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Understanding The Voynich Manuscript #4

Understanding The Voynich Manuscript #4 If not Latin, then what? Please see the links at...

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #3

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #3 Plants and the moon. For thousands of years, people...

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #2

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #2 An i for an i ? Not nymphs: women! There are...

Understanding The Voynich Manuscript #1

Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #1 Tom, Dick and Harry explain a statistical method. ...

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Patrick LockerbyRSS Feed of this column.

Retired engineer, 73 years young. Computer builder and programmer. Linguist specialising in language acquisition and computational linguistics. Interested in every human endeavour except the scrooge... Read More »

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New Cracks In Pine Island Glacier

A huge crack which was discovered last October in Pine Island Glacier has propagated into a series of cracks during the Antarctic Winter.  The recent satellite image below shows the new cracks.  Newer images will no doubt show these cracks more clearly as the sun rises higher in the Antarctic skies.  The animation below helps to demonstrate the great advance of the glacier front and the propagation of the cracks since February 2012.


Pine Island Glacier, September 11 2012.
It's Great To Be Back!

I wish to apologize to all of my readers for being AWOL for so long without a word of explanation.  I have had a severe pain in my right arm from an unknown cause, and this has been made unbearable by any attempt to type.  This has left me unable to blog or respond to emails: indeed, for a very long time I was even unable to use the mouse and keyboard to check my emails.  My doctor cannot find a cause and suggests it is a trapped nerve.  It seems to be posture related: I can cycle - and have cycled - up to 44 miles in one day with only trivial aches.  The good news is that for the last few days my arm has only troubled me once.  Let us hope that the problem is now in the past.
Fire in Brazilian Antarctic Base.

A fire has destroyed a major part of the Comandante Ferraz Antactic base, leaving two people dead and one injured.
All of the scientists have been evacuated from the station.
Some military personnel have been able to stay in Antarctica thanks to Chile's hospitality at their Eduardo Frei research base.


Image source: BBC News.
Why I Am Peter Gleick

When your opponent has dipped his gloves in glue and glass and has kicked you in the nuts, most people would agree that if you depart somewhat from the Queensbury rules the other side has no right to complain about your ethics.
The Heartland Institute and Murdoch Media

The Heartland Institute story broke on February 14th.  The revelation that anti-science bunkum has been funded by corporate dollars was no surprise to those of us who have been investigating these propaganda mills.  Peter H Gleik has confirmed that he was the one who obtained the secret documents.  In confirming that he got them straight from the Heartland Institute he also confirms their authenticity.
Copyright Infringement and International Law

What with the day of action on SOPA taking up the front pages of the media, a new legal definition published by the UN has been mostly overlooked.

I think it is very important that more people should realize how much a seemingly trivial change in a legal definition can affect their entire lives.  Accordingly, I am pleased to re-publish the information here - even at risk of the entire site being taken down for copyright infringement.

[quote]
United Nations Organization
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea

Revised definition of offenses committed by lawless seafarers against persons and or property.