Let’s Examine the Science

I have been in science my whole life, and as I age I realize it rarely has needed a Newton or Einstein; it has just needed information and common sense. As an example, I realized in recent weeks after witnessing the current hysteria over rain and flooding, there is a simpler explanation to our freak 200-year storm that indicates it was not a freak at all but a chance coincidence of unusual conditions that cannot arise easily again.

The formation of rain from clouds still is not fully understood. It is not simply that humidity rises to 100 percent. The cloud requires nucleating condensation nuclei, and without them it has been stated that we would not exist. We just had the largest burn in California history. This was no honor but a curse that should never be allowed to occur again. At my house, it looked like snow falling, but no: it was ash. People had to wear masks. In other words, the atmosphere was full of condensation nuclei in some areas.

By chance, a storm then came in and this explains the resulting precipitous heavy downpour, more so, on the most recently extinguished burn areas where the air had had less time to disperse. The additional release of potable water from water pipe breaks and hydrants in specific areas – that needs a more detailed analysis – also was unfortunate, raising the volume to one that could move boulders. As a result, now the atmosphere is normal again and so will be our rainfall. There will be slight mud flows and rocks falling in the canyons but mentions of further catastrophes now are foolish; these canyons are wider and deeper and now can carry any storm we are likely to receive. 

Also, in those canyons that had high levels of fuel and burned so hot that roots were destroyed, it may be advisable to consider reseeding with more appropriate vegetation. 

Keith Schofield, M.A., Ph.D.,
University of California, Emeritus
Santa Barbara 

Much in Machu Picchu

While planning to rebuild Montecito, I urge you to view the DVD Ghosts of Machu Picchu, which you can find on NOVA (PBS), available from the Santa Barbara Central Library. It might hold some of the answers you are looking for regarding drainage and irrigation issues.

I was in total awe over how the so-called primitive people created their rather sophisticated system about 500 years ago.

Thank you for your consideration with all of us in mind. All comments would be appreciated.

Name unintelligible
Montecito

Stage Four Alert

Are we fortunate to have a “stable genius” as president? And someone so brave that he would run into a building with an active shooter armed only with his bare hands. Not only does he “know more about taxes than the greatest CPA,” and “knows more about ISIS than the generals,” he has “one of the great memories of all time.” Indeed, he remembers that “Fredrick Douglass is doing a great job,” and that Andrew Jackson was against the Civil War that started 19 years after his death.

When it comes to energy policy, he “knows more about renewables than any human being on Earth.” On tax policy, “Nobody knows more about taxes than I do, maybe in the history of the world.” On banking, “Nobody knows banking better than I do.” On trade, “Nobody knows more about trade than me.” On infrastructure, “Nobody in the history of this country has ever known so much about infrastructure as Donald Trump.” On nuclear weapons, “There is nobody who understands the horror of nuclear war more than me.” Trump also took credit for no plane crashes last year. And last but not least, Trump said, “I think I am actually humble.”

Nobody knew what Stage 4 narcissism looked like until Donald Trump. Now we do. Of course, all these boasts are ridiculous, and show contempt for the intelligence of his supporters. During the campaign, Trump asked his audience about Ben Carson’s claim of bravado, “How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?”

My question exactly.

Bill Mason
Montecito

(Editor’s note: We’ll take it that we can mark you down as “No fan” of our president. – J.B.)

Good Coverage

Thank you for the superb coverage of the “Queen of Hearts” Tea Party. Your society columnist Lynda Millner certainly – as always – captured the spirit of the event.

The photos she took illustrated that the guests were certainly having a good time. We appreciate your continued support of the Friendship Center.

Heidi Holly
Montecito

(Editor’s note: And, we appreciate the excellent work Friendship Center does and the comfort it provides its patrons on both sides of the mental health equation. – J.B.)

Up from the Ashes

Thank you for running my letter (“A Lasting Tribute,” MJ #24/8). I hope it will encourage others to become involved in offering their ideas for a memorial to our recent disasters, something long-lasting and inspirational, such as the “Phoenix Up from the Ashes.” And, on display in a park as a tribute to our famous Montecito Oaks and the mighty little acorns that become 200-year-old giant trees whose massive trunks are like sentinels that help protect us from rock and mudslides.

A park that not only describes the life of an acorn, but also info about insecticides: a park like the Botanic Garden.

Bud Bottoms
Santa Barbara

Let the M.A. Do It

In response to both the “A New Montecito” editorial (#24/10) and Ray Bourhis’s “Transforming Montecito” letter (#24/10), I offer a suggestion: The Montecito Association. 

The Montecito Association has been a foundation of this community for 70 years and is well-poised and aptly prepared to help advocate for residents, preserve the community’s semi-rural nature, beauty, and charm and bring people together to share in the community’s treasures – our people and places. 

Our small community has endured a lot over the last few months, and as we look to our community’s future, there has never been a more paramount time than now for us to unite. To come together both in support of neighbors and businesses and in shaping the path forward as Montecito rebuilds. 

Beyond addressing critical community issues (land-use and development, traffic and safety, telecommunications, water, et cetera), the Montecito Association is committed to: a) preserving the Montecito Community Plan and adapting it where necessary as we face potentially historic change; b) being a comprehensive resource for information and public forums; and c) bringing our community together at events like The Village 4th of July parade and Montecito Beautification Day. 

We each chose Montecito for a reason, and we all have a say in the future of our unique community. Working together with residents and county stakeholders, including the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, we can continue to preserve Montecito’s character and beauty and can ensure that when change comes, it is in a form that is sustainable and compatible with the character of the Montecito community we know and love. I would encourage the residents of Montecito to engage with the Montecito Association and contribute their ideas, energy, and resources. 

Montecito is strong. We are resilient. We will rise together. We are 93108 strong. 

Megan Orloff
Montecito

(Mr. Orloff is a Montecito Association Board member and also its Outreach Committee chair.)

No More Toking

So, smoking is now a crime in Santa Barbara.

This means now no one here will ever die.

Not unless a police officer is killed or injured during a domestic dispute with a couple of infantile drunken idiots.

Not unless innocent people are killed or injured by a drunk driver.

Not unless maniacs with guns are on the loose.

Not unless criminals prey and kill.

But thank God we got rid of that evil tobacco!

Way to go, Santa Barbara City Council!

Now, if you could just do something about the heartbreak of Psoriasis.

Robert Miller
Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: Thank you for your observations, but we suggest the Santa Barbara City Council can and will tackle, tame, and eventually put an end to not only the “heartbreak of Psoriasis,” but also melting polar ice caps, nuclear war, marital infidelity, and annoying dandruff. And that’s just a start (though they will need some extra tax money for those lofty purposes). Onward, City Council! – J.B.)

 Rebel at Heart

I think Jeff Harding‘s writings are spot-on regarding the economy, Trump’s tariffs, et cetera, and that J.B. (“Looking For Help,” MJ #24/11) and David McCalmont (“Falling Flat,” MJ #24/12) should pay more attention to a proven economics professor who knows how to respond intelligently and thoroughly to such issues.

Two things I don’t get are why Jeff’s column (The Capitalist) is in the Santa Barbara Sentinel – a light publication – and why Katy Perry’s personal life is so discussed in the MJ‘s letters section. I’m under the impression her preacher dad is some kind of religious zealot, as a whole lot of that type are, and what independently minded, successful individual wouldn’t rebel at that?

Ben Burned
Montecito

(Editor’s note: It’s all a mystery to us, though we don’t know why paying “more attention” to Mr. Harding’s economic philosophy would help, as we simply disagree with his conclusions. – J.B.)

Banning “How to” Books

The recent decision by YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Reddit founder Steve Huffman to make the world safe by removing “gun-related content” from their sites, represents a politically driven censorship effort to remove opposing views on hot-button issues and may have unintended consequences.

These internet video-hosting services are venturing on to a very slippery slope that could lead them unwittingly into strict content regulation by government agencies and agenda-driven bureaucrats based upon First, Second, and Fourth Amendment grounds, depending upon which political party is in power.

Like Prohibition, blocking or restricting “gun-content” streaming videos will simply create an underground market for those wanting to share dangerous information. In the wrong hands (and minds), any information can be dangerous. Efforts to keep bomb-making books such as The Anarchist Cookbook out of public libraries quickly spawned an underground market for the DVD/CD and text-only versions now shared digitally by tens of millions of subversives, terrorists, and high school chemistry students. 

Should other “how-to” books teaching reloading techniques, restoring antique weapons, or how to make a firing pin with a 3-D printer also be restricted? Should chemistry information be restricted to medical and law enforcement “experts”? 

How do we “unlearn” about dangerous chemical combinations such as nitric acid+glycerine, sulphur+potassium nitrate+charcoal, vinegar+baking soda+plastic bottles, water+sodium, gasoline/turpentine or acetone+glass bottles, match heads+plumbing pipe, and the thousands of other lethal mixtures, all of which are readily available on eBay, Amazon, or your local hardware store?

Let’s not forget the thousands of Wikipedia pages and blogs discussing and/or describing the 9th-century Chinese discovery of gunpowder, Alfred Noble’s contribution to warfare, weapons, TNT, the 1836 patent by Frenchman Sorel for galvanized pipe, the history of Dennis Papin and his 1679 invention of the pressure cooker, and Parisian chemist Jean Chancel for his 1805 magical medley of sulphur, sugar, rubber, and potassium chlorate, which produced the strike-anywhere match. As most country boys know, match heads are a common substitute for firecrackers… and gunpowder.

In his book Records of the Unworldly and the Strange, Chinese author Tao Gu describes in 950 A.D., a miraculous “light-bringing slave” created when little sticks of pinewood are impregnated with sulphur. Should this ancient book, sticks of pinewood, and sulphur (a primary component of gunpowder) be banned? Should YouTube and Reddit discussions of this book, and related topics, be blocked or shut down?

With health and safety as justification for halting “gun-issue” discussions, let’s not forget that the demonic NRA was founded in New York City in 1871 for the purpose of defending the rights of former slaves to own firearms. It was the NRA that battled “Jim Crow” laws and the KKK. These inconvenient and historical facts can found in David Kopel and Joseph Greenlee’s The Racist Origins of Gun Control Laws and in most of Dr. John Lott’s best sellers. 

We’ve been reassured that YouTube and Reddit will be recruiting “unbiased experts”(?) to monitor content for unsafe, dangerous “gun-issues,” and hate speech from radical and terrorist sources. These “censors” will also likely be promoting and endorsing “common-sense gun solutions” like those enacted by Dr. David Helsel, superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by supplying each classroom to have a five-gallon bucket of river stones for defense.

To be fair, YouTube and Reddit needs to consider banning all unhealthy, unsafe, and politically incorrect video content including, how to make a banana cream pie (promotes heart disease), how to mix drinks (enables drunk drivers), how to make your own auto repairs (non-professionals can turn vehicles into deadly weapons), how to sharpen knives (turning a butter knife into a serrated assault weapon), and how to throw river stones against teachers who assign too much homework.

As the peace-loving candidate Obama rhetorically(?) said in Philadelphia on June 14, 2008, “..if they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun…”

Dale Lowdermilk
Santa Barbara

(Editor’s note: Lucky for us, that the much-used “memory hole” from 1984 can’t function correctly in the “preserve everything forever” technological era we have entered upon, though many if not most people barely get beyond page one of a Google search, which really is a problem. – J.B.)

Family Education USA

If you complete the challenge you will have listed, in order of admission, the first 13 states to ratify the U.S. Constitution in the period 1787-90. 

Below you see 13 word lists. 

 (a) The words in each list contain only letters that appear in the state name.

 (b) Each letter in the state name appears at least once in the words of each list. 

1. AWARD, ELDER (State:_____________)

2. NAIVELY, SPAN (State:_____________)

3. WEENY, JEERS (State:_____________)

4. AIR, GORE (State:_____________)

5. TONIC, UNION, CENT (State:_____________)

6. CHEST, ASSUME (State:_____________)

7. ALARM, DRY, RAIN (State:_____________)

8. CHARIOTS, INSULT (State:_____________)

9. ANSWER, EMPIRE, SHIP (State:_____________)

10. GRAIN, VAN (State:_____________)

11. OWNER, WONKY (State:_____________)

12. TAILOR, CHAIN (State:_____________)

13. LOANER. HIDES (State:_____________)

Submitted by

Sanderson M. Smith, Ed.D.
Retired mathematics teacher (Cate, SBCC)
Carpinteria

Answers to Family Education USA

1) Delaware, 2) Pennsylvania, 3) New Jersey, 4) Georgia, 5) Connecticut, 6) Massachusetts, 7) Maryland, 8) South Carolina, 9) New Hampshire, 10) Virginia, 11) New York, 12) North Carolina, 13 Rhode Island