Thought That Came Unbidden

For Washington, DC on 21 June 2007

• Length Of Visible Light: 15h 58m
• Length of Day 14h 54m
  • Tomorrow will be 0m 1s shorter.

Happy solstice!

Source: Weatherunderground.com

Vertical farming…imagine it…a 30 or 40 storey building of mostly windows topped off by a solar panel that sustainably harvests energy to run the irrigation system that sustainably harvests water from naturally occurring rain. Indoor fields planted with crops, or with an environment suitable for raising small herds of livestock. And all of this done in the middle of New York city.

That’s what the BBC asks us to imagine in this article reporting on the ideas of Columbia University Professor Dickson Despommier.

While I’m all for greenhouses, which is what it sounds to me like this is, I can’t help but think that we’re mere decades away from Silent Running.

Some days I hope I’m not around to see it when humanity’s general tendecy to Do Stupid Things comes back to bite it in the ass. This is one of those days.

The work of Richard Scarry rests in a dear place in my heart so it was with curiousity that I followed a link to a slideshow of the differences between the 1963 edition and the 1991 edition of Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever.

Check out Rotton.com for an interesting bio of Scarry (though I confess that I never needed to see the artist behind the drawings) and a great close-up look at some of his drawings. Regardless of why Scarry changed his book (slow sales? pressure from feminist groups over the roles of female characters?), I’m still tickled by the fact that Lowly Worm actually drove the apple car.

The “official” start of hurricane season in the here in my part of the world, Atlantic or Pacific, is June 1.

In 24 hours we’ve already had two named tropical storms, one in the Pacific (Alvin) and one in the Atlantic (Andrea). There’s a storm warning up already for most of Florida for Tropical Storm Barry, though it is characterized as “poorly organized” and Barbara is menacing Guatemala.

Get names through 2012 but I suspect we’ll all be brushing up, at least those of us on the east coast, on our Greek alphabet again this year.

OK, me and 1,495 other people. Maybe.

Last Saturday evening a minor league baseball game provided the entertainment. The Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles) played the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) at home. It was minor league ball at its best on a summer evening filled with soft breezes carrying random peals of laughter along with the smells of cotton candy, beer, and fried things you definitely shouldn’t be eating but a little taste of wouldn’t hurt anything.

The Curve need to give their players a lesson in arguing calls: The starting pitcher felt the need to argue a fair ball call while the ball was still in play and runners were jamming for home. He spent the rest of the inning sitting in the locker room waiting for his team mates to finish the game. The third baseman spent much of the game the same way; I’m not sure if he used the c-word or not but arguing balls and strikes is never smart.

After the official fun concluded the promotions department took over. Minor league ball is full of promotions – shirts between innings, toss the water balloon during the 4th inning field rehab, enter to win a new set of tires for your car – and this one was a doozy. You registered, got your yo yo, and after the game all 1,496 of us yo-yoed simultaneously for 2 minutes. Maybe the folks at the Guiness Book will think it’s enough. No matter what, it was fun.

Reference: Baysox Slide Into Second Place, With 4-2 Win Over Altoona