If you go to the site, you find a gallery of photo pairs.  Click on one to see it larger.  Another click will make it even larger.  With practice, you can see the 3D effect even without a stereo viewer.  Try it with the medium size (one click from the gallery) photo pair. Here’s how. Instead of focusing on the computer screen, defocus your eyes and look behind the screen or cross your eyes.  Move your head around a bit and the photos will coalesce into a 3D image.  I have a practice photo pair below.  If that doesn’t work for you, go back to Allison’s blog and click on the “stereogranimator.”

See the story in the Wall Street Journal here.

The title of this post is a real new code. Among some others are: W22.02XA, “walked into lamppost, initial encounter;” W22.02XD, “walked into lamppost, subsequent encounter;” and R46.1 “bizarre personal appearance.”

“There codes for injuries received while sewing, ironing, playing a brass instrument, crocheting, doing handcrafts, or knitting…”

The big question: will your insurance pay if the coders accidentally enter a W22.02XD before reporting a W22.02XA?

Is this part of President Obama’s new jobs program for medical coders? Your tax dollars at work.

The Mining Foundation of the Southwest, based in Tucson, Arizona, is a non-profit organization working to educate the public about mineral resources and the mineral extraction and processing industries and to honor outstanding accomplishments in the mining industry.

The press release for the banquet:

Mining Foundation of the Southwest to Honor Rescuers of Trapped Chilean Copper Miners

The 29th annual American Mining Hall of Fame Awards Banquet and Fundraiser sponsored by the Mining Foundation of the Southwest (MFSW) will be held at the JW Marriott Star Pass Resort, Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, December 3, 2011.

 

Each year, one living inductee, two recipients of Medals of Merit, and up to five honorees from mining history are chosen by the MFSW for their outstanding contributions to the mining industry. Mr. Laurence Golborne Riveros will be the Guest of Honor, featured speaker, and Inductee into the American Mining Hall of Fame.

Laurence Golborne Riveros, Chilean Minister of Public Works (former Minister of Mining) was instrumental in managing the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners in October 2010 and in the coordination/management of the “townsite” for family members, rescue support, and the media. His engineering background and executive management skills made him ideally suited to assist in both a technical and managerial role in this emergency.

A Special Citation will be awarded to the American companies who had a part of the rescue and who worked together to do what was necessary to get the job done. These are: Aries Central California Video, Atlas Copco Construction Mining Company, Center Rock Company, Drillers Supply International, Jeff Hart, Geotec Boyles Bros., Layne Christensen Company, NASA, Schramm Inc., UPS, & Zephyr Technologies.

Medals of Merit will be awarded to Dr. Marco T. Einaudi, a mineral deposit researcher and professor of economic geology at Stanford University and Ralph B. Sievwright, a mining attorney, for their accomplishments in their respective fields.

 

As representatives of mining heritage, the Hall of Fame will induct Earl Herkenhoff, Pope Yeatman, Thomas H. Leggett, Samuel Newhouse, and Stewart R. Wallace. Herkenhoff was an innovator in iron ore benefication and clear vision of plant design. Yeatman was responsible for development of Kennecott Alaska, construction of Nevada Copper; Braden Copper, and evaluation and development of Chuquicamata. Leggett pioneered long-distance electrical transmission and use of cyanide for gold recovery in the U.S. Newhouse was the Utah mining magnate and civic developer. Wallace was a renowned molybdenum geologist, discoverer of the Henderson deposit, and philanthropist.

MFSW is a non-profit organization whose objectives are public education about the mineral industries, and recognition of outstanding accomplishments in and contributions to the fields of mineral and fuel resources. Funds are raised to the support the Foundation’s educational programs. Among these is the Educational Outreach Program operated jointly by MFSW and Science Foundation Arizona through the Lowell Institute of Mineral Resources at the University of Arizona.

Early sponsors for this event include: ASARCO ,Independent Mining Consultants, Golder Associates, Minas De Oro Nacional, Mintec, Modular Mining Systems, Inc., Mountain States R & D International, M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation, RDE Evaluations, LTD, United Mines Inc., Sonoran Process Equipment Company Inc. and SRK Consulting.

Information on tickets and sponsorships are available from the Mining Foundation of the Southwest.

Tel (520)577-7519, Fax (520)577-7073, e-mail: admin@miningfoundationsw.org or our website: www.miningfoundationsw.

 

 

 

Dr. Thomas Sowell answers the question much better than I could, so I quote his recent article in full:

The Fourth of July may be just a holiday for fireworks to some people. But it was a momentous day for the history of this country and the history of the world.

Not only did July 4, 1776 mark American independence from England, it marked a radically different kind of government from the governments that prevailed around the world at the time — and the kinds of governments that had prevailed for thousands of years before.

The American Revolution was not simply a rebellion against the King of England, it was a rebellion against being ruled by kings in general. That is why the opening salvo of the American Revolution was called “the shot heard round the world.”

Autocratic rulers and their subjects heard that shot — and things that had not been questioned for millennia were now open to challenge. As the generations went by, more and more autocratic governments around the world proved unable to meet that challenge.

Some clever people today ask whether the United States has really been “exceptional.” You couldn’t be more exceptional in the 18th century than to create your fundamental document — the Constitution of the United States — by opening with the momentous words, “We the people…”

Those three words were a slap in the face to those who thought themselves entitled to rule, and who regarded the people as if they were simply human livestock, destined to be herded and shepherded by their betters. Indeed, to this very day, elites who think that way — and that includes many among the intelligentsia, as well as political messiahs — find the Constitution of the United States a real pain because it stands in the way of their imposing their will and their presumptions on the rest of us.

More than a hundred years ago, so-called “Progressives” began a campaign to undermine the Constitution’s strict limitations on government, which stood in the way of self-anointed political crusaders imposing their grand schemes on all the rest of us. That effort to discredit the Constitution continues to this day, and the arguments haven’t really changed much in a hundred years.

The cover story in the July 4th issue of Time magazine is a classic example of this arrogance. It asks of the Constitution: “Does it still matter?”

A long and rambling essay by Time magazine’s managing editor, Richard Stengel, manages to create a toxic blend of the irrelevant and the erroneous.

The irrelevant comes first, pointing out in big letters that those who wrote the Constitution “did not know about” all sorts of things in the world today, including airplanes, television, computers and DNA.

This may seem like a clever new gambit but, like many clever new gambits, it is a rehash of arguments made long ago. Back in 1908, Woodrow Wilson said, “When the Constitution was framed there were no railways, there was no telegraph, there was no telephone,”

In Mr. Stengel’s rehash of this argument, he declares: “People on the right and left constantly ask what the framers would say about some event that is happening today.”

Maybe that kind of talk goes on where he hangs out. But most people have enough common sense to know that a constitution does not exist to micro-manage particular “events” or express opinions about the passing scene.

A constitution exists to create a framework for government — and the Constitution of the United States tries to keep the government inside that framework.

From the irrelevant to the erroneous is a short step for Mr. Stengel. He says, “If the Constitution was intended to limit the federal government, it certainly doesn’t say so.”

Apparently Mr. Stengel has not read the Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Perhaps Richard Stengel should follow the advice of another Stengel — Casey Stengel, who said on a number of occasions, “You could look it up.”

Does the Constitution matter? If it doesn’t, then your Freedom doesn’t matter.

For a short history of how the U.S. Constitution came about, see my post:

The Contract with America.

We found the sound literally painful. So uncomfortable, in fact, that we left during the previews. (We got a partial refund and saw the movie in a normal theater at Century at a later time instead.)

I don’t know if the painful sound is intrinsic to the system or was just maladjusted at that theater, but you should be aware of possible unpleasantness with this new system.

I’m writing this about five hours after our experience and my ears still feel uncomfortable.

Watch out for this logo:

Mills estimates that in 2011, national production of marijuana will be 17,000 metric tons, one-third of that produced indoors.  Based on the energy requirement estimates for high-intensity lighting, dehumidification, space heating, water heating, and air conditioning, it adds up to 1% of our national electricity production and produces 17 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Read the whole study here.

UPDATE April 18:

Upon reading the many comments to this post, I realize that I should have put a question mark at the end of the title so it would read “Marijuana causes global warming?”

The cited paper is just another example of climate silliness.  For those who believe carbon dioxide has a significant effect on temperature, then the author of the study shows that marijuana grown indoors uses lots of energy which implies the practice can produce carbon dioxide emissions.

Regular readers of this blog should know that I do not believe that human carbon dioxide emissions have a significant effect on global temperature because there is no physical evidence to support that contention, there are only speculations from computer modeling  – garbage in-garbage out.  Go over to the Quick Links page and scroll down to the climate section to see my posts on the matter.

I had been out all day examining a series of gold and copper prospects in northern Natal in South Africa, going from prospect to prospect and dealing with occasional travel impediments.

 I was looking forward to a room, a meal, and a bath. One evening I was booked into Pongola Hotel.

The Pongola Hotel is located in Natal province of South Africa near the southern border of Swaziland. It was a two star Hotel, two out of five, which means it is the Motel 6 of that part of the world – maybe Motel 5. I think a one star Hotel is a tent with walls. Like many rural hotels in southern Africa of 35 years ago, it pretended to be very, very British, which means that gentlemen must wear coat and tie to dinner. It also means they had no concept of central heating.

 After a hard day out exploring, I like to take a shower or bath, but this became complicated at the Pongola Hotel. Upon checking in, the Indian clerk asked me, “Would the gentleman be bathing tonight?”

Now, I thought that was an unusual question. In my experience, hotel clerks usually don’t inquire about one’s personal hygiene habits. I was somewhat taken aback by the question. Did the rigors of the day make my need for a bath obvious to the genteel nose? No, there was another reason which I discovered later.

However, I said, “Yes, I will bathe before dinner.” Now, this was 6 O’clock in the afternoon, and I was tired and hungry.

The clerk asked, “At what time will the gentleman be dining?” I said, “Seven.”

“Oh, but sir, we cannot possibly be having a bath prepared before nine of the clock,” the clerk said. I thought about arguing, but decided it wasn’t worth it.

“OK, nine will be fine,” I said with puzzlement.

So I dressed and went to dinner. By the way, I wore bolo ties, they’re much easier to pack. I would sometimes get arguments about this. I would mention that bolos were designated by the governor of Arizona the official neckwear of the state. That sometimes worked, but not at the Pongola Hotel. However, when I mentioned that bolos were perfectly acceptable to the staff at the 5 Star Grosvenor House in London, arguments ceased. – They were all so very, very British, you see.

Dining in a very British African establishment can be, shall we say, adventuresome, because between British cooking and what might be available as the local delicacy that day, did not always please my pallet. So, I often carried a defensive bottle of Tabasco sauce with me. At the Pongola dining room, while contemplating the aroma of fried goat, I used the Tabasco sauce quite liberally, which scandalized my fellow diners. One fellow asked, “What are you doing sir, you’ll kill the taste.” “Exactly,” I said.

Dining in a very British African Hotel is also very time consuming. No fast food there. All the meals consisted of a soup course, a fish course, a salad course (green vegetables in salads were rare in that part of the world. Salads were always some minced mystery with fruit.) That was followed by the main course, then by cheese and biscuits, by which they meant crackers. Adding to the leisurely pace was the fact that one could not order a whole meal at once. There was a separate menu for each course and a respectable time had to be allowed to peruse and decide among the two or three choices.

It took about two hours to dine, and enjoy an after-dinner brandy. Upon walking back to my room, I found out why one had to make an appointment for a bath. It was the hot water system.

 Each room had its own hot water system. This consisted of an outdoor fire place, just behind the room, a long chimney, upon which was perched a barrel. It took them two hours to fill the barrel and get a wood fire burning long enough to heat water.

Yes, the Pongola Hotel was unique. Sometimes you find adventure in ordinary things.

That was then, today Pongola is a tourist destination because it is the gateway to wild animal nature parks.

As for the Rhinos shown in the photo above, I managed to convince them to move so I could continue on my way.

One of the first assignments I had as a geologist was to examine an old mining district in New Mexico. The objective was to visit the mines and determine if they might hide an ore deposit of interest to the company I worked for. This old district slumbered in a low range of hills in the boot heel of New Mexico, south of Lordsburg. It was a place which apparently had seen a few years of glory but then faded into history when the bonanza ore and promise of riches dwindled. My research found little information on the mines, but I did find a good topographic map.

In those days, the United States Geological Survey, before they became politically correct, used to plot all the old mines and prospects on the topographic maps, so I had a good guide, at least to the location. Small prospects, holes less than 10 feet deep, were marked on the map with X’s. Tunnels and adits were marked by arrows and the larger shafts were marked with squares. Some of the mines even had names printed on the map.

The district consisted of a central core of perhaps 50 prospects covering about 3 square miles. There were, however, some outliers, and one of these outliers had the label “Miss Pickle.”

Mining claims are named for a wide variety of things, limited only by the imagination or hopes of the prospector. For instance, the Christmas mine near Kearney, an important copper mine until a few years ago, was found on Christmas day. The original Tombstone claim was named because the prospector was told that if he ventured into Apache country, he would find nothing but his tombstone.

Many claims are named after women. There’s the Little Daisy near Jerome, a bonanza copper mine, which was named after the miner’s daughter. The New Cornelia mine at Ajo, now a large open pit, was named after the wife of one of the early investors, perhaps in the hope of securing more financing. The Mary G near Arivaca was named after a lady of the evening. She must have been inspiring. My favorite name of that ilk is one near Courtland, east of Tombstone, a mine named “Maid of Sunshine.” I wonder what kind of women could evoke a name like that. Somehow, the name “Miss Pickle” didn’t seem to inspire such a grand vision. But something was nagging at my memory. I had seen that name before.

I packed up my truck and headed for New Mexico. I spent the day examining the main workings of the old mining district. Things were not encouraging. There were the usual signs of copper and zinc, but nothing to indicate a deposit that would be interesting to a major mining company. Since the core of the district was not interesting, there was little chance that the few outlying prospects would be any better. Yet, the name “Miss Pickle” was still nagging at my memory, so I decided to take a chance and pay Miss Pickle a visit.

After an hour of traversing old, washed-out roads, I arrived at the Miss Pickle mine to see a prospect typical of the 1880s. There was an adit, two shafts, and piles of waste material surrounding them. Nothing remarkable, it looked like hundreds of old prospects I’d seen before. Our standard procedure was to collect samples for chemical analysis and to carefully scan the dumps to gather a suite of minerals that would characterize the mine and allow us to determine if the mineralizing system was one capable of producing something of interest.

I took out my rock hammer and started breaking rocks to look at the minerals they contained. The third rock I broke gave off the distinct odor of garlic. That was significant. I took out my hand lens to get a closer look. That’s when I saw it. It now became clear why the mine was called Miss Pickle and I remembered then, where I had seen the name before.

Miss Pickle was no lady. The name is a play on words between English and German. I had seen the name in Dana’s Textbook of Mineralogy. The old prospectors had a sense of humor. You see, Mispickel is the German name for the mineral arsenopyrite which gives off the odor of garlic when broken. Arsenic minerals frequently overlie gold deposits, something confirmed in this case upon analysis of the samples I collected. You can never tell what will be important. It was my nagging memory of Mispickel that caused me to take a chance and find the gold.

While this form of up-selling may be legitimate, I think companies should not be allowed to offer “gifts” or something “free” unless it really is offered without obligation.

I recently put this to a test. I subscribe to Reader’s Digest magazine. For the past three months, my magazine came with a card that offered “3 Free Gifts.” RD provided a website where I could go to collect the “3 free gifts.” Upon visiting the website, I found that I could download a cookbook for free, but for the other two “gifts” I would have to sign up for a book club. I wrote to Reader’s Digest about this matter but never received a response.

Since the headquarters of Reader’s Digest is in New York, I wrote to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. He replied within a week saying he was forwarding my complaint to the proper department. A week after that, I received a letter from Karine Patino of the New York Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection. She wrote, “I am forwarding your complaint to the company to request a statement of their position and a possible adjustment.” Maybe just the inquiry from the New York Attorney General will cause Reader’s Digest to rethink their advertising methods. I would have no problem with RD offering a bonus for trying their book club.

Arizona Attorney General, Terry Goddard, also mentions scams involving “gifts” in his office’s brochure “Ten Top Consumer Scams.” (See: http://www.azag.gov/consumer/TopTenScams.pdf )

Goddard mentions that some auto dealers “Advertised minimum trade-in amounts and free gifts. Dealers may raise the price of the car to offset a low value trade-in or the cost of the gift.”

Caveat Emptor.

Do you wordsmiths out there have any phrases you would like to see disappear – phrase such as “very unique,” or “past history,”  “terrible tragedy,”  or even the one I used, “pet peeves?”