Mr. Andrew Fleming, Traveling

Ask me what I love to do, and I'm likely to answer (among other things): travel. I love to travel, to see new places, to meet new people, to just go somewhere. Anywhere. Everywhere. Well, eventually. And so it is that I look back at the ol' blog, see that I haven't written in over six months, and realize that I have a great excuse--the best excuse--I've been traveling. A lot.

Let's see, where to begin? The last post was in March, and shortly thereafter I was in Roanoke, Virginia for Mu Beta Psi's National Convention. Lynn was ill, so I was on my own. It was a good time, as usual, and I even managed to get myself appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees....whoops. And while I didn't write about it in this blog, I did manage to write a post for the Psi officers' blog over here.

Then suddenly it was April, and Lynn and I were off to exciting Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Typically when we travel to Wisconsin, it's to spend time with her family out on the family farm in Janesville. This time, though, it was a pleasant trip to spend time were her cousins who live in Milwaukee, and just catch up. Of all the trips this summer, this one was probably the most relaxing.

In May, I turned 30. And knowing she would be doing the same later this year, Lynn suggested we celebrate by running off to Disney World. Who could argue? We spent a whirlwind long weekend in Orlando, Florida and hit up all four major Disney Parks, and of course the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Even I have to admit, that was cool. We even ran into some good friends along the way--one who was there for a bachelorette party, and one who works at Hollywood Studios and was able to hang out with us in the parks before going to work. Spending a great weekend at Disney was sort of eye-opening--not just that we had such a good time, but that it was so easy to pop down there for a weekend. Could be dangerous...

May ended with a quick trip with friends up to Killington, Vermont. And June was a much-needed rest. Instead of us traveling, a few friends came to visit us in New York. Then in July, it was back to Killington where we hosted Psi's Alumni Association mid-year meeting.

August was the biggest travel month. Lynn's brother got married, and we joined them in La Paz, Bolivia for a second wedding reception in the bride's hometown with all of her family. On the way, we traveled through Peru and saw Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Lake Titicaca. These are deserving of posts of their own, so hopefully I'll get to that.

Finally, that brings us up to September. Not long after returning from South America, we made a quick trip to Janesville, Wisconsin and then a trip to Austin, Texas for a swing dance event: The Hot Rhythm Holiday. Along with several of our dancer-friends, we'd been working on a piece of group choreography in collegiate shag. Although I had a fever and spent much of the time being generally ill, it was still a good weekend.

And now, we are home, and plan to be home--for a while at least. The holidays are coming up soon, which means Detroit, Michigan and probably back to Killington. And then 2013 kicks off with what promises to be a truly unforgettable trip, Antarctica.

Bon voyage!

It's A Jungle Out There

Richard Florida, the pop economist, has released an intriguing new map of the U.S. that displays the relative ratios of men and women in cities. It seems that for men, the eastern half of the country is the place to find a match, while women should go west.


New York and its environs seem to be the absolute worst for women, with there being more than 200,000 more single women than single men. Sorry, ladies.

But wait, there's more! Brooklynite John Soma, who apparently truly does have all the time in the world, contends that the above map is misleading. Why? It ranges in age from 18 to 64--and ignores the trends across ages. His interactive map allows you to set an age range, and adjust for population. This gives a far more "fair" description of the singles scene across the U.S. Here is his map of the whole age range, 18 to 64:


NYC still doesn't look too good for women, and single men are still battling it out on the west coast. But once you adjust for population, it looks like this:


And here's where it gets interesting. As it turns out, it's not that are really so few single men in the east, it's just that there is a dearth of single older men. There are plenty—more than plenty—single young men in the east. If we narrow the age range, here's what we see (raw data on top, adjusted for population below):



It's raining men!

And if you're wondering why I'm blogging about this, it's because there's one dot on these maps that makes me laugh uncontrollably. Can you spot it? Do you see, way up north? Yes, it's my very own college town! A large population of young men, lost in the wilderness of the UP, trying in vain to become engineers under the delusion that it will impress all the women who are nowhere to be found!

Yes! Michigan

I don't generally dwell on the state I've left behind. It was a great place to grow up, and is still a great place to visit. But every once in a while I like to check in and see how things are doing. And I couldn't help but notice this little piece of news coming from dear old Flint, courtesy of the Detroit Free Press.

Here are some of the highlights:

Flint residents now have to watch their butts because Police Chief David Dicks is on the lookout.

Dicks, who took over the department last month on an interim basis, announced that his officers would start arresting people wearing saggy pants that expose skivvies, boxer shorts or bare bottoms.

....

The crime, he says, is disorderly conduct or indecent exposure, both misdemeanors punishable by 93 days to a year in jail and/or fines up to $500.

Dicks, 41, broke down his interpretation of the laws as such: Pants pulled completely below the buttocks with underwear showing is disorderly conduct; saggy pants with skin of the buttocks showing is indecent exposure, and saggy pants, not completely below the buttocks, with underwear exposed results in a warning.

While nearly an hour's drive from Detroit, Flint is a pretty dangerous place—far more than Detroit itself. Is this a possible solution? It sort of reminds me of Guilianni's crackdown on drug dealing in New York by ramping up parking ticket enforcement. A bit of an out there idea, but it did have some success there. The article continues:

Flint's not the first city to take a look at policing the exposure of underwear. Pontiac, Auburn Hills, Atlanta and cities across the nation have debated the issue. But Dicks makes the assertion that wearing pants below the waist can give police probable cause to search saggers for other crimes, such as weapon and drug possession. He said because sagging is a crime, it presents probable cause for police to search saggers.

Pontiac and Auburn Hills are both suburbs between Detroit and Flint.

Dicks also scoffed at any suggestions that any enforcement unfairly targets black men and teens.

"This is not a black issue. This is an issue that's all walks of life," said Dicks, who is black. "Many people from different ethnic backgrounds and races are doing this fad."

But perhaps the best part of this article, and the true reason why the Detroit Free Press will always be dear to my heart, is the info-graphic they've created to help visualize this crime.Thanks for that, now I know. Yes! Michigan, the feeling truly is forever.

Science For Sale

A good friend sent me this sad, sad link. It seems the British government no longer feels their radio astronomy program is worth having around. They have decided to essentially cut all of the funding for the program that operates the e-Merlin network of radio telescopes.

Some enterprising eBay users have decided to capitalize on their government's unwanted leftovers, and have put several of the radio telescopes up for auction. The Lovell Telescope at the Jodrell Bank Observatory has been pivotal in the history of radio astronomy. The Lovell has been used to measure and the distances to Venus and the Moon. With this telescope, astronomers discovered the 21cm Hydrogen emission line, the first OH emissions of masers, and were able to confirm the existence of pulsars. Since then it has contributed to research on gravitational lensing and quasars as part of the Merlin network.

And of course, who can forget its time served in the SETI program?

The huge yellow somethings went unnoticed at Goonhilly, they passed over Cape Canaveral without a blip, Woomera and Jodrell Bank looked straight through them—which was a pity because it was exactly the sort of thing they'd been looking for all these years
—Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

It's disheartening to hear that other countries are slowly dismantling their astronomy research base. The US has been cutting funding for years, most notably with NASA focusing more on engineering projects than on research. Isn't it interesting how the most publicly appealing of sciences can be the first to the chopping block?

But perhaps the most ironic part of this story? The eBay listing has not yet been shut down!

John Galt Speaks from the Shadows

Today, the New York Times published this new article, providing more information and expanding upon yesterday's article. Apparently, John Galt has released a statement in response to the fines.

Galt, in a statement, rejected the accusations and vowed to defend itself. The company contended that the government agencies overseeing the site often issued conflicting directives that resulted in massive slowdowns and cost overruns.

"Every detail of the work was scrutinized, criticized and finally approved before it could be done," the statement said. "It is inconceivable that these agencies, including OSHA, whose trained inspectors were present at the site on a daily basis, could not detect, or were oblivious to the alleged 'serious and willful' violations that supposedly existed prior to the fire."

The statement said that if government regulators, including OSHA, failed to discover the alleged violations before the fire, they should be the ones charged with failing to do their duty.

But unlike Bovis, who is one of the largest contractors around the city, Galt has no named spokesperson, and no contact person for the press. From where did this statement originate? Who wrote it? Who will take responsibility?

On a more positive note, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the new plan for demolishing the rest of the building, and so work can resume. There's still no sign of anything moving out my window--and no sign of the new subcontractor on the work site--but everyone is still happily repeating the expectation of finishing the job by the end of the year.

The Search For John Galt

Still wondering just who is John Galt?

So are federal regulators from the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Today OSHA announced that it has cited the general contractor Bovis Lend Lease, and the mysterious subcontractor John Galt for numerous health and safety violations relating to the dismantling of the Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street. The citations mainly dealt with violations that led to deaths of two firefighters in the August fire.

Among the citations are:

• Failing to inspect and maintain firefighting equipment to ensure that the standpipe system was operational, and that sufficient water supply and water pressure were available for firefighting.
• Obstructed emergency exit access (including sealed emergency stairwells, emergency stairwells blocked by construction and unlighted stairwells).
• Inadequate emergency escape procedures.
• Unmarked exits.
• Lack of fire extinguishers, emergency alarm procedures and fire cutoffs.
• Failing to develop and follow a fire protection program.
• Smoking permitted in work areas.
• Temporary structures inside the building made of combustible materials.
• Scaffolds erected too close to power lines.
• Unprotected sides and edges of work areas, unprotected floor openings, missing or broken guardrails and missing stair rails.
• Exposed live electrical parts, electric panel boards in wet locations and other electrical hazards.

The New York Times article had some interesting information on the fines:

OSHA cited the two contractors for a total of $464,500 in proposed fines. They issued three willful and 22 serious citations to Galt, carrying fines of $271,500 and 2 willful and 17 serious citations to Bovis, with $193,000 in fines.

The agency defines a willful violation as one committed "with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health." A serious citation, according to the agency, is one in which "death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known."

The article mentions one anonymous executive from the equally-anonymous John Galt company who is upset over the fines. He claims that some of the citations are for things that regulators ordered the company to do (like sealing off the stairwells which had asbestos in the walls). But there is a very ominous, yet familiar, line: "A spokesman for the Galt company, which is no longer operating, could not be reached for comment..." No longer operating. I wonder just who was served with these citations, and who will be paying them.

Meanwhile, Bovis and their new subcontractor LVI Environmental Services still claim that 130 Liberty will be completely dismantled by the end of this year. There are still 26 floors remaining.

Is life imitating art, John Galt? Are you exposing our absurdly bureaucratic procedures and government regulations to rebuild humanity—or destroy it? Are our skyscrapers today's substitute for Rand's steel mills and copper mines? I haven't finished the book yet, so I've yet to learn the answer.

Media Round-Up

Well, the press certainly has jumped on this one! If only that would speed things up....

Check out the coverage on;
Gothamist, a local NYC blog (on my favorites!)
New York 1, the local news station
The New York Times
The Daily News
The New York Post
WNBC

And hey, even hipster photographers are getting in on the fun! Bella atmosfera indeed.

Also, TV news: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ddcS85x2jtk

Of course, there are a few inaccuracies in the press. I'm not sure I'd consider the building "luxury." It's quite nice--nicer than any place I've ever lived in--but certainly not top-of-the-line for New York. Our rent is far more reasonable than most places in Manhattan. The parking garage beneath the building is a public garage. A few tenets have cars there, but no one I know in the building owns a car. It's mostly commuters who park there, since it's location is pretty convenient for people who drive in. And most egregious, all the people who do live in Battery Park City luxury apartments will tell you flat-out that 90 West is most certainly not in Battery Park City. In fact, the building pre-dates the construction of Battery Park City by 65 years. When 90 West was built in 1907, it was built right on the Hudson River. Construction on Battery Park City began in 1972, extending the coast of Manhattan west of West Street. The apartment building is on the east side of West Street, meaning it is a part of the Financial District.

Fire in the Sky

The building on the left with the arched windows is where I live. This was in response to the seven-alarm fire on Saturday that raged through the old Deutsche Bank building next door.

In the picture below, my building is the one on the right, with the copper roof.



Fortunately for me, I was out of the city this weekend. When I got home, I found all the streets surrounding my building closed off to only NYPD, FDNY, OEM, and those of us who lived there. Although they let my fiancé, a guest, and myself through without question when we first arrived last night, I had to show ID to the police when I went to grab some food for breakfast this morning. And again when I left for work this morning. An investigation is on-going, though the streets are nearly cleaned up, and life has resumed. The main concern now is air quality in the area, although all of the emergency officials are walking around without masks.

Two firefighters lost their lives fighting this fire. Many of their colleagues were lost six years ago across the street. May they rest in peace.

The New York Times has a slide show here.

Coincidentally, on Friday the Times had a slide show of how the building is being dismantled.

This building has had a troubled history these last several years. It was irreparably damaged on September 11th, 2001, and was left vacant while the workers cleaned up the area around it. In that time, the water from putting out the fires combined with the chemicals released by the collapse of the towers to create a toxic and moldy environment throughout the building. As a result, the building was condemned to be taken down floor-by-floor, with air quality regulators and inspectors making sure that none of this material escaped to the rest of the neighborhood. For the last year, crews have been cleaning out the interior, and the main dismantling began back in February. Originally 41 floors, the building now stands at 26 floors, and will remain that way until the work crews can continue pending the investigation of the fire.

For now, I see a shell of a building out my window. Broken windows, collapsed scaffolding, and the eerie hulk of a building that should already have been put out of its misery by now.

Photos from the NYT wesite, www.nytimes.com

You Can Always Go Back....

From the New York Times

Queen Guitarist to Complete Doctorate

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 25, 2007

Filed at 10:10 a.m. ET

LONDON (AP) -- Brian May is completing his doctorate in astrophysics, more than 30 years after he abandoned his studies to form the rock group Queen.

The 60-year-old guitarist and songwriter said he plans to submit his thesis, ''Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud,'' to supervisors at Imperial College London within the next two weeks.

May was an astrophysics student at Imperial College when Queen, which included Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, was formed in 1970. He dropped his doctorate as the glam rock band became successful.

Queen were one of Britain's biggest music groups in the 1970s, with hits including ''Bohemian Rhapsody'' and ''We Will Rock You.''

After Mercury's death in 1991, May recorded several solo albums, including 1998's ''Another World.'' But his interest in astronomy continued, and he co-wrote ''Bang! The Complete History of the Universe,'' which was published last year.

He was due to finish carrying out astronomical observations at an observatory on the island of La Palma, in Spain's Canary Islands, on Tuesday, the observatory said.

May told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he had always wanted to complete his degree.

''It was unfinished business,'' he said. ''I didn't want an honorary Ph.D. I wanted the real thing that I worked for.''

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Some people have told me that they worry that I've given up my dream, or my principles. I'd just like to remind them that no decision is permanent, and you can always go back.