Catch & Research

Green MBA?

2011-04-11T23:54:00.002-04:00

I have believed that one of the hidden causes of financial crisis is MBA. MBA educated "financial and management experts" drove economies too far and to wrong way. I found an article at Guardian.co.uk, "MBA course: 'blind pursuit of profit is destroying the planet.'" This title is exactly what I want to say. I am sorry to my MBA earned friends, but unfortunately, what you learn at the course is the way eventually to ruin human economies and the environment.

I welcome the efforts to install alternative MBA program, namely 'green MBA.' Not fully sure, how much the program can make difference. But curriculum and spirit of current MBA program should be changed immediately. I believe 'blind pursuit of profit' should never be taught at school.

What to do with nuclear...

2011-04-06T23:54:00.000-04:00

Nuclear option seems totally dead. Well, not yet. Ironically, some environmentalists claim that nuclear is the certain bridge option to mitigate climate change. Here, the bridge option means that we need nuclear gerneratioin before renewable energy are fully available for commercial generation.

But, safety issues of nucelar plants are hard to swallow. I read one article about safety of nuclear plants at the Washington Post. Its title is "Nuclear power is safest way to make electricity, according to study." It shows safety record data of nuclear plants and compare them with other fossil fuel generation. When we compare numbers, nuclear generation is safe and cheap enough, for sure. As the article points out at the end, however, the problem is the dire image of nuclear generation in people's mind. The conception.

Very well organized article. I recommend to read it if you are concerned about nuclear and other energy options.

Can 'peak oil' help slow climate change?

2011-04-04T23:54:00.000-04:00

This is a title of a news article at the Guardian.co.uk. Peak oil raises many questions about the future of civilization. Economic and social stability is # 1 of them. Impact on climate change has not been received much attention yet: Climate change can be finally tamed down by decreased supply of fossil fuel? At a glance, it seems to be. But it is not that easy question. The article concludes that peak oil will worsen climate change because economies probably move to cheap but dirty fossil fuels such as tar sands and shale oil. What do you think? Here is a part of the article:

indeed the longer-term impact of the oil peak could be to accelerate rather than decelerate global warming. That's because falling availability of crude oil could boost the production of even more carbon-intensive alternatives such as oil extracted from tar sands or "synfuel" produced from coal.

[News Clip] CO2 to Fossil Fule

2011-03-28T23:54:00.002-04:00

Interesting article at Science Daily. Researchers made a seemingly critical finding which could be a key step to make man-made fossil fuel. Don't be so excited, though. Reporters are always exerating. Read this first, how does it sound? Can it be commercially available in the future?

The University of Minnesota team is using Synechococcus, a bacterium that fixes carbon dioxide in sunlight and converts CO₂ to sugars. Next, they feed the sugars to Shewanella, a bacterium that produces hydrocarbons. This turns CO₂, a greenhouse gas produced by combustion of fossil fuel petroleum, into hydrocarbons.

If we can make fuel out of CO₂, that will be awesome. Especially, on these nuclearly screwed days. Closing cricle, that is the goal!

Climate fight without nuclear generation?

2011-03-20T23:54:00.009-04:00

Japanese earthquake turned many things upside down. Nuclear power is one thing, the hot potato. Governments are reviewing their nuclear policy. German government is planning to fade out their nuclear power plants.

Surprisingly, strong support for nuclear power is coming from some environmental groups. They claim that it is almost impossible to achieve cliamte goal without nuclear generation. Climate benefit from nuclear generation is bigger than potential danger of it. It is hard to tell when we see the horrible pictures of Fukushima nuclear plants.

For your reference, Emmanuel Fages, head of power, gas, carbon and coal research group, at French bank Societe Generale provides estimates of potential GHG emissions:

A global freeze on nuclear expansion projects would mean an additional 280 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in annual average emissions over the next 20 years. And if existing plants are retired and replaced with fossil-fuel burning generation and some renewables, then annual emissions could increase by as much as 860 million tonnes on average over the period 2010-2030.
(from Carbon Market News by Point Carbon, Published: 18 Mar 2011 01:01 PM CET)

What do you think? Keep going with nuclear power in order to achieve climate goal? Or, find and promote alternative energy risking climate future? We all are facing tough decisions.

Droughts, Floods and Food by Paul Krugman

2011-02-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

Paul Krugman wrote a column about current food price crisis at New York Times. He is pointing out that there exist food crisis possibly caused by climate change behind the scene of current social and political turmoil in the middle east. I strongly recommend it. Prof. Krugman says,

As always, you can’t attribute any one weather event to greenhouse gases. But the pattern we’re seeing, with extreme highs and extreme weather in general becoming much more common, is just what you’d expect from climate change.

That's right. What righties and lefties have to urgently agree on is not the cause of climate change but the consequences of climate change. Personally, I think that we don't have much time to mitigate climate change. We need to focus on adaptation to climate change.

James Howard Kunstler talks about Peak Oil and Financial Decline

2011-01-26T22:25:00.000-05:00

Kunstler is clearly one of the most unique thinkers of our time. I do not agree with him in some points, but his idea about post-oil era urban design is worth to listen. At least, he is entertaining.

Ice Fishing

2011-01-07T23:54:00.063-05:00

I went ice fishing with Capt. M this afternoon. We had slow start, but at the last hole we hit the home run. It was "the" sweet spot.

I caught a small Pickerel. Big eyes were kinda cute.

Capt. M caught 12.5" yellow perch which had fat belly. All perches were released because Capt. M insisted that the lake need stronger perch population. I was surprised because the deadliest fisherman Capt. M suddenly started fishery management.

Capt. M is showing off his catch. It was windy and snowy, but enjoyable.

Capt M. caught more than 20 sunnies at the last hole.

(In my defense)because I didn't have a fish finder, I could not beat Capt. M. I caught 5 sunnies and brought some catches home to make fish fry.

Capt. M is fishing with his fish finder, which shows activity of fish right below. You lower your lure above fish then jig it. It was fun to watch your bait and fish school moving up and down. We used Spikes and Moucies(?).

It was a productive three and half hour trip.

Ice Watching

2011-01-06T23:54:00.017-05:00

Have you heard about ice watching? It is not a kind of hobby. I am volunteering for Ice Watch USA. It is a simple job to collect basic water and wildlife data once or twice a week. In particular, I observe how much the water is frozen. Here are list of observations: (1) Date and time of observation, (2) ice coverage (ice-on, ice-off or partial ice w/percentage), (3) air temperature, (4) snow depth, and (5) wildlife seen or heard (including tracks).

To be honest, taking records of ice and temperature is quick and easy (and boring). I found observing wildlife is rewarding. It is fun to look for waterfowls and tracks of deer. Today, I saw a pair of Peregrine Falcon. They looked gorgeous at sunset. Sorry, not a good pic with my everyday digital camera.

This picture is much better. A couple years ago, I found this falcon perched down near my fishing spot. So cool!

If you live close to any water body or go fishing year-round, this must be a good volunteering opportunity. You can feel that you do something meaningful. Or, you can use it as a good excuse to go fishing. ;-)

Noam Chomsky's Comment on Climate Change Deniers

2011-01-05T23:55:00.000-05:00

The Nation is releasing a new video series, “Peak Oil and a Changing Climate.” Here is introductory twenty minute video. New segments will be released every Wednesday (release schedule can be found here).

To some of visitors, most interviews look very familiar. I recommend to watch interview with Noam Chomsky (starting at 8:22) especially to climate skeptics. Prof. Chomsky is commenting on and analyzing the attitude and mentality of climate change denial groups. It is worth while to listen to him because he is believed as "one of the most respected and influential intellectuals in the world."

Blue Fish Bite

2011-01-05T23:54:00.000-05:00

Three years ago, there was a conference in Manhattan. I stayed at a dorm in downtown. Oh, boy, I could not hold my fishing instinct and brought my fishing reel and rod with me. I put the rod in a document tube which I carried to bring my poster. It was a perfect disguise!

The dorm was close to the Brooklyn bridge and Pier 17. So, every morning, I woke up really early and went fishing to pier 17 on the East river and the Battery park. Make long story short, I didn't catch any. Who cares? I did have such a great break from the nonsense of academic discussions. But on the second day, I got a strong bite although I failed in hook-setting. When I reeled in my swimbait, I was totally shocked. See the pictures below.

Before

After

You can imagine my immediate reaction, "holy %$#&!!! Is there shark or something?" I showed the half-cut lure to a biologist, and he told me that it might be Blue fish. Later, I found out that blues are notorious for its razor sharp teeth, and they are abundant in the East river. I think that I was lucky enough not to hook one. It was so close... At that time, I didn't have any equipment to land and handle blues. I could be really screwed.

After that, I have had a couple of chances to fight with blue fish, but I didn't land any. They are good fighters, although people say that they are not good eaters. Well, well, I hope to taste the nasty Blue fish someday.

For your information:

Fishing at Manhattan piers is allowed from sunset to 7am. That's what I heard from an officer when I went there three years ago. In the morning, many elderlies came to exercise to the pier 17. You need to watch.

300 Years of FOSSIL FUELS in 300 Seconds

2011-01-04T23:54:00.010-05:00

Very succinct and entertaining presentation. You will like it.

Fried Bass with Chinese-Style Spicy Sauce

2011-01-04T11:54:00.001-05:00

Believe it or not, bass is considered as junk fish in Korea, as carp is treated as junk fish in the US. Carp is delicacy in Asia. The other day, I saw a news that Illinois would export Asian carp from its Mississippi river to China . I believe that this business will be successful.

Anyway, bass is an invasive species and is not considered as a food fish in Korea. While staying in the US, I tried different recipes to cook my catch. I smoked, steamed, deep fried, grilled and so on. Among them, I found frying is the best. When it is coupled with Chinese style spicy sauce, it is even better.

Ingredients:
Bass (gutted and scaled), flour or corn meal, onion half, green onion 1/2 head, Jalapino pepper 1, garlic 1/4 clove, Sauce(Sugar 1T, black pepper 1/3t, Korean or Japanese soy sauce 1T, Oyster sauce 1T, rice vinegar 1T, rice wine 1T, sesame oil 1/2T).

Steps:
(1) Make the sauce first. Mix up all ingredients well.
(2) Clean and rinse the fish.
(3) Pat down the fish with paper tower to get rid of extra moisture. If desirable, make cuts on the fish (see the picture above)
(4) Roll the fish on flour.
(5) Put enough amount vegetable oil on a frying pan and warm it up.
(6) Pan-fry the fish fully and put it on paper tower covered dish. We need to cool it.
(7) Now, vegetables. Chopped up vegetables to small pieces.
(8) On another frying pan, stir fry chopped vegetables at high heat.
(9) When vegetables are almost cooked, pour the sauce on the pan. Wait till boiling.
(10) Move the fish to a serving dish and pour the sauce over the fish.
(11) Enjoy!

Silly bandz for Two Piece Rod

2011-01-03T23:54:00.004-05:00

It is sometimes annoying to carry two piece fishing rod. Much easier than one piece rod, though. If the upper part is loose, its tip part could be broken. I did it one time. Good way to carry two piece rod is to tie them up using band.

I have used grocery rubber band. One problem of rubber band is that it sticks on rod and leaves residue especially when it contacts with sunscreen. Sunscreen chemically reacts to rubber. Rubber band could damage your tackles. It may not be a big deal. But here is an alternative: silicon band. Silicon is very stable material and does not react to sunscreen. If you have used rubber bands for your rods or tackles, you may want to try silicon bands.

Here I put pictures on how to tie up two piece rod using silicon band.

Step 1. Put two parts together.

Step 2. Wrap the rod around the largest guide.

Step 3. Wrap two times (you can adjust according the length of band). Don't make it too tight. It could damage your guide.

While fishing, you can put the band on your wrist. Fashionable fisherman, huh. If you find your kids or nephews playing with silly bandz, you may want to borrow a couple of them for your use. Ah, I found that a local sporting goods store is selling silicon bands shaped in MLB team logos. These must be cooler than cow or horse shape.

Warming causes cooling?

2011-01-03T11:54:00.001-05:00

Recent weather pattern in the mid-Atlantic region is just like roller coaster ride. A week of extreme coldness and snow, and a week of spring-like warmness and rain. Last couple of days were really warm, and last month heavy snow were almost melted away here in upstate New York. I was even considering to go fishing (well, it didn't happen). What's going on?

Climate change is suspected to be behind the roller coaster weather. Sounds like non-sense? Let's assume that you agree on that the average temperature of atmosphere is going up, then here are some brief explanations which I summarized from various sources:

Higher surface temperature increases total amount of vapor in atmosphere. More vapor ends up with higher precipitation.
Higher surface temperature increases the power of low pressure system. Surface air rises more easily. Stronger low pressure system in the middle altitude pulls down arctic cold air or up equatorial hot air.

I overly simplified explanations to provoke interest. Climate is so complex that there are still many things that we cannot understand. Although we agree on the large amount of uncertainty, it seems evident that climate change took a certain role in this roller coaster weather.

Lake Trout

2010-11-08T12:54:00.076-05:00

Well, well, it snowed today here upstate New York... D%$# it! I really don't want to call it a season yet. I will go out one or two more times before freezing. During the off season, I decide to revisit dusty pictures of my old catches.

When: 04/25/2007
Where: Lake George, NY
How: trolling small minnow bait

It was my first lake trout and the only one. Capt. M and I went out Lake George on a still chilly Spring day. We put tiny minnow bait and trolled around at the east side of the lake. I was in charge of watching rods, while Capt. M was controlling his canoe. I occasionally checked each rod for fish. After one hour, we reeled in and found big trout was hooked! I was a dumb. Actually, I brought an ultra light rod, and the rod didn't show much change of bending (as I insist).

It was a beautiful fish. Unfortunately, it was deep-hooked. Imagine that the fish was trying to swallow the tiny minnow bait for long time. It was exhausted and didn't give a good fight. I brought the fish home and later smoked it for picnic. Its flesh was pink and very tasty. It was quite close to Salmon.

By the way, Lake George was gorgeous at sunset! The view of high peaks from the lake at sunset is truly magnificent! If you live upstate New York, Lake George is definitely the destination that you don't want to miss. Ah, Lake George has also healthy population of large and small mouth bass.

Rod Tip Fixing Kit

2010-11-03T23:54:00.017-04:00

I received a package from St. Croix. The rod tip fixing kit was simple, including new tip guide, glue and instruction.

I didn't know that it was that easy to remove the broken tip: put it on fire for a few seconds. Then, I cleaned up the tip part. I put new tip guide on the part. Well, I found that new tip was visibly short to my rod.

I called St. Croix, and they told me that there was design change (model TRS66MF2): tip part for newer version is shorter than older one. They promised to send me a new tip guide for my "old" rod.

If you have followed my posts, you may know that I am a budget angler. I try not to spend much on equipments. From my experience, in case of rod and reel, my recommendation is to buy low-end models from top brand tackle makers. Name brand provides reliable services, which you may need once or twice in your fishing life.

Update (11/8)
I received new rod tip from St. Croix today. Wow, it took a while. Its length matches with the original tip guide, but it is bigger than the original one at a glance. St. Croix seems not to have the matching part for my rod. If it is the case, they should have noticed me before I ordered. Very disappointed about my favorite rod maker. I will try the new tip guide anyway to see if it normally functions and worth for $5.

Broken Rod Tip Guide

2010-10-26T23:54:00.003-04:00

I found something was wrong with my reel and rod. When I was retrieving lure, it made squiggling noise. At first, I thought that sand came into my reel. So, I cleaned my reel. But the noise continued. I also noticed that long portion of my mono line was badly scratched and even scraped. I thought that rocky bottom damaged the line.

Well, I was an idiot. All damage and noise were caused by a broken rod tip guide. The guide is made of ceramic and can be broken by careless retrieving.

I remembered that I lent the road and reel to a friend who was a fishing beginner while we were fishing together last weekend. He might damaged the tip guide.

Broken tip at a different angle. See the sharp edge.

I checked rod maker, St. Croix's website and found that they sell tip replacement kit at $5. Probably, this mishap happens often. For now, I decide to use braid line for the rod. I hope to fix it soon.

W Kayak

2010-10-25T23:54:00.014-04:00

I visited Wavewalk to see and test paddle its W kayak in Sharon, MA, this weekend. When I first found W kayak while random web-surfing, I was totally amazed by its stability and fishing-friendly design. I could not put up with my curiosity. So, I contacted Wavewalk and set an appointment for visit.

When I arrived at the address of Wavewalk, I was first surprised by finding out that it was an one man company operated by CEO Yoav Rosen at his garage. Yoav originally invented and designed W kayak. Secondly, I was surprised by knowing that Yoav does not fish at all because I thought that W kayak was designed by kayak anglers for kayak anglers. Yoav told me that W kayak concept came from his original invention of water walking shoes. Very interesting.

Currently, W kayak is molded by a molding company in the Midwest, and Yoav does finishing touches on delivered intermediate products at his garage. He joked, "it is the most inefficient production line in the world." At his basement, there were many boxes of unfinished W kayaks.

My first impression of W kayak was that it was bulkier than I thought. But it was not that heavy when I lifted it. Thanks to its W design, it was easy for two men to carry. Yoav and I put a demo kayak on Yoav's SUV and headed to a lake nearby for test paddle. It was a nice day for paddling, sunny, not so windy... Yoav first presented me some techniques on the kayak. Then, I test paddled it. I will put more posts on W kayak later.

Zoom Swimbait

2010-10-21T23:54:00.035-04:00

I found Zoom's new swimbaits at a local sporting goods store. I like Zoom's soft plastic lures; they are durable. I have been wondering why Zoom has never made swimbaits. They should have made swimbaits much earlier.

It is a slim long tail swimbait. It looks like Zoom put paddle on its fluke lure. But its body design is unique. I will discuss about it later when I have a field test. I am glad to find out that Zoom finally started producing swimbaits.

Catch & Release manual

2010-10-15T23:54:00.050-04:00

When fish are hooked, chaos strikes, too. While fighting, I often forget proper actions for catch and release. Here, I summarized catch and release manual for myself.

Step 1. Determine whether keep the fish or not: I prefer selective harvest: not a giant, nor a dwarf. When I get action, I can determine.

Step 2. Fight quickly: For this, I need to adjust my drag to the maximum limit of my rod and reel setting.

Step 3. Grip under jaw of fish while fish are still in water: I use lip grip for this.

Step 4. De-hook while fish are still in water: One hand holds lip grip, while the other hand holds pliers. Before this job, I need to put my fishing rod down opening the bail arm.

Step 5 (optional for measuring). Lift out the fish while supporting tail part: It helps reducing excessive pressure to the jaw. I need to wet my hand to hold the fish.

Step 6 (optional for measuring). Put the fish on a wet ground: Wet surface protect slime coating.

Step 7. Revive the fish in water by directing its head against current: It allows water running through gills.

Step 8. Release the fish when it starts swimming

New Record Walleye, again, 26"!

2010-10-14T23:54:00.017-04:00

I went fishing again to the Troy dam this evening. I fished at the shore. At about 6pm, it started raining. So, I cast Yo-Zuri crystal minnow for the last time, and bam! I got a crazy bite. First, I thought it was striper. No, no, it was giant walleye. Because I was using medium power tackle, I worried a lot about tackle failure or line break. Strong current gave extra power to the fish. I carefully fought for about 10 minutes. My rod looks like a toy beside the walleye in the picture. It was dark, and I could not get a good picture.

My walleye record increases by 2" to 3" everyday! Or, probably the walleye that I originally caught grew 2" per day and then was re-captured by me. Kidding. Gripper helped me to handle the toothy creature. After measuring and taking picture, I released it right away. I tried to revive the fish to my best, but I worry about it because of intensive fight time. I should switch to heavy gear when I fish at the Tory dam. I hope it get well and successfully breed.

New Record Walleye, Yay! (Yes, I didn't forget my camera at this time)

2010-10-13T23:54:00.010-04:00

I got a phone call from Capt. M this morning. He suggested to go fishing to the Troy dam this evening. "I am in!" of course. Water was still rough and murky. It is never super comfortable to navigate rough river on a small canoe. But we did, in the hope of big fish. The risk-taking was rewarded with my new record walleye, 24"! I renewed my record in one day. I cannot believe this. Can you see the big bright eye.

At the time of sunset, fish kept attacking our lures. M caught 6 striped bass. One was a giant, about 36". I caught three walleye and one small striped bass. I have to confess that it is hard to beat Capt. M. I used swim bait (Shadalicious) and crank bait (Yo-Zuri). We spent three hours on water and returned when it got completely dark. It was one productive trip.

Record Walleye!

2010-10-12T23:54:00.003-04:00

I went fishing to the Troy dam. Water got calmer, but it is still murky. I cast Yo-Zuri crystal minnow and slowly retrieved it over fast current. Near the shore, I got a strong bite. It was 21" walleye, my record fish! It gave awesome fight; at first I thought I hooked striped bass. It had fat belly and, of course, giant eyes. To my vast disappointment, I left my camera at home, what a d$^&. I measured and then released it. Although no picture, this record walleye seems to remain in my memory for long time.

Striped bass fall run

2010-10-05T23:54:00.001-04:00

I went smallmouth bass fishing at Troy dam. Because of week-long raining, water was high and murky.

But it was still navigable, sort of. One boat is cruising out from dock.

It was high tide, so I should fish on top of tiny rock. I casted Shadalicious swimbait on 1/8 oz jig. My rod setting was 6'6" medium power St. Croix rod matched with 2500 size Shimno reel spooled with 12lb mono line.

At my third cast, I got a strong bite. It gave me real good fight. I thought that fast current gave some extra power to smallmouth. Then, voila! It was striped bass! Because my rod setting was light, it was probably more exciting.

It was 22" decent size bass.

What a handsome bass! After a few pictures, I released it. From this year, New York State requires saltwater fishing license to fish anadromous species at tidal river.