Congressional Action Addendum

Last Friday’s blog post, Spider Role Model, took a swipe at the U.S. Congress’s refusal to compromise on behalf of the country. I suppose we should be grateful that at least it’s been relatively civil up there on the hill. Yes, there was an extremely rude interruption of the President’s speech to Congress, but in the past, we’ve had some real doozies, even a fatal duel!

This addendum offers a few episodes that were depicted in print. Although the graphics are found on many websites, information about the events as well as others can be found on the History, Art & Archives website of the U.S. House of Representatives. Go directly to http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Search?subject=Violence.

In 1798, Rep. Roger Griswold, Conn., attacked
Rep. Matthew Lyon, Vt., on the House floor
After the House failed to expel Lyon for spitting
tobacco juice at Griswold.

In 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks, S.C., severely beat
Sen. Charles Sumner, Mass., in response to Sumner’s
 speech attacking slavery and pro-slavery senators.

In 1858, over 50 House members joined
in a fight during a debate over Kansas’s
pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution.

As for disruptions that occur occasionally in the legislative bodies of a few other countries, consider the following example.

Brawling opposition political parties.

Spider Role Model

Welcome back. You know what bothers me? Well, lots of things but especially politics. Politics was ok until…what?...10, 15 years ago? Whenever partisanship started replacing common sense. With Congress’s approval rating struggling to stay above the approval rating of my beloved cockroaches, I guess I’m not alone in my opinion.

The U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC,
where Congress meets.
(photo on multiple websites.)

I have friends and acquaintances that cover the political spectrum and might even vote based on a single issue like gun control--some for, some against. I can ignore their politics; they’re friends and acquaintances. It’s the government I can’t ignore.

A recent behavioral research study has identified a potential role model whose strategy our dedicated federal government representatives would do well to adopt, whether they’re driven by reelection, lobbyists or principle. It’s a stretch, but see what you think.

Spider Research

The published report was authored by collaborators from the University of Leuven, Belgium; University of Sao Paulo and Embrarpo Semiarido, Brazil; York and Sussex universities, UK; and the Agricultural University, Poland.

The findings are based on long term, day and night monitoring in Brazil, where, despite the latest street protests, there are residents who are models of harmony: spiders, at least one species.

The Parawixia bistriata are relatively large orb-weaver spiders, spinning webs with lines that spiral outward from the center, that reside in semiarid habitats of Brazil as well as Paraguay and Argentina.

A fine example of a Parawixia bistriata spider. (photo from www.terradagente.com.br/fauna/0,0,2,412;15,aranha+p-+b.aspx)

Spider Behavior

During the day, these spiders share a temporary shelter. At sunset, however, each goes off to build its own web within a communally built framework of permanent, thick silk lines that reach between trees and bushes.

As soon as a spider begins its new web, it defends the web against any encroaching spiders by bouncing on its web. This action is normally enough to chase away trespassers without coming to blows. As the communal framework fills with webs, some spiders (less than 7 percent) find themselves with no space to build a web. These spiders don’t throw in the towel and stroll back to the temporary shelter.

If the web-less spiders approach webs and are threatened by the resident bouncers, they are not inclined to be chased away; less than half leave. It’s not that they get hostile; they just hang around scrounging tidbits of captured prey from nearby webs.

What’s interesting is that the resident spiders accept this, presumably because it’s less risky than fighting. That today’s resident spider might be tomorrow’s freeloader could also be a factor.

Wrap Up

Compare this nightly demonstration of spiderly cooperation to what’s been occurring with Congress. When in “power”--I use the word loosely, each political party does its best to capture the prey, without sharing crumbs or leftovers. When not in power, each political party seems to go out of its way to prevent the other party from building its web.

Fortunately, the communal web framework is strong even if they all bounce around a lot. Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.

- Research paper in The American Naturalist: www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/670525
- Article on paper on ScienceNOW: news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/06/how-spiders-keep-the-peace.html?ref=hp

Personal Best–Runner-Up Blog Post

Last Friday’s blog post offered the winning entry to the blog’s writing contest--describe your personal best in or at a topic of your choice. Today’s post is the runner-up, written by Jay P. I think you’ll find why some judges thought there should be co-winners instead of a winner and runner-up. 

Please comment, let me know what you think of Jay’s personal best or send me any message you’d like conveyed to him.


When I read this “assignment” I recalled my time hiring police officer candidates. “Tell us about the thing you’ve done that you’re most proud of,” was the interview inquiry. This then reminded me of the trepidation many people experience in the job interview process. Or on first dates, which may partly account for a lot of nervousness associated with those meetings.  

Interviews, professional or social, as well as autobiographies documenting our big accomplishments are instances requiring us to “blow our own horns.” I’ve been in my share of interviews, successful and not so much. Though usually unflappable, I too find a certain uneasiness with them. I’ve come to think this is because of a high school lesson I’ve retained through life. In Latin class, the teacher would write some small item in an upper corner of the chalkboard for the edification of the day’s students. For me the most memorable was the Latin phrase ego laus feteo--self praise stinks.

The author, a police officer,
in the mid-1970s.

Anyway, that’s the topic and I have to come up with something! I was also thinking that personal bests can come in all the things we do. For many of us who strive to excel in our professions, personal bests are often work related. 

As I wrote, I did police work. Police officers can have many bests in what they do, though they seldom see it that way. In a lot of endeavors, doing amazing things becomes routine and part of the job. Some of those bests for me were arrests and convictions of people doing bad things, assisting victims of those people and contributing to preventing student demonstrations against raising the drinking age from becoming riots. It might be more accurate to say preventing riots from becoming bigger riots.
 
We have personal bests in other things we’re passionate about: running, sailing, judo, collecting, quilting, bartering, swimming, etc. I’m not so driven to achieve the next personal goal. I’ve ridden a bicycle 92 miles on a few days but never 100 miles; and that’s OK by me. For others, those goals prompt them to excel and so, are important. I applaud anyone working toward new bests.

The author and his sons when
 all three were young.

What is it then that I consider my person best, worthy of some self praise? I’ve thought about it for a much more leisurely time than afforded in the job interview pressure cooker. Though common to most of us, I think raising my two children was the activity where I dedicated my best efforts. This was made very intense for me because my wife decided, when the boys were starting school, that I wasn’t much fun anymore and found someone who was, without mentioning that maybe I should think about changing something. Though I have to acknowledge a lot of help from parents and friends, I did my personal best to keep things fun for my two sons.

Personal Best--Winning Blog Post

Welcome back. On 31 May, I announced a writing contest to describe your personal best in or at a topic of your choice. Thank you to all who submitted essays and to the five judges who selected the winner and runner-up. Both essays will be posted here on the blog.

Today’s post is the winning entry, written by Josefina Wopatova. Please comment, let me know what you think of Josefina’s personal best or send me any message you’d like conveyed to her.


When Warren announced the contest on personal bests, I immediately thought of the 110-mile bike ride I did a few years ago. That was the culmination of months of fear-induced training. It turned out well, and I’m proud of my effort; but ultimately I decided I couldn’t honestly categorize that achievement as my own personal best.

The author’s trusty hybrid bike.

My next thought was what I would actually write about: maintaining patience in the face of parenting. I could say “in the face of chaos” but that would be redundant. 

Surely every parent is tested now and then with their children, but 2 of my 3 boys fall under the category of ADHD, which includes all the accompanying impulsivities, delayed maturation, disorganization and general inability to fit into the public school model-student peg hole.

My youngest boy also falls under the autism spectrum as defined by the old DSMIV manual. His therapist recently recommended I read the book Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions by Pat Harvey and Jeanine Penzo. Dutifully, I went to our large public library system to get yet another book on parenting difficult children, only to find they don’t have this book yet. Of course, I put in an order to get it.

A sample of the author’s
parenting-health bookshelf.

Please don’t recommend another book for me to read. I think I’m the only person to have read every book on the parenting shelf of our library. While I won’t veer off into the medical facts, suffice it to say that “Frederic”–not his real name–can be the dearest, sweetest child in existence, but when he loses it, it’s on the scale of WWIII. It doesn’t matter where we are at the time and it’s sometimes difficult to anticipate the triggers.

A Mother’s Day card the author
received from her youngest son.

He is now 13 and his emotional regulation has improved dramatically over the past decade. Yet just last night I had to quickly take him home from a school function because he was heading down the track of losing it.

I wasn’t raised by patient parents, so I suppose I come by this struggle honestly. For me, it’s been a labor of love, perseverance and a desire to change history--my history, but that’s another essay. I’ve had to work at this patience thing. Did you know that “bite your tongue” is actually a physical process that some of us have had to employ?

So, my personal best is getting through a day, an episode, a moment without saying something I will regret and without falling apart. I guess I’ve mostly succeeded. The trouble with personal bests is that they presume a peak performance. For me, it’s the individual and minute successes that add up to good, or at least mostly good, patient and loving parenting.

Running Shoe Photo Addendum

As described in last Friday’s blog post, Running Shoes or Shoeless, more and more runners are running barefoot or in minimalist shoes. Examples of the latter are shown here thanks to Cassy (photographer) and Noah (model) Philipson.

Example of barefoot running shoes. Yes, those are toes.

Example of (scuffed) moccasin-style running shoes.

Example of slipper-style footwear for maximum running comfort.

Testing has shown that 9 out of 10 kittens prefer
slippers over toed- or moccasin-style running shoes.

Running Shoes or Shoeless

Welcome back. Nearly two years ago, in my absorbing Execise Update post, which addressed my exercise routine, skunks and performing in the glow of a neighbor’s motion-activated exterior house light, I reported that my wife and son were running in footwear that had toes.

My wife’s running shoes. Pick a color.

I had no idea that running in such side-splitting shoes--now grouped with minimalist shoes--was a substitute for going shoeless and that barefoot running was and is a burning issue for serious runners.

My years of jogging a mile most days, slowly, if it’s not icy, pouring or below 0 degree F, won’t earn me a serious runner card. Nevertheless, I’ll take this opportunity to review recent research. This discussion is, of course, not intended for serious runners who have already mulled over the research and couldn’t care less about my two cents anyway.

Barefoot Running

As I understand it, the winner of the 1960 Olympic marathon ran barefoot; 25 years later biomechanics researchers at Tulane University published a paper on the shock wave of landing on ones heels when running; and in 2010, with the caveat that more research was needed, Harvard investigators made a strong case for running barefoot, landing on ones forefeet or midfeet, not ones heels.

Before those papers, researchers at Pennsylvania State University pointed out that more running injuries are associated with pushing off than landing and that those who land on their midfeet--not their heels or forefeet--are most at risk.

Wear Shoes

There are many other often-cited studies, but since biomechanics and evolutionary biology hold no particular interest for me, I skipped my usual in-depth literature review. Purportedly, that was done for a recent University of Calgary study.

Based on their review, the Calgary researchers concluded that (1) there is no evidence that barefoot running with a forefoot landing is less prone to injury than running with shoes and (2) there are too many variables (running surface, shoes, speed, the runner) to generalize.

In addition, examining the forces involved, the researchers judge that the impact on landing may not be the major reason for potential running injuries. As regards performance and injury, they believe the runner’s preference and running style are more important. 

Pronation 

In my early running shoe purchases, I pondered pronation, which relates to the flattening of your arches after your foot lands and how much your foot rolls inward or outward. It turns out that my passing on shoes that correct for over- or under-pronation was probably ok.

A new study from Denmark’s Aaruhus University and Aalborg University Hospital and the University of Groningen in The Netherlands found that foot pronation is not associated with increased injury, at least not for healthy beginning runners who wore neutral shoes for a year. 

Wrap Up

My misshapen toes and equally misshapen humor would never allow me to wear footwear with toes. Minimalist shoes that look like running shoes but have a low drop from heel to toe, or even moccasins or sandals might work. Yet, having witnessed what ends up on road surfaces, I would never walk much less jog there barefoot.

Oh, my wife and son generally avoid hard surfaces (and people like me) when donning toed shoes, but they definitely favor minimalist shoes. Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.

- Discussions of barefoot running on Wikipedia and Runners World:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_running
www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes-gear/barefoot-running-minimalism 
- Tulane paper (1985) in Journal of Biomechanics: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4030798
- Harvard website on barefoot running: barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/
- Penn State (1980) paper from Journal of Biomechanics: wweb.uta.edu/faculty/ricard/Classes/KINE-5350/Cavanagh%20%281980%29%20Ground%20reaction%20forces%20in%20distance%20running%20.pdf
- Calgary paper in Footwear Science and ScienceDaily write up: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19424280.2013.766649#.Ucq7wJzB-So
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130530094844.htm
- Paper on pronation in British Journal of Sports Medicine and ScienceDaily write up:
bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2013/06/12/bjsports-2013-092202
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130614100821.htm

New Mexico Backcountry

Today’s blog post features photographs that Jim Baker took en route to the locations he described in last Friday’s guest travelogue, Ghost Towns, New Mexico. Jim notes that the pleasures of driving to these destinations include the scenery and solitude along the way. That’s certainly captured in his photographs.

 

Driving north to Riley ghost town--Gallinas Mountains on left;
Sierra Ladrones in back. Ladron is thief in Spanish, and the
range once hid marauding Indian raiders and later outlaws.

The Rio Salado, a tributary of the Rio Grande, must be forded
to get to Riley. This was a rare day of threatening weather.

The drive to La Liendre ghost town is spectacular--a narrow road
benched into an escarpment, brooding mesas in the background.

The ghost town La Liendre (Spanish for "the nits") sits on a bluff
overlooking the Rio Gallinas. It was fall and the cottonwoods were
turning. The road to the river ford can be seen in the distance.

Were you aware that the National Merchant Marine and Military
Cemetery is in New Mexico? There's a logical reason for locating
here, but you can research that. (Hint: It’s at Fort Stanton.)

New Mexico abounds in semi-ghost towns, where a few residents
hold on to an otherwise abandoned town. Folsom is such a place.

I met some residents of the Folsom suburbs--pronghorns.

Capulin Volcano National Monument (left) is an extinct cinder cone,
jutting from the plain. Like many of New Mexico’s national sites,
Capulin receives few visitors. (Fort Union, the largest 19th century fort in the region, is the least visited national monument in the US.)

A view from the top of the near perfect crater of
the Capulin Volcano National Monument.

The San Lorenzo Canyon Recreational Area offers incredible rock
formations. For scale, that’s my truck at the end of a box canyon.

In my wandering, I try to go until the canyon boxes out,
to ghost towns and vacant places, to the end of the road.

I hope you enjoyed Jim Baker’s tour of ghost towns and other special places in New Mexico. I extend my sincere thanks to Jim and my best wishes to keep on truckin’. Thanks for stopping by.

Ghost Towns, New Mexico

Welcome back. Today, I’m thrilled to offer a guest post by a friend and former colleague, Jim Baker. When Jim mentioned his jaunts around New Mexico, I, of course, begged for a travelogue.


I have lived in New Mexico off and on since 1957, with a few forced absences (sometimes for long periods) for things like making a living. More and more I find myself drawn to the vacant, forlorn, forsaken and little-visited sites, escaping the pretentiousness or violence or faux-Tex vibes of more popular locations. To get out and about, I have adopted a hobby of visiting ghost towns. It's actually a pretty popular pastime around here.

Trementina 

Trementina is a total ghost town--no residents. At one time it had a population approaching 1000. It’s also remote, lying between Las Vegas (NM) and Mosquero.

The town got its name, which is Spanish for turpentine, because the residents augmented their farm and ranch incomes by producing resins and turpentine from the surrounding pinyon pine and juniper stands.

Main street of ghost town Trementina, New Mexico.

Trementina’s school, which, like many of
these towns, was the inhabitants’ pride.

Trementina’s walled cemetery.

The Trementina cemetery gravestones
are all hand-carved sandstone.

Riley

Riley was originally a Hispanic farm and ranch community called Santa Rita. After the discovery of commercial deposits of minerals, the place became a mining town and petitioned for a post office with the name Riley. The town died when the mines played out, which was not uncommon in New Mexico.

The school (front), church (back) and
schoolmaster’s crumbling residence (between)
 in the ghost town Riley, New Mexico.

Riley is very remote. I drove 20 miles on dirt roads and forded the Rio Salado to get there. No doubt the school was the town’s pride. It’s constructed of stone while most of the other buildings are of adobe.

Although Riley is a complete ghost town, the church has been maintained by local ranching families. The Feast of Santa Rita is celebrated there annually on 22 May, conducted by a circuit priest. I’m told it’s not a coveted assignment.

Riley’s well-maintained church.

Riley’s residential boulevard, with the adobe dwellings
returning to the ground of which they were constructed.

Colmor

Unlike the remoteness of Trementina and Riley, Colmor lies only about 1 mile east of Interstate I-25. Most folks blow by, but it's about 7 miles south of Springer and easily visible from the highway if you know where to look. The town straddles Colfax and Mora counties, hence the name Colmor.

Colmor was a railroad town. It died as the freight and passengers dwindled, and the railroad stop was finally abandoned.

An abandoned railroad town, Colmor,
New Mexico, is now a ghost town.

Colmor’s present main street.

Colmor’s pueblo-style school.

Cloverdale

There are many more ghost towns in New Mexico, but I’ll end this tour in Cloverdale. Its post office was the southernmost and westernmost post office in the state, down in the geographic "boot heel." Though remote, it was the setting of the beginning of The Crossing, the middle book in Cormac McCarthy's excellent Border Trilogy.

The author is holding up the only remaining building
 in the ghost town of Cloverdale, New Mexico.

Jim Baker’s travelogue will continue next Tuesday with photographs of New Mexico backcountry. I hope you’ll join us. Thanks for stopping by.

Homing Pigeon Photo Addendum

After last Friday’s blog post, Homing Pigeon Navigation, I thought you’d appreciate homing pigeons as aerial photographers. Dr Julius Neubronner patented a pigeon camera in Germany in 1908 and demonstrated its use at various European expositions--even producing airphoto postcards.

Although homing pigeons were kept busy conveying messages during both World Wars, their use for collecting aerial photography was at least tested during the First World War (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_photography).

Pigeon camera after Dr Julius Neubronner.
(publicdomainreview.org/2011/08/09/dr-julius-neubronners-miniature-pigeon-camera/)

Pigeon cameras ready to go.
(publicdomainreview.org/2011/08/09/dr-julius-neubronners-miniature-pigeon-camera/)

Pigeon camera from German Federal Archive photograph.
(commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R01996,_Brieftaube_mit_Fotokamera_cropped.jpg)