Absolutely violent windstorms here last night (with very little rain) that knocked out the power from about midnight until just a little bit ago. No damage in my little neck of the woods, but trees are down on the outskirts. I know we shouldn’t deal with anecdotal evidence, but I’ve been observing much more violent weather here for several years, and that things are changing. While spring rain storms and wind storms aren’t unusual, there is an intensity to them that was not there before. The weirdest for me is the violent windstorms in the winter we’ve had the last few years- I’ve lived in this region for 40 years, and we just didn’t have storms like that in my youth. We’re also experiencing record rainfall, and it will be raining once again today. I’m never going to get this garden in.
Predicting Earthquakes
It looks like it may be possible to “see” a major earthquake days before it happens:
[…]They say that before the M9 earthquake, the total electron content of the ionosphere increased dramatically over the epicentre, reaching a maximum three days before the quake struck.At the same time, satellite observations showed a big increase in infrared emissions from above the epicentre, which peaked in the hours before the quake. In other words, the atmosphere was heating up.
These kinds of observations are consistent with an idea called the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling mechanism. The thinking is that in the days before an earthquake, the great stresses in a fault as it is about to give cause the releases large amounts of radon.
Research is in its early stages, but the image at that link is very compelling. I had no idea this was even remotely possible.
She Blinded Me With… Plagiarism
At this point, you would think the media would begin to question why it is that everyone attacking the existence of climate change turns out to be a liar, a fraud, or both.
There’s a land that I heard of …
Maggie Gallagher (and yes, I feel a little dirty just typing her name) notes a CBS San Francisco report on a gentleman whose HIV has currently been reduced to undetectable levels as a result of treatment with HIV-resistant adult stem cells.
This story has been hanging around since December last year, but I am both sad to say that it is the first I have heard of it, and very happy if it gives HIV/AIDS researchers another avenue to follow in what I suspect is still going to be a long search for a cure.
Maggie deems it important enough to get a:
Wow, if true.
The thing that struck me most is a point that was made by one of the 4 commenters on Maggie’s post.
If the potential treatment had involved fetal stem cells, Maggie would undoubtedly already have posted a six page rant about how the queers are going to abort millions of babies in order to save themselves from the virally-inflicted vengeance of God, and we would all have been reading about this subject every week for the last six months.
Image: Sick Bacchus – Caravaggio (1571-1610)
[Edited slightly after posting.]Can Someone Explain This?
Does anyone have any idea why facebook would hire the idiots at Mark Penn’s company to smear google? What is at stake?
And I guess it is just me, but why would anyone hire those guys after they watched what Penn did to the Clinton 2008 campaign?
Air Conditioning Question
Here is a question for you all. I have central air, but I hate to use it if it is not necessary. Right now, every room of my house is fabulous, with the exception of the office, which is always hot because of the monitors and computer equipment. Would it be more efficient energy wise to purchase a small portable air conditioner for this room only than to run central air? If so, what would you recommend?
Early Morning Open Thread: Ya Think?
From the Department of Obvious Conclusions:
TOKYO — Japan will scrap a plan to obtain half of its electricity from nuclear power and will instead promote renewable energy and conservation as a result of its ongoing nuclear crisis, the prime minister said Tuesday.
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Naoto Kan said Japan needs to “start from scratch” on its long-term energy policy after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was heavily damaged by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami and began leaking radiation.
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Nuclear plants supplied about 30 percent of Japan’s electricity, and the government had planned to raise that to 50 percent by 2030.
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Kan told a news conference that nuclear and fossil fuel used to be the pillars of Japanese energy policy but now the government will add two more pillars: renewable energy such as solar, wind and biomass, and an increased focus on conservation…
Not that we can afford to make fun of the Japanese, of course. If (when) a similar nuclear-power accident happens here in America the Exceptional, a large percentage of our political class will insist that what we must do first is double down on tax subsidies for multinational oil/gas/coal companies, give a few billion dollars to Blackwater/Xe to investigate the possibility that the accident was the result of terrorist activity, and incidentally pass new laws limiting reproductive freedom and/or gay marriage, because 27% of the voting population believes Jeebus has radioactively smote us for our freedom librul wickedness.
On a more cheerful morning note, this is a great story on resilience in the face of tsunamis and other tragedies.
Early Morning Open Thread: Ya <em>Think?</em>Post + Comments (35)