NASA's Curiosity rover landed on the red planet Mars on August 6, 2012, at 1:32 AM EDT. It will explore surface features and sample mineral sediments. It will search for the chemical building blocks of life--carbon compounds--and environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. Curiosity cost about $2.5 billion to design, build and launch.
Many interesting details were provided by NASA in a press release dated August 22, 2012.
Curiosity was driven about 20 feet from its landing location for a test drive. Scientists working on the NASA project have named the location Bradbury Landing in honor of science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury. Bradbury wrote Martian Chronicles.
The initial test drive confirmed the health of Curiosity's mobility system. It was driven forward and backward, and in a circle. Tracks were photographed by Curiosity's cameras.
Curiosity is spending several days in the area of Bradbury Landing to study its surroundings and check instruments. The Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) sampling instrument uses a laser, drill and alpha-particle x-ray spectrometer to examine the composition of rocks and sediment. It has already discovered a startling phenomenon.
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| plain of mors cavae |
"We found moving rocks a short distance from Bradbury Landing at mors cavae. The movement of these rocks on a surface near the equator where there is no water or ice has our science team puzzled," said deputy project scientist Rod Cerling. "They are too large to be pushed by the wind. We don't have an explanation for their movement at this time."
Roger Wright of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico reported that these moving rocks were unlike the rocks in the Bradbury Landing area. "Small rocks and sediment in the landing area were sampled and measured. Most of these samples suggest a basaltic composition. However, we believe that the composition of the moving rocks is far more complex. Curiosity's sensors indicate a magnetic component, possibly magnetite."
NASA scientists used a 100mm mast cam to image the moving rocks. Many of the revealing photos were not published on the JPL/NASA website. Rolling Stone reported that the Defense Department classified those photos TOP SECRET.
Cornell University's scientific community received a shock yesterday when one of their colleagues claimed that the moving rocks were photographed moving uphill.
"Contrary to the law of gravity, these moving rocks were photographed climbing hills on Mars," said astrophysicist Martin Beck. "Gravity on Mars is less than that of Earth, but how can this phenomenon occur under any circumstances? It's strange that the government has classified the photos TOP SECRET and will not acknowledge the phenomenon. Reminds me of the government's classified data on UFOs. There may be an element in these rocks that has military as well as scientific application."
JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity for NASA's Science Mission. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. (Drawings and photos in this post courtesy NASA/JPL-CalTech and Google.)
Editor's note: No Cow Left Behind first appeared on August 28, 2011 in the Cortland Contrarian. It was our kick-off post. People on the streets of Cortland spread rumors that the "tweeter" in our post was SUCC President Erik Bitterbaum, who is versed in the study of ornithology and considered an expert on bird songs. We will not affirm or deny it.
We are celebrating this one year anniversary with a "tweet" and a rerun of a light-hearted, bovine romp in the field of education. We wish to thank our many readers for their interest in our blog.
The Obama administration's new education initiative No Cow Left Behind is a great success in Cortland County. One hundred cows are registered in the freshman class at SUCC, fifty cows are registered at TC3, one thousand calves are registered in the Cortland City School District, and eight cows are currently in remedial reading classes supervised by the City of Cortland Youth Bureau.
In an effort to obtain more money for schools, teachers are writing letters to the editor, making phone calls, and carrying signs with the logo "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COWS."
Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Congressman Hanna visited Cortland recently and praised the Obama education initiative.
"Educated cows are vital for the future of our country," said Senator Gillibrand. This initiative helps us compete in the world economy. It's a job creator. It's all about jobs."
Senator Schumer added: "Money for this initiative will come from a higher tax on the rich, who don't pay a fair share--damn it!"
Congressman Hanna said that he voted for the initiative but against the higher tax on the rich. "It puts too much burden on the rich. I would prefer a user fee."
Several important community officials were interviewed for this report.
SUCC spokesperson Iwanna Milk said: "This is obviously an investment in the future. That's what education is all about." She added: "New job opportunities are posted. We hope to add farmers to our staff."
Chamber of Commerce spokesman Eddy S. Freemarket said: "We need an educated workforce. This program will be good for the dairy industry."
The mayor of Cortland said: "We will have to expand our handicapped facilities. Let's hope this is not another unfunded mandate and I hope the city gets fully reimbursed."
Campus police say the cows have acquired some bad habits associating with the other students.
"The cows used to eat grass," said Chief Timothy Weed. "Now they smoke it. To make matters worse, many arrive in class totally wasted."
School administrators were concerned about bus services and rest room facilities. The New York State Health Department has proposed new regulations, including cow diapers to be fastened by suspenders over hindquarters.
One high-ranking administrator, who can tweet like a bird, admitted that the new Obama initiative "will be difficult to implement, but we intend to meet the challenge. Currently we are making major renovations to our restrooms. We have ordered massive amounts of deodorizer and hundreds of shovels--just in case. Tweet!"
Abraham Lincoln was an extraordinarily talented man. Much has been written about him and his era. He was praised by members of the new Republican Party, and detested and vilified by opposing factions before and during the Civil War.
Lincoln was a self-made lawyer, a congressman, a statesman, and 16th President of the United States. He was an excellent writer and an effective communicator; his Gettysburg Address was a stunning example. Lincoln had the ability to comprehend the most difficult and complex details and reduce them to understandable and manageable elements.
When Lincoln decided in 1854 to run as a Whig for the senate seat held by Stephen A. Douglas, conditions for the first series of debates between the two men were agreed upon and the debates began in the fall of that year.
Was this "self-made" lawyer and former one-term congressman prepared to debate a seasoned senator? What did Lincoln know about the history and formation of the United States, the Constitution, statutes and resolutions passed by Congress?
His young law partner, William H. Herndon, watched with admiration as Lincoln prepared for the scheduled debates against Senator Douglas. Lincoln frequently visited the State Library in Springfield in the summer of 1854. He took notes and recorded historical, legal and political information for his arguments.
The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Acts of 1854 allowed settlers in these territories to determine by popular vote whether or not slavery should be established. John Brown was one of those settlers but he and others opted for violence. Passage of these Acts meant the end of the Missouri compromise of 1850, and the end of inadmissibility of slave states north of the Missouri Compromise line. Senator Douglas of Illinois designed, promoted and voted for these acts.
Lincoln opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Acts. Preparing for the debates, he carefully developed his arguments as an attorney would develop arguments intended for a court and jury.
Here are selected excerpts from his speech delivered at Peoria, October 16, 1854, including a controversial--by today's standards--passage about slavery:
The repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and the propriety of its restoration, constitute the subject of what I am about to say....
And, as the subject is no other, than part and parcel of the larger general question of domestic slavery, I wish to MAKE and KEEP the distinction between the EXISTING institution, and the EXTENSION of it, so broad, and so clear, that no honest man can misunderstand me, and no dishonest one, successfully misrepresent me...
In order to [get] a clear understanding of what the Missouri Compromise is, a short history of the preceding kindred subjects will perhaps be proper...
Here Lincoln laid out the history of slavery in the United States. He mentioned Jefferson's influence on the Northwest Ordinance, and he talked about the Louisiana Purchase, the trading of territory between France and Spain, Texas and the war with Mexico. He spoke about the Wilmot Proviso, the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Acts.
Before proceeding, let me say I think I have no prejudice against the Southern people. They are just what we would be in their situation. If slavery did not now exist amongst them, they would not introduce it...
When Southern people tell us they are no more responsible for the origin of slavery, than we; I acknowledge the fact. When it is said that the institution exists; and that it is very difficult to get rid of it, in any satisfactory way, I can understand and appreciate the saying. If all earthly power were given me, I should not know what to do, as to the existing institution. My first impulse would be to free all the slaves, and send them to Liberia--to their own native land. But a moment's reflection would convince me, that whatever of high hope, as I think there is, there may be in this, in the long run, its sudden execution is impossible. If they were all landed there in a day, they would all perish in the next ten days. What then? Free them all, and keep them amongst us as underlings? Is it quite certain that this betters their condition? I think I would not hold one in slavery at any rate; yet the point is not clear enough for me to denounce people upon. What next? Free them, and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this; and if mine would, we well know that those of the great mass of white people will not. Whether this feeling accords with justice and sound judgment, is not the sole question, if indeed, it is any part of it. A universal feeling, whether well or ill-founded, can not be safely disregarded. We cannot, then, make them equals. It does seem to me that systems of gradual emancipation might be adopted; but for their tardiness in this, I will not undertake to judge our brethren of the south...
Another fact showing the SPECIFIC character of the Missouri law--showing that it intended no more than it expressed--showing that the line was not intended as a universal dividing line between free and slave territory, present and prospective--north of which slavery could never go--is the fact that by that very law, Missouri came in as a slave state, north of the line. If that law contained any prospective principle, the whole law must be looked to in order to ascertain what the principle was. And by this rule, the south could fairly contend that inasmuch as they got one slave state north of the line at the inception of the law, they have the right to have another given them north of it occasionally--now and then in the indefinite westward extension of the line. This demonstrates the absurdity of attempting to deduce a prospective principle from the Missouri Compromise line.
When we voted for the Wilmot Proviso, we were voting to keep slavery OUT of the whole Mexican acquisition; and little did we think that we were thereby voting, to let it into Nebraska, laying several hundred miles distant. When we voted against extending the Missouri line, little did we think we were destroying the old line, then of nearly thirty years standing. To argue that we repudiated the Missouri Compromise is no less absurd than it would be to argue that because we have, so far, forborne to acquire Cuba, we have thereby, IN PRINCIPLE, repudiated our former acquisitions, and determined to throw them out of the Union! No less absurd than it would be to say that because I may have refused to build an addition to my house, I thereby have decided to destroy the existing house! And if I catch you setting fire to my house, you will turn upon me and say I INSTRUCTED you to do it! The most conclusive argument, however, that, while voting for the Wilmot proviso and while voting against the EXTENSION of the Missouri line,we never thought of disturbing the original Missouri Compromise, is found in the facts, that there was then, and still is, an unorganized tract of fine country, nearly as large as the state of Missouri, lying immediately west of Arkansas, and south of the Missouri Compromise line; and that we never attempted to prohibit slavery as to it. I wish particular attention to this. It adjoins the original Missouri Compromise line, by its northern boundary; and consequently it is part of the country, into which, by implication, slavery was permitted to go, by that compromise. There it has lain open ever since, and there it still lies. And yet no effort has been made at any time to wrest it from the south. In all our struggles to prohibit slavery within our Mexican acquisitions, we never so much lifted a finger to prohibit it, as to this tract. Is not this entirely conclusive that at all times, we have held the Missouri Compromise as a sacred thing; even when against ourselves, as well as when for us?
Senator Douglas sometimes says the Missouri line itself was, IN PRINCIPLE, only an extension of the line of the ordinance of 1787--that is to say, an extension of the Ohio river. I think this is weak enough on its face. I will remark, however, that, as a glance of the map will show, the Missouri line is a long way farther south than the Ohio; and that if our senator, in proposing his extension, had stuck to the PRINCIPLE of jogging southward, perhaps it might not have been voted down so easily...
A word now about the Judge's [Douglas's] desperate assumption that the compromises of 1850 had no connection with one another; that Illinois came into the Union as a slave state, and some other similar ones. This is no other than a bold denial of the history of our country...To deny these things is to deny our national axioms, or dogmas, at least; and it puts an end to all argument. If a man will stand up and assert, and repeat, and reassert, that two and two do not make four, I know nothing in the power of argument that can stop him....
Lincoln lost the senate election after the two senate candidates debated in 1854. At that time, senate elections were conducted by a state's legislature. They debated again in 1858 with the same result.
Was Abraham Lincoln a master of logic? Clearly the evidence presented in a small segment of a major speech is inconclusive to support the proposition. The gems of his genius are evident in the segment, but one needs to read the whole speech to arrive at a judgment that the proposition has merit and should be affirmed.
To read the entire Peoria speech and a preface, go to speech at the Lehrman Institute and Lincoln Institute website.
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| Abbott and Costello |
This artful parody appeared in email on the Internet in February 2012, or earlier. It has continued to circulate because of its subject matter and humorous content. In addition, an extra line--the last line--was added since it first appeared.
Greg Mankiw, chairman of the department of economics at Harvard, posted it in his blog on February 25, 2012. It was sent to him by Allen Sanderson, a senior lecturer in the economics department at the University of Chicago.
The parody is a remake of the original Abbott and Costello routine about baseball: Who's on first? Creative substitutions were made in the rewrite. The author's identity is unknown.
Costello: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
Abbott: Good subject. Terrible times. It's 8.3%.
Costello: That many people are out of work?
Abbott: No, that's 16%.
Costello: You said 8.3%.
Abbott: 8.3% unemployed.
Costello: Right 8.3% out of work.
Abbott: No, that's 16%.
Costello: Okay, so it's 16% unemployed.
Abbott: No, that's 8.3%...
Costello: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 8.3% or 16%?
Abbott: 8.3% are unemployed. 16% are out of work.
Costello: If you are out of work you are unemployed.
Abbott: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
Costello: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!
Abbott: No, you miss my point.
Costello: What point?
Abbott: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
Costello: To whom?
Abbott: The unemployed.
Costello: But they are ALL out of work.
Abbott: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
Costello: So if you're off the unemployment rolls, that would count as less employment?
Abbott: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
Costello: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?
Abbott: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 8.3%. Otherwise it would be 16%. You don't want to read about 16% unemployment, do ya?
Costello: That would be frightening.
Abbott: Absolutely.
Costello: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
Abbott: Two ways is correct.
Costello: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
Abbott: Correct.
Costello: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
Abbott: Bingo.
Costello: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
Abbott: Now you're thinking like an economist.
Costello: I don't even know what I just said.
Abbott: Now you're thinking like a politician.
References:
Examiner
Greg Mankiw's Blog --On Mankiw's blog, please click on Monkeys reject equal pay, a YouTube video featuring Emory University Professor Frans deWaal, a primatologist.
Good morning, Cortland.
SUCC students are arriving for the start of school year 2012-13. Landlords are keeping busy--with student rents and legal actions against the City of Cortland--smiles and grimaces all around.
Contractors will begin work in October on a controversial Student Life Center at the old SUCC football and track location. Neighbors who live near the proposed building site tried unsuccessfully to have it relocated. The initial cost of the building is $56 million, exclusive of borrowing costs and any modifications. The Cortland Contrarian commented on this building project in a post dated November 29, 2011: SUNY, Where is the Money Tree? (Click on highlights to view.)
The construction of a flood containment berm at the Cortland Water Works is in progress. This project will cost $61,000, according to DPW Superintendent Chris Bistocchi.
Former Mayor Susan Feiszli pushed for the berm project, and it was implemented by current Mayor Brian Tobin and common council after a funding delay.
Parents in the county are preparing their children for school. Last minute buying of school-related accessories and clothing has spiked. Store ads blaze: "Back to School Savings" and "Great Savings."
Do you really save when you spend?
View "Back-to-School Spending" at Ithaca Journal.
The City of Cortland continues to expand its fee structure. Have you noticed?
Since leaving Cortland training camp, the NY Jets have lost two pre-season games. They play again on Sunday. Wish them success.
High temperatures and humidity are moderating as autumn approaches. Look for cooler mornings and a coating of dew on car windshields before the end of September.
People are still talking about inadequate rainfall this year. The corn yield will be less than last year's yield. Due to an early spring warm up, followed by freezing temperatures, New York's apple crop is not expected to exceed 50% full yield. For apple consumers, higher prices are inevitable.
There are persistent rumors among Mexican farm workers that the Mayan god of rain--Chaac--has promised to send tropical rains north. Soaking vestigial effects of hurricanes may be appreciated by those affected by the long drought.
Going into autumn, skunks and crows are searching for gourmet snacks. An experienced homeowner keeps garbage in covered containers.
Open your bedroom window, allow cool air to circulate, and listen to the repetitive exit songs of crickets and cicadas before you go to sleep at night.
Before starting your daily routine today, listen to Good Morning Starshine by Oliver. A catchy song that you hear in the morning has a tendency to linger and work on your senses. You may even find yourself humming or singing it during the day. Enjoy your day.
Remember, life is a one-time experience--no second chances. Hindu and cats are exceptions, of course.
Image of cats in boxes courtesy of free-extras.
On August, 1862, a Dakota hunting party killed five white settlers along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota. A war between white settlers and the Dakota broke out. The Dakota, under Chief Little Crow, cited broken treaties. By the end of November, 1862, an estimated 800 white settlers had been killed.
President Abraham Lincoln sent General Pope to put down the uprising. The Dakota were defeated and more than a thousand Dakota were captured by the U.S. Army.
On December 26, 1862, after President Lincoln signed the order, 38 Dakota were hung in the largest single day execution in American history. The following year, Chief Little Crow, picking raspberries with his son, was killed by Nathan Lamson, a white settler. Lamson also killed Little Crow's son.
Lamson received a $500 bounty for the scalps.
For readers who appreciate history's side notes, especially about Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, here is a revealing article by Ron Soodalter at the New York Times: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/lincoln-and-the-sioux/?emc=eta1
View complementary short history of the 1862 Dakota war at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_War_of_1862
(Siege of New Ulm painting courtesy of Wikipedia.)
The largest bodies of water in the county are a series of small lakes in the northern part of the Town of Homer and extending into Preble, and two lakes in the northern part of the latter named town. In the southwestern portion of the Town of Cortlandville, about three miles from Cortland village, are three small ponds, fed by springs, and furnishing in their bottoms an almost inexhaustible supply of marl of excellent quality. These deposits have been worked and a vast amount of superior quick-lime manufactured, since the locality was first settled. Marl is also found in smaller quantities and of an inferior quality in the Town of Preble and the northern part of Homer. 1885 History of Cortland County, H. P. Smith.
A little s.e. of Cortlandville are several small lakes, containing deposits of marl, from which an excellent quality of lime is manufactured....In the s.w. part of the town are three small ponds, fed by springs, and furnishing an almost unlimited supply of marl, from which an excellent quality of lime is manufactured. Crandalls Pond covers an area of 15 acres; Swains 6, and Chatterdons 4. The marl is generally of an ash color when first taken out, but the vegetable matter which it contains whitens upon exposure to the air. When partially dried, it is molded into the form of bricks, and these are thoroughly dried and burned. The greatest known thickness of these deposits is about 20 feet. 1860 French's Gazetteer of the State of New York, Cortland County.
On the south side of Lime Hollow Road, near the Town of Cortlandville Water Station, is a sizable marl pond which is bleached white in late summer. Most of the runoff and sparse spring water evaporates by August.
Marl is a clay-like substance rich in lime. It is mostly calcium carbonate leached up to ground level from bedrock below. Marl also contains calcium from algae that has decayed over long periods of time, and may contain shells of fresh water mollusks. Water in a marl pond can have a pH of 8 or 9. Cattails and water lilies don't grow in marl ponds with high pH levels.
The marl in this pond was mined by farmers during the 1800's. It was spread on fields to "sweeten the soil," or it was reduced by baking to make lime powder used in iron ore blast furnaces. Often marl was spread after trees and brush were cut and a new clearing was plowed. Marl acted as an acid neutralizer. Marl mining was seasonal and usually it was performed in August when the water levels were very low.
Marl ponds are formed when chunks of ice break off retreating glaciers and leave permanent holes in the earth's surface. Smaller vernal ponds, fed only by runoff water, are formed by the same process. Both marl and vernal ponds are called kettle ponds.
There are several marl ponds on the south side of Lime Hollow Road in the Town of Cortlandville, New York. They can be seen easily when walking along the old Lehigh Valley Railroad track, which is now a walking trail with tracks removed. The trail is incorporated within the Lime Hollow Nature Center.
Additional marl ponds are pictured below, including close up photos of plant life and decay. Click on the photos to enlarge.
