GLORIA STEINEM / GOOGLE+ GUIDE

GLORIA STEINEM. When I was an undergrad at the University of Arizona, back during the Punic Wars, for two years I minored in Women's Studies. I'd been a supporter of the second wave of feminism for a long time, had thought and read about feminist/humanist issues of equality, and was a charter subscriber to Ms. magazine. All of which was well and good, but I sought a more direct, interactive involvement.

Back then, men made up 10 percent or less of Women's Studies students. Without exception, my professors and the director of the program were welcoming. Some of my women classmates, less so. I accepted their suspicion, or uncertainty, or animosity, as an opportunity to experience what most women feel in a male-dominated economy and culture. The classes themselves were a revelation -- women in American history, in philosophy, in literature (both as author and as protagonist). I'll always treasure that time as an essential part of my maturing.

Feminism doesn't seem to make the news as much these days. Clearly women remain an economically and socially oppressed group by any measure. Some gains toward equality have been made, but many remain unattained. Perhaps our attention has been diverted by other causes ~ war, unemployment, immigration, the increasing chasm between the wealthy few and the rest of us. If so, that is unfortunate. Women are half the population, nearly half the work force, yet they continue to be woefully underrepresented in politics and in corporate boardrooms.

One of feminism's icons (and one of my personal heroes) appeared recently in a "Need To Know" interview on PBS. The video segment, Gloria Steinem on Men, Women, and Power, is essential viewing for anyone who seeks to understand the roots of the social problems we face, not to mention the vast untapped reservoir of women's talent and creativity needed to solve those problems. Gloria Steinem (seen above, in 1972) is articulate, informed, and at ease ~ the kind of person one would wish to have for a friend and ally. She co-founded Ms. magazine in 1972, founded the Women's Media Center in 2005, and has written half a dozen well-regarded books over the years. Watch the video and see if you are not impressed, regardless of your political persuasions.

GOOGLE+ GUIDE. For Facebook users who may wonder what all the fuss is about, and even for those who feel they have no use for social media, Ben Parr's Google+: The Complete Guide is a handy tool. From "why would I be interested?" to "how does Google+ compare to Facebook?" to "what does this feature do?", this comprehensive article has the answers, complete with illustrations. I maintain a presence on both FB and G+, and find the latter to be superior on several levels. To learn why, check out his article.

NUCLEAR DISASTER IN CALIFORNIA

Ever since the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (image above) went online in 1985, it has been a lightning rod for controversy and protest. The plant is located at Avila Beach on the Pacific Ocean, 12 miles from San Luis Obispo, considered by some to be the "happiest city in America". It is also located with in a network of geographic faults, including the Hosgri Fault 3 miles offshore (west), and the San Andreas Fault inland (east), both of which roughly parallel the coast. Additionally, a series of faults form a segmented line less than a mile offshore from the plant.

Until recently the Nuclear Regulatory Commission incorporated seismic, construction, and safety data from the plant's owner, Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE) in ascertaining whether the plant should be authorized to operate. Following the earthquake/tsunami-generated Fukushima nculear disaster earlier this year in Japan, renewed attention has been directed at nuclear power plants worldwide. Germany has announced plans to phase out its nuclear plants entirely, and several other European nations are poised to follow suit.

In the wake of Fukushima, the NRC is (belatedly) developing its own independent criteria for measuring plant safety. On Wednesday a special NRC task force released its findings on the preparedness of American nuclear plants, as well as twelve recommendations which include a call to strengthen oversight of plant safety. As reported on the PBS program Need To Know, in a segment titled Double Fault, California State Senator Sam Blakeslee (R-15th District) is spearheading a serious critique of the NRC, PGE, and specifically the Diablo Canyon plant. Blakeslee is not your usual legislator -- he is a research scientist and a geophysicist with expertise in seismology, and his concerns clearly have a sound scientific foundation. For six years he has been pressing PGE for substantive data to back the company's contention that Diablo Canyon is safe to operate. The response has ranged from stonewalling to specious manipulation of information on the fault system. The video clearly illustrates with commentary and maps that in fact (contrary to PGE's claims), the segmented offshore faults (see map below, click to enlarge) and the Hosgri Fault form a single integrated network extending for hundreds of miles. A major earthquake anywhere in the system would be transmitted through th entire network ~ catastrophic news for Diablo Canyon, which is only constructed to withstand a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

Given the ongoing repercussions of the Fukushima disaster, given the egregiously unstable location of the Diablo Canyon plant, and given that prevailing winds would carry any released radiation inland in a plume which would endanger cities in California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico at the very least, it is long past time that we reconsider our reliance on nuclear power. Or rather, our reliance on power produced by nuclear fission. As I proposed in a post four days ago, power generated by nuclear fusion is an entirely different story, and an idea whose time has come.

ELEPHANTS IN CRISIS / ASSATEAGUE FERAL HORSES

ELEPHANTS IN CRISIS. "Highly emotional and completely guileless, elephants mourn their dead -- and across Africa, they are grieving daily as demand from China's 'suddenly wealthy' has driven the price of ivory to $700 a pound or more. Tens of thousands of elephants [are] being slaughtered every year for their tusks, raising the specter of an 'extinction vortex'." Thus begins Alex Shoumatoff's investigative report Agony and Ivory on the slaughter of Africa's wildlife icon.

He reveals that even in heavily-patrolled game reserves like Amboseli National Park in Kenya, highly mobile poachers armed with automatic weapons make the task of protecting resident elephant herds not only difficult, but lethal. When the 2008 global recession struck, Kenya's tourism was cut in half, further eroding protection. Native Maasai herders, who once coexisted with wildlife, have been lured by the prospect of easy money to assist poachers in their deadly pursuit.

"There had been almost no poaching around Amboseli for 30 years before a Chinese company got the contract to build a 70-mile long highway just above the park. Since the road crews arrived in 2009, four of Amboseli's magnificent big-tusked bulls have been killed, and the latest word is that the poachers are now going after the matriarchs -- a social and genetic disaster, because elephants live in matriarchies, and removing the best breeders of both sexes from the gene pool could funnel the Amboseli population into what is known as an extinction vortex.

"Unfortunately, this problem isn't limited to Kenya. Across the continent, in their 37 range states, from Mali to South Africa, Ethiopia to Gabon, elephants are being killed at the rate of around 100 a day, 36,500 a year .... Gabon, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania are losing thousands. Chad, home to 15,000 elephants in 1979, has less than 400 left. Sierra Leone is down to single digits.

" .... This new crisis is being driven by China's nouveaux riches, or bao fa hu (suddenly wealthy), who are as numerous as the entire population of Japan. The main consumers are middle-aged men who have just made it into the middle class and are eager to flaunt their ability to make expensive discretionary purchases. Beautiful ivory carvings are traditional symbols of wealth and status."

This story breaks my heart. I've never visited Africa, but part of me has belonged there since I was a child. I have no words (and even less tolerance) for those who wantonly murder wildlife for "sport", trophies, obscure and mythical medicinal properties, or vanity. The cancer that is human overpopulation, coupled with human greed, has already driven countless species large and small to extinction, on every habitable continent. The genocide can occur as direct hunting, or less obviously masked by destruction of habitat for human development (synonymous with the rape of nature). Illegal poaching should be a capital offense worldwide, and rigorously enforced. In Kenya, perhaps Africa's most enlightened nation when it comes to conservation, park rangers are armed and authorized to shoot to kill. I only wish that every nation adopted such rigorous measures to protect what little remains of the natural world.

ASSATEAGUE FERAL HORSES. In the U.S., feral horses inhabit other ranges in addition to the American West. On Assateague Island, a barrier island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, a population of 113 resident feral horses is undergoing culture shock. Like black bears in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, Assateague's horses have been approached, fed, photographed, and treated like pets by tourists. And like black bears, the horses have become habituated to humans, addicted to handouts, and sometimes aggressive when people come too close. It is a situation we ourselves have created, by not respecting their home and their integrity. The Assateague ponies are related to, and share ancestry with, Chincoteague ponies just up the coast. Both groups were once one herd, and are thought to be descended from 17th-century horses which were either survivors of Spanish galleon shipwrecks, or set loose by colonists to avoid livestock laws and taxes on the mainland ~ depending on which story you believe.

Here is a Washington Post article describing the deteriorating situation, and here is a brief slide show demonstrating human/horse interactions.

GTTS OPENS AT LAST

Going-To-The-Sun Road, the only highway which runs through the interior of Glacier National Park, finally opened for traffic along its entire 50 mile length for the first time this summer. Crews have been working steadily to clear the road of unprecendented deep accumulations of winter snow, often hampered by avalanches which clogged already-cleared roadway, as late spring sun and episodes of rain combined to soften upslope snowfields. It has been an epic year in Glacier ~ this was the latest Sun Road opening since the inaugural opening in 1933. Visitors driving from the west along Lake McDonald and upward, or from the east along St. Mary Lake and upward, can now reach the road's summit at Logan Pass (see image above) on the continental divide for the first time since the road was closed due to snowfall last autumn. Regarded by many as one of the most visually breathtaking drives in the world, Going-To-The-Sun lies in the backyard of my youth. I grew up along the northern Rocky Mountain Front, and spent many family outings and Boy Scout campouts in that stunning landscape, including a 50-mile, weeklong hike through the backcountry in the summer of 1962. The group was privileged to see everything from mountain sheep to moose and marmots, pileated woodpeckers to ptarmigan, mountain goats to grizzleys, even a very elusive Canada lynx (see image below, click to enlarge). High times indeed.

JUST FOR FUN

Today I'm (partially) clearing out my backlog of links to whimsical and "oh my, really?" websites. Have fun !

~ Grains of sand magnified to 250 times (see image above).

~ Infographic: Using Twitter and Flicker Geotags to Map the World.

~ Infographic: Cell Phone Calls Reveal the United States' Invisible Ties.

~ What the World of Vibration Looks Like at 1000 Times per Second.

~ Sex with a Stripper before your Wedding? How men sometimes cheat just to impress other men.

~ The Only Pair of Matching Singing Bird Pistols.

~ From the Scientific American blog Symbiartic: The art of science and the science of art ~ 5 Reasons Your Camera Won't Steal My Job. A scientific illustrator contends that:

- Photography can't capture small things.

- Photography can't capture distant things.

- Photography can't capture extinct things (see image below).

- Photography can emphasize the wrong things.

- Photography is just one tool.

Having trained in both graphics and photographic scientific illustration, I don't necessarily agree with every contention, but the text and images are fascinating.

FUSION ENERGY / SOLAR ERUPTION / CARLIN

FUSION ENERGY. The NYTimes article How Seawater Can Power the World reveals a viable, clean, and nearly limitless source of energy which could entirely replace the world's dependence on the combustion of petroleum products ~ nuclear fusion . Until recently most governments associated fusion (the opposite of nuclear fission) with apocalyptic weaponry, but its most promising application lies in fusion power production .... enough power to supply the needs of the entire planet, indefinitely.

Here is how Steward C. Prager describes the situation ~ "Debate about America's energy supply is heating up: gas prices are rising, ethanol is under attack, and nuclear power continues to struggle in the shadow of the Fukushima disaster in Japan. But an abundant, safe, and clean energy source once thought to be the stuff of science fiction is closer than many realize: nuclear fusion. Making it a reality, however, will take significant investment from the government at a time when spending on scientific research is under threat.

"Harnessing nuclear fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars, has been a goal of physicists worldwide since the 1950s. It is essentially inexaustible and it can be created using hydrogen isotopes -- chemical cousins of hydrogen, like deuterium -- that can readily be extracted from seawater.

"Fusion energy is created by fusing two atomic nuclei, in the process converting mass to energy, which appears as heat. The heat, as in conventional nuclear fission reactors, turns water into steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity, or is used to produce fuels for transportation or other uses.

"Fusion energy generates zero greenhouse gases. It offers no chance of a catastrophic accident. It is available to all nations, relying only on the Earth's oceans. When commercialized, it will transform the world's energy supply.

" .... Seven partners -- the European Union, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States -- have teamed up on an experiment to produce 500 million watts of fusion power for 500 seconds and longer by 2020, demonstrating key scientific and engineering aspects of fusion at the scale of a reactor. However, even though the United States is a contributor to this experiment, known as ITER, it has yet to commit to the full program needed to develop a domestic fusion reactor to produce electricity for the American power grid. Meanwhile other nations are moving forward to implement fusion as a key ingredient to their energy security.

" .... What has been lacking in the United States is the political and economic will. We need serious public investment to develop materials that can withstand the harsh nuclear environment, sustain hot plasma indefinitely, and integrate all these features in an experimental facility to produce continuous fusion power."

So. Given the dangers of existing nuclear fission plants, the non-renewable aspect of oil reserves, and the unacceptable tradeoffs of biofuels, what's the holdup? When in doubt, there is no doubt. The answer is money ~ who stands to benefit from maintaining the status quo for as long as possible, preventing widespread development and deployment of alternative power sources like solar, wind, tidal, or fusion energy? Clearly big oil, steel, Wall Street, and the politicians who serve these financial behemoths have been, and continue to be, the roadblock barring our entry into the future. If they didn't suffer from terminal myopia, not to mention an absence of dedication to the public good, these entities would be actively leading the way in alternative energy development, most notably in fusion power.

SOLAR ERUPTION. Speaking of things solar, check out this amazing set of videos from NASA ~ Dark Fireworks on the Sun. The blast of a medium-sized solar eruption (a common occurance) "was triggered by an unstable magnetic filament near the sun's surface. That filament was loaded down with 'cool' plasma, which exploded in a spray of dark blobs and streamers. The plasma blogs were as big as planets, many larger than Earth. They rose and fell ballistically, moving under the influence of the sun's gravity like balls tossed into the air, exploding like bombs when they hit the solar surface." The videos are large and may take a few moments to download, but they and the accompanying commentary are well worth the time.

CARLIN. George Carlin, arguably America's preeminent and most intelligent standup comedian, social critic, actor, and author, is sadly no long with us ~ he died in 2008. But his legacy of acerbic realism lives on in his books, audio and video recordings. Case in point: a 3-minute exerpt from his stage monologue The American Dream. The clip contains strong language, and even stronger observations which challenge the assumptions many of us hold regarding who is in control of our country. I happen to agree with every word, every syllable of Carlin's exhortation, as readers of past posts to this blog will attest. I dare you to listen, and not be moved by the elemental truths with which Carlin confronts us.

ONLINE DATING / DYING YOUNG

ONLINE DATING. I'm not a regular reader of The New Yorker. Its content seems pretty tightly focused on residents of Manhattan (though I'm probably generalizing scandalously). So I'm particularly grateful to Susan for sharing with me a New Yorker article titled Looking for Someone: Sex, Love and Loneliness on the Internet. While my in-progress novel takes a microcosmic, anecdotal approach to meeting people online, the article by Nick Paumgarten adopts more of an overview. He includes the history of Internet dating sites, some experiences from individuals who've used those sites, research into just how effective they are at bringing compatible people together successfully, and much more. It is a quick and entertaining read. Paumgarten cleverly presents several sites (Match.com, eHarmony, OK Cupid) with its own persona, and points out that none of them are actual "dating" sites, but rather places at which to meet people. In comparing the filtering algorithms, the clientele, and the philosophies of each site, he provides valuable information to those who may be dipping their toes in the water for the first time. The comparisons make sense (and provide comfort) to anyone who has used more than one service over the years. Whether you're looking for a life partner, a quick hookup, or serial entertainment, with persistence and an open mind you stand a better-than-even chance of finding your heart's desire. Well done.

DYING YOUNG. A new study provides further documentation for a phenomenon which many have noticed for years ~ both men and women in the world's richest country live shorter lives than residents of other developed nations (see the chart below). Not only that, the U.S. is falling further behind. One third of American adults are clinically obese, and another third are seriously overweight. We place fewer restrictions on smoking, have a higher infant mortality rate, and place the least emphasis on affordable, quality health care. It is that last risk factor which, if corrected, would have the greatest positive effect on the other risk factors. Health care in the U.S. is a scandal, with physicians and pharmaceutical corporations making money hand over fist, while more and more Americans simply cannot afford the astronomical costs of even basic healthcare. How sad, then, that Republicans were successful in eliminating or diluting key portions of President Obama's health care reform package.

But then, it is wealthy Republican politicians who have the most to gain financially from the status quo. According to the BBC News report, "If you have most health spending just going to a few people who have the best health care to begin with, that is hardly efficient. In a more unequal rich country [the U.S.], more doctors are working on things like plastic surgery. More dentists whiten teeth than fix bad teeth .... a more even distribution of wealth, even if the average were lower, could mean longer lives for everyone." Good luck convincing the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans who control between 80 and 90 percent of the nation's capital (and enjoy the best healthcare). For some perspective, here is a list of the risk factors contributing to our lower life expectancy ~

~ smoking
~ obesity
~ high blood pressure
~ high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol
~ high dietary trans fatty acids
~ high salt intake
~ low dietary omega 3 fatty acids
~ high blood glucose
~ low intake of fruits and vegetables
~ alcohol abuse
~ physical inactivity

If you have only one or two factors, that's one or two too many. If you have more than that, a serious reevaluation of your life choices is urgent.

MARRIAGE & SLAVERY / STUDENT CREATIVITY

MARRIAGE & SLAVERY. Something of a tempest was stirred up this week when a conservative group, The Family Leader, successfully suckered a number of political candidates, including Michele Bachmann (see image above), into signing a pledge called "The Marriage Vow" in exchange for the group's endorsement of the candidate. Bachman was the first presidential candidate to take the bait. But oops, it turns out that the group is egregiously racist, homophobic, and religiously intolerant ~ the preamble in the pledge included in its first bullet point the claim that the institution of marriage is in crisis, and offered as evidence the claim that a black person born into slavery "was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American president."

Never mind that slaves were forbidden to marry, or that many black families were sundered when members were sold to different owners. But then, this isn't the first time that conservatives have re-written history in order to further their cause. Bachman, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, and just about every Republican presidential candidate has been afflicted with foot-in-mouth disease by his/her own specious fantasies. It's not like we don't already have real and pressing issues to solve, without manufacturing phony claims out of thin air.

When challenged by liberals and news commenters, the group backed off, but not very convincingly. A spokeswoman said in a note to the Bachman campaign that "we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued (her word) .... We sincerely apologize for any negative feelings this may have caused." Misconstrued? Negative feelings? How about admitting that you outright lied, and got caught? Saying "I'm so sorry your feelings were hurt" is not the same as saying "I was wrong." Very sad.

STUDENT CREATIVITY. Here's a question ~ "How can students develop their job-creating, innovation-oriented talents if our education system remains centered on knowing and applying information instead of teaching creative, big-picture thinking?" Stanford professor David M. Kelley believes that it's never too late to rediscover one's right-brain abilities. In a provocative interview, Kelley explains how, with the right encouragement, one's creative, inventive talents can re-emerge. The video is just over four minutes long and worth watching, regardless of one's age.

LIBERAL MEDIA / TICKLING

LIBERAL MEDIA. One often hears conservative commenters and politicians allege that most print and broadcast news media in the U.S. are of a decidedly liberal persuasion, hence unsympathetic to the views and values of the right. FALSE. If you pay any attention at all to the news topics chosen, and the manner in which those topics are presented, you'll find that if anything, most news media are emphatically conservative (even while they try mightily to portray themselves as impartial). If you doubt this, take a look at the corporations which own the major networks, then tell me that there isn't a conservative bias, not to mention a glaring conflict of interest.

The only entities which can claim some degree of impartiality are TV's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and radio's National Public Radio (NPR). If you'd like a look at truly liberal media, the pickings are slim ~ on cable news, MSNBC, and on radio, Air America. Note that when measured in air time, conservative programming enjoys a 9 to 1 advantage over liberal programming. So much for the myth of liberal media holding sway over public opinion.

TICKLING. Any evolutionary biologist will tell you that most behaviors or physical traits confer a survival advantage, or they would not persist over generations. There are a few relict behaviors or traits which once contributed to survival value, but no longer do so. Only a few. So what possible advantage could be attached to being ticklish?

A brief BBC video provides one possible explanation. In sum, those parts of our bodies which are ticklish are also those parts which may be most vulnerable to injury if attacked by a predator (whether a saber-toothed cat or a scorpion). Those among our ancestors who happened to be endowed with extra sensory nerve endings in the vulnerable body parts, were more likely to sense and survive an attack, and pass their genes on to succeeding generations. Hence the spread of being ticklish among the human population. Like pretend fighting among young predators, adult humans tickling children in play may unconsciously be provoking an ancestral survival response. Perhaps it is no accident that the one being tickled responds with both laughter and pleas to stop. Sensory overload can be a little scary.

Not all humans are equally ticklish. Those among us who are not, or who are able to actively control their tickle response, might be at a survival disadvantage if thrust into an attack situation, or if in an environment in which mosquitos, lice, or other vermin might come visiting. Hey, it's possible.

LAST SHUTTLE LAUNCH / AERIAL AMERICA

LAST SHUTTLE LAUNCH. This morning at 11:29 A.M., the space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from its launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center (see image above, click to enlarge) with its crew of four, embarking on the 135th and final mission in the space shuttle program. Noting the end of the shuttle era, mission commander Christopher Ferguson commented, "We're not ending the journey today, we're completing a chapter in a journey that will never end."

I hope Ferguson is right. As of now, there is no dedicated U.S. program in place for continuing and expanding a manned presence in space. The closest thing we have is the Orion spacecraft, which is years away from deployment and faces uncertain funding and uncertain mission definition, with the cancellation last year of the Constellation program. It would be a tragedy if we were to become so focused on our proximate needs that we lost sight of the grand vision of exploration and learning which has been the hallmark of NASA's many manned and unmanned space missions. We as a species have been explorers since we first left Africa to eventually populate the globe. Having essentially run out of new frontiers here on Earth, the next obvious great unknown is space ~ our moon, the planets of the solar system, and eventually interstellar exploration. One hopes the dream never dies.

Dennis Overbye shares similar thoughts in his essay As Shuttle Program Ends, Dreams of Space Linger, a reflection on the shuttle missions in general, and on their essential role in establishing one of humanity's most far-reaching scientific achievements, the Hubble Space Telescope. As for me, it is a day of awe mixed with disappointment. Being present for a shuttle launch has long been on my fantasy list, but for now the possibility no longer exists. One can only wait impatiently for the next phase of space exploration, whatever form it takes.

AERIAL AMERICA. The Smithsonian Channel is now offering full episodes of its Aerial America program, a series which features views of U.S. cityscapes and landscapes taken from aircraft at varying altitudes. Each episode focuses on a particular state, and so far the series has presented episodes on east and west coast states. The website is interactive, so you can provide input on which parts of your state you would like to see covered. I can't wait to see what they do with Arizona and Montana! (Image below courtesy of Raven Maps)

RETHINKING EDUCATION

As both a lifelong student and a former teacher, I am intensely interested in what goes on in the classrooms of our schools and universities. In the U.S., the public school system is broken, which handicaps those who go on to college. Compared to their peers in most developed nations and even many developing nations, American young people are culturally, mathematically, and scientifically illiterate. Things have gone downhill since I graduated from high school in 1965, and even since I graduated from college in 1986 (long story). Why is this?

My perception, based on anecdotal experience and on a number of studies, is that we as a nation have learned to settle for the mediocre, rather than setting high standards for every student and for every teacher. Too many students are willing to skate by, taking the minimum number of classes and achieving the minimum grades necessary to graduate. Too many teachers are equally willing to skate by, falling back on habitual, non-creative teaching methods and failing to improve their own skills. Too many school boards, and boards of regents, are complicit by allowing failing students to move on to the next grade ~ even going so far as to falsify test scores so that their school won't look bad (witness the systematic cheating done by over 200 Atlanta school administrators, principals, and teachers to artificially raise student test scores over the past decade, as described on the PBS Newshour).

It all revolves around teachers ~ how they are trained, how they are evaluated, how they are allowed to become calcified in their work. Jeanne Garbarino reports that in New York State, everyone is made a stakeholder in how well or poorly students receive an education. For teachers, this has translated into being evaluated based on (a) standardized tests for teachers, (b) locally selected measures of student achievement, and (c) other measures of teacher and principal effectiveness. In my opinion that's a good start, but only a start. While collective bargaining for pay and benefits should be maintained, academic tenure at all levels should be abolished. Every instructor should be evaluated every year on his/her teaching skills, knowledge of the subject, currency and participation in refresher courses, and especially on the performance of students. Grading should be standardized across the nation, and monitorred by independent oversight to guard against fraud. Standards for both students and teachers should be elevated, not diminished.

"The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done -- men who are creative, inventive, and discoverers." ~ Jean Piaget

Thus begins The Educational Value of Creative Disobedience, a critique and a love song by the ever-articulate Andrea Kuszewski. Drawing upon her own childhood story, and upon the general state of education in our nation, Kuszewski presents two hypotheses for why we are experiencing system failure, and what can be done about it, along with supporting evidence.

"Hypothesis I: Teaching and encouraging kids to learn by rote memorization and imitation shapes their brains and behavior, making them more inclined towards linear thinking, and less prone to original, creative thinking.

"Hypothes II: Teaching kids to ask questions and think about problems before receiving the solution encourages more non-linear, divergent and creative thinking, to produce better innovators, problem-solvers, and problem-finders."

I couldn't agree more. Teaching which is engaged, enthused, informed, and challenging, is infectious. Learning becomes absorbing and fun. Kuszewski goes on to describe a study done by Dr. Robert Steinberg, the goal of which was "to find out if it was possible to develop both teaching and testing methods that were a better measure of the quality and quantity of material learned over a college course. He wanted to see if by teaching creatively -- both using creative teaching methods, as well as teaching students to think creatively about a problem -- then testing for practical application of the material learned, if more learning took place .... His results? A huge win .... On average, the students in the test group (the ones taught using creative methods) received higher final grades in the college course than the control group (taught with traditional methods and assessments). But, just to make things fair, he also gave the test group the very same analytical-type exam that the regular students got (a multiple choice test), and they scored better on that test as well. That means they were able to transfer the knowledge they gained using creative, multimodal teaching methods, and score higher on a completely different cognitive test of achievement on that same material.

" .... So the good news is, the brain is plastic, and these types of thinking patterns can still be taught, even into adulthood. It may take more work to break habits of behavior the longer you've engaged in them, but the brain can still adapt to new ways of thinking.

"Here's something to consider: those last few studies involved college students. Can you imagine how much increased learning would occur over a lifetime if we started utilizing some of these same teaching principles in grade school? .... Rule-breaking, to an extent, should be tolerated and encouraged, and yes -- even taught. Teaching how and when to break rules and take creative risks isn't a neat and clean process -- it can get a little messy and errors will be made. But we should all be aware of this from the beginning and reward smart risk-taking, even if it leads to an error.

"You need to make mistakes in order to learn. If you never know why an answer is wrong, you will never be able to come across a novel situation and make a good decision on how to act. Making errors and struggling through problems is what increases cognitive ability. Spending time pondering a question, weighing choices, thinking about whether an answer fits, and why -- this is what drives positive change. That's what learning is. That's what our education should be focusing on."

Education reform is like the weather ~ everyone talks about it, but no one does anything about it. Given America's gross negligence of the next generation of citizens, and given our falling behind so many other nations in education, health care, scientific exploration, and quality of life, it is far past time for casting aside our apathy. The pride we take in being the leaders of the world in education, science and math proficiency, technological innovation, high quality manufactured goods, and practitioners of freedom, is being rapidly overshadowed by our own tolerance for mediocrity. And it all starts in school. Your brain ~ use it or lose it.

Here's an example of a small step in the right direction ~ Five Amazing Games That Add a Third Dimension to Learning. Vast strides can be made by a single motivated teacher who is willing to engage in lateral thinking. My kind of role model.

PENIS SIZE / COMEDIANS / IPADS

PENIS SIZE. Yeah I know, it's all pretty silly. There are those (both men and women) who insist that sized does matter when it comes to sexual enjoyment. There are others who maintain that emotional chemistry and imagination count for more. Over the years we've all encountered various claims for predicting a man's penis size based on (choose your myth) length of fingers, hand size, foot size, length of tongue. Now a South Korean study asserts that there is indeed a visual predictor ~ "the lower the ratio between the length of a man's index finger and the length of his ring finger on his right hand, the longer his penis." More specifically, "the shorter index finger than ring finger you have, the longer stretched [meaning erect] penile length you have." It still sounds pretty vague. The sample size (as it were) in the study was only 144 men, barely qualifying it for statistical significance. And there is no explanation why the left hand is not an equally reliable predictor. For now, I think I'll remain in the emotional chemistry and imagination camp. It's comfortable here.

COMEDIANS. So here's a poser for you ~ are Comedians More Trustworthy Than Journalists? The Huffington Post article suggest that they are, to this extent ~ "with comedians [like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, or the late George Carlin), you know they are editorializing and opinionating -- unlike 'news' outlets who do the same damned thing in the guise of reportage. Even in jest, comedians are inherently more honest than the opportunistic, corporate-controlled so-called news."

Well, they have a point. I've often wondered why it is, for instance, that on mainstream American TV news broadcasts, the stories featured are nearly identical. Are they suggesting that these are the only six or eight newsworthy events to occur on the planet? Or might it be more likely that demographic analysis and market research guides their choice of stories? The contrast is amazing between the cloned U.S. news outlets and the features you see on BBC News, any European news, or even on PBS, all of which provide broader and more objective coverage.

Of course, if you want a particular bias, you can surely tune in to Fox News for conservative opinions, or MSNBC for more liberal opinions. Sometimes that's entertaining, but it hardly qualifies as impartial reporting. Me, if I can't have PBS or the BBC, I'll take Jon Stewart's Daily Show any day. He delights in poking holes in the balloons of hypocrisy and sanctimony, across the political spectrum.

IPADS. So it appears that the FAA may finally be joining us in the 21st century. Those who fly aircraft, from private pilots in GA planes to professional pilots in commercial airliners, have for years been identifiable by the heavy, bulky flight bags they carry. The required contents? Reference material, which includes "the aircraft's operating manual, safety checklists, logbooks for entering airplane performance data, navigation charts, weather information, airport diagrams," and more. 40 pounds of backup paperwork and quickly-outdated weather and airport material.

Now, with the advent of versatile digital glass cockpits and tablet computers like the 1.5 pound iPad (see image below), all those manuals and logbooks are obsolete. Real-time weather, navigation, air traffic, terrain, airport approach plates, and dozens of other applications can be readily accessed on a device whose only limitation is its battery life. The FAA has authorized a limited number of commercial pilots to substitute iPads for flight bags, and it's about time. Ready access to information should allow pilots to spend more time doing their real job -- flying the aircraft, and maintaining situational awareness outside the cockpit.

PANIC ATTACK

I am a veteran of the Vietnam War. I was in country from March 1968 to March 1969, during the height of U.S. military presence in South Vietnam. Half a million American soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen. My job was in communications, attached to both base headquarters and field artillery units, located in the Iron Triangle, the Mekong Delta, the Parrot's Beak, and points in between. I am one of 830,000 Vietnam vets who suffer symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Like many of my generation, I returned from the war to a nation feeding on itself. Those were the days of White House enemies lists; the days of massive and often violent street protests against the war; the days of families torn between patriotic loyalty to country and conscientious loyalty to the principles on which the nation was founded; the days when returning soldiers were vilified as baby killers and slandered as murderers. Those were the days when vets like myself had no safety net, no counseling, no support groups, no preparation for being in a war zone one day, and 24 hours later undergoing culture shock as a free man back in the U.S. Those were the days of nightmares, and stuffing one's confusion and anger and fear, the days of trying to pass as normal. But we were no longer normal. Our country had seen to that.

Ten years passed before I felt sufficiently safe and centered in myself to take out those long-repressed war experiences and try to process them. Coincidentally the nation was doing the same ~ in books, in movies, in conversation. I began to learn about my war-connected feelings, and what triggered them. I discovered that the only people who really understand are other veterans. Others may try, with a good heart and good intentions, but they simply don't have the shared experience or the vocabulary. The best they can offer is unconditional listening, and caring, and support. But in those days, unconditional listening, and caring, and support were in short supply. Too many felt threatened or frightened by a veteran's struggles. Too many half-believed the horrible stereotype (perpetuated in the media) of the crazed Vietnam vet. Too few cared or understood that it was they who sent us into combat, they who reaped the benefits of our sacrifices, and they who left us hanging out to dry after it was all over.

So, for me, this is what it's like. I'm a functioning adult, an avid reader and explorer of far horizons, with a curious intellect and a tender heart. I'm also subject to struggles with agoraphobia, with my personal triggers being dense crowds or sudden loud noises. It is an unfortunate part of my reality that crowds and loud noises are the signature of one of our nation's important holidays -- Independence Day. Roughly a quarter century ago, I experienced my first full-blown panic attack at a 4th of July fireworks celebration. It caught me completely off guard. The (not-coincidentally) war-simulating nighttime flares, shell bursts, explosions, and sounds of distant helicopters combined to rip my world apart. Tunnel vision, hyperventilation, trembling, heart palpitations, feeling smothered .... I literally ran far into the desert night to escape. Minutes felt like hours. It was a long time before I could work up the courage to return to my friends, wading through a clinging knee-deep mire of mortification and shame and confusion.

Since then, I've always sought out a quiet, secluded place of safety in which to pass the hours of 4th of July explosions. Until this year. This year, I was visiting my girl friend in another city. She lives in a relatively upscale neighborhood within a resort town, a place where the fireworks start going off several nights before the actual holiday. At first the sounds were intrusive, but scattered in space and time. With each succeeding night the explosions intensified, lasted longer, and seemed to draw nearer. Americans' obsession with blowing things up takes on monumental proportions. Sleep becomes more difficult and more disturbed.

So, for me, this is what it's like. A string of popping firecrackers becomes a firefight between M-16s (friendly) and AK-47s (hostile) on full automatic. A soaring shell which terminates in a starburst becomes a parachute flare exploding, or a distant mortar round impacting. A series of deeper thuds becomes a thundering arc light strike. A screaming cherry bomb becomes an incoming rocket .... they're landing closer! They're walking them right toward us! There's no place to hide! What? I can't hear you! The ground is shaking and I can smell the cordite and I can feel a lizard run across my leg in a mad attempt to escape! The screams, someone stop the screams! Someone make it stop long enough for me to breathe!

Last night was the worst. The group of people with whom I'd been enjoying dinner and conversation seemed to gradually recede, and I had to concentrate to follow their words, their laughter. The explosions multiplied, and my heart rate amped up. The explosions grew closer, louder. At last, I said "I can't think," and without apology or thought sought out the most insulated room in the house ~ the master bathroom ~ shut the door, turned on the overhead fan, and sat there hyperventilating, sweating, trembling, and crying, crying, crying.

This is what it's like. Aw fuck, a mortar round just ripped four guys with shrapnel, and tore both of Doc's legs off. Grab one end of a stretcher, stumble through the flashing darkness toward the field where a medevac chopper will land. And when that familiar thump-thump-thump of the rotor blades tells us the chopper is approaching, the mortar rounds begin to fucking RAIN down. This is what the VC were waiting for. Random harassing rounds to injure someone, then the prize, a helicopter and everyone within fifty feet of it. Wordless, senseless yelling, blood everywhere, the wide-eyed incredulous panicked wounded. Somehow we get all four aboard, and the chopper vanishes into the night. The mortar rounds stop. Doc died en route to the hospital.

This is what it's like. What was that?? It sounded like our own M-16s, but I hear rounds snapping into the trees inside the fire base. What's going on? In the twilight, a hastily-assembled squad of MPs loosely surrounds one of the perimeter bunkers, where one of the men on guard has snapped, killed his fellow guard, and has been spraying the camp with lethal fire. No time for an attempt at wounding fire in the dying light. The man on guard is assassinated.

This is what it's like. I'm lying on my cot at another fire base, twilight, and a single shot rings out nearby. I hit the dirt, and when I hear nothing but confused voices, I walk out to learn that several GIs had been sitting around a stump playing cards. Another GI was standing watching, and his loaded weapon discharged. The head of his best friend happened to be inches away from the muzzle. The victim sat there a moment, then slowly slumped sideways, and his brains poured out of the fist-sized exit wound onto the ground. The accidental shooter had to be restrained lest he take his own life. A psych medevac chopper took him away, and we never heard from him again. When I passed the accident scene, all I saw were scattered playing cards and a mass of wet gray matter in the dust.

This is what it's like. Snakes and flies and maggots. During the monsoon, rain so thick you can't see ten paces. During the dry season, 100 degrees and 100 percent humidity. A convoy passes through a hamlet, and a father is smiling, gesturing, pimping out his own daughter. Small boys herd water buffalo a hundred times their weight. The smells of jungle and marsh and nuoc mam, decay and death and life. Napalm. White Phosphorus. Higher-up tries to dehumanize the enemy VC and NVA, calling them gooks and slants and jungle niggers. Some of us know better. Most of us don't care.

This is what it's like. We're trying to fight a guerilla war using conventional tactics and conventional units. We own the day. They own the night. Ultimately, this is a war we will lose, and lose badly. Any civilian merchant or farmer or fisherman could be the sapper who infiltrates your lines at night. Any boy or girl wandering past could be pacing of distances and directions, for later use during mortar and rocket attacks. Or perhaps not.

This is what it's like. I'm one of four classes of soldiers on whom a bounty is paid for his death ~ communications, commanders, medics, and machine gunners. More than once, I hear sniper rounds snapping through nearby trees or undergrowth. I lie in my hammock, hoping for the one with my name on it. Thankfully, this period doesn't last long.

So last night my girlfriend came and stayed with me, listening, comforting, being there. She helped me to emerge from nearly an hour of terror. The guests had departed, understanding (as well as they could), the fireworks continued for a few more hours, but dwindling. At last, sleep generously seeded with nightmares.

This is what it's like. This is what my country did to me, before throwing me to the dogs. The miracle is, I'm a reasonably whole human being. Except on the 4th of July. Except on Independence Day.

VIRTUES OF INFIDELITY / PETA

VIRTUES OF INFIDELITY. Sex-advice columnist Dan Savage "has for 20 years been saying that monogamy is harder than we admit and articulating a sexual ethic that he thinks honors the reality, rather than the romantic ideal, of marriage .... Savage believes monogamy is right for many couples. But he believes that our discourse about it, and about sexuality more generally, is dishonest. Some people need more than one partner, he writes, just as some people need flirting, others need to be whipped, others need lovers of both sexes. We can't help our urges, and we should not lie to our partners about them. In some marriages, talking honestly about our needs will forestall or obviate affairs; in other marriages, the conversation may lead to an affair, but with permission. In both cases, honesty is the best policy.

"' I acknowledge the advantages of monogamy,' Savage says, 'when it comes to sexual safety, infections, emotional safety, paternity assurances. But people in monogamous relationships have to be willing to meet me a quarter of the way and acknowledge the drawbacks of monogamy around boredom, despair, lack of variety, sexual death, and being taken for granted.'"

The NYTimes article continues the discussion at some length, without condemning either monogamy or infidelity. I take no rigid position either way, believing that the world should be much more tolerant of diversity, and that many of the social norms we've inherited are antiquated and not appropriate for everyone. We each must find our own balance, and respect the informed choices of others. Candor and mutual consent between/among partners is key. To learn more, please check out my post reviewing the book Sex At Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Human Sexuality.

PETA. Equally controversially, research scientist Jamie L. Vernon asserts that PETA Should Rethink Its Campaign Against Animal Research. PETA, People for the Ethical Treament of Animals, has adopted confrontational and even illegal measures to interfere with laboratory research involving live animals. On the face of it, PETA's intent is laudable, but Vernon reminds us that "As much as we would like for scientists to be able to end the practice of animal research, PETA and other animal rights activists must understand that to end this work would significantly impair advances in medical research. In many cases, there are no alternatives to animal research. This is especially true for HIV/AIDS research."

Further, "Federally-funded scientists must go through a complex deliberative process in order to justify research involving animals. The research must be necessary to answer a specific scientific question and alternatives to animal research must be considered. A protocol must be submitted and approved by a highly-knowledgeable oversight committee and proper facilities must be guaranteed in order to humanely house the animals. Once the decision is made to use animals, researchers must conform to the laws, regulations, and policies that govern the practice. These constraints are rigorous and thorough. The NIH Office of Animal Care and Use Regulations and Standards provides the documents, standards and links to resources about appropriate laboratory animal procedures. If a researcher is found to violate these regulations, I believe that individual should be stripped of their right to use animals for research and they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Note that Vernon confines his discussion to legitimate medical and scientific research using animals. His remarks do not include the (in my view) truly abhorrent use of animals for commercial research by the cosmetics and other industries, nor their use in circuses, bullfights, and rodeos. He also acknowledges the value of "the use of cell and tissue cultures, analytical technology, molecular research, post mortem studies, computer modeling, epidemiology population studies, ethical clinical research with volunteer patients and healthy subjects, and the use of microbes such as bacteria." The responsible use of lab animals is unfortunately the necessary intermediate step between these preliminary tests and treatment of humans.

During my own studies in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, I was privileged to have access to sophisticated labs for a number of undergrad and graduate course, including mammalogy, ornithology, herpitology, oceanography, and comparative anatomy & physiology. The department of EEB, individual instructors, lab assistants, and nearly all students were acutely aware of the ethical issues surrounding the use of lab animals, and utmost care was taken to encourage an atmosphere of restraint and respect. Such an atmosphere has not always characterized PETA's actions, which have included breaking and entering, destruction of property, setting lab animals "free" with no provision for their safety or survival, and issuing inflammatory rhetoric which targets researchers in much the same way that anti-abortion rhetoric targets physicians who perform abortions .... sometimes resulting in threats, injury, or the murder of practitioners. It is a thorny issue, with no universally correct answer, other than causing the least harm to promote the greatest common good.

SUNDAY FUN

Since it is a holiday weekend, a little frivolity seems in order. Drumroll, please ~

~ A two-minute cartoon on how mutated capitalism hurts all of us.

~ Creepy, Crusty, Crumbling: Illegal Tour of Abandoned Six Flags New Orleans.

~ The Magic Button -- Make Everything OK.

~ Brilliantly dubbed video -- Hitler Learns of Google Plus.

~ Atheist Gifts.

Lastly, on a note of reminiscence looking back on thirty years and 135 liftoffs, Remembering the Space Shuttle Era. One cannot help but wonder what's next for space exploration .... a continued anemic American presence while other nations and private consortiums surge ahead? A renewed commitment to manned flights to the moon and beyond, using propulsion technology which has not yet been developed? It would be a terrible shame to abandon the dream. Something crucial and compelling in human nature would be stifled, yearning to be free.

GOOGLE+ / THE PARTY OF LINCOLN

GOOGLE+. There's a new social network in town, one that would like to supplant Facebook in popularity. It is called Google+, and is still in its exploratory (or beta) phase of development. So far there are several claims of potential superiority over Facebook. One, of course, comes from Google+ itself ~ here is a demo from the website, which has accepted an initial number of members, and expects to expand exponentially soon. Another endorsement comes from PCWorld, which published 9 Reasons to Switch from Facebook to Google+. Among the reasons are integration with Google services (like their mammoth search engine), better 'friend' management, better mobile application, greater ease finding things to share (another integrated search engine plus), better control over personal data, strong chat group features, and safer content sharing. The link includes a point-by-point comparison between Facebook and Google+, a bold move.

I am not among the preliminary membership, so cannot offer my own take on the two services. I do know folks who intend to maintain a presence at both websites, and initially I shall too. Of course, there are those who can't resist poking a little fun at social networks in principle, like this cartoon from xkcd. It's cool. I appreciate the positive aspects of Facebook (and soon Google+), and also recognize the drawbacks. As I learn more about the new kid on the block, I'll post an update.

Speaking of Google, antitrust attorney David Balto weighs in on the FTC's contention that the online giant has engaged in activities bordering on monopolistic -- a contention which Balto points out is seriously flawed. Comparing Google's online presence with that of Microsoft in the early 1990s (which truly did seek to secure a monopoly on operating systems and other software, Balto notes that Google's products and services (including search engine, email, two-dimensional and three-dimensional mapping, and now social networking) are absolutely free. Further, consumers do have a real choice in the search engines they use, the email they select, and choices competing with any other of Google's services. There is no credible evidence of Google's hampering the competition, nor seeking proprietary or monopolistic control over users, as Microsoft demonstrably did. Here is Balto's succinct comparison as it appeared in the Huffington Post.

THE PARTY OF LINCOLN. I've long known this to be true ~ that grandiose Republican claims to being "the party of Lincoln" are wishful thinking at best, and specious and manipulative to boot. In the mid-1800s, the Republican party emerged from the former Whig party, and was socially progressive in its opposition to slavery and its insistence on social justice for all. In short, back then Republicans were the liberal party, and Democrats were more conservative. During the intervening years, the two parties underwent a gradual reversal in their philosophies and political stances, accelerating and escalating the trend in the 1950s and 60s. During my lifetime, it is Democrats who have been identified as liberal, promoting civil rights and human services -- while Republicans are now the party of the wealthy, controlled by the interests of corporations, with little or no concern for individual and minority rights.

Tim Valentine in The Party of Lincoln No More documents these historical shifts, and draws the conclusion that unless Republicans broaden their exclusionary rhetoric and seek more diversity in the party base, they will ultimately become an irrelevant, shrinking group of power brokers who risk losing all for the sake of an ideology which is anachronistic and self-destructive. The article is well-researched and should be required reading for those conservatives who have swallowed (or live in fear of) Tea Party rhetoric, hook, line and sinker.

Care for incontrovertible proof? Take a close look at this chart comparing Corporate Taxes: 1955 vs. 2010. Corporate taxes as a percentage of federal revenue have fallen from 27.3 percent to 8.9 percent, while individual income and payroll taxes as a percentage of federal revenue have risen from 58 percent to 81.5 percent. Is it any wonder that the richest 5 percent of the population now controls 95 percent of the nation's wealth? Corporations in the U.S. pay a fraction of what they are required to pay in comparably developed countries (also demonstrated in the chart, shown below ~ click to enlarge). Why? Because corporations and their Republican servants would have it so. What is sad, pathetic, and infuriating is that so many millions of middle- and lower-class Republicans get suckered into the public posturing which uses emotion-laden terms like "patriotism", "capitalism", "free enterprise", without really peeling back the surface and looking at the reality beneath. Those same non-wealthy Republicans are being suckered by their own party, and are too intellectually lazy or too emotionally apathetic to question their assumptions. And the rest of us suffer.

One last note ~ consider the current debate over raising the national debt ceiling, in which Republicans sanctimoniously insist that we must cut spending (for social services, not for corporations), and simultaneously freeze or cut taxes (for corporations, not for individuals). As President Obama stated a few days ago, both parties are going to have to give in to reach a workable compromise, but Republicans are refusing to do that. All of which is monumentally ironic, since during the George W. Bush presidency, Current GOP Leaders Voted 19 Times to Increase the Debt Limit by $4 Trillion. Republicans are attempting to hold the government and the American people hostage, risking pushing the nation into default for the sake of selfishly, arrogantly, and hypocritically forcing their agenda down our throats.

Where are the outraged voters? Where are the demonstrations in the streets, and on the steps of Congress? Where are the lawsuits? And where are the Democrats and Independents with sufficient backbone and principle to stand up to these Tea Party-driven thugs? Abraham Lincoln must be rolling over in his grave.

VIRAL STUPIDITY / VISUAL WORDS

VIRAL STUPIDITY. The ever-perspicacious Hank Thompson warns that Stupidity is Contagious !! He cites a study in which "college students who read a short story about someone stupid then did worse on a test than a control group -- they became more stupid." Think of the implications. If you saturate your life with inane TV shows, insipid books, mindless texting or social networking, or if you surround yourself with friends who aren't the brightest bulbs in the pack, you may risk lowering your own intelligence. It appears that we are not only what we eat, we are also what we read and watch and participate in. Perhaps this explains why I've never seen the point in stock car racing? Grown men and women driving fast cars around in circles .... hmm.

VISUAL WORDS. Here is a very nifty online tool to add to your electronic dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus, calculator, and language translator. It is called Visuwords, and presents in graphic format the meanings and associations of any word you select. The resulting color-coded diagrams resemble a neural net, intuitively illustrating connections to related clusters of words or concepts. [See sample below, click to enlarge.] It's just plain fun to fool around with. Input a simple word ("be") or a more complex word ("gravity"), and watch the web blossom. Place your cursor over any word on the screen, and a fuller description automatically appears. Click on the 'fullscreen' tab for the best effect. Have fun !!