My Jewish Pride
I am up early this Sabbath morning, early Saturday morning, May 24, 2003, looking through the Internet Jerusalem Post edition. Even conceding I am biased toward items praising my Jewish people, I find an item this morning that really brings out my Jewish pride.
Educational Column - "Hineni", here I am, ready to serve you.
Published in Saturday, May 24, 2003 Internet Jerusalem Post <http://www.jpost.com>
https://www.hineni.org/inspirations_view.asp?id=17&category=15&CatName=Jewish%20Issues
[excerpt]
THE JEW
By Rabbi Esther Jungreis
You are a Jew
You have traveled the four corners of the earth.
You have been a citizen of every nation.
You have mastered the nuances of every tongue.
You have been a part of every people, and yet you have remained a people apart.
You are a Jew
You have created civilizations
You have given birth to every ideal that has shaped mankind; justice, peace, love, dignity of man, have had all their genesis in your Torah.
But above all, you have been given the unique mission of proclaiming the one-ness of
G-d.
You are a Jew
You have traveled the four corners of the earth
You have known oppression.
You have experienced every form of persecution.
Your body has been scorched by fire.
Your memory fails
You have forgotten your past
But nevertheless, a still, small voice relentlessly calls out to you and demands that you discover your inner self
A still small voice that gives you no peace for within you courses the blood of prophets, martyrs, sages and kings of Israel.
Your roots are sunk in eternity.
You are heir to a legacy over 4,000 years old.
------
May 23, 2003
NASA Posts the First View of Earth and Moon From Mars
Posted especially for my buddy Don Kelly, who I know has a high interest in astronomy.
Having gained an almost "ho-hum" feeling when seeing the many famous photographs by astronauts of earth from the moon, it was pleasant and mildly startling for me to find that the Mars Global Surveyor mission has returned the first pictures of earth and moon taken from another planet - the planet Mars. The greater distance and thus the small apparent size of earth and moon makes me just a bit more humble as a resident of the third "speck" from the sun.
Go to:
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04531
"Earth/Moon: This is the first image of Earth ever taken from another planet that actually shows our home as a planetary disk. Because Earth and the Moon are closer to the Sun than Mars, they exhibit phases, just as the Moon, Venus, and Mercury do when viewed from Earth." (continues)
In the picture, earth and moon are in the "half-earth" and "half-moon" phases.
######
Photograph Technical Details:
Target Name: Earth
Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun)
Mission: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Spacecraft: Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Instrument: Mars Orbiter Camera
Product Size: 961 samples x 961 lines
Produced By: Malin Space Science Systems
Producer ID: MOC2-368
Full-Res TIFF: PIA04531.tif (2.775 megabytes)
Posted especially for my buddy Don Kelly, who I know has a high interest in astronomy.
Having gained an almost "ho-hum" feeling when seeing the many famous photographs by astronauts of earth from the moon, it was pleasant and mildly startling for me to find that the Mars Global Surveyor mission has returned the first pictures of earth and moon taken from another planet - the planet Mars. The greater distance and thus the small apparent size of earth and moon makes me just a bit more humble as a resident of the third "speck" from the sun.
Go to:
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04531
"Earth/Moon: This is the first image of Earth ever taken from another planet that actually shows our home as a planetary disk. Because Earth and the Moon are closer to the Sun than Mars, they exhibit phases, just as the Moon, Venus, and Mercury do when viewed from Earth." (continues)
In the picture, earth and moon are in the "half-earth" and "half-moon" phases.
######
Photograph Technical Details:
Target Name: Earth
Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun)
Mission: Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Spacecraft: Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Instrument: Mars Orbiter Camera
Product Size: 961 samples x 961 lines
Produced By: Malin Space Science Systems
Producer ID: MOC2-368
Full-Res TIFF: PIA04531.tif (2.775 megabytes)
Another One Liner
"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it."
Jonathan Winters
I heard this quote given yesterday as advice in a one-day conference about achieving economic development in small rural communities and it has special meaning for me. Western Oklahoma and most areas of the American Great Plains are among the few places in the United States losing population for lack of economic opportunities. I've created a little stir in Weatherford by my proposal for a multi-use recreational snow area using synthetic snow matting - available 365 days a year and primarily aimed for use by youth and college students. It is a complicated project. The devil is in the details. So I've found myself swimming out to the ship.
Part of my swimming is taking a course in "Fundamentals of Marketing" this Summer at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. I am doing some homework to give the project a chance to work. A main goal is to add a quality of life improvement feature in Weatherford to create an environment making new people want to live here. It's a fun project. I've attracted enough attention to get my "five minutes of fame" in a story done on the Channel 9 Oklahoma City CBS news affiliate. So for a brief period at least, I am a TV celebrity on the streets of Weatherford.
"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it."
Jonathan Winters
I heard this quote given yesterday as advice in a one-day conference about achieving economic development in small rural communities and it has special meaning for me. Western Oklahoma and most areas of the American Great Plains are among the few places in the United States losing population for lack of economic opportunities. I've created a little stir in Weatherford by my proposal for a multi-use recreational snow area using synthetic snow matting - available 365 days a year and primarily aimed for use by youth and college students. It is a complicated project. The devil is in the details. So I've found myself swimming out to the ship.
Part of my swimming is taking a course in "Fundamentals of Marketing" this Summer at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. I am doing some homework to give the project a chance to work. A main goal is to add a quality of life improvement feature in Weatherford to create an environment making new people want to live here. It's a fun project. I've attracted enough attention to get my "five minutes of fame" in a story done on the Channel 9 Oklahoma City CBS news affiliate. So for a brief period at least, I am a TV celebrity on the streets of Weatherford.
April 27, 2003
Opportunity
On Friday night April 26, 2003 I attended the Chemistry Department Banquet at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The speaker was Dr. Joe Sauer of Albemarle Corporation, a global supplier of specialty chemicals and chemical intermediates based in Baton Rouge, LA. Dr. Sauer is a SWOSU chemistry graduate.
Before getting into his topic on biofilms, Dr. Sauer passed out advice for the graduating chemistry seniors and all chemistry students present. It is good advice because it is practical "real life" advice and it brought back nostalgic memories of my own career in industrial chemistry and chemical engineering. The most memorable part for me is a quote of Thomas Edison about opportunity.
-
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
-- Thomas Alva Edison
While not claiming to never missing an opportunity, I pride myself in being ready to put on gloves and coveralls and hard hat and go out in the field and try things out. At my chemical plant, I frequently used a 5-gallon pail to tote thermometers, pressure gauges, sample valves, wrenches, research notebooks and so on. I got a nickname of "the bucket chemist."
Though the closest description of my field based on college training is "inorganic chemist," I jokingly call myself a "physical chemist." By 'physical' I mean I often use my muscles - I' m not always in the lab doing test-tube work. Also I don't care what field I use to solve problems in my assignments. At various times I've used biology, soil mechanics, hydrology, geology and on and on. The willingness to be versatile like this was another point made by Dr. Sauer to the students.
As a closing thought related to opportunity, I think of Jerry's e-mail signature quote.
-
"Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get."
I can brag about a number of engineering accomplishments by me that fit this dictum. And most times the way to success is putting on coveralls and doing a lot of work to get the idea into practice.
On Friday night April 26, 2003 I attended the Chemistry Department Banquet at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The speaker was Dr. Joe Sauer of Albemarle Corporation, a global supplier of specialty chemicals and chemical intermediates based in Baton Rouge, LA. Dr. Sauer is a SWOSU chemistry graduate.
Before getting into his topic on biofilms, Dr. Sauer passed out advice for the graduating chemistry seniors and all chemistry students present. It is good advice because it is practical "real life" advice and it brought back nostalgic memories of my own career in industrial chemistry and chemical engineering. The most memorable part for me is a quote of Thomas Edison about opportunity.
-
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
-- Thomas Alva Edison
While not claiming to never missing an opportunity, I pride myself in being ready to put on gloves and coveralls and hard hat and go out in the field and try things out. At my chemical plant, I frequently used a 5-gallon pail to tote thermometers, pressure gauges, sample valves, wrenches, research notebooks and so on. I got a nickname of "the bucket chemist."
Though the closest description of my field based on college training is "inorganic chemist," I jokingly call myself a "physical chemist." By 'physical' I mean I often use my muscles - I' m not always in the lab doing test-tube work. Also I don't care what field I use to solve problems in my assignments. At various times I've used biology, soil mechanics, hydrology, geology and on and on. The willingness to be versatile like this was another point made by Dr. Sauer to the students.
As a closing thought related to opportunity, I think of Jerry's e-mail signature quote.
-
"Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get."
I can brag about a number of engineering accomplishments by me that fit this dictum. And most times the way to success is putting on coveralls and doing a lot of work to get the idea into practice.
April 07, 2003
The Little Navajo Girl Herding Sheep on a Bicycle
News of the death of Pfc. Lorie Piestewa in the Iraq War is wrenching for me. Hearing she is a Hopi from Tuba City, Arizona, located on the Navajo Reservation, takes me back to the mid-80's when I camped "under the stars" in a remote area near the Monument Valley visitor center and tourist trail area run by the Navajo. I was with my best friend Tom Stott. We were far enough away, and high above the valley, so we had a panoramic view of the stunning Monument Valley rock formations - a view rarely seen - and we were away from the tourists. On the way we traveled through Tuba City and Kayenta, then took "jeep trails" away from main roads.
Now to the little Navajo girl. As we proceeded along the jeep trail, we saw a herd of sheep ahead. And when we got close, there she was riding behind the sheep on her bicycle and keeping the sheep moving, diverting strays back into the herd, and so on. In short, she was sheep herding on a bicycle and doing an extra good job of it. Our sense of respect for being on special ground, and appreciation for being treated friendly, led us not to take pictures. I don't need a picture. The little Navajo girl herding sheep is present for me every day as one of my most pleasant memories of a lifetime. And I am sad. I am very sad because I think that little girl is now about the age of Lori Piestewa. And I know that Lori is killed in war. And on my wall hangs a gold and silver plate with a dove over Jerusalem, with a "Shalom" in English on one wing, and a "Shalom" in Hebrew on the other wing - and around the plate are the words, in English and Hebrew: "Nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4) Speaking as a member of mankind, I grieve that we are so far from this ideal. I want to go every day where little Navajo girls herd sheep on bicycles. It is so peaceful there.
News of the death of Pfc. Lorie Piestewa in the Iraq War is wrenching for me. Hearing she is a Hopi from Tuba City, Arizona, located on the Navajo Reservation, takes me back to the mid-80's when I camped "under the stars" in a remote area near the Monument Valley visitor center and tourist trail area run by the Navajo. I was with my best friend Tom Stott. We were far enough away, and high above the valley, so we had a panoramic view of the stunning Monument Valley rock formations - a view rarely seen - and we were away from the tourists. On the way we traveled through Tuba City and Kayenta, then took "jeep trails" away from main roads.
Now to the little Navajo girl. As we proceeded along the jeep trail, we saw a herd of sheep ahead. And when we got close, there she was riding behind the sheep on her bicycle and keeping the sheep moving, diverting strays back into the herd, and so on. In short, she was sheep herding on a bicycle and doing an extra good job of it. Our sense of respect for being on special ground, and appreciation for being treated friendly, led us not to take pictures. I don't need a picture. The little Navajo girl herding sheep is present for me every day as one of my most pleasant memories of a lifetime. And I am sad. I am very sad because I think that little girl is now about the age of Lori Piestewa. And I know that Lori is killed in war. And on my wall hangs a gold and silver plate with a dove over Jerusalem, with a "Shalom" in English on one wing, and a "Shalom" in Hebrew on the other wing - and around the plate are the words, in English and Hebrew: "Nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4) Speaking as a member of mankind, I grieve that we are so far from this ideal. I want to go every day where little Navajo girls herd sheep on bicycles. It is so peaceful there.
March 24, 2003
A Subdued Jack Remembers Gemini 3
Although I try to make blog posts in the realm of non-controversial "potpourri" and away from controversial politics, world events, etc., the talk of war and actual war are on my mind. Being human, I am affected and feel subdued about making my usual light-hearted posts. Thus I have been quiet for awhile. But tonight I am prompted to write about the 1965 Gemini 3 mission. This happens after reading the original front-page story that appeared for Gemini 3 in an "On This Day" feature in the Sunday New York Times.
http://www.nthisdanytimes.com/learning/general/oy/big/0323.html#article
March 23 highlights the blast off from Cape Kennedy, and landing in the Pacific Ocean after nearly five hours in space, of America's first two-person space flight with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young aboard on March 23, 1965. Gemini 3 Pilot Grissom and Co-Pilot Young did pilot controlled maneuvering of a spacecraft for the first time - an ability essential to later success of Apollo moon lander missions beginning in 1969.
Mostly I enjoyed the article from the chuckles I get when I am reminded of events when the Gemini 3 capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean 50 miles away from the rescue ship - the aircraft carrier Intrepid. It took an hour before a helicopter from Intrepid rescued the two astronauts. It was scary before they were located! I remember that part quite well. But I either didn't know or I forgot that the hour spent floating in the spacecraft, heated by re-entry through the dense atmosphere, led Grissom and Young to get rid of space suits and strip down to underwear. So the first thing that took place when they set foot on the flight deck of the Intrepid was being handed Navy bathrobes. The bathrobes I somehow remember from news film, but I don't think I realized why they were needed. From this I have nostalgia for times when the space program seemed to have more impromptu procedures such as stripping to underwear.
Remembering Gemini 3 makes me sad to also remember Apollo 1 which burned on the pad on January 27, 1967 killing the crew of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. The recent Columbia disaster brings back memories of Apollo 1 which was a stunning event for me as a 26-year old hero-worshipping kid.
Although I try to make blog posts in the realm of non-controversial "potpourri" and away from controversial politics, world events, etc., the talk of war and actual war are on my mind. Being human, I am affected and feel subdued about making my usual light-hearted posts. Thus I have been quiet for awhile. But tonight I am prompted to write about the 1965 Gemini 3 mission. This happens after reading the original front-page story that appeared for Gemini 3 in an "On This Day" feature in the Sunday New York Times.
http://www.nthisdanytimes.com/learning/general/oy/big/0323.html#article
March 23 highlights the blast off from Cape Kennedy, and landing in the Pacific Ocean after nearly five hours in space, of America's first two-person space flight with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young aboard on March 23, 1965. Gemini 3 Pilot Grissom and Co-Pilot Young did pilot controlled maneuvering of a spacecraft for the first time - an ability essential to later success of Apollo moon lander missions beginning in 1969.
Mostly I enjoyed the article from the chuckles I get when I am reminded of events when the Gemini 3 capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean 50 miles away from the rescue ship - the aircraft carrier Intrepid. It took an hour before a helicopter from Intrepid rescued the two astronauts. It was scary before they were located! I remember that part quite well. But I either didn't know or I forgot that the hour spent floating in the spacecraft, heated by re-entry through the dense atmosphere, led Grissom and Young to get rid of space suits and strip down to underwear. So the first thing that took place when they set foot on the flight deck of the Intrepid was being handed Navy bathrobes. The bathrobes I somehow remember from news film, but I don't think I realized why they were needed. From this I have nostalgia for times when the space program seemed to have more impromptu procedures such as stripping to underwear.
Remembering Gemini 3 makes me sad to also remember Apollo 1 which burned on the pad on January 27, 1967 killing the crew of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. The recent Columbia disaster brings back memories of Apollo 1 which was a stunning event for me as a 26-year old hero-worshipping kid.
March 15, 2003
Is the Universe Shaped Like a Doughnut?
I’m fascinated by a New York Times article “Universe as Doughnut: New Data, New Debate”, by Dennis Overbye, which I’ve read and reread all this week. Checking early this Saturday morning, it is still online free, along with an accompanying interactive: “Is Infinity an Illusion?” To read the full article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/11/science/space/11COSM.html?8isc
The article tells about a new interpretation of data obtained by means of a NASA satellite, in operation since 1992, that measures the faint microwave radiation that fills the sky. “This radiation is believed to be the afterglow of the Big Bang itself, and thus constitutes a portrait of the universe when it was only 380,000 years old.” The COBE satellite (for Cosmic Background Explorer) is providing data about the early universe which leads Dr. James Peebles of Princeton to say: “Cosmologists have built a house of cards and it stands.”
But, Hey! - The universe as a doughnut? The article mentions that an early computer game called Spacewar gives a picture consistent with space shaped like a doughnut – if battling rocket ships drift off one side of the screen, they reappear on the opposite side. And it seems to me I read a science fiction story “umpteen years ago” :-) that includes the idea of space shaped like a doughnut. In fact, I have a faint notion that my good friend Jerry and I had a discussion of this idea way back when we were next door neighbors. (??)
Now rather than computer games and science fiction, new experimental developments come from the University of Pennsylvania where Dr. Angélica de Oliveira-Costa and Dr. Max Tegmark have generated a detailed map of the early universe using COBE satellite data. Based on a far from certain interpretation of the map, “... Rather than being infinite in all directions, as the most fashionable theory suggests, the universe could be radically smaller in one direction than the others. As a result it may even be shaped like a doughnut.”
Being mostly an experimental scientist and engineer myself, rather than a theorist, I find extra fascinating that a seemingly simple way exists for astrophysicists to test the theory. According to Dr. Tegmark, “There’s a hint in the data that if you traveled far and fast in the direction of the constellation Virgo, you’d return to Earth from the opposite direction.” And in the interactive accompanying the article, testing of the theory is proposed by looking at opposite ends of the sky to see if similar patterns and scales appear in the cosmic background radiation.
Wow! I like it like that! Not only is a hypothesis proposed, but a means of experimental proof is offered. That’s what Albert Einstein did with his relativity theory and experiments bore out the validity of his concepts. Thinking back to my days as a voracious science fiction reader, I wish my favorite science fiction author and science interpretation writer, Isaac Asimov, was still alive. I would love to read a column on the subject like those he used to write every month in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine.
I’m fascinated by a New York Times article “Universe as Doughnut: New Data, New Debate”, by Dennis Overbye, which I’ve read and reread all this week. Checking early this Saturday morning, it is still online free, along with an accompanying interactive: “Is Infinity an Illusion?” To read the full article, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/11/science/space/11COSM.html?8isc
The article tells about a new interpretation of data obtained by means of a NASA satellite, in operation since 1992, that measures the faint microwave radiation that fills the sky. “This radiation is believed to be the afterglow of the Big Bang itself, and thus constitutes a portrait of the universe when it was only 380,000 years old.” The COBE satellite (for Cosmic Background Explorer) is providing data about the early universe which leads Dr. James Peebles of Princeton to say: “Cosmologists have built a house of cards and it stands.”
But, Hey! - The universe as a doughnut? The article mentions that an early computer game called Spacewar gives a picture consistent with space shaped like a doughnut – if battling rocket ships drift off one side of the screen, they reappear on the opposite side. And it seems to me I read a science fiction story “umpteen years ago” :-) that includes the idea of space shaped like a doughnut. In fact, I have a faint notion that my good friend Jerry and I had a discussion of this idea way back when we were next door neighbors. (??)
Now rather than computer games and science fiction, new experimental developments come from the University of Pennsylvania where Dr. Angélica de Oliveira-Costa and Dr. Max Tegmark have generated a detailed map of the early universe using COBE satellite data. Based on a far from certain interpretation of the map, “... Rather than being infinite in all directions, as the most fashionable theory suggests, the universe could be radically smaller in one direction than the others. As a result it may even be shaped like a doughnut.”
Being mostly an experimental scientist and engineer myself, rather than a theorist, I find extra fascinating that a seemingly simple way exists for astrophysicists to test the theory. According to Dr. Tegmark, “There’s a hint in the data that if you traveled far and fast in the direction of the constellation Virgo, you’d return to Earth from the opposite direction.” And in the interactive accompanying the article, testing of the theory is proposed by looking at opposite ends of the sky to see if similar patterns and scales appear in the cosmic background radiation.
Wow! I like it like that! Not only is a hypothesis proposed, but a means of experimental proof is offered. That’s what Albert Einstein did with his relativity theory and experiments bore out the validity of his concepts. Thinking back to my days as a voracious science fiction reader, I wish my favorite science fiction author and science interpretation writer, Isaac Asimov, was still alive. I would love to read a column on the subject like those he used to write every month in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine.
March 11, 2003
Reaping the Wind in Western Oklahoma
At the beginning of the year, I joined the Weatherford Area Economic Development Foundation (WAEDF) at the urging of a good friend who thought the foundation can benefit from more diversification in its members. Most of the present members are business people of some sort.
Well, so far I interpret my role in the foundation to include contributing an engineering viewpoint and generating fresh ideas for economic development projects. In this vein, something "jumped out at me" from an article in Chemical & Engineering News, February 24, 2003 edition (free Web access only to American Chemical Society members.) The cover story is on wind energy and a map shows active wind energy projects in the U.S. represented by the total megawatt capacity on line in each state. A startling find for me is that Oklahoma has no active wind energy projects while most of the states around Oklahoma have relatively high activity. I brought this up at a WAEDF meeting and found out to my liking that potential wind energy projects are being pursued by the foundation and by the town Economic Development Director. Also the state legislature recently passed legislation to encourage wind energy development.
Meanwhile I am having great fun! As is my habit, I got single-minded about learning all I can on the subject. I started over the weekend on an Internet search to learn more about current wind turbine technology and I got experience using the Oklahoma Legislature website to find a bill status. The bill for wind energy is in the House Appropriations Committee awaiting funding with an "emergency" priority. By Sunday I found myself ordering an expensive technical book covering up-to-date engineering aspects for large wind turbines.
In my reading I found this approximate quote: "Wind is to the American Great Plains as oil is to Saudi Arabia." Western Oklahoma is part of the Great Plains. The time is at hand to reap the wind in our region - and I look forward to playing some part, small as it may be, in getting the job done.
At the beginning of the year, I joined the Weatherford Area Economic Development Foundation (WAEDF) at the urging of a good friend who thought the foundation can benefit from more diversification in its members. Most of the present members are business people of some sort.
Well, so far I interpret my role in the foundation to include contributing an engineering viewpoint and generating fresh ideas for economic development projects. In this vein, something "jumped out at me" from an article in Chemical & Engineering News, February 24, 2003 edition (free Web access only to American Chemical Society members.) The cover story is on wind energy and a map shows active wind energy projects in the U.S. represented by the total megawatt capacity on line in each state. A startling find for me is that Oklahoma has no active wind energy projects while most of the states around Oklahoma have relatively high activity. I brought this up at a WAEDF meeting and found out to my liking that potential wind energy projects are being pursued by the foundation and by the town Economic Development Director. Also the state legislature recently passed legislation to encourage wind energy development.
Meanwhile I am having great fun! As is my habit, I got single-minded about learning all I can on the subject. I started over the weekend on an Internet search to learn more about current wind turbine technology and I got experience using the Oklahoma Legislature website to find a bill status. The bill for wind energy is in the House Appropriations Committee awaiting funding with an "emergency" priority. By Sunday I found myself ordering an expensive technical book covering up-to-date engineering aspects for large wind turbines.
In my reading I found this approximate quote: "Wind is to the American Great Plains as oil is to Saudi Arabia." Western Oklahoma is part of the Great Plains. The time is at hand to reap the wind in our region - and I look forward to playing some part, small as it may be, in getting the job done.