Ones and Zeros

The headline read, “Organic food has no health benefits, study finds” in the Times Online from the UK. There’s other similar headlines in other news sources too, I’m not just picking on the Times here. And at least the Times did the courtesy of having a link to the actual study paper. The first paragraph of the paper’s executive summary reads:

There is currently no independent authoritative statement on the nature and importance of differences in content of nutrients and other nutritionally relevant substances (nutrients and other substances) in organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. This systematic review of the available published literature was designed to seek to determine the size and relevance to health of any differences in content of nutrients and other substances in organically and conventionally produced crops and livestock products. This review does not address contaminant content (such as herbicide, pesticide and fungicide residues) of organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs or the environmental impacts of organic and conventional agricultural practices.

So, what the study is actually saying is NOT what either the headline or the article says. They’re actually saying that there’s no real difference in nutrition between organic and non-organic food. The authors of the study specifically say that they’re not addressing contaminant content from pesticides, nor are they addressing the effects on the environment either. Personally, given some of the issues from contaminants, I’d say organic food is worth it. And since I can buy it locally at the farmer’s market, that’s another good thing.

Three paragraphs down the authors say:

Significant differences in content between organically and conventionally produced crops were found in some minerals (nitrogen higher in conventional crops; magnesium and zinc higher in organic crops), phytochemicals (phenolic compounds and flavonoids higher in organic crops) and sugars (higher in organic crops).

So, since flavonoids and phytochemicals strongly contribute to flavor, this means that organic food are more flavorful and sweeter (higher in sugars), than non-organic foods. Everyone has spent a bit more for better quality.

This is a problem with the media echo chamber. While have probably been exceptions, the average report or article gets something wrong, sometimes something really critical. Many years ago I worked in a small radio station and did a Sunday morning news report. Like all stations, this place had the AP and UPI news wires. I would tear the wire reports from the printer, select out something more or less relevant, then read it on the air. Over time I ended up seeing the AP and UPI reports for about a dozen things for which I had direct knowledge.

In no case did the AP or the UPI report have the whole story, nor were they even accurate in what they did report. In one case I knew a professor well who was interviewed by the AP. He spent some time trying to get the story right with the reporter including editing the draft later. The article from that interview was published without any corrections at all, it was hopelessly wrong and inaccurate.

Basically a journalist is a person who expects to in a short time understand a topic that others may have spent months or years on, and to understand that topic well enough to explain it to others. Some do this well, I like Rachael Maddow for example.

But this is rare and others don’t do as well, like Brian Williams or any number of mainstream journalists. They simply go with the “conventional wisdom” for the most part and don’t dig very deep. Doing it well is hard work and most aren’t up to it.

Then we have those that don’t even try at all like Glen Beck, O’Reilly, and Limbaugh. It’s just easier to make things up after all.In fact, the latter three aren’t journalists at all. They don’t report, they have commentary. This blurring of news and commentary is yet another problem for another post.

I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat. - Will Rogers

It’s rather amazing.  The Dems have a 60-seat majority in the Senate, and a large majority in the House.  And yet they can’t pass something that the large majority of Americans (both Dem and GOP Americans) want to have.  Health care has been a thorn in the side of this country for decades now, and been a critical problem for at least two decades.  One would think our leaders would leap at the opportunity to fix it and get re-elected.The Blue Dog Dems are ignoring the 72% of ALL Americans of either party (as per the Washington Post, CNN, and MSNBC) who want a public option to the health care.  They’re ignoring their constituents so much that these blue dogs are now courting the GOP.  The same GOP who are unwilling to offer a plan, any plan, besides keeping the status quo.So, here’s some myths knocked down:

• America has a private health care system.  Wrong.  Some 47% of the health care funds spent in the US are already from the US government through Medicare, Medicade, and the VA. (Public status via Paul Krugman.)
• Medicare is not a government program.  Wrong.  You thought an insurance company was running this?
• A public option equals socialized medicine.  Wrong.  There are a variety of ways a public option could work.  Canada does not have “socialized medicine” any more than the US does, you get to pick your doctor, etc. (Wikipedia)
• A government-run system is always more expensive than the free market.  Wrong.  The VA system treats vets more cheaply than US free-market medical services.  And at a higher quality. (MSNBC)
• The free market can solve this health-care crisis.  Wrong.  The free market is an excellent tool, but like all tools it is not useful for all situations, it can be harmful in some.  (Paul Krugman again: Why markets can’t cure health care)
• The health care bill will kill senior citizens.  Not just wrong, but an outright fear-mongering lie.  The government for years has encouraged a living will.  As have many independent legal and medical practitioners.  Politicians and others with an axe to grind and little ethical standards are lying to you. (CNN, MSBNC)
• The US has the best health care system in the world.  Wrong.  While this was once true, it hasn’t been true for decades now. Sources are too numerous to list here.  Just look at health and death statistics, independent studies and international reports all show that we’re consistently slipping.
• The cost is too large.  Funny, that cost question never comes up when we want to attack some other country and commit ourselves to a decade-long war.  Or buy an airplane that costs $40,000/hour to run, or have a massive, non-public, and un-audited black budget that grows every year.  (Un-audited in the sense of a public audit.) This cost question just comes up when it comes to heath, education, or something that affects the lives and welfare of the average American citizen.  Why is that?  In any case, what’s the cost to us now with bad health care?

In summary, if you hear something weird, check who’s saying it and their past record.  If their funding is coming from the health care industry or some “think tank”, be wary.  If their record is to oppose anything helpful and support large industry and the military-industrial complex, be wary. And if it sounds preposterous - like killing old people - it probably is someone trying to manipulate you.

Instructor R and I are back in the plane doing the “Cropper 1″ departure from our home airport. This is an unofficial procedure named after one of the other instructors that combines a departure from our home airport, a DME arc, and the VOR, ILS, and Localizer approaches.  It is a well-designed local training procedure that we fly in VFR weather with foggles.  We’re flying out and he says with a smile, “It’s another beautiful day and you get to look at your foggles.  That’s ok, I’ll look outside for you!”

So I end up distracting myself by messing with the GPS and radio, I start the 10 DME arc at 9.6 nm or less.  Not a great start, but within PTS tolerance.  I turn the correct way, and track the arc.  At the right radial we turn off to the VOR approach.

Things are going better, if not perfect.  I’m at least with the plane, if not ahead.  I’m missing smaller things, like the wind direction for the procedure turn to line up for the ILS.  It takes a while to get back, as we’ve end up with a good headwind.

I’m not doing very well with radio calls that are useful for the other IFR and also for VFR pilots.  R is pointing out after each call things I could have said better.  His style is to let me do as much as I can, at this stage, that’s pretty much everything.  He’s there to be my practice ATC (Air Traffic Control), keep an eye outside, and suggest better ways of doing things. This works for me.

On the way to the localizer, I “lose” my directional gyro as R puts a cover over it.  I tell him, “I don’t get to see outside, and now I can’t see my pretty new DG either!”  He smiles back and says, “Nope, but you’ve got a compass.”

Compasses have errors, well, so does everything.  Aviation compasses in the northern hemisphere have a small weight on their south side to counteract the dip that the descending lines of magnetic force put on the compass.  The inertia of this weight causes errors when accelerating or decelerating, more when heading E or W.  No problems when heading N or S though.

When the plane is banked to turn, the weight falls down, and makes the heading undershoot when heading more N, and overshoot when heading more S.  No problems on E or W headings though.

So there are two ways to make compass turns in IFR: by figuring the overshoot and undershoot (which is 1/2 your latitude in degrees).  The second way is to measure the seconds in the turn.  But I couldn’t remember if it was three degrees/second or three seconds/degree.  It sounds silly now, but I couldn’t work it out and I didn’t want to ask R either.

At the time I was flying the plane, staying on altitude and heading, and responding to R’s simulated ATC radio calls.

I realized the turn coordinator had “2 min” on it’s face, so a standard rate turn for 360 degrees is two minutes, or 180 degress in 60 seconds.  Ah ha!  So, 180/60 = 3, so three degrees/second or about 3 seconds for 10 degrees.  I was to turn 20 degrees, so a six-second count.  I rolled out near my intended heading and was still on altitude.

So, I’m getting my groove back. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m within PTS now and that’s good.

I’m near the end, I still have the long cross country to do, and some more hours to build up.  And I need to wrap up the written test too.  But getting close!

In the Airplane! movie Robert Stack’s character says, “Flying an airplane is just like riding a bicycle, it’s just harder to put cards in the wheels”.  The last time I flew IFR was a bit over seven weeks ago.  It took that long to get the new directional gryo delivered and installed, then I was out of town for a while.  Seven weeks later, I want to get back to it and finish my IFR ticket!

Instructor R and I went up to practice some approaches, the curricula for this lesson.  Well, I was off my altitude around 200 feet getting there, and frankly I was behind the plane and playing catch up most of the way.  It wouldn’t have met the PTS (Practical Test Standards).  It definitely doesn’t meet my standards or R’s either. Yet, I was expecting worse.

Legally, doing 6 approaches and holding procedures every six months keeps you current to fly IFR with the FAA.  I know I’m still wet-behind-the-ears with respect to IFR, but seven weeks off and I’m behind.   This brought home the difference between currency and proficiency.  The first is a FAA legal regulatory definition and must be satisfied.  The second, however, is the most important to your success as a pilot.

So, I’m planning how to stay current and proficient.  Six approaches in three months sounds good.  And, I should have them distributed so I don’t more more than a week or two without making an IFR approach.