It’s Quieter in the Twilight: A Documentary on Voyager 1 and 2

Folks, I just saw It’s Quieter in the Twilight, a Documentary on Voyager 1 and 2. This is a most wonderful documentary on the epic voyage and unanticipated longevity of the two NASA Voyager spacecraft. They have been traveling through space since I was a kid, boldly going where no human craft has travelled. The documentary tells their story and that of the small, aging support team of 10 or 12 folks at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The Voyager team has managed to keep these craft operational since 1977. Several members of the team were part of the early Voyager project crews. Meanwhile, the craft have exited from the solar system and are transiting interstellar space. All the while they are sending back useful scientific data on the environment through which they are passing.

The documentary lets the team members tell the story in their own words. It reveals how they see their experience and their assessment of the project situation as of 2022-2023. The humanity of these dedicated folks really shines through. This is the story of an important part of space history and hopefully a few more years of the future as well!

The film It’s Quieter in the Twilight is directed by Billy Miossi. It stars the Voyager team members as they are. It is available via Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0BX2DSY1B/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

The IMDB listing and the trailer can be found here:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17658964/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

It is Quieter in the Twilight: NASA Illustration of Voyager 1
NASA Illustration of Voyager 1

A comment on Florida school book bans

It is interesting to look at the book bans in Florida educational institutions. These are set at the county level and not all counties have imposed bans. The number of complaints targeting each book are small. A few zealots are imposing their will on the other 21.5 million Floridians. Here is the list of banned books as compiled by the FL Dept of Education: https://www.fldoe.org/…/5574/urlt/2223ObjectionList.pdf .

Some three hundred county actions have resulted in the banning of a book. This seems outrageous to me. The list of titles includes a diverse mix, ranging from best sellers to possible junk. Have any of you read, “Assassination Classroom?”. The movie scored just 5.7 on IMDB, but the book turned up at 4.8 on Amazon. Some books may contain controversial material that could prompt a discussion, like “The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. I don’t see any truly dangerous titles (eg, nothing on how to build a bomb). But, some bans appear clearly mistargeted by most indicators. How about “Relish: My Life in the Kitchen” by Lucy Kinsley (Amazon 4.5), 2013, about growing up around chefs and her memories of foods and tastes? You can read a sample of Relish here: https://a.co/d/fel2lMU .

With climate change, pandemics, the war in Ukraine, and the rise of political extremism, I would rather focus directly on tackling the big existential issues. But, by successfully starting to censor access to literature, the zealots pose a further threat to the health of our society. They could undermine our ability to think critically and to consider the full range of solutions to these bigger problems. And, more basically. they could deprive some of the pleasure of their free choice of a simple good read.

Florida book bans: A library tilting to one side

Madame Wong Saved Me Gastronomically

As a young country boy, I moved to the big town in 1980 — Denver — and it was Madame S.T. Ting Wong who taught me to cook via her famous cookbook. Madame Wong saved me gastronomically. Without her encouragement, I might have wound up dining on frozen dinners and carry out. Her writing encouraged me to go to Asian grocery stores with a purpose. Madame Wong moved my gastronomic horizon eastward.

By the way, she was 72 when she wrote the cookbook. And, I learned from the LA Times just now that she went on to teach some big names in Hollywood to cook… “Wong’s former students include Barbra Streisand, Michael Caine, Dinah Shore, Linda Evans, Debbie Reynolds and Wolfgang Puck.” She also taught extension courses at UCLA.

Madame Wong’s recipes are delightful, achievable, and bring a measure of authenticity into the hands of a novice cook. I just found and purchased an old copy of her book on e-Bay. And, I am very much looking forward to reconnecting.

The LA Times celebrated Madame Wong’s life with a special article in 1994. According to Madame Wong, as quoted in the LA Times, “ ‘In life, as in food, there are four kinds of taste,’ she says. ‘Sweet, sour, bitter and spicy. What has happened in your life happens in your food. You must go through these four tastes. If you lose them, that is the end of your life.'” I guess that I had better get cooking, urgently!

Here is a link to the LA Times article (3 November 1994) .. https://www.latimes.com/…/la-xpm-1994-11-03-fo-58025…

Madame Wong's Long-Life Chinese Cookbook
Madame Wong’s Long-Life Chinese Cookbook (via eBay)

Strong current in San Antonio Creek (23 January 2023)

A surge from the storm

A week after a string of storms, the melting snowpack on Mount Baldy is delivering a strong current on San Antonio Creek. Normally, the creek is a placid babbling brook. In some places you might easily step across it. But, not today. Fortunately, the fairly substantial San Antonio dam shields the communities below the mouth of the canyon from potential floods and muds.

As you might anticipate, the normally rather dry San Antonio Canyon looks comparatively lush this season. Drought has plagued the region in recent years. But, over geologic time, strong storm flows have not been so rare, apparently. The creek has carried a significant number of boulders down the slopes. They litter the canyon bottom. Some of the boulders have wonderful graining, with swirls of grey contrasting with creme colored whites. And, the light granite tones are contrasting with the rich emergent green of new grass in this rainy season.

As someone newly transplanted to the Claremont, California, area it is amazing to me to have ready access to such wild spaces. The scale of the Angeles National Forest is immense. It is a wonder to be enjoyed and protected for the generations who will follow.

Pictures worth a thousand words

Strong current in San Antonio Creek, Angeles National Forest, California
Melting snowpack from Mount Baldy is supercharging the creek
Melting snowpack from Mount Baldy is supercharging the creek

Rocky terrain along the bottom of San Antonio Canyon
Rocky terrain along the bottom of San Antonio Canyon
A most excellent boulder (check out the wonderful patterns in the grain)
A most excellent boulder (check out the wonderful patterns in the grain)

(Photos and video above, ©Doug, 2023)

Mitigating Global Fragmentation in Digital Trade Governance: A Case Study

Mitigating global fragmentation in digital trade governance? This post is a short plug for my new paper on international trade in digital products like e-books, streaming entertainment, podcasts, or remote engineering services for businesses in the boondocks. It is hard enough within a country to ensure consumer protection, legal certainty for digital businesses, and transparency on which rules apply when and where. But, if you are trading between countries, the rules of the digital highway are often even less clear. Digital trade accords can help.

What’s the big (digital trade governance) deal, man?

Leading economies are moving to improve conditions for the international digital economy through digital trade agreements. For example, the US-Japan digital trade agreement or the USMCA (NAFTA 2.0) agreement. Such accords can provide an agreed rule book supporting digital trade between countries.

Often, current generation accords offer a measure of improved protection for consumers. They may provide increased certainty for businesses (better consistency of regulation). And they may facilitate transactions (like mutual recognition of standards for e-signatures or e-invoices). Trade agreements can ease the costs of doing business. This is not about deregulation… it is about aligning regulation, streamlining, and closing gaps.

Where the new digital trade deals are in place, preliminary evidence indicates that digital trade may tend to increase and regulatory gaps are closed. This benefits not only the digital businesses (like software vendors), but also consumers using digital goods and services, and businesses that are indirectly digital (ie, those that use digital products intensively like, say, architects).

This paper looks at how five leading digital economies (Canada, the European Union, Japan, Singapore and the United States) are using regional trade agreements to address digital concerns while enhancing trade. And, it considers complementary next steps for digital trade governance at the multilateral level.

Digital trade and the digital trade governance paper

This paper itself is part of digital trade. The publisher is located in Canada. CIGI distributes the paper digitally and directly across borders. Such international trade is a benefit to readers in California (yay, NAFTA 2.0!), Tokyo (yay CPTPP!) or points beyond (thank you WTO for duty-free digital transmissions, but it is time for an updated e-commerce deal please). Plus, the price of this paper is right (it is free!). And, with a 1 1/2 page executive summary in the front, you don’t have to read the whole dadblame paper. This is helpful, if you are pressed for time!

Reference and link:

Mitigating Global Fragmentation in Digital Trade Governance: A Case Study
CIGI Paper No. 270, Douglas Lippoldt, 10 January 2023

Link to paper

Update digital trade governance!
Rather old frameworks for digital trade should be updated!

Comment: President Zelensky’s visit to Washington, DC

President Zelensky is the right person for this moment in history. He has risen to the challenge. His leadership has transformed Ukraine’s initially-bleak prospects to counter Russian aggression. His speech tonight in the US Congress was emotionally powerful. He has earned our respect through his actions. I am grateful that the US has responded with support on a scale that corresponds to the gravity of the authoritarian threat. In the face of storm clouds, the collaborative international partnership that has emerged among democracies is providing strength that is greater than the simple sum of the inputs from each of the partners.

Here is a gift link to the New York Times coverage of President Zelensky’s speech in the US Congress (21 December 2022).

Soaring above the storm clouds (Photo: D. C. Lippoldt)

Cold War – The Film

The Polish film “Cold War” (2018, Director: Pawel Pawlikowski) is a masterful depiction of the imposition of socialism in Poland after World War II and the impacts this had on peoples’ lives. It is musically powered, well-anchored initially by the traditions of the Central and East European region. Subsequently, this musicality provides openings to take the plot to points beyond, including Berlin and Paris.

Cold War is incredibly evocative of a certain time and place in history. The film interprets the cold war through the prism of a love story and a select group of performers. Mainly set in the 1950s, it presents a scenario with sex, the emergence of rock & roll, and — in one scene — a particular type of drugs. There is way too much smoking by today’s standards.

Pawlikowski shot the film in black and white, which conveys the mood of the time. The dialogue in Polish, with a bit of French and German, reinforces the authenticity. That is, the audio corresponds to the geography of the film. (Viewers can opt for English subtitles.)

The movie provides insights into the historical record for Poland. But, it is also relevant as a lesson and contrasting example in today’s geopolitical context more broadly. The viewer may infer the exceptional value of freedom and openness from the negative experiences presented. And, as depicted, the depth of actual trauma from the socialism of the real cold war should serve to chastise those who would trivialize the term “socialist” to slander their opponents in the US today.

Here is a link to the trailer: Cold War. In the US, it is available for free to Amazon Prime members.

Białowieża Forest, Poland Photo (C) Doug Lippoldt, 2017

London’s green side revealed on a hike

London’s green side might surprise you. On a warm and sunny Spring day this week, I headed out across Greenwich Park. My mission was to acquire a pile of baked goods from Gail’s (most excellent!) bakery in Blackheath. What I found, in addition to the goodies, was a reconnection with nature and a feeling of renewal.

A hike from West Greenwich to Blackheath and back can be designed as a circuit, avoiding traffic and maximising the green vibe. When it comes to population, London is a high density city, with roughly 2.5 times the population per square kilometre of a city like Los Angeles or New York. But, careful land-use planning and protection of green space have paid off.

Most urban denizens in London don’t have to go far to find London’s green side. An ample supply of parks across the city, a green belt around it, and protection for notable trees combine to deliver open space as a counterpoint to the intense urbanisation in some areas.

Why not come along to enjoy the greenery with me? Follow my hike with this handy step-by-step slide show, linked below. (If you don’t see the slideshow, click here to get back to the original page.)

The Uffington White Horse and my holiday tree

The Uffington White Horse and my holiday tree

At Uffington, in a corner of Oxfordshire, is a gigantic white chalk horse that was etched in the landscape sometime around 500BC. It spans an area of about 110 meters across. And, thanks to the care of many generations, the Uffington White Horse has survived the ebb and flow of several eras and peoples.

At the time of its creation, the area around the white horse was occupied by the Atrebates. They were a tribe of Britons, a Celtic people and they may have created this work of art. But, the reverence for horses is prehistoric, certainly dating back before 3000BC. Horses featured prominently in the cultures of early peoples such as the Yamnaya and Sintashta in the eastern reaches of Europe and in Central Asia. This is also the region from which some of the early Germanic tribes may have originated.

In time, the Celtic tribes in the area of Oxfordshire and Berkshire fell under Roman rule. The Romans’ polytheism managed to easily accommodate the local Briton reverence for the Uffington White Horse. The locals continued to maintain it during the Roman occupation from 43AD to the 400s AD.

Uffington White Horse

Saxons, Angles and Britons had faith in trees and horses

The germanic Saxons and Angles launched their gradual conquest of southern England starting in the 400s AD. The Saxons arrived at Ebbsfleet in Kent, reputedly led by Hengist and Horsa, names meaning stallion and horse. They brought with them a similar reverence for the horse and also for trees. This included a sacred myth of a divinity, Irmisul, a tree that held up the sky. Likewise, Danish invaders in East England revered a giant mythological ash tree. Known as Yggdrasil, their religious leaders claimed that it “grows from the underworld and supports the sky”. Such ideas found fertile ground in England, where the Celts had long revered trees. The word “druid” may even be interpreted to mean “oak men”.

Already in Roman times, Christians had arrived in England. Yet, the Christian faith did not take hold widely in an exclusive manner. Even after the Emperor Constantine legalised the faith in 313AD, Romans only gradually accepted it. But Roman rule did not uniformly blanket and transform England. And with the departure of the Roman legions in 410AD, locals broadly continued to practice pagan beliefs well into the first centuries of Anglo-Saxon or, in some areas, Danish rule. The specifics of the theology varied across England. But, often their faith blended a reverence for horses (including in burials), the sun, and trees. Scholars can trace some of these features back to Nordic and Central Asian cultural roots.

Christians and sacred trees

In 597AD, Pope Gregory sent Augustine to England as his missionary. His objective was to re-establish the primacy of Christianity, as its practice had diminished on the isle of Great Britain. We have documentation in the form of a letter from Pope Gregory suggesting use of diplomacy and toleration of pre-existing traditions. The pope advised that “the temples of the idols in that country should on no account be destroyed”, but rather Christianised. Gradually, Saxon leaders came around and embraced the new faith, though the population continued to practice mixed beliefs. The White Horse of Uffington was maintained.

In the 700s AD, Charlemagne waged war on the Saxon homeland in what is now Germany. He destroyed their sacred trees and pagan ways. However, the now dominant Saxons in England (somewhat counterintuitively meaning “land of the Angles”) continued to show reverence for horses and trees as evidenced in more recent times by archeological discovery of their grave goods. In the upper Thames area, the Saxons viewed the site around the White Horse of Uffington as a prime burial site, underscoring the continued deep respect for the horse.

Thus, as I set up my tree (and my yule horse) this holiday season, I had an eye on my family roots (so to speak). The tree provides a link for me to some of those who have come before, be they Saxons, Angles, Danes or Celts.

Sources (and great references for further reading):

  1. David Miles (2019), The Land of the White Horse: Visions of England, Thames & Hudson
  2. Jean Favier (1999), Charlemagne, Fayard (in French)
  3. Arboriculture Blog, Trees and Religion – Paganism, 16 October 2016

Dramatic 2020 Heathrow downturn, though cargo rebounds

A graphical presentation of air traffic data reveals the extent of the dramatic 2020 Heathrow downturn. We live directly under a main landing corridor for Heathrow Airport. So, this directly affects our quality of life. To take a closer look at the data, I decided to make a chart in festive holiday colours (as one does). Passenger traffic is down to 1/7 of previous levels. Cargo still lags, though it has had a substantial rebound in recent months. For this I am thankful, because I need my organic Peruvian blueberries, right?

In any event, with the decline in air traffic I have been sleeping better. The lockdown has provided me with more time to ponder the joys of my little garden. Alas, this calm is also a reflection of severe economic and social disruption due to COVID-19. And, on the horizon in the new year is the end of the transitional phase of Brexit. This entails a further potential for disruption to trade with the EU. There has been progress in the EU-UK negotiations to soften the blow. Economists and business leaders are making the case for a liberal arrangement. Alas, UK politics being as they are, there remains a risk of a no deal Brexit for EU-UK trade.

A balanced Brexit outcome will provide the UK with continued openness to commerce on a preferential basis with its closest trading partner. This is clearly in the economic interest of the EU and the UK. Combined with a successful roll out of a COVID-19 vaccine, we may come closer to realisation of the full potential of this post-Brexit trade relationship. And, considering where I live, I hope that much of this commerce is via rail and sea!

The chart data are from here: https://www.heathrow.com/…/reports/traffic-

Heathrow Airport Traffic