Concerned about Rach...

The just announced tsunami warning for parts of the South Pacific, including New Zealand, is cause for a bit of concern as our blogging friend Rachel, at Life Being Beautiful, lives on the side of the island that's potentially exposed (at least, as I understand the news reports, which are still sketchy).

The above-linked report says that any tsunami that might have been generated by the 8.0 magnitude deep-sea earthquake that occurred about 1,300 miles northeast of NZ could hit the island within the next hour or so. At this point, I don't believe that an actual tsunami has been identified, but that's a remote part of the world and the sensors are not as numerous as in other places.

Might want to join me in a quick prayer for protection for Rachel and her Kiwi mates, as we hope this proves to be only a pebble in a pond.

[Update: Just caught a news report on CNN that the tsunami warnings have been canceled. Whew!]

Do you have to be really small to ride a nanotube bike?

Perceptive readers of the Gazette, or those of limited judgment and/or sociomedia outlets might recall this scintillating post about nanotubes, a term which you must admit is fun to say whether or not you understand the concept or, indeed, even believe that the material it represents exists.

As to the latter point, however, we need look no further than the website of Easton Sports, Inc., a well-respected manufacturer of bicycling componentry, where we find that the company is now employing carbon nanotube technology (CNT) in the construction of certain unnamed parts. My double-secret sources tell me that CNT is appearing in some of Easton's carbon fiber handlebars. (I'd feel more secret agent-like if those same sources weren't also running full-page ads in national cycling magazines, a tactic which makes me question the supposed exclusivity of the information I'm being fed.)

Seriously though, this is very cool geek-scifi stuff, even when applied to mundane items like handlebars. If you're interested in Easton's application of the technology, it provides a very readable FAQ here. (OK, "very readable" being a relative term and probably applying only to those who feel that a phrase like "...creating a multi-functional surface treatment technology which exfoliates, disperses, and optimizes the interaction between CNTs and the host matrix" is enlightening and not actually a coded message from the planet Zygorn.)

Personally, I think Napoleon (and Pedro) would be proud.

Technorati tags: Carbon Nanotubes | Easton Sports

Springtime in west Texas

Spring means different things to different people, but to quite a few folks in this part of the country, it means time to start watching out for rattlesnakes.

Take the fellow in Abilene (a couple of hours northeast of here), for example, who was using a forklift to clean up Patterson Drilling's yard. He picked up a pit* liner and immediately set it back down, phoned the office and said "we need some men with shotguns."

According to the report, they killed 62 rattlers...but as many got away as they shot.

Now, I'm all in favor of live and let live when it comes to giving the occasional slithering reptile the freedom to keep the place free of rats and other vermin, but nobody needs twelve dozen rattlesnakes.

*Gives a whole new meaning to the term "pit viper," doesn't it?

Tip o'the hat to MLB who also expressed an ever-so-slight bit of sympathy for "the poor poisonous little guys."

Riding with Los Caracolleros

Scene: Somewhere out west, a goldarn ways from anywhere on the map...

Tom guided his horse up next to where Chaco sat astride his pony, his dark eyes squinting towards a still-brilliant setting sun whose rays were tempered by the first signs of a thunderstorm beginning to boil up from the horizon.

"Dang, hombre, that don't look good, do it?" Tom muttered, as much to himself as to Chaco, who slowly shook his head.

"No, it don't, amigo, and that's the last thing we need, what with a herd already half loco from the heat."

They sat silently for a few moments, recalling the last time a lightning strike spooked the herd. It was like trying to rope a whirlwind, bringing those stampeding animals back under control. For sure, once they got moving, neither heaven nor hell could convince 'em to settle back down...but that's exactly what Tom and Chaco and the rest of their compadres were paid to do. Those critters weren't the fastest on God's green earth, but they were without a doubt the most stubborn, and Lord help the poor wrangler who got in the way of a spooked herd.

"Well, there's aught we can do but cinch the saddle a tad tighter, and hope that ol' storm decides to move elsewhere."

"Si, amigo. I just wish el jefe would think a little harder next time he buys a herd. Muerté!"

With that, Chaco and Tom brought their horses around, heading back to the camp for a last cup of stale coffee. It was going to be another long night on the range...nothing new, however, for the brave caracolleros and the herd of animals that provided their livelihood.

Technorati tag: Giant African Land Snails

Texas Panhandle Wildfires - Photo Gallery

The photographers for the Amarillo Globe-News have assembled a dramatic gallery of images from the recent wildfires that swept across a million acres of land in the Texas Panhandle. (Click on a date at the bottom of the page to view the images.)

These are some of the reasons that we pray for rain.

Photographer: Michael Schumacher
© Amarillo Globe-News 2006

You can't see it in this reduced-size image, but this telephone pole is still burning, from the bottom up. It's a bit clearer in the full-sized version.

Technorati tag: Panhandle Wildfires

Raptor in the Yard

The little guy in the photo below is, according to ace Midland naturalist Burr Williams, a Sharpshinned Hawk. He (the hawk, not Burr) has appeared in my backyard a couple of times in the past few weeks, and both times he's been busy dismantling the carcass of one of the countless dove which inhabit our neighborhood. You can see the dove detritus scattered about him in the photo (and I apologize for the lack of clarity; my camera's anemic 3x zoom would barely reach through the glass door, and the subject is much too skittish to get any closer).

The little hawk is an entertaining character, in a gruesome way. He clamps both claws on the carcass, grabs a tasty bit in his beak and pulls with all his might. His efforts sometimes result in both feet and carcass coming off the ground.

Burr, who is the executive director of the Sibley Nature Center and also a blogger, describes this particular hawk thusly:

In my experience, the term "dumb" could apply to every member of the dove population. How else would you describe the behavior of an animal who often roosts in the middle of a residential street? Fortunately for them, the dove-to-hawk ratio around here is approximately 1 billion-to-one.

Burr left his comment on a copy of this photo that I uploaded to the Sibley Center's image gallery, which is a great resource for those living in this area who want to either show off their nature photography skills, or who need some help identifying the subjects of those skills.

Llano Estacado essay collection now online

Burr Williams's collection of more than 300 essays about the people, history and natural environment of the Llano Estacado (west Texas and eastern New Mexico) is now online at the Sibley Nature Center's website. He's placed them into a dozen or so categories within two major sections. "Wild on the Prairie" focuses on the plants, animals and ecology of the region while "Moseying" contains essays about the history and culture of "Los Llaneros" (i.e. those of us who live here).

The collection is searchable, making it easy to find information about specific organisms, towns or other natural phenomena. This could easily become one of the most important resources for research about this region, given Burr's ongoing and prolific documentation of an amazingly wide range of topics.

Technorati tags: Llano Estacado | Burr Williams | Sibley Nature Center

When Townshend speaks, people listen (if they can hear him)

This Associated Press story documenting Who guitarist Pete Townshend's warning about headphones and hearing loss doesn't do justice to the extensive column appearing on Townshend's website.

In an entry dated December 29, 2005 on "Pete's Diary," he gives some fascinating (and potentially disturbing) anecdotal evidence for the damage that listening to loud sounds via headphones can cause...and the practical implications -- especially for musicians -- that accompany that damage.

Townshend isn't holding himself out as a medical expert, but his theory has to be given some credence, given his experience and his direct knowledge of others in the same boat. It's also supported by common sense. And his lukewarm assessment that iPod listeners "may be OK" is not designed to offer any encouragement or comfort.

I rarely use earbuds and I keep my headphone volume low enough that I can hear ambient sounds. Whether that's sufficient protection, only time will tell. But I know already that I'm missing some frequencies at the highest part of the range and those are non-recoverable. I wonder what the overall hearing ability of the affluent* population will be in 20 years. Given the number of joggers I encounter whose approach is signaled more loudly by the music coming over their headphones than by their footsteps or breathing, I'm not optimistic.

*Update: This probably doesn't read well and now that I think about it, it's probably not even accurate. Headphones/earbuds and loud music are accessible across the entire economic spectrum.

Technorati tags: Pete Townshend | Hearing Loss

Rattlesnake Vaccine for Dogs

It seems like the rattlesnake has been a recurring theme around here lately, beginning with this post about the big honkin' snake purportedly killed in the Panhandle (the report of which, by the way, is appearing more and more to be a gross exaggeration). But west Texas in general is rattlesnake country, and so I wasn't surprised yesterday to notice a poster in the vet's office advertising a vaccine designed to protect dogs against rattler bites.

Red Rock Biologics manufactures the vaccine, which is given initially in two doses a month apart, then followed by one annual booster shot in the spring, before the snakes emerge from hibernation (or a month before taking the dog into rattler country).

According to this article, the cost is about $20 per dose, making it a very reasonably priced alternative to applying anti-venom after a bite, assuming you can locate any to begin with.

According to Red Rock's FAQ, the company is also developing vaccines to protect against other types of venomous snake bites, which I assume would be primarily for copperheads and water moccasins in the US.

My brother and his wife live in an area that's literally swarming with rattlers. They're aware of at least one active den within a stone's throw of their house, and each summer they'll kill anywhere from a half dozen to 20 or more snakes around their property. They've had dogs bitten by rattlers and the recuperation is slow and painful...and that's best case. It appears that Red Rock's vaccine may be the answer to those kinds of problems.

Technorati tags: Rattlesnake Vaccine | Red Rock Biologics

Preying Mantis

I have mixed emotions about posting a link to this page, seeing as how this blog is already becoming Mantid Central and considering the delicate sensibilities of my readers, but in the interest of public safety I think we all need to be cognizant of the fact that a praying mantis is not a domesticated household pet, regardless of how cute and cuddly it looks.

I also think this is a warning to hummingbirds to reassess their position on the food chain.

Tip of the hat to Scott, who is apparently a mantid fan his own self.

Big Snake, Dead Snake, Heavy Snake, Fake Snake

Very few Gazette posts have generated traffic like this one showing the photo of the big rattlesnake purportedly killed near Fritch, Texas. I've even received email asking for the source of the photo so it could be verified. Unfortunately, I have no idea about who took the photo; it came to me via one of those endlessly forwarded emails that 99% of the time get trashed without a second glance.

Fortunately for those naysayers whose lives are such that they've got the time to perform the necessary trigonometric computations on the photo to prove that the snake can't possibly be as big as it looks, Snopes is on the case. I'm sure that -- just like a real dead rattlesnake -- this story still has a little bite left in it.

Technorati tag: Big Freakin' Dead Snake

Snake Chat

Following up on a prior post about the big rattler killed near Fritch, Texas, here's a message board thread discussing the snake and containing photos of other big'uns. If snakes give you the willies, I'd surf elsewhere.

Technorati tag: Rattlesnakes

Rattlesnakes: Everything's Bigger in Texas

Update: The general consensus is that the decimal point was probably misplaced in the reported weight of this snake...it's closer to 9.7 pounds than to 97. Also, the length is suspect due to the camera angle. We're still waiting for Snopes to give us the straight scoop.

The photo shown at right is circulating via email, so you may have already seen it. The rattlesnake in the picture is reported to be 9' 1" long and weighs 97 pounds, the same dimensions as the average runway model. It was killed at the Turkey Creek Gas Plant located near Fritch, Texas, up in the Panhandle north of Amarillo.

This appears to be a Western Diamondback rattlesnake, the largest of the species, and also the most aggressive. Unlike some of its more laid-back brethren, this guy will turn and chase you if you encounter him on a bad fang day. It's not uncommon for these snakes to exceed 5' in length, but it's rare that they grow longer than 7'...and a 9 footer is, well, amazing.

I've engaged in some rattlesnake hunting in the distant past. In fact, one of my earliest dates with the slip of a girl who would later become MLB involved driving along the shoulders of nearly deserted west Texas highways looking for rattlesnakes to capture, with the idea of converting their skins into hatbands. (The fact that she eventually agreed to marry me is still one of the great mysteries of the universe.) We were fearless around the dinky (by comparison) little critters we encountered, and it would have been relatively easy to capture them alive.

When I look at this photo, it seems a shame that such a magnificent specimen was killed -- it was probably more than twenty years old -- but I have to admit that I can't imagine how the average person would go about capturing a 100 pound rattlesnake that's longer than a Harley Davidson SuperGlide. At least with a runway model, you have the ability to lure her into a cage with cheesecake.

Technorati tag: Rattlesnake

Bird Flu Mania

Here's an interesting indication of how pronounced the interest is in the latest news about bird flu. I've had at least a hundred hits during the last hour since the Bird Flu Monitor blog linked to my silly cartoon posted yesterday morning.

The really sad thing is that the link isn't so much about the cartoon itself, but about the broken layout in the "Just Plain Silly" category in which it resides (the same broken layout that Jim so thoughtfully pointed out yesterday). See, there's one downside to getting a bunch of new visitors.

Dang. I guess I'll have to start thinking about considering a potential approach to deciding on a strategy for possibly fixing that problem. Maybe mañana.

Now, how should I tag this post? Should I be realistic about its content, or continue to go for the cheap hits?

Heh.

Technorati tag: Bird Flu Posted by Eric at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Flu Pandemic could make Katrina look like a spring shower

How's that for an over-the-top headline? Thing is, according to this article in today's Wall Street Journal, the potential for a repeat of the flu epidemic of 1918, in which 50 million people died, is greater than originally thought.

And then...

These studies make the reports about the increasingly frequent appearances of so-called "bird flu" in Southeast Asia and Russia somewhat more relevant than just a headline in the "Other World News" section of the paper.

According to this article, the US Senate has appropriated $3.9 billion to make preparations to fight a possible outbreak in this country, and President Bush has already stated that he would consider using the military to enforce a quarantine in the event of a major outbreak.

This could be an extremely "interesting" winter. The worst case scenario is such that we might look back longingly on the good old days of Hurricane Season 2005.

Technorati tags: Bird Flu | Avian Flu | Epidemic

Finally, an explanation for The Donald

A study conducted conducted by a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Iowa suggests that people who have an impaired ability to experience emotions due to brain damage often make better financial decisions...and more money.

According to a report in today's Wall Street Journal, good investors may actually possess what's known as a "functional psychopathy."

But, before you rush out to get a lobotomy so you can start earning the big bucks in the stock market or at the WSOP, you might want to consider this:

There's always a catch, isn't there?

Technorati tags: Neuroeconomics | Behavioral Economics

Snakes and Ants

In only his second day of blogging, local nature expert Burr Williams has already posted some intriguing information about the west Texas ecosystem, including an odd species known as the "blind snake":

I've never heard this before, and it piqued my curiosity so I googled "blind snake" and found this article at the top of the list. Here's an excerpt:

Burr and the author of the latter article, an instructor at Rice University, have apparently reached different conclusions about the relationship of the blind snake to ant colonies. It's worth noting that the Rice article is seven years old and thus may not reflect the most current theory about the potential symbiosis between the two species, and the author does admit that the behaviors are not fully understood.

Regardless, both articles are quite instructive about the behaviors of the little-known Texas residents.

This is good stuff, folks...it appeals to my inner zoologist!

Technorati tag: Blind Snake

Sniffing Out the Sudafed Saga

We've been an interested observer of the movements on a number of fronts to make Sudafed and its kindred products harder for meth-heads to abuse, so it wasn't a shock to read that the world's biggest retailer is moving all over-the-counter solid medications containing pseudoephedrine into its pharmacies. Wal-Mart's move follows similar actions by Target and Albertson's, and is intended to cut down on the amount of cold and allergy medications making it way out the door for purposes other than relieving stuffy heads.

But this throwaway sentence did catch me by surprise: Wal-Mart has also been in discussions with suppliers "regarding the reformulating of these products with alternative ingredients."

Well, now.

Have we indeed come to this, where a corporation has grown in size and influence to the point where it begins to assume the roles of government agencies? Do we really need (or want) a retailer, however efficient and successful, acting as a lobbyist to influence the makeup of our medications?

I'm sure Wal-Mart feels it has a dog in this fight. Sooner or later, retailers of these OTC medications will be sued by the family of someone who's been murdered by a jerk jacked up on meth manufactured from cold tablets shoplifted from a local store. Given the litigious nature of our society, that is inevitable, if it hasn't already happened, and moves like putting Sudafed out of easy reach are common sense. However, lobbying drug manufacturers to change the formulation seems to be overreaching.

Be that as it may, it's a moot point with respect to Sudafed, as Pfizer is making over the entire line anyway, substituting phenylephrine for pseudoephedrine in what will be called Sudafed PE (the old formulation will still be available...theoretically, at least; any bets as to whether Wal-Mart will carry it?). The new component cannot be used for making methamphetamine. I've been unable to locate any information about the relative efficacy of the two compounds.

It would be interesting to know how Pfizer came to the decision to substitute phenylephrine for pseudoephedrine. I wonder if the idea came to a Pfizer's exec in a dream, carried by a round yellow face sporting an evil grin?

Technorati tag: Phenylephrine | Pseudoephedrine | Sudafed | Wal-Mart

mimus polyglottos and Terror from Above

Regular Gazette contributer Mr. Freen broached the subject of mockingbirds in a comment on yesterday's post about bluebirds, and it's one that's ripe for further discussion.

I didn't realize that mimus polygottos (one of the best Latin species names ever, btw) ranged so far and wide. According to Mockingbird.org, varieties of the species are found everywhere in the USA, and as far south as the Galapagos Islands and the Netherlands Antilles. I'd always associated the bird with the southern states, and it has indeed been adopted as the state bird by Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida (especially ironic considering that the sub-species in question is designated the "Northern Mockingbird." I guess we are, indeed, north of the Carribean Sea.).

Mockingbirds are fascinating, and if one has enough patience, they will engage you in a game of call-and-respond as you throw out a distinctive whistle and they attempt (usually successfully) to mimic it.

I suspect that everyone has a mockingbird story, as the critters are quite, um, colorful in personality and assertive in behavior (as bluebird photographer Brian describes in his comment on the above-referenced post). I'm sure that most would agree that it's appropriate that the mockingbird is designated as the state bird of Texas, given its tendency to be loud-mouthed (we call it "garrulous"), opportunistic (we call it "entrepreneurial"), multi-talented (we call it "having the gift of gab" and pushy (we call it, um, "pushy").

My most memorable mockingbird encounter occurred when we were living in the Dallas suburb of Garland in the late 70s. We were in our first home, and had planted some live oaks in the front yard, one of which a mockingbird family found suitable for a nest.

I was mowing the front yard early that summer and passed close by the oak tree in question, when I received a sudden blow to the top of my head. I touched the point of impact and drew back a bloody fingertip. It seems that the male mockingbird had decided that I and that infernal contraption had come just about close enough to his family's personal perimeter, and had proceeded to divebomb me.

I finished the yard duties, but I'm sure the neighbors drew their curtains just a bit tighter that day as they watched the obviously crazy guy across the street pushing a lawn mower while wearing a black full-faced motorcycle helmet and waving one arm in an attempt to ward off an enraged bird.

Technorati tag: Mockingbird

Something to sneeze at

As I type this, 30+ mph winds are carrying dust and small animals through the Midland air, aggravating allergies and bringing home the implications of this proposal to ban the sale of Sudafed in Texas.

The reason is laudable. Sudafed is being reprocessed by criminals to make methamphetamine. You can't swing a dead cat in most cities and towns throughout Texas without hitting a meth lab, and the drain on local law enforcement resources is significant.

Texas wouldn't be the first to take this step. Oklahoma has a ban on over-the-counter sale of psuedoephedrine, the active ingredient in Sudafed, and Kansas is considering such a ban (if it hasn't already imposed one).

It's tempting to label moves like this as "nanny-statism," where the government presumes to know better than us what's good for us. But the growing danger of meth, both as a drug and as a hazardous manufacturing process, is undeniable. Restrictions on an otherwise beneficial product (Sudafed happens to be the only medication I take regularly, as it controls my allergies like nothing else I've found) seem to be just another indicator that our society is breaking down in a thousand ways, small and large.

In the meantime, I'm buying stock in Kimberly-Clark.

Tsunami Relief: Corporate Involvement

I tend to think of the Southeast Asian tsunami relief efforts in terms of work being done by non-profit and governmental agencies and organizations but the fact is that many corporations are also contributing in ways that cash simply can't provide. Take the example of DSM.

Koninklijke DSM N.V. is a corporation based in the Netherlands that engages in research and manufacturing of a mind-boggling array of products. If you take a look at the popup menus on its Product Finder webpage, you'll see markets listed as diverse as animal nutrition, biocides, bio-armor, dyes and pigments, and pharmaceuticals. DSM is the epitome of the "global conglomerate," albeit one with a very low profile.

In the wake of the tsunami disaster and in addition to donating cash, DSM has stepped up to provide resources in two critical areas: it is donating active ingredients for antibiotics and speeding up plans to install a self-sustaining water purification facility in southern India. The former will be critical in helping ensure that the post-disaster diseases can be effectively fought; one of DSM's subsidiaries is the world’s leading bulk producer of the antibiotics Amoxicillin and Ampicillin, and these ingredients will be donated to local producers of the final product.

DSM is also underwriting research into sustainable local water purification via Water4Life, a longterm research project that is now being accelerated to provide more immediate relief to disaster victims. Once in place, the aforementioned filtration facility will provide safe drinking water to people in India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Ultimately, it will make 500 filters available per day; each filter can support 10-15 people in their daily need for safe drinking water.

I'm sure these kinds of stories are being replicated scores of times around the world. They don't get a lot of press, but the efforts by these "uncaring corporate giants" will help save and rebuild countless lives.

Got Pork...I mean, Milk?

Deb over at Write Lightning has an interesting post about the sources of vitamin D3 in milk. It seems that one potential source of that essential "vitamin" (it's not actually a vitamin, in the most technical sense, because it can be produced by an organism, albeit not usually in sufficient quantities) is pork. This presents a problem for those who are observing strict dietary guidelines for religious reasons, such as the kosher diet of Orthodox Jews.

Deb refers to an old article and wonders if the sources for D3 have changed in the years since it was printed. I don't know about that, but I did find a scientific paper that goes into great detail about D3, its significance and its sources. According to this article, once the D3 is synthesized into its pure molecular form, it's impossible to determine its source, which isn't surprising. The exact processes and sources now in use are apparently proprietary, protected by patents. The article goes on to acknowledge the quandary this creates for the aforementioned religious diets.