Saturday, June 28, 2014
It's o'dark thirty on Saturday morning...
It's o'dark thirty on Saturday morning... Our FJ Cruiser is loaded and ready, as is the trailer attached to its rear. We're off for Utah today!
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Be careful around nurses...
Be careful around nurses... Via my CCPOAA mom:
A policeman was rushed to the hospital with an inflamed appendix. After his operation the doctors advised him that all was well. However, the patrolman kept feeling something pulling at the hairs in his crotch.Ouch!
Worried that it might be another surgery needed that the doctors hadn't told him about yet, he finally got enough energy to pull his hospital gown up sufficiently, that he could look at what was making him so uncomfortable. Taped firmly across his pubic hair and private parts were three wide strips of adhesive tape, the kind that doesn't come off easily – if at all!
Written on the tape in large black letters was the sentence, "Get well soon, from the nurse in the Ford Explorer you pulled over last week and gave a ticket to!"
Congress to sue Obama for executive branch overreach?
Congress to sue Obama for executive branch overreach? Boehner announced his intent to pursue this yesterday. I have some insta-reactions:
- Well, it's about frickin' time! What the heck took you so long, beltway-breath?
- Boehner did this? There must be some reason, other than the obvious...
- Jonathan Turley thinks the suit may prevail, causing progressive heads to explode. More popcorn, please!
- Why didn't Pelosi do this with George W. Bush, who was nearly as bad as Obama in this regard?
- The safe bet would be that this is pure political posturing, and Boehner has no intent to see the lawsuit actually make it through the courts until a judgment is reached. I feel so (justifiably) cynical saying this, but I will be completely unsurprised when some reason to drop the suit magically arises...
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Adjusted temperature data...
Adjusted temperature data... Warren Meyer (aka “Coyote”) has a balanced recap of the adjusted temperature data used by the NOAA that forms the basis of many “hockey stick” like graphs.
Learning about this adjusted data was the first thing I ran into, five years ago or so, that set off all my bullshit detectors regarding anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Specifically, it was the combination of the fact that the reported global warming was nearly identical to the adjustments made in the temperature data, and that the adjustments were never explained, justified, or even revealed. That was just way too convenient for the AGW proponents – much like the oh-so-convenient “hard drive failures” that wiped out the emails of seven IRS employees. Just those seven – and just for the time period the investigators need the emails. Yeah, right. I felt (and still feel) the same way about those opaque temperature adjustments.
The second thing that I ran into – which amplified my already turned up bullshit detectors – was my discovery that every single model used by both the NOAA and the IPCC used positive feedback loop assumptions for carbon dioxide's effects on global warming. As Warren Myer has pointed out many times, positive feedback loops are exceedingly rare in natural systems – so much so that when someone claims to have discovered one, the universal assumption amongst scientists is that there's an error in the observations, and everybody piles on to figure out what it is. Nearly all feedback loops in nature are strongly negative. What does that mean? It means that as carbon dioxide levels go up, it is much more likely that its effect on global temperatures will decrease (that is, the CO2 sensitivity will decrease). The models all assume that CO2 sensitivity will increase as levels go up.
Learning about this adjusted data was the first thing I ran into, five years ago or so, that set off all my bullshit detectors regarding anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Specifically, it was the combination of the fact that the reported global warming was nearly identical to the adjustments made in the temperature data, and that the adjustments were never explained, justified, or even revealed. That was just way too convenient for the AGW proponents – much like the oh-so-convenient “hard drive failures” that wiped out the emails of seven IRS employees. Just those seven – and just for the time period the investigators need the emails. Yeah, right. I felt (and still feel) the same way about those opaque temperature adjustments.
The second thing that I ran into – which amplified my already turned up bullshit detectors – was my discovery that every single model used by both the NOAA and the IPCC used positive feedback loop assumptions for carbon dioxide's effects on global warming. As Warren Myer has pointed out many times, positive feedback loops are exceedingly rare in natural systems – so much so that when someone claims to have discovered one, the universal assumption amongst scientists is that there's an error in the observations, and everybody piles on to figure out what it is. Nearly all feedback loops in nature are strongly negative. What does that mean? It means that as carbon dioxide levels go up, it is much more likely that its effect on global temperatures will decrease (that is, the CO2 sensitivity will decrease). The models all assume that CO2 sensitivity will increase as levels go up.
Mechanical energy storage...
Mechanical energy storage ... is getting a lot of attention right now. All of these are less efficient than electrochemical systems (aka “batteries”), but have other advantages (most especially, cost at scale) that outweigh the efficiency differences. I know of one other mechanical storage technique being actively pursued: inertial storage. In an inertial storage system, a large and heavy flywheel is spun up to store energy and down to recover it. To my knowledge, the largest inertial storage system is in Israel, where a small town uses one to store solar energy during the day and recover it at night...
Ten small cats...
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Music video with optical illusions...
Kenzie's Dance...
Light blogging alert!
Light blogging alert! I've got a busy few days here... Today I'm mostly catching up with some of my San Diego-based friends (including a lunch at the Fish Market in Del Mar, where I know what I'm having - scallops!). Tomorrow I'm picking up our new trailer, and I'll start packing it for our Colorado trip. Thursday and Friday is for packing and catching up with a few more friends. And Saturday morning, at o'dark thirty, we're heading out!
Woodpile art...
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Made it to Jamul...
Made it to Jamul... Got a hug and a kiss from my wife, and the dogs all remembered me :) The cats all acted like they'd rather I never come back again.
I'm stiff and tired after 14 and a half hours driving. I wonder why? :)
After spending three months up in the greenery of northern Utah, Jamul looks remarkably ... dead.
I'm stiff and tired after 14 and a half hours driving. I wonder why? :)
After spending three months up in the greenery of northern Utah, Jamul looks remarkably ... dead.
Representative Steve Stockman (R, Texas) submitted this bill...
Representative Steve Stockman (R, Texas) submitted this bill... And, HA!
Light blogging today, because I'm on the road...
Light blogging today, because I'm on the road... Jamul, here I come!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Conundrum...
Conundrum... Via reader Simi L.:
The definition of the word “conundrum” is: something that is puzzling or confusing.
Here are six conundrums of socialism in the United States of America:
1. America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized.
2. Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.
3. They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.
4. Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer.
5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.
6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries.
Think about it! And that, my friends, pretty much sums up the USA in the 21st Century.
Makes you wonder who is doing the math.
These three, short sentences tell you a lot about the direction of our current government and cultural environment:
1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works.
And here's another one worth considering...
2. Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money? What's interesting is the first group “worked for” their money, but the second didn't. Think about it...
and last but not least,
3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our military and cutting our army to a level lower than before WWII, but we are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal aliens.
Am I missing something?
Yacht goes up in flames...
On an entirely different note, the comments on the YouTube video are full of people wishing the worst on that yacht's owner. Sometimes I don't care for my fellow humans very much. No, that's not right. Most of the time, I don't care for my fellow humans very much...
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