Unbecoming Levity

Equal Night

Abacquer — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:07:00 -0400

8:07 PM EDT today, March 20, marks the Vernal Equinox and the official start of Spring 2007. Today at that time the sun will pass over the equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern. This is what you probably already know.

But I learned a couple of things today that I didn't know. First is that "equinox" means "equal night", which makes sense because on the equinoxes the length of day and night are exactly equal. Here in the northern hemisphere the days will continue to get longer until the Summer Solstice at 12:06 PM EDT on June 21, 2007. Since the last Autumnal Equinox we in the northern hemisphere have been getting less direct light than the southern hemisphere. As of 8:07 we will officially begin receiving more direct light than the southern hemisphere.

The other thing I should have known is that, for the southern hemisphere, this time will mark the Autumnal Equinox. I mean, I was aware that the seasons of the south are the reverse of the seasons of the north, winter here summer there, fall here spring there, but it just never occurred to me that the solstices and equinoxes were similarly flipped. Silly that should never have occurred to me.

Oh, one other little thing I learned is that "solstice" means "sun stands still". Since the solstice marks when the sun stops moving north or south and reverses direction, that's a very sensible thing to call it.

Another interesting tidbit, apparently the great Sphinx of Egypt is oriented so that it exactly faces the sunrise on the morning of the Vernal Equinox.

Edge of Fevered Consciousness

Abacquer — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 11:18:00 -0500

What a night. Couldn't sleep much because my temperature kept rising and falling. I'd wake up freezing and pile on the blankets and even put on a warm jacket and then an hour later I'd wake up boiling. I took 1000mg of Tylenol right before bed, plus Robitussin CF. The cough syrup really does suppress the coughing but it does nothing for the fever. My wife encourages me to take Tylenol Cold with the cough syrup but two of those is only 700mg of Tylenol, so I figure I'm better off taking the syrup and the regular Tylenol caplets for now.

When I get a fever, my mind becomes pretty flighty and I often find myself reasoning out thoroughly a completely ridiculous proposition as if it were true... especially when I am on the edge of sleep. And last night, for example, I spent many edge-of-sleep moments mulling the fact that the polygons that make up my body each contained too much heat. The proper thing to do of course was to take my mouse and select these polygons and then edit them to remove the excess heat. The problem was figuring out how to get all the polygons selected at once. Apparently there are multiple kinds of polygons in my body and they can't all be selected at once, and selecting only a few at a time is useless because it would take forever and the heat would just redistribute itself. Finally at 3 AM it occurred to me that this notion was nonsense, stop thinking about that crap and go to sleep, I said to myself.

In my sleeping moments I had the most peculiar dream. It actually makes a halfway decent if odd story. I was in college again, but for some reason, college was in Michigan (I attribute this to noting a Michigan license plate in a movie I watched recently). Strangely, James, my trusted college compatriot was also there, and another person who was our friend, but I could not remember his name and every time I looked at him, his face was a blur. So for now, I'll call him "Blur". The only thing I remember about blur was that he worked for the school paper.

We were enrolled in a humanities course on archeology, got to get those Humanities credits if you want to graduate with a degree in Comp Sci. The professor, a gray haired old fellow whose name escapes me, took the whole class out on assignment to a local historic spot that he had gotten permission to dig at. It was at a rest stop by the side of a Michigan highway. The rest stop was basically a dirt half circle, on the edge of a pond, with a stone structure near the water, mostly hidden by brush. It was like the circle of stones that forms a covered well standing about 3.5 feet high and about 3.5 feet in diameter.

The professor explained that this cylindrical structure was built by the prehistoric ancestors of a local Indian tribe. I don't remember the tribe's name. The cylinder was full of dirt and a vine-covered tree had grown in it at one time, and this tree was important to these early people for some sort of rituals. I don't remember most of what he said, but he went on to say that when Europeans settled the area and discovered the tree was used for rituals (which to them were Satanic, since they weren't Christian), they had chopped the tree down.

We were going to dig in and around this structure, which was now partially obscured by brush on the sides and top. So we cleared the brush away for starters, which revealed the relatively small tree stump and a tangle of vines sprouting from it still bearing leaves. I remarked that I was amazed the tree was still clinging to life and the professor said we would dig around it. It occurred to me that with the brush cleared, the tree might actually be able to grow again, and that made me happy.

Then the digging began, gently scraping away soil with trowels and brushing it away with brushes. We found some small shards of pottery and a clay pipe, and the professor noted that it looked like the soil had been disturbed recently. That's when we uncovered something that definitely did not belong. It was a Maine license plate, 682 HG, buried in the soil. The professor snatched it up disgustedly and flung it away. Why would someone bury a license plate? I wondered... I was curious about it so I grabbed it and stuck it in my pack.

For each item uncovered James and I were to write a small report, and I forget why, but for some reason the professor didn't like our reports. I think he felt we Comp Sci majors were unwelcome invaders in his class. He made some noise about them not being thorough enough, or some such thing. And he refused to grade them, and further, refused to explain what exactly we needed to do to fix them, leaving us pretty much in the lurch, with no choice but to keep trying.

Each day we returned to the dig site and did more work uncovering more stuff, and all the while the professor refused to explain what he wanted in these reports. We had checked our textbooks and had formatted the reports as suggested therein, using Mac Write to carefully lay them out. They looked as though they wouldn't appear out of place in the book themselves. The only thing different about them is that they were done on the computer instead of written by hand in a notebook.

It turned out, our professor finally admitted, that this is why he would not accept them. "True archaeologists don't use computers." he said, accenting the word with distaste. Clearly the professor was a technophobic nut-job. I found his argument to be a ridiculous statement in the extreme, utter bullshit, James agreed and we told the professor so. We had both seen documentaries on TV where archaeologists used computers to catalog or scan finds and so forth. Our friend Blur concurred.

The professor countered that the reports HAD to be in our lab notebooks. Okay, fine, James said, and I could tell he was about to deliberately misinterpret the teacher's intentions, just to piss him off, I'll paste these report pages to the pages of my notebook. That should be acceptable, right? Because it will be in my notebook.

I didn't think this was going to fly with the professor, and I was right. It just made him angry. He said that it was not acceptable to which James immediately and sharply shot back "why?" repeatedly. At that age James loved to catch someone in their own illogical arguments and then needle them over it, never backing down. At least, if memory serves. I always both admired this trait and feared it, because I was afraid it would get him into trouble. But he survived into adulthood relatively unscathed so I guess my fears were unfounded.

Finally the professor told us that if we didn't want to flunk the course, we would write the reports by hand using an engineering pencil in our notebooks as all of his students had done in the past. James' argument that archaeologists should study the past, not live in it landed on deaf ears. We were simply going to have to rewrite them and that was that.

The next day at the dig site there was a bunch of students I didn't recognize protesting. They were holding up signs and everything. At first I thought they were protesting the dig for some reason, but it turned out they were protesting the professor for refusing to move with the times and accept reports in the superior digital format. Blur mentioned to James, Sorry I got the paper involved, to which James said, Are you kidding? This is great!

I didn't know what they were talking about until Blur handed me the latest copy of the school paper, open to a particular article that immediately caught my eye. Apparently the student in charge of taking photographs of the dig and the finds, had also shot pictures of the students. And there was a picture of me, James, and Blur in the paper. My back was to the camera, Blur was partially obscured behind James, and James was sipping something from a plastic cup and grinning, looking charming with his close-cropped hair, glasses, and bomber-style jacket. In the background was the dig site and the professor with his back turned toward us. The article said "Professor Unfairly Threatens to Flunk Students", and went on to describe the situation in unflattering terms.

Needless to say the professor was livid. He began by accusing me of arranging the whole thing and I said I hadn't known anything about it. Then he accused James, to which James calmly replied that he too hadn't had anything to do with it, but noted that people don't just sit by when they see someone behaving in an unjust manner. Certainly we had told other people that he had threatened to flunk us, but we never went to the paper. Obviously someone had, but not us. The photographer, upon questioning, said that the paper had called him and asked for pictures of the dig because they were going to write an article about it. They hadn't mentioned anything about his threatening to flunk us, and so he had happily supplied copies of all of the pictures, figuring the professor would be pleased.

Nobody would admit to anything, and the professor was becoming more and more belligerent. He actually screamed at an older guy in the class who was apparently back in school in his 40's trying to finally get that degree, something about the proper way to use a trowel. The guy's name was something Jenkins... his first name began with a D. And when the professor started yelling at him Jenkins began to look positively scary, like he would snap the smaller man's neck.

After class the professor announced that he was canceling the remainder of the dig. All reports would be due in his office in the morning, done by hand in notebooks, no later than 8 AM. He knew this meant James and I would be up all night, and clearly relished the idea. James and I knew that he would be merciless when he graded our reports, and by all accounts no matter how good they were, he would flunk us.

James assured me that the fight wouldn't be over just because he flunked us, and that in the end he would get the grade overturned. Nonetheless, at this point we needed to play by the professor's rules or it would be harder to get the grade overturned, and we needed to do an excellent job. So we went to the library and poured on the research. The library was apparently open 24 hours a day, so we pretty much camped out there, adding all sorts of details to our reports.

James wickedly suggested that we should write a report on the license plate too. After all, it was found at the dig site and the professor said all finds had to be documented. The professor wouldn't like it, but I had definitely reached the "fuck him" stage at that point.

In addition I did background research on the vicinity of the rest stop and came across an article in a local newspaper dated ten years prior. It was an appeal from the state police for information on the whereabouts of D(something) Jakes. Apparently Mr. Jakes had murdered his family in Maine and fled without a trace. The police had only one lead in that a couple days later a trooper had spotted a car with Maine plates pulling into the rest stop where the dig site was at about 2 AM. The officer in the cruiser was off duty, and didn't note the plate number, just that it was a Maine plate. He pulled up next to the vehicle, rolled down his window and asked the other driver if he was alright. To which the 30 year old responded, yeah, I'm just tired and I'm going to catch some sleep.

That was good enough to the officer who said drive safe and left. Only later did the officer read a bulletin on Jakes, and wasn't sure but thought the man he had spoken to the day before might have been Jakes. Hence the appeal for information. But none was forthcoming. I went looking for more information on Jakes and found a couple more appeals for information in later years. Clearly the trail had gone cold.

And I was probably holding his license plate in my hands. Then it occurred to me that D(something) Jenkins was an anagram of D(something) Jakes. I shared all this with my friend James who went wide-eyed and noted that Jenkins had almost certainly seen me pick up the plate. We reasoned that he had possibly ditched his car, maybe dumping it in the pond, or had switched out the plates or something. This explained why the plate had been buried.

We have to go to the police, he said, right now.

That's when I woke up, and when I went back to sleep the dream did not return. My wife told me in the morning that I had been swearing in my sleep all night. She said every other phrase out of my mouth had been "eff you". I told her I was angry at my archeology professor and that got a look as strange as one might expect.

100.5 is my temp now. I'm so miserable.

What Type of American Accent do you Have?

Abacquer — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 08:51:00 -0500

Tip of the hat to Pandora's Tea Room for providing a link to this fun quiz.

You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.

Oldest American Writing Discovered

Abacquer — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:45:00 -0400

Some Mexican road workers uncover a strange stone block covered with hieroglyphs while building a road. Then, nearly 10 years later, a team of archaeologists get a look at it and detemine that it is the only existing example of the writing of the Olmec people, and the oldest surviving writing in North or South America. How cool is that?...

War on Science

Abacquer — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 08:23:00 -0400

Them wacky fundies are at it again. When they're not dreaming up imaginary wars on their favorite holiday, they are practicing real war on science in general and evolution in particular. Although usually the war takes place in America since it is largely in America that the largest percentage of the public still doesn't accept evolution. Today the war is on in Kenya, specifically at the National Museum of Kenya...

Book Review -- FIASCO by Thomas E. Ricks

Abacquer — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:20:00 -0400

After a week of struggling I have finally managed to finish reading Thomas Ricks excellent account FIASCO -- The American Military Adventure in Iraq. I struggled, in part because I've been so sick, but mostly it would take an average of 10 pages for me to get so furious, or so disheartened, or otherwise upset that I would have to put the book down and pick it up later on. Ricks account of this war is not an easy read. Nor should it be. But having finished it I say that without a doubt all Americans have a civic duty to read this book and understand the nature of this war. Like it or not...

Crank up the Gene Sequencers

Abacquer — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 10:45:00 -0400

This is interesting, scientists in Germany are starting a Neanderthal Genome Project to completely sequence neanderthal DNA. Sequencing 40,000 year old DNA, huh? Sounds complicated!

Something Beautiful

Abacquer — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 20:12:00 -0400

Go and watch this movie, and keep in mind it's 100% real, and was shot entirely in 2006. There's an earlier film on the site that was put together in 2005 that follows the same format but both films amazed me...

Stone Calendar?

Abacquer — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:46:00 -0400

I love stone calendars like Stonehenge--rings of stones marking days of the year or important annual astronomical alignments. Such structures are common in many parts of the world, but until now, none have been found that originate from pre-Columbrian Amazon cultures, simply because such cultures tended to build using clay and wood. Now, on a grassy hilltop near the village of Calcoene in northern Brazil, scientists have discovered what may be the remains of a stone calendar...

Moral Absolutes and the God Hypothesis

Abacquer — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 14:05:00 -0400

I had a very interesting if somewhat frustrating conversation with a theist the other day on a different blog on the subject of "moral absolutes". Actually the conversation was about my morality in general, and left me with a lot to ponder. Here's how it came about...

Happy Holidays

Abacquer — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 19:41:00 -0500

I refuse to get drawn into the ridiculous "War on Christmas" twaddle, especially when so many competent bloggers are turning the hoses on that subject far better than I. Instead this is an idea turned research project which I have been spending time on here and there over the last couple weeks. You can consider this an endorsement of the phrase "Happy Holidays" and why it makes so much sense this time of year...

Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites

Abacquer — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 09:18:00 -0400

I just read a great article on Slate which makes clear that what the mainstream press tells us about the factions in Iraq is either vastly oversimplified or incorrect.

Tribal Ignorance
What you think you know about Iraq's factions is all wrong.

Religion Dangerous? On the Wane?

Abacquer — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 08:36:00 -0400

Here's a pair of interesting items James pointed out to me recently...

I Love Vowel Movement

Abacquer — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 11:06:00 -0400

Heh, that's awesome.

London Zoo to Feature Humans

Abacquer — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 08:00:00 -0400

As reported in the article New exhibit at London Zoo - humans (AFP via Yahoo News):

..."We have set up this exhibit to highlight the spread of man as a plague species and to communicate the importance of man's place in the planet's ecosystem," London Zoo said.

The scantily-clad volunteers will be treated as animals and kept amused at the central London zoo with games and music.

"I actually think the fig leaves will be enough to cover us up, it's no worse than a swimming pool," said volunteer Simon Spiro, 19, from New Malden, south of the British capital...

This is so Cool

Abacquer — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 09:00:00 -0400

Here's a guy who is rediscovering "forgotten technology" techniques that allow a single person to move large, extremely heavy objects, without the aid of anyone else. Surprisingly he often doesn't use wheels or rollers at all, but instead uses counterweights and balancing points. Using this technique he plans to build a modern day stonehenge largely by himself.

...my son needed a pole barn moved, due to a desired property split. I decided to put my technique to the test. The wood building was a 30 ft. by 40 ft. and 16 ft. tall. It weighed over 10 tons. In order to move the building, we added another 5 tons of bracing and reinforcement.

The conditions were not good. At first, the field was muddy and I could only work for a few hours a week. Working by myself, I still found that I could move the building at a speed of 6 ft. per hour. With my son helping, we doubled that speed. After 40 man-hours of labor, we moved the building over 200 ft...

Check it out!

Extensive Hohokam Canal System Discovered in Mesa, Arizona

Abacquer — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:00:00 -0400

Some archaeologists at a site in Mesa Arizona have uncovered a network of canals that they say were dug by the Hohokam Indians. I know almost nothing of archaeology but this was interesting to me. I wasn't aware that North American Indian cultures built irrigation systems for farming. I was under the impression that most historic Indian tribes were communities of hunter-gatherers...

Kennewick Man -- Intensive Study Underway

Abacquer — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 18:00:00 -0400

On July 28, 1996, two college students swimming in the Columbia River near Kennwick Washington spotted the skull of what turned out to be one of the most complete and oldest prehistoric human skeletons found in the USA. Dubbed the Kennewick Man, this skeleton ended up being the center of a controversy that pitted archaeologists against Native Americans, specifically the Umatilla Indians...

My Reaction -- Too Many Answered Questions

Abacquer — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 11:42:00 -0400

I'd ask who did this, but we know who.
I'd ask how could someone do this, but we know how...

London Subway Hit By Terrorist Attack

Abacquer — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 09:13:00 -0400

My wife just woke me to inform me that there has been a terrorist attack in London. Apparently a number of bombs went off at different locations in the London subway system during rush hour...

May the Bird of Merchandise Fly Up Your Nose

Abacquer — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 16:38:00 -0400

An article in Scientific American notes a recent study which indicates that a nasal hormone spray makes people who inhale it more trusting of others...

War of the Worlds -- Review

Abacquer — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 11:26:00 -0400

I went to see War of the Worlds last Thursday after work at the AMC 10 in Burlington, Ma. The theatre was pretty empty but that's just as well. I hate rowdy types who don't know how to behave in a theatre, and a less full theatre means rowdy types are less likely...

Rhode Island Drivers Dumbest, Survey Reveals, Bay Staters Second Dumbest

Abacquer — Fri, 27 May 2005 15:53:00 -0400

CNN reports that GMAC Insurance conducted a nationwide survey of 20 million drivers to assess their knowledge of road safety and proper driving practices. The survey reveals that drivers in the Northwest are the best, and drivers in the Northeast are the worst...

Lions and Lambs -- Gender Roles

Abacquer — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 23:44:00 -0500

"Enforce those gender roles early" is apparently still in the mainstream of American education. This despite a quarter century of Sesame Street and other educational programming teaching kids it's okay for boys to play with dolls and girls to play with trucks...

Frozen Martian Sea Discovered and Other Science News

Abacquer — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 01:06:00 -0500

The European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter has identified a region of the Martian surface near the equator which appears to be a frozen sea covered with dust. Ice is rarely seen on Mars, typically only appearing at the poles. This sea appears to have been protected by the layer of dust atop it...

Stream: Analemma

Abacquer — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 06:44:00 -0500

CARLY:	[walks in with tray of drinks] What was all that about anyway?
TERENCE:	Yawn Sorry, I was dreaming of a lemna.
CARLY:	[sets down tray on endtable next to sofa] A lemna?

Yes, there is ...