Pulled the plug on the cable box today, back to the airwaves. Too much ($700 pa) for too little interesting. Save a fortune with PBS, Fox, CBS, NBC,ABC local broadcasters or cable modem. It was mostly drivel on the other channels too. I'll miss Discovery. We can talk when the price model and customer service become more reasonable or I move some place less extortionate. F*** the monopolists, politicos, etc, vote with your feet! I have already left the building.
Wrong, a reminder. Doubt Windoze will ever catch TRON,http://web-japan.org/trends/science/sci030522.html and wouldn't discount QNX going 10 yr either. Windoze is already the pimple on the hardware gorilla's rear. Linux/*BSD is just going to pop it.
Spin city. In essence Linux has wiped out 60% of MS' "problem" with pirate Windows in a market segment and may eliminate 80-95% of it without legal "corrections". MS are bunch of wimps if they can't handle the remaining 5%-20% and certainly have no legit claim to further perverting the legal structures of the world!
I think additional restrictions (time, resale, long term crypto control) on copyrighted content are pure bs. Either choose total private contract enforcement not copyright infringement or follow 300+ yrs of copyright evolution to get goverment priviledge.
Also fair use - how do I clip and keep 5-10% for political comment, criticism etc?
Screw Tivo, my son or other teen will build my next computer as an PVR.
Assuming one has a library card (or maybe not):
1. was he still on library grounds - our main library, 250,000+ city is surrounded by several landscaped acres (ditto my university alma mater 3000 miles away). If so chill out copper, you're disrupting my library experience. Good libraries seek to disseminate and diffuse information anytime, anywhere within copyright or license.
2. A passerby (cop) presumes that he was surfing the internet, not the library's space. I surf in my library's site and databases from my home/overseas, for hours. Really aggressive librarians seeking to expand their reach (librarians can get pretty messianic about this), might well decide to expand their local user access and define their intranet bubble by the precise power of their transmission under some particular FCC class including over town.
If the library gets stressed about bandwidth (or Patriot Act Stalinism er shrubbery) over their budget/desire, the adjusted server rules can regulate internet access accordingly, encryption if necessary.
If this ass accosted me, I would drag his sorry ass inside and ask Bob (a plesant senior librarian, in 5-10 minutes someone with a short attention span is going to be verrryy sorry).
The shuttle was always a POS since 1960s conception, biggest strategic screw up since the Portugese pissed away an early lead in the colonial sailng race to the Spanish over 500 years ago. The AN225 is just a one off transporter hang over from the USSR's cheap clone of the shuttle. I hope the Ukranians can do something with it - a stick in Airbus' eye. But remember the US has had "the biggest" since 1944 (the H4). Soviet/Russian aerospace superiority? Ha, ha we won - we could afford over 100 flushes of the $2 billion bill shuttle crapper before our country goes broke (vs just one flush for the USSR)! (yes, all totaled, we have spent well over $2 billion per flush avg since 1960s on the shuttle program, see 1st sentence)
Now that the revenue "opportunity" of.gif is through, Unisys needs an assured code base for its customers so no matter what the customers won't be left high and dry. A sad end for once proud ancestors, "we love you long time honey". Unisys can contribute what they will, or won't, I'm sure no new, sane customers will trust them. Evolution, and necessarily extinction, happens... No tears here.
Sounds like cheap fusion power too cheap to meter is at least 26 years aways;-> Seriously the "Hydrogen" economy supporters should realize that best hydrogen storage technologies today use methane, ethane and/or propane - easy to transport, liquify or compress with much higher energy density than hydrogen. "Hydrogen" economy supporters should also realize that they are really supporting premium cost coal power as a marginal replacement for oil and gas to help keep Arab (and Russian) bargaining power down. For the next 25 years the world will be shifing toward gas to replace increasingly heavy crude oil (think tar) - no real choice unless you really insist on coal. After 25-50 yr consider space based power - fusion or solar. Wind, new fission technology, and terrestial solar power will continue to increase but still make minor inroads in global energy use. The fusion projects I find interesting are the aneutronic derivatives of Farnesworth's IEC Fusor and any space based fusion technology.
This is a vital technology but...3 ft Pipelines (say 36" X65), mere steel steel shells say 1/3 to 1 inch thick, usually cost (usually way over) over $1 million / mile on terra firma. Not to mention how much super carbon fiber rod(nearly solid 3ft??), flying it up, joining in place. Try some multiple of $100 billion at least. $10b sounds like someone's "too cheap to meter" on nuclear power 50+ yrs ago. We got "nuked" financially.
"Conventional" medicine is still living in the dark ages on numerous neurological, degenerative and digestive disorders and will offer no real hope. Anything that does not examine for biochemical causes including simple biochemical - "nutraceutical" treatment
1. research pioneer Canadian MD Abram Hoffer's work on the internet; and also see
2. Twenty-Nine Medical Causes of "Schizophrenia"
Excerpted from Nutrition and Mental Illness
by the late Carl C. Pfeiffer, Ph.D., M.D.
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/ca usesofschizophrenia.html
The "conventional" medical-pharmaceutical- industrial complex creates blind doctors, corrupt anti-scientific marketing practices. Do yourself a favor, read, look and think for yourself. Find people with technical backgrounds that have experience with biochemically based nutritional alternatives. Hard to believe but many lives, probably your own, will depend on reading, work, knowledge and independent thought. Use the least expensive, quality supplements you can find, i.e. usually
Costco, vitamins.com and vitaglo.com
Sometimes a local health food store if I'm in a hurry. Good luck.
Assume that MSFT et al don't want SCO to suffer a clear string of court losses but would be interested in a 3rd party FUD asset that theoretically *might* rear its head again (eg. pot'l MS salesman, privately: "L is unsafe" or " I heard that more IP suits may be filed". A nice-for-MS-sales hard-to-trace fart in the open office) Inappropriate if MS owns SCO's "IP cremains", but an "independent" 3rd party might have fun while collecting payments originating from MS/Gates et al retreading Darl's persona. Sounds like time for MS' next front guys to repo SCO. Beware the borg.
If I legally "tank up" a few CDRs for my personal use to listen on the open road while I visit Canada for a few weeks, can US Customs object when I come home?
CD: 700Mb/avg 3.5 Mbytes per Mp3 = 200 songs
2200 songs (plenty for my favorites)=>11 CDs
$0.21 cdn/CDR tax * 11 = $2.31 cdn ~ US $1.75
Seriously ethically challenged:
With no real prospect for long term survival, this little girl sounds like some ego driven maniac's insurance fueled biology experiment drawing scarce medical resources from the system. Kinder and better for everyone but the doctors to let this one go...
Biologically a dead end, if the mother is still able she would be better off trying again. Societies that can't accept hard facts and choices, whither.
The question is: are the Australians inert enough to ship some poor bugger off to a kangaroo court in the US? I think that if there is a problem, the international corporations should required prosecute him in Australia.
From a less corrupt US perspective, I have several problems: (1)expost facto laws with extraordinary scope and duration - "IP" laws metastatic spread over several centuries of evolved copyright and patent law. (2) as for a extradition, even some of the US supreme justices continue to assert constitional supremecy, (3) the *people* are the ultimate law, not some corrupt treaty, not a even a dishonored constitution - The Australians should seriously consider where they are if their government allows this travesty. If the bugger distributed warez he should be prosecuted in Australia for copyright infringement under Australian law, and he should avoid US waters and airspace permanently OR apply for immigration - he'll NEVER get here;
Even here in the US, our founding fathers directly addressed this kind of "cracking" question in the Declaration if Independence: (1) For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences (2) He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. (3) He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. (4) For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: (5) For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.
Sieg Heil, Eisner! Sieg Heil Vivendi!
MS' ability to goad and drive out Judges Sporkin and Jackson clearly shows systemic failure. DoJ's lack of effective enforcement even on the watered down settlement shows more systemic failure (corruption, good lawyering, whatever). So what do I/can you do about it?
1. Move to OpenOffice, even works on Win 9x
2. Move to Linux
3. Tell anyone that I see or hear considering MS Office about OpenOffice 1.03 / 1.1b2 at OpenOffice.org. (library, stores, conversations)
I like to recount the faulty Office/Windows glitches that lost files or version incompatibilities that lost time, money and opportunity and why I'm happy with OO and the simple URL. Or maybe emailed 600k byte Word97 docs with dangerous macros that reduce to 13k in text or.sdw. That's all.
"Selling" OpenOffice once a month, $100-400 has to hurt MS if multiplied or even better an exponentially increasing chain reaction...
If MS seriously stumbles one quarter that gives lie to its projected growth by analysts, stock price volatility may signal even the PHBs and MSce that battleship MSFT can go down to nuclear attack subs, NS Linux and NS OpenOffice.
If you advocate Linux, "sell" OpenOffice. It is an easier first step for newbies and still is a kick in MS' teeth and other sensitive parts. Be afraid Bill, then the deluge!
10 yrs ago real life hassling other countries' products, so-called "pirate copies," through customs.
Importation for resale and personal copies are quite diferent. I'm a self employed engineer that reads broadly. I travel to Asia for family/business reasons. Over a month or two I picked up 80 classic technical reprints from other fields, mostly 1950-1960s. No way are they worth $60-$200 each to me or market value (outdated, but useful for a neophyte that likes to be broadly fluent). Customs agent: looks like confiscatable books not allowed to be imported. Me: I'm not importing them for resale, they're my personal books (with a laser stare) legally printed, bought, used overseas, and returning with me just like I'm moving from overseas. Customs agent: (noises) going to have to bond them or dump them. Me: I will want a complete listing, title and author for bonding (legal storage limbo). (Think actual writing effort, poor time efficiency, BAD will and prejudicial complaints here) Customs: Let me check with my supervisor. 5 mins later: "You're allowed one personal copy of each" (Duh! IANAL either)
Modern civilization causes global warming?
More correctly, episodic global warming has allowed modern civilization to develop over the last 12,000-20,000 years.
Is global warming the cause of sea level changes?
Temperature changes are a cause of sea level changes. Changes to polar region absorbance, changes to atmospheric reflectance such as due to volcanism, the earth's tilt, and convective changes in the oceans and the atmosphere can also cause melting/ ice accumulation.
Carbon dioxide is the primary cause of global warming?
As trivial as it sounds, the sun is the primary cause of global warming. Variations in the solar flux at the earth over centuries, millennia and even geological eras are likely large causes of what we discern as global cooling and global warming. The simplest and longest historical records to support a frequent type of solar variation are the records of sun spot cycles since Gallileo (~1610). Look up the "Maunder Minimum" associated with the "Little Ice Age". The 11 year sunspot cycle just finished is the second worst on record for the last 400 years. Sunspot cycles are associated with magnetic reversals(!) of the sun every 11 years. Other potentially valid astrophysical/geological theories have much longer period phenomena.
Is anthropogenic carbon dioxide is likely to cause global warming?
The earth has been in a several million year cold regime with abnormally low carbon dioxide levels and abnormally low temperatures. Geological carbon dioxide levels associated with then "normal" earth temperature were approximately 1000-2000 ppm over the last several hundred million years. More recently, pre-industrial CO2 levels were about 280 ppm, current levels are about 360 ppm. The ocean remains in an undersaturated non-equilibrium state that can absorb substantially all the CO2 produced over the decades and centuries. (ppm is part per million)
Aren't only USians and the ogres of industry resisting enlightened global mgmt of CO2?
Throughout history, myths have been created for the little people (~99% of us are little people politically or intellectually) to derive power and value for elite groups as well as serving as some kind of socialization medium - how do you view the ancient Greek gods? The current carbon dioxide debate seems to naturally favor (a) aspiring statists and elitists of all stripes, (b) entrenched, non competitive societies that would prefer to restrict others' energy usage and economic advancement, (c ) energy consumers from energy deficient and bankrupt countries that prefer bargaining "if you lower the price enough, perhaps I'll take your dirty, stinkingly sinful oil/gas/coal off your hands" rather than on their knees begging for it, (d) academic recipients of governmental, environmental, industrial grants. Most little people are too ignorant to know the true situation either strategically or scientifically. I am chagrined that our public high schools waste precious time in biology, chemistry and other classes on this issue. Even supposing GW (either one) to be correct, I object to such conclusory, non-fundamental material in basic science classes.
The real environmental complaints should be localized demands for consistent treatment of pollution abatements. We consumers are often required to utilitize low sulfur, low particulate fuels (natural gas 4 ppm S, gasoline less than 15 ppm sulfur soon) when industrially exempt or grandfathered facilities get to use coal ("low sulfur" coal is about 0.3% - 0.7 % S and burns about twice as much weight per unit of heat as gas; or dirty residual oil with 1+% sulfur, 1%=10,000 ppm) and spew solids.
The real energy issue is that we have enough energy to tide us over until (if?) advanced power systems can be brought to bear later this century or the next. See www.dieoff.org for a pessimistic, statist version of this point. (Statists believe in the State)
For some independent background (from energy interests or "environmentalists") see http://www.intellicast.com/DrDewpoint/ClimateWatch / and some interesting paleoclimatology, http://www.salt.org.il/frame_econ.html. On the Maunder Minimum,
http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/sunspots.htm Then do your own research!
Slashdot Mirror
Pulled the plug on the cable box today, back to the airwaves. Too much ($700 pa) for too little interesting. Save a fortune with PBS, Fox, CBS, NBC,ABC local broadcasters or cable modem. It was mostly drivel on the other channels too. I'll miss Discovery. We can talk when the price model and customer service become more reasonable or I move some place less extortionate. F*** the monopolists, politicos, etc, vote with your feet! I have already left the building.
Wrong, a reminder. Doubt Windoze will ever catch TRON,http://web-japan.org/trends/science/sci030522 .html and wouldn't discount QNX going 10 yr either. Windoze is already the pimple on the hardware gorilla's rear. Linux/*BSD is just going to pop it.
Spin city. In essence Linux has wiped out 60% of MS' "problem" with pirate Windows in a market segment and may eliminate 80-95% of it without legal "corrections". MS are bunch of wimps if they can't handle the remaining 5%-20% and certainly have no legit claim to further perverting the legal structures of the world!
I think additional restrictions (time, resale, long term crypto control) on copyrighted content are pure bs. Either choose total private contract enforcement not copyright infringement or follow 300+ yrs of copyright evolution to get goverment priviledge. Also fair use - how do I clip and keep 5-10% for political comment, criticism etc? Screw Tivo, my son or other teen will build my next computer as an PVR.
as long as "limited times" are same as constitution's limited times - "by securing for limited times to authors and inventors" say 90-200 yrs!
Assuming one has a library card (or maybe not): 1. was he still on library grounds - our main library, 250,000+ city is surrounded by several landscaped acres (ditto my university alma mater 3000 miles away). If so chill out copper, you're disrupting my library experience. Good libraries seek to disseminate and diffuse information anytime, anywhere within copyright or license. 2. A passerby (cop) presumes that he was surfing the internet, not the library's space. I surf in my library's site and databases from my home/overseas, for hours. Really aggressive librarians seeking to expand their reach (librarians can get pretty messianic about this), might well decide to expand their local user access and define their intranet bubble by the precise power of their transmission under some particular FCC class including over town. If the library gets stressed about bandwidth (or Patriot Act Stalinism er shrubbery) over their budget/desire, the adjusted server rules can regulate internet access accordingly, encryption if necessary. If this ass accosted me, I would drag his sorry ass inside and ask Bob (a plesant senior librarian, in 5-10 minutes someone with a short attention span is going to be verrryy sorry).
I for one would to know how many plane tickets Darl and Blake plan to buy for Brazil, etc. Single or family? or "Let's do it in the bunker Adolf"
The shuttle was always a POS since 1960s conception, biggest strategic screw up since the Portugese pissed away an early lead in the colonial sailng race to the Spanish over 500 years ago. The AN225 is just a one off transporter hang over from the USSR's cheap clone of the shuttle. I hope the Ukranians can do something with it - a stick in Airbus' eye. But remember the US has had "the biggest" since 1944 (the H4). Soviet/Russian aerospace superiority? Ha, ha we won - we could afford over 100 flushes of the $2 billion bill shuttle crapper before our country goes broke (vs just one flush for the USSR)! (yes, all totaled, we have spent well over $2 billion per flush avg since 1960s on the shuttle program, see 1st sentence)
Now that the revenue "opportunity" of .gif is through, Unisys needs an assured code base for its customers so no matter what the customers won't be left high and dry. A sad end for once proud ancestors, "we love you long time honey". Unisys can contribute what they will, or won't, I'm sure no new, sane customers will trust them. Evolution, and necessarily extinction, happens... No tears here.
Sounds like cheap fusion power too cheap to meter is at least 26 years aways ;-> Seriously the "Hydrogen" economy supporters should realize that best hydrogen storage technologies today use methane, ethane and /or propane - easy to transport, liquify or compress with much higher energy density than hydrogen. "Hydrogen" economy supporters should also realize that they are really supporting premium cost coal power as a marginal replacement for oil and gas to help keep Arab (and Russian) bargaining power down. For the next 25 years the world will be shifing toward gas to replace increasingly heavy crude oil (think tar) - no real choice unless you really insist on coal. After 25-50 yr consider space based power - fusion or solar. Wind, new fission technology, and terrestial solar power will continue to increase but still make minor inroads in global energy use.
The fusion projects I find interesting are the aneutronic derivatives of Farnesworth's IEC Fusor and any space based fusion technology.
This is a vital technology but...3 ft Pipelines (say 36" X65), mere steel steel shells say 1/3 to 1 inch thick, usually cost (usually way over) over $1 million / mile on terra firma. Not to mention how much super carbon fiber rod(nearly solid 3ft??), flying it up, joining in place. Try some multiple of $100 billion at least. $10b sounds like someone's "too cheap to meter" on nuclear power 50+ yrs ago. We got "nuked" financially.
time varying clicks came in with Morse code and the telegraph, patented 1837. MS Numbnuts.
"Conventional" medicine is still living in the dark ages on numerous neurological, degenerative and digestive disorders and will offer no real hope. Anything that does not examine for biochemical causes including simple biochemical - "nutraceutical" treatment 1. research pioneer Canadian MD Abram Hoffer's work on the internet; and also see 2. Twenty-Nine Medical Causes of "Schizophrenia" Excerpted from Nutrition and Mental Illness by the late Carl C. Pfeiffer, Ph.D., M.D. http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/ca usesofschizophrenia.html
The "conventional" medical-pharmaceutical- industrial complex creates blind doctors, corrupt anti-scientific marketing practices. Do yourself a favor, read, look and think for yourself. Find people with technical backgrounds that have experience with biochemically based nutritional alternatives. Hard to believe but many lives, probably your own, will depend on reading, work, knowledge and independent thought. Use the least expensive, quality supplements you can find, i.e. usually
Costco, vitamins.com and vitaglo.com
Sometimes a local health food store if I'm in a hurry. Good luck.
The only SCO suitcases I think anyone will see are the stinky ones full of crap and the bulging ones with the brochures for Brazil ;>
Assume that MSFT et al don't want SCO to suffer a clear string of court losses but would be interested in a 3rd party FUD asset that theoretically *might* rear its head again (eg. pot'l MS salesman, privately: "L is unsafe" or " I heard that more IP suits may be filed". A nice-for-MS-sales hard-to-trace fart in the open office) Inappropriate if MS owns SCO's "IP cremains", but an "independent" 3rd party might have fun while collecting payments originating from MS/Gates et al retreading Darl's persona. Sounds like time for MS' next front guys to repo SCO. Beware the borg.
If I legally "tank up" a few CDRs for my personal use to listen on the open road while I visit Canada for a few weeks, can US Customs object when I come home? CD: 700Mb/avg 3.5 Mbytes per Mp3 = 200 songs 2200 songs (plenty for my favorites)=>11 CDs $0.21 cdn/CDR tax * 11 = $2.31 cdn ~ US $1.75
Seriously ethically challenged: With no real prospect for long term survival, this little girl sounds like some ego driven maniac's insurance fueled biology experiment drawing scarce medical resources from the system. Kinder and better for everyone but the doctors to let this one go... Biologically a dead end, if the mother is still able she would be better off trying again. Societies that can't accept hard facts and choices, whither.
The question is: are the Australians inert enough to ship some poor bugger off to a kangaroo court in the US? I think that if there is a problem, the international corporations should required prosecute him in Australia. From a less corrupt US perspective, I have several problems: (1)expost facto laws with extraordinary scope and duration - "IP" laws metastatic spread over several centuries of evolved copyright and patent law. (2) as for a extradition, even some of the US supreme justices continue to assert constitional supremecy, (3) the *people* are the ultimate law, not some corrupt treaty, not a even a dishonored constitution - The Australians should seriously consider where they are if their government allows this travesty. If the bugger distributed warez he should be prosecuted in Australia for copyright infringement under Australian law, and he should avoid US waters and airspace permanently OR apply for immigration - he'll NEVER get here; Even here in the US, our founding fathers directly addressed this kind of "cracking" question in the Declaration if Independence: (1) For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences (2) He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. (3) He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. (4) For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: (5) For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury. Sieg Heil, Eisner! Sieg Heil Vivendi!
MS' ability to goad and drive out Judges Sporkin and Jackson clearly shows systemic failure. DoJ's lack of effective enforcement even on the watered down settlement shows more systemic failure (corruption, good lawyering, whatever). So what do I/can you do about it? 1. Move to OpenOffice, even works on Win 9x 2. Move to Linux 3. Tell anyone that I see or hear considering MS Office about OpenOffice 1.03 / 1.1b2 at OpenOffice.org. (library, stores, conversations) I like to recount the faulty Office/Windows glitches that lost files or version incompatibilities that lost time, money and opportunity and why I'm happy with OO and the simple URL. Or maybe emailed 600k byte Word97 docs with dangerous macros that reduce to 13k in text or .sdw. That's all.
"Selling" OpenOffice once a month, $100-400 has to hurt MS if multiplied or even better an exponentially increasing chain reaction...
If MS seriously stumbles one quarter that gives lie to its projected growth by analysts, stock price volatility may signal even the PHBs and MSce that battleship MSFT can go down to nuclear attack subs, NS Linux and NS OpenOffice.
If you advocate Linux, "sell" OpenOffice. It is an easier first step for newbies and still is a kick in MS' teeth and other sensitive parts. Be afraid Bill, then the deluge!
10 yrs ago real life hassling other countries' products, so-called "pirate copies," through customs. Importation for resale and personal copies are quite diferent. I'm a self employed engineer that reads broadly. I travel to Asia for family/business reasons. Over a month or two I picked up 80 classic technical reprints from other fields, mostly 1950-1960s. No way are they worth $60-$200 each to me or market value (outdated, but useful for a neophyte that likes to be broadly fluent). Customs agent: looks like confiscatable books not allowed to be imported. Me: I'm not importing them for resale, they're my personal books (with a laser stare) legally printed, bought, used overseas, and returning with me just like I'm moving from overseas. Customs agent: (noises) going to have to bond them or dump them. Me: I will want a complete listing, title and author for bonding (legal storage limbo). (Think actual writing effort, poor time efficiency, BAD will and prejudicial complaints here) Customs: Let me check with my supervisor. 5 mins later: "You're allowed one personal copy of each" (Duh! IANAL either)
Modern civilization causes global warming? More correctly, episodic global warming has allowed modern civilization to develop over the last 12,000-20,000 years. Is global warming the cause of sea level changes? Temperature changes are a cause of sea level changes. Changes to polar region absorbance, changes to atmospheric reflectance such as due to volcanism, the earth's tilt, and convective changes in the oceans and the atmosphere can also cause melting/ ice accumulation. Carbon dioxide is the primary cause of global warming? As trivial as it sounds, the sun is the primary cause of global warming. Variations in the solar flux at the earth over centuries, millennia and even geological eras are likely large causes of what we discern as global cooling and global warming. The simplest and longest historical records to support a frequent type of solar variation are the records of sun spot cycles since Gallileo (~1610). Look up the "Maunder Minimum" associated with the "Little Ice Age". The 11 year sunspot cycle just finished is the second worst on record for the last 400 years. Sunspot cycles are associated with magnetic reversals(!) of the sun every 11 years. Other potentially valid astrophysical/geological theories have much longer period phenomena. Is anthropogenic carbon dioxide is likely to cause global warming? The earth has been in a several million year cold regime with abnormally low carbon dioxide levels and abnormally low temperatures. Geological carbon dioxide levels associated with then "normal" earth temperature were approximately 1000-2000 ppm over the last several hundred million years. More recently, pre-industrial CO2 levels were about 280 ppm, current levels are about 360 ppm. The ocean remains in an undersaturated non-equilibrium state that can absorb substantially all the CO2 produced over the decades and centuries. (ppm is part per million) Aren't only USians and the ogres of industry resisting enlightened global mgmt of CO2? Throughout history, myths have been created for the little people (~99% of us are little people politically or intellectually) to derive power and value for elite groups as well as serving as some kind of socialization medium - how do you view the ancient Greek gods? The current carbon dioxide debate seems to naturally favor (a) aspiring statists and elitists of all stripes, (b) entrenched, non competitive societies that would prefer to restrict others' energy usage and economic advancement, (c ) energy consumers from energy deficient and bankrupt countries that prefer bargaining "if you lower the price enough, perhaps I'll take your dirty, stinkingly sinful oil/gas/coal off your hands" rather than on their knees begging for it, (d) academic recipients of governmental, environmental, industrial grants. Most little people are too ignorant to know the true situation either strategically or scientifically. I am chagrined that our public high schools waste precious time in biology, chemistry and other classes on this issue. Even supposing GW (either one) to be correct, I object to such conclusory, non-fundamental material in basic science classes. The real environmental complaints should be localized demands for consistent treatment of pollution abatements. We consumers are often required to utilitize low sulfur, low particulate fuels (natural gas 4 ppm S, gasoline less than 15 ppm sulfur soon) when industrially exempt or grandfathered facilities get to use coal ("low sulfur" coal is about 0.3% - 0.7 % S and burns about twice as much weight per unit of heat as gas; or dirty residual oil with 1+% sulfur, 1%=10,000 ppm) and spew solids. The real energy issue is that we have enough energy to tide us over until (if?) advanced power systems can be brought to bear later this century or the next. See www.dieoff.org for a pessimistic, statist version of this point. (Statists believe in the State) For some independent background (from energy interests or "environmentalists") see http://www.intellicast.com/DrDewpoint/ClimateWatch / and some interesting paleoclimatology, http://www.salt.org.il/frame_econ.html. On the Maunder Minimum,
http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/sunspots.htm Then do your own research!