tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18937246213601776952024-03-05T02:18:35.409-06:00The "C" Word - that's chemistry of courseThe Super Savvy Cyber Professor opines on what's happening in chemistry and science in the world at large as well as other things that attract his febrile attention.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-44478850560599248002011-05-19T12:26:00.007-05:002011-05-30T09:34:35.621-05:00Science education sucksI don't entirely understand quite why, but I find the commercials featuring vacuum cleaner pioneer and self-proclaimed genius inventor James Dyson particularly irritating. Is it the plummy, unctuous tone of smug, self-satisfaction? Or is it that he is now one of England's richest people by virtue of having made a vacuum cleaner, albeit a fancy techy one. I try to reassure myself that, if I was that well-endowed in the genius department, I would want to leave my mark on something more substantial than a few carpets: a cure for cancer, a solution to the energy crisis, or a new superfood perhaps. I have never driven a Dyson; and I have never been so dissatisfied with the pre-Dysonian era of vacuuming technology to have been motivated to make the major investment in the magic ball; can cleaning carpets really be worth $500? Never has one of Dyson's famous balls graced my shag, and nor will it ever likely do so. Skeptics might be wondering at this stage if this is all a moot point since I never do any vacuuming, but I can assure those doubters that I have wrestled with the process on countless occasions in an ongoing campaign to prove I am more than just a befuddled college professor. My least favourite aspects are the cleaning of the filter (shades of Lady Macbeth - I never knew the old thing had so much dust in it), and the moving of furniture. Evidently I must be in a minority in the Dyson-hating business, since he is awash in loot and, like other genius inventors before him, is now apparently on a mission to save science education.<br /><br />It has been amply documented that science education in America supposedly sorely lags behind much of the rest of the world. The data show that, although children enter the middle school era in America at least as adept as their foreign competition, by the time they graduate high school they have lagged far behind other countries (and not even advanced ones necessarily) in the key STEM disciplines. It is a source of concern to many in the sciences that the once (and arguably still) technological leader of the world is flunking in the training of its future scientists. Since the future prosperity of the nation depends on invention and technological development, so the story goes, we must do a better job of developing scientists. Although this seems like a no-brainer, as an aside, it is notable the lack of appreciation for and understanding of science prevalent among the nation's political leaders, particularly on the GOP side. Another aside: it has not escaped my observation that many in the science business who trumpet concerns about education stand to profit mightily from the situation.<br /><br />I have learned that Mr. Dyson wants to change all that, not with laptops or iPods, as others before him have proposed, but with vacuum cleaner parts. Evidently students will be provided with a Dyson kit that they can disassemble and then rebuild into robots and other high-tech gismos. I am reminded of my visit to Tommy Bartlett's Robot World, a can't-miss emporium of technological wizardry, where to my untrained eye it appeared as though the exhibits were all constructed from late 1970's Hoovers. The hypothesis is, I gather, that tinkering with a few Dyson balls will inspire bright young minds to pursue a technical education, thereby saving America from ultimate slavery to the Chinese. Forgive me for being a little skeptical.<br /><br />Many a tax-payer dollar has been spent in the attempt to improve science education. Most of these efforts, many supported by institutions like the National Science Foundation, have focused on throwing technology at the problem. To date it appears that no significant gains have been made for all the chest thumpings, grandiose schemes, clever widgets and huge expenditures. In the bad old days, our textbooks were dull-looking tomes with only a few line drawings for illustration; our blackboards were black and there was only chalk; the only high technology was a slide-rule; on the other hand our laboratory experiences were probably better since less was known about the tiresome inconvenience of chemical toxicity and proper disposal. <br /><br />Every chemistry textbook these days has a preface several pages long that explains in depth all the various "pedagogical features" that are going to make students better chemists. I rarely read them. When the textbook vendors ask me what I like (or dislike) about their book compared with others, I struggle desperately to come up with some kind of cogent, objective response. I normally fail. To some degree, at least at the introductory level, paraphrasing the old commercial, chemistry is chemistry. Do we really think that some "unique problem-solving strategy" will make the slightest difference?<br /><br />I wonder I might have been improved if my textbook had fancy color diagrams and photos and three-column problem-solving sections; if I had access to websites, videos, 3-d graphics, interactive games or even vacuum cleaner parts. Perhaps the problem with science education, if indeed there really is one, lies elsewhere. Maybe all these efforts have been largely in vain, although I have no fundamental objection to making the experience more entertaining, even if that entertainment really has little impact on knowledge or ability.<br /><br />While the state of education in this country is bemoaned, international students flock to American universities to develop their talents. On that evidence there is little wrong with the product at the top level. Maybe we should take a more laissez-faire approach and be content with the numbers of scientists the system is currently producing, rather than thrashing away trying to craft a silk purse from a sow's ear by converting people into scientists who ultimately won't find positions in the workplace.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-2695786795459706942011-04-10T11:55:00.002-05:002011-04-11T21:07:36.152-05:00What lies beneathThe savvy cyber professor has been inattentive to his blog of late - like the past twelve months or more - a reflection perhaps of the gradually dawning realization that he really has nothing interesting to say; but there again, nor do most others that litter the internet with their streams of poorly crafted opinions, so why should that stop me?<br /><br />Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I found myself in Anaheim for the March meeting of the American Chemical Society. As an aside I recall it was about four years ago that I started this little endeavour around about the time of the ACS meeting, then in Chicago, with a post about cold fusion making the news (again), which resulted in some interesting and lively comments forthcoming. This time around, cold fusion once again returned to the quiet, dusty, dark shelves of forgotten science.<br /><br />Green chemistry was one of the theme's of this year's conference, and supposedly the Anaheim Convention Center stakes some claims for environmental awareness and energy efficiency, though a casual observer would be skeptical of just how green given the mountains of brochures, programs, and daily updates that were destined to be occupying a recycling bin somewhere in the vicinity. How soon the paperless conference?<br /><br />I thought it my moral duty to attend at least one session so as to justify the enormous expense of the caper(thank you taxpayers for your contributions to the National Science Foundation, for without you the SSCP would be confined to the barracks of COD forever; every penny is duly appreciated), so I chose a session focusing on the business aspects, or lack thereof perhaps, in alternative energy sources. Rather depressingly, one of the speakers, who had analyzed the attractiveness of these things from the perspective of the venture capitalist, concluded that none of them was a worthwhile investment apart from smart grid technology. In other words, if you are looking to make money from investing in "green energy," forget it. I pointed out to the speaker that, if the only thing worth investing in was a method to distribute existing energy more efficiently, rather than ways of producing additional energy, then we were in trouble. On a side note, the City of Naperville has rather boldly ventured into the smart grid; a move that has met with considerable opposition from citizens who fear that it represents some kind of invasion of privacy.<br /><br />This is all a bit of a labored bridge-in to the main point (there is one), and that is a talk presented by some young well-dressed (not a scientist) chap from a company called Green Fire Energy, which is a start-up whose mission is to develop large-scale geothermal energy projects based on carbon dioxide. This approach represents a massive extension of a well-established process: sucking heat out of the earth - an environmentally benigh energy source. <br /><br />The field of alternative energy is really dominated by three approaches: solar, wind and biomass. The geothermal barely rates a look in; and yet, according to Green Fire, within the bowels of the earth, some 3 - 10 kilometers beneath the surface, just two percent of the energy will supply twentyfive hundred times the annual energy use of America. It is just a question of extracting it. Green Fire's proposal is to use carbon dioxide as the fluid that carries the energy from deep below, through an exchanger, then sending the now-cooled carbon dioxide back down to collect more energy; basically a fridge running in reverse. <br /><br />While everyone knows the earth is really hot inside, I had not appreciated previously that there are vast oceans of carbon dioxide trapped in various regions deep within the crust - domes in the trade. There is one such region near the Arizona - New Mexico border. This is where Green Fire proposes to put its idea to the test. The carbon dioxide required to transfer the energy is already captive in the ground. They still need to prove that this approach is viable; the concept is simple, but needs to be reduced to practice. This is where the financial world appears to be baulking; investors are yet to be convinced that it will work, and the cost of the proof of principle is very high. It's a bit like prospecting for oil; you drill a well and see what happens. Folks are happy with the odds in well drilling; but in this entirely new technology, while the odds may be similar, the perception is different. So far, Green Fire, despite excellent relationships with the Department of Energy and other institutions, has only raised a few million dollars, way short of what is required to get it off the ground.<br /><br />The ficklness of investors is well documented. Not so long ago, money was pouring into biomass-based energy. Soon, the investors were complaining that things were not progressing quickly enough, as if commercial processes should be springing up overnight. With the current GOP-driven obsession for reduced government spending, particularly in areas like basic research, and reticence to invest from the private sector, one wonders what is the way ahead for alternative energy sources in this country. Or are we destined to let the entrenched fossil-fuel cartels denude the landscape and foul the air, all because the system is currently designed to favour them?Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-33470450343764250942011-03-24T20:48:00.002-05:002011-03-24T21:35:33.730-05:00Beer pairingsThe craft beer revolution is sweeping across America as my faithful reader(s) are all too aware. Dulcie and Aylwin have been in the van of this seismic cultural shift, as evidenced by our first tentative steps at Dark Lord Day (back in those happy times when it was unnecessary to buy blackmarket tickets at Stubhub at $350 per). Indeed, we even starred as the enthusiastic but hapless nubes in a posting on Beer Advocate by some hard-core but very friendly beer geek. A couple of years on the first of our Big Beer Adventures was undertaken to Beervana (aka Portland). Now we are central figures in the Chicago beer scene - in our own minds of course.<br /><br />Not to be left behind, it seems that Jewel-Osco wants to cash in on the burgeoning beer scene judging by some beer pairing notes posted in the paper that Dulcie brought to my attention. So, for my foodie followers try and determine what beer is being described in each pairing (answers at bottom).<br /><br />"With its perfect balance of hops and malt, along with a crisp, dry finish, nothing beats a ____________ teamed with cheddar cheese."<br /><br />"An ice cold ____________ with full hoppy flavors stands up well with a spicy pepper jack cheese."<br /><br />"______________ sweet caramel notes, citrus aromas and smooth finish pair perfectly with a slice of smoked gouda."<br /><br />"Pronounced hops and bitterness, along with a refreshing finish, contrast well with peppered goat cheese on a baguette."<br /><br />With that sort of hyperbole one would be thinking Dreadnaught, Pliny the Elder, The Abyss, Dark Lord, Surly Furious to name a few. Would that Jewel would be offering such jewels; but alack that will only happen in another life (though I note that Tesco offers a very persuasive Imperial IPA brewed by Brew Dog in Scotland - enlightened indeed).<br /><br />No, alas, these poetic excesses instead are assigned to the following (in order);<br />Budweiser (hops?), Rolling Rock (hoppy?), Michelob Ultra Amber (no comment) and Stella Artois (hops?). We can take hope here in that the beer revolution has led the Jewel PR folks to discover the word "hops." Progress is indeed being made.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-27156652422759612012011-01-25T21:12:00.002-06:002011-01-25T21:16:35.189-06:00Deja vu all over again - borrowing a phraseChicago is not the only place where candidate shenanigans are happening. April 2011 sees the latest election for the College of DuPage Board of Trustees, which means for the second time in recent years, candidates’ petitions were subject to challenges from their opponents. Last Wednesday, retired professor Gino Impellizzeri, whose name originally occupied the favorable top billing on the ballot, was toppled for the apparent want of a paper clip. Objecting attorney Kory Atkinson, himself a former trustee and familiar to many from the 2009 election’s numerous contentious challenges, successfully argued to the Board Election Committee that Impellizzeri’s packet did not conform to election law because it was not “bound” upon delivery.<br /><br />Whatever the precise legal meaning of bound, and one notes that the instructions to candidates do not actually give directions as to the manner of the binding, this case gives one to question the point of having laws in the first place. It would be nice to think that they existed to establish a safe, just and orderly functioning of society. However, when it is seen, instead, that laws can be manipulated to ensnare and entrap, and in so doing divert the just operation of society, then it may reasonably be said that the law is an ass.<br /><br />It would have been nice to think that a majority of the trustees comprising the Board Election Committee could have seen beyond the legalistic gamesmanship at work here, and taken a bold stand for reason and common sense, and, by so doing, would ensure that honest citizens were not deprived from offering their services and residents of District 502 were not denied a reasonable choice of candidates. Regrettably, much like the rich young ruler in Matthew’s parable, they turned away sad.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-63512952440467732582009-11-23T20:43:00.002-06:002009-11-23T21:36:11.244-06:00Hand of God IIWhile most of America spent last week worrying about trivia like health care reform and the stuttering economy, Europe was embroiled in a furore over a football match; France had pushed Ireland out of the World Cup by virtue of a goal resulting from a clear handball by Thierry Henri, aging French legend formerly of Arsenal fame. Not for the first time in recent memory had a French star tainted his legacy on the big stage - Zidane's nutting of the Italian at a crucial moment in the last final for supposedly insulting his mother being a more significant moment.<br /><br />For us English of course any mention of "Hand of God" instantly summons up memories of Azteca stadium 1986 where England succumbed to bitter rival Argentina (remember the Falklands) at the hand, literally, of Diego Maradona in the quarter finals of the World Cup. In that match the first of two goals by Maradona went in off his hand, quite obvious in replays, but apparently obvious to the ref who allowed it. Maradona dissembled afterwards about the goal being assisted by the hand of God. The racist tendencies of the average Caucasian to view Latin footballers as villains and cheats, with one or two exceptions like Pele, were only reinforced by that moment.<br /><br />There are some in the old country who cannot forgive Maradona for that sleight of hand and believe his legacy is ruined as a result. I do not hold with that view; in fact I bear no grudge against Maradona despite it costing England their opportunity of winning the World Cup once more; we still have to live on the memories of 1966, and frankly that is getting rather old. The critics want to wail cheat, cheat, cheat. Yet they are silent on the dozens of fouls that defenders meted out to skillful players like Maradona to neutralize them. The rules protecting players are much better today, though far from perfect, and the overall skill level is far higher than back then, when thuggery tended to rule the day. In 1966 the naive Brazilians came to England thinking that footballing skill was all that was required. They were kicked out of the cup in part by the Portuguese, who themselves had a sublime player in Eusebio. <br /><br />So why begrudge Maradona his one little opportune moment to take revenge against the dozens of fouls that went quietly unnoticed. In any event, a few short minutes after the intervention of the "Hand of God." Maradona more than compensated with the finest individual goal I've ever seen (later rated as the FIFA Goal of the Century). Picking the ball up inside his own half he danced through the English defence (for such a talent he was a remarkably one-footed player) before sliding the ball behind Shilton at an improbably delicate angle.<br /><br />Let's hope that England, having once again secured their date with destiny next summer, will not have to overcome the Almighty again; the likes of Germany, Brazil, and maybe even Argentina present enough challenges.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-8437694171417078442009-11-17T18:09:00.004-06:002009-11-17T22:53:36.453-06:00High priests of denialI was taking one the Fit in for its occasional service (I would like to say periodic but that would be an exaggeration; and maybe I could justify the long gaps between oil changes as doing our part to reduce consumption of precious fossil fuels) and had just turned on Moody Bible Radio (WMBI) only to hear the words "Lord Monckton." I almost parted with whatever remained of my Go Lean (but not lightly) breakfast, for I knew that could only mean trouble.<br /><br />The timing was notable because just the other day I had been listening to a discussion about "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/allthingsconsidered/updates/20091108.shtml">Faith and the Environment</a>" from one of my favourite programs, courtesy of BBC Radio Wales and iTunes, "All Things Considered" (not to be confused with the NPR program of that name). The program involved individuals from four faith groups discussing with our mellifluous host Roy Jenkins (who can heal all wounds with a single soft utterance) the importance of climate change on the eve of the big global meeting in Copenhagen. Roy asked each in turn where global warming registered for them on a scale of 1 - 10. While their faiths maybe diverse and perhaps irreconcilably different, their responses were remarkably unified in placing it around 10 or higher. There ensued a thoughtful, intelligent and informed discussion of the future and how people of faith should respond to it. It was particularly encouraging to hear that people primarily motivated by spiritual matters could recognize the importance of dealing with issues of such earthly consequence. I was left with the thought that two things in this show would be unlikely to be heard on a mainstream Christian radio station in America. One was actually having four different faith groups around the table in the first place; you might imagine having a Jew, the ancient connections after all, but Islam no way. Second, the mainstream Christian organizations in this country seem, for reasons yet to be fully understood, to be overwhelmingly aligned with the climate change skeptics, and so hearing church leaders in this country discussing the importance of dealing with global warming in passionate terms would be unlikely, even less likely than the Second Coming unfortunately.<br /><br />And so this morning on WMBI it was QED; the discourse could not have been more diametrically opposed to All Things Considered. The utterer of the terrifying words "Lord Monckton" was one Dr. E. Calvin Beisner, National Spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance, an organization that describes itself as being "for the Stewardship of Creation." The rest of the spiel followed a depressingly predictable pattern, and the WMBI host was lapping it up like a thirsty hound. In short, according to Cornwall, The IPCC and its scientists are at best incompetent and at worst dishonest (more or less). The "true scientists," the thousands upon thousands we are told that know the real truth that this global warming business is all wrong, are denied a voice at conferences and meetings by the politically motivated IPCC and its cronies. Thus the truth is being suppressed. More than once "Lord" Monckton was referred to in almost messianic terms as being the voice of reason - the voice in the wilderness (but I think that is John the Baptist rather than the Messiah).<br /><br />In discussing it with Dulcie (also an avid listener to WMBI) we were unable to explain the apparent coalescence of conservative Christianity and climate change denial. What is the motivation here? Can it be an extension of the anti-scientific attitude towards biologists and evolution? Are all mainstream scientists regarded as atheists, tools of Satan, and thus to be distrusted regardless of the issue? Whatever the cause, I find it dishonest that an influential radiostation like WMBI should be passing off propaganda in the guise of reasoned argument.<br /><br />Americans seem to be particularly susceptible to the dubious charms of fake English gentry (I should know better than most), and the odious Monckton recently made an appearance at the "Free Market Alliance" in Minnesota. I imagine that Garrison Keillor would be having nightmares if he knew how many of his people were lining up to soak up the nutty Viscount's message. The performance is available on YouTube, and he comes across as a more intelligent latter-day Bertie Wooster. Yet, beneath the unctuous, dapper breeding, there is a venom, a nastiness, not to mention fraudulence and fakery. Regarding the banning of DDT, Monckton proclaims, "The left, the environmental left, the intolerant, communistic narrow minded faction that does not care how many children it kills it is campaigning once again for DDT to be banned. Because they do not want children to be born in the Third World. They want as much of humanity as possible, it sometimes seems to me, to be wiped off the face of the planet." Irony indeed that this self-proclaimed champion of the poor is campaigning against policies to limit global warming at a time when the first generation of climate change refugees in Africa are facing an uncertain future as their livelihoods have been wiped out by the very thing that Monckton and his ilk deny. Not exactly sure what Jesus would say about that.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-84732967466507148872009-11-11T16:17:00.004-06:002009-11-11T18:38:56.734-06:00Beware the anti-climate change alarmistsAfter sitting through a thoughtful, considered, authoritative exposition of the challenges involving energy facing society in the next few decades given by one of the directors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Sunday night (the price one has to pay for an expenses-paid trip to SERCh), it was more than doubly depressing to open the Tribune Tuesday morning still bleary from the exertions of the weekend. <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped1110byrnenov10,0,3012538.column">Dennis Byrne</a> is urging us to beware the climate change "alarmists." Already one knows from the emotive language where this is going.<br /><br />The director at Oak Ridge described energy as the "defining issue" of our time. It is not difficult to sustain the argument: demand is growing and supplies of the fossil-derived variety are peaking and at some time in the not-too-distant future will decline. That equation represents a terrifying prospect. Adding into the mix the consequences of increasing fossil fuel consumption on climate change presents an even greater need to take action. So why is there such entrenched opposition to the idea of change, particularly among those on the right, even to the point of adopting almost untenable positions in denying the reality of climate change? It boggles the mind, and drives one mad.<br /><br />As a skeptic about most things myself I can rationalize why we should take action even without necessarily believing the worst prognostications. Ironically, Christian conservatives, many of whom are among the more ardent climate change deniers, might be familiar with the argument. I can apply Pascal's wager equally well to climate change as to faith. If I bet on it being right, but am eventually proved wrong, what have I lost? Nothing. By taking aggressive action to develop "green" sustainable alternative energy sources, the nation will be well-placed to profit when the fossil varieties run scarce. Why would we wish to be beholden, as we are now to largely disreputable oil-rich nations, to other countries for energy because we haven't bothered to invest in their development? On the other hand, as Pascal argued when considering the existence of God, if I bet on it being wrong, but was eventually proved wrong, then I have lost everything. The likes of Mr, Byrne and the rest of them seem satisfied, nay even proud, of taking that wager.<br /><br />Further reading of Mr. Byrne's column turned up some familiar chestnuts. Firstly there is the sneering demeaning language, characterizing the thousands of hours of work by professional scientists as 'alleged "scientific" evidence...incomplete at best and...manipulated for political reasons'. Rarely, if ever, is scientific work complete as each discovery tends to bring forth new questions. Not even something as successful, long-standing and rock solid as the quantum theory is by any means complete or certain. So, are we to bide our time until "completeness" can be obtained? Of course not. While there are many uncertainties pertaining to the time scale and magnitude of the outcomes, I am satisfied that the consensus of there being a ninety percent probability of the connection between greenhouse gases and global warming being correct is sufficient to merit doing something.<br /><br />I am further puzzled as to why the likes of Mr. Byrne and others are so convinced that evil politicians are gladly manipulating data for political reasons. Surely it is politically expedient to deny climate change and avoid taking action. Why would governments wish to take the politically unpopular but necessary steps of making changes that will have costs to their constituents?<br /><br />I note that Al Gore is mentioned, implying that all scientists that are concerned about climate change are Al's disciples. This is just not so. Mr. Gore may have served some value in heightening awareness, but it does not mean that the real science is defective because his film was flawed. Don't tar everything with one brush.<br /><br />Why was I not surprised to see the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change rear its ugly head in this article. I wouldn't be surprised if it had sent Mr. Byrne the script. In that author's eyes, the NIPCC contains the true scientists and all the rest are clueless nitwits. Mr. Byrne refers in adoring tones to the "two-inch thick volume" called "Climate Change Reconsidered."<br /><br />The NIPCC is the faux authority ghosted by the Heartland Institute, regrettably based in Chicago that I have chronicled in these pages previously. Interestingly, while Mr. Byrne pours scorn on all the climate change alarmists (all scientists who have concern about the state of the climate), he pours lavish praise in equal measure on the NIPCC folks. He laments that people will not bother to obtain a copy to educate themselves. Really, why would one bother? There is real science and there is fake science. To admit the NIPCC into the same arena would be equivalent to admitting scientific creationists into a discussion about the origins of life; there is no point to it. You can dress nonsense up with fancy graphs and persuasive jargon but it is still nonsense. Who was it who said something about lipstick on a pig?<br /><br />The tag line in Mr. Byrne's article warns us to beware of any science that claims to fully describe (hate the split infinitive) in single theory any phenomenon as complex as global climate change. Is this being done by the thousands of scientists working on this issue? I think not. Lots of models and lots of arguments are going on. There may be consensus on the overall picture, but I believe that there is very healthy debate about the details. It is the simple-minded that are prone to be conned by the mischievous members of the fake NIPCC.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-6023226885343810772009-11-08T20:59:00.002-06:002009-11-08T21:48:52.578-06:00Food for thoughtAfter enduring a number of lengthy and largely unproductive sessions sitting on hot, stationery, idling buses waiting for something to happen, the participants in the Second Annual SERCh competition arrived at Oak Ridge National Labs for the evening festivities. Posters were carefully pinned up and the competition furtively scanned. The next agenda item was a tour of one's choice and, having seen the neutron spallation source (spectacular) last year, and having seen a lot of nanoscience stuff (it's really not that special looking), I chose a presentation on super-hydrophobicity. That means stuff that hates water in the worst possible way. Turns out that most materials are relatively hydrophilic - likes water to some degree - so hydrophobic is comparatively rare. Grease is the material we all confront daily in doing the washing up. A super-hydrophobic material is one that makes water bead up into an almost perfect sphere. Our host showed some interesting examples of materials that ranged from the highly engineered to naturally occurring diatomaceous earth. Some amusing little demos were very convincing as to the efficacy of these materials. Trousers made from this kind of stuff would eliminate the need for umbrellas. The group has also been working on transparent coatings; imagine driving in a rainstorm without need for wipers.<br /><br />After dinner, we were serenaded by a presentation from Jim Roberto of Oak Ridge on energy challenges for the 21st century. The thesis of the talk was that energy is the number one defining issue facing society today. No argument here. He presented matter-of-factly the kinds of data that intelligent, thoughtful people will tend to accept without argument: fossil fuels are not increasing; climate change is a reality. I wanted to stop him and ask why it is that so many wish to be in denial on this. He then laid out the avenues being followed at Oak Ridge and its partners. Solar, cellulosic ethanol, batteries and nuclear (fission and fusion) featured prominently. Notably fuel cells and hydrogen did not. I asked him about this. The response revealed something of the bias that inevitably accompanies these discussions of energy solutions. Quite correctly he pointed out that hydrogen is not a power source but needs to be created; and if there are decent batteries then the need for hydrogen and fuel cells is obviated. Clearly his belief is that "decent" batteries will be made. "Decent" means about an order of magnitude or more improvement over today's batteries. Given the rate of progress over the past thirty years one wonders about the reality of this. A "perfect" battery would perform like a gas tank in terms of weight and time of recharge. Given that the prototype Tesla's battery pack weighs 400 kilos compared with a gas tank's 50 kilos, this seems like an impossible dream.<br /><br />The pros and cons of all the non-fossil-fuel sources can be debated endlessly. What is not arguable is that the magnitude of the challenge is mammoth. Mr. Roberto's concluding words were sobering. Incremental improvements will not suffice he said, meaning that major breakthroughs are required. The trouble is that science advances mostly on incremental breakthroughs, with only occasional and unpredictable giant leaps intervening. Even when they occur, high-temperature superconductivity being a dramatic example, benefits to society do not necessarily follow. After the giddy talk of levitated railways and endless repetition of the fact that liquid nitrogen was cheaper than milk in the early days of the high-temperature superconductor discovery, decades have now passed and little is to show for all the wonderful science.<br /><br />This administration has allocated a lot of money to new energy sources. Unfortunately it is impossible to legislate breakthroughs.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-85878406321692101782009-11-08T08:05:00.000-06:002009-11-08T08:02:38.596-06:00SSCP in Oak Ridge IILast year my readers will recollect I spent a gruelling tax-payer-funded weekend courtesy of the Dept. Of Energy at the first annual Science and Engineering Research Challenge. Fortunately for me, another student that did an internship at Argonne this past summer had her work accepted for the second annual edition; so off to Oak Ridge I am again. Fortunately flight is at a much more civilized hour and is also direct. I have at this moment navigated TSA without incident, even using a feature of my Crackberry that allows it to be used as a boarding pass; no more battling with recalcitrant machines to try and print one. Espied an interesting sign advertizing "Family Companion Restroom Facility". I'm wondering if this a take on Britain's "Save water shower with a friend" campaign in the great drought of '76. <br>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryAylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-37847837431344846882009-11-05T11:18:00.002-06:002009-11-05T11:40:25.374-06:00Fifty thousand satisfied customersA small, barely detectable moment in the history of the internet occurred some time in the early hours of the night when visitor number 50,000 to my website was recorded. With my nifty StatCounter I can spy upon the visitors, tracking their locations and what they are visiting for. Recent visitors hail from as far flung places as Perth, Western Australia and Manila, not to mention the U.K. I hope their visits have not been in vain. Now if only the students would visit...Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-74860419591030788742009-11-03T19:11:00.002-06:002009-11-03T19:57:31.266-06:00Is that nanotechnology in your trousers?I have been tempted to open my lecture on nanotechnology with the subject line above, adapted reverently from the legendary non-quote of Mae West, as a way to grab the audience's attention, but I have lacked the testicular virility, to borrow from that legendary Shakespearean, the Thane of Ravenswood, known to most as disgraced and indicted former governor of Illinois, to complete the line. But I do raise the topic of trousers by way of showing that something as esoteric-sounding as nanotechnology has impacts at the mundane level - if you consider trousers mundane.<br /><br />The reputation of the Super Savvy Cyber Professor has apparently spread as far and as wide as Del Webb's Sun City, located in far-flung (it's a stretch to call it picturesque) Huntley on Route 47. For I was invited recently to give a talk on the very subject of nanotechnology as part of their monthly series. While I might not exactly be following in Chad Mirkin's mighty footsteps on the lecture circuit, this talk did number my third on this subject, the other audiences being a group of fifth graders and the octogenarian garden club in Wheaton some months past. <br /><br />Sun City turned out to be a little piece of Florida in Illinois, acres of little white villas set amongst rolling fairways. A sign at the entrance warns of motorized golf carts. I learned that Sun City is home to over nine thousand mature residents. All that appears to be locally available is a solitary Jewel across from the entrance. The clubhouse, wherein I was to present, was, on the other hand, lavish beyond expectation. The audience proved to be attentive and not short on penetrating and probing questions. Would that the youth were so intentional about being informed.<br /><br />While the current market place for "nanotechnology" is largely low-tech, featuring stain-proofing fabrics (hence the trouser reference), tennis rackets, car waxes and numerous other products that have largely been long in existence and only recently renamed to embrace the nano boom, the real future, I suppose, is hoped to be in much more exotic and useful applications such as healthcare. I imagined that the more senior segments of society would be particularly interested in those. A website called <a href="http://www.understandingnano.com/medicine.html">Understandingnano.com</a> lists some twelve companies developing nano products for various health-related applications. These include things like, gold nanoparticles for targeted delivery of drugs to tumors; nanoparticles that, when irradiated by X-rays, generate electrons which cause localized destruction of the tumor cells; disease identification using gold nanoparticles; nanoparticles for improving the performance of drug delivery; magnetically responsive nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery and other applications; quantum dots for medical imaging; diagnostic testing using gold nanoparticles to detect low levels of proteins indicating particular diseases. And that is just a partial list.<br /><br />Nanotechnology is being hailed as opening up new possibilities for advanced identification of diseases, thus permitting earlier and presumably more successful treatment. Will these new capabilities further complicate the healthcare business? Are we not already prone to somewhat indiscriminate use of test procedures just because someone else tends to foot the bill? Medicine has long been an irresistible attraction to developers of new technology. I suppose it is the thought of huge markets, vast mark-ups and a largely captive audience that attracts them. A couple of decades ago, the laser business descended upon unsuspecting doctors offering improved (and expensive) alternatives to low-tech scalpels in any number of applications. It is probably fair to say that, overall with a few exceptions, the scalpels tended to have won out. Lasers did not deliver on the promises and ended up creating a population of medical practitioners rather skeptical about adopting new technology. I hope that gold nanospheres suffer a better fate. There is genuine hope because they do seem to offer unique approaches, rather than a fancier and more expensive way of making incisions.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-63037056649997149062009-10-18T11:54:00.000-05:002009-10-18T11:52:35.588-05:00Gas lawsSince I was covering gas laws in a couple of my classes this week, the flight of the silver balloon provided an appropriate punctuation. Living my life as I do in a hermit like existence within the recycled walls of the HSC, I spent Thursday blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding across the fields of Colorado. Only when I visited the fitness center for my constitutional did I start seeing the endlessly-replayed footage of this space-shipped shaped bag hurtling across the skies. By this time the drama was over and the TV station was heavily into trying to justify the blanket coverage of what was ultimately a non-event. <p>The boy was not in it after all. Thank goodness, or dash it, depending on your point of view. <p>A bit of research and thought should have led them to draw the obvious conclusion that this was a stunt. The evidence shows this is the family of a nutcase: the father exposes the family to humiliation on wife swap; he pitches an idea for a reality show (doubtless involving him); he names his kid Falcon Heene (that's the most damning); he keeps a large balloon in the backyard. It was hard to gauge the size of the thing but it seemed to me unlikely that it could carry a human-sized cargo. Yet another example of the vast waste of resources expended on non-entities to entertain the masses. Don't suppose many watching would know what Boyle's law states. <br>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryAylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-26795202673460743652009-10-07T23:06:00.000-05:002009-10-07T23:05:42.037-05:00A few green leavesTribune was an interesting contradiction in messages this morning as the cover page was alerting us to the health risks associated with green leafy produce (number one riskiest food according to the FDA), while the Food section extolled the virtues of green leafy vegetables. <p>What can a poor boy do?<p>Of the other items on the top ten list, I can accept the presence of oysters; every oyster is in a way a dice with death; it is the only food that I both love and yet fear. Take into account that oysters are pretty small compared with the others, then it's obvious that they are pretty dangerous. Yet there such relative innocents as potatoes and cheese. <p>I prefer to take the approach that all this agonizing over safety is a waste of time. If one were to follow the guidelines about dealing with fresh produce, one would be consigned to a lifetime of tasteless food: way too much washing. And what is life without a little risk?<p>It's been a while since I've had oysters. <br>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryAylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-62577107535237087422009-10-06T12:04:00.002-05:002009-10-06T12:14:43.370-05:00What passes for scholarship these days...I recently received in my electronic inbox an invitation to attend a scholarly seminar at our "flagship" university, the much heralded, though recently much maligned, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (I would feel better disposed towards the institution if it shortened the name. Maybe a decent football team would also help since I spent a hapless Saturday last enduring an ignominious defeat to the mighty Penn State - should have got more for the $60 per ticket). I realize now the gulf between true scholarship and what passes for it in the lowlier backwaters of the community college, because I found I needed an interpreter and several dictionaries to make any sense of it, if indeed sense was anywhere to be found. I present to you the abstract and maybe ask your assistance in its interpretation.<br /><br />MAPPING MULTIDIRECTIONAL MEMORY:<br />THE PROBLEM OF TRANSNATIONAL JUSTICE<br /><br />by<br />Professor Michael Rothberg<br />University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign<br /><br />"In his recently published book on Holocaust remembrance in the age of decolonization, Dr. Rothberg argues that public memory is structurally multidirectional—that is, always marked by intercultural borrowing, exchange, and adaptation. But such structural hybridity does not imply that the politics of memory comes with any guarantees. In order to continue the urgent task of mapping the political stakes of memory, this talk considers the deployment of the Warsaw Ghetto in struggles for decolonization past and present. Focusing especially on the role of Warsaw memory in the contemporary Israeli/Palestinian crisis, he argues that at stake in articulations of multidirectional memory are divergent conceptions of solidarity, justice, and political subjectivity. This conceptualization of relationality has important methodological implications for transnational studies."<br /><br /><br />I did not realize that "mapping of political stakes of memory" was an "urgent task." Maybe fixing health care, climate change or the economy are urgent tasks. There again, perhaps I am just not qualified to offer opinions among such luminaries. And they tell me chemistry is hard...Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-71995653766105613562009-09-27T20:47:00.003-05:002009-09-27T21:18:09.030-05:00Lacking motivationI caught a little article in the Tribune (still clinging on to the sinking ship) about a slightly controversial payout of bonuses to executives despite the decline in revenues (or whatever it was) of about 30%. The justification, we are told, is that these executives need the bonuses as motivation to save the company in its current dire straits. The inference we draw from this is that without these lavish bonuses the executives will lack the desire to do their jobs, for which, I am perhaps naively assuming, they are already being paid a salary, likely of some appreciable magnitude.<br /><br />From the rarefied air of the boardrooms hermetically sealed off from the tawdry squalor of the working classes, this bonus argument is not uncommon. Have we not heard this from Wall Street in the wake of giant bonuses being handed out to all those cuff link flicking bankers who, in their collective creative genius, had led their various firms to the financial abyss, only to be rescued by the average Joe's taxes. The financial world is evidently resistant to any kind of compensation restraint on the pretext that it would then be unable to attract the sorts of bright young things that it needs to succeed.<br /><br />I might be inclined to greater sympathy for these executives and their precious bonuses if the same kind of thinking was extended to the ranks of the workers. Why am I not surprised that it does not. While these poor executives are unable to function without the bonus carrot dangling before their noses, the workers (the ones that actually do the work) are subjected to pay freezes or are simply discarded as being an unnecessary expense. The workers, it seems, should be grateful for the slightest crumb that is tossed their way. Methinks the executives could benefit from the same treatment. If they don't want to, I am totally convinced that there are plenty of others equally capable of performing the job for a normal salary.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-36896455776599525722009-09-23T18:53:00.001-05:002009-09-23T18:53:42.772-05:00Reviews are inThe first reviews of Oppression Bitter are in and are favourable. I have been offered actual money for more. Proved acceptable to someone who doesn't normally drink beer. Not too.bitter but with interesting flavour. Can't complain about that. <br>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryAylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-18153220356653881842009-09-19T08:14:00.004-05:002009-09-19T09:55:51.041-05:00Living in communityYou could say that the community college image took a bit of a pasting this week from the combination of a new commedy, Community, on NBC and a lengthy expose of its students struggling with remedial classes in the Tribune. Although the TV show was less about the college than its clueless, venal inhabitants, the producers would never have set the show in a "real" college, although they could find some, Chicago State comes to mind, that would easily qualify. Within the opening minute, the community college's students are identified as losers, drop-outs, divorcees and old people; the lone faculty member in the show (English as it happens) is a drunken wastrel (at least I don't keep open wine bottles on the desk), seemingly prepared to trade exam answers for a decent car - there's a thought... It was quite funny at points, though overall it appeared to have been written in a bit of a rush by teenagers.<br /><br />The community college shares something in common with the Catholic church's view of the afterlife in that both have purgatory. In the latter, as I divined from reading Dante's book on the subject (Incidentally, I found the books to be increasingly less interesting as one progressed from the Inferno to Paradiso.) the soul spends an apparently unlimited amount of time having the sins purged away using methods unlikely to be found at a spa or even a rehab clinic. <br /><br />The community college version of purgatory is the more earthly nightmare known as remedial math. In remedial classes, the students have their ambitions agonizingly licked away by the flames of the hot coals of the math placement test. For some, this experience may last an eternity; falling short consigns one to the dustbin of the remedial math classes that do not generate any college credit. For many, the razor blade must seem like a tempting alternative. The article in the paper showed a tearful student celebrating her passing the placement test after hiring a tutor and all-night cramming. Wait a minute: the student's name is Stacey Wolf and she was in my chemistry class in fall 2005! Four years on she was still bashing away trying to pass this math test in order to begin the nursing program. I remember Stacey. I would characterize her as a bright student, cheerful, hard-working and enthusiastic, not by any stretch of the imagination the "loser" that the image generated by struggling with math at community college engenders.<br /><br />Two questions come to mind. Is the vast army of shades clanking their chains in the 156 sections (that's about 4,000 people give or take) of the various remedial math classes on offer at COD the fault of the community college? Secondly, is too much emphasis placed on the need to pass these math classes in the first place? The second may sound sacrilegious, particularly coming from a practitioner of the physical sciences. <br /><br />In answer to the first, the fault, if fault it is, lies not with the college but with the high school system that sends its charges out into the college world woefully unprepared to succeed. We can say the same about the high school's preparation for any of the sciences; the standards are just not up to snuff. They say it is not the raw material; students enter the high school system with the same abilities as those from other parts of the civilized globe. They leave it trailing by some margin. What transpired (or not) during those four years to cause the deficiency? Perhaps it has something to do with the teachers? Here is rich irony: I am qualified to teach the teachers, but unqualified to teach the high-school students. In terms of technical content, a person may become a "science" teacher by taking one term of an introductory level community college chemistry class. That seems somehow amiss. <br /><br />Maybe there is something wrong with the premises that everyone can succeed in math and that everyone must go to college these days. While doubtless a university degree is a good preparation for a successful career, surely it cannot be that this is the future for everyone. For many, their successful career will revolve around relatively unskilled jobs for which no university education is required. Is there not a little disingenuity in establishing unncessarily elevated qualifications for jobs these days (BS in business management to serve at McDonalds for instance)? So why encourage people who are fundamentally unsuited to the task to waste their time in the fruitless pursuit of university education? Is this not driven, at least in part, by the slightly underhand urge of institutions to boost their enrollments and grow in importance?<br /><br />At least in Illinois, part of the problem is the need to pass a college-level algebra class in order to meet the general education requirements of even just an associate's degree in the arts. Is this justified? I am quite confident that millions of people are leading meaningful, successful, fulfilling careers who could not begin to solve a pair of simultaneous equations; people who would be reduced to gibbering ruins at the very mention of the dreaded letters "x" and "y." I am one of the lucky ones that delights in all manifestation of the simultaneous equation; I have never had a fear of it. I admit to falling short in appreciating fully how x's and y's spell death to many. Yet I know someone who does. Quite well in fact. In all other aspects she is intelligent and accomplished. Yet to her, the math placement test imbues greater foreboding than the prospect of childbirth; it looms as an insurmountable barrier to the completion of a degree. Even to a math lover this doesn't seem entirely right. Meanwhile the college corridors groan with the sound of remedial math students' suffering; and the bookstore shelves bend under the weight of piles of expensive math books. A tidy profit for some.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-15660336410916385392009-09-16T18:34:00.004-05:002009-09-18T08:25:50.069-05:00Butter to the bread<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXab_tLZMSTuTt9gRqK5BRi3GuDtdgg0x9WafmQdQ42saHT82sigZ-4bbVxNi3-Vx4JJFQkdnBSixccCOU4iJLxYV_WPGxDbcoW9yqJcd0M-LTn6CxitVJUUff4rGdacQAy45OY7vA9Z4/s1600-h/ragged+hand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 138px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXab_tLZMSTuTt9gRqK5BRi3GuDtdgg0x9WafmQdQ42saHT82sigZ-4bbVxNi3-Vx4JJFQkdnBSixccCOU4iJLxYV_WPGxDbcoW9yqJcd0M-LTn6CxitVJUUff4rGdacQAy45OY7vA9Z4/s200/ragged+hand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382214720660591602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Saturday was a busy day at Ragged Hand brewery, as the brewing crew, known locally as Dulcie and Aylwin, nimbly shuttled between the bottling plant and the labelling plant, dealing with their first two production batches. In truth, it must be stated that the bottling and labelling plants are about two feet apart in a small corner of the Raintree kitchen. Nonetheless they were as busy as bees in bringing forth their own nectar. The Oppression Bitter had finished its two-week carbonation stint in bottle. One was nervously cracked (there are so many things one can worry about in brewing that make it a perfect hobby for a hypochondriac) with a satisfying exhalation indicating that, indeed, carbonation had been successful. The taste was pleasingly similar to that of an English bitter and, if I had been offered the same in a boozer, I would not have been disappointed. The second batch, a weightier, hoppier double IPA style is now doing its stint in the bottle. A sneak preview from the residue in the bottling bucket was, frankly, of aphrodisiacal proportion. Maybe this brewing thing isn't that hard after all.<br /><br />It is that time of year, with the sun all-too-quickly lowering in the west when it is once again to venture forth to the cinema to catch a moving picture show. We generally eschew those fancy megaplexes, where it is necessary to park about half a mile from the entrance and navigate one's way through pullulating crowds of disaffected youth, in favour of the homely, downtown familiarity of The Glen, Glen Ellyn's sole contribution to culture. It may well have the worst projection system, the creakiest seats and the stickiest floors, but it is welcoming and intimate, and one can park easily on Glen Ellyn's deserted streets, which are reminiscent of what Naperville once was before it was turned into an outdoor shopping mall. Is there some happy medium to be achieved between those extremes of commercial success and failure? What of it, The Glen lives on, and we enjoyed watching Julie and Julia there on Saturday night.<br /><br />The film must rank as one of the most feel-good American films of recent vintage and beautifully void of vulgarity, special effects, loudness and all the other nastiness that commercial film makers seem to think are essential components of modern entertainment. It contains the stories set apart by decades of one iconic foodie (Julia) whose restless energy in her postwar life as the wife of a diplomat drove into cooking and a modern blogger (Julie) who is inspired by the former. Julia was driven to write a book that would teach American women how to cook French food, which was something of an unknown quantity back then. For all the abuse the English take from the Yanks regarding the quality of their cuisine, I am quite confident that American cuisine is just as bad, only in larger quantities. Tater-tot casserole anyone? Julia's part of the film maps out the legendary book's lengthy conception. Decades later, Julie takes on the challenge of repeating all the recipes in the book in 365 days and blogs about them setting up one of the many contrasts between life back then and now. As both an aspiring author and (occasional) blogger I found resonance with both characters. Although the characters are given about equal weight in the film, on an absolute scale of importance, Julia towers above Julie. Julie wonders, as I wonder, as should every blogger with any sense of self-appraisal wonder, if what she is doing really matters. <br /><br />There is of course no such doubt about the importance of Julia's book. Of course, for most women today, it would do little more than feature as a piece of decoration carefully placed in the vast unused wasteland of their "gourmet" kitchen. For many, the inability to cook is worn as a badge of honour, as if the noble art is somehow beneath them, something that poor people have to do to survive. Dulcie should know form having to deal with them in the building of their nauseatingly excessive residences. Gordon Ramsay in one of the "F" word series includes the theme of getting women back in the kitchen; it received some stick for being chauvinistic. Fortunately, Dulcie knows, as Aylwin all-too-well appreciates, that a well-prepared meal ranks as the highest token of love. Pity the idiots, another Julie, that don't get it.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-35583165000468694852009-09-11T08:05:00.000-05:002009-09-11T08:04:47.161-05:00Latin hysteriaIt's F1, it's Monza, it's Fisi in a Ferrari. Dreams can still come true in motor racing. It's closing the curtain on the European season. My last Sunday breakfast with But, Vet, Alo and co. These are the things occupying the SSCP's mind of a Friday. Must not forget to go to class. <br>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryAylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-81696111819783092052009-09-09T17:40:00.001-05:002009-09-09T17:40:19.210-05:00Crackberry bloggerI have learned that I can compose posts using my Crackberry. If only I had something to say...<br>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryAylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-53728858129578180302009-09-09T17:39:00.002-05:002009-09-09T18:39:15.501-05:00Summer breakSo I checked in recently to see with astonishment that no posts were forthcoming in the entire month of August. I suppose if F1 can take four weeks off during the summer then the SSCP can be so excused. It is not as if nothing was happening or no ideas were coming to mind. Far from it. But for whatever reason they never quite translated into the written word. I think I have observed previously how some are seemingly capable of daily rants on almost any topic; and in many cases one really rather wishes they weren't. Perhaps with the coming and going of Labor Day and the lengthening of the evening, my hand will turn once more to the keyboard and the entertainment of my legion followers.<br /><br />This summer was quite a bit different from last in many ways. How quickly issues come and go. Casting one's mind back to Dulcie and Aylwin's Big Beer Adventure across the endless, sweeping vistas of the west, following on the heels of Lewis and Clark and learning more of their epic adventure and complex characters, the central issue was the energy "crisis." The steepling price of petrol, we were told, was a result of mushrooming demand for energy in China and other emerging economies. Cufflink-flashing investment gurus confidently predicted the price of oil would continue its skyward arc. Speculation had nothing to do with it of course. The energy crisis was closely followed by the food crisis and soon pictures of the starving populace holding empty bowls were making the front pages. All this, we were told, was due to the unreasonable demands for biofuels pushing up the prices of grain. It had nothing to do with speculation of course. Almost before I had time to design the wind turbine to mount on the Raintree roof, the crises evaporated amidst the spectacular disintegration of the financial markets - which had nothing to do with speculation of course.<br /><br />Barely a squeak has been heard about energy or off-shore drilling since; the starving millions must have their food again; the $200 barrel of oil got closer to $20. On top of that, the unusually mild summer in many parts may have many wondering if this global warming thing is real after all. More on that down the road perhaps.<br /><br />The issue du jour this summer has been healthcare reform. I have my opinions on that, as any Super Savvy Cyber Professor should. As I await the return of my computer from the grave, I may share them.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-59367462564787549232009-07-29T15:14:00.002-05:002009-07-29T15:49:41.523-05:00Going net-zero quite net outlayYou can tell there is something of a lull today as I am offering up a second item in the space of less than two hours. I have been weighed down with a certain guilt that I haven't been entertaining my readers at quite the frequency with which they have become accustomed. I came across a nice little article last week in the Tribune about a "net-zero" house in Chicago. For the uninitiated, a net-zero house is one that in energy does just what it says: consumes no more energy than it produces, and may in favourable circumstances be a net producer. Cool n'est ce pas? Needless to say the house is suitably architecturally stimulating and also quite expensive - about $1.6 MM for a modest (according to the single occupier) 2,675 square feet. Compared to the vulgar monstrosities of excess that Dulcie provides for her well-mortgaged clients it is modest. I have heard couples wailing at the prospect of 5,800 square feet (8 bathrooms if you please) just not being enough these days.<br /><br />The energy generating sections include solar panels (of course) and geothermal. There are green rooves (roofs in this country; I guess we could have a debate about that, Firefox none too happy with my word selection), things where stuff is growing to provide insulation and do its little bit for global warming. Inside there is energy-efficient lighting (of course), no plasma TVs, radiant flooring and air recirculation. Just for grins there is also a "gray water" system that diverts the washing machine water into the lavs.<br /><br />It's all very lovely and would that I were a 44 year-old pharmacist (is that why so many students want to get into pharmacy?) able to afford its spendours. Would that we all could. The question is, is this a realistic vision for the future of housing? We are still waiting for the cost of solar to decrease relative to other energy sources. Will it ever? Would photovoltaics ever be workable in an apartment building where the surface area to volume ratio is a lot smaller? Meanwhile let our architects indulge our energy-conscious, well-heeled brethren. Far better that than the odious piles now losing their value by the million.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-17343558922188874232009-07-29T14:06:00.002-05:002009-07-29T14:31:13.161-05:00The lost tribologists of ArgonneI received the grim news that tomorrow marks the last of our "casual Thursdays," which can only mean one thing and that is summer is coming to an end. Yet one feels that it has hardly started. I wanted to spend a bit of time visiting my student interns in their various environments; last Friday I high-tailed it down to Bloomington Normal to see the students at Illinois State; yesterday I went to visit Ellen Briggs at Argonne. A slight thrill of nostalgia as I entered once more through the visitor center, three long summers have I spent there, but not three long winters thankfully. <br /><br />I discovered that Ellen was working with a group involved in developing oil additives. Her project was looking at using naturally occurring minerals as lubricants, rather than the conventional synthetics, the idea being that whatever comes from nature can return to it without harming it. One may argue the validity of that argument I suspect. In any event, she showed me round her little kingdom, wherein she makes various tribological measurements of scuffing and friction and so on. Tribology is one of those subjects (apparently unfamiliar to Firefox since it is questioning my spelling) that I have always been vaguely aware of but not known anything about. I joked to Ellen that from the sound it smacks of something anthropological. It turns out I'm not alone in that thought. Later I learned from the group leader that the DoE bureaucrats told him to find a new name in funding proposals because there were always questions about why DoE should be funding Native American research.<br /><br />I noted that the stimulus has struck home at Argonne because the roads were all asunder in a massive resurfacing project, the first since about 1957 I wouldn't wonder.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-44483095549743393922009-07-15T12:59:00.004-05:002009-07-15T14:11:57.333-05:00My own private VentouxOne rite of summer that occupies three precious weeks in July, as Dulcie has unavoidably become nauseatingly familiar with, is the Tour de France, or more simply "Le Tour." All other televisual activities, F1 excluded, become subordinate to the daily couple of hours devoted to a stage on VS (the station formerly known as OLN). So conditioned has she become to watching Le Tour, or in her case more like enduring it, that she expresses surprise when "bicycles" (Le Tour in Dulcie-speak) are not on. "It's a rest day." I might reply patronizingly.<br /><br />The odd thing about my fascination with this event is that I don't ride a bicycle; I don't even like them; I'm even slightly afraid of being on one. As a student at Oxford I was one of the few without one. A bicycle was central in a long-since-forgotten brush with the long arm of the law. Yet every summer, on that first Saturday in July, I am geared for the prologue (Stage 1). This year it started in Monaco, with the finish using the same piece of harbor front that the F1 cars pound round at nerve-tingling speed. The slightly more sedate pace of the bikers allows the viewer to observe that there actually is a swimming pool on that series of bends. Not that the bike riders are any the less brave than an F1 driver: watch these chaps descend off one of the high peaks down a series of hairpins to get a measure of their cojones on the bike.<br /><br />There are two things to savor when following Le Tour. One is the complex, fascinating, convoluted, fluid strategy playing off the often opposing ambitions of individuals and the teams they ride for. In general a team has one leader to whom the other team members sacrifice their own personal goals, except on those days when opportunity might present itself. There are Tour super-objectives (winning the Maillot Jaune, the green jersey etc.); and there are daily stage objectives. Only a chosen few have any hope in the first category; but in the second one, history shows that almost anyone can have his day and define a career in the process. The second reason for watching is simply the scenery; all that hyperbole about the beauty of France is annoyingly true: ancient ruins, beautiful churches, beyond-quaint villages, vistas of yellow, jagged peaks and on and on.<br /><br />So you might be thinking that I'm one of those Johnny-come-lately Lance worshipers. In truth, like John the Baptist, I came before him - not exactly making a way though. For I have been an addict since turning on to watch Indurain (then 5-time winner) crack in the mountains in 1996. A youthful Jan Ullrich finished second that year, and won it the next, the first of many it was thought. That was until a certain cancer survivor arrived on the scene in 1999, with neither fanfare nor expectation. In the prologue that year, Lance rode like a "man on a mission" as Phil Liggett described his awesome display in seizing yellow on his very first day back. Paul Sherwen later gushed "He has come from the gates of death to ride like a Trojan at the head of the Tour de France." Paul should know; he knew him back when. Much more thoroughly justified hyperbole has followed. Whatever might be said of Lance's less-than-amiable personality, his achievements stand alone in the sporting pantheon.<br /><br />So as I head out for my own modest constitutionals, the images of Le Tour accompany me. The hill up to Thornhill on the west side of the Morton Arboretum (the Arb in Dulcie and Aylwin speak) becomes my own private Mont Ventoux, that terrifying moonscape peak in Provence (toujours Provence n'est ce pas?) that faces the riders on the penultimate stage this year. The Ventoux will make or break the contenders or so it is hoped: the ultimate stage on the penultimate day. Upon that stony slope decades ago Tommy Simpson collapsed and died, his alleged last words being "Get me back on the bloody bike." These chaps are driven. Sometimes too far, as Simpson was one of the early victims of performance enhancing drugs. It's not just a modern problem.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893724621360177695.post-90838946230158411152009-06-29T14:39:00.004-05:002009-06-29T16:26:43.219-05:00Cap and tradeSome time Thursday or Friday I received an anxious e-mail from somebody at Environment Illinois urging me to call my congressman (woman in my case) to exhort them to vote for the new emissions bill. As it happens, my phone call was not needed because the The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) (aka the Waxman-Markey bill) was passed by a slender margin of 219 - 212. Onto the Senate it now trundles to what end we shall see. I doubt if my phone call would have had much impact as my congresswoman voted against it, and I doubt that my little voice would have swayed her. So, while she is all for earmarks for green fuel depots in Naperville (many thanks for that), Ms. Biggert is less persuaded by the proposed legislation for curbing carbon emissions on a national scale.<br /><br />There are several questions, at least a couple being exactly what is a cap and trade system and will it have any effect? I have long been a bit mystified by the whole concept of cap and trade and how it could be preferable to a more direct approach such as simply setting limits and/or taxing emissions. As I understand it, there are annual targets of emissions established on a downward slope with the goal of achieving some ambitious reduction (17 % by 2020). Individual producers will be able to exceed the limits only by purchasing credits, which, in order for the system to function effectively, will be sold by those who have reduced their emissions below the established standards. Thus the cap and trade establishes economic incentives for industries to lower their carbon emissions. At the same time it accommodates those that can't or won't reduce their emissions, but a cost is imposed upon them. <br /><br />There are already some free-market versions of the scheme floating about. For example, we have our very own <a href="http://www.chicagoclimateexchange.com/content.jsf?id=821">Chicago Climate Exchange</a>, which is a voluntary exchange operating a cap and trade system for greenhouse gases. According to their website, CCX emitting Members make a voluntary but legally binding commitment to meet annual GHG emission reduction targets. Those who reduce below the targets have surplus allowances to sell or bank; those who emit above the targets comply by purchasing contracts. The contracts are priced by the metric ton of CO2. The data show that the price has fluctuated wildly over the past few years (data begin in 2004) from a floor of about $1 a ton to a high of over $7 last summer. The bursting of the energy crisis bubble appears to have caused a similar deflation of the contract price. Good for polluters I guess. So why would anyone want to join an exchange like this? A review of the members reveals some interesting things. One brewery, New Belgium has signed up; beer drinking environmentalists should now flock to Fat Tire. There are just two coal mines, but quite a list of electric power producers. The longest list comprises participant members that represent "offset aggregators." They sport names like Carbon Green, LLC, Carbon Logic, LLC, Climate Bridge Ltd. and so on. I suppose these companies have all sprung up with the intent to make money on the regulation of emissions. If they invested last year at $7, then things are not looking good currently. On the free market, it is a polluter's world right now. And even then, there is no compunction to participate.<br /><br />Critics have claimed that the cap and trade system will lead to an increase in energy prices. This of course is true if the sources of energy are carbon-based; and since some 80% of the current energy is carbon-based there is little likelihood of the sources changing to non-carbon sources any time soon. They say this is a bad thing for the economy and that prices will rise for consumers. Undoubtedly, yet that surely has to be the outcome if the objective of reducing emissions is to be accomplished at all. There are two alternatives: one, to replace all the carbon-based fuels by alternatives (or renewable carbon fuels); two, reduce consumption (drastically) of carbon fuels.<br /><br />The critics further argue that the price increase will drive industries overseas to locations where energy is cheaper. It's a fair point, but industries have been becoming globalized for decades now for cost reasons, notably labor and materials.<br /><br />The biggest question is whether or not the current legislation will be effective in reducing emissions. Many are skeptical. For one thing, the bill could not have passed without a host of compromises (the essence of politics being compromise - or quid pro quo). To that end, accommodations have been made for the coal industry. Since coal is both the most important fuel in electricity production and the most carbon-intense, there is little chance of significant progress unless there is a radical change in the coal business. While saying the right things by environmentalists, the new king of Camelot has not forgotten the lobbyists for the coal producers. Mattoon may again be the host for the once-and-Futuregen project for "clean coal." The talk is all about carbon sequestration and how it will revolutionize the coal industry, transforming it into an environmental friend. Even if it is technically successful, questions about cost and time required to implement on a national scale remain. I cannot believe it can be implemented without a massive price increase being incurred. How could it be otherwise? Oh, and wasn't there recent approval of that environmentally devastating coal mining technique that involves blowing the tops of the hills to expose the coal?<br /><br />Meanwhile, I'll start hoarding CO2 credits.Aylwin Forbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16051125260705797284noreply@blogger.com0