Sustainable Fish

I am a fan of Sky Full of Bacon, a fascinating online show and blog associated with the newspaper Chicago Reader.  It follows our foods from "farm to table" in the Midwest and in Chicago in particular.  Local and sustainable food sources are recurring ideas.  The other feature of this blog/show is running an ongoing challenge where chefs challenge other chefs to come up with a dish or cocktail using a strange or uncommon ingredient.

I draw attention to one particular show, Episode 11, which discusses sustainable fish supplies as opposed to consuming threatened/overfished species.  According to the World Health Organization 13.5-16.8% of animal proteins consumed by humans are derived from fish/crustacean/mollusks (with regional variation).  There has been recent awareness of the depleting fish supplies largely due to human activity whether it is from overfishing, pollution, introduction of non-native species, or possibly climate change.  In particular, the demand for white-fleshed fish has reduced the numbers of orange roughy, sea bass, and Atlantic cod; thus many have to turn to tilapia which has become nearly ubiquitous in restaurants.

The Shedd Aquarium and a company CleanFish promote U.S. farm raised fish and discourage imported fish and many wild caught fish.  They do note there are some sustainable wild caught fish: those species that have multiple spawns in a lifetime and are not overfished or the fishing quota is well regulated.  Also not all farmed fish are equal.  Farms need to be sufficiently inland so as not to interfere with wild populations and the fish habitat needs to be fully sealed off from ground water supplies.  This was also the first time that I've heard of vegetarian-fed fish.  Why vegetarian-fed?  If you use vegetable feed then you are not depleting the oceans and lakes of fish/crustaceans that could be used to feed farmed fish.  The Shedd releases a "Right Bite" list of sustainable and unsustainable fishes.  They recommend avoiding tasty fishes such as most tunas, red snapper, Mahi-mahi, orange roughy, Chilean sea bass, Atlantic cod.  They also recommend avoiding large fish that tend to have high mercury content such as sharks, swordfish, tuna, marlin, and Atlantic grouper.  There are some exceptions to the rule such as Alaskan wild caught salmon is considered better than any farmed salmon.  Recommended species include tilapia, Pacific cod, striped bass, arctic char and barramundi.

Android/Blackberry "Rootkill"?

All your keystrokes and GPS locations "are" belong to 3rd party company Carrier IQ.  According to Forbes magazine, Carrier IQ has a deeply embedding surveillance application found on Android (Samsung, HTC, Nokia) and RIM devices.  System administrator Trevor Eckhart uncovered unsolicited and comprehensive tracking and storing of data usage including URLs, app usage, texts of smartphone users.  There is a potential for violation of a 1986 federal wiretapping law on a massive scale.  Carrier IQ issued Eckhart a threatening cease-and-desist letter but an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation came to the defense.  Is Carrier IQ a bully or just afraid of slander?  Readers weighing in parse the issue in two ways:

1. Is it okay for your usage to be recorded comprehensively by a third party?
2. What data is actually transmitted to Carrier IQ or by Carrier IQ to other companies?  In terms of wiretapping legality, this is the rub.

Rose-Colored Americans

Honor Code
Is the honor code an American phenomenon?  I had assumed it was the commonly understood standard by which all people expect themselves and others to live up to; however, a friend from France/Belgium/Angola told me the idea of an honor code is an American concept.  She tells me for the rest of the world if you can get away with it while advancing yourself, the ends justify the means.  A crude definition of the honor code: honestly taking credit for your own work (giving credit where credit's due).  Friends from India corroborate the lack of this "American" code by pointing out the rampant cheating that occurs in schools, particularly note passing during exams.  My Indian friends somewhat rationalized it by saying how difficult tests are in India; everyone there is doing it and you are at a disadvantage if you don't do it yourself.  Another way to look at this is the opposite of honor: what is shameful?  According to the honor code, dishonest gain is intrinsically shameful.  In a society where such a code is not commonplace, the only shame is getting caught in the dishonest act.  So my Indian friends tell me if you choose to not advance yourself for the sake of honesty, you are considered a fool.

Why is this is so important?  Society cannot be sustained by perceptions.  We need concrete, usable production and real results.  Without the honor code people will try to and have cut corners.  An example of this is the melanin-milk scandal in China:  Use watered-down milk mixed with melanin to give the impression of "normal" protein content.  Sell this pseudo-milk to families which feed it to their babies, whom then suffer permanent kidney injury and death.  Whatever happened to taking pride in the quality of the work you do?  Is this how things devolve when there is no one to answer to?

Perhaps it is not American per se as reflected by past European discourse on virtue.  Instead it looks "American" because the erosion of the West's Judeo-Christian ethic ("Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor") has not penetrated the U.S. as deeply.  A universal outcry still arises when we catch someone taking credit for another's work.  So in may places there remains an expectation of honor in others but not of yourself because you want to keep your vices.  This is also is hypocrisy.  "Hypocrisy is the compliment vice pays to virtue." (Francois de la Rochefoucauld)


Win-Win
Is the concept of win-win also an American phenomenon?  At least in the West, it is an understood bargaining position.  A manager in manufacturing went to Korea to help set up a plant.  In his efforts to bargain he found they never heard of win-win.  He tried to provide a "win-win" compromise however the Korean negotiators said they didn't understand win-win.  So he explained it meant both his company and their company benefited from this setup.  Their response was, "We don't care whether your company wins. I want to win. I want to win."  I want to think this is an issue of something loss in translation; otherwise, how could negotiations proceed?

These two ideas of honor code and win-win make me think there is a sort of naivety that American's have of the world around them.  People do not play by the same rules.  This isn't a call for cynicism but a look at our assumptions.  The U.S. is not above greed nor selfishness but our cross-cultural discourse need such awareness.

Hitchens Lennox Debate

The debate on "Is God Great" between atheist journalist Christopher Hitchens and Christian pure mathematics professor John Lennox at University of Alabama Birmingham was an event where two individuals not only appealed to reason but also to emotion. I found Lennox more capable of grasping philosophical and logical angles. Hitchens' arguments hinge not on debating creation vs. evolution but on two main posits:

1. God is cruel for creating all things while allowing suffering and designating individuals for Hell; and,
2. Individuals claiming to follow or represent God commit atrocities.

Responding to the first posit, Lennox also plays the "cruelty" card. Atheism permits only the impersonal forces of material interactions. For Lennox, the random forces of chance are cruel in rendering all things meaningless and worthless: you are just a combination of programmed responses to physical stimuli and chemical reactions.  As for the second, Lennox points out that, logically, a purely atheistic system precludes any objective morality, thus the system is permissive of atrocities. He keenly points out that, yes, people identifying as Christians have committed atrocities but this is in violation of Christianity; whereas, atheists commit atrocities without violating atheism.  The amoral atheistic system results in an endgame where Might does make Right; the fittest do survive; and Nietzsche's Übermensch–a superior race–should dominate.  The fallacy in Hitchens' worldview then, is the absence of objective goodness, which if Hitchens is to remain consistent, he could not deign something or someone as "not great"–as his book title proposes.  In this debate Hitchens partially concedes this lack of objective morality in Atheism, but he still admits that he still thinks morality does exist.

What is considered cruel then? For both individuals, cruelty takes on forms of determinism.  Hitchens essentially asks: If God is [omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, perfect, good and loving], does He orchestrate the entire composition and circumstances of an individual, knowing full well that this very person is thus fated to commit evil, reject God, and be sentenced to Hell?  Is one unavoidably faced with harm and folly?  Does God orchestrate the suffering of millions over time?  Such questions address the problem of evil and destiny that any worldviews should attempt to answer.

Lennox counters by portraying the cruel determinism of atheism.  Under such a system we are irrevocably compelled to act and behave because we as electrochemical-soup-sacks are all "dancing to our DNA" (quoting Richard Dawkins).  No matter how terrible our actions or their consequences, everything and everyone is just moving, colliding, and drifting for no reason at all.  Disaster strikes, suffering happens without any explanation.  Life is meaningless.  Atheism doesn't allow you to "make your own meaning" because you're just fooling yourself.

Coming from a Christian background, I propose the overlooked characteristic in [blue list] is that God is also just.  If God's measure of goodness is perfection then His measure far exceeding human standards.  Bring justice in and everyone is left guilty and at fault with God.  Does this then remove choice and free will?  Not necessarily, a choice is to be had but the reward and consequence are in stark contrast: eternity with God or eternity separated from God.  Is such an opportunity to choose even offered?  According to the Christian worldview, the Book of Acts shows that, "Yes," this is the offer:

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. -Acts 17:26-27

Such questions seem much more critical than the question of origin (creation-evolution debate). It is ironic then that Hitchens claims solace only in science but directs his efforts at philosophical issues removed from science. My minor gripe for Lennox is that he states that God bestowed on humans "infinite value."  Yes, we cannot put a price on human life, but are humans of infinite value?  Wouldn't that warrant redeeming everyone?  By Lennox not providing further justification, I believe he actually meant intrinsic value.

Steve Jobs

An orphan, dreamer, dropout, Steve Jobs became an icon in business, innovation, marketing, design, music, art, education.  He was opinionated, driven, emulated, visionary, and inspiring as a futurist.  He lived and spoke as if every moment of each day mattered and every decision informed by uncompromising quality (and aesthetic).  His intensity and attention to detail resembled Howard Hughes' days of brilliance also burning bright and ending too soon.  Disney's Iger put it well in noting: "...it feels like he was just getting started."  His commencements speech at Stanford best showed an understanding and familiarity in his struggles.  With Pixar and Apple, Steve Jobs built company cultures of pursuing greatness, never less, and always moving forward.  Consumers remain in continual anticipation of the next wonder.  And for the tech industry, Jobs seemed to have exclusive access to the "crystal ball" to when and which new ecosystems were to spawn.  Forgoing market research groups, Steve was uniquely attuned to the human experience.  He looked past the digital and worked in ideas, emotions, and meaning to somehow distort reality and captivate.  Ultimately he was so effective in connecting and leading because he loved and was a true believer in what he did.

Grizzly Man - Movie Review

Grizzly Bear
Originally uploaded by blmiers2.

I watched the documentary Grizzly Man narrated and arranged by filmmaker Werner Herzog. The film is a character study of Timothy Treadwell, the self-proclaimed protector of grizzly bears, one of which violently tore apart and ate both Timothy and his girlfriend. The last character-study-type film I saw was There Will Be Blood, also a tragedy but I find myself reacting so differently. This was reality. Timothy Treadwell was both lost, wanting to get lost, and became lost in such different senses. A back injury had ended his college diving scholarship; thus his schooling and the path of life became so easily unhinged. Acting pursuits fizzled and many relationships were fleeting. He so desired and sought after a significance he could not find in humanity.

Treadwell was an unconventional naturalist, an emotionally mixed up nature worshiper and who became increasingly paranoid and angry at human beings. Most naturalists would work to preserve by minimizing the human footprint, and acknowledged a difference in the nature of man and the nature of animals. Treadwell repeatedly wanted to and did become entangled in nature and thus many say he lacked a healthy respect for nature and the boundary that separates humanity from nature. He had an acute sense of loneliness and did not have answers and was drawn towards nature which cannot choose to reject you in its indifference. Instead, nature became idealized, fantasized, and creatures were anthropomorphized as innocent children. Treadwell seemed to voice both the danger he put himself in while simultaneously overlooking or ignoring its savagery.

It is here we are offered some insight into Werner Herzog whom says the common denominator of existence is not innocence but violence. Herzog was visibly shaken on hearing the audio recording of the two individuals being mauled to death and told a former girlfriend of Timothy's to destroy the tape. Herzog also interjects to differentiate himself from Treadwell when Herzog observes bears as examples of the soulless indifference of nature.

Herzog touched lightly on the psychiatric medication that Timothy was once prescribed, a move likely to minimized additional ammunition to those calling Treadwell "crazy." However, there is enough description of the medication to suggest that bipolar disorder may have been a diagnosis. The film's depiction could also suggest a borderline type personality. Such individuals are characterized as having such a deep sense of emptiness that they are driven to be charming or possessive out of a fear of rejection. Their relational emotions are dialed to express either love or hate but not the in-between. Such diagnoses are only hypothetical musings.

Contagion - Movie Review

I recommend the movie Contagion. I admit, I approached the film with some cynicism: "How many ways can you make an outbreak-type movie?" I was pleasantly surprised. This is Steven Soderberg's treatment of cocaine in his 2000 movie Traffic now applied to diseases. It has less action but is better pacing. Again we have a star-studded ensemble cast, and the aim was realism over melodrama (keeping it true to Soderberg form). What would really happen if humanity faced another race-killing pandemic or at least bring it on the verge of dystopia? The writer Scott Burns did his homework regarding epidemiological investigation and in identifying major players. Well done Burns in laying out a plausible scenario.

Without providing any spoilers, some questions to address after seeing this movie are:

1. From public health/safety/security perspectives, how can we promote the good and minimize the harm?
2. How can we deal with issues of motivating/controlling human behavior?
3. How do we choose whom to protect/save when resource, time and options are limited?
4. How can we disseminate information and resources in a trustworthy manner that would not create mass panic/riot and infrastructure breakdown?

This movie also got me thinking about the greed and idiocy that informed the behavior of many during the recent London riots. Perhaps the further we are removed from suffering and tragedy, the less prepared we are to effectively confront crises.

 Addendum:  It turns out the pathogen antagonist in the movie is based on actual emerging virus.

Origami - ASICS Commercial

Well done origami commercial.

Origami In the Pursuit of Perfection from MABONA ORIGAMI on Vimeo.

Increasing Sophistication of Scammers

China-based website bitlifesciences.com (Bit Life Science) has been e-mail targeting researchers and physicians with fronts of conferences that have attendance fees from the hundreds to thousands of dollars. The victims are invited as guest speakers however there is no mention of honorarium or stipends in the invitation. Credit card information is transferred and the conference does not seem to ever materialize.

These conferences often go by some grand global title involving the words: Annual, World, International, Congress, Con, Conference. The heading is completed by a pairing with various fields, such as Vaccine, Forensics, Genetics, Protein and Peptide, Molecular Biology, Cardiology, Cancer, Stem Cell, Microbes, Drug Discovery, Immunodisease, Environment, Greentech, Carbon, Biotechnology. Such Internet hording of conference names is akin to patent trolling or more like domain squatting.

The sophistication is that the webpages of these bogus conferences will feature guest speakers whom are actually known figures in their respective fields. The Scientist investigated by contacting these speakers and uncovered that such speakers were unaware they were being pegged to speak at conferences they never heard of. In addition, the webpages provide apparently convincing conference schedules. The Scientist also contacted the conference centers and found that they too were unaware of themselves hosting such conferences and the bitlifescience contact person was neither in their database nor schedule.

A quick check of bitlifesciences.com by Norton Safe Web and McAfee SightAdvisor both show a clean profile; however, the absence of malware does not mean you are safe from being scammed.

Love & War & The Sea In Between

I'm really into Josh Garrels' music right now :)
Here's some stuff:
•playlist of songs: YouTube Mix for Josh Garrelsby YouTubePLAYLIST25 videos

•A live acoustic performance:


and
•Finally, Josh's homepage offers a FREE download of his latest album in its entire 18-song wonderfulness.

Quiet Desperation

Henry David Thoreau wrote "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."  It appears as if such quiet desperation repeatedly plays out among undergraduates and graduate students. Away from the moorings of home, undergrads conform to the "Animal House" mythology for parties where alcohol flows freely, weed and experimentation is accessible, peer pressure is at an apex. For most with still developing identities, escapist hedonism appears the most ready answer; but hedonism is unrealized. Pleasure is sought but, devoid of substance, many are left searching without a compass.

For post-college days, many have given up this search and settled for an unsatisfying morass of just being in the presence of others. Perhaps it is the atmosphere of economic downturn and job scarcity but they've entered a haunted insomniac pursuit: over-entertained but lacking introspection. There is no patronizing here but a observation of many contemporary young adulthood. The light in all this is that being young and educated there remains room for hope.

Tulmultuous Times for Christians

2010 ended sadly for the rights and lives of many Christians and their sympathizers:
1. The Alexandria, Egypt Coptic Christian Christmas and New Year holiday church bombing drew attention once again to the threat faced by many Christian minorities.

2. Pakistan's ambiguous blasphemy law allows for continued persecution of Christians. The woman Asia Bibi was accused by fellow farm workers for insulting the Prophet Mohammad during an argument. Imprisoned since November 2010, she has been sentenced to death. Expressions of sympathy or leniency towards her have led to violence, in fact 37 people have been murdered for having any implied support of this woman. Among these deaths is the brutal assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer by his own bodyguard after Taseer appealed for this woman's pardon. By this act, his bodyguard, Malik Mumtaz Hussein Qadri, garnered popular support from the public, attorneys, and clerics. With many Pakistani officials being mum on the assassination or siding with clerics, Islamic extremism continues to be on the rise and the hunt for "blasphemers" continues to expand.

Ilomilo and Little Big Planet 2 are two games I would look forward to playing. They both have that cute positive vibe with a handmade/craft look:

"Take Out" and Illegal Immigration

I saw Take Out, and it really opened my eyes to the harsh life of the illegal immigrant. It's one thing to know of it, another to see it. There isn't a good solution to how to deal with the estimated 11 million (mostly Latino) illegal immigrants in the U.S. There is no legal obligation to citizenship owed to illegal immigrants. Many argue that they have become integral to the U.S. economy in shouldering many menial positions. Mass deportation is not feasible and for many who arrive by costly one-way tickets (smuggled), there aren't opportunities or means for return. The links between smuggling and organized crime further places such individuals in precarious financial debt. There is a level of desperation and dreaming in coming to the U.S.

If it is a matter of fairness then one might claim it is unfair to legal immigrants to automatically grant citizenship to or employ illegal immigrants. If it is a matter mercy then to whom should the nation grant rights and what level of support should be offered? As of now we have a system mixing fairness and mercy. Many fly under the radar and others gain entrance by seeking asylum or refugee a status which virtually guarantees legal entrance and residency in the country. Thus many illegal migrants circumvent the system by claiming asylum/refugee status or by document forgery. Is this fair to those who truly need asylum/refugee?

Mosque Debate

The religious freedoms that the Pilgrims sought and found in America translate over to the debate over the mosque to be built two blocks from Ground Zero. Legally we should allow the construction and I am inclined to agree with Mayor Bloomberg's speech. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a Sufi (of the mystical branch of Islam) who grew up in a family that worked to dialogue with different religions. I believe he continues in his father's work to represent a moderate Islam still willing to dialogue. Some American Muslims find this mosque debate characteristic of the umbrella of hatred that many Americans have towards them. Opponents of the structure find this offends what has become "sacred ground" of those who died at the hand of extremist Islam. I agree the victims should be honored. But does this dishonor them? I have to think more about this.

I doubt the opponents of the mosque would describe or recognize their stance as hatred; fear or distrust is more likely the emotion. We see in Europe the growing Muslim populations and unrest. We hear Muslim leaders speak of populating the West so as to eventually bring all under Sharia law. We read of sleeper cells training and plotting to bring the downfall of America. That is what this proposed building has come to represent in many American eyes. If we are to chose a representative or authority of Islam, Imam Rauf would be ideologically closer to American ideals, a counter to that extremism. As all atheists are not Pol Pot and Stalin, nor all Christians witch hunters and pedophiles, so also not all Muslims are terrorists. I want this to be a step in the right direction to allow free speech, assembly, freedom of religion. Am I misinformed?

Blast the Senses Until Nothing Tastes

Unexpectedly while reading WIRED magazine review of DC Comic's zombie epic, I came upon some interesting social commentary:

Blackest Night is one of our new millennium’s finest examples of humanity’s excessive thirst for fear, violence and consumption, as well as a stellar document of our continuing distraction. Unlike the Twilight franchise, the I Am Legend blockbuster film and other terribly boring undead apocalypses, it’s a steadily riveting experience shot through with mind-numbing artistry. But like other culturally revealing horror and torture-porn exercises of our still-new 21st century, it’s serious sound and fury signifying a great big hole where our souls used to be.

Let’s hope we can get them back before we all turn into the mindless undead in search of the next overkill.

Regarding the (intentional?) Sound and the Fury reference, William Faulkner's novel is described by Wikipedia as an "examination of the corrosion of traditional morality, only to be replaced by a modern helplessness." Perhaps this WIRED magazine contributor is expressing a realization that our continual existential and escapist pursuits are ultimately nihilistic. This may also be an example of Ravi Zacharias' observation on our culture's hunger for entertainment and fantasizing on what is in reality banal: evil.

MMR Autism Link Based on Conflicting Interests

Slate has a good article on Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield recently lost his medical license after pursuing various avenues to link the measles vaccine to various diseases, links which were either never found true or proven wrong. In addition his unscientific publications and campaigning were tied to actual or potential personal monetary gain (huge conflict of interest!). His efforts of preying on the fears of parents have led many U.S. and UK parents to refuse immunization for their children and, not surprising, caused an increase in the number of measles cases. What the lay population does not realize is that vaccination not only protects our own children but also the community immunity prevents the spread of viruses to the developing fetuses of pregnant mothers who cannot receive certain vaccines. Thus a refusal of vaccine is a lose lose option.

Bon Appetit

My friend gave me a free subscription to bon appetit. Here's some cheddar bacon biscuits, yum! Click on the picture for the large version.

Poem

Heard this poem on the RZIM Let My People Think.

In No Strange Land
(The kingdom of God is within you)

O world invisible, we view thee,
O world intangible, we touch thee,
O world unknowable, we know thee,
Inapprehensible, we clutch thee!

Does the fish soar to find the ocean,
The eagle plunge to find the air--
That we ask of the stars in motion
If they have rumor of thee there?

Not where the wheeling systems darken,
And our benumbed conceiving soars!--
The drift of pinions, would we hearken,
Beats at our own clay-shuttered doors.

The angels keep their ancient places--
Turn but a stone and start a wing!
'Tis ye, 'tis your estranged faces,
That miss the many-splendored thing.

But (when so sad thou canst not sadder)
Cry--and upon thy so sore loss
Shall shine the traffic of Jacob's ladder
Pitched betwixt Heaven and Charing Cross.

Yea, in the night, my Soul, my daughter,
Cry--clinging to Heaven by the hems;
And lo, Christ walking on the water,
Not of Genesareth, but Thames!

Francis Thompson

Queen Cover

A good cover of a Queen song. Recording is not the best as the drums obscure the violin near the end. This is the song that Shen & Zhao skated to in the 2009 Vancouver Olympic pairs figure skating short program.