Here's One Reason Why the Tea Parties Are Multiplying...

Nearly half (47%) of all American households pay zero income tax. 

If you're not one of them (as we most certainly are not!), think about what that means.  It means that you are paying for their government services.  And in many cases, it means that you are handing them a check, as most of these non-taxpayers actually get cash back from the government (the so-called “earned income credit”, which is really just welfare by another name).

Does this piss you off?  Join a tea party...

Introversion...

The longer I spend amongst my fellow workers who are extroverts (as so many are), the more I realize that the way they “process their world” is profoundly different than the way I do.  This piece touches on some of this in a way that resonates with me.  One tiny item that jumped out at me: I am very easily startled, to the point where it's a great source of amusement to others...

The Next Big Thing...

The company I get paid to play work for is doing very well...

And Bugs Are All That You Can See...

For the programmers amongst my readers (via Aleck L.):

Sonar Has Come a Long, Long Way...

The image at right, of a sunken Russian submarine, was made entirely with sonar data.  Thirty five years ago, when I was in the Navy, we'd be lucky if we could detect the submarine at all.  Now it looks like we could inspect their latest repairs!

Awesome Optical Illusion...

That is not a blue spiral, but rather concentric blue circles...

Why We're Skeptical of the IPCC...

Steve McIntyre does what he does best: analyzes temperature data and follows the ClimateGate email trail to expose in detail the games that were played.  With our money, too...

Tea Parties...

Of all people, the usually mindlessly progressive Juan Williams has a surprisingly level-headed piece on Tea Parties in the WSJ...

Flowers...

Poignant story of Olga Grushin's reactions to the news of the recent bombings in Russia.  She's living in America, but her parents live very near the site of the bombings...

Kinda Scary...

The video below shows a robot, a “copy” of a flesh-and-blood human.  While it's not a perfect replica, it's far better than the animatronic devices I saw in Disneyland as a kid...

Rocking and Rolling: Update...

We've not felt any aftershocks at our home, but as you can see from the map at right there have been a great many of them (all much smaller than the magnitude 7.2 initial quake).

Check back with the USGS site for updates...

Rocking and Rolling...

We just felt a strong earthquake – lots of sideways motion, subsonic rumbling, and of quite long duration (about 45 seconds at a guess).  The USGS initial automated report puts it at magnitude 6.9, about 20 miles south of the Mexican border.  That's roughly 60 or 70 miles from our house...

The report is preliminary and these often get revised.  USGS map at right and info below; click to enlarge...

A Movie I'd Watch...

I haven't watched a movie for months, but here's one I think I might enjoy.  When it comes out on DVD, I'm gonna get it:

A Pox on Us All...

Public sector employees, that is.  Reason has a nice piece on the problem, with video.

I was at our local post office the other day, picking up a package, and overheard a conversation between two patrons waiting in the agonizingly slow line.  The conversation started off by noting the injustice of low-skill Post Office jobs commanding top-tier salaries and benefits, paid for by taxes on private-sector workers like the two people talking.  I was cheered by this common-sense observation. 

But then the conversation veered into a direction Obama would be delighted with: the two started wondering out loud how they could go about getting one of these cushy jobs, too. 

This is the road Europe has traveled, and the results ain't pretty... 

Spike!

For the past few months, the Google unemployment index has been bouncing around the same high level.  This week it spiked upwards to set a new high (click graph to enlarge).

This index measures frequency of unemployment related Google searches, so it's an indirect measure – more a measure of interest in unemployment, rather than of unemployment itself.  But why should even that have peaked last week?

In an odd coincidence, my good friend and neighbor lost his job just over a week ago when his company filed for bankruptcy.  Maybe the spike is due to his queries?

Bumper Snickers...

Some excellent bumper snickers, via my mom.  More at the “Read more...” below...

ClimateGate: Roundup...

Once again, the European press makes the U.S. press look like incompetent lapdogs for the progressives.  I just finished reading Der Spiegel's 8 part series on ClimateGate and the subsequent impact to climatology (English version).  Considering it's in the mainstream media, it's a notably level-headed, detailed, and broad review of the whole topic.  Recommended.

Steve McIntyre follows the email trail to document Phil Jones' rather overt misbehavior.  In doing so, he shows the British Parliamentary Committee what an actual investigation looks like, as opposed to the whitewash exercise they committed...

Journo-Politico Violence...

What you learn here may save your life...

Or induce spasms of laughter.  Or incline you to reverence of Iowahawk's satiric genius.  Or something...

Navy vs. Pirates...

Navy 1, pirates 0 (click to enlarge).

May it ever be so (and more like this, please)...

Human Stupidity...

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity.  Humor or practical philosophy?  You decide...

The IPv6 Debacle...

Non-geeks, look aside.  This post can only cause you pain.

The Internet that most people know runs on the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4 for short).  Decades ago the Internet gurus realized that the 32-bit addresses in IPv4 meant that we'd run out of IP addresses relatively quickly (there are only 2^32, or about 4 billion, IP addresses available in IPv4).  IPv4 has some other problems as well, but the lack of address space was the biggie.

So along came Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6 for short).  IPv6 solved the address space problem by moving to 128 bit addresses (enough to give every molecule in the universe it's own IP address).  It introduces many other changes as well, but the address space expansion is the biggie. 

But there's one little niggling problem: nearly all the software written for every computer is incompatible with IPv6.  Almost everything will have to be revised or rewritten, and the fixes are not trivial.  Oops.

Around the same time (mid 1990s) that the IPv6 forces were trying to convince the whole world to rewrite all their software, technologies called Network Address Translation and Port Address Translation (NAT and PAT for short) started to become popular.  Very popular.  These technologies let enterprises (and homeowners) have multiple computers or other devices on their local area networks using “private” IP addresses. 

These are a bit like the street addresses we see in cities: Boston has a 100 Broadway, and so does New York and a bazillion other cities and towns.  But this doesn't cause confusion, because we know that 100 Broadway in Boston is in Boston, not New York.  Similarly I can have a computer with an IP address of 10.0.0.1 in my home (my “town”), and you can have one with the same IP address in your home.  NAT and PAT are what make this possible.

So with NAT and PAT, much of the driving force behind moving to IPv6 is removed.  We no longer need that gigantic address space.  Meanwhile, software writers are still creating new software packages that are incompatible with IPv6.  In fact, very few programmers have ever created an IPv6-compliant program – they don't even know how!  So IPv6 has become a “nice to have” instead of a “must have” – and since it's such a costly thing to move to IPv6, that means we'll likely never do it.

Here's a much more technical dive into the IPv4 vs. IPv6 struggle...

Billions for AGW Research...

Here's where the motivation for “cheating” on the AGW science comes from: billions of dollars falling out of the sky, but available only to those scientists whose research objectives contribute in some way to the AGW story.

To be fair, a good part of this money is going to strictly observational programs that are an unalloyed good.  For example, some of this money will pay for satellites to survey the polar region ice coverage, and for other satellites to measure basic climate data (temperature, humidity, pressure, albedo, etc.) worldwide.  But it's also true that over a billion dollars a year will go to projects like climate modeling, and these grants, you can be certain, will not go to AGW-skeptical scientists...

French Missile Technology...

Abandoned at WalMart...

Senators Questioning NASA About Faulty Weather Data...

ClimateGate has consequences...

This Is Why...

Well, that didn't take long!  This is why we need the Tea Parties, or at least their influence...

Militarism...

The world's press often portrays the U.S. as a militaristic nation, spending vast sums on weapons and armed forces.  And it's true, at least in absolute terms – and current events certainly make the U.S. appear to be the world's policemen.  But there's more to the story (with some very nice graphics)...

That Arctic Ice Shortage...

Remember all those breathless news reports just a few months ago about how the Arctic Ice levels had dropped precipitously, and Al Gore's minions were ranting about the poor polar bears?  Well, never mind...

Those Tea Parties...

Michael Barone weighs in...

Bumper Sticker of the Day...

Via my brother Mark:

Note that the license plate is from Maine – not exactly a conservative bastion...

Morning in Lawson Valley...

I walked our dogs at around 3:30 this morning, and was treated to a cool, humid air (we're expecting rain later today) that carried the scent of blooming ceanothus down the hillside to my nostrils.  Absolutely lovely, that was.  A bit of sage was in there as well.  The nearly full moon peeked between clouds; when it was out the valley was lit brightly enough to see the green of the hillsides and the pink of the peach tree flowering in our front yard.

I love chaparral mornings like this...

ClimateGate: Roundup...

The British Parliamentary Committee report on ClimateGate is out.  It's exactly the whitewash the skeptics expected...

Yale to Greens: Climate change?  Fuggetaboutit...

NASA admits that its temperature data is even worse than the rest of the IPCC data.  A real accomplishment, that...

Weather forecasters are not drinking the Kool-ade...

Esquire writes about Marc Morano and the “global warming hoax”.  Amazing to see this in the mainstream media...

Nice piece on climate modelers adjusting the data to make their models produce the “expected” result.  Scientists behaving badly, and all that...

Our Economy is Going Where?

Wonky (and scary) analysis...

British Press on Obama and Obamacare...

I'm envious of a press that writes this pungently (Nile Gardiner in the London Telegraph):

Indeed, in the last few days, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have strutted across the country with a vain swagger that would make a peacock blush, from the vice president’s classless, foul-mouthed victory boast at the White House, to the president’s contemptuous mocking of his political opponents at a rally in Iowa. Both leaders have been beaming like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, living in their own Tim Burton-like fantasy. And what have they actually achieved? The passage of a massively controversial, divisive and hugely expensive health care reform bill via a Democrat-dominated Congress in the face of overwhelming public opposition, and without a shred of bi-partisan support.

I'd probably enjoy their liberal version of this just as much.  Their press is like a nice Thai food dinner – spicy and tasty – whereas the American press is more like a bowl of cheap oatmeal that's had all the flavor cooked out of it...

California Crazy...

Just when I thought Californians couldn't possibly get any crazier...

Small Business Tools...

An interesting collection of free or cheap web-based tools for small businesses...

The Solar System Musicbox...

Very cool.  Take a few minutes to understand what this is showing you, and enjoy the celestial music as you learn...

November...

Howard Fineman – not exactly a cheerleader for the conservatives – predicts a disaster for the Democrats in November...

McCardle vs. Waxman...

Megan wins.  Hands down.

The Cheonan...

Can you say “uh oh”? 

Last week the South Korean naval vessel Cheonan exploded and sank with considerable loss of life.  After an investigation, the South Korean government is now saying they think it was a North Korean mine.  Story and analysis.

The Korean peninsula is one of the least stable and most dangerous places on earth right now.  There's the potential for a human disaster of very large proportions there, and the paths to a peaceful resolution all seem improbable...

How Government Corrupts Science...

Fascinating 10 page article from the Science & Public Policy Institute...

ClimateGate: Another Prediction Bites the Dust...

For years now, the warmenists have been predicting (and Al Gore dramatized) that the Atlantic “conveyor belt” (a current with large climate influence) would slow down.  Not so much.

Quote of the Day...

Scott Adams:

Happiness is nature's way of informing Human Resources that you're overpaid.

Islam and Terrorism...

Reader Simi L. passes along this translation of an article by German psychiatrist Dr. Emanual Tanya:

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bucch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, b=fore we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'

We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.
The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.

Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts--the fanatics who threaten our wa= of life.

Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on! Let us hope that thousands, world-wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.

Talking Private IP to Private IP...

Non-geeks: just look away.  This won't hurt you.

Very clever networking hack that allows one server on a private IP address behind a NAT to the Interenet talk to another such server behind a different NAT to the Internet – without requiring any firewall holes.  I haven't actually tried the code yet, but if you're a networking kinda person, the explanation of how it works is fascinating...

Deniers...

JoNova points us to an excellent speech by Lawrence Solomon.  Worth your time...

Fright of the Day...

Warning: once you see this, you can't unsee it...

Sounding the Alarm...

Mark Steyn on Obamacare...

Britain's National Health Service – the Obamacare Model...

Reason takes a look at what kinds of people the NHS hires to handle the medical care of its citizens.  If you've paid any attention to what's happened to America's public schools over the past thirty years or so, you won't be surprised to hear that the number one category of new jobs opened at NHS is ... bureaucrats.  Not doctors, not nurses, not lab technicians, but bureaucrats.

Exactly what's happened in our schools.

Are you pissed off yet?

Now This Takes Talent!

Imagine having the job of running a gambling monopoly.  Simple math tells you what the “house” is going to take in, and you have no competition.  How could you possibly fail to make a profit?

New York's Off-Track Betting (OTB) system managed to do just that.

This is the caliber of bureaucrat we can look forward to in our medical care system under Obamacare.  There's a good chance some of the laid-off OTB bureaucrats will end up in the medical care system, making decisions about things like whether you can have the MRI that might save your life...

Are you pissed off yet?

I, Pencil...

Leonard Reed's famous 1958 essay I, Pencil is online, so far as I'm aware for the first time.  It's a wonderful eye-opener about the complexity of modern manufacturing – and of course today manufacturing is a couple orders of magnitude more complex than when Reed wrote his essay.  It's just a few pages long; if you've never read it then you should read it now...

Jiggering the Numbers...

Here's a detailed look at exactly how the government jiggers the numbers (in this case, the retail sales numbers).  Basically they cleverly excluded a major source of bad news.  For retail store sales, they exclude any data from stores that were open last year, but aren't open this year.  But new store openings (zero sales last year, but sales this year) are positive news, so those numbers stay in.

Over the years, I've dug into government supplied data perhaps 10 times.  Each and every time the same thing happened: I discovered that the government made themselves look better by excluding the bad news.  The “pros” all know this, and it's openly discussed all the time – they just switch to some other source of data.

For example, one of the most notorious examples is the unemployment percentage (currently being reported as around 10%).  This government-supplied number leaves out all the so-called “discouraged” workers – those who have given up looking for work.  They're not unemployed?  What kind of logic is that?  When you include the “discouraged” workers, the national unemployment rate right now is around 18%...

F-35 Vertical Takeoff – With a Twist!

Courtesy of reader Simi L.:

Scene on a Saturday Morning in Lawson Valley...

me: in the kitchen, making my tea

Debbie: from 15 feet away, next to our cat tree – "Eeew!"

me: “What?”

Debbie: “Maka Lea is sitting on the cat tree, puking!” (Maka Lea is one of our cats)

me: “Nice.”

Debbie: “Never mind.”

me: “Huh?”

Debbie: “Race is cleaning it up.” (Race is our two-year old Border Collie)

Race: “Yum!!”

me: 10 minutes later, passing by the cat tree; the carpet is spotless

A Reminder...

Saxifraga oppositifolia, courtesy of the UBC Botanical Garden (click to enlarge).  If you love plants and flowers, I promise you there's no email you will look forward to as much as their daily Botany Photo of the Day.  Go sign up, it's free!

In Response to a Reader Who Wants to Remain Anonymous...

Yes, I'm pissed off.

But not at what you thought I was pissed off at. 

I'm not angry with our elected representives – for the most part (and this is true of Obama in particular) they're just doing what they said they were going to do. 

I'm angry with the fucking retarded electorate who chose these bozos that are threatening my country and my personal liberty, not to mention my health and wealth.  I'm really pissed off at them!

A New Educational System Outrage...

Many are the ways in which our miserable, correctness-besotted educational system fail our students.  Today I read about yet another one, new to me...

Microsoft Stifles a Whistleblower...

But the document they didn't want you to read can be found here...

The Consequences of Obamacare...

Basically it's going to make us into another stifling, oppressive, European-style nanny state.  And steal our money along the way, while dooming our children to a future of penury...

Obamacare has got to go, or ... we won't have a country left that's recognizable as America.  What's happened to personal liberty, self-reliance, and personal responsibility?  We might as well change our name to the “The United Wimps and Government Tit-Suckers”. Or something akin.

Are you pissed off yet, Americans (meaning those of you not already attached to the government tit)?  You damn well ought to be – because your elected representatives just fired a huge insult at you, and then spit in your face.  Next their hobnailed boots will tread on you, to destroy what tiny bit of American spirit remains...

Obamarage...

I do not approve of such actions, though I fully understand the emotions underlying them.

On a related note, I note with some encouragement that of late in metropolitan San Diego (and on the freeways), Obama stickers are far less in evidence now than they were a year ago.  Last January I noted that Obama stickers outnumbered Bush plus McCain stickers by something like four to one.  These days I think it may actually be true that Bush stickers (haven't seen a McCain sticker for a while) outnumber Obama stickers.  There are many cars showing the evidence of sloppily removed stickers.  I see many more cars with “Miss me yet?” stickers and “Don't Tread On Me” flags.  And in lunch break conversations, I haven't heard anybody who is happy with Obama for a couple of months now.

I have this fantasy that a couple of years from now we're going to look back at November 2010 as “The Great Comeuppance”.  Lordy, I hope that comes to pass...

IT Project Run Amok...

Business IT projects are notorious for being poorly managed, late, and over-budget, and for delivering something other than what was actually needed.  But if you want something done spectacularly badly – like 100 orangutans building a skyscraper – leave it to the government.

You know, those folks who will soon be running your medical care.  Doesn't that make you feel better, now?

Southwest: The Rocket Scientist of Airlines...

There's a reason (lots of them, actually) why Southwest is one of the very few profitable domestic American airlines.  Here's one of them, nicely explained.

What the Drug War is Doing To Us...

Philip Caputo (in the Atlantic) looks at The Fall of Mexico.  As you read it, consider how much of this carnage would simply disappear if drugs were legalized...

Destabilization Opportunity...

WSJ has a nice piece on what happens when North Korea (inevitably) collapses...

Not Worth the Paper It's Printed On...

A gasoline engine powered alarm clock wins Energy Star certification. Seriously.

Your tax dollars at work.  Are you pissed off yet?

Pachauri Apologizes, But Hangs In There...

Damned bureaucrat, clinging to his cushy job...

Proposed 28th Amendment?

My mom forwarded me this email she'd received:

An idea whose time has come.

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered...in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come.

Have each person contact a minimum of Twenty people on their Address list, in turn ask each of those to do likewise..

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:

"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States".

While the sentiment expressed in the actual amendment language is something that resonates with nearly anyone, the rest of the email is largely a bunch of bull.  To the best of my knowledge, this proposed 28th amendment (there are dozens of others) hasn't been formally proposed in any venue.

Personally I don't think this issue rises to the level of a Constitutional Amendment – there's only one reason why this couldn't be done as law (or even as a matter of Congressional procedure) is that our elected representatives refuse to do it.  And we have a cure for that – throw the bums out!!!

A Short Spelling Lesson...

Via my mom:

A Short Spelling Lesson:

• The last four letters in “American”: I Can
• The last four letters in “Republican”: I Can
• The last four letters in “Democrats”: Rats

End of Lesson

No need to thank me. I am just helping you expand your education!

Whither Free Speech?

Jeff Goldstein is one very edgy writer, and a strong advocate of our freedom of speech.  Amongst the many people he studied under is a creative writing professor named Brian Kiteley (at the University of Denver).  To Jeff's great surprise and dismay, Kiteley objects to his writing, and doesn't want the world to know that Jeff studied under him.

The creative writing professor apparently doesn't want it known that one of his students is, err, a creative writer.  And he wants to censor Jeff.  WTF?

Read Jeff tear him a new one...

Hansen: Data Manipulator Extraordinaire...

An excellent piece over at Watts Up With That? on how NASA's Dr. James Hansen manipulated raw data to come up with alarming-looking “data” that he uses to draw conclusions about AGW.  It's an eye-opener.  Also, don't miss the comments – some of them are as interesting (and sometimes as informative) as the post itself...

Peggy Noonan: The Heat Is On...

Peggy's worried.  I'm not interested in seeing any real violence, but I'm very encouraged to see that emotions in the electorate are running high.  I hope they remain so through November...

Mysterious Incident in Lawson Valley...

Update: False alarm:

Sheriff's investigators say a 12-year-old boy who claimed he had been kidnapped Tuesday night in Jamul fabricated the story.

The boy told deputies he made it up because he was out after dark and thought he would get in trouble, said sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Maxin.

Deputies interviewed registered sex offenders in the area after the boy told them that a tattooed man driving a offroad-type truck had pulled him into the truck and drove him for about a mile.

The boy showed deputies injuries on his left shoulder and left arm he said he got when the man grabbed him and pulled him into the truck.

Investigators determined that the boy's scratches and bruises were self inflicted.

Original Post: 

Around 8 pm on Tuesday night, according to the unamed victim (a 12 year old boy is all we know), a very strange incident occurred very close to our home.  I didn't find out about it until the first news reports yesterday.  I've still only been able to find three very similar news reports (here, here, and here) and there's very little information in them.  I've polled my neighbors, heard from more of them, and called the police and sheriff, all to no avail – nobody's saying anything.

The boy's story is strange but very detailed; I'd call it credible by not proven.  If it's true, it's the kind of crime that we don't expect to see out in this neck of the woods – partly because it's common knowledge that most of the citizenry out here is well-armed.  So anything that occurs like this sets off all sorts of alarm bells, where back in the city it might not even make the news.

If any of my readers know more, I'd really appreciate an update that I can share with the other denizens of our peaceful little valley...

CO2 Modeling...

Here's an interesting paper about CO2 modeling.  The assumption of exponential growth of CO2 in the climate models underpins the predictions of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming, so it's vital for those models to get it right.  This paper points out something very interesting: that the three commonly discussed models of CO2 in the atmosphere cannot be distinguished from the data available.  Only one of these models (the exponential growth model) has catastrophic implications.  Assuming the paper is correct, this calls into question the fundamental basis of the IPCC's predictions.

A more commonsensical calling into question is this: scientists cannot predict with any degree of success the weather even for the next 30 days.  It's not even just the detailed predictions that are wrong, it's also broad trends (for example, just last October, the British Meteorology Office was predicting a broadly warmer-than-usual winter for all of Europe.  Er...not so much; instead this winter broke all sorts of records for cold).  So if scientists can't predict the next 30 days, even in broad strokes, what on earth makes us think they can predict then next 100 years or more?

The Angry Woman...

Neo-Neocon is not happy about the healthcare bill, and lately she's on a roll with her posts.  See here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Steyn on the Decline of America...

Steyn has a fascinating essay posted at NRO, called Tattered Liberty, about the kind of decline the American voters have put us on, and why it's likely to be different than what's happened in Europe.  I'd like to see him flesh out the ideas he surfaces into a book.  Here's his conclusion:

But, as Charles Krauthammer said recently, “decline is a choice.” The Democrats are offering it to the American people, and a certain proportion of them seem minded to accept. Enough to make decline inevitable? To return to the young schoolboy on his uncle’s shoulders watching the Queen-Empress’s jubilee, in the words of Arnold Toynbee: “Civilizations die from suicide, not from murder.”

Go read the whole thing.

On The Job in Afghanistan...

Pausing for lunch at a lookout post in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, on March 8th.  Click to enlarge.

ClimateGate: Humor Department...

Watts Up With That? has two very funny articles on the latest “Global Warming Causes X” wackiness: more violence and flowers losing their scent...

What's Next?

What's next with the healthcare fiasco?  Court battles loom, many are talking of repeal, and some states are moving toward the notion of resisting implementation.  Other than the new taxes and fees, very little of the healthcare bill takes effect for the next four years.  Seems like the perfect setup for the Republicans to take advantage of, if they have the guts.

Me, I'm pinning my hopes on the sentimate that animates the Tea Parties: disgust with our entire current political class, whatever party they happen to be a member of.  The underlying thing that got us into the situation is very simple: we elected these politicians.

Now we need to unelect them (by electing different people).  And that's what the Tea Parties are all about.  If we elect Tea Party candidates, I have little doubt that the healthcare abomination will be repealed.  If we elect conventional candidates, I have little doubt that it will be expanded (it's a bureaucratic law, you know)...

Oh, Jeez...

Such depressing news to wake up to.  Somehow I don't feel much like blogging this morning...

Obama on Fox...

I haven't had time to watch these clips, but if you're interested here they are...

Uh, Oh...

Looks like another star is likely to plow through our solar system...

Ain't Life Amazing?

Under 600 feet of ice in Antarctica, researchers have found something most unexpected: life.  Not just algae and amoeba, but higher organisms like shrimp.  The first thought I had on reading this was “If here, why not Enceladus?”...

Lost and Found ... on the Moon!

Over 37 years ago, the Soviet lunar explorer Lunakhod 2 traveled more than 20 miles over the lunar surface.  It was an early and very successful example of robotic space exploration.  But with the technology of the time, nobody knew exactly where the explorer actually was on the moon – the best anyone could do was a rough guess.

Fast forward to now, with the American Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter (LRO) circling low over the moon's surface, mapping it in exquisite high resolution with imagery and radar.  Using LRO's data, researchers have found Lunakhod 2, including the tracks it made as it roved around the lunar surface...

Comment of the Day...

Reading my post from yesterday (about journalists not recoginizing the iconic photo of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima), my mom caught something I missed on the linked site – a pithy and absolutely dead-on comment:

Just show 'em a picture of Obama's ass. They will know THAT one. 

I'm certain Robin's assertion is correct, and it earns my Comment of the Day...

If You Had Any Doubt...

If you had any doubt about what motivates your Senators, this will clarify things for you.  Note that almost a third of the Republican Senators joined the majority of Democratic Senators in this vote.  I'm sure it will make you want to join me as I chant:

Rope!
Tree!
Senator!
Some assembly required...

Missing From Jamul...

Brneda Luu is the 19 year old girl at right (click to enlarge).  She's missing, last seen near Hidden Wood Road and Hidden Trail Drive (near the east side of Jamul town) about 9 am yesterday.  Brenda has the mental capacity of a small child.

If you have any information about Brenda's location, please call the Sheriff's Department: 858/565-5200.

Via SignOn San Diego...

Update: Good news!  Brenda was found yesterday morning in El Cajon, unharmed.  The news stories aren't reporting how she got from Jamul to El Cajon, or any other details, but really, who cares?  “found” and “unharmed” pretty much sum up all that matters...

You Go, Girl!

Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is starting a Tea Party group.  Woo hoo!

Is This Really a Surprise?

Do you recognize the photo at right?  Can you identify the place and (approximate) date it was taken?

Some professional journalists fail all of the above.

Call me cynical, but I'm not at all surprised...

Have the Democrats Lost the Jews?

Roger Simon speculates...

Political Cartoon of the Day...

Via my mom:

Scafetta vs. IPCC...

Dr. Nicola Scafetta is a serial IPCC-questioner.  His latest report (available here in a 10MB PDF) is another in a series of reports.  I haven't had time to read it all yet, but the first chunk I've read is fascinating.  Anthony Watts points out one particularly interesting bit...

Mammalian Regeneration in Mice...

Genetic engineering breakthrough is a first step on the way to self-regeneration of damaged organs or missing limbs.  Faster, please...

Mars Express Phobos Fly-By Photos...

Photos from the March 7 fly-by have just been released.  The first image is at right (click to enlarge).

Slaughter House Rules...

Good piece in the WSJ about Pelosi's increasingly bizarre tactics in ramming Obamacare down our throats...

Celebrating Pi Day...

Yesterday, March 14, was “pi” day.  A friend (Clay M.) and his daughter Shayla celebrated by combining a 6th grade class project with a yummy pizza.  The photo at right (by Shayla) shows their pizza cut up into slices and rearranged a bit.  As these pieces get smaller and smaller, the shape of the rearranged result gets closer and closer to a rectangle.  The dimensions of that rectangle are equal to the radius of the pizza and half the circumference of the pizza.  And since

c = 2πr, 

then

π = c/2r

and you can calculate π simply by dividing length of the long side (22”) by the length of the short side (6.5”).  The result they got (3.338...) is only about 8% off – not bad at all for a kitchen-table experiment!

Now that you've computed π from first principles, you can celebrate by eating the pizza!

I told Clay that he needs to continue his pizza experiments to see if they can refine the value of π just a bit more...

ClimateGate: Roundup...

Peter Berkowitz links ClimateGate with the decline of our institutions of higher education.  Scary stuff.

The Institute of Physics defends its critique of the ClimateGate scientists.

A nice independent analysis of the temperature data from the world's second oldest continuously operating weather station.  No warming is evident.

The sun keeps surprising us, which just shows us how little we understand our main source of energy (and it has a huge effect on our climate).  Interesting new observations, a theory, and several mysteries...

Back To Work...

If you're over a certain age (about 40, I'd guess), you're gonna laugh your butt off when you watch this.  If you're younger, you're just going to go “Huh?”...

The Top 10 U.N. Slogans...

Excellent!  This graphic explores entirely new territory for me: UN Humor...

Consumer Credit Levels WAY Down...

The graph at right (click to enlarge) shows the change in consumer credit levels over the past 60 years.  Basically you see a variable, but always increasing, amount of credit per consumer – until this recession, when (for the first time since this was measured) credit levels are actually falling.

At first blush you might think that this is because consumers are saving more and borrowing less, but unfortunately this is not the case.  In fact, the entire decline is due to consumers walking away from their debt, both mortgages and credit cards.  This recession is the first time consumers have ever done that.

There's a message in that statistic.  I'm not entirely sure what that message is, but I'm pretty darned sure it ain't good.  The bottom line is that an interesting percentage of consumers no longer believe that they have a personal obligation to repay debt that they've incurred – and that there are no personal consequences of import when they do.  Lenders will have trouble making a profit in such an environment, which means credit will get tighter, which means that major purchases like homes, cars, etc. will be down.  Not good...

Via TigerHawk (and other analysis at several other sites).

Obama Akbar!

Michael Ramirez comments (in his graphical way) on what the ramming of Obamacare is doing to the Democratic Party...