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Monthly Archives: November 2007
Cyclone Sidr is now a Category Five
The situation, as predicted by, it seems, very few people, has worsened in the Indian Ocean. Cyclone Sidr is heading straight north, expected to strike land east of Calcutta, on the coast of Bangledesh, in several hours from now. This is a low-lying area that will undoubtedly be flooded very badly.
This may be the worst case scenario for hurricanes on this planet. Continue reading Cyclone Sidr is now a Category Five
I and the Bird # 62. Just Plain Birds.
This is the Sixty-Second I and the Bird Web Carnival. This issue is chock full of excellent posts, with an emphasis on seasonal change, outstanding photographs, and the usual highly successful bird watching forays. I’m forgoing the complex contextualization and letting the posts speak for themselves, with only the occasional remark from your’s truly.The last I and the bird, # 61, was at The Drinking Bird. The next I and the Bird, # 63, will be at The Greenbelt. Continue reading I and the Bird # 62. Just Plain Birds.
Global Warming, the Blog Epic ~ 01 ~ Introduction
This is the first in a series of reposts from gregladen.com on global warming. 
The IPCC report is out, “An Inconvenient Truth” has been honored by the academy, a sea change is happening in the way that climate change news is being reported, and you can bet the Right Wing and the Ree-pubs are as we speak working up new Talking Points and Spins to deflate the urgency of the issue. It is an axiom that in reporting science, there are two (not one, not three or four, just two) sides to every issue, and one side is the plank nailed to the Democratic Party Platform, and the other side is the plank nailed to the Ree-pub Party Platform. This is a truth as stable and reliable as the fact that Home Depot will always sell 2″ X 4″ studs and plywood in 4′ X 8′ foot pieces. We are already seeing the dubious dichotomies forming up. For instance, yes, the Antarctic Ice Sheet is sloughing off the continent, but it is opening new and wonderful opportunities for both shrimp and scientists. Yes, global warming is real and is anthropogenic, but the Average American thinks, according to Polls, that it is only the third or fourth most important issue. And so on. Continue reading Global Warming, the Blog Epic ~ 01 ~ Introduction
First Hi-Def Earth Rise Photo
When you look at the moon, it is always the same. Even though the moon is spinning around (as its the earth) we can’t see it spinning. But what if we could? What if the moon spun around, say, 12 or 14 times a day? Or 50 times a day? What if it was just up there spinning it’s ass off? Continue reading First Hi-Def Earth Rise Photo
This is a Scam
I know you know this, but does everybody? It is a new approach to getting your banking details. Please pass it around. Continue reading This is a Scam
A True Linux Hero
Robin ‘Roblimo’ Miller writes:
I’ve been hearing the phrase “This is the year of the Linux desktop” for 10 years. For me, it’s been a true statement for each of those years, because GNU/Linux has been my primary desktop operating system since 1997. But for most people around the world, this is the year of the the Windows desktop, same as it was last year and the year before. But if we each spent one day telling others about GNU/Linux, could we make a difference in the lives of at least a few people? I think so. That’s why I’m promising — right here and right now — to spend at least one day in the next three months handing out free GNU/Linux install CDs, and why I invite you to join me in this effort.[source]
Hey, I may start doing that too. In fact, I’ll start now.Here, this is for you, friend.
Making Stock
I previously posted on a way to make a turkey that would leave you with the bulk of the bird’s uncooked skeleton, and I promised some tips for how to make good stock. Continue reading Making Stock
Beer is fundemental
Back in the 1980s, archaeologists working in the middle east realized one day that the origin of agriculture …. domesticated barley, to be exact … in that region was all about beer. This is because this early barley could not be de-shelled to make flour. The only practical way to consume it was to make beer out of it.That explained a lot of things…Now, there is a report that the origin of chocolate is also all about beer. Continue reading Beer is fundemental
Hundreds of Thousands Of People May Die Tomorrow Afternoon in Hurricane
Hopefully not, but the prospects of a major disaster in the Indian Ocean Basin are looming, and it is strangely underreported. Not a mention on CNN, for instance.Chris Mooney is telling us that it is Time to Panic. He and I may not entirely agree on every detail of framing, but there is no way to argue with the man on this one.A Category 4 hurricane/cyclone is about to plow into what might be the most vulnerable place on the earth, the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean Basin, I think it is going to hit Calcutta or environs late tomorrow.Information is available here on Chris’s site, and he has links elsewhere.
David Keith: A surprising idea for “solving” climate change
Environmental scientist David Keith talks about a cheap, effective, shocking solution to climate change: What if we injected a huge cloud of ash into the atmosphere, to deflect sunlight and heat? As an emergency measure to slow a melting ice cap, it could work. Keith discusses why it’s a good idea, why it’s a terrible one — and who, despite the cost, might be tempted to use it.
David Keith: A surprising idea for”solving”climate change
Environmental scientist David Keith talks about a cheap, effective, shocking solution to climate change: What if we injected a huge cloud of ash into the atmosphere, to deflect sunlight and heat? As an emergency measure to slow a melting ice cap, it could work. Keith discusses why it’s a good idea, why it’s a terrible one — and who, despite the cost, might be tempted to use it.
The Night I Was Almost Abducted by Aliens in Boston
Nineteen former pilots and government officials … told reporters their questions can no longer be dismissed …”We want the US government to stop perpetuating the myth that all UFOs can be explained away in down-to-earth, conventional terms,” said Fife Symington, former governor of Arizona… “Instead our country needs to reopen its official investigation that it shut down in 1969,” Symington told a news conference. [source]
I saw an UFO (pronounced “ooofo”) once too. It was a sight I can never forget. Let me tell you about it. Continue reading The Night I Was Almost Abducted by Aliens in Boston
Fun with Linux: The Existential File System
The Linux file system is very different from that found in other systems. You use Linux files all the time, because most of the time that your browser “gets” a web page, it is accessing a Linux file system. Here, I just want to point out a few cool things about the system. In some ways, the system is annoyingly complex, but for good reasons. Some of the key differences between, say, the Linux system and the Windows/DOS system are the very reasons that it is fairly easy to set a virus or other damaging bit of code loose in a Windows computer but difficult in a Linux computer. Continue reading Fun with Linux: The Existential File System
Judgment Day: Post Game
Judgment Day, the PBS special on the Dover Trial, just finished airing. I have a few somewhat coherent (compared to my live blogging, see upstream) comments. Continue reading Judgment Day: Post Game