The Sky is Falling

The Sky is Falling word collage experiments continued

January 16, 2009

compiled by Mary Ann Schaefer

Part 1. The Sky Is Falling, better known as Chicken Licken, Henny Penny or Chicken Little is

an old fable about a chicken (or a hare in early versions) who believes the sky is falling.

The phrase, "The sky is falling," has passed into the English language as a common

idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.

OriginOriginOriginOrigin Although sometimes mistakenly listed as one of Aesop's Fables, the story actually

originates from the Jataka Tales of Buddhist Indian folklore. The basic motif and many

of the elements of the tale can be found in the Daddabha Jataka (J 322). The Jatakas

comprise a large body of folklore dating from around Gautama Buddha's time (6th

century BC) to the third century AD. However, this ancient version features a hare as the

central character rather than a chicken, and the wise protagonist is a lion (the Bodhisattva

or future Buddha). from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sky_Is_Falling_(fable)

THE TENT Margaret Atwood Nan A. Talese/Doubleday Fiction/Essays ISBN: 1400097010

Never one to rest on her artistic laurels, Margaret Atwood, author of THE BLIND ASSASSIN and THE HANDMAID'S TALE, has compiled a clever sketchbook of images and ideas; short, imaginative prose pieces, one long-form poem, all complemented by her own illustrations. Poking fun at the archaic views of conventions such as motherhood, science and love, Atwood turns these ideas on their ear, as in her piece, "Chicken Little Goes Too Far," where the well-known nervous character who proclaims that the sky is falling gets a modern twist in this version. Here, he takes his announcement to the media and forms an environmentally conscious group, only to be assassinated by the head of a large development company who builds retirement communities in the sky.

from http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews2/0385516681.asp

Part 2.Part 2.Part 2.Part 2.

bird

Noun a two-legged feathered creature, with a beak and two wings, with which most can fly

Arabic:

Chinese:

Czech: pták

Danish: fugl

Dutch: vogel

Estonian: lind

Finnish: lintu

French: oiseau

German: der Vogel

Greek: πτηνό, πουλί

Hungarian: madár

Icelandic: fugl

Indonesian: burung

Italian: uccello

Japanese:

Korean:

Latvian: putns

Lithuanian: paukštis

Norwegian: fugl

Polish: ptak

Portuguese (Brazil): ave

Portuguese (Portugal): pássaro

Romanian: pasăre

Russian: птица

Slovak: vták

Slovenian: ptič

Spanish: ave, pájaro

Swedish: fågel

Turkish: kuş

from http://translate.reference.com/browse/bird

Birds arrived <adv> <adj> on <adj> Earth. <Adj> came insects, in the <adv> <adj> past. For <adv> <adj> years or <adj> they ruled the skies. But these were <adj> pioneers of the air. Think of them, in <adj> terms, as the <adj> planes of the <adj> <adj> Century.

<Adv>, <adj><adj> years <adj>, <adj>and <adv> <adj><adj><adj> forms, Pterosaurs, or <adj> dinosaurs, took the ascendancy. These <adj> creatures had wings of skin, stretched between <adj> <adj> <adj> finger and their flanks. <Adv> <adj> years <adj> they were joined by - or, as <adj> scientists say, they began to turn into - a <adj><adj><adj>, <adj> creature. The bird was born.

And <adv> the <adj>biplane ceded <adj>mastery to <adj> <adj>equivalents of the <adj> 767, Concorde, the <adj> bomber, the <adj> fighter. A <adj>variety of <adj> <adj> types have come and gone and evolved to give us the <adj> <adj> species we know <adv>.

<Adv> the catastrophe that wiped out the dinosaurs - now <adv> believed to have been a <adj> meteor - birds have taken <adj> command of the skies. For a time, <adv> the <adj> mammals were <adj> <adv> <adj>, birds <adv> ruled the planet….

from http://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/evolution/index.html

modifiers removed by MAS

LEHRER: What can bird intelligence teach us about the evolution of human

intelligence? Birds and primates parted ways a long time ago.

PEPPERBERG: Yes, primates and birds separated about 280 million years ago. But Alex's abilities show us that it’s important to examine parallel evolution and to be willing to examine how a brain functions, not only how it looks. The cortical-like area of the parrot brain looks nothing like human cortex, but it is derived from the same pallial areas as is human cortex, functions in a similar manner and takes up roughly the same proportion of space. We also

must examine the conditions that likely selected for in[[[[tel[[[[li[[[[gence 7in tel$! j!ns8 in evolution. Grey parrots, for example, like nonhuman primates, are long-lived and exist in a complex ecological and social environment. Likely the same conditions that selected for intelligence in nonhuman primates were at work in the parrot lineage.

from http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bird-brains-parrots-smarter

Bird attacks influenced human evolution, researchers sayBird attacks influenced human evolution, researchers sayBird attacks influenced human evolution, researchers sayBird attacks influenced human evolution, researchers say Aug. 29, 2006 By Holly Wagner/Ohio State University and World Science staff Prehistoric birds of prey may have targeted our ancestors for meals so often that the threat of them helped drive human evolution, researchers say based on a study. Analyzing hundreds of modern monkey bones gathered below African eagles’ nests, the scientists found the birds are a severe menace to some of our primate cousins. They also concluded that the resulting bone injuries are suspiciously very like those on the skull of an ape-like child of human ancestors, found decades ago. It apparently has clawed-out eye sockets, they said.

A skull of a Diana monkey. The hole to the right of the nasal cavity was likely inflicted by an eagle, researchers say. (Photo by Jo McCulty, Ohio State University)

"It seems that raptors have been a selective force in primate evolution for a long time," said W. Scott McGraw of Ohio State University, the study’s lead author. "Before this study I thought that eagles wouldn’t contribute that much to the mortality rate of primates in the forest. I couldn’t have been more wrong."

from http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060829_raptors.htm

PART 3.PART 3.PART 3.PART 3.

AIRCRAFT DIMENSIONS

metric imperial

Overall length 37.57 m. 123 ft. 3 in.

Height 11.76 m. 38 ft. 7 in.

Fuselage diameter 3.95 m. 13 ft.

Maximum cabin width 3.70 m. 12 ft. 1 in.

Cabin length 27.51 m. 90 ft. 3 in.

Wingspan (geometric) 34.10 m. 111 ft. 10 in.

Wing area (reference) 122.6 m2 1,320 ft2

Wing sweep (25% chord) 25 degrees 25 degrees

Wheelbase 12.64 m. 41 ft. 5 in.

Wheel track 7.59 m. 24 ft. 11 in.

BASIC OPERATING DATA

metric imperial

Engines two CFM56-5 or

IAE V2500 two CFM56-5 or

IAE V2500

Engine thrust range 111-120 kN 22,000-27,000 lb.

slst

Typical passenger seating 150 150

Range (w/max. passengers) 4,800 (5,700)

km. 2,600 (3,000)

nm.

Max. operating Mach number (Mmo) 0.82 Mo. 0.82 Mo.

Bulk hold volume - Standard/option 37.41 m3 1,322 ft3

DESIGN WEIGHTS

metric imperial

Maximum ramp weight 73.9 (77.4) tonnes

162.9 (170.6) lbs. x 1000

Maximum takeoff weight 73.5 (77) tonnes 162 (169.8) lbs. x

1000

Maximum landing weight 64.5 (66) tonnes 142.2 (145.5) lbs. x 1000

Maximum zero fuel weight 61 (62.5) tonnes 134.5 (137.8)

lbs. x 1000

Maximum fuel capacity 23,860 (29,840)

Litres 6,300 (7,885) US

gal.

Typical operating weight empty 42.4 tonnes 93.5 lbs. x 1000

Typical volumetric payload 16.6 tonnes 36.59 lbs. x 1000

http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/a320/a320/specifications.html

Photograph by Steven Day

Part 4.

Birds v. Planes Monday, Nov. 06, 1944

from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,803440,00.html

Skip to comments.

Birds Hit Planes Every Day, but Don't Usually Cause Crashes

(Environmentalists nix clearing birds) ABC News ^ | 01/16/2009 | NA

Posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:22:44 AM by prisoner6

Excerpt:

Andrew Maloney, an attorney and partner with Kreindler & Kreindler LLP in Manhattan,

said the US Airways crash will very likely have a major impact on ongoing discussions

about the bird problem at New York's LaGuardia Airport, where the plane took off today.

Maloney, whose firm specializes in aviation issues, said city and Port Authority officials

want to clear the area surrounding LaGuardia Airport of birds, but environmentalists

don't want the birds, mostly seagulls and Canada geese, disturbed from their nesting

grounds.

LaGuardia, he said, was built on swampland and the main runway is just hundreds of

yards away from Riker's Island, which with its grassy areas, trees and water access is

prime nesting ground for birds.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...

TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: New York

KEYWORDS: birds; environmentalists; laguardia

So the environmentalists almost killed a plane load of people. 1 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:22:44 AM by prisoner6

[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: prisoner6

Kill all birds. 2 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:24:12 AM by Rudder (The Main Stream Media is Our Enemy---

get used to it.)

[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: prisoner6

If the environmentalists had their way the title of this article would read “Plane hits birds,

Kills many necessitating calls for for more regulations”. 3 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:27:34 AM by Man50D (Fair Tax, you earn it, you keep it!)


To: Rudder

your reply sounds too close to home; my son has a severe dislike for birds...I have a

severe dislike for for those who wish to save every species other than human. I don’t

condone the killing of ALL game, just those that are overstocked and tasty with a good

sauce. 4 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:29:54 AM by junkman_106 (The ACLU can go have aerial

intercourse with a revolving glazed pastry.)


To: prisoner6

I wonder if this attorney was the same one who called into Hannity’s show yesterday

when he was talking about this incident. The caller said that was ex-USAF and said that

he specialized in aviation issues. 5 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:34:53 AM by Riley (The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)


To: prisoner6

Geese are nasty, aggressive, destructive, filthy beasts. They’re not even all that good to

eat and they deposit huge amounts of excrement everywhere they go. 6 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:37:19 AM by Fresh Wind (Hey, Obama! Where's my check?)


To: Man50D

Environmentalists are comfortable speaking out because by miracle nobody died. Enviros

are sick, liberals are sick. They need to be removed from the national scene McCarthy

style and replaced with American values. 7 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:37:34 AM by omega4179 (Bush Abandoned Ramos and

Compean)


To: Riley

Oh yeah! I remember that call. It might have been the same guy. 8 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:38:48 AM by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country

together as the loose screws of the Left fall out.)


To: junkman_106

Barbecue all birds. 9 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:40:19 AM by Rudder (The Main Stream Media is Our Enemy---

get used to it.)


To: prisoner6

The plane was 3000 feet over the Bronx when the strike occurred. Clearing birds from

around LGA wouldn’t have mattered. 10 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:43:12 AM by Moonman62 (The issue of whether cheap labor

makes America great should have been settled by the Civil War.)


To: Fresh Wind

The Canadian Geese have been BIG problem in Pittsburgh. Last year and this year the

county has OK'd the killing of some. Of course the environmentalists/PETA types have

complained. This year a councilman is threatening a lawsuit because the hunt was done in

an area where some people actually are dumb enough to feed the Geese. The councilman

claims it's against the law to hunt their because the birds are being baited. 11 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:46:02 AM by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country



To: Moonman62

Didn't know about the altitude, however the birds might have been heading to the

sanctuary and been in the flight path.

Even if not I'd still clear birds from areas near airports. 12 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:49:14 AM by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country



To: prisoner6

We can’t get rid of the birds until we get rid of the environmentalists. So it might seem

counter-intuitive, but a solution to the bird problem actually begins with dropping

environmentalists from planes. 13 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 4:59:26 AM by samtheman


To: samtheman

Coffee...nose...keyboard, LOL! EXCELLENT IDEA! 14 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:01:54 AM by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country



To: Fresh Wind

They’re not even all that good to eat

They eat grass all day, which just has to be full of pesticides and herbicides. I'd be scared

to eat one unless I was literally starving. 15 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:06:26 AM by Hardastarboard (Why do I find the Toyota "Saved

by Zero" ads so ironic?)


To: prisoner6

Those “Canada Geese” are not really Canada Geese, but a hybrid of Canada Geese and

domestic geese, bred by hunters to use as decoys. They are much more cold resistant, and

much less able fliers than a real Canada Goose.

If a goose is in New York in January, he is a hybrid who should be killed on sight as a

persistent noxious invasive species. The enviro-weenies should be the very first ones

signing up for permits. The fact that they are not reveals that they are more about the

fluffy-bunny-fundraising aspects of environmentalism than they are about actually

protecting the environment. 16 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:19:57 AM by gridlock (QUESTION AUTHORITY)


To: prisoner6

Bush’s fault. 17 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:22:47 AM by don'tspeak4me


To: Fresh Wind

and they can be quite mean!

Goose! It’s what’s for dinner! 18 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:34:51 AM by a real Sheila (Going into my cave Jan 20. Come

get me in 4 years.)


To: prisoner6

Like watermelons, ecowackies are green on the outside and red on the inside.

19 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:35:33 AM by atomic conspiracy (Victory in Iraq: Worst defeat

for activist media since Goebbels shot himself.)


To: a real Sheila

Wife and I tried a goose for Christmas a long time ago. I like grease and dark meat but

NOT THAT MUCH, LOL!

Never did another one. Might try again someday. 20 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:40:08 AM by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country



To: prisoner6

"Birds Hit Planes Everday..."

Yeah, right.

Plane hits bird is more like it. 21 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:47:20 AM by CPOSharky (Coming up: Four years of Jimmuh

Cartah on crack.)


To: samtheman

“As God is my witness, I thought environmentalists could fly!” 22 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:47:38 AM by 6SJ7 (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)


To: junkman_106

if there’s a choice between environmentalists and us on planet earth, then we should take

appropriate actions! 23 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:48:32 AM by ken21 (people die and you never hear from them

again.)


To: 6SJ7

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SuperGore! (Plummeting to earth. And oh, my, what Gore at

the bottom.) 24 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:49:07 AM by samtheman


To: don'tspeak4me

Bush’s fault.

Wow. What's the Left going to do without these 2 words.

Oh, I know. They're going to keep using them anyway, for years into the future. 25 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:50:40 AM by samtheman


To: gridlock

Don't know about the hybrid business, but we have lived in east central Illinois for 40

years. When we first came here, there were no local geese in the summer. The only ones

we saw were the migratory ones flying high in the fall & spring. Soon there were a few

that stayed the summer & nested. The fish & wildlife people told us that these were a

slightly bigger variety which had been exterminated locally in the pioneer days. There

were some survivors & the area was being restocked.

Now we have many more or less nonmigratory geese which disappear when the local

lakes freeze over. Large flocks move south & north depending on the weather. I suspect

that is what they saw in New York yesterday. Large flocks of geese going south a little

ways to try to avoid a little cold. It is a problem resulting from the annual failure of

global warming. 26 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:55:49 AM by Western Phil


To: Western Phil

The problem is too many geese, too few hunters. 27 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 5:57:36 AM by Western Phil


To: prisoner6

“Maloney, whose firm specializes in aviation issues, said city and Port Authority officials

want to clear the area surrounding LaGuardia Airport of birds, but environmentalists

don’t want the birds, mostly seagulls and Canada geese, disturbed from their nesting

grounds.”

Sue the environmentalists. Bankrupt them. That is what Reagan would do. 28 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 6:11:52 AM by EQAndyBuzz ("Control the information, you

control the people.")


To: Fresh Wind

While you are at it, take out the migratory blackbirds. 29 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 6:23:40 AM by rusty millet


To: prisoner6

Kill the damn birds. Enough is enough. There are a Quntillian number of birds alive on

the this planet. When was the last time you got up in the morning and thought, “ Gee, I

don’t think I get through the day because the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is extinct. 95% of

all species that have ever lived are extinct. Who the hell cares! Shoot em, poison em,

burn em or anything else you can think of. Absolute insanity. Maybe we should all strip

down and sit in cages for PETA! 30 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 8:40:00 AM by Doc Savage ("Are you saying Jesus can't hit a

curve ball? - Harris to Cerrano - Major League)


To: Moonman62

Every kill, everyWHERE MATTERS Dufus! 31 posted on Friday, January 16, 2009 8:41:01 AM by Doc Savage ("Are you saying Jesus can't hit a

curve ball? - Harris to Cerrano - Major League)

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Kevin Poormon, a senior research engineer at the University of Dayton Research Institute

in Dayton, Ohio, tests the ability of airplanes and engines to withstand bird strikes.

He fires four pound to eight pound birds at strategic points along aircraft from

compressed gas guns at hundreds of miles per hour.

He said he uses 'freshly killed' birds or a gelatin substitute ‘that has similar impact

properties.’

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm

part pi (3.1415926535897932384626433832795028 part pi (3.1415926535897932384626433832795028 part pi (3.1415926535897932384626433832795028 part pi (3.1415926535897932384626433832795028 841971693993751058209749445923078164062862 841971693993751058209749445923078164062862 841971693993751058209749445923078164062862 841971693993751058209749445923078164062862 089986280348253421170679821480865089986280348253421170679821480865089986280348253421170679821480865089986280348253421170679821480865132823066 132823066 132823066 132823066 470938446095505822317253594081284811174502 470938446095505822317253594081284811174502 470938446095505822317253594081284811174502 470938446095505822317253594081284811174502 841027019385211055596446229489549303819644 841027019385211055596446229489549303819644 841027019385211055596446229489549303819644 841027019385211055596446229489549303819644 288109756659334461284756482337867831652712 288109756659334461284756482337867831652712 288109756659334461284756482337867831652712 288109756659334461284756482337867831652712 019091456485669234603486104543266482133936 019091456485669234603486104543266482133936 019091456485669234603486104543266482133936 019091456485669234603486104543266482133936

072602491412737245870066063155881748815209 072602491412737245870066063155881748815209 072602491412737245870066063155881748815209 072602491412737245870066063155881748815209 209628292540917153643678925903620962829254091715364367892590362096282925409171536436789259036209628292540917153643678925903600113305305 00113305305 00113305305 00113305305 48820466521384146951941511609488204665213841469519415116094882046652138414695194151160948820466521384146951941511609 Energy Cannot Energy Cannot Energy Cannot Energy Cannot

Be Created or DestroyedBe Created or DestroyedBe Created or DestroyedBe Created or Destroyed...)...)...)...) As illustrated in figure 1.1, there are four types of energy that are crucially important for

airplanes, namely:

• potential energy, which is proportional to the airplane’s altitude;

• kinetic energy, which is proportional to the square of the airspeed;

• the chemical energy in the fuel; and finally

• the energy left behind in the air as the plane passes through, stirring the air and

leaving it slightly warmer.

There are of course other types of energy, but the four forms listed above are the ones

pilots use all the time, so let’s concentrate on them for now.

Figure 1.1: Total Energy Cannot Be Created or Destroyed

Energy has the remarkable property that it cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can

flow from one region to an adjoining region, and it can be converted from one form to

another ... but the amount of energy remains the same. This rule (which physicists call the

law of conservation of energy) is not one of Newton’s laws; it was not even known in

Newton’s day.

Consider the analogy with freezing water: liquid water can be converted to ice and back

again, yet the amount of H2O doesn’t change in the process. Similarly, if some water

leaks away and we lose track of where it is, the number of H2O molecules hasn’t

changed.

Similar notions apply to energy, as illustrated in figure 1.1. Fuel energy can be converted

to altitude; altitude can be exchanged for airspeed; altitude can be cashed in to pay for

drag; et cetera. The amount of energy doesn’t change. The energy is just converted from

one form to another.

from http://www.av8n.com/how/htm/energy.html#sec-energy-conserved

present partpresent partpresent partpresent part

if I didn’t know

about a body, if

I had no words

for being

hatched into

warm-blooded

existence with

a four-chambered heart

an airy skeleton

illustrated plumage

two folded forelimbs

attached high and behind

if I could be nothing

else but this lifting up

and soaring

unthinkably

among seasons

and wind currents,

direction and altitude,

inevitably to alight

anywhere, everywhere

home in the moment

I might

be one.

© 2009 Mary Ann Schaefer

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The Sky is Falling