A Walk in the Park-New York Times in Sweden

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/easing-brain-fatigue-with-a-walk-in-the-park/

Visit the URL above and you will learn that brain science has confirmed what we who visit our trees every day know very well. The New York Times reports that A Walk in the Park is good for your brain or better said, your well being.

In my first NYT comment (tråkig kommentar, glöm den) I promised to offer pics of my walk in my park, Ullstämma Naturreservat, where I walk, run, or ski as often as possible. So join me and as you do, imagine how my state of mind was improved minute by minute (I had been editing and translating for Swedish cancer researchers during the day). All but the first photograph were taken today as the sun was getting down in its March 27 position. Click on a pic to see it in full size. If you have a blog with your "walk in the park" shown, write a comment or send me Email.

Meet the Tree in the Pond,
one of my closest friends

Fox tracks a few days old

That was earlier in the day, a couple of days ago. On the way out to the Tree in the Pond TIP, I passed these fox tracks that are now several days old and therefore reshaped by wind and sun. And here is TIP as I could enjoy it while I drank my coffee at the bench at kilometer three on Linköping Orientering Club Milen (10 km trail).

This is what the Tree in the Pond had to offer as I had
my "fika" (Coffee Time) as the sun was setting

 On the way back, I took a look at the tracks that you can see in the main picture of the tree above (the line to the left), tracks made a few days ago. What you discover is that The Fox in the Pond (FIP) used them yesterday as the path of least resistance in its almost daily walk here. The FIP very often passes close to the TIP in its travels. Why? Ask the Fox. The FIP probably takes these walks in the park early in the morning, so I do not get to meet the fox although I have during the fall.

The Fox in the Pond
uses my ski tracks
almost every day

I do not get to meet the fox but today just as I was leaving
my friends from last year came in over my head and landed
at the little Knob in the Pond (another Pond) that they regard
as their very own home.

There were about 10 of them, so here are three who welcomed me.
They too leave tracks, so we will see how those tracks evolve until the snow
and ice give way and I have to revert to walking or running rather than skiing.

We Three-We just came back, today, March 27, 2013

The middle goose's
footprints!

My walk in the park ended when I left my Canada Geese

and watched the sun go down between The Oaks

in the Pond.

Adopt a Tree, watch it all year long!

Newroz Dance Until You Drop

To some of my newest Kurdish friends, especially Alwan, Zirak, and Ziwar I show you only two pics here. If any of you at your table next to ours (Larry, Barzan, Rahman) has pictures of the dancers I hope you will contact me via my Gmail - left - and we can go from there. My flash only worked once, since that camera is dying.

Now I which one is Zivar (dancer with vest, left in pic of the brothers) and Zirak has the blue sweater and shirt. Thanks Zivar. I am asking around to see if someone has a picture taken when I was dancing next to Zivar.

That's all for tonight - long day after a late night at Newroz!

Jag antar att jag inte behöver skriva på svenska!

A report from the BBC heard at 3:30 AM tells me we should all be visiting the part of Kurdistan where these guys come from. The BBC correspondent was in Erbil and was taking the very first trip in a new cable car that has been built on a mountain near Erbil. More when I track the story down. Don't miss it!

Birthday cake to my followers!

I did not think anybody visited my blog but yesterday when I was looking for a post showing my Kurdish friends dancing I discovered that some very nice people must have visited various posts long after the posts were first entered by me.

You have always seen at the left that each comment writer would receive a virtual apple from Apelgatan. Sorry, I never kept that promise because none (almost none) reveals his or her Email or a blog to which one can reply.

However, since I have done a lot of baking in preparation for my birthday (the birthday person provides the cake(s) and Kurdish Newroz celebration, I can offer each of you a virtual piece of cake.

These and more were for celebrating at the Red Cross two days after my St. Patrick's Day birthday. My co-workers and our students sang "Ja må han leva" (song tells the birthday person that the singers hope he or she lives 100 years, so I have 19 to to go)

So have a piece of cake and thanks for writing. I hope some of you could create a separate Email address to which I could reply, separate since you apparently do not want to tell the world who you are. My Gmail address is over at the left, so no problem contacting me.

If the Kurdish dancing goes well tonight, maybe you will get an added pic here.

The New York Times has reported that a new secretary has been chosen for the Energy Department.

I have had several comments accepted in connection with various columns and blogs discussing this appointment. At Dot Earth (NY Times) I promised to provide URLs to NY Times articles in which Ground Source Geothermal is mentioned.

Here are three with brief comments by me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/business/energy-environment/chain-stores-lead-firms-in-solar-power-use-study-finds.html

I offer this story because it illustrates standard NY Times and apparently widespread American practice. The article is largely about solar power installations on chain stores. The story includes the following single sentence about Ground Source Geothermal:

"Ikea has included a geothermal power system at a new store in Centennial, Colo."

The link provided leads you to a website about a kind of geothermal energy that has nothing to do with the Ikea installation. This is standard Times practice, which I have repeatedly asked the Times to correct. Times editors fail to do so.

The system at Ikea consists of an array of drill holes under the parking garage. They are the basic element of a Ground Source Geothermal system. Note that unless Ikea advertises in the store that it has such a system, no one will ever know since the drill holes are covered by the parking garage.

Here is a URL that takes you to one of the early reports on plans now finalized. This story, like all NYT stories onm the project, provides limited information that is not accurate.

If the Ground Source Geothermal System becomes a reality, then I believe it may be the largest yet installed in the United States. I have asked the Times repeatedly to correct the errors and provide an article on GSG. No response.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/nyregion/cornell-unveiling-plans-for-roosevelt-island-tech-center.html

These are quotes from the articles at the URLs above and below:

"plans are being considered to have wells harvesting geothermal energy" 

"If Cornell University were to win the city’s competition to build a new science graduate school, it would install on Roosevelt Island almost four acres of solar panels, 500 geothermal wells, and buildings with the rare distinction of generating as much power as they use."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/education/24science.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0

You can see an example of a functioning GSG system at my blog posts on Champlain College (23 November 2010), quite a ways back, sorry.

What is the point? Very simple. Ikea and the Cornell Center could have been heated by natural gas, a system favored by the new Secretary of Energy. The Ground Source Geothermal systems are renewable energy systems that do require electrical input but in the end contribute far less atmospheric contaminants than natural gas systems