Here in Britain, a month or so post-Katrina, I watched a LA-based talk show on late night cable TV (Conan?). The first act was a stand-up comic. His routine started thus:
"President Bush, he's the worst President we ever had!"
The crowd just stood up, wooped, hollered, cheered, like some religious gathering. From this side of the Atlantic, it was like the scales had fallen from their eyes, they had seen the light. I had a wry smile.
His handling of Katrina finally got over the huge "attacking me is like attacking the victims of 9/11" breathing space he'd been given. He'd finally run out of air and yes, even right-wing Americans (proto-Tea party) we met over the next 3 years apologised for him almost as the first things out of their mouths. But it took 5 years on his watch which saw the worst attack on the US in 60 years, 1 terrible war, 1 tragic war and countless domestic abuses for this to happen. I see these comments on the GP about Obama being the "worst President ever", 18 months in, and have another wry smile.
No cite here but the FBI commissioned some huge study in the 1990s, 100 000 people, and worked out that about 98.5 % of people are 'good', with 1.5 % being genuine sociopaths. That doesn't mean that 1:75 people will kill you for your packet of chewing gum, just that if the opportunity arose to do the 'right' or 'wrong' thing, you've got damn good odds that people do things that make society work.
When travelling with my family, we met only a handful of objectionable people in a whole year of strangers.
The BBC is probably the one thing that Britain is best at in the world. No other English-language country has anything as good as it (can't comment on others); it is quite wonderful. I think you underestimate how much it would cost to subscribe to ABC1-friendly 6Music, Radio 4, BBC2/4 if it were not cross-subsidised by the 90% of the population who never watch them- but can if they like. Cultural ghettoisation is bad for all of us. And, of course, who makes a huge % of the high-quality programmes you see on non-BBC tv?
I totally agree with you re: news reporting. However, allowing Sky/Fox to be the arbiter of news agendas sends a violent shiver down the spine.
Which of course produces an interesting time-line on the efficacy of DNA in trials. When will DNA be disallowed as the defence could point at the evidence and say "Prove beyond doubt it wasn't artificially created"? 15-20 years?
Number forty-seven said to number three:
"You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
I sure would be delighted with your company,
come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me."
And remember that £1 and £2 are the 'starting' prices. They won't go down and only small increments will mean that the 5% win will have only to be a 4..3..2..1% win.
So who was the first to fly from mainland America to mainland Europe? Lindbergh took off from the island of Manhattan...:)
When we get to ideas of 'mainland' or 'solo' into events rather than simply crossing a vast ocean, well, where do we stop? When the first person arrives on the moon solo, and one looks forward to that hell of an achievement, will they upstage Armstrong and Aldrin?
This European is always astonished how Alcock and Brown's achievement of 1919 is so overshadowed by Lindbergh's 1927 flight. Perhaps that's one of the sources of resentment that lead to 'pissing contests'?
Agreed re: L-Band, but that's why the caveat of serendipitous was added to the ASCAT retrievals.
However, the ASCAT products are, on checking, actually 25 km and an enhanced 12.5 km product. Having 8 land surface retrievals for every one SMOS footprint will be a especially beneficial for the 1/3 of the land surface where vegetation volume makes the surface moisture retrieval ambiguous in the L-band (actually probably worse for the active microwave).
Brilliant SMOS is (finally) up, wonderful to have complementary measurements, should be a boon for met, climate and oceanography.
The salinity products from SMOS are now the most interesting part of the mission. Serendipitous 50 km soil moisture retrievals from the active microwave scatterometer (primarily an ocean wind sensor) on ESA METOP have been around for a few years and have undercut the novelty of this mission's land surface measurements.
However, the holy grail of oceanographic remote sensing is observing the surface conditions in the Western Pacific during El Nino formation. Measurements of near-daily surface salinity changes could elucidate the cause of ENSO or, at the very least, would become a useful diagnostic tool. SMOS should be more than capable of this.
Being British, I didn't know about this. Did they try and lock down taxpayer funded weather data so they could sell it to the people who had already paid for it?
The development of the UK weather radar network thru the 80's and early 90's was (apparently) paid for with monies from the water boards, then the recently-privatized water companies. This somehow meant that the data couldn't be released for free for 'commercial reasons' -the current web site images are still spatially degraded. In reality, it meant that private weather services couldn't have free access AND that the MO still charge people like the MoD (who pay most of the bills) for the high-resolution data. Double winner for the 'Trading Company' that is the MO. At one stage they charged ridiculous amounts for historic weather data (whose only use is research). This has improved as climate change became more politically sensitive, and the research councils got their acts together. They still charge for much of interesting real-time data that isn't released under their international obligations. Much to the chagrin of the MO you can also find their synoptic forecasts (&1 a minute fax-back in the UK) on the NOAA website.
Personally, I feel that the middle-to-high order MO management look enviously at the former civil servants in charge of the water boards, regional rail, regional power companies, etc., as these new 'Directors' now sit in their villas paid for by windfall share-options. The MO bosses won't disturb any 'revenue streams' in case a partial or total privitisation of the Trading Company would make their biggest weather-concern which countries to buy their second and third homes.
Yet it isn't as easy as 'good reusable, bad disposable'. Using cotton washable nappies is not a simple win-win 'convenience over environment' argument- goodbye Aral Sea (see also horrendous child-labour in cotton-growing countries), having the space to put the barrel of dirty nappies (we don't all live in large houses or have gardens), being able to afford to have them cleaned (shudders at time/effort/stink of doing it yourself), the carbon costs of collection, washing and drying. These are not negligible.
Paper nappies are a nightmare for landfill (lots of lovely methane, to be hopefully tapped) which is a driving force in the UK as there's a landfill tax on councils if they don't reduce the waste collection from their area. And having stinking nappies in your back-garden is a powerful stick for councils to 'raise awareness' over reusables so it's now Your Fault for not using alternatives. The majority of local councils all over the UK now have fortnightly collections which, AFAIK, not a single voter had ever called for (so we're back on-topic as it really is about lack of representation).
This is almost like security theater; carrying things to absurd extremes. Once a place gets busted for selling alcohol to a minor, they're so paranoid they make the tinfoil hat guys look normal.
Walking out of a Walmart in California yesterday, my 7-year old son and I were stopped as he was carrying the 6-pack of beer whilst I was juggling my cash, receipt and wallet.
"It's an offence for minors to carry alcohol" said the 'greeter'.
Slashdot Mirror
http://www.unity.edu/News/solar1004.htm
Pretty common, over a jar in the boozer just last night, the chap opposite blurted it about Heath Robinson idea that the local Plod had developed.
Here in Britain, a month or so post-Katrina, I watched a LA-based talk show on late night cable TV (Conan?). The first act was a stand-up comic. His routine started thus:
"President Bush, he's the worst President we ever had!"
The crowd just stood up, wooped, hollered, cheered, like some religious gathering. From this side of the Atlantic, it was like the scales had fallen from their eyes, they had seen the light. I had a wry smile.
His handling of Katrina finally got over the huge "attacking me is like attacking the victims of 9/11" breathing space he'd been given. He'd finally run out of air and yes, even right-wing Americans (proto-Tea party) we met over the next 3 years apologised for him almost as the first things out of their mouths. But it took 5 years on his watch which saw the worst attack on the US in 60 years, 1 terrible war, 1 tragic war and countless domestic abuses for this to happen. I see these comments on the GP about Obama being the "worst President ever", 18 months in, and have another wry smile.
No cite here but the FBI commissioned some huge study in the 1990s, 100 000 people, and worked out that about 98.5 % of people are 'good', with 1.5 % being genuine sociopaths. That doesn't mean that 1:75 people will kill you for your packet of chewing gum, just that if the opportunity arose to do the 'right' or 'wrong' thing, you've got damn good odds that people do things that make society work.
When travelling with my family, we met only a handful of objectionable people in a whole year of strangers.
The BBC is probably the one thing that Britain is best at in the world. No other English-language country has anything as good as it (can't comment on others); it is quite wonderful. I think you underestimate how much it would cost to subscribe to ABC1-friendly 6Music, Radio 4, BBC2/4 if it were not cross-subsidised by the 90% of the population who never watch them- but can if they like. Cultural ghettoisation is bad for all of us. And, of course, who makes a huge % of the high-quality programmes you see on non-BBC tv?
I totally agree with you re: news reporting. However, allowing Sky/Fox to be the arbiter of news agendas sends a violent shiver down the spine.
Which of course produces an interesting time-line on the efficacy of DNA in trials. When will DNA be disallowed as the defence could point at the evidence and say "Prove beyond doubt it wasn't artificially created"? 15-20 years?
Number forty-seven said to number three:
"You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
I sure would be delighted with your company,
come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me."
but... but... The sun never sets on the British Empire...
But after 3 months in Australia and 3 months in NZ only had free hotel wifi a total of three times.
Any clues antipodeans?
And remember that £1 and £2 are the 'starting' prices. They won't go down and only small increments will mean that the 5% win will have only to be a 4..3..2..1% win.
Youtube, Wikipedia and hell even Slashdot have had access problems this week. 6th form conspiracy theorist asks "Is 'something' is going on"?
Source: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/ukmapavge.html#, although you'll have to do the last few clicks to get the correct chart.
Replace '7 billion' with 'infinite' and make sure your population is made of monkeys and you're probably correct.
Poor lithium, you were at the ball but no-one remembers you.
So who was the first to fly from mainland America to mainland Europe? Lindbergh took off from the island of Manhattan... :)
When we get to ideas of 'mainland' or 'solo' into events rather than simply crossing a vast ocean, well, where do we stop? When the first person arrives on the moon solo, and one looks forward to that hell of an achievement, will they upstage Armstrong and Aldrin?
This European is always astonished how Alcock and Brown's achievement of 1919 is so overshadowed by Lindbergh's 1927 flight. Perhaps that's one of the sources of resentment that lead to 'pissing contests'?
Is that you Rupert? Or is it young James?
Agreed re: L-Band, but that's why the caveat of serendipitous was added to the ASCAT retrievals.
However, the ASCAT products are, on checking, actually 25 km and an enhanced 12.5 km product. Having 8 land surface retrievals for every one SMOS footprint will be a especially beneficial for the 1/3 of the land surface where vegetation volume makes the surface moisture retrieval ambiguous in the L-band (actually probably worse for the active microwave).
Brilliant SMOS is (finally) up, wonderful to have complementary measurements, should be a boon for met, climate and oceanography.
The salinity products from SMOS are now the most interesting part of the mission. Serendipitous 50 km soil moisture retrievals from the active microwave scatterometer (primarily an ocean wind sensor) on ESA METOP have been around for a few years and have undercut the novelty of this mission's land surface measurements.
However, the holy grail of oceanographic remote sensing is observing the surface conditions in the Western Pacific during El Nino formation. Measurements of near-daily surface salinity changes could elucidate the cause of ENSO or, at the very least, would become a useful diagnostic tool. SMOS should be more than capable of this.
The development of the UK weather radar network thru the 80's and early 90's was (apparently) paid for with monies from the water boards, then the recently-privatized water companies. This somehow meant that the data couldn't be released for free for 'commercial reasons' -the current web site images are still spatially degraded. In reality, it meant that private weather services couldn't have free access AND that the MO still charge people like the MoD (who pay most of the bills) for the high-resolution data. Double winner for the 'Trading Company' that is the MO. At one stage they charged ridiculous amounts for historic weather data (whose only use is research). This has improved as climate change became more politically sensitive, and the research councils got their acts together. They still charge for much of interesting real-time data that isn't released under their international obligations. Much to the chagrin of the MO you can also find their synoptic forecasts (&1 a minute fax-back in the UK) on the NOAA website.
Personally, I feel that the middle-to-high order MO management look enviously at the former civil servants in charge of the water boards, regional rail, regional power companies, etc., as these new 'Directors' now sit in their villas paid for by windfall share-options. The MO bosses won't disturb any 'revenue streams' in case a partial or total privitisation of the Trading Company would make their biggest weather-concern which countries to buy their second and third homes.
Not even Pan Am?
Paper nappies are a nightmare for landfill (lots of lovely methane, to be hopefully tapped) which is a driving force in the UK as there's a landfill tax on councils if they don't reduce the waste collection from their area. And having stinking nappies in your back-garden is a powerful stick for councils to 'raise awareness' over reusables so it's now Your Fault for not using alternatives. The majority of local councils all over the UK now have fortnightly collections which, AFAIK, not a single voter had ever called for (so we're back on-topic as it really is about lack of representation).
There is no way that children in Britain think blue is the colour of the sky.
Walking out of a Walmart in California yesterday, my 7-year old son and I were stopped as he was carrying the 6-pack of beer whilst I was juggling my cash, receipt and wallet.
"It's an offence for minors to carry alcohol" said the 'greeter'.
Laugh or cry?
GDP is the key.