life in mono or arsenic and old lace

Though sometimes the space agency indulges the media with rampant speculation and Christmas morning excitement and anticipation, and though no evidence of extraterrestrial life was proffered, NASA's press conference did manage to deliver some outstanding news that redefines not only the way we look at life on earth but also in the search for alien life and prime stellar real estate. Bacteria in the alkaline incubator, Lake Mono in California, have evolved the ability to substitute toxic arsenic for phosphorus, heretofore considered one of the elements essential for basic biological chemistry, along with oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen. This discovery makes novelty and resourcefulness of life less familiar and less self-centered and opens up great avenues for exploration, dispelling some old assumptions that could hinder the search with blinders and overly selective criteria. NASA's research is a pleasant surprise, following on the heels of an astronomical false tenet disabused earlier this week, that rewarded us with countless more stars in the sky.

heat miser

Most US federal workers are handsomely compensated as it is, mostly for keeping-up-appearances. Part of the out-of-date and out-of-touch rationale, historically for around two percent annually, awarded at the beginning of the year, was as a retention bonus to compensate for the difference between public- and private-sector salaries, ad infinitum--which does not make much sense because there are few real corollaries.

Following the example of US state and local governments, the federal government has decided to freeze the pay of its civilian workforce, with notable exceptions, in a cosmetic gesture of solidarity to unbalanced budgets and as a concession to a divided legislature. While not arguing for another entitlement or casting aspersions towards civil servants that have been furloughed or had their salaries cut, this is squandered political capital, since nominal fiscal savings will go unnoticed as will any cross-party appeasement, and the only segment of the population that will take notice will do so in a negative way, because a few will suffer privately by diminishing their spending power by two percent or so (not to mention a proportional two percent into 401K plans, retirement accounts, income tax, etc. although most of that is just a shell game too) in exchange for only negligible public benefit. Efficiency and trimming expenses where quality and morale is not compromised is a virtue but feckless actions are disgruntling.

who carried on his shoulder a siamese cat

Diplomacy is not duplicitous and is nothing if not transparent and truthful--thought not espousing or pretending that all the details are baldly set forth for debate. Personally, I am not sorry at all for America's spillage of information and opinions that was never meant to be cast out in the open, since America readily and gleefully reserves the right to monitor any and all habits, activities and communication of any one, and with no cause.

These revelations, however, will bring about no reform, an attitude adjustment or even more caution about what one commits to email. Although such empty concepts as information-security or private-email are oxymorons, and such a daisy-chain is amazingly tough and long-lived, I believe rather than giving government officials cause to question seepage, whether it is necessary to disseminate data scattershot and indiscriminately, reward staff with super-secret clearances, or horde and encourage all and sundry to contribute to the glut of data. Any piece of covert or private knowledge is only protected by a herd-mentality--the private doings of most are not the focus of a tenacious investigation and carry little to no public interest, and while the medical histories of anyone could be plucked out of the ætherher, usually the government, press and businesses are overwhelmed with too rich a selection of low-hanging fruit. Instead of taking this leak as a point of departure, to evaluate attitudes or disposition of digitizing communications--of which, emails are not final testimony and should be never taken as such, regardless of password integrity and security obstacles--cooperation and exchange will only wither away. Turf-battles have already resulted in a lot of damaging resistance to share valuable insights, ending in missed opportunities and catastrophe. Keeping tabs on every anonymous member of the horde across all disciplines created this mentality and this blossoming mess. Diplomacy serves to promote collaboration, and it is ironic that the revealed state of the US ambassadors will yield tighter controls and tightfistedness.

tranched or enhanced pat-down

The initial leak of high-level gossip of the diplomatic corps is may or may not of been in the best taste on the more sensational items: saying one leader lacks creativity or competency or is risk-adverse is just mean-spirited and makes for poor-working relations now that all these cables are out in the open, Ombudsman 2.0, where they cannot be denied or taken back. Some of these truths are manifestly apparent, even without careless documentation, however, there is no accounting for transparency.

Disclosure does not bring down regimes, although quite the opposite is true--that secrets have vouchsafed the bad things that government does. Ambassadors are entitled to the framework of their opinions are prejudices to work within or fail trying, however, the public is also entitled to knowing, regardless how the truth is ousted, the catalogue of other information revealed: like the German government is lousy with American spies, the US has pressured EU ministries into compliance for sharing of financial data despite resistance and no popular mandate, German authorities were strongly discouraged from pursuing justice against CIA agents who detained a citizen over mistaken identity, that the UN and the Secretary General are under surveillance, Saudi Arabia continues to bankroll terror activities, or that there are conspiracies for nuclear proliferation in the making. All this was only in the first batch, and meanwhile, the damage-control continues, inviting more speculation, in contrast to the apologies issued by the press, arguing for their decision to publish. Unvarnished truths may destroy diplomacy, relations built on old niceties and inherited respect, but also dispels the illusory embassy and the propaganda of American supremacy, which even the spokesmen have come to believe.

circuit breaker or move along, nothing to see here

The United States Department of Homeland security, the umbrella agency that has brought already such thundering farces as government sanctioned assault in one’s friendly neighbourhood airport, all sorts of theater of the absurd, wiretaps, datamining, general molly-coddling, and gross incompetence and derelictions of duty when the chance to exercise the authorities vested in them actually came around, has moved to shutter several websites, which according to their own judgment [citation needed] and estimation, facilitate traffic in pirated and counterfeit goods. Allowing the government to brandish around such power is nothing new, nothing different than any other hyper-fascist regime censoring the media, no matter what higher ground it is claiming. America’s goon squads have no proprietary rights to the world-wide web and throwing an arbitrary veil over its own doings is likely to cause headaches and quash creativity and objective reporting, and let them try to exercise their power extraterritorially since the internet is borderless.

This is a slippery slope, however, for an agency with such Renaissance interests—which could not possibly pretend to be an expert in them all, even in the name of security, employees legions of disinterested and unchecked lackeys to condemn websites—to have the final say in what content, specious connections, and other terms promote national welfare. 

Such powers, first sold out as a campaign promise to luddite lobbyists, the

entertainment cartel or the tele-communications companies, quickly spill over from making an example of a few unfortunates that did not play by the rules in the first place to redirection to suppression of any detail disagreeable. Rolling over on this or that slight has become too commonplace, since the insults are coming to quickly and without adequate recourse nor even rest to recuperate, but America should not ignore this creeping menace any longer.

CH O2 or my name is hunt hunter

H is a superb treasure-hunter and I am really fond of one of our latest additions: this vintage perpetual calendar made for an airline ticket counter.  I really like old adverizing collectibles and this one reminds me of a time when flying was glamourous and exciting and was living up to all the things that one expected or imagined that air travel should be, far-flung lands and adventures, liberated and accessible but still mysterous and demanding high, genuine accomplishment over tenacity and the wearisome and interminable planning and waiting in queues.  Though maybe not so carefree and with details and distractions easily bulldozed over afterwards, the adventure and fun, in the journey and in one's destination, has not be tarnished. 

theory and practice

Mark Twain observed that, “Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.” This rings quite true for quite a bit of the annual mandatory refresher training that they expose us to at work—dry, rote and predictable and just enough delaying tactics to bring down a lawsuit settlement in appeals. After making an obligatory appearance at a drug and alcohol awareness class, which in all fairness featured a quite funny stand-up comedian whose message was important and appreciated, though possibly just endured for those who were seeing basically the same routine for the fourth time, I realized that these required audiences, not so insufferable, are like holiday traditions, unquestioned, like watching Dinner for One (Der 90. Geburtstag) on New Year’s or It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas time. I did realize, more by its breach than in its keeping, I did miss out of this year’s winter driving safety, which was no less a chore to schedule around but anything but stale delivered by our German safety officer who speaks like Colonel Klink. And if no one takes anyway anything else from that course, replete with PowerPoint slides, he always quotes statistics that drivers, though one would expect that they are expert and accustomed to wintery conditions, panic during the first snow flurry of the year, which we are receiving now, only to decline in number of accidents and incidents as the season continues and as the roads become even more treacherous, regardless of how many hard winters, tyres swapped out, and otherwise girding themselves for danger. Maybe that says something about practice in itself.

another brick in the wall or please don't feed the tigers

Columnist Laurie Penny of the New Statesman sends a dispatch from the latest round of student protests in England against tuition rate hikes. This anger follows demonstrations in Germany and many other European countries where budgetary shortfalls, real or imagined, and austerity measures, imposed or voluntary, have undermined the ideal and priority of the equitable promotion of a literate society.  This is something worth fighting for and the students' efforts from Dublin to London to Paris to Bamberg and all points beyond and in between are valiant and should not go unnoticed or unheeded.

For those outside of the European education system, and not counting only those laureates and their families who have been direct benefits because the whole society benefits, the nominal tuitions and selective admissions process might seem unfamiliar: it amazes me that the approach to education in the States compared to the rest of the world could have diverged so greatly, on the one side, merit-based and underwritten by the state and on the other prohibitively expensive and undiscerning where even public universities are run for-profit through the Ponzi scheme of student loans and financial aid, which seems likely to be the next bubble to burst, and not to mention overcrowded, unrealistic and generally unremarkable in all disciplines. Perhaps thinking such targets of budget cuts would be forgivably (or forgettable) unpopular, politicians have been unprepared for the backlash, especially in England and Ireland, where rescue-loans from the EU and the IMF came with too many strings attached, and putting university fees on the line was one way to portend fiscal balance. This sort of sacrifice, however, is unwelcome and ill-advised, like the tragedy that will be facing Iceland--again over finances--when the next generation is forced to leave over lack of opportunity. Tripling tuition will have the same effect, leaving one's native landscape diminished and becoming more like the university system of America in price and quality, and that kind of collateral is on terms that no one can afford, regardless of their credit-worthiness.