Stuff I Wrote Elsewhere
A crystalline example of why I love the science beat: “This sounds corny, but I had this feeling— ‘Wow. I’m the first human being to ever see this.’ ”
Archive of entries posted by jfleck
climate->drought->fire
A record year for wildfires in the U.S.: Drought and hot conditions contributed to the record wildfire season, with more than 9.5 million acres burned through early December, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The annual climate report, released Thursday by the National Climatic Data Center, says 2006 will most likely be the third …
Michael Crichton is a Dork
Most readers of this blog already know what a dork Michael Crichton is. If you had any doubt, check this out – the account of how, in his latest novel, Crichton turned one of his critics into a child molester.
Unlikely Support
Steve Lohr has a nice piece in today’s New York Times about the economics of carbon mitigation, pointing out how some in carbon emitting industries actually welcome a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system: So it is something of a surprise that James E. Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy, a coal-burning utility in the Midwest …
Daybook
Forced to write a daybook on account of ’cause I ran across a cool word of the day, which is: word of the day: “apophenia” – “the experience of seeing patterns where none exist” – definition from Bob Park, writing in the 9 December New Scientist reading: Acequia Culture, Jose Rivera’s book about the village-based …
Water in the Desert
windmillOriginally uploaded by heinemanfleck. ESTANCIA – It occurred to me yesterday why I’m so fascinated by the pinto bean farmers of the Estancia Basin. They are very much like the trees prized by the scientists who use tree rings to piece together ancient climates: at the edge of their range, and therefore sensitive to small …
Saguaro
Saguaro Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. For those of you not from or familiar with New Mexico, here’s the joke: the armed Saguaro, an iconic southwestern image, does not grow in New Mexico. The Estancia Valley is in New Mexico.
RailRunner
RailRunner Originally uploaded by heinemanfleck. The thing I like about trains is the same thing I have always enjoyed about walking in alleys: you get to see the backs of things. It’s the place where people pile their junk, where they show the things they don’t really want you to see, but that are a …
Those Batshit Crazy Livermore Guys
The boy dropped off his pass-along copy of the Nov. 16 Rolling Stone, that I might enjoy Jeff Goodell’s powerful strange and fascinating piece about Lowell Wood and geoengineering. Wood’s idea – not really “Wood’s idea,” really “lots of people’s idea” – is to pump shit into the atmosphere to cool things off, a geoengineering …
Bosque Trail
Bosque Trail I Originally uploaded by Miguel Navrot. My friend Miguel has posted some great snaps of my favorite bit of bike trail in the city, the shaded, secluded stretch of bosque trail south of the National Hispanic Cultural Center.