Drones and FEMA

Seems to me FEMA should immediately create its own air force of drones, first to survey the aftermath of hurricanes, flooding, etc to assess the extent and nature of damage and to track the arrival or non-arrival of aid vehicles; second to provide emergency cell phone service in cases where cell phone towers have been damaged and/or where additional service is needed.

Planting the White House Garden?

Obamafoodorama reports on the planting of the White House garden.  We've had a cool, rather dry couple of months which has delayed everything, particularly the cherry blossoms. 

In our garden we got the peas and lettuce, etc.in fairly early, though not as early as Al, who always beats us.  His peas and lettuce have been showing for a couple weeks now, while I just saw ours this morning.

Mrs. Obama is planting wheat, planning to focus on whole grain foods when it's harvested in the summer. The garden is up to 1,500 square feet, and as they have in the past, they're using seedlings, not seeds so much, which probably explains why they're slower than we are, even though their garden is probably a half zone warmer. 

No mention in the posts about whether the kids are doing any weeding--I think it's safe to say they aren't.  I'm not a parent, but I suspect it's tough to get teenagers to do anything like that.

Digital Library for All

Robert DArnton in the New York Review of Books writes about the launch of the Digital Public Library of America whose modest aim is to "make the holdings of America’s research libraries, archives, and museums available to all Americans—and eventually to everyone in the world—online and free of charge."

He traces the roots of the project back in American history, to our utopianism and pragmatism, the Enlightenment faith in reason and improvement and the practicality of trying to make things better step by step, ideas very appealing to me.

Nurse Anesthetists

Was checking the Bureau of Labor Statistics site and stumbled on this:

"Twenty-four newly defined occupations are included in this release. Computer network support specialists was the largest, with employment of 167,980 in May 2012. The highest paid new occupation was nurse anesthetists, with an annual mean wage of $154,390."

We hear a lot about the jobs which are lost to technology.  (I stumbled on one 19th century article noting that  binders and shockers (for wheat), considered skilled labor, were no longer needed given the development of machine reapers. )  And I'm struck by the salary for the anesthetists.

Drones and Farming

Via Marginal Revolution, here's a Daily Beast piece on drones in farming.  Unlimited possibilities, particularly with precision farming.  Meanwhile Conor Friedersdorf has an article on how drones should be limited in the interests of privacy.

Crunch[ie] Dairy the Demeter Way

This article at Treehugger describes a German dairy farm (mostly) which adheres to Demeter standards.  Amusing throughout, particularly this bit:

Our guide explains that the hollow horns remaining after a cow's passing are filled with manure, and buried underground through the winter. The composting manure gathers cosmic rays in the cold season, and in spring the mixture is dug up and the manure crumbled into the mixing tanks.A special process of mixing creates a vortex that distributes the cosmic energy in the correct manner (the view from the platform is reported to put the mixer in the right mindset during the hour-long mixing process, but more importantly the elevation obviates the need for pumps, which might disturb the cosmic energy)

 And here I always thought my German relatives/ancestors were practical, hard-headed types.

An oddity: it sounds as if the cows are never slaughtered, but yet they raise chickens for eggs and meat.

History Repeats: Kenya, Cellphones and I-Cow

Been doing some reading (and a little writing) in the history of USDA, extension, etc.  The theme I see there is that USDA worked for the most literate, most progressive farmers.  That's why I'm struck by this article in CSMonitor on I-Cow in Kenya; an app helps Kenyan dairy farmers manage their herds. 

Kahumbu’s iCow may not be the latest sensation on Wall Street, but experts say it is just the latest example of an innovative high-tech entrepreneurial culture that has started to take hold in Kenya. Following in the footsteps of major commercial successes such as MPESA – a mobile-phone banking application that now rivals Western Union – other Kenyan software developers are setting up shop in Nairobi, creating high-tech solutions for an African market that has long been ignored; universities and private companies are setting up labs and business incubators; and government officials are plotting strategies to transform Kenya into a high-tech hub for the continent.

I'd like to celebrate the progress being made, but we should also have a thought for those who will be left behind in the race to the top, to modernity.

The End of WASP Hegemony

I remember when I was in the Army talking about the old geezers (i.e. 50-60 year olds) who spent their time at the VFW or American legion posts talking about the old days--we agreed we'd never be them. The Times had an article on the current struggles of the American Legion.

And the National Council of Churches has downsized severely.

Bottomline: the old WASP institutions which dominated the nation when I was young are fading, like Gen. MacArthur's old soldiers.

The Modern Face of Dairy

$170,000 for a 3-year old Jersey cow.  The "Winner-take-all" society expands its reach to the world of dairy.  And as a footnote, the owners used to farm a 900 acre farm in upstate New York.  Guess it was too small to survive. Hat Tip Northview Dairy, who recently visited NYC. (and didn't like it).

Ads I Hate

For some reason I don't like the ads on the Weather Channel, these two categories in particular:

1. the law firms trolling for those who suffer from asbestos or various medicines so they can mount a class action suit.  Not sure why they bug me; maybe I remember in the old days when it was both illegal and unseemly for lawyers and other professionals to advertise.
2. the medical device makers, particularly the motorized wheelchair ones.  Here my puritan soul is aggrieved: you should make do with crutches or walkers, not sit on your butt in a device my tax dollars help pay for.

My burst of aggravation was triggered by this NBC news piece on no. 2, and maybe the fact spring is late this year.