Rectangular tyranny

The way that we design quiet residential streets could be more efficient. The modified grid model is somewhat waseful--in terms of space, asphalt, and energy.

A honeycomb approach--where each 'block' is an elongated hexagon--could handle the same traffic, with a slightly smaller paved surface area. The ratio of living space to car space would be slightly higher.

The small triangles at the end of each 'block' could be planted with some attractive vegetation, to enhance property values--and in areas with sufficient rainfall for deciduous trees, to partially block the Summer sun from heating up the houses on East, South, and West ends of blocks. On the North-pointing triangles, we could plant attractive, low-maintenance shrubbery.

The traffic intersections would be 3-way, rather than 4-way. With the greater visibility at 3-way intersections, if all motorists remembered the yield-to-the-driver-on-the-right rule, we could simply slow down at some intersections, rather than coming to a complete stop--or even a California stop. This would be especially true for Northbound cars on 'blocks' that have a NS long axis. We could get by with fewer stop signs. Neighborhood trips would be a little faster. Autombile fuel efficiency would be a little better. And air pollution would be a little less.

Caveats. Obviously, we're not going to uproot existing houses to make honeycomb neighborhoods. The idea would mainly apply to new housing tracts. Moreover the topographies of some residential areas won't lend themselves to a honeycomb design, just as they don't for a traditional grid design. The major traffic arteries should continue to be designed in the same way.

If you're looking for a buzzphrase to summarize the primary virtues of the honeycomb residential street model, it's perimeter efficiency.

Larry's climate history laboratory

The last Ice Age wiped out all of the coniferous trees in Finland. After the continental ice sheet retreated, trees from elsewhere--like the Scots Pine--gradually colonized the vacant niche. On a smaller scale, the same thing happened in many high mountain ranges of the Earth's temperate regions, including the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. We can learn a thing or two about climate change from Alpine dendrology.

Round Top Lake, at 9340 feet elevation in the Northern Sierras, is my favorite place for informal climate history research. The pine trees around the lake grow in tight clumps. Here's a link to a photo: tinyurl.com/ypjw5f

The trees in any given group are genetically identical; they reproduce asexually. A new tree trunk will sprout outward from an existing root system. The seeds that do sprout can't endure the harsh Winters.

There is a small gap between the pine trees near the lake and the ones farther down. Question: After the last Ice Age, how did the pine trees reach the lake?

Answer. At some point after the last Ice Age, the Winters in the Northern Sierras were somewhat warmer than they are now--even with Global Warming. The trees sprouted from seeds at a time when the Winters were milder.

Several years ago, I was surprised to see a knee-high seedling a short distance outside the crescent of tree clumps. However it did not survive. When I see isolated pine seedlings that grow to 6 feet in height, then I'll believe that the Northern Sierra climate is the warmest that it has been since the last Ice Age.

Round Top Lake is one of my favorite short hikes. If I can get on top of the arthritis in my hip, I'll go there next Summer. And I'll let you know if I see any solitary pine trees.

Iraq War funding

There is a creative way for the Democrats to handle the Iraq War funding issue. Make the money contingent on Bush stepping down, enlisting in the U.S. Army, and serving in Iraq. Bush puts his neck where his mouth is, or else no more funding for the war. Think about it.

Vetoing the bill would not help Bush. If he does not sign a war-funding bill of some kind, then the war will automatically end when the money runs out.

If Bush is the superpatriot he wants us to believe, and if he really thinks that the Iraq War is absolutely essential for our national security, then he would rise to the challenge without hesitation. What about the other major player in his administration?

Dick Cheney has always been on the same page with the Grand Poobah, and has been very active in advancing the Bush agenda. And Bush has full confidence in Cheney's abilities. If Bush shipped out to Iraq, he would have peace of mind, knowing that all of his policies would remain in place at least until the next election.

The Democrats can tell Bush: Put up or shut up! And most of the war-weary American public would cheer them on!

What about the Republican Congress critters? They get the war funding that they want. And they can say goodbye to the village idiot that has been such an embarrassment to them.

Of course, Bush will make the argument that he'd be more effective staying in the White House, but nobody would take that seriously. Second-banana Cheney has Bush values and a larger brain than The Chimp. Until the next election, Bushism could be at least as successful with Bush out of the country.

One could make the argument that Bush knows too much to be separated from his Secret Service detail. But given Bush's alcohol-pickled brain, and his notorious lack of attention to detail, I don't think that that would fly. The proposed bill should pull the plug on W's Secret Service detail. Private Georgie could be a real soldier in a real war zone. However Secret Service protection would remain in place for all three of the former real presidents.

The Democrats' oh-so-pedestrian approach, attaching timetables to the war funding, could be a two-edged sword. The Bushies' response could be to cut back on spending for body armor--ostensibly to save money--and then blame the Dems for not caring enough about the safety of U.S. combat troops in Iraq. On the other hand, my proposal would put the ENTIRE onus on Bush. Zero funding for the war unless he personally steps up to the plate. What is the most likely outcome?

Republican leaders would pressure their albatross to be a man for a change, and do his bit in the Army. Bush's response would be to change his tune, and express a willingness to accept a compromise that did not put his own butt on the line. Then we would see a face-saving, Nixonesque process of Vietnamization in Iraq. Bush may even ask other nations in the region to play larger roles in stabilizing that country.

One last detail. Since he is a serious physical fitness buff, Private Bush should have no problem running 3 miles (5 km) every morning with the rest of the troops--even at his age.

The obvious question: Does Nancy Pelosi have the cojones to get behind my modest proposal? And can she keep a straight face while doing so?

Bible codes

Usually I am more interested in learning about real science than in debunking junk science. However the subject of Bible codes came up on another board that I subscribe to, and I just had to respond. Here is some background info from the Wikipedia article on the subject:

"Bible codes, also known as Torah codes, are words, phrases and clusters of words and phrases that some people believe are meaningful and exist intentionally in coded form in the text of the Bible. These codes were made famous by the book The Bible Code, which suggests that these codes offer warnings for the future.

[Table of contents]

The primary method by which purportedly meaningful messages have been extracted is the Equidistant Letter Sequence (ELS). To obtain an ELS from a text, choose a starting point (in principle, any letter) and a skip number, also freely and possibly negative. Then, beginning at the starting point, select letters from the text at equal spacing as given by the skip number.)"

Here is the link for the entire Wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_code

There is nothing new here. ELS is similar to a cryptographic approach called Chaffing and Winnowing. With either technique, the sender of the message throws a lot of garbage in with the real information, to confuse would-be eavesdroppers. The intended receiver of the information has an algorithm for throwing out the garbage. With a reasonably high garbage/info ratio, casual eavesdroppers would have no way of knowing which of the many possible 'coded messages' was the real one.

I don't see how the putative Bible codes could deepen anyone's understanding of their religion, or of our day-to-day world. My educated guess is that there is a lot of wishful thinking and selective perception going on here. If your 'decoding' algorithm generates a 'hidden message' from Genesis that comfortably meshes with your belief system, you can say: Aha! On the other hand, if the algorithm generates an understandable message that you don't like, then you quietly put it into File 13, and conveniently forget about it.

In IT parlance, we can summarize Bible 'decoding' schemes as follows: Garbage in, garbage out.

Condominiums and energy conservation

Condos and PUD's are a form of home ownership that indirectly promotes energy conservation, because the population densities of condo complexes are greater than neighborhoods having only conventional, single-family houses. For an urban population of a given size, greater density means reduced transportation fuel use for commuters. Moreover sharing one or two walls with one's neighbors can decrease the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling.

However condo homeowners associations (HOA's) are a different story. Board members have a fiduciary responsibility towards the homeowners that they serve. A part of that responsibility is taking reasonable measures to maintain property values. Example: repainting the units when needed.

It is fairly standard for CC&R's to prohibit clotheslines in patios, because they don't look nice. A condo complex with clotheslines would probably have marginally lower property values than an otherwise similar complex that prohibits clotheslines.

Prohibiting clotheslines means that people will be using energy-inefficient tumble dryers during the Summer months. It is not the fault of the board members; they are just doing their jobs. They are caught up in an informal, low-intensity conflict with other HOA's.

A federal or state law that gives homeowners in all condo complexes the right to use clotheslines in patios could save a little energy, without spending any tax dollars.

Triangle Lake hike 9-2-06

On Sunday, Doug, Jaime, Jason, Sam, my canine friend Gurr, and I began our adventure, by taking the Echo Lakes water taxi ($9.50/person, one way). We started walking just before noon. From the upper end of Echo Lakes, we did an exploratory day-hike on the Triangle Lake semi-loop trail. This splits off from the Pacific Crest Trail, above Echo Lakes, and well before Tamarack Lake. This marked side-trail is fairly steep, but fortunately most of it is in the shade. After we came to a flat saddle, we went down a fairly steep spur trail to the relatively small Triangle Lake, which has a good camp site. And it is a nice, quiet place to eat lunch.

When we reached the saddle on the way out, we turned right for the other part of the semi-loop. When we got beyond the heavily forested part, we had stunning views of Tamarack Lake, Ralston Lake, Ralston Peak, and Pyramid Peak. When we reached the PCT again, it was well beyond Tamarack Lake. Although there was a marker at this trail junction, there was no mention of Triangle Lake.

On the way back, we had some extra time. So we followed the ducked spur trail to Tamarack Lake. After taking a break there, we skirted the South shore, and followed a discontinuous trail to reach the gorgeous Ralston Lake. After enjoying the views there, we took a cross-country short-cut to return to the PCT. Rather than taking the water taxi back from the upper end of Echo Lakes, we walked the extra 2.5 miles, and treated ourselves to great views of the lakes.

The main trail above Echo Lakes has a lot of sharp rocks; so I kept Gurr on leash most of the time. At the end of the day, his feet were in good condition. As usual, Gurr took every opportunity to jump in the water. Jaime took a long swim at Tamarack Lake, reporting that the water was not bad near the shore, but much colder further out.

That reminds me, Murphy's Law of Hiking states that there can be no adventure without some misadventure mixed in. We learned that Labor Day weekend is not the best time to find a parking space at the Echo Lakes trailhead. And I took a fall forward on the trail, landing on my knees. Ouch!

Here is the link for Sam's photos of the Triangle Lake hike:
pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brick...ust/album

Bigfoot Hiking Adventure, 6 August 2006

Mike, my canine friend Gurr, and I hiked to three lakes in the Desolation Wilderness, just West of Lake Tahoe. Grouse Lake is relatively shallow. There are grasses poking above the surface of the water near the edges of the lake. Earlier in the season, there are a lot of mosquitos there. Above the lake, we came to a lovely small meadow with wildflowers.

We ate a quick lunch at the smaller Hemlock Lake, named after my favorite high-altitude tree. The most common type of wildflower there is Mountain Heather. The plant grows fairly close to the ground, and the leaves look a little like pine needles. The most common MH flower is pinkish purple, but there are others that look like partially popped popcorn!

The trail petered out just before the rocky slope leading to our destination. Smith Lake is in a gorgeous Alpine setting, flanked by granite slopes on three sides. Even this late in the season, there were small snowfields just above the opposite shore. Gurr had a great time fetching a stick that I threw into the water.

We had a small adventure on the way back. We were walking through a forested area, and heard a tree fall 200 meters ahead of us. Fortunately it fell parallel to the trail, and nobody was injured, even though there were other hikers nearby at the time. When Mike and I reached the fallen tree, we realized that Gurr was not with us. Gurr was spooked by the noise, and did not want to go into the area where the tree had fallen. I had to go back, and put on his leash. Apparently dogs are genetically programmed to be frightened by the sound of heavy objects--like trees and boulders--falling. I learned something new today.

The round-trip distance was more than 13 km (8.4 miles), the altitude gain was more than 500 m (more than 1700 feet), and most of the hike was above 2100 m (above 6960 feet) in elevation. We accidentally got off-trail a few times. The first time that you visit these three lakes, I suggest going with someone who has been there before. The trail is very indistinct in places.

Happy trails, Larry

Hike report: 23 July 2006

This weekend it was just Gurr, my canine friend, and me. I posted our outing on
three of the local online hiking groups, but everyone else was scared off by the hot
weather forecast. It was warmer than usual in the high country, and I had to go slow,
because I am more sensitive to heat than most people.

We hiked from the Wrights Lake trailhead to Lower Twin Lake. Twin Lakes and the
smaller Island Lake and Boomerang Lake are in a large natural amphitheater, surrounded
by a granite cirque. The two smaller lakes are magical places. The patterns of cracks
and multicolored lichens in the rocks make them works of art!

These lakes are all at timberline, my favorite life zone. There are some
medium-size coniferous trees, and some trees that grow as beautiful cushion plants. If the
Northern Sierra were a little higher, we would see more of the Alpine tundra between
timberline and the granite ridges and peaks.

There were some wildflowers by the trail in places. We saw Fireweed and Green
Gentian for the first time this Summer. On last week's hike, the wildflowers were growing in
the open areas. This week, the open areas were mostly exposed granite slabs.

This year, we did not make it beyond the Lower Twin Lake. There was too much
water flowing over the small dam at the lower end, the usual route. We also tried the
alternate route, boulder-hopping along the Southern shore. However Gurr was not
comfortable with that. This surprised me because in many ways, Gurr is a very athletic dog.

We had a little extra time; so we revisited the Lower Enchanted Pool. Gurr had a
great time doing water fetches.

Gurr is very much a Nature dog. He loves forests, meadows, lakes, and streams.
On the way back to the car, Gurr went ahead of me, stopped, and started howling like a
wolf. From a human perspective, it sounded sad. But this was his way of saying:

"I like it here. I don't want to go back to the suburbs. Let's make this place
our new home. And all of the other dogs and coyotes better stay away from our territory!"

Our total hiking distance was just over 7 miles, we gained just over 1000 feet
of altitude, and most of our hike was above 7000 feet elevation.

Global Warming on Mars

Apparently those damned Martians love their SUVs as much as Americans do! Seriously though, the evidence for Global Warming on Mars is less conclusive than on Earth, largely because we haven't been taking measurements there for as long as we have on our homeworld. However it is an interesting coincidence that one of our planetary neighbors seems to be experiencing GW at the same time that we are. Or is it a coincidence?

Anyway, here is the URL:
www.space.com/scienceastr...11206-1.html

BIGFOOT ADVENTURE 16 JULY 2006

On Sunday, Eric, Jason, Mike, yours truly, and Gurr the Wonder Dog explored the Showers Lake loop, starting from Schneiders Cow Camp. The wildflowers were in bloom, and they should be at their peak very soon. This hike also has a lot of Mountain Hemlocks, my favorite high-altitude tree. Even in mid-July, there was snow on the trail in several places. Since I was sporting my lightweight hiking shoes at the time, I'm glad that I brought my hiking pole.

There were fewer mosquitos than I expected, because there was a light breeze in places that I did not expect. However when we got up into the heavily forested area, the trees blocked the wind, and it was time to pile on the DEET.

Eric, our official GPS operator, told us when we were getting close to the trailhead on the return part of the loop. Jason was our official photographer, and I will post a link to some of his pictures from our hike. Mike, our official Earth scientist, explained some of the mixed geology of the area. And Gurr invented a new doggie sport, sliding down steep snowbanks, sometimes right-side-up, and sometimes on his back!