lives and Times Of Angelina Grimke Weld, Varina Howell Davis, and Julia Dent Grant". Varina Howell Davis interested me most: she was Jefferson Davis' second wife, and I misremembered that I was related to her.
Reviewing my genealogy, it turns out I'm related primarily to Jefferson Davis, not his wives, via his Bradford connection to Pennsylvania Senator Richard Brodhead, Jr. (the Confederate President and the Northern Copperhead were cousins). So, the book might have some antiquarian interest to myself, but, as it turns out, it didn't matter: I couldn't find this brand-new book on the shelves anyway.
Instead, I was drawn to another book, "God Is Red" by Vine Deloria, Jr. He is a well-known Sioux author and scholar, who wrote "Custer Died For Your Sins". Plus, for a time in my teen years, he was my next-door neighbor. I remember the day we were startled by a circle of Indians drumming away behind his house - headdresses and everything! Very un-Pueblo-like. I also remember another day when his parents came over unannounced, for a visit (we were all dressed in our pajamas on that lackadaisical Saturday noontime and were startled by the happy elderly couple peering into our windows and waving hello).
We never knew Mr. Deloria well, and actually knew his daughter, cat, and dog (Ma-Eh) better. And riffling through his books, I could see he has written learnedly about all manner of subjects, but never, it seems, about his wacky neighbors back in the day. So, instead, I purchased "Blood And Thunder" by Hampton Sides, a book about Kit Carson and the Navajos, a subject which remains pertinent to this day in New Mexico.
Plus, I picked up Carrie Fisher's "Wishful Drinking", which just looked like fun reading.
Just 'cause I like the image.....
Reviewing my genealogy, it turns out I'm related primarily to Jefferson Davis, not his wives, via his Bradford connection to Pennsylvania Senator Richard Brodhead, Jr. (the Confederate President and the Northern Copperhead were cousins). So, the book might have some antiquarian interest to myself, but, as it turns out, it didn't matter: I couldn't find this brand-new book on the shelves anyway.
Instead, I was drawn to another book, "God Is Red" by Vine Deloria, Jr. He is a well-known Sioux author and scholar, who wrote "Custer Died For Your Sins". Plus, for a time in my teen years, he was my next-door neighbor. I remember the day we were startled by a circle of Indians drumming away behind his house - headdresses and everything! Very un-Pueblo-like. I also remember another day when his parents came over unannounced, for a visit (we were all dressed in our pajamas on that lackadaisical Saturday noontime and were startled by the happy elderly couple peering into our windows and waving hello).
We never knew Mr. Deloria well, and actually knew his daughter, cat, and dog (Ma-Eh) better. And riffling through his books, I could see he has written learnedly about all manner of subjects, but never, it seems, about his wacky neighbors back in the day. So, instead, I purchased "Blood And Thunder" by Hampton Sides, a book about Kit Carson and the Navajos, a subject which remains pertinent to this day in New Mexico.
Plus, I picked up Carrie Fisher's "Wishful Drinking", which just looked like fun reading.
Just 'cause I like the image.....
DMTC's "Annie, Jr."
Saw the YPT show as well this weekend. I didn't have my camera, however. That will have to wait.
Great performances, particularly by McKinley C. (Miss Hannigan), Chris P. (Daddy Warbucks), Turner P. (Rooster Hannigan), and in particular, by Kelly R. (Lily St. Regis). I've never seen anyone get the peroxide blonde character better than Kelly did (and she's only 11!) The orphan corps was strong too, as was Emma K. as Annie.
At one point in the show, my seat began shaking. I thought a prolonged earthquake had devastated the Bay Area, or perhaps an endless train derailment was underway several hundred yards away, but it turned out that a young woman behind me suffering Restless Leg Syndrome had propped her feet on the seat back. She apologized, but then said that I must agree that the vibration was soothing. After considering her argument, I agreed, and enjoyed the Vibra-Seat that had unexpectedly been installed at DMTC.
Great performances, particularly by McKinley C. (Miss Hannigan), Chris P. (Daddy Warbucks), Turner P. (Rooster Hannigan), and in particular, by Kelly R. (Lily St. Regis). I've never seen anyone get the peroxide blonde character better than Kelly did (and she's only 11!) The orphan corps was strong too, as was Emma K. as Annie.
At one point in the show, my seat began shaking. I thought a prolonged earthquake had devastated the Bay Area, or perhaps an endless train derailment was underway several hundred yards away, but it turned out that a young woman behind me suffering Restless Leg Syndrome had propped her feet on the seat back. She apologized, but then said that I must agree that the vibration was soothing. After considering her argument, I agreed, and enjoyed the Vibra-Seat that had unexpectedly been installed at DMTC.
DMTC's "Carousel"
Finally saw the entire show on Sunday. I liked most everyone's performance. I had some issues with the ballet - in part due to execution and in part due to conception - but, like I say, I liked most everyone's performance.
Alerted by a flash that came from somewhere (never tracked that location down), in the second act, I ended up chastising an over-enthusiastic patron for using her camera during the performance. She tried to weasel out by claiming she wasn't using a flash, and indeed, the announcement at the start of the show banned 'flash photography', but in general, our contracts ban photography, period, so I remained stern with her. It was ironic that I should be doing this, since as theater history person and blogger, I am the most egregious violator of the rule around, so perhaps it is just that I also now police the rule, but I sure felt the weight of hypocrisy.
Alerted by a flash that came from somewhere (never tracked that location down), in the second act, I ended up chastising an over-enthusiastic patron for using her camera during the performance. She tried to weasel out by claiming she wasn't using a flash, and indeed, the announcement at the start of the show banned 'flash photography', but in general, our contracts ban photography, period, so I remained stern with her. It was ironic that I should be doing this, since as theater history person and blogger, I am the most egregious violator of the rule around, so perhaps it is just that I also now police the rule, but I sure felt the weight of hypocrisy.
Sarah Palin Book-Signing
Well, this is somewhat unfair - like shooting fish in a barrel - but mildly-amusing nonetheless.
People are remarkably fuzzy about their political thoughts - always have been - and especially so when interviewed on camera. Kind of sad, really, and an indictment of our educational system.
But at the same time, it shows what a happy place America really is. Misery is the best education. Money can't buy the equivalent of the experience of having a car door slammed on your fingers, day after day, for years.
The highest-grade of political education I ever saw in any group of people, ever, was amongst Palestinian refugee university students. Razor-sharp intelligent, they are, and they can slam your lame political arguments into the ground in seconds flat. But I wouldn't want to be in their shoes....
Mazes
E.: What's that?
M.: It's a sudoku puzzle. I started doing them in the summer when my sister Marra showed them to me.
E. Are they hard?
M.: They're hard, but Marra says they're easy - it's just that men are retarded and can't see the pattern.
E.: They look like mazes. Do you remember that movie, "The Shining"? It starred Jack Nicholson. He was a writer and he took his family to stay through the winter trapped in a hotel in the mountains of Colorado so he could focus. It was so spooky! The wife, she saw the word "Redrum" spelled out...
M.: Murder....
E.: Murder! Yes, and one day, a ball rolled out of a room in the big hotel and the little boy, he started looking for where the ball came from and he met two little girls who wanted to play. But MMMAAAARRRCCC! They were ghosts! Because the fellow before who was in the hotel, he killed his own family! And Jack Nicholson, he started going insane, and the butler returns because they hadn't called him on the radio and Jack Nicholson kills him! And he's going to kill the little boy too, but the boy is smart and he runs into this maze in the snow, and makes tracks that go the wrong way and Jack Nicholson gets lost and he freezes in the maze!
M.: Spooky!
E.: Spooky! MMMMAAARRRCCC! There was a little girl who died at the school last summer, when it wasn't in session, but they never told anyone how she died, or who did it, or nothing.....
M.: Maybe one day, you'll go to the clinic, and there will be a little girl there who you don't recognize, and .....
E.: MMMMAAAARRRRCCCC!
M.: AAAAHHHHH!
E.: AAAAAHHHHHH!
M.: It's a sudoku puzzle. I started doing them in the summer when my sister Marra showed them to me.
E. Are they hard?
M.: They're hard, but Marra says they're easy - it's just that men are retarded and can't see the pattern.
E.: They look like mazes. Do you remember that movie, "The Shining"? It starred Jack Nicholson. He was a writer and he took his family to stay through the winter trapped in a hotel in the mountains of Colorado so he could focus. It was so spooky! The wife, she saw the word "Redrum" spelled out...
M.: Murder....
E.: Murder! Yes, and one day, a ball rolled out of a room in the big hotel and the little boy, he started looking for where the ball came from and he met two little girls who wanted to play. But MMMAAAARRRCCC! They were ghosts! Because the fellow before who was in the hotel, he killed his own family! And Jack Nicholson, he started going insane, and the butler returns because they hadn't called him on the radio and Jack Nicholson kills him! And he's going to kill the little boy too, but the boy is smart and he runs into this maze in the snow, and makes tracks that go the wrong way and Jack Nicholson gets lost and he freezes in the maze!
M.: Spooky!
E.: Spooky! MMMMAAARRRCCC! There was a little girl who died at the school last summer, when it wasn't in session, but they never told anyone how she died, or who did it, or nothing.....
M.: Maybe one day, you'll go to the clinic, and there will be a little girl there who you don't recognize, and .....
E.: MMMMAAAARRRRCCCC!
M.: AAAAHHHHH!
E.: AAAAAHHHHHH!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Grates - "Aw Yeah"
Damn! The folks from Brissie know what they're doing with their on-location shooting! I freakin' knew this had to be Byron Bay!:
Oh, it was fun, we filmed it in Byron Bay, one of the most beautiful locations in Australia, on a Sunday afternoon. We just always felt like the song was a march for misfits so when we started discussing film clip ideas, filming some kind of a march was at the forefront. We didn’t want it to be The Black parade, obviously, but we also didn’t want it to be a Christian Parade. We got in touch with this tiny but hard working company called Krozm. It was their stroke of genius that helped it become a 'neo-day of the dead' celebration march, me towards my own death, with all of our friends as characters we picked up along the way. That is collectively our favourite film clip.
........
Aw yeah!
Blood is thick and piss is thin, I'm full of one but I'm not sure which.
Aw yeah!
Cast my line and pulled up teeth, sound violins, I wanted a ship.
Aw yeah!
Called the rain and asked her when? She's found love never see her again.
(Love won't last, crying again)
Aw yeah!
People trying to remember how did it go? People trying to forget, and what do you know?
People lost their lust for life, I'm a happening fan. Let's fix our beds together.
Aw yeah!
Lost my feet but I still run, my hands wear my shoes and my face is my butt.
Aw yeah!
Hounds dogs, blood hounds, outta control, a hot dog's soft but it's still got bones.
Aw yeah!
Well I spit on my grave when I sleep with the twins, one's for loving, one eats my sins.
Aw yeah!
People trying to remember, how did it go? People trying to forget, and what do you know?
Time and time I seen the light but I wanna explore. Don't wanna lie in pastures.
I said hey! I got one foot in the grave, yeah one foot in the grave.
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