Cop Car's Beat

Launch of JPSS-1 with Pet Peeve #16

LIFT OFF! NOAA’s JPSS-1 Heads to Orbit

Nov 18, 2017

The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 1:47 a.m. PST this morning. The satellite’s next-generation technology will help improve the timeliness and accuracy of U.S. weather forecasts three to seven days out.

“The value of the new JPSS satellite cannot be understated after this tragic hurricane season,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “JPSS offers an unparalleled perspective on our planet’s weather, granting NOAA advanced insights which will be used to guard American lives and communities.”

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Although I planned to post about the launch of JPSS-1, I must mention that, much to my chagrin, the article contains word usage that is one of my pet peeves. At some time during the past 20 years, people have decided to invert the meanings of some American English terms. In this case, Secretary Ross is quoted as saying, "The value of the new JPSS satellite cannot be understated after this tragic hurricane season...." In my day, he would have said "The value of the new JPSS satellite cannot be overstated after this tragic hurricane season...."

Another word whose meaning has been inverted is "transparent" or "transparency" when used to apply to a process rather than to a medium through which light passes. It used to be that when I told my customer that the change in personnel in my office should be transparent to him, I meant that he should not notice any difference: the change would be internal to our processes and what the customer was exposed to would not differ from his past experience. Now, if I told someone that the change in personnel would be transparent, she would expect to be told about every little change that happened. How do these things happen?

This changing world

Another Google Doodle - #4 (?)

Because you need to know: Today is the 131st anniversary of the hole punch, according to Google. They must have been following our previous discussion in postings and comments to For those with a wry sense of humor and For all that's holey.

Addition 11/15/2017: Because the animation, although working correctly when I pulled the posting up on my laptop, did not work when pulled up on my desktop computer, I have embedded the YouTube version.

In addition, because I am too lazy to do the HTML to include a rebuttal to Stu's comment, I'll include it here. It seems that the hole punch (as I've always called it, rather than puncher) predated the term "chad" (of which I first learned following the federal election of 2000) by many years. I've no idea what anyone has ever called discs of paper produced by using any type of punch. They are "trash" in my terminology

I corrected a glitch in the line spacing of the first paragraph in the copy-and-paste operation that provided the following clarification on chads.

According to Snopes:

Origins:   With all the interest in chads generated by the 2000 presidential election, it was inevitable this apocryphal etymology for the word ‘chad’ would resurface with a vengeance. The claim it advances is that chad (those little pieces of paper produced by punching a card or paper tape) had no specific name
until after a Mr. Chadless invented a tool that could punch tape without producing all those annoying little pieces of paper: the “Chadless keypunch.” Supposedly, people didn’t realize that “Chadless” was a person’s name and assumed the keypunch was dubbed “chadless” because it didn’t produce any “chad” — therefore, those little bits of paper it wasn’t making must be “chad.”

This is an entertaining “cart before the horse” story, but it isn’t true. In this case the horse really did precede the cart: The word “chad” has been around since the 1940s (most dictionaries cite 1947 as its first appearance), and it antedates the “Chadless keypunch.” The keypunch wasn’t named after a Mr. Chadless; it was so named because, as expected, it punched tape while producing little or no chad.

What is the real origin of the word “chad”? Most dictionaries simply list it as “origin unknown,” but a current theory has it that chad comes from the Scottish word for gravel.

Last updated:   1 June 2011

A flap over passports - or lack thereof

  

Image of United States Passport by Mkt3000 dot vim - Photograph taken by Robert Rexach www.mkt3000.com, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2935730 - Both images from Wikipedia.

Lying abed a few minutes ago, I was treated to a BBC report chiding America for having so few peoples' being equipped with passports - something fewer than 40% of US citizens as compared to, say, 75% of the Brits. [US State Department lists 136 million active passports.] Lack of passport was equated with Americans' being "inward-looking" as opposed to citizens of other countries' being "outward-looking". My, oh, my. The BBC personality did go on (reading from a script, one assumes) about how parochial are Americans. Point well taken. However, there are mitigating circumstances.

The first three thoughts that came to my mind were: 1) Ecologically speaking, extensive travel manufactures air pollution - which I am led to believe is a bad thing.  2) Financially speaking, travel from much of the United States to anywhere for which a passport is required, is expensive. 3) With such varied climates, geological/biological conditions, and cultures available within the North American portions of the United States, why would one wish to invest the time and money to cross an ocean?

There are websites listing more reasons to eschew travel requiring a passport; but, I think the three reasons, above, serve adequately. I did find a relevant page on the government website, Where Can U.S. Citizens Travel Without a Passport? Below is an excerpt from that page.

Citizens of the United States can travel to any of the fifty states in the U.S. without a passport. People may sometimes be confused by this, because the land mass of the United States is so huge, yet it is all one country. So while Europe, Africa, South America, and other great land masses are divided into separate countries requiring passports to cross borders within them, it is not the case in the United States. You can drive throughout the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia without a passport; in fact, sometimes a big welcome sign is the only indication you've passed from one state into another.

Even Hawaii, which is a great distance from the U.S. [sic] and has its own unique exotic island vibe is still one of the 50 U.S. states and doesn't require a U.S. passport. The only exception may be Alaska, and only because of its location. It's separated from the lower 48 states by Canada, so if you're going by land you may have to present a U.S. passport at the Canadian border if you aren't otherwise qualified with WHTI document to enter their country. If you're flying from any U.S. state to Alaska and returning the same way, you won't need a passport.

Each region and each state of the United States has a rich history and culture which offers a wide variety of attractions that are worth seeing. From world-class cities like New York and Los Angeles to a tropical paradises like Hawaii, there are hundreds of spots that rival any foreign destination. Here are just a few of the opportunities that exist in the USA.

• 285 incorporated places with a population of at least 100,000
• more than 400 amusement parks
• 17,500+ museums
• 398 areas in the national park system
• 7911 beaches

In my own case, there have been several years during which it would have been highly inconvenient for me to have undertaken international travel due to the nature of the work in which I was engaged. Being employed on five highly classified development programs, I would have had to give up five special access clearances before leaving the States. Upon my return, I would have had to go through de-briefing on each of the programs and been read back in. (As I recall, each clearance required that I answer 26 pages of questions. Oy vey!) I could not go to Canada or Mexico (a short drive from where I worked in California) let alone travel to a land that required me to have a passport. A few years later (1992?), having returned to Kansas, The Little Airplane Company paid for me to obtain a passport - in case I needed one to fulfill my duties. (Of course, my bosses did all of the international travel. Who could blame them?)

Truly, with a passport that expires in 2020, I've no yen to undertake major travel just to use it. I did quite enough domestic traveling for my job during the years of 1981-1990, thank you. I'll enjoy reading accounts from friends who live abroad (Stu, for example - who spent much time in the Continental USA; I must say that I miss Val, in England - who has suspended blogging) and of friends who do much traveling abroad (Dan, for example); but, regardless of the miles put in just getting to/from work sites, there is much of the Continental USA that I've not seen. Even there, virtual trips via computer and TV mostly suffice. Travel, for me, is enjoyable when it takes me back to places I've already been (Albuquerque, for example).

Hunky Husband has done his share of job-related travel. Not only has he visited England, Germany, and Israel - he has visited our 50th state!

Take that, BBC! *laughing*

One notes that I still have my radio tuned to the local carrier of BBC radio, all night long.

Our Gingko tree made a liar of me

Last year, I posted about gingko trees, in general, and ours, in particular. I wrote, "Over the years I've observed an interesting characteristic of the Ginkgo tree: in Autumn, it sheds the vast majority of its leaves, over-night! We awaken to a majestic, thick carpet of gold spread on the ground around that tree." In addition, I posted the photo (below) showing the suddenly shed leaves (well...the leaves that had not already been raked).

This year has been rather strange for most of the trees around here. I think our summer wasn't hot enough (it was hot enough for me, please note!) and was longer than normal. Nearly all of the trees have failed to show fall colors, preferring to change to brown simultaneously with their falling from the trees. Only the sweet gums, Chinese pistachios, and some of the ornamental pears have shown color.

Yesterday, I saw that our gingko had shed approximately 1/2 of its leaves, overnight, 4 weeks earlier than last year. The leaves were still green. What else could go wrong? I noted that the remainder of the leaves had been shed from our sugar maple and all of the sweet gums in the neighborhood. The photos of the gingko, below, were taken from our front room window. I was too lazy to get dressed so as to go outside for photo taking.

The first photo shows the leaves on the ground while the next photo shows the leaves still on the gingko tree.

Fortunately, our neighbor's ornamental pear tree (There are actually two trees, but the other is never as pretty as the one shown) is putting on its normal gorgeous show. There are many such trees on our street; but, few of them have escaped being deformed by the winds' blowing off major limbs.

Change in plans for "quilt"

Several months ago, I started making Hunky Husband another Afghan quilt - one to use when he naps in the reclining chair in his bedroom. (Actually, I started to make an Afghan for myself but decided he needed it worse than did I.) The pieces, to start with, were cut from old denim or heavy cotton clothing (jeans, skirts, housecoats). I don't recall why (probably to make the darned quilt come out to be about 40" x 60"); but, after finishing two goodly-sized squares, I decided to make a rectangle from quilting fabric that was left over from the Afghan that HH uses in he living room.

Along with the glorious plans for the pieced part of the quilt, I had decided to use an old cotton (thermal-weave) blanket as the batting and a piece of a new, heavy-weight cotton flannel sheet as the backing. HH loves the backing on his living room Afghan - which had been cut from the same Queen-sized sheet 10-12 years ago. It is nice and fuzzy. (Tell me why HH loves fuzzy shirts, sheets, and PJs but won't touch an un-peeled peach!)

Anyway...making up things as I went, I finished the top, put the sandwich together, and pinned the assembly together with quilting (in other words, bent) safety pins. Only then did I discover that there was no way I was going to be able to do the quilting using my sewing machine. The sandwich is so thick that the one line of stitching that I made across the width was anything but pleasing to feel or see.

Change in plans: If I cannot quilt the sandwich, myself, I will tie the sandwich together making it a comforter.

I've started the process, but there is much yet to be done - several months' worth of work. In the photo, below, the dark blue around the edges is the blanket/batting. The sheet/backing doesn't show but is cream-colored - nearly the same color as the floor vinyl (tile pattern) that shows at the bottom of the photo.

In the close-up, below, please note that when I get the ties all done at the spacing of the existing ties, I will go back to insert ties between each pair. I'm doing it the fast way so as to enable finishing the edges before doing all of the ties. It will be so much easier to work with the less-bulky total.

This Afghan surely will not rival HH's living room Afghan for beauty; but, it will surely be warm!

Who are the redheads?

Over the years, I've had friends/co-workers/fellow students of various ethnicities and colorations; but, I don't have a good answer to Stu's question, "Are there black/latino/chinese/levantine/etc redheads too?" 

I worked at a masonry tool supplier in Kansas City MO for the summer before starting college. My boss was a wonderful woman who had the most beautiful bronze skin and light copper hair. Knowing absolutely no one who colored his/her hair in those days, it never occurred to me that her hair could have been dyed - so I shall never know. 

In college here in Kansas, one of my friends was a black man who taught me something: some black people have freckles. He also let me know that black people sunburn. I had not thought about it, I'm sure.

Years later, I complimented a friend  at work on her hair coloring. Her skin and hair colors were much like my boss's, as mentioned above. She promptly told me that she colored her hair. Again, I had not thought about it.

Unfortunately, although I've studied and worked with many people of Asian ancestry, I was never presented with one who had anything but black hair.

However, I've found some interesting websites to share. We do need to keep in mind that, like other population traits, mutations are responsible - regardless of the population(s) of origin. Below, I've provided a few links. Below each link appears an excerpt from the website. Enjoy! 

Note: IMHO, the first website has less credibility than do the others.

How to be a Redhead

If you’re a natural redhead, you might have been asked (many times over) if you’re Irish. There is a common misconception that every redhead on the planet has Irish roots, which is quite false. With approximately 70-140 million redheads in the world, they come in all shapes, sizes.. and ethnicities.

With much research, we pulled together photos from 10 women & children who break the “redhead appearance stereotype”. Comment below telling us about your nationality!

African American roots, and natural red hair.
Image Source: Natural Belle

Stanford at The Tech: Ask a Geneticist

 How is it that red hair shows up in people of African descent?

-A curious adult from California

A redhead of African descent is about as common as a Caucasian with red eyes. And there's a good reason for this -- being an albino causes them both.

Except when people are of mixed ancestry, red hair in Africans is usually caused by a kind of albinism. When people think of albinos, they tend to think of white hair, pale skin and red eyes. While this is true for Caucasians, albinism works differently in people of African descent.

There are a few different kinds of albinism in people of African descent, but the one that gives red hair is called rufous albinism. People with this condition have a red-bronze skin color, ginger-red hair, and blue or brown eyes.

How is someone an albino? All of our coloring -- our skin, hair, and eye colors -- comes from melanin. Melanin is just a pigment, or colored chemical substance, like the ones that are used to dye your clothes or maybe even your hair! Melanin comes in two different forms -- pheomelanin (the red kind) and eumelanin (the brown kind).

Being an albino just means that your body doesn't make melanin the right way. There are lots of different genes that can be mutated to cause albinism.

Why are blond and red hair colors not naturally seen in Asian populations? There are some New Guinean tribes where blond hair is not too rare, without possessing any non-native ancestry. How do the genetics behind Asian populations differ?

James Pitt, Harvard HEB graduate.

Answered Aug 1 2013

 

Blond and red hair originated from rare mutations. While several different mutations that cause these hair colors are known, they've only arisen a few times.

And these mutations aren't dominant alleles, because they arise from reduced pigment production, reduced function in pigment receptors, or other interference with the pathways that turn most people's hair dark. This means that getting an allele with the "normal" function will reduce or remove the effects of the allele that causes blonde or red hair.
 
Therefore, blonde and red hair won't spread throughout a population on their own; there has to be a selective pressure that makes people with blonde or red hair more likely to reproduce. Peter Frost argues that unusual hair colors are more common in Europe than in the rest of the world because a) there's sexual selection for hair color, and b) the Northern European environment caused a reliance on hunting that made sexual selection a stronger force than usual.

But it's not like those mutations have never been seen in South or East Asia.

 

Mental Floss

Why Do Some People (Especially Red Heads) Have Freckles?

BY Bess Lovejoy December 2, 2015

 ... MC1R isn’t the only gene causing freckles. About a decade ago, scientists discovered another gene responsible for freckles in Chinese populations. Other genes may be involved too—scientists have yet to unravel all of the genetic causes behind freckles, which occur in a variety of ethnic groups. Regardless of the precise genetic mechanism, freckles are always a family affair: Parents pass on the likelihood of freckling, as well as its locations across the body.

P.S. My mother was one of four siblings. Mom had medium brown hair, the next sibling down had dark brown hair, the next sibling down had naturally blonde hair (mostly still blonde when she died in her mid-80s), and the youngest sibling's hair was like Mom's.