Star Viewing in Florida

Last Saturday evening, I took my 14-year-old, Alastair, star-watching on the shore of Lake Okeechobee. Looking west, we had a large expanse of farming area to our backs, and the nearest sources of light pollution, West, North West, and South West, are roughly 20 miles away.

The view was amazing. After living in Broward, where there is no night sky, seeing the sky in Port St Lucie (PSL) was amazing. I use reference stars to gauge the level of light pollution. Polaris is almost 2nd magnitude, and I can see that one in town from my driveway. (Yeah, no street lights!!!) The other two stars at the other end of the "little dipper" are Beta and Gamma Ursae Minoris (UMi), 2nd and 3rd magnitudes. On a good night in PSL, you can see Beta UMi with averted vision and some knowledge of what you are looking for.

On the lake's shore, we could see so many stars that it took a few moments to identify familiar asterisms. Alastair was blown away. He wanted to bring my friend out to the lake as well. It makes me happy that Al wants to include my lady friend in many of our activities.

Gamma UMi (3rd magnitude) was easily spotted, as were many others. However, I am chagrined to say that I did not have any 4th, 5th, or 6th magnitude reference stars memorized. I am correcting that now.  

 

posted by Y.H.N.

We have Met the Aliens and They are Us!

                One of the more interesting futures would be one in which humanity's search for life in the universe is the cause of the alien civilizations and alien life that we do find.  Let's say earth life begins to spread through the universe at ... oh say 5% of the speed of light. It is an interesting speed in that a light year takes 20 years to cross, roughly a human generation.  New settlements succeed or fail, and at least a few of those that do succeed produce the next wave of interstellar settlement. This is sometimes called, “Crawinization.”

At theses speeds each system settled becomes a genetically isolated population. Through the founder effect, genetic drift, and natural selection, the process of speciation begins. This completely ignores the possibility of engineered selection. Even new arrivals from the mother civilization are either reestablishing a failed effort, and thus starting the clock over, or are encountering an existing population to which, assuming small crew sizes, they can make only a limited genetic contribution.  Some estimates put the time for one species to transform through accumulated mutations into a different species at 2 million years, but in some African fish species as little as 15,000 years. That said each wave of settlement starts with a small population, one genetic choke point after another driving speciation not through time but through distance.

Settlement thus moves as a wave front through the galaxy, but how fast? Upon arrival let’s estimate the time for the daughter civilization to build the population and industrial base to repeat the process is about 500 years.  Some will be faster, some will be slower, but it is the faster that will seize the colonization opportunities.  The mother civilization has a 500-year head start on reaching any settlement target. At 5% of the speed of light this amounts to about 25 light years beyond he daughter settlement.  Beyond that, at least one of the daughter civilizations (assuming many successes) will be closer to any given settlement target, still at 5% of the speed of light. 

Where is this settlement front headed? Sol is about 26,000 light years from the center of the galaxy and in the middle of the galactic habitable zone, an annulus about the disc of the galaxy where stars form and the necessary elements for life are being generated in the deaths of supermassive stars.  A circle of radius 26,000 ly is roughly 160,000 ly in circumference.  The waves of settlement will proceed in both directions and each covering half that path, 80,000 ly and meet on the other side of the galaxy. At 0.05c this takes 1.6 million years, or 80,000 human generations.

As we colonize the galaxy, we are going to take our allied species with us. The producers of food, oxygen, companionship, and even the microbes in our gut. Oh, heck with it. Let’s take all species with us just in case. 

In addition to going through a genetic choke point every 25 generations or so, consider also that we will have full control over our genetic future.  It is difficult to imagine using that freedom to deliberately produce the diversity of say the Star Wars Universe, but what about unintentionally? We need to think about 1.6 million years with small deliberate decisions made in each generation.  In one generation, we eliminate a genetic disease, in the next we ensure our children are just a little more resistant to depressurization than their parents.  How many generations of small deliberate adaptations until vacuum exposure is a survivable experience?  How long till we are as adapted to vacuum as we are currently to the heat of the Australian desert, with vacuum adaptations are just one possible choice. 

What about metabolic needs? These needs drop roughly as the cube root of the scale, a 1/2 sized human takes up 1/8 of the space and food, water, and air resources.  Why stop at 1/2?  How far down could we go and still support human cognition?  What about temporal adaptations? What advantages accrue to a human clade with a clan that metabolizes, moves, and thinks at 1/100^th of normal speed in order to pilot interstellar voyages? To such a human a 500 year voyage is still a grueling 5 subjective years, but not endured on a generation ship.  In the end, different branches of humanity meeting again after thousands of years may be as alien to each other as anything imagined by George Lucas. 

--- posted by Y.H.N.

Paper Models

I like paper models but tend (for personal reasons) to stay away from depictions of weapon systems that were used to kill people. In other words no guns, tanks, and despite their beauty no warships.

That is not to say that I am not willing to work with military models.  My love os ships I can satisfy with Naval Auxillary and  Coast Guard vessels.  The M88 Hercules will get me my tracked vehicle fix.  Logistic vessels and vehicles of all types are all interesting.  In fact, there are four that I really want to find and build.

A quote from "The Great Crusade" by General Dwight D. Eisenhower: "Incidentally, four other pieces of equipment that most senior officers came to regard as among the most vital to our success in Africa and Europe were the bulldozer, the jeep, the 2-1/2 - ton truck and the C-47 airplane."

Let me introduce the D-7 Caterpillar tractor with an installed LeTourneau bulldozer. The bulldozer being the blade on the front of the "Crawler" along with the installed lifting system including overhead cables.

 


The Jeep

Designated as the Willys MB, the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, ​¹⁄₄-ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, G503, or just Jeep. 





The GMC CCKW, "Jimmy", G-508, or "Deuce and a Half"   Among other things this cargo truck formed the backbone of the "Red Ball Express."





C-47 Skytrain or Dakota as used by other nations.  The example below is being used to fly the hump over the Hymalaysa to resupply Chinese forces against the Japanese.









posted by Y.H.N.

CMD script Variables

Window/DOS environment does not require the initialization or declaration of variable types.   The convention is to use lower case names. 

The default value of a variable is an empty string, e.g  "", susceptible to errors like misspelled variable names. 

Variable Assignment
           SET foo=bar             <= Assignment
           echo %foo%             < = output
           

           SET /A  four=2+2 4        "/A" supports arthhmetic operations
           SET                            No arguments, lists all existing variables.


WARNING: SET will always overwrite (clobber) any existing variables. It’s a good idea to verify you aren’t overwriting a system-wide variable when writing a script. A quick ECHO %foo% will confirm that the variable foo isn’t an existing variable. For example, it might be tempting to name a variable “temp”, but, that would change the meaning of the widely used “%TEMP%” environmental varible. DOS includes some “dynamic” environmental variables that behave more like commands. These dynamic varibles include %DATE%, %RANDOM%, and %CD%. It would be a bad idea to overwrite these dynamic variables.

Reading the Value of a Variable





Listing Existing Variables

The SET command with no arguments will list all variables for the current command prompt session. Most of these varaiables will be system-wide environmental variables, like %PATH% or %TEMP%.



Variable Scope (Global vs Local)

By default, variables are global to your entire command prompt session. Call the SETLOCALcommand to make variables local to the scope of your script. After calling SETLOCAL, any variable assignments revert upon calling ENDLOCAL, calling EXIT, or when execution reaches the end of file (EOF) in your script.



Special Variables

There are a few special situations where variables work a bit differently. The arguments passed on the command line to your script are also variables, but, don’t use the %var% syntax. Rather, you read each argument using a single % with a digit 0-9, representing the ordinal position of the argument. You’ll see this same style used later with a hack to create functions/subroutines in batch scripts.

There is also a variable syntax using !, like !var!. This is a special type of situation called delayed expansion. You’ll learn more about delayed expansion in when we discuss conditionals (if/then) and looping.

Command Line Arguments to Your Script

MyScript.bat first dog turtle

%0 is equal to "MyScript.bat" 

%1 is equal to "first"

%2 is equal to "dog"


SHIFT function to move arguments in a list of command-line arguments.


Tricks with Command Line Arguments

Command Line Arguments also support some really useful optional syntax to run quasi-macros on command line arguments that are file paths. These macros are called variable substitution support and can resolve the path, timestamp, or size of file that is a command line argument. The documentation for this super useful feature is a bit hard to find – run ‘FOR /?’ and page to the end of the output.

%~I     I tyhink this removes quotations from path variables

SET myvar=%~I 

%~fI is the full path to the folder of the first command-line argument


%~fsI   references the "short name" of the file


%~dpI is the full path to the parent folder of the first command-line argument.

SET parent=%~dp0 will put the path of the script file in the variable %parent%.

%~nxI      file name and extension of the first command-line argument. 

Can be used to prefix a message with the script’s name, like 

             ECHO %~n0: some message

So end-user knows where the message cam from.  

Some Final Polish



Top of all batch scripts.

SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS
SET me=%~n0            <= Stores name of script.
SET parent=%~dp0  <<== Stored path to script

First makes all script variable local so that no system variables get clobbered. 

ENABLEEXTENSIONS   No idea yet

The second allows messages to be identified by the script name

     example:   ECHO %me%: some message). 

posted by Y.H.N.

Procedure for Identifying Needs.

Procedure for identifying needs.

Nearly all of the advice I read about recovering from Co-Dependency asks the individual to identify their needs, just that, a single sentence.  I will go out on a limb here, but I suspect that persons skilled in identifying their own needs are not the target audience for articles on Co-Dependency. So let’s talk about identifying our needs. Let’s break it down into steps which while not easy are at least actionable.

Let’s start with the fact that if you are reading this it is likely that you are regularly in a state which we shall describe as short of complete bliss. In other words, you spend a lot of your time pissed off, and if you are Co-Dependent it is possible you are having trouble verbalizing your feelings. The reasons range from shame to fear of rejection.  This is where journaling as a tool comes to the front. Your journal is private or should be, and we can talk about boundaries if it is not. In your journal you can get the thoughts out of your head, you can view them objectively without fear of external judgment. The steps below are targeted at those who use journaling as a tool but feel free to adapt to your own toolset.

1)     Write down the angry words.  If you feel yourself beginning to feel shame or guilt about the words, just remind yourself that this is only the first step in a process. You need this raw material in order to be able to express yourself in a more constructive manner.

2)     Identify the emotions contained in the sentences that you have written. If needed, use the feelings inventory from the Center for Non-Violent Communications. I used a pen to underline keywords that would help me pick out and identify the feelings.  If this was a particularly difficult step, you may find it useful to describe the physical sensations that come with each emotion. As you become more aware of your body and emotional state this part gets easier.

3)     Identify the needs contained in the sentences that you have written. If needed, use the needs inventory from the Center for Non-Violent Communications. Again, identify keywords in order to pick out the needs.  At this point, I tried to drop any specific reference to people, or situations.  My goal is to find ways to get my needs met. I want to proceed with actionable steps I can take, rather than making an inventory of the ways in which I am the subject of actions taken or not taken by others.

4)     Pick one need and write the sentence, “I need more _________ in my life.”  Continue to write about what that need, which if met would look like in your life.  Be specific about kinds of actions experiences in your life which would proceed from having this need met. Include the emotion you would expect to feel.

5)     I am unsure about this next step, but you may also want to write about the extent to which this need is or is not being met.  A contrast between what you write here and what you wrote in the previous step may be helpful. My concern is that doing so may refocus your writing specific relationships or situations over which you have little leverage.

6)     Go on to the next need. Repeat the previous two steps as need, time and desire permit.  

7)     Stop. 

What do you mean STOP!  

Yes, just stop, pause, and take a deep breath. 

You just did an amazing thing. I know the temptation is to come up with a set of actionable steps to implement right now, but this is the time to reflect. You have identified your needs, but what you have on paper is very much in the form of a rough draft.”  This information, these insights are going to bubble in the back of your head. Your mind is not going to let this go. I call it, “Consulting the Great Potato.”  

Come back to this in a day or two.  Read what you have written as a note from the past.  Read it with the accumulated wisdom of being 2 days older.  Edit and revise with the love and compassion you would extend to your younger self.  

Be kind to yourself. 

S. Scott Forrester

Common Quotes

• “Great minds think alike, small minds rarely differ”
“Jack of all trades, master of none, though better than master of one.”
• “As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.” - Gandhi
• “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.”
• “The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.”
• “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it burned in one.
• “The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy and the lash.” - Sir Anthony Montague-Browne.
• “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are always bad men.” - Lord John Dalberg-Acton
• "Well behaved women rarely make history.” - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Harvard.
• “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” - Family of choice is stronger that the bonds of a birth family.
• “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” - Edward A. Murphy, the aerospace engineer
• "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily.” - Shakespeare
• “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”
• “The report of my death is an exaggeration.” Twain
• “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.” -The Mourning Bride, William Congreve
• “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.” - Edmund Burke
• “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.” - Richard III

posted by Y.H.N.

Family Nicknames

As an only child it seemed very natural to refer to my infant son as, "The Boy." When his sister came along 10 years later it also seemed natural to refer to her as, "The Girl." I realize now that I may have taken this a bit too far when after referencing his sister, my son responded with, "Dad! You do know that we have names! (With slightly less conviction) Don't you? Do you know what our names are?"

Thank God I have them written down somewhere ... somewhere. This could have been embarrassing.

posted by Y.H.N.

Is the System Broken Enough?

The Electoral College is broken, but is it broken enough?

The trouble with the electoral college system is not that it is broken, but that it is not broken enough. There have been 58 presidential elections. In 5 of those elections, the popular vote did not match the results of the electoral college. Here is the kicker, as long as the Republican Party has existed, this particular quirk of our constitution has favored that party.

In 1876, 1888, 2000, and in 2016 the Republican candidate won despite having lost the popular vote. If I were a Republican, I would not regard the Electoral College as broken, but rather as a feature of the republic which serves as a powerful brake on dangerous progressive policies. In fact, I feel a certain sympathy for the idea that as a progressive I need to make the effort to communicate with and engage the rural and conservative portion of the electorate. Progressives need to bring everyone along, or at least as many as possible. We do this or find ourselves in the same position of forcing our own views on the world that I find so distasteful in other polities. We can choose to view this in the same way that I now regard the Senate requirement of a 60 vote super majority with renewed reverence.

If you are not convinced, then good. The damn system is broken and needs to be replaced! Still, it is not enough that those on the Left consider the system broken. 38 states are needed to ratify an amendment. From the last election, I count 20 Blue states. Conservatives will need to feel the same if we are to muster the support for the necessary constitutional amendment to get rid of the Electoral College. The key may be faithless electors. The presidential election at that point is just a toss up based on who shows up to the state capital when the elector cast their votes. Perhaps that situation will be sufficiently broken to get change rolling.

posted by Y.H.N.

The Flavors of Love

Link to Article

It is difficult to talk about a subject until one has the vocabulary to do so. This article provides 6 different terms that we would simply call love, and thus might provide a needed tool for conversation within our community and with partners. The two conversations that immediately come to mind are "love gone wrong" and, if you know me the obvious cooking recipe.

The last category, Philautia or self-love, includes narcissism or this kind of love taken to a dangerous extreme. The Greek definition of Eros also comes with warnings, but I imagine any of these types of love could be taken to extremes.

As to the cooking analogy, a truly exquisite dish will strike on many different flavor notes. By distinguishing the different flavors of love we can distinguish how our relationships have evolved uniquely. Each relationship and its evolving arc is to be respected for what it is in itself. Like an impromptu culinary performance, each is unique and never to be repeated.

posted by Y.H.N.

Roles of Various Plants in the Ecosystem

Hi Folks,

I like to gather as much information as I can on ... well weeds ... plants that volunteer their services in the whatever plot of land that you are stewarding.

Currently watching a video on Mullen "Cowboy Toilet Paper."   It is termed a dynamic accumulator.  I would like to see that term operationally defined, but suspect I may have to do so myself.

It is stated that Mullen "likes" compacted soil.  Well, enough but Mullen does not "like" anything. In any given situation a particular plant species will have a competitive advantage over other species.  In this case, Mullen reputedly has a deep tap root, also referred to as a drill root, that deals well with compacted soil.  Mullen does not like compacted soil, it simply has the ability to thrive in compacted soil where other plant species would fail.

The question in my mind is whether or not, Mullen in this case, provides an ecological service. Will the species bring up minerals from deep in the soil?  Does it fix carbon in biomass? Most importantly does it break up compacted soil?

The distinction is important in that we can receive the information that this plant "likes" these conditions, but that doesn't not tell us anything about other plants and how we can employ them.  Observing that Mullen thirves in compacted soil leads us to look about and find other species that also have this advantage. Some of these species may have other services in theri behaviour that may make them even more approtiate to breaking up compacted soil than the fist species we considered.


posted by Y.H.N.

Start of the Gardening Adventure

30 August Update - Added 1 bag of peat moss, 1/2 bag of cow manure, 1 bag blood and bone meal mix to beds.  Hoe'd the whole thing together.  Not sure if tilling was the best idea.  Pretty sold on the no-till concept, but what to know more before I start doing "weird stuff" in a community garden.  I need to be parient.

Planted lots of stuff.  Plot map to follow.

The seedlings at home have nearly all sprouted.  I am a bit disappointed with some, but overall great success.  Last night's heavy winds and rains have damaged the trays.  Moved all four trays to a lower shelf which is more sheltered from the wind.

22 August - Visited the Frog Alley community garden for the summer clean up.  Committed to care for two 4 x 8 beds.  This is equivalent to 4

- Need to wear clothes that don't show dirt.
- Bring more water
- Bring Gloves


-- posted by Y.H.N.

Studying Genetics

I may go study genetics just so I can use the excuse, "My homework ate my dog."

posted by Y.H.N.

Quote

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. --  Bertrand Russell,  (1872 - 1970)

posted by Y.H.N.

Quote

“Scientists tell us that the fastest animal on earth, with a top speed of 120 feet per second, is a cow that has been dropped out of a helicopter.”  -- Dave Barry

posted by Y.H.N.

Quote

“The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the Universe to do. -- Galileo Galilei

Do you have trouble believing that an infinite all powerful creator takes a personal interest in each of us? The trouble with such doubts is that the infinite God we imagine in not infinite enough. The care and attention of God is large enough to shine on each of us just as Galileo's sun can ripen grapes in Italy and in rice in China in full measure.

posted by Y.H.N.