Chess - World Championship

This coming November, one of the best events in the chess world comes again.  These big matches are the premier chess event whenever they happen.  Sorta like the world cup cycle for soccer or the four year Olympic schedule.

Russell Miller posts on facebook, "World No 1 chess player, Magnus Carlsen on Charlie Rose TV program. I was flipping channels yesterday and happened on this."  I enjoyed the interview, perhaps, you will also.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12895

from Wikipedia

The current world champion is Viswanathan Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion. Anand has won the World Chess Championship five times (2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012), and has been the undisputed World Champion since 2007. Anand was the FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion in 2003, and is widely considered the strongest rapid player of his generation. 

Assessment

Lubomir Kavalek describes Anand as the most versatile world champion ever, pointing out that Anand is the only player to have won the world chess championships in many formats including Tournament, Match,Rapid, and Knockout chess.

In an interview in 2011, Vladimir Kramnik (World Champion 2000–07) said about Anand: "I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess"; and "I think that in terms of play Anand is in no way weaker than Kasparov but he's simply a little lazy, relaxed and only focuses on matches. In the last 5–6 years he's made a qualitative leap that's made it possible to consider him one of the great chess players."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viswanathan_Anand

The challenger is Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (Norwegian: [sʋɛn mɑgnʉs øːn kɑɾlsɛn]; born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster and former chess prodigy who is the No. 1 ranked player in the world. His peak rating is 2872, the highest in history. Carlsen was the 2009 World Blitz chess champion.

Known for his attacking style as a teenager, Carlsen later developed into a more universal player. He does not focus on opening preparation as much as other top players, and plays a variety of openings, making it harder for opponents to prepare against him. His positional mastery and endgame prowess have drawn comparisons to those of former world champions Anatoly Karpov, José Capablanca and Vasily Smyslov. Beyond chess, Carlsen has modelled for G-Star Raw's Autumn/Winter 2010 advertising campaign.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Carlsen

Drones and Oregon

I received this summary through a friend.  

3/13

fr:  Christian Stalberg    chris@stalberg.net>

re:  Oregon drone stories

Does it appear that drones and Oregon are closely related. A few recent examples from The Oregonian:

1) The Lesser Evil in person has halted construction of a wind farm being built by a company owned by two Chinese businessmen near the Naval Weapons Systems Training Facility at Boardman. Obama acted on “national Security” concerns, believing the Ralls Corp would use its wind farm to spy on the military’s drone training operations there. Details athttp://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2013/01/chinese_wind_firm_sues_to_void.html

2) An Oregon military contractor who operated drones in the Afghanistan/Pakistan war and was “deeply affected by his repeated experiences watching the on-screen deaths of people targeted by the drones,” killed himself after returning home two years ago.  The drone operator was employed by a “regional defense contractor”on  several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and went to work for Cloud Cap Technology Inc. in Hood River—which itself makes sensors and other components for drones. Matt White, a Cloud Cap executive, said  contractor it was “obvious to his new colleagues that he was deeply affected by” the deaths his drones caused. "I was horrified," he said.,

The article reveals that several private counseling companies have been established to treat military contractors, ineligible for military health services, for the“hazards of ‘moral injury’ suffered by civilian contractors who contribute to war-zone kills.”One Oregon firm is Relief Ops, headed by Ted Quackenbush  who “had his own issues” in Vietnam which contracts with Portland-based Cascade Centers Inc.,

The article also reports that today there are 136,204 military contractors in the middle east, mainly Afghanistan and Iraq of  whom 43,768 are Americans. A 2010 investigation by the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica found that more than 18,000 American contractors had been killed or injured in the wars. The website Americancontractorsiniraq.org said military records indicate at least 300 contractors were killed in 2012. It calls contractor casualties "one of the best kept secrets of the wars."

Details at http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2013/02/local_team_launches_effort_to.html

3) With predictions that US skies will be filled with 30,000 spy drones in the next 5-6 years, a bill to limit them has been introduced in the Oregon legislature. This has alarmed companies who hope to profit from domestic drones. For example, Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, wants the Bend area to become a for profit drone testing sites. Another is Boeing subsidiary Insitu, the largest drone maker in the region with 500 employees in Bingen on the Washington side of the Columbia river. One of the sponsors of the limiting legislation, Rep John Huffman (R-The Dallas) makes it clear he favors drone making in Oregon. He says his district “is a a big

drone hotbed for Oregon.So I have no intention whatsoever of putting a damper on drone development and use of drones."

Details at http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/drones_spur_fierce_debate_in_o.html

The biggest shill for corporate welfare in the state offers its two cents, urging the legislature not to get “ in the way of commercial drone development, a growing jobs and technology sector for Oregon, and overstepping Congress, whose province it will be to address privacy issues that could arise from careless drone use.”http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/02/oregon_can_help_feds_allay_pri.html

Update on O & C

Update on O & C

It has been several months since I posted on the debate over the Oregon and California lands being managed by BLM.
"The Oregon Senate and the Oregon Legislature are petitioning Congress to return control of the O & C lands to the State of Oregon." as has been reported here http://www.urindependent.com/2013/04/state-asked-for-control-of-o-c-lands/  and Sen Wyden "better policy" opinion was published in the Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/03/better_policy_for_oc_lands_can.html

An opinion piece by Jack Duggan of Applegate includes this fine paragraph:

link http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130407/OPINION/304070321/-1/NEWSMAP

"So we can't cut our way to stability. We can, however, develop the resource and establish a management program that provides "a permanent source of timber supply" in a stable, balanced manner. We can do it by putting people to work in the woods improving the poor conditions that have resulted from human interference. Small contracts for one- or two-person crews to enter the forest with small machines, such as UTVs, could put hundreds to work while restoring our forests to "the principle of sustained yield" and bringing Oregon wood products to market."

Bee Hives Continue To Decline

Bee hives continue to decline.

The significant problem of declining bee colonies and impact on our national food system continues.  The honey collected last year rose in most areas of the country due to early and favorable weather conditions.  However, the number of surviving hives and colonies continued their decline during the winter 2012-13.

A sample of online articles include:

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/world-our-backyard/2013/apr/5/bees-are-dying-alarming-rates/

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/05/176339694/bees-emerging-after-a-hard-winter

and, of course, it is also an international issue

http://www.ibtimes.com/colony-collapse-disorder-epa-approved-pesticide-linked-mass-bee-deaths-1166671

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/02/opinion/flottum-bees-death/

So our rainforest plants are just starting to bloom.  I'm hoping to hear some buzzing pretty soon.

Nature of argillaceous odor

What Makes Rain Smell So Good?

Is the title of a recent post from Smithsonian, Joseph Stromberg posts about the science behind the pleasant smell of rain.  I live in a rainforest and do indeed find the rain very good therapy.  In part:

"In moist, forested areas in particular, a common substance is geosmin, a chemical produced by a soil-dwelling bacteria known as actinomycetes. The bacteria secrete the compound when they produce spores, then the force of rain landing on the ground sends these spores up into the air, and the moist air conveys the chemical into our noses.

“It’s a very pleasant aroma, sort of a musky smell,” soil specialist Bill Ypsilantis told NPR during an interview on the topic. “You’ll also smell that when you are in your garden and you’re turning over your soil.”

Read more: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2013/04/what-makes-rain-smell-so-good/#ixzz2PhRJmaKm 
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