Dr. Beyster's Blog

Upcoming Meeting with Synthetic Genomics

Dr. Beyster — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:34:48 +0000

This week I’m going to have a meeting with the Synthetic Genomics people to whom we provide support in the way of using Solutions for ocean sampling activities here in San Diego. You might have noticed an increasing number of articles in the press about Craig Venter and his various research projects. He and his people are very prolific, and they are making real inroads in some challenging research areas. Their successful synthesis of a living cell is remarkable.

– Bob

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Sailing

Dr. Beyster — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 16:12:58 +0000

While Solutions is still being examined to find the root cause of its electromechanical problems, we have been using the Blue Moon motorsailer, which I have only a part ownership in now. I think this situation will continue until Hinckley can get the repair people from Maine to San Diego to fix it.

We had a wonderful time Thursday, sailing almost all the way to the Coronado Islands off the coast of Mexico. Blue Moon is a wonderful boat, and sailing her again brings back many good memories. We unfortunately had to skip lunch during our voyage, and I missed that. Next week we’re planning to dock Blue Moon at the Bali Hai for lunch, which will take a fair amount of skill.

I hope you all have an enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

– Bob

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Fall Trip to the East and Economic Recovery

Dr. Beyster — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:48:37 +0000

In addition to my usual routine, Ralph and I and others have been giving some thought to a trip East. We are making plans to go to Washington D.C. and Ann Arbor sometime in late September. While in D.C. I will be seeing a number of SAIC employees and old friends who are still living in the area, and perhaps doing some interviews for the Network Solutions book, which is well underway.

The trip to Ann Arbor will be part business and part nostalgic. On the business side of things, the FED has begun a project with the University of Michigan Engineering School to help them develop a program on employee ownership for their students. This will be similar to the ongoing programs we have with UCSD, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Rutgers, and others.

On the nostalgic side, I would like to visit my hometown of Grosse Ile and locate some of my old friends and possibly see the house I grew up in. If you live in the Grosse Ile area and have time for a visit, please post on this blog and we’ll make arrangements.

* * *

The U.S. economy has been on my mind lately. It does not seem to be recovering as well as it could. This is already having an effect on the elections and will likely have an even greater effect in November. I believe all this economic bad news is going to haunt the Democrats and ultimately cause Obama problems.

Some of my friends believe that we are in a natural economic downturn, and nothing Obama and Congress do is going to have much impact on it’s course. I don’t know if they are right or not. No one on Obama’s team seems to be alarmed, and Obama himself puts on a good face.

I think the Republicans are going to make some gains in this election cycle. They already have.

* * *

I have included a photo from a recent trip on Solutions to the Jolly Roger in Oceanside. Joining us on this trip were Bill Proffer, Paul Kouris, Robert Craig, and Ron Arnold.

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Finding Phytoplankton in San Diego

Dr. Beyster — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:37:25 +0000

On Thursday, August 12th, I met with John Evey, Andy Alan, and several others from the Venter Institute to discuss further their progress on the ocean-sampling project we have been conducting monthly from my boat. It looks like the experiments have turned up some new phytoplankton not before seen in the San Diego area. We have experienced two major algae blooms within the past few months, and the timing was favorable. All in all, the sampling program is going well — both here, as well as the worldwide program taking part on Craig Venter’s boat Sorcerer II.

This past Monday we took Solutions to the Loews Coronado Bay Resort because we weren’t sure if the repaired port engine was up to par yet. Loews is on the Silver Strand in Southern San Diego. It’s a resort hotel with excellent food. I’m hoping we can get to Oceanside on our next trip. It’s not like Solutions to be so temperamental.

– Bob

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Network Solutions Book Update

Dr. Beyster — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:10:45 +0000

We continue to make progress on the Network Solutions book. The draft manuscript is currently at the 50% mark and we should have a complete draft by November 1. Finding information about the earliest days of NSI has been a challenge, but we continue to research the topic and conduct interviews. I am confident we will make a significant contribution to the untold story of Network Solutions and SAIC’s involvement in the company. If you have anything you would like to contribute to this story, I hope you will post it on this blog.

* * *

This past Monday we decided to take Solutions to Catalina again. We made it over in about 2 1/2 hours. The island was loaded with young people and tourists. We weren’t able to get a mooring in Avalon Harbor, so we maneuvered over to Descanso Bay, where we were able to tie to a buoy. We then took a shore boat to Avalon. As usual we had lunch at Armstrong’s seafood restaurant. Coming home was a bit exciting because the port engine decided to give us trouble about halfway home. We had to shut down the engine, which caused us to slow from 30 knots to only about 11 knots.

– Bob

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Sailing San Diego Bay

Dr. Beyster — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:04:25 +0000

On July 30, several of us went for a Friday sail on San Diego Bay, with lunch at the Bali Hai restaurant.

From left to right: Robert Craig, Dr. Beyster, Mark Waldschmidt, and Rod Jones

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Birthday Celebration

Dr. Beyster — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:25:05 +0000

On Sunday we celebrated my 86th birthday at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. Since Monday was actually my birthday, I was pleasantly surprised to see in the office some cake that was brought in especially for the occasion. It was quite good. I have included a few photos from the party and from my birthday lunch at the Crab Catcher.

– Bob

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Venter Institute Ocean Sampling Program

Dr. Beyster — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:03:02 +0000

Last week I met with John Evey and Chris Dupont from the J. Craig Venter Institute here in La Jolla. They were here to brief me on the results of the ocean sampling program we have been running with them on my boat Solutions. I was pleased to learn that the Venter team is obtaining good data from the sampling.

There have to date been eight separate ocean sampling trips on board Solutions, and the team has gathered a total of 15 samples. The focus of their current research program is to discover diatoms in the ocean that can be genetically manipulated to produce large quantities of lipids that can be converted into biofuel. They hope to do this by altering the expression of one particular protein in the diatom.

The sampling is conducted at two separate spots during each trip. One is at the easternmost station of the California Current Cooperative Fisheries sampling grid, and the other is about 15 km offshore of Mission Beach. According to the sampling team, these two locations often have very different characteristics, yielding different samples.

This past spring there was a very large red tide (Lingulodinium) bloom offshore of San Diego, the first major dinoflagellate bloom since 2005. We were lucky to be conducting a sampling trip at the very beginning of the bloom, with additional sampling trips in early May and early June, during the height of the bloom. RNA was extracted from the samples and genetic sequencing will be completed by the end of August 2011 — providing researchers with a new dataset of the gene expression of a dinoflagellate bloom. I have included a chart that shows Lingulodinium cell counts over time from samples taken at Scripps Institute Pier, with the Solutions samples marked with arrows. I have also included a photo of dinoflagellates from an early sample, and a photo of a red tide sample in full bloom.

I was also updated on the progress of the Sorcerer II research voyage. The boat is currently conducting sampling projects in Europe. I am supporting this voyage, and preliminary results are promising. For more information, I suggest you visit the Sorcerer II blog.

– Bob

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National Intelligence Infrastructure and Motoring to Catalina

Dr. Beyster — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:24:21 +0000

Many of you have probably seen Monday’s Washington Post article on the current state of our national intelligence infrastructure. Although I have yet to read the entire article, it is my understanding that the authors worked for two years, sifting through mountains of public-source documents to develop their conclusions. The main conclusions are that our country has invested billions of dollars in a huge buildup of intelligence infrastructure in the years since 9/11, but that much of this buildup has been executed inefficiently and ineffectively with much overlap, redundancy, and waste. I will read the complete article before I make my own conclusions, but I am very interested in what you think about it.

* * *

Last Monday a group of us consisting of Paul Kouris, Mark Waldschmidt, our skipper Ron Arnold, Peter Economy, and I motored to Catalina on Solutions. It took us about 2 1/2 hours each way, with an average speed of 30 knots (34 miles per hour) and a top speed of 38 knots (44 miles per hour).
View Larger Map

It was a beautiful day on the island, and summer season is in full swing. It was sunny and warm in Avalon, quite different from cold and cloudy San Diego. We had a seafood lunch at Armstrong’s, then ice cream next door at Big Olaf’s. I went shopping at a store, Buoys and Gulls Menswear, where I bought a new short-sleeve shirt with a sailing design. I have included a YouTube video of the trip from San Diego to Avalon, and some photos. If you watch the video, you’ll see the tip of Point Loma, a submarine being towed by a Coast Guard ship, and our arrival at Avalon.

On Friday we rented a sailboat from Harbor Island Sailing Club. Robert Craig, Mark Waldschmidt, and I sailed in San Diego Bay, then tied up at the Bali Hai restaurant for lunch. I had the ahi, but skipped their mai-tais. It was a perfect day for a sail.

Sunday night’s big event was driving to Leucadia with Betty and others, where we attended a party at Victor Orphan’s house. Victor worked for me at General Atomics and at SAIC, and is an excellent researcher and salesman. Many former SAIC people attended and I had a great time catching up with everyone.

– Bob

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Quick Thoughts on Global Warming

Dr. Beyster — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:47:41 +0000

Last week we had an exciting event at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club with Walter Munk, Harold Smith and his wife, Gil Binninger and his wife and son, and Betty and me. Walter Munk is a leading oceanographer with roots at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He told us his views on global warming. Walter thinks it’s real.

I’m inclined to agree with him. I think there’s been mounting evidence over the years that this is a real effect, primarily from increased CO2 and other noxious gases (including SO2) in the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants. China is the main offender. The U.S. has done a lot to attenuate its emissions of CO2.

– Bob

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