“We are the 1%”

Provocative responses to the Occupy Chicago protests from the Chicago Board of Trade:

•  Signs on office windows proudly declaring: “We are the 1 %“

•  Papers were ‘dumped’ on the protesters from above: the pages were applications to McDonald’s Restaurant.

•  Leaflets were dropped on protesters. Some of the salient details were:

•  “We are Wall Street. It is our job to make money.”
• “Go ahead and continue to take us down, but you’re only going to hurt yourselves. What’s going to happen when we can’t find jobs on the Street anymore? Guess what: We’re going to take yours.”
• “We aren’t dinosaurs. We are smarter and more vicious than that, and we are going to survive.”

Do they think they’re the only ones who work hard? And what do they actually do? It seems to me that the entire stock market is built on a nebulous foundation.

Inequity in the distribution of wealth is the basis for countless problems in human society and it irks me that people are making light of it: the messages from the Chicago Board of Trade are full of arrogance and egocentricity. And perhaps a trace of fear.

 

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

Wildlife authorities and Police are in the midst of hunting approximately fifty exotic animals around Zanesville, Ohio. The owner of the animals — Terry Thompson — seems to have released the animals and then taken his own life.

Unfortunately, most of the animals are being killed, because the effectiveness of tranquilizers is unpredictable; particularly for large animals.

The animals on Thompson’s property included (but is not limited to):  lions, tigers, grizzly bears, leopards, wolves, cheetahs, giraffes, and camels.

The Photo was found at the Washington Post’s Site (Tony Dejak/AP)

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Quantum levitation

Check out this ultra cool quantum locking and levitation video (from Tel-Aviv University) about a superconductor frozen with liquid nitrogen that becomes ‘locked’ in a magnetic field (I saw this first on i09.com, which is a pretty cool site):

 

Skiing on Saturn’s moon

Planning your next skiing vacation?

Look no further…I’ve found a place that’s out of this world!

A scientist (Paul Schenk, of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston Texas), has discovered that Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, is having ongoing snow flurries that make for perfect powder skiing conditions. I can visualize a science fiction story incorporating this moon…

See the article at www.world-science.net

photo credit: NASA/ Processing by Paul Schenk 

 

Occupy Vancouver

The Occupy Wall Street movement arrived in Vancouver today (Occupy Vancouver), which is appropriate; apparently, the germ of the movement began here, in an Adbuster magazine article. I truly hope this is a movement that kindles change. A select few have been getting richer at the expense of the middle-class, who are the backbone of the economy. The ‘experiment’ that gave rich people and businesses tax breaks, thereby supposedly creating more employment for the rest of us, is a dismal failure. The tax breaks have occurred at the same time that social programs have been cut. The buying power of the average worker has decreased, and there are fewer lucrative, full-time positions and a murky future for numerous young people. Many new jobs created are part-time and do not include the benefits (e.g.: pensions) that were achieved by workers in the past.

I have very little faith in our current government, which is a right-wing, rich-person’s party that appears to be attempting to erode the trade unions that helped raise working standards to the level we have enjoyed for decades (believe me, I’m not a gung-ho unionist; unions are just another level of bureaucracy, but they are on the side of the working person, and they appear to be losing power).

The current movement — which, as usual, has caught the imagination of young people — is in its infancy (and we are seeing this movement on social media as it spreads its infant-wings). I worry about the current situation getting worse, leading to revolution (the V for Vendetta mask on the poster kinda scares me a bit…). I hope things don’t get drastic, and we find a peaceful solution to inequity.

The wealth of the world should be shared among all the citizens of the world.

 

A Difference Engine

John Graham-Cumming, a computer programmer and author, has launched Plan 28, a project to build a working Analytical  Engine, which was first proposed by Charles Babbage in 1837. Babbage’s Analytical Engine (AE) design — to be constructed of brass and iron — included a mill (which is in essence a central processing unit), and the store, which is an expandable memory unit. The AE was to be run with programs stored on punch cards, which could be also be used as data input devices. Within the mill, Babbage proposed to manipulate operations with barrels, which were to be cylinders with protruding studs. Data transfer was to occur from the store to the mill where the data would be processed and then transferred back to the store. Babbage also planned for a printer and plotter as output devices. Punch cards would  have been used as external data storage. The AE would have been powered by steam and the machine would be approximately the size of a steam locomotive.

 

With Folded Hands

I just read a provocative article about robots taking over jobs, which leads to serious issues of job-loss due to technological obsolescence…

According to the article, the jobs most likely to be affected first are; Pharmacists, Lawyers/Paralegals, Drivers, Store Clerks, Soldiers, Babysitters, Rescuers, and Sportswriters/Reporters.

(Photo from article)

Note: the post title refers to a novella by Jack Williamson

 

‘Frankengrains’

Some diet information to ponder…

Dr. William Davis (the Medical Director of the heart disease prevention program, Track Your Plaque) is strongly suggesting that we stop eating any — and all — wheat products. He claims that wheat products increase blood sugars more than just about any other foods. His patients that have stopped eating wheat products have seen the following improvements (among others):

• Weight loss
• Relief from acid reflux
• Increased energy
• Emotional stability
• Deeper sleep
• Relief from arthritis
• Improved cholesterol values
• Reduced blood pressure

Dr. Davis makes some provocative statements, including: “Whole grains are healthier than white flour products —just as filtered cigarettes are healthier than unfiltered cigarettes.” But he goes slightly further when explaining the improvement his patients obtained: “And it was all due to eliminating this thing being sold to us called wheat.” (My italics).

We are not, he insists, eating wheat: it is a genetically engineered ‘dwarf’ form of wheat, which is very different than the wheat that farmer’s grew a generation ago. Wheat used to grow  ~ 140 cm tall, but the new form only grows to ~ 60 cm. Dr. Davis says there is a genetic difference in the modified wheat  that causes problems (including addiction and overeating): and it is in all the wheat products we eat (including ‘organic’).

For more information: he has a website, an Interview at Macleans.ca,  and he has written a book, Wheat Belly: Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health

 

Is the moon moving away from us?

photo credit: © Luc Viatour

If you’ve ever thought that the moon is further away every day, you’re correct! (And incredibly observant).

The moon’s tidal influence on Earth is causing its orbital radius to increase at a rate of approximately 3.8 centimeters a year.

The side of the Earth that faces the moon is influenced by a greater gravitational pull (due to its proximity) than the center of the planet; conversely, the side of the Earth facing away from the moon is influenced by a lesser gravitational pull than the center of the planet. The result is a stretched, oblong shape to the Earth, but the bulge closer to the moon dominates; and, as a result, a portion of the Earth’s angular momentum is transferred to the moon, thereby increasing its orbital radius.

Theoretical models have predicted that the moon’s orbit will stabilize at a radius approximately 1.6 times the current orbit (of ~385,000 km) in fifteen billion years (give or take a decade here and there).  By then, Earth’s day will be fifty-five hours long (the time it will take the moon to orbit the Earth, known as its period).

 

Google Doodle

I’m sure everyone has seen it, but below is a YouTube video of the Google Doodle (to the music of The Addams Family) celebrating what would have been Jim Henson’s 75th birthday. I think the only thing missing in the video is that you can make the short red guy eat the tall green guy (but don’t worry, the green dude comes back, though he looks a bit nervous)…

Jim Henson Google Doodle