Archive for September, 2007
About that lunar X-Prize
Posted by Grg in General stuff on Friday, September 21, 2007
“A lunar prospector will face a hostile environment in the perpetual darkness of craters at the moon’s southern pole, where ground temperatures are minus 385 degrees and no energy source is at hand,” said William “Red” Whittaker, the Fredkin Research Professor and principal investigator of the NASA-funded project. “It’s a place where humans can’t work effectively, but where Scarab will thrive, even while operating on the electrical power required to illuminate a 100-watt light bulb.”
Polishing a turd — D-War’s latest ad
Posted by Grg in General stuff on Friday, September 21, 2007
If you’ve been missing Japanese monster movies, take heart. “Dragon Wars: D-War” (from South Korea actually) proves the genre quite alive. It is such abreathless, delirious stew,it’s impossible not to be entertained,provided — this is crucial — you have a sense of humor
Bit more on the Peru meteorite
Posted by Grg in General stuff on Friday, September 21, 2007
This AP follows up a bit more on the whole thing, this time revisting a researcher who earlier believed the whole thing was a geological phenomena.
Other details don’t add up, they said — such as witness accounts of water in the muddy crater boiling for 10 minutes from the heat. Meteorites are actually cold when they hit Earth, astronomists say, since their outer layers burn up and fall away before impact.
Experts also puzzled over claims that 200 local residents were sickened by fumes from the crater. Doctors who examined them found no evidence of illness related to the meteorite, and one suggested a psychosomatic reaction to the sight and sound of the plunging meteor.
You would also think I’m tired of gloating, but I’m not. I called it. Allow my petty victory.
Doctors told an Associated Press Television News cameraman at the site that they had found no sign of radioactive contamination among families living nearby. But they said they had taken samples of blood, urine and hair to analyze.Peasants living near the crater said they had smelled a sulfurous odor for at least an hour after the meteorite struck and that it had provoked upset stomachs and headaches. But Ishitsuka said he doubts reports of a sulfurous smell.
Meteor expert Ursula Marvin said that if people were sickened, “it wouldn’t be the meteorite itself, but the dust it raises.”
A meteorite “wouldn’t get much gas out of the earth,” said Marvin, who has studied the objects since 1961 at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts. “It’s a very superficial thing.”
I’m going to risk wrapping this one up — case closed, game over. But mark my words, from years hence people will continue to refer to this as the meteorite that sickened 600 Peruvians.
My pocketknife
Posted by Grg in General stuff on Thursday, September 20, 2007
The head guard told me it was exactly two-tenths of an inch too long to be in our building. It is a private building, but since there are some federal offices here, it has become a private building with federal security or some such thing.
Curiously, the guard said that he cwasn’t allowed to carry a pocketknife, either, and has resorted to keeping a tiny keychain penknife. Of course, he carries a gun…
Death Hysteria from the sky! A Peruvian mystery illness round-up
Posted by Grg in General stuff, Grg's Reference, Science/Geek, Skeptic on Thursday, September 20, 2007
There’s a new article (well, new to me) on Space.com from a Peruvian scientist who says it really is a meteorite and has, gosh darn it, actual evidence.
While I wouldn’t say it is the final word on the topic, it is the first report I’ve read that actually quotes scientists on site. It also clarifies some numbers: 200 people supposedly sickened, and the crater is 65 feet wide and 15 feet deep. Of course, these numbers fluctuate with every telling of the tale.
Jose Mechare, a scientist with Peru’s Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute, said a geologist had confirmed that it was a “rocky meteorite,” based on the fragments analyzed.
If it is good enough for Mechare, it is good enough for me. I guess by rocky, he means stony. He suggests that the meteorite impact could have led to water — or whatever chemical — vaporizing at the site, which might explain the illnesses.
That’s a nice theory, but it turns out there’s no sign of illness. In fact, I sense a big sign of vindication around here…
But a team of doctors sent to the isolated site, 3 1/2 hours travel from the state capital of Puno, said they found no evidence the meteorite had sickened people, the Lima newspaper El Comercio reported Wednesday.
Modesto Montoya, a member of the team, was quoted as saying doctors also had found no sign of radioactive contamination among families living nearby, but had taken blood samples from 19 people to be sure.
He said fear may have provoked psychosomatic ailments.
While, I can’t claim total victory for the mass hysteria idea, I do want to point out that most of the reporting involved here circled around a few (often highly) educated guesses — well, in addition to pure sensationalism. Here we have tons of media coverage surrounding an odd event in a remote place, with little in the way of first hand accounts. It pays to be skeptical.
Then again, this could just mean that space rocks can hypnotize! Everybody panic again!!!1!!1!!
The Skeptical Inquirer has a bit more on the delusions of crowds, with examples through history. For another example, although not specifically about mass hysteria, the Skeptic’s Dictionary, tells the tale of the Indian Monkey Man panic. Turns out, the perp was just a fakir.
Here are some “good” links (quotes to indicate link to Pravda) , on the story thus far, as reported.
Wiki has a good summary page on the goings on.
Yahoo/Space.com: A not-erroneous alternative explanation.
Pravda: Pravda means truth, nyet!
Space.com: Fodder for the space nerd demographic, a sci-fi twist.
It think it is safe to assume no zombies, for now. And if you’ll excuse me, I have to think of where I’m going to put all these cans of Chef Boyardee and boxes of shotgun shells.
…or nothing fell from the sky at all.
Posted by Grg in Dumb thoughts, General stuff, Science/Geek, Skeptic on Thursday, September 20, 2007
A couple features of the event reports suggest there was a space rock involved, said geophysicist Larry Grossman of the University of Chicago. The bright streak of light and loud bangs seen and heard by locals are consistent with a meteor streaking through Earth’s atmosphere, he said. Most meteors do burn up, never becoming meteorites (which is what they’re called if they reach the surface).
Because no one actually saw anything impact at the crater site, it’s hard to say whether a space rock was involved because they are often deceptive as to where they will land. Many times, people swear a meteor landed nearby when in fact it was so far away that it dipped below the local horizon but never actually struck the ground.
I think I’ll stick to mass hysteria, even if it is some geological feature. Still, much like the scientists quoted in this article, I’m basing my opinion on hearsay. The beauty of my theory is that it works for either meteorites or geysers — I somehow doubt the entire village walked over to the crater and got sick.
I think at this point, however, we may have to rule out zombie-death plague.
Speaking of mass hysteria…
Posted by Grg in Dumb thoughts, Skeptic on Thursday, September 20, 2007
The kicker is that warring factions within the US military brought it down, according to the article. Apparently these factions have held an uneasy truce since Warren Buffet negotiated a peace between America’s “war leaders” and its military “blocs.”
Well, allllrighty then…
Still, if you want a case study on how conspiracy nuts operate, just check out how the author links all sorts of disparate bits of information to form a sinister tale. For example, the fact that Barksdale Air Force base was where Bush was first sent on 9/11 and where the recent nuclear cruise missile incident occured, is Very Significant. The writer offers no reason why, but the fact that both things happened at Barksdale means they are somehow linked.
If I could have chosen my own surname…
Posted by Grg in General stuff on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
And I would have to give up Greg or Gregory. For a name like Conquest, you need a Theophilous or Erskine.
As for now, I’m still trying to get the missus to name the next one Baron von Lester.
A quick gut check on genetically-engineered micro-factories
Posted by Grg in Science/Geek on Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Taken at face value the lede is just wrong.
“Microorganisms may soon be efficiently and inexpensively producing novel pharmaceutical compounds, such as flavonoids, that fight aging, cancer or obesity, as well as high-value chemicals…”
They already do just that to make insulin, human growth hormone and a Hep B vaccine, among others. I’m surprised that the researcher who approved this hadn’t considered it, since that’s just the sort of feedback I always get when I write something a shade wrong.
Not to take away from the researchers at the University of Buffalo — I blame the press release writer (but not too much, since I’m sure I’ve done the same before) — they have put together a nifty way of getting e. coli to produce flavanoids. Anti-oxidants are good things, and I’m sure researchers are also scratching their heads over other applications.
I look forward to the day when they can repopulate my gut bacteria with new critters designed to produce biomolecules that keep me slim, young and able to hear the thoughts of my enemies.
Space Bug, Solanum outbreak, or mass hysteria…
Posted by Grg in Dumb thoughts, Grg's Reference, Science/Geek, Skeptic on Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Over the weekend, a meteorite hit outside of a remote Andean town. Villagers claimed that the meteorite — which must have been fairly sizable to leave a 100 foot-wide crater — emitted a strange odor that sickened close to 600 people. They claim it caused headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. [link]
Now BoingBoing is citing Andromeda Strain. Instapundit (well a reader) alludes to a zombie exovirus. But, call me crazy, I’m putting my money on mass hysteria.
Now, admittedly, I’ve got no evidence to support this little. I’m just going by the account on MSNBC, but as much as I’d be geared toward a good zombie war, headaches and nausea are two common signs of mass hysteria.
A big freaking huge rock (100 foot-wide crater must have been some big bang) falls from the sky and I wouldn’t be surprised if a little panic didn’t set in. And not to pick on the poor Peruvians, either, because mass hysteria could and does happen everywhere. I mean, we tend to overlook hysterical episodes like epidemics of Satanic Ritual Abuse here, but laugh when we read that Africans think their schlongs are targets for evil magic.
Howstuffworks has a good column about the phenomena — coincidentally using an example of 600 “sick” Mexican girls. Here’s a news item from an episode from Belgium in 1999, where cases of illness far outweighed the possible effects of a contaminated batch of Coca-Cola.
Of course, this might be all wishful thinking on my part, since I’d rather people suffer mass hysteria than an alien death plague. (Zombie outbreak might be fun, but not anymore since having a kid. That said, the first Peruvian cannibal story I hear, I’m loading up on canned goods and firearms. )
Still, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility to suppose that prion-like particles or even microbes could have ridden down from space. Let’s hope not.
However, going by the entirely a-scientific philosophy that life is always more interesting than you think but rarely more exciting — I’m going with the panicked populace theory. Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t look both ways for the living dead before running out to the gym tomorrow morning.
Speaking of which, g’night!
UPDATE: Holy #$&! Glenn Reynolds linked to me, how cool is that. Hi Insta-readers!
Maybe I should blog about how my building’s security took away my 20 year-old swiss army knife this morning — even though, because I can’t find my ID, my bag has been going through the x-ray machine every morning for a week without incident. (Whoops, just did blog about it.) I think he’d like that kind of story. Funny part was how the guard couldn’t open the blade (I don’t think I’ve used the blade on that in ages) yet still insisted it was too long to pass through.
Years now of reading about similar incidents, I was sure they’d tazer my ass…or cause a bigger stink, at least. Turns out they’re just going to hold it until the end of the day, but they gave me a good finger-waggling lecture about how naughty it is to bring your Weeblos-era MacGyverknife to work. It is going to make it awkward to go out for lunch today…
UPDATE 2: UPDATE HARDER
According to this story, the crater is only 50 feet wide and only 150 people have been “sickened” by the deadly gas from the Martian tripod. But now, the story talks about skin lesions and luminous materials. Radioactive, perhaps?
Still, I’m sticking with mass hysteria until I see reports of Radioactive Incans flying over the countryside, murding thousands with their laser eyes.