tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81819492435133686072024-03-15T18:10:15.650-07:00efferenceKenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-51589498929329358452014-08-07T02:59:00.001-07:002014-08-28T07:43:07.124-07:00Siddhartha and the Black Plum<img 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o7PzGv8AOqy7jPiuh7btu1plvvDNvjyXP67IJByI+nyKokuR7DkuNexRuaIcOoQx7eCM6hUr6lOY4aoJR8jeOfhlEI1sTZ7WM+8VQCJiiw++4e8f0g+pHTMfs2yNao1gynU/laNXeQRva9wC/AzJjAGtHIBVt7Y2M4sfqTUSEvLnFzjJJknmVZolU2FWqRWfJnpsUOKCVJ+iPbP2aXwXZD5rPUBougbOpyxp5gIsMVJ8lGtyPFFbfJndu2ENnXr/AGXO9tPwVfEA/Q/L4rrG9AApgcyuTb5+2zKMj/6q+CTyUIajNJaPf7P9aKguU11RC2vKeKqa9KjIWucuy46omYlHSBccgT4I1svdmvVGIwxkwHO+EN4qKSB9WT5p17+AvurXAoPBOj+uhaMvUFaSyAdHEZx1jgsfT2dUt3Fs4g6JjLwPxK3ex7b8Jh/gKXyVYOf7qZqth3Ip08LxGevOdMui0dGqC3p/Cs5RoAgYjJ48EYpgCmOOfzRRfBnsr3FTG7kBn/PRGbd3dE+uSGfdssuA8yrVF/uqCSZ7okHOcwhtYxnmrjnxLT5Z6Kq9uJpQF+NmY3gqATB455SZzPmspcU6Bdje7MEQdMxpEI9twvc/BSAlwOJxygdTw0KFCwoUyJeazx7o0xePJBkg5PiTRr49Kprc5yXyj+vsX7enVvQWMe+thEw6ocIA0ycQOSCXm4V/iLWUe4cwRUp5HjPe009FrdzbplIvfUhgggngDiEAdOC11XeC3azF2rY8U3p8EUrbbfzZi6qP9PlcI9fM4VWoXdhUHaMfSfMtPB0cWPGTvI5Suobl74PuA1lZhk5NqAZOI4OH1H91Yut5rSux7KzQ6nye2Q7kQDx+Km3Tp2pZ2ltSDImnJkuDQZwy4kxxhXxilJbZFMs0ZqmuTR41E52aexq8cEyLjJST0lxJg21U7Eozkoalby5nkqAydzwFl963W+Ekuw1YyLc56OCbtnapghhjrxPhyWJu3kkzmhZbCPkkt73OCreZIgEzlAzzPCOqBhji4BoJcTAAEkk6ABbjZtn93p4qhHaAd46ikD7o5vP86zXkaxy3OqK/3f7rSP8A3ahg/pb+UfXy5IbgiOZz8uCkq1jUcaj/AGdGj5NHzKYyTmdUlmnZ6DR4dvffn9iRgVqi1QU2ols+1L3BoGfy8Um+TZjJRVsns8nNnSRr4rptrThrW9OPzXPLGnirNb+oT5cl0EPzB8ldhVJmZ8SlbijKb41++GjNcr3rrYq0cm/Mn9gug7yV5uHDg0ADyC5ntN+Ks89fkrNOryNi/wASezRRh71+/wCxRa2TAR3Y+xS9wyxHlw8Oqh2VZFxA4nL+y7Luhu0KbJIlxH/Gfqrc2V3tiZWHFjww9TKr9kBdmbrtYGlwxGJGUAdANEeZQyEAZCPDhlyhaOrad2Iz+ijbs7JVJCmXUSyPkwG1LGTPyCK7NpkUg3LIzPFGr7Z/ED4eqz+zrnA803yCcs+Mcv5wQN88l0U54nXgNNBgZnEcvIIxYUnDXND6VNoAM5jQk6K2y9c05+ukqbrlibRcua8ZceKr2l13l7auFQudxnyheU6WEmNT8lzd8oJII1KgMKJ9XCMo6hIthmWqAX9Z1RpayQ7MSOHX+cl3Nl+LFu+gJvLQXFUw4hg9uNMWoBSvLAMpHDhyH5W6c51J0WVq2tSm91MknPPI59YRewoOJbGZkZGSMuhQOauj06wbYKp8EwaDTwgmDiYRGWYMO6mRKzFCvIkLX7RuWzkMIYCT4xC5/TflkmcfKPNfGvvRa8phn71lBWl3b292DHGJbIJHHyWGZXzgq7YuDnNaT3S4THATmVYo7WmjEhSlydg2LvJb1/YeJ4tORHkUUcufXf2dvYZoVQeIByP/ACC1m7GzqtGlFV5e48CZDegJzKcjJ3TQw1GrTCqSdCSMA548yY/gCF7RrzkNPn1KvV34WdXZnw4D6+iEViqQwJetQK5tyXQBJJgAcSdAFpLxifY0BTAfGKq7KmPyji48kIxjTlwjzZWy220aOuHCXOObaDOPnqJ4+GtC6rdu7CCRSZJJPHm88yeCmvqpcewYcTnGar/zO5f0hVbtwH4TPZbqfzO4k/JUZcnHyNjSaemq7/nP7ETjjIgQ0ZNHIfudU9rQvQIEc1NSpZE8klJ2beNbVR40LVbr20Nc86nIeA1Wes6UlbKjT7OlpmGyfE5rsK5sjWZKhsXkE7DE3E8i4nzBWua7jMjwWV3cacbj0+ZRmjVMuB4EKzD90X1q3T+iRiNq18VSq7m53zyWIqNmof6j81rdqZPqD9Tlm2t/EKLA6sH4lDf6a8X+hp91LaHBx1+S69sS5JbOsa9VyXYzogLqm6zIpg85lUKTcxL4hGPop/kHqVSczxU7GZ6KuDB0RWg3LNXowStWpCMwsjtzYoqOlgOMAlpEDPUTK2NyeWfBOtbYQSdfD4InFMPHllB2jlVtd3Dn4Owe1wme07ogce9E+SJbSvatMjGBoIIzB/Zay9ptM4oJmW9OatWtrTqNggQdf3VTx/Mv9aLduJj9n7QluIGOJGkeSmbtAuMMGI6GP34LYnZlHDgwAgaZBVqls1ohoDRwgAIPTfuWLJi8IEYLkRipktOXdIcRykA5eKuW1uKbIOTjmek8J45fVXadwAIPkf2Q/aVca5kK6KSJ3OX2Uq+hlNs0sNUkScUmdev1Poh7K7hm3LqiN5tNjqoBIbhzI5yMgs3ta/l5IiOQ4f3Vc4puzd0t7UpLwQ7cuIpls5nX6LLThVy9vcTuip1M9ITMFSPMfFM6zZ3t6XH8/ng9D+I80/tYUADgp7Ch2lVjD7z2M/5ED6om+DNaPoDY1Y9hRxe12bMXjhEq12ipvERGmisNT8VSosPe0SURXq4k5xtOp3j6DwGiFVHq7tQw4oRUqpey1RJDGZd7IzPlwVO9uy1uL/UqZN/QxWSJAB0Jk+CHj8SqXu9lnyGgQTZp6XGkrf8APZDA3sqX/wCj+PEN4+qgoM4ptasXuk+XQcApqYySWSVvg38GNxjb7Y9rZUrzAhOpDKVE50lUS6G8auQc3ftcTpOjcz48Ef2q6KTvIKHYtt2dITkTmVDtur3QOqYrZjEZS9XUKukx+74Aa48z8lboT2j+UBLZVACkJ45+qVBkVHcclMVSQOSSlObMLt9sVqg/VPqsu90VAthvSz8ep4NPwCxW0DDgeq7EuWiddKsUZ/Q1WzasELpW611lE+C5Ns+poVuNgbQDUvKNSsU1P28e06jbO46K0+uQFm7e+BEyiX3kEeI6K2L4PPtOwjQrkqMXJDoVXt8hCguq4yMot1HUS7SbPs6qbZhgawhouZKstrxxVUsibtFig6CxqaqncvlV/vPVV612NJUby6GJtirVcOcrM7w7fFLun2j7siY5nkF5vPvDTt6bnk4iBk0auOgHTNciuNr1a1Qvf7TjmeXIDpwV+PHKSsdUsWBr1fyDN9tE4y8mSTP9kNffEqvhcdc142nmr44ooT1PxLNm4i9sf8ktCkXugefQIh93DRl4So7WnhVl4/wjoyZexRJMrRbg7LNa9pn3aZ7V3+z2f/ItQinbyeOeXNdl3J3aFrQxOH4tSHP/AEgeyzykk9T0XKFyoFBGqc1O0JGlxT2p0MhLF6rGBJcScp2+33hoRPqsy+otlVo9pTLeI08FjrukWOIKUmqYzjdovPHcEcQFQuaeFgaOJkq9SMsaoq7JlDJWjXwPoDNbmp2lMAglPohItG9Fqiw52Sm2TbmpUa0Z5qlUKMbArdmS/iBGfVAlcuSy3HG2uw3ty77zWN0br16KjdPNV48gqNSsXOk+KKbEYX1RHOfJE5b3RXDGsMN3sjTUacADyHkoQz8R39P10RNtL+ygDO87pHxTDMlT7MFvU38d39AWE2u3JdB3mb/8p4/Q35BYXa7cnIMfE/xHNWt2lr/qv9EOybvgeC1Wx7nPVYKjUgytBYXcQQVdmxpOzJ0ub1IbfJvmbZcGwD/OSI7M2q8DWZzE5wsVTraTmTn4IxY1skjNNM0Y4cezldm7o7RxNEmDx8VVrXsTxQOlcdUjVlBLkWhpIOd+Ak28JM+kIlTunEZn5IVbMAVxjwXAEwOJ8BwUJNDEoxbpLoVxcuBEE56ZqG7q4GmSTxJ4kr2i0OcXcBpKF7Xr8PM+ARRRfBRul4MTvfdl9QN5d4+J09BPqg1EBN2ldY3vd+Z3wGnwhR0nc1qQW2KR5fV5fVzSn8+Poui8H5RxU9vT4oc2rBV2jXk5LheQQY3+fRS21AvcGgEk5NAEknkANVY2PsirXPcEji52TR58fKV0nYWwadsJ9qoRDnkRl+Vo4BFFOfQsyPcrdYUYq1gDV9xuopdeRd14LcTKEUaiv0qkphQSXBMSfBkq5GatFQHVSgxqSkwpKbOOb0wQZCpba2UKjcTf8FGXUV43u+HEc0DipKmSpOLtGBo1zTJY8eCtNc18lplaPa+wmV2kt15cQuf39jcWj8TQXN48cuqqcWuGaeDPFr5hGpbqIUCNFJa3YqNDm8dRyPEKZr0vPGbGLPa4KLqRnRXrfJqaSArDXDRUPHQ7HPaojaEZ3bu20nlzsxBQwtC8IhV7WnaLXkjOLi/Jp6G3BicTnyH80RDZ9dpaXEgYjJz9BnqsA66wqKrtQ4Yn4o1L3F8mmT4jwXdt3gdcVX8IAHkI+ixm2Kvteiv17rXqUAv60mFbhhchXX5ljxOK9qKit2deFUSTslao87jyOEtyNJaXY5o1bXiwtOqRoiVptBKZMHsauLXKfEuDdUbqUUtHrHWd8Ms0WZtUDilHjY76i6RpzcRkkLvKOvqs8zaTTqVapX7Rmg2uy+DjFcmkDw1gnxKx+820MLHZ953db4c/RWNqbeDW5nX+QFjburUrOxFro4ZEwPRNYcVu30IavVrFBxX3mUHM9U8NV5ttGoIPgmOpHkm2zz1lJ5Wo+zvZTbm7AqDExjTUcOBiA0HpLp8kAdbniupfZLsV1OlUuHCO1htOfyMmXeBJ/wDFdFW0jpy4Ni2iBAAAAyAAgAdAnP1UxaoaicoXPQ9XLaohhKsUKigJBxrl5OaiovyUrNUNBkspJJICTE1mqlVC9SVgDIGyDIMFTuDKoioADz4FJJTV8AptAO73RwuL6JidRwd4oTd2rmGHsI6gSPVJJUTVD2DPNMHvbB1HTNPa5eJKhxRtQzSqx7rpjM3OA8SFBUvmnMOB8CEklzxqrIWpnvoGXl4CqNS5SSVSgmy7JqJxjwUq1edFRc0pJJuMUujBzZpZJfaPMKWE8kkkRVZ72Z5JpCSShHWPZXcNCpmX7gvUlzimWRyTXTLNHaLka2ficC904GiXQJPgP5kvEktlil0HLVZVHhnQd1thvrBr6VAMa4AipU7zj4CJ+K39tukwNGN7p/ThH0XiSKPSFJeW+SG43Movyc57m8QcB+OHJBLv7LrbVlWozocLwPgD8Uklcopspto9svs9tWEGoXViM4ccLfMDXzK0sBoAAAAEAAQABoAF6kmIQjHohtsrvcm1KRSSUnFN2adRckkoCQStaqusKSSgInleJJICT//Z" 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Above is a stock image of rose apples. Some describe them as bland, but they're not without a pleasant, distinctive flavor. They've got a nice crunchy texture, and there's no need to remove the skin or seeds.<br />
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If you know anything about Buddhism, you're probably aware that the Buddha's enlightenment came as he sat under a fig tree, the Bodhi tree, ficus religiosa. You're probably also aware that he practiced asceticism for seven years prior to enlightenment, and then determined that asceticism was futile in his quest.<br />
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What made him change his direction and accept food from the locals? As the story goes, a memory impinged on his ascetic practice. He recalled a time when, at the age of 9 years, he felt great peace and completeness. The young prince Siddhartha was sitting alone under a rose apple tree, away from nearby festivities and this profound feeling, a glimpse of the "first jhana" as Theravadans would say, washed over him. Recollection of this time was enough to set Siddhartha on the correct path, first questioning whether these feelings might lead him astray yet again, and then quickly developing a sense of certainty that he had seen the true way. At that point, he was 7 days away from enlightenment.<br />
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The rose apple story is a tad obscure. I wasn't aware of it until recently, and most casual Thai Buddhists aren't aware of it (noooooo....he sat under the fig tree!). But I find it quite powerful, more so than the fig tree story and the accompanying accounts of miracles. Many folks can relate to a feeling of completeness, perfection, freedom from expectations, whatever, that has spontaneously arisen in a natural setting. The rose apple story lets you know, if you didn't already know, that there's something incredibly profound and worthwhile in these moments. It's not illusory...far from it.<br />
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Except....it really wasn't a rose apple tree, as you'll hear in Western accounts of the event. It was a not-particularly-tasty sort of "black plum." The problem, not surprisingly, lies in the translation. "Chomphu", pronounced a certain way, refers to the rose apple. Change the tone a bit, though, and you're referring to a different sort of tree. It's "chomphu preuk" in formal Thai language, or "ton wa" more colloquially.<br />
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Of course, there's a chance that the Thais are actually wrong here. Probably not, though. Next time I meet a fluent Pali/Sanskrit Tripitaka scholar, I'll make a point of asking and will update the blog.<br />
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Update 1: I consulted a Pali scholar who oversees the awesome <a href="http://fakebuddhaquotes.com/">fakebuddhaquotes.com</a> site. It's amazingly common to encounter sappy quotes attributed to the Buddha on various social media sites. Given the size of the Tripitaka, proving that a particular quote is fake isn't always easy, though there are various giveaways (e.g. references to world-peace, open-mindedness, etc.). Not only does Bodhipaksa, the curator of the site, do the debunking, but he also traces the origins of the fake quotes...often they're found in Western literature.<br />
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Anyway, here's a portion of Bodhipaksa's response:<br />
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<i>This really isn’t my field (or orchard?), since I can barely tell one
tree from another even where I live, but the Pali has the tree as
“jambu,” which sounds like chomphu. And my Pali dictionary has this as
the rose-apple tree, Eugenia jambolana.</i><br />
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However, if you google Eugenia jambolana, you'll actually see a plenitude of black plum images and references! I'm leaning even more strongly to the black plum as the canopy under which the young Buddha-to-be experienced the first jhana. Nevertheless, how can one assume that every obscure species of tree or animal has been properly translated from Pali/Sanskrit into English? I asked a Burmese friend about my dilemma, he consulted a nun, and was told that the tree in question was a pine!<br />
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KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-26666995047602560992013-12-13T03:45:00.001-08:002013-12-13T03:45:52.940-08:00Glad that's off my bucket list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mpzJPY-vkAs/UqrvzNND8II/AAAAAAAAAW4/Eb4l0H-xX2A/s1600/ma_kwid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mpzJPY-vkAs/UqrvzNND8II/AAAAAAAAAW4/Eb4l0H-xX2A/s320/ma_kwid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been obsessing over this difficult-to-find fruit for the last couple of years, like it might be the last in a series of bizarre fruits which, when eaten, unlock immortality. My friends and I were engaged in a "have you ever eaten XXX?" conversation, and this one was missing from my list. In Thai, it's "ma-kwid"; in English, "limonia."<br />
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It's not delicious. Cheese, yeast, and bread aromas wafted out, overpowering some more subtle ones (vanilla, perhaps) and that's not because the fruit was rotten. There's some sweetness there. The seeds are edible and crunchy. The best comparison in my mind would be to tamarinds, but apparently it's more closely related to ordinary citrus fruits, like oranges. Psychologically, the color and mushy texture doesn't help its appeal, of course.<br />
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KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-85336361770324827592013-06-10T19:54:00.002-07:002013-06-10T19:54:37.134-07:00Lynched Openbill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3DaR13Cw1yE/UbaMsjfP6zI/AAAAAAAAAWg/JaaTGLEYT4c/s1600/dead+shortbill3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3DaR13Cw1yE/UbaMsjfP6zI/AAAAAAAAAWg/JaaTGLEYT4c/s320/dead+shortbill3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Sorry about the quality of the image.<br />
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I found this situation a bit too surreal to ignore. It's an <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=asian+shortbill&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.47534661,d.bmk&biw=1366&bih=649&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=uoy2UbHxIMWArgeEsYC4CA#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=asian+openbill+stork&oq=asian+openbill&gs_l=img.3.0.0l2j0i24j0i10i24.4740.8486.0.10176.23.17.0.0.0.3.203.1995.7j9j1.17.0...0.0.0..1c.1.16.img.MN3EJFrqNZI&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&fp=12b9f04d745291a6&biw=1366&bih=649">Asian Openbill</a>. It appears that the bird met its death by hanging. Adding to the bizarreness is the cross-like feature on the rope or branch. The critter has been up there for several days now, surveying the rice field, ignorant of the thunderstorms.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-71428426369926455412013-06-03T05:18:00.001-07:002013-06-03T05:18:27.266-07:00Rove Beetle Brushup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IB4BfjEpem0/UayITSW_nhI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/6mW2X-pAGVM/s1600/rove_beetle+bite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IB4BfjEpem0/UayITSW_nhI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/6mW2X-pAGVM/s320/rove_beetle+bite.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Above is the result (on me!) of barehandedly killing a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rove_beetle">rove beetle</a>." They don't bite, they don't sting, but their internal juices contain a nasty chemical. As with poison ivy, the discoloration tells the viewer where your hands journeyed shortly after the initial contact.<br />
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It's more of a stinging sensation than itching. Not a big deal. More than anything, I'm not thrilled about the prospect of repeatedly explaining what it is and what it isn't (NOT herpes!) over the next week...there's a mark on my face, so there's no hiding. But if you google for references to the rove beetle, you're like to find superlatives like "extremely painful" and "more potent than cobra venom." I wouldn't trade 1,000 brushups with the rove beetle for one cluster headache.<br />
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The Thai term for these buggers is "duang gon gradot", which translates to something like "ass jumping beetle."<br />
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<br />KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-29246579634127970282012-01-14T04:19:00.000-08:002012-01-14T06:01:05.773-08:00Thoughts on the Thai FloodIf you follow the international news, you know that parts of Thailand were deluged from October through December. I'm not sure the scope of this mess is appreciated, however. The total damage is estimated to be over $50,000,000,000. For reference, hurricane Katrina boasts an $80,000,000,000 figure. Consider, though, that Thailand is nowhere near as wealthy as the U.S., and the flood affected a large % of the Thai populace.<div><br /></div><div>I've been through a couple major earthquakes and a fire. Floods are different, I can now say. In the recent case, at least, the water continually rose over a period of a month. First, the water creeps up to the level of the road. Then I found myself bicycling through a foot or more of water to get to the University. When the water began to enter the house, it was time to find a new dwelling. Like many others, I assumed it would just be a week before I could return, so I didn't bother to move my refrigerator, washing machine, etc., upstairs. Other folks fared worse, leaving their cars and motorcycles behind. Three weeks later, I returned in a "long tail" boat to survey the damage. In a village of 100's of townhouses, I saw maybe three faces. Inside the house, black, stagnant water. I had been told that the village management would turn off all electrical power...I discovered this was not true when I interacted with my refrigerator, floating, but tethered by the electrical cord.</div><div><br /></div><div>All my previous experiences with long tail boats were in paradise, Southern Thailand. And, in fact, the one hour sojourn was quite pleasant, winding through palm trees and abandoned properties. I had to laugh.</div><div><br /></div><div>Vandalism was being reported, so I pulled my hard drive and other valuables. Apparently, a crocodile was caught in the village.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, as the water recedes, the aforementioned events play out in reverse. The symmetry is broken, however, by death (my plants!) and filth that wasn't there a few months prior. It turns out that children's items are particularly floaty...thus a huge stash of shoes and plastic toys in my corner of the village. A pink plastic hobby horse with wheels. Large stuffed animals, including a smiling tortoise. The requisite tire. Endless plastic bags, garden pots, bottles, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>My camera was also a victim, so I regret that I can't show you the tortoise happily surveying the damage. My new camera can only capture the latter stages of this mess.</div><div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xu_7vGI5aL8/TxF8UK132GI/AAAAAAAAAVY/ZsbWQc6HTJ0/s1600/hoy%2Bcherry.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xu_7vGI5aL8/TxF8UK132GI/AAAAAAAAAVY/ZsbWQc6HTJ0/s400/hoy%2Bcherry.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697471689549928546" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Snail eggs, stuck to my wall. It's amazing how fast these buggers, a bit bigger than ordinary escargot, propagate, infiltrate, and die.</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2XrafoJa4wE/TxF_y4VBaUI/AAAAAAAAAVk/F2uaugREGb4/s1600/sewer.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2XrafoJa4wE/TxF_y4VBaUI/AAAAAAAAAVk/F2uaugREGb4/s400/sewer.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697475515691133250" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Above is my lovely sewer. Over a couple of months, fish invaded every conceivable space. Now they're floundering around in whatever water they can find. This one's dead, but there are living specimens in that filth as well. See the pink toy?</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DaVH3fm8YOM/TxGBe5ndpkI/AAAAAAAAAVw/j_zkxtwrgPM/s1600/palm.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DaVH3fm8YOM/TxGBe5ndpkI/AAAAAAAAAVw/j_zkxtwrgPM/s400/palm.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697477371462788674" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My only surviving tree. Everything else is dead, including a mango that produced exactly one exceedingly delicious fruit in its life.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ntWr98u1iyI/TxGC1lvNbcI/AAAAAAAAAV8/N6hczlO6-4I/s1600/washing%2Bmachine.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ntWr98u1iyI/TxGC1lvNbcI/AAAAAAAAAV8/N6hczlO6-4I/s400/washing%2Bmachine.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697478860775189954" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It wasn't advertised, but apparently these homes come with self-cleaning walls...exposure to the water causes everything to peel off. The dirt on the washing machine gives you an idea of its position as it floated around the interior. Unlike my refrigerator, it still works.</div><div><br /></div><div>*****************</div><div><br /></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Everyone, including me, observes that 2011's rainfall didn't seem much heavier than 2010's. There are 100 theories as to why this disaster </span>occurred.<span style="font-size: 100%;"> As things go in Thailand, it's unlikely that a clear picture will ever emerge, particularly if some important people are to blame. Some blame the minister of the interior for his decisions regarding management of dams in Northern Thailand. The idea is that poor choices were made in the name of populist politics, aiming to please the farmers in the northeast of Thailand by retaining excess volumes of water. If so, the cost of a few folks' politically-motivated resource management decisions is almost inconceivable.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Though there's no evidence for it in this case, I note that Thai politicians are very much in the habit of timing events and making decisions based on astrology, numerology, feng shui, etc. I wonder if superstition played any role in this monstrous mess.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-2827680501355199032012-01-13T05:40:00.000-08:002012-01-13T05:57:38.609-08:00Buddha and Bobbing-Head Snoopy<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--VCorJGqDoo/TxA02ZWD8zI/AAAAAAAAAVM/1_WbKN_K-Hw/s1600/buddha%2Bin%2Btaxi.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 354px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--VCorJGqDoo/TxA02ZWD8zI/AAAAAAAAAVM/1_WbKN_K-Hw/s400/buddha%2Bin%2Btaxi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697111637744677682" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>In case it's not obvious, that's a fat Buddha hanging out with two bobbing-head Snoopies on the carpeted dashboard of a taxi. In the Thai mind, there's nothing horribly incongruous about this arrangement.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a watercolor. I guess I cheated...the painting is based on a photo, which was then photoshopped, printed out, reproduced on tracing paper, and copied onto watercolor paper. From there, it's about as difficult as filling in a child's coloring book.</div><div><br /></div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-39489218258772399962011-04-17T06:23:00.001-07:002011-04-21T06:34:22.116-07:00Salmon Sperm DNA<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjnAM2X4q40/Tarp9PIvSiI/AAAAAAAAAVA/WXyrBT9ZMMA/s1600/salmon_sperm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjnAM2X4q40/Tarp9PIvSiI/AAAAAAAAAVA/WXyrBT9ZMMA/s400/salmon_sperm.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596542725205740066" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>You might be surprised at how important this stuff is in the biosciences. It's used as a "blocking agent" in Southern blotting, a common method for identifying a DNA of interest in a forest of DNA molecules, and as a "carrier" when trying to introduce DNA into yeast. DNA tends to interact with DNA; in cases where you want two kinds of DNA to interact in a general, not entirely specific, manner, you want DNA that comes from a species that isn't closely related to the organism you're working with. If you're working with human DNA, salmon sperm DNA will fit the bill. If you're working with salmon, of course, you'll have to find another source of DNA. In European genetics labs, you'd be more likely to find a bottle of herring sperm in the freezer.</div><div><br /></div><div>You also want a relatively cheap source of DNA. Male salmon release their load into the water, so they need to make a lot of the stuff. As is the case throughout the animal kingdom, sperm has a high concentration of DNA (i.e. the cell doesn't contain much more than a nucleus), so it's a good source of DNA.</div><div><br /></div><div>The dry flakes are difficult to dissolve in water, so you've got to boil the stuff. I had to prepare a few milliliters last weekend. Oddly, after all the processing and purification it took Sigma Labs to put 1 gram in a plastic bottle (at about $100 a pop), the distinctive aroma of salmon permeated our lab upon boiling.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly, if you examine the history of DNA science, salmon sperm has played an important role from the very beginning. Crick and Watson figured out the structure of DNA, but a dude by the name of Friedrich Miescher worked out its basic chemistry nearly a century prior. You can <a href="http://www.bizgraphic.ch/miescheriana/html/the_man_who_dicovered_dna.html">read the story in detail</a>. Miescher, apparently, did fine and meticulous work, and understood that this substance ("nuclein", back then) must be of importance in the cell. </div><div><br /></div><div>Salmon sperm (from the Rhine) provided a good source of DNA for Miescher's studies. Back then, if you wanted to characterize some chemical, you'd heat it and boil it and torture it, trying to register a weight change in, say, a phosphorus-absorbing substance. That way, Miescher worked out that DNA is 3% phosphorus. Needless to say, that approach required copious quantities of starting material. </div><div><br /></div><div>Since sperm is mostly nuclei (which is where the DNA resides), it made sense that it was involved in fertilization. Given the techniques of the day, though, it seemed that nuclein from salmon was no different than nuclein derived from any other organism, so Miescher looked elsewhere for the genetic essence, even speculating that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_(chemistry)">chiral</a> nature of protein might hold the key (40 chiral centers in a protein mean 1,099,511,627,776 arrangements!).</div><div><br /></div><div>*****</div><div><br /></div><div>Did you know there's actually a disease, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimethylaminuria">trimethylaminuria</a>, where the patient gives off a fishy odor? <span class="Apple-style-span">According to Wikipedia, <span class="Apple-style-span">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; ">Living with TMAU can be challenging, and TMAU can adversely affect the livelihood of the people who have it, as well as their families." Yikes!</span></span></span></div><div><br /></div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-14011787003164030902010-09-26T03:59:00.000-07:002011-02-12T05:11:20.506-08:00What Have I Been Up To?I haven't posted for a while. That's because I've become obsessed with my work in the lab, to the neglect of other aspects of life; a real lab rat.<br /><br />When folks ask me to give an indication of my pursuits in the lab, it's often difficult to respond. As with many fields, layers of understanding are built on layers of understanding. How does one simplify this knowledge for the non-specialist? Well, with the aid of Joan Miro ("Harlequin's Carnival"), I'll try.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/TJ8qRbzj6FI/AAAAAAAAAUw/CRSvdgAdBcY/s1600/harlequin.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521178147189680210" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 280px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/TJ8qRbzj6FI/AAAAAAAAAUw/CRSvdgAdBcY/s400/harlequin.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />In the realm where humans operate, manipulating objects in a narrow range of size and mass and speed, mostly in a gaseous medium, keys <i>don't</i> spontaneously diffuse into locks, opening doors, allowing 100,000 balloons to occupy the room. The balloons are then <i>not</i> removed by grasping tendrils that emerge from the wall sockets, and all the above <i>doesn't</i> occur in less than a second.<br /><br />But appearances change a bit in the tiny, enclosed, fluid environment of a cell. There, the size of a water molecule actually makes a difference. It's zigging and zagging at about 600 meters per second. Some say Einstein's observation of little pollen grains getting zigged and zagged by the zigging and zagging of water molecules ("<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAdxd2Iv-UA">brownian motion</a>") was the final proof of the existence of atoms.<br /><br />Bigger items like proteins and DNA also zig and zag, just more slowly. A reasonably sized protein might cover 1 meter in a second. That's still outrageously fast for something that's bottled up inside a space that human eyes can't perceive.<br /><br />The universe inside the cell is also one of exquisitely tailored shapes of a huge range of stickiness. Whereas a high speed collision between two cars often results in death, destruction, and freshly-unusable parts flung in every direction, a collision between two proteins can initiate a chain of events that does something useful. You might imagine Miro's disembodied hand having a particular affinity for the window latch. Having twisted the latch, the window opens. The hand has no affinity for the latch once the window is opened, so it releases its grip. The little harlequin dude releases the cat-figure, which closes the window, which spontaneously latches, and then the disembodied hand performs its role again. This could repeat, say, 10,000 times in a second.<br /><br />I should emphasize that there's a huge variety of stickinesses inside the cell. In our tedious realm, there's the stickiness of masking tape, the stickiness of gravity, and a few other sorts of stickiness. In the cell, though, you might have rules like "fish only interact with items found on the table, never elsewhere." And the cone can only stick to a perfectly cone-shaped hole in the wall.<br /><br />There's a lot of stuff I'm ignoring here. What's to prevent events occurring in reverse? What powers all this motion? How do things change, say, if the disembodied hand gets tethered to the wall? What's going on in the next room? That's OK.<br /><br />Point is, the universe inside the cell is one of interactions. I suppose the typical interaction between components in the cell is one of total indifference, the ladder not giving a crap that the dice just rolled into it. But the "productive" interactions are frequent enough to make all the difference. Some branches of modern biology (e.g. "systems biology") seek to understand the complete cell in terms of all these interactions. It's a huge task, with maybe 50,000 different proteins and RNA molecules, and a couple meters of DNA in your cell, all jostling and interacting with various degrees of stickiness. Part of me rebels against this mechanistic view, but I don't see a reasonable alternative. At some point in the future some commentator might scold this generation of biochemists for ignoring the "weak" (but frequent) interactions, but that would be wrong; it's hard enough to document all the strong ones right now!<br /><br />There have been some amazing and inspiring animated attempts to simulate the life of a cell based on real knowledge of shapes and interactions. Such videos, however, can't possibly convey the speed at which these events occur. Nor do they show the myriad random, unsuccessful interactions that occur for every productive one...thus it appears that components are actually being attracted together, magnetic-like, over long distances. That's not the case.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7rbm4dPzgUA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />So now, to move away from Miro and the abstract, what I'm trying to do is this: identify all interactions between human proteins and the RNA of a particular virus. Viruses aren't like Arnold Schwarzenegger announcing his presence with a minigun. They do their best to merge with the crowd, making it difficult for the cell to detect any unusual interactions. We're using a technology called the "<a href="http://www.biochem.wisc.edu/faculty/wickens/lab/3h.aspx">three hybrid system</a>." Basically, a protein latches to both DNA and RNA, and if that RNA latches onto another protein, that protein will latch onto another protein, which will make a different kind of RNA, which will interact with a ribosome and get translated into a new protein, which will interact with a small molecule and turn the yeast cell blue. The blue color, in turn, makes me happy. With the help of numerous other interactions, of course. I'm still boggled by the fact that the system works at all. There would seem to be too many points where the system could fail. This boggledness, however, suggests that even I, after all these years, still don't properly conceive of the universe inside a cell.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-42203921918847489352010-05-21T05:51:00.000-07:002010-06-30T16:28:29.964-07:00Hia !<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S_aCEfk6ybI/AAAAAAAAAUg/sp9YJOWeQJQ/s1600/hia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473705410822850994" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S_aCEfk6ybI/AAAAAAAAAUg/sp9YJOWeQJQ/s400/hia.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>That's a dead water monitor.</div><br /><div>Supposedly, the critters are the epitome of lizard intelligence. Intelligence, then, is no barrier to wallowing in slime and muck and filth in search of decaying flesh. The Thais focus on the monitor's latter qualities and ignore its maze-navigating talents; refering to another human as a water monitor is a fairly serious insult, something like calling a Frenchman a cow.</div><br /><div>The Thais have a number of terms for the water monitor. The insulting term would be "hia." You hear young Thais working "hia" into nearly every sentence, the same way some Americans would use "fuck."</div><br /><div>Hia arai? -> What the fuck is that?</div><br /><div>Ai hia! -> Oh fuck!</div><br /><div>Suay yang hia -> Fucking beautiful</div><br /><div>etc.</div><br /><div>Oddly, the last time I visited the Dusit zoo in Bangkok, the monitor exhibit was labeled "hia", in Thai. My Thai friends are surprised at that.</div><br /><div>Up to a few years ago, you'd say "tua ngern tua tong" if you wanted to speak of a water monitor in polite company. It translates to something like "body silver body gold." However, there's an attempt to clean "hia" entirely out of the Thai language and replace it with a new term; "woranut." It'll never work; can you imagine an American government agency declaring that "fuck" will be replaced with a new term?</div><br /><div>The genus name for the creature is "Varanus", which is quite similar to "woranut", especially when you consider that the Thai language has no "v" sound. Also, though Thai words may begin with an "s" sound, an "s" letter gets a "t" sound when placed at the end of a word. Unfortunately, "Woranoot" (double o's) has long been a popular Thai name for girls. It simply means "beautiful girl." So now we have thousands of Thai women suddenly finding their name associated with the finest example of disgustingness in this part of the world.*</div><br /><div>A number of superstitions relate to the creature. You should walk to the right (or is it left? I forgot) around a dead water monitor. About a decade ago a Thai man made the news when he adopted a monitor based on the belief that his son had reincarnated as one; you'd see nightly videos of the father fondling the creature with exquisite care, heaping affection on it.</div><br /><div>The monitors are not-so-distantly related to Komodo dragons, the biggest of lizards. They're ubiquitous in this part of the world. Even when you can't see one, you might hear one rustling in the weeds, or slinking away into a shallow, scummy canal.</div><div> </div><div>---------------------------------------</div><div> </div><div>*The Thais may be the world's greatest name-changers, though. I'm guessing 50% of Thais change their first name at least once in their lives, making searching for old friends on Facebook a bit more problematic than usual. It's generally the result of a visit to a fortune teller who augurs that one's name is inauspicious, offering a number of choices for replacement. So this problem of suddenly being saddled with a disgusting name can be dealt with relatively easily.</div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-85018463536464257192010-03-22T17:32:00.000-07:002010-03-23T02:09:25.881-07:00What Tiger Shoulda Said<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S6gehH5acfI/AAAAAAAAAUY/l5xw6ueDmcE/s1600-h/tigerwoods.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451640903336358386" style="WIDTH: 330px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S6gehH5acfI/AAAAAAAAAUY/l5xw6ueDmcE/s400/tigerwoods.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I know this has been done before, but let me give it a shot:<br /><br />******************<br /><br />I'm here to apologize. I made a huge mistake in my life. Getting married. Or, to be clear, getting married with the stipulation that I'd never offer physical affection to another human for the remainder of my life. What a crock!<br /><br />Some of you may have heard that mitochondrial Eve and y-chromosome Adam were separated by almost 100,000 years. Now why is that? Without going into the math, it's because men have gotten around over the millenia. Historically, breeding males impregnate about 1.5 women. I've brought copies of Wilder, Mobasher, and Hammer's <em>Genetic Evidence for Unequal Effective Population Sizes of Human Females and Males</em> on the subject, for your perusal. Thoroughly peer-reviewed.<br /><br />We needn't get all mathematical to see the unnaturallness of marriage, though. You might get wistful looking at the bonding that goes on between a few species of birds. I've got news for you...we're primates. Have some fun and type key words like "bonobo, chimpanzee, sex, mating" on YouTube after the press conference.<br /><br />Yes, I'm aware of the naturalistic fallacy; being natural doesn't make it right. But quit the pearl-clutching. Some of you doth protest too much, I'd say.<br /><br />Much has been made of my Buddhist practice. Well folks, the typical Thai Buddhist marriage ceremony says absolutely nothing about lifelong fidelity. And, of course, Thai men are world-famous as philanderers. Thai women are the world's greatest penis decapitators (about 100 per year...can you believe that?), by the way, so let's not pretend that Thai women are particularly tolerant of this behavior. The world is complex. And my wife is Swedish. Anyway, people need to quit projecting their Abrahamic values onto me. That's not my trip.<br /><br />Come to think of it, doesn't the legal enforcement of monogamy violate the establishment clause? Gotta make a note of that.<br /><br />Yes, Buddhism teaches balance and honesty, and I've veered off in the direction of an extreme. But it also teaches that jealousy and attachment are to be avoided. It's fair to say I'm a success in those departments. Clearly, my wife has failed here, but with 15 minutes of additional meditation per day, she can work it out.<br /><br />Greed is also a failing that my wife and I are guilty of. Hey...if I'd conquered that, I wouldn't be speaking to you at this moment, now would I?<br /><br />Some folks call for me to undergo therapy. Folks, I need therapy the same way you need therapy for not believing in Santa Claus.<br /><br />Hopefully, I can use my celebrity status to inspire folks to reevaluate the sham that is marriage. 50% of the audience here are, or will be, divorced. Some of you have gotten divorced multiple times, and with each new marriage you felt that this was the last. Are you totally fucking unconscious? Of the remainder, a large portion will find themselves sleeping in separate beds. Or, at least, with one of those long pillow things delineating territories on the bed. Whatever. Let's not be ashamed to greet the new day with arms that are not numb, with fluid shoulder joints, as individuals, unafraid to see a movie alone.<br /><br />Thank you!<br /><br />************************<br /><br />After writing the above, I googled "What Tiger Should Have Said." Wow...so many tracts with that title! Plenty of good humor, mostly from the "I'm Tiger Woods, and you wish you were" camp. Some racism too...white racism, black racism, nothing unexpected.<br /><br />But there's also an army of condescending, judgemental Christians bloggers out there, evaluating Tiger's sincerity. He didn't go far enough, of course. His voice was too monotone. Blah, blah, blah. One blogger, an <a href="http://porntopurity.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/tiger-woods-apology-the-good-and-things-he-should-have-said/">admitted ex-sex-addict minister</a>, tallies up 10 positives and 3 negatives in Tiger's outpouring. For others, the speech didn't dwell enough on all the folks he has hurt, apparently. As far as I'm concerned, there wouldn't be nearly the hurt if Americans would loosen up their expectations of marriage.<br /><br />Then there's a number of disgusting attempts to degrade Buddhism along the way. As usual, the Christian detractors begin with a straw man and proceed to disassemble it. In this case, it's the Buddhist attitude toward desire. See, us Christians are taught to desire God, but Buddhists are taught to desire nothing. This comes as a surprise to those who are taught that Buddha desired the enlightenment of all sentient beings, or who have taken the Boddhisattva vow.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-71985087348359184072010-02-17T06:11:00.000-08:002010-03-27T22:49:55.036-07:00Science as a Search for the "Mind of God"<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S6YBUbadtDI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/a21usAZ4DUs/s1600-h/bride_stripped.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451045849446331442" style="WIDTH: 259px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S6YBUbadtDI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/a21usAZ4DUs/s400/bride_stripped.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Why did science arise in the West? That's a loaded question; plenty of folks would argue that "science" arose elsewhere. Still, a quick scan of your surroundings will reveal electronics, plastics, time-keeping widgets, lighting, senders/receivers, engines, etc. It's Western stuff.<br /><br /><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/tfk/2010/02/simple_answers_to_stupid_quest_3.php">One Steve Fuller has an answer to the question</a>: Christians, inspired by a search for the "mind of god", propelled science forward. Surprise, surprise, this Jesuit-educated disembodied blathering head believes that a Christian philosophical quest is responsible for science.<br /><br />I find the view ludicrous. As I wrote on scienceblogs:<br /><br /><em>Let's not consider contingency,accidents, and snowballing effects in the development of science. Forget about climate and geography. Ignore abrahamic religions' needs for evangelizing and warmongering and manifesting/discovering magical substances. Toss out any complicating arguments about abrahamic religions' anti-science propensities. Toss out neutral events too (e.g. a need for time-keeping devices for medieval monks). Ignore what non-abrahamic religions actually say, and poo-poo any science that did emerge in non-abrahamic areas. And then Fuller can claim that science was motivated by the religion of his upbringing.</em><br /><br />Fuller also says that the Abrahamic view that humans (as opposed to animals) are privileged, being created in the image of god, was a historical driver of science. Obviously, Hinduism and Buddhism lack this sort of creation myth, but anyone with a slight familiarity with these religions will know that humans have a superior birth to animals. The Tibetans, in their juicy way, compare the souls competing for a privileged birth while two humans are copulating to flies on meat.<br /><br />Enough of my own views, however. How about the views of the folks around me at Mahidol University?<br /><br /><strong>An Iraqi Student</strong>: The era of Muslim domination of science (roughly 900-1300) might have continued indefinitely had the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulagu_Khan">Hulagu Khan</a> not invaded Baghdad in 1255. He says the Tigris River turned blue as ink leached out of the pages of books that were tossed there by Mongol forces.<br /><br /><strong>An Indian Muslim</strong>: The Western concept of separation between church and state was responsible for the rise of science in the west over the last 400 years.<br /><br /><strong>An American Ichthyologist</strong>: Refuses to cop to the notion that science is a Western development, even when I attempt to narrow the scope down to the last few hundred years.<br /><br /><strong>A Thai Toxinologist</strong>: The need for the technologies of war spurred science in the West.<br /><br /><strong>The Director of a Dengue Research Lab</strong>: Life is easy in the tropics. Just pick a mango off a tree and gather up some frogs in the forest. Ingenuity was required in cold climates, however. He was also quick to chuckle about the supposed Christian/science link, knowing full well that Christianity has a history of feuding with science.<br /><br />I'll add more views as they come in.<br /><br />A few more words of my own: Ask for an example of non-Western ingenuity, and it's a decent bet that you'll get the Chinese invention of explosives. I wonder, though, if systematic thinking, a hallmark of science, was at all responsible here. In the bomb-making case, was there ever any attempt to formulate hypotheses, falsify them, and build on the results? And, if systematic thought is crucial for "real" science, how could the destruction of books signal the end of science in the Middle East? It seems like we need to discriminate between mere "technology" and "science", how-to-manuals and deduction/induction. Maybe my own cultural bias/ignorance is showing here, while I'm griping about someone else's. Correct me, if you wish.<br /><br />*****<br /></div><div>Oh, the pic above is Marcel Duchamp's "Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even." I don't dig it, but it came to mind, somehow. </div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-36504769640032738782010-02-17T02:41:00.000-08:002010-03-24T05:30:19.807-07:00A Conversation with Mr. OarfishAs a kid, I had a collection of flashcards with pics of fish on one side, and their specs on the other. The oarfish stood out as the weirdest and most captivating of the lot.<br /><br />One of the folks I bump into fairly regularly at the Institute is an ichthyologist...a fish expert. Over lunch, I asked him if he had seen the recent video of an oarfish in deep waters:<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lvRqqwBoyx8&hl=" width="560" height="340" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" fs="1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /><br />I expected my acquaintance to express surprise that such a video existed. Instead, I got a 30 minute lecture on the subject of oarfish. It turns out he might be the single most oarfish-knowledgeable individual on the planet. He didn't seem thrilled about the possibility that I'd blog on his knowledge, possibly because some of his opinions haven't been thoroughly vetted by the science community, so I won't offer his name. But here's what I recall:<br /><br />The video shows the oarfish in a vertical position. Mr. Oarfish expressed skepticism that the fish, Regalecus, actually spends sizeable amounts of time in that position; it might be reacting to the unmanned submersible taking the video or to its environs (which include the massive vertical risers of an oil rig). At the same time, he theorizes that the oarfish may drift vertically in a catatonic state for thousands of kilometers.<br /><br />I had read that the video was special because previous footage of Regalecus had been taken near the ocean surface; in such a state, the creature would tend to be near death. Mr. Oarfish replied that there's no reason to believe that healthy oarfish don't spend sizeable periods of time near the surface.<br /><br />Perhaps the single most famous oarfish shot is the following:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S3vQ3mG0vmI/AAAAAAAAAUA/dYbPMHvrPVs/s1600-h/oarfish.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439170628520558178" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S3vQ3mG0vmI/AAAAAAAAAUA/dYbPMHvrPVs/s400/oarfish.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The pic is well-known in Thailand. The Thais seem to think we're looking at Vietnam vets somewhere along the Mekong. This notion ties in nicely with the belief that dragons, the Phaya Nak, abide in the Mekong. Mr. Oarfish points out that the uniforms aren't from the Vietnam era. The pic was taken in 1996 near San Diego.<br /><br />What's more, I had heard the soldiers dined on the serpent following the photo shoot. No, says Mr. Oarfish, the fish was far too decomposed. In fact, he only knows one person who has tasted Regalecus, and that individual was none too impressed with the result. A lousy cook, perhaps.<br /><br />Some of the maximal lengths are exaggerated. Anything over 8 meters is suspect. An oarfish can actually lose or shed large chunks of its distal region, gecko-like. The resulting sawed-off appearance might lead one to extrapolate wrongly.<br /><br />Strictly speaking, the species we're talking about here is Regalecus Glesne (Glesne being a town in Sweden). But Mr. Oarfish says there is certainly more than one species that is commonly labeled R. Glesne; there were some fairly large differences in mitochondrial DNA sequences (around 12%) taken from oarfish in Japan and in the Atlantic. What's more, there are significant morphological differences (e.g. in the number of vertebrae).<br /><br />The evolutionary history of the creature is somewhat murky. One partial fossil from Italy exists, dating back about 1.5 million years...not long enough to display clearcut trends in evolution.<br /><br />A couple final tidbits...dogs seen oddly attracted to the scent of the fish. And...there's very little evidence of the sorts of predators the oarfish may have to deal with. Sharkbites are rarely, if ever, seen on the creature.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-40546273848925324282010-02-16T03:43:00.000-08:002010-02-17T05:44:59.133-08:00GT200 Update<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S3qFGmXqRAI/AAAAAAAAAT4/Pc53too8I1w/s1600-h/Harry.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438805848428790786" style="WIDTH: 302px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S3qFGmXqRAI/AAAAAAAAAT4/Pc53too8I1w/s400/Harry.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div>For some background, here's my first post on the <a href="http://efference.blogspot.com/2010/01/dowsing-hits-thailand.html">GT200</a>. Following up...</div><br /><div>The Science Ministry here in Thailand has conducted tests on the widget. It failed. It seems that extreme caution was followed in minimizing loss of face (sia na), red faces (na daeng), stepped-on-shoes, and so on. Phase I of this delicate operation consisted of banning the public and press from the actual tests. </div><br /><div>Face-saving phase II consisted of some twisty phrasing on the part of the prime minister. He said the device "detected" concealed C4 in only 4 of 20 tests, for a 25% success rate. Ignoring the PM's cruddy math, if this $30,000 dowsing rod performed no better than random chance, it can't be said to have "detected" anything. As us farangs say, even a broken watch is perfectly accurate twice per day. </div><br /><div>The PM also says that existing GT200s will have to be used in conjunction with other devices, again avoiding hurting the feelings of sensitive generals.</div><br /><div>One can really sense the divide between scientists and politicians here. Most of my compadres would like to see all the culprits investigated and outed, with the failure of superstition on vivid display, an opportunity for public education properly exploited. On the other hand, I imagine the politicians saying, "Look, we've canceled future purchases, now it's time for you guys to shut up and go back to your labs." I've no doubt as to who would win this little battle.</div><br /><div>Pseudo-scientist Pornthip, mentioned in my original blog on the subject, offered the following piece of warped logic upon learning of the GT200's failure: ""I know it's not scientific equipment, but forensic scientists can use it effectively."</div><br /><div>Through the entire hoopla, not a single company rep appeared in the media to defend the GT200. It's funny how a company with such amazing salespeople can have such lousy post-sale support, isn't it?</div><br /><div>By the way, there are perfectly legit bomb detection devices out there. They're hugely expensive, require real training, electricity, and upkeep, and can't detect all bad substances known to humanity at a distance of four kilometers. They work, however:</div><div><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sM2frUjOB4o&hl=" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" fs="1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /><br /></div><div>Note: I'm not sure of the source of the Harry Potter image. It's the sort of thing that amplifies quickly via mass e-mailing amongst Thais.</div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-26276731815677436032010-02-06T06:18:00.001-08:002010-02-06T06:19:52.827-08:00Bad Branding?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S216S11-_hI/AAAAAAAAATw/cbnzBwwgeBQ/s1600-h/mt_square.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435134789415796242" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S216S11-_hI/AAAAAAAAATw/cbnzBwwgeBQ/s400/mt_square.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-39523063859458804152010-01-27T06:58:00.001-08:002010-05-05T15:05:51.695-07:00Dowsing Hits Thailand<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S2BUr3w-vmI/AAAAAAAAATY/bCoXuY3MyCs/s1600-h/GT200.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431434263289314914" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 168px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S2BUr3w-vmI/AAAAAAAAATY/bCoXuY3MyCs/s400/GT200.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Yikes! The Thai military has purchased at least 500, and as many as 2,000, of these widgets at better than $30,000 each. Do the math. According to the <a href="http://www.napcogulfsecurity.net/brochures/GT200.pdf">brochure</a>, they detect just about any bad stuff you can name...bombs, drugs, ivory, currency, whatever. "Poppy, cocoa, and marijuana planting areas." Detecting chocolate is nice, but what about coca, from which cocaine is derived? No mention. Hmmmmm. Distance is not an issue..."any thickness of wall can be penetrated, whether concrete, metal, brick or lead." No batteries too! </div><div></div><br /><div>Similar devices have been used in Iraq, apparently. I'm guessing locales like Iraq and Thailand are good targets for the woo-meisters. Thailand is a world leader in woo, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing">dowsing</a> has no tradition here; the device looks and feels like any other high-tech mystery box from the West, and few are aware of dowsing's very questionable history.</div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S2BeVs4fvBI/AAAAAAAAATo/XcudR0FO-3Q/s1600-h/dowsing.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431444877527202834" style="WIDTH: 248px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S2BeVs4fvBI/AAAAAAAAATo/XcudR0FO-3Q/s400/dowsing.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>It was disappointing to see Thai media-darling/forensic scientist Khunying Pornthip defending the device. She gets trotted out every time there's a high-profile murder here in Thailand. Ask a Thai to play word association with her name, and the result is inevitable: "big hair."</div><div><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S2BcGFhyEcI/AAAAAAAAATg/BXAZq7KB7qo/s1600-h/pornthip.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431442410241659330" style="WIDTH: 289px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S2BcGFhyEcI/AAAAAAAAATg/BXAZq7KB7qo/s400/pornthip.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div></div><div>I had assumed she was perfectly competent in her craft, but after her assessment of the glorified dowsing rod (well, it's not 100% accurate, it needs to be operated by someone in good physical condition, blah, blah, blah), I now have doubts. Having used the divining rod in the past as a means of detecting bomb residues on corpses, it seems she is now forced to defend its viability or risk humiliation and the wrath of victims' relatives. The military pu-yais ("big people") who ordered the device are in a similar predicament. If they actually recognize the error of their ways, one shouldn't expect a public retraction, but a quiet discontinuation of usage of the "GT-200."</div><br /><div>At least in the case of the military, corruption is a reasonable assumption. Let's be generous to the generals, however, and give them the benefit of the doubt. How then, could numerous public figures claim that they've used and validated the device to their own satisfaction? Well, Buddhists (better than 90% of the Thai populace) are familiar with the power of the mind, but sometimes forget that its greatest power may be in its capacity for self-deceit. Witness a gaggle of dowsers exuding supreme confidence in their talents in a double-blinded test, performing no better than chance, and offering up the usual rationalizations (sun spots!) for their failures. It's a five part series, and highly entertaining:</div><br /><div><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JpcFl23dmcQ&hl=" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" fs="1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></div><br /><div></div><div>Finally, here's a wonderful BBC expose of a near-identical widget. The company owner doesn't even deny that the ADE651 is, essentially, a dowsing rod.</div><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rQMwXo1SSVo&hl=" width="560" height="340" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" fs="1&" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /><div></div><div></div><div>In all seriousness, it's likely that lives are being lost over this dressed-up medieval artifact.<br /></div><br /><div>More on the travesty of the GT-200 <a href="http://sniffexquestions.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-can-people-sell-gt200.html">here</a> and <a href="http://ade651gt200scamfraud.blogspot.com/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.tumblerblog.com/2010/02/gt200-conclusion-big-names-exposed/">here</a>. It's no surprise to find that the purveyors of this scam have interesting relationships with the law, with the same concept reincarnating under a new name (e.g. "the MOLE", the ADE651, etc.) after the authorities clamp down.</div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-83080790237226365912010-01-17T03:22:00.000-08:002010-01-17T04:17:45.388-08:00Creating an Auspicious Environment for Biochemical Research<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S1LzUsWrV1I/AAAAAAAAATQ/EFoJBtz77cE/s1600-h/monks_in_lab.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427668037764077394" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S1LzUsWrV1I/AAAAAAAAATQ/EFoJBtz77cE/s400/monks_in_lab.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the 12th floor of the "Adulyadejwikrom" Building at Sirirat Hospital in Bangkok. Serious research is conducted here in the areas of dengue, thallasemia, and other maladies, making this scene a bit incongruous from my perspective.<br /><br />Make no mistake, the goal here is to increase the level of good luck in the research facilities for the next year. The ceremony ends with the abbot touring the lab, sprinkling holy water on everyone and everything. <br /><br />I gently questioned the lab director who organized the affair. Isn't this mix of science and superstition a tad odd? I didn't get a satisfactory answer, though he points out he's also organizing a weeklong meditation retreat that will be entirely devoid of superstition. He refers to meditation as a science of the self. I don't have a big problem with that, though I'm aware of various objections (e.g. in what sense are your "research" findings reproducible/falsifiable?) and would be interested to hear Acharn Pa-Thai's responses.<br /><br />In fairness, if superstition is ever warranted in a science lab, this might be the place. Floors 3-6 of the building are a morgue. Students report seeing ghosts on the elevator. And floor 2 is a museum where, amongst pickled fetuses, you find the mummified remains of "See Uey", the legendary, cannibalistic, liver-eating, psycho-killer of 1940's Thailand.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-20330272361750633642010-01-16T23:34:00.001-08:002010-01-16T23:35:52.099-08:00Big Hand = Small Banana ???<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S1K9sbSTAPI/AAAAAAAAATI/5CPrwT2CA1g/s1600-h/bananas.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427609071871262962" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S1K9sbSTAPI/AAAAAAAAATI/5CPrwT2CA1g/s400/bananas.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-62716591034157781022010-01-16T23:23:00.000-08:002010-01-17T01:11:18.309-08:00The Seven Things You Can't Doo in a Thai Taxi<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S1K7QK0Mb9I/AAAAAAAAATA/Fb29DiEQ0Sg/s1600-h/haam_kee2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427606387390443474" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/S1K7QK0Mb9I/AAAAAAAAATA/Fb29DiEQ0Sg/s400/haam_kee2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Alternatively, this post could be titled, "Just as I was about to crap in the taxi..."</div><br /><div>In case you're wondering, image #6 is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian">durian</a> fruit.</div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-31672777992126729462009-12-04T15:53:00.000-08:002009-12-07T06:31:58.417-08:00The Seductiveness of Crystals<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SxmhVZIF-UI/AAAAAAAAAS4/yt8St1u5a6Y/s1600-h/q3_final.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411533816156518722" style="WIDTH: 374px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SxmhVZIF-UI/AAAAAAAAAS4/yt8St1u5a6Y/s400/q3_final.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>That's one DnaC protein sticking to another DnaC protein . The dotted lines detail the interactions down to .01 Angstroms (1/1000000000000 meters). Never mind the fact that the actual data on which the image was based has a "resolution" of 2.6 Angstroms. </div><br /><div>Your typical protein contains several thousand atoms. To generate these images, the coordinates of all these atoms must be known. That information is normally painstakingly acquired by crystallizing the protein in question, followed by X-ray analysis. There's an element of karma/luck/art involved in generating a crystal; crystallographers can regale you with tales of how they worked fruitlessly for years to coax proteins into a repeating structure, with a drop of spilt coffee proving to be the catalyst that finally gets the job done. A recent Nobel prize in chemistry was awarded to an individual, Ada Yonath, who stubbornly devoted more than 20 years to obtaining her crystal.</div><br /><div>More than 60,000 protein structures can be found at the <a href="http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/home/home.do">Protein Data Bank</a>. Human DNA only codes for a tad more than 20,000 proteins, but a crystallographer need not fear for his career. You can crystallize proteins interacting with other proteins or ligands. You can crystallize various "isoforms" of proteins. You can mutate your protein strand and recrystallize it. Once you've got the atom-by-atom coordinates in hand, your software can zoom, rotate, label, and color the image. You're an artist. And an explorer, flying over and through the ridges and chasms that might be essential to catalysis.</div><br /><div>The work can be important. If you've got a high resolution image of a disease-related protein, it's possible to design drugs that clog it up. It's arguable, however, whether "rational drug design" has come anywhere close to living up to its early promise.</div><br /><div>But does this sort of work deserve a Nobel? Does it push boundaries and alter paradigms? Are we talking about extraordinary acts of intellect and creativity? Or just perspicacity? </div><br /><div>The questions above are personal, believe it or not. It was flattering to have a professor pursue my services, offering financial inducements, and even pointing out my future lab bench, currently unoccupied. I practically begged for reasons to get excited about the work. I was told of the beauty of meticulousness, the wonders of knowing a subject from the bottom up.</div><br /><div>But what about "top down?" Synthesis, integration, binding principles, systems, dynamics, interactions?</div><br /><div>The research in question involves a bacterial protein, Cry4a, that is presumed to form a channel in mosquito guts, causing deionization (i.e. death); "presumed" because 20 years of research in labs around the world has failed to prove the point. It would be nice, of course, to benefit humanity by wiping out disease-carrying critters, but...</div><br /><div>*Assuming we can engineer a deadlier protein, who's to say it won't get rejected by the bacteria after, say, 1000 generations? The assumption seems to be that a deadlier protein confers greater fitness on the bacteria. Quite naive.</div><br /><div>*Assuming a competitive population of bacteria, who's to say the mosquito won't develop resistance to our protein?</div><br /><div>*Assuming that resistance doesn't evolve, are we clear about the environmental impact of wiping out a species of mosquitos?</div><br /><div>These are "top down" questions. Their answers inform us of the odds that the research might actually be of benefit to humanity. I didn't like the odds. It's possible that some world-beating toxinologists could change my mind. It's surprising, however, that a number of highly respected authorities at my own institute couldn't. There are no vendettas or personal gripes being aired here. I simply wonder a bit about the real state of science in institutes around the world.</div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-63489932365816940842009-10-12T06:06:00.000-07:002009-11-13T17:50:04.939-08:00Flora and Fauna in Salaya<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/Sv4H3scouTI/AAAAAAAAASw/sw4itHmoM5M/s1600-h/bird_lotus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403765256296642866" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 237px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/Sv4H3scouTI/AAAAAAAAASw/sw4itHmoM5M/s400/bird_lotus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You can see some more images of my environs <a href="http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc143/ngong/salaya_flora_fauna/?action=view&current=4613db09.pbw">here</a>. It's a "photobucket.com" slideshow. I strongly advise against saving pics on photobucket's incredibly counterintuitive, ad-laden website. I do it simply because that's where I've already uploaded a fair number of other pics. It's reasonable to assume flickr.com would be a better choice.<br /><br />More pics to come...KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-82068884620691591292009-09-22T01:55:00.000-07:002009-09-22T02:37:25.889-07:00Alternative Dwellings in Bangkok<div><div><div>Here's a strange dwelling just off Phaholyothin Road, near the Mor Chit Skytrain Station:<br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriReW0YoqI/AAAAAAAAASI/y-95Qv73BRA/s1600-h/condo_fraction.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384213305228829346" style="WIDTH: 260px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriReW0YoqI/AAAAAAAAASI/y-95Qv73BRA/s400/condo_fraction.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div>Passing by at night, the lights are on. Somehow, just a sliver of a former apartment was preserved in the process of demolition. A parking lot surrounds the structure.</div><br /><div>I wouldn't mind living there. Deck it out with vines, potted plants, and eerie lighting.</div><br /><div>Here's another joint I've long eyeballed as a possible dwelling:<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriS1ZvwU4I/AAAAAAAAASQ/B1cpKh1qQpg/s1600-h/castle_fence.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384214800663335810" style="WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriS1ZvwU4I/AAAAAAAAASQ/B1cpKh1qQpg/s400/castle_fence.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Cinderella's Castle at the old "Din neramit" Amusement Park. Several generations of Thais have fond memories of this place, as elementary schools would bus their students here for a day of enjoyment. It was hardly world-class and became redundant following the opening of "<a href="http://www.dreamworld-th.com/english/index.php">Dream World</a>."</div><br /><div>The park closed about a decade ago, with virtually all the attractions being shuttled off to wherever antiqued attractions get shuttled. Only the castle remains. In the background, you see unfinished condos, victims of the 1997 Southeast Asian currency crisis:<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriYTBnJiXI/AAAAAAAAASY/2twUn09rlqc/s1600-h/castle_condo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384220807139002738" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriYTBnJiXI/AAAAAAAAASY/2twUn09rlqc/s400/castle_condo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>My solution to this double boondoggle:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriZLcqPdHI/AAAAAAAAASg/ZSWKZureo-Q/s1600-h/castle_condo2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384221776472405106" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 283px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriZLcqPdHI/AAAAAAAAASg/ZSWKZureo-Q/s400/castle_condo2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div></div><br /><div></div></div></div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-37055347349553844052009-07-15T04:54:00.000-07:002009-07-15T06:31:45.626-07:00In the course of a day of studying......I stumbled across a couple of oddities.<br /><br />First, there's a <a href="http://www.lecb.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/LeftHanded.DNA.html">web page</a> devoted to documenting instances of left-handed DNA in the media and technical publications. "Handedness" is not a difficult concept. Every nut and bolt and spiral staircase is either left-handed or right-handed. Viewing a spiraling structure from an end (either the top or the bottom), you'll see that the rails spiral away from you in either a clockwise (right-handed) or counter-clockwise direction (left-handed). If a spiral is left-handed when viewed from the top, it will also be left-handed when viewed from the bottom. You can verify that in 20 seconds by twisting up a piece of paper.<br /><br />The DNA in your cells is right-handed, so any depictions otherwise are in error. The aforementioned website lists almost 700 instances of left-handed imagery, some of which appear in technical papers. The first instance, dating to 1964, was a minor national embarrassment:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/Sl3IWt8E5tI/AAAAAAAAAR4/OV9JRl12zEU/s1600-h/stamp.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358659424255010514" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 254px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/Sl3IWt8E5tI/AAAAAAAAAR4/OV9JRl12zEU/s400/stamp.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />(from <a href="http://www.ccrnp.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/icons/stamp.israeli.1964.jpg">http://www.ccrnp.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/icons/stamp.israeli.1964.jpg</a> )<br /><br />If you want to be finicky, you can point to the rare left-handed form of DNA known as "Z-DNA." In that case, however, half of the "bases" (say, all of the orange and pink strips) would have to be depicted outside the black and white rails, not inside.<br /><br />The second oddity was this video:<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/22ZMeXYcyZ8&hl=" fs="1&" width="425" height="344" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed><br /><br />This is farrrrrr from the level of detail I desired. What's more, the video is quite lame from any number of perspectives. But something about the speaker's accent, cadence, focus, and who knows what else, set my brain a-buzzing.<br /><br />The buzz. Does that ever happen to you? For myself, it occurs when I watch or listen to a person who is intensely wrapped up in whatever he or she is doing. I can recall a couple of instances where the feeling was particularly strong. The first was in watching a cook prepare a hamburger...grilling the buns, treating them with mayo and sauce, gently squishing the oil out of the patties, etc. All accomplished with the utmost TLC. My new-age friends would probably expect such a burger to be especially tasty, with the normally unwholesome, fatty, and carcinogenic properties of various ingredients being negated by the purity of the chef's consciousness.<br /><br />Another instance was in listening to a speech on the part of a vice-presidential candidate perhaps 20 years ago. Searching the net for third-party candidates at that time, I'm thinking it was Sonia Johnson of the Peace and Freedom Party. Whoever it was, she spoke with strange urgency. If she felt that the audience hadn't fully grokked her message, she'd pause, shift her feet around in little increments, and try to find a new angle of expression. Her gestures were odd, too. Again, a new-age type might see her as a channel for the Truth, with the Truth feeling a tad uncomfortable in that particular body and those particular garments. I wondered if she wasn't a tad nutty. It didn't matter, though, as most of my mental energy was focused on enjoying the buzz.<br /><br />Anyway, you might want to view the video and see if it produces any odd feelings.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-39974821023446054902009-07-08T02:03:00.000-07:002009-09-22T01:15:57.415-07:00Gratawn, SantolHere's an amazingly delicious fruit that's difficult to find outside Southeast Asia.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SlSMriJkmDI/AAAAAAAAARw/Yk2SSbvDWuI/s1600-h/santol.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356060536379578418" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SlSMriJkmDI/AAAAAAAAARw/Yk2SSbvDWuI/s400/santol.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The closest thing to an English name for the fruit would be "Santol", from Tagalog. The Thais call them "gra-tawn". You gotta say the first syllable staccato-like.<br /><br />How does it taste? That's a difficult question. No other fruits come to mind as a reference. Looking at its lineage, you can see why:<br /><br />Species: Santol Tree (Sandoricum Koetjape)<br />Genus: Sandoricum<br />Family: Meliaceae<br />Order: Sapindales<br /><br />The Meliaceae family contains about <a href="http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/90/3/471">575 different shrubs and trees</a>, but the Santol is one of the few that produces a fruit of distinction. So, unless genomics proves otherwise in the future, it seems that the Santol is somewhat evolutionarily removed from run-of-the-mill fruits in your supermarket. Moving to the broader category of "order", you do find that Sapindales include ordinary citrus fruits, lychees, and more.<br /><br />Another Meliaceae that produces edible fruit would be the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsat">Lansium Domesticum</a>. The Thais call these fruits "longkang" and the Philipinos "langsat". This is a source for eternal confusion, since "langsat" in Thai refers to a particular <em>variety</em> of longkang. What's more, there's another fruit that we call "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longan">longan</a>", but Thais call "lomyai". Not to be confused with loganberries. Longkang and longan look similar, but belong to different botanical families. Longkang are tasty. Somewhat woody. On occasions when I have the will to peel and de-seed the little fruits, I mix lime, longkang, sugar, and gin in a blender. I don't see the appeal of longan, though...they're kind of radishy.<br /><br />You can see a few similarities between longkang and gratawn. They both have yellow, leathery skin, and a handful of seeds inside. In Thailand, the two fruits come into season in the same brief period...usually June and July. But gratawn are much bigger and taste different. Longkang resin will stick to your hands even after you soap them off, and the pulp will occasionally squirt in your eye. If you let a gratawn ripen fully, however, the flesh is custardy. The seeds are big and tough, so you cut a circle around them, twist the two hemispheres apart, and dig into the flesh with a spoon. The sweetest pulp surrounds the seeds, so you suck on the seeds.<br /><br />The flavor is...still difficult to describe. Bear in mind that Meliaceae includes frankincense and myrhh and mahogany. There's something spicy going on. I'm guessing that the pulp is loaded with interesting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terpene">terpenes</a> like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linalool">linalool</a>, the distinctive fragrance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_Loops">Froot Loops</a>. When I worked as a chemist at a winery, we had bottle of linalool in the refrigerator. I'm not sure why, actually. Perhaps because the winemaker desired to make illegal midnight flavor adjustments, dripping a few drops into the tanks. Opening a bottle of pure linalool was something like finding yourself in the midst of an exploding Froot Loops factory.<br /><br />A couple papers suggest the presence of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catechin">catechins</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procyanidins">proanthocyanidins</a> in gratawn...these are more typically found in teas, fruit skins, cinnamon, cocoa, and tree bark.<br /><br />I just cut a gratawn open...there's something banana-ish in there too.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I haven't been able to dig up a full profile of the flavor components of gratawn in the academic literature. There are plenty of papers focusing on possible medicinal qualities of the bark and leaves, but no in-depth analysis of the qualities that make the fruit distinctive from an olfactory/gustatory perspective. Sounds like a decent Masters or Ph.D. thesis for someone interested in natural products chemistry.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriHe40ym3I/AAAAAAAAASA/9-Q0rzzzVM0/s1600-h/gratahn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384202319241059186" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SriHe40ym3I/AAAAAAAAASA/9-Q0rzzzVM0/s400/gratahn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div>KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-48003719127027139432009-06-30T23:02:00.000-07:002009-07-01T03:17:12.811-07:00Transformers and Michael JacksonNormally I refrain from commenting on pop phenomena. This week, however, my brain has reached a state of pop hypersaturation, so I'll blog in the name of self-help.<br /><br />In college, a friend of a friend (and a distant friend at that...let's get this straight!) was a big Jackson fan and bought tickets for a number of his concerts on the West Coast. Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc. She reported that the show included a segment where Jackson began a song and then ordered the band to stop playing after maybe 30 seconds. You see, his emotions were bubbling over, and he absolutely needed to express them via a different tune. That's nice, but it turns out that Jackson went through this routine at <em>every</em> concert. Offhand, I can't think of a more extreme example of feigned spontaneity.<br /><br />Some call this sort of behavior "showmanship." Mick Jagger is supposed to be a great showman. When the 40-up crowd (of which I'm a member) ventures out to see a Rolling Stones mega-concert, they inevitably return with high praise - Jagger still has "got it." Then, of course, there are the obligatory comments about Keith Richard's appearance and longevity. To me, it feels like the concert-going fogeys are simply rationalizing their existences; see, us old farts can also prance around a stage. We might just still "have it." Hell, in high school, my circle of friends felt that the Rolling Stones began a downward spiral in 1967, when Brian Jones died. In the early 90's, I was pleased to hear that a decent chunk of the younger portion of the audience walked out on the Stones after a couple tunes. Pearl Jam, it seems, was the opening act, and the contrast between Eddie Vedder's genuine spontaneity and Jagger's rehearsed "professionalism" was too much to bear.<br /><br />Oliver Sacks relates an anecdote from the aphasic ward of a mental hospital. Aphasics have a difficult time formulating and understanding concepts, so Sacks initially found it odd to see a group of them laughing hysterically at President Reagan's televised speech. As Sacks says, though, "It was the grimaces, the histrionics, the false gestures and, above all, the false tones and cadences of the voice which rang false for these wordless but immensely sensitive patients." Perhaps I lean a tad toward the aphasic end of the spectrum, as Michael Jackson always seemed too cartoony to take seriously. For those who perceive him a master showman, you're entitled to your own personal mix of neurotransmitters.<br /><br />Regarding pedophilia, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Did he fantasize about becoming white?...no, it seems like he really did have a hangup with vitiligo. I <em>know</em> because I've been dowsed with spam e-mails that prove the point with attached photos. What bothers me, however, is the praise he has received as some sort of music pioneer. Sly Stone and Hendrix were crushing racial boundaries when the Jackson 5 was a generic (but good) Motown act. One might argue that Jackson's transformation into whiteness, like Emperor Leto's transformation into wormness, was an act of sacrifice, designed to carry all sentient beings to a new degree of awakening. But the vitiligo spam disproves that theory.<br /><br />Then there's the idea that Jackson was responsible for MTV. There may be some truth in that. In which case, the need for a successful musician to have a pretty face, dancing and acting skills, and to be on the cutting edge of fashion and personality - a 30 year trend away from actual musicianship - is Jackson's doing.<br /><br />*********************<br /><br />Now, let it be known that "Transformers II" is dreck. I just have few observations. In the spirit of the film, they're disjointed.<br /><br />Following release of the excellent, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_(film)">Elephant</a>", Gus Van Zant predicted the demise of the "narrative format." No more linear story-telling. That's what you got in "Transformers II", which willfully discards plot and continuity. I say "willfully" because it's impossible to believe that these myriad discontinuities (a robot busts through the wall of the Smithsonian...into a remote jet airstrip) went unnoticed in production. Van Zant's vision, of course, is one intended to challenge the audience. "Transformers II" is the ugly, cynical side of the "non-narrative" format.<br /><br />In fact, it feels as if recent films like "Star Trek" and "Transformers" operate on the principle that there's no limit to the degree of "suspension of disbelief" that the human brain can tolerate. "Suspension of disbelief" has now been expanded to include much more than run-of-the-mill violations of the laws of physics. We're talking about slashing through a coherent plot and timeline.<br /><br />I found the first Transformers film notable for its ability to invoke a sense of wonder. That's a rare quality in a film. Somehow, you've got to mix nature, the right music, a sense of connection to the deep past, the grandness of the cosmos, paradox, and death and suffering, in just the right proportions to pull it off. This sense was totally lacking in the second film, a testament to the slipperiness of awe and wonder.<br /><br />We poke fun at Bollywood productions. Singing, dancing, and fighting. There's something for every audience sector...slapstick for the kids, sex and violence for the teenage boys, true love for the chicks, and family values for mom and dad. But films like "Transformers II" run the risk of falling into the same "variety show" trap. You've got robots speaking with ghetto accents, plenty of slapstick, militarism, and the family pulling through in the end. Unnecessary skits. When Megan Fox's foxiness is the focus, the music changes suddenly, the film slows, and the camera zooms...very Bollywood!<br /><br />On the positive side, I hope that this piece of garbage forces a number of critics to reassess Star Wars Episodes I-III. Lack of humanity?<br /><br />Undoubtedly, the execs are rolling in the dough and lighting Gran Coronas with critics' reviews. Prediction: they'll be puzzled when "Transformers III" fails to meet box-office expectations. Hmmmmm.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8181949243513368607.post-23584962822403788282009-06-26T00:40:00.000-07:002009-06-26T00:49:15.009-07:00Pigasus<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SkR7tgXBt_I/AAAAAAAAARg/9jAfoKirTSc/s1600-h/pigasus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351538278933837810" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 322px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WQQ8Wab97Lg/SkR7tgXBt_I/AAAAAAAAARg/9jAfoKirTSc/s400/pigasus.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Google "Pigasus" and you'll find it's a well-used pun. It's unlikely that the Thais at "Satapon Plastic" company were aware of that when they created their logo, however. One wonders what inspired them.KenGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07906105502671590356noreply@blogger.com0