Thursday, April 23
Augh! Forgot it’s column night. Damn. Well, best dash something off then. Alas, did nothing but the usual today – NewsBreak in the morning, writing in the afternoon. Had an interesting story on NewsBreak, though – the Como Zoo had a “Go Green for Gorillas” day, or something like that. They gave the gorillas rice balls wrapped up in paper printed to look like Earth. Our tender, fragile, earth. Which would be excellent with some soy sauce. I imagine the gorillas either ate them right away, crust, mantle and all, or threw them at the heads of people watching, then scrabbled in their hindquarters for more ammunition.
Earth Day passed without much fanfare; Natalie said they did nothing about it in school at all. Either they didn’t push it or she got off the bus and spent the day wandering the streets as part of an 8-year-old gang, writing graffiti on houses with washable chalk. Apparently they don’t do much for the event – aside from last year’s Earth Day play, which was all about listening to the Wisdom of the Animals, who know Something Is Wrong and advised the audience to put up windmills.
Interesting how the chimps and apes are the closest to us, but they have practically nothing to teach us. If anyone has a clue, it’s them; they’re out there swinging around in the wild, but they couldn’t begin to tell you what’s going on. In the Terminator future, does Skynet have some strange emotional attachment to floppy disks with MS-DOs on them?
Sorry; I know, stupid rote hardy-har heresy. I just don’t like monkeys. As for Earth Day, I don’t mind the planting-trees-and-picking-up-trash part – the kids did that last Saturday, which is good. Labor and sweat on behalf of a cleaner city. I put in eight trees last year, so I’m holding up my end. At least the arboreal part. But I’ll have none of that YOUR FUTURE IS BLEAK stuff; I grew up with that, and it was a dark cloud hanging six inches over my head for most of my childhood. If it wasn’t ecocatastrophe that would leave us all living underground or stuck in a small smelly apartment with Edward G. Robinson pedaling a bike for ten minutes of lights, it was nukes, or that “Late Great Planet Earth” stuff that really depressed me. I suppose some kids thought it would be keen to be around when God called the game on account of sin, but I thought it was a raw deal. Can I just have a life down here first ? What’s the hurry? You have all the time in the world. You invented it.
She was excited to tell me that they’ve discovered two new planets, and they could have water. I told her I thought there were many planets out there like ours, and I thought some of them had life. Maybe someday she’d learn they had heard a radio signal from one of them. Your future is great.
Unless you buy a shower curtain that turns against you if your shower exceeds the limits a good citizen should observe. Says the artist:
My approach to design can sometimes appear shockingly radical but I have got different reasons to legitimise that.
Odd, but that comes as a no grand surprise.
An alarm clock is not what we can call a pleasurable object. It is often even painful to be awoken by it. However it is a necessary object, which regulates our lives and the society.
It’s an object whose parameters we choose to set, or rather has parameters dictated by other choices we make. There is some free will involved. Societal regulation does not require a National Bureau of Alarm Clock Synchronization, although the day is young.
That’s what I call the “design for pain and for our own good”.
Can’t wait until you bring out a line of underwear.
Some of my designs seem to constrain people, acting like an alarm clock, awaking people to the consciousness of their behaviour and giving them limits.
These people are keen to impose “limits” on all sorts of behaviors of which they disapprove, but are usually the first to insist they’re being limited now in the most vague and nebulous way. Outside of artistic and sexual freedom, there’s usually not a limit they’ve met that they didn’t like; if guaranteed artistic and sexual freedom, there’s not an auxillary freedom they currently possess they wouldn’t insist you give up for the cause.
People often need an external signal to behave more.
You know, I think she’s on to something here, something so profound it has eluded centuries of civilized societies. Although she could devise a more elegant objective than “behave more.”
In France the government added thousands of new radars on the roads to fight excessive speed. And it worked: there are far less people killed on the roads of France today.
Interesting side note: “French motorists have up to now regularly flouted road laws, particularly those limiting speeds to 130 kilometres (80 miles) an hour on toll motorways and to 110 or 90 kilometres an hour on highways away from residential areas.” Also, this produced a grim bark of amusement: “In Britain, for instance, several “anti-radar” groups have sprung up, most notably the “Motorists Against Detection”, who have claimed responsibility for putting several cameras out of service. One unit in Northern Ireland was even blown up.”
She concludes:
I call it “design of threat and punishment” and I use it as an educational tool.
So did Albert Speer, in his own way. Ah, but how did I get on THAT. I have work to do.
So we won’t be installing those here. Or regretting the civilized delight of a long hot shower. I have, however, installed CFLs in spots where I hate changing bulbs. Natalie noticed right away: did you use the curly bulbs? Awwww. The light gives the basement tunnel the appeal of a Max Payne level, but you get used to it.
Later today: Curious Lucre; Lance Lawson up at buzz.mn around 9 AM. Yes, it’s late. I forgot. And now it’s late the column is only partly done. As I said when I began: Augh!
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Here’s a link on the nasty ol’ ozone hole causing more problems: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a5EI1Y8ZCL9Y&refer=latin_america
I have one answer for those who want me to voluntarily take a short cold shower and suffer from the dim light of those awful curly bulbs : Las Vegas. The energy I don’t use will be shipped directly down the lines to Vegas, where it will illuminate one of the five gajillion bulbs on the strip for about five seconds. Clean them up first, then come talk to me. I’ll be in the shower.
While visiting the in-laws in Manila last summer, we went to a great big shopping mall, which had a planetarium. Outside the planetarium were a number of science exhibits, including an environmental-themed multimedia presentation. One of the topics of the presentation was, “climate change, also known as global warming, also known as global cooling.” That, I figured, about covered it. The lesson, restated, seemed to be, “No matter what happens, climate change is an environmental catastrophe, and it’s our (meaning your) fault! We (meaning you) have to CHANGE!” Stand by for orders.
@Spud, that is just perfect…so the hole in the Ozone layer is helping COOL the planet in some places. I give this whole eco-awareness fad (and yes, it’s a damn fad) another 5-10 years before it falls out of favor. I may ruffle a few favors with this, but please bear with me…this all seems like the big AIDS scare in the 80’s. Think about it, we had celebrities wearing red ribbons to show they “care” (reducing carbon footprints in this day & age), scientists claiming that EVERYONE was at risk (scientist now with the “climate change” language), concerts and festivals for AIDS research (“Living Green” concert last year anyone). Now fast forward a few years and where’s the red ribbons, where’s the concerts, where’s the “outrage”. What it comes down to is that there is a “cause celebre” that becomes the in-thing to support, it’s trendy, it’s hip…and in a few years it’s forgotten.
I just think human beings have an infinite capacity for scaring themselves over nothing. Kind of like monkeys.
Craig: The power plants that power inefficient incandescents produce orders of magnitude more mercury than than is in ALL the CFLs in the US – combined.
I had no idea CFL’s used different power plants than (than) incandescents. How does that work?
In defense of fat people [yes, waaay off topic, but that's what Comments are for, I'll get to religion and politics in a second]:
Fat has a high carbon content, by being fat, we [yes, I am a gentleman of proportion] are saving the planet by sequestering carbon from entering the environment.
BTW, I plastic pouch poach my whales over burning tires.
And, CFLs are a Goth conspiracy to make us all look like vampires under their wan light.
SeanF: They don’t of course.
And the other part the paper leaves out is that AFAIK, total electric use still mostly goes up and to the right, i.e. we’re quite clever about coming up with new ways to use electricity all the time (USB powered cup warmers!, etc). So the total amount of Mercury probably doesn’t go down. But the bulbs still are not a significant source of it, either way.
And I too get a kick out of the CFL breakage part of that sheet… I can still remember chasing a blob of mercury around on the lab bench at school too. Tain’t dead yet, erk.
“the mercury in CFL’s is not a very good reason not to use them.
Craig”
Well it’s not my main reason. They are ugly light. I am also not fond of the whole “bandwagon effect” of this issue. I do like LEDs and I think that technology has way more promise. They use even less energy. The light is still a little weird so I use them for flashlights mostly but there is no reason they couldn’t come up with the right light color balance.
Hey, folks–global warming is real! I live in Northern NJ, and scientists tell me that the place where I’m sitting used to be under a 1-mile thick sheet of ice! It ain’t here now, so the planet must have heated up to a sufficient extent to MELT a ONE-MILE THICK SHEET OF ICE.
Hold me…I’m scared…
Yes, the future will be great, except the oddity of hearing employees say,
“Boss, I can’t come to work–I’ve been trapped by my shower!”
The lesson, restated, seemed to be, “No matter what happens, climate change is an environmental catastrophe, and it’s our (meaning your) fault! — Old RPM Daddy
According to the Enlightened Activists at the South Park Earth Day Brainwashing Festival (“Terrance & Philip: Behind the Blow” episode, Season 5), it was actually (Jedi mind-trick hand gestures and Scientology Tone 40 Voice):
“The Planet is Dying,
and the Republicans are Responsible;
It’s All The Republicans’ Fault,
The Republicans are to blame;
It’s All The Republicans’ Fault,
The Republicans are to blame;
It’s All The Republicans’ Fault,
The Republicans are to blame…”
We (meaning you) have to CHANGE!” — Old RPM Daddy
Into the New Green Soviet Man. URRA LYSENKO!
Stand by for orders. — Old RPM Daddy
From Your Betters.
Ernie Davis wrote:
We had all sorts of smart people on Wall Street making computer models for the last 30 years. I know, I was in graduate school in the late 1980’s when the Wall Street firms came around raiding all the Physics and Math PhD candidates to go work for them writing computer models. Those models were guesses (as we’ve seen once again). Educated guesses, perhaps, but guesses nonetheless.
So, Ernie, it sounds like all the smart ones went to Wall Street and wrote all those theories that blasted a hole in our economic system. And the ones who weren’t that bright came up with Global Warming.
Bob
The designer of the inflating curtain-pushers, I suspect, came up with the idea one night after watching Porky’s.
Hmmm I think we’ve reached a consensus here, people!
juanito–
“Go rouge Col. Austin. Go ROUGE.”
Unless you’re encouraging the ol’ $6M Bubba to adjust his makeup when he’s in drag, I think you meant to type “go rogue”…
Funny either way.
[Mister Chatterbox voice]
Dontcha think? Ooooor don’t you?
I’d also remind what seems to be js’ consensus of something: yes, by all means be skeptical. A grand social experiment like this country(and representative democracy is, compared to the vast majority of human history–and pre-history, as far as we can tell–still an experiment) can’t have too much informed skepticism. But–and it’s a big but(no, not Bertha, nor any of her sisters)–a scientist who _doesn’t_ change his views when the data contradicts an established theory is no scientist. That’s how the scientific method works(bearing in mind Carl Sagan’s dictum that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, of course). It’s not religion, folks. Knee-jerk dismissal of what every reputable scientist in a field believes because that view has changed as more data comes in over time is childish and, seems to me, willfully ignorant.
Sorry to rant, but there’s a strain of Know-Nothingism running through this country’s history that seems to have gathered steam again in the last 20-25 years, and it’s just as much “fashionable thinking” as anything on the “looney left”.
boblipton wrote:
So, Ernie, it sounds like all the smart ones went to Wall Street and wrote all those theories that blasted a hole in our economic system. And the ones who weren’t that bright came up with Global Warming.
Well, they were all pretty bright, they both found a way to get paid for playing with computer models rather than, you know, working. Mega-bonuses for the Wall street crowd and NSF grants to study global warming for the rest.
And it was more the poor/greedy/most-indebted ones that ditched academia for Wall Street.
I have one of those “Zen” alarm clocks. Rather stident and awful, it’s nice and soothing. And I sleep much better knowing I won’t be woken by A SCREAMING MACHINE.
@ Stephanie –AWESOME. It begs the question…why isn’t there massive outrage over the flagrant lightbuld decadence in Vegas? I have to suffer
eternal scoldings but Vegas gets a pass?
To All Readers Concerned: I too, hate the light that the curly bulbs put out.
But lo! GE, Philips, and Sylvania all make ’soft white’ CFL bulbs now. They are lovely and ROUND on the outside, and curly, like those special curly french -er Freedom Fries — on the inside. They put out a wonderful, warm, soft, comforting white light.
I installed them in batches (ceiling floods, lamps, etc) throughout my new house last year. They have already paid for themselves in electricity savings. And nome of them has died or, thank goodness, broken.
“THERE”S countries”??? ‘Can’t help it, James. Grammar matters! There ARE countries-please-not in front of the child!!!