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Category Archives: Geology

El Niño or La Niña

Posted on September 18, 2020 by TheMorningTomatoReport

El Niño, the warm phase of ENSO (El Niño – Southern Oscillation weather pattern).

La Niña, the opposite of El Niño. The cold phase.

Oscillation, a repetitive back and forth at a regular interval.

We emerged from a very long run of El Niño which was followed closely by an ENSO-neutral (neither El Niño nor La Niña) period. Here in South Western Canada this means that last winter did not get that cold and it seemed to be a fairly short winter (in my memory anyway). The weather forecasters are now telling us that there is a very good chance that La Niña could bring a very cold winter.

El Niño and La Niña are normal weather patterns that fluctuate back and forth over the years and decades. They are much more predictable than the political adversaries they are blamed on and basically, what we need to do, is pay attention and dress for the occasion!

~~~

A little light reading on the subject (perfect for a chilly, smoky September afternoon):

Collins, M. El Niño- or La Niña-like climate change?. Clim Dyn 24, 89–104 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-004-0478-x

  • This article is not available for free but has some excellent links to the references that Professor Matthew Collins cites.

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LeTourneau Land Train

Posted on May 29, 2020 by TheMorningTomatoReport

54 Wheel Drive Electric Vehicle

TournaTrain.m4V

1950’s technology.  Developed by R.G. LeTourneau

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It is Time to Put an End to the Daily Spectical of Political Theatre in Canada

Posted on April 23, 2020 by TheMorningTomatoReport

“We have chosen to help the most vulnerable….”

This scripted line has been repeated by The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, almost every morning for how many weeks now?  I have lost count.

The most vulnerable, the most frail of the elderly, are now dying in their beds.  Not of age, not of COVID-19, of starvation.

~~~

“No Canadian should need to go without food…”

By refusing to hear the pleas of business and press agents, Trudeau is ignoring another vulnerable sector of society.  Businesses.

By handing out money, freely, to workers.  By ignoring the needs of the employers (not the businesses, those are pieces of paper – the employers, the people who run the businesses) you are failing those vulnerable people whose payrolls keep this country running.  It is people who keep the payrolls happening; bi-weekly payroll after bi-weekly payroll.

By supporting only the workers you are almost guaranteeing that there will be little work to go back to.

By not supporting farming in a way that gets qualified people out working on farms, you, Trudeau, are leading us into what could be – famine.

~~~

“The most important people in this country, right now, are the frontline workers!”

Doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance attendants, care aids and janitorial staff are important.  Are they more important than the chemists who put the drugs into their hands to administer to the sick?  Are they more important than the carpenters, brick layers, boilermakers, iron workers, fabricators, boat builders, payroll clerks, realtors, etc.?  Are front line workers more important than the kid at the drive thru window handing out a cup of coffee to a front line worker who just finished a shift?

The frontline workers are very important and need our support.  So is the chain of supply.  That has been broken.  The support that was there to keep hospitals, pharmacies and doctors offices running efficiently has been broken – by those who have taken command.

~~~

“There is a $40,000 loan available to small businesses…”

But, only if there is a payroll.  There is always a way out for the government.  This is an empty promise.  Think about this one.  Where does money come from?  My second year economics professor has been telling every student that passes through his classes the answer to this one.  Simplified – money comes from debt.  More debt, more money…

The money isn’t going out to small businesses until they have built enough debt to sustain a handout.  This is a slippery slope that leads, most often, to mass inflation.

Why the need for a payroll?  I know so many people who have a business that has no employees and no payroll.  They earn enough to support themselves and then, at the end of the year, they pay their taxes.  There is no payroll.  There is no need for a payroll.

~~~

Businesses are failing.  Not just small ones.  The Canada Pension Fund is about to be in serious trouble.  Canada is in trouble.

Canadians need leadership.

Canadians do not need any more of the political theatre that is currently being pumped out in the garden of a 22 room cottage.

 

 

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Painters’ Colours, Oils, and Varnishes: A Practical Manual by George H. Hurst, F.C.S. – published in 1892

Posted on November 26, 2019 by TheMorningTomatoReport

Painters’ Colours, Oils, and Varnishes: A Practical Manual by George H. Hurst, F.C.S. Published in 1892 by Charles Griffin & Company, Limited, Exeter Street, Strand, London

I love this book and, I want to share some of what is in it, with links, so that the information can be used by artists and people doing various crafts.  The old information is fascinating and, coupled with what is available today – it is usable!  Be safe!  Be careful!  Most of this is not safe for children.  Please, always  keep safety in mind.

IMG_0088As I get going on this little project, I will add excerpts and links below.  Please feel free to comment, add and send links – the more information and the easier it becomes to find it, the better for everyone!

I am going to try to update this post regulary, with more excerpts and more links, as I work my way through this book!

~~~

Chapter I:  Introductory. Colour, Colours, Paints and Varnishes.

from page 4, “Cause of Colour in Coloured Bodies. — The actual reasons why bodies such as vermilion, magenta, or emerald green are coloured, it is almost impossible to investigate in the present state of knowledge, since the cause, whatever it may be, must be due to the molecular construction of the different compounds about which very little is known…”

  • Geology is the key word here.  Geologists have been working to increase our knowledge base of Earth in general and specifically, in this case, our knowledge of pigments. Here is a great place to read about colour, Dust to Dust:  A Geology of Color by Heidi Gustafson  –  if you like playing in the dirt, foraging for rocks and then doing something with them, Heidi Gustafson’s website has some great information in it!

from page 5, “Colour Theories. — Two theories of colour are in use to explain the coloured effects of light.  The old theory… Brewster… The more modern theory, first broached by Young and more fully developed by Helmholtz…”

  • Sir David Brewster’s (1871-1868) work on colour theory is from the 1830’s.  His work “On a new analysis of solar light” was written in 1831 and published by Charles Tait, and Bell & Bradfute; and T. Cadell, London.  One place I have found credit for Sir David Brewster’s theories on the perception of colour is in an article by Peter John Brownlee, “Color Theory and the Perception of Art“, published in 2009 by The University of Chicago Press Journals.
  • Thomas Young, M.D. (1773-1829), was a scientist studying human perception of colour and in 1802 wrote a treatise speculating on how the human eye works to perceive colour.  There is also a lecture series by Thomas Young, “A Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts” which was published in London by Joseph Johson, St. Paul’s Church Yard, in 1807.
  • Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894), continued work on the development of Thomas Young’s theories of human colour perception.  This work is known as the “Young-Hemholtz Theory” and furthers Thomas Young’s theories as to how our eyes actually work to perceive color.
  • This body of knowledge has been expanded upon for more than the 250 years shown in these writings and continues to grow today.  Here are just a few examples of the psychology of colour perception that are a little more recent.

from page 6, “Colours. — … the term “colours” is used in two senses — first, to express the sensation which light of various kinds… excites on the retina of the eye, and which sensation is purely functional; second, … [the] imparting [of] colour to other bodies;  such bodies are known as colouring matters and may be divided into two groups, dyestuffs and pigments….”

  • sensations of light, through rather than on the retina, continue to be studied by the scientific and psychological communities today.  This is fascinating research and the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas has some open access resources on this subject.
  • dyestuffs, as referred to by George Hurst, are materials which provide ‘soluable’ material that can be used to add colour to another item.  In other words, dyeing or staining, imparts temporary colour to other items.  If you have access to a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition and history of the word ‘dyestuff’ is fascinating.  Most libraries have a copy of the OED and may also allow access to the online version.
  • pigments, then, as defined by George Hurst in 1892, are ‘nonsoluable’ materials which provide a more permanent, opaque colour to things like paint.  Most of the chapters in this book are about pigments, where to find them, what to find them in, how to extract them and, how to use them.

~~~

Chapter II:  White Pigments

Chapter III:  Red Pigments

Chapter IV:  Yellow and Orange Pigments

Chapter V:  Green Pigments

Chapter VI:  Blue Pigments

Chapter VI:  Brown Pigments

Chapter VII:  Black Pigments

Chapter IX:  Lakes

Chapter X:  Assay and Analysis of Pigments

Chapter XI:  Colour and Paint Machinery

Chapter XII:  Paint Vehicles

Chapter XIII:  Driers

Chapter XIV:  Varnishes

~~~~

A related post, and… a very interesting one!

Colour Theory from 1882

book cover   title page

The link takes you to a high resolution copy of this amazing 800+ page book.

 

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Solving for Pattern or, an Economy of Size

Posted on July 29, 2015 by TheMorningTomatoReport

I have been reading lately.  I have been reading a lot, lately….  I could not sleep last night.  An old article by Wendell Berry gave me thoughts to consider and apply to my own small business.

 

Solving for Pattern.  Written by Wendell Berry.  Chapter 9 in The Gift of the Land:  Further Essays Cultural & Agricultural.  North Point Press, 1981.  Originally published in the Rodale Press periodical The New Farm.

Wendell Berry is a farmer and an author.  His writing is thought provoking and disturbing, well written, easy to read and difficult to walk away from…

 

Wendell Berry has been on my reading list for a long time.  It is time for us to get to know him, now!  Solving for Pattern is a short article that poses questions and discusses the long term meaning of economy.  Not of economics.  Economy.  Economy of size.  Small businesses.  Small farms.

Questions…  I went back to university several years ago.  I thought I just wanted to take a few courses, make my evenings a little more interesting.  I discovered that I was learning to read in a way that I had not even considered possible.  I am still learning about reading but now, I am also reading to learn to ask questions.  Wendell Berry has been asking these questions for a long time.  His questions about patterns, economy, conservation, and healthy living are worth considering.

 

Further Readings (I have already started reading The Unsettling of America):

Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America:  Culture & Agriculture.  1977.  Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1977.  This book is available in most libraries.  Read a review of this book here.

James George Frazer, The Golden Bough.  First published in 1890.  My edition was published in 1994 by Oxford University Press.  Available online, free, here.

 

 

 

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Water Rights & Environmental Damage

Posted on July 24, 2015 by TheMorningTomatoReport

I have been reading lately.  I have been reading a lot, lately….  I finished reading this article last night, on the bus on my way home from work.  Yes, I use public transit.  I gave up my personal gas pedal almost 3 years ago.

Water Rights and Environmental Damage:  An Enquiry into Stewardship in the Context of Abstraction Licensing Reform in England and Wales.  Written by Donald McGillivary.  Published by Environmental Law Review, Volume 15, 2013.  Pages 205-224.

Donald McGillivray, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Sussex, has a current publication list here.

I found this article doing a random search on water rights.  I was looking more towards Western Canada, where I live, but all information is good and this article is full of definitions that will probably help me in further reading.  And, bonus marks, Professor McGillivray’s writing is concise and clear.

Probably the most important things that I realized while reading this article was that the environment is not protected by stewardship rights or laws.  That the only time we really protect the environment is when there is an overlap of needs between someone holding water (or land) rights and the environment.  In other words, when it benefits someone to protect something, the environment is looked after.  Not something that I had not realized before but, seeing it in a published article is different.

 

A couple of ‘Further Readings’ (from the footnotes) that I made note of:

E.D. Elliot, ‘The Tragi-Comedy of the Commons: Evolutionary Biology, Economics and Environmental Law‘ (2001) 20 Viriginia Environmental Law Journal 17, pages 17-18.

C.P. Rodgers.  ‘Nature’s Place? Property Rights, Property Rules and Environmental Stewardship‘ (2009), Volume 68(3) Cambridge Law Journal 550.

 

 

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National Gallery Postcard, circa 1950’s – van de Velde, Coast Scene: Calm

Posted on April 16, 2015 by TheMorningTomatoReport

This is a vintage postcard out of my collection.  I like pieces of paper.  They are tangible things that people place a great deal of trust in.  Maps, charts, postcards, money, stamps….  They are all worth something, they just aren’t always worth a lot.

Please note that several of the links I have placed in this post are slightly ‘off topic.’  That is, there is a link showing for Trafalgar Square but, it is a link to “interglacial deposits” that were found there during the 1950s.  There is so much to this world that is just beneath the surface (or, the pavement….).

 

This postcard was printed for the National Gallery in London – and most likely purchased as a gallery souvenir.

National Gallery, Card No. 1115. Van de Velde: Coast Scene: Calm (871). Printed in Great Britain for the Trustees under the authority of Her Majesty's Stationery Office by Waterlow & Sons Limited, London. Wt: P1838

National Gallery, Card No. 1115. Van de Velde: Coast Scene: Calm (871). Printed in Great Britain for the Trustees under the authority of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office by Waterlow & Sons Limited, London. Wt: P1838

The National Gallery, located in Trafalgar Square, London, was established in 1824 and has been open to the public – free of charge – for most of the years between then and now…

The painting on this postcard is “Dutch Vessels Inshore and Men Bathing” by Willem van de Velde, 1661.  It is a painting of Men-of-War and men.

 

There are links to peer-reviewed articles in this post.  There is a lot of knowledge in these papers.  One of my many habits is to go through the reference lists, end notes and bibliographies to look for more information that I might enjoy reading.  This is a link to a small portion of the research that the authors of the articles have included.

Reading List for April 16, 2015 post

Why?  Because everything is connected…

 

 

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Are Barrier Islands Worth Protecting? What Makes This Type of Island Special?

Posted on December 6, 2014 by TheMorningTomatoReport

Barrier islands are islands that form a barrier between open water and a larger body of land.  They form a “first defense” of protection from sea born storms such as hurricanes.  They protect the mainland against unceasing tidal action and waves.  They are breeding and nesting grounds for numerous vertebrates and invertebrates.  They form some of the loveliest places, visually, on this planet.  But, are they special?  When they are in trouble, are they worth saving?

Cat Islands, Mississippi Delta

I may or may not agree with what is in the following articles but, every one of these articles is important.  I have arranged them in chronological order.  My choices have taken into account the inclusions of maps and photographs (it is an easy way to compare today with yesterday).  I hope that you open one or two (or all) of them.  These research papers are more than just interesting and they are worth a browse through….

A blog worth browsing!  SkyTruth  Last Chance for Cat Island?

 

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following are links to grey papers, peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.  Together, these publications form a body of work that is more than just interesting, it is historical and most are scientific in their approach to finding out answers to questions about things like barrier islands and what they do for this planet.

 

~~~~~

Thesis:  Quantifying the Impact of Hurricanes, Mid-Latitude Cyclones and other Weather and Climate Extreme Events on the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands Using Remotely Sensed Data.  pdf

Author:  Rebekah Jones

Published in:  2014

Thesis:  Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Department of Geography and Anthropology.

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

Click to access text2.pdf

 

~~~~~

Chapter:  Hurricane Katrina, the Role of US National Parks on the Northern Gulf of Mexico and Post Storm Wetland Restoration.  pdf

Author:  Mark Ford.  National Park Service Southeast Regional Office, New Orleans, LA.

Book:  Safe Havens:  Protected Areas for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation.  Edited by Radhika Murti and Camille Buyck.

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Safe%20Havens.pdf#page=155

This is Chapter 16.  The book is worth finding!

 

~~~~~

Article:  Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.  link

Author:  Cutler J. Cleveland, (ed. Peter Saundry

Published in:  The Encyclopedia of the Earth

Published on:  December 5, 2010 and updated on February 22, 2013

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/51cbf0267896bb431f6a0797/

 

~~~~~

Article:  What are Barrier Islands Worth?  Estimates of Willingness to Pay for Restoration.  pdf

Authors:

Published in:  2009

Journal:  Marine Resource Economics (link), Vol. 24, pages 131-146.

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1889277

 

~~~~~

Article:  Geomorphologic Evolution of Barrier Islands along the Northern U.S. Guld of Mexico and Implications for Engineering Design in Barrier Restoration.  pdf

Authors:

  • Julie Dean Rosati, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center (Publications)
  • Gregory W. Stone, Louisiana State University (Publications)

Published in:  January 2009

Journal:  Journal of Coastal Research (link), Vol. 25, No. 1, pages 8-22.

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

Click to access JCRv25-1_Rosati_Stone.pdf

 

~~~~~

Article:  Historical Changes in the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier-Island Chain and the Roles of Extreme Storms, Sea Level, and Human Activities.  pdf

Author:  Robert A. Morton, U.S. Geological Survey

Published in: November 2008.

Journal:  Journal of Coastal Research (link), Vol. 24, No. 6, pages 1587-1600.

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

Click to access historical.changes.in.the.MS.AL.barrier.islands.pdf

 

~~~~~

Article:  Hurricane Katrina Storm Surge Distribution and Field Observations on the Mississippi Barrier Islands.  pdf

Authors:

  • Hermann M. Fritz, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (publications)
  • Chris Blount, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Robert Sokoloski, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Justin Singleton, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Andrew Fuggle, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Brian G. McAdoo, Department of Geology and Geography, Vassar College (publications)
  • Andrew Moore, Department of Geology, Kent State University (publications)
  • Chad Grass, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Banks Tate, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (Publications)

Published in:  2007

Journal:  Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science (link), 2007, pages 1-9.

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

Click to access ECSS_HurricaneKatrina_Fz.pdf

 

~~~~~

Article:  National Assessment of Shoreline Change:  Part 1 Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.  pdf

Authors:

  • Robert A. Morton
  • Tara L. Miller
  • Laura J. Moore (publications)

Published in:  2004

Journal:  USGS:  Science for a Changing World, Open File Report 2004-1043

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1043/

Just a quick note.  The front cover of this report is stamped “Distribution Unlimited.”  There are publishing companies who want to charge to let you see this.  It is available for free, just a bit tricky to find….

 

~~~~~

Article:  Land Loss Rates:  Mississippi River Deltaic Plain.  pdf

Authors:

  • Louis D. Britsch, Geotechnical Laboratory, Department of the Army
  • E. Burton Kemp III, US Army Engineer District, New Orleans

Published in:  April 1990

Publisher:  U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it by using a Google Scholar Search

If this article is not showing in the link, try copying and pasting the full title (Land Loss Rates: Mississippi River Deltaic Plain) into a search box on your browser.  This is a wonderful publication for photographs!

 

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Article:  The Flank Margin Model for Dissolution Cave Development in Carbonate Platforms.  pdf

Authors:

  • John E. Mylroie, Department of Geology and Geography, Mississippi State University (publications)
  • James L. Carew, Department of Geology, The College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina

Published in:  1990

Journal:  Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, Vol. 15, pages 413-424.

My copy was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

Click to access Mylroie_Carew_1990_ESPL%20flank%20margin%20caves.pdf

 

~~~~~

Chapter:  Sediments of the Eastern Mississippi Delta.  pdf

Author:  P.C. Scruton

Book information:  Finding Ancient Shorelines, edited by Jack L. Hough and Henry W. Menard.  Published by SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology.  1955

My copy of this chapter was downloaded in December, 2014.  I found it here

Click to access SEC2.body.pdf

 

~~~~~

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