- The Arabs: A History by Eugene Rogan. Sweeping history of Arab nations over the last 1000 years. Conflict with the West is an ever-present theme, but a bigger theme is internal divisions and violent self-destruction within the Arab and Middle Eastern nations. At the first opportunity, people seem to pick up weapons in this part of the world to resolve their differences. Amazon says 3.5 stars, Goodreads says 4.6 which is very high. A solid book and worth the time.
- Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. What an inspiration. If every public servant had Gandhi’s commitment to the truth, if every revolutionary had his commitment to nonviolent noncooperation, the world would be a better place. The Middle East needs Gandhi-like leaders! Amazon says 4.5 stars, Goodreads 4.06. Not the best writing in the world but great to read the man’s thoughts directly.
- The Light in the Tunnel by Martin Ford. Sloppy lazy singularity crap. Thankfully brief tho I couldn’t stomach actually finishing it. Amazon says 4.5 stars, these people need to think harder. Goodreads says 1 star but then I am the only rater on Goodreads so a little circular. If you really want to read singularity crud, go read Kurzweil or Wolfram, at least those guys have put some effort into their arguments.
Archive for July 10, 2010
Recent nonfiction — The Arabs, Gandhi, singularity
Your tax dollars at work — dock replacement
We have a dock on Lopez Island. It is old and falling apart due to years of rough weather. It is fully permitted by all state, local, and federal agencies. We want to replace it with exactly the same structure or something more eco-friendly of exactly the same size. It has been in place for more than 40 years.
We are on round 7? 8? of discussions with the various permitting agencies (and there are a lot — San Juan county, Army Corps of Engineers, Washington DNR, National Marine Fisheries Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and several more I am sure I forgot). We are employing an architect, a dock design/construction firm, a permit expeditor, a biological survey firm.
Currently we have to come up with a pile driving plan. Any kind of pile driver disturbs some form of wildlife. If we use a vibratory pile driver, we have to figure out the 120db attenuation distance for the sound, and then come up with a marine mammal (killer whales and stellar sea lions) monitoring plan. If we use a impact hammer pile driver, we have to determine the 150db attenuation distance for the sound, and then come up with a marbled murrelet (which look darn cute but I’ve never seen one) monitoring plan. Oh and of course our construction window is very limited to avoid disturbing the eagle nesting season. And we’ve already cleared the fisheries and seabed vegetation hurdles (tho they could always rise back up!)
This is not an exercise for the faint of heart or for the budget-conscious. You have to be committed!
Category: Uncategorized /
Tags: Army Corps Of Engineers, Killer Whales, Lopez, Marbled Murrelet, Pile Driver, Sea Lions, Tax