OgBlog.net

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

FLOCKS OF PARROTS LIVING WILD IN SAN FRANCISCO

Most of us think of parrots as tropical birds, living in the jungles of S. America. And, if course, they are that. But there is also a flock of at least 160 living on Telegraph Hill in the City by the Bay. The birds are cherry-headed conures and the flock is thriving in the mild climate with abundant food, including wild plants, domestics, and feeders. To learn more, check out the website, where you can find FAQ, info about the documentary film, and other information.

Posted by Earl on 08/17 at 10:28 AM
Science • Comments •

COMPUTER GAMING AND IDENTITY…...

(Full Disclosure: I do not play computer games)

The computer gaming industry is large and growing. Millions of people around the world have alternative identities in the virtual world of their games. THE NEW ATLANTIS, “is the most instructive and insightful publication examining the many facets of the relationship between technology and culture” (Hat Tip: Mars Hill Audio) and the summer issue has a major article on the remarkable penetration of computer gaming into our culture (and others).

Video games are now a permanent part of mainstream culture, one to which people devote a considerable amount of time. According to the ESA, the average adult woman gamer plays 7.4 hours per week and the average adult man gamer, 7.6 hours. Other analysts have reported even higher rates of play: International technology analysts at IDC estimated that the average gamer (not the heavy user) spends about two and one half hours gaming every day—17.5 hours per week. And gamers have racked up years of play. In a recent speech, Douglas Lowenstein, the president of the ESA, noted that recent consumer research reports found that “66 percent of gamers between [the ages of] 18 and 25 have been playing games for at least ten years, and nearly 100 percent of gamers between 12 and 17 have been playing since [the age of] 2.” The average gamer, Lowenstein noted, has been playing for 9.5 years, and gamers older than 18 average 12 years of play. How are they making time for games? More than half claim that video game play comes largely at the expense of television viewing.

Posted by Earl on 08/17 at 07:11 AM
Miscellany • Comments •

Friday, August 12, 2005

BACK FROM THE DEAD

The “Lord God Bird” (Ivory-billed Woodpecker) has been extinct for over half a century.

Posted by Earl on 08/12 at 07:13 AM
Science • News • Comments •

Thursday, August 11, 2005

SORRY TO SHARE MY NAME WITH AN EX-PRESIDENT!

James Earl Carter famously promised that if we elected him, then as President, he would “never lie to you”. But, as George Will points out in his column, since being involuntarily retired from the nation’s highest office, ol’ Jimmy can hardly stop!

As one who lived through the 1970s, and was rescued from that horror by the Presidency of Ronald Wilson Reagan, I can only say that if it weren’t for Habitat for Humanity, Jimmy Carter’s ex-Presidency would be as worthless and devoid of accomplishment as his Presidency. It makes me glad he doesn’t go by his middle name…. What a loser!

(Hat Tip: Jonah on The Corner)

Posted by Earl on 08/11 at 01:46 PM
Politics • Comments •

VENEZUELA HAS JUST HAD MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS…..

And PUBLIUS PUNDIT (aka A.M. Mora y Leon) is keeping us informed. The opposition to President Hugo Chavez had called for a boycott of the election, and first reports had the % of eligible voters participating somewhere between 8% and 50%, among numerous reports of fraud and manipulation of the voting machines. LATER REPORTING confirmed the higher participation figures, but also suggested that opporsition candidates MAY have done much better than expected. The official Venezuelan electoral board was delaying the official announcement, leading to widespread suspicion that the numbers were being tampered with. REPORTS on Thursday deepened the cynicism among the citizenry, and the disillusionment now includes the far Left (calling themselves Tupamaros, after the Uruguayan gangs of the ‘70s), from which come accusations that Chavez is trying to establish a one-party state…..duh.

Anyhow, this makes me very sad because after living in VENEZUELA for a couple of years back when it was relatively successful and free, it’s tough to see another South American country with abundant natural resources and an educated population succumb to tyranny and the resultant poverty and chaos.

(Hat Tip: Instapundit)

Posted by Earl on 08/11 at 10:52 AM
Politics • Venezuela • Comments •

IN CASE YOU HAVE EVER WANTED TO DRINK YOUR OWN URINE…..

There’s technology to help!! Actually, this is the King of Water Purification Systems - developed for the space program, but now being deployed around the world, as well.

NASA desperately needs this technology. Water makes for a heavy - and expensive - payload. Over the past five years, the agency has spent $60 million delivering potable water to the International Space Station on the space shuttle (6 tons at a cost of about $40,000 per gallon). Deploying the Water Recovery System on the ISS will cut the volume of water hauled into space by two-thirds and free up enough room on the shuttle for four more astronauts.

The ARTICLE reveals more than you actually want to know about earlier space flights, as well as the fact that the Space Shuttle treats liquid waste the same way that the railroads did (and still do in some countries)!!

But, what’s inspiring is the “down-to-earth” uses of the technology, and how people’s lives are being improved. This is something to remind folk who say that the space program is a complete waste—although I do tend to wonder if we might not work on this kind of thing even absent the millions we’ve put in to the Shuttle….....anyhow:

Water Security has already begun putting the technology to work in areas where freshwater is in short supply. This summer, global relief agency Concern for Kids deployed a foot-powered purification unit in northern Iraq. Robert and Roni Anderson, Concern’s founders, loaded it onto the back of a Toyota pickup and drove to dozens of villages to purify their groundwater. The unit pumps out 5 gallons per minute, and a single day of purification can sustain a village of 5,000 people for a month. The cost is about 3 cents a gallon. Iraqi water companies, by comparison, charge $4 a gallon.

It’s not just war-torn regions that are short on potable water. After the tsunami hit Indonesia last December, much of the freshwater supply became contaminated with salt water and toxic street runoff. Kearney says the Water Security system is perfectly capable of working in such natural-disaster scenarios. After all, the technology was originally tested on an open sewage ditch in Jakarta and produced water that met Environmental Protection Agency standards.

READ the whole thing.

(Hat Tip: Arts and Letters Daily, one of my favorite sites.)

Posted by Earl on 08/11 at 10:44 AM
Science • Comments •

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

HOW MUCH GOOD WILL (AND INCREASED SAFETY) WILL ISRAEL GET FROM EXPELLING JEWS FROM GAZA?

Funny you should ask. The answer has already been provided - by experience, and by explicit statements.

Others are more specific. At a mass rally in Gaza City last Thursday, about 10,000 Palestinian Arabs danced, sang, and chanted, “Today Gaza, tomorrow Jerusalem.” The commander of Gaza’s Popular Resistance Committees, Jamal Abu Samhadaneh announced Sunday, “We will move our cells to the West Bank” and warned “The withdrawal will not be complete without the West Bank and Jerusalem.” The Palestinian Authority’s Ahmed Qurei also asserts, “Our march will stop only in Jerusalem.”

“Know your enemy” has long been recognized as a prerequisite to avoiding defeat. The U.S. had better be learning vicariously, or we’ll be inviting an up-close-and-personal lesson of our own! READ the whole thing.

(Hat Tip: Jonah at The Corner)

Posted by Earl on 08/10 at 01:43 PM
Politics • International • Comments •

Page 2 of 5 pages < 1 2 3 4 > Last »

About

Categories

Monthly Archives

Search

Join Og's Mailing List