Christmas in the Desert
In which I spend my morning observing the construction of a tumbleweed snowman: (We also made a video. Story coming in tomorrow’s newspaper, too. We take this shit seriously, and did I mention I have the best job? Ever?)
Archive of posts filed under the mind category.
Apparently I’m Supposed to Write a Blog Post About This
For more than a decade, I’ve written about arguments over whether the United States is building, or could, or should build “new” nuclear weapons. They are frequently silly arguments. The “newness” debate was engaged in earnest in the late 1990s when the weaponeers fielded a nuclear bomb called the “B61 Mod 11”. The B61 is …
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The Importance of Rivers
One of my Twitter friends (I wish I could remember who to share credit) pointed out how much this photo, taken last month by an unnamed member of the International Space Station crew, tells us about rivers and human society:
In Search of the Rio Grande
This being “World Rivers Day“, I spent the morning puzzling over the nature of ours. Truth is, I was planning on being aware of our river this morning anyway, via a ride on my new bicycle (seen here propped against a log at one of the constructed wetlands adjacent to the Rio Grande). I don’t …
The Politics of the Colorado River Compact
In a debate between candidates for Colorado Congressional District 3 (the western part of the state, including the west slope and Colorado river), the two candidates are reported to have shown clear agreement on an important point: Both pledged heartily to fight all efforts to reopen the Colorado River Compact. Also, all efforts to switch …
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Favorite newspaper corrections
From the New York Times, Sept. 13, 2003: An obituary of the nuclear physicist Edward Teller on Thursday misstated the number of hydrogen atoms that join to make helium in the fusion process. It is four, not two.
Daybook: Sept. 1, 2010
For the ESA Nerds in the audience (a subset of Water Wonks), an update over on the work blog on the status of the San Acacia fish passage on the middle Rio Grande. From the bike ride, an observation: Bike rides on the Albuquerque flood control system trails sometimes feel like I’m intruding on the homeless …
Water in the Desert: Tempe Town Lake
Great essay in High Country News by Jackie Wheeler about the strange and wonderful (and currently empty) Tempe Town Lake and our quirky relationship with water here in the affluent desert southwest: In so many ways, Town Lake was frivolous, artificial, and naïve. It didn’t produce hydroelectric power. It wasn’t built by beavers or glaciers. …
Rain Follows the Lawn
A letter to the editor in this morning’s Albuquerque Journal has removed the scales from my eyes: The City Council recently turned down a proposal to restrict the rights of homeowners’ associations to require grass in residential landscapes. Grass has been made to seem like a culprit because of the amount of water it uses …
A Great American Song
When I was in Copenhagen a month ago, out walking in the evening, I came across a pair of buskers, folks singers, doing The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” I’ve always loved it, thought of it as a great American song. It was fun to stand in a square with a bunch …