Update of Texas Drought February 17, 2012

Cheering for a Flood in Texas

BTW, for those of you who do not live near our Great State, this image is fake.  A Photoshop fantasy aided by a brilliant plug-in from Flaming Pear called, not surprisingly, "Flood".  They offer 30 days trials, a lot of very useful freebies, and are a pleasant company to deal with.  Flood has more that a dozen sliders, which is daunting when you open the program, but they are logically organized and frankly, it is hard to get a bad result.  A rare piece of software that is unique, easy to use, and produces head turning results.
We are getting some rain, but it is just enough to replace our usage.  We are not gaining on the severe shortage.  Most people are not aware that 25% of our water goes to producing electricity.  It is used to cool the high speed turbines which are efficient at high speeds.  Even though these steam driven turbines have been refined over decades, they frequently run too fast, heat up rapidly, and if not cooled with thousands of gallons of water immediately, they tare themselves up (translation: explode and take the building and some people with them).  So, there can be scrimping on water for electrical generation.  Therefore, production will be cut back for safety when we get just a bit lower in our reserves.  A little less reserves and the process with be shut down completely.

The Projected Mood and Fantasy Texas july 2012

With an early summer that everyone in the weather business predicts, and much hotter temperatures than last summers record breaking heat with  highs 115-120, up from 105-110, we will have little or no (mostly no) air conditioning.Texans have had everything air conditioned for a generation, so we have lost our biological adaptability to such heat.  I am a physician, and I can tell you that MANY frail people, especially the elderly who have lost through aging and medication their ability to physiologically compensate for indoor temperatures over 90-100 degrees, will perish.  The medical systems in all major Texas cities will be totally overwhelmed by  at least 10 times the volume of people suffering from heat stress and heat stroke---even though they have been INDOORS.  The enormity of this part of this catastrophe is just now coming into focus by the few people willing and courageous enough to even look at the implications of the scenario.  As far as I know, no organizations are yet making any plans to cope with situation because they are so  paralyzed with fear.  The state government is less that helpful, as our insightful Governor, Rick Perry, hasn't even declared the situation an "Emergency" which would open our substantial "Rainy Day Fund".  I guess if it doesn't rain, it can't possibly qualify for a "rainey" day fund.  That would be funny, if hundreds of thousands of lives were not at stake.  Gov. Perry is no better at recognizing obvious needs of the people he vowed to serve, than he is at debating on live television.  There are a lot of Texans wondering out loud: "Why was it  that we elected him FOUR times???"

In the Near future This Wasting of the World's Most Precious Recourse Will
Be a Serious Crime

Ignoring the Survival Strategy of Diversity Jeapordizes the Internet and Entire Computer Industry

Oozing with Symbolism They have no Name

Response to brief article of the impact of the hard drive shortage due to flooding in Taiwan.

  I think this issue has ramifications which are MUCH broader than are covered in the brief article I read. This is understandable.  But follow-ups are necessary.  Computers have short half-lives (I am a physician and so I risk using medical terminology when it is the most descriptive term available for the circumstances): they have parts that wear out frequently because of high speed movements.  This certainly applies to hard drives.  In addition to frequent mainentence, they wear out in multiple ways, having to be replaced frequently, sooner in some industries than others.  Three years is good estimate for the purpose of discussion here.  Consider internet server farms, the engines of the internet.  If the operators can't freely repair and freely replace as they are accustomed to, the quality of the internet will deteriorate rapidly; and, the needed expansion will grind to a halt during the time it takes to rebuild the critical factories in Taiwan.  Things will not get any better for months after the the production resumes.  This is yet another example of the survival value of any species ,which is most important in its diversity.  We have failed miserably to learn this lesson, which has been well known in the scientific community (biological sciences) for 150 years or so.
It also emphasizes the wisdom of the new scientific field of "weather modeling", scarcely 20 years old, but already established as the the most import field in the most important area of study in Science, Ecology, which clearly determines  what our survival of a species will require.  Not nuclear war, or systems of government , but climate changes.  The 20th century turns out to be a freak abnormality: the calmist century of weather in 100,000 yrs or more.  It coincidentally happened to be the century of the greatest % and total number of human expansion in the history of our species.  However, ignorant of all the above "bigger picture" issues, we were deluded into thinking this was normal.  We are now 6.5 billion people; and, even with ideal conditions, we can't feed all these people. With the cycle of vastly more turbulent and violent weather as happened in Taiwan, along with what is slowly unfolding in Texas (a 100-200 year drought in a state of 25 million) we, as a culture, are acting like deer in the headlights.  People don't want to know about any of this. Denial and the electronic narcotic of TV are much "easier" ways to cope.  That is, until your power is shut off, there is no water to flush toilets or bath, and the internet becomes an unreliable patchwork.
Everone in Texas needs a generator, sophisticated surge protectors for all their electronics, a bevy of batteries and flash lights, water storage systems, walkie talkies for every house member, and a short wave send and recieve short band radio.  Remember in the pre-internet days, those CB guys with 50' antennas were the back-up for all emergency services when telephones and power lines were destroyed.  They had a person-to-person relay system that could get info across the continent in minutes.  I'm sure die-hard enthusiasts have kept this system alive; and, they are suddenly becoming important people again.  Lesson: never totally abandon older technologies that work, just because something fancier and faster comes along.  Again, diversify, diversify diversify.
                                             
Morris Creedon-McVean   blog: www.BiologyBehaviorChaos.Blogspot.com

Austin Welcome to the "Fascist Experience"

Austin Joins Other Cities in Depriving Peaceful Citizens Their Constitutional Rights

After the events last night in Austin, one of the most tolerant cities in the United States, it is certain that we live in a police state.  Fascism.  Do you like the sound of it?  I don't.  It ends any hope of a non-violent resolution to the multitude of issues between the People of the United States of America and a corrupt government from the city/county to the Congress.  It is blatantly clear that our government also has no interest in following the Constitution.  They break the basic tenants of the
Constitution at will and will clearly do anything to protect their position of power and wealth.  The super rich and international corporations who are behind this use our elected officials, police, and military as unwitting pawns to carry out their pathetic but dangerous life-goal of making yet even more money.  This spiritually vacant goal causes untold misery for the rest of us who are just pawns in their juvenile game of "Who is the Richest".
Well it is going to stop.  No matter what it takes "We the People"will not accept a society like the one that existed in France before the French Revolution.

Historically, there have been a plethora of rebellions of poor vs rich.   The rich win most of them; but, not infrequently, the poor win because the Rulers have no respect for the poor, as if they are an inferior species; and, they underestimate the capabilities of their "lowly" opponents.  The greatest military advantage is SURPRISE; (ask Lao Tzu) and, underestimating your opponent is the greatest of military mistakes.  THAT is the situation in the here and now.  For the first time in history the "poor"(which also includes the substantial middle and upper middle class)  is just as smart, just as well educated, well fed and well nourished, AND armed to the teeth.  Thanks to the NRA, the citizens are BETTER armed than the police.  Only the full time military is better equipped.  President Obama has control of the military as Commander and Chief; and, he will not use the US Military to destroy or control the citizens of the United States.  The military may be necessary just to maintain law and order in some cities with a long history of conflict between police and citizenry, such as NYC, LA, Chicago, Oakland.  Most people have been confused by the Patriot Act "upgrade", but the key is that the President has control over activating the provisions of the law.  I believe Obama will use it as a trump card to keep the country from degenerating into a full scale Civil War.

Our Rich Alcoholic Lawyer Lawmaker's View o the World

It is far too early to even guess at how this will play out.  The battle lines are being drawn.  Who is going to be fighting whom.  A police vs citizens over the right to assemble peaceably  is not a big enough of an issue for massive fighting.  More aggressive efforts to remove our freedom of speech would be.  The GOP has been so shocked that they don't even have a strategy yet.  That pathetic effort to restrict the internet was crushed by ordinary citizens.  The GOP leadership is pathetic by any standards; and, the chances of them coming up with a strategy more sophisticated than brutality are slim. Even that won't work; our numbers are enormous.  It is not physically possible to detain 50 million people.

All we know at the present time is that the current situation in unacceptable in both the short and long term.  The GOP is weak and disorganized.  The People are strong, outnumbering the repressive members of the GOP by a huge margin.  We are also young, smart, and masters of technology.  We don't need much in terms of leadership; but, if that need arises, we have a multitude of individuals capable of stepping up.

Mo

Our Congressional View of the World No People Just Expensive Stuff for Our Oil Addiction