The Royal Society of Chemistry piles on...
Phil Jones is on the hot seat...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Last Four Minutes of Flight 447...
This is the Air France flight that crashed off the coast of Brazil. Interesting, but scary...
As the Ship Turns...
Pictured at right is CVN 77 (the USS George H. W. Bush) in a hard turn to port (left). It nicely illustrates a phenomenon that catches a lot of first-time sailors on large naval ships by surprise: the ship leans “the wrong way” in a hard turn.Actually, it's more complicated than that. A large ship's motion in a turn varies as the turn progresses. For example, suppose a ship is travelling at high speed in a straight line and then initiates a hard port turn by traversing the rudders to port. Initially the rudders engaging with the moving water will force the bottom of the ship to starboard (right), and the top swings to port (left), as most people expect on a port turn. However, as the ship itself swings around to port, the moving water acts with even more force against the hull – overpowering the rudder's sideways thrust and forcing the bottom of the hull to port, and the top of the ship to starboard.
I still remember the strangeness of these motions during hard turn exercises on the USS Long Beach when I was aboard in the '70s. Things got even more squirrely in high winds and heavy seas as both of those phenomena contributed their own force vectors that caused yet other, even stranger motions...
Why'd They Do That?
Interesting theory about why Iran recently moved their stocks of enriched uranium from deep, protected underground storage to an open, above-ground area...
Why McDonald v. Chicago Matters...
McDonald v. Chicago matters a lot, if you care about your right to bear arms...
Baby Girl Survives a Bullet Wound for Three Days...
Two parents in Argentina, apparently distressed about global warming, decided to kill their two children and themselves. They shot their children, then themselves, killing all but their seven month old baby girl. She survived for three days on her own until found by paramedics; now she's in the hospital.
If this poor little thing survives, she's going to grow up with quite a burden...
If this poor little thing survives, she's going to grow up with quite a burden...
Mickey Kaus for Senator?
Mickey Kaus is one of the amazingly few liberal bloggers whose posts I can read without retching. The man thinks hard, applies lessons from the past, and really seems to “get” the political process. I've quote him more than a few times on this blog, either because of an interesting insight, or because he eloquently defended a position one normally thinks of as not liberal.
This morning I read that he's taking out papers to run against Barbara Boxer. If I had to choose between the two, Mickey is a no-brainer choice (actually, Boxer is the “no brainer”, but you know what I mean).
Our November elections just got more interesting for Californians...
This morning I read that he's taking out papers to run against Barbara Boxer. If I had to choose between the two, Mickey is a no-brainer choice (actually, Boxer is the “no brainer”, but you know what I mean).
Our November elections just got more interesting for Californians...
Monday, March 1, 2010
What is it About a Shower?
For years now, I've noticed a pattern when I'm working on tough engineering problems: I'll work on it for some time (usually several hours) without finding an answer. Then I'll go to sleep, wake, take a shower – and in the shower the answer will suddenly come to me, often without consciously thinking about the problem at all.
I'm not the only one who finds showers are a good place to solve problems, so you can't pin this on my (uncontested) oddness...
It happened to me again this morning. Each time it happens, it feels quite odd, as though the answer just came to me out of the blue. I'm guessing that what's really happening is that my brain is working on the problem somehow in the background while I'm sleeping, and then in the shower (which serves to wake me up each morning) the answer my sleeping brain came up with bubbles up to consciousness. But that's just a guess...
These small, ultra low power computers we carry around between our ears are pretty amazing things...
I'm not the only one who finds showers are a good place to solve problems, so you can't pin this on my (uncontested) oddness...
It happened to me again this morning. Each time it happens, it feels quite odd, as though the answer just came to me out of the blue. I'm guessing that what's really happening is that my brain is working on the problem somehow in the background while I'm sleeping, and then in the shower (which serves to wake me up each morning) the answer my sleeping brain came up with bubbles up to consciousness. But that's just a guess...
These small, ultra low power computers we carry around between our ears are pretty amazing things...
Promised Land...
Via my mom:
Over five thousand years ago, Moses said to the children of Israel “Pick up your shovel, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the promised land.”
Nearly 75 years ago, Roosevelt said, “Lay down your shovels, sit on your asses, and light up a Camel, this is the promised land.”
Now Obama has stolen your shovel, taxed your asses, raised the price of Camels, and mortgaged the promised land!
I was so depressed last night thinking about Health Care Plans, the economy, the wars, lost jobs, savings, Social Security, Retirement funds, etc...
I called Lifeline, the suicide help line. Got a freakin' call center in Pakistan. I told them I was suicidal.
They all got excited and asked if I could drive a truck...
Healthcare Lessons...
Here's a depressing look at what's happened in Massachusetts since they implemented a healthcare program quite similar to ObamaCare...
Solar Power Breakthrough...
CalTech is reporting development of a new solar power material with 86% conversion efficiency (versus the 15% to 20% of conventional monocrystalline solar cells). Further, they report that it should be subtantially cheaper to make. If that all pans out when the material moves to production, that should mean kilowatt per square meter solar panels (1/5 the size of today's panels for a given amount of power). Even at today's prices, that would mean 20 cents or less per watt – and maybe even less, if the developers are correct about the production costs.
But the energy storage problem is still there, with no breakthroughs in sight...
But the energy storage problem is still there, with no breakthroughs in sight...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
ClimateGate: Roundup...
Still cooking right along...
The IPCC cries “uncle” – they're looking for independent review of their reporting methods. A definite flying pig moment...
Al Gore isn't sounding quite as strident these days – and the formidable Ann Althouse takes him to task...
David Archibald on the linkage between stellar (as in our sun) output and climate.
Dr. Roy Spencer on the spurious warming to be found in surface temperature data.
The IPCC cries “uncle” – they're looking for independent review of their reporting methods. A definite flying pig moment...
Al Gore isn't sounding quite as strident these days – and the formidable Ann Althouse takes him to task...
David Archibald on the linkage between stellar (as in our sun) output and climate.
Dr. Roy Spencer on the spurious warming to be found in surface temperature data.
Thunder and Lightning and Rainbows and Rain – Oh My!
Yesterday was a day of intermittent heavy showers, interspersed with anything between bright sunshine and gloomy drizzle. For the day as a whole we collected 2.15 inches (about 54 mm) of rain, bringing the total for February to 5.55 inches (about 140 mm).
Toward the end of the storm last night, we had a couple of bright flashes of lightning to our north, and some lovely and dramatic rolling thunder of the sort rarely heard in these parts – scared the hell out of Lea, our female field spaniel. During the day we had one spectacular rainbow, stretching perfectly across the mountains forming the north and east rim of Lawson Valley.
We drove out the valley late in the day to pick up Debbie's car at Rancho Jamul Auto (our auto care heroes!). The creeks were swollen to a level higher than we've seen in quite a few years. The soils all over the valley must be completely saturated, because it appears that all of the water from this storm is running off...
Toward the end of the storm last night, we had a couple of bright flashes of lightning to our north, and some lovely and dramatic rolling thunder of the sort rarely heard in these parts – scared the hell out of Lea, our female field spaniel. During the day we had one spectacular rainbow, stretching perfectly across the mountains forming the north and east rim of Lawson Valley.
We drove out the valley late in the day to pick up Debbie's car at Rancho Jamul Auto (our auto care heroes!). The creeks were swollen to a level higher than we've seen in quite a few years. The soils all over the valley must be completely saturated, because it appears that all of the water from this storm is running off...
Saturday, February 27, 2010
ClimateGate: Roundup...
The hits just keep on coming...A new report from an actual scientist says: oops, those temperature data really were affected by the urban heat island effect and poor sensor siting. Well, duh!
Pajamas Media puts together a hockey stick graph of their own (at right, as well). Quite funny if you've been following AGW for a while...
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC chief, is going to be investigated for his culpability in the now-discredited series of error-filled IPCC reports that the U.N. and national governments depended upon for the formulation of climate policy.
Three submissions to the U.K. Parliamentary committee investigating ClimateGate – from Steve McIntyre, the Institute of Physics, and the ICO. All very interesting. It's hard to overstate Steve McIntyre's contributions to AGW skepticism – and impossible not to admire his civility, sobriety, and honesty. “Professional” climatology could do a lot worse than Steve McIntyre for a role model. Oh, that's right, they already did that...
Political tricks in the U.K., unveiled...
Quote of the Day...
From Mark Steyn:
Think of Greece as California: Every year an irresponsible and corrupt bureaucracy awards itself higher pay and better benefits paid for by an ever-shrinking wealth-generating class.Don't miss the whole thing...
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