Because there are so many questions! And the answers are confusing, non-existent, or conflicting.
Here's some more stuff about Barry's mom, Stanley Ann Dunham and her passports.
the-smoking-gun-in-the-obama-eligibility-case-stanley-ann-dunham-passport/
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
Are Our Forests Really Overgrown?
Another fire is active within 20 miles of us today. It is the Courtney Fire in Oakhurst and 21 structures have burned since it started yesterday around noon. This comes on top of last week's Bridge Fire that almost destroyed 250 homes in Ponderosa Basin, near us. Two other fires are active near Coulterville.
We all know it is year three of drought and everything is extremely dry. But one of the real culprits here is the overabundance of fuels in the woods and a 100 years of fire repression without adequate management of fuel loads. The inability of the Forest Services to properly manage lands due to excessive meddling and lawsuits by environmental groups is adding greatly to the problem.
So what does it mean to say there is too much fuel in the forests. Well, over 100 years ago several naturalists made surveys of the forests from Arizona to Washington. They counted numbers of trees per acre. The general result was that the pine forests of then held about 30 to 40 mature trees per acre. Smaller tress were regularly kept in check by ground fires. Today, it is easy to see 300 to 400 trees per acre, many of which are small and midsize trees that constitute the majority of the fuel load, and the danger.
Here is an article that appeared last year during the huge, 400 sq. mile Rim Fire in Mariposa County and Yosemite Park. Fire-in-Yosemite-offers-forest-management-lessons It discusses the results of an ongoing survey that started 100 years ago and shows clearly the high fuels load.
Here is a quote: "Big increase in tree density - A large part of the answer may be found in Stephens' interrupted expedition. His four-person research team was in the process of measuring tree diameters and densities on 15,000 acres that had been studied by the U.S. Forest Service in 1911.
The group found as many as 400 trees per acre on the land. That's compared with between 60 and 90 trees per acre in 1911. There was also between 30 and 40 tons of woody debris per acre on the forest floor, compared with 6 to 8 tons 102 years ago, Stephens said. Besides the dramatic increase in tree density, the researchers found more undergrowth species and, although there were still many old growth trees, the average size of the trees was smaller than in 1911, he said.
"We know the last fire in that area was in about 1905. That's 100 years without fire," Stephens said. "If you don't clear trees and brush and do some prescribed burning, you are eventually going to get a very closed forest that is very dense."
There is a little good news in some places around the Sierra. I have been riding a lot of forestry roads and roads like Highway 4 Ebbett's Pass yesterday. I am seeing more instances of Forestry and other agencies doing fuel reduction alongside the roads to about 100 yards back from the road edges. They are trimming limbs, collecting dead-fall and trash, and cutting the medium size-infill trees for later burning.
I believe we need much more of this thinning, We we consider that the Rim Fire costs about $100 million, think of all the labor hours that could provide valuable jobs to forest workers. Think of all the homes that could be saved from out-of-control fires.
Jerry Brown, are you listening?
We all know it is year three of drought and everything is extremely dry. But one of the real culprits here is the overabundance of fuels in the woods and a 100 years of fire repression without adequate management of fuel loads. The inability of the Forest Services to properly manage lands due to excessive meddling and lawsuits by environmental groups is adding greatly to the problem.
So what does it mean to say there is too much fuel in the forests. Well, over 100 years ago several naturalists made surveys of the forests from Arizona to Washington. They counted numbers of trees per acre. The general result was that the pine forests of then held about 30 to 40 mature trees per acre. Smaller tress were regularly kept in check by ground fires. Today, it is easy to see 300 to 400 trees per acre, many of which are small and midsize trees that constitute the majority of the fuel load, and the danger.
Here is an article that appeared last year during the huge, 400 sq. mile Rim Fire in Mariposa County and Yosemite Park. Fire-in-Yosemite-offers-forest-management-lessons It discusses the results of an ongoing survey that started 100 years ago and shows clearly the high fuels load.
Here is a quote: "Big increase in tree density - A large part of the answer may be found in Stephens' interrupted expedition. His four-person research team was in the process of measuring tree diameters and densities on 15,000 acres that had been studied by the U.S. Forest Service in 1911.
The group found as many as 400 trees per acre on the land. That's compared with between 60 and 90 trees per acre in 1911. There was also between 30 and 40 tons of woody debris per acre on the forest floor, compared with 6 to 8 tons 102 years ago, Stephens said. Besides the dramatic increase in tree density, the researchers found more undergrowth species and, although there were still many old growth trees, the average size of the trees was smaller than in 1911, he said.
"We know the last fire in that area was in about 1905. That's 100 years without fire," Stephens said. "If you don't clear trees and brush and do some prescribed burning, you are eventually going to get a very closed forest that is very dense."
There is a little good news in some places around the Sierra. I have been riding a lot of forestry roads and roads like Highway 4 Ebbett's Pass yesterday. I am seeing more instances of Forestry and other agencies doing fuel reduction alongside the roads to about 100 yards back from the road edges. They are trimming limbs, collecting dead-fall and trash, and cutting the medium size-infill trees for later burning.
I believe we need much more of this thinning, We we consider that the Rim Fire costs about $100 million, think of all the labor hours that could provide valuable jobs to forest workers. Think of all the homes that could be saved from out-of-control fires.
Jerry Brown, are you listening?
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Science - Rosetta Spacecraft Shows Us Comet 67P Up Close
The European Space Agency has finally, after 10 years and 5 loops around the Sun, inserted the Rosetta spacecraft into a matching orbit with Comet 67P. And the pictures that are slowly coming back are amazing.
See here: Rosetta-spacecraft-takes-amazing-3d-image-of-comets-topography
And what is the temperature of a comet? About -70 Celsius: rosetta-spacecraft-takes-comet-temperature
This link contains more amazing pictures: Rosetta-comet-mission-photos-esa
Here is a summary of Rosetta's mission and designs: Rosetta-spacecraft-comet-landing-explained-infographic
Link to ESA site: Rosetta_arrives_at_comet_destination
Rosetta takes about one image per day: spaceinimages/Missions/Rosetta/
See here: Rosetta-spacecraft-takes-amazing-3d-image-of-comets-topography
And what is the temperature of a comet? About -70 Celsius: rosetta-spacecraft-takes-comet-temperature
This link contains more amazing pictures: Rosetta-comet-mission-photos-esa
Here is a summary of Rosetta's mission and designs: Rosetta-spacecraft-comet-landing-explained-infographic
Link to ESA site: Rosetta_arrives_at_comet_destination
Rosetta takes about one image per day: spaceinimages/Missions/Rosetta/
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Science: Graphene is the New Wonder Material - Can it Stop a Nuclear War?
I watched one of those investment magic shows today. You know the type, where they talk and talk but avoid mentioning the name of the companies they are hot on. But it was one of the better ones. Of course there is a big set of videos and report that you can get for "free".
Anyway, the gentleman is Dr. Kent Moors who supposed advises governments around the world about geo-political risks. He had eight ways to capitalize on trends in the world that are scaring us all these days. The main thrust was about the worrisome Kashmiri border between India and Pakistan. He sees a fairly high possibility of war there in the next few years.
See video here: The Zero Line - India and Pakistan
See here for the offer: Money Map Press - The Great Game It is worth watching for the state of the world assessment.
Anyway, eventually the video focused on the Indus River that starts in India and ends in Pakistan. India has treaty rights to the water for power and irrigation. If India shuts off the water, Pakistan is in big trouble and this could start a nuclear war.
So what is the money making opportunity? It is in desalination of seawater. And the company to watch is Lockheed Martin, who is developing Graphene as a desalination membrane. This actually could become a major breakthrough in desal systems because graphene membranes are one atom thick and potentially much more efficient than todays membranes.
Nobel Prize for 2010: Nobel prize for physics 2010 - Graphene
Lockheed Martin patent announcement of 2013 for Perforene: Lockheed-martin-achieves-patent-for-perforene-filtration-solution
Perforene description: Lockheed Martin - wanted-clean-drinking-water
Business Insider article: lockheed-martin-desalination-graphene-filters-2013-3
Knowing that LM is involved makes the whole thing real for me. However, it is obvious from the LM announcement that there is a lot of development work to be done yet. During my Chevron Career I was involved with reverse osmosis desal and gas cleanup plants several times. A new membrane that can reduce the plant size, and more importantly potentially reduce the power requirements would be a breakthrough indeed.
The other six opportunities present in "The Great Game" offer interesting ideas, but I am less enthused about some of them. Good stuff to wonder about though.
Anyway, the gentleman is Dr. Kent Moors who supposed advises governments around the world about geo-political risks. He had eight ways to capitalize on trends in the world that are scaring us all these days. The main thrust was about the worrisome Kashmiri border between India and Pakistan. He sees a fairly high possibility of war there in the next few years.
See video here: The Zero Line - India and Pakistan
See here for the offer: Money Map Press - The Great Game It is worth watching for the state of the world assessment.
Anyway, eventually the video focused on the Indus River that starts in India and ends in Pakistan. India has treaty rights to the water for power and irrigation. If India shuts off the water, Pakistan is in big trouble and this could start a nuclear war.
So what is the money making opportunity? It is in desalination of seawater. And the company to watch is Lockheed Martin, who is developing Graphene as a desalination membrane. This actually could become a major breakthrough in desal systems because graphene membranes are one atom thick and potentially much more efficient than todays membranes.
Nobel Prize for 2010: Nobel prize for physics 2010 - Graphene
Lockheed Martin patent announcement of 2013 for Perforene: Lockheed-martin-achieves-patent-for-perforene-filtration-solution
Perforene description: Lockheed Martin - wanted-clean-drinking-water
Business Insider article: lockheed-martin-desalination-graphene-filters-2013-3
Knowing that LM is involved makes the whole thing real for me. However, it is obvious from the LM announcement that there is a lot of development work to be done yet. During my Chevron Career I was involved with reverse osmosis desal and gas cleanup plants several times. A new membrane that can reduce the plant size, and more importantly potentially reduce the power requirements would be a breakthrough indeed.
The other six opportunities present in "The Great Game" offer interesting ideas, but I am less enthused about some of them. Good stuff to wonder about though.
Tryanny or Honest Mistake? Land Rover Seized by Feds
I've had dealings with California CARB about registration of foriegn vehicles. I got it resolved and the people I dealt with were simple bureaucratics doing their jobs. But that was 20 years ago.
It seems things are changing. These folks had their Land Rover Defender seized because of a VIN number mix-up. Maybe they got swindled by the previous owner, maybe it was never correct, maybe parts got replaced at some point.
For this huge crime, six vehicles and many agents swooped down on their property and grabbed the car. They were from Homeland Security. Now the folks can't find out where the car is located, or even get people to talk to them. It looks like summary justify the bureaucratic way is about to happen.
See here: federal-agents-storm-couples-property-seize-60000-car-violating-emissions-standards
This is plain stupid. You don't need gun-toting federal law-enforcement agents to execute a car seizure. This another case of the EPA and it sub-agencies turning into tyrannical law-unto-themselves.
The American People are being disrespected and mistreated too often these days.
It seems things are changing. These folks had their Land Rover Defender seized because of a VIN number mix-up. Maybe they got swindled by the previous owner, maybe it was never correct, maybe parts got replaced at some point.
For this huge crime, six vehicles and many agents swooped down on their property and grabbed the car. They were from Homeland Security. Now the folks can't find out where the car is located, or even get people to talk to them. It looks like summary justify the bureaucratic way is about to happen.
See here: federal-agents-storm-couples-property-seize-60000-car-violating-emissions-standards
This is plain stupid. You don't need gun-toting federal law-enforcement agents to execute a car seizure. This another case of the EPA and it sub-agencies turning into tyrannical law-unto-themselves.
The American People are being disrespected and mistreated too often these days.
Scandal: Harry Reid Obstructs Congress Continuously
He's been doing it for years. Yet the people of Las Vegas keep electing him because the casino union workers think he brings them bacon. In reality, he brings bacon to his rich friends and government cronies. In reality he has been impeding the work of the Senate and is the real reason very little is getting done in Washington.
See here for a tally of the blocked bills: The Unpatriotic Laziness of Harry Reid
More evidence of the lies and cover-ups coming from President Obama and Harry Reid. Check out the stats coming from Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) office…
At the weekly press conference with Republican leaders Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02) highlighted the 352 bills – 98% which passed with bipartisan support in the House – that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refuses to bring up for a vote. The numbers never lie…
The numbers never lie. Currently, 352 bills that passed the House are awaiting action on Harry Reid’s desk. Of these bills:
- 98% passed with bipartisan support
- Nearly 70% passed with 2/3rds support or more
- Over 50% passed with no opposition at all
- And 55 were introduced by Democrats
And still, Harry Reid refuses to bring them up for a vote.
Why does the media continue to allow the unpatriotic laziness from Harry Reid to continue? Perhaps if the media spent a little more time being a government watchdog and a little less time being cheerleaders for the Democrat Party… our Congress would be getting more done? (Specifically, maybe Harry Reid would be getting more done?)
See here for a tally of the blocked bills: The Unpatriotic Laziness of Harry Reid
The Unpatriotic Laziness of Harry Reid
At the weekly press conference with Republican leaders Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02) highlighted the 352 bills – 98% which passed with bipartisan support in the House – that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refuses to bring up for a vote. The numbers never lie…
The numbers never lie. Currently, 352 bills that passed the House are awaiting action on Harry Reid’s desk. Of these bills:
- Nearly 70% passed with 2/3rds support or more
- Over 50% passed with no opposition at all
- And 55 were introduced by Democrats
And still, Harry Reid refuses to bring them up for a vote.
Why does the media continue to allow the unpatriotic laziness from Harry Reid to continue? Perhaps if the media spent a little more time being a government watchdog and a little less time being cheerleaders for the Democrat Party… our Congress would be getting more done? (Specifically, maybe Harry Reid would be getting more done?)
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