Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

Arctic permafrost no longer permanent

It’s easy to think planting a tree, bringing your reusable bags to the grocery store, or forgoing a plastic straw is meaningless.

arcticWhen a new study shows “the Arctic has entered an ‘unprecedented state’ that threatens the entire planet” and it’s “a massive conglomeration of nearly 50 years of research,” it’s difficult to feel optimistic.

Nearly 50 years. The first Earth Day will be a half century ago come next year. I expected that things would be better, way better, on the planet, certainly not appreciably worse. “Because the Arctic atmosphere is warming faster than the rest of the world, weather patterns across Europe, North America and Asia are becoming more persistent, leading to extreme weather conditions.”

It’s easy to think planting a tree, bringing your reusable bags to the grocery store, or forgoing a plastic straw is meaningless. Yet my family does it anyway. Maybe (probably) it’s a certain arrogance but we are trying for the destruction of the planet to be less “on us.” So we have our hybrid car. We compost. We reuse.

But even as the Midwest US braced for a major, long-lasting blizzard called a “bomb cyclone” AGAIN this month, the regime was signing executive orders designed to further roll back energy and environmental regulations and promote the fossil fuel industry, apparently to meet his goal of making global warming worse.

Andrew Wheeler, the the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has said that human-caused climate change is not his top priority.

This despite a new study by EPA scientists “published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The paper urges action on climate change, declaring the urgency of the issue and pushing for strategies to address the potential effects.”

Earlier this year, EPA scientists priced out the cost of climate change. “By the end of the century, the manifold consequences… will cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars per year.

“Those costs will come in multiple forms, including water shortages [Wheeler’s purported top priority], crippled infrastructure and polluted air that shortens lives, according to the study… No part of the country will be untouched, the EPA researchers warned.”

Happy Earth Day. This is probably NOT the only mention of the topic this week.

Demisemiseptcentennial or dodransbicentennial?

Rats and cops and drug dealers

175thMy grad school alma mater, UAlbany, is celebrating its 175th anniversary. It was founded in 1844 as the New York State Normal School. It became the Normal College in 1890, the College for Teachers in 1914, and a university in 1962. So 2019 is its demisemiseptcentennial.

WHAT? Demisemiseptcentennial is literally one-half (demi-) x one-half (semi-) x seven (sept-) x 100 years (centennial). Is this a real word? Villanova used it 2017.

According to the Wikipedia, the Latin-based term for 175th anniversary should be dodransbicentennial. It’s from “a whole unit less a quarter,” but I’d never heard that one and I’m even less likely to remember it. My spell checker likes neither of the terms.

There’s a large window behind me where I work in downtown Albany, on the third floor. (Note to self: Water the plant!)

About 4:50 p.m., I hear some male voice yelling. I assume he’s part of an argument. But looking up the street, I see just one guy . He’s carrying some sort of plastic bucket, with stuff, and holding a thin white pole. Even from fifty meters away, I can tell he has holes in the knees of his jeans, and it was cold enough for him to be wearing his dark knit cap.

I tune him out and leave to catch the 5:40 p.m. bus. When I exit the building, the guy is still there. Now I can understand what he was saying: “Rats and cops and drug dealers”, which he repeated every ten seconds, sometimes directed at worried pedestrians.

The #10 Western Avenue bus arrives and folks queue up to enter it. The guy mumbles, “Oh, this will do,” and returns to his litany. He enters, then stands near the front of the bus, saying to nearby customers his message. The driver miraculously ignores him.

Sometimes he adds a few words. “Do you you know it’s rats, and cops and drug dealers?” At least one rider is amused, but others are clearly terrified.

He gets off at the stop near the Washington Avenue branch of the library. At once, I am both relieved that the auditory performance is over, and worried the APL patrons will be subjected to it.

Prompt: Songs that makes me sad

By the time the video was made, Roy Orbison was already dead.

Cry FreedomNot only are there many sad songs that I appreciate, they tend to be among my favorites by a given artist. “Sad songs say so much” – no, that Elton John song is NOT on the list.

Biko – Peter Gabriel. The last song from the third eponymous album, the 1980 collection referred to as Melt. It is my #1 album of that year, and one of my favorite album of the decade. Stephen Biko was a black South African anti-apartheid activist, and the song gave voice to the tragedy of his death.

September ’77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead
The man is dead

Related: in the 1987 movie Cry Freedom, “South African journalist Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) is forced to flee the country, after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the black activist Steve Biko (Denzel Washington).” There’s a monumental scene of The Funeral (Nkosi Sikelel’ Iafrika), which I find quite moving.

In My Room – the Beach Boys
I didn’t really relate to the band’s early songs about surfing and automobiles. But I surely “got” this piece. My bedroom wasn’t even a proper room, but rather two walls carved out of what was probably a dining room. It was where I would read incessantly, play with my baseball cards, and daydream.

End of the Line – Traveling Wilburys
By the time the video was made, Roy Orbison was already dead. Of course, George Harrison and Tom Petty, who sings most of the verses, have since passed.

A Salty Dog – Procol Harum
Maybe “The captain cried, we sailors wept, our tears were tears of joy,” but I’ve always found this track melancholy:
Across the straits, around the Horn, how far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive

Telling Me Lies – Trio (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris.
The lyrics are devastating, and the three-part harmony just does me in. The fact that Linda’s singing voice is stilled by the damn Parkinson’s adds to the poignancy.

Sending Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities?

The 2020 Census provides an opportunity for everyone to be counted.

Immigrants make America greatAs I’ve indicated, I read quite a bit from right-wing websites; I find it a useful exercise. The Daily Signal – about which you can read HERE – recently addressed, “Answers to 4 Big Questions About Sending Illegal Immigrants to Sanctuary Cities.” Because I don’t want to drive more traffic there, I’ve chosen not to link to it.

I will say, despite what I consider some bias, that it was a serious response. And it addresses what I initially thought was the regime’s flippant and retaliatory Tweet storm that apparently is being considered as policy.

First DS asked: “Where Would Illegal Immigrants Be Transported? More than 170 cities and counties have some sort of sanctuary law prohibiting local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities, and in some cases, jurisdictions may even obstruct enforcement.”

The Center for Immigration Studies lists eight states in this category as well: California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont.

I’m not linking to the “Low-immigration, Pro-immigrant” CIS site either, which the Southern Poverty Law Center considers a hate group. Still, I think their list appears to be largely correct.

Why Would the US Want to Release Illegal Immigrants Anywhere in Country? The DS response is a combination of the facts – too few immigration judges in a lengthy process – and a challenge to sanctuary cities – “Do you really want them, or are you just grandstanding?” As usual, the regime can use this for its strategy of fear: targeting seniors with anti-immigrant Facebook ads.

“Would It Be Legal?” Perhaps. DS makes a convoluted argument.

“What’s the Harm?” Now we’re getting to the crux of the matter. “Besides not solving any problems with illegal border crossings, the policy being considered by Trump could create new problems… Sanctuary jurisdictions, generally in heavily Democratic areas, usually encourage illegal immigrants to fill out census forms already…”

I have to take exception to the tone of this. EVERY jurisdiction wants to count EVERYONE, in anticipation of redistricting in 2021. The complete count committees being developed across the country note this.

“The 2020 Census provides an opportunity for everyone to be counted. Tribal, state, and local governments; community-based organizations; faith-based groups; schools; businesses; the media; and others play a key role in developing partners to educate and motivate residents to participate in the 2020 Census.”

That said, as DS argues correctly: “Increasing the populations of sanctuary jurisdictions is just going to give them more political power, not less.” If billionaire George Soros were REALLY were behind every Democratic party action, as is supposed, he’d be building housing in sanctuary cities for refugees right now.

Perpendicular yellow lines to dig safely

What do YOU call the strip of land between the sidewalk and the curb?

Dig safely New YorkOne evening late last month, my wife and I noticed lights from a utility truck. Soon, two guys in uniform are on our lawn.

The next morning I noticed they had sprayed perpendicular yellow lines from the middle of our lawn to the sidewalk, then in the grassy berm. They’ve placed little yellow flags indicating where our utility company, National Grid, had determined there are gas lines.

(Sidebar: what do YOU call the strip of land between the sidewalk and the curb?)

What are they doing? I email the utility because you really can’t find anyone to talk to unless you smell gas or the power’s out or they’re cutting off service.

The next day I receive this message: “We were notified by Dig Safe to mark where our service is. Please call – NY – Call 811 or 1-800-962-7962 (Dig Safely NY) to see why the lines needed to be marked.”

Curiosity got me, so I made the call. The woman to whom I spoke did say that someone had requested the action but was reticent about saying who. Finally, she looked up our address to tell us it was the city of Albany. “They’re checking to see if they can use a wood chipper there.”

Interesting. There’s no tree on our property line, but the ROOTS of the tree just to the north DOES have obvious roots in front of our house. And the tree DOES have branches that can get tangled in the overhead wires.

Moreover, the berm on the adjacent property is also marked off. It would be a real shame to lose that large oak, which provides shade on our house. It would, as my wife put it, “change the climate.”

But she suggested another scenario. Maybe the city of Albany is going to fix our sidewalk, again. Back in 2012, they paved the sidewalk of five residences, the last of which is ours.

Ever since, it has drained poorly only in front of our house. When it rains, our sidewalk is a lake. When it’s cold, the lake turns into an ice pond. Vigilant snow removal, followed by melting and refreezing, turns the walkway into an ice rink.

My wife has bugged the city officials at least every other year, with at least one city official acknowledging that our sidewalk was constructed in a way that it’s the lowest point on the block. It was done by a contractor the city doesn’t use anymore, but there were other priorities before our redo.

Could the periodic lake in front of our house disappear forever? It would be a happy day! The tree scenario is far more likely. Hey, maybe they’re doing both.

Ramblin' with Roger
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