Although I write my own blog and generally the ideas here are mine, I do have a helper. Farm Boss pretty much reads everything I write and gives me his take on it. Because he happens to also be my best friend, I respect his viewpoints and most of the time adjust something if he sees it as not reading right. (Sometimes I leave a little something into the blog just for him to find; so I can keep something else without having a debate over it.)He supports me in this blog. Although only rarely do I mention him, he's the unseen force not so much behind it as alongside it. He helps me with getting photos, with ideas, and often comes home with something new for me to think about.
This photo is one we took in January along the Oregon Coast with a self-timer which we have done every now and again for many years. I will say that if we do it again, I will stand on the uphill side because although Farm Boss is a tall man, I think of myself as a tall woman and that photo makes me look like a midget.
Farm Boss is, besides being the boss (not to mention main grunt) here at the farm, also an electro-chemist, production engineer, and all around techie. As a consultant, he is in the field of developing new technologies. For the last almost 7 years, while retired from corporate life, he has been working with start-up companies. It is in wearing those hats where he comes across a lot of what is happening in the world of science.
Political Influences on Science
What the Bush administration has done is block a lot of scientific development. You think it was just happening in places like Iraq where 'friends' got no-bid contracts worth billions? Or maybe you thought it was just in areas like stem-cell research. In reality the Bush movement has done a lot to block all new ideas. For the last 4 years Farm Boss has been complaining about the research cuts, except for war toys.
Don't ask me why or what they gained with this. Maybe it's their christianist thinking. Maybe it's that whatever we needed in life they believe was discovered in the 1950s or under Reagan. Maybe it's thinking all that matters is rewarding your supporters-- whether they are competent or not.
These people can't even be called Luddites who tried to block new technology that might take away their jobs (we can blame certain unionists for that). They have no good excuse for what they have done, but while the rest of the world has been moving ahead with new innovations, the United States has been stymied.
Some put down what Obama said in his speech about the state of the nation. They simply don't know what's gone on because they aren't in those fields. It would not hurt for them to turn off Rush and do a little real research. Do they believe we can maintain the standard of living we have had if we ignore education, research, and being the first to develop new ideas?
If you want to educate yourself, not count on someone else to do it for you, here are a few links he suggested would be good places to start. Be sure to check the chart in link #4. The first two are from Physics Today. The second two from Chemical and Engineering News. The articles have links to more information:
10 comments:
Nice pic Rain and it is good to have a best friend...:-)
Synergy is something I love and today, Time Goes By had a piece that dovetails with this one: Reflections: Darwin on how in trying to present 'both' sides the truth is often lost.
In recent times, science, because often religion feels challenged by it, is treated as a bad guy or something whose rules are not that firm because it's what we are used to thinking has to be true. 'There isn't one truth.' How many times have you heard that. Sometimes there is! Definitely check out the above link.
I'm going to say a big hello here to Farm Boss, and thank him for all the support and great photos over the years. You two look so happily loving together. It's a joy to see your faces.
I'm afraid both science and medicine have suffered in the past 8 years.
If the Rush's and his followers had their way.....I say we'd be a third world country before we knew what hit us. Go forward? Heck no! They like things JUST the way they are, thank you very much. And will fight Obama and this Administration every step of the way to prove it!
Terri
http://www.islandwriter.net
Nice post Rain and nice photos. I disagreed with Bush on the Stem Cell ban. I think scientific research is very important to our future, but I totally disagree with Obamas carbon trading plan. And a lot of his smart grid plans will be met with lawsuits and protests by the environmental movement. The President seems to be suffering from Bill Clintonitis where he wants to be all things to all people at all times. Hopefully he will get over this soon and just focus on what is important to dig us out of this recession and keep us safe from the terrorists in Pakistan and Mexico.
Wow, I just saw a red tailed hawk fly through the canyon which has nothing to do with your post. However, I'm glad that Farm Boss is so helpful with the blog. I'm sure the two of you bounce stuff off each other all the time. Talk about renaissance man--from the farm to all his technical education and expertise. You'll have to write a story sometime about how all that came about. I'll check out your links this weekend.
Really nice to read the scientific journals' report on ARRA. Thank you Farm Boss.
Not only has science been the bad guy in mdical and energy research but also in education.
Over the last ten years previous administrations spent 1 billion dollars into an educational Vaudville-like morality show aiming at changing the high teenage pregnancy rate. The show insults the intelligence of our youth when what they need to be given is facts and the chance to talk over the problem. On this link there is a U-tube video. http://capwiz.com/zpg/issues/alert/?alertid=12673341
The "Time Goes By" piece, "Reflections:Darwin" makes an interesting point. Sometimes there is only one correct side of the story and reporting people's ignorant denial as truth keeps us from understanding the correct truth. One other thing that is clear to me.
Religion is not challenged by science. The faithful are challenged. People believe in false religious statements just because they need to have faith with such a strong absoluteness that they attribute to religious text the dependability and measure of science. Religious text was written for people before the invention of scientific process. Bibles and religious texts explain the world and morality in the way agricultural, prescientific people could comprehend the truths of behavior and civil law. Given the process of keeping words in the context of the time it was written, the truth will be understood as it was intened.
You are a lovely couple. And I've learned a lot here today. I'll definitely be checking those links.
It's nice to finally meet Farm Boss...you two look great together. Nice to know what a good team you are...in many ways.
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