Maggie's Farm

First off, a commenter (I wouldn't want to mention any names but his initials are Z.A.C.H.) made a very good suggestion in my AGW post the other day.

According to him, belching volcanoes lower the earth's temperature.  This, despite hearing about the dreaded 'greenhouse effect' for the past 50 years.

This esteemed commenter noted that it's estimated when Mt. Pinatubo blew its stack back in '91, the planetary temperature lowered by 1/4 degree.

By implication, then, he was suggesting that we nuke a number of volcanoes, causing them to belch their mightiest into the atmosphere, thereby saving the planet from immolation because of your neighbor's SUV.  At 1/4 degree of cooling apiece, I figure about a dozen of them should hold things off for at least a few decades, then we can set off a few more should the need arise.

The commenter raised the issue of having to breathe all that volcanic dust, but I quickly pointed out that (1) at least volcanic dust was natural and organic, as referred to smog and smoke, and (2) breathing volcanic dust was scientifically proven to be better than melting.

As it turns out, though, we're all wrong on this direst of subjects.  Me, I've got 8,144 words spread over two articles that's about to get flushed down the toilet because of what I just found out.

Global Warming Is Epic, Long-Term Study Says

Almost every major news site carried this story yesterday, some of them right at the top.

Before we get to the big surprise, though, let's first attack this piece like any AGW screed, just for old time's sake.

It begins:

Global warming has propelled Earth's climate from one of its coldest decades since the last ice age to one of its hottest -- in just one century.

Decades? Decades??  Judging geological climatology by decades is like judging how your day went by evaluating one minute.  When you're speaking in global geologic terms, 'decades' are irrelevant.

Ice age?  Pardon me?  Although it eventually earned the sobriquet Little Ice Age, it only covered a few hundred years, hardly a geologic 'age' by any definition. Slight Cooling Trend Period would be more accurate.

And, if we're admitting the Little Ice Age existed, then doesn't that indicate that the temp must have dropped pretty far for it to have earned such a lofty title?  Might this extra-warm period it dropped from be the Medieval Warm Period?  But, if so, then why was it missing from Prof. Mann's infamous 'hockey stick' graph that so swayed the Kyoto delegates?

And wait, didn't it say this is just one of the century's hottest decades?  You mean, there were other hot decades in the distant past — like the Dust Bowl 30's — but without an SUV or coal plant in sight?

And that was just the first sentence of the article.

But, rather than continue in this vein, let's get right to the facts of the matter.

I guarantee you'll be stunned.

If not for man-made influences, the Earth would be in a very cold phase right now and getting even colder, according to the joint study by Oregon State University and Harvard University.

So, to sum up, SUV owners should be thanked for helping to save the planet.  Remember, without them, as the article clearly states, it would be getting even colder right now, with Florida projected to be the last state with unfrozen summers by 2060.  See accompanying picture for specific details.

As usual, Maggie's Farm has some suggestions on how you, too, can fight the impending menace of Natural Global Cooling:

— Let your car sit there idling whenever you're not using it.  This might cost you a few bucks in gas, but what price, saving the planet?

— Buy some cows and feed them lots of baked beans to encourage high methane output.  Methane, remember, is 21 times better at saving our planet than mere CO2.

— Start a campaign to bring back the SST.  Because of the ultra-high altitudes it flew at, it was estimated that it did hundreds of times more damage to the upper atmosphere than regular commercial airliners.  Put another way, and with what we've learned today, the higher up you go, the more help CO2 can offer.

— If the SST project seems a bit daunting, you can do the same thing from the comfort of your own back yard.  Merely start a compost pile, then collect the resultant methane, pump up large weather balloons with it and release them.  Once they hit max elevation and pop, you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done.  While they cost a bit more, get the ones that don't pop until they hit 50,000 feet as they're deemed to be much more effective than the 30,000-foot model when it comes to preventing the current ice age that's threatening to engulf us all.

The latest scientific results are in, folks.  We're literally fighting for the survival of the planet and it's up to each and every one of us to do our part in staving off this menace.

If you won't do it for yourself, do it for the children.

What price, life?

Jeff Daniels, from the TV show The Newsroom, lists out America's standing in the world in a few choice categories.  (language warning in effect)

I loved the comment about angels.  One of my sisters-in-law believes in them.  (Or is it fairies?)

Of course, all of the above could be easily dismissed as 'So what?'.  Okay, friggin' Uganda beat us in math.  So what?  It doesn't make any difference.  The only bottom-line question is, would you rather live here or in Uganda?

And there's one facet of life that America's so good at that there's not even a second place:

Weather.

Because our one big mountain range is placed exactly where it is, slightly off to one side, our continent has the vast Food Belt in the center, and on the outside of the eastern coast runs the Gulf Stream current, protecting that side of the continent with a belt of warmth.  On the west coast, the Sierras and Cascades act as a buffer, keeping the worse ravages the Pacific has to offer at bay.

In South America, the mountain range is too near the coast, so you end up with very little habitable land on one side and lots of barren or swampy nothingness on the other.

The Eurasian continent is simply too big and is becluttered by large mountain ranges, and what little 'food belt' there is lies in some of the poorest, most underpopulated, underindustrialized countries on the continent, the ex-Russian -stan states.

So, when it comes to a nation's overall weather — you know, the stuff you actually have to live in — ours is so bountiful that, as I said, there's not even a second place.

Viva America!  And pass the tanning oil.

Now this is amusing.

Of course, since the subject is global warming, I suppose I wax redundant.

As you know, every storm, drought, plague, meteor shower, volcanic eruption and earthquakian upheaval is because of your neighbor's SUV.  Curse his ragged hide.

This is especially true with large storms, the perfect example of which would be Superstorm Sandy, she of the Category 1 level — the lowest hurricane level — with some meteorologists claiming it had dropped down to Tropical Storm level by the time it actually hit land.

The only reason New York City had all the flooding was because Sandy (1) hit at high tide, (2) hit right as there was an extra-large low pressure area out to sea, allowing the tide to rise even higher than normal, and (3) the fact that NYC had been hit by two storms even larger than Sandy in the previous 100 years, both times the sea wall had been breached with the resultant massive flooding, yet they never did anything about it.

In the meantime, how much money has NYC spent on 'green' measures because of the peril of global warming?  True; it, too, is supposed to breach the sea walls, but over the course of a century — not the two hours it took Sandy.

This week's example of global warming run amok was Snowquester, the largest, meanest, baddest storm that global warming run amok has yet produced!

Washington DC shuts down ahead of winter snow storm

So did all the schools.  The AGW advocates, however, were thrilled, and were halfway through writing their next article citing Snowquester as just a sign of things to come when the bad news struck.

Which brings us to this morning's headlines.

Sadly, Snowquester was not to be.

Snow fail: Predictions almost all wrong this time around

'Snowquester' doesn't pan out in DC

Chicago native Kaitlynn Scannell, 23, said she was surprised at the early decision to close schools.

"I think it’s too warm for the storm to stick," she said.

 And there's your ultimate example of global warming run amok:

Warm snow.

Then I glance around the page and notice this:

Popular Indonesian volcano shoots ash into the sky

What the article doesn't mention is that the popular Indonesian volcano is probably belching more CO2 into the atmosphere every half-hour than mankind has over its entire existence.

Then I notice this:

Ancient arctic camel fossils link to modern desert breed

Wait, how can this be?  A warm-blooded mammal up in the Arctic?

Without any coal plants or your neighbor's SUV around?

Impossible, I say!  As any AGW advocate will tell you, the current slow rise in temperature is a planetary first.

And you can just bet that the lamestream media really doesn't see the irony when it posts a headline like this:

Hill hearing on global warming cancelled by D.C. snowstorm

Or, represented graphically:

Thank you, MSM, for another wonderfully entertaining morning.

There's a fairly interesting documentary out there called Microcosmos.  It's a flick on the world of bugs, a subject I've always been interested in.  To all the bugs I inadvertently killed by placing them in glass jars to study when I was a kid — sorry about that.  Shit happens.

The documentary did, in one way, set itself apart from your usual documentary fare.

Here's what the narrator says at the beginning:

A meadow in early morning, somewhere on earth.  Hidden here is a world as vast as our own, where the weeds are like impenetrable jungles, a stone's a mountain, and even the smallest pond becomes an ocean.

Time passes differently here.  An hour is like a day, a day is like a season.  And the passing of a season is a lifetime.

To observe this world, we must fall silent now, and listen to its murmurs.

Those are the last words spoken for over an hour.

Herewith I present ten of its more magical moments.

That Damned Interdimensional Barrier

At least, if you're a bug.

Here are four scenes dealing with that dreaded interdimensional barrier — at least, if you're a bug — known as adhesion or surface tension.  In the first one, while it probably just looks that way, it appears the ant is having trouble penetrating the bead of water.  Yet, in the next scene, the ants are lappin' away around the ol' water hole like a herd of buffaloes.

That brings us to the third part and one of everybody's favorite critters, the water skeeter.  Now here's an animal that knows how to use adhesion to its advantage.

But the fourth scene poses something of a question.  If the water skeeter is using adhesion to its advantage, what are these guys using?  Reverse adhesion?

Of the plethora of super-hero movies that have spilled out of Hollywood over the past few years, I've thought most of them went from 'pretty bad' to 'barely okay'.  Green Lantern was a slight cut above, and Thor was terrific.  It was so good it got its own review.

Add Watchmen to the A List.  This engaging little number is intriguing from beginning to end.  It deals with a banned group of (mostly) masked crimefighters and the story that unravels after one of them is killed.  The ending poses the classic philosophical question; isn't it better that nine million people die, rather than nine billion?

As usual, click on the little symbol on the player bar to expand it to full-screen mode.

Here's a small snippet from the opening.  Dig the 'real-time slo-mo' effect.  I believe that's Donovan singing in the background.

Hot chicks, bullets, kissing, hot chicks kissing — this movie's got it all!

And then there's Rorschach, the narrator of the story and winner of the coveted 'Mr. Congenial' award in high school.  This badass has such a good line at the end that I put it on my Great One-Liners page.

Check out the spy drone at the beginning listening in on your every word.

Likable old cuss, isn't he?

It's hard to put into words, but there's just something about this movie that's...

different.

I'll review the quite-intriguing Bunraku below the fold.

This is a routine post we make.  There's an eensy little bug in the system.

In case you see this pesky thing pop up when you hit the 'Submit' button in the comments:

Just ignore it and hit the Submit button again.  If it pops up again, hit the dang button again.  The comments are stored on a regular server but the email addresses and such are on a secure server, and occasionally they get slightly out of sync at the exact moment you hit the button.

It's all just a part of the wonderment and awe of living in the Digital Age.

Honest.

I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, "A half-court basketball shot?  Hey, it might take me a few tries, but no big deal!"

I remind you, though, that form also counts.

But on a low note, as long as I was on YouTube I decided to investigate the darker side of basketball, so I did a search for "basketball cheerleader mayhem bloody death" and came up with the following horrific scene of a cheerleader being brutalized right there in public.

I didn't have the stomach to watch past the halfway point, though.

Let me know if she lived.

So, after reviewing Fox News, CNN, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, The Washington Times and The Washington Post's web sites this morning, guess how many articles I saw rejoicing in the day's events as we honor our great presidents from the past?

Zero.

It appears Presidents Day has joined Flag Day and Arbor Day in the dustbin of history.

Still, there is hope.

Although it's filled with the usual liberal drool (global warming is going to kill us in 30 minutes, all guns are evil, et cetera ad nauseum) the movie The American President is a wonderful flick with a great cast, clever dialogue, good music and excellent direction.

Including the beginning.

I have a post on my personal fave, Theodore Roosevelt, here.

As a small side note, in case you missed my post last Tuesday, I'm not feeling very well these days, so haven't been blogging very much.  But I feel pretty good today so I thought I'd do a little gobsmacking of the AGW industry.

Everyone needs a hobby.

I discovered a terrific site called The Straight Dope the other day, which is just filled with fun, biting questions and answers.

Fun, biting questions such as:

Should a baking potato be wrapped in foil shiny side in or shiny side out?

Has a passenger ever landed a plane after the pilot was incapacitated?

Why were dinosaurs so big?

Is a bullet wound in the shoulder as harmless as the movies make it seem?

I spent the whole day going through the archives and had a terrific time.

At least, until I got to the first global warming article.

All those silly up-and-down temperature cycles that have occurred over the past 10,000 years?  Pfft!  Ancient history, bud!  Especially in light of the literally tons of CO2 we're dumping into the atmosphere on a daily basis.

Tons, he'll tell you, tons.

And it also appeared that — just perhaps — some of his questions were a bit 'staged' so he could show off his expertise.  Questions such as:

If I were an evil genius, how could I go about melting the ice caps?

I won't link to the article since I'm going to quote most of it here.

So, okay, let's say man-made global warming is going to melt the ice caps and raise sea levels up 200 feet, or whatever the latest projection is.

But just how much energy would truly be involved in such an undertaking?  Bear in mind as you read his first three hypotheses that we're comparing them to what's currently spewing CO2 into the atmosphere; that is, a smattering of coal plants and factories with more emission controls imposed on them than at any time in history, a bunch of small-engine cars that are emitting less pollution than at any time in history, and a 'green' culture that condemns the slightest waste of energy as possibly heretical.

So, what exactly would it take to actually melt the ice caps?

I thought it would be a nice gesture to offer up something spicy for the ladies on this special day.

Presenting: Porn For Women

You might have noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately.  The truth is, I haven't been feeling very well.  It's not that I'm getting any worse; it's that I seemed to have stopped getting better.  I did real well (according to the doc) after my tumor operation, but it seems like sometime during November I kind of leveled off at about 75% better.  I still have bouts of weakness and sleepiness and a physical feeling bordering on nausea.  And I just haven't found it in me to write about anything.  As long-time readers know, even my most dire and scariest of articles, like the ones on the domestic spy drones, still have an upbeat, chipper edge to them, just because that's who I am.

They already did one standard blood test but the doc wants to do a more elaborate test, which I just can't afford right now.  I'm already into the hospital for almost 300 clams and don't want to sink any deeper, nor am I sure they'd let me.  I still have my operation's donation link here, but I wouldn't hope for any help on this.  It's one thing to pitch in when someone's got a pending operation, whereas everybody's got medical bills.  But I felt obligated to toss it out there.

By the way, there was one ironic note that I forgot to mention in my post-op posts.  Within a few weeks of my operation, both my mother and a close friend up in Miami Beach had operations that involved surgery.

Both of them got infections after the operation.  Thankfully, modern medicine came to their rescue.

Me, getting my operation in dirty, filthy, don't-drink-the-water Mexico, sailed through without a hitch.

That says something -- but I'm honestly not sure what.

If I do end up just kind of fading away, I'd like to say what an honor it's been to blog here these past five years.  In twenty years of being online, I have never seen a site like it.  Where else will you see video essays like my posts on horses, baseball and the amazing Jackie Evancho, only to next read an inside look at the higher education bubble, followed by a penetrating inquiry into the human psyche -- then end up with 'Chipmunk Of The Week'?

There's just no putting a price on something like that.

God bless you all.

The great Neal Boortz is retiring after decades of being a radio talk show host.  There are a few nice accolades running around:

Goodbye to greatest talk show host Neal Boortz

For my money, the single most talented voice in the modern history of talk radio is retiring later this month. Not "one of" the most talented — the most talented.

The thing is, I'd tend to agree, except for one little hitch:

Outside of a few brief spots on cable talk shows, I've never heard him utter a peep.

The difference between Neal and — as far as I know — every other radio talk show host on the planet, is that Neal would spend hours writing a for-real blog every morning, whereupon he'd punch out three or four posts on different subjects, some of them fairly lengthy, then finish it up with a handful of must-read links.  He took it as seriously as any of us do.

So I'm saying goodbye to Neal Boortz, blogger.

On the subject, though, I would note that, while he's officially retiring from radio and blogging, he's still keeping his hand in when it comes to mouthing off about pet topics now and then.  He had an article on Townhall just the other day.

Whisky Tango Foxtrot!

How upside down can things be in America? Mickelson is being called "greedy." Really? So now we define "greed" as wanting to keep more of the money you earn? If that’s greed, what do you call the moochers who go to the poll to vote for the politician that’s going to take that money away from you and give it to them? Oh wait! I know! Obama voters!

Yep, same ol' Neal.

(Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, for the uninitiated, is Boortzspeak for "WTF??")

Below the fold I'll continue this tribute with some of my favorite moments and quotes.  A search on my Rainy Day site for "boortz" pops up five articles where I mention him, so I'll include the links.  And, just to quell any claims of blatant partisanship, I'll toss in a couple of criticisms.  That is, if you call my referring to him as a total dogshit asswipe when it comes to his attitude toward cigarette smokers a 'criticism'.

So thank you, Neal.  That was a terrific run — even if you are a total scumbag butthole for redesigning your web site a few years ago.

It's embarrassing, really.

Whenever I do a movie review, I always include a clip highlighting the main actor doing his or her thing.

What a disgrace.

It seems as though I'm bedazzled by star power, completely ignoring all the lesser actors; those who really make the movie click.

But not this time.

No, this time I'm determined to focus on the supporting cast, those who really make the movie work; those who provide the surrounding aura so that Keanu Reeves may shine.

It's only fair.

I don't believe any further review is necessary.

May, 1941.

Hitler's Germany has conquered all of Europe; all except for one resolute island nation.  And, with his eye on Russia, Hitler has no interest in fighting Great Britain, he simply wants to relegate it to the inconsequential.  This means stopping the supply convoys from America.  A relatively simple task, given the right equipment.

Which he had.

The terrifying armada of U-boats had already caused the American supply ships to huddle in close-knit convoys; perfect targets for the long guns of a battleship.  And even if the convoy was accompanied by a cruiser, or even a battleship, that's not much of a challenge when your own battleship is so big and new that you can outgun the enemy by five miles.

It was a fairly simple plan, really, and it should have worked.

And if it had?

Britain would have sat on the edge of starvation for the year or so it would have taken Hitler to conquer Russia, since now he wouldn't have to divide his forces, then would have easily fallen once he turned his eye upon it.

And that means, without a stepping stone or 'bridgehead' to gather our forces on, America never could have effectively invaded Europe.

And that means Hitler's Germany would have developed the atomic bomb long before we did.  They were already working on it by the time we invaded, and it was only our intervention (like bombing the 'heavy water' facilities) that curtailed its development.  Without that, Germany would have had the atomic bomb within a few years.  At the time, they were considered the finest machinists in the world.

And then, after taking out Boston and Detroit, the same way we took out Hiroshima and Nagasaki — as a small warning of what's to come — what would our government have done?  The same thing the Japanese government did when faced with certain annihilation.

That's how important this moment in history was.

So, why did this great plan fail?  It was, after all, the maiden voyage of the largest battleship ever built, the Bismarck, and with four other battleships in the fold, there was simply no way Germany could have failed to wreak havoc on the convoys, isolating Britain and effectively curtailing any further involvement from America.

How did it fail?  By a few great strokes of luck and an incredible number of blunders on Germany's part.  And that's despite three major screw-ups by the Brits.

But the one major error on Germany's part, the one that signaled the end, was the one that created a situation that was perhaps the most surreal moment in the history of modern warfare.

When you picture the sinking of Bismarck, you're imagining the pounding of the large British naval guns and the brave aviators in their fast Hellcats launching deadly torpedoes at the massive warship, right?

That's what the Germans were thinking, too.

Little did anyone know.

There have been a couple of aviation stories in the news recently.  Here's a quick update.

Pic: Doc's lifelong dream of flight begins to take shape

As noted in The F-35 Debacle, perhaps the goofiest weapon of war the United States armed forces has ever commissioned was the fastest, sleekest, most modern fighter jet in history — while requiring that it also have the capabilities of a helicopter.

The mind reels.

But, even though they now cost about 10 times the original estimate, this isn't to say that our money's not being put to good use.  Sure, there are bound to be a few little glitches, but that's expected when developing a new breed of aircraft.

Little glitches like, say, turning into a fireball of death when hit by lightning.

Lightning will ground F35 fighter jet known as the Lightning II

The production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter – the world’s most sophisticated and expensive combat aircraft – has been derailed after engineers discovered that the jet’s fuel tank could explode if struck by lightning.

But at least they're watching every dollar and not frivolously wasting it on unnecessary weight:

Attempts to increase fuel efficiency by reducing the jet’s weight have also made it more vulnerable to enemy attack than the generation of aircraft it was supposed to replace.

Or scaring innocent civilians on the ground by flying too low:

A design fault in the fuel tank has also prevented the JSF being able to rapidly descend to low altitude.

What's so sobering is that, after more than a decade, this thing's still in the developmental stage.  It hasn't even been put to use and field-tested yet.

Let's hope the bad guys don't live in an area protected by lots of thunderstorms.

Speaking of fireballs of death, below the fold we'll get an update on the Boeing 787 and how our ever-vigilant MSM has handled the story.

You won't be surprised.

Breakthroughs have recently been made in two computer areas, so I figured I'd catch y'all up to date.

First, voice recognition, which I've been following for decades.  One of my pet fantasies is to run a business converting everything in a client's home to voice operation.

     "Dim the lights, Hal."

     "Yes, master."

     "A little more."

     "Yes, my lord."

I'd actually program some 'character' into it, like every 23rd time you tell it to dim the lights, it makes you say 'please' first.  If anyone out there has some moolah and thinks this would be a fun business venture, let's do it.

But I stray.

While Google might be a little unethical and/or greedy in certain areas, it also remains a fact that Google Maps blew the doors off MapQuest, Google Translator blew the doors off every translation program in existence, Google, itself, blew the doors off the other search engines of the day, and nothing even compares to Google Earth, Google Images and Google Street View.

I feel they mightily dropped the ball with their Chrome browser, though, since it's only the ugliest, most ill-equipped browser in history.  You can't even load a local page into it, last time I checked.  But eventually they should get things sorted out (it says here).

It does, however, now incorporate what appears to be a quantum leap in voice recognition. If you've ever wasted hours upon hours on programs like 'Dragon Naturally Speaking', then you'll see what I mean.

Although it's a brief video, it still provides three key moments.  Note (1) how it capitalizes the first word of the line after he says "New paragraph", (2) how it first thinks he says "notes", then changes it to "no" when "notes" doesn't make sense in context, and how it converts the word "exclamation" into an exclamation mark after it hears the whole phrase. Very smart.

As a small aside, that's not quite the truth up above.  It's not Chrome, the browser, that's doing this, but an add-on program.  We'll most likely see a conversion of the add-on for IE and FF soon enough.  Google's just saying that to fluff Chrome's feathers.

Next up is controlling a computer with just one's hands.  Below the fold we'll examine a 'magic box' called Leap Motion.  As these things go, it's pretty amazing.  Whether or not it's practical is the question at hand — both literally and figuratively.

This came up the other day when I took the 64-bit version of Firefox out for a spin.  Although it's basically the same program, they decided to rename it 'Nightly' and change the cute Firefox icons from this...

...to this wretched abomination:

This begs the question, why didn't they just rename it 'Bowling Ball'?

Using a free program called Resource Hacker, it's easy to change an ugly icon to something better.  We shall delve into these digital wonders below the fold.

Pic: Finally!  A computer system for people with 14 eyes!

Just to cover a few recent things that have popped up in my geeky little world:

Flash 64-bit Probs

I prefer using a 64-bit Windows system because it utilizes more of my machine's memory.  The problem is that Flash, which until recently had a specific 64-bit version that worked just fine, now has a 'multi-system' version which doesn't.  I've had various odd problems with both Internet Exploder and Firefox.  If you're running a 64-bit system and having Flash probs, the best troubleshooting page I've come across is here.  I think both #6 & 7 helped on this end.

Firefox 64-bit Probs

I'd never heard of a 64-bit Firefox, but I got to thinking about it, punched it into Google, and I'll be double-dipped if not only is there a 64-bit version, but that Mozilla officially killed it at one point — which naturally raised a huge outcry among its users and they brought it back.  The sordid details are here.  The 'official' release is still their multi-platform model; the 64-bit version is here if you want to give it a spin.  Be forewarned that they not only changed the name from Firefox to 'Nightly', but changed the icon to something really horrid.  The latter can be easily remedied; I'll have a post on changing the icon of an executable tomorrow.  Note that you'll need the original EXE file for the original icon.

Upgrading To Windows 8

Some sobering thoughts here.

Domain Names

I've found over the years that I have two soap boxes I occasionally like clambering back on; system backup and getting your yourname.com domain before anyone else does.  You only get one shot at it.

Gosh, if only them Congresscritters read Maggie's Farm, huh?

Pro-Israel Group Buys ChuckHagel.com to Fight Hagel's Nomination

Gun Parts Store Registers Sen. Feinstein's Domain Name, Uses it to Promote Gun Rights

Live and learn, guys.  More info on firing up your own domain here.

Security

You might have seen the plethora of articles this past week on temporarily disabling Java.  Java is a 'helper' program for browsers (on every operating system, Mac and Linux users please note) so certain functions on a web site will work.  It's also used widely by hackers to install malware on your system, and there's a whole new raft of bad stuff coming down the pike, hence the official alert to disable it.

Oracle, the home company, has just now released an update and it's strongly suggested you download & install it.  The download site is here.  Click the 'Download' button under 'JDK', click the 'Accept license' gadget, then the version for your particular system.  Regular 32-bit Windows systems are 'Windows x86'.

I should note that some people think Java is so vulnerable that it should be re-written from the ground up — if not abandoned by web sites entirely — and they recommend you just flat-out disable it.  Instructions are here; it's usually just the unchecking of a box.  Speaking as a webmaster, I would note that Java isn't used very much these days and you probably won't notice a thing.  If you were on some site which had a function you very much wanted to use but were getting a 'You need Java installed' message, you could always just flip it back on for a bit.

Any feedback or questions, give a holler in the comments like usual.

Feel like a fun research project?  This actually might end up being a fairly informative endeavor, not to mention elusive and challenging.

As far as I've seen, the best Google Earth site out there is my Google Earth Project.  Nothing else even compares.

The video tours are divided into categories, such as "Animals", "Designs", "Geometric", "Ancient UFO Landing Sites", etc.  The usual stuff Google Earth stuff, in other words.

On each tour's database page is a small pic of each site, its GoogleMaps and Google Earth link, and the GPS coordinates.  Some of the entries have a 'More Info' link which leads to an article on that particular odd/strange/bizarre/probably-alien location.

That's where you come in.  The 'more info' part, I mean, not the bizarre alien part — although I'm willing to make exceptions.

If you want to test your search skills and contribute to this fun project, the basic premise is simple.  Find an odd/strange/bizarre/proof-that-aliens-once-visited-us spot and dig up the background info on it.  Somewhere out there, somebody knows what's going on and has written about it — probably in Chinese or Norwegian — so finding it is the goal.  Leave the name of the location and the 'More Info' link in the comments and I'll have it on the site within minutes.

If we get enough entries, I'll collate the best of them, include small pics with the links and make a whole post out of it.

Below the fold I'll lay out some search tips, and thanks from both me and any future viewers of the site.  A gal from the Google Personnel department emailed me about a year ago and said they all loved it.

As a small side note, if you've been thinking about checking out the great Google Earth program, do so now.  This Saturday we're going to hold a little GE 'easter egg hunt' which should be both informative and fun.  It should, in turn, spawn an interesting post of the collected results.  If you want to join in, it'll be helpful if you already know how to use this most intriguing of programs.

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I'm surprised I haven't blundered across this before now, but check out this cool Firefox update page.  I needed pretty much everything on the list.

Along with Adobe Reader for PDF files and the ubiquitous Flash, I recommend the QuickTime plugin for the occasional QT video and Java for older sites that are using Java instead of Flash for various special effects.

As far as Firefox's various problems with Flash, it appears some of it's been ironed out recently.  Both have come out with updates since my post on it a month ago and I haven't seen any snags since then.  If you've been having problems, I suggest running the Flash uninstall program before updating.

On the subject, the other common Flash problem is running into a 'Currently unavailable' message when trying to play a YouTube video either from the main site or from a page with an embedded YouTube video.  This is YouTube making a little experiment with selected members using a new viewing protocol called 'HTML5', and apparently they don't like you using that old, hackneyed Flash player on their precious videos.  The solution is to go here and click on the link at the bottom to opt out of the program.

Remember flying a kite as a kid?  It's a pretty simple task, really, in the sense that (1) all you have to do is hold onto the string, and (2) as you proved, even a kid can do it.

And I'm sure you know that there are people who can make kites do some pretty nifty tricks, like barrel rolls and loops and all that.

And what's extra special is when you get three people flying three kites together, performing a beautiful aerial ballet.

Or two people flying three kites.

Or one.

Happy New Year, y'all!

In case you're just returning home from a delightful Christmas vacation on the Moon, perhaps the most reprehensible MSM interview in recent years took place a few days ago when CNN's loathsome Piers Morgan repeatedly vilified Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America, on prime time TV.

Pratt:  Your [Great Britain] violent crime rate is higher than ours as is the violent crime rate in Australia.  America is not the Wild West that you are depicting.  We only have the problem in our cities, and unhappily, in our schools where people like you have been able to get laws put on the books that keep people from being able to defend themselves.  I honestly don't understand why you would rather have people be victims of a crime than be able to defend themselves.  It's incomprehensible.

Morgan:  You're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you?

...

Pratt:  The Second Amendment means what it says, and meanwhile, you want to continue laws against self-defense.  Laws that prohibit self-defense.  Laws that prohibit teachers and other faculty, other members of the administration in schools from being able to defend themselves if they have a concealed carry permit.  The laws prohibit them right now.  We have been lobbying against those laws since they were put on.  We will continue to do so, pointing out that this is where the problem is.  And for you to support them means that you're really blind to the role that that plays in enabling murderers to operate with impunity.

Morgan:  Yes, I know -- I know why sales of these weapons have been soaring in the last few days.  It's down to idiots like you.

It should come as no surprise that certain people didn't especially take to this.

Thousands Sign Petition to Deport Piers Morgan

Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for British CNN host Piers Morgan to be deported from the U.S. over his gun control views.

Make that 'outright attack on the Second Amendment', to be precise.

More fun and games below the fold, including a link to the petition.  We're currently at the 82K mark.

Forward!

I presume you heard the tragic story of how a large golden eagle almost carried away a young child and devoured it.  Controversy immediately followed, of course, as the usual two sides faced off against each other.  On one side was PETA, echoing my own personal belief that eagles have the right to eat, too.

On the other side are people who apparently want to see eagles starve to death.  I'm honestly not sure why these virulent animal haters are even given a say in the matter, but such is the nature of a modern society that allows the voices of all to be heard.

The seizure of the child was caught on smartphone.  I think it should be obvious that this is not for the squeamish.  Management strongly urges all liberals and young children to immediately leave the room.

Luckily, there's not a lot of blood.

I think it's safe to say the eagle learned a valuable lesson that day in nutritional management.

But for an inside look into this horrific nightmare, let's go to the video:

I thought it amusing that both sides of the interview said something quite naive.

"Did it surprise you that everybody thought it was real?"

No, you mental midget, six people spent over 300 hours on it so it would look fake!

But one of the guy's comments was even more innocent.

"We never thought people would analyze it frame-by-frame."

Guys, I was analyzing it frame-by-frame the first time I watched it expecting it to be fake!

Not in the exact sense he means, but as an acknowledged video guru, I know what to look for.  I bought the whole thing right up to the close-up of the afternoon snack kid and saw how big he was.  My next thought was, "That snack sure looks big for a squirrel!"

I suppose it was also a point of naivete when the teacher set the grade of 'A' at a mere 100,000 views.  When something goes viral these days, it's almost always in the millions.

But huge kudos for an outstanding fake-out.

Kids these days, huh?

No, not that gift, silly.

That was just the warm-up.

This is a serious gift.

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After first learning the tragic news that this is the last Christmas in America from News Junkie, then hearing that this is one of the most depressing, gloomy Christmases that many can remember from Barrister, then discovering that our modern Christmas is just a cheap, commercialized mockery of its former glory from Bird Dog, I realized something.

I realized I had a very special Christmas gift for these very special people.

The gift is, thankfully, you're all dead wrong.

It may not feel like it, but 2012 has been the greatest year in the history of the world. That sounds like an extravagant claim, but it is borne out by evidence. Never has there been less hunger, less disease or more prosperity. The West remains in the economic doldrums, but most developing countries are charging ahead, and people are being lifted out of poverty at the fastest rate ever recorded. The death toll inflicted by war and natural disasters is also mercifully low. We are living in a golden age.

You're very welcome.  Merry Christmas, after all.

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And greetings from the incredibly awesome state of California.

You remember California, don't you?  From the tall virgin forests of the Trinity Alps in the far north, to the Death Valley deserts in the far south.  From the eerie volcanic fields of Mt. Lassen in the Sierras, to the pristine white talcum powder sand of Pismo Beach on the central coast.  From the majesty of the sharp, towering mountains above Lake Tahoe, to the greatest agricultural valley the world has ever known.

You know. That California.

Current temperature back home in the Florida Keys?

A delightful 71.

Current temperature here in Palo Alto, California?

46.

I sure wish that global warming stuff would hurry up and get going.  Overnight would be preferred.

Best Christmas wishes to our readers all around the world.

By the way, in case no one's mentioned it, this is your last day on earth.  The event takes place tonight at 2:12 EST.  Personally, I'll miss the ol' girl.  You get kind of attached to a planet after so many years.

A very slick countdown clock is here.  For just a silly project, the Sun-Sentinal did a terrific job.  Click on 'How it works' to see what I mean. The Mayans were way ahead of the curve.

After the dust settles and the lava hardens, I'll be going back to my home state of California for a week.  I'm bringing the laptop & wireless so I won't be out of touch.  As you might recall, the last time I was out there was just before my operation, possibly saying 'goodbye forever' to family and friends.  Not the happiest of times.  I thought it appropriate that I revisit everyone now that the tidings are good.  I'm still facing some serious medical costs, though, so if anyone is feeling the Christmas spirit, a small donation to my medical fund would be very appreciated.

Current temperature here in the Florida Keys?  A delightful 76.  I'm sitting here in my swim trunks with every door and hatch on the boat open.

Current temperature in Palo Alto, CA, in the heart of the S.F. Peninsula?

40.

Nobody said this would be pretty.  On the other hand, I suppose it beats 1,250 degrees.

Well, good luck, everyone!