Looks like Al Gore will need to invent a new crisis to profit from. From the Chron,
Study: Global warming not to blame for rise in hurricanes
A new scientific paper authored by prominent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists, published this weekend, reinforces the changing landscape.
The paper, which simulated Atlantic hurricane activity during warming 21st century conditions, found 27 percent fewer tropical storms, and 18 percent fewer hurricanes. The strongest hurricanes, the researchers found, had slightly higher wind speeds.
"This does not support the idea that we've already seen a large positive trend in hurricane activity emerging from greenhouse gases," said lead author Tom Knutson, a Princeton, N.J.-based research meteorologist for NOAA. "In fact, it points in the other direction."
Al Gore was a mediocre student. (Five F's in divinity school?) The only reason people treat him seriously when it comes to scientific matters is he spends hours orating in front of a mirror.
If Suketu Mehta believes Europeans should have a say in the US elections, they are welcome to wait in line with a couple million other people and then apply for citizenship and pay taxes.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was airlifted to a hospital Saturday after suffering a seizure at his home, and did not appear to have had a stroke as initially suspected, his spokeswoman said.
"Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours," she said. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, was with him at the hospital, Cutter said.
I saw an old Chrysler K car the other day. I was reminded of how small many sedans were during the 1980s. What's interesting to me about modern fuel-efficient automobiles is how inefficient they are compared with what Detroit was building 25 years ago. Ditto for what was coming out of Japan.
Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, reacted with dismay, insisting "marriage is naturally for a man and a woman."
"If the institution of marriage is redefined and therefore destroyed in the law, the wellbeing of children is threatened, both emotionally, socially, even physically," Thomasson added.
I don't see the big deal. We all read every day about kids being threatened, both emotionally, socially, even physically, by their heterosexual parents. Parents who are assholes is the problem, not their sexual orientation.
So why should the government, particularly the Federal government, be in the position to decide who is allowed to get married? Why is government involved in marriage at all, other than from a legal contract basis? Someone clue me in here.
I talk about real estate with one of our widget reps. He's a good guy. Michigan born and bred, now lives in Florida during the winter. He sold our widgets for about 15 years until the tech bust, then in 2001 he decided to get his real estate license to keep food on the table. He left our fold for a while and came back full time last year.
I was shootin' the sh** with him for a few minutes this morning and he told me he was going to hang up his RE license last year anyway because of the collapse in business, but before he could do that the owner of the RE firm gave him the boot.
A young couple with a baby on the way were planning to close on a house, and I told them that they couldn't afford it.
Word got back to the boss and she told him to pack it in.
I'd like to think that most people in the real estate food chain have the same conscience.
"George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."
Barack Obama then:
I only speak for myself, but to me a guy who says he will have a sit-down with an insane psychopath who promises to murder 7.1 million people sounds like appeasement. Moreover, if Barry isn't an appeaser, why did he assume that Bush was referring to him?
The shysters at "Beijing Onvis Network Information Technology" have made some slight changes now that admins are on to their scam. Here's a message from "Tina Wang."
Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 22:25:47 +0800 From: "tina.wang" Subject: [redacted] domain name and Internet keyword
Dear [redacted], INC
We are Beijing Invees Network Science and Technology Co.,Ltd which is the domain name register center in China. We received a formal application from a company who is applying to register [redacted] as their domain name and Internet keyword on May 13 2008. Because this involved your company name or trade marks so we inform you in no time. If you considered these domain names and internet keywords are important to you and there was necessary to protect them by registering them first, contact us soon.
Lou's Book Club: I highly recommend Rivethead by Ben Hamper. (No referral fees for me, unlike famous bloggers who pimp books and cooking pans on Amazon and don't tell you that they are getting cash for it.)
I bought Rivethead in college and re-read it periodically. It's a blast and has some good insights into Michael Moore before he became self-important. But it's mostly about working on an assembly line and trying to remain sane.
Car, windshield. Drudgery piled atop drudgery. Cigarette to cigarette. Decades rolling through the rafters, bones turning to dust, stubborn clocks gagging down flesh, another windshield, another cigarette, wars blinking on and off, thunderstorms muttering the alphabet, crows on power lines asleep or dead, that mechanical octopus squirming against nothing, nothing, NOTHINGNESS. I wanted to shout at my father, "Do something else!" Do something else or come home with us or flee to the nearest watering hole. DO SOMETHING ELSE! Car, windshield. Car, windshield. Christ, no.
I brought it down to the courthouse yesterday to keep myself occupied. I think this is about the fifth or sixth time I've re-read it. The dude can write. He should do more of it.
Earl Gordon Curley would have been 61 years old today. His webdesign.ca domain is up for bid. $390,000 Canadian. That would buy a lot of toasters and a lot of meals at Barney Googles in Mississauga.
Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, has reportedly shifted from the US dollar to euro and yen as currencies in which it will trade its crude produce. This is seen as a major blow to the US dollar as a reserve currency.
During the weekend oil summit, Iran and Venezuela proposed that OPEC begins pricing its oil in a basket of currencies, rather than just the dollar, and wanted the summit to specifically express concern over the dollar's slide in its final statement.
Everyone agrees that Bush and his cabinet members are merely paying lip service to the idea of a stronger dollar. There are ways they could strengthen the dollar outside of the Fed. Since they don't, it leads me to wonder if the White House is using the dollar as a weapon against Melonhead and Squinty the Dwarf.
Let me explain: The falling dollar and ensuing inflation has not been pleasant for us, but inflation has been devastating to average citizens in Iran and Venezuela (1) (2). I wonder if the quiet White House plan is to get Melonhead and Squinty to flee the dollar, then strengthen the dollar once they've bailed to another currency that then weakens against the dollar's advance.
So far the other Gulf countries are sticking with the dollar. Perhaps they know something that Melonhead and Squinty don't.
Looks like Al Gore will need to invent a new crisis to profit from. From the Chron,
