Thursday, February 26, 2015

Fifty* Shades of Blue Sky


Occupy Movement: Occupy Blue Sky.

Democrats: Tax the blue sky.

NeoCons: The sky is the limit and for sale to the highest corporate donor.

Libertarians: The sky is blue but if you want to say it's green, that's OK as long as I don't have to believe that shit.

Environmentalists: The blue sky is falling.

Cops: The blue sky is for Blue Privilege - Lets beat up some protesters.

Territorial surfer dude: That's my blue sky. Go home kooks!

Code Pink: Blue sky is sexist!

Tripper: Wow, that's the bluest sky I've ever seen.

Conspiracy theorists: Chemtrails are poisoning the blue sky.

Big pharma: The sky is blue... better vaccinate.

Al Sharpton: Blue sky? That's racist!

Obama: Operation Blue Sky - Lets drone-bomb some Pakistani wedding parties and remind them who's boss.

Hendrix: S`cuze me while I kiss the (blue) sky.

Pink Floyd: Obscured by clouds - goodbye blue sky.

* Fifteen actually - inspired by Denney Joints.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

A Prayer to Science

Praised art thou Almighty Science, analyzer of the universe for thou has brought us out of darkness and delivered us from the follies of our fathers. 

Yea, blessed art thou Almighty Science who hath chosen us from among the nations to declare a voice of warning concerning global warming and to proclaim the promise of temporal salvation through vaccinations.

Praised art thou Almighty Science who convinces thine elect and confounds the unbelievers with state-sanctioned revelations via electronic gadgetry. 

Cursed be the unbeliever who's ignorance threatens all mankind. May thy discerning hand of reckoning deal with them swiftly - remove them from our midst on the day of judgment, and may their unclean data be blotted out from the Book of Knowledge, forever and ever. Amen.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Why Guantanamo Matters - An American's Opinion


With the beginning of 2015 came news of more prisoners being dismissed from the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Is this a good thing for the United States?

To answer that question honestly, perhaps we should take a close look at what America is supposed to stand for and what it is that makes us different. 

America, who's mission statement is Liberty and Justice for ALL, now has a tarnished image due in part to recently revealed activities° at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. 

I thought prisons were for people who have been convicted for having committed a crime. 

Lets be clear about something. There are people being detained at Guantanamo who have NOT been sentenced or charged for a crime. Many of them have been held captive for a decade; locked away indefinitely. Again, let me reiterate, these people have NOT been charged or convicted, yet they are being detained with little humanitarian oversight and legal recourse. 

Who are we again?

This isn't us. This isn't how Americans are supposed to behave toward our fellow beings. We're supposed to be an example, remember? We're "the city on the hill" - something other nations aspire to and are inspired by. What happens at Guantanamo Bay is the kind of thing that we criticize other nations for doing. We have a name brand*° in the world, and it is important to uphold our credibility among other nations and their peoples.

The detention of non-charged persons is not good for America because it creates more enemies for us. The person being detained will no doubt have animosity toward his captors. Torture and unjust imprisonment is no way to make a friend. If he wasn't an enemy before detention, he is certainly more likely to be our enemy after imprisonment. The children of the detained will hate America, and continue the resistance of what they perceive as US aggression and occupation in their homeland.  

There probably are some dangerous people being detained at Guantanamo Bay. If crimes have been committed, then gather the evidence and present it at a trial. If there is no evidence, then those being detained should be released. It's the right thing to do. It's the American way. 

° Torture is outlawed by international and domestic law, morally repugnant and downright un-American. 

*° A point made by Jon Huntsman Jr. during one of the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary debates. 

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Great Salt Lake in 3D Part 6 Surveying the Stansbury Mountains

In 1981, I temporarily worked for the United States Geological Survey as part of a project to update the map of the Stansbury Mountain Range and part of the valleys on each side. I spent the entire summer locating and documenting old survey monuments, mines, roads, structures and etc. 

One of the most memorable aspects of the job was the day we carried building materials to the top of one of the mountain peaks on the north end of the Stansbury Range. 
There, at an elevation of 5570' above sea level, we constructed a large sighting target directly over an official USGS triangulation Station.* The 10' tall target could be viewed from numerous other locations throughout our vast project area. 

Now, thirty-three years later I climbed to the top of the Stansbury Mountains and returned to the triangulation station. This is something I've planned for some time. I pored over maps and aerial photos to determine the best route up the rugged mountain. There are no trails, and the closest road ends at the base of the mountain.
3D photo of the peaks on the north end of the Stansbury Mountain Range looking NW across the north end of Skull Valley. Black Mountain is visible in the distance. 

I began my ascent early in the morning while it was still dark. When the sun finally peeked over the Oquirrh Mountains, on the other side of the Tooele Valley, I took refuge out of the cold wind in a rocky nook where I soaked in the solar warmth and ate my pre-prepared meal of bison. The view was spectacular.
When I reached the the triangulation station, I found the target broken and laying on the ground. A broken cross-section was still in place and the pile of rocks that we used to secure the wooden ten-foot tall 2x4 were still there but somewhat displaced. 
Over time, the guy wire we had used to secure the target had rusted and failed. Rust stains have become a permanent part of a large anchor that still had some thirty three year old guy wire wrapped around it. 

3D photo of dilapidated triangulation target looking west across Skull Valley.

I took the liberty of standing the old dilapidated target up by wedging the ten foot long 2x4 betwixt some large rocks. It isn't anchored with guy wire this time and probably won't last through the winter, but for now it can be seen from many miles away.
3D photo from top of Stansbury Mountains looking NW toward Stansbury Island on the Great Salt Lake.

The Stansbury Mountains are named for their original surveyor, Major Howard Stansbury, (1806-1863). 

US Interstate 80 crossing the alkali flats of the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, a few miles north of Grantsville.

Stansbury, and his party of surveyors, are credited with the first official survey of the Great Salt Lake from 1849 to 1851. He was the first person to determine that the Great Salt Lake is actually a remnant of a greater ancient lake that he called Lake Bonneville.

3D photo of Lone Rock in Skull Valley looking west from the top of the Stansbury Mountains.

Lone Rock** in Skull Valley, another important triangulation point, is an interesting and unusual rock formation that has become a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts. 
Salt plant on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake where State Highway 196/Skull Valley Rd intersects US Interstate 80. Black Mountain in the distance.

Salt production is an obvious industry on the shore of the Great Salt Lake. There are also billions of Sea Monkeys out there. 

Other important resources are extracted from the mineral-rich lake including magnesium at US Mag and even nutritional supplements in the form of trace minerals at Trace Minerals Research.

3D photo from the top of the Stansbury Mountains looking west across Skull Valley.
3D photo of 3D camera apparatus.

Major Stansbury's legacy lives on in the island and mountains that claim his name, and the monuments that he erected on mountain peaks and valleys around the Great Salt Lake.

* The Triangulation Station is located at approximately 
40° 43' 39.30" N
112° 37' 53.80" W
These coordinates are not official USGS coordinates, but are accurate within seconds. 

** Lone Rock Coordinates 
40° 42' 32" N
112° 41' 04" W