Dude, What Are You Thinking?

There is a country song by Dierks Bentley that goes something like "Well, I know what I was feeling, But What was I thinking?" What brought this song to mind? I was reading this article about "Australia's best known expert on global warming" and found out that he thinks that the global warming situation is much worse now than it was just 3 years ago.

As I read his proposed solution to our "problem," I forgot all about the fact that the global temperature has stayed the same (perhaps even cooled) since 1998, so how could it be much worse? Right? I just kept saying to myself as I read further, "Dude, what are you thinking?" In any case, I am going to tell you what he is feeling.

Tim Flannery has proposed that the world should start polluting like crazy. Well, that is a little bit of a paraphrase, but he really does want to use jets traveling across the globe to disperse sulfur into the upper atmosphere. The sulfur would reflect sunlight back into space before it makes it to the surface. Of course, the sulfur will change the color of the sky. And, for those of you who have paid attention over the years, sulfur emissions in the form of sulfur dioxide from various industrial enterprises, including electricity generation from coal, are one of the main ingredients in acid rain. In the U.S., we have even reduced the amount of sulfur that we allow in diesel fuels to limit this sulfur dioxide pollution (and increase the cost of the fuel).

You might think that Flannery has at least modeled the effect of dumping large amounts of sulfur into the upper atmosphere or thought about what burning "extra" sulfur in jet fuel might do to the engines. You would be wrong. Here is a quote, "The consequences of doing that are unknown." However, he is one those "Don't just stand there, do something!" (even if it is wrong or dumb) kind of guys.

Anyway, I promised to tell you what this global warming "expert" is feeling. Dr. Flannery is now beginning to realize that the scientific basis for the cause that he has dedicated much of his professional life is crumbling like a house of cards. He is feeling desperate to justify his existence as a climate scientist and the money he has spent on climate research over the years. So, he feels that he needs to emphasize the urgency of our dire situation.

Well, it's either that or he is just a plain old fashioned kook. I'll leave that for you to decide, but I will tell you that I have made up my mind about Dr. Flannery.

Russ the Barbarian

Over the last 15 years, I have taken the time to read lots of "science" related news stories, opinions, and blogs. Recently, I ran across this peculiar tidbit. In addition to increased (and decreased) El Ninos, increased floods (and droughts), and increased heat waves (and cold spells and blizzards), the phenomenon of Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW; or is it climate change now?) will lead to the "barbarisation" of societies. Believe it or not, Mohan Munasinghe, vice president of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made this claim in a recent speech given to Cambridge University.

Munasinghe believes that problems like poverty, damage to the environment, polarization of societies, and terrorism will increase due to climate change, and he claims that these things are already starting to happen. He doesn't explain how, but all of these things will somehow get worse because the temperature of the planet increases by a degree or two. (By the way, I am still looking for the explanation of global mean temperature.) We have cultures that live from the Arctic to the Equator (and everywhere in between), yet somehow all of these ailments come from a very gradual increase in temperature that occurs over the span of a century. In fact, these changes are imperceptible without satellites and a large number of ground stations distributed around the globe (and there are PROBLEMS with the ground station network).

In any case, I went to my Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary to get the definition of barbarian: "Of or relating to a land, culture, or people alien, usually believed to be inferior, to one's own." I guess when you come from a country like Sri Lanka (criticized by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United States Department of State, and the European Union for human rights violations) as Munasinghe does, then technological advancements in the developed world that help to deliver food and life saving medicines to the world's poor can seem alien. However, I am still struggling with that inferior part. Maybe the inferiority comes into the equation because the Western world is typically NOT considered one of the worst perpetrators of "enforced disappearances" or plain ol' political killings.

This is the part that really gets me about these IPCC folks. The science upon which much of the argument for human causes of global warming (the infamous "hockey stick" figure in Al Gore's movie) has been utterly and completely discredited by McIntyre and McKitrick among others. Now, instead of just admitting that they were wrong, they continue to make these ridiculous claims of catastrophes that might happen if we don't do something right now. Someone needs to let these clowns know that it is time to put down the shovel because the hole that they are digging is already pretty deep.

I just wish that someone with some real political power (I am pretty sure that my "8" faithful subscribers/readers and I don't count on this score) would stand up and tell people that the AGW emperor has no clothes. Until then, I will definitely continue to keep my hands on my wallet whenever I am in the same general vicinity as these IPCC hacks.

Guilt By Association

After that very well written detour into America's pastime (THANKS, Brett!), I figured it was about time to go back to why I began writing this blog in the first place. So, I started thinking back on my post about things that really get me cranked up and decided to take a step back and elaborate further on why I don't now (and never will) consider myself an environmentalist. At some point, I might be happy with the label of steward or conservationist, but never the "E-word."

First, over the years, many commentators (George Reisman and Rush Limbaugh among others) have noted that the environmental movement is the current residence of many former communist leaders (e.g., Mikhail Gorbachev) and current socialists (e.g., Al Gore). Reisman takes it a step farther and states that the environmental movement also contains recycled elements of Nazism. While the second part of Reisman's assertions are tough for me to accept, the tendency for state control and central planning by an elite committee of scientists (social or otherwise) makes the claim of recycled communism easier to believe. I am very much a free market capitalist (Adam Smith is a hero of mine), so why on earth would I want to associate with a bunch of communists and socialists sporting different titles.

Next, those in the environmental movement that we are being told are "moderates" stress the importance of the emissions trading schemes and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. These guys want to reduce U.S. carbon dioxide to some large percentage less than 1990 levels (Kyoto numbers). That particular scheme was rejected something like 97-0 by the Senate. I would assume that nothing would make these people happier than reducing the U.S. economy to Third World levels. People like that are generally not very much fun at parties because they are always telling you why we should feel guilty for our American lifestyle.

Finally, among the environmentalists, there are those that believe that “if all humanity disappeared the rest of life would benefit enormously . . . If the ants were all to disappear, the results would be close to catastrophic.”* There are others (like Les Knight) who have founded organizations whose purpose is the extinction of humanity (Voluntary Human Extinction Movement). These guys don't sound like ordinary college students out there recycling or riding their bikes instead of driving to me. They sound like extremists fanatics that want at least a 90% reduction in the world's population. Again, these are not people that I want playing against me in fantasy football or on my team in a bowling league.

So, if you're curious, I am not an environmentalist because of who my associates would be if I accepted that label. You can call me anything in the book (I have probably been called it before on the football field), but please don't call me the E-word.

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*Edward O. Wilson

A Perfect Day*

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Last Thursday night, my best friend (Brett) arrived from North Carolina to attend an Arkansas Razorback baseball series with his dad and me. Although I met Brett at Boys' State in the summer of 1991, I really got to know him as a freshman at Hendrix College where we spent most of our waking hours together that first term as we attended Calculus I classes with Dr. Eslinger ("Stay with us, Brett."), Chemistry I classes with the legendary Dr. Warfield Teague ("Jaybird said to tell you,'Hey!'"), baseball practice, and flag football games. [As an aside, Brett, Shawn Mathis, and I formed the four year nucleus of the best flag football team in the history of the world. The story of putting together that team is a series of blog posts by itself.]

Anyway, Brett and I are generally about as similar as our hometowns, Pine Bluff (Arkansas) and Mena (Arkansas). If you have questions about how alike these towns are, think about how similar New York City and a farm in the middle of Iowa are. However, despite our differences, we get along very well somehow. Brett knew about Kristy's blog (and mine), and he asked to write a post on her blog after the Friday night game. Kristy and I fought over who would get to "host" his post, and we both won. So, here it is. Enjoy!




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*Post by Guest Blogger Brett Yates

May 9, 2008—Fayetteville, AR.

Okay, so I completely understand that it is rather shallow (and quite possibly frivolous) to say that one of the best days of my life revolved primarily around a college baseball game. I know most peoples’ “best day ever” usually involves a religious / spiritual event, a wedding, or the birth of a child. And, as this is my first attempt at writing a blog post (yep—that’s right, I’m a virgin blogger!), I hope this small 24-hour excerpt of my life isn’t subjected to eye-rolls and ho-hums from the people that frequent this back road of the information superhighway. However, as Russ has allowed me to guest-blog, please allow me to reset what happened today . . . a day as perfect as any that I can remember.

It started simply enough to the innocent bystander—drinking a cup of coffee and staring at the rolling foothills of the Ozark Mountains. However, it was the morning of my first day of vacation. . . A well deserved vacation. I had just finished up the commissioning efforts of a $250 million pharmaceutical project at BiogenIdec in Research Triangle Park, NC. So, this was a particularly sweet cup of coffee—it was one that wasn’t going to be followed by fighting a deadline and dealing with co-workers, subcontractors, e-mails, and other Dilbert-esque scenarios. And, I was getting to hang with Russell, Kristy, and a little girl that MUST be the cutest 3-year old on the face of the planet. Things were off to a good start. And, to top it off, my Dad was coming up to watch the weekend Razorback baseball series against the South Carolina Gamecocks with Russell and me.

Following a morning that included a trip to the grocery store with Sophie and Russell (a blog post in and of itself!), I went to go pick up my dad. The journey back to Northwest Arkansas to see Arkansas play baseball has evolved into a father-son tradition over the last three years. It started in 2005, when he and I saw the Hogs sweep Auburn in a three-game set. In total, this is my 5th trip in 3 years; however, since the first trip, the games had been laden with disappointment. Losses in the regional tournament in 2005, against LSU in 2006, and the regional tournament in 2006 had left the bitter taste of disappointment in my mouth. Would this be the trip that the Hogs turned it around on the diamond? Probability told me not, as this team was struggling for wins. So, I had already preliminarily determined that this trip would provide more enjoyment in just seeing my friends and family. And, if we did steal a win against South Carolina, it would only add to my joy, as I just can’t stand the state of South Carolina. If South Texas is considered the “rear end” of the United States, then South Carolina is the armpit. If you are one of the nice, civilized people from South Carolina reading this . . . then I apologize—and make sure you tell the other two that I’m sorry.

My dad’s face lit up as Russell and I pulled up in the parking lot to pick him up. We returned to the house for a couple of adult beverages and some catching up conversation before making the trek to Baum Stadium. Knowing that a win was integral for the Diamond Hogs to continue their season, a sense of confidence began to spread thru our loins. The green grass and perfectly manicured field sent chill bumps up and down my arms and back. And, after hearing the fight song, calling the Hogs, and hearing the national anthem, we were ready for a little bit of “America’s favorite pastime.”

(WARNING: For non-baseball fans, here’s where it gets a little boring.)

The game started on a positive note—two solo home runs in the 1st inning gave the Hogs a 2-0 lead; but, it was short-lived. S. Carolina countered with 2 of their own in the next inning, and then took the lead in the 3rd. The Hogs tied it up in the bottom half of the 3rd, but things went sour staring the 4th inning. Two Arkansas errors and timely Gamecock hitting extended the lead out to 9-3, and later 11-5 in the top of the 7th inning. It looked as if my journey from the east coast would again have a loss tainting an otherwise enjoyable visit. This team just didn’t seem to have the winning mentality that I had seen in past Arkansas baseball squads. I decided I would just have to chalk the trip up an experience that was better than my usual work-related pharmaceutical documentation. Rumor had it that the team had arranged for a big fireworks show after the game—an event that young Sophie was looking forward to as much as I had been looking forward to the game. Well, at least that would bring a little highlight to the night!

The bottom of the fifth and sixth innings had provided a couple of conversation catalysts. Our spunky 2nd baseman Ben Tschepikow had gotten an infield single and magically moved to 2nd base. (Later, thanks to the internet, Russell and I determined he had advanced on a balk for which we are yet to find an explanation) He scored on an error one batter later—a run that seemed pretty insignificant at the time, but later would symbolize the miracle behind the night. How had Ben gotten to second base? Oh well . . . it didn’t matter . . . probably not important, right? Also, one inning later, Logan Forsythe belted his 2nd homer of the game, again slightly aided by the breeze blowing out to right field . . . at least HE was having a good game.

The rest of the 6th inning, as well as the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, were a blurry whirlwind. Russell, Dad, and I continued to obviously state that we sure could use a few more homeruns. Russell, using all 7 years of his Ph.D. education had deduced that if we could only get a couple of runs an inning, we would be back in this game. (Hats off to the new math!) The Razorback batters left the bases loaded twice and two runners on once. We had left more men “on” than Lindsey Lohan and Tara Reed after a night of clubbing. The South Carolina bullpen pitchers were up and down more than Ron Jeremy’s you-know-what during the making of an adult film. And, after the Hogs shutdown the South Carolina hitters in the 8th and 9th, we came up to bat with one more chance down 11-8.

Ironically, back in the 3rd inning, the guy behind me had sarcastically stated, “Man, I hope this doesn’t end up to be another 11-10 game.” My thoughts drifted back to the Nostradamus-like prediction—using Russell’s new math to deduce that this would result in a catastrophic and disheartening loss. I decided to change seats, moving back a row to sit behind my dad and Russ in seat # 23 (my old college baseball number). This, I determined would be my “good luck seat.” Would it work?

Wilkins slammed a 2-2 pitch to right for his 4th hit of the game. Brett Eibner drew a walk, giving us runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs, and bringing the tying run to the plate and our hopes to a new level. Our aspirations for a win were quickly squashed after a strikeout and Tscheipikow’s line out to right after hitting it “on the screws.” We almost started leaving for the car, but I gazed back at the lucky seat sporting “23,” and sat down for one more batter. Chase Leavitt, who had hit the cut-off man as many times as the 3-year old Sophie had on this night, corked a slow dribbler to a sprawling Gamecock 2nd baseman and beat out the infield single by inches. This should have brought Sean Jones to the plate—an Arkansas player hitting .162, but had a homer and a single on the night.

“Now hitting for the Razorbacks, the freshman, Jacob House!” the public address announcer proclaimed. House . . . House . . . my mental rolodex starting flipping—the name didn’t ring a bell. “Is this the time to be bringing in an 18 year old freshman to pinch hit?” I asked my dad and Russell. They shrugged their shoulders, and the South Carolina bullpen continued to work harder than a dentist in West Virginia. My mind began to race to what the most disappointing finish could be: 1) the kid gets a double, and the runner on first gets hosed at the plate trying to tie the game; 2) we tie it up, and lose in extra innings—not only extending the night, but also delaying the fireworks for Sophie; 3) we leave the bases loaded for the third time in four innings.

But then, on a 1-0 pitch, the hand of God reached down from the heavens and touched the bat of the teenage Razorback hitter from Mansfield, TX. Young House struck the cowhide sphere, lifting a fly ball into the air into right field. I hope God had call-waiting, because his prayer line was immediately flooded with the pleas of 7,500 cardinal and white clad Hog fans—“Get out of here!” we all said in unison. The scientist in me kicked in . . . it’s too high, the 5-10 mph breeze that had been blowing for the first 8 innings sending a chill into my father's legs had vanished, and the Ozark air had grown heavy and humid. During the flight of the ball, I must have glanced back and forth a dozen times between the parabolic flight of the ball and the right fielder drifting back, arm out looking for the fence. Did it have the distance?

To tell the truth, I never saw the ball go over the fence—that’s right, the game winning grand slam landed in the South Carolina bullpen, clearing the wall by a yard stick. I never saw the stunned, jaw-dropped expression on my father’s and Russell’s face. Like Elvis, I had “left the building.” I sprinted up the stairs from our 2nd row seats and out into the street screaming like someone on fire. I jumped up and down, throwing my fist into the air like I had just won the powerball lottery. I ran back into the stadium, down the steps back into Section 99 to see that my father and Russell were still leaping in excitement. I hugged my dad—I tackled Russell. Unbelievable . . . magical . . . miraculous. The best ending to a sporting event I had ever witnessed in my 33 years.

(Okay, non-baseball fans—wake up! Time for the meaningful and exciting conclusion.)

And just when I didn’t think the night could get any better, it did. An experience that really brought me back to reality—a slap in my smiling exuberant fact that reminded me of what is really important in the world. Moments later, after calling the Hogs and singing the fight song, we found Kristy and Sophie. . . . Yes, of course, after the win, we were going to stay and watch the post-game fireworks.

I had forgotten how exciting fireworks were to a small child—as adults, we get calloused to things after we have seen them dozens, even hundreds of times. But, during the 15-minute pyrotechnics display, I focused more on the face of a smiling child as the “bombs bursted in air.” My father had offered to hold Sophie during the show, and locked his 71 year old arthritic arms around her as she “oooohed” and “ahhhed” and announced "that's my favorite one!" hundreds of times. I don’t know who was smiling more—Sophie or Dad?

When the grand slam won the game for the Hogs, a 33-year old acted like he was 3, and celebrated the proverbial game-winning fireworks. But, what really made the day perfect was watching my dad and Sophie watch the real fireworks. It’s the little things that end up being really important—like a balk call in the 5th inning. Sophie will forget about this day in a few years. Probably sooner, as other exciting moments vie for position in her little memory.

For me, it was one of the best days ever.

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Postscript: Unlike the South Carolina right fielder, #15 Harley Lail ("Not your fault, One-Five!"), we had an extremely enjoyable weekend. In addition to a great time with friends, the Hogs won all three games this weekend. Here is a link to the YouTube video of the rally.

It Doesn't Add Up

This post is a little different because I am going to take you guys with me as a wander around a problem that has been festering in the edges of my mind for quite some time. (For those not lulled into a coma, there's a reward at the end of this lengthy meander.) I am hoping for insights (in the form of comments) that might help clear the fog. Here is the list of related questions that has me bogged down in some cloudy thinking:

• What is a global mean temperature?
• How do you measure it?
• If we don't measure it directly, how is it put together, inferred, or made up?
• How would you validate that the method is correct?

There are more percolating, but my thinking is so muddled that I couldn't force the questions to make sense as I tried to put them onto electrons (paper for the old-fashioned out there).

When I hear the words "global mean temperature", my mind drifts back to my days in an undergraduate thermodynamics class where I learned that, physically, the temperature of a gas is the average kinetic energy (energy of motion) of the molecules in the gas. So, based on that definition, I would assume that the global mean temperature has to relate to how fast the atmospheric molecules are bouncing around. This makes sense if the atmosphere was well mixed and no temperature differences exist. We know this is not the case, so I am back to square one.

Another possible way to define the global temperature is to look at the blackbody radiation emitted by the earth and use Stefan's law (or Wien's displacement law) to define the temperature. There, we run into a couple of problems. First, the earth isn't really a blackbody. It is more of a gray body because it does not absorb all the radiation incident on it, but we can adjust for that. Second, Stefan's law tells us that the energy flux (energy emitted per unit area) of the blackbody radiation is proportional to the 4th power of the temperature in Kelvin. This is the sticking point for me.

Let's look at some "average" winter temperatures for the Arctic and the Tropics (I am making up these numbers to show the mathematics). Let's assume that the Arctic has a day where the air temperature is 250 K (-23 degrees C and -9 degrees F) while the same day the Tropics has an average air temperature of 300 K (27 degrees C and 81 degrees F). If I ratio the two energy fluxes that result from these temperatures, we get the following:

• (250 x 250 x 250 x 250)/(300 x 300 x 300 x 300) = 0.48225

Here's the problem with this number: there is over twice as much energy flux in the Tropics compared to the Arctic, and this example is a relative moderate temperature difference. For example, I did not compare Death Valley in the summer to Antarctica in the winter (these happen at the same time). It also means that relatively small errors in measuring this global mean temperature (still don't know for sure what this is) can result in fairly large errors in the value of the energy flux from the earth.

So, I finally get to ask my first question, "What is this global mean temperature that I keep hearing about?" I have yet to receive an answer that satisfies my physical intuition about problems like this. This leads to my second question, "How do you measure a global mean temperature?" My humorous guess is that you stick a thermometer in the rectal cavity of the earth and read the value that shows up, but I don't really think that is the method.

That is the lead in to my third question, "If we don't measure it directly, how is it put together, inferred, or made up?" I am well aware that the UK folks take a temperature, the NASA folks take a temperature, and a few other groups do so as well. Will someone please tell me what calculation they have done when they tell me that the "temperature anomaly" from January was +0.002 degrees C?

Finally, we have arrived at my final question, "How would you validate that the method is correct?" I don't understand the numbers that these groups spit out each month and year, but without telling me their methods (NASA is famous for this) or giving me access to their data (in many cases), I am supposed to believe the numbers produced of each of these groups. For those of you who don't know me, I'm not a take-my-word-for-it kind of guy.

For those of you who have made it this far, you probably think I am joking. I SERIOUSLY don't know what any of these global warming numbers mean. I was trained as a physicist and I work with complex equations every day, but the metrics that are being provided make NO sense to me. I am hoping that one of you out there that stumbles across this post will be able to point me to some book, journal article, or presentation that will explain the physics of these numbers that I keep seeing.

Until someone can help me out, I am going to keep believing my thermometer theory. That, and the fact that these guys taking our planet's temperature don't want us to know about the wool they are pulling over the eyes of their funding agencies.

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To end a torturous post with something funny, here's a clip that may show the fate of these temperature anomalies ten years from now (in case you miss what the woman says at the beginning, it's just a satellite):

Don't Go There!

A couple of friends of mine have noted a "negative tone" when I write on certain topics (particularly climate models, recycling, energy conservation, and organic foods). While I have not written on them, other things that will generate a negative tone in conversations with me (this list is not all inclusive):

• 9/11 conspiracy theories
• Moon landing deniers, Area 51 fanatics, and Roswell Incident theorists
• Conspiracy theories involving the Freemasons, the Tri-Lateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bilderberg Group, the Bohemian Grove, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Order of Skull & Bones
• The phrases: (1) War never solved anything. (2) Give peace a chance. (3) Bush is a Nazi. and (4) Cheney is a war criminal.
• Christian fads like "The Purpose Driven Life", "The Prayer of Jabez", and "The Passion of the Christ"

Each of these things is likely to draw a least a sarcastic barb (if not much more) from me when introduced into a conversation.

The conspiracy theories are topics that at least entertain me with their creativity. I loved the X-Files and all the conspiracy theories that went with it. I followed the show closely until Scully said, "I yearn for you, Mulder" sometime in season 6 or 7. That was the end of my avid viewing days. In any case, most conspiracy theorists are looking for ways to explain world changing events with secret answers. I believe in the Occam's Razor approach for these types of things (i.e., the simpliest explanation is probably the best explanation). In the cases of 9/11, the JFK assassination, or events and activities surrounding Area 51, I believe that the government has concealed things (probably with good reasons) and this concealment caused people to fill in the blanks with sinister motives and connections that are really not there.

The phrases really set off my pet peave meter because they reveal either a unrealistic naivite or a complete misunderstanding of the English words that make up the sentences. For instance, what solved the problem of Fascism in Europe and Japan? If your answer was diplomacy, then your history books tell a much different tale than mine. I believe in Reagan's attitude of "Peace through strength," but that is not generally the meaning intended by those chanting for us to give peace a chance. The Nazis placed Jews, gypsies, and other "undesirables" into concentration camps, convinced the guards and the population that they were less than human, and executed over 6 million people in a systematic way. War criminals are those that ordered these things or carried them out without question. How can anyone make a serious comparison of those two things with the current occupants of the U.S. executive offices? The idiocy of that blows my mind.

It is possible to disagree with someone without the other person being a Nazi or war criminal. It is possible that both President Bush and Vice President Cheney believed that Saddam Hussein had WMD. The WORLD knows that he had them at one time because he used them against the Kurds. It is also possible that President Bush wanted to liberate Iraq and place a democracy in the Middle East as a future ally.

Finally, the Christian fad thing kind of drives me a little batty. There is nothing wrong with churches being "seeker-friendly" as long as that does not interfere with the worship, fellowship, and teaching that should be the basis for gathering as Christians. These fads are generated by slick marketing campaigns and advertising. I feel like I am being sold something (toothpaste, deodorant, etc.) rather than being fed as a Christian.

Since this post was a response to a comment on my attitude toward recycling and energy conservation, I will summarize why I feel the way I do toward these kind of things. As I have said in other places, I believe that we are stewards of all that we are given. I don't believe in wasting energy or polluting the planet. However, we have been sold a bill of goods that tells us that recycling and "negawatts" can get us out of our current energy crisis. If the U.S. is going to have economic growth, we must have affordable energy. The surest way to recession is put the cost of energy out of reach for the industries that need it. So, the negative attitude is not directed at those who reduce, reuse, and recycle. It is reserved for those policymakers and environmental activists who believe that we can save our way to economic growth and prosperity.

Friday Funny

It has been a tough week (MPU-wise) because nothing I have read recently in science reporting has spun me up enough to generate another post. I have been working about 12 hour days while I was on the road this week, so I haven't had a chance to read much in the way of science news. Instead of offending AGW-alarmists, this Friday morning I have decided to offend another group of people: Texas Tceh Graduates Who Can Read. I believe that this is a small group, and the way that I will offend them will probably make large groups of people laugh.

Kristy has written all about the "L-word" and the feelings about Tceh at our house, but then she gave a reason to like the town. What a sell out! Here is a picture and a video that should fix any rehabilitation that she has done in the minds of people out there.



And people wonder why the Texas Aggies spell Tceh the way that we do. Aggies are nice people, and we are just trying to make any Red Raiders around feel better about themselves. Many of you will have seen this one, but this Tceh freshman has his dream job. He gets to be the bell ringer at Jones Stadium.

AND, he gets to ring that bell on national television. I am going to meet my young nephew (Wylie) over the weekend, so you may not see a new post for a few days. I hope you at least got a good chuckle at Tceh's expense. Have a great weekend.