Fairness First – for fair redistricting

Earlier this week I was surprised to find a lengthy rant posted by one of my Republican friends on his Facebook page. My friend’s diatribe included allegations of treason against serving government officials. These types of allegations are often tossed around by so-called Tea Party “patriots” but my friend is nothing of the sort. He’s a well-spoken, thoughful, moderate Republican and the target of his wrath is Republican Speaker John Boehner. Boehner drew my friend’s ire for his reckless commandeering of the federal government.

A slew of comments grew out my friend’s post, from both sides of the aisle. I’d been pondering lately how we got into this political mess, too, so I weighed in with this:

In my opinion the center will continue to be ignored as long as gerrymandering guarantees the safety of extremist politicians. To fix the system we must demand fair redistricting. Currently few politicians have to worry about the wrath of voters. That has to change.

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Waking Up Tired? Blame Electricity

Fascinating.

Our internal clocks are drifting out of sync, and indoor lighting may be to blame. A new study suggests that just a few days in the great outdoors puts us back in tune with the solar cycle, and reconnecting with the sun could make us less drowsy.

Electricity has given us the freedom to choose our bedtimes; staying up after dark is as easy as flipping a light switch. But we pay a price for this luxury, says integrative physiologist Kenneth Wright of the University of Colorado, Boulder, who led the new study. People with later bedtimes and wake times are exposed to more artificial light and less sunlight, he says, which means their bodies aren’t getting the natural cues humans once relied on.

via Waking Up Tired? Blame Electricity | Science/AAAS | News.

Time to get moving on public transportation

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As I was weaving my way along East Raleigh streets taking my daughter to school this week, I realized what was missing from Raleigh streets: frequent, reliable public transportation. No offense to Capital Area Transit which is doing the best with what it has, but this city has taken a half-assed approach to public transportation for far too long. It has to start with the top: city leaders must be committed to making this happen. That includes proper planning and funding.

Truly great cities have great public transportation. Heck, even Charlotte has great public transportation. Raleigh strives to be a destination city but we don’t have the basic amenity of workable public transportation.

Raleigh (as well as Wake County) needs to get on the bus and improve its public transportation or it will be left hopelessly (and possibly irredeemably) behind. I’m hopeful the city council and new city manager Ruffin Hall can make this happen.

BBC News – Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab

We’re getting closer to nuclear fusion energy!

Researchers at a US lab have passed a crucial milestone on the way to their ultimate goal of achieving self-sustaining nuclear fusion.

Harnessing fusion – the process that powers the Sun – could provide an unlimited and cheap source of energy.

But to be viable, fusion power plants would have to produce more energy than they consume, which has proven elusive. Now, a breakthrough by scientists at the National Ignition Facility NIF could boost hopes of scaling up fusion.

NIF, based at Livermore in California, uses 192 beams from the world’s most powerful laser to heat and compress a small pellet of hydrogen fuel to the point where nuclear fusion reactions take place.

The BBC understands that during an experiment in late September, the amount of energy released through the fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel – the first time this had been achieved at any fusion facility in the world.

via BBC News – Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab.

On letters from climate-change deniers – latimes.com

And those scientists have provided ample evidence that human activity is indeed linked to climate change. Just last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — a body made up of the world’s top climate scientists — said it was 95% certain that we fossil-fuel-burning humans are driving global warming. The debate right now isn’t whether this evidence exists clearly, it does but what this evidence means for us.

Simply put, I do my best to keep errors of fact off the letters page; when one does run, a correction is published. Saying “there’s no sign humans have caused climate change” is not stating an opinion, it’s asserting a factual inaccuracy.

via On letters from climate-change deniers – latimes.com.

NSA’s $2B Spy Center is Going Up in Flames

Whoopsie.

The National Security Agency’s $2 billion mega spy center is going up in flames.Technical glitches have sparked fiery explosions within the NSA’s newest and largest data storage facility in Utah, destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and delaying the facility’s opening by one year.And no one seems to know how to fix it.

Within the last 13 months, at least 10 electric surges have each cost about $100,000 in damages, according to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal. Experts agree that the system, which requires about 64 megawatts of electricity—that’s about a $1 million a month energy bill–isn’t able to run all of its computers and servers while keeping them cool, which is likely triggering the meltdowns.

via $2 Billion NSA Spy Center is Going Up in Flames | The Fiscal Times.

Why I poke the N&O

So why am I playing Ahab to the News and Observer’s Great White Whale? Because I love newspapers. I love good journalism. I appreciate the valued role the press plays in our society. Among the many things I wanted to be when I grow up was a journalist.

My blog, then, is my printing press, and here I try to call ’em like I see ’em. I offer not only criticism but praise when called for. In short, it’s my nature to hold the press to very high standards, to be the kind of force that serves the people. The kind of force that can bring down crooked Presidents (or crooked governors) when needed. I adore a press that’s fearless but fanatically committed to finding the truth. That isn’t always possible in an environment that overworks and underpays its reporters, sadly enough.

Don’t shirk your responsibility to find the truth, ladies and gentlemen of the press, and we’ll get along just fine. I still look up to you.

N&O doubles down on council criticism

The News and Observer often fires volleys at city leaders for being too secretive, as the city’s hunt for a new city manager clearly demonstrated. Yet the N&O itself often leaves me scratching my head. I should probably let it go, I know, but I’m still mystified the paper is sticking by its story that Randy Stagner’s parking email was somehow the impetus for firing former city manager Russell Allen.

Today’s editorial:

Randy Stagner was the one incumbent who lost, to Wayne Maiorano, a newcomer. Stagner was not a bad council member at all, but he got himself in a bad position when he appeared to be pushing for the ouster of former City Manager Russell Allen over a parking space.

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It’s not easy staying on the wagon

Today marks the 16th day I have had no alcohol. This is not because I have any problem with my alcohol consumption but more of a test of personal discipline. When I recently found out my brother had gone six months without a drink (again, just by choice) I decided to see if I could do it, too. I don’t know if I have any particular goal or timeframe in mind; I’m just going go without until I decide otherwise.

I’ve never been a heavy drinker. I usually average about one drink, either wine or beer, per day. On rare occasions (once every two weeks at most) I may have two. But in this experiment, even a modest drink would break the rules.
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McFarlane tops in Raleigh; moderates rule again on the Wake school board

Bob Geary pins the blame on Randy Stagner’s loss on the News and Observer’s dumb decision not to endorse him. I wonder how long it will be before they have to acknowledge this mistake?

Maiorano can thank The News & Observer for his narrow victory. Somehow, the newspaper decided that firing Russell Allen was a terrible thing to do and that Stagner was responsible. The firing was debatable, perhaps. What wasn’t debatable was that Stagner, a council rookie, had little to do with it. Five other members, including McFarlane, made the call to get rid of Allen. Stagner’s vote made six.

Nonetheless, the N&O pinned the blame on Stagner in story after story, after which the paper endorsed Maiorano.

via McFarlane tops in Raleigh; moderates rule again on the Wake school board | Citizen | Indy Week.