Okay some ideas about The Colt.


( Spoilers under the cut )

Monday, September 21, 2009 06:25 PM
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/andrew-steele/the-greatest-human-is-dead/article1293395/

The death of the greatest human being who ever lived
Andrew Steele

Norman Borlaug is dead.

That probably means nothing to most people.

But Borlaug – along with other researchers who create the Green Revolution in food production – saved between two hundred million people and one billion people, depending on how you do the math.

Norman Borlaug spent decades with the Rockefeller Foundation in Mexico cross-breeding grain varieties to produce a new disease-resistant dwarf strain of wheat that transformed agriculture, especially in the third world.

Previously, nations from Turkey to Mexico to India were rocked regularly by crop failures. Too much or too little rain, heat or cold could plunge entire nations into famine, war or revolution.

In the 1960's, Borlaug introduced new strains that absorbed more nitrogen and thus grew faster. Previously, plants that grew faster just fell over and rotted, but Borlaug cross bred them with shorter "dwarf" plants with hardy thick stalks that could stand up to high nitrogen absorption. The result was fast-growing, disease-resistant plants perfect for unstable climates.

He also introduced backcrossing techniques that increased their disease resistance through selective breeding.

Most importantly, he was focused on using these techniques specifically to alleviate starvation in the developing world. His goal was always to attack famine, not merely to improve margins in agribusiness.

His impact was immediate and dramatic.

When his seeds were used widely in 1963, Mexico instantly went from famine-prone to a wheat-exporter. Their wheat harvest was six times greater after Borlaug was done than before he started his work. Imagine the compromised stability of Canada and the United States if Mexico were still endured regular famines threatening the lives of millions.

Borlaug's seeds arrived on the sub-continent in 1965 as it was roiling through famine and war. Within five years, the previously starving Pakistan was self-sufficient for grains. India would be self-sufficient within a decade. The two nations were transformed. It is impossible to conceive of the great leaps of Mumbai and Kolkata in an India still experiencing regular famine. Consider the reception of the Taliban in Northern Pakistan if the government could not prevent famine in that region. Food security is a huge contributor to world peace.

He would go on to introduce new rice strains in China and grains in Africa that would continue to save millions.

It was conventional wisdom in the 1960s that hundreds of millions would die of mass starvation and no one could do anything about it. Biologist Paul Ehrlich wrote in 1968, "the battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate..."

Borlaug did.

His persistence and inventiveness demolished a horseman of the apocalypse. Today, the causes of famine are almost always political rather than weather. The disaster is far less common in the south and virtually forgotten in the developed world.

For his efforts, Borlaug won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and was the subject of an episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit where he was lauded as the "Greatest Human Being Who Has Ever Lived."

Some critics have attempted to argue that Borlaug's work contributed to the environmental challenges of today, that the population growth of the last forty years contributed to or even caused climate change or resource depletion. Others have decried his invention as "genetically modified food," which it undeniably is.

Borlaug himself remained concerned about population growth and resource use. But the reality is that Borlaug's work was instrumental in saving the hundreds of millions of lives and hundreds of millions of trees. The Borlaug Hypothesis in agronomy states "increasing the productivity of agriculture on the best farmland can help control deforestation by reducing the demand for new farmland." In other words, you do a better job with what you have and you won't need to use virgin resources.

Of his harshest critics Borlaug stated, "some… are the salt of the earth, but many of them are elitists. They've never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels. If they lived just one month amid the misery of the developing world, as I have for fifty years, they'd be crying out for tractors and fertilizer and irrigation canals and be outraged that fashionable elitists back home were trying to deny them these things."

Borlaug remained grounded despite his elevation to sainthood with the Nobel Prize win. He continued to work in Africa, Asia and Latin America improving crop yields. In 1986, he created the World Food Prize to continue to spark innovation in food production.

Norman Borlaug died on September 12, 2009, at 95 years of age. His family released a simple statement that "We would like his life to be a model for making a difference in the lives of others and to bring about efforts to end human misery for all mankind."

When Princess Diana died, television networks covered it 24/7. Michael Jackson's passing created a tsunami of Internet traffic. I learned about Borlaug's passing on the sidebar of a news website on global development issues in foreign policy.

Norman Borlaug goes to a better place having made the Earth undeniably better, safer and freed from hunger.

And he goes in virtual silence.

Wile E. Coyote

All hail Jim Baen and many prayers for the repose of his soul.
He left for us the Baen free web library with entire books available to read
online or downloadable in a variety of formats, all for free.
If you like scifi go forth and dig in


http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm

So I was watching Hitchhiker's Guide the other evening and the two crossovers that sprung to mind were...  Terminator: Wherein Sky-net is infected with Marvin the robot's personality.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_the_Paranoid_Android
 Pinky and the Brain, because hey, if white mice already rule the world...
http://www.tv.com/pinky-and-the-brain/show/2078/summary.html
Pinky and the Brain are two genetically engineered lab mice living at Acme Labs. The Brain is a genius, while Pinky is somewhat insane. The two mice initiate creative and hilarious schemes for world domination, only to have them ultimately fail. However, with great persistence, they continue working each night to "try to take over the world!"

Wow, I was very, very happy with the episode... but the fifth season is a definite... right!?

Kripke isn't just going to leave us like that!?

I am already bereft of Chuck and Life, I don't think I can take a final ep like that.


( Ruby was the big surprise for me )

I'm not sure how the brothers can be close in any kind of uncomplicated way anymore. They have and are growing apart in ways that I am not sure can be reconciled.

 

( a couple of thoughts )

 

Whooo hoo! Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has a new novel out! she owns this concept of St. Germain.
http://www.chelseaquinnyarbro.net/ The main character is a Vampire. The novels are heavy on the historical fiction. And Giles belongs to Joss

“Why are you different?” How could this vampire who had saved him stand so carelessly in the light of the rising sun?

 

“Why is a wolf different from a dog,” inquired St Germain? “Those of my blood were created with a purpose.”

 

Giles answered “Vampires were created to wreak havoc in the world, to be a conduit for the evil of their creator. When a Powerful demon left this plane he infected a corpse with his essence and they in turn infected others.”

 

“Yet not all of the old gods were inimical to the tribes of humanity. Some chose families, clans, or nations to be their very own. And when the time came to separate from this plane of existence they could not bear to leave their humans without any means of contact. They too required a conduit. My people are long dead, and yet I and those of my blood still remain. A memoriam between the humanity and the god who once loved my tribe.”


 

Richard Speight Jr. was the actor who played the Trickster on Supernatural. Last night he played the son of a murder victim on the NBC show Life, episode name Re-Entry. The character he played was named Dean Ellis. Dean was Trickster's favorite Winchester brother.

Nice and circular.

Wow! This one is a don't miss if you like Supernatural fanfic at all. I haven't ever had more positive conviction about recommending a story. 

http://harrigan.livejournal.com/11637.html

Title: River of Blood 
Rating/Warning: SPN gen (PG-13)
word count: 42K, not counting author notes
Summary:  A summoning ritual backfires. Instead of drawing the restless spirit of Corporal Leamon Griffith to them, Sam and Dean find themselves catapulted to the side of a young Union soldier, just hours before he goes MIA - in 1863.
(i.e. I throw the boys into the Civil War. Themes of courage and honor, sacrifice and forgiveness follow them wherever they go, apparently.)

Notes: set early in season 3, just after episode 3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock
chapter links:     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10    11     12     13  
Author Notes: the story behind the story  

Pasta!

I saw this 'fact' in a fanfic http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4183350/1/The_Natural_Animagus and I had to fact check it.

http://www.wildland-network.org.uk/news/news2005/wn_news_oct05.htm

Fife Constabulary, October 2005

A paw print believed to be that of a big cat has been uncovered by Fife Police. A cast of the 10 cm by 9cm print , discovered in Balbirnie Woods,  Markinch, has been checked by experts and is thought to have been left by a large cat-like creature. It is now being handed to a zoologist to try to determine the species.

<SNIP>

In 1976 the introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act meant that people were banned from keeping big cats. It is thought that those who couldn't find homes for their pets released them into the wild. While irresponsible, this wasn't illegal until the introduction of the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 1981.

Time to start writing Christmas cards.


 

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Cthulu Spawn   You are really an alien thing, aren't you? I can't describe you because you are beyond. We say "left field" and you say "Krn Grth Thchrang." You are the wild card of the bunch, the unknown quantity
Sorceror
Vampire
Ghost
Werewolf
Incubus/Succubus
Demon
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz