Friday, September 14, 2007

Figure-8's and Giant Worms: Go Figure!

Somehow my good intentions for posting more pics and a map of our Idaho/Montana circuit got sidetracked. My perfectionist streak may have been at least a subliminal contributor. I really wanted to better my initial somewhat crude sketch "as-built" map, but that isn't going to happen now. We'll have to live with Mr. Crude. Voila!


It surprised me how much I had to compact this simple map to get it to load properly. My final option, not yet properly explored, was to upload to pic-sharing site and post from there, very likely avoiding some of the nonsense at cost of extra logistics. So it will be useful to hear from you if this is so dang tiny as to be unreadable - at times a hard issue to judge from the director's chair.

My [two] dutiful readers may recall that we discarded plans for either I-90 return to Seattle or much more interesting and exotic non-interstate return via Republic and Omak and wonderful prospect of who-knows-what in the face of forest fire uncertainty.

Instead, after initial drive in general southeast direction to get to Sun Valley, followed by leg north through edge of Montana (Starbuck's!) and back into Idaho, reaching Sand Point, we enjoyed another wild freelance two-lane down the western edge of Idaho, all new to me, territory famous for prize-winning skinheads, into Washington at Palouse, and down to Walla Walla, crossing our outbound tracks in general vicinity of the town of Dodge (not that I took any notice of town of that name on either crossing!). That led to the interesting figure-eight-style routing that I hope a thoughtful and analytical sort can tease out of my "as-built" (though, as I hope you can glean from map, resembling an "8" only in that vague way that a topologist can appreciate).

Slightly to my annoyance, only today do I learn that we were passing through the locale of a yet-unrecognized potential endangered species, the Palouse Giant Earthworm. This par excellence up-to-three-foot-long lily-scented and spitting worm (!) was reputed to have been abundant in the 19th century when the terrifically scenic Palouse area featured a natural grassland community. Had I but known, I would have at least had a chance to rue the lack of a trenching tool in car for research purposes. And I am now remembering and again feeling quizzical about the odd but entrancing electric colors we observed as we passed through.

More recently, the worm was feared to have disappeared, no doubt at least largely due to aggressive exploitation of the rich loess soils for wheat-farming. But, good news, extinct it is apparently not:


Seeing as how I'm Sightline's expert on all things giant earthworm-related (no, it's not on my business card yet) I'd be remiss not to mention this story. Apparently, a conservation group is suing the feds for not responding to a petition to list the giant Palouse earthworm as an endangered species.


What's interesting about this story is not only that it's about a giant worm (though that does help). It's also interesting because the not-so-lowly worm may be the last best hope for protecting the remnants of the nearly-destroyed Palouse grasslands -- an inland Northwest ecosystem that was once astonishingly fertile and that now supports mostly wheat. For reasons both good and bad, conservation often piggybacks on charismatic ambassadors like polar bears or bison. But it remains to be seen whether the giant earthworm has the star power to do the trick in the Palouse.


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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Get Thee to a Lemony Snicket and Find a Quiet Corner!

As a devoted bookie (no, not that kind), I was horrified at recent report on national reading patterns. As I recall, this was to the general effect (of course I didn't actually read it!) that 25% of us (however that is defined) did not read a single book last year. The engineer/analyst in me might quibble here: only paper books read in first person? do audio/e-books count? Braille? etc. etc.

That is a sorry stat no matter how you package it. But there is some buzz to the effect that we are in the midst of a renaissance in reading. Here in the Pacific NW there are subjective hints of this, despite the sad dissolution of far too many small, independent booksellers in the past few years. Certainly the bookish enthusiasm of the few parents of young kids I know well (kudos to, among others, Michael, Joe and Bill, Mary Lou and Scott!) is a happy indicator.

Personally, barring unforeseen circumstances (upcoming wedding is in foreseen category), I will likely best prior record for books read in a year (record was a few years back), thanks in no small measure to books heard rather than read in the old-fashioned way.

This segue is not my best ever, I concede. But it was the book-connections in this FDL piece that drew me in. I don't even know who Megan McArdle is (and now I will have to fight mental quarantine on Atlantic).

I don’t know how many of you have been following the fortunes of Atlantic Monthly’s latest Ivy League Affirmative Action hire, Megan McArdle. She’s the blogger formerly known as Jane Galt, a Randian “Libertarian” whose musings on economic policy and the social safety net are so painfully vacuous and shallow that Paris Hilton would be ashamed to sign her name at the bottom. She makes Ana Marie Cox look like some kind of Girl Chomsky.

Once when we were in our twenties I asked my twin brother what exactly a Libertarian was. “A Republican who owns a bong,” was his highly informative response.

That explains a lot.

Most people go through an Ayn Rand phase. Generally somewhere in those dark years between A Catcher in the Rye and the onset of Still Life With Woodpecker. After Old Yeller, but before On the Road (basically, somewhere around one’s junior year of high school), many an American teen has tackled Atlas Shrugged and spent a couple of weeks spouting geysers of rhetorical dreck about self-determination and Teh Individual before some helpful older person takes them aside and explains that it’s awfully hard to enjoy your speedy new roadster when there’s no roads, which are paid for by taxes, etc, etc.

Unfortunately, that helpful older person never intervened in McArdle’s case. From her writing, it appears that she was dumped straight from her gilt-edged creche into some gold plated veal-pen of a preparatory school, from whence her parents’ money wafted her into the rarefied airs of the Ivy League, which summarily spat her into her current sinecure at the Atlantic. Presumably all without her ever scrubbing a toilet, waiting a table, or doing anything that would spoil her manicure or muss her boarding-school bob.

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Amongst the three current generations of my blood-relatives and in-laws in the local area, including numerous avid readers, Ayn Rand barely raises a flicker. I imagine aggressive third-degree would find one or two copping a plea on Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. I've never gone near her, but have had recent low-grade resolve in that direction. Multiple Robbins-readings is probably the case for at least two generations (though I am a one-book man so far). Catcher in the Rye I'd guess plagued two generations at least. Old Yeller, an interesting question. Not sure I know anyone who has actually read the book. Viewing? Absolutely! And On the Road? Go on - I'd guess repeat readings by two generations. At least four by me. But maybe not the grandparents.

Read on!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Finally a Senator wth Some Spine!

Nothing until now has caused me to have particular interest in Senator Mike Gravel. And, who knows, maybe I will never be interested again. But here and now, given this, he seems a potentially hot item, and I commend him for speaking out in this way:

As we mark the six anniversary of the 9/11 attack, it is time for Americans to face the real lessons of that horrible morning. Until we dispel the myths which the Bush administration and a compliant media have been feeding us, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes and suffer similar consequences.

Lesson 1: They Do Not Hate Us Because 'We are Free.'

For decades the U.S Government has committed horrible acts around the world, often in secret but always in the name of the American people. In every region on earth, our government has overthrown or undermined democracies, aided brutal dictatorships, and funded guerrilla wars under the guise of fighting for freedom. Until the American people grapple with this fact, our government will continue to engage in activities that destabilize the world community and bring pain and suffering to millions, including our own citizens.

Lesson 2: Anyone Could Have Imagined the 9/11 Attack

Our government failed to protect us on 9/11 not because such an attack was unimaginable but because bureaucratic turf wars and incompetence at the highest levels impeded our counter-terrorist efforts. The CIA tracked one of the hijackers into the United States but refused to pass that fact along to the FBI. FBI field agents repeatedly warned their bosses about suspected terrorists taking flight lessons but no investigation followed. The president was explicitly warned about an impending attack with airplanes but did nothing. Why not? We still don't know. The 9/11 Commission was a whitewash designed to protect the reputations of incompetent, bloated bureaucracies and a distracted White House.

Lesson 3: Our Leaders Displayed Cowardice in the Face of Terror

After the attacks, our local and national leaders refused to question the administration's contention that the air at ground zero was safe. Why was no alarm sounded by all the politicians who visited ground zero and smelled the foul, poisonous fumes? Leaders in both parties also surrendered our constitutional liberties and protections because they feared being called unpatriotic. They allowed Bush to ignore the Geneva Accords and engage in torture and extraordinary rendition. They allotted Homeland Security funds based on politics, not genuine threat assessments. And some politicians now seem unbothered by our failure to kill Bin Laden. Let's be clear, Bin Laden is not just a symbol -- his hands drip with the blood of thousands of Americans who must be avenged. When our leaders abandoned their responsibility to protect our lives and our ideals, they gave a great victory to the terrorists. Nothing could be more cowardly.

Lesson 4: The World is Not Divided between Good vs. Evil.

We should never negotiate with terrorists and we must hunt down Bin Laden and anyone else who attacks us. But we should not arbitrarily label governments 'evil' or 'terrorist regimes' and then wage covert or overt war against them. Look at the effects of Bush's belligerence toward the so-called Axis of Evil. In Iraq, we could have avoided 3700 American dead and the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents if we respected international law and allowed the UN weapons inspections to continue. By spurning direct talks with North Korea and threatening them, Bush forced Kim Jong-ill to create and test a plutonium bomb. Fortunately South Korea took a conciliatory diplomatic approach that now promises a peaceful resolution. We need to once again work with Iran on issues of mutual concern (Iraq, arms proliferation, and regional peace). Opening diplomatic negotiation with Iran is not naïve, shameful or irresponsible. In fact the tough talk we hear from Bush, Cheney and many presidential candidates simply feeds influence of Iranian extremists. The United States must stop all covert activities against Iran and begin good faith negotiations that will secure a lasting peace.

Long before 9/11, Iran fought a war against the Taliban and Wahabi terrorist networks like Al-Qaeda. The Iranians funded the Northern Alliance and in the fall of 2001 they provided the U.S. with key intelligence about Afghanistan. However, Bush and the neocons ignored the advice of the State Dept. and the CIA and spurned further cooperation. Once Bush dropped the 'Axis of Evil' line in January 2002, there was no turning back. We missed a great opportunity to learn from the Iranians and to build ties between our intelligence communities that might have helped us find Bin Laden.

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