Urania

It’s been such a busy month that I missed the fact that Nor Pirzkal has released a new version of SciSoft OSX. Released on February 4, 2008, this version, dubbed 2008.2.1 is only for Intel-based Macs. ^[1] This new version contains the following improvements:

• Certain links to libraries that I have previously noted had to be manually fixed have been fixed.
• The IRAF within SciSoft OSX has been updated to the latest release, version 2.14. However, as noted in his February 25 post, Nor notes if mkiraf fails to create a proper login.cl, you should do the following:

  edit /scisoft/all/packages/iraf/iraf/unix/hlib/mkiraf.csh
  and replace the first two uncommented lines with
  
  set iraf = "/scisoft/all/packages/iraf/iraf/"
  set imdir = "/scisoft//all/packages/iraf/imdirs"

I’ll update this blog post as I experiment with the new release. But just from looking at the release notes:

• SAO Image DS9 is still at version 4.13 and not the current version 5.1. This is an issue mostly for Leopard users, since the older version of DS9 doesn’t run under Leopard without some tweaks. This is an easy enough upgrade.
• fv (an interactive FITS file viewer) is still at version 4.4 instead of the current version 5.1. You can download the current version and replace the one in the /scisoft/i386/Applications directory in case you view this as necessary.
• It installs /scisoft with permissions set such that the owner is the second user account created on most Macs (User 502). Previously it installed as owned by the first user account (user 501). This is not a huge issue if you have “sudo” privileges on the Mac (any “Administrative” user does, its the default on the first account created), just type the following on the command line:

  sudo chown -R root:admin /scisoft

  and enter your password when prompted. This will set the root account to own the files, which is appropriate in a multiuser situation. If you are the only user, you could set yourself up as owner by replacing ‘root’ above with your username (you can determine your username by typing “whoami” on the command line).

I have placed a mirror of this new version on my Unofficial Scisoft OSX Mirror page as well

We live in a strange era where some presidential candidates brag about their complete absence of knowledge of science but yet admit science plays such a gigantic role in the possible improvement (or destruction) of society. Given this election climate, the Union of Concerned Scientists is asking the presidential candidates to participate in a debate focused solely on the role of science-related policy in their proposed administrations. And they want them to do it before the presidential primaries in Pennsylvania. The full text of the petition says:

Dear presidential candidate,

Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy.

We would like to hear how, as president, you plan to defend science from political interference, and how you plan to use science to inform your policies.

We call on you to participate in Science Debate 2008 in Philadelphia on April 18. 

If you want to sign it, go to http://ucsaction.org/campaign/2_14_08_science_debate_petition?rk=e7_WrI6qDE76W and sign.