Global Cooling
Posted on May 19, 2010 - Filed Under Environmentalism, News
Hi Oz! It's hard to keep up with climate change scientists! This article from Fox News says that Global Cooling is on the way!Contrary to the commonly held scientific conclusion that the Earth is getting warmer, a scientist who has written more than 150 peer-reviewed papers has unveiled evidence for his prediction that global cooling is coming soon. Contrary to the commonly held scientific conclusion that the Earth is getting warmer, Dr. Don Easterbrook, emeritus professor of geology at Western Washington University and author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, has unveiled evidence for his prediction that global cooling is coming soon. “Rather than global warming at a rate of 1 F per decade, records of past natural cycles indicate there may be global cooling for the first few decades of the 21st century to about 2030,” said Easterbrook, speaking on a scientific panel discussion with other climatologists. This, he says, will likely be followed by “global warming from about 2030 to 2060,” which will then be followed by another cooling spell from 2060 to 2090. Easterbrook spoke before a group of about 700 scientists and government officials at the fourth International Conference on Climate Change. The conference is presented annually in Chicago by the Heartland Institute, a conservative nonprofit think tank that actively questions the theory of man's role in global warming. Last year the Institute published Climate Change Reconsidered, a comprehensive reply to the United Nations' latest report on climate change. "Global warming is over -- at least for a few decades," Easterbrook told conference attendees. "However, the bad news is that global cooling is even more harmful to humans than global warming, and a cause for even greater concern." Easterbrook made several stunning claims about the effects of the coming cold. There will be twice as many people killed by extreme cold than by extreme heat, he predicted, and global food production will suffer because of the shorter, cooler growing seasons and bad weather during harvest seasons. But not everyone is breaking out the overcoat and mittens. “It's absurd to talk of global cooling when global heating is with us now and accelerating," said Dan Miller, managing director of the Roda Group, and an expert on climate change. "According to NASA, this past April was the hottest since temperature measurements began. And 2010 is on track to be the hottest year since temperature records began. “North America was relatively cool last year, but the Earth as a whole was much warmer than average,” he said.I can sure testify to that last paragraph. We had a lot of snow in Maryland this year! More on this HERE
Gore buys $8.8 Million dollar Ocean View Villa.
Posted on May 4, 2010 - Filed Under Environmentalism, News
According to The L.A. Times:Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, have added a Montecito-area property to their real estate holdings, reports the Montecito Journal. The couple spent $8,875,000 on an ocean-view villa on 1.5 acres with a swimming pool, spa and fountains, a real estate source familiar with the deal confirms. The Italian-style house has six fireplaces, five bedrooms and nine bathrooms.Nine bathrooms and six fireplaces? Won't this hurt his carbon footprint a bit? But here is the other thing. Remember Mr Gore mentioned something in his movie about a 20 foot rise in the sea water level? Now I know he never mentioned a time frame in the movie, but, wouldn't it be scary to buy a house by the ocean if it was going to be under water soon?
AL GORE SAID: If [the West Antarctic ice shelf] were to go, sea level worldwide would go up 20 feet. They’ve measured disturbing changes on the underside of the ice sheet. It’s considered relatively more stable, however, than another big body of ice that’s roughly the same size — Greenland would also raise sea level almost 20 feet if it went. He also noted in a sobering new paper published Jan. 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which indicated that even if we managed to stabilize carbon concentration levels in the atmosphere between 450 and 600 parts per million, up from 385 p.p.m. today — a target that would be politically challenging — we would still suffer rising sea levels, worsened droughts and more, for centuries to come. “The scientists are practically screaming from the rooftops,” ~ AL GORE (Before the US Senate in 2009)8 Million dollars on an ocean front house doesn't seem too worried on the sea level to me.
Environmentalists Condemn Al Gore
Posted on April 19, 2010 - Filed Under Environmentalism
Oz...I don't understand how environmental groups have allowed "Do as I say not as I do" Al Gore to act as their spokesperson for so long? Perhaps now the they are waking up. From the Independent: Al Gore's environmental organization has taken money to raise awareness about the need for clean water from a controversial chemicals company involved in the aftermath of one of the world's worst pollution disasters.Dow Chemical, the US firm which now owns the leaking pesticides factory responsible for thousands of deaths in Bhopal, India, is sponsoring Life Earth events in 150 cities today. The event aims to raise money for clean water programs. Research by environmental organizations has found dangerous levels of highly toxic chemicals in rivers, lakes and other water supplies close to several other factories owned by Dow and its subsidiaries in countries including the United States, Brazil and South Africa. Dow's factories at its global headquarters in Midland, Michigan, have been accused of contaminating the region, including the Tittabawassee River floodplains, with high levels of dioxin – one of the "dirty dozen" most dangerous chemicals. In 2007, the highest level of dioxin contamination ever measured by the US Environmental Protection Agency was found in the Michigan Saginaw River. Residents are advised to avoid contact with river sediments and not to eat locally caught fish. Campaigners are outraged by what they call Dow's "blatant attempt" to paint itself as a green company and divert attention from the Bhopal scandal, where 25 years after the 1984 disaster at the plant (then owned by Union Carbide) thousands of villagers are still forced to use contaminated water which causes birth defects, cancer and skin disorders. The chemical leak from the Union Carbide factory in 1984 killed around 25,000 people and left 120,000 with long-term medical conditions, according to Amnesty International. Since the factory closed, more than 30,000 people have been exposed to water containing mercury and lead, pesticides such as Lindane and carcinogens like carbon tetrachloride.
EH Holden T-shirts for sale
Posted on April 16, 2010 - Filed Under General, Humor, News, Personal, Technology
Hi Boz I have always wanted a tee shirt with an EH on it. OK first maybe I better tell you what an EH is. The EH is a 1964 Holden car, a classic of Australian motoring history and I just happen to own one 🙂 , hence the need for a Tee shirt. After looking in markets, T shirt shops, suppliers at car events and online and not being able to find anything that wowed me, I decided to have a bash at designing my own. So after several weeks of taking pictures of my car (and realising it isn't easy to get a great photo with no odd reflections or rotten shadows) and playing on the net, I came up with a design, went to an online Tee shirt shop (2 in fact) and put my design on a plain white T. ordered one from each, and had them posted out. So now I have 2 EH T shirts, want to buy one? I wonder if any other EH owners would like one?? It could be possible to change the car colour too, what do you think? This is sort of what it looks like, and it feels really nice to wear and no itchy tag at the back, what a bonus 🙂 .OK the shop is now OPEN - MY EH SHOP
available in red, blue, green, yellow, white, black, silver/grey and not just T-shirts but a whole pile of stuff, have fun 🙂
EH T-shirt
Fremantle Arts Festival
Posted on April 5, 2010 - Filed Under Humor, News, Personal
remember me ??? 🙂 I thought I would share an event that I had never been to before, and wasnt sure of its photographic potential. The Fremantle street arts festival happens over the Easter long weekend each year (apparently) and has street performers or buskers from all over the world, so I thought I would take a look. So I packed up my camera bag (about 10 kilos I reckon) and headed for Freo. Figuring it would be busy I parked a few kilometres from the city and walked in, carrying my camera gear. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised at the opportunities for photos and would go again I think. There were all kinds of performers to shoot, living statues, mime, acrobats, trapeze artists a guy in a weird red costume. There were a few hiccups, getting stuck in a crowd with the fish eye on and not being able to swap it for a closer lens, being too short (sigh) and my battery running out not long after I got there, and then finding I left my spare at home. So then came the long walk back, carrying my gear. heres a couple of photos 🙂
street performer
street performer - fisheye
Raining Fish?
Posted on February 28, 2010 - Filed Under News
Hey Oz! I know it's summer and hot over there, but how do you expoain raining fish? From News.Com.AuWHILE the Top End and Central Australia have been battered by torrential rains, a Territory town has reportedly had fish falling from the sky.The freak phenomena happened not once, but twice, on Thursday and Friday afternoon about 6pm at Lajamanu, about 550km southwest of Katherine, The Northern Territory News reports.
Christine Balmer, who took the photos of the fish on the ground and in a bucket, said she had to pinch herself when she was told "hundreds and hundreds" of small white fish had fallen from the sky. "It rained fish in Lajamanu on Thursday and Friday night," she said, "They fell from the sky everywhere. "Locals were picking them up off the footy oval and on the ground everywhere.Wow, and you pick on me for OUR weather? 🙂
Student Collecting Pictures of Snow in All 50 States
Posted on February 12, 2010 - Filed Under Environmentalism, News
Hi Oz You've heard of our record-breaking snow of course. What you might not know is how widespread the snow is!A University of Oklahoma student is taking an extra interest in this week's snow storms in the south and northeast and is working to document the events in a very unique way.Patrick Marsh said it's likely by the end of the week snow will be on the ground in all 50 states. From Ardmore all the way to Dallas and even in Louisiana, the south is snowed in. For many, it's a winter wonderland in places that rarely see such weather. But none of it comes close to the mess up north where two blizzards have blown through in a week. Weather like this is why Marsh is studying to be a meteorologist. Even as the snow fell outside the National Weather Center in Norman, inside Marsh was tracking what could be a rare winter weather phenomenon. Marsh said Florida is the only state without snow on the ground at this point, but he said two to four inches of snow is forecasted on Friday in some parts of the state. There is currently even snow on some of the mountain tops in Hawaii.More on the story HERE
You Can
Posted on February 11, 2010 - Filed Under Inspirational
Hi Oz
How often do we hear music that inspires or motivates? A song of faith?
It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
I thought to share such a song with you:
What Faith Can Do by Kutless
Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you are stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
Overcome the odds
You don't have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can!
I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
That's what faith can do!
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise
Climate Change Below Sea Level
Posted on February 5, 2010 - Filed Under Environmentalism, News
Hey Oz! In Maryland here, we are getting about 28 inches of 'global warming' falling down from the sky as I write this. Speaking of global warming, the Netherlands adds to the UN Climate Controversy. Imagine those IPCC "experts" making the claim that 55% of the Netherlands is below sea level.The Netherlands has asked the UN climate change panel to explain an inaccurate claim in a landmark 2007 report that more than half the country was below sea level, the Dutch government said Friday. According to the Dutch authorities, only 26 percent of the country is below sea level, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will be asked to account for its figures, environment ministry spokesman Trimo Vallaart told AFP. The incident could cause further embarrassment for the IPCC, which recently admitted a claim in the same report that global warming could melt Himalayan glaciers by 2035 was wrong.Oh yes, what about those "melting" Himalayan glaciers?
The IPCC's 938-page Fourth Assessment Report spurred politicians around the world to vow action with its warning that climate change was on the march, but the body has faced fierce criticism over the glacier mistake. Glaciologists have discredited the Himalaya claim, which is being withdrawn, and the controversy has given fresh ammunition to climate sceptics.As for these so called scientiest? Credibility is the only thing that 's melting.
If…
Posted on January 31, 2010 - Filed Under politics
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn’t eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone. If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good. If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life. If a liberal is homosexual, he demands everyone know it and demands legislative action! If a black man or Hispanic is conservative, they see themselves as independent and successful. Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection. If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders what government program is going to take care of him. If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down (the so-called Fairness Doctrine for example). If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church. A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his through the government. If conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed. If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he’s in labor, and then sues.Beatle’s Lamp
Posted on January 19, 2010 - Filed Under General
Oz! I stumbled across this in my web travels and immediately thought of you! The shop is called Lamp in the Box, and in addition to have some very interesting designs, they also have Beatles lamps! Have a look!Do you trust your mechanic?
Posted on January 7, 2010 - Filed Under Humor, News, Technology
something to think about when you take your car to get fixed. Lamborghini mechanic Not sure if your road rules are the same as ours but I doubt if i would ever use that guy again and he was 53, not a young guyGlobal Warming
Posted on January 4, 2010 - Filed Under Environmentalism
Temps Plunge to Record as Cold Snap Freezes North, East States... CHILL MAP... Vermont sets 'all-time record for one snowstorm'... Iowa temps 'a solid 30 degrees below normal'... Seoul buried in heaviest snowfall in 70 years... Peru's mountain people 'face extinction because of coldconditions'... Beijing -- coldest in 40 years... World copes with Arctic weather... Heavy snow brings Beijing to standstill... Cold, Cold, Colder Snowstorm squelches global warming protest: "Not many people showed up because of the blizzard conditions'...The Gore Effect
Posted on December 20, 2009 - Filed Under Environmentalism, News
Every notice that every time they hold a protest or an event about global warming, they get record cold, or snow? From the Daily News:In 2006, Gore spoke about global warming in Australia two weeks before the start of summer and it snowed. Gore spoke at Harvard in October of 2008 and the temperature neared a record low set more than a century before. And so it went, right up to January of this year, when an ice storm accompanied his testimony about global warming before a Senate committee. The weather resulted in a snow day at the school where the Obama girls were newly enrolled, causing the President to suggest the nation's capital had punked. "We're going to have to try to apply some flinty Chicago toughness to this town," the President said. The Gore effect seemed to strike wimpy Washington again in March, when a snowstorm caused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to cancel an appearance at a global warming rally on the Capitol grounds. And last week, the Gore effect seemed to follow Obama as well as Pelosi and a big congressional delegation to the global warming summit in Copenhagen. They arrived to 4 inches of freshly fallen snow. The forecasters were promising the first white Christmas there in 14 years. As our representatives worked out a toothless agreement they termed "an unprecedented breakthrough," meteorologists were forecasting a big snowstorm back home. Pelosi and the congressional delegation cut the trip short to beat the snow. Obama stayed a little longer, but even an adopted son of flinty Chicago ended up departing early. "Because of weather constraints in Washington, I am leaving before the final vote," the President said. Obama landed at Andrews Air Force base at 1 a.m. Saturday and the encroaching weather led him to take a motorcade rather than the usual helicopter hop to the White House. The storm that some saw as the latest manifestation of the Gore effect continued north, arriving here in the early afternoon. Much more was on the way, but New York had redesigned two vital aspects of its infrastructure after the bigger-than-big Blizzard of 1888. The headlines back then read: "Blizzard Was King! The Metropolis Helpless Under Snow! Fifty Trainloads of Passengers Stuck on the Main Lines! Electric Lights Out." After that mother of all storms, the city's electric lines were taken off the poles and run underground. The elevated train lines were replaced by the subway. With the exception of those stretches that remain elevated or otherwise vulnerable, the transit system now runs fine, however big the blizzard. So here in New York Saturday, we could just let it Gore, let it Gore, let it Gore. Too bad for us the Gore effect is just coincidence and all the reputable science says global warming truly is a real and present danger.
They Have Coconuts and They Know How to Use Them
Posted on December 15, 2009 - Filed Under News
From My WayAustralian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter - unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal. The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot. Julian Finn and Mark Norman of Museum Victoria in Melbourne observed the odd activity in four of the creatures during a series of dive trips to North Sulawesi and Bali in Indonesia between 1998 and 2008. Their findings were published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology. "I was gobsmacked," said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. "I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh."
Size Matters
Posted on November 30, 2009 - Filed Under News
Hey Oz! I just read on NineMSN that Australia has overtaken the United States to have the largest homes in the world.While average US home sizes have shrunk for the first time in a decade due to global recession, the average floor space of new Australian homes hit a record high of 214.6 square metres in 2008/09 financial year, according to official data. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data commissioned by CommSec also showed the average floor area of new free-standing houses was also at a record high - 245.3sqm. By contrast, the average size of new homes started in the US in the September quarter stood at 201.5sqm.On a side note:
Data from Europe shows that Denmark has the biggest homes (houses and flats) with an average floor area of 137 sqm, followed by Greece (126 sqm), and the Netherlands (115.5 sqm). Homes in the UK are the smallest in Europe, at 76 sqm on average.More HERE
Global Warming, a Money Making Hoax
Posted on November 21, 2009 - Filed Under Environmentalism, News
Hi Oz Is global warming a money making hoax? There sure seems to be a lot of money in it, as well as an element of control in our everyday lives. Not to mention, scientists seem to form a bond of those who do believe in it and ask for drastic action very much against those who are skeptical. They sure show themselves with the alarming things that they say, followed by a lit of maybe's, possibly's, perhaps, could's and so on. Here's such a headline: 'Climate change pushes poor women to prostitution' Come on, what else will they think of? What else will they come up with to sound an alarm on something that just doesn't exist as a threat? In fact, these same Climatologists are Baffled by Global Warming Time-OutGlobal warming appears to have stalled. Climatologists are puzzled as to why average global temperatures have stopped rising over the last 10 years. Some attribute the trend to a lack of sunspots, while others explain it through ocean currents.Ten years the temperatures remain the same. Yet all we hear about is how we have to change our carbon footprint by windbags who travel all over the world (creating a huge carbon footprint of their own) telling the rest of us how to live. (Did I mention that Obama used 71 cars to get from the airport to his meeting in China?) Back to the original question, is it a money making hoax? Al Gore chairs a firm that makes money on the performance of their investments and invests in things that benefit from Al Gore’s environmental hysteria. In other words, Al Gore makes money when these investments perform well; and these investments perform well when Al Gore goes out and cheerleads for environmentalism and sustainability.
- Autodesk: $23,086,000
- This was a mystery until I found their “sustainability” initiative section. “We provide technology, education, and support for programs that inform and promote innovations addressing current and future sustainable design challenges.” In other words, green design and engineering.
- Blackbaud, Inc: $19,558,000
- “Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and related services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations.” Enough said.
- Donaldson, Inc: $10,920,000
- Specializes in filtration equipment. Currently design and sell “clean diesel” emissions systems.
- General Electric: $29,475,000
- GE owns NBC/MSNBC. GE is well positioned to make huge money off the Green movement. For an overview, check out GE’s “Ecomagination” site.
- Greenhill & Co: $21,970,000
- This one was a bit of a mystery until I discovered that Greenhill runs a venture capital fund that invested in YellowJacket which is involved in energy trading. The goal of the venture investment? “Firm Aims to Accelerate Growth in Energy Trading Marketplace”
- Johnson Controls: $47,609,000
- “Johnson Controls, a global leader in developing energy-efficient and sustainable solutions, is working at the forefront, developing batteries that will power current—and future generation high efficiency, lower carbon footprint vehicles.” Need I say more?
- Metabolix: $6,672,000
- Produces “natural”sustainable plastics including a “50-50 joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), to commercialize the production of Mirel™ natural plastics.”
Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
Posted on November 10, 2009 - Filed Under General
Oz... In light of the news I heard today that Aerosmith is possibly looking for a new lead singer, I thought I'd post our song! I could stay awake just to hear you breathing Watch you smile while you are sleeping While you're far away and dreaming I could spend my life in this sweet surrender I could stay lost in this moment forever Well, every moment spent with you Is a moment I treasure (Chorus) I don't wanna close my eyes I don't wanna fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing 'Cause even when I dream of you The sweetest dream would never do I'd still miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing Lying close to you Feeling your heart beating And I'm wondering what you're dreaming Wondering if it's me you're seeing Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together And I just wanna stay with you In this moment forever, forever and ever (chorus) I don't wanna close my eyes I don't wanna fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing 'Cause even when I dream of you The sweetest dream would never do I'd still miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing I don't wanna miss one smile I don't wanna miss one kiss Well, I just wanna be with you Right here with you, just like this I just wanna hold you close Feel your heart so close to mine And just stay here in this moment For all the rest of time (Chorus) Don't wanna close my eyes Don't wanna fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing 'Cause even when I dream of you The sweetest dream would never do 'Cause I'd still miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing I don't wanna close my eyes I don't wanna fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing 'Cause even when I dream of you The sweetest dream would never do I'd still miss you, baby And I don't wanna miss a thing Don't wanna close my eyes Don't wanna fall asleep, yeah I don't wanna miss a thing I don't wanna miss a thingBaby Deer and Lion at DC Zoo
Posted on November 9, 2009 - Filed Under News
Oz! It seems we missed some excitement at the D.C. National Zoo. A baby deer somehow got inside the lion's den. It makes its escape into the moat, but, later had to be euthanized. It had too many injuries.Ditto
Posted on October 30, 2009 - Filed Under Humor
Hi Oz I know you have decorations there for your "Chrissy" as we do here. As much as I love to look at them, I usually want no part of going out in the freezing cold (I know it's hot there) to decorate the outside of the house for Christmas. Apparently, I am not the only one. This person had a unique way of handling Christmas Lights....
Christmas Lights
