Subject: Re: Are there still scientific expeditions? YES
From: David Granteer
Date: 16 Sep 1996 09:51:08 GMT
Mark Mulligan wrote:
>There is an emerging UK Expeditions Forum for this sort of thing. Its
>being discussed at uk.net.news.announce. Give your support. Also you
>can contact the Royal Geographical Society Expedition Advisory Centre ,
>London.
>
>JR Bauer wrote:
>>
>> Have you considered EARTHWATCH? They take trained and untrained
>> volunteers for specific projects.
>>
>> anon1167@nyx10.cs.du.edu (M) wrote:
>>
>> >While hanging around the library today and thinking about how bored I am
>> >with with lab work, I decided that what I really wanted was to go on a
>> >scientific expedition. You know, like in the old movies where the
>> >scientists cruise around in the tropics, collect specimens, and take them
>> >back to England, where they show them off to aristocratic families until
>> >some wealthy young woman falls in love them, and they live happily ever
>> >after.
>>
>> >So I was wondering, are there still scientific expeditions that travel to
>> >distant, relatively unexplored parts of the world? A lab tech that I
>> >worked with once went on a 6-month expedition ot Antarctica, but I was
>> >thinking of someplace a little warmer.
>>
>> >
>
>--
>_____________________
>Dr. Mark Mulligan, Department of Geography,King's College, Strand,
>London,WC2R 2LS.
>Tel. 44 171 873 2280,Fax. 44 171 873 2287,Email. mark.mulligan@kcl.ac.uk
No problem! The expeditions that the National Geographic Society (US)
sends out seem like the worlds finest boondogles to me. You know, get on
a sailing vessel and sail to Antarctica to photograph the Penguins. All
this and they pay for it! If you figure out how to get them to do this
for you, please take me along.
Dave
Subject: does it ever pay to be a "whistle-blower?"
From: stephanie@sqn.com (stephanie mora)
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 10:46:39 GMT
hi
I wonder if "whistle-blowing" in the scientific/academia
establishment is still as frowned on and tending to punish the
messenger as much as when i was a very young researcher [1954-55] in
biochemistry.
I realize the establishment has established some appeal boards
and appeal routes to encourage whistle-blowing, but in light of
Kaminishi case at Tufts, i don't think anything has changed.
A young friend of mine in academic research recently came to me
for advice about how to complain about a project she is involved with
that is so poorly designed that the results can have little value. go
to the project leader [chairman of the department!]? -- absolutely not!
who else to go to? no one.
assuming my young friend is absolutely right in her judgments
[always the chance she doesn't really understand the project aims and
guidelines!], my best answer was, don't rock the boat, don't complain
to anyone, pretend that it's a validly-designed experiment, and work
like the devil on your part of the experiment. and don't discuss your
doubts with *anyone.*
my young friend is torn between the possibility of wasting
three years of her professional life on a worthless project and the
certainty of immediate punishment if her actions denote her as a
whistle-blower to the academic/scientific community. not a great set
of choices!
Now i'm having doubts about my advice. comments please [and
please refrain from flames re senility, altzheimers, etc. -- i'm not
quite there -- yet.]
Subject: Re: does it ever pay to be a "whistle-blower?"
From: DrHeasley@Chemistry.com (FAH)
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 13:22:57 GMT
On Mon, 16 Sep 1996 10:46:39 GMT, stephanie@sqn.com (stephanie mora)
wrote:
|hi
| I wonder if "whistle-blowing" in the scientific/academia
|establishment is still as frowned on and tending to punish the
|messenger as much as when i was a very young researcher [1954-55] in
|biochemistry.
|
| I realize the establishment has established some appeal boards
|and appeal routes to encourage whistle-blowing, but in light of
|Kaminishi case at Tufts, i don't think anything has changed.
|
| A young friend of mine in academic research recently came to me
|for advice about how to complain about a project she is involved with
|that is so poorly designed that the results can have little value. go
|to the project leader [chairman of the department!]? -- absolutely not!
| who else to go to? no one.
(scenario cut)
One of the key issues basic to your question is your young friend's
position. As a grad student, she will need to assess the likelihood
of completing her degree under the current circumstances. If there's
a definite Ph.D. at the end of the project, regardless of its outcome,
then there's a reasonable payoff for her. On the other hand, if
there's a significant chance that her time will be wasted, she should
seek another mentor, even if it means moving to another university.
If in a postdoctoral research program, I'd start looking for another
position immediately. One should never waste effort working for
someone who is not worthy of respect. In the end, it will always come
back to haunt you.
As a junior faculty member with limited employment opportunities, I'd
also start looking, but I'd look even harder to compensate for the
anticipated difficulty in finding another post.
In any case, although "blowing the whistle" would certainly be the
ethical thing to do, it will also assuredly delay your career. Times
haven't changed much in this regard - as indicated by recent articles
in The Scientist and Science magazine.
Frank Heasley, Ph.D.
Principal
FSG Online
Jobs and Resumes in Biotechnology, Science and Medicine
http://www.chemistry.com
Subject: Re: Help! - Value of Ivy League vs. Other Schools
From: dim@soda.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU (D. Gerasimatos)
Date: 16 Sep 1996 11:33:53 -0700
In article <323984DD.550B@attmail.com>,
Irina Bondarenko wrote:
>
>I second this. Anecdotally, I know someone who is related to someone
>who said that when he started working for Goldman Sachs, he along with
>the other newbies were asked (by their new colleagues) where they went
>to school and if the answer was some non- Ivy/7 Sisters/Ivy-caliber
>state school (a la UVA, Mich., Berkeley)/little Ivy (Haverford et al.),
>they were snubbed. My friend's brother was apparently embraced
>immediately into the in-crowd when he uttered "Columbia."
>--
This is a place you'd _want_ to work? Get me as far away from that as
possible! At Berkeley, I had a lot of good professors who were at or
near the top of their respective fields and do you think that they
_all_ went to the schools you described (especially for undergraduate)?
A lot of them did, but quite a few of them did not. They have a word
for what you described... elitism.
Dimitrios
Subject: Post-doc Position
From: Z Chen
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 11:47:47 -0400
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR
POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS available to study cardiac development in mice
using embryonic stem (ES) cells and transgenic technology. Ongoing
projects include analysis of cardiac function of a family of
transcription factors, and study of novel genes involved in embryonic
heart formation. Ph.D. and/or M.D. degree, and experience in molecular
biology are required. Backgrounds in developmental biology or genetics
are desirable Send description of research experience, curriculum
vitae, phone and fax number of three references to: Zhi Chen, M.D.,
Ph.D., Cardiovascular Research Center, 7301 MSRB III, Box 0644, 1150
W. Medical Center Drive, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann
Arbor, MI 48109-0644. Fax: 313-763-4851; Email: zchen@umich.edu
Subject: *MA-Sr Research Engineer-Chem Process R&D; -MMT
From: "Molten Metal"
Date: 16 Sep 96 11:28:18 +0000
Senior Research Engineer - Molten Metal Technology - Fall River, MA
The Company:
Molten Metal Technology is one of the hottest companies in the
environmental technology industry. Global demand for our patented core
technology for recycling hazardous and non-hazardous waste continues to
grow at an astounding rate. Within this dynamic environment, we expect
creative staff to contribute their ideas, apply their experience, and make
a significant difference. As Molten Metal enters a new era of
commercialization and construction of plants, we seek a talented Senior
Research Engineer.
The Position:
This position requires planning and executing chemical process R&D;,
including both theoretical and experimental components. You will assume a
lead role for in-depth experimental conception, design, execution, and data
interpretation. Detailed mechanical design of reactor system components and
overseeing implementation of those designs will also be performed. Both
bench and pilot demonstration scale experimentation will be required for
integrated process development. Significant contributions to process
development efforts in the forms of modeling, numerical analysis of data,
and computer simulation needed. Strong technical skills with 5+ years of
applied chemical engineering experience required. Ph.D. strongly preferred.
Benefits
Comprehensive benefits package includes: flexible spending plan to adapt to
your needs: Health; life and disability; 401(k); stock purchase and
options; paid time off; PLUS creative features for creative employees -
sabbatical and life cycle accounts to support balance between your work and
personal life.
Qualified candidates please forward resumes to:
Human Resources-Dept CQ
400-2 Totten Pond Road
Waltham, MA 02154
***APPLICANTS MUST REFERENCE JOB CODE - KSRECQ***
Via Fax 617-768-4536
Via E-mail jobs@mmt.com
For more information on Molten Metal Technology, please visit our web site
at http://www.mmt.com.
---------------------------------------------------
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---------------------------------------------------
Subject: *MA-Metallurgical/Ceramics Engineer-Molten Metal Technology
From: "Molten Metal"
Date: 16 Sep 96 11:28:30 +0000
Metallurgical/Ceramics Engineer-Molten Metal Technology - Waltham, MA
The Company:
Molten Metal Technology is one of the hottest companies in the
environmental technology industry. Global demand for our patented core
technology for recycling hazardous and non-hazardous waste continues to
grow at an astounding rate. Within this dynamic environment, we expect
creative staff to contribute their ideas, apply their experience, and make
a significant difference. As Molten Metal enters a new era of
commercialization and construction of plants, we seek talented
Metallurgical/Ceramics Engineers.
The Position:
This position requires someone with generalized experience in one or more
of the following industries: iron or steel manufacturing, metallurgical
sales production, refractory or ceramic manufacturing or cool gasification
process. You will be responsible for the design and specification of
components associated with transport of liquid metal and ceramic phases,
cooling and pressure letdown of high temperature liquids, and granulation
of metal and slag: and also will coordinate with Molten Metal
Technology's process development and experimental systems groups for the
development of test programs and pilot studies for associated equipment
components.
The ideal candidate will possess a degree in Metallurgical, Ceramic or
Mechanical Engineering and a minimum of 5 years industrial experience.
Specific experience in one or more of the following areas is also
desirable: casting operations, mold design and operations, liquid metal
flow control, slag operations, phase equilibria of metallurgical and
ceramic systems, high temperature vitrification processes or glass
manufacturing. Experience with the preparation of piping and
instrumentation diagrams, equipment data sheets and procurement
specifications is highly desirable.
Benefits
Comprehensive benefits package includes: flexible spending plan to adapt to
your needs: Health; life and disability; 401(k); stock purchase and
options; paid time off; PLUS creative features for creative employees -
sabbatical and life cycle accounts to support balance between your work and
personal life.
Qualified candidates please forward resumes to:
Human Resources-Dept CQ
400-2 Totten Pond Road
Waltham, MA 02154
***APPLICANTS MUST REFERENCE JOB CODE - JNMCCQ***
Via Fax 617-768-4536
Via E-mail jobs@mmt.com
For more information on Molten Metal Technology, please visit our web site
at http://www.mmt.com.
---------------------------------------------------
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---------------------------------------------------
Subject: My attempts to "dilute" the Ivy thread
From: "Arthur E. Sowers"
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 15:30:20 -0400
Not that I want to spoil anyone's fun, but the Ivy thread has been filling
up post lists with conversational material that I have thought belonged
more on some, but not all of the newsgroups in the cross post list. Eg.
soc.culture.china seems, besides s.r.c, to be pretty far out of the
concernes of the eight shools (and the envy of those who are not there?).
I was replying to many for a few days, but after editing out the s.r.c.
group. I got two flames and one fan letter as a response so far. Out of
the one flame, the flame was retracted when I explained why.
Do any of the rest of you want to chip in on making replies to that
thread, but edit out s.r.c. before posting? If anyone wants to be a part
of that thread, maybe they could just go over to one of the newsgroups
where its a "bigger deal" and spam away. Probably good, deep thought, and
significant posts will get people to answer and repost and cause the
"storm" to just move past us. I think hardly anyone there is noticing how
broadly the thread is moving accross newsgroups. And although the
information density on that thread seems low, I don't want to spoil
anyones fun, just take it somewhere else.
Or am I all wrong?
Art Sowers
Subject: Re: Help! - Value of Ivy League vs. Other Schools
From: "Matthew M. Lih"
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 12:53:30 -0700
Gregory A. Godfrey wrote:
>
> In article <514e4g$uir@msunews.cl.msu.edu> RJConstance writes:
> >I don't have any references to support this but it seems that the
> >graduates of Ivy league schools are no better off than a graduate from
> >any other school (although they think they are). The school does not
> >make the person. A person only gets out what they put in. There are of
> >course lots of remnants of the stuffy "good ol' boys" clubs which may
> >offer job opportunities working with stuffy old boys. Your students are
> >better off going to their local State school.
Better off in what sense? Financially? Social status? Depth of education?
State the criteria!
> I highly disagree. As a graduate of Yale and a soon-to-be graduate
> of Princeton, I can say that graduates of Ivy League schools have an
> advantage over those from most other schools (exceptions for MIT, Duke,
> Northwestern, Stanford and other top, non-Ivy schools).
Add Johns Hopkins to that list, please! :-)
> While it is true that you only get out what you put in, the opportunity
> curve (if I can call it that) is much higher at the Ivy League schools
> than it is at most other institutions.
What the heck is the opportunity curve??
[Hiring decision scenario between Yale grad and presented:]
> It's your choice. Choosing the student from Yale involves less risk on
> your part because, on paper, the student from Yale looks better. If I
> had the choice to go to either Yale or Midwestern, is there any objective
> reason to prefer me four years later because I went to Midwestern?
Speaking from personal experience, I was surprised at the reaction from
people within TRW. Every time I mentioned I received my B.S.E.E. from
Hopkins, they would say "that's a good school". I talked to other people
within TRW, and they said the school does indeed make a difference, even
after you start moving up the ladder.
> The *only* trade-off that is of concern is financial. That's the tough
> question, and the poster above contributed nothing toward that
> discussion. In my case, I needed $15,000 in loans and full-time
> jobs every summer to get through Yale, and I've never doubted my decision.
> Princeton is paying my way through graduate school, but graduate school
> is not the topic of interest.
Depends what you want to do. If your chief concern is financial, I don't
think the school will make that much of a difference in earning power.
If you take the difference between costs at an Ivy league vs. a good state
school, let's say $10,000 a year, you would be $40,000 ahead after
4 years. If you had invested that $40,000 in an average mutual fund,
that will grow to over a million dollars by the time you hit 55, and you
could possibly retire early.
The analysis is a little different if you go for a master's degree, in
that many cases you can climb farther up the ladder and make more money
along the way. However, if you're paying for it yourself, you lose the
opportunity of investing that money, and might be worse off in the end.
Finally, it's been reported in some magazines financial magazines (think
I read it in Fortune or Money) that a PhD gives you the least bang for
your buck, at least in terms of money.
> The financial decision varies from person-to-person, but I would have made
> the choice to go to Yale over the full scholarship offer I received from
> the Ohio State Honors Program every time. Others may disagree if presented
> with the same opportunities, but that's why it's personal.
True. I loved Hopkins!
> Since I was on financial aid at Yale, my parents paid around $5,000, I
> paid $3500 through summer jobs and campus jobs, and $3,500 in loans
> covered the difference each year. This was for 1988-1991. At Ohio State,
> I would have paid nothing and pocketed any money I made from summer and
> campus jobs. Will I recoup my undergraduate losses through future salary
> differences? I don't know (though I think I will), and frankly, I don't
> care. The experience itself was worth the price I paid.
Financial aid makes a big difference. The Ivy League and other top schools
(call them first tier) know they are expensive, and make a lot of effort
to help students out. Your mileage may vary.
Experience is a big thing. There *is* more to life than money.
> I hope this helps, and I've trimmed the newsgroups line to include only the
> relevant groups.
I haven't changed the newsgroups line since Greg did, but what does alt.feminism
have to do with this? (don't bother trying to answer this)
> Greg Godfrey
Matt Lih
Subject: Re: The Happiness Meter
From: richardz@cy-net.net (richard)
Date: 16 Sep 1996 15:57:58 GMT
I'm writing primarily to help dilute out the Poison Ivy crowd.
I agree that happiness has a large biological component. I can
see a personality-happiness difference between my two dogs, and I
have noticed that infants have distinctly different personas from the
very start.
How this affects career is problematic. Dave would say being happy is
a prerequisite. I think perhaps he is confusing happiness with
sociability and an ability to self start, which really does require
an upbeat I can do it attitude.
Happiness I think is something else entirely. That is why there are so
many 'successful' public personalities who engage in socially questionable
conduct. Their lack of happiness, in the face of success, must be
devastating to what they have accepted as conventional wisdom--be
successful and you will be happy. On the other hand, those who
suffer failure for whatever reason, are not likely to be happy.
Anyway this is all off the top commentary to get a discussion going and
pour Roundup on the Ivy.
Subject: Re: Help! - Value of Ivy League vs. Other Schools
From: kat.admin@mhs.unc.edu (Ken Thorn)
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 16:00:54
In article <5194vg$s26@mack.rt66.com> bluesky@Rt66.com (Karen Elder) writes:
>From: bluesky@Rt66.com (Karen Elder)
>Subject: Re: Help! - Value of Ivy League vs. Other Schools
>Date: Thu, 12 Sep 96 14:02:16 GMT
>There are seven: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and
>Yale.
There are eight. you omitted Pennsylvania
>Originally these were all men's colleges; the seven sisters are the "women's
>Ivies": Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar, and
>Wellesley.
What about Skidmore and Goucher?
Subject: Re: Help! - Value of Ivy League vs. Other Schools
From: Irina Bondarenko
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 15:52:20 -0400
D. Gerasimatos wrote:
>
> In article <323984DD.550B@attmail.com>,
> Irina Bondarenko wrote:
> >
> >I second this. Anecdotally, I know someone who is related to someone
> >who said that when he started working for Goldman Sachs, he along with
> >the other newbies were asked (by their new colleagues) where they went
> >to school and if the answer was some non- Ivy/7 Sisters/Ivy-caliber
> >state school (a la UVA, Mich., Berkeley)/little Ivy (Haverford et al.),
> >they were snubbed. My friend's brother was apparently embraced
> >immediately into the in-crowd when he uttered "Columbia."
> >--
>
> This is a place you'd _want_ to work? Get me as far away from that as
> possible! At Berkeley, I had a lot of good professors who were at or
> near the top of their respective fields and do you think that they
> _all_ went to the schools you described (especially for undergraduate)?
> A lot of them did, but quite a few of them did not. They have a word
> for what you described... elitism.
>
> Dimitrios
Please don't shoot the messanger. This Ivy bias makes me as ill as it
does you, but I was relating a story not celebrating the attitude it
portrayed. I would definitely not want to work with that money grubbing
bunch of social climbers and pretentious pedants that impress my friend's
brother (the (anti-?)hero of the above story).
--
-Irina.
Subject: Re: Help! - Value of Ivy League vs. Other Schools
From: "Cynthia S. Smith"
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 19:27:56 +0200
On Mon, 16 Sep 1996, Chris Stone wrote:
> a,rec.sport.golf,alt.education,misc.wanted,soc.men
> In-Reply-To: <51iu99$6is@kili.ifi.uio.no>
> References: <32346BF9.6E15@ix.netcom.com> <512qt8$lc5@news4.digex.net> <51edqg$fe6@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>
> Organization: Dept. of Math & Stat, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
> Cc:
> Bcc:
>
> Out of curiosity, may I ask what it is you do in Norway?
I moved here because I'm engaged to a Norwegian guy. I study law at the
University of Oslo and I freelance as a translator. That's what I do :)
Cynthia S. Smith
http://www.sn.no/~csmith
http://www.ifi.uio.no/~cynthias
Subject: Re: does it ever pay to be a "whistle-blower?"
From: "Arthur E. Sowers"
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 15:44:49 -0400
On Mon, 16 Sep 1996, FAH wrote:
> On Mon, 16 Sep 1996 10:46:39 GMT, stephanie@sqn.com (stephanie mora)
> wrote:
>
> |hi
> | I wonder if "whistle-blowing" in the scientific/academia
> |establishment is still as frowned on and tending to punish the
> |messenger as much as when i was a very young researcher [1954-55] in
> |biochemistry.
> |
> | I realize the establishment has established some appeal boards
> |and appeal routes to encourage whistle-blowing, but in light of
> |Kaminishi case at Tufts, i don't think anything has changed.
> |
> | A young friend of mine in academic research recently came to me
> |for advice about how to complain about a project she is involved with
> |that is so poorly designed that the results can have little value. go
> |to the project leader [chairman of the department!]? -- absolutely not!
> | who else to go to? no one.
> (scenario cut)
>
> One of the key issues basic to your question is your young friend's
> position. As a grad student, she will need to assess the likelihood
> of completing her degree under the current circumstances. If there's
> a definite Ph.D. at the end of the project, regardless of its outcome,
> then there's a reasonable payoff for her. On the other hand, if
> there's a significant chance that her time will be wasted, she should
> seek another mentor, even if it means moving to another university.
I generally agree with Frank on this. However, if the quality of the
"education" is or will ever be called into doubt or questioned, then I'd
advise moving to another degree program even if it means throwing away
several years of one's life. This happened to me twice in my life. Staying
and taking the short cut (accepting a PhD in recognition of work you know
or always will feel is inferior will stay with you all your life).
> If in a postdoctoral research program, I'd start looking for another
> position immediately. One should never waste effort working for
> someone who is not worthy of respect. In the end, it will always come
> back to haunt you.
Yep. I agree 100%.
> As a junior faculty member with limited employment opportunities, I'd
> also start looking, but I'd look even harder to compensate for the
> anticipated difficulty in finding another post.
This depends on the circumstances.
> In any case, although "blowing the whistle" would certainly be the
> ethical thing to do, it will also assuredly delay your career. Times
> haven't changed much in this regard - as indicated by recent articles
> in The Scientist and Science magazine.
There is already much written on this topic. Most whistle-blowers suffer
some form of retaliation. Even if your position is strong, and have
impecable notes/evidence/documentation, there will be years going by while
all kinds of administrative stalling will take place. This situation is
even worse in the government and defense industry (viz. the literature on
DoD-industry fraud).
Sure, blowing the whistle is the "right thing to do." But, I think I'd
take my chances "getting the hell out of Dodge" ASAP. You will be much
more able to control your life that way than trying to interfere with an
entrenched bureaucrasy where you are. Don't try to take on society's ills
single handedly. The FBI had hundreds working on the unabomber for
what two decades? And, it took a "break" to get what is probably the guy.
One person against dozens who may close ranks against you is bad odds.
Art Sowers
Read some relevant info from references below:
________________________________________________________________________
| rev Aug 18,1996 "Contemporary Problems in Sci Jobs" (=CPSJ) essays: |
| a 2nd Edition of CPSJ is available with conditional unrestricted |
| royalty-free reproduction rights. Earlier versions of |
| the "Contemporary Problems in Science Jobs" essays may be found at: |
| http://www.mbb.yale.edu/acb/ |
| http://chemistry.com/ (dig around) |
| http://his.com/~graeme/cpsj.html and ***/cpsj2.html |
| They also can be found at FTP site: |
| snorri.chem.washington.edu/pub/ysn/html_articles/Sowers_CPSJ.txt |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| (rev Sept 11,'96) Some Net resources on PhD careers & job market: |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Nat Acad study on where PhDs eventually go: |
| http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/grad/ |
| " " / " / " / " /appendixc.html |
| Goodstein Report: http://www.caltech.edu/~goodstein |
| "The Scientist"- newspaper about scientist careers: |
| http://www.the-scientist.library.upenn.edu |
| gopher://ds.internic.net/11/pub/the-scientist (txt, partials) |
| AAAS (the situation of postdocs): |
| http://www.edoc.com/nextwave/forums_postdoc/ |
| AAUP Listserver: majordomo@igc.apc.org - leave sub=blank - |
| put in text of message: subscribe aaup-general |
| AAUP email address: aaup@igc.apc.org |
| Other scientist employment resource info can be found at: |
| http://his.com/~graeme/employ.html |
| http://saa49.ucsf.edu/psa/ |
| YSN website is at: http://www.physics.uiuc.edu/ (hunt around) |
| my nano HP is at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/arthures |
| Let me know if you can't reach these. Suggestions & email appreciated |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: Neutralize Nuclear Waste
From: "Rebecca L. Miller"
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 10:28:06 +0000
Oh wow. Where to start?
LULU wrote:
>
> Dear Friends:
>
.....
> Professor Yull Brown is willing to be at our Declaration of Energy
> Independence on the 23rd of September in Philadelphia, and has
> magnanimously offered to demonstrate his ability to neutralize
> radioactive waste at our show! He will also bring a car engine that has
> already been modified to run on Brown's Gas, and will demonstrate how to
> pump water without any mechanical device (pump) at all. I believe that
> he was so touched by the hearts of the crowd that he has decided that
> even at the risk of his own life, he will do this.
1) Radionuclide thermoelectric/thermomechanical generators have been around
for quite some time (see, e.g. Ch. 6 of "Radiochemistry and Nuclear
Chemistry" by G. Choppin et al). I certainly support (in principle)
recovering useful nuclides from DOE wastes for beneficial energy uses, but I
doubt that enough public enthusiasm can be rallied for Prof. Brown to make a
fortune from it.
2) This process will not "neutralize" radioactive waste; it will merely make
use of the energy released by the radioactive decay. It will take ca. 300
years (10 half-lives) for Sr-90 to "completely" decay whether it is in a
geologic repository in Nevada, or in a generator in my home. (Note that the
Department of Energy and its predecessors used to produce and distribute
Cs-137 and Sr-90 capsules from its nuclear waste; they were eventually
recalled because of some structural integrity problems).
3) If Professor Brown's life is going to be risked by doing this
demonstration, why would I want one in my home and car? Just food for
thought.
Rebecca M. Chamberlin
Subject: Re: The Happiness Meter
From: STEVEN BARTHAKUR
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 13:10:36 -0700
> On 15 Sep 1996, Dave Jensen wrote:
> > Art - The two psychologists made some comment in the article I referred to
> > that folks who go through tragic circumstances have an uncanny knack of
> > putting themselves back on the "happiness meter" at about the same setting
> > they were on before the event.
>
The idea that happiness is a set point in one's body may in fact be a reality. The
general level of happiness is usually a function of the amount of frustration that one
can handle without a decrease in one's set point of experienced happiness.
There was once a guy who had won a lottery, quit his job, went on a huge buying spree,
and commited suicide two years later. This guy obviously had a low set point. The
reality of his existence was that he'd hated his life but at least his prior job gave
him something to keep his mind on during the day. When the job was removed (by the
prize money), he was left alone to wallow away in his misery.
On the other hand, some of us have a higher set point for happiness. There was a period
of three months in my adult life where I wasn't working at any job. I had money in the
bank and didn't have to do anything if I didn't want to. During that time, I exercised
2-3 hours a day, read 5 good books a week, and wrote continuously in my journal. I can
say that I had never experienced so much happiness in my life. The reason for this is
that I had eliminated my frustration (i.e. working for someone else) and experienced
the full range of my barometer for happiness.
-S.B.