OK here's a long post.
I have to do a September 11 thing I suppose.
Frankly I don't want to. It's my birthday (DH Lawrence's too). Last year I had worked a good day, come home to my family, my sister Helen came for dinner, we ate too much, drank too much - it was great. Helen went home and the nuclear family watched the video of Buena Vista Social Club. Wonderful.
Then we stopped the video. It was late night here, but just the right time in New York. Felicity doesn't even remember watching the Buena Vista Social Club. She stayed glued to the TV for two days I think, in a kind of fascinated horror or horrified fascination.
Don't get me started on the politics of empire.
Here's some science stuff.
Science of September 11. A set of press releases were issued late yesterday regarding aspects of science arising from the September 11 events of 2001. Following are some links to the releases...
New simulation shows 9/11 plane crash with scientific detail
Engineers, computer scientists and graphics technology experts at Purdue University have created the first publicly available simulation that uses scientific principles to study in detail what theoretically happened when the Boeing 757 crashed into the Pentagon last Sept. 11.
New DNA typing method could ID remains of some 9/11 victims
A new DNA analysis technique under development at Ohio University may help authorities identify the remains of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks when conventional tests don't work. The method could offer forensic scientists a new tool to examine badly degraded remains - such as those at the World Trade Center disaster site - and could help police name perpetrators of crimes.
New lightweight materials may yield safer buildings, longer-lasting tires
Researchers say they have developed the world's strongest, lightest solids. Called aerogels, the sturdy materials are a high-tech amalgam of highly porous glass and plastic that is as light as air. In light of the events of Sept. 11 and a heightened interest in homeland security, these new materials show promise as lightweight body armor for soldiers, shielding for armored vehicles, and stronger building materials, the researchers say.
Satellite data could track vulnerable areas, terrorist threats
Orbiting 500 miles above the planet, satellites give scientists a "big picture" view of changes to the Earth's landscape - from suburbanization trends to shoreline erosion. Now, an Ohio University researcher is using the technology to try to detect a more dangerous activity: terrorism and the areas of the country most vulnerable to potential attacks.
People who 'gave up' after 9/11 more likely to remain distressed
The Sept. 11 attacks of 2001 left a lingering psychological impact on the nation according to new research published in the Sept. 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). While 17 percent of the U.S. population living outside New York City reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress two months following the attacks, 6 percent continued to report symptoms six months afterward.
[David Harris: Science news]
11:37:09 PM 
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