By Steve Erbach on Monday, July 21, 2008 5:05 PM

Read it for yourself.  Here are the high points:

• The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change models have most decidedly not predicted the climate events of the past 50 years
• Those models do not account for the high solar activity in the past 7 decades, higher than at any time in the past 110 centuries
• The models did not account for the cooling that has taken place since 1998

The conclusion of the paper is a doozy.  I've reformated it:

1. Even if temperature had risen above natural variability, the recent solar Grand Maximum may have been chiefly responsible.
Read More »
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By Steve Erbach on Monday, July 21, 2008 4:58 PM

This Der Spiegel article outlines how the oil-rich Persian Gulf states are selling oil as fast as they can pump it, but are looking to build coal-fired power plants because they're cheaper:

Why the Gulf Is Switching to Coal

By Wolfgang Reuter

The Persian Gulf may be sitting atop massive oil reserves. But with prices for crude skyrocketing, it makes more sense to sell it than to burn it. Instead, the Gulf is turning to coal for its energy needs -- to the detriment of the climate.

 

&l ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Thursday, July 17, 2008 7:10 PM

By Steve Erbach on Wednesday, July 09, 2008 10:13 PM

Remember David Howard, the Washington, DC, aide to then-mayor, Anthony Williams, who resigned because of the furor raised after he said that he'd have to be "niggardly" with the city budget? 

Well, something along the same lines has happened in Dallas County, Texas:

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John W ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Thursday, July 03, 2008 4:34 AM

By Steve Erbach on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:26 AM

What are your summer reading picks?

(published 7-Jul-2008, Appleton Post-Crescent)

The Godfather of Law, Gary Malkmus, lent me the excellent "Wisconsin Criminal Practice and Procedure"; I promised my African missionary friend, Bwana Jonathan, to finish Chris Cock's "Fireforce", the author's thrilling story  of fighting with the Rhodesian light infantry; an early compilation of Scientific American "Mathematical ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Sunday, June 29, 2008 8:28 AM

By Steve Erbach on Friday, June 27, 2008 4:37 AM

From the latest newsletter of the Advocates for Self-Government:

Japan's Weird War on Waistlines

We've reported in the past on proposals to create "fat taxes" to penalize the selling or eating of politically-incorrect (i.e., high-fat or high-calorie) foods.

But now busybody bodyweight bureaucrats in Japan have gone way, way beyond that.

A new national law requires all citizens between the ages of 40 and 74 to have their waists regularly measured annually. That's over 56 million waistlines, about 44 percent of the population.

According to U.S. News & Worl ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Thursday, June 26, 2008 6:20 PM

The 2nd Amendment is definitely something worth thinking about.  I've never owned a gun, but my strong feeling as time goes by is that, if and when I ever do acquire one, I would attempt to get one through "informal" channels.  Having to register something that I have the right to own seems to me like having to register my religion or my position on sustainable development.

My understanding of the Bill of Rights is that it carves out individual and states' rights and their associated areas of the law that the federal government may not touch.  The words "the people", however one capitalizes them, refer to people as individuals in every Amendment in the Bill of Rights where the term appears.

Attempting to limit "the right of the people to keep and bear arms" to ownership only insofar as "the people" are members of a militia is very odd.  Since the grammar assum ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 5:42 PM

By Steve Erbach on Monday, June 23, 2008 4:11 AM

James Hansen of NASA is shooting to become the man most likely to be mistaken for Al Gore.  Either that or he hopes to have his picture published in the next Funk & Wagnall's next to the definition of grand-standing:

Put oil firm chiefs on trial, says leading climate change scientist

· Testimony to US Congress will also criticise lobbyists
· 'Revolutionary' policies needed to tackle crisis

by Ed Pilkington in New York
Monday June 23, 2008

James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about gl ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Sunday, June 22, 2008 6:30 PM

I followed a link posted by one of the more colorful members of our local Ron Paul for President group. The link led to a blog entry by "Nathanael" titled "Ron 'The Poseur' Paul". Read it if you like. I lost interest before the end, especially when he brought up the following "gross failures" of the Paul campaign:

It is time to face the gross failures of his campaign. It is fact and not fiction that Ron Paul...

• Shirked his duty to the American people and violated his oath of office by not pursuing criminal indictments against the war criminal and traitor GWBush.
• Did nothing to pursue the reality of McCain being disqualified under the Constitution to be president.
• Publicly denied the obvious, root cause and core reality of America's neo-con attempt at global hegem ... Read More »
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By Steve Erbach on Sunday, June 22, 2008 7:03 AM

I've been looking at the global warming issue for so long that I've become convinced that no matter what we skeptics do ("skeptic" here meaning I don't believe that our activities are the major cause for global warming), the world governments will eventually figure out a way to make everything more expensive and onerous by imposing huge new environmental regulations on us to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  But now there's hope...

This article from the UK Guardian was very heartening to read:

Poll: most Britons doubt cause of climate change

Juliette Jowit, environment editor
The Observer

T ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Friday, June 20, 2008 4:40 AM

I was sitting in our car for a few minutes waiting for my wife and daughter to come out of the store the other evening.  I heard this almost subsonic, thumping bass line coming from somewhere.  Knowing that bass is omnidirectional, I didn't crane my neck around trying to locate it.  I waited a few seconds and, just as I expected, here comes a small, beat up car that's been tricked out in a sad sort of way.  That's where the thumping bass was coming from.  Windows closed, too; I couldn't hear any lyrics, if you can call them lyrical.

This time, though, I actually tried to figure out what the deal was.  I mean, we've all heard about the effects of subsonics on emotional state.  I figured that the producers of this form of rythmic atmospheric vibration (aka, music) must know that it messes with the emotions, too.  I couldn't detect notes, as in musical notes.  But it wasn't drumming; I'm pretty su ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Friday, June 06, 2008 5:18 AM

Jo Egelhoff wrote a piece on her FoxPolitics.net blog the other day dealing with the upcoming Foth Conference on Sustainability: Balancing People, Planet and Profit, June 19th at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton.

She started off promisingly with "What the heck is 'sustainability?'" I figured that she might add a bit more oomph to the subject by actually saying what she thinks about it.

I was disappointed, however, to read the tepid:

Whether or not you believe global warming is a real and proven phenomenon, advocates say sustainability makes sense on a purely fiscal basis. And I’m all for that.

The Foth Conference will focus o ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Friday, June 06, 2008 5:17 AM

Should the presidential primary season be shortened?

(published 9-Jun-2008, Appleton Post-Crescent)

Forget it.  It's one of the only things left that states can do on their own without permission from the federal guvmint.  Besides, it's about the only time when public vivisection is considered acceptable.  It's the highest (lowest?) form of human comedy.  There is no way that TV networks would go for a shorter primary season.  They thrive on scandals.  Differently than the tabloids do, of course, though the differences are evaporating.  The tabloids get lots of mileage out of celebrity infidelities, pregnancies, ugly clothes, etc.  The networks get to indulge their video paparazzi aspirations by hounding politicians.  For that brief ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 3:52 PM

The perfect answer to World Jump Day, the Green Hannukia Campaign, Gas Outs, and Earth Hour: Carbon Belch Day, June 12th!

Discover just how big a carbon footprint you can make by using the Carbon Belch Day Calculator.  I weighed in at 192 lbs. of carbon that I'll belch into the atmosphere on that glorious day.  (The American average is 41 lbs!)

Then sign the Carbon Belch Day petition.  Finally purchase a "Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Friday, May 16, 2008 4:42 AM

All you can do is laugh:

Obesity contributes to global warming: study

Thu May 15, 2008 7:03pm EDT
 
By Michael Kahn

GENEVA (Reuters) - Obesity contributes to global warming, too.

Obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size, a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says.

This adds to food shortages and higher energy prices, the school's researchers Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts wrote in the journal Lancet on Friday.

"We are all becoming heavier and it is a global responsibilit ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 6:52 PM

This story made local news on Monday:

Boy suffers burns in blowtorch game

May 12, 2008

MANITOWOC — A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized Saturday with burns on more than a quarter of his body after a blowtorch game with another teenage boy, authorities said.

The injured boy, who was not named, was sent to Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, said Capt. Mark Rusboldt of the Manitowoc Fire Department.

Rusboldt said firefighters found the boy in the garage of a residence with burns to his back, head, face, both arms and hands.

The injured boy and another teen apparently used spray cans as blowtorches and would use them on each other, Rusboldt said. The other teen was not injured.

When I heard that story on the radio Monday morning I got to thinking about how this kid is going to live the rest of his life.  Every ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Monday, May 12, 2008 9:12 PM

In keeping with The Town Crank's designation as part of the Read the Bills coalition, I'd like to present this latest offering by DownsizeDC.org, a bewildering account of behind-the-scenes budget maneuvering and CYA.

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

---

In 2005 Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska championed a $10 million earmark for a highway interchange. The earmark appeared in an 835-page transportation bill called SAFETEA-LU. Rep. Young was the man behind Alaska's infamous $233 million "Bridge to Nowhere," so this sounds like nothing unusual for him, except that . . .

• The project wasn't in Alaska, but as far away as possible, in the Florida district of Republican Rep. Connie Mack.

•   Mack and other local ... Read More »
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By Steve Erbach on Monday, May 12, 2008 5:39 PM

I caught our son, Sam (on the left in the gray t-shirt), sparring -- well, posing as if he were sparring -- with his friend, Vinny.  They use weapons made from PVC pipe, foam insulation, and mucho duct tape.

I could not get on-camera our next-door neighbor, a retired Marine captain, who has sparred a few times with the boys.  He was retired out of the Marine Corps with severe bone cancer.  He now gets around with a cane, but he is a formidable sparring opponent nonetheless.  He uses an unpadded boken or bokken, a wooden sword used for practice in the martial arts.  You can try to outmaneuver him if you'd care to, but he's going to split you from chin to nether regions if you get cocky.

Just a fun time ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Sunday, May 11, 2008 7:03 AM

You'd think that federal programs (as Joseph Sobran says, anything called a "program" is unconstitutional) would at least be more carefully constructed than, say, a water plant in Appleton or a steam plant in Menasha.  Not so.

The federal student loan program was fiddled with last fall because the lenders were making too much money.  So, after the lenders decided to scale back their student loan offerings because they couldn't make as much money off of them, there were fewer student loans available.  Now we're being treated to the spectacle of the federal government "bailing out" the very same lenders it punished for making too much money.

This is how government works.  The Wall Street Journal has an excellent editorial on this topic:

Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Saturday, May 10, 2008 9:44 AM

For the millions of programmers out there,
this book speaks to YOU!

Mr. Smolin's book isn't for the Sergei Brins or the Linus Torvalds of the world. If you think that the author is going to reveal the most sure-fire software development environment that will have the greatest chance of acceptance in the marketplace, you'd better look elsewhere. Actually, there IS no elsewhere because there is no such source that can deliver o ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Friday, May 09, 2008 5:37 AM

How concerned are you about food safety?

(published 12-May-2008, Appleton Post-Crescent -- published portions in bold-italics)

 

How concerned could I be when I've got all these wonderful, kind-hearted politicians and safety mavens who'll see to it that I never have even the remotest chance of putting anything unhealthful into my mouth?  Restaurant maitre-d's will have those little fat pincher doohickies that measure my body mass index, so after leaving a red welt on my love handles, they'll have Victor and Bruno show me the error of my ways while throwing me out on my ear.  I'll be prevented from eating anything that could possibly do me any harm if consumed in mass, lab-rat-gagging q ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Thursday, May 08, 2008 4:43 PM

This message from DownsizeDC.org is important enough, I think, to re-publish in its entirety:

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

---

Quote of the Day:

"I freed thousands of slaves. I could have freed thousands more if they had known they were slaves."
-- Harriet Tubman

Subject: A Day of Infamy & Inspiration

Saturday is an anniversary. May 10, 2005 was a day that will live in infamy. On that date the Senate passed the REAL ID Act.

No Senate majority ever intended this outcome. We had defeated REAL ID in the Senate twice before. After the second vote the Senate declined to vote again.

The White House and the House Republican leadership got around this by inserting the bill ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Monday, April 14, 2008 6:10 AM

That's how one wag put it in a comment to this story from Scientific American. I heartily agree with him (emphasis in article mine):

U.S. Will Approve New Nuclear Reactors

British official says she's been informed the U.S. will approve at least three new nuclear power plants

By David Biello

One of the U.K.'s top nuclear officials said today that she was told the U.S. will okay plans to build the first nuclear power plants since the accident at Three Mile Island nearly three decades ago. Lady Barbara Thomas Judge, chair of the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority, said that the chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission informed her that the NRC w ... Read More »

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By Steve Erbach on Monday, April 14, 2008 5:26 AM

Reader Reaction Forum: Will gas prices cause you to curb summer travels?

(published 14-Apr-2008, Appleton Post-Crescent)

I hitchhike more, drive through yellow lights very fast, and I put the patron saint of increased gas mileage on the dash. Then I hear the E85 ads on the radio: "We're helping make a cleaner world for everyone." Oh, spare me! Without the subsidies, how many farmers do you think would grow corn for ethanol? How brilliant to subsidize corn for burning! Less food for everyone! You've noticed your grocery bills going up? The politicians natter on about helping the poor, while at the same time dishing out ethanol subsidies to get farmers to divert more of their crops to make ethanol because it's "better for the environment." Once it all goes to ethanol, the environment should be saved, right? Of course, we'll all die of starvation. But before that happens we'll re-subsidize corn for food ... but then ethanol prices ... Read More »

By Steve Erbach on Saturday, April 12, 2008 3:34 AM

From Downsize DC, this message from one of their frequent newsletters:

Did Congress ban wireless internet networks last week?

According to John C. Dvorak of PC Magazine, it did. He goes into detail in his article, Onerous New Law to Phase Out Wi-Fi:

• The bill, with the pretentious title Telecommunications Restructuring Act, passed with little or no debate.
• T ... Read More »
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By Steve Erbach on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 6:41 AM

By Steve Erbach on Friday, April 04, 2008 4:53 AM

That's Carla Howell, chairman of the Small Government Committee.

It's beginning again in Massachusetts, the site of the beginning of the American Revolution. Remember the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, and Paul Revere's ride? The kind of people that threw off the shackles of the British in the 18^th century are rising up again in the 21^st.
... Read More »