Tuesday, April 13, 2010
ClimateGate: Roundup...
Steve McIntyre shows how the IPCC simply ignored well-founded criticism of a statement that followed their preferred narrative...
Willis Eschenbach ponders the presentation of temperature data and its effect on our perceptions of climate change. Very interesting...
The IPCC's new math, wherein non-existent trends (supporting their narrative, of course) are invented...
Willis Eschenbach ponders the presentation of temperature data and its effect on our perceptions of climate change. Very interesting...
The IPCC's new math, wherein non-existent trends (supporting their narrative, of course) are invented...
Monday, April 12, 2010
M66...
I can never decide whether Hubble's more important contribution is its excellent science data production, or its revelations of the beauty of the cosmos...
I Envy This Man...
Felix Baumgartner is going to jump from 120,000', and will likely go supersonic.
Tales From the Front Yard...
This is the old-age, out-of-condition edition. Debbie and I spent half the day yesterday working on our front yard. We're cleaning up a small section (about 300 square feet) and planting it.
Our first step is to rip out some old flagstones, perhaps 30 of them. Some of the flagstones are fairly large, up to 8 or 9 square feet. All of them had been set in a thin layer of poor concrete, about one inch thick. The largest ones approached 200 pounds; I could just barely lift them up to put them on a little two-wheeled truck.
After three hours of flagstone-lifting, we were beat – especially me. This is the first hard physical work I've done this year, and my lack of condition really showed. We have a nice pile of flagstones now, sitting up against a post – but we're only about half finished! We spent another hour hoeing some weeds and grass off an embankment under a liquid amber tree, and laying down some pine-bark mulch. Should make the tree happy!
By the time I got back into the house last night, I was sunburned and my muscles felt like quivering jello. Everything hurt. A nice warm shower felt oh-so-good. When I got out of the shower, the smell of grilling steaks filled the air – Debbie was outside on the grill with two huge slabs of beef, and some potatoes were in the oven. Sure tasted good after all that hard work!
This morning I don't feel quite so bad. I think there are three, maybe four fingers that are pain-free. One earlobe, too. Everything else still hurts...
Our first step is to rip out some old flagstones, perhaps 30 of them. Some of the flagstones are fairly large, up to 8 or 9 square feet. All of them had been set in a thin layer of poor concrete, about one inch thick. The largest ones approached 200 pounds; I could just barely lift them up to put them on a little two-wheeled truck.
After three hours of flagstone-lifting, we were beat – especially me. This is the first hard physical work I've done this year, and my lack of condition really showed. We have a nice pile of flagstones now, sitting up against a post – but we're only about half finished! We spent another hour hoeing some weeds and grass off an embankment under a liquid amber tree, and laying down some pine-bark mulch. Should make the tree happy!
By the time I got back into the house last night, I was sunburned and my muscles felt like quivering jello. Everything hurt. A nice warm shower felt oh-so-good. When I got out of the shower, the smell of grilling steaks filled the air – Debbie was outside on the grill with two huge slabs of beef, and some potatoes were in the oven. Sure tasted good after all that hard work!
This morning I don't feel quite so bad. I think there are three, maybe four fingers that are pain-free. One earlobe, too. Everything else still hurts...
Warm Feet...
I have a condition that causes my extremities to feel much colder than conditions would warrant. I'm not sure what triggers this, but occasionally it can be quite uncomfortable, especially for my feet. Last night after I went to bed was one of those uncomfortable times, and I jokingly said to Debbie that I needed a hot water bottle. We both remember these from our childhood, though I haven't seen one in a good many years.
A few minutes later, Debbie appeared, laughing, with a towel that she stuck under my feet. It was warm, and it felt absolutely heavenly on my feet. But it wasn't actually just a towel, it was a SnuggleSafe pet warmer – for several years now she's been warming up a few of these every night for our outside cats. You nuke them in the microwave for a few minutes, and they stay warm all night.
Well, I can now attest to their effectiveness as a foot-warmer! I think the manufacturer is missing a huge market opportunity &dnash; these things beat the pants off a hot water bottle because they stay warm so long.
If you're wondering how they work, they're filled with fairly exotic stuff called a “phase change material” – far more effective than water at storing heat. The one that Debbie heated up for me last night was still warm when we got up this morning...
A few minutes later, Debbie appeared, laughing, with a towel that she stuck under my feet. It was warm, and it felt absolutely heavenly on my feet. But it wasn't actually just a towel, it was a SnuggleSafe pet warmer – for several years now she's been warming up a few of these every night for our outside cats. You nuke them in the microwave for a few minutes, and they stay warm all night.
Well, I can now attest to their effectiveness as a foot-warmer! I think the manufacturer is missing a huge market opportunity &dnash; these things beat the pants off a hot water bottle because they stay warm so long.
If you're wondering how they work, they're filled with fairly exotic stuff called a “phase change material” – far more effective than water at storing heat. The one that Debbie heated up for me last night was still warm when we got up this morning...
Miki's Peculiar Ability...
Miki (at right) is our youngest field spaniel, who's about four years old now. He's a little short for a field spaniel, with a very sturdy appearance. He has one ability that surprises everyone who takes his leash to walk him: he can pull with a force all out of proportion to his size.I don't own a linear scale, so I can't measure it with precision – but I'm reasonably good at estimating weight. My best guess is that he can pull with 75 to 80 pounds of force – not bad for a dog that weighs 40 pounds!
But there's more to his ability than just his pulling force: he can sustain that force over a long period with remarkable steadiness. Once he's decided he wants to head in some direction, it is for all the world like a small tractor is pulling you along, slowly and steadily, in low gear.
On this morning's walk, I had a demonstration of exactly this. Our nocturnal visitor had returned, and all three field spaniels were heading in exactly the same direction. I had Lea and Moi's leashes in my left hand, and together they pulled with perhaps 50 pounds of force, intermittently. Miki's leash was in my right hand, and he was pulling steadily with about 75 pounds of force – no perceptible variation at all. Between the three of them I had quite a job staying on my feet!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Multi-Culti Madness...
One doesn't know quite what to say. Except “If you live in England, leave while you still can!”
Crockford on JavaScript...
Transcripts and videos of Douglas Crockford's lecture series on JavaScript. I haven't read or watched them yet, but hey, it's Crockford – you know it's going to be good...
Stupid Crook Ponder...
Watching the video below, my first reaction was to laugh at the nearly implausible incompetence of the burglar. But then the ponder started... When this idiot is in jail, my tax dollars are paying for his care. When he's out of jail, chances are he's on welfare of several varieties – and my tax dollars are once again paying for his care. Plus I'm paying for the cops to catch him (though clearly that isn't particularly difficult in his case) and the prosecutors, defense attorney, and courts to try him.
Hmmm... That whole “transport to Australia” thing starts to sound more reasonable. We just need to substitute something for Australia to bring the plan up to date. Perhaps Johnson Atoll? Yeah, that's the ticket!
Hmmm... That whole “transport to Australia” thing starts to sound more reasonable. We just need to substitute something for Australia to bring the plan up to date. Perhaps Johnson Atoll? Yeah, that's the ticket!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
A Letter to the President...
Dear President Obama,Mr. Estes, you just made my day. Here's hoping that you win that final battle. I'm doing what I can to help, and so are many other Americans...
My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.
I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos'n Mate. Now I live in a "rest home" located on the western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.
One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man.
So here goes.
I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.
I can't figure out what country you are the president of. You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like: "We're no longer a Christian nation" "America is arrogant" - (Your wife even announced to the world, "America is mean-spirited." Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a
whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)
I'd say shame on the both of you, but I don't think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.
After 9/11 you said, "America hasn't lived up to her ideals."
Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.
I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.
Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.
Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.
And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight? You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.
One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of.
You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president. You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now. And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle...
Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes
Here's another letter to the President from last summer.
One Problem with the Voters...
I'm far from expert on economics, or on government spending, but even my basic level of understanding lets me observe that the vast majority of voters are woefully ill-equipped to understand how taxation and government spending are inter-related. Sure, they understand the simple precept that nobody – not even the government – can forever spend more than they take in. But when the discussion wanders around to cutting programs (especially entitlements) versus raising taxes, flights of sheer fantasy are more the norm than sober analysis.
I've long noted that a very high percentage of voters (including the majority of those who could be characterized as conservative, or fiscally-conservative liberals) instinctively believe that there's always another source of tax revenues to tap (generally it's some group of evil, money-grubbing people who are somehow escaping the tax man). The most recent example of this was in the healthcare bill, which establishes new taxes and cost controls on the medical insurance industry. These were clearly motivated by the desire to curb excesses there – but equally clearly (and unarguably) there have been no such excesses – the profit margin of medical insurance companies is quite low by comparison to other industries.
Where does this belief in magic come from? Megan McCardle takes a look at a recent poll and attempts to find some answers...
I've long noted that a very high percentage of voters (including the majority of those who could be characterized as conservative, or fiscally-conservative liberals) instinctively believe that there's always another source of tax revenues to tap (generally it's some group of evil, money-grubbing people who are somehow escaping the tax man). The most recent example of this was in the healthcare bill, which establishes new taxes and cost controls on the medical insurance industry. These were clearly motivated by the desire to curb excesses there – but equally clearly (and unarguably) there have been no such excesses – the profit margin of medical insurance companies is quite low by comparison to other industries.
Where does this belief in magic come from? Megan McCardle takes a look at a recent poll and attempts to find some answers...
The Ghost of Economies Yet to Come?
A detailed look at how the fraction of U.S. government spending that is entitlement (rather than discretionary) has grown – followed by a close look at some of the consequences of this. These two make for depressing, but important reading. Then add to this picture the inevitable demographic changes we're heading for (especially the growing fraction of our population over 65).
My conclusion: nothing but radical economic reform at the federal level can solve this problem. The key two elements of such reform: (1) a simple, minimally-progressive income tax (tiny Estonia provides an excellent example), and (2) the outright elimination of most entitlement programs (yes, I really do mean to include Medicare and Social Security in that – what good are entitlements that can't possibly be funded?).
This amounts to my advocating for increased self-reliance – an almost-forgotten American tradition. As one of the articles point out, this gets very hard to accomplish in a democracy if those on the government teat are in the majority.
That last observation has led to my continuing interest in this. I'm not quite ready for it yet ... but I'm also not ready to rule it out.
My conclusion: nothing but radical economic reform at the federal level can solve this problem. The key two elements of such reform: (1) a simple, minimally-progressive income tax (tiny Estonia provides an excellent example), and (2) the outright elimination of most entitlement programs (yes, I really do mean to include Medicare and Social Security in that – what good are entitlements that can't possibly be funded?).
This amounts to my advocating for increased self-reliance – an almost-forgotten American tradition. As one of the articles point out, this gets very hard to accomplish in a democracy if those on the government teat are in the majority.
That last observation has led to my continuing interest in this. I'm not quite ready for it yet ... but I'm also not ready to rule it out.
ClimateGate: Roundup...
Another climate scientist voices some skepticism, with the commonsensical observation that large temperature swings greatly predate the dawn of human civilization. I guess SUVs didn't cause the medieval warming period after all...
Steve McIntyre follows the trail of evidentiary suppression (and some internal dissent on that) within the IPCC group with respect to the Holocene Optimum (aka Holocene Thermal Maximum). This is another warm period very much like the medieval warm period (MWP) that's much discussed in climate science literature. Most of the scientists involved in this internal discussion come off as petty and driven by their agenda; the few exceptions who seem to be driven by the truth stand out...
Steve McIntyre follows the trail of evidentiary suppression (and some internal dissent on that) within the IPCC group with respect to the Holocene Optimum (aka Holocene Thermal Maximum). This is another warm period very much like the medieval warm period (MWP) that's much discussed in climate science literature. Most of the scientists involved in this internal discussion come off as petty and driven by their agenda; the few exceptions who seem to be driven by the truth stand out...
Steyn on Taxes...
With his usual wit and insight, Mark Steyn takes a look at the structural disaster looming in the U.S. income tax system...
Friday, April 9, 2010
It Comes To This...
If you're a libertarian or conservative in California, you can't help but feel like you're living in a loony bin. Sometimes reality here is stranger than fiction, as in this case: there's a Democrat running for the Senate who in many ways seems more attractive (to libertarians and conservatives) than any of the Republicans in the race. This state's political class is so dominated by brain-dead “progressive” Democrats that this seems exceedingly unlikely.
Yet it is so.
Yet it is so.
$200 Million per Arrest...
Seems a little expensive, doesn't it? This is what happens when political theater becomes more important than, like, actual results.
We should be spending this money on intelligence and emergency response services, not easily-sidestepped “security” measures...
We should be spending this money on intelligence and emergency response services, not easily-sidestepped “security” measures...
A Chaparral Morning...
Last night I enjoyed a nice glass of wine – a Spanish wine, new to me, that was a gift from a friend and colleague. It was delicious, and put me right to sleep. I slept well, but woke early, and I was out walking our dogs by 3 am. The moon was still well below the horizon, and the sky was very dark. As my eyes accommodated, familiar constellations popped into view. In a few minutes, the Milky Way swam into view – at first a faint swath from north overhead to the east, but soon a bright feature full of texture and even color. The clear high-desert sky was on full display.
At the same time, the morning's cool air sinking down the hillside above me wafted the chaparral scents – sage, ceanothus, mountain mahogany, and others. It was very quiet; still too early for the birds to be awake, and no coyotes were howling. Our dogs (well, the three field spaniels, anyway) smelled something else. They were completely focused on analyzing the path that this unknown animal had taken through our yard. Prime possibilities: bobcat, coyote, mountain lion, or fox. I'm sure they knew which it was, but I didn't. Meanwhile our one border collie completely ignored all the smells and sights, and simply did his two favorite things: ran around the yard at near-supersonic speeds, and brought me pine cones and sticks to throw for him to retrieve. The behavior of the field spaniels and the border collie is so different that one could be excused for thinking they were separate species.
I love these chaparral mornings...
At the same time, the morning's cool air sinking down the hillside above me wafted the chaparral scents – sage, ceanothus, mountain mahogany, and others. It was very quiet; still too early for the birds to be awake, and no coyotes were howling. Our dogs (well, the three field spaniels, anyway) smelled something else. They were completely focused on analyzing the path that this unknown animal had taken through our yard. Prime possibilities: bobcat, coyote, mountain lion, or fox. I'm sure they knew which it was, but I didn't. Meanwhile our one border collie completely ignored all the smells and sights, and simply did his two favorite things: ran around the yard at near-supersonic speeds, and brought me pine cones and sticks to throw for him to retrieve. The behavior of the field spaniels and the border collie is so different that one could be excused for thinking they were separate species.
I love these chaparral mornings...
This Is A Problem...
Last night as I drove home, I got to pondering the high taxes that loom in our near future. As many others have noted, the younger a person is, the more they are screwed by these impending taxes. I probably won't be in the workforce for more than another ten years or so – but someone who is (say) 30 years old today will likely be in the workforce for forty years, and maybe more. For four decades they will watch 40% or more (I'm guessing) of their paycheck disappear into the maw of Big Government – and reappear in the hands of those content to mooch from the public teat.
Doesn't sound like a great motivator to me. Here's an easy prediction: the more we move in that direction, the more of our young citizens will decide that mooching is better than the alternative.
Are you pissed off yet?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
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...
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...
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
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...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Sonar Has Come a Long, Long Way...
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...
Monday, April 5, 2010
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...
Check back with the USGS site for updates...
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Rocking and Rolling...
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...
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!
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?
Saturday, April 3, 2010
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...
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...
Or induce spasms of laughter. Or incline you to reverence of Iowahawk's satiric genius. Or something...
Navy vs. Pirates...
May it ever be so (and more like this, please)...
Friday, April 2, 2010
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...
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...
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...
Thursday, April 1, 2010
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...
Bumper Sticker of the Day...
Via my brother Mark:
Note that the license plate is from Maine – not exactly a conservative bastion...
Note that the license plate is from Maine – not exactly a conservative bastion...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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.
Monday, March 29, 2010
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...
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...
Sunday, March 28, 2010
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?
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?
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%...
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%...
Saturday, March 27, 2010
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
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...
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!
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...
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...
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?
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?
Your tax dollars at work. Are you pissed off yet?
Proposed 28th Amendment?
My mom forwarded me this email she'd received:
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!!!
An idea whose time has come.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.
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".
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:
End of Lesson
- The last four letters in “American”: I Can
- The last four letters in “Republican”: I Can
- The last four letters in “Democrats”: Rats
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...
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...
Friday, March 26, 2010
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...
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