Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?

Hey, science may hold the answer!

A research team led by geographer Thomas Gillespie of the University of California-Los Angeles used geographic analytical tools that have been successful in locating urban criminals and endangered species.

Basing their conclusion on nighttime satellite images and other techniques, the scientists suggest bin Laden may well be in one of three compounds in Parachinar, a town 12 miles from the Pakistan border. The research incorporates public reports of bin Laden's habits and whereabouts since his flight from the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in 2001.

You may read the full research paper here.

Of course, there are skeptics to this report. But hey, it can't be any worse than the current "techniques", which hasn't found him yet, can it?

Zz.

Flanders Recorder Quartet

This past Saturday, I attended a performance by the Flanders Recorder Quartet as part of the Arts At Argonne series. I've never attended a recorder performance before, so it was unusual. I also had this vision of the typical recorder that kids learn to play from and I don't mind admitting that I was a bit apprehensive that it is going to be just this monotonous recorder performance that would put me to sleep.

Well, slap me silly and call me a hollow stick! It was an astounding concert! First of all, the "recorder" appears to have many different siblings, and they all sounded differently from one another, very much like a string quartet. Secondly, the performance also had such a huge range of repertoire, from pre-Baroque era to modern avant garde incorporating various traditional sounds of Africa and South America.

I'm a sucker for ancient music. So when they played per-Baroque, even as far back as the 14th Century, music, that's right up my alley. But what is interesting about the concert was that, due to the intimate nature of the concert hall, the performers had time to describe the music and the history of the evolution of the instrument - the recorder - to the audience. They brought, and used, a large range of instrument, ranging from small, piccolo-type recorder, to this huge big-boy of a recorder that's roughly 7 feet tall and makes a very deep sound. It was a feast for the eyes and ears.

It was a tremendous concert. If you have a chance to attend one of the Flanders Recorder Quartet performance, I highly recommend it. I also immediately brought a couple of their CDs and am delightfully listening to it.

I hope the Arts at Argonne concert series survive. They have to cut back severely on their program due to funding cuts. Now, they can't even put out their program for the year due to lack of funding. So I was more than happy to support and attend this concert. Still, I wish others feel the same way since the concert hall was not even hall-full for this performance. It will be sad if this series cannot be sustained. I can say without a single doubt that THE BEST classical music experience that I've ever, EVER, had, was at one of the Arts at Argonne concert. It was a performance by I Solisti di Venezia a few years ago. I still fondly remember it to this day, and just the thought of the encore performance alone that they gave caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

Zz.

Hang Up And Drive!

I'm starting to see many more of that bumper stickers on cars nowadays, and yes, damn it, Hang Up and Drive!

It is one of those things that continue to puzzle me. We are so adamant about enforcing drunk driving laws, and seat belt laws (in Illinois, there's the "Click It Or Ticket" campaign), etc.. etc. Yet, when it comes to banning cell phone use while driving, everyone is either dragging their feet, or not doing anything. The National Safety Council has collected plenty of evidence and research to indicate that driving while talking on a cell phone, even hands free, is the same as driving while legally intoxicated. The driver has the same response. In fact, there has been NO respected research or studies that have concluded that such a practice isn't dangerous.

So why hasn't anyone done anything to ban such a practice? They seem to care more about enforcing seat belt laws and child seat laws. While I can see how accidents involving someone not wearing a seat belt may indirectly cost me, as a taxpayer, more tax dollars, it really does not have a direct impact on my safety while I'm on the streets. But someone driving while intoxicated, or while yapping non-stop on a cell does! Their very act endangers me, not just them. And to make it worse, there are MANY of them doing that each second of the day!

80 percent of crashes are related to driver inattention. There are certain activities that may be more dangerous than talking on a cell phone. However, cell phone use occurs more frequently and for longer durations than other, riskier behaviors. Thus, the #1 source of driver inattention is cell phones. (Virginia Tech 100-car study for NHTSA).

But even if such a law is put in the books, it doesn't mean everyone will stop talking on their cell phones while driving. It requires ENFORCEMENT! In Chicago, they banned hand-held cell phone conversation while driving a couple of years ago. But stand by any street corner in Chicago and I will bet you that roughly 1/4 of the drivers you see will be on their cell phones while driving. I've stopped at a red light in front of a police station at the corner of Addison and Halsted, and I counted 5 or 6 cars either waiting to make left-turns, or driving past me with driver yapping on their cell phones - right in front of the cops! What does that tell me? Either they are ignorant of the law (unlikely), or they know that this is such a low priority item that the police is not even enforcing it most of the time! It's a joke!

And don't even get me started about those morons driving on the expressway while engaging in some phone conversation. I've seen several that would have caused some major collisions behind them simply from the erratic way they drove (hint: they can seldom maintain their speed!).

Ban the use of cell phones while driving already! How many more accidents and deaths does it take? And you, you over there who are yapping away on your cell phone while driving. You know who you are. Hang Up and Drive Already!

Zz.

Thoughts running through my head

Oh no, you say. Not another mindless crap of opinions that anyone and everyone seem to have and want to express them on the 'net. Yup! It's another one.

I often have plenty of things to say and plenty of questions that no one seems to ask, at least, not from what I've read. For example, that mother of all that babies that said on the interview that she wanted a "large family", how come the interviewer never asked her "How large, exactly?". To many people, the 6 that she had before is already a "large" family. If she said that she wants, say 24, then we know immediately that she's cuckoo. But how come no one asked her what she meant as a "large" family?

Oh yes. It will be that kind of a blog, where some people may get skewered. So put on your safety goggles and hard-hat. It's going to be a very bumpy ride.....

Zz.