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Don't Take Curling for Granite
Follow Dan Wetzel on Twitter at @DanWetzel
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Jutting its rounded self from the waters off the west coast of Scotland is Ailsa Craig, an uninhabited 104-acre island that’s home to the only known supply of the granite needed to make a proper curling stone.
It’s called blue hone granite – an intensely hard substance that is uniquely suited to slide smooth and true down a 146-foot long sheet of ice, withstand countless crashes into other stones and prevent even trace amounts of moisture to seep into it. That would cause it to pit and thus move unpredictably.
You could say without blue hone granite there is no sport of curling. The Olympics refuse to use anything else. There’s only one problem.
“It is not going to last forever,” Macrae said.
Yes, one day Kays is going to run out of granite and curling is going to run out of stones. It’s a strange concept, like if the world just ran out of baseballs, ending – or changing – the sport forever.
There’s no need to panic or hang up the brooms; the sport isn’t going to end tomorrow, or by the next Olympics. Or even anytime soon after that.
When “one day” is, however, no one knows. It could be 20 or 30 years. It could be decades longer. It depends on demand for curling stones, British mining regulations, puffin breeding levels and if technology somehow allows for a non-blue hone granite solution.
No one has a specific answer to any of the aforementioned. And while no one is currently all that concerned, this is a sport that dates back to 1511. One day means something.
Besides, have you ever heard of another sport where this could ever be possible?
“This is only place that we harvest from, but we feel good that it will be a long time before it runs out, especially given the level of demand,” said Macrae, whose company has operated on the mainland, not far from the famed Royal Turnberry golf course, since 1851. “If curling suddenly exploded in popularity and our orders went up dramatically, we would have to take another look at the situation.”
Another look may actually be required. This game that resembles shuffleboard on ice is suddenly hot. Since becoming an Olympic sport in 1998, it’s enjoyed a surge in popularity.
Television ratings are strong. The 6,000-seat venue here has been packed and rowdy for every session of the Games. On Thursday night, ticket brokers worked the streets outside seeking marked-up prices. According to the World Curling Federation, participation has grown both at the highly competitive and the grassroots levels, especially in Asia.
China is competing here for the first time, and the game is gaining prominent television exposure in the world’s most populated nation.
“People want to play because they see it on their TVs,” said Joanna Kelly of the WCF. “It’s grown all over the place.”
With more growth comes more demand for the stones – hunks of granite cut and polished into a 36-inch circumference disk that weighs between 38 and 44 pounds.
Despite centuries of looking, the necessary amount of blue hone granite to make the stones has only been discovered on Ailsa Craig. There’s plenty there, it’s just not all accessible. The island is a closely guarded environmental treasure.
In the 1960s, native birds, most notably the puffin that for centuries used the island as a prime breeding ground, disappeared. The British government later decreed it a Site of Special Scientific Interest and concluded that rats, which miners had brought to the island, were eating the bird eggs. In the 1990s, the government stopped all commercial activity and grew poisonous wheat to cull the rats. Birds began returning, including a couple dozen breeding pairs of puffin. Today the island is managed as a bird reserve by the Royal Society for the Protection of the Birds.
Kays of Scotland had to work out a special one-day permit in 2001 that allowed it to pull blue hone granite off the island. It wasn’t allowed to quarry or blast the island’s high rock walls. It was merely allowed to scoop as much already displaced blue hone – rocks already lying around – as possible. The company says it gathered 1,500 tons onto a ship that day.
There is a debate over how much rock Kays still has. Richard Harding, the curling development officer of the WCF, said Kays’ current supply will last 10 to 20 years, depending on demand. Macrae says Kays’ supply will last “many years.”
However, Macrae also acknowledges that with demand up, “we use around 180 tons per year.” At that rate, 1,500 tons would be tapped in just over eight years. The harvest was nine years ago, and even at previous lower usage rates, simple math says the supply is dwindling.
Both Kays of Scotland and the WCF say there is plenty of already detached blue hone waiting to be scooped up if another one-day harvest is permitted. That would offer a short-term solution. For the long run, Harding points to new blasting technologies that have less of an environmental impact, although that would require a considerable rewriting of the island’s current conservation statutes.
To be sure, the immediate future of curling is not in any known jeopardy. The entire debate is more about intrigue than alarm.
Grassroots demand can only grow so fast, since it costs up to $30,000 to outfit an entire team with elite stones. Those have long shelf lives – up to 30 or 40 years, and protective rings have been introduced to extend life beyond that. Meanwhile, a Canadian company produces a curling stone from Welsh granite that is serviceable, although not for elite levels, according to the WCF.
Still, the fascinating possibility of a stone shortage looms. The granite can’t last forever, and with each surge in popularity, forever gets a little closer.
I first saw this column on Yahoo! Sports a couple of days ago. Along with many others apparently, I've become intrigued again with curling. Sure, it's not as trendy or high profile as great events like hockey or downhill skiing, but it has an element of stategy that entertains me. Though I hadn't especially wondered about the supply of granite for curling stones, I found this interesting. Another great column from Dan Wetzel.
I Can Be a Swedish Hero
Thanks to the TV license money which finances public service radio and television broadcasting in Sweden, I can be a Swedish hero. This is a pretty interesting way to get people to pay their fees. More information is on the Radiotjanst site.
Rustling Cattle in the Great Basin
FRENCHGLEN, Ore. – Cruising down a two-lane blacktop where the Catlow Rim drops down into a broad valley of sagebrush and bunchgrass, ranch manager Stacy Davies pulls his pickup over to let pass a herd of young bulls being trailed along the road by a couple of his buckaroos, as ranch hands are called here.
Arriving at the corrals at Three Mile Creek, Davies opens the tailgate on the gooseneck trailer hitched to his pickup, leads his horse into the cold hard sunshine, and swings up into the saddle to cut out cattle destined for shipment to market.
Two springs ago, Davies pulled up to these same corrals to find that dozens of weaned calves were gone, rustled, with truck tracks half-stomped by the remaining cattle the only clue to what had happened.
Out of pride and a reluctance to point a finger at neighbors, ranchers in the vast Great Basin outback where Oregon, Idaho and Nevada come together have been slow to admit that someone in their midst, perhaps even someone they know from barbecues and brandings, has been stealing cattle. Just who is doing it, and how they have gotten away with it for at least three years, remains a mystery.
"There's a lot of men who have worked these various ranches, moved from ranch to ranch and know this country well, who would be capable of such activity," said Davies, manager of Roaring Springs Ranch, which covers 1.1 million acres of private and federal range. "They know when we are at ballgames, they know when we're at church. They know where the animals are at."
Last summer, pushed by Jordan Valley rancher Bob Skinner, a past president of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, ranchers overcame their reluctance to talk and started sharing information with law enforcement and each other. It quickly became clear that more than 1,200 cattle worth about $1 million had disappeared, far more than could be accounted for by the bones that dot this harsh country, or strays joining a neighbor's herd.
That would make this the rustling hotspot of the nation, said Rick Wahlert, Colorado state brand commissioner and secretary of the International Livestock Identification Association. The group's members in 20 states and three Canadian provinces have reported about 500 cattle thefts a year the past two years, up from 150 a year.
The association believes the jump in rustling is apparently spurred by the hard economic times, he said.
Rancher Skinner urged an aggressive new attitude among his far-flung neighbors, and he organized regular meetings to raise the profile on rustling. Once the cattlemen began admitting their losses, the numbers snowballed. The county sheriffs realized for the first time they had a major problem.
"Cattle theft — rustling — is not just something you read about in old Western magazines or watch in the Western movies you see," said Ed Kilgore, sheriff of Nevada's Humboldt County. "I really believe it's going on with people riding horses like in the old days, gathering cattle and taking them to a place they can load them up on transport."
With cows worth as much as $1,200 apiece, and calves $650, the losses mounted quickly, Skinner said. Despite struggling with their losses and the recession, ranchers have kicked in close to $60,000 in reward money to back a wanted poster circulating with the brands of stolen cattle.
Ranchers are keeping closer watch on their cattle, even with hidden cameras, and taking counts every time a herd moves through a gate, so they can report a theft sooner.
"The worst thing we can do is just to not say anything and hope they show up, then four or five or who knows how many months later go, 'Oh my gosh, I'm missing a bunch,' and by then there's no more smoking trail," Skinner said.
Once the stolen cattle are loaded on a truck, there is no telling where they might end up. They could be driven in a matter of hours to be sold in a state like Kansas with no brand laws, said Wahlert.
Or they could be hidden out in a remote pasture to produce their calves year after year, which could easily be branded and sold, said Idaho brand inspector Larry Hayhurst.
"There are a lot of ways to beat the system," he said.
This high desert country has fed cows since the early 1870s, when California cattle barons who struck it rich feeding gold miners first trailed their herds here. Even today, cattle outnumber people 1,000 to one, and it can take 40 acres to feed one cow and its calf for a month.
Buckaroos, a corruption of the Spanish word vaquero, follow many of the Old California traditions, braiding their own bridles and hackamores, and throwing long ropes that give them more room to slow a calf without hurting their horse.
Bred cows are turned loose on rangeland far from home and left on their own for months at a time. The only good count of what the weather, predators, disease, poisonous weeds and now rustlers have left comes at the fall gather.
Kilgore said they have established the rustling is real, but have little hard evidence to target any suspects.
The Roaring Springs theft from corrals next to a paved highway was the exception. Most cattle have disappeared from remote valleys where no one lays eyes on them for months at a time.
Jordan Valley ranchers Rand and Jane Collins swim their cows across the Owyhee River to get them to their federal allotment in February, and don't see them again until June or July, when they brand the new calves.
Rand Collins figures about 90 mother cows were stolen in the spring of 2007, though it was fall before he could be sure they weren't just lost. All carried the box-slash brand — a square with a diagonal line inside. The fact the cows had yet to drop their calves made them easier to handle on the long drive _three to five days — to a gravel road where they could be loaded on trucks. And it gave the rustlers 90 calves with no brands.
"It's not the kind of thing you like to admit," Rand Collins said. "There's always the chance as the season goes along that the cattle will turn up, and then you look like a fool for crying wolf."
Malheur County Sheriff Andrew Bentz figures the rustlers are a small group, more like a family than a gang, with the horseback skills to drive a herd hundreds of miles in rough country to read a road good enough to handle a cattle truck.
Chances of catching them in the act are slim in this wide-open country, he said.
"It's a long and methodical process of following money and the animals themselves," he said. "When the rustlers are named the people who are arrested will be no surprise to anybody. Nobody falls in out of Mars and takes care of this business."
When the fall gather came in this year, the losses appeared to be down, leading several ranchers to figure the rustlers are feeling the heat and laying low.
"We catch guys stealing stuff all the time. Those are onesy-twosy guys," said Idaho Brand Inspector Larry Hayhurst. "This is something different.
"They have a system down to beat this system. They have it figured out. We've just got to figure out what they're doing. Sooner or later we'll find out."
Interesting story on a subject most of us don't think about occurring regularly these days. I love Sheriff Bentz's quote: "Nobody falls in out of Mars and takes care of this business." Dang right!
Photographer Paul Nicklen - Face-Off With a Deadly Predator
I often enjoy wildlife photography, but the stories behind the photos are sometimes as interesting as the photos themselves. Hearing about (and seeing) the encounter with this massive Leopard Seal is awesome. I don't know if I would've been as calm and focused as Nicklen was upon the initial encounters.
Jon Stewart & The Daily Show - Newzak
Jon Stewart having a bit of fun at the media's expense. And Tiger's too of course!
With all the flapping, why not have fun and put it to music?!
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-december-1-2009/tiger-woods-newzak
Humpbacks Saving Seals from Killer Whales?
Save the Seal!
Whales act instinctively to save seals
Robert L. PitmanLast January we sailed from the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula on the sixty-five-foot yacht Golden Fleece, in search of killer whales. The kind we were looking for—which potentially constitute a new species—prey on seals that live on and around the sea ice. We hoped to document one of their remarkable hunting techniques: sometimes as many as seven whales swim side by side to make a wave that washes a seal off an ice floe. The journey brought some surprises.
Early one morning, we located a pod of ten killer whales that we had previously tagged for satellite tracking, and found they had a pair of agitated, adult-size humpback whales in their midst. The humpbacks were bellowing loudly through their blowholes and slapping the water with their tails and fifteen-foot flippers. At first we thought that the humpbacks were under attack, but we saw no overt signs of aggression, so we concluded that they were probably just being harassed. Killer whales often test larger whales, perhaps to check for weaknesses that they might be able to exploit. We ducked below deck to quickly review some video footage of the event, however, and noticed a Weddell seal between the humpbacks—perhaps that’s what the killer whales were after.
The killer whales moved on, and fifteen minutes later they spotted a crabeater seal on an ice floe. They created a wave that broke up the floe and left the distraught seal on a piece of ice not much bigger than it was. Just when it seemed the killers were about to have their way, the same pair of humpbacks charged in, swimming around the floe, bellowing and thrashing the water. The killer whales seemed annoyed and finally left the seal alone, still safe on the floe. We concluded that perhaps this deliberate intrusion by the humpbacks was some jumbo-size form of mobbing behavior, comparable to the way songbirds pester birds of prey to drive them off.
A week later we witnessed a similar event that suggested a somewhat different interpretation. Another group of killer whales was attacking a Weddell seal on an ice floe, and a different pair of large humpbacks had inserted themselves into the fray. At one point, the predators succeeded in washing the seal off the floe. Exposed to lethal attack in the open water, the seal swam frantically toward the humpbacks, seeming to seek shelter, perhaps not even aware that they were living animals. (We have known fur seals in the North Pacific to use our vessel as a refuge against attacking killer whales.)
Just as the seal got to the closest humpback, the huge animal rolled over on its back—and the 400-pound seal was swept up onto the humpback’s chest between its massive flippers. Then, as the killer whales moved in closer, the humpback arched its chest, lifting the seal out of the water. The water rushing off that safe platform started to wash the seal back into the sea, but then the humpback gave the seal a gentle nudge with its flipper, back to the middle of its chest [see photograph]. Moments later the seal scrambled off and swam to the safety of a nearby ice floe.
It occurred to us that in all three of these encounters, the menacing behavior of the killer whales may have triggered a protective maternal response in the humpback whales. Even though they did not have calves that were at risk, they acted immediately and instinctively to counter the threat posed to a smaller animal.
When an animal provides maternal care to another that is not its own offspring, it is termed allomaternal care [see “Meet the Alloparents,” April 2009]. Maternal behavior may even cross species boundaries. Perhaps the most common example of that is when humans raise pets, but there are plenty of cases of domestic cats and dogs adopting orphaned animals. Such behavior has been documented less frequently in undomesticated animals—though in 1996 a mother gorilla at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago made headlines when she gently picked up a three-year-old boy who had fallen into the gorillas’ enclosure and carried him to the zookeepers’ door.
When a human protects an imperiled individual of another species, we call it compassion. If a humpback whale does so, we call it instinct. But sometimes the distinction isn’t all that clear.
This interesting story about the Antarctic humpback whales was brought to my attention by Betsy Karasik on Twitter. It would be extraordinary if we could prove they are acting in a protective manner. In any case, the instinct/compassion shown to protect the seals is noteworthy.
What businesses can learn by listening to Air Traffic Control - Peter Shankman
With Continental joining the
RebelStar Alliance yesterday, I took a United flight today, from ORD to DFW. First time on United in like, forever, and found something interesting – They let us listen in to the Air Traffic Control radio through our headsets. Totally fascinating – Listened the entire flight. Because I was on United, and not Northwest, I didn’t hear anyone going “Um, hello? Are you there?” But I did hear some fascinating calls, and thought about how they relate to business. Figured I’d share.
Lots of computers. And radar. Lots of computers and radar. Click the link to listen to live ATC.
We were United 775.
“United 775, proceed to runway 22R and hold.”
“Roger United 775 to runway 22R and hold.”We were told to go to runway 22R and wait for takeoff. I imagine the pilots sitting there, taking a few seconds to decompress, gather their thoughts about them, before being released to the sky.
In business, you don’t just rush into an idea without having SOME kind of plan, right? Before you do ANYTHING, get everything in your sights, line it up, and take a deep breath.
“United 775, climb to one four thousand and contact Chicago Center.”
“Roger United, climb to one four thousand and contact Chicago, good day.”We were told to fly to 14,000 feet and check in with Chicago Center for further instructions. In business, you’re constantly making small adjustments to your roadmap, determining where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. You should constantly be checking in to different locations, seeing if anything’s changed that could alter your flight plan.
Twenty five minutes later or so…
“United 775, contact Kansas City Center at 132.35.”
“Roger, Kansas City Center at 132.35.We said goodbye to Chicago Center and checked in with Kansas City Center on a different channel. Although you may like getting your information from one source, it’s good to check in with different sources. One person may have some information you can use, another may have some information you didn’t think about, and yet another may need some information you’d like to give them. It’s always good to keep your ears open to new ways of receiving information/
“Good morning Kansas City Center, United 775 checking in at three eight thousand.”
“Good morning, United 775. Maintain three eight thousand.”
“Good ride?”
“So far, United 775.”Checking in again somewhere in the mid-west, we asked how the ride was. We were told there were no complaints so far. A few seconds later, the pilot turned off the seatbelt sign, and let us get up. He did tell us, however, to keep our seatbelts fastened when in our seats, since we never know.
Very similar to business, you gotta be prepared – Economy takes a hit? Lose your biggest client? Prepare for turbulence. Enjoy the ride, but never enjoy it so much that you forget what to do if things should radically change.
“American 1520 can you climb to four zero thousand and hold? I need to get that regional jet out of here.”
“Roger, American 1520 climbing to four zero thousand, can you vector us in right after for that?”
“Indeed I can American 1520. Thank you.”This one had nothing to do with us, a regional jet needed to head somewhere else, and a big American Airlines flight was in the way. So the flight controller moved the American flight up a few thousand feet to get the regional get out of the way. The pilot of the AA jet did it without hesitation, just asking if he could be put somewhere else (that I didn’t quite understand) when it was done.
You may not be dealing with tons of metal flying through the air with people’s lives at stake, but you still have an obligation to do your job, help people out when you can, and make the world a better place. If more people thought the way pilots did when doing their jobs, the world would be a better place. If someone asks you for help, and you can do it, just do it.
“Delta 562, contact Memphis Center at 123.37, correction, 132.37.”
“Delta 562, contact Memphis Center at 132.37. Roger.”
“Delta 562, I still got it wrong. Sheesh. Contact Memphis Center at 132.73.”
“Delta 562, not a problem, contacting Memphis Center at 132.73. Thanks!”
“You’re welcome, Delta 562.Screw up? Admit it, and fix the problem. This one struck me the most . Don’t lie, don’t become a drama queen and walk away, with your arms flailing. Don’t hide behind your CFO to try and fix the problem. You screwed up. Admit it, solve the problem, get it right, apologize, and move on. You’ll be respected, as opposed to mocked as a petulant child. If more companies, agencies, and people did this on a regular basis, we’d get rid of 28% of stupid people overnight.
“Lear 241, climb and maintain three two thousand.”
“Roger, Lear 241, climbing and maintaining three two thousand.”
“Fedex 90 heavy, maintain three seven thousand”
“Roger Fedex 90 Heavy, maintaining three seven thousand.Whether you’re a small, two person company like the Lear Jet, or a 747-200 FedEx freight plane, one of the heaviest in the sky, everyone likes to be treated like a professional, and be aware that they matter.
“United 775, checking in at three eight thousand with a little light chop.”
“United 775, thanks for the info.”Got information? Share it. It makes for a smoother ride for everyone else, and is good karma.
“United 775, turn 20 degrees for traffic.”
“United 775 roger, turning 20 degrees left for traffic.”Looking out the window, the sun started shifting in the morning sky, and we were turning 20 degrees to the left to avoid a collision. We didn’t ask why, we didn’t complain, we just did it. Sometimees, when a boss or a client tells you to do something, you just have to do it. Disagree? Argue later.
“United 775 DFW altimeter is 2970.”
DFW was telling our pilot how high above sea level their airport is – i.e., we took off from a different place than we landed. We want to make sure our sea level is their sea level. You always want that in business. There’s a reason we call it Pantone C925 and not “blue.” Blue means a lot of different things. Get your answers before you start working on the project. Questions? ASK.
“United 775, clear direct Sassy.”
“United 775, clear direct Sassy.”As far as I could tell, that was a landing instruction. A few minutes later, we were on the ground, taxiing to our gate. Easiest thing in the world.
Take a few seconds after your project, congratulate yourself on a job well done, but not too much – the next job is right around the corner.
As I was walking off the plane, I asked the pilot what his next flight was – he was headed back to Chicago. And it started all over again.
Interesting two hours. Beat listening to my iPod.
Posted on October 28th, 2009 10:30 am with 6 Comments »
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I don't intend my blog to become business oriented, but I found this post from Peter Shankman this morning to be interesting. Shankman does a great job comparing how business and Air Traffic Control cover similar ground from an operational perspective. Granted, navigating a project with client participation can take much, much longer than a simple trip on an airplane, but that doesn't invalidate the comparison.
One of the points I found most interesting was Dallas quoting their altitude above sea level. One of the things I find in my daily worklife is sometimes we forget to check that we are still on target for successful project completion. Sure, we have the requirements and design documents before beginning a project. But how often do we check along the way to ensure we haven't drifted from the original intent? Changes can (and do) take place once a project is in progress. However, it is helpful to verify the result for which we're currently aiming is the same result we set out to initially accomplish.
Socialnomics: Social Media is not a fad!
A very concise overview of social media and its impact. Yes, this video is ultimately to promote a book and video. However, that does not nullify the content. Social media is here and will continue to evolve. Exactly what form the future will take is unknown but we all will be touched.
French Couple Receive Woman’s 2003 Note in a Bottle
This is a touching story from the Boston Globe about a message tossed randomly into the ocean and the couple in France that found it. Even with all the social media we use today connections can be very random.
I remember tossing bottles with messages into the Atlantic as a child when vacationing at Jekyll Island, Georgia. Though I never had one returned, my young mind sometimes fell asleep at night while wondering where the bottle was on its journey. I'm glad to know some bottles are found and connections established whatever the method or timeframe may be.
Read the story here or by following the boston.com link under the image above.
Google's New Sidewiki Introduced Today
This morning Google introduced their new Sidewiki for web browsing. It's an interesting concept. I don't know if more commentary is exactly what is needed on the internet, but the option to add information to any page could be useful. I wonder what ability a content owner has to edit the information in the Sidewiki if it was misleading or incorrect.
