Turtle Attack! Or why I may never walk again.

Turtle Attack!. Or why I may never walk again.

Bright and early this morning, around 10, I stepped out the front door to evaluate today’s yard work. Now when you live where I do and you’re likely to be barefoot, especially right out of bed, you learn to look for snakes and other critters before you step out.

There it was, right on the veranda, hiding, pressed against the low step into the house. Not just any turtle. One of the ones that never shed their shells. Just keep growing it bigger and bigger and bigger. It’s egg laying season and she’s a couple of hundred feet up hill from the pond. (Pond, a body of water too small to hide a body in. Lake, a body of water large enough the body will be well decayed before ardent searchers find it.)

We watch Sci Fi. We know what’s coming next. She leapt at the same time I slammed the door. That would have been a horrible death, a turtle burying into my chest to lay her eggs.

“What,” you may be asking yourself, “does this have to do with walking again?”

Isn’t it obvious? I’d already gotten up way early so I took a couple of hours nap giving the turtle time to go after someone else.

When I finally got out there, preparing to seed a bare spot by roughing it up with a rake, a task akin to raking furrows into a 5-year-old concrete driveway, the muscles were too relaxed. I pulled that big muscle in the back of my left thigh. It hurts!

Because of that turtle, I may never walk again.

See, told you it all made sense.

Hand 'em Over: Good News For The Good Guys

The other day someone gave 100,000 airline miles to Operation Hero Miles. I don't want to imagine how much time he spent sitting on tarmac to earn that many miles. I do know there is no better use for them. Fischer House runs the program, getting returning military, in need of travel home, together with donated miles.

Probably more important, familes of the wounded can use miles to visit their guys who are hospitalized or in recovery. http://www.heromiles.org/

Fisher House, the people running the program, also provide housing to families in need from $10 to the outrageous price of $Nada. http://www.fisherhouse.org/aboutUs/aboutUs.shtml

I'm familiar with the House, pre-Katrina, at Keesler AFB. Well worth the time to write a check and mail it.

These two are not the only places we can show our support. A quick internet search can point you at dozens of helpful organizations. Some sites link to other sites too. Far example, http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/help.html

If you can't afford a buck or three, call your local Guard, Reserve, or Active Duty base to see what you can do in person.

(Did I mention the guy with a million miles of pudding? Really! http://www.flyertalk.com/pudding.htm )

Technorati sez:

Technorati sez:
"Give me the userid and password for your blog."

Fromz sez
"Are yot out of your frelling minds?"

But they'll advertise me if I stick a line of code in a post and let them know. Here's the line:
Technorati Profile

They also wanted my real name. Like I even told my ex-wife what that is.

Renaldo Grimaldi
Those Grimaldis
(Yeah, riiiighhhttttt!)

Hurricanes: Not Just Hot Air

“The processes that govern the formation, intensity, and track of Atlantic hurricanes are still poorly understood,” said Donnelly, an associate scientist in the WHOI Department of Geology and Geophysics. “Based on this work, we now think that there may be some sort of basin-wide ‘on-off switch’ for intense hurricanes.”

Next time some internet know-nothing tells you man made global warming (MDI) caused Katrina and we're all going to die this year because of more man made high intenstiy hurricanes (Haven't we all met too many of those?), ask them if they're scientifically literate enough to read this new report from Woods Hole.

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=11912&tid=282&cid=27546

Hey Wayne! Your Mileage Ain't Worth My Life

Wayne Gerdes is king of the Hypermilers. What is a hypermiler? It is a driver who intentionally drives in illegal, stupid, and downright dangerous ways in the name of maximum miles per gallon.

In an article about Gerdes, Dennis Gaffney opens, in Mother Jones, with: “Drafting 18-wheelers with the engine off, taking death turns at 52 miles an hour, and other lessons learned while riding shotgun with the king of the hypermilers”
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/king_of_the_hypermilers.html

Is that enough to chill your blood?

On a racetrack, where all the drivers are skilled professionals, drafting is the cause of the big one. The most obvious place to see it is at NASCAR restrictor plate races.

When you and I do it, it is called tailgating. That, of course, is following so close you don’t have your full option set available if the vehicle you are following makes a sudden move. With a big truck, drivers can’t see ahead so breaking or sudden lane changes are always a surprise. Our hero, Wayne, further complicates matters by turning off his brakes. Yes, turning them off.

Even on the latest cars, when the power is off, power brakes go away quickly. You can test it for yourself, safely, in a big box store parking lot late at night. Make sure it’s late and empty. Many cars also lose steering.

It just gets better and better with this guy doesn’t it? He’s taking full cloverleaf, 270 degree, “death turns,” well above the speed limit with no brakes and likely no steering. Mea Culpa. I sometimes go that fast too. With the power on, great tires properly inflated*, and a car designed to do it. (The kid who sold me a BMW 5 series required me to say “designed to do it.”)

Should we keep going?

How about disrupting traffic flow? Many people beyond these hypermorons don’t realize how dangerous that is to not only themselves, but others too.

Do not take my word for it. See what the Arizona Department of Transportation (DOT) says about it:

Experience has shown that safety goes hand-in-hand with smooth traffic operation. Disrupting the smooth flow of traffic increases the probability of accidents.
Erratic traffic operation may be caused by vehicles stopping or slowing in the roadway, passing and weaving maneuvers, or surprise elements. For example, unwarranted traffic signals, unreasonably low speed limits, and too many signs may cause driver confusion and indecision.
Slower speed does not necessarily mean safer traffic operation. The chances of a driver becoming involved in an accident are least when he/she is traveling at the average speed of traffic.
http://www.dot.state.az.us/highways/Traffic/Trafeng.asp

You may not get out of a ticket with it but they’re telling you driving at 90 when traffic is averaging 80 – 85 mph is safer than driving at 55, especially when you take 20 minutes to get up to 55.

So read Gaffney’s article, visit some of the mileage sites he mentions. Remember, some of the stuff they’re going to tell you is not only stupid or illegal, it is dangerous to everybody on the road with you.

*Tire inflation is the most important thing most of us can do to save energy.
Too Low pressure requires more gas to roll and makes the car dangerous.
Too High pressure wears out the center of the tire – more energy because they don’t last as long – and causes loss of control due to reduced road contact.

Rosie, Elizabeth, and Bawbawa

Did anyone else notice?

Barbara Walters didn’t seem to care when O’Dumbass was spouting propaganda and lies, implying US troops are the terrorists in Iraq. As soon as Elizabeth stepped in to pin O’Donnell down on some of those lies, Walters suddenly found it time to end discussion?

No surprise. Walters is just another far left MSM journalist. At least she’s no longer pretending to present news.

Just another random thought.

The Immigration LOTTery

Senator Trent Lott recently said approximately: "Our mistake was not getting out front and explaining the immigration bill."

The Vast American Conspiracy says

Not true. Your mistake is trying to foist off a bill giving preferential treatment to criminals and inviting yet another 20 million illegals into the country.

We've seen what happens when our government sucks up to businesses for cheap labor and illegals for new votes. We're not falling for the BS any more.

Reuters Has Left the News Business

Yes, it is official. Reuters has left the news business.

I admit it. This isn't news to anyone who reads with a critical eye. Just, this article about the current Michael Mooreon film, it's such an excellent example of how to write propaganda, I had to bring it up again. http://www.reuters.com/article/reviewsNews/idUSN2027073520070521

First lesson: Get your main falsehood in early, before people stop reading. Less than 20 words in, we encounter "Sicko" posits an uncontroversial, if not incontrovertible, proposition: The health care system in the U.S. is sick." Uncontroversial? Better look around Reuters. There are millions of us who think the US health care system works better than the Canadian or British systems. Many of them are Canadians and Brits, people who come to the USA for treatments they can not get or not get in a timely manner from their medical systems. That is, if they can afford to come after their governments suck the taxes for their "FREE" health care out of their pockets.

Second lesson: Make your lies sound like the masses agree. Remember the Soviet "Bolsheviks?" The minority who gained power in good part simply by calling themselves the majority. (Bolshevik is Russian for majority.) While the discussion is, as always with Moore, a uniquely American one, audiences in Europe and other markets will want to eavesdrop for the sheer fun of seeing Americans wallow in problems they solved years ago. Do freaking tell.

Those of you living in northern tier states know better. If you've needed high end care, you've probably waited longer than you wanted because the system was full of Canadians who couldn't get that care at home. Unlike Reuters, I won't ask you to take my word for this. Here's a recent article from a drug policy researcher at the University of Victoria and founder of Media Doctor Canada, which evaluates reporting of medical treatments in Canada’s media: http://commonground.ca/iss/0705190/cg190_drugbust.shtml

G=Four paragraphs into a 3 page article. If you're looking for something to write a master's thesis on, this display of propaganda is a great place to start. If you're not, read the article with a critical eye and see how hard Kirk Honeycutt works to spin you.

If you agree with me, contact a Reuters editor and give 'em hell: http://today.reuters.com/HelpAndInfo/ContactUs.aspx

Problems with Man Did It Global Warming

I make no claim to be a scientist qualified to fully evaluate all the science on either side of the Man Did It (MDI) claims. I do claim enough intelligence to see serious problems with much of the MDI "science."

To that end, I've decided to join in with the heretics, skeptics, and members of the vast right wing conspiracy bringing you science opposed to the highly politicised bovine excrement coming from the IPCC and their friends. I will update this post from time to time as I re-find or encounter new information indicating problems with claims and models as well as comments from real scientists who are not part of the "Global Consensus" man is at fault.

Khabibullo Ismailovich Abdusamatov, mathematician and physicist at the laboratory of solar physics [ at the Saint Petersburg-based Pulkovo Observatory ] and supervisor of the Astrometria project of the Russian section of the International Space Station tells us the world will go through a major cooling period, possibly rivaling the Little Ice Age (LIA), in mid 21st century. He says it is a result of reduced solar output resulting from normal cycles. One of many articles: http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2006/02/07/scientist_predicts_mini_ice_age/2345/
If anyone finds his paper in english translation, please post a link.

CO2 concentrations of 380 PPM are going to kill us all. Yeah, OK. Somehow they never mention concentrations of 7000, yes seven thousand, parts per million (PPM) during the Cambrian period. Global temperature was about 22C at the time. Stayed there as concentrations fell to about 4000 PPM. Then the worst nightmare of the MDI crowd happened. Temperatures, with CO2 concentrations still at 4000 PPM, began to fall. Big time. The Ordovician - Silurian ice age was beginning. Worse, for the MDI gang, concentrations then started rising as temps continued falling.

Graph Image http://mysite.verizon.net/mhieb/WVFossils/PageMill_Images/image277.gif
Source Page http://mysite.verizon.net/mhieb/WVFossils/Carboniferous_climate.html
Developed by CR Scotese: http://www.scotese.com/ScoteseCV.htm

Augie Auer, clearly a member of the universal consensus, says "Man's contribution to the greenhouse gases was so small we couldn't change the climate if we tried," he maintained.

"We're all going to survive this. It's all going to be a joke in five years," he said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaruherald/4064691a6571.html

Death Of The Hockey Stick! The global warming hockey stick from Mann et al is dead. You may remember the hockey stick temperature chart is a keystone of MDI global warming. (The stick: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/04/sci_nat_enl_1092666337/img/1.jpg )

Real scientists finally looked at it and pronounced it dead. They used the sometimes too polite language of science so you'll still see people trying to make out like it's a valuable tool. That's easily debunked with the first paragraph of the National Academy of Sciences report. http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11676

WASHINGTON -- There is sufficient evidence from tree rings, boreholes, retreating glaciers, and other "proxies" of past surface temperatures to say with a high level of confidence that the last few decades of the 20th century were warmer than any comparable period in the last 400 years, according to a new report from the National Research Council. Less confidence can be placed in proxy-based reconstructions of surface temperatures for A.D. 900 to 1600, said the committee that wrote the report, although the available proxy evidence does indicate that many locations were warmer during the past 25 years than during any other 25-year period since 900. Very little confidence can be placed in statements about average global surface temperatures prior to A.D. 900 because the proxy data for that time frame are sparse, the committee added.

Let's look at the last 400 years or so. That's 1600 to present for grins. We're starting that time during the Little Ice Age, LIA, claims to the contrary, evidentialy supported as a world-wide event. Just 50 years before one of three minima (coldest periods). We continue through the LIA's end in about 1850. Cripes gang, I hope we're warmer than then. The cheeseheads would be really upset if a polar bear chomped Favre during a game. :-) The start date for the LIA is still up for grabs. 1250 when the Atlantic Ice Pack started growing? 1300 when warm summers in Europe stopped being dependable? 1550 when evidence suggests a global glacial expansion began? The first minima in 1650? So much for warmer than any time during the last 400 years since they were in an ice age. That call's so hard I could have made it.

Less confidence for the 600 years before 1600? Not according to the IPCC and Mann. They toss the Medieval Climate Optimum (MCO, ~800 - ~1300 AD) out the window just as they try to toss the LIA. As with the LIA, there is enough evidence suggesting the MCO was worldwide to make a viable argument.

Guess they didn't ask the Vikings who "discovered" Greenland about 1000 AD (AKA CE). Don't forget ancestors of modern Inuit who lived there off and on since about 2500 BCE (AKA BC).

Evidence from Greenland, superior evidence due to our knowledge of things mankind, suggests the island was warmer then than today by a couple of degrees C.

The NRC report and National Academies coverage should have been straight up so no one could be confused about the non-value of Mann's work.

Michael Crichton made an excellent comment about consensus science. "Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had." Did he have anything useful to say about "science" when the alleged scientists refuse to release either their data or processes?

What was Mann's excuse for withholding it until Congressman Barton demanded it in 2005?

Little Ice Age (LIA) and Medieval Climate Optimum (MCO or MWP) Even though the IPCC chose to ignore the LIA and MCO, the evidence they were global phenomena is far superior to evidence for the IPCC GW lynchpin hockey stick
http://w3g.gkss.de/staff/storch/pdf/soon+baliunas.cr.2003.pdf

This Just in: Hot Air Study Melts Global Warming Theory
Global warming alarmists may want to expedite their efforts to hamstring the global economy with greenhouse gas regulation. A new study touted as showing that we’re not sufficiently panicky about manmade carbon dioxide emissions actually supports the exact opposite conclusion. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,275267,00.html

Woods Hole: Not usually known as a hotbed of climate heretics does remind us the entire MDI fracas is built on data too limited to be reliable: Natural climate changes like the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period are of interest for a few reasons. First, they occur on decade to century time scales, a gray zone in the spectrum of climate change. It continues with Geological data clearly document globally coherent climate change on thousand-, ten thousand-, and hundred thousand-year time scales, so why is the record so confusing over just the past 1,000 years? http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=12455&tid=282&cid=3842
We should all recognize they are saying approximately "Short term climate change, anything less than 100 years, doesn't tell us a whole lot. The last thousand years are unusual in the long term record." When we hear a real scientist (Not Internet Al) talk about MDI global warming, we might want to consider if their wording is shaded to stave off attacks by the politicians.

George W. Bush did not cause Hurricane Katrina! http://fromzcorner.blogspot.com/2007/05/processes-that-govern-formation.html

Hurricanes: Not Just Hot Air

Just Do Something! Death By Enviro Do-Gooder

Another Nail In AlGore's Foot Why he was wrong about Mt Kilimanjaro's glaciers.

Where Oh Where Did The Carbon Go NCAR reports CO2 sinks are not what the models say.

Brown clouds heat atmosphere, may create as much as half the warming blamed on CO2.

Warmest year on record moves to 1934.

Excellent article explaining why many scientists believe the sun is driving temperature changes and some believe we may see a 1.5 degree C cooling by 2020




Stay tuned for more updates to this post.

Two Plus Two; More Than Four

More than a few people, including military members, have asked why military blogs and sites like MySpace have been cut off to them.

A story told by an acquaintance of mine. The names have been changed to protect the intelligent.

It's about 2+2 becoming something more than 4.

In the early '70s, those of us volunteering at the Pima County Air Museum noticed that there was a new type of U-2 flying overhead daily, from Davis-Monthan. Much bigger, and obviously not a mod of the original design. Aviation Leak had never mentioned it.

Rick, who was then just graduating from high school, went to the squadron and asked about it. He got the usual, "no comment", but was called back a few weeks later, and I went with him.

We were told, (obviously messages had gone back and forth from Washington,) that they could not answer any questions with facts, but.... The Commander would take written questions, and pass them on, to be returned with a 'yes', or 'no comment' answer. A yes meant it became declassified and we could publish it.

The PCAM becomes spies. We photographed flying airplanes, frequented bars and snooped crew conversations over brews. NOBODY ever said anything directly, but we were able to fill in the blanks on a lot of stuff, and gave a lot of questions to the Colonel.

We got the designation "U-2R" cleared for publication, and pretty much got the story that is in print today about that airplane.

Finally, Rick got another call to be a guest speaker at the U-2 wing commander's call. He told the whole story, and said it was the quietest group of people he had ever seen. They had all thought they were security aware, but when they saw what an 18 year-old kid could find out about them...?

And that, boys and girls, is why your military relative or friend is no longer allowed to post even unclassified information in public places.

Me, I now blame Rick for what seems like two years of weekly briefings, security training documents, and assorted lessons in not talking about your job.

Gore's Fear Mongers On the March

Al Gore’s at it again. In case you haven’t heard, he’s creating an army of fear mongering global warming propagandists. According to NewsMax.com (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/25/113847.shtml?s=ic), the first 50 are already doing damage as I type.

If you are like me, you like to be cool in summer, warm in winter, and have a hot shower more than twice a month. We must counter the propaganda before they scare the average person into voting for government controls on our energy daily lives. Let us set our own thermostats. Don’t make us drive eco-wacky selected vehicles; we like our BMWs and pickup.

Now is the time to act. When one of the fear mongers appears near you, attend. Ask questions. Write local papers pointing out the presentation was one sided and presented false information.

Stop back here often for updates to the problems with MDI (Man Did It) science.

Here are three things you can start with:

CO2 increases follow temperature increases by hundreds of years. That is bas ackwards to the MDI claims.

Climate models are not worth believing in. No less an authority than the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences ay MIT says so. Even if I were an MDI apostle I do believe I’d have to pay some attention to him. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997788/site/newsweek/

The MDI crowd often uses charts and graphs customized to exaggerate their claims. This site uses three different graphs covering the same 120 years to make the point. http://hallofrecord.blogspot.com/2007/02/global-warming-its-how-you-say-it.html

Just for grins, an article on temperature oscillations on a 1500 year cycle and the LIA (Little Ice Age)/MWP (Medieval Warm Period) temperatures: http://www.co2science.org/scripts/CO2ScienceB2C/articles/V4/N46/EDIT.jsp