Climate change is in your back yard
Steve Milloy over at greenhellblog is parsing the hell out of a comment NOAA’s Thomas Karl made regarding climate change:
“What we would want to have people take away is that climate change is happening now, and it’s actually beginning to affect our lives,” said Thomas R. Karl, director of theNational Climatic Data Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a principal author of the report. “It’s not just happening in the Arctic regions, but it’s beginning to show up in our own backyards.”
To which Milloy had this observation to make:
From Green Hell Blog
But, I got to looking. That chart was nearly a week old! How gauche! So, I decided to check out today’s chart:
It’s still cold. In fact, so far today we’re struggling to get out of the 70’s so far. It’s rained again, and just been plum-not-much-fun kind of weather. Used to I’d think whenever the weather was bad I would just jet to southern California. Well, it’s actually colder there than it is here. Phoenix? Nope, in the 80’s. Guess we’ll have to wait a little while longer for global warming to arrive in my backyard.
In the meantime:
Opposition was pretty focused:
National Petrochemical & Refiners Association Pres. Charles T. Drevna said, “While this may appear, in the short term, to be a monumental political success, ultimately it represents nothing more than an abject policy failure. The whole notion of capping carbon dioxide emissions, issuing allowances disproportionately to favored industries, and hoping that the false promise of ‘green jobs’ could gloss over the current and real jobs that will be lost should HR 2454 become law belies the complexity of fairly balancing energy and environmental policy.”
Now, everyone knows the intent of all this legislation is to basically kill the coal industry. Obama flat out stated that while running for President. There is no good coal in Obama’s eyes. By taxing the hell out of people who make or use coal, and rewarding energy sources and users that did not use coal, it would replace the coal industry in short time. So, what did Waxman and Markey do to make sure the American Clean Energy and Security Act do to get passed? They pretty much gutted all penalties on coal producers. The cap and trade idea is still there tho. What’s the first thing large energy producers did when this thing passed? They of course started asking for rate increases. Citing of course, the new climate change regulations.
And finally, while Obama is very visibly killing the coal industry while not allowing expanded oil drilling in Alaska or anywhere for that matter. How you wanna bet that gap is filled until the first nuke is built?
So, although the climate is cooler pretty much all over the country than it was two years ago and cap and trade passed without really demanding any change from CO2 based energy production, the costs imposed by those cap and trade regulations are justifying energy companies hitting people for more than 10% increases countrywide right now and our added demand for oil has not only INCREASED our dependance on foreign oil, it’s caused more pain at the pump with nothing to gain from it.
There’s your change so far folks. Next up, healthcare.
Sphere: Related ContentNational Hot Day
I read this on my weatherbug thingy this morning:
The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. calculates that July 24th is the hottest day in the contiguous U.S. This was determined by looking though the climatology of every state within the U.S.
This leads me to two different thoughts. The first thought, I’m not going to question that finding. For my zip code, there’s about a two stretch in July that averages 76 degrees. However, the record high for July 24th is 95. That’s not too impressive actually. The record highs for 26th through the 30th are close to or above 100. In fact, most were set in 1954, which contrary to headlines and rumor, was the hottest year on record for this place. 1954 was followed closely by 1952. In fact, here’s the countdown of the hottest years for July here:
Year Days
- 1954 9
- 1952 7
- 1988 5
- 1980 4
- 1999 2
- 1966 2
- 2005 1
- 1990 1
The 21st century just hasn’t been that hot here. Obviously it has been somewhere else, since we have all the cataclysmic global warming stories daily. But, it’s just not been here. The NCDC says the 24th gets it because that day has the highest nationwide average. I’ll go with that. I just hope this July 24th is a lot warmer than last year’s. We’ve had a few disappointing 24th’s of late:
- 2008 82
- 2007 80
- 2006 89
- 2005 93
- 2004 84
- 2003 85
- 2002 84
- 2001 95
- 2000 84
- 1999 91
- 1998 89
- 1997 91
- 1996 89
We always joke here that we’re about ten years behind any trend. Same apparently h0lds true for global warming. To barely get out of the 70’s on National Hot Day just sucks. Everyone else says their National Hot Day must be hotter than it was in the past, what happened to ours?
The second thing I observed is apparently National Hot Day is a day a lot of people like to get naked. I wanted a picture of a blistering hot sun in the sky for this post. However, whenever I googled “hot sun”, I got a lot naked people. Some quite disturbing. Now, I think skinny dipping’s fun and all that. But, I know not to do it on the hottest day of the year. The private parts burn a lot faster than the public ones. You’ll just have to trust me on that. But, if this year’s National Hot Day is anything like last year’s, nothing will get burnt. Which concerns me considering there are SOME people who claim it’s too hot now and we need to do all we can to make sure things don’t get crispy again like it was fifty years ago. Quite frankly, I like it really hot when it’s supposed to be really hot. If people keep dicking around with the climate, we won’t have a reason to celebrate National Hot Day any more here at all.
Sphere: Related ContentUFO Sightings Map
This, if nothing else, is just cool:
View UFO Sightings in a larger map
The tree looks taller without the brush
One of my Facebook friends sent us all this little gem:
How to shave your groin.
Most of it seems fairly obvious. And, I’m pleased to know I use proper shaving techniques for the most part. However, I was highly appreciative of some tips I had never thought of:
- Trimming hair 3mm or shorter makes for a tighter shave. ( How do you measure 3mm hair in a shower? )
- Use a waterproof trimmer to avoid electrocution.
- Be sure to pull it real hard to avoid nicks and cuts.
- Be sure to moisturize it thoroughly afterwards.
And women wonder why guys like to take really long showers.
H/T Mitch.
Sphere: Related ContentMeteorite boy
This story has been making the rounds:
“Then, a split second after that, there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder.”
My first thought was, how cool is that? Wish I had could have been hit by something cool like that! Now, that’s a tale he can tell the rest of his life. He’ll be on Letterman and can write a book. On and on and on it went.
But then my second thought was, how can a pebble traveling 30,000 mph hit flesh, bounce off, and blow a crater in the ground? I mean, flesh isn’t the hardest surface known. Bullets don’t go that fast and they have no problem going right through flesh. Well, it seems I’m not alone:
The physics of the comment make a lot more sense than the story itself. Then, most reports go on to point the history of meteor(ite) hits in the past. Well, there’s only one documented:
An orange-sized meteor crashed through the roof of a house in Alabama, in the USA, in 1954.
It bounced off furniture and then hit a woman who was asleep at the time.
I think Gerritt either got hit by a ricoche or a fragment of the explosion.
But he still has a very cool story to tell.
Sphere: Related ContentUFO Crashed Into Meteorite to Save Earth
I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while. I love it!
Dr. Yuri Labvin, president of the Tunguska Spatial Phenomenon Foundation, insists that an alien spacecraft sacrificed itself to prevent a gigantic meteor from slamming into the planet above Siberia on June 30, 1908.
The result was was the Tunguska event, a massive blast estimated at 15 megatons that downed 80 million trees over nearly 100 square miles. Eyewitnesses reported a bright light and a huge shock wave, but the area was so sparsely populated no one was killed.
Most scientists think the blast was caused by a meteorite exploding several miles above the surface. But Labvin thinks quartz slabs with strange markings found at the site are remnants of an alien control panel, which fell to the ground after the UFO slammed into the giant rock.
I think given the intense heat that obviously hit there, there’s no telling what it did to the area. If it was a meteorite, it blew up. No telling what happens when something like that gets so hot it explodes. So, quartz, which is typically created under intense heat, falls neatly into the scenario. Strange markings on it would possibly result from the explosion. I see nothing so far that leads me to believe anything out of the ordinary has resulted from an explosion that we can not recreate.
But it sure sounds cool.
Sphere: Related ContentPinnacle DVC 150
A few years ago I bought a Pinnacle DVC 150 video input box. It worked great until Microsoft came out with XP. It took them a while, but they finally got it working again. However, I had to rifle through about five versions of their dedicated software to get it right. Then, I migrated to a new machine running Vista 64 bit. This thing rocks. Everything is screaming fast. DVD’s that took three hours to burn in the past now take less than an hour from start to finish. Video editing is flawless and just flies compared to any other operating system I’ve ever had. I only have one problem tho. Once again, my Pinnacle DVC150 won’t work. I’ve kept an eye on their website off and on over the last year, no luck. You can get a 32 bit driver, but it won’t work in 64. Not sure what the difference in programming is, but it must be monumental because Pinnacle can’t, or won’t do it. At this point, I’m quite certain the answer is “won’t”. Now, one guy on their forum was quite perturbed because he was told he needed to buy the DVC170 to get it to work. So he did. I think he’s an idiot. Just reading that recommendation told me all I needed to know. I needed to ditch my trusty DVC150.
So I am. However, it will not be the DVC170. For that matter, it won’t be Pinnacle. Big picture, it will never be Pinnacle again. People don’t trade in cars because the tires are worn out. This thing is 100% functional other than the fact Pinnacle won’t support it. If they won’t support their stuff, I won’t support them.
I’m looking at Hauppauge, ATI, nVidia, and a couple of others. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to see them here. My requirements are I prefer RCA plugs along with whatever else they may have, it needs to be cheap as I don’t do this for a living. And, of course, it has to be Vista 64 bit compatible.
And, of course, it can not be Pinnacle.
Sphere: Related ContentMore about sprites and Flight 447
A while back I stumbled on a very cool pic:
Now, this very cool pic had some pretty significant ramifications and fit perfectly into a conspiracy theory at the time. In short, they are perceived to be powerful enough to do damage to things that ordinarily would withstand lightning strikes. Some, me included, felt sprites might have been responsible for the Shuttle Columbia’s breakup.
Fast forward several years and we have two stories making the rounds. The first one involves Air Fracne Flight 447 mysteriously breaking up over the Atlantic Ocean. The initial headlines were from the only communication received during the break-up, emergency transmissions from Flight 447 indicated multiple major electrical malfunctions. This story has grabbed the world’s attention. Another story that has gotten a lot less publicity is a photo taken by Oscar van der Velde in Spain:
http://spaceweather.com/
Flight 447 was entering an area of intense storms. Some speculated it may have been hit by lightning, which could have ruined the radar system, which would have allowed to the pilots to fly the plane into even heavier storms. Pretty tall story to buy since most jets are lightning protected, with only a minimal chance of losing their radar. And, if they had lost their radar, they still would have had time to turn back, fly around, or contact air traffic controllers. Losing radar is just not that huge a deal. However, a sprite strike would be a completely different situation. These things are supposedly positive grounded. Ergo, traditional lightning protection, which protects against negative grounding, would have been pretty much useless. And, those planes fly awful high in the sky. Sprites are awful high in the sky as well. I’m not taking the leap of faith that this definitely did it. But, I sure would like to see some research into the possibility.
Sphere: Related ContentBold Jumping Spider
I had a run-in with this bad cat today:
Now, I have had about a dozen run-ins with these “babes”:
Now, I knew exactly what the latter was, and knew they could do some damage. The black widows were getting pretty big. But, they weren’t as big, or quite frankly, as scary looking as the one I saw today. So, I had to investigate. As best as I could conclude from reading, this guy was a bold jumping spider. OK, first of all, I don’t like jumping spiders. I like the ones that stay firmly on whatever it is I am about to flatten them on. Airborn spiders spook me. Second, this is a BOLD jumping spider. Now, it’s not bad enough this thing could jump six feet in the air and suck my eyes out, it might just want to do that. Most spiders run and hide. This guy however, is BOLD. Now, I was getting kinda spooked. I read to the end and was relieved to learn they don’t usually bite. They can, and it will hurt, but no harm would come from it. I was very relieved to learn that.
Then, I flattened him with a shoe. I love spiders, as long as they’re outside where they belong. The whole affair put me in the mood for some of The Cure, specifically the greatest song about spiders ever written, Lullaby
Buy your swine flu protection here!
Back when we had the avian flu scare in 2005 or so, I did an enjoyable post on avian flu spam. It was a regular surgical mask with a new marketing strategy. I’m not sure how well that idea did, but they’re not around any more. So, I’m not the least bit surprised to receive in my mail today a personal letter from Janice Wilson telling me I can buy swine flu protection:
A Great Canadian_Pharmacy is here at your_Fingertips!
No Doctor Needed! Visit Now Type In Your Web Browser –> Treatrelax . com000701c9d89d$03c6e000$627e2cb2
Since “she” intentionally didn’t use a link, I’m not either. And, I’d recommend anyone who gets that garbage discard as well. I say that for one very simple reason. As with avian flu, swine flu is, get this, a flu. As with any flu, you treat them all the same. Now, the trick to this one is it’s new. Docs don’t really know how to deal with it, yet. They will very shortly. In the meantime, your swine flu protection will be provided here, 100% free of charge. Just follow these steps:
1. Avoid close contact. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, too.
2. Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
3. Cover your mouth and nose. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Discard used tissues immediately into a garbage can. Don’t use your hands to stifle a cough/sneeze! Remember, your hands carry many germs and using your hand to cover your mouth can result in more infections.
4. Clean your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.
5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.
Other good habits, such as getting plenty of sleep, engaging in physical activity, managing stress, drinking water and eating good food, will help you stay healthy in the winter and all year.
Eat regular meals, including breakfast, so your body has a constant supply of energy to do its maintenance activities. The healthier you stay, the more likely your body will fight off any viruses that come along. When your body is well-rested, has proper nutrition and is in good physical shape, it is better able to fight off infections and resist getting sick.
If you are thinking about quitting smoking, now is a good time to take the appropriate steps to do so. Some research studies show an increase in flu infections among smokers compared to nonsmokers. There is also a higher death rate from the flu for smokers.
And, if you’re quite certain you want to wear a mask, try this link, you can get 50 for about $6.00 or so. And, there is absolutely no difference between these and the “avian flu masks” or “swine flu masks”. Just ask any doctor, they hate all infectious diseases.
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