JB Say What?

Another dead-on column by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times entitled Anxious in America. His makes the point that the economic problems we are having as a country will soon supplant Iraq as the major issue in the current campaign, and basically says that nation building should begin at home.

My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working.

And then:

That’s us. [The economy is] at a 34-year low. And digging out of this hole is what the next election has to be about and is going to be about — even if it is interrupted by a terrorist attack or an outbreak of war or peace in Iraq. We need nation-building at home, and we cannot wait another year to get started. Vote for the candidate who you think will do that best. Nothing else matters.

As is often the case, Friedman is right. What I am having difficult imagining, however, is a politician with the guts to say something along these lines:

“I know you are concerned about terrorism. Our government has made a promise that the events of September 11 will not happen again. I intend to keep that promise. As your president, I will work tirelessly to ensure the safety of all Americans.

“All countries of the world, however, are fighting an even larger foe—global warming. It is now time to take our heads out of the sand, and carefully evaluate what is now not debatable. The world is warming up, and it is due in large part because of what we are doing. We need renewable sources of energy. We need to cap CO2 emissions. We need to tackle this problem quickly and decisively.

“And we need to do more. We need to make certain that America remains a country worth protecting. Our economy is failing. We are no longer the world leader in manufacturing, and the main driving force of our economy is consumer spending. The recent economic events clearly show us that this is not sustainable in the long term. If we do not correct these problems, the negative effects on this country will far exceed any that would result from terrorists.

“The beauty is that we can attack both of these problems together. By making the US the world’s leader in alternative energy research and development, we can create billions of dollars of new investments, as well as reaching the long term goal of alleviating our dependence on natural resources from other countries, some of whom may not have the best interests of our country in mind. We can change our infrastructure to accommodate more public transportation.

“This won’t be easy. It will require a lot of tough choices. It will require strong investments in education at all levels. It will require a fundamental change in the way our government currently operates. It will require sacrifices by all of us, both in terms of our time and our pocketbooks.

“How will we accomplish these goals? I have a number of ideas in mind. But I am not arrogant enough to believe that mine are the only ones that work. We need to get the best minds on the planet together to think clearly and deeply about what needs to be done. As politicians, we need to sit down together and work with determination to achieve a workable plan that will allow us to the accomplish the goals that we have laid out.

“And all of us, my fellow Americans, need to stop listening to the chattering heads on cable TV. Let us no longer seek out only those voices that agree with our own. Let us challenge ourselves to critically evaluate all the information that is out there. Let us agree that there are common problems that need to be solved, and let us have wisdom to work together to find the best way to make America a vibrant, tolerant, and strong force well into the next century.”

It could happen, right?

Politics, Science | No Comments »

As everyone who is anyone knows, the iPhone 3G is slated to be released on July 11. This is an event that I’ve been waiting for since the release of the original iPhone almost exactly 1 year ago. I won’t be one of those get-a-lifers queuing overnight in front of the Apple store on the first day, but I will be getting one within the first week.

The reason why I mention all this is by way of noting that my LG phone croaked this week. Just three weeks short of iDay, the screen just went dead. Obviously, I wasn’t going to go back to Verizon and get a new phone (and a new 2 year contract). I checked on-line for used phones, and was going to that route, when I decided to check whether anyone in my lab had an old Verizon phone I could borrow for the three weeks.

The good news was that one of them had an old Razr phone. The great news was that it was pink. That’s right. Pink. I’m a baldy beardo on the north side of 50 carrying around a pink Razr phone. There aren’t many guys in my position who can carry this off, and I am proud to be one of them.

The kicker is that I was able to fix my LG phone by simply taking out the battery and replacing it. I could go back to using that phone, but I’m comfortable enough with my masculinity and my temporary Razr to wait out the days until the iPhone is in the pocket of my tactical pants.

I will mention in passing, however, that I’ve started dotting my “i’s” with hearts and I can’t stop singing songs from High School Musical.

Humor, Technology | No Comments »

I realize that it is not for me to say, but I think I’ve done a pretty good job as a parent. More often than not, my children were given food and shelter, and when their services weren’t required at home, they were allowed to attend school. But the truest test is that I can proudly claim that most of my children are reasonably well-adjusted given their genetic background, and only a few them have any felony convictions. But apparently that is not enough for these ungrateful wretches. They have recently voiced their disappointment in me in no uncertain terms.

My crime? I went to bed in mid-third quarter of game 4 of the recent Celtics vs. Lakers Finals. At the time (which was around 11:00 PM), the Celtics, who were leading the series 2-1, were 18 points behind the Lakers. I have seen and played in many basketball games throughout my life, and calling on this extensive experience—and given the fact that the Celtics were showing no signs that they were going to close the gap—I realized that it was going to be foolhardy to make it another late night when work beckoned in a few hours.

Funny thing. I was wrong. The Celtics staged an historic comeback and won the game. I can’t say that I was exceptionally proud of myself for bailing when I did, and I truly regretted not seeing the whole game. My remorse, however, was nothing compared to the abuse heaped upon me by my children. One went so far as disowning me (incidentally, its the child who no longer requires tuition bills to be paid). It got so bad that during the clinching game 6 of the series, with Boston leading by 30 points, I received simultaneous text messages warning me not to go to bed. One of these ingrates had the nerve to call after the final buzzer just to make sure I was awake.

I am not someone to take challenges to my sports credibility lightly. I won’t go into historic details, but suffice it so say that if I had spent even a fraction of the time that I devoted to playing and watching sports during my early years to my studies, I would have been smart enough to raise children that worship me like a god. Instead, I’ve raised a passel of nasty guttersnipes. But I digress. I decided in order to restore my authority as a lover of sports, drastic measures were necessary. It turns out that the impending surgery of one of golfing buddies provided the opportunity for redemption. Because he was not going to be able to golf for the next six weeks, we decided to get in six weeks of golf in a weekend. We therefore planned to play 36 holes on Saturday, and I would join him for the final 18 of 36 on Sunday.

Saturday started well, and I shot about my average for the first 18 holes. We traveled to the next course, had some lunch, and arrived ready to go for the second 18. I hit my first drive right down the fairway. My second shot was a little off, and I ended up with a easy bunker shot. I won’t bother you with the details, but it took another 6 shots to get my ball in the hole. Sad to say, that may have been the highlight of the round, as I shot the worst score for 18 holes that I have had in over 15 years.

In reconstructing the debacle, I realized that I wasn’t physically tired. There were no aches or pains. And I had played 36 holes in a day many times before with no discernible difference between the first and last hole. But it is now obvious that I no longer have the mental capacity to concentrate for that length of time on golf. Usually, I can reconstruct how I butchered each hole after the round. Not this time (come to think of that may the only blessing that came from this horror show).

I don’t know what is worse: the fact that I’m obviously no longer the sportsman that I thought I was or that the kids were right.

Humor, Sports | 1 Comment »

A very strange story appeared in the Daily Record in Scotland, entitled “Woman sat dead in front of TV for 42 years.” I am quoting most of the story here because it is short.

The remains of a woman have been found sitting in front of her TV - 42 years after she was reported missing.

Hedviga Golik, who was born in 1924, had apparently made herself a cup of tea before sitting in her favourite armchair in front of her black and white television.

Croatian police said she was last seen by neighbours in 1966, when she would have been 42 years old.

Her neighbours thought she had moved out of her flat in the capital, Zagreb.

But she was found by police and bailiffs who had broken in to help the authorities establish who owned the flat.

A police spokesman said: “So far, we have no idea how it is possible that someone officially reported missing so long ago was not found before in the same apartment she used to live in.

“When officers went there, they said it was like stepping into a place frozen in time.

“The cup she had been drinking tea from was still on a table next to the chair she had been sitting in and the house was full of things no one had seen for decades. Nothing had been disturbed for decades, even though there were more than a few cobwebs in there.”

Neighbours were shocked by the discovery.

Jadranka Markic was nine when Hedviga “vanished”.

She said: “I still remember her. She was a quiet woman who kept herself to herself but was polite. We all thought that she had just moved out and gone to live with relatives.”

I am generally not a cynical person, but I am skeptical. After all, that is what I get paid to do. So let’s just say that there are a number of bits here that make me a little suspicious about the veracity of the story.

1. That is one long lease

It’s been a while since I had dealings with a landlord, but I imagine someone patient enough to wait 42 years for a rent payment is a rare bird indeed.

On the other hand, I suppose she could have owned the apartment, and therefore didn’t have a landlord breathing down what was left of her neck. If that was the case, then it seems obvious that she would have real estate taxes that were way past due. Say what you will about the efficiency of bureaucracies, but one thing the all do well is collect taxes.

And don’t get me started with electric and other utility bills.

2. Contradictions

The police claim that there was a missing person report filed, and yet the neighbors just assumed she moved to Zagreb. If there was a missing person report, who made it? If it was family, and assuming they were too stupid to even look for her in her last known address, they surely would have gone back to clean out her place when she was formally declared dead, presumably sometime earlier than 42 years after the fact.

3. The smell

Not to put too fine a point on this, but decomposing bodies tend to be noticed by neighbors. The smell is pervasive and unforgettable. So we’re to believe that no one in the first month or so smelled anything amiss? I will concede that I don’t know anything about Croatian cuisine, so suppose it is possible that the odor might have mistaken for a pungent dinner. Then again, I suspect that “Decomposition Surprise” is not normal fare in that country.

In short, this story smells as bad as the subject of the story itself.

Thanks to Howard for the pointer.

General, Health, Humor | 2 Comments »

I love my TiVo. For me, it is a truly transformative technology. Why? Well, first is the notion of time-shifting. I don’t know the last time I watched a non-sporting event on TV in real time. When I tell people I know that The Daily Show and Colbert Report are among the two best shows on TV, they often reply that it is on too late for them. As it happens, I do know exactly when the shows are broadcast because I am just that kind of guy, but with TiVo, I don’t really have to know. For me, it is on whenever I want it to be on.

The second reason for loving TiVo is the ability zap uninteresting content, whether it is commercials or a really boring story arc. I have developed a twitch in my right thumb that operates whenever I am confronted by less than interesting content. No matter where I am, I reflexively start hitting the 30-second skip button. This has proved embarassing when I find myself at someone else’s TiVo-free household and am forced to watch regular TV. It gets downright pathological as the thumb starts spasming when I’m in boring conversations at cocktail parties. But that’s another story.

This weekend I was faced with a sporting dilemma. I was playing golf late in the day on Sunday, and was therefore going to miss the final round of the US Open. So I set up the TiVo to record the final round, which was scheduled to end at 9PM eastern time. As it turns out, that was precisely the starting time of game 5 of the NBA finals (Celtics vs. Lakers), so I set that game up to TiVo.

My goal was to maintain a news blackout until I could watch the Open on the TiVo, which is no mean feat given that I was on a golf course. Fortunately, I arrived home ignorant as to the outcome, and proceeded to watch 5 hours of golf coverage in a little over an hour. The end result was a dramatic finish as Tiger sunk a birdie on the final hole to get himself and his recovering left knee into the a playoff scheduled for Monday (more on that in a bit). By that time, we were well into the Celtics game, so I fired up the TiVo and watched that game in its entirety, catching up to the live broadcast by 11 PM or so. While the result wasn’t what I wished for, it was a perfect example of why TiVo rocks.

Now that I was on a roll, I set up the TiVo to record the 18-hole US Open playoff on Monday, which was taking place on ESPN from 12-5:30. As with the day before, I came home having shielded myself from all news about the match, so I was in my naturally ignorant state when I started watching. I got through the first 8 holes or so, and then realized that the good-for-nothing bozos at ESPN switched their coverage to another one of their channels (I assume ESPN2). Switching in midstream is one thing that TiVo just can’t do. So I had to find out who won the Open the way other working stiffs had to find out–by watching selected news highlights.

It was a sad day to be sure, but don’t cry for me Argentina. The British Open is coming up next month, and I’m sure I’ll be in love with my TiVo again.

Entertainment, Humor, Sports, Technology | No Comments »

Perhaps one of the more interesting YouTube videos are those that involved the combination of Mentos® and Diet Coke®. All you need to do is to go to YouTube and search for those foodstuffs, and you’ll find hundreds of them. For my money, this is the best one.

Although I suspect that there have been some experimentation in Physics classrooms, the science behind this phenomenon has never been rigorously explored. It was thought that perhaps it was the interaction of the covering of the candy with the acidity of the liquid that produced the gushers. The notion of enucleation sites—basically the bumpy surface of the Mento—produced a large number of carbon dioxide bubbles that therefore led to the explosion of the Diet Coke.

A recent paper in the Journal of American Physics now explores this issue directly.

Here’s what they did:

We examined the reaction between Diet Coke and samples of Mint Mentos, Fruit Mentos, a mixture of Dawn Dishwashing detergent and water, playground sand, table salt, rock salt, Wint-o-Green Lifesavers, a mixture of baking soda and water, liquid gum arabic, and molecular sieve beads (typically found in sorption pumps). We also examined the reaction between Mint Mentos and Diet Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Classic, Caffeine Free Coca-Cola Classic, seltzer water, seltzer water with potassium benzoate added, seltzer water with aspartame added, tonic water, and diet tonic water. All of the samples were at room temperature unless otherwise indicated.

We constructed a bottle stand (roughly 10° off vertical) to prevent the bottles from tipping over and the liquid from falling back into the bottle. To maintain consistency we also constructed a tube to fit over the mouth of the bottle and a delivery mechanism for the solid materials. The liquid samples, including the gum arabic, the baking soda–water mixture, and the Dawn–water mixture, were administered by injection using a 10 ml syringe with an 18-gauge needle. The seltzer water and tonic water trials were 1 l bottles with 16 g of Mint Mentos added; all other trials were 30 g of solid material added to a 2 l bottle of liquid. The intensity of the reaction was determined by measuring the mass of the bottle using a double pan balance before and after the reaction to determine the mass lost in the reaction and by measuring the horizontal distance traveled by the soda’s spray. To ensure accurate distance measurements and to extract other useful information, a video was made of the reactions, and marker flags were placed every half foot on the level ground, up to a distance of 25 ft away from the bottle stand. For the Mint Mentos and baking soda trials, the pH of the Diet Coke before and after the reaction was measured by a pH meter with a two point calibration.

Sample morphology was determined by imaging the samples in an environmental scanning electron microscope (SEM).4 The uncoated samples were imaged in low vacuum mode. Quantitative surface roughness measurements were made with a Digital Instruments contact mode atomic force microscope (AFM) with Nanoscope III control electronics and a J type scanner with a 24 µm z range. For each of the samples a (10 µm)2 image was acquired, and the root-mean-square (rms) roughness in the image was reported. This size image was chosen for comparison between samples because the samples imaged were quite rough and had significant curvature, and images larger than 100 square µm often resulted in a z range larger than 24 µm.

For the temperature dependent trials one of the Diet Coke 2 l bottles was refrigerated for several hours prior to the experiment. The other bottles were heated in a water bath on a hot plate for approximately 10–20 min. Prior to heating, the bottle was opened to release some of the internal pressure, and then closed again. This procedure prevented the explosion of the bottle during heating, but the early release of some of the carbon dioxide gas may have caused these reactions to be less explosive than the cold or room temperature trials.

They basically found that it is indeed the rough surface of the Mentos, combined with the speed with which it falls to the bottom of the bottle, that causes the eruption of brown yuckiness. What is not to love about this study? This is just a perfect example of why science matters.

Science, Technology | No Comments »

Another very clever Daily Show take on current events, this time a look at how we can improve the lot of Guantanamo detainees.

Humor, Politics | No Comments »

I am not too proud to say that I have developed the uncanny ability of giving the illusion of being helpful. This has served me in good stead over the years, as I have made it my goal to avoid any tasks that would require removing myself from my comfort zone, which is usually watching sports on TV or doing crossword puzzles. There comes a time, however, when whatever remnants of common decency that were taught to me by my parents and mentors force me to volunteer to help out my fellow humans. It is as those key points of inflection in my life that my gift truly comes to the fore.

As an example, we were down in DC this weekend for my sister-in-law’s 25th anniversary party. We arrived early to help out with the setup for the party. More precisely, my wife arrived to help with the setup with the party. I arrived to with the goal of eating some Indian food, drinking some excellent wine, and working the puzzle page of The Washington Post. As some point, however, it became evident that I needed to give some effort to the undertaking. I volunteered to help pick out the wines for the party. What a terrible task, having to go to one of the better wine stores in the district and shop for wines that I wasn’t going to have to pay for. I struggled through.

I figured I was done for the day, and only had to worry about not completely dehydrating in the sauna-like conditions. It soon became evident that my Sudoku reverie was going to be broken by the need to once again appear to be helpful. This time, I was asked to help out by putting together the music for the evening’s party. So let’s get this straight. I get to sit in front of a computer and screen 3500 songs to find the ones that I like and then put them together into a series of playlists (one for starters, one for dinner, one for dancing, and one for the end of the evening). I got to hear a whole bunch of songs that I haven’t listed to in a long time (or ever for that matter), while everyone else actually did something useful.

The party, as it turns out, was just great. The caterer was fantastic, making life easy on everyone, and the food was out of this world. The hosts were convivial and entertaining, and made everyone feel welcome and that they were an essential part of the celebration. But the really important news is that, as has happened countless times before, my modest contributions were acknowledged well out of proportion to the effort expended.

Humor, Music, Wine | No Comments »

The number one most emailed story in today’s New York Times, is one entitled New Hints Seen That Red Wine May Slow Aging, by Nicholas Wade. This article revisits some of the previous research demonstrating that one of the active ingredients in red wine, resveratrol, has been shown to prolong life in mice. Newer research apparently shows that these effect may occur at far lower doses than those previously reported.

Separately […], a research team led by Tomas A. Prolla and Richard Weindruch, of the University of Wisconsin, reports in the journal PLoS One on Wednesday that resveratrol may be effective in mice and people in much lower doses than previously thought necessary. In earlier studies, like Dr. Auwerx’s of mice on treadmills, the animals were fed such large amounts of resveratrol that to gain equivalent dosages people would have to drink more than 100 bottles of red wine a day.

The Wisconsin scientists used a dose on mice equivalent to just 35 bottles a day. But red wine contains many other resveratrol-like compounds that may also be beneficial. Taking these into account, as well as mice’s higher metabolic rate, a mere four, five-ounce glasses of wine “starts getting close” to the amount of resveratrol they found effective, Dr. Weindruch said.

The bottom line is that the amount of resveratrol in red wine is so tiny that even if this one ingredient is truly related to longevity, one couldn’t possible consume enough wine to gain any benefit along these lines.

The hoohah surrounding this report and others like it is that it can only mean bad things for all of us, but most importantly, me. Most people will not read the fine print and immediately run out and buy up red wine, which will of course result in price increases across the board. That is bad for me and for anyone who enjoys drinking wine because they enjoy drinking wine.

But what is even worse in my mind, is the underlying assumption that scientists are going to be able to isolate a single substance that, once ingested, will have the single desirable effect of lengthening one’s life. This represents but a small subset of the mindset that allows us to think that simple manipulations of our biology by exogenous compounds will cure what ails us. Anyone remember oat bran as a cure for cholesterol? Wilfred Brimley aside, there has never been a single study demonstrating that it has any effect. If you haven’t already, read anything by Michael Pollan to see what a really smart guy thinks about this. His advice “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” is right on point.

People rightly worry about what they put in their bodies. If you’re diabetic, for example, it would be wise to limit the amount of simple carbohydrates and sugars you eat. That said, our bodies are incredibly complex and it is simply folly to think that varying one aspect of our biology will have only one desired outcome—hence the term side effects. As for me, I may indeed choose to suck down 4-5 glasses of wine a night, but if I do so, it won’t be because I need to get a dose of resveratrol. It will be because I’ve turned into a wino.

Food, General, Science, Wine | 1 Comment »

Absolutely lovely op-ed piece in the New York Times today by physicist Brian Greene entitled “Put a Little Science in Your Life.” There are, of course, lots of reasons why science matters. Perhaps even more so in today’s world where certain leaders so determined to ignore evidence and base their decisions on preconveived notions of how the world works. What makes this article special is that 1) it is exceptionally well-written and 2) hits all of the right notes. For example:

But here’s the thing. The reason science really matters runs deeper still. Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional. To be able to think through and grasp explanations — for everything from why the sky is blue to how life formed on earth — not because they are declared dogma but rather because they reveal patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, is one of the most precious of human experiences.

This article passes the ultimate litmus test for excellence: I wish I wrote it.

Science | 1 Comment »