Vindication

Many of you have personally witnessed me get passionate about why I think anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is a hoax.  Secretly, I think Walt, Josh and Zach probably believe I am in serious need of some medication based on the looks I get from them when we have talked about this subject. Well, over the last few days, I have gotten some confirmation that I am not totally out there in the weeds when I discount the "science"  of AGW.  Here it is from Walt's favorite source:  Glenn Beck.

The last few days have felt pretty good for those of us who questioned this stuff. Normally, I think "hackers" are the pretty lowly, but in this case, I will make an exception.

Bonfire Remembered

For those of you who don't know, Kristy and I spent almost exactly five years in Bryan/College Station while I attended graduate school at Texas A&M University. We arrived in College Station on Kristy's birthday (July 11, 1996), I defended my PhD in nuclear engineering on Kristy's birthday (July 11, 2001), and we pulled up stakes for Albuquerque and Sandia National Laboratories about a week later. We loved the experience of living in Aggieland (especially if you take away the brutally hot summers), but we were there during the collapse of the annual Aggie Bonfire.

You may remember the collapse in the news, but you may not remember that 11 students and 1 former student died when the stack collapsed 10 years ago today. It was one of the saddest moments in the history of Texas A&M. The entire campus felt different for the rest of that 1999 fall semester, and to some extent, every fall semester has had different feel since then.

For us, the Bonfire collapse was very personal even though we didn't know any of the 12 victims. The Bonfire construction always began in early September as students would go to the cut site and start clearing the land. About a MONTH or more before the game against the Longhorns, the students would begin stacking the logs. Some Aggie bonfires reached heights over a 100 feet before the administration started putting limits on them. As peripheral participants (that is, we watched the construction closely and looked forward to Thanksgiving night when it was lit), we both felt just a little excitement every time we would see the stack. The site was located adjacent to the Zachry Engineering building parking lot, so each morning I would look out in amazement at the progress. The STUDENTS were building this monstrous thing with very little mechanization.

We received a phone call from our friends at about 4 in the morning to tell us of the tragedy. Then, Mom called shortly after because she wanted to make sure I wasn't trapped under 1,000 logs at the bonfire site. In the days that followed, we made our way to the site and the makeshift memorial. We cried a LOT. We couldn't believe that it had happened.

On November 26, 1999, I attended the Texas-Texas A&M game for the only time that we lived in College Station. I felt like one of our best friends (Jen -- she cried/cries at every game) because I cried when the jets flew over in missing man formation before the game. The game ended like it should have, the Aggies prevailed 20-16 in front of over 86,000 Texans.

This is Brian Gamble after he recovered the Major Applewhite fumble to seal the win:


It is really hard to believe that it has been 10 years since that event and this picture (with many others from that day) will still start my eyes watering. My prayers are with the families of the victims and all Aggies that stop to reflect back today.

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Here is the link to the Bonfire Memorial video. It is about five minutes long, but it is worth it. Here is another good site on the aftermath.

Online Garage Sale

I got in my car the other day and realized that I have a LOT of stuff lying around that I no longer need. For instance, there were 3 books on CD that I listened to during our move from Albuquerque to Fayetteville over 2 years ago. I don't really want to have an actual garage sale or learn the internals of selling on eBay or Craig's list, so I thought that I would have a small (3 items) sale to see if I can start downsizing the amount of stuff in my life. Basically, if you want one of these books on CD send me $6.00 (cash) or $7.00 (check). If you want all 3, I will take $15.00 (cash) or $18.00 (check).

• "The Copper Scroll" by Joel C. Rosenberg. Currently listed as $9.50 + $3.99 shipping (NEW) and $5.00 + $3.99 (USED) on Amazon. The 4 CDs have each had 1 use and the packaging is in excellent condition.
• "The Prometheus Deception" by Robert Ludlum. Currently listed as $7.66 + $3.99 shipping (NEW) and $4.98 + $3.99 (USED) on Amazon. The 6 CDs have each had 1 use and the packaging is in excellent condition.
• "The Templar Legacy" by Steve Berry. Currently listed as $9.00 + $3.99 shipping (NEW) and $3.98 + $3.99 (USED) on Amazon. The 6 CDs have each had 1 use and the packaging is in excellent condition.

Leave a comment that let's me know how to contact you if you are interested in helping me reduce the amount of stuff in my life. BTW, if you want to pick up the items, I will discount the price because I don't have to ship them.

Distracted Driving? You Make the Call!

Here is a random episode from today. Kristy is driving back from lunch on I-540 while I sit almost asleep in the passenger seat. Sophie had just asked for "Calle Ocho (???)" on the radio as Kristy blurted out, "I don't know what this idiot thinks he is doing!" Naturally, I looked up.

We had slowed down to ~60 MPH because 2 semi-trucks had decided to block the interstate by going about the same speed in both lanes. There was a guy zooming by us to get right behind these 18-wheelers. It's bad enough because he had to slam on his brakes to keep from hitting them. That's when I realized that this dude was reading his mail. No, I am not talking about his email. He was actually taking papers out of envelopes and holding the papers in front of his face to read.

So, I thought, "That's a pretty bad idea to be reading while driving" when he switched the cell phone from the left shoulder slump hold to the right hand/left ear across the face talking formation. Of course, he had to do that in order to reach across the steering wheel (after letting go of it) with his left hand and take a drink of what I HOPE was a soda. This was one big accident waiting to happen cruising along at ~75 MPH.

The real question for me is now "where did he cross the line?" Was it the reading or the reading plus phone? Just the phone? I am pretty positive that this is a distracted driving case. Actually, the most blatant that I have seen after 50 miles/day on the interstate for 6 years. SOOOO, anyone that has a story like this please share.

Reversals

Guys, I don't feel like I am all alone out there any more. Several groups are either backing down from previous greenhouse gas positions (National Wheat Growers Association) or rethinking their position on anthropogenic global warming (American Physical Society). Another group is trying to have the editor of their society journal removed because of his views on AGW and climate change (American Chemical Society). The response of some ACS members really warms my heart (FYI, in the quotes below, Baum is the editor under fire) :

• “I think it’s time to find a new editor.” -- ACS member Thomas E. D’Ambra
• “Your editorial was a disgrace. It was filled with misinformation, half-truths, and ad hominem attacks on those who dare disagree with you. Shameful!” -- ACS member Dennis Malpass
• “Baum’s remarks are particularly disquieting because of his hostility toward skepticism, which is part of every scientist’s soul. Let’s cut to the chase with some questions for Baum: Which of the 20-odd major climate models has settled the science, such that all of the rest are now discarded? [...] Do you refer to ‘climate change’ instead of ‘global warming’ because the claim of anthropogenic global warming has become increasingly contrary to fact?” -- ACS member Dr. Howard Hayden

There were other comments just as scathing. It is great to see that scientists (most of whom have had doubts all along) are speaking out when the issue comes home to their particular professional society. It seems that they might be worried that their credibility will be sullied by association with the claims of the AGW believers.

BTW, Greenpeace is now admitting that the Arctic will NOT be ice-free by 2030. However, they justify the LIE by saying that they were "emotionalizing" the issue.