The Gift of the Magi

Watching the news I have been trying to decide what to write a post about. So many things of importance have happened; the Orion test launch, the horrible killings of so many at a school in Pakistan, the climate accord that was just reached, the inching forward of normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba. But I felt that maybe it was time to take a break from the realities and sadness of these times and reflect a little on the season.

As we watch the hoards of Christmas shoppers scrambling for deals on Black Friday it appears we have forgotten what this season is about. So I wanted to share with you a couple of my favorite stories. The first is a story written by O. Henry, which was adapted into a short Christmas story for television. My apologies for the commercial in the middle.

The second story revolves around a letter written by a little girl so long ago.

And last but not least one of my favorite songs. You're right Pete, these people are good. :)

It is a time to celebrate the goodness of humanity and if only for an instant to forget some of the strife in the world. I wish everyone a wonderful and magical holiday season. 

The Asymetric Sunrise

The story of heliocentrism -- the idea that the Sun, not the Earth is at the centre of the "universe" -- is a fascinating tale, full of twists and turns, that spans over 2,000 years. By the time Galileo first turned a telescope on the heavens, the evidence was literally in front of our eyes: it was clear that Jupiter had satellites that orbited it, not the earth, and Venus had phases owing to being lit from different angles on its path round the sun.

But immediately prior to the telescopic era, the most accurate mapping to date of the celestial sphere had been carried out by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. After Tycho's death, his assistant Johannes Kepler analysed his astronomical data to come up with the famous laws of planetary motion.

Kepler worked at the forefront of the mathematics of the time, using recently published tables of logarithms, including logarithms of trigonometric functions (without which he admitted that he would have given up his work as too laborious), and having to develop elements of differential calculus himself. He also, incidentally, had to fight off numerous challenges from Tycho's relatives who wanted to assert rights over the data Kepler was using.

Recently I got into a conversation with some people about the accuracy of Tycho's data, the type and quality of his instruments, and the level of mathematical skill and intuition needed by Kepler. We wondered if today's average educated person could reproduce what he did. We suspected that they could not -- even with the mathematical advances since Kepler's time.

As a lesson in humility, yesterday I was reminded that I have difficulty understanding even the apparent motion of the most conspicuous celestial object -- the Sun. I was out for an early morning stroll on Dun Laoghaire pier, and I snapped this picture of sunrise:

That dark blob on the horizon just left of the Sun is "The Muglins" -- a rock which poses a navigational hazard, and you can just about see the silhouette of its pointed warning beacon. To the right of the Sun, the first tiny artificial protuberance you see is the cylindrical Martello tower on Dalkey Island, built in 1804 at the start of the Napoleonic Wars as a lookout for a possible French invasion. The east edge of the island is visible in this view, but the tower is peeking up from behind the promontory at the end of Scotsman's Bay in Sandycove.

Those landmarks, combined with my known position half way along the east pier, allowed me to get a compass bearing on the position of sunrise. With the winter solstice only a fortnight away I was interested in how much further the sun has to travel to its most southerly point of sunrise. I found the bearing was in excellent agreement with the expected value: 128°, as measured clockwise from north:

Looking up timeanddate.com, I see that the most southerly sunrise will be at 130°, before the sun moves north again, rising due east at the vernal equinox, and at its most northerly point of 47° on the summer solstice.

But hang on! 130° is 40° south of east, while 47° is 43° north of east. The variation in the position of sunrise is caused by the fixed tilt of the earth's axis in space, and it must be tilted toward the sun on one side of its orbit by exactly the same amount as it is tilted away on the other. What gives?

Try checking the position of the sunrise at the solstices for your latitude ... I wonder if you see the same asymmetry.

Judgement in Ferguson

In August 2014 a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri. Since then we have been inundated with media coverage of the initial event, the investigation, the decision of whether or not to indict the police officer, and the response by people around the country. 

Here is an account of the shooting and the subsequent events:

Michael Brown shooting

There are three issues that have arisen with this event, the use of profiling, police tactics, and our understanding of our justice system. All of these played a role in the reactions of people over the past months.

The first question is, was racial profiling used by Officer Wilson to stop Michael Brown? The evidence shown to the grand jury appears to refute that allegation. Officer Wilson seems to have been reasonable in requesting the two men walking down the middle of the road to move to the sidewalk, and on realizing that Michael Brown fit the description of a suspect in a convenience store robbery to try to detain him. But the question that the Brown case has brought to the surface is does racial profiling exist in police departments? No fair minded person should use a person's skin color as a red flag. And conversely, no fair minded person should use a person's skin color as an automatic sign of victimization. In this case I do not think Brown was profiled by race. But there very well may be other cases where the person is. The people who are protesting based on this issue need to pick their battles better. Cry wolf once too often and when the real thing happens people may just ignore your concerns.

The second question is did Officer Wilson act according to standard police rules of engagement? If so, was it necessary to shoot Brown multiple times? Was there a better way, so that he may have lived? Many police departments have tasers, although even those are problematic. I think, considering the apparently poor relations between the community of Ferguson and the police department, this is something that really needs to be examined more closely. This is an issue where the protesters may have a point.  Here is an interesting article on this.

The last factor at play is our justice system. To try someone in court there must be sufficient evidence for the prosecutor to feel it possible for a conviction. The purpose of the grand jury was to decide if there was enough evidence to indict. Their conclusion was that there was not. Obviously I did not sit on the grand jury so am not aware of all testimony or evidence that was presented to them. I only know what the press has published. Brown's blood was on the police car and on Officer Wilson's pants which supported Wilson's account of Michael Brown approaching and leaning into the car, leading to the first gunshot. The bruises on Wilson's face supported his account that Michael Brown hit him. This alone is rather odd behavior for a law abiding “gentle giant”, as Brown's friends and acquaintances have described him. Many witnesses were called to testify, with contradictory statements given, from whether or not Brown was charging the officer when he advanced toward him to whether or not he had his hands raised. He was not shot in the back as some less reliable accounts said. The physical evidence present supported Officer Wilson's account of events.

At the time that I write this there are still demonstrations and individual protests over the events surrounding Michael Brown's death. The anger over past injustices certainly plays a part in the inability of people to look at evidence with a clear eye. But at the heart of justice is the ability to do so. What I seem to be seeing in these demonstrations is not a search for justice, but a good old fashioned witch hunt. And damaging property, looting and obstruction of lawful pursuits is not going to help bring about the healing that Michael Brown's family and the people of Ferguson need.

The World in 2050

In the 1970's James Lovelock came up with a theory that “organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a self-regulating, complex system that contributes to maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.” This was called the Gaia Hypothesis. 

But what exactly does that mean for us? If, as he theorized, our actions are part of a “self-regulating” system, how are other parts of that system reacting to us? Perhaps we are already starting to see the beginnings of that reaction in the droughts, floods and unseasonable temperatures we have been experiencing in various regions of the world.

How will our future be colored by this changing climate?

I think it's time for another book recommendation. This time the book is The World in 2050, by Laurence C. Smith. I know I have mentioned it before, but since we have been seeing some rather extreme weather recently here in the States I thought it might be interesting to revisit it.

Obviously, predictions are not set in stone. Lovelock and others have revamped their opinions on climate change as being alarmist.

However that doesn't necessarily mean they are entirely wrong. So, to continue with my book synopsis …

Smith has listed four forces that are affecting our world and will shape our future. They are demographics, human demand for natural resources, globalization, and climate change. As you may have noted all four have our sticky little fingers all over them. Unless, of course, you are of the “humans are not a factor in climate change” ilk. Then you would not attribute the last item on that list to us.

In 1950 there were two megacities of ten million or more, New York(12.3) and Tokyo(11.3). In 2025 there are projected to be twenty nine, with the first five being Tokyo(36.4), Mumbai(26.4), Delhi(22.5), Dhaka, Bangladesh(22), and Sao Paulo, Brazil(21.4). Smith estimated that the world population stood at one billion in 1800 A.D., and reached six billion in 1999. Currently we appear to be adding a billion people every twelve years. That's a lot of people to feed, clothe and provide care for. The demand on Earth's natural resources will only continue to grow. All at a time when climate change is starting to rock our world.

The most important resource for human life is water, without it we would perish. With climate change will come feast or famine in terms of water. Literally. Too much at the wrong time and crops will flood out, too little and they will die of thirst. There is likely to be rising tensions over water supplies, with the Nile, Jordan, Tigris-Euphrates and Indus rivers cited as likely points of contention. According to climate models precipitation will increase in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, and Russia. It will be southern Europe, western North America, the Middle East, and southern Africa who are the losers in the water lottery.

Smith is optimistic that we will adapt to our changing world and it's climate. He has cited past agreements over water usage and the fact that global trade will provide goods where they are needed.

While I have touched on the highlights, there are other factors, such as the changing economic fortunes of various countries, that will play a role in our future.

The World in 2050 is an interesting and thought provoking read. Not just because of what it says, but also because of what it doesn't say. If you read it you will note he seems to focus on the Northern hemisphere, but says little about the Southern's future. And there is little thought about what it may take for people to adapt. Personally I am not so sure that adaptation will come easily or cheaply.

One more thing I want to touch on is abrupt climate change.  Smith writes that core samples taken from the Greenland Ice Sheet have shown evidence of extreme swings in temperature in "less than a decade and as quickly as three years".   "Precipitation doubled in as little as a single year."  The conclusion by Richard B. Alley, who took the samples, was that "the extreme rapidity of these changes implied some sort of threshold or trigger in the North Atlantic climate system."  The slowdown of the global thermohaline circulation would be that trigger. For that to happen there would need to be a large infusion of fresh water into the North Atlantic.  As Smith notes there is a rather large source of fresh water located in the middle of the North Atlantic, the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Chillin' Minnesota Style

I would not be a true Minnesotan if I did not do at least one post on weather. It is one of our favorite topics and has many times been used to break the conversational ice. It also just so happens that we have just recently had weather with a capital W. I am referring to the storm that just passed through this last week which dumped way too much snow for this time of year in a narrow band running through the central part of my state, and right over my house. So I went from mowing on Sunday to snow blowing on Monday. I was fortunate that my brother was kind enough to blow out the driveway a few times as well, which helped keep it clear. We ended up with about 10 ½ inches when all was said and done. Although we were not the hardest hit, others weighed in at 16 inches.

While this much snow this early in the year is unusual, it is not unprecedented. The snowstorm that I remember is the Halloween Blizzard of 1991. Unbelievably we did have some intrepid trick or treaters that plowed their way through the drifts to collect their well earned treats. That storm lasted three days.

But the storm that seems to be the yardstick by which all other storms are measured is the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940. It was a storm that took so many by surprise, as the day started out very balmy for that time of year with temps in the 50's and 60's. People were simply not prepared.

Three major storms, each with their own unique characteristics, yet eerily similar. But the earlier storms have helped us improve our weather predicting and our methods of dealing with large quantities of snow. We do a better job of preparing and treating our roads with sand and chemicals to clear them more quickly of ice. Although, even with all of that, if temps fall too quickly we will still end up with layers of ice on the side streets. But better quality tires, anti-lock brakes, and vehicles with traction control make winter roads less scary to drive.

As climate change continues to affect our weather it is likely that these storms will grow stronger and more frequent.

Five Significant Weather Events in Minnesota History

Who Cares About Space?

Next week is about as historic as it gets for space exploration. On Wednesday 12th, a robotic spacecraft will land on the surface of a comet. When you think about it, the number of extra-planetary bodies that anything has landed on is still pretty tiny. Our own moon is one, obviously, and Mars has had a plethora of "rovers" in the last few years.

Beyond that, though, the examples are few. The Soviets obtained a handful of pictures of the surface of Venus from a series of landers over nearly two decades, but survival time on Venus even for the most hardened of landers was measured in minutes. Asteroids Eros and Itokawa were more "bumped into" than "landed upon". Indeed, the Eros probe was never designed for landing and froze at -279 °F, whereas the Venus probes had baked at 869 °F. Life is harsh for a would-be extra-planetary lander. The Huygens probe transmitted from Saturn's moon Titan for two hours. Anything beyond these examples has been more missile than lander, designed to collect data before a destructive impact.

So you'd think the world would prick up its ears at the news of another landing attempt, particularly one as daring as Rosetta. And you'd think the European Space Agency would be anxious to get the news out. And so, it seems, they are. But not in the mode of JFK announcing the Apollo programme to a receptive USA.

No, it's more in the mode of Obi-Wan Kenobi announcing the coming of age of another Jedi Knight ... or something. To be honest, I don't know what to make of ESA's new promotional video:

As visually impressive as it is, it's a bit cringey. Not just because of Aidan Gillen's not-quite-Shakespearean north Dublin accent, or his mispronunciation of the "orangins of water" (how did that get past the editors, at 1:40?). The script itself is awful. To be honest, I thought the JFK speech was extremely hammy, but this ESA effort takes the biscuit. Is it even recognisably about a current real-life mission?

I wonder if ESA are making a mistake with this Star Wars-esque approach. Young people are quite capable of being enthused for the sake of the science, without the added sci-fi. I remember writing a hopeful letter to NASA as a young teenager, about the space shuttle programme then in development, and getting technical literature by return, not a Star Wars video cassette. More recently, NASA's "Seven Minutes of Terror" promotional video for the Mars Curiosity mission was dramatic, but still factual.

I'm sure the 1960s Space Race with all its propaganda gave a false impression about the proportion of people who were genuinely interested in space exploration. By the time Alan Shepard was hitting golf balls on the moon during Apollo's third moon landing in 1971, most people's eyes were glazed over. And maybe for some people it's even harder to get enthused about a robot drilling core samples than a human being's extra-planetary antics. But I still think that the target audience for space science promotion can do without the Obi-Wan treatment.

Let's face it, space agencies -- whether NASA or ESA -- promote their activities to justify their own existence. If they are indeed justified then maybe they should stick to what they do best, and  not try to muscle in on the movie business. Perhaps I'm being overly cynical -- there is, of course, an alternative view.

The Rise of ISIS

Hat tip to Lee C. for letting me know about this:

All Hallows' Eve

The wind whispers through the trees and the leaves scuttle down the road with a manic desperation as if in warning.  You must run!  You must hide!  For it is All Hallows' Eve, the night of the dead, when out of the shadowy mists of time rise the demons of hell searching for the souls of the unwary.  Witches stir their cauldrons casting their spells of enchantment, vampires scratch at the window panes of the innocent looking to quench their thirst, and werewolves prowl the night stalking their prey.

Get your attention? I couldn't resist. Why is it that so many of us love to scare ourselves silly with the supernatural? Throughout history we have devoted countless hours to books and movies depicting the occult. Perhaps it is that delicious rush of adrenaline we experience when we are afraid? Or is it that stepping out of reality and into fantasy provides an escape from the day to day grind of the mundane? Whatever the reason, we have found a natural outlet in Halloween.

Samhain is the early Celtic festival our modern day holiday of Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, derives from.

Here in the States Halloween is best known for trick or treating, which is a common practice, with kids scurrying from house to house intent on collecting as much loot (candy) as possible.  In Minnesota we have one town which is the self proclaimed Halloween Capital of the World , with numerous acivities , including the Grand Day Parade, which lasts three hours. I kid you not. Woe to the unlucky who make the mistake of forgetting and are caught in town when they block off the streets. The parade's original purpose was designed to give kids an alternative to playing tricks or pranks, which had gotten out of hand. And from there the celebration just grew and grew. For a kid it was always an exciting time, marching in the Big Parade of the Little People, and watching the floats and marching bands in the Grand Day parade. Dressing up in costumes and running around in the dark from house to house looking for the house with the best candy was the highlight of the celebration. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, the dressing up in costumes or the hunt for candy. Lol!

For most people Halloween is merely an opportunity to have some fun. They have long since forgotten the reasons for some of the customs. But there are still those who believe in things beyond our physical reality, and for them a ghost story may be more than a story. So, if anyone out there happens to run into something inexplicable, this is for you...

Happy Halloween!

Lake Gitche Gumee

I have been so focused on world events recently that I feel I should take a bit of a break and do a post about something different, if only to give us a bit of a respite. After some thought, and false starts, I have decided to do a little bit about my home state of Minnesota. Since we are known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, I can't think of anything more appropriate than talking a bit about Lake Superior. It is, after all, the largest of the Great Lakes and is shared by both the United States and Canada.   Here is a snippet of background on the Great Lakes and Lake Superior in particular.

As is mentioned in the video our city of Duluth is actually more like a seaside port, servicing the large ships carrying goods for export and import.  One of the most popular tourist attractions is the Aerial Lift Bridge, which allows ships to enter and exit the port.  

And this:

Lake Superior, like any large body of water, has been known to swallow ships and their crews whole.  One of the more famous wrecks was immortalized in this Gordon Lightfoot song:

As you can see waves on Superior are to be taken seriously.

There, I have done my small part for the Minnesota tourism industry. :)  

Life Under the Thunderdome

Images of Raqqa

[Source: Vanity Fair]


Na’eem Square

Na’eem in Arabic means “paradise,” but ISIS changed this beautiful public place into the complete opposite. The square that was a favorite place for boys and girls to have dates, for little kids to play, and for the elders to relive their youths by taking in the activity of the city, is now the awful place of spikes upon which chopped-off heads are placed. The story of this square sums up the dark story of the whole city.

The Library

The Cultural Center was built in the 1960s. It has hosted many cultural activities, art exhibitions, and literary lectures since its opening. However, culture is not something of value in the eyes of Islamists. Ahrar al-Sham, one of the Islamist rebel groups fighting in Syria, deemed its strong building suitable for a headquarters. This prompted the Assad regime’s fighter jets to target it.

On March 4, 2013, the aerial attacks damaged and burned the library. Thousands of books turned to ash, and, according to a lecturer at the local Furat University, an entire heritage vanished in minutes.

A Wounded ISIS Soldier

Syria is a country where the concept of healthcare is totally uncommon. After more than three years of war, the situation of hospitals and medical-care centers is simply critical. The conditions of the already poorly equipped hospitals in Raqqa are serious—just like the conditions of their patients. Under such circumstances, the state-owned National Hospital is the hospital upon which the whole city depends.

Unlike other shortages, the lack of various kinds of medicine categories is severely fatal. Hospitals in Raqqa witnessed numerous deaths that would have been avoided if the required drugs and specialists were available. And with the ISIS threat to foreign aid-work organizations, the situation is descending from bad to worse. However, the National Hospital provides medical treatment not only for civilians but for ISIS fighters as well. 

I was going to place this in the comments section, but I felt it deserved a post of its own.  As we watch the fighting from the safety of our homes far away I felt we should be reminded of what the unleashing of ISIL has entailed for the people living under their rule.  And what it means for others in the region.

Ghosts of the Past

It's been said that books are soon going to be a thing of the past. Well, at least the paper copies anyway. Being a book purist I hope that is not the case. Not too long ago I ran into someone who, being more into the electronic medium, I was pleased to learn had actually returned to the paper and ink variety. He had come to realize that there was something special about the presence of a book, it's feel, it's look, it's aroma. And they do look so good on a bookshelf.

I have been reading The Swerve, which is a book about a book hunter. What is so special about this man is what he found and what he helped put in motion with his discovery. His name was Poggio and he lived in the 1400's. What he discovered was a collection of ideas that had been lost. Ideas that helped move us forward into the modern world.

As I watch what is happening in the world today I realize how easily people can be misled into turning off the creative ability of the human mind. It is a tragedy in the making. Because the opportunity to learn by the free exchange of ideas is what keeps us progressing. To stifle that is to stagnate.

“Men suffer the worst of evils for the sake of the most alien desires and they neglect the most necessary appetites as if they were the most alien to nature. It is impossible to live pleasurably without living prudently and honourably and justly, and also without living courageously and temperately and magnanimously, and without making friends, and without being philanthropic.” Philodermus

It was these ideas that helped bring about the Renaissance.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

 

We have now apparently received a response from ISIL/ISIS/IS, or whatever they are calling themselves today, to President Obama’s declaration of war.  Yes, really, that is what it was.  They have released a video saying, in effect, bring it on.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, as the case may be, it has been removed from YouTube. 

However, you can read all about it here.

They are in effect saying that any US troops that dare to show up to the fight will be killed.  President Obama has already stated that he has no intention of sending US ground forces, although General Dempsey, Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has left open the possibility of his recommending them.  I have never liked the President’s making flat declarative statements that leave no room for adjustments.  But being the politician that he is I know he is aware he is speaking for the consumption of an American audience and must take into account their feelings.  The General being the military man he is understands that nothing is certain in war.  They will eventually have to come to an agreement if they are to succeed in this fight.

If it wasn't a situation with very serious ramifications for the region I would have to say it reminds me a great deal of this:

But it is first and foremost a fight for those on the ground in the region, and we have found that the Kurd's have been a very important ally:  

Kurdish & ISIL firefight

Whether or not US ground forces, beyond advisers, are necessary at this time is questionable.  It will ultimately, as I have said so many times in the past, be up to those in the region to determine what kind of world they want to live in.  However, if that world is one that threatens the safety of those outside it then they will find resistance. 

  

Bad Boys

Third Rock from the Sun

Tonight President Obama is going to speak about our plans to counter and stop the advance of ISIL.  I am having serious feelings of déjà vu, that strange feeling of been there, done that.  Of course that was a different President and a different acronym.  So my guess is that the strategy will be different, more or less.  We will see.  I will have an update once I have heard him speak. 

Why should other countries get involved in what appears to be a regional problem in the Middle East?  Maybe it is simply that we are all flying around on this piece of rock together and there is no way to avoid involvement in other areas of the world?  We can talk about the morality of our intervention or lack thereof, but at the end of the day it might simply be that we have little choice in the matter.  It does affect us.  Call it  The Butterfly Effect.

What can a war weary world do?    While people may be ambivalent on this matter there is a lot that can be done.  But it will take a concerted effort by more than just a few people, because this is a problem that has many causes, some that have been festering for decades, if not centuries, and others that are more recent.   

For those in the region facing up to whatever internal issues they have and dealing with them honestly is the only long term solution.  Why is it that when there is a revolution in the Middle East it seems to inevitably slide into a secular dictatorship or a theocracy?   Why are people attracted to an entity like ISIL?  These are questions they need to ask and answer.   Always blaming outside forces is merely a crutch to avoid having to look critically at the problem.  And the solution may require real change, not just white washing.

For those outside the region where ISIL has been successfully recruiting, including my own state of Minnesota, we need to find a way to reach out to those who are disaffected or unduly influenced by the illusion of constructive rebellion they seem to see in ISIL.  The United States in particular has always been a nation of immigrants and has provided a path to a better life for many.  We need to make sure that that still holds true.  We need to give our own children a better foundation of values to build their lives upon.  No, we can’t always stop those who are suffering from poor mental health from resorting to violence.  But we can help those who are struggling to find a solution.

These are things anyone can do, in their own way. It is our world and we need to decide what kind we want to live in. 

Third Rock from the Sun

Man in the Mirror

Update:

The President has just finished outlining his strategy for fighting ISIL.  It is basically as follows:

1.  We will continue airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq, not just to protect our forces or infrastructure, but also in conjunction with Iraqi forces offensive actions.  (I believe we have already seen some of this)

2.  We will take action against ISIL anywhere they operate.  This includes Syria.

3.  We will increase support for forces fighting on the ground.  He plans to send 475 more advisers to Iraq.  There will be no combat forces sent.

4.  We will help stand up Iraqi National Guard units in Sunni areas of Iraq.  (Hmm...that sounds a bit like the Awakening forces of the past.)

5.  We will increase aid to Syrian opposition members fighting in Syria.  (I presume he means the FSA.)

6.  We will attempt to prevent ISIL attacks elsewhere.

7.  We will continue with humanitarian aid to civilians displaced by the actions of ISIL.

September – A Month of Losses

I've always enjoyed watching the passage of the seasons. September is a deceitful month. It still feels like summer, but things they are a-changing. Here in Ireland "still feels like summer" might well mean the rain hasn't stopped since mid-June. But even then there is always the hope that September will fulfill the promise of early summer and not leave us entirely bereft. As it happens, this year's September is the continuation of a warm, if not always sunny, summer.

Nevertheless, September is a month of savage losses. Here in upper mid latitudes, two hours are wiped from the account of daylight between the first and last of the month, the most of any month. Because of that quirk of the earth's orbital motion known mysteriously as the "equation of time", considerably more than half of the daylight losses are reflected in earlier sunsets as the analemma heads westward. (The word equation is used in an archaic sense – it doesn't refer to a mathematical formula, but to the equalisation of the solar day lengths into mean solar days. We could have a whole other post on the equation of time and the analemma, but I digress).

Here, the time of sunset goes from well after 8pm, to shortly after 7pm. And October will not only trim most of another hour, but heralds the end of Summer Time so that, in all, the clock time of sunset is rewound by a full three hours in the space of sixty days.

In northern hemisphere September, we switch from lookingly gloatingly at neighbours to the south, who haven't enjoyed our long summer days, to eyeing them enviously, as the passage of the autumnal equinox means that our days are now shorter than theirs. Of course, we also look at our neighbours to the north and thank our lucky celestial objects that we don't have to endure their winter. And here on this mild and damp Atlantic rock, embedded in the gulf stream, we're grateful we don't have to endure the winters of many southerly neighbours either.

September can be a bit schizophrenic about which season it occupies. Those who go by the astronomical seasons will be certain that most of September is part of summer, until the autumnal equinox late in the month. Meteorologists may go by common northern hemisphere agricultural seasons, which places September as the first month of autumn, at least in continental climates. Local customs play a role. In the US, the summer vacation season is traditionally reckoned from Memorial Day to Labor Day (which fell early on September 1st this year).

Here in Ireland there can be no doubt about the traditional season. In the local Gaelic, September's name is Meán Fómhair, meaning Mid Autumn. We are caught firmly between summer and winter. It's six weeks since Reek Sunday, when we climbed to the top of Croagh Patrick in our thinly disguised Christian replacement of Lúnasa, the harvest festival of the god, Lugh. That marked our passage into Autumn. And it is barely seven weeks to Samhain, when the souls of the dead will be abroad once more, and Winter will be upon us. Appeasing the spirits has always been a national pastime here, where the sea and the winds may be kind or cruel in what they toss our way in autumn.

Steven Sotloff may have been killed at the same time as James Foley, according to some U.S. defense and intelligence officials. It seems the Islamic State had no interest in negotiating his release in return for stopping airstrikes. The feeling appears to be mutual -- two thirds of the U.S. public support airstrikes against IS according to polls taken after Foley's murder. The latest atrocity seems unlikely to lessen that.

To Change the World

As we go through life we will be faced with many decisions and paths to take.  Today it seems like so many have lost their way, making choices that only hurt themselves and others.  In a world beset by the evils of ISIL, the misguided pride of men like Vladimir Putin, and the greed of financial titans,  perhaps we could use a little reminder of what it really takes to make this world a better place.

I can think of nothing more eloquent then this:

Never ring the bell.

No songs needed today.  :)

An Ember

In my travels through comments sections over the years I have run across people who have mentioned the treatment by the United States of the people who lived in this land before European settlement.  Their comments were full of anger and reproach, and for the most part rightly so.  In the annals of history there have been many people whose abilities and value as human beings have been swept aside.  So I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge what is perhaps a little known, but vital, contribution made by a people whose lives were turned upside down.  Without it our nation would not be what it is today.

The Six Nations

In North America at that time, they took an ember, they took a light from our fire, and they carried that over and they lighted their own fire and they made their own nation.  They lighted this great fire, and that was a great light at that time of peace.


Seminole Wind

Cherokee People

Refuge

Petes has kindly invited me to guest blog here periodically.  *raises a glass of Guinness in toast*  Since he has not specifically decided to focus this blog on any one thing I am going to feel free to post random thoughts or links on various subjects.

As I was struggling to come up with a topic the other day I discovered that I actually think better when I am asleep.  Go figure. :p  With so many things going on in the world today you would think it would have been a piece of cake, but no.  The topic, as you can see from the title, is refuge.

When darkness deeper than the night swallows the light, a place to come to for safety, respite, relaxation, and simple kindness can be an oasis in a troubled world.  I thought it appropriate because there are so many people in this world today who are seeking it in one way or another.

This blog will be that refuge for those of us who wish to make it so.  We can discuss current events, share our ideas, and our interests.  So my first post is an open invitation to our friends and any lost souls out there to stop by and read or leave comments.  Of course, for those of us who are interested in a good debate, there will be that to be had as well, I'm sure.  :)

A few random tunes for your listening pleasure:

Wayward Son
Joy
Superstition
We didn't start the fire.

Some chips and salsa would be good. :)

And now for something completely different.

A "rubber ducky in space" was the first reaction of mission controllers when the ESA Rosetta spacecraft got its first pictures of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from within a few thousand kilometres. Rosetta has been chasing down the comet for ten years, and six billion kilometres, and this month finally moves to within less than 100 km.

The odd shaped object may have been sculpted by the solar wind, or could be the result of a merger of two bodies. By my rough calculations, two such bodies would be just within the limit of being gravitationally bound, given 67P/C-G's rotation period of 12.5 hours. Hopefully the comet won't fall apart (oops!) when Rosetta drops its Philae lander on it in November!

"The rise of Isis is rooted in a mix of politics, a Sunni sense of isolation and a shakeup in Salafist doctrine. Here, an analyst whose Syrian home has seen some of its bloodiest excesses, explains its dramatic surge"

More from The Guardian ...

What's this blog all about? I'm not quite sure yet. Maybe for fans of Zeyad's Healing Iraq blog, just while that one's acting a little, uh, weird.