Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Wanderers 2015.12.15


We dove right into global climate talk, in which we've become fluent over the years.  Dick is talking about the kelp forests that used to stretch out into the Pacific, much further than today.

Kelp is a fantastic converter of CO2 to O2, in case that's of any interest.  The sea urchins have been devouring said kelp however, unchecked by their natural predator:  sea otters.  Bring back the otters then?  Sea urchins fetch a pretty penny on the sushi market.  We have lots of ways to increase biomass, some more intelligent than others I'm sure.

Pretty much right at 7 PM, the projector came on and started a showing of The Power of Community, a documentary film about Cuba's austerity measures in the face of its pariah status, as enforced by old enemies and expats.

The film has been going around for awhile, but was new to me as of only a couple days ago, when I reviewed it in Control Room.  Showing it tonight was not my idea but was an idea I approved of.  Nothing wrong with Wanderers taking in a documentary now and then, especially given our sustained interest in the planetary gas mix.  Methane was also a hot topic tonight, as were hydrogen, nitrogen and some others.

Recent history around Cuba is a topic I've touched on before in these blogs of mine.  I start traversing that territory, starting early in BizMo Diaries, where I review the docu-drama Motorcycle Diaries, about Che Guevara in the early days, and future friend of Fidel Castro.  Also in these blogs, I touch on JFK, U2, Cold War... themes from my own lifespan.  I've been paying attention at least.

I brought along a brochure from OSU's Valley Library, Special Collections, about the new on-campus museum exhibit, just outside the Doug Strain Reading Room, where the Pauling papers (his and hers) are collected.  I put it in the glass case, comprised of Pauling-related souvenirs.  Linus lived here (in the house where we're meeting, showing this film) as a child, becoming aware of chemistry, experimenting in the basement (we're told), contributions to which would later earn him one of two Nobel prizes.

We enjoyed the film, it seemed to me.  Internet devices geared to help with agricultural engineering might be what's coming.  Maybe that's where we're at now.