We have designed a civilization based on science and technology and at the same time arranged things so that almost no one understands anything at all about science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. - Carl Sagan
Wow. What can I say, but wow. For the last 15 years, I have been following the Stanley Cup playoffs with an eagle eye. I have my favorite teams, but I enjoy watching all of them. What's not to like? The culmination of decades of hard work and dedication take the form of breakneck speed, breathtaking grace, and brute physical force. The globe's hockey elite migrate to North America for a shot at hockey's ultimate prize after a lifetime of sacrifice in the form of early morning practices, conditioning and training, and a long trail of worn out hockey equipment. In my relatively short time of observation, I have had my share of memorable moments - Ray Bourque finally gets a cup after 20+ hall-of-fame years, Patrick Roy's triple overtime cup-clinching shutout, Anaheim takes it in 2007 after I predicted as such January without having seen them play. But on Friday night, the bar was raised significantly. The Pittsburgh Penguins became one of my favorite teams years ago albeit for idiotic reasons - cool uniforms, great mascot, and the two main characters from one of my favorite novels (Christine by Stephen King - I have an autgraphed copy) were both big fans. I was also always impressed by Jaromir Jagr. Now, the acquisition of my own place nearly a decade ago enabled the purchase of the Center Ice package on Dish Network and greatly increased my ability to follow the sport. Since that time I estimate that I have seen roughly 80% of the games Pittsburgh has played. I was watching when Mario returned from retirement to register a goal and an assist in his first game back. I was watching when they drafted Sidney Crosby as he was proclaimed The Next One. I was watching when they finished with the second worst record in the league just four years ago. I watched Crosby break record after record for Youngest NHL player to..... I watched as the organization almost went under financially and was within a hair's breadth of moving to Kansas City. I watched the 2008 Heritage Classic outdoor game when Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal in a shootout amid falling snow. I watched them rise, fall, and rise again as deals were made, plans were changed, and the team was winnowed into the efficient machinery it is today. And I watched it all happen inside Mellon Arena, the league's oldest(1961) and lowest capacity arena. On Friday night, they were one win from the cup for the first time in 17 years. The dedication of my self and all other penguin fans was rewarded in dramatic fashion as Sid & Co. did what many deemed impossible - beating the Detroit Red Wings at The Joe with the Stanley Cup on the line. This was one of the most intense games I have ever seen. With the score kept low and the ice flooded with offensive threats, at no point could either team afford to relax. To top it all off, the enduring images of the game will be two ulcer-inducing saves made by Fleury as the buzzer sounded. The wings never let up, but neither did he. Redemption. Hollywood couldn't write a story like this. To be continued.
On a side note, anyone reading this who doesn't know me might have reason to conclude that the Pittsburgh Penguins are my favorite NHL team, but they would be very wrong. That designation belongs, of course, to the Chicago Blackhawks. And don't think that their success this season was unnoticed. My eyes are on them as always, and I fully expect to be writing an entry celebrating their cup in a few years. The Penguins have a special place in my heart, but make no mistake - my dedication to the 'hawks is infinitely greater. Should Pittsburgh, or any other team, become the final obstacle to a cup for Chicago, I would eagerly and joyfully root for their thorough destruction. Until then, I'll have alot of basking to do until October.
Typically when reading science-nonfiction it is best to seek out the more recent publications on account of the ever-increasing information and constantly revised theories. But sometimes you will encounter an amazing intellect with an incredible ability to explain and communicate information that it is worth checking out their entire catalog - such was Carl Sagan. While reading his final work, Billions and Billions, I ran across these interesting points. Keep in mind this was written in 1996:
The design of a new, safe, fast, fuel-efficient, clean greenhouse-responsible class of autos will spur many new technologies, and make a great deal of money for those with a technological edge. The greatest danger for the American automobile industry is that if it resists too long, the necessary new technology will be provided and patented by foreign competition. Detroit has a particular and parochial motivation to develop new greenhouse-responsible cars: its survival.
When greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere, the Earth’s climate does not respond instantaneously. Instead it seems to take about a century for two-thirds of the total effect to be felt. Thus, even if we stopped all CO2 and other emissions tomorrow, the greenhouse effects would continue to build until the next century. This is a powerful reason to mistrust the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to the problem - it may be profoundly dangerous.
If we are to prevent this climate danger from working its worst, we will simply all have to work together, and for a long time. The principal obstacle is, of course, inertia, resistance to change - huge, worldwide, interlocking industrial, economic, and political establishments all beholden to fossil fuels, when fossil fuels are the problem. In the U.S., as the evidence for the seriousness of global warming mounts, the political will to do something about it seems to be shriveling.
Considering how contentious the scientific community is, it is notable that not a single paper is offered claiming that the depletion of the ozone layer or global warming are snares and delusions or that there was always a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, or that global warming will be considerably less than the estimated 1-4 degrees C for a doubling in the carbon dioxide abundance. The rewards for finding that there is no ozone depletion or that global warming is insignificant are very high. There are many powerful and wealthy industries and individuals that would benefit if only such contentions were true. But as the programs of scientific meetings indicate, this is probably a forlorn hope.
(This one is my favorite.) The ten hottest years since 1860 have all occurred in the 1980’s and early 90’s - despite the cooling of the Earth from the 1991 explosion of the Philippine volcano Mount Pinatubo, which introduced 20-30 megatons of sulfur dioxide and aerosols into the atmosphere. Those materials completely circled the Earth in about three months. After only two months, they had covered about 40% of the Earth’s surface. This was the second most violent volcanic eruption this century. If the calculations are correct and there are no more big volcanic explosions in the near future, by the end of the 90’s the upward trend should reassert itself. It has: 1995 was marginally the hottest year on record.
Today, we are between ice ages, in what’s called an interglacial interval. The typical temperature difference for the whole world between an ice age and an interglacial interval is only 3°-6°C or 5°-11°F. This should immediately set alarm bells ringing: a temperature change of only a few degrees can be serious business.
All computer models show that global warming should be accompanied by significant increases in bad weather - severe drought inland, severe storm systems and flooding near the coasts, both much hotter and colder weather locally, all driven by a relatively modest incerement in the average planetary temperature. This is why extreme cold weather in, say, Detroit in January is not the telling refutation of global warming that some newspaper editorial pages pretend.
It's fascinating to get an early perspective on a scientific problem that will be haunting us for generations. Sagan's analysis was eerily accurate. How disturbing that the same obstacles to action still exist today as did 13 years ago. And the clock is ticking.
Currently The Reader By Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Habich, David Kross, Susanne Lothar see related
.....and why you shouldn't play the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 25.
The Philadelphia Flyers return to home ice down 3-2 in a 7-game series against Pittsburgh. They quickly build a 3-0 lead through the first period and a half. They're dominating every aspect of the game, they've got the crowd, they've got the momentum, and a game 7 seems imminent. Then this happens:
The announcer had it exactly right. 14 seconds later, the Penguins scored their first goal. After 2 periods, the game was tied at 3. Flyers momentum evaporated, and they never scored again. Terrible lack of discipline on the part of Carcillo, a seasoned fighter, who could not resist the matchup against the smaller Talbot. Unfortunately, it probably cost Philadelphia the game/ended their season. The Penguins will be planning for the next round while the Flyers are reserving tee times because of a 15 second bout of fisticuffs in a crucial time of the game.
And when was the last time the Penguins erased a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff game? A year ago to the day. April 25, 2008 against the New York Rangers.
What have they, what have they, what have they done to deserve this?
An actual news story or an article from The Onion?
Pet Shop Boys spurn rescue shelter remix
LONDON (AFP) – Electro-pop pioneers Pet Shop Boys turned down a request from animal rights group PETA Europe to adopt a more creature-friendly name, the band revealed on their website Thursday.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals suggested Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe rename themselves Rescue Shelter Boys to draw attention to the plight of animals raised in pet shops.
"Dear Neil and Chris, You have many loyal fans of the Pet Shop Boys here at PETA. Will you please consider changing your name from the Pet Shop Boys to the Rescue Shelter Boys?" pleaded a letter to the group from Yvonne Taylor, PETA's special projects manager.
"Most dogs and cats sold in pet shops are sourced from profit-hungry breeders who may have bred them in cramped, filthy conditions.
"For every bird who reaches a pet shop, three others have died during capture, confinement and transportation.
"Hamsters, mice and other rodents are often bred by the pet shops themselves, leading to inbreeding, genetic weaknesses, physical deformities and behavioral disorders.
"By agreeing to change your name to the Rescue Shelter Boys, you would help raise awareness about the cruelty involved in the pet trade and encourage your millions of fans to consider giving a home to an abandoned or unwanted animal from an animal shelter. So, what do you say?"
The pair, whose hits include "West End Girls", It's a Sin" and "Suburbia" declined the request, claiming they were "unable to agree," but said it "raises an issue worth thinking about."
Sadly, this is an actual news story. PETA has its share of noble ideas and intentions, but its combination of completely ineffective marketing, public relations, and methods always seems to make the organization more of a punchline than a means of social change. This doesn't help.
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