THE ECOLOGICAL SIDE OF MARLON BRANDO
Posted by Mary Allan Mill in Mother Earth Monday on August 10th, 2009
Recently, we’ve all seen a credit card ad featuring a jean-clad, motorcycle riding, young Marlon Brando. When I spent two weeks in French Polynesia years ago, I wondered what Tetiaroa (a small collection of a dozen or so islands) was like. Brando had just purchased it.
I understood that there are about 133 islands that make up French Polynesia. Most people begin their journey into Paradise at Papeete, Tahiti and continue on by boat or island hopping, small planes.
Raiatea was one of my last stops. Friends of mine had just left and the owner of the hotel where I stayed had some old, wobbly bicycles he loaned to guests. I wobbled myself around the small island, and found that free dives and snorkeling near the reef surrounding the lagoon was of most interest to me. I helped to refull the fish tank in the hotel’s dining room that afternoon.
The manager mentioned that, for a small fee, the man who ran the mail boat would take me to Taha’a where he had a girlfriend. I was shown how to make French bread and bake it in the islands huge stone ovens for which the island was famous. It is now known as a center of fire walking. Beyond this island is the atoll of Tetiaroa and Marlon Brando’s “vision”. Construction of The Brando Luxury eco-resort is slated for late 2011.
There is concern that heavy construction could have a negative effect on the population and almost pristine environment. 47 deluxe bungalow villas (each with a private plunge pool), a spa, scuba diving, island activities and archaeological tours of royal Tahitian sites will be included. The airstrip is being refurbished and extended to meet all safety requirements. A platform on the coral reef will provide protected access to the island.
Tahiti Beachcomber SA is overseeing the project. Richard Bailey, CEO was a good friend of Brando’s and worked with him for many years on their joint venture.
The hotel features “sea water air conditioning systems” (SWAC) drawing on an inexhaustible supply of completely renewable clean energy with zero impact on the environment. His company works closely with the Tahitian Ministry of Environment. They stive to protect marine life and educate the public.
BIG WORDS…
Posted by Mary Allan Mill in Soapbox Saturday on August 8th, 2009
Reading through my son’s summary of a top-selling book, my brain began to hurt, my eyes fogged over and my attention span came to a screeching hault.
Charlie’s interpretation was a jumble of words, complex phases and disjointed thinking which had to come from the author. I could only stop dead in my state of confusion and breath slowly.
There are authors and writers. There are thick books which contain amoung their pages, the work of several people, each with their own agenda. They are the people who “eat dictionaries and anthologies” for breakfast, then spit out long words and sentances that tend to defy comprehension by mere mortals.
A very large book (size, weight and content) sits on my work table challenging me to read it, sneering at the very thought that I will understand it.
Hundreds of years ago when I was in 4th grade, I had a fabulous English teacher, Nellie Wi bbing. She was and remains one of my mentors opening literary doors to me, and helping me to win “The Book Award” for reading and writing the most book reports. I gobbled up glorious words, savored them and stashed them away for future use. My favorite word was “philoprogenitiveness” which meant love of your children (I couldn’t find it in my dictionary). I never use it…
Now, I am confused and wonder why stories, reports and perspectives can’t be written in a more simple and direct manner? Are the writers just filling pages? Do they covet their words to a point of no return leaving the reader suspended from the pages barely hanging on only to crash into confusion as they fall?
THEY ARE BACK…
Posted by Mary Allan Mill in Wild Friday on August 7th, 2009
Just when we were beginning to relax at sea and forget about pirates, a new band of “bandits” are out there!
Aqua Expeditions has captured the Amazon River Bandits. The CEO of the company, Francesco Galli-Zurgaro through Peruvian news agencies, announced the capture of six armed “bandits” who robbed passengers on July 26th on the river vessel cruising the Amazon in Peru.
All of the crew and passengers involved were not harmed, and passegers continued with their Peruvian travel.
The Aqua riverboat accommodates twenty-four passengers, and cruises are continuing as planned reports travel publication Travel Pulse.
Mr. Galli-Zurgaro’s company has instigated measures to prevent any further incidents which includes the “discreet stationing of security personnel on board”.
Aqua Expeditions feels the quick action in apprehending the “Amazon pirates” will bring a close to any future situations.
Green Supercomputers
Posted by Dewey Davis-Thompson in Tech Talk Tuesday on August 4th, 2009
Newswise Reports:
“The average energy efficiency of the top supercomputers in the world increased by 10 percent,” said Wu Feng (http://people.cs.vt.edu/~feng), an associate professor within the College of Engineering’s computer science and the electrical and computer engineering departments at Virginia Tech, of the latest rankings (http://www.green500.org/lists/2009/06/list.php).
The 10 percent increase in energy efficiency translates to a 10 megaflops/watt improvement, rising to 108 megaflops/watt from 98 megaflops/watt recorded in November 2008. (Megaflops stand for millions of floating-point operations per second.) Also, aggregate power of the list increased by 15 percent, to 230 megawatts from 200 megawatts. “While the supercomputers on the Green500 are collectively consuming more power, they are using the power more efficiently than before,” Feng added.
The Green500 List (http://www.green500.org) serves as a ranking of environmentally friendly, low-energy supercomputers and a complement to the TOP500 List. The Green500 debuted in November 2007 at the 2007 Supercomputing conference to provide a foundation for tracking trends in green supercomputing.
For the first time, the rankings show maximum energy efficiency remaining the same, but three 500-megaflops/watt supercomputers fell out of the Green500. “The three supercomputers that occupied the No. 2 spot on the November 2008 Green500 are no longer computationally powerful enough to be considered among the TOP500 supercomputers in the world, and hence, they dropped off the Green500 List. This occurrence thus provides further fuel to the argument for a ‘more inclusive’ Green500,” Feng said. “If the trend of performance doubling continues, the No. 1 machine on this Green500 is unlikely to make the November 2009 Green500 List.”
Topping the list is the BladeCenter QS22 Cluster, PowerXCell 8i 4.0 Gigahertz, Infiniband, operated by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modeling at the University of Warsaw.
Also significant: More machines range more than 200 megaflops/watt, while fewer machines are less than 50 megaflops/watt. “As more powerful supercomputers supplant the less powerful, these new machines are performing their computations more energy efficiently,” Feng said.
Meanwhile, a self-made accelerator-based supercomputer from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan catapulted into fifth spot. The self-made GRAPE-DR could be the first Green500 supercomputer with more than a million processing elements at 2.097 million, Feng said.
TRAVEL ALERTS
Posted by Mary Allan Mill in Worldwide Wednesday on August 3rd, 2009
Throughout April when the Travel Alert was issued April 28 and revised May 8, the world became aware of the 2009-H1N1 influenza. “Flu” has been with us for a long time under various names. My great grandfather and aunt died in Quebec City in the late 1800’s epidemic.
The Department of State warned U. S. Citizens not to travel to Mexico in April, and those already in Mexico should return home at once. Schools and commercial venues in Mexico closed. They reopened on May 7th and 11th. By the end of May, most museums, bars, discos, night clubs, movie theatres and convention centers were up and running.
Consider what happened to Mexico’s tourism industry which helps to support much of the population directly and indirectly. Their “tourism stimulus package” initially cost approximately $165 million dollars. The World Health Organization is not restricting travel, and noted that it’s unfair to accuse Mexico for overreacting.
There are great bargains on tour packages, hotels and resorts across Mexico. Check out the travel offers with your travel agent.
30 Billion in Clean Energy Spending
Posted by Dewey Davis-Thompson in Mother Earth Monday on August 3rd, 2009
From the New York Times: DOE announced it was ready to accept applications for about $8.5 billion in loan guarantee authority for advanced renewable energy projects made available in the department’s 2009 spending bill and $3.25 billion provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to cover the subsidy costs that will unleash the billions of dollars in loan guarantee authority for renewable energy, transmission projects and biofuels.
Of the $3.25 billion in subsidy costs from the stimulus act, $500 million is specifically for biofuel projects, and $750 million is for large transmission projects that begin construction before Sept. 30, 2011.
Applicants have 45 days to apply for the new guarantee authority, DOE said.
The government-backed authority should help boost lending capital for renewable and other clean-energy technology projects, which has dried up with the financial recession. The stimulus act also included an extension of tax credits for renewable energy and added flexibility where companies can apply for grants instead of using tax credits that the Treasury Department also made available this month (E&ENews PM, July 9).
“This administration has set a goal of doubling renewable electricity generation over the next three years,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. “To achieve that goal, we need to accelerate renewable project development by ensuring access to capital for advanced technology projects. We also need a grid that can move clean energy from the places it can be produced to the places where it can be used and that can integrate variable sources of power, like wind and solar,” he said.
The loan guarantee authority should decrease the cost of the investments, making a “smart grid” investment a lower investment risk and thus less costly for consumers. DOE also announced the availability of almost $4 billion for demonstration and grants for smart grid projects last month (E&ENews PM, June 25).
PROTECTING THE PAST FOR THE FUTURE
Posted by Mary Allan Mill in Soapbox Saturday on August 1st, 2009
Between you and me, I have never forgiven Napoleon’s soldiers for the destruction they did in Egypt to the Sphinx’s noses! Robin Tauck, owner of Tauck Tours (a tour company who as been in business a long and successful time) recently reported on attending the 33rd annual World Heritage Center.
Many of us within the travel industry overlook the unheralded work of this UNESCO activity. Often, we’re unaware as we visit one or more of the 890 diverse sites in 148 countries that these sites are under international protection.
Travelling the world, I’ve watched native dances from Spain throughout Africa, Egypt and Canada, never realizing that “Intangible Cultural Heritage” (traditional dance and linguistics) is part of the program. Sites are submitted as nominations each year (47 this year). In the first 10 years hundreds of sites and 34 new countries joined the World Heritage Sites Incentive.
Mankind often appears to be in such a relentless race to update and modernize rather than preserve our past. I read of a man who tore down one of the Mayan pyramids to build a hotel with the building material!
The World Heritage Committee in Paris leads the assessment process along with deligations from 21 of the 187 member nations participating on a rotating basis.
Under the “endangered list” are the Galapagos Islands. Many cruise companies want to dock there and the fishing industry has caused concern. Fortunately, this has been stabilized for the time being. The Belize Barrier Reef (the “Blue Hole” of Captain Costeau where I foolishly decided not to dive as the depth is unknown) is endangered due to mangrove cutting and land development (in both cases).
Within the next 3-5 years we’ll continue to be faced with climage changes and the impact on natural sites and biospheres (top of the list). The World Tourism Organization (WTO) is on board raising tourism awareness worldwide.
Somehow, words from the poem “In Flanders Field” by Lt. Col. John McCrae, MD of the Canadian army whom my grandmother knew, echoed: “Take up our quarrel with the foe – To you from failing hands we throw – The torch; be yours to hold it high!” It is up to us to help in preserving the precious gifts of the past which we have inherited.
http.//whc.unesco.org
ESSAYS ON A NEW SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Posted by Mary Allan Mill in Wild Friday on July 31st, 2009
Whenever I think I’ve lost my “edge” my son, Charlie, updates me! He referred to Mind Before Matter as a “super cool book”. Written by doctorate holders telling their stories from four different perspectives: science, philosophy, PSI (parapsychological phenomena) and communion.
As I commented when I wrote about the Zero Point Field, we create our own reality. The focus here is “consciousness is the prime foundaton of reality”. Ergo ” is this not a way of saying the same thing?”
About every 50 or so years we intelligencia have a mad urge to explain ourselves in relation to our concepts of what is and what might be. The arena usually becomes as the essays point out, “Circular debates ending in belief system statements.” Of course, this leaves them open-ended so we can continue endlessly.
It is written that “The Chasm that had been opened between scientific material universal consciousness; a dead mechanical universe vs. a living universe is being closed! The change in thinking leads towards a mechanical universe (shades of 1984) vs. God. And, during the last 300-400 years we’ve grown up along with our science to appreciate science and spirituality
To paraphrase Poincare: logic, therefore, remains barren until awakened by intuition. Quantum physics was the next leap led by such great minds as Einstein and Bohm. Part of their discoveries was that the observer affects the observed: “The iceberg in the ocean only appears separate from the sea.”
With the philosophy essays are, “Part of a new paradign realization process will be the continued rift between science and spirituality. As one stumbles through long words and obtuse phrases, it smells of creativism, positurst reductionism, a “lifeless universe” and that lonely feeling that makes your stomuch hurt.
PSI is very slowly being accepted into mainstream studies as a measuring device. Don Carroll, who summarized the book wrote “(We) need to name and measure which has its purpose, but as we are warned … “science is based on osbservation, and if science cannot measure, and observe repeatedly, the events are considered suspect.’
Trish Pfeiffer and John E. Mack, MD edited Mind Before Matter. My brain is still maturing, but I applaud another “Thinking Man’s Book”. Well done.
LUXURY ON LONG HAUL FLIGHTS
Posted by Mary Allan Mill in Wild Friday on July 30th, 2009
Just the thought of flying trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific exhausts me! Los Angeles to Kuala Lampur (affectionately known as “KL”), New York-Cairo. The most prominent competitive edge for any airline is service and cabin comfort.
Japan Airlines (JAL) recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of their Los Angeles to Tokyo service. Cabin service is, of course, important, but you also have to get up and walk around. I can handle a tourist class seat for three hours. On my flight from Los Angeles via Tokyo to “KL” with Malaysian Airlines, I crawled out of the plane at Tokyo and begged for an opening in business or first class. I was willing to pay the difference. It didn’t happen.
JAL has a 4-class service with tourist, business and first, but on the new 777-300ER aircraft on US routes to Asia they have first, executive and Premium Economy Class seats along with Economy class. The four class cabin features 8 JAL Suites in lst class, 77 JAL Shell Flat NEO’s in Executive class and 46 JAL Sky Shell Seats – the world’s first shell type seating in the premium economy class.
Oh, to occupy a lst class JAL suite! It’s 20% larger than the old JAL Skysleeper Solo Central seats, upholstered in pale grey leather with 5″ wide, thickly padded armrest. In the upright position, there’s an ottoman on which to raise your feet. Should you be travelling with someone else, and travel in a pair of suites, you can raise or lower privacy partitions located between them. Enjoy Bose noise cancelling headphones and a 19-inch personal TV screen with movies, music or video games using JAL”s audio-visual on demand entertainment system.
Many moons ago I flew first class to London on Pan Am’s first grand 747 with dinner “upstairs” on a real table with 3 other passengers, linen tablecloth, china service and silver tableware We were served “real” food. Today the food seems to be made of plastic and tastes weird.
Now, on long hauls, you can order what you want when you want it in first class. There are many airlines with menus and choices – vegetable, Kosher, meatless, etc.
On my last trip from Los Angeles to Honolulu I sat at the very front of the plane, in a middle seat. I fell asleep having taken a connecting flight to Los Angeles earlier. On awakening I found that my head had rested on the shoulder of a rigid Japanese gentleman who had braved my heavy head for hours. I thanked him in Japanese. He grunted, “Ah ha!” And so ended my sleep. We’ve come a long ‘way, baby.
The Tocobaga Bargain
Posted by Dewey Davis-Thompson in Thirsty Thursday on July 30th, 2009
Journey back in time to the days of the Tocobaga, native peoples of Tampa Bay and learn the secret of a spirit that protects Tampa Bay from tropical Storms. Written and directed by Dewey Davis-Thompson and produced by SoundStage Radio Theatre at WMNF studios in Tampa, The Tocobaga Bargain is available for your listening pleasure at the SoundStage web site.
