Sunday, November 13, 2011
CO2 - Where Does It Come From?
A nice piece that clearly articulates one of the key questions raised by skeptics of anthropogenic global warming: if CO2 produced by human activities is a tiny amount compared to the CO2 produced by Mother Nature, then how can it be the cause of global warming?
Lost Faith...
Thomas L. Day has lost his faith in the leadership of his parents' generation. An excerpt:
Read the whole thing.Our parents’ generation has balked at the tough decisions required to preserve our country’s sacred entitlements, leaving us to clean up the mess. They let the infrastructure built with their fathers’ hands crumble like a stale cookie. They downgraded our nation’s credit rating. They seem content to hand us a debt exceeding the size of our entire economy, rather than brave a fight against the fortunate and entrenched interests on K Street and Wall Street.
On Heretic Scientists...
An interesting piece on two facts seemingly at odds:
- About 90% of all scientists who make breakthrough discoveries are heretics, in the sense that they held unorthodox views widely rejected by their contemporaries.
- About 90% of all scientists who are heretics (in the sense described above) are whacked out loonies – only about 10% of them actually make real breakthrough discoveries.
Newt Wipes the Floor...
...with the debate moderator. He certainly doesn't sound like your average politician – the guy has knowledge and IQ, and can use it even in hostile circumstances...
An Inch and a Half...
The early wetness has some of our plants changing their usual timing. We have bulbs popping up all over the place, and the grass is growing strongly – we're going to have an unusually long growing season this year, assuming we get our usual rainy season. Our aleppo pines are normally looking a little sad (dry) this time of year; now they're fully greened up and their sap is flowing. Take that, bark beetles! Our eucalyptus trees are putting out new growth. The ground is soft down to at least three feet, and the gophers are tunneling like crazy (good for some plants, bad for others). The manzanitas that happen to be full of berries right now have big, juicy berries. And the moss on the rocks is bright green.
I wouldn't mind a bit more of this. An inch or so every couple weeks would be quite nice!
Three Years Old...
This video is over three years old, and I just now discovered that it existed. I have no idea who created it – probably another ServiceNow employee, though it certainly could have been a customer. In any case, it's a great humorous look at ServiceNow's product vs. its competitors. I've heard many comments from our customers that reflect the comparisons in this video. Note that being three years old, the video has our old logo, company name spelling, and artwork...
Beerology...
I can't stand beer myself (I'm more of a Cabernet kinda guy), but that didn't keep me from enjoying this beer wisdom, forwarded by reader Jim M.:
Sometimes when I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, "It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."Babe Ruth~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day."Lyndon B. Johnson~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."Paul Horning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not."H. L. Mencken~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"When we drink, we get drunk.. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!"George Bernard Shaw~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."Benjamin Franklin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."Dave Barry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Beer: Helping ugly people have sex since 3000 B.C.!W. C. Fields~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Remember "I" before "E," except in Budweiser.Professor Irwin Corey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group - Salvation in a can!Leo Durocher~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~One night at Cheers, Cliff Clavin explained the" Buffalo Theory" to his buddy Norm:"Well, ya see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.
In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine!That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Airport Fail...
At Dulles in Washington D.C., this past Tuesday morning, on the departures monitors all over the terminal:
This is What I Need...
...the next time there's a major fire around here. Having one of these looking around would give us solid information, whereas current reporting systems produce a chaotic blend of stale and erroneous crapola (that's a technical term)...
Friday, November 11, 2011
A Veterans Day for Me to Remember...
For years now, basically since 9/11, I've gone out of my way to honor the men and women who serve in our armed forces. It's become second nature for me, most especially when I'm traveling. Just this past week, for instance, I connected through Charlotte, North Carolina – and while in the airport I struck up a conversation with a young man in Army uniform. Turns out he was headed to a school, and then back to the Middle East. I invited him to join me for a Starbucks coffee and a little food, and found a good opportunity to say “thanks” in a heartfelt way.
One of the reasons I do this is my own experiences while in the Navy in the '70s; I've blogged about these before. Suffice it to say that while I was in uniform, I never had the experience of a friendly stranger buying me coffee and saying “thanks” in a way I'd believe sincere. Quite the opposite. But I've often wished I'd had that experience.
I'm no longer in uniform; I've been out of the Navy for more than 30 years. But today – for the first time ever – I had an experience something close to this. A colleague of mine (whose name I don't have permission to use, and therefore won't) sent an email to myself and another mutual colleague, whom I'll call “J.” (since I don't have permission to use his name, either). With minor edits to maintain anonymity, here's the email:
Just to be clear: I'm a Vietnam-era vet; I wasn't actually in-country in Nam. Nor was I directly in combat. I was a sailor on a ship that supported combat air operations in Nam. I fixed computers (the mainframes of the day). I was a warrior only in some metaphorical sense. But I was a member of our armed forces, and served for six years. And now someone has said “Thanks, Tom”...
One of the reasons I do this is my own experiences while in the Navy in the '70s; I've blogged about these before. Suffice it to say that while I was in uniform, I never had the experience of a friendly stranger buying me coffee and saying “thanks” in a way I'd believe sincere. Quite the opposite. But I've often wished I'd had that experience.
I'm no longer in uniform; I've been out of the Navy for more than 30 years. But today – for the first time ever – I had an experience something close to this. A colleague of mine (whose name I don't have permission to use, and therefore won't) sent an email to myself and another mutual colleague, whom I'll call “J.” (since I don't have permission to use his name, either). With minor edits to maintain anonymity, here's the email:
J. and Tom,To say I was stunned would be a significant understatement. All these years later, someone said “thanks!” to me. It's some hours later as I write this, and I'm still shaken by the experience. I guess I never expected anyone to just say “thanks” to me...
Just a moment to say thanks to the only two Vietnam War vets that I really know (I think).
We are living at a time of war, the first one that I have first hand witness to in a way that I can understand. I see how the vets are revered and how their work and service is honored. I see the concern and care for the invisible wounds warriors come home with.
My memories of the Vietnam War are vague, I was young. What I know, though, is that what I see now is very different than what I remember seeing, however vaguely, back then. The people that cheered for soldiers; the people that welcomed them home; the people that cared about the invisible wounds were very few and far between and didn't have anywhere near the voice that people that opposed the war did.
But they were there. And my dad was (is) one of them. I learned from him the importance of the work of all who served and the depth of their sacrifices. I learned from him to cheer loudly when vets passed by on Veterans Day. I learned from him to look for and reach out to those who served. I learned from him to have respect.
As time has passed, our country has come to rethink and regret the collective attitude towards Vietnam Vets, though I am afraid for many vets, this was too little too late. But I do believe that it is the lessons learned in that attempt to reconcile that has given way to much of the honor our current warriors are extended. And for that, we all owe Vietnam Vets a certain and very sincere debt of gratitude.
If my dad had met either of you back then, he would have shook your hand. He would have cheered loudly as you passed by. He would have honored your service. He would have offered you a cup of coffee. He wasn't with you then, but I am here now. And in honor of today as Veteran's day, in honor of the lessons learned from my dad, and in honor of your service to your country - I would very much like to buy you a cup of coffee!
Some things can't be undone. Some things can't be forgotten. But it's my sincerest hope that it is never too late to say thank you.
Thank you so much, for your service. And thank you for what your collective experiences have brought to my life and my career all these years later.
Just to be clear: I'm a Vietnam-era vet; I wasn't actually in-country in Nam. Nor was I directly in combat. I was a sailor on a ship that supported combat air operations in Nam. I fixed computers (the mainframes of the day). I was a warrior only in some metaphorical sense. But I was a member of our armed forces, and served for six years. And now someone has said “Thanks, Tom”...
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