Elena's Legacy. Texts written by Elena, excerpts from texts she liked, her artworks.

Monday, June 4, 2018

A Country for Old Man

By Ben Bova

Ignatiev said to the image on the wall screens, « What is the mission protocol’s first priority? »

The answer came immediately, « To protect the lives of the human crew and cargo. »

Cargo, Ignatiev grunted to himself. The stupid program thinks of the people in cryonic suspension as cargo.

Aloud, he said, « Observation show that we are entering region of very low hydrogen density. »

Immediately the avatar replied, « This will necessiate reducing power consumption. »

« Power consumption may be reduced below the levels needed to keep the cre alive, » Ignatiev said.

For half a heartbeat the AI avatar said nothing. Then, « That is a possibility. »

« If we change course to remain within the region where hydrogen density is adequate to maintain all the ship’s systems, » Ignatiev said slowly, carefully, « none of the crew’s lives would be endangered. »

« Not so, Alexander Alexandrovich, » the avatar replied.

« Not so? »

« The immediate threat of reduced power availibility might be averted by changing course, but once the ship has left its prpanned trajectory toward Gliese 581, how will you navigate toward our destination? » Coruse correction data will take more than twelve years to reach us from Earth. The ship would be wandering through a wilderness, far from its destination. The crew would eventually die of starvation. »

A country for old man... Photo by Elena

« We coyld navigate ourselves, » said Ignatiev. « We wouldn’t need course correction data from mission control. »

The avatar’s image actually shook her head. « No member of the crew is an accredited astrogator. »

« I can do it! Nikki cried. « I monitor the navigation program. »

With a hint of a smile, the avatar said gently, « monitoring the astrogation program does not equip you to plot course changes. »

Before Nikki or anyone else could object, Ignatiev asked coolly, « So what do you recommend? »

Agian the AI system hesitated before answering, almost a full second. It must be searching every byte of data in its memory, Ignatiev thought.

Born Again

By Ben Bova

Keating took the afternoon off and drove far out into the wooded Virginia hills, without any conscious destinantion merely drove through the late March sunshine in his agency furnished incospicuous gray Ford. He did not have to be told that it was bugged; that anything said inside the car would be faithfully recorded back at headquarters. And there were tracking transmitters built into the car, naturally. Even if he drove it to Paragonia, satellite sensors would spot him as plainly as they count missile silos in Siberia.

And he knew, just as surely, that he expected a contact, a message, a set of instructions or some sort of help from the entity he had refrained from killing that rainy night atop the Acropolis.

How can I be so certain that he’ll help me? Keating asked himself as he drove. There’s no doubt in my mind that he is what he said he is : an extraterrestrial, a creature from another world, sent here to keep us from blowing ourselves to kingdom come with our nuclear toys. But will he help me? Am I important enough to his plans to be rescued? Does he know what Lyle is going to do to me? Does he give a damn?

No answers came out of the sky as Keating drove blindly toward Charlottesville. It was not until he turned onto Interstate 64 and saw the signs for Monticello that he realized where he was heading.

Born Again. Photo : Elena

He joined a group of five Japanese tourists and follwed the guides through Thomas Jefferson’s home, half listening to the guides’ patter, half looking at the furnishings and gadgets of the brightest man ever to live in the White House. In the back of his mind Keating realized that he had slept in hotel rooms far more luxurious than Jefferson’s bedroom. Wes he one of them? He wondered. Were they tinkering with our world’s politics that far back?

Keating kept pace with the other tourists, but his attention was actually focused on a message that never came. He felt certain that they – whoever they were – would contact him. But by the time his group had been ushered back to the main entrance of the house, at the end of the tour, there had been no contact. He was out in the cold, completely alone.

He drove back in darkness to the apartment in Arlington that the agency had provided for him. It was a pleasan-enough set of rooms, with a view of the Washington Monument and the Capitol dome. Keating could sense the bugs that infested the walls, the phone, most likely the entire building. A fancy jailhouse, he knew

Oil Shock

The defining question of economics is how to satisfy an unlimited amount of wants with a limited quantity of, for the most part non-renewable, scarce resources. Oil is one such natural and limited finite commodity.

Oil shocks have significant impacts on the economy. For instance, after the oil crisis (1973-74) brought on by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) embargo in 1973, the stock market shrunk to half of its worth (Alpanda & Peralta-Alva, 2007).

The authors analyse the interaction of oil prices and energy saving technologies using an econometric model. The paper explains that in response to increases in energy prices, businesses adapt, and to remain profitable, invest in energy-saving technology, which brings about innovation. However, there are inconsistencies in the explanations of the oil turned financial crisis story. As the authors summarize “…energy-intensive industries did not suffer the largest drops in market value. The second empirical criticism is the absence of a stock market crash in 1979-81” (Ibid, p.4). Energy prices went down during the 80s-90s. Alternative explanations are the adoption of information technologies and misguided investments. Simply by standing still, the human body burns calories, stationery edifices too: “U.S, residential and commercial buildings consume 40% of all U.S. energy” (Ibid, p. 7). Improvements in technology lead to more ecologically efficient (green) techniques. For example, during the innovative decade between 1973 and 1983, oil use per day fell by 1,200,000 barrels due to advances in home atmosphere systems.

Cruise liners in Nassau, Bahamas. Photo by Elena

Momani (2009) writes that many of the oil producing Gulf states have few domestic avenues in which to park their oil earnings. Oil revenues have been increasing, especially since oil prices were meagre during two decades at US $20 per barrel in 2001 and lofty at US$ 140 per barrel in 2008. Instead, the funds are redirected internationally, sometimes to institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Supplementary Financing Facility (SFF).

Further, “these past Gulf efforts to recycle petrodollar wealth through the IMF were in response to the global imbalances created by a decade of increased inflation, steep rises in commodity prices, including that of oil, and the overall global recession” (Ibid, p. 2). But according to the author, the situation changed and the Gulf oil producers no longer want to be involved in the IMF. Apparently, it is economic liberalization and integration as well as entry into the World Trade organization (WTO) that prompted the inward shift of petrodollars.

References:

Alpanda, S. & Peralta-Alva, A. (2007). Oil crisis, energy-saving technological change and the Stock Market Crash of 1973-74. MPRA Paper 5896, University Library of Munich, Germany.

Momani, B. (2009). The oil-producing Gulf states, the IMF and the international financial crisis. Policy Brief. The Centre for International Governance Innovation, 13: 1-8.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Bowhead Whale

The Bowhead Whale is highly vocal and uses underwater sounds to communicate while traveling, feeding, and socializing.

They grow up to 15 metres long and weigh up to 60 tonnes. We are still not sure how long they live though Bowheads have been found with 100 year old harpoons heads embedded in their blubber.

The Bowheads Whales have been important to the Inuit for food, clothing and other necessities. Heavily hunted by commercial whalers, they are protected today.

Bowhead Whales live in the Arctic and visit even Hudson Bay.

Rests of the BowHead Whale in the Toronto Zoo. The pictures have been taken by Elena:

This is a whale in its natural dimensions.

The Bowhead Whale head.

The whale as seen from another angle.

An impressive creature!

Halloween - I

Halloween - Part I

Halloween is a celebration observed in dozens of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

The day of Halloween is a very amazing day. It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain & Brythonic festival Calan Gaeaf: that such festivals may have had pagan roots; and that Samhain itself was Christianized as Halloween by the early Church.Some believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, separate from ancient festivals like Samhain.