Rusted Sky

The new HVAC system's been in for over a month now - and we've gotten the first gas bill with the new equipment in.

Last November - 84 therms. (Actually, Oct. 20-Nov 19)

This November - 35 for the same period. (Oct. 20-Nov 18).

I expect December to be about the same even though it's a bit cooler - because there's 10 days in this billing cycle we DIDN'T have the new system in place.

11-19 through 12-18 last year was 141 therms. I'm thinking it'll be about 30-35 this year.

We can live with this...

Of course, the big test will be next year when the cooling season hits. Will we see such a change in the electric bill? I sure hope so!

J.

Before integrated circuits, before microprocessors - even before the transistor, there were vacuum tubes. Most people have had experiences with vacuum tubes, like TV tubes and the like - but now? Well, it's getting to be a lost science, and that's kind of a shame.

Because this thing's a real work of art. Over at Electric Stuff there are some pictures of the 3NF tube, which was designed with three triodes, two capacitors and four resistors, all incorporated in a glass shell. Talk about some fancy glass-blowing... And it was entirely hand-made. You're looking at an entire radio (with the addition of a power supply, a variable capacitor, a few extra parts and an antenna) in a single tube.

In the 1920s.

This was the future - this was the hot, (literally!) bleeding-edge technology. To our eyes, it looks... quaint. But we're used to microprocessors with billions of components - and it's a good idea to remember the latest chip didn't spring forth fully grown from a lump of silicon - it took decades of development starting with pushing electrons from a cathode to an anode...

Of course, size isn't everything.

It's an interesting look at an almost-forgotten past. Enjoy!

J.

USAF Confirms New Secret Stealth Plane - Rq-170 - Gizmodo

Verified here - and here.

It's a recon drone, apparently, judging by the designation. Wonder what kind of sensor suite they've got on it? And what sort of video the pilot has?

Well, if they cut the F-22 for a fleet of a thousand of these things or more, I can live with that. Here's hoping the operational tests go well, and they order a lot of 'em!

J.

Jacob Innovations - Airline Interiors has some interesting interior options for business class long-distance travel.

I'm thinking, however, double-decking like this would simply lead to double-decking the passengers, with no little increase in revenue, and no real increase in comfort.

J.

FOXNews.com - Scientist 'Pressured' to Defend Climate Research

Britain's Met Office has embarked on an urgent exercise to bolster the reputation of climate-change science after the furor over leaked e-mails, referred to as "Climate-gate."

More than 1,700 scientists have agreed to sign a statement defending the "professional integrity" of global warming research. They were responding to a round-robin request from the Met Office, which has spent four days collecting signatures. The initiative is a sign of how worried it is that e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia are fueling skepticism about man-made global warming at a critical moment in talks on carbon emissions.

One scientist said that he felt under pressure to sign the circular or risk losing work. The Met Office admitted that many of the signatories did not work on climate change.

One scientist told The Times of London he felt pressure to sign. "The Met Office is a major employer of scientists and has long had a policy of only appointing and working with those who subscribe to their views on man-made global warming," he said.

Professor Slingo denied that the Met Office had put anyone under pressure. "The response has been absolutely spontaneous. As a scientist you sign things you agree with, not because you are worried about what the Met Office might think of you," she said.

And once you sign it - you're locked in. You can't pull back.say "I didn't mean it" - you're committed to supporting AGW. If you don't - you change your mind - your reputation will be worthless.

Neat, isn't it?

J.

CERN Document Server: Record#1181073: Cosmic rays and climate

Providing questions and uncertainties, Jasper Kirkby poses an interesting thought - cosmic rays may be having a severe effect on 'warming'... or maybe cooling.

It's a one-hour talk - and considering how we're seeing a lack of solar activity and apparently cloud cover can be seeded by cosmic rays - and clouds reflect a LOT of heat - it's an interesting theory.

Enjoy!

J.

Portal: First Slice on Steam

I'm a big fan of the Portal game on the Xbox360. Just ran across this, don't know if it's a sequel, preqel, or just a Portal demo. I'll try it at home, and see what's what...

It'd be nice to see something new with Portal. I've looked at Half-Life, (which anchored the Orange Box bundle that Portal was stuffed into...) and not found it to be something I care to play.

But then, there's a whole lot of games out there...

Enjoy!

J.

CO2.

The EPA having labeled it a dangerous by-product, a greenhouse gas, and something which MUST be regulated to save the polar bear and Mother Gaia from Global Warming, we're at an interesting point where literally every breath you take could end up being taxed.

Would they be so stupid, though? Even labeling it a 'Personal Carbon Tax' wouldn't make it go down easily, and already opposition's building against it. The EPA is attempting to force Congress to legislate on it, otherwise THEY say they'll be making the laws. This doesn't sound anything at all like the way government should work.

The EPA shouldn't be making the rules giving THEMSELVES the power to force people to limit carbon emissions. Something's seriously wrong when an agency is working to override Congressional process - and doing it so blatantly.

J.

Just go with the flow, and you'll keep access.

Climate Scientist to Revkin: "we can no longer trust you" to carry water for us. | No Left Turns

Back story: Ever since Chris Horner and I were at a conference together with warmenist Michael Schlesinger of the University of Illinois a couple years ago, Chris and I have been included on Prof. Schesingler's e-mail distribution list, which usually consist of flagging climate news stories. Yesterday we got copied on this message Schlesinger sent to science reporter Andy Revkin:

Andy:
Copenhagen prostitutes?
Climate prostitutes?
Shame on you for this gutter reportage. [Emphasis added.]
This is the second time this week I have written you thereon, the first about giving space in your blog to the Pielkes.
The vibe that I am getting from here, there and everywhere is that your reportage is very worrisome to most climate scientists.
Of course, your blog is your blog.
But, I sense that you are about to experience the 'Big Cutoff' from those of us who believe we can no longer trust you, me included. [Emphasis added.]
Copenhagen prostitutes?
Unbelievable and unacceptable.
What are you doing and why?
Michael

So what so annoyed Schlesinger? Here's Revkin's offending blog post, which among other things passes along the amusing story of Copenhagen prostitutes offering free sex to climate campaigners (I'll leave to Mark Steyn the suitable lip gloss on this story), along with some other news items that the climate campaigners don't want reported. Judge for yourself if this constitutes "gutter reportage" and deserves censure from the climate science community. I'll add that one of the CRU e-mails I read mentioned that Revkin is not always reliable from their point of view; I can't now find it, but recall it vividly for the presumption that reporters are supposed to serve as mere transcribers for the climate campaign.

So this is how Science Reporting is done about AGW? Dare not to poke fun at the AGW Aristocracy, lest thou be cut from the fold and thrown out into the snow!

On a related note, it looks like the CRU databases are no longer available on-line. Funny, isn't it? After all, if the sciene is 'unquestionably accurate' there shouldn't be any real problem with showing the work then, right?

Guess the AGW Aristocracy is thinking otherwise!

Of course, normally when a scam is blown the scammers leave town immediately. But these guys can't exactly pack a suitcase, throw it in a car and head for a place they're not known. So - better to bury the evidence and keep on pushing the meme - maybe they can still make a few more bucks!

J.

The Engineers Who Saved Christmas - TCS Daily

How much of your shopping did YOU do on-line this year?

Me? I'd say about 90%. It's a lot easier to find EXACTLY what I wanted, at prices that were affordable. And with a bit of preplanning (like say, starting back in MARCH...) you can accumulate quite a bit of gift swag without busting your credit cards.

Anywho - Merry Christmas, Happy Festivius, ect and so forth!

J.

Farms-to-forest plan worries Vilsack - Washington Times

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has ordered his staff to revise a computerized forecasting model that showed that climate legislation supported by President Obama would make planting trees more lucrative than producing food.

The latest Agriculture Department economic-impact study of the climate bill, which passed the House this summer, found that the legislation would profit farmers in the long term. But those profits would come mostly from higher crop prices as a result of the legislation's incentives to plant more forests and thus reduce the amount of land devoted to food-producing agriculture.

We used to be the breadbasket of the world. Now we've got an administration urging farmers to plant TREES? To absorb heat-trapping gasses? When we're having record low temperatures and snow covering 2/3rds of the US?

Seems to me it's time to rotate crops inside the Beltway. The soil there's producing some really wierd stuff.

J.

The little guy is just plane crazy. He'd really like to be a pilot someday - and this year things started in that direction. For Christmas, from his aunt and uncle he got a gift certificate for a local flying school which could be used for either a lesson or an intro flight.

Since I knew he was getting that, it was pretty clear we had to provide something to match. I figured a headset would be a good idea - especially one that could be used along with the computer. (Microsoft Flight Simulator's pretty much always running.) Found one at Aircraft Spruce and Specialty for a reasonable price - and the little guy had the most amazing Christmas ever!

Yesterday we went out to the flight school and redeemed the certificate. The trainer was a Cessna 172 with a Garmin 1000 glass cockpit retrofitted, so right away he was familiar with things. (Thank you, MS-Flight Simulator!) The instructor ran him through the preflight, had him do hands-on pretty much everything from checking the control surfaces to checking the oil, to draining the fuel sumps and inspecting the gas, to checking the prop for nicks and the leading edges of the wings for dings. Then it was inside to do the prestart checklist - and then, we went flying. (I was stuffed into the back seat. Didn't complain at all - it's not often I get a free (kinda) ride like that!)

The little guy went through the prestart, the starting checklist, and the after-start checklists... all the time the instructor was explaining things clearly and concisely. We taxied out to a hold point at the end of the active runway, and fter runup, the little guy called for clearance, then we moved out onto the runway... and a few seconds later we were in the air.

We flew out over Lake Allatoona, saw Allatoona dam from the air, circled around and found our house, went through basic maneuvers with the instructor - and Aaron handled himself pretty well for someone who was having a dream fulfilled. The time up, the instructor brought us back around and got us onto the runway - and after landing had the little guy taxi us back.

We debriefed - and again I was impressed with how well the instructor covered things. I was very comfortable with the way he handled things. We talked about what the little guy wanted to do, how often he should fly to be ready to solo when he turns 16, and then how he'd need to practice to be ready for his check ride at 17.

The only thing is - it's not going to be cheap. The little guy knows this, and we're already looking at what he's going to have to do to fulfill his dream. It'll be all the sweeter for him if he has to sweat for it - and I'm thinking it's about time to buy a new lawnmower anyway... so if he's interested in mowing lawns to pay for flight lessons, I'll provide him the means to earn his dream.

We'll see what happens. But I'm sure hoping the dream will stick.

J.

Light-Emitting Wallpaper Using OLED Technology Could Light Our Homes By 2012 - Oled wallpaper - Gizmodo

I'll believe this when I see it - and if there's little flowers on it I'm not getting it.

Amazing times we live in, aren't they?

J.

FOXNews.com - Nine Big Stories the Mainstream Media Missed in 2009 - Slide 1 of 9

Interesting picks here - I really would have thought the ACORN tapes, the Tea Party phenomenon and Climategate would have been big stories... but they're not politically convenient in the first two instances and in the third... well, I guess again it runs up against the accepted media wisdom.

The Kevin Jennings 'safe schools' czar - I've followed some of THAT and it's stomach-turning. Makes you wonder who they're making the schools safe for - and makes me all the gladder that the little guy's in private school.

It'll be interesting to see what the new year brings... I'm hoping for quiet, peaceful, sane, and uneventful. I'd even settle for batting .500 on that...

J.

.

Enjoy!

Uh, in case you missed it, the gravitational attraction of the sheer knowledge packed into the above link collapsed the url to a bare pinpoint...

(Yeah. Sure it did. Actually, I forgot to make sure there was text added to the url description. My bad...)

J.

RDT Star Trek: The Original Series Wetsuit (7MM)

Who WOULDN'T want to dive into shark-infested waters with a red shirt? Just make sure your life insurance is paid up!

Alternatively, if you've got a bunch of friends diving with you (on vacation, perhaps) you could assign the red suit by lot, and then divvy up his belongings after 'beaming down' and having the expected happen.

On the good side, you'll have a real 'away mission' story to tell.

J.