Travelling To The Stars With Space Music - guided by Chuck Van Zyl

In a never ending attempt to "explore strange new worlds" the last year has found me exploring making music with a synthesizer.  It's been quite the challenge with a learning curve as steep as Everest.  As a long time lover of "Berlin School" space music my searches came across the music of Chuck Van Zyl. His extraordinary soaring timbres and clouds of rhythmic sequencing provide a fantastic modern exploration of that genre of  space music.  One of my favorite videos of his work is below.
I hope you enjoy!

The YouTube link is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoP5J_YpcwY

Hurricane Hunters follow a Pattern

#NOAA42 finishing 3rd and last pass through the eye of #HurricaneIrma collecting Doppler radar data for #HWRF. https://t.co/jwh0azKHML


Sent from my iOS phone.

My Year in the Premier League - In a Manner of Speaking - FA Cup

Part of the Story:

The FA CUP

Association Football (what we Americans call soccer) is so firmly entrenched in England (Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, and 7 dozen other countries) that it is part of the social fabric.  For example, during the month of March in the United States basketball fans are treated to March Madness with a bracket of 68 seeded teams who play each other to determine a winner.  This basketball frenzy sweeps the nation for several weeks and then it is over. 

The oldest association football competition in the world, the FA Cup, is an annual knockout competition in men's domestic English football. The competition is open to any eligible club down to Level 10 in the English Football Pyramid.   Each year the competition features over 600 teams with the first game in August and the FA Cup Final in the month of May. There is nothing closely resembling this competition in the US.  

Early in the competition, when lower ranked teams play teams that are much higher in the pyramid the possibility of "giant killings" is greatly exciting to the football public.  The fact that a poorly funded team that centers on a small village could play and beat (it has happened!) a top ranked Premier League team (a giant) is an unexpected delight to the competition.  

A Football Term Defined:

 Transfer Window - Tranfer Deadline Day

The transfer window is not some pane of glass on the back side of a transfer truck. No no no. The transfer window for the Premier League is twelve weeks of public speculation bordering on the side of insanity about which club is going to buy or sell which player. If you are a fan of a team then you can expect that the amount of discussion and speculation will rise and fall with the revolution of the earth.  Yes, after midnight it calms down and then picks up again about 6 am. However, since the earth is round, and at  every moment in time it is daylight somewhere, then the pace of the frantic speculation never really ceases.

There are two transfer windows in Premier League Football. A four week window in the middle of the winter (January) and the eight weeks comprising July and August. Today, the last day of August, is Transfer Deadline Day. In case you missed it, here is all of the activity during he Summer Transfer Window. 

Most importantly what on earth happened to Liverpool during the summer transfer? 

This article is part of a series where I discuss, define, experience and try to explain my passion for Premier League Soccer, primarily as it is expressed in my semi fanatical support for the best team in the world: LIVERPOOL FC .

Logo borrowed from:  http://www.lfchistory.net/Images/lfc/LIVE_5396.gif

January Tropical Cyclones in The Atlantic & Pacific. At The Same Time! - Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal - AGU Blogosphere

http://blogs.agu.org/wildwildscience/2016/01/14/january-tropical-cyclone-in-the-atlantic-pacific-at-the-same-time/


Sent from my iOS phone.

Robinson Springs United Methodist Church - Millbrook, AL

Robinson Springs United Methodist Church in Millbrook Alabama, one of the oldest churches in Elmore County was built in 1848.  It is built in classic Greek Revival style which was very popular in the 1830s through the 1840s. The heart pine foundation is still solid and held in place by pegs. Amazingly there are several families worshiping at the church who are the eighth generation of their family to remain in this congregation. 

Miriam Sagan's Blog On the Forthcoming Book

https://miriamswell.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/rod-scott-on-the-churches-of-alabama/

Laughter

My father sleeps under the blue lagoon
dreaming sweetly of grassy days in
dappled sunlight,
cousins playing vibrantly around
the many ancient oaks,
hiding behind the trunks with
fierce intent....

Scream! Leap! Tackle!

The children lay rolling in
bales of laughter, caring
not for dirt stains, or
scuff marks,
only for
laughter.


Owl's Nest - Wildacres - NC - October 7, 2015.

Yale University Photo Archive Of The Depression Released

http://beautifuldecay.com/2015/10/14/yale-university-releases-170000-incredible-photos-great-depression/









Sent from my portable computer.

Appropriate Tools For Writing

Haiku 14

Haiku 14

Grey ghosts fly overhead
Together in a vee shape –
No honking today.

Sent from my iOS phone.

Explanation ....

I've been experimenting with updating this blog via email.

Here are a couple of the ways that do not work:

          1) The Day One app.    This is my favorite app for writing on the phone.  However, when                      you send a note via email it clutters the subject line with a title that is relevant to the
               date the Day One app sent the file.  Your note Title is missing.

          2)  Evernote.  This is my favorite app for organizing notes.  However, when you share via                      email the shared "Work Chat" becomes an icon to click, therefore you cannot update this
            blog in that manner.


The one thing I did learn was that when using standard email to update this blog the contents of the subject line become the title of the blog entry.  Perfect!

If I forget the subject line, the first line of the article becomes the title of the entry.  --- Not optimal!

NIGHTSIGHT

Nightsight

Cloud caressing towers create man

made canyons that drown in 

dusk induced darkness.

Vagrant wind glances down the dusty street

startles windows and slaps soiled

newspapers across yellow lines.

Humpbacked shadows flicker like

indecisive moths

circling unevenly spaced street lights.

Colorless cars evade airborne paper

skirting pools of halogen light

stirring the shadows into decisive action.

Harrowing loneliness radiates from my marrow

pervades thoughts of my tomorrow and

strangle my fears of yesterday.

Solitary vertigo overwhelms my sight,

diminishes my spirit and 

quenches the fires of the night.

Birmingham, AL - February 21, 1990

The evening view from my cubicle on the

13th floor. 

Pre Autumn Chill

Pre Autumn Chill

The bird calls echo through the tall wooden
columns, underneath the leafy cathedral
ceiling, among the randomly arrayed
understory comprised of brilliant foliage,
shrubs, rotted debris, and four legged
creatures scurrying about in search of
food.

The calliopeic warble of the different
Avian families rebound and re echo from
corners of the cathedral, a building with no
walls, a building with no windows, open to
atmospheric flights of aerial mastery,
and the approachment of Autumn.

A chilled sunrise in late August speaks
Autumnal murmurations at the
latitude of thirty three degrees above the
equator; bringing a loving reminder that
alas, awhile burning summer heat is not banished
from the Southern landscape,
—– it's days are numbered.


Elmore N. Scott, Jr. ©
  August 26, 2015 -
 , Hoover, AL, United States

Sent from my iOS phone.

The Worst Hard Time

An extraordinary book about America's greatest climate disaster. The Worst Hard Time tells the story of the people caught up in the circumstances that led to a greed fueled desire to get rich, at the expense of the greatest grasslands on the North American continent. As the disaster unfolded the reader is taken into the dust filled lives of the ordinary people who watched their land dry up and blo...w away. Who knew that at one point the dust made it all the way to New York City and Washington D.C. and blew more than 200 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean . By the end of the book you have met many memorable characters, historic people, and the ordinary people who had to decide whether to leave or stay as their soil, their farms and their towns blew away.

from: Rod Scott

Hi Nimrodscott



http://dealsonfitness.info/clearly.php?cover=kk9kgek58uvzw9bx





nimrodscott@yahoo.com
Nimrodscott

Sent from my iPhone

John Cook Makes a Great Point about Communication

Scientists are from Mars, Laypeople are
from Venus:
An Evidence-Based Rationale for
Communicating the Consensus on Climate
John Cook and Peter Jacobs


http://reports.ncse.com/index.php/rncse/article/view/347/599

97% - The Evidence has been conclusive for years

Relevance

Are monastics and hippies and poets relevant? No, we're deliberately irrelevant. We live with an ingrained irrelevance which is proper to every human being. The marginal person accepts the basic irrelevance of the human condition, an irrelevance which is manifested above all by the fact of death. The marginal person, the monastic, the displaced person, the prisoner, all these people live in the presence of death, which calls into question the meaning of life. They struggle with the fact of death in themselves, trying to seek something deeper than death, because there is something deeper than death, and the office of the monastic or the marginal person, the meditative person, is to go beyond death, even in this life to go beyond the dichotomy of life and death and to be, therefore, a witness to life.

- Thomas Merton, "Clouds and Water"

I've dreamed of this photo for about 15 years. During that time I've stood in this spot gazing to the west at this particular mountain range under a wide variety of light conditions. I've seen these mountains in morning light, sunset silhouette, broad daylight, wrapped in clouds, wreathed in clouds (as you see here) and under a cloudless sky.  

This photo contains the entire range of the Black Mountains in North Carolina. Actually, that is only partially true. What you see here is the highest peaks of the North-Central portion of the range. Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains is near the middle of the photo. 

What I love about this photo is that the air was clear, and that clouds were clustered around the range. The shadows cast by those clouds under strong sunshine add to the visual beauty of the lower slopes of The Blacks.  

Hopefully this will not be my last photo of this part of The Black Mountains. I'm looking forward to exploring this viewpoint in the near future.

One of my favorite places - The top of Mount Mitchell, NC

Orion Departs: Mar 14, 2013

Orion Departs

Orion slips to the West, tilting as
He removes himself from
easy view in the pre midnight
sky.

Mid March cold flows down the
yard like a sluggish river bereft
of water craft,
chilling unprotected ankles
freezing toes.

The Barred Owl announces
to the small four legged that their
days may be numbered,
nocturnal hunt will
commence again soon.

My breath floats out
Dissipates…
Moistens the chill night air,
while I think of one who
will no longer be among us
no longer concerned with
impoverished breath.

Rejoice!
Another Saint is admitted
into the Eternal Kingdom!

We are glad,
for he who is no longer among us
suffers no more;
we are sad for he is no
longer among us.

Orion has floated from view.
I stand up, cold stiffened joints
protest a sudden start.
Tomorrow we begin again.
We move toward
that long away day
that day of Reunion in a
Heavenly country.

Copyright
Rod Scott
March 14, 2013

46° Clear
953 Riverchase Pkwy W, Hoover, Alabama, United States

Sent from my portable computer. 

At Peace: Apr 7, 2013

At Peace

Spring rain washed pollen filled skies
Trees shimmering with yellow sunlight
Drip and drop tinged water from
Fresh bright green leaves
born last night under the
warm spring stars.

Pollen yellow fringed puddles
dapple dot the black asphalt
down the hillside
down the roadway,
mosaic of gold and black stretches
the entire length of the Parkway.

Inhaling deeply I Remember:
A warm Spring morning when
I am six years old riding in
the back seat with my
window wound low
an extended arm,
a tilting hand,
surfing the ocean of air
flowing past the car;
My parents are in the front seat;
I am safe
secure
happy in the moment,
not a care in the world.

Rod Scott
copyright 2013
First draft was April 1, 2013
8th version.

Hoover, Alabama

Sent from my portable computer. 

Avian Congress: Apr 11, 2014

Avian Congress

I espied eleven eagles in one glance
gyring over the mighty Tennessee;
A congress of avian might,
clouding above the horizon they
commanded all beneath their wings;

Lowly mortals consigned to speeding along the internet and four wheeled
gasoline powered vehicles have
no power over the Eagle.

Copyright Elmore N. "Rod" Scott, Jr.

 Florence, AL

 

DAWN SLIDES UP THE CURVE OF THE WORLD. Day One Entry: Oct 27, 2013

Dawn slides up the curve of the world
on noiseless clouds, punctured
by mountains that redirect the light,
bending the sight lines to the eye of
the beholder.

Time stops;
then the thrice crowing cock
echoes in the valley below,
sounding among the hills,
and frost crisped fields.

Hidden dark cerulean clouds are
illumined by splintered solar fire,
by solar storms from afar…

In a puff of time, the pre dawn sky,
Coyly yielding to the day,
Departs in a moment,
Exploding into the
dawn sky, the
New Day Sky.

Elmore N. "Rod" Scott, Jr. © 2013

35.0037° N, 84.0295° W

Sent from my mobile phone.

SHACKLEFORD POINT - FEBRUARY Day One Entry: Feb 15, 2014

Shackleford Point - February

In the blue light before dawn the pine needles shiver in the sub freezing air. The north wind causes the trees to sashay in circles while the remnants of last night's fire permeate the air. The animals that are awake at this hour move silently under the trees, their footfalls covered by the wind tossed forest. Deer, quietly nibbling tender branchlets, the fox blinking at the slow light in the East, swift motion beneath the feet of the trees betray the scurry of the chipmunk.

Time stands still as the entire world pauses on the cusp of a new dawn. Fresh breezes blow away the detritus of the previous night, causing fresh insight into the days ahead. For a moment I am young, and old, simultaneously. The juxtaposition is momentarily unnerving, then accepted as the Moment Itself. A Relationship as large as all outdoors kindles the last tendrils of sleep, and unifies all that stood in disarray.

I turn to the North, inhaling the keen breeze, letting it revivify every cell in my body. Singing and tingling with new life, filled with clarified purpose I return to the campfire to make coffee.

Sent from my mobile phone.

TWILIGHT --- Day One Entry: Mar 14, 2014

Twilight

The wind rises from the southwest
Causing tree branches to sway with leafless abandon;
The clapper caresses the tubes of the wind chime coaxing pure notes to ride the wind across the forest.

The Barred Owl hidden amongst the highest oak branches sings a nocturnal ditty, persuading a response from avian kinfolk.

Do they survey their territory and announce their boundaries in such a manner?
Or is this a call of Love wanted, or Lost?

The dusk spreads like a heavy woolen Pendelton blanket
smothering the wind and diminishing its power,
silencing the call and response of the owls,
muting,
the wind chime.

Rod Scott

Sent from my mobile phone.

Floating : Jun 1, 2014

Floating

Sometimes the body mind floats, on automatic pilot, with no direction, step by step, breath by breath, with no conscious effort or attention….just coasting, like a kick ball out of bounds heading down hill to the road below.

Sent from my mobile phone.

Musical Epiphany Day One Entry: Jul 30, 2014

Musical Epiphany

Sometimes while listening to favorite music, the kind of music that leads to the genesis of epiphany, a Higher and better Dimension peeks through the chords and speaks Wisdom to my Heart.

Sent from my mobile phone.

Day One Entry: Aug 20, 2014

Grief

"Grief is so individually expressed, so uniquely experienced, that we have no capacity to experience another's pain. Sadness rooted in painful memories, triggered by anniversaries, are reminders merely of the passage of time, not of ability or desire to cope with the pain. There is no balm that can be applied or received from afar that will magically assuage our grief, eliminate the pain, or speed up its passage. Grief lives like a tree, growing at its own pace, fruiting and leafing at its own pace until one day a branch rots and leaves drop. Then on another day, perhaps distant in time, or sooner than expected, another branch breaks. The tree has fewer branches, fewer leaves, less fruit. The tree still lives but in a diminished capacity, it no longer takes the same amount of time to rake up the leaves in Fall. Even if this tree were to fall over in a hurricane, the wood would still be on the ground. The rotten carcass of grief slowly absorbed into the dirt. It might take a lifetime for that grief to disappear, or it might take a little less."

Rod Scott

90° Mostly Sunny
1980 Parkway River Rd, Hoover, AL, United States

Sent from my mobile phone.

How we'll remember the 2014 World Cup - film from Birmingham, AL

http://www.cbssports.com/world-cup/eye-on-world-cup/24619997/the-milestone-past-milestones-how-the-2014-world-cup-will-be-remembered

Hard to believe that video was filmed in Birmingham, Alabama. We have come a long way!!!

Sent from my portable computer. 

Life Intervention

Three years ago the rapidly declining state of my father's health required that I spend increasing amounts of time managing his health and financial affairs. A series of unexpected health set backs, including his succombing to blindness necessitated major changes in his life.

He lived first in an Assisted Living Center, then a Nursing Home. Last year he died on March 12, 2013.  Much of my time since has been handling his financial affairs since that time.

These very important issues, an Intervention from "Life", have taken me through the valley and the shadow. My writing has continued but has not been seen on this blog.

Perhaps one day I'll play catch up...but for now this blog is getting very little attention.

I've very proud of my father. He was an amazing gentleman who was humble before his God, and gave generously of his time and his talent. I'm attaching some photos of him in his later years.

Hey Dad----you are gone but not forgotten. 

Love,
Rod

CENSORED NEWS: Chief Arvol Looking Horse's Message May 2013

CENSORED NEWS: Chief Arvol Looking Horse's Message May 2013

Indigenous leaders ask for prayer.....

The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society

I was unaware of this group until today.  It sounds (and reads) like they've been doing this work for quite a while.


"The Tree illustrates some of the contemplative practices currently in use in secular organizational and academic settings. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list. Below the Tree you will find links to descriptions of many of these practices as well as a more in-depth description of the Tree and image files for downloading."


http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree

Tweet by @climateprogress via TweetCaster

Climate Progress (@climateprogress)
11/16/12, 1:24 PM

The Earth Is Warming And Human Activity Is The Primary Cause: The Climate Science Paradigm Grows Stronger http://bit.ly/ZIGec9

Shared via TweetCaster (http://tweetcaster.com)

Sent from my mobile phone.

Eloquence-Belief-Paradigms

One of the more masterful analyses of the resistance to changing one's beliefs. Especially one's political beliefs. Especially when one's beliefs are contradicted by reality. Especially when one's beliefs are repudiated in a very public fashion....like a National Election.

Jeffrey C. Stewart, professor of Black Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara writes:
"Charles Sanders [Peirce], the greatest of American philosophers, wrote a brief essay, "The Fixation of Belief," that holds some lessons as to what is wrong with the GOP and how, most likely, it will not solve its problem in the immediate future.

Pierce showed that humans are not fundamentally seekers of truth; we mainly want to avoid doubt. And when events occur, like the 2012 presidential election landslide by Barack Obama when most Republican analysts predicted a Republican victory, doubt emerges. But as Pierce shows, people hold to their beliefs tenaciously long after it has become plain they no longer accord with reality.
Notice how Karl Rowe refused to believe the conclusions of Fox News's own statisticians that Ohio had been won by the president. Or Donald Trump's rant that "We can't let this happen. We need to march on Washington and stop this travesty." These comical reactions are merely extreme versions of the looks on the faces of those assembled at Romney headquarters in Boston who could not believe that their beliefs were so out of step with most of America's voters; and the paid Republican prognosticators - George Will, Dick Morris, etc., etc. all failed to anticipate the 100 electoral vote thumping that Barack laid on Mitt Romney. "
 Read the rest of his article at the link below:

Permalink:
http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Jeffrey_C__Stewart_0BF5B29B-67BA-4F3C-B5F5-54A4526BC9FC.html

 

An hour with Dad

There is a brief breeze as the air pressure from within the building escapes into the warm sky. The door slides shut, the breeze stills and I'm inside once again. I both dread, and look forward to these visits. The dread is easy to explain; who on earth looks forward to being encapsulated in a skilled nursing facility, a nursing home.

I sign in smiling at the lady behind the desk, we exchange normal pleasantries then I turn entering a different world. Sometimes that world begins outdoors, when the residents in wheel chairs sit outdoors catching a few sun beams. Mostly the world become unmistakable before making the left turn, but certainly after turning down the hall and entering another universe.

It is never hard to take that walk down the hall. Everyone of these residents have loved, laughed, cried, and been angry. Everyone of these residents have family who interact with them, or at least did to get the admitted. The humanity shared by each of us causes me to smile at the lady in the wheelchair, and she smiles back. One of the ladies always asks me if I am going. My response is the same, a genuine smile, and a spoken "yes", and then I take the turn by the nurses station.

Waving at Lily, the RN, I turn the corner and head for Dad's room. He is sitting in a chair in front of a TV that is tuned to ESPN, and a college football game. He is asleep, I gently put my hand on his right shoulder and speak my name loud enough for him to hear. Sitting on the bed, reaching for the volume control on the TV I greet Dad.

Dad entered this alternative universe a year ago when he went blind. Eye surgery was attempted, but the end result never changed. His sons and daughters in love attempted to care for him but that proved a full time job. A job you could only take if you quit your day job.

We moved him into an assisted living center. That was hard. That was hard for him, and that was hard for us. It was a time of accelerated challenges, and a learning curve at least one light year long. Dad's loving heart, his intelligence, his good humor stood him in good stead as he adapted to his new world.

Within a month he was making his way down the halls that he could not see. Within two months he was establishing new relationships, always showing the Love of Christ to everyone he met. Yet time is not an ally when important parts of our selves deteriorate. The steady decline, while nearly impossible to see while measuring with 24 hour yard sticks, becomes painfully apparent at longer intervals. When the body and mind decline in concert, the music goes off key, and sometimes things break altogether.

Dad had been fortunate to fall gently, tearing only skin and not bone. When the bones started breaking everything changed again. Five months of assisted living came to an abrupt end, and the family scrambled again to find a new universe, a new home away from home. After less than two weeks one final catastrophic fall removed Dad from vertical existence and put him in bed.

I sit gently upon the bed remembering first experiences with the bed alarm, the startled awareness of a siren going off because the sensor was reporting, incorrectly, that someone had fallen out of bed. We talk, in a slow deliberate way, leaving long pauses for secondary comments and space for grace to appear. This is not the way our conversations started so many months ago. My nervousness at being in a nursing home prompted me to fill conversational silence with words. Not all of the words were superfluous, not all of the words were wasted.

Yet a greater peacefulness suffuses the room as acceptance appears and sits with us. That acceptance may be more on my part than Dad's, yet it changes the chemistry of the moment, embraces the arms of grace that always appear when I raise my hands to the sky in surrender.

Today is not the day for spirited dialog....indeed, the synapses of silence confirm that fact.

Dad either sits in the chair, or lies in bed. His back injuries were so grievous they precluded any serious physical therapy. Besides, this is not a place that many return from. For many this is the last earthly dwelling place. For many this is the last home.

I still recall the conversations he and I had over the years regarding his probable future. The nursing home was not a destination to be anticipated. We speculated what might happen, and the possible sequence of events that might transpire. Neither of us had the imagination to forsee what actually took place.

He receives a stream of visits from his family. Some are able to make it almost every day, others including myself, drop by several times a week. More distant relatives make a journey of it, arriving in a full car after an hour or two on the road.

Dad's gratitude for a visit comes across in the gentle movements of his arm as he feebly waves them in the air. Sometimes his arms trace an ephemeral shape as his hand swings out, guided by the sound of my voice, to seek out a loving human touch. He marries those movements with low murmured compliments, questions about the family members who are absent from the room, and questions about what others are doing.

Before I know it, our time together has passed and I'm making preparations to depart. We go through our "goodbye ritual", which to my eternal delight includes a final parting phrase: "Au revoir". My footsteps retrace the path taken earlier, neither the hall nurse, nor the ladies in their wheelchairs are in sight. A quick signature in the book, a wave at the lady behind the the front desk, and I step through the sliding glass in a mild breeze. Outside the warm sun is still shining.



















Sent from a tiny DEC MicroVAX.

Hot Hot Hot Land !

The hottest summer over land was recorded this year.  For whom you ask?  The Entire Globe!

Yes, you heard right.  The hottest land surface average temperatures ever recorded. This is the NOAA report released today.  When you throw in the ocean temperatures (at 7th warmest) you find that taking land and ocean temperatures this was the 3rd hottest three month period on record.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/

June–August	Anomaly		Rank (out of 133 years)	Records
	°C	°F		Year(s)	°C	°F
Global
Land	+1.03 ± 0.15	+1.85 ± 0.27	1st Warmest	Warmest: 2012	+1.03	+1.85
			133rd Coolest	Coolest: 1885	-0.61	-1.10

Who is worried about Climate Change

We all know who is not worried about climate change, Mitt Romney while speaking at The Republican National Committee. http://www.inquisitr.com/318181/mitt-romney-mocks-climate-change-during-rnc-speech/

But who is worried?

The US Military for one:
in 2011
 http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/A%20National%20Strategic%20Narrative.pdf
in 2010
http://www.defense.gov/qdr/qdr%20as%20of%2029jan10%201600.pdf

In each document the inevitablilty of climate change is a given, a proven expectation, something that needs to be mitigated.

Most of the S&P 500 Corporations for another:

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) surveys the S&P 500 corporations every year on numerous topics including climate change. Over 80% of the Standard and Poor 500 corporations have officially integraged climate change into their risk management strategies, and over 70% have merged planning for climate change into their regular business strategy.

"Climate change has been further integrated into
enterprise risk management (83% (281) in 2012 versus
75% (254) in 2011) and overall business strategy (73%

(247) in 2012 versus 65% (219) in 2011)." 1

1 Page 9 of https://www.cdproject.net/CDPResults/CDP-SP500-2012.pdf

A list of some of the top corporations involved in incorporating climate change into their strategic planning include:
Microsoft
Sprint
UPS
Cisco Systems
AT&T
Google
Home Depot
Wells Fargo

Many of the World's Largest Cities are also committed to addressing climate change:

"While international negotiations continue to make incremental progress, C40 Cities are forging ahead. Collectively they have taken more than 4,700 actions to tackle climate change, and the will to do more is stronger than ever. As innovators and practitioners, our cities are at the forefront of this issue – arguably the greatest challenge of our time."—Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
 http://www.c40cities.org/home
           C40 is a network of the world’s megacities taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With a unique set of assets, the C40 works with participating cities to address climate risks and impacts locally and globally.

Time is Relative

I went to visit Dad today in the nursing home.  Over the course of the hour long visit he asked me four times what day it was, what month it was, what time it was.   Visiting Dad is like taking a trip through a time tunnel.  I'm never sure when or where I'll arrive. It is a rare space, a space where time is elastic and a space where the relationship is wrapped in love.  Love....is what comes out....pain and reality intervene...but in the end Love is what remains. 

Dad believes he will die soon.  Why does he hold this thought?  A doctor told him.  We know that no doctor would have told him this, but this is seen by some who've had more contact with this elastic time warp, as the mind wrestling with life and it's impending end.  His heart remains pure and when you meet his heart with truth and love, relief flows between us.  Is this situation dire?  Yes.  Is there recovery from this position in life? Not likely.  Is there potential for growth and maturation? Yes there is...on the part of the resident and on the part of any visitor.  I've heard that the way you live your life is the way you end it....I have no idea whether there is any truth to that or not....but Dad lives now in Love, even as he lived before in Love.

Climate Normals

Climate Normals

 Last summer the new Climate Normals were released to the public on July 1, 2011. These Climate Normals are the latest in a string of three decade averages for the regular climatological variables (including rainfall and temperatures).  The new Normal covers 1981-2010 and replaces the previous dataset that covered 1971-2000.  This data is in raw form but is eventually broken out into more user friendly products.  The 1971-2000 products are described here.  An easy to use web breakout of the 1981-2010 products can be found here.

How do we use Normals?  Trying to remember the past weather over a 3 year period is tricky, not to mention a 30 year period.  The Normals give us “just the facts ma’am”, and supplement our memory. They give us an accurate context for understanding today’s temperature, today’s rainfall, and the other “core” Normals. Your local television meteorologist uses the Normals to compare today’s temperature and rainfall with past averages to give a more accurate perspective than relying on memory. 

 

How many weather stations contribute to the Normals? The 1981-2010 dataset included data from over 9800 stations.  Stations in different parts of the country report different data. An obvious example is that stations near Miami, FL do not report snowfall totals, but those near Minot, ND do! 

 

How many official Normals are available?  The United States started computing Normals based on a recommendation of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).  The WMO is an agency of the UN that has a membership of 189 “Member States and Territories” .  The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is the producer of the official Normals for the United States. 

 

If you’d like to see a webcast (a PDF) of the release of the 1981-2010 Normals check out this link.

 

So did anything change when we updated our Normals?  Yes, there are numerous changes in the average temperatures, most of which can be seen at a glance when you view them graphically.

These images show the Statewide differences between the 1981-2010 and 1971-2000 Normals, top image is differences in Maximum Temperatures, the bottom shows Minimum Temperatures.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/normals/img/Normals_State_Dif_Tmax_2.jpg

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/normals/img/Normals_State_Dif_Tmin_2.jpg

What do the Normals tell us about the state of the climate in the United States?  Firstly, the Normals are not developed to be a metric for measuring climate change. Secondly, based on all of the factors involved, the new Normals indicate an average temperature increase of about 0.5 degrees F.  However, these differences could be due to station moves, methodological changes, hardware (instrumentation) changes, etc. For those wanting to track differences related to climate change they need to analyze the time series maintained by the U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN).  For a further detailed look at analyzing the climate and trying to determine if a change is occuring and to what degree, the US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) is in place.   

January - June 2012 - Hot so far

We'll talk about how hot this year was from now on out...even if the rest of the year "behaves" and approximates climate normals.  Here are 4 charts illustrating how hot it has been so far this year.

Climate extremes just got even crazier

The Derecho of June 29, 2012

I just had to save this link.  The "Derecho Superstorm" that blasted to many millions of Americans that last week in June. NWS Documents the Derecho of June 29, 2012

Beauty can be found almost anywhere

Even on a train travelling from New Jersey to New York City.... Still Life Gallery of the Meadowlands

Strange Comment from the State Climatologist

I've been digging around in the climate data for the last few days, really mining some "ugly" raw data.  However, once the data is organized a great sigh of relief is heard around the office.  Now the data is useful.   I hope to post it online in the near future.

In other news:

Dr. John Christy is the Alabama State Climatologist.  He had something interesting to say in a recent online article.

Using data from 75 weather stations from Greenville to Tennessee, Christy developed a set of temperature records going back to 1883. Looking only at average high temperatures for June, July and August, he found that the average for the past six summers was the hottest since 1952-1957.
While 2006-2011 was the hottest six-summer stretch in more than half a century, it was only the tenth hottest six-summer period on the 129-year record. That seems to eliminate manmade global warming as a likely cause for the recent hot summers, Christy said.

(Emphasis mine)
reference: http://nsstc.uah.edu/essnews/stories/06292012.html

Now as we've stated before in this blog... the globe is a big place. What happens in Alabama does not determine what is happening over the entire globe.   I won't repeat that speech here but you can read it -->> http://blognimrod.blogspot.com/2010/12/one-minute-global-warming-speech.html
if you like.

It would be interesting to see that raw data dating to 1883 and run the computations to see what the numbers show.

Until next time!

Hot Hot Hot - March 2012

March 2012 is one for the records books.  One of the hottest (in the sense of records broken) months in USA history, and certainly one of the all time hottest March months in USA history. See one map below:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77465

As you know from how I've defined Global Climate Warming, this is not a proof of such.  Yet, these are the types of regional anomaly that are predicted by a global warming.

I suspect we'll not see another March this warm in the next couple of decades, especially when you consider all of the details about this one:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=66

Just keep reaching for the iced tea!

A new experiment

Always looking out for new methods of communication can bear fruit upon occassion.  This time I've entered into the publishing industry, but not the kind of publishing you may think.  The paper I'm publishing is an internet auto aggregation from twitter.  The subject? Weather, what else.  The link to my paper is here: http://paper.li/n1yz/1321760746

It will be fun to see where this takes me next. Enjoy!

WIndy August Day on Grand Traverse Bay, MI

It was just a beautiful day with the wind howling from the West.  We stood on the shore near Elk Rapids and watched white caps blow across the bay and clouds race by.

How Hot Was This Summer?

Weather historian Christopher C. Burt presents a fascinating article on the summer heat records that were broken during the HOT summer of 2011.

For the complete article with a Map and lists go here:
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/article.html?entrynum=40

 "I have shaded the region that has just recorded its warmest summer on record. This represents about 15% of the contiguous United States (45 of my 303 stations)." (from Christopher's article).


 

Yellow light over the Black Mountains of North Carolina

I still remember that evening, driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway trying to chase the sunset.  The sun disappeared before we could get to a vantage point to view and photograph so we hung around for a while until this gorgeous light was revealed.  

 

What is that in the sky

This evocative cloud formation appeared two hours before the severe weather moved in. I'll look for this next time :)

The Trees Lost

During the historic tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011 many tens of thousands of trees were bowed and broken. This is just one of the many.

Belief

Belief is not enough to shelter you from ignorance and stupidity, nor shall concupiscence save you from the disingenuous. History is littered with campaigns that crashed and burned upon the truth-that-is-so.

So what is a Mother to do?

Don't preach that "gospill", or pass it along with a cup of water, teach people how to learn, teach people how to research, teach people logic, teach people how they can discern, teach teach teach teach....don't preach.

Another Climate Change Convert

He says it better than I could.... http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/climate-change-convert

The real reason I sat down to write tonight....

Today we celebrated the 16 year ministry of our priest, Margaret Taylor as it was her last time with us prior to retirement. It was a service and a feast and fellowship never to forget. It is easy to live a life and become slightly abraded, even jaded so that profound spiritual experience is an historic memory, distant in the past. Today I was reminded that if you are open to the Spirit, then profound spiritual experience can be experienced in fellowship, in a warm, open, loving, family.

On FaceBook I quipped "An ebullient celebration today...glad the kleenex was handy..." . It was emotional and it was warm, and it was fun, so we laughed and cried. A complete game.

Our parish now looks to the future for new leadership, for the first time. It will be an interesting journey...

The first photo with that camera

I was more than pleasantly surprised by this photo. My first film photo taken in 10 years, taken with that amazing 40mm lens on the Bronica. This file, after being scanned, was only 2.14 mb, which is astonishingly small compared to similiar shots taken with my Nikon D-90.

A new adventure

When you purchase a used item from Ebay, there is a period of time when you wonder if you'll receive what you paid for. In the case of a film camera there are two levels of testing. The first is to try out all of the features while shooting film. The second is when you get your film back.

This is an odd situation now, though it was the default experience for almost all photographers before the year 2000. You shoot, then get your film developed, to find out if you have anything at all.

I've been spoiled by digital photograhy. The instant I take a digital shot, a quick peek at the screen tells me volumes (out of focus, bad composition, huge ISO problem, white balance is screwed). Now, I take a shot, and wind the crank having nothing but faith that anything is happening at all. Of course, the first roll of film is the worst. I have not yet received anything that convinces me that I've captured an image!

The first roll will be completed tomorrow and will be turned in to the camera shop that actually develops 220 film. I'll be holding my breath....hoping I don't turn blue.

Watching Too Much FOX "News" can make you Dumb and Dumber

It is always good to find substantial evidence to support an observation, even an unscientific observation. It has been quite obvious to me that people who gathered most of their news information from Fox "News" were in the dark about lots of facts. I strongly suspected for years, and then firmly believed after observations over time that Fox is a propaganda network.

This article, with it's many research sources, just makes it pretty clear. If you watch Fox all of the time, then you'll just be dumb and get dumber.

http://climateprogress.org/2010/12/17/fox-news-misinformation-policy-issues-climate-science/

As the comments posted below the article point out, there are many sublties that are important to consider as well. The notion that people who are obsessive about news in general, might enter into the calculations.

Ah, for the "good old days" when you only had to learn your ABC, CBS, NBCs. :)

One Minute Global Warming Speech -Refined

In a blog post here on January 6, 2010, I formulated a one minute global warming speech. After some thought and inspiration from the thoughts of others, the speech has been refined a bit. The purpose of both talks is to shatter certain assumptions and illusions caused by inexpert use of our native language.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The new speech titled "Global Climate Change Re-perspective"

1) GLOBAL - Your backyard, your state, and even your country are tiny fractions of the entire Globe's surface. The lower 48 states comprise about 1.5% of the entire global surface. This tiny amount is not in any way representative of the entire globe.

2) CLIMATE - Climate is not Weather and Weather is not Climate. What you see in your front yard today is Weather. When snow floats down from the sky you are seeing Weather. When the rain wets your upturned face that is Weather. That freezing wind from the North is Weather. Climate is a 30 year average on conditions. You cannot see Climate. You cannot taste Climate. Climate cannot chill or warm your bones today.

3) CHANGE - Change is not necessarily random. We search for patterns in change to determine whether or not one exists. Searching for patterns is a meticulous detective story requiring serious intellectual effort and time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The entire purpose of the short speech is to provide a basis for a more intelligent discussion of global climate change. Once the definitions of the terms are clearly set, then a more fruitful conversation can ensue.

Happy conversations!



The old speech is here: http://blognimrod.blogspot.com/2010/01/cold-global-warming.html

While my page is by no means the best one out there it is a small effort to bring together references to the science in one location.
http://www.n1yz.com/Climate_Change_Matrix.htm

Election Day - Just another swing of a Pendulum

The harvest of efforts gone toward victory are difficult to repeat. When you've inspired someone to drop all pretense of not caring, and actually vote for the first time, how to you get them to vote the next time.

Politics will always disappoint, yet can sometimes inspire. It is a mid term election again, and the pendulum is swinging back, like it usually does. Pundits desperate to get their pay check insist that its the sign of the Second Coming. The historically ignorant, are not sure. You, who do your homework, or have lived long enough with a conscious attention to detail (or both), know better.

A Miracle Is

"A leap out of one’s seemingly determined fate (an act of charity) can come from any number of experiences as the novel, An Estate of Memory, labored to prove, and this message is offered to the twentieth century as something to be treasured. More than ever, now: to believe there is something that is not simply a norm.

In a sense, when this epiphany takes place, it is a miracle. A miracle is an event that changes the meaning of things. It is like a thought that floats free of the surrounding systems and conventions, and enters, uninvited, a sentence, a stanza, a conversation, a lab result, and sends it on another path. A miracle can be the appearance of another person rising out of an emptiness that we are beginning to accept as permanent.

As Paul Celan wrote, it is

A RUMBLING: it is
Truth itself
walked among
men,
amidst the
metaphor squall."

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/journal/article.html?id=240252

Eagle Poem by Joy Harjo

I came across this poem while perusing the books in the Religion section of the Samford University Bookstore...

http://www.panhala.net/Archive/Eagle_Poem.html


enjoy!

The new "Cold War" censorship

During the Cold War, people in Europe who lived behind the Iron Curtain had very limited access to news. The State controlled the media, controlled the content of the media, controlled the minds of the people. This was successful to a great extent as long as the News from the West was removed from access. Broadcasts from Western nations, including the US's Voice of America (the BBC, RFI, Radio Canada, Deutch Welle) tried to present the news from another perspective. Their broadcasts were jammed by the nations behind the Iron Curtain. Those oppressed behind the Iron Curtain hungered for News from different perspectives. Many radio signals made it past the jamming. The news of the rest of the world provided a clearer picture of what was happening.

When the Iron Curtain fell, those people were able to freely partake of the (unjammed) radio news from the rest of the world. They had been liberated from their prison!

Today, there are people who live freely in the West who have self imposed a censorship upon their media access. With access to the broadest scope of media in world history, they claim that only one source of news is correct, one source of news is true, and only one source of news is needed to discover how the world is.

It seems incredible that anyone could make such a mistake. In the past it was widely known that knowledge is gained by multiple perspectives. In the past it was widely known that being limited to one media outlet was tantamount to being in a dictatorship of the mind. In the past it was widely known that it was worth while to risk your freedom to hear other(even contrary) perspectives. That was defined as FREEDOM. In fact, there are hundreds of millions of people who believe that multiplicity in access to the media is the key to understanding and constructing a truthful knowledge of the world.

Today there are thousands (maybe more), who believe that FOX news is the only news worth watching. They believe that they are tapped into the only source of news worth watching. These people have (sadly) imposed censorship upon their view of the world. These people have put them selves behind a new Iron Curtain, and stripped themselves of Freedom.

What a sad sad tale...to see people I know who have placed themselves in bondage in this fashion is just almost unbelievable.

Cold Global Warming

I too joke with others about global warming, especially on record breaking cold days such as we have now. It's a clever play on language to explore oxymorons like "cold global warming".

But seriously folks, after enjoying the release of laughter...don't forget that global warming is as close to a fact as you can get.

Here is my one minute speech on Global Warming

1) Climate is not Weather and Weather is not Climate. What you see in your front yard today is Weather. When snow floats down from the sky you are seeing Weather. When the rain wets your upturned face that is Weather. That freezing wind from the North is Weather.

Climate is a 30 year average on conditions. You cannot see Climate. You cannot taste Climate. Climate cannot chill or warm your bones today.

2) Global Warming is not happening in your acre! Your acre is an infinitesimal spot on the immensity of the Earth. What you see in your neighboorhood is not what is happening on the Earth. Global warming is an average of the entire Globe, not your one acre lot. To think that the weather you see in your acre is representative of the Earth can be represented by this thought experiment.

The Earth's entire surface is equal to 126 billion acres. If you took 126 billion dollar bills and laid them end to end at the equator, the line of greenbacks would circle the earth 488 times. One of those 126 billion dollars has a specific serial number. The chance that the weather in your acre is representative of Global weather is the same as you picking the correct dollar bill out of that line of 126 billion bucks on the first choice.

You cannot decide whether Global Warming is true or false based on what you see out your front door.

Stay warm!

Keeping up with the temperature

Hard to Keep Up

The cool fountain in Linn Park, downtown Birmingham, AL. It was very refreshing on a hot summer day.

How do you measure the News ?

Many, many years ago I sat with a stopwatch in hand and timed the total amount of advertising that occured during "The Evening News". This is the 1/2 hour period of time that the original 3 networks devoted to all the news that could be fit into an half hour. Way back then, advertisers claimed about 7 minutes of the 30 minutes of news, leaving us with 23 minutes of real news stories.

A few years back it became apparent that the advertisers were gaining on the news and so I pulled out my digital watch with a timer and clocked 10 minutes of advertising. So, 1/3 of the entire news program was advertising. I vowed that when the ratio became 50/50 that I'd never tune in again.

I understand the economics of advertising and why networks need the income...but I challenge the relevance and scope of a 30 minute news program that is bookended by 10 minutes of advertising.

Two weeks ago it had become painfully apparent that the advertisers had claimed more time so I pulled out my I-Pod and used the timer to clock 13 minutes and 30 seconds of advertising. That leaves 16 minutes and 30 seconds of news in a 1/2 news program. This is absurd!

It is quite obvious to me that more and more of us will refuse to tune in to a "talking head" to hear the news when you can just look at Google News and find more news that you could read in 1/2 hour.

Good bye to the nightly news. Sure, I'll still catch a few minutes here and there, but I can state categorically that their preminence has been long gone, and now their relevance is about to go the same way as the dodo.

Gee

A creative approach to Church Communications

I'm not sure how long this link will remain available but this creative and thought provoking approach to defining The Episcopal Church is sure to open some eyes.

http://www.iamepiscopalian.org/

The gun is still smoking, the smoke is still visible

Well well well....now I know "the rest of the story".

This hour long program details the "secret history" behind the careers of the scientists who have driven a significant part of the "anti global warming" (AGW) movement. Follow their careers with Dr. Oreskes, scientist and historian as she shows how some of the movers and shakers got their start supporting "Star Wars" and then supporting R.J. Reynolds Tobacco company during the tobacco law suits of the last two decades of the 20th Century. Here you are introduced to scientists who will say anything for a pay check, even tell you that second hand smoke is totally safe. These are the same scientists who have lead the AGW movement and lent it their "credibility".

I never jumped to any conclusions during my year and a half research into the entre climate change controversy. The evidence, the science, the overwhelming weight of the truth lead me to my conclusions. The controversy is over (it has been over for over 15 years), the AGW people need to leave the building, while they can still hold on to their heads.

If you want the history and the truth check out the video:
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=13459

And of course, to read more about it see my website, even though it is not particularly attractive, it is full of information: http://www.n1yz.com/Climate_Change_Matrix.htm

We are changing the weather

This was a surprise article and graphic. I was stunned to see the results of the National Lightning Detection Network analysis of lightning over the last 11 summers. It is obvious that lightning ( and thunderstorms ) are occurring primarily during the work week in the Southeastern United States. The predominant theory at this point in time is that the extra pollutants released during the work week creates enhanced conditions for thunderstorm development.

The graphic and article are located at http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/viewImage.php?id=254
The graphic alone is located here: http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/iotw/20090212144628.jpg

Pretty amazing huh? We do affect our environment!

Climate Part Two

The disingenousness of a local media celebrity, one of the "talent" at a local media outlet on the subject of Global Warming has been one of about 10 factors driving my research into this complex subject.

An earlier post on this blog ( Sunday, June 29, 2008) alluded to some of the issues involved, so they'll not be repeated here. However, I'll post a resource for those who want to understand how much science is behind the theory of Global Warming.

Checkout the links here http://www.n1yz.com/Climate_Change_Matrix.htm
to "read more about it".

Enjoy!

There are reflections around us, constantly shifting as we move, changing color, angle, tint, hue. Sometimes they can be captured...as this one was at a small country church.

Evening of Alabama Designer-Craftsmen Guild Art Show

The saturday evening of the ADC Guild annual art show at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens is traditionally meal time for the artists. After wonderful fellowship around the table and super food I went for a walk. The sun was setting and I took some shots. This one was taken looking southwest on the upper walkway that leaves the Botanical Gardens building on the second floor and takes you to the Gardens themselves.

It was an enjoyable evening all around.

My wife's ( the artist ) blog:

http://debsthreads.blogspot.com/

The artistic technique of felting - 4 Pieces by my wife Debbie

Poster Child ?

Not me! But, when I mentioned that I owned and rode a bicycle in a meeting where volunteers were being solicited for a corporate wide health kick, the inevitable happened.

See picture :)

A potential tropical storm right off shore from Mobile

We'd better watch #1 - it's pretty close to home :)

CZC MIATWOAT ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM 
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
200 PM EDT SAT AUG 2 2008

FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...

1. A SURFACE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE ACCOMPANIED BY CLOUDINESS AND
SHOWERS HAS MOVED INTO THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO. LITTLE
MOTION IS ANTICIPATED TODAY OR SUNDAY...AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONDITIONS APPEAR TO BE FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NEXT
DAY OR TWO.  IF NECESSARY...A RECONNAISSANCE PLANE WILL INVESTIGATE
THE AREA ON SUNDAY.

Its 107 degrees out side ( heat index )

When you step outside, you feel insulted: baked, broiled, fried, really well done. Yikes, it does not feel very comfortable. Blazing heat combined with suffocating humidity created heat index values that have been over 100 degrees for the last four hours.

A visitor to our tomato patch

This squirrel is standing on the deck railing looking around. He is standing by the tallest part of our tiny tomato patch. Fortunately he has no interest in the tomatos.

In this 100 degree heat all manner of critters have been seen on our deck checking out the water bowls, bird seed, and the like.

The climate is getting in my way

About 7 months ago a relative asked me what I believed about climate change and the assertion that the global climate was warming. This relative also asked me if I had come to terms with the possibility that anthropogenic processes were contributing to any climate change taking place.

Ok, let us back up a bit and define the term 'anthropogenic'; the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary defines it as "of, relating to, or resulting from the influence of human beings on nature" .

Now let us break up my relatives' query into some definitive questions that would need to be answered, and suggest an order in which they may be tackled.

• one, is the global climate undergoing change?
• two, is the global climate warming, cooling, or remaining statistically average?
• three, is mankind contributing to climate change in any way?
• four, if mankind is contributing to climate change in any way, is there a way to reduce, nullify, or reverse any anthropogenic changes?

Well, these four "small questions" have the potential to develop into an enormous research project. How does one even consider tackling issues like this? Where do you start? What pitfalls lie ahead? What standards do you apply to interpreting research? What part does philosophy play in this quest? Is anyone attempting to mislead me? What sources are trustworthy? Where will I encounter people with hidden agendas?

In face of the enormity of the questions and the potential for encountering intellectual quicksand at many turns, I answered my relative's question thusly: while I've kept in touch with some of these issues in a superficial manner for over two decades, to really deal with the competing viewpoints and information available I'm going to dedicate the next two years to finding out what I can to make an intelligent response to your question.

Yikes! What was I thinking of when I responded? Who on earth can add a two year long research project to their lives? Like many of you I work 40+ hours a week, have family commitments and do volunteer work. When will this research fit in to my life?

Well, the answer is: in bursts! Yet, during the last 7 months I've read several hundred pages of research papers put out by climatologists, physicists, chemists, and meteorologists. During this time frame it has been fruitful to delve into dozens of web sites, scores of blogs, and even engage in email discussions. I've "travelled the world" in this research reading articles from Canada, England, Germany, Australia, South Africa, the United States, and another half dozen other countries.

I've also been surprised at some of the things discovered along the way: namely,

• some people with evidence of an education display an appalling lack of intellectual honesty,
• a lot of evidence of disingenuous arguementation,
• noted ignorance of the simple logical fallacies in their presentation of arguements,
• a willingness to ignore (and conceal) presuppositional paradigms in theory development.

Now, this above post does suggest a couple of things about me and my perspective that I've not revealed. Firstly, I graduated from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in Philosphy & Religion. My philosophical education trained me in deconstructing logical arguementation and illuminating logical fallacies. Secondly, I've been passionately engaged in the study of meteorology and weather for over 35 years. Finally, my passionate commitment to the "truth", drives all of my intellectual interests. My intellectual roadmap does not illustrate all of the waypoints on that map. I'm going to travel to where the search for truth leads.

Ok, this is all for now..... there will be more forthcoming.

Blessings,

Rod

Fast Trip to North Carolina

This picture was taken from the cabin where we stayed. What an incredible view. Had to scrape, melt, off the snow flakes and ice from the windshield this morning.