TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee")

22 October 2010

Our moon has an abundance of water

It was only about a year ago that I blogged my surprise at the report of water being discovered on the moon. Now it appears that water is there in considerable quantities:

"It's really wet," said Anthony Colaprete, co-author of one of the Science papers... He and his colleagues estimate that 5.6% of the total mass of the targeted lunar crater's soil consists of water ice. In other words, 2,200 pounds of moon dirt would yield a dozen gallons of water.

The presence of water doesn't make it more likely that there ever was life on the moon, as the location studied is among the coldest in the solar system. But the large quantity boosts the case for a manned lunar base from which to launch other interplanetary adventures. Water is crucial because its components, hydrogen and oxygen, are key ingredients for rocket fuel. Oxygen can also be extracted from water to make breathable air...

The scientists also found molecular hydrogen in the soil. "That's interesting because if you want to make rocket fuel you could heat up the soil and hydrogen would come pouring out," said Dr. Gladstone.

Further details at the Wall Street Journal.

Children view their dead classmate

I have featured "postmortem photographs" several times (here, here, here, and here). The one above from 1910 is a bit different in that it features the deceased posed with classmates rather than family.

“Today, children are protected from viewing or actively participating in funerals with the deceased in plain view. In the first decades of the twentieth century, a popular style of postmortem photograph depicted dead school age children with their classmates or social peer groups, such as Boy Scouts. This photograph was made in the real photograph postcard format so that participants could have a copy and perhaps send one to friends.”

From Sleeping Beauty II - Grief, Bereavement and the Family in Memorial Photography by Stanley B. Burns, M.D.

Found at (OvO).

How do you cut this pie?

The pie chart comes from an op-ed piece at the Washington Examiner.

The blue parts of that chart are the parts Republicans have said they won't cut. The red slice, well that's fair game. Klein writes:

Even if you were to eliminate this entire slice of the budget (meaning you're willing to gut the Department of Homeland Security and defund all other federal agencies and departments) it wouldn't even eliminate half of last year's deficit.

The diagram emphasizes the point made earlier this week by John in the discussion of another pie chart. At some point it's going to be necessary to rethink "mandatory" or "nondiscretionary" spending. Andrew Sullivan contrasts the window-dressing cutbacks suggests by both Republicans and Democrats with the sea-change being suggested for Great Britain:

And now, courtesy of Britain's Tories, we have a real example of actual fiscal conservatives. Leave aside the legitimate debate about whether it's the right thing to do right now, the Tories bravely campaigned on major cuts - even in welfare which is beloved by their own core constituency, like child benefit - and delivered, risking their entire future on what they believe is the responsible thing to do...

They've raised the retirement age to 66; they plan to reduce the numbers of criminals in prison; they've cut police funding; they've cut defense by 8 percent; they've slashed subsidies to the regions. And remember the British debt is not that much higher than the US debt: Yes, the welfare cuts will hurt the poor, but the biggest hit will come from middle class entitlements. The wealthy, including the Queen, are reeling...

So, who's going to raise taxes and cut our spending on welfare, retirement benefits, education, and the war machine?

Rethinking "going to college"

This week the Chronicle of Higher Education offered the chart above and asked "why did these people go to college?"

Over 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees (over 8,000 of them have doctoral or professional degrees), along with over 80,000 bartenders, and over 18,000 parking lot attendants. All told, some 17,000,000 Americans with college degrees are doing jobs that the BLS says require less than the skill levels associated with a bachelor’s degree...

Now it is true that college has a consumption as well as investment function. People often enjoy going to classes, just as they enjoy watching movies or taking trips. They love the socialization dimensions of schooling—particularly in this age of the country-clubization of American universities. They may improve their self-esteem by earning a college degree. Yet, at a time when resources are scarce, when American governments are running $1.3-trillion deficits, when we face huge unfunded liabilities associated with commitments made to our growing elderly population, should we be subsidizing increasingly problematic educational programs for students whose prior academic record would suggest little likelihood of academic, much less vocational, success?

The article offers one viewpoint on a complicated issue; personally I think it's a rather narrow-minded viewpoint at that. There are some thoughtful and well-informed counterpoints presented in the responses to the article.

20 October 2010

Rosa Bonheur with Bull (1857)

A painting by Edouard-Louis Dubufe, which I thought had quite a bizarre composition until I read the biography of the lady, and discovered that she achieved her fame as a painter of animals. It's still a bizarre image, but at least now it makes more sense.

Found at Miss Folly.

Use onion bags to scrub dirty dishes

"I always dreaded the prospect of trying to get the gunk of sticky flour or melted cheese out of a sponge or brush until I recently discovered a solution in the form of the netting that onions and other vegetables come packaged in. By cutting up the stiff netting bags from packaging into about 6" squares you can make reusable super scrubbing tools. A few bags will produce more than you'll need. Now when you're finished scrubbing you can toss or recycle the used nettin..."

Found at Boing Boing.