Will an apology by Contador be enough?

You’ve got to love the internet. Contador has done something unique in my experience. It deals with his actions today in the Tour de France. He has posted an apology video on YouTube.

He must have heard an earful from the peloton. So he uses YouTube to make a very public expression of regret. He states that maybe he made a mistake and that he is sorry. He gives a mea culpa apparently captured by a handheld videocamera in his room!

Think of that. The night of a potential error of character, he posts a video, from a small room in France, saying he was sorry and reminding people that Fair Play is very important to him.

This could simply not have happened in any previous Tour. The technologies were just not there. Now the whole world hears his apology.

I have to say I am really impressed. He says he made a mistake. He reminds people of the things he has done in the past that demonstrate his recognition of Fair Play. He hopes he and Andy will be okay.

Will it be enough? Perhaps. I think he would show real class if he lets Schleck regain the jersey tomorrow and then crushes him in the Time Trial. That is just me. The peloton will decide shortly.

But this is a very unexpected event and I am sure will make some ripples in the peloton.

What if you had a writing competition and no one entered

HG Wells writing competition demands handwriting, no science fiction; no one applies
[Via Boing Boing]

A writing competition held in HG Wells’s honor demanded that entries be handwritten (“to address the low standard of literacy and handwriting these days…it’s an important art in itself and many of our most famous authors find that’s the best way to do creative writing.”) and that they treat with subjects other than science fiction (“Last year there were plenty of entries because the competition was open to writers of all ages and stories could include science fiction, depicting ghastly invasions of our everyday lives by all sorts of nameless horrors.”).

Unsurprisingly, the contest did not get a single entry.

Budding young writers were invited to send their short stories creating a picture of contemporary life in Kent, to Reg Turnill, a former BBC aerospace correspondent who as a young reporter interviewed Wells.

But due to what Mr Turnill now believes were over-strict rules, he has had to change the entry conditions.

[More]

I had to laugh. I wonder of Wells would have appreciated the irony? I’m sure satirists such as Twain or Menken would have.

Ecosystems are very dependent on the species that inhabit them

Overfished ecosystem held together by a single species
[Via Ars Technica]

When an ecosystem becomes overfished, some species may be able to step in and fill the food chain gaps until others can recover, according to a new study published in Science. The bearded goby, a fish that lives off the coast of southwest Africa, has become the predominant prey species in the area because the rest have been overfished. The goby should be threatened under the weight of so many predators, but it isn’t—in fact, researchers find it’s doing better than ever, thanks to its ability to adapt while supporting the rest of the region’s food chain.

The coast of southwest Africa used to be home to one to some of the most successful fisheries in the world. Fishing boats collected huge amounts of sardines and anchovies, the base of any self-respecting predator’s food pyramid, until the species became heavily overfished. Now, the waters are dominated by jellyfish, unsuitable for eating by most predators in the area.

[More]

Yes, that is a pretty obvious statement I made but it is fascinating to me that in the ecosystem discussed above, one species is finding a way to fill the niches that we have emptied by overfishing.

Darwin envisioned an ecosystem like a plank of wood with hundreds of wedges pounded into it. A strong ecology resulted in little room between wedges and little ability of individual species to really change the niche the ecosystem provided them.

But here, changing condition has removed many of the wedges, allowing those that survive to move into other areas not normally allowed in a health environment, where others might outcompete them. Here we have a species that was already predisposed for the altering conditions, has changed its behavior to adapt and become very successful covering a whole new niche.

So, under conditions that destroy many species, one is surviving. This suggests that the entire ecosystem, while greatly harmed with reduced diversity, will be able to survive in some form.

Then, as time progresses, natural selection will provide other species to fill the unused niches found here.

Life will always find a way to replenish a devastated ecosystem. It can just happen a little faster with these sorts of bridge species.

Contador needs to let Schleck have the yellow jersey back

by mikebaird

Contador should show some real leadership tomorrow – He needs to let Schleck beat him tomorrow, in order to win. [A longer version of this post is at SpreadingScience]

Contador may have to make abeyance to the peloton for what he did today. Otherwise, there could be some really dangerous times ahead for him. The peloton is not happy. I think he may purposefully give back the yellow jersey tomorrow to Schleck.

Contador, who is such a good time trialist that he can probably overcome a 90 second deficit in the last time trial later this week, broke a major peloton rule today. The yellow jersey, Andy Schleck, attacked on a steep hill and slipped a gear, forcing him to stop. Contador took unfair advantage of this mechanical problem to take the yellow jersey away.

I have watched the replays several times to see what happened next.

The ‘rules’ state that no one else attacks until the yellow jersey regains his bike. You do not take unfair advantage just so you can wear the yellow jersey.

Another rider, Alexandre Vinokourov, had been sprinting with Schleck. He immediately slowed down. As expected.

Not Contador. From several meters behind Schleck, he attacked hard, passing the yellow jersey and continued on. Well after Schleck was obviously in trouble. By doing this he violated the rules and put himself into the yellow jersey at the end of the day. Schleck tried hard to come back but was not allowed to by Contador.

Interestingly, Vinokourov showed the honor and respect usually displayed by race leaders. He is on the same team as Contador and could have kept up with him. Having a teammate along with him would have helped Contador gain even more time.

Instead, Vinkourov finished in the same time as Schleck. He did not take advantage of the mechanical failure. He followed the ‘rules.’

When Contador put on the yellow jersey, I heard audible boos from the crowd, the first time I had ever heard such a thing. There was a lot of unhappiness all around. Schleck vowed revenge.

Contador is only 8 seconds ahead of Schleck. He should be able to make up a lot of time in the time trial. Tomorrow, he could sit back and let Schleck pick up 30 seconds or so, putting things back to where they were. Schleck puts on the yellow jersey, things are back to normal, the peloton is happy and Contador comes out looking great, displaying the honor and leadership the peloton looks for.

And he can still win it all at the time trial.

Contador has shown himself capable of fixing things when he breaks a rule. He did this on an earlier stage when circumstances made him pass and beat a teammate, one who had been out in front for some time. A Tour leader does not need to win every stage to win the Tour and usually the other team members are allowed to win a stage to reward them. But Contador took that away from his own teammate, who was visibly unhappy at the result.

What happened the next stage? Contador and the other team members made sure that this unhappy teammate was rewarded. They made sure he won the next stage.

Interestingly, the unhappy teammate was Vinokourov, the same one who followed the rules today. Perhaps Contador will again fix things. That would be really amazing.

[More about the rules of the peloton and community at SpreadingScience]