She was light and Darkness simultaneously;

Beyond opposites, I was captivated nonetheless.

Her almost jade-like eyes and almost obsidian black hair,

The intoxicating scent that followed her.

She became the muse for my work;

The paint seemed to kiss the surface of the canvas.

 She showed me things, things that my mind wasn’t ready for;

 A place of Darkness where “They” existed,

An almost nightmarish landscape to the untrained eye,

A haven for the enlightened.

Yet my new knowledge made my dreams

and my edge of consciousness become “haunted.”

It was said that my “Darkly beautiful” creations become renderings

That only the insane could create or comprehend.

 This Dark New Day enlightened me…

Yet it drove me mad

and I was committed

With others that society deemed sociopathic…

Still she comes to me at night…

In dreams;

My immortal…

Es ist umstritten, ob Lithium ein essentielles Spurenelement ist oder nicht. Es gibt Hinweise darauf, dass Lithium den Cholesterinspiegel senken kann und positive Auswirkungen auf die menschliche Psyche haben kann. Aus letzterem schließt man, dass Lithium möglicherweise an der Signalweiterleitung in den Nerven beteiligt ist. Im Tierversuch führt Lithiummangel zu Unfruchtbarkeit und verkürzter Lebenserwartung.

Lithium kommt nennenswert insbesondere in Fleisch vor (ca. 100µg/100g), außerdem in einigen Mineralwässern und in geringeren Dosen in vielen weiteren Lebensmitteln (z.B. Eier, Milchprodukte).

Der Bedarf liegt wahrscheinlich <1mg/Tag. Bei normaler Ernährung kommt Lithiummangel wohl nicht vor, ebenso sind Vergiftungen durch die Nahrungsaufnahme wohl ausgeschlossen.

Meiner Meinung nach spricht vieles dafür, dass Lithium zu den essentiellen Spurenelementen zählt und zudem eine höhere Tagesaufnahme (bis 2mg) sinnvoll sein kann.

You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but I love a good hard rock song as much as the next tat-covered metal-head.  I have always struggled to control my foul temper and there is something about the pure expression of raw anger in many hard rock songs that I love.  I’m pissed off – and so are they!

As you’ll see, many of the songs on this list are by “the usual suspects,” but I have tried to pick songs from these bands that are a little less obvious.  “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a brilliant hard rock song, but you already knew that, so what’s the point of putting it on my list?  OK, then, dear reader, please turn your amplifier up to 11 and let’s kick it…

• Nirvana, “Lithium” – These guys changed it all, didn’t they?  The hilarious thing is that “Nevermind” knocked off Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” to become the #1 album in America.  With all due respect to the King of Pop, Kurt Cobain was dangerous.  “Lithium” is classic Nirvana…Slow, then crunchingly fast, then slow, then fast.  Toward the end, Cobain screams, “I like it, I’m not gonna crack/I miss you, I’m not gonna crack/I love you, I’m not gonna crack/I kill you, I’m not gonna crack.”  Is it any wonder he eventually cracked?   
• Cracker, “Low” – Whatever happened to these guys?  Who cares, they left us with this amazing single, which includes this lyric: “I’ll be with you, girl/Like being low/Hey, hey, hey/It’s like being stoned.”  I’ve never been stoned, but I’ve been low, baby. 
• Smasing Pumpkins, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” – Is there a better voice in rock than Billy Corrigan’s?  Not when he sings this lyric: “Despite all my rage/I am still just a rat in a cage.”  Yes, Billy.  Me, too.
• Rage Against the Machine, “Guerilla Radio“ – Yes, yes, I know.  I AM the machine. But I can bite the hand that feeds me, can’t I?  Actually, this song takes the hand, rips it from the arm, chews it up, and spits it into a gutter.  The menacingly whispered, “It has to start somewhere/It has to start sometime/What better place than here/What better time than now,” leads to the repeatedly screamed, “All hell can’t stop us now.”  Oh, baby, turn that shit up.
• Metallica, “Enter Sandman” – This is the quintessential hard rock song, so I was tempted to pick another Metallica tune until I had the opportunity to attend Game Six of the World Series a few weeks ago.  They play this song when Yankee closer Mariano Rivera jogs out from the bullpen to the mound and it was EPIC.  52,000 people banging their heads.  Say your prayers, Phillies, you won’t be with us much longer. 
• Silverchair, “Tomorrow” – I can’t name another Silverchair song, but this one kicks ass, Fatboy.  Here’s a lyric that always makes me think of my ex-wife: “You say that money isn’t everything/But I’d like to see you live without it/You think you can keep on going, living like a king,/Ooh babe, but I strongly doubt it.”  She actually HAS kept on living like a king, but, oh, well.  Maybe tomorrow…
• Foo Fighters, “Monkeywrench” – How do you go from being the drummer of Nirvana to the front man of another kick-ass hard rock band?  I don’t know, ask Dave Grohl.  This song is about being gay (I think), but it really hits on all of the classic hard rock themes – not fitting in, persecution, and just being absolutely ripshit about the whole thing.  Take a deep breath and sing along with this lyric: “One last thing before I quit I never wanted any more than I could fit into my head I still remember every single word you said and all the shit that somehow came along with it still there’s one thing that comforts me since I was always caged and now I’m free.”  Remember, you need to save up enough air so that you can scream the word “free” for about 20 minutes.

I realize that I am missing several worthy artists: Guns-n-Roses, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, and Def Leppard, to name just a few. But I am out of time, and so are you.  Please add your ear-bleeding suggestions to the list.

Friends,

My doctor told me that I, like a horse, needed blinders in the form of a tranquilizing anti-psychotic.

He said the prescription was warranted by my political views.

I simply said, “Ten daily milligrams of one man-made chemical poison is better than 1500 mg daily of any other.”

I think we both won in that situation.

Truly yours,

Rice Cutgrass

By Andradaa

Lithium, don’t want to lock me up inside.
Lithium, don’t want to forget how it feels without…
Lithium, I want to stay in love with my sorrow.
Oh, but God, I want to let it go.

Come to bed, don’t make me sleep alone.
Couldn’t hide the emptiness, you let it show.
Never wanted it to be so cold.
Just didn’t drink enough to say you love me.

I can’t hold on to me,
Wonder what’s wrong with me.

Lithium, don’t want to lock me up inside.
Lithium, don’t want to forget how it feels without…
Lithium, I want to stay in love with my sorrow.

Don’t want to let it lay me down this time.
Drown my will to fly.
Here in the darkness I know myself.
Can’t break free until I let it go.
Let me go.

Darling, I forgive you… After all,
Anything is better than to be alone.
And in the end I guess I had to fall.
Always find my place among the ashes.

I can’t hold on to me,
Wonder what’s wrong with me.

Lithium, don’t want to lock me up inside.
Lithium, don’t want to forget how it feels without…
Lithium, …stay in love with you.
I’m gonna let it go.

Ein riesiges VLBI-Projekt zur Verbesserung des kosmischen Koordinatensystems

International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF2; s.a. hier die GPS-Notiz) findet im Augenblick statt: Am 18. und 19. November beobachten 35 Radioteleskope rund um den Globus 243 Quasare. Das ICRF2 wurde auf der IAU GA diesen Sommer als das fundamentale Referenzsystem der Astronomie festgelegt und ist an 295 himmlischen Radioquellen ohne Eigenbewegung aufgehängt; leider gibt es zu wenig Radioteleskope auf der Südhemisphäre, um sie alle gleichzeitig einzubeziehen. (NRAO Release, Malkin, Preprint 16., Mittelbayerische Zeitung 17., Nature Blog 19.11.2009; auch eine Outreach-Seite dazu)

Starburst-Galaxien “neue” Quelle von Gamma-Strahlung

Sowohl Gammastrahlen-Teleskope auf dem Boden wie VERITAS als auch der Fermi-Satellit haben diffuse Gammastrahlung aus – relativ nahen – Galaxien mit hoher Sternbildungsrate entdeckt, so NGC 253 und M 82, und auch die 30-Doradus-Region in der LMC ist eine Gammaquelle. Hinter der harten Strahlung steckt jeweils Kosmische Strahlung – und die wiederum wird vermutlich in Supernovaresten beschleunigt, die ein Abfallprodukt der Bildung massereicher (und damit kurzlebiger) Sterne sind. (CfA, NASA Press Releases 2.11.2009)

22 ganz junge Galaxien sind mit der neuen WFC3 des HST aufgespürt worden und lassen neue Rückschlüsse über den Verlauf der kosmischen Reionisation zu – und bei einer der z=7-Galaxien (siehe auch hier) gelang sogar die direkte spektroskopische Messung der Rotverschiebung. (Ouchi & al. Preprint 14.10., Carnegie Release 6.11.2009)

Komplizierte Gravitationslinse bei z=1.0 hilft bei Eichung der Massenbestimmung von Galaxienhaufen

Ein Galaxienhaufen WARPS J1415+36 bei z=1.03 ist einer der am weitesten entfernten, der das Bild einer weit dahinterstehenden (z=3.9) Galaxie dramatisch verzerrt: An ihm lassen sich gut verschiedene Verfahren der Massenbestimmung von Galaxienhaufen testen und zeigen, dass sie auch bei z~1 noch ganz gut gelten. (Huang & al., Preprint 4.11.2009)

Eine “gewaltige kosmische Struktur” bei z=0.55 von mindestens 60 Mio. LJ Ausdehnung gilt als bis dato prominenteste Einzelstruktur des kosmischen ‘Skeletts’. (ESO Release 3.11.2009)

Der Neutronenstern im SNR Cassiopeia A hat eine Kohlenstoffatmosphäre

Jedenfalls kann man nur so ein Emissionsverhalten der zentralen Röntgenquelle des jungen Supernovarestes modellieren, das seine ganze Oberfläche involviert und nicht nur einen Hotspot – denn dann würde der ~330 Jahre alte Neutronenstern pulsieren, was es aber nicht tut. (Ho & Heinke, Nature 462 [5.11.2009] 71-3, Chandra Release 4.11.2009)

Ist NGC 5408 X-1 ein “Mittelklasse”-Schwarzloch? Diese Ultraluminous X-ray Source (ULX) zeigt 100-mal langsamere quasiperiodische Oszillationen der Helligkeit als SL-Kandidaten stellarer Masse und ist gleichzeitig 100-mal heller als diese: Das könnte zu einem SL mit 1000 bis 9000 Sonnenmassen passen. (NASA Feature 10.11.2009)

Untersuchung an Sternhaufen: Lange Sonnen-Minima “normal”?

Das – spektroskopisch bestimmbare – Aktivitätsniveau von 60 ziemlich sonnenähnlichen Sternen im offenen Sternhaufen Messier 67 mag Rückschlüsse auf den “typischen” Zustand der Sonne zulassen: Danach waren Sterne mit sonnengleicher Rotation eher geringer aktiv als die Sonne, während die aktiveren zugleich schneller rotierten. Bedeutet das, dass die Sonne einen “signifikanten Teil ihrer Zeit” in einem Maunder-Minimums-artigen Zustand verbringt? (Reiners & Giampapa, Preprint 2., Physics World 12.11.2009)

Die Temperatur der Sonnenkorona fiel von 2006 bis 2008: Das ergibt sich aus der Vergleich von Emissionslinien, die während der Sonnenfinsternisse der beiden Jahre beobachtet wurden – insbesondere war die [Fe XIV]-Linie 2008 wesentlich schwächer geworden. (Voulgaris & al., Preprint 30.10.2009)

Jede Menge Details über Lage und Wanderung der Sternflecken auf CoRoT-2a

haben sich aus 142 Tagen ununterbrochener Photometrie durch den Satelliten herausfinden lassen: So gab es zu Beginn der Beobachtungen zwei einander gegenüber liegende Aktivitätszentren, die sich aber aufeinander zu bewegten. (Lanza & al., Preprint 4.11.2008)

Kapteyn’s Stern aus Omega Centauri entlaufen? Der 25.-nächste Stern (13 Lichtjahre Entfernung von der Sonne) ist wohl nur zufällig hier – er scheint aus derselben Zwerggalaxie zu stammen, die die Milchstraße einst verschluckte und deren Kern nun als “Kugelsternhaufen” Omega Cen bekannt ist. (New Scientist 11.11.2009)

Sonnenähnliche Sterne mit Planeten haben weniger Lithium

auf ihren Oberflächen – dieser Effekt ist nach den Daten der HARPS-Durchmusterung sehr signifikant. Offenbar wird die Sternkonvektion in einer Phase der Planetenentstehung markant beeinflusst; was da allerdings genau passiert, ist noch ziemlich offen. Aber den Effekt – der wohl auch für das Lithium-Defizit unserer Sonne verantwortlich ist – könnte man zur Vorauswahl von Sternen nutzen, bei denen man Planeten suchen will. (Israelian & al., Nature 462 [12.11.2009] 189-91, auch Pinsonneault, ibid. 168-9, Tracker 13., Welt der Physik 12., ESO Release 11.11.2009) NACHTRÄGE: das Paper als Preprint – und tiefschürfende(re) Gedanken.

Staubscheibe von HR 8799 nachgewiesen, dem Stern mit den drei abgebildeten (mutmaßlichen) Planeten (siehe z.B. hier): Der Staub, den das Spitzer Space Telescope glühen sieht, ist bei Kollisionen von kleinen Körpern untereinander entstanden – die drei Planeten haben wohl noch nicht ihre endgültigen Bahnen gefunden. (Spitzer Feature 4.11.2009)

Ultra-primitive Staubteilchen von Komet Grigg-Skjellerup eingefangen

Im April 2003 zog die Erde durch den Staubschweif des Kometen G-S, und in der Stratosphäre wurde gezielt Jagd auf diese Teilchen gemacht – mit Erfolg: Es handelt sich um deutlich ursprünglichere Partikel als was die Stardust-Sonde aus der Koma des Kometen Wild 2 holte (siehe Artikel C00), und diese IDPs sind sogar älter als die Sonne. (Carnegie PR 2.11.2009)

Die “beste” Sternbedeckung durch Pluto für Europa in mindestens einem Jahrzehnt scheint am 14. Februar 2010 bevorzustehen, wenn ein Stern 11. Größe getroffen wird – schon mit einem Sechszöller müsste man die schwindende Atmosphäre des Zwergplaneten nachweisen können. (PlanOccult 8.11.2009; Sonderseite der IOTA-ES)

Der 50. Jupitermond hat einen Namen erhalten

S/2003 J17, der diesen August wiederentdeckt worden war, ist nun amtlich und darf sich “Herse” nennen; 12 weitere Jupitermonde warten noch auf ihre Bestätigung. Und der Mond des Kuiper-Gürtel-Objekts (50′000) Quaoar heißt nun ganz offiziell Weywot. (IAUC #9094 11., Planetary Society Blog 12.11.2009)

Saturnmond dank seines Schattenwurfs entdeckt: Als S/2009 S1 wird jetzt ein nur etwa 300 m großer Saturnmond ínmitten des B-Rings geführt, der sich im Juli mit der Sonne fast in der Ringebene durch einen 36 km langen Schatten bemerkbar machte. (IAUC #9091 2.11.2009)

Reed Resources (ASX: RDR) says that better than expected metallurgical test results from the Mt Marion Lithium Project have boosted the prospects of production commencing in 2010.

In addition, the targeted resource has been increased from 4-5Mt to 7-8Mt.

The Phase I resource definition drilling programme has commenced and Phase II is planned for December 2009.

A mineral resource estimate is planned to be completed by the end of Q1 2010.

The Joint Venturers expect to mobilise a processing plant and related equipment in Q2 2010. First shipments of product, at a production rate of 17,000 tonnes per month of +6.5% Li2O concentrate, is expected to commence from Q3 2010, subject to a decision to mine and obtaining all necessary approvals.

Click here to view the full announcement.

An interesting announcement from Salesforce.com today of a Twitter-like tool called Chatter for its customers, enabling enterprise staff to share and collaborate through their CRM (Customer Realtionship Management) software as a service.

And lots of fuss around it because Salesforce.com, the leaders in hosted/Cloud CRM, have been so far a little slow to make a real move towards Social CRM — the merging of social networks with CRM systems — enabling companies like Lithium to take the limelight.

Well it would seem Salesforce.com has now woken up to the potential of social networking tools linked to CRM systems with its Chatter tool, announced today and set to become available in 2010.

But Salesforce.com isn’t the first with something like this.

WeCanDo.BIZ released a private chatter tool, a la Twitter, in Jauary of this year.  You can see it below:

Called Company Buzz, it’s a feature of My Company Group, which also enables you to see a full profile for all other colleagues using WeCanDo.BIZ.  We’ll put aside for a second the fact that we had a feature called Company Buzz just a few days ahead of LinkedIn using the same name for a different feature on its own site!

“Buzzes” also exist enabling our users to collaborate in a chat/tweet mode with industry peers under My Industry Group; local business owners in My Local Group; and fellow members of face to face networking organisations in My Networking Groups.

The Buzz features are free to all users with a Company profile, which they can be added at http://www.wecando.biz/reg_busi.php.

You can access your own Company Buzz by clicking here.

It has been ages since I have posted anything, there are 2 reasons for this: 1) I’m crap and 2) when I have had something I felt I should post about, I’ve not known how to write it without sounding pathetic.

Anyway, lots has changed in my life since my birthday

1). I was offered a job and after a bit of thought I took it. It is very very poor pay and long days, but it is easy, only 4 days a week (when fully up and running which it isn’t), and Freddie can come too.

2). My partners work will not promote him or give him a pay rise this year so we are still broke.

3). Freddie has passed all of the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme Awards first try and before he reached a year old.

4). I was not notified that a blood test result came back wrong a YEAR ago. As I have said before I hate taking medication and I need to be totally sure before I can take anything. My next blood test results and a long talk with my doctor will determine whether I still talk Lithium or not.

5). I have mostly been well these last few months, it has been a relief and a joy to be myself again.

6). I am doing my up most to ignore the lurking madness in the back of my mind. I cannot jeopardise what I have now. It is mostly working.

I will try to update this blog more often but I am truly crap at keeping in touch.

Take care!

Tata Surya

(eso)

Pencarian planet di luar tata surya akan sedikit lebih mudah, berkat perbandingan baru dari matahari yang tampak seperti bintang.

Temuan ini telah mengungkapkan perbedaan kunci dalam bintang yang memiliki planet dan memecahkan misteri lama tentang unsur kimiawi matahari kita sendiri.

Misteri matahari berkutat pada kelimpahan unsur litium di dalam matahari. Tidak seperti kebanyakan unsur lain yang lebih ringan dari besi, lithium tidak dihasilkan dalam bintang.

Sebaliknya, diperkirakan bahwa unsur ini dihasilkan setelah Big Bang, 13,7 miliar tahun cahaya yang lalu. Kebanyakan bintang memiliki jumlah lithium yang sama, terkecuali unsur ini telah hancur dalam bintang.

Model evolusi bintang memprediksi bahwa bintang-bintang yang memiliki massa dan umur yang sama dengan matahari mempunyai tingkat lithium yang relative tinggi.

Tetapi para ahli astronomi melihat berbagai tingkat lithium matahari, yang memiliki beberapa kelimpahan lithium, sekitar 10 persen dari jumlah perkiraan untuk alam semesta yang hanya memiliki 1 persen dari kelimpahan primordial..

Continue reading…

Colleen and Garrett will be presenting Student Seminar this week in 2166 MERF at noon. I have asked the speakers to provide a brief overview for their talks. Hope to see you there!

Background for Garrett’s talk

Since its initial discovery in 1949, lithium continues to be prescribed to patients suffering from bipolar affected disorder (BPD).  However, the underlying mechanisms of how this drug elicits its mood-stabilizing effect remain unknown.  To help identify these lithium-responsive processes, we have used the dominant, X-linked Drosophila mutant Shudderer (Shu). This mutant is characterized by strong jerking and twitching as well as uncoordinated locomotion.  Interestingly, the severity of Shu phenotypes can be significantly reduced upon lithium administration(1). Our behavioral, anatomical and genetic investigations of this mutant have led to the following findings.  Lithium improves Shu mutant climbing and reduces the severity of the jerking phenotypes.  In contrast the same doses of lithium have no significant impact on the same behaviors in wild-type flies.  Shu mutants exhibit down-turned wings and an indentation of the dorsal thorax, a phenotype previously observed in mutants with neuronal excitability. Classic meiotic mapping suggests that the Shu mutation lies near chromosomal region 14D-15F.  Microarray gene expression profiling of the Shu mutant revealed that CanA-14F, which encodes a catalytic subunit of the Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent Ser/Thr protein phosphatase calcineurin is up-regulated 2.2-fold compared to wild-type.  To determine if a reduction in CanA-14F levels could improve the mutant phenotypes, hypomorphic mutant alleles of CanA-14F were introduced into the Shu background.  The resultant flies transheterozygous for Shu and the CanA-14F hypomorphic alleles showed a reduction in morphological defects as well as a significant improvement in behavior.  Lastly, expression of the endogenous inhibitor of calcineurin activity, nebula (nla) was sufficient to suppress the morphological phenotypes in Shu when driven in neurons.  Rescue was not observed when expressed in glia, muscle or fat bodies.  These data suggest that overexpression of CanA-14F, and a subsequent increase in calcineurin activity in the nervous system play a role in the manifestation of the Shu phenotypes.

Recent evidence in two human association studies has shown the calcineurin A subunit gene PPP3CC to be a risk factor in both schizophrenia and BPD (2, 3).  Furthermore, several calcineurin mutant mouse models show behavioral deficits reminiscent of those observed in schizophrenia and other mental disorders (4, 5).

1.            R. L. Williamson, Psychopharmacology (Berl) 76, 265 (1982).

2.            F. Mathieu et al., Behav Brain Funct 4, 2 (2008).

3.            D. J. Gerber et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100, 8993 (Jul 22, 2003).

4.            T. Miyakawa et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100, 8987 (Jul 22, 2003).

5.            C. J. Herzog, S. Miot, I. M. Mansuy, B. Giros, E. T. Tzavara, Eur J Pharmacol 580, 153 (Feb 2, 2008).

Not Feeling Well

A popular definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results’. In which case the NSW Liberal Party should start shovelling the Lithium in with their Weet-Bix.

Ex-Federal Senator and former ALP kingmaker Graham Richardson recently gave testimony at the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into circumstances surrounding the assassination of the colourful identity Michael McGurk.

This inquiry luxuriates in its formal name of Badgerys Creek Land Dealings And Planning Decisions Inquiry – General Purpose Standing Committe No. 4

Richo cheerfully gave evidence into how he lobbies NSW ALP govt. ministers and bureaucrats into land rezonings and other favours to make Richo’s property ‘developer’ mates (and himself) richer and fatter.

Such ‘lobbying’ is legal but serves no public purpose. It’s just another name for graft and nepotism and in my opinion should be outlawed.

Every Move You (May Or May Not) Make

Six weeks before Richo’s evidence, Liberal MP Brad Hazzard, Shadow Minister for Planning, issued a mildly hysterical press release alleging the nefarious Richo was centrally operating NSW Property zonings in cahoots with Joe Tripodi and Minister for Planning Kathleen Keneally, or perhaps without Keneally and just Richo and Tripodi running the lot.

On October 22, two days after Richo’s evidence Hazzard moved a motion against Keneally censuring her for her policy of deliberate ignorance in relation to Richo’s meetings with NSW Planning bureaucrats.

The relevant bits of Hazzard’s press release of Sept. 9, Minister Fails To Answer For Accountability follow:

Minister Keneally fail[ed] to answer what actions she has taken to ensure appropriateness of meetings [of NSW Planning bureaucrats] involving Graham Richardson
…
Graham Richardson also allegedly told media that he had met with Joe Tripodi who is the factional master of Kristina Keneally.
…
As Mr Richardson represents a number of developers, it raises the question as to who is pulling the strings on planning decisions in NSW.

The Thing

The thing is, Tripodi flatly denies ever speaking to Richo about Planning and there is no evidence that he has. The allegation is unprovable.

I wrote the Mr Hazzard asking for the source of his contention that Tripodi has been meeting with Richo. His advisor, Lee Dixon, wrote back saying:

I refer you to the Sydney Morning Herald article “Fixer Richo still working in the shadows” of February 6, 2009.

I also refer you to the Planning Ministers response to a question in Question Time on September 10 where she does not deny that meetings take place between Graham Richardson and Minister Tripodi.

The SMH article does not say that Richo met with Tripodi (though Richo did admit to one phone call to Tripodi) and Keneally’s silence also does not prove that Richo is meeting with Tripodi.

Tripodi flatly denies having any meeting at all with Graham Richardson in relation to zoning or planning. Here is Tripodi, completely relaxed, fielding questions directed at him by Trevor Khan of the National Party supposedly the Coalitions best Inquiry performer, on Sept. 14 at Budget Estimates for Ports and Waterways (pages 11-13)

The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: Minister, in the time that you have been Minister have you met with or had telephone discussions with Graham Richardson?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: Yes, I have met Graham Richardson.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: Have you met with him in his role as lobbyist?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: He has never lobbied me on issues to the best of my recollection.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: Have you met with him in his role as lobbyist?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: No.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: When was the last time you had a discussion with Graham Richardson?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: I do not remember a specific event. It was a fleeting conversation—hello, goodbye. I cannot remember when that occurred.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: When was the last time you had a telephone conversation with him?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: A very long time.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: When was the last time you had—
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: Sorry, I have met Graham Richardson. I have said that to you. To the best of my recollection he never raised any issues with me relating to Mr Medich.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: Have you met with Mr Richardson in your offices?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: No. Not that I can recall for quite a long time. It would have been years ago if I had.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: Have you met with Mr Richardson in Parliament House?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: If I have it has not been for many years.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: For many years? How do you term “many years”? Is that one year, two years or three?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: It is definitely more than one, so it would be at least two or three years. As I say, not within recent memory.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: In the last 12 months, how many times have you either spoken with or met with Mr Graham Richardson?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: In the last how long?
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: Twelve months.
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: Once or twice. It was hello and goodbye, crossing paths. Never had an organised meeting.
The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: Does that include telephone conversations as well?
Mr JOSEPH TRIPODI: Yes. I have not had a telephone conversation with him for quite a long time.
(etc.)

Hazzard Has Nothing.

This is reminiscent of the 2007 NSW State Election, where then leader Peter Debnam made shocking allegations about the Minister Jack Debus in Parliament, for which he had no proof. This caused a sea-change in sentiment against the Libs who were polling well at the time.

Debnam from then on was regarded as a bit of a dill, a perception reinforced by his penchant for allowing himself to be interviewed wearing nothing but budgie-smugglers and by his assertion that ‘transport is not an election issue’ the day before a peak-hour train breakdown on the Harbour Bridge wreacked mayhem with city traffic (OK he was unlucky there).

NSW Labor Deserves The Flick

… and that mob of gluttonous nest-featherers deserved it years ago, but if Hazzard and the rest of them continue to make unprovable assertions they will mess it up again as in the last Election where Debnam went too far with his allegations.

The Libs are not yet polling that well that they are home free.

NSW Labor has plently of provable ‘form’. Stick to that, it should be plenty…or it should have been.

Nathan Rees, who struck me as a decent bloke from the time he came into office looks like he’s plucked up the considerable guts to take on Tripodi. I wish him well and if he succeeds he might get the NSW ALP back in.

Smoke Etc

In fairness to Hazzard, there’s more than a whiff of smoke around the Richo-Tripodi-Keneally troika. Keneally got her job due to the sponsorship of Tripodi, she deliberately chooses not to know or be informed about her bureaucrats meeting with Richo or anyone else’s parasitically motivated lunches, and Richo by his own admission has phoned Tripodi once. One can safely assume this is would be in relation to Planning/Zoning issues.

Hazzard calls Keneally the ‘Minister for Tripodi’ (to her outrage) which is true enough since the entire cabinet is the ‘Government for Tripodi’, surely the last person on earth you want within barge-poles distance of the public interest.

Here’s Joe and Richo in action, helping their rich mates the community yet again:

Mr Richardson told the Herald that he lobbied the head of the NSW Planning Department, Sam Haddad, last month over his refusal to rezone Mr Medich’s land. If rezoned, the land Mr Medich bought a decade ago for $3.5 million would be worth about $400 million.

Several months ago Mr Tripodi’s friend, the Fairfield jeweller Michael Daniele, took out an option for $5 million to buy the rural block owned by retired concreter Rinaldo ”Ron” Morlin. The land, which is worth less than half that amount, is estimated to be worth $25 million if rezoned.

Mr Daniele, who was praised in Mr Tripodi’s maiden speech to Parliament, is the sole director of Mr Tripodi’s private company, New Arm Investments. Mr Tripodi has previously declared his stake in the company on his pecuniary interests register. Corporate records show that the minister resigned as a director in 2005.

Mr Morlin, 73, confirmed Mr Daniele had taken out an option a few months ago. When asked if the option was worth $5 million, he replied, ”Mamma mia, you know too much about it.’

But you need proof to support specific allegations. Debnam didn’t have it and neither does Hazzard.

For his part, Richo says, I think quite plausibly, that he does not actually need to meet with Tripodi or any Ministers to get his back-room deals done. From the SMH ‘Fixer’ article of Feb 6th

“I don’t have to talk to ministers, I can get things done through other means,” Mr Richardson said.

Asked to expand, Mr Richardson said he did not have to reveal any such thing.

“Often it’s better not to talk to them [ministers] because if I do, people like you want to make something of it,” he said.

“I have known people in the bureaucracy for years. I have lots of contacts, lots of ways to press for things. I can get done what I need to get done…”

In the meantime, if anyone can source any article where Richo says he has met with Tripodi or vice-versa then I would be interested to read it.

Salar de Uyuni

In the March article (published on MojeOpinie.pl, for English version click here) on the subject of projected exploitation of the largest reserves of lithium in the world, located in the Bolivian salt flats Salar de Uyuni, I discussed their importance in the context of stimulation of the weakest economy in South America. I presented a number of paths that Bolivian president, Evo Morales, may choose to follow in order to find the most efficient way of translating the theoretical potential of the reserves into the welfare of his nation. Mr. Morales has now made his choice. It is therefore time to take another look at the matter.

On October 13 the Bolivian Ministry of Mining published a statement that reads:

Bolivian Minister of Mining, Mr. Luis Alberto Echazú, confirmed that all patents for extraction of lithium in Salar de Uyuni, department of Potosí, shall stay under Bolivian government’s control.

The situation today

This means, that Mr. Morales decided to take the riskiest of the presented paths – he will not allow for investment of foreign corporations interested in extraction and processing of lithium – metal necessary for production of lithium-ion batteries. His reasoning is extremely simple. Neither of those firms cares about building the batteries in Bolivia – they are interested solely in extraction and processing of the mineral, while the batteries should be produced elsewhere. This, however, is not enough for Mr. Morales, as he had expressed already on a number of occasions. He wants to build a processing plant and produce the batteries locally. During the September conference in Madrid he said:

Companies that respect Bolivian norms are welcome. We are looking for both private and state investment. We need partners – not owners of our natural resources.

Likewise, he does not exclude the possibility of producing electric (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), although most certainly this would not occur in the nearest future.

Right now, there’s a pilot lithium processing plant being built in Uyuni. Its goal is to evaluate the reserves, define the most efficient way of processing the mineraland educate Bolivian specialists in the subject. Ministry’s press release claims that the plant is 70% ready, and the production should start next year. Meanwhile plans for a much larger facility have been announced, able to produce about 30.000 metric tons of lithium per year, which amounts to 30% of current supply. According to the plans it should be ready by 2013/2014 and is projected to cost about $250-300 million. Considering Bolivia’s shaky economy it is a rather large sum of money, now magnified by the additional S500 million that Mr. Morales must find in order to facilitate the modernization of infrastructure (mainly transport network), construction of a new gas pipeline and securing an adequate power supply. Plans for construction of a battery assembly plant would require additional $ 1 bn. Bolivia, with it’s current economy, can’t afford such a huge investment, therefore it would be seeking a loan. Is it worth it?

Importance of the reserves

At first glance it would appear, that absolutely yes. Such large reserves of the lightest metal would ensure continuous extraction for hundreds of years. However, deeper analysis of the subject throws a shadow of skepticism.

Although in yet another press release of the Bolivian Ministry of Mining we can read, that the brine from Sala de Uyuni contains as much lithium as in Chilean reserves of Salar de Atacama, and additionally it has been found there is several places, this data is not mirrored in other sources. UK-based consulting company Roskill Information Services claims, that magnesium to lithium ratio in the Uyuni brine is much higher than in that of Atacama or Argentinean reserves in Salar de Hombre Muerto – a factor that would result in higher extraction and processing costs. Higher altitude would also have a negative impact on the separation process, since the water evaporation would take longer (lithium is separated from brine in large outdoor ponds). Furthermore each year Salar de Uyuni is flooded, which additionally dilutes the brine.

Latest reports concerning the risk of depleting world lithium resources also seem to speak against Bolivia’s plans. While specialists are not unanimous, I tend to lean towards the opinion of geologists R. Keith Evans, who claims, that there is still plenty of lithium on Earth.

Charles Gassenheimer, CEO of Ener1 – producer of batteries for the Norwegian car manufacturer Think Global – presents an equally optimistic view:

I’ve seen some negative reports saying the world is in danger of running out, but I don’t think that’s a productive notion. The amount of lithium in a lithium-ion battery is very low when compared to other substances – it’s three to four percent of our costs for materials. When I look at all the things to worry about for battery cars, lithium supply does not make that list. There’s not likely to be a problem until 2020 at the earliest.

Meridian International Research, in its analysis entitled “The Trouble with Lithium”, presents a completely opposite point of view. Author William Tahil argues, that world lithium reserves, concentrated in Chile, Bolivia, Argentina and China amount to not more than 6.2 million metric tons. He came  to the conclusion that expansion of electronic industry (ie. mobile phones, laptops, video cameras, photographic devices or mp3 players), as well as the planned development of electric vehicles would lead to increase in lithium demand, and may result in diplomatic crisis between United States and South America:

The analysis shows, that world dependant on lithium as source of energy for its electric vehicles might soon face even more rigid limitations, than it does today with oil.

The pessimistic scenario favors Bolivia’s potentially strong position on international lithium markets, because sooner or later the world would have to knock on Mr. Morales’ doors. Meanwhile, three largest companies currently extracting the mineral – already known as “the lithium three” – SQM (Chile), FMC (Argentina) and Chemetall/Rockwood (USA/Chile) don’t show the slightest interest in Bolivian reserves. According to FMC’s Paul J. Norris they can still increase their production capacity, more significantly – at lower cost.

Bolivians spend around $400 million on their plant in Uyuni, while FMC, Chemetall or SQM can increase production for a fraction of this sum.

Credit Suisse’s John McNulty confirms these claims:

Each of the corporations that form “the lithium three” can increase production by 25% by investing around $40-50 million.

January 2009 marked the Lithium Supply and Markets Conference in Santiago de Chile. The world reserves of the mineral were estimated to be cca. 30 million metric tons, of which 7,6 million tons can be mined, and 17,6 million tons can be extracted from brines. The second method is much cheaper, and as such favors Bolivia in finding buyers for its material. On the other hand, however, I remind that Bolivia’s extraction and processing costs may be higher than that of its competition in Chile or Argentina. Mr. Morales must find a way to join the lithium race on competitive terms. If he fails to do that, he may well end up like the American companies mining lithium in the ‘90s, when dramatic decrease in price by SQM (from $4000 per ton to $1400) effectively drove new producers out of the market, as their extraction costs were much higher.

During the June Deutsche Bank Alternative Energy Conference Mr. Seifi Ghasemi, CEO of Chemetall/Rockwood, remarked:

Even if the American automotive market is 100% electrified, the lithium form Chile’s Salar de Atacama would be enough to supply the market for a 100 years. With 10% market penetration level, the resources would last for 216 years.

Demand for lithium for electric cars is estimated to be around 10.000 metric tons by 2015 (more or less the moment of completion of the Bolivian plant). However by 2020 it may rise sharply to reach 81.000 tons.

A few days after Bolivian ministry’s press release regarding the development of Salar de Uyuni resources without foreign investment, SQM declared its move to cut lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices by 20%, as well as increase its production to 40.000 metric tons a year.

During the last year stock prices of this company (NYSE: SQM) rose from $18 to 40$.

This text has been published in Polish on MojeOpinie.pl. To retrieve the original version follow this link.

Image credit: NASA/TRACE

Astronomers at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands appear to have discovered a tell-tale indicator for exoplanets within the compositions of the stars they orbit. Stars with orbiting planets have a reduced level of lithium on their surface when compared to standard models; this depletion was detected on the Sun, as well as on the majority of stars with known exoplanets. Interestingly, the researchers also noted that out of 60 stars examined which have no known planetary systems, roughly half display a lithium depletion – potentially revealing thus-far undetected exoplanets.

Galaxy Resources has received environmental approval for its Jiangsu lithium carbonate plant in China, which is expected to have a small environmental footprint.

The receipt of the approval, from the Jiangsu Province Environmental Bureau, paves the way for Galaxy to obtain full project approval.

“The progress with project approvals for the Jiangsu plant means that the Company is on track to achieve first production of lithium carbonate in Q4 2010,” Galaxy managing director Iggy Tan said.

November has been a big month for Galaxy after it received final mining approval from the state government and started construction of its Mt Cattlin spodumene mine near Ravensthorpe

The Green Revolution has begun, and a front line tool for this revolution is the battery. We buy about three billion batteries each year in the U.S.  The future of the alternative energy industry and  the cars of the future depend on an efficient battery. Last week I talked about batteries, especially our solar back-up batteries, and how cost and efficiency were problems. This week I want to touch on environmental consequences.

Older types of batteries were made with things like  mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium. Congress phased a large portion of mercury out of certain types of batteries in 1996 when they passed the “Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act“. This act also made it easier to recycle nickel-cadmium and small sealed rechargables. Despite these improvements, there are still many environmental problems with batteries.

Most people are aware of the end use problem – batteries in the landfills, leaking toxic metals and chemicals. Presently, according to the EPA, the automotive and non-automotive lead based batteries are nearly 90 per cent recycled. In fact, the content of those batteries is often 60% or higher recycled lead and plastic content. It is the dry cell batteries, the ones we use in our laptops, cellphone and iPods, that end up in our trash. Even batteries collected in take-back and collection programs are usually put in hazardous waste landfills. It is just too costly and impractical for recyclers to break out the various materials, though some are able to recycle the little button batteries folks use in hearing aids and watches.

One environmental dilemma often unknown or ignored comes at the beginning of the battery manufacturing. The mining of the heavy metals necessary to make the batteries takes a tremendous toll on ecosystems and the people who live in those ecosystems. 

For example, lithium for lithium-ion batteries has become one of the most sought-after commodities. This metal has enabled batteries to become smaller, lighter, and hold a higher charge for longer periods of time.  Unfortunately, it takes 100 times the lithium for a vehicle battery than for a laptop. If we continue to look to lithium for our new cleaner vehicles, it will mean the demand for this element will be monumental. 

But mining lithium, intermixed in the earth with other metals and salts, can only be extracted by using vast amounts of water. In an increasingly water-starved world, this can mean local wells and aquifers drying up, and the uprooting of people from their homes and villages.

We could even be trading one political hotbed-oil-for another-lithium- as in this article from the Daily Mail about Bolivia and its determination to protect its lithium reserves which could the largest in the world. We need to consider other alternatives. A 2006 article by Meridian International Research compares lithium, zinc, and nickel supplies available for the coming demand. All, regrettably, must be mined.

So what can we do?

• The first thing is be aware that hybrid and electric cars are not a panacea for replacing the big, bad oil.  Driving less, driving smarter and using mass transit are the first steps for cleaner, more efficient travel. 
• If you must use dry cell batteries, buy rechargeables. Your initial outlay may be more, but they are cheaper in the long run and there are many outlets for recycling them.
• If there is one device that will do three things, do your homework – it could be cheaper and more efficient over time than three different less expensive devices. Or stay away from battery-powered devices altogether. Buy that board game for your kids instead of cute little battery-powered thingamagig.
• The most important thing you can do is to let your representative in Congress know your concerns. Tell them you want research funded that will come up with a truly clean, efficient, economical battery for the future, and you don’t want to go to war to do it.

Most importantly, keep the environment in mind and be a thoughtful, responsible consumer.

For many years researchers have pondered why our Sun has a negligible amount of lithium compared to other stars in our galaxy. In comparison, our Sun actually has less than 1% of the lithium present in most other stars. Researchers using the ESO’s HARPS spectrograph analyzed over 500 different stars, 70 of which are planet-bearing star systems and compared each one’s lithium content, as well as other light chemicals (in comparison to the atomic weight of iron). It was revealed that star systems which bear planets contain far less lithium than those systems which bear no planets.

Artist’s impression of a baby star still surrounded by proto-planetary material in which planets could form.

Somehow, it seems that systems which host planets provide a way to destroy the lithium over the years. Lithium is thought to have been an abundant element since the big bang and is present in most every star. The anomaly of chemical amounts that vary from star to star has bewildered researchers for over 60 years. So can planets and other planetary bodies affect the star in a way enough to destroy and realign chemical composition within that star? It seems that way. Theoreticians have their work cut out for them trying to figure out what causes the anomaly.

Researchers have undergone this project of measuring and analyzing lithium content in hopes of finding a way to detect star systems which bear planets in a way easier and faster than the current method using the HARPS device. For reference, HARPS is a device attached to the La Silla 3.6″ ESO telescope and studies the “wobble” of gravity and light from stars to detect if the star hosts a planet. If the current research is right, researchers may now use the HARPS device to detect lithium content from a star to determine the likelihood of the said star hosting planets.

The team of astronomers and researchers primarily involved in the project are: Garik Israelian, Elisa Delgado Mena, Carolina Domínguez Cerdeña, and Rafael Rebolo (Instituto de Astrofisíca de Canarias, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain), Nuno Santos and Sergio Sousa (Centro de Astrofisica, Universidade de Porto, Portugal), Michel Mayor and Stéphane Udry (Observatoire de Genève, Switzerland), and Sofia Randich (INAF, Osservatorio di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy).

Journal Reference: G. Israelian et al. Enhanced lithium depletion in Sun-like stars with orbiting planets. Nature, November 12, 2009. Adapted from materials provided by ESO.

Too bad this still happens.  Be careful out there!  Click here to read.

Lithium planet

Astronomers may have found a way to identify those Sun-like stars most likely to harbour orbiting planets.

A survey of stars known to possess planets shows the vast majority to be severely depleted in lithium.

To date, scientists have detected just over 420 worlds circling other stars using a range of techniques.

Garik Israelian and colleagues tell the journal Nature that future planet hunts could be narrowed by going after stars with particular compositions.

Scientists think events early in the star’s formation may be responsible for producing the lithium phenomenon.

Theory holds that planets grow from a disc of dusty material that develops around infant stars.

The researchers propose that this disc and its contents alter the young star’s spin, mixing its upper layers more effectively into the interior where its contents can be “burnt” in the fusion processes that power it.

“When discs form around stars there is interaction of angular momentum between disc, planets and parent star; and this interaction affects the rotation of the parent star and that will affect the lithium abundance,” said Garik Israelian from the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain.

The relative low abundance of lithium in our Sun’s upper layers has long been a fascination for scientists.

Researchers who have studied meteorites with compositions unchanged since the beginning of the Solar System say the element’s presence in our star ought to be 140 times greater than is observed.

Physicists know the Sun’s upper layers as viewed today do not convect deeply enough to take any lithium to a location that is sufficiently hot to burn the element. This suggests mixing conditions must have been different in the past.

The outcome of the research is a tool astronomers can now use to help pinpoint the right type of stars where they are likely to detect planets.

“Suppose you had 50 or 100 candidates for parent-bearing stars,” explained Dr Israelian.

“Those which have a very low abundance of lithium will be the best candidates around which you might find planets,” he told BBC News.

Astronomers detect exoplanets, as they are called, using a number of methods.

One technique looks for the gravitational “wobble” a massive planet will induce in its parent star.

Another approach is to monitor a star for extended periods in the hope a planet will pass across its face. This transit reveals the planet’s presence by making the star’s light dim ever so slightly.

]]> http://malcyates.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/landfill-mining/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:42:27 +0000 malcyates http://malcyates.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/landfill-mining/

So just every now and then, something happens to change the way we have to look at how we live.

Like the amount of Lithium that we might have left on the planet to make more batteries for electric cars, for instance.

But, I wonder when it will be economic to mine our landfill sites for all that stuff that we threw away, thinking that we had all the time and resources in the world. ( Well we did, but we never really thought what that really meant ).

Just think of all that aluminium we buried. And all of that plastic that we can recycle when the oil runs dry.

And another thing – does anyone have a good excuse for us using oil to make plastic when we have perfectly good material to make shopping bags, wrapping and clothes. Why do we not keep oil for internal combustion engines that have 40 DCOE Webers on them

Astronomers show that Sun-like stars with orbiting planets tend to be depleted in the element lithium…. From BBC News. Full story

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I’m so happy. Cause today I found my friends.
They’re in my head. I’m so ugly. But that’s ok.
‘Cause so are you. We’ve broke our mirrors.
Sunday morning. Is everyday for all I care.
And I’m not scared. Light my candles. In a daze cause I’ve found god.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah…..

I’m so lonely. And that’s ok.
I shaved my head. And I’m not sad, and just maybe
I’m to blame for all I’ve heard. And I’m not sure.
I’m so excited. I can’t wait to meet you there.
And I don’t care. I’m so horny. But that’s ok. My will is good.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…..

I like it. I’m not gonna crack.
I miss you. I’m not gonna crack.
I love you.I’m not gonna crack.
I killed you. I’m not gonna crack.

I’m so happy. Cause today I found my friends.
They’re in my head. I’m so ugly. But that’s ok.
‘Cause so are you. We’ve broke our mirrors.
Sunday morning. Is everyday for all I care.
And I’m not scared. Light my candles.
In a daze cause I’ve found god.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah…..