f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

If any partners in your law firm get Harvard Magazine (on paper or by email),

you might want to intercept the current edition (Jan.-Feb. 2006), before they 

see an article reprinted in it from the Harvard Gazette.  By William J. Cromie,

it’s called “When the Blues Keep You Awake: Blue light can reset your biological

rhythms,” (Harvard Gazette, Feb. 9, 2006),  Here’s the opening paragraph:

“Your eyes do more than see. Researchers at Harvard Medical School

demonstrated this by showing that your eyes are part of a light reception

system that can keep you alert when sleep starts to fog your brain. When

the researchers exposed people to blue light at night, this system imme-

diately increased their alertness and performance on tests.”

 

 

Steven Lockley, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a researcher

in sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. says:

“Men and women exposed to blue light sustained a high level of alertness

during the night when people feel most sleepy. These results suggest that

light may be a powerful countermeasure for the negative effects of fatigue

for people who work or study at night.”

So, if you think your billable-hour or fee-generation total is already too high, just

imagine what it will be when your firm buys a few Blue Light Special lamps or

cubicles.  If you’re late, and the managing partner has already seen the article,

maybe you can point out potential health problems and appeal to the firm’s moral

values:

 

                                                                                                            

“Because blue light contains more energy than white, concern exists

that long-term exposure may damage the eyes. Too much blue light

might cause problems like age-related macular degeneration, progressive

damage to the retina common in older people. ‘This is a warning that we

should not just use blue light without thinking carefully about the timing

and duration of exposure and monitoring any routine exposure,’ Lockley

says.”

Sure, that should work.  Meanwhile, I can offer no assurance that the pushy 

associate down the hall isn’t bathed in blue light right this minute.

 

 

“uranusB”                                                                                                              

 

 

 

even the horses
sleep in light green
mosquito nets!

 

 

 

 

little snail, no different
asleep
awake

 

 

Issa

translated by David G. Lanoue

 

everyone asleep

except the one sleeping alone–

distant train whistles

 

 

 

 

summer dawn–

the curve of your body

under the sheets

 

 

 

 

 

 

snowbound–
firelight on the face
of the sleeping boy

 

 

my dream

awakens me . . .

I wake you

 

 

Lee Gurga 

from Fresh Scent

 

                                                                                         “BoxerSignB”

 

The article “Twigs Bent Left or Right: Understanding how liberals

and conservatives differ, from conception on,” from the current 

edition of Harvard Magazine (Jan-Feb. 2006), has a rather mis-

leading title.  It’s really just a discussion of studies that support 

(usually quite weakly) or refute (ditto) various theories on what 

forces effect an individual’s political philosophy or party affiliation.

The article is worth a read if those issues interest you.  For me,

the most compelling section was a Sidebar called Blue Genes or Red?,

which describes a study by Harvard Professor Sidney Verba into

whether one’s genetic makeup can predict whether they will have

conservative or liberal views. 

 

“twins Nov51 small”

 

The study used data on 8,000 sets of twins. “Using information about

their opinions on 28 different political issues, they compared fraternal

twins, who share half of their genes, with identical twins, who have the

same genes. The researchers assumed that twins raised in the same

home experienced a similar upbringing.”  The results?

They found that genetic inheritance played a

statistically significant role in all 28 issues, but opinions on

school prayer and property taxes were the most powerfully

influenced by genes. Both had a ‘heritability estimate’ of .41,

while views on federal housing and liberals had estimates of

.20 and .18, making them the least affected by DNA.

 

“Although DNA appears to predispose people to react one way

or another to certain issues, shaping their ideology, the researchers

said party affiliation seems to depend more on the environment in

which the twins were raised. 

Naturally, Verba is cautious about what this study reveals, saying, he says.

“Pinning down any genetic basis of politics and separating it from how you

were raised, and then connecting them to actual public policy or voting behavior

has got a long way to go. But I can see more of this in the future.”

 

                                                                                your editor and his brother 

 

Another wishy-washy study from an academic who hopes for more grant money?

Probably.  I can tell you, though, that my identical twin brother and I almost

certainly have similar views on school prayer and property taxes.  I need to poll

him about his feelings on federal housing and liberals.

 

“snowflakesN” From Billie Wilson and the Alaska Haiku Society

website: 

late night rain–

he reads to me from the book

I read to him

 

Mayfly #40 (2005)

 

 

 

 

nearly dark–

snow deepens

on the baseball field

 

Acorn 15 (2005) 

 

 

swing shift

scattered through the parking lot

leaves from distant trees

 

                   Mariposa13 (2005)

 

 

 

 

winter storm–

three people in the checkout line

buying daffodils

 

              Acorn 15 (2005)

 

 

a squabble of jays–

he shovels my bootprints

off the sidewalk

 

           The Heron’s Nest VII:4 (2005)

 

Billie Wilson

 

                                                                                                      “snowflakeSN”