Jump to bottom

165 comments
1 HistoryInAction  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:37:08pm

More like billions, even, if India/Pakistan is any indicator... even with him losing half of his first seed load to water ruination and corruption

A true hero, I'm sorry to learn of his passing. RIP, Mr. Borlaug

2 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:38:09pm

A Nobel Peace Prize winner who actually earned it.

3 [deleted]  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:40:11pm
4 Killgore Trout  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:44:36pm

He's a good counter-argument for your hippie friends who complain about genetically modified food.

5 Lee Coller  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:44:48pm

Oh No!! He's a communist:

When the Rockefeller Foundation began fighting hunger in Mexico in the 1950s, Borlaug joined the team.

//Channeling Glenn Beck

6 yesandno  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:46:23pm

It would seem that his real epitaph is that he had a life well lived.

RIP

7 Sharmuta  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:46:40pm

Science saves lives. Thank you, Mr. Borlaug.

8 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:47:06pm

One of the guys that never sought or achieved fame for his work, but because of him the world is measurably better.

Thanks for the observance, Charles. And thanks to the poster who requested it yesterday. (I wish I could remember who it was)

9 Lee Coller  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:48:46pm

Seriously, its a sad day when we have to note that someone actually deserved the Peace prize. May he be richly rewarded.

10 Egregious Philbin  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:49:08pm

Borlaug did more to help humanity than any Pope, any Preacher, any nun, any environmentalist or any politician.

A true world hero. Its a shame that junk science nazis like Greenpeace have actually condemned millions to starvation deaths by convincing African governments not to allow GM foods to be planted in their countries.

Borlaug is a true hero, wish we had more like him.

11 Sharmuta  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:49:13pm
Borlaug was no innocent scientist: he knew that science could feed the world only when political conditions were right. In the case of India and Mexico, the semi-dwarf wheat and rice worked marvels because the farmers owned their own land. As private owners, they had a vested interest in using more expensive seeds that would produce a higher yield. Local authorities provided the water for irrigation: both the Mexican and Indian governments did it right, later followed by Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. But without private entrepreneurs, the Green Revolution would not have taken place. While touring the world, Borlaug always stressed that seeds by themselves could not eradicate hunger. Private property, entrepreneurship, and reliable governments were essential prerequisites.

Sounds like a Goldwater conservative.

12 [deleted]  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:49:13pm
13 researchok  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:53:21pm

One helluva legacy. He taught a lot of people to fish.

14 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 4:59:42pm

re: #8 Pianobuff

One of the guys that never sought or achieved fame for his work, but because of him the world is measurably better.

Thanks for the observance, Charles. And thanks to the poster who requested it yesterday. (I wish I could remember who it was)

That was me! Thanks Charles.

15 Shiplord Kirel  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:01:36pm

Science works!

16 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:03:02pm

re: #14 Mad Al-Jaffee

That was me! Thanks Charles.

Dagnabbit, you're right...it was you. But you knew that already, didn't you.

17 lawhawk  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:04:00pm

If there were truly justice in science - this guy would be a household name and Paul Ehrlich would be consigned to the dustbin of history.

18 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:04:25pm

re: #16 Pianobuff

Dagnabbit, you're right...it was you. But you knew that already, didn't you.

I think I knew. :)

Who is the ivory tickler in your avatar?

19 jhrhv  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:05:16pm

Are there really so many that never heard of this guy before he died?

20 borgcube  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:06:38pm

Sound science, Capitalism, property rights, and stable (translation: democratic) governments?

What a radical!

21 brookly red  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:08:07pm

re: #19 jhrhv

Are there really so many that never heard of this guy before he died?

I never heard of him before and I am sorry to say it.

22 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:08:13pm

"The green revolution has an entirely different meaning to most people in the affluent nations of the privileged world than to those in the developing nations of the forgotten world."

Norman Borlaug


This is a simple statement, yet exceedingly profound.

23 reine.de.tout  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:09:26pm

Nope, although I was aware that plant cross-breeding had changed crops for the better, made the hardier, more disease resistant, I had never heard this name. Very glad to see attention brought to him here, it's well deserved.

24 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:09:33pm

I've always deeply admired Borlaug, and (years ago) read extensively about his work.

It was in fact Borlaug who debunked Malthusian theory and threw in the final monkey wrench which stopped the juggernaut of the 1970s' neo-Malthusians (as they called themselves) such as Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren. Their theory was that mankind and the Earth could never ever support any additional population growth, based on Malthus' flawed 200-year-old assumptions. Borlaug came along and proved that we could quadruple and even octuple food output with just a little genius (which he supplied) and entrepreneurialism among the hard-working farmers of the second-world nations like Mexico and India.

Note also that Borlaug saw the necessaity of good old fashioned capitalism to solve humanity's problems. From the linked article:

"Borlaug was no innocent scientist: he knew that science could feed the world only when political conditions were right. In the case of India and Mexico, the semi-dwarf wheat and rice worked marvels because the farmers owned their own land. As private owners, they had a vested interest in using more expensive seeds that would produce a higher yield. Local authorities provided the water for irrigation: both the Mexican and Indian governments did it right, later followed by Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. But without private entrepreneurs, the Green Revolution would not have taken place. While touring the world, Borlaug always stressed that seeds by themselves could not eradicate hunger. Private property, entrepreneurship, and reliable governments were essential prerequisites.

Borlaug’s pro-market advocacy did not please everyone in the Third World. The Indian Left always saw the Green Revolution as an engine of injustice, and it attacked Borlaug for generating a social divide. It’s true that the most dynamic farmers in India did become wealthy, but the poor became poorer only relative to the new bourgeoisie."

His pro-humanity approach infuriated the Left, who were banking on a food/starvation crisis to spur either a great social revolution, or a "de-development" of the industrialized world. Sorry, John and Paul -- maybe next time.

A scientist who did good for poor people, who didn't buy into the claptrap of the Socialist narrative, and who was modest and selfless -- a very worthy man indeed.

Note also that his work was fundamentally based on evolutionary theory and Mendelian genetics -- without his artificially evolving new strains of grains over many generations, his "green revolution" could never have happened. (This "green revolution" predated the current fad-based "green revolution" by many decades, and is unrelated to it.)

Norman Borlaug was one of the few last great non-politicized scientists.

25 jhrhv  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:09:47pm

Norman Borlaug on Penn and Teller: BS

Only over 87,000 views I guess most people really know nothing about the food that feeds them and their family every day.

26 reine.de.tout  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:10:05pm

re: #11 Sharmuta

Sounds like a Goldwater conservative.

I thought the same thing

27 lawhawk  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:10:26pm

Patrick Swayze, Who Starred in 'Dirty Dancing,' Is Dead at 57, A.P. Reports

28 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:10:47pm

You know what else was cool about Dr. Borlaug? He was a wrestler. BIG sport in Iowa.

29 jhrhv  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:10:57pm

re: #27 lawhawk

Awful news RIP.

30 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:11:12pm

re: #8 Pianobuff

One of the guys that never sought or achieved fame for his work, but because of him the world is measurably better.

Thanks for the observance, Charles. And thanks to the poster who requested it yesterday. (I wish I could remember who it was)

Apparently he was working in his fields at home when his wife came to tell him he'd been awarded a Nobel. He told her someone was pulling her leg. When it was confirmed, he went on working, and said they'd celebrate later.

Wouldn't you know it would be an Iowa farm boy who would feed the world?

31 reine.de.tout  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:11:19pm

re: #27 lawhawk

Patrick Swayze, Who Starred in 'Dirty Dancing,' Is Dead at 57, A.P. Reports

aw, gee.
No surprise, really.
But sad all the same.

32 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:11:34pm

re: #27 lawhawk

Patrick Swayze, Who Starred in 'Dirty Dancing,' Is Dead at 57, A.P. Reports

Oh my. What a shame. He hadn't looked well, but I'm surprised having not heard much about his condition for a while.

RIP Patrick.

33 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:11:47pm

re: #9 Lee Coller

Seriously, its a sad day when we have to note that someone actually deserved the Peace prize. May he be richly rewarded.

I'm sure heaven's got some wheat fields could use improving.

34 Sharmuta  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:11:49pm

re: #27 lawhawk

Patrick Swayze, Who Starred in 'Dirty Dancing,' Is Dead at 57, A.P. Reports

[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

35 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:11:51pm

re: #28 Mad Al-Jaffee

You know what else was cool about Dr. Borlaug? He was a wrestler. BIG sport in Iowa.

Go Hawks!

36 A Man for all Seasons  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:12:19pm

re: #27 lawhawk

Patrick Swayze, Who Starred in 'Dirty Dancing,' Is Dead at 57, A.P. Reports

The Cancer got him..
May God bless him and his family...

37 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:12:26pm

re: #4 Killgore Trout

He's a good counter-argument for your hippie friends who complain about genetically modified food.

Without genetically modified food, there wouldn't be any hippie friends, as we'd have all starved to death long ago.

38 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:13:13pm

re: #21 brookly red

I never heard of him before and I am sorry to say it.

I mentioned this yesterday, but would like to report that I only heard about him before this week because West Wing mentioned him in an episode.

Kids should learn about him.

39 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:13:36pm

re: #35 Pianobuff

My brother and a good friend of his went to Dan Gable's wrestling camp when they were in high school. They also got kicked out for sneaking off campus to party with some girls they met.

40 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:14:02pm

re: #17 lawhawk

If there were truly justice in science - this guy would be a household name and Paul Ehrlich would be consigned to the dustbin of history.

AMEN!

41 Lee Coller  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:15:31pm

re: #37 zombie

Without genetically modified food, there wouldn't be any hippie friends, as we'd have all starved to death long ago.

Technically all food we eat today is genetically modified.

42 Sharmuta  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:16:02pm

re: #26 reine.de.tout

And Borlaug was exactly right. Agricultural success is dependent on the stability of the farm land- the farmer's rights, and the national stability to ensure those rights. It was interesting they mentioned how the Green Revolution hadn't made it to Africa. Many of the nations in Africa that need the most agricultural help are also the ones whose governments are the most chaotic or despotic.

Just goes to show how republicans hurt themselves when they reject science.

43 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:16:06pm

re: #39 Mad Al-Jaffee

My brother and a good friend of his went to Dan Gable's wrestling camp when they were in high school. They also got kicked out for sneaking off campus to party with some girls they met.

Heh. Iowa City is a neat little town. Sounds like a completely credible story too. There is a lot of partying there.

Are you an Iowan?

44 Boondock St. Bender  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:16:44pm

The world owes a debt it can never pay...This is the kind of man children should learn about in school.(hell,the school should be named for him)

45 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:17:16pm

re: #43 Pianobuff

Heh. Iowa City is a neat little town. Sounds like a completely credible story too. There is a lot of partying there.

Are you an Iowan?

No, I'm from Maryland and I've lived here most of my life.

46 jhrhv  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:17:54pm

re: #37 zombie

Without science we would still be using leeches when we got sick instead of taking a pill. Those people who like to put crystals on themselves over say chemotherapy just freak me out.

47 Danny  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:18:45pm

Oh man, what a loss.

48 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:20:06pm

Here's a good page of Norman Borlaug quotes.

If these are representative of his views, he seems to favor the tools of capitalism yet has a strong vocabulary of social justice.

Interesting.

49 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:20:55pm

re: #45 Mad Al-Jaffee

No, I'm from Maryland and I've lived here most of my life.

Harmonica player? Did I remember correctly? If so, how was the festival gig you were speaking of a while back?

50 Sharmuta  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:21:12pm

re: #44 Boondock St. Bender

The world owes a debt it can never pay...This is the kind of man children should learn about in school.(hell,the school should be named for him)

Perhaps some will. It seems he shunned the spotlight however. Had he been less modest, perhaps more would know his name. But it seems he was more of the kind of guy to let his work be his legacy, and not his ego.

51 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:21:19pm

I had never heard if him before that "Bullshit" episode that featured him. He seems like a fascinating man and a true humanitarian. I think I will learn more about him and his Green Revolution.

52 Gus  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:21:25pm

re: #24 zombie

This is from an interview he made with Reason:

Reason: What do you think of Paul Ehrlich's work?

Borlaug: Ehrlich has made a great career as a predictor of doom. When we were moving the new wheat technology to India and Pakistan, he was one of the worst critics we had. He said, "This person, Borlaug, doesn't have any idea of the magnitude of the problems in food production." He said, "You aren't going to make any major impact on producing the food that's needed." Despite his criticisms, we succeeded, of course.

Reason: When an alleged expert like Ehrlich is being negative like that, does that discourage people? Does it hurt the efforts to boost food production?

Borlaug: Sure, because we were funded by a foundation...They'd hear his criticisms, and I'm sure there were some people at Rockefeller saying, "Maybe we shouldn't fund that program anymore." It always has adverse effects on budgeting.

Reason: Why do you think people still listen to Ehrlich? One can go back and read his doomsday scenarios and see that he was wrong.

Borlaug: People don't go back and read what he wrote. You do, but the great majority of the people don't, and their memory is short. As a matter of fact, I think this [lack of perspective] is true of our whole food situation. Our elites live in big cities and are far removed from the fields. Whether it's Brown or Ehrlich or the head of the Sierra Club or the head of Greenpeace, they've never been hungry.

More at link.

53 Unions = Innovation slash slash  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:21:31pm

re: #27 lawhawk

Patrick Swayze, Who Starred in 'Dirty Dancing,' Is Dead at 57, A.P. Reports

My FIL just passed of pancreatic cancer (same as Swayze) 1 Sept.

54 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:22:12pm

re: #49 Pianobuff

Harmonica player? Did I remember correctly? If so, how was the festival gig you were speaking of a while back?

Yeah, that's me. Which festival gig? We played a bunch of festivals and concerts this summer, and most of them were really good.

55 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:22:18pm

re: #48 Pianobuff

Here's a good page of Norman Borlaug quotes.

If these are representative of his views, he seems to favor the tools of capitalism yet has a strong vocabulary of social justice.

Interesting.

Sounds like a very good and smart man.

56 Henchman Ghazi-808  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:22:38pm

I had no idea who Norman Borlaug was. Now I do, thank you.

57 Danny  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:23:18pm

One of my favorite Borlaug Q&As:

Reason: Environmental activists often oppose road building. They say such roads will lead to the destruction of the rain forests or other wildernesses. What would you say to them?

Borlaug: These extremists who are living in great affluence...are saying that poor people shouldn't have roads. I would like to see them not just go out in the bush backpacking for a week but be forced to spend the rest of their lives out there and have their children raised out there. Let's see whether they'd have the same point of view then.

58 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:24:06pm

re: #54 Mad Al-Jaffee

Yeah, that's me. Which festival gig? We played a bunch of festivals and concerts this summer, and most of them were really good.

I think you were talking about something in FL, as well as in your home state.

59 brookly red  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:25:14pm

re: #38 SanFranciscoZionist

I mentioned this yesterday, but would like to report that I only heard about him before this week because West Wing mentioned him in an episode.

Kids should learn about him.

I will resist the temptation to politicize, & just agree.

60 Locker  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:25:26pm

Nice article and much respect for Mr. Borlaug.

61 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:25:52pm

re: #28 Mad Al-Jaffee

You know what else was cool about Dr. Borlaug? He was a wrestler. BIG sport in Iowa.

That IS really cool. You know who else was a pretty good wrestler? Abraham Lincoln.

62 Ojoe  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:26:01pm

One of my brothers, who works in plant science, says that Borlaug saved about one billion people.

63 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:26:05pm

re: #52 Gus 802

This is from an interview he made with Reason:

More at link.

Excellent find! Thanks.

Considering that Ehrlich's prime colleague and champion John Holdren is now our nation's science advisor, one might amend that final sentence in the quote to read:

"Whether it's Brown or Ehrlich or Holdren or the head of the Sierra Club or the head of Greenpeace..."

As for the "Brown" in that quote, I presume he's referring to Harrison Brown, John Holdren's idol and role model.

64 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:26:22pm

re: #58 Pianobuff

We have a festival gig in Ocean City, MD next week. I still need to make a hotel reservation for that one. I'll probably spend more than I'm going to make, but I could use a mini-vacation (couple of days at the beach.)

We're supposed to be doing a festival in Florida in December. Don't know the details yet, but Florida in December sounds good to me.

Our third cd (with all original material) will be out sometime soon.

65 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:26:29pm

re: #61 Enkidu90046

That IS really cool. You know who else was a pretty good wrestler? Abraham Lincoln.

So, was Borlaug literally Abraham Lincoln?

;)

66 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:26:44pm

re: #61 Enkidu90046

That IS really cool. You know who else was a pretty good wrestler? Abraham Lincoln.

I think Lincoln also played the harmonica!

67 Coracle  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:27:02pm

re: #65 SanFranciscoZionist

So, was Borlaug literally Abraham Lincoln?

;)

Ever see them in the same room together?

68 [deleted]  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:27:27pm
69 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:27:39pm

re: #39 Mad Al-Jaffee

My brother and a good friend of his went to Dan Gable's wrestling camp when they were in high school. They also got kicked out for sneaking off campus to party with some girls they met.

I also went to a Dan Gable wrestling camp when I was in HS. I did not, however, get kicked out... girls weren't in to me yet in HS... it took a few more years...

70 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:28:33pm

re: #43 Pianobuff

Heh. Iowa City is a neat little town. Sounds like a completely credible story too. There is a lot of partying there.

Are you an Iowan?

Iowa City is a blast. I went to Iowa for law school.

71 jvic  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:29:10pm

I know who he was, and I honor him.

Human progress involves tradeoffs. Human progress encounters setbacks and dead ends.

When we encounter such, we should not retreat from the future. We should think things through and find a way forward.

RIP.

72 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:29:24pm

There are plenty of anti-science, "green", organic-cotton-jeans-wearing types (I know a few) who will tell you that Borlaug + Monsanto = Satan.

73 Ojoe  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:29:49pm

re: #10 Egregious Philbin

No, Abraham Lincoln helped as much, and I could think of others.

Pasteur for instance

But Borlaug is up there.

74 brookly red  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:30:23pm

/Genetic modification is a good thing. Personally I take every opportunity to distribute advanced DNA chains :)

75 Ojoe  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:31:41pm

re: #65 SanFranciscoZionist

Don Bosco was good at wrestling also.

76 Danny  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:31:41pm

re: #72 Cato the Elder

Wasnt Monsanto supposed to control the world's entire food supply by now?

77 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:32:10pm

re: #67 Coracle

Here's the truth about Lincoln:

78 Locker  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:33:12pm

If Lincoln were alive today he's be a DJ spinning House Music. Now that I've caught your attention I give you some entertainment. I like to call this piece "Politicians and corporate/union money"

79 Gus  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:33:33pm

re: #63 zombie

Excellent find! Thanks.

Considering that Ehrlich's prime colleague and champion John Holdren is now our nation's science advisor, one might amend that final sentence in the quote to read:

"Whether it's Brown or Ehrlich or Holdren or the head of the Sierra Club or the head of Greenpeace..."

As for the "Brown" in that quote, I presume he's referring to Harrison Brown, John Holdren's idol and role model.

Reading the Harrison Brown quote on the column to the right. I hope that things begin to change and was see a return to the likeness of Norman Borlaug. That we can move forward to serve mankind and implement practical real-world solutions as opposed to rhetorical intellectual dogma that serves nothing but itself. I guess you can say that Holdren and Brown liked to hear themselves talk while Borlaug saw a solution and worked on it. Almost like the difference between the similarly gaseous art critics compared to the artists themselves.

80 Ojoe  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:35:19pm

re: #79 Gus 802

Yes.

81 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:35:23pm

re: #72 Cato the Elder

There are plenty of anti-science, "green", organic-cotton-jeans-wearing types (I know a few) who will tell you that Borlaug + Monsanto = Satan.

re: #76 Danny

Wasnt Monsanto supposed to control the world's entire food supply by now?

Monsanto made me small at the 1964 World's Fair, and I never got big again.

Curse you Monsanto! (Said in tiny squeaky voice.)

* Not actually true. I never went to the 1964 World's Fair.

82 RightOnTheLeftCoast  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:36:39pm

Borlaug is an inspiration, and truly a great man.

It was posted by Thanos when Borlaug's passing was first noted, but it's definitely worth posting again:
Norman Borlaug featured, and lauded, on Penn & Teller Bulls**t

83 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:36:40pm

re: #81 zombie

Monsanto broke my arm!

84 lawhawk  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:36:59pm

re: #75 Ojoe

Don Bosco was good at wrestling also.

Don Bosco is pretty good at football these days.

85 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:38:31pm

Hmm.

Reason: Why do you think people still listen to Ehrlich? One can go back and read his doomsday scenarios and see that he was wrong.

Borlaug: People don't go back and read what he wrote. You do, but the great majority of the people don't, and their memory is short. As a matter of fact, I think this [lack of perspective] is true of our whole food situation. Our elites live in big cities and are far removed from the fields. Whether it's Brown or Ehrlich or the head of the Sierra Club or the head of Greenpeace, they've never been hungry.

I wonder whether, thirty years from now, we'll be shaking our heads in wonder at the predictions now being made about imminent doom from global warming. World starvation didn't happen the way Ehrlich and others were certain it would. Y2K was a bust.

Personally I have decided I have enough to do to manage my own little leaky boat. The rest of you - those who are so inclined - can worry about the big picture.

86 lawhawk  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:38:42pm

re: #53 rwdflynavy

My condolences.

87 brookly red  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:38:52pm

re: #81 zombie

Monsanto made me small at the 1964 World's Fair, and I never got big again.

Curse you Monsanto! (Said in tiny squeaky voice.)

* Not actually true. I never went to the 1964 World's Fair.

My parents took me to that one, & I have been humming "It's a small world afterall" ever since :(

88 McSpiff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:39:20pm

re: #85 Cato the Elder

From my understanding, Y2k was fixed, not that it didnt exist.

89 Kreuzueber Halbmond  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:39:38pm

"You are always risen from the seeds you've sown."

90 Gus  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:39:42pm

re: #81 zombie

Monsanto made me small at the 1964 World's Fair, and I never got big again.

Curse you Monsanto! (Said in tiny squeaky voice.)

* Not actually true. I never went to the 1964 World's Fair.

I went to that around 1964ish. It's one of my first life memories.

91 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:41:17pm

re: #85 Cato the Elder

I read in article in a science mag a few months ago (don't recall which one) that says we currently have the technology to reverse global warming and to do so quite cheaply and easily. However, the long term effect of using such technology are unknown, which is one of the reasons they have not been employed just yet. If I recall, it essentially comes down to releasing reflective material into the upper atmosphere.

92 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:41:18pm

Norman Borlaug. Patrick Swayze.

Which one will the media be crying over tomorrow, the second-rate actor or the scientist?

93 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:42:04pm

re: #88 McSpiff

From my understanding, Y2k was fixed, not that it didnt exist.

Even if it hadn't been fixed, the civilization would not have ended.

94 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:42:30pm

re: #92 Cato the Elder

Norman Borlaug. Patrick Swayze.

Which one will the media be crying over tomorrow, the second-rate actor or the scientist?

I am assuming that was a rhetorical question.

95 Danny  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:42:39pm

re: #93 Cato the Elder

Woah, you beat the CNN Breaking News email I just got!

96 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:42:40pm

re: #83 Mad Al-Jaffee

Monsanto broke my arm!

You remind me of this hilarious guy at an anti-Israel protest. Caption for that photo:

This was the only possible secret counter-protester I encountered. Since most other protesters were blaming Israel for every imaginable ill in the world, this guy put his obviously healthy arm in a sling and wore a shirt that said, "Israel broke my arm." Ha . . . ha?
97 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:42:41pm

re: #92 Cato the Elder

Norman Borlaug. Patrick Swayze.

Which one will the media be crying over tomorrow, the second-rate actor or the scientist?

Norman Borlaug passed away yesterday. Is the media having a Jackopalooza over him?

98 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:43:03pm

re: #92 Cato the Elder

Norman Borlaug. Patrick Swayze.

Which one will the media be crying over tomorrow, the second-rate actor or the scientist?

What do you mean "second-rate"?! He was in ROADHOUSE!!!

99 Locker  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:43:04pm

RIP Patrick Swaze

100 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:43:47pm

re: #96 zombie

That photo was exactly what I had in mind when I posted that. It's one of my favorite zombie photos.

101 McSpiff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:44:15pm

re: #93 Cato the Elder

Even if it hadn't been fixed, the civilization would not have ended.

Fair enough

102 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:44:17pm

re: #81 zombie

Monsanto made me small at the 1964 World's Fair, and I never got big again.

Curse you Monsanto! (Said in tiny squeaky voice.)

* Not actually true. I never went to the 1964 World's Fair.

IIRC hasn't Monsanto gone around suing little family farm operators into the ground for harvesting Monsanto-owned mutant grains and planting the harvested mutated seeds without paying Monsanto their royalties?
I have some difficulty with the concept of private ownership of genetic matierial.

103 Locker  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:44:25pm

re: #98 Mad Al-Jaffee

What do you mean "second-rate"?! He was in ROADHOUSE!!!

Fork Roadhouse he was in Red Dawn. WOLVERINES!!!

104 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:44:30pm

re: #98 Mad Al-Jaffee

What do you mean "second-rate"?! He was in ROADHOUSE!!!

"Pain don't hurt"

105 A Man for all Seasons  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:44:41pm

Half time...OK did I not say that there wasn't a person in America that doesn't think the Patriots would just not kill the Bills tonight? That should be the first clue.. The Bills are leading at halftime...
This is why I never bet on sports..Ever...

106 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:45:24pm

re: #102 Spare O'Lake

material
PIMF

107 lawhawk  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:46:33pm

re: #92 Cato the Elder

Norman Borlaug. Patrick Swayze.

Which one will the media be crying over tomorrow, the second-rate actor or the scientist?

Borlaug died earlier in the week, and the NYT and other media outlets did a good job reporting his obit. Yet, most people don't know who he was and the contributions he made. I knew of him mostly because of his opposition to Erhlich's Population Bomb nonsense.

108 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:46:35pm

re: #85 Cato the Elder

Hmm.

I wonder whether, thirty years from now, we'll be shaking our heads in wonder at the predictions now being made about imminent doom from global warming. World starvation didn't happen the way Ehrlich and others were certain it would. Y2K was a bust.

Personally I have decided I have enough to do to manage my own little leaky boat. The rest of you - those who are so inclined - can worry about the big picture.

I have the same doubts, for the same reasons as you. Doomsayers have a terrible track record (batting about .000 at this stage). And like you I lead an extremely "green" lifestyle and leave a teeny green pawprint that's about 10% of the Bigfootprint left by all my hypocritical enviro-buddies. I strive to be an anti-hypocrite.

109 arethusa  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:47:36pm

re: #92 Cato the Elder

Norman Borlaug. Patrick Swayze.

Which one will the media be crying over tomorrow, the second-rate actor or the scientist?

Borlaug actually died late last week, with little fanfare anywhere. Swayze is already a top story on CNN.com. Makes no sense.

110 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:49:08pm

re: #64 Mad Al-Jaffee

We have a festival gig in Ocean City, MD next week. I still need to make a hotel reservation for that one. I'll probably spend more than I'm going to make, but I could use a mini-vacation (couple of days at the beach.)

We're supposed to be doing a festival in Florida in December. Don't know the details yet, but Florida in December sounds good to me.

Our third cd (with all original material) will be out sometime soon.

Let me know if you throw anything out there on Youtube, etc.

111 lawhawk  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:49:51pm

re: #109 arethusa

For an entire generation of swooning gals.. Swayze was the thing... Dirty Dancing... Borlaug never told Lenny Brisco that Baby would never stand in the corner.

112 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:50:00pm

re: #70 Enkidu90046

Iowa City is a blast. I went to Iowa for law school.

And to Woodfield's for 3$ all-you-can-drink night?

113 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:50:03pm

re: #100 Mad Al-Jaffee

That photo was exactly what I had in mind when I posted that. It's one of my favorite zombie photos.

I'm a mind-reader without even realizing it!

114 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:50:49pm

re: #110 Pianobuff

Let me know if you throw anything out there on Youtube, etc.

We have a couple of videos on YouTube. There's a link to them on [Link: www.bigdaddystallings.com....]

115 Coracle  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:50:54pm

One of the reasons we avoided global starvations is because of Borlaug. He didn't deny the problem; he solved it. AGW won't be solved, countered, or even adapted to, by people who don't believe it exists. Catastrophists bat zero because some of them are kooks, but also because the ones that are not are taken seriously and the problems they raise are addressed in a serious way.

116 Mad Al-Jaffee  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:52:20pm

re: #112 Pianobuff

Bill Bryson opened one of his books with something like, "I'm from Des Moines, Iowa. Someone has to be." :)

117 Enkidu90046  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:53:08pm

re: #112 Pianobuff

And to Woodfield's for 3$ all-you-can-drink night?

I don't recall that. I do recall "flip night" at the airliner, however.

118 mardukhai  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:53:27pm

Maybe those natural-cotton hippies that Zombie knows would volunteer to be among the first to starve if Borlaug's super-producing crops were banned.

119 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:53:27pm

re: #111 lawhawk

For an entire generation of swooning gals.. Swayze was the thing... Dirty Dancing... Borlaug never told Lenny Brisco that Baby would never stand in the corner.

I have to admit I loved that movie...and Ghost too.

120 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:53:45pm

re: #103 Locker

Fork Roadhouse he was in Red Dawn. WOLVERINES!!!

There's a local play in LA that's a theatrical adaption of Point Break. They select someone from the audience to play Keanu Reeve's role while the rest of the roles are played by actors/actresses.

121 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:53:57pm

re: #102 Spare O'Lake

IIRC hasn't Monsanto gone around suing little family farm operators into the ground for harvesting Monsanto-owned mutant grains and planting the harvested mutated seeds without paying Monsanto their royalties?
I have some difficulty with the concept of private ownership of genetic matierial.

Monsanto is a profit-driven corporation, and yes at times they can be total assholes about it -- like suing farmers. Bad karma.

But as people like Borlaug showed, if you have to balance the upsides against the downsides of the capitalist system vs. the upsides/downsides of the Socialist system -- capitalism wins every time.

Socialist Monsanto doesn't sue farmers because there are no farmers to sue -- they're either all employees of the state or are dead of starvation.

122 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:54:55pm

re: #113 zombie

I'm a mind-reader without even realizing it!

You were an unmindful mind reader?

123 mardukhai  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:55:22pm

Oh, and there was nothing second rate about Patrick. Two great guys passed away. Their carreers were apples and oranges, useless to compare them.

124 Locker  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:55:58pm

re: #120 Pianobuff

There's a local play in LA that's a theatrical adaption of Point Break. They select someone from the audience to play Keanu Reeve's role while the rest of the roles are played by actors/actresses.

Lawyers don't surf...

125 SanFranciscoZionist  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:56:07pm

re: #102 Spare O'Lake

IIRC hasn't Monsanto gone around suing little family farm operators into the ground for harvesting Monsanto-owned mutant grains and planting the harvested mutated seeds without paying Monsanto their royalties?
I have some difficulty with the concept of private ownership of genetic matierial.

I wish someone I really trusted would write a book called "This Is What's Really The Hell Going On With Monsanto". Somewhere between their corporate hype and the hysterics of the Hippiesphere, the truth must lie--I just don't entirely know what it is.

126 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:56:49pm

re: #115 Coracle

One of the reasons we avoided global starvations is because of Borlaug. He didn't deny the problem; he solved it. AGW won't be solved, countered, or even adapted to, by people who don't believe it exists. Catastrophists bat zero because some of them are kooks, but also because the ones that are not are taken seriously and the problems they raise are addressed in a serious way.

One way to solve, counter, or adapt to AGW would be to reverse Borlaug's "green revolution" and let people starve. Fewer people, lower emissions. Radically fewer people, radically lower emissions. The Earth First!ers, population bombers, industry haters and anti-scientific farmers would love it.

127 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:57:08pm

re: #118 mardukhai

Maybe those natural-cotton hippies that Zombie knows would volunteer to be among the first to starve if Borlaug's super-producing crops were banned.

Cotton? Cotton? Are you kidding? All clothes must now be made of hemp! Get with the times, you old coot!

128 Racer X  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:57:59pm

re: #120 Pianobuff

There's a local play in LA that's a theatrical adaption of Point Break. They select someone from the audience to play Keanu Reeve's role while the rest of the roles are played by actors/actresses.

Thats funny!

129 zombie  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 5:58:11pm

re: #126 Cato the Elder

One way to solve, counter, or adapt to AGW would be to reverse Borlaug's "green revolution" and let people starve. Fewer people, lower emissions. Radically fewer people, radically lower emissions. The Earth First!ers, population bombers, industry haters and anti-scientific farmers would love it.

Bingo.

130 jvic  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:01:13pm

This I didn't know about Borlaug:

From 1942 to 1944, Borlaug was employed as a microbiologist at DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware. It was planned that he would lead research on industrial and agricultural bacteriocides, fungicides, and preservatives. However, following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Borlaug tried to enlist in the military, but was rejected under wartime labor regulations; his lab was converted to do research for the United States armed forces. One of his first projects was to develop glue that could withstand the warm saltwater of the South Pacific. The Imperial Japanese Navy had gained control of the island of Guadalcanal, and patrolled the sky and sea by day. The only way that U.S. forces could supply the troops stranded on the island was by approaching at night by speedboat, and jettisoning boxes of canned food and other supplies into the surf to wash ashore. The problem was that the glue holding these containers together disintegrated in saltwater. Within weeks, Borlaug and his colleagues had developed an adhesive that resisted corrosion, allowing food and supplies to reach the stranded Marines. Other tasks included work with camouflage, canteen disinfectants, DDT on malaria, and insulation for small electronics.
131 Erik The Red  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:03:10pm

Hey fenway are you still around?

132 Pianobuff  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:03:30pm

re: #128 Racer X

Thats funny!

Of course, the punch line of the whole play is Keanu Reeve's poor acting ability.

133 Danny  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:03:39pm

re: #102 Spare O'Lake

I have some difficulty with the concept of private ownership of genetic matierial.

Bio-enginnered inventions are really no different than any other mechanically engineered inventions in terms of intellectual property. Nobody owns the individual genes.

134 KSK  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:05:44pm

The man who makes two grains of wheat grow where only one grew before is greater than the greatest general.

Frederick the Great of Prussia

135 Silvergirl  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:05:55pm

re: #92 Cato the Elder

Norman Borlaug. Patrick Swayze.

Which one will the media be crying over tomorrow, the second-rate actor or the scientist?

I'll start by saying that I also posted a link in the spinoffs on Norman Borlaug's passing, and updinged every post I came across that praised him. Still, I object to putting down an actor who has by all accounts bravely suffered death by pancreatic cancer. I can't understand why the announcement of his death must be accompanied by the judgment that he's a second rate actor, apparently not worthy of notice by the media. I do understand that Borlaug's worked earned him a larger notice that he received by the media. Still, he doesn't need your help to elevate him by putting another man down. He was great all on his own, media notice or not.

RIP Patrick Swayze. I enjoyed his work immensely. Nothing second rate about it.

136 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:10:39pm

re: #130 jvic

This I didn't know about Borlaug:

Mmy family and I can now often see Osprey soaring high over the lake, diving like missiles, grabbing fish with their powerful talons, and then carrying their catch to a nearby treetop. These huge raptors were almost extinct until the DDT ban allowed them to recover.
I'm no tree hugger but am just saying that DDT, like many a chemical fix, has been a double edged sword.

137 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:12:10pm

re: #135 Silvergirl

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I'm not listening."
--Woody Allen

RIP? Sure. Cry for someone I never met, liked or cared about? Not. Second-rate remains my judgment.

My indifference to the passing of celebrities qua celebrities can be measured by my puzzlement at celebrity as a phenomenon. I just don't get it.

138 Silvergirl  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:14:28pm

re: #137 Cato the Elder

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I'm not listening."
--Woody Allen

RIP? Sure. Cry for someone I never met, liked or cared about? Not. Second-rate remains my judgment.

My indifference to the passing of celebrities qua celebrities can be measured by my puzzlement at celebrity as a phenomenon. I just don't get it.

Nobody's asking for your tears, Cato. At least not me. Just a day of respect for a man's passing out of human decency.

139 SpaceJesus  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:14:47pm

kanye west interrupts Obama too

140 irongrampa  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:16:13pm

Okay, who are these people, and what did they do with the Bills?

141 [deleted]  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:16:32pm
142 Danny  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:17:27pm

re: #139 spacejesus

"Not true." LOL

143 jvic  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:19:22pm

re: #136 Spare O'Lake

I'm no tree hugger but am just saying that DDT, like many a chemical fix, has been a double edged sword.

Fair enough.

That swords are double-edged is no reason to stop making swords. It is a reason not to let young children play with them.

144 Coracle  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:20:56pm

re: #126 Cato the Elder

One way to solve, counter, or adapt to AGW would be to reverse Borlaug's "green revolution" and let people starve. Fewer people, lower emissions. Radically fewer people, radically lower emissions. The Earth First!ers, population bombers, industry haters and anti-scientific farmers would love it.

And then there are the people who would rather combine rationality, prudence, and humanity.

145 Pawn of the Oppressor  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:26:35pm

I was just reading about distributed computing projects (I had a mind to participate in something with my computer's idle time) and I was reading about "Nutritious Rice for The World", which of course made me think of Borlaug, and then the next minute I came in here and found out that he had passed. Crap. :(

RIP and thank you Norman... Ironic that a guy could do such a hippie thing and be such an anti-hippie about it, too. We need more like him.

146 Joshua Cohen  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:28:20pm

Another great one - Alexander Fleming.

147 ernunnos  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:37:50pm

A good man, and a brilliant scientist, but he handed us a double-edged sword. Billions of people now live only because of his advanced agriculture methods. And will die if those methods or the infrastructure that supports them be disrupted for any reason. It doesn't take long to starve. The system today is much more brittle than it used to be. There's no room for error, no spare capacity, no safety net, no backup plan. Nothing to fall back on. We do it Norman's way, or else. I like to eat, so I'm down with Norman. But it still makes me nervous.

148 Joshua Cohen  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:44:44pm

re: #145 Pawn of the Oppressor

I was just reading about distributed computing projects (I had a mind to participate in something with my computer's idle time)

Do you know about the consumptioned energy by this?
That all these distributed computing projects waste many times more energy than a fitting supercomputer would ever use?

Just saying - not that these things are bad at all, but I really started to belief this is just a hype from your local utility company.

I decide to use a smaller and older computer just longer (refittet Notebook as desktop-replacement that uses just 15% of the energy a big one would need.) I can do everything I want need with it but Boing and Co. will steal to much.

That is the decission - contributed computing or conserving of energy - I choose the last on.

And than using FCPGAs for this would be much more effective and would reduce the necessary power big times.

149 SpaceJesus  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:47:22pm

re: #142 Danny

"Not true." LOL

ha, that line makes it

150 aboo-Hoo-Hoo  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:53:33pm

Whoa...President Obama is going to be on TV this Sunday: Obama May Do Back-to-Back TV Interviews

That's so neat.

We haven't heard from Obama in ages.

151 Wendya  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 6:57:36pm

re: #42 Sharmuta

Just goes to show how republicans hurt themselves when they reject science.


Yet it is the supposedly well educated so called progressives who oppose GM foods.

Funny how that works out...

152 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 7:07:24pm

re: #138 Silvergirl

Nobody's asking for your tears, Cato. At least not me. Just a day of respect for a man's passing out of human decency.

He passed out of human decency? Now that's sad.

153 Cato the Elder  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 7:09:09pm

re: #144 Coracle

And then there are the people who would rather combine rationality, prudence, and humanity.

And when you come up with that formula, please let us know.

154 Coracle  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 7:29:18pm

re: #153 Cato the Elder

And when you come up with that formula, please let us know.

Solar + Wind + Nuclear is part of it. Solar and wind tech are globally exportable.

155 yael  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 7:30:59pm

re: #147 ernunnos

Among the many things Norman Borlaug did was to promote the opportunities for sustainable agricultural research for students in Third World countries. This research is focused on projects at village and community level that work on problems that are practical and needed.
His work, and that of his many students and successors, was dedicated to proving that "advanced" and "sustainable" are not opposites, but rather work in partnership.

The Borlaug Fellowship Programhelps developing countries strengthen sustainable agricultural practices by providing scientific training and collaborative research opportunities to visiting researchers, policymakers and university faculty. The program matches participants from developing countries with experts in their field at land-grant universities, government agencies, and international research centers. The Borlaug Fellowship Program has grown from 33 fellows from five countries in its first year in 2004, to a total of 358 fellows from 49 countries in 2008.


Your concern is appreciated but there are a lot of good ag research scientists out there working to make sure that it is not needed.

156 Jimmah  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 7:57:44pm

re: #4 Killgore Trout

He's a good counter-argument for your hippie friends who complain about genetically modified food.

Absolutely, Killgore. Here in the UK, the situation is particularly bad, with arch moron Prince Charles leading the national anti-scientific crusade against GM food. GM food is as a result virtually absent from sale here as far as I know. The environmental movement in Europe generally has done itself a major disservice by buying into this 'frankenfoods' scare nonsense.

157 hopperandadropper  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 8:36:18pm

I had the privilege of meeting Norman Borlaug when I was in graduate school. He came to our campus for a lecture and arranged to have a sack-lunch meeting with any grad student who wanted to attend. You cannot imagine a more down to earth, unassuming man. We were all a bit tongue-tied at first but he was so friendly that we loosened up and had a good time.

IMHO, one of the great men of the 20th/21st centuries. It's telling that he was a frequent target of criticism by the Greens, who disapproved of his advocacy of chemical fertilizers, biotechnology (later in his career), etc. I guess they would prefer to have people starve than risk staining their ideological purity.

With respect to Patrick Swayze, he always seemed like a good guy to me. Not a bad actor either, and had a sense of humor. Pancreatic cancer is a bitch- my company has been working on cancer treatments and I know. I've lost friends to this disease. Cato, I don't give a rat's ass what you think about celebrities. Being a celebrity doesn't make you less human. If you can't say something decent, then hold your peace.

158 wiffersnapper  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 9:06:23pm

It sucks thought that his death is going to be overshadowed by Swayze's death. Not that Patrick's death is sad as well, but I think Borlaug contributed more to society than Swayze.

159 Pawn of the Oppressor  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 9:24:29pm

re: #148 Joshua Cohen

Do you know about the consumptioned energy by this?
That all these distributed computing projects waste many times more energy than a fitting supercomputer would ever use?

Just saying - not that these things are bad at all, but I really started to belief this is just a hype from your local utility company.

I decide to use a smaller and older computer just longer (refittet Notebook as desktop-replacement that uses just 15% of the energy a big one would need.) I can do everything I want need with it but Boing and Co. will steal to much.

That is the decission - contributed computing or conserving of energy - I choose the last on.

And than using FCPGAs for this would be much more effective and would reduce the necessary power big times.

I really don't know about any of that. I took the roommate to the hospital for a colonoscopy today and after we got home we both crashed (her from the sedatives, me from getting up early) and she left her computer on accidentally while we slept. Her machine is an old, borderline POS Dell and I just thought it was a waste to have it sitting there doing nothing but making fan noise while we were asleep. My thinking didn't go much deeper than that.

160 zelnaga  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 9:49:02pm

re: #3 buzzsawmonkey

It's a reminder that the Nobel prizes were once more than laurel wreaths for the corrupt, dictatorial, and mendacious.

Nobel prizes are awarded once a year - people like Norman Borlaug probably come along once in a lifetime.

I mean, what if we really did achieve world peace? Presumably, at that point, the Nobel Peace prize would be pointless, yet it seems reasonable to assume that they'd still award it.

It's like... some employees really do deserve that employee of the month award and some don't. But that's what you get, I suppose, when you award awards every month or year, even if no truly qualified candidate exists.

161 Silvergirl  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 11:28:42pm

re: #152 Cato the Elder

He passed out of human decency? Now that's sad.

Yes, we know you're terribly broken up, so it's good that I was able to give you the opportunity for a moment of bliss in pouncing upon my error.

162 SixDegrees  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 11:46:38pm

Thanks for posting this, Charles. Borlaug is certainly one of mankind's quiet heroes of the last couple centuries, and he amply deserves a tribute.

163 Silvergirl  Mon, Sep 14, 2009 11:49:17pm

re: #107 lawhawk

Borlaug died earlier in the week, and the NYT and other media outlets did a good job reporting his obit. Yet, most people don't know who he was and the contributions he made. I knew of him mostly because of his opposition to Erhlich's Population Bomb nonsense.

We can't entirely blame the media. so you've made a valid point here. If people were wildly clicking on news of Norman Borlaug, concerning his life or his death, the stories would get wider play.

164 Oh no...Sand People!  Tue, Sep 15, 2009 12:13:50am

I am saddened and ashamed that I have never heard of this man before. Being in the Philippines I can attest to how vital food supplies are to the people here.

165 thinker  Tue, Sep 15, 2009 9:56:04am

I attended the University of Minnesota and knew him well. He would always present his endowment award in person. My brother studied in the hall with his namesake. He got an agricultural science degree. Mine was Biochemistry.


This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal
Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh