Links for January 25, 2013

Submitted by phoenix on 1/25/13 2:05pm

While the Japanese tsunami of March 2011 was devastating in its own right, the long term health consequences because of the damage to the nuclear reactor at Fukushima Daiichi are also of serious concern.  rsc.org

TEPCO plans to clean water from Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean. enenews.com

 At We the People, a website that lets users submit petitions to the Obama Administration,  one petition  urges officials to "harness the full intellectual and industrial strength of our universities, national laboratories and private enterprise to rapidly develop and deploy a nuclear thermal rocket. msnbc.msn.com

Barely two weeks after invading Mali with over 2,000 troops of the Foreign Legion, France has dispatched special forces troops to neighboring Niger to secure uranium mines run by the French state-owned nuclear power company Areva. wsws.org

Anti-Nuclear Arguments 3 - Uranium Enrichment

Submitted by phoenix on 1/25/13 1:01pm

            Once uranium is mined, it has to be transported and refined for use in nuclear weapons or reactors. As with mining, there are major problems involved in such activities.

           Once uranium is leached from crushed ore, it is precipitated from solution and washed to produce a coarse powder which is around 80% uranium oxide. The powder has a strong order and cannot be dissolved in water. Although this powder is referred to as ‘yellow cake’ because of early ore extraction techniques, today most of the ‘yellow cake’ is brown or black.

            The yellow cake is transported in sealed containers via rail or truck to plants where uranium fuel rods are manufactured. If the seal is maintained, the main dangers are from dust escaping from loading and unloading the containers. However, if there is a train derailment or a truck accident, a container could be broken open, spilling yellow cake out into the environment where wind and water could carry it away from the location of the accident.

         When the yellow cake reaches the purification facility, it is smelted into uranium metal which is then combined with fluorine and subjected to isotopic separation where the level of highly radioactive U-235 is increased. Twenty percent U-235 is use to create uranium pellets for nuclear reactor fuel rods while highly enriched uranium with more than ninety percent U-235 is use to create nuclear weapons.

           As with any complex industrial process, there is the potential for a number of problems. If the staff is not well trained and conscientious, such incompetence may lead to exposure of workers to radioactive materials or release of such materials into the environment.  The company operating the facility may not be conscientious in providing properly functioning equipment and enforcing rigorous safety standards. And, finally, the government agencies tasked with overseeing uranium enrichment may fail to inspect and hold enrichment facilities responsible for breaches in following regulatory guidelines..

          If the dangerous materials such as yellow cake or any of the products of intermediate stages of uranium enrichment as well as the finished fuel pellets and rods are not properly handled because of any of the problems mentioned above, workers can be exposed to radiation and radioactive materials may escape into the environment.

          Highly toxic chemicals are used in enrichment such as fluorine gas. Fluorine bursts into flame when it comes into contact with ammonia, ceramics, copper wire and many organic and inorganic compounds. It changes to hydrofluoric acid when it comes in contact with moisture. It is highly damaging to the tissue of the respiratory tract. The gas formed when uranium interacts with fluorine is even more dangerous because it contains a heavy metal and is radioactive. Fluorine and uranium hexafluoride gas would be a serious health hazard if released into the environment.

         Individual enrichment facilities around the world have been criticized for one or more of the above problems prompting protests aimed and redressing the problem and/or closing the facility.

Oregon reservation being kept awake by Sasquatches

Submitted by erika on 1/25/13 12:51pm
These noisy neighbors just will not shut up!

 

The Oregonian is reporting that residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Oregon are being kept up all night by the eerie and surprisingly loud screams of what many have identified as Bigfoot. These "eerie" cries began last November, and seem to be coming from a swampy area at the edge of the reservation. 
 
The rumor on the reservation is that the cries are those of a young Sasquatch "that got separated from the rest of his clan." Like a wolf howling for its pack, or a baby crying for its parents, this youngster is thought to be calling out to its lost family. 
 
This rumor points out one of the interesting features of the Sasquatch legend, which is that many local tribes consider Bigfoot to be a tribe of roaming woodland gods and/or another form of humans who occupy roughly the same territory as the human tribes in the area. Tribes in the western United States from northern California to Washington all have legends of large, hairy humanoids which pre-date the arrival of white settlers. The name "sasquatch" is itself taken from tribal lore; the Nez Perce word for this creature is "Sesquec."
 
Although some spoilsports have pointed out that the cries could also be those of a fox, female coyote, or bobcat, many others believe that it's the sound of Sasquatch. Many people on the reservation are familiar with the typical cries of wildlife, and attest that these cries sound completely different. 
 
The reservation housing authority has been recording complaints for months from residents who are perplexed or downright frightened by the noise. Many report that their pets refuse to go outside after dark once the noises start. Some people are afraid to go outside, as well.
 
The Umatilla reservation is located in northeast Oregon and spans 178,000 acres, with a population of only about 1,500. The swamp which is the source of the midnight ruckus lies at the edge of Mission, a community located just north of the Wildhorse Resort and Casino. 
 
The Umatilla tribal reservation has a long history of Sasquatch lore and sightings. It bumps up against the Blue Mountains, a chain of remote mountains in Washington and Oregon which are generally considered to be "Sasquatch central" by Bigfoot hunters. Some of the most famous Sasquatch encounters have taken place in these mountains, particularly in the area around Walla Walla, Washington.
 

Ripoff

Submitted by jemanji on 1/25/13 12:10pm
Now Dr. D is alarmed

.

Okay, you came in to the boardroom, you made your PowerPoint presentation.  You wanted approval for $15,000 to buy the flatbed truck for the warehouse.  We were a little uncertain about the whole thing, on a lot of levels ... is this make of truck really as good as Hyundai?  Do we really have $15,000 to allocate to that?  Does it really better us to have our own flatbed, and moving people, as opposed to paying the contractors to move things?

No, you had the whole meeting nailed, you had your answers ready and then some, and we allocated the $15,000.  The owner even extended it to $16,800 onsite.

But do you mind explaining this memo that we got today?

 

OBF: Serious question... How tight of a brotherhood are the 30 GMs? Would it be possible that Tower proposed to get a too good to be true offer from JackyZ, just to have it nixed by Upton, so that he could save face when he would eventually get 50 cents on the dollar from Atlanta, and paint Upton as the villain, not himself? "Hey look, I had a sweet deal from Seattle, but Justin messed that up, so don't blame me for only getting chaff, for our best player..." JZ would never agree to help Towers out like that would he??? It would help explain why the M's were uncharacteristically loose lipped about the failed trade.

.

Good question amigo; Dr. D will have to opine a big fat hairy NO, he wouldn't help Towers out like that, and we'll tell you exactly why.

................

Gordon Gross: Our offer:

  • Prospect with #1 starter potential (top 10 in the minors),
  • Starting 2B/SS prospect w/ power (top 100), and
  • either two power relievers, or
  • the OAK arms WASH got for Morse (meaning, Jaso is now said to have been in the Upton deal - jjc).

ATL's offer: prospect with BOR potential, Figgins 3B type in final contract year, a defensive SS w/ zero power, a future middle reliever and a tin can.  If we were making that same ATL offer it would be

  • Beavan,
  • Guti,
  • F-Mart,
  • Gillheeney and Bryan Brito (Who? exactly).

Let's you spend four hours "in the box" with a used car salesman.  You're offering $15,500 and he's holding firm at $17,200.  You pick up your stuff and threaten to walk out.  Wait a minute, he says, I'll check with the manager.  

He comes back.  I can make it 17,150 if you waive the warranty.  Come on!, you say, this is ridiculous.  $16,000 or I walk.  Hold on, he says.  Write me a check for $3,000 and I'll staple it to the offer; my manager does better when he knows he has your business today.

He comes back.  Well, the manager's really proud of this truck.  He can do 17,000, if you have 7,000 today and we can offer you 9% on the rest.

It goes all day long like that and you miss your Saturday off.  Finally you agree, at 16,800.  The owner of the company signs off ... ah, problem, sir, we forgot to figure in the sales tax.  You're in a hurry and can't get that approved ... WAI, WAIT the sales guy says -- NOPE you say you've had enough, and you climb in your car and drive off.  Ah well.  Thanks for trying, sir.  Come back next week and we'll have an upgraded model for you.  Better fuel efficiency.

You come back by the lot the next day, to buy the truck at their price, and somebody else is driving the truck off the lot.  You stop him and say hello.  Mind telling me what you got it for?  18,000, 17,000?  You're hoping it's not 15,500.

Got a great deal, the other customer says.  Only $3,000!

You look back in and four salesmen, looking at you, suddenly stifle their chuckles and turn away, pretending to talk about something else.

................

Every time that salesman came back to you, asking for concessions -- waive the warranty, sir?  Put more down? -- he was well-and-truly insulting you.  Do you understand why?

Fortune 500 is about TQM, CQI, continuous quality improvement.  In other words -- things go wrong, fine.  But you'd better be able to explain why.  ... It's okay to make a mistake.  To miss the deadline, miss the budget, have the auditors throw a snit fit and, after the fact, be without a clue as to why things got so weird?  Not okay.

.

...............

1.  I don't consider Taijuan Walker the pick of the M's litter, but baseball certainly does.  The Diamondbacks got their CHOICE of the Big Three.  That's one big fat HAIRY concession.

2.  Combining a Golden Arm with a sweetener, a value prospect -- let's say Romero, or Capps, or Maurer, or Sanchez -- would have been a pretty sweet deal for the DBacks.  But giving them their pick of the second player, also?  Nick Franklin is in EVERYBODY's top 100 and he is an ML-ready player.  At a glove spot.

3.  That's not enough?  Here comes concession number THREE:  you get glamor ML bullpen arms, Stephen Pryor and his 97 mph 15-inch fastball and 10+ K's in the bigs, a kid who has been to the bigs and pitched the 8th, and/or you get John Jaso.

Any one of those three concessions would be an Owie.  With a capital O.  But all three of them?

And those are concessions, things given away after you gave the DBacks one of your glamor SP's.  Which the Braves certainly didn't.

................

I'm all for paying $1.20 on the dollar -- when I'm getting back something I know I'm going to be happy with.  Sometimes you give three properties to get Marvin Gardens, and you win the game with the yellows.  But Justin Upton wasn't our dream player.  He's a player with warts, big ones.

That's what the Mariners did with Kendrys Morales, a one-year Scott Boras client:  they gave the Angels a 2-WAR starting pitcher that the Angels can re-sign if they want.  But Vargas wasn't in our plans, so the $1.20 was fine.  Same thing with Jaso for Morse.  That's paying $1.20 in rubles for $1.00 worth of deutschmarken.  The M's overpaid a little, but it was a good overpay.

Taijuan Walker isn't rubles.  He's yen.  And we didn't get back no Giancarlo Stanton.

Granted, Justin Upton might have put the Diamondbacks in a Ken Griffey Jr. Cincinnati situation, cutting their return.  But the fact remains that Towers could have kept Upton.  If he was willing to sell Upton for a buck, we shouldn't have been haggling about $4 vs. $5.  We need to know why were so badly in the dark.

Also in Zduriencik's defense:  baseball understands about overpaying, to get a lousy franchise moving in the right direction.  The Nationals wayyy overpaid Jayson Werth, but look where they are now.  That's the way other GM's look at the Werth deal.

There's an internal pressure -- Zduriencik is telling his players, and other GM's, Seattle is going to be legit.  We are not going to settle for anything else.  That message, we are glad to see.

But overbidding Yourself ... Four. Times.

................

Dr. D has been around a few steering committees.  Not tons, but some.  And the ones he's seen, in situations like this, when the news about that Atlanta deal rolls in? ... some people who sold us that presentation have some serious explaining to do.  

Me?  I'd like to know why the M's outbid themselves FOUR (4) TIMES OVER.  This one, gentlemen, you are entitled to resent.

Would the Mariners show baseball their keisters, so as to do Kevin Towers a solid?  Um, no.

Bah humbug,

Dr D

 

How do we revamp professional cross country in the United States?

Submitted by Mulv Jones on 1/25/13 11:53am
Adding cross country to the Winter or Summer Olympics might increase interest.

World Cross Country is one of the most difficult, as well as most renowned, competitions on the face of the earth for distance runners. The winner of World Cross should basically be looked at as one of the, if not the overall, fastest people on the planet. When you look at the history, seeing past competitions, hearing the names like Julie Brown, Tirunesh Dibaba, Kenenisa Bekele and Paul Tergat, you know you are in the presence of greatness. With that being said, there hasn’t been an overall U.S. male champion since the 1980s. The amount of U.S. professionals actually competing in World Cross has become dismal. Why are the U.S. athletes opting to skip cross for track?

Ultimately, the easiest answer is competition and money. For distance runners in the U.S. to make money, they either need to be winning races (prize money and sponsorship bonuses), receiving appearance fees, or competing and performing at the global level. Though world cross would seem to fit the third qualification, U.S. runners not named Shalane Flannigan have been getting smoked in World Cross. Individuals rarely crack top 30, and teams are nowhere near the hunt for a team title. This, of course, doesn’t bode well for money-making in the sport. Though it is a chance to compete with the world’s best, the financial incentive is not there for U.S. runners.

Though money and sponsorship is important, when engaging in conversation about distance running, one can’t overlook what is best for the sport. Sure having the Olympics every four years, which are sandwiched by World Championship Track (one year completely off from world competition) is great, but we need more. Wouldn’t having a once-a-year-face-off of the world's best be incredibly enticing to the sports world beyond distance fans?

One bold way to boost interest in cross country, as offered by the brothers over at Lets Run, is to either add cross country to the winter Olympics (which would add some obstacles like location, National Championships, etc) or abolishing the 10K in the summer Olympics and replacing it with cross country. The latter would bring cross country back to the main stage, hopefully fostering a better appreciation for the sport, forcing sponsors to put stipulations in contracts for competing in U.S. and World Cross.

Regardless of your stance on competition, cross country is the bread and butter of distance running. Ask any pro; their love for the sport was definitely somewhat fostered by their cross country running in school. The team aspect and the sheer competition has no match anywhere else in running world.  

App review: Plague Inc.

Submitted by erika on 1/25/13 11:48am
It'll make you want to wash your hands, in a good way.

 

Plague Inc. has quickly taken over from Robot Unicorn Attack in the title of "best game I'm the worst at." I have played four games so far - four entire games - and accrued a score of a whopping 55 points. But I can't stop playing! 
 
This game is all about destroying the world. And don't we all want to destroy the world once in a while? (It's okay. I won't tell.) Plague Inc.is about the global spread of a deadly disease versus the scientists trying to find and deploy a cure. The twist being that you play the disease.
 
You begin by naming your disease and selecting a few early traits. As the game spins out, you get points for tapping bubbles that appear. You can use those points to buy new features for your disease which will make it spread faster, be more deadly, or become more difficult to cure.
 
Plague Inc.is a game of infinite complexity. As an example, you begin by selecting the country (or multi-country area like "Central Africa" or "Western Africa") where you want your plague to begin. Each country has either sea ports or airports or both or neither. 
 
If you start in a country without ports, it will take longer for your disease to be spread to other countries. However, that can give you time to build up your disease's abilities. Choose a country with both a sea port and an airport and your disease will spread faster. But this means that the scientists will also start working on a cure sooner.
 
As you play, the game scrolls up little news items to keep you abreast of your plague's progress. These news items have a lot of tongue-in-cheek dark humor, which brings a lot of fun to the game.
 
Each game takes about 1-3 hours to play, meaning that you can blow through a round in an evening of half-watching television, or keep pausing it and play it periodically throughout the day. Contagion rates high in what I call "pick-up-able-ness." You can pick it up and play it for as long as you like - minutes or hours - and it doesn't really matter. 
 
Plague Inc. costs 99 cents. You can either earn new abilities and disease types by playing and accruing points, or buy them through an in-game purchase. So far I have only played with the default plague (bacterial), but parasites and viruses are also available. Evidently the Zombie plague type is currently in development and should be released soon.
 

Modern-day fertility superstitions

Submitted by erika on 1/25/13 10:27am
Folk remedies for couples trying to conceive

 

Fertility rituals aren't just a thing of the ancient past. Many contemporary couples who are trying to conceive will tack on a few superstitions to their regimen of prescription medication and charting their basal body temperature.  
 
The one I have heard most often is to plant a rosemary bush in your front yard. I know of three couples who have done this. Although that might speak more to the fact that rosemary grows well in our climate than to the popularity of this myth. (All three ended up conceiving, by the way. Although I'm not sure if the rosemary bush had as much to do with that as the IVF procedure.)
 
For women who are already pregnant, few things are as obnoxious or awkward as the way that suddenly it's fair game for complete strangers - men and women both - to walk up and start stroking your belly with their hands. So please be courteous and ask politely before doing this!
 
This superstition has obvious roots in the magical concept of transference. Logically we know that touching a pregnant person won't pass the magical pregnancy power to ourselves. But it's an appealing thought to women who are trying to conceive. And it's a great way to strike up a conversation about the difficulties of pregnancy.
 
This superstition actually has its roots in observable fact. Researchers noted that the rate of twins in the African village of Igbo-Ora is higher than anywhere else in the world. After controlling for all the factors they could think of, the researchers finally decided that it must be all the yams that the villagers eat.
 
It should be noted that no subsequent study was ever able to prove a link between yams and twins, and that this is probably just a case of "correlation does not imply causation." But it should also be noted that yams are good for you, and you should eat them anyway.
 
In the 1980s researchers theorized that the primary ingredient in Robitussin (guaifenesin) might be helpful for couples trying to conceive. Their theory was that it would help thin cervical mucus the same way that it thins sinus mucus. 
 
This turned out not to be the case (P.S. your cervix is not the same as your nose) but nevertheless it served to cement this popular cough medicine as an OTC fertility treatment.
 

Getting a Sims 3 alien baby

Submitted by erika on 1/25/13 9:49am
Welcome the aliens back in style!

 

One of the features of The Sims 2 that was most missed by Sims 3 players was the chance to become abducted by aliens. And better still, for male Sims to get pregnant during those abductions! With the Seasons expansion pack, the aliens have returned, and it's every bit as fun as you remember.
 
Alien Visitation
Aliens have a chance of appearing on your lot between midnight and 3AM. The Sim which is closest to the abduction site will be abducted. This means that during those hours, you will want to secure any Sims you don't want abducted. Lock the front door, or make sure they are asleep.
 
Attracting Aliens To Your Lot: Space Rocks
Aliens are attracted by two things: people using telescopes, and space rocks. According to Carl's Sims 3 Guide, once you have more than 5 space rocks on your lot, your chances of attracting an alien increase by 15%. Be sure to pull them out of your Sim's inventory and place them on the lot - they only attract the aliens when they are in your yard. 
 
The Collection Helper Lifetime Reward is invaluable here. If you really want to optimize your search, pause your game an set the Collection Helper for "Rocks and Gems," then click to visit each site yourself. 
 
Click to have your Sim collect the item, and check out the icon that appears in your Sim's action queue. You will be able to tell whether it is a gem or a stone. If the item is a gem, click to cancel it out of your action queue and keep looking. With a bit of practice you will soon be able to tell the difference between regular stones (like iron and gold) versus space rocks as well.
 
Attracting Aliens To Your Lot: Telescope
According to Carl's Sims 3 Guide, if a telescope has been used on your lot that day, your chances of being abducted increase by 13%. It doesn't have to be the planned abductee who uses the telescope.
 
Male Pregnancy
After a male Sim is returned from his abduction, he will get a bad "Abducted" moodlet. If your Sim is pregnant, when this moodlet wears off, he will get the "Unexpected Weight Gain" moodlet immediately. 
 
If you want to ensure a pregnancy, save your game right after your Sim is returned. Run the game until the Abducted moodlet wears off. If you don't see the "Unexpected Weight Gain" moodlet, close the game without saving and reload it. 
 
Note: don't wait too long to save your game after your Sim is returned. No one is sure exactly when the game decides whether your Sim is pregnant. Many players who wait too long find that the "close without saving" trick doesn't work. 
 

Reading Pile: 1/24/13

Submitted by wrathamon on 1/25/13 1:53am
The Answer, Young Avengers, Revival, FF, & Star Wars

The Answer #1- I’ve been enjoying all of the Dennis Hopeless Marvel stuff so far, and Mike Norton has been kicking ass over on Revival. This was a clever and well-crafted intro issue, pulling me in fairly quick and leaving me wanting more. If you want a different type of superhero mystery thriller, this is definitely worth checking out. A

Young Avengers #1- It’s nice to see Gillen and McKelvie back together, and on a mainstream title with some hype to boot. This is a pretty good intro issue, and I like the general cast of characters being put together for this team. Any Gillen young Loki is worth reading as well, and I hope they actually bring him into the series as opposed to just having him be a catalyst. Worth checking out. B+

Revival #6- I don’t have much to add besides my usual gushing over how good this title is, but I do feel like I should point out that all of Jenny Frison’s covers are top notch and pretty to look at in a disturbing kind of way. A-

FF #3- I am surprised with every issue by just how much I am enjoying this series so far. It’s actually coming out on top over a lot of the other Marvel Now relaunch titles that I would have assumed I would enjoy more. A

Star Wars #1- I’m actually not a huge fan of comics that take place between movies (or specific points of time in a comic continuity). It always feels like things are being shoehorned in when they really should just move forward. This doesn’t have the shoehorn feel, but it was a lot of set up and is a little slow. I will say that I would not have ever guessed ten years ago that Carlos D’Anda would look this sharp. He always struck me as a Jim Lee carbon copy with less pizazz, yet at this point I have to say I prefer him over Jim Lee as he’s evolved his style a little moreso. Clean crisp lines and dynamic storytelling with a lot of detail but not abusing crosshatching and adding lines where you don’t need them. I can see Star Wars fans loving this, and it’s probably the best comic to hand to new readers who are familiar with the franchise but have no concept about the new material published by Dark Horse. B

Beautiful and diverse views of a volcanic island

Submitted by Mulv Jones on 1/25/13 12:00am
Driving a scooter around Pulau Samosir in Sumatra, Indonesia

Visiting a volcanic island can be intimidating. Regardless, driving the nearly 100 kms around the Island of Pulau Samosir in Sumatra is a must-do activity while visiting the island nation of Indonesia. Though it is necessary to have some motorbike experience (because the roads do become decently treacherous at parts), the $8 USD spent is well worth the beauty of the ride.

While most visitors will find themselves on some form of transportation to get to the hot springs and the Batik Village that offers local dance shows, the true majesty comes in traversing around the entire island. Most visitors will start at small inlay known as Tuk Tuk (the touristy area) and head north toward the hot springs. The springs themselves are actually located on the single isthmus connecting Samosir to the mainland, and though they are lovely (and cost around $0.50) a drive here isn’t enough.

After passing the turn off to the hot springs, while continuing to head north, the road starts to become quite populated as you pass through the large city on the north eastern part of the island. The city is full of students riding three-to-a-bike, as well as bike taxis taking locals to and from their daily destinations. The city has some confusing roads, but once out, the road becomes less cramped, and continues to follow along the lake, offering views of the deep blue water, as well as green fields, small catacombs for the deceased, and a plethora of Christian churches. For the entire stretch from Tuk Tuk to this point, the roads themselves are fully paved.

As you begin to reach the southern end of the island, the steep foothills begin to disappear, and the island becomes flat. The paved road turns into rock and dirt, and in place of decent structures and buildings, shanties start to appear. The south, though, offers the most incredible views on the entire island. After braving the dirt and rock roads, the southwest part of the island starts to offer an elevation increase, and before you know it, you are on a winding paved road that traverse through dense jungle housing small ravines and seemingly endless rice paddies.

The perforated hills of the paddies are enticing, and one can almost draw ties to the olive fields found in Tuscany. While continuing to climb, once reaching the pinnacle of the foothills, the final 30 km from the southwest to Tomok and Tuk Tuk are inundated with amazing panoramic lake views mirrored by passing looks at rice paddies, jungle, and waterfalls. Every turn offers a new view, with each seemingly more beautiful than the next.

Take the chance to explore Pulau Samosir by scooter. Though the ride can be strenuous at times, the views, the diversity in landscape and the sheer beauty is what a wanderer’s dreams are made of. 

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