Making Sense of Weather and Climate

Climate Change, Physical Science and Math, Science, Severe Weather and Other Disasters, Shopping guides and reviews, , ,

Read Making Sense of Weather and Climate: The Science Behind the Forecasts, by Mark Denny if you want to … well, do what the title of the book says.

I know a lot of you are interested in global warming/climate change, so you need to know that this book is not mainly about that (but it is covered). Rather, this book is the Rosetta Stone that allows you to connect a general understanding of the planet (it is round, it spins, it has an atmosphere that includes water vapor, and tends to reside between -50 and +50 degrees C, etc.) and the person on the TV talking about air masses going up and down and what is going to happen during “the overnight” and “the overday” and such. Continue reading Making Sense of Weather and Climate →

Are electric cars worth it?

Energy,

My friend, and expert on electric cars, Phillip Adams, made a proposal at a public political meeting that we should make the transition to electric vehicles. He had a solid argument, and there were several different lines of reasoning leading to that conclusion.

A person speaking in opposition, with good intention, noted that we do burn coal to make electricity, and therefore, while we all want to eventually see all the cars be electric, don’t jump on that bandwagon too fast, buddy boy…

Phil was right, the arguer-againster-guy was wrong.

There are three main reasons for this. Continue reading Are electric cars worth it? →

Walk out not up #walkoutnotup #walkoutandwalkup

Violence and Guns, , , ,

There is nothing wrong with “walk out and walk up” because it expands consideration and activism in a good direction.

It says, “while you are busy protesting the fact that dozens of children and teachers are murdered in their schools per year — and good for you for doing this — note that in your suburban school system of 5,000 students, about one will die per year of their own hand, using Uncle Bob’s Glock that he keeps on his night stand just in case.”

There is a great deal wrong with “walk out NOT walk up” because it is bone headed self aggrandizing yammering about how wrong people are in their ability to perceive things, and their tone, which in and of itself is wrong.

I’ll give you the short version of why #walkoutnotup is #wrongandstupid here, and point you to a longer post I wrote a few weeks ago, seeing this tone trolling coming, because it does, always, come. Continue reading Walk out not up #walkoutnotup #walkoutandwalkup →

Terrorist Bombers Caught!

Uncategorized, , ,

The terrorists who bombed a Bloomington Minnesota Mosque last year have been caught. See the headlines:

Huh. No headline.

Well, anyway, it happened, and it is a strange, Coen Brothers-esque story, and people on my Facebook page are figuring it out. Bottom line: Trump people blew up the mosque to send the Muslims a message and make them want to leave the country.

First, the basic story, from today’s Star Tribune: Continue reading Terrorist Bombers Caught! →

Something is Rotten in South Minneapolis

Uncategorized

I like to think of myself as part South Minneapolitan. This is because I lived there for several years and adopted it as my community. A large part of me would prefer to live there than any other part of the Twin Cities.

So, I write this post with sadness as well as anger, because the fundamental core of society and politics in South Minneapolis — intelligent politics of inclusion and caring — have been sullied by stupid, selfish, and craven politics.

This is a complicated mess, and it will require some background for those not in the know about our local esoteric political system. If you already know everything about SD62 and recent events there, skip right to the big block of quote down below, and ignore my preface. Continue reading Something is Rotten in South Minneapolis →

House Democrats Respond To End Of Trump-Russia Scandal Investigation

Politics,

House Democrats have just released a memo outlining what they see left on the table with the withdraw of the Republican run House Intelligence Committee from, well, doing their job.

You should be able to get the PDF at this link.

The document lists things and people that should be obtained or interrogated, including over 30 potential witnesses. Some 15 of those witnesses would need to be compelled to appear, it is estimated.

Cheap Book Alert: Lyndon Johnson by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Uncategorized, ,

I’ve previously suggested Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin as an excellent, and in some ways very very different, biography of Lyndon Johnson. As I then noted, I’ve been reading about, shall we say, other, presidents. Not a lot, just a little, for sanity’s sake.

Anyway, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream is currently available in Kindle format for 2.99, which is a great deal on a top notch book. I assume this is for a limited time.

And, as long as I’m pointing out one cheap book, have a look at this:

Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error

Best Book on Trump-Russian Scandal

Politics, , , , , , ,

Michael Isikoff and David Corn are among the very top reporters who have been covering the Trump Russian scandal. Corn is the reporter who initially broke the Dossier story (no, it was not Buzzfeed), and Isikoff broke the story about US intelligence looking into a Trump-Kremlin connection via Carter Page. Since this initial work, these two reporters have been, along with dozens of others, putting into the public view the famous ice-berg tip that we all know Robert Mueller has the rest of hidden away somewhere. Continue reading Best Book on Trump-Russian Scandal →