And No One Could See This Coming

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From The New York Times...

A New Scarcity of Jobs

Some labor experts say the basic functioning of the American economy has changed in ways that make jobs scarce — particularly for older, less-educated people like Ms. Eisen, who has only a high school diploma.

Large companies are increasingly owned by institutional investors who crave swift profits, a feat often achieved by cutting payroll. The declining influence of unions has made it easier for employers to shift work to part-time and temporary employees. Factory work and even white-collar jobs have moved in recent years to low-cost countries in Asia and Latin America. Automation has helped manufacturing cut 5.6 million jobs since 2000 — the sort of jobs that once provided lower-skilled workers with middle-class paychecks.  Read more....

 And no one could see this coming?

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Orlando Florida Stuck In Neutral

SEARCH BLOG: TRAVEL

On a recent trip to San Francisco, I wrote about the poor traffic management in the urban area.  In the more distant past, I have written about the poor traffic management in Orlando, Florida.  Nothing has changed there.

[Google Maps]

With all of the federal government propaganda about CO2 and oil and air pollution and the need for the EPA regulating our every action, how is it that cities such as Orlando and San Francisco can continue to get away with such extraordinarily poor traffic management?  The prime example in Orlando is the main east-west non-toll road, Highway 50 aka Colonial Drive.  This route is a masterpiece of poor traffic management with the three lanes each way having perfect asynchronicity.   This is something that could only be achieved by a central bureaucrat

I am speculating here, but I believe that the motivation for this gasoline-gulping, CO2-spewing route is to drive traffic to the East-West toll road which parallels Highway 50.  The toll road was widened recently and the rates were increased about 33%.  There may be some coffers that require filling and some payments to be made... so more people have to be encouraged to use the toll road.

Perhaps what should be encouraged are the state/city traffic departments by having federal funds withheld for road improvements until traffic management systems are improved.  An incentive is an incentive....

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Testing BlogPress and Photo Uploading

This is an old oak floor that is nailed down in a most unusual way.

Here is a close-up.





Notice the nailing through the wood?

This seems to be one way to get blog posts with images from an iPhone, but it loses some of the standard sections of regular posts. I'll have to see if there are some work-arounds.

Traveling With The iPhone

SEARCH BLOG: IPHONE

in a pinch, I can stumble along with my iPhone to do the things I would normally do with my computer such as this post. I still find the touch pad a really difficult way to type, and the fact that the iPhone does not let me use the Flash features for creating posts. Maybe someone can tell me how to upload an image when the icon to do so is unresponsive.

That said, I learned of a couple of nice, free apps for the older 3G version. One is camera plus that digitally zooms and brightens indoor or dark pictures and the other is Video Genius that lets you make short video clips. You can share the video clips by going into the Camera Roll and pressing on the video clip thumbnail until the copy function shows. After selecting copy, you can paste it into your email. That's a shortcoming of the app since an share option should be built in, but it's "better than nothing."

A Bluetooth keyboard for the iPhone would be "most excellent."

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Cold Comfort

SEARCH BLOG: GLOBAL WARMING

A lot of attention has been paid to the winter in Washington DC which has created a prolonged snow-bound situation. Here in central Florida, the effects of winter are a little less severe, but evident nonetheless.

A series of frosts/freezes has played havoc with the local greenery. Many cold-sensitive plants have simply withered and disappeared as brown husks. Of course, not all of the effects are bad. Reports of invasive Asian pythons dying off due to the cold have been greeted with general approval.

For the "snowbirds" who seek refuge from the cold of northern states during the winter, there has been a sense of disappointment as recent temperatures dipped into the 30s and low 40s. It's great to wake up to the sunshine streaming into the room, but when you step outside in a light jacket or sweatshirt to begin a day of outside adventure, the first reaction is "whoa! This is not what I expected." Still, by early afternoon, the temperature has risen to the upper 50s or lower 60s and all is well.

... unless you are trying to play golf on one of the local courses. Then you see the effects of this severe winter. No, the colors in this photograph are correct. The putting greens are indeed a grayish-brown and the fairways are a mixture of thinning grass and sand. To say that the courses are fast is unnecessary. It's like playing on the floor of your local WalMart. The good news is that you can forget about chipping to the greens. Simply putt from 20 yards out on the fairway.

If anything, this winter has been amply evidence that so-call global warming has paused... part of a 15-year "pause." Those of you who are concerned about the effects of a slightly warmer climate should look around you. If this is "pausing," there is much to fear from "cooling."

Meanwhile, our government continues to blithely ignore all of the new evidence that so-called global warming has been nothing more that a giant hoax played by those who want to siphon off billions of dollars for their personal gain. This to be followed by the next logical step: Cap and Scam.

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What Would Tiger Do?

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In the spirit of Tiger Woods getting back to golf ... that's the only part ... I arranged a tee time for mid-morning. Let's hope that the temperature goes up a bit. That's about a dozen degrees warmer than what we left behind.

What would Tiger do? Yeah, I'll probably find some way to keep warm, too.

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Enough Winter

SEARCH BLOG: TRAVEL

Traveling inconvenience is a bit overhyped for the most part. The biggest issue is getting through secvurity... especially the way my wife packs. Of course, I have to admit that putting 2 dozen golf balls into the carry on makes the guy scanning the bag a bit surprised. He wanted to know if we could verify that the bag had golf balls, food, and dominos. Dominos? No, not the last one. So they had to take the bag aside for a special check. No dominos and a wipedown showed no traces of explosives residue. So we cleared security and headed to the gate... more than 2 hours early as usual. My wife is a "professional worrier" so we always have to arrive at our airport prior to our plane leaving the other airport.

The first order of business is to check out the restrooms and then the sundries shop for water and then the restaurants for the food menu. Low carb only, of course. Good luck with that.

We always overpack. I take my golf clubs if the destination is warm. Otherwise, my laptop is an essential and then about 1-1/2" of clothes in our shared suitcase. My wife gets the other 10-12" of space. We try to stay under the 50-lbs. limit. 5 lbs. for me and 45 lbs. for her. That includes about 25 lbs. of books. I often wonder if my wife actually sees anything on our trips. She is either reading blogs on Google Reader or reading her romance paperbacks. I fit my blog posts inbetween rounds of golf and anything else we do. By writing to Notepad first, I write whatever I want offline and then transfer it to Blogger later. There's probably a more efficient way, but I haven't found it yet. I could use Word, by I don't like all of the extra code that goes along with it.

It's good to get away from Michigan in the winter, but this winter seems to be cold all over the U.S. except for the West Coast. My elderly mother in Florida is complaining about the extended cold period they are experiencing. Highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s is not what she bargained for in Florida. It's still better than highs in the 30s and lows in the teens... and a driveway full of snow. But I've learned to take my lightweight fleece jacket with me anyway.

While I prefer driving, being on the road in the middle of winter... especially this winter... seems fraught with potential problems. So, we get on the plane with dozens of our closest friends and spend several hours trying not to move too much. 4 0z. of soft drink and an ounce of peanuts and we are magically transported to our destination. It pretty much shoots the day, but a day is saved going and returning. A friendly house and an available car makes the whole adventure inexpensive... except for the massive amount of food my wife will buy at Costco.

Most importantly, my golf bag and clubs made it through.

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How Not To Fight A War

SEARCH BLOG: AFGHANISTAN and OBAMA

Why bother?

From The Washington Post:

Obama's War

Combating Extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan | Full Coverage

U.S. curtails use of airstrikes in assault on Marja

Gallery

Marines begin major operation in Marja, Afghanistan

Working in partnership with Afghan soldiers, U.S. Marines are undertaking a major operation to flush out insurgents and allow the Afghan government to reassert control over an area in southern Afghanistan called Marja.

By Rajiv Chandrasekaran Tuesday, February 16, 2010

MARJA, AFGHANISTAN -- To the Marines of Bravo Company, the black-and-white video footage from a surveillance drone seemed to present the perfect shot: more than a dozen armed insurgents exiting a building and heading to positions to attack U.S. and Afghan forces seeking to wrest control of this Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan.

Facing stiff resistance from Taliban fighters, the Marines radioed for permission to call in an airstrike on the insurgents at midday Monday. It appeared to be the sort of clear opportunity that would have prompted a rapidly executed bombing run during the Iraq war, or even in the first seven years of this conflict.

But not anymore: Officers at the Marine headquarters deemed the insurgents to be too close to a set of houses. In the new way the United States and its NATO allies are waging the Afghan war, dropping a bomb on or near a house is forbidden unless troops are in imminent danger of being overrun, or they can prove that no civilians are inside. [Is that done with a special UN delegation?]

Read more....

And wipe your shoes before you enter a house... and no spitting... ever.

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AT&T Is Not Your Telephone Company Anymore

SEARCH BLOG: DUH FACTOR

Occasionally, when I travel, I find myself someplace without a cable or wifi connection, but there is that telephone on the table. That has never been a problem in the past. All of my prior ISPs have provided the alternative of using local access telephone numbers to get internet access through my laptop's internal modem when traveling and wifi was not available... all, apparently, except my present provider AT&T.

Having just returned from some travel, I thought I'd check in with AT&T to see if I was missing this dial-up access information. What follows is the transcript from my online chat:

System: Welcome Mr. Bruce Hall.
System: Connecting to server. Please wait...
System: Connection with server established.
You: Technical Support Topic: U-verse Other
System: (RODERICK) has joined this session!
System: Connected with (RODERICK)
(RODERICK): Thank you for contacting AT&T. You’ve reached U-Verse Support. This is Roderick . To provide you with excellent service today, may I please have the name and the telephone number associated with this account?
You: I am interested in knowing whether ATT provides a list of internet local access dial-up numbers for use when traveling and no wifi connections are available.
You: Bruce Hall xxx-xxx-xxxx
(RODERICK): Thank you for that information. Let me just pull up your account.
(RODERICK): And am I chatting with the account holder?
You: Yes, this is Bruce
(RODERICK): And by the way Bruce, the phone number you just gave me would that be a good call back number in case I need to follow up on something?
You: Yes
(RODERICK): Thank you for that information.
(RODERICK): Actually Bruce we don't have the list of Internet local access, but it is available on all hot spot areas to connect wirelessly.

[just a comment here... the help person, RODERICK, is not actually saying that AT&T is providing internet access... just that if you find a free wifi spot you can access the internet]

(RODERICK): You can also call AT&T Wi-Fi's Technical Operations Center toll-free at 888-888-7520 or email support@attwifi.com for technical support.
You: Let me understand: I need a wifi connection to access the internet because a telephone company does not have local access telephone lines?
(RODERICK): Wi-fi connection is applicable on hot spot areas.
You: And when there is no wifi available?
(RODERICK): Then it will be applicable for you laptop to connect.
You: I'm sorry I did not understand your answer. When no wifi is available, how do I use ATT to connect to the internet?
(RODERICK): Let me explain that to you further.

[this was the good part]

(RODERICK): For you to connect wirelessly you should be on a hot spot area. But if that area has no WI-FI connections then you cannot connect your Internet.
You: Okay, so ATT does not offer dial-up access to the internet as an alternative to wifi when I am traveling.
(RODERICK): Let me double check that for you.
(RODERICK): Kindly give me 3-4 minutes here in my end. As far as I know we have an Aircard.
(RODERICK): Thank you for patiently waiting Bruce.
(RODERICK): For you to avail that Aircard to you need to go to the nearest AT&T store.
You: And I must buy the Aircard? Will I have to buy minutes or is this part of my normal internet access?
(RODERICK): Or log in to the website which is at: store.att.com.
(RODERICK): I do apologize but that is what am I not sure of if its a prepaid or plan.
(RODERICK): I suggest to go to the nearest AT&T to verify that.
You: Okay, and thank you. This has been most enlightening.
(RODERICK): I appreciate that. And is there anything else that I can help you with?
You: No, thank you and goodbye.
(RODERICK): And by the way...
(RODERICK): I want to inform you that, you will receive an email inquiring as to whether you were Very Satisfied with the kind of service you received from me today. And when you receive that email, would you say that you were Very Satisfied?
You: Yes, I was quite satisfied with your effort.
(RODERICK): Please let me know on how can I make you a Very Satisfied customer?
You: At this point, you have done everything possible. Thanks, again, and goodbye.

So, for those of you who associated AT&T with "telephone company," you may want to rethink your association. Perhaps that is why it is now AT&T instead of American Telephone & Telegraph.

By the way, I did find this through a search.

HELP

I'll have to try this out to see if it works or it is another, separate web access pay for play scheme.

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Dutch Redefine Freedom Of Speech - Verse 2

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From Al Fin:

Geert Wilders Interviewed in Netherlands Court: Bruce Bawer

Here's the rub: Europeans experienced the hatred and intolerance of Adolph Hitler, so they regard anyone who speaks out against an ethnic group or religion with extreme wariness and skepticism.

Here's the irony: Geert Wilders is speaking out against immigrant Muslims and Islam precisely because many Muslims and their religion have a cultural and philosophical intolerance of those who are not part of their culture and religion. Thus, Wilders points out that in order for a tolerant society to be free and survive, it must be intolerant of the intolerance of the Muslims and Islam.

Translation: we welcome you into our society, but with one provision: you must abandon the intolerance of your original culture and religion and agree to "live and let live." Otherwise, please go elsewhere.

Geert Wilders is being persecuted because he is warning those who fear intolerance that they have a fifth column of intolerance invading their society... and they will use the the Dutch intolerance of their own intolerance to allow the invading intolerance to thrive.

This could be called an inherently or internally conflicting proposition. The resolution must conflict with the stated principles.

Also see: Dutch Redefine Freedom Of Speech

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Who Dat Make Me Climate Scientist?

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When I wrote that the climate debate is [not] over, I was a crank "skeptic." Now I presume I am a renown climate scientist:

Climategate U-turn as scientist at centre of row admits: There has been no global warming since 1995

By Jonathan Petre
Last updated at 1:51 PM on 14th February 2010

• Data for vital 'hockey stick graph' has gone missing
• There has been no global warming since 1995
• Warming periods have happened before - but NOT due to man-made changes

Data: Professor Phil Jones admitted his record keeping is 'not as good as it should be'

The academic at the centre of the ‘Climategate’ affair, whose raw data is crucial to the theory of climate change, has admitted that he has trouble ‘keeping track’ of the information.

Colleagues say that the reason Professor Phil Jones has refused Freedom of Information requests is that he may have actually lost the relevant papers.

Professor Jones told the BBC yesterday there was truth in the observations of colleagues that he lacked organisational skills, that his office was swamped with piles of paper and that his record keeping is ‘not as good as it should be’.

The data is crucial to the famous ‘hockey stick graph’ used by climate change advocates to support the theory.

Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now – suggesting global warming may not be a man-made phenomenon.

And he said that for the past 15 years there has been no ‘statistically significant’ warming.

Read more....

All one needed to do was look at the data....

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Mayor Bing Says Detroit Must Downsize

SEARCH BLOG: DETROIT

There is "downsizing" and there is "downsizing." It was not obvious from the article that appeared in The Detroit News electronic edition, just what the mayor meant.

[click image for larger view]

Mayor Bing could have meant that Detroit government had to become smaller and more efficient. He could have meant that services had to become fewer and more selective. Or he could be recognizing that 800,000 people scattered among the remains of a city that expanded to hold 2,000,000 meant the city had to downsize geographically.

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The Future As Seen From The Past

SEARCH BLOG: OBAMA

From American Power blog:

'In Order to Gain Domestic Power'

Stop what you are doing. Take a few moments. A brilliant film.

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IPCC: The Obvious Becomes Apparent

SEARCH BLOG: GLOBAL WARMING and IPCC

As cited in Watts Up With That?

From the Australian, news on that IPCC “overhaul” in Nature:

Scientists say IPCC should be overhauled or scrapped

INTERNATIONAL scientists have called for the world’s peak climate change body to be revamped or scrapped after damaging controversies that have dogged the expert panel in recent months.

The scientists suggest a range of options, from tightening the selection of lead authors and contributors to the International Panel on Climate Change, to dumping it in favour of a small permanent body, or even turning the whole climate science assessment process into a moderated “living” Wikipedia-IPCC.

I'm glad to see that the obvious is becoming apparent to the experts. Read this: Pachauri Only Part Of The Problem.

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Michigan Service Tax Resurrection

SEARCH BLOG: SERVICE TAX

Appearing in the electronic version of The Detroit News:


We went through this once before... so I'll make it easy for you.

• Click here... Michigan Service Tax (17 posts)

One major change from the last round:

The tax would not apply to health care, education, construction, real estate com­missions, insurance premiums or busi­ness-to-business transactions, but it would boost the number of consumer services that would be affected from 27 to about 150. If approved by the Legislature it would cost the average family with $50,000 in­come about $140 a year, state Treasurer Bob Kleine said.

In the last go-round, the business-to-business taxes acted as a Value Added Tax and became a big problem. Now it is only a very costly proposal for the businesses and customers involved. Of course, accountants will love this.

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Baby Care Union

SEARCH BLOG: GOVERNMENT

Interesting "logic" in play here. Michigan's far left governor's administration is at it again. If this doesn't upset you, nothing will.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY VIDEO

MIDLAND — In a new Mackinac Center video, key members of a Michigan House appropriations subcommittee question how a controversial state agency critical to the purported unionization of home-based day care providers continues to operate after the Michigan Legislature eliminated the agency’s funding from the fiscal 2010 budget. The three-minute video explores how the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council, created by the Michigan Department of Human Services and Mott Community College, appears to be active, even as the Governor’s Office, the DHS and the MHBCCC refuse to explain how.

“We did defund the council,” Rep. Dudley Spade, D-Tipton, told Mackinac Center Communications Specialist Kathy Hoekstra, who produced the video. “We cut the entire amount of the funding.” Spade is chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Services, which oversees the DHS and the MHBCCC.

Hoekstra also interviewed Rep. Dave Agema, R-Grandville, vice chair of the subcommittee. Agema said of the MHBCCC, “If it’s still operating, I want to know why, how, and where it gets its money from.”

Both Spade and Agema have in fact sought an answer to this simple question, as shown in a remarkable video clip posted today on the Web site of Michigan Capitol Confidential, a publication of the Mackinac Center. In the clip, a top DHS official repeatedly refuses to answer Rep. Spade’s questions about the funding source for the MHBCCC, citing “pending litigation” — presumably a Mackinac Center lawsuit concerning the DHS’ withholding of so-called union dues from checks sent to home-based day care providers. But in a related Michigan Capitol Confidential article, “Axed State Agency Mysteriously Operational,” Rep. Agema responded to that concern, telling reporter Tom Gantert, “The question asked is totally different than the lawsuit.”

The MHBCCC has been designated the “employer” of 40,000 to 70,000 home-based child care providers, thereby giving Child Care Providers Together Michigan — a government employee union that claims to represent them — a convenient entity to organize against. The resulting “collective bargaining” contract allows the union to collect millions of dollars in “dues” from these home-based contractors and employers.

The sleeze runs deep in Michigan's Democratic Party.

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Wrong Number Stupid Debt Collector

SEARCH BLOG: ECONOMY

Don't you just love getting calls first thing in the morning when you go to bed after 1:00 am? [no need for a lot of sympathy here... that's rhetorical].

Having a common name can be a problem at times... especially when someone else with your name has some bill paying problems. Then a company like MRS Associates springs into action to start harassing you for payment.

I called the number that appeared on my handset and after identifying myself, a "Mrs. Jackson" wanted to talked to me about a Visa account [which I don't have]. After stating such, she asked if I was born in 19XX [no] and if the last four of my Social Security was [XXXX... no, I'm not putting that here]. I was then informed I would not be called again.

We'll see. MRS doesn't seem to have the best track record when it comes to following the law ... or reason ... when it comes to trying to collect debts ... real or imaginary.

Meanwhile, I'm awake and grumpy, sleepy, and not too happy.

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That Cool Feeling You Have Is Not Global Warming

SEARCH BLOG: GLOBAL WARMING

Joe D'Aleo at Icecap has some interesting observations on the "it's getting colder with more snow so it must be global warming...."

BUT ALARMISTS HOLLER “WE PROMISED GLOBAL WARMING WOULD BRING STRONGER STORMS”

The 2009 U.S. Climate Impacts Report found that large-scale cold-weather storm systems have gradually tracked to the north in the U.S. over the past 50 years. This year we have had snow as far south as Miami and Naples Florida with snow possible Friday and again next week in the Gulf States down to the Florida panhandle. More Florida freezes are likely through early last week, where the January cold set records for duration and did serious damage to the citrus (worst freeze damage since 1989).

They also stated the warming would be greatest in higher latitudes. Actually that would decrease the contrast in temperatures north to south, which is what feeds the mid-latitude storms. They should grow weaker not stronger and with warming and the jet stream retreating north not south, global warming would not suggest snow to the Gulf of Mexico.

Cooling is what produces clouds and precipitation. The earth is cooling, the folks in the Mid-Atlantic and southeast will attest to that. No media spin to the contrary or data manipulation by NOAA, NASA can convince them otherwise. Read more here.

And read Joe's whole post here.

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A Really Good Magazine Cover

SEARCH BLOG: FOOTBALL

Take a look at this Sports Illustrated cover and what do you see?


Besides the football hero and the celebration and the obvious father's love for his son?

I see a really, really smart father and mother. Take a closer look. See it now? The ear protectors on the young boy! Of course, my oldest son is a safety engineering consultant so my focus might be a bit biased. But still....

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Let It Snow

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I have a sister-in-law who lives in Reston, VA and is lamenting the fact that she just purchased a front-wheel drive vehicle instead of an all-wheel drive tank-like vehicle. I can sympathize somewhat after clearing 7" or 8" of the white stuff today. So, don't try to tell her that global warming is causing her snowy problems.


[Google Maps}

Weather is not climate, but.... Marc Morano sent a link to a recent Time article that claimed that the big storms in the Washington DC area were a function of the great Satan... global warming.

While the frequency of storms in the middle latitudes has decreased as the climate has warmed, the intensity of those storms has increased. That's in part because of global warming — hotter air can hold more moisture, so when a storm gathers it can unleash massive amounts of snow.

That might be true... if there is global warming and if there is a close relationship to temperature changes and snowfall. Over the past few years, there has been increasing reason to doubt the hysteria associated with those who want you to believe that the world is experiencing accelerated global warming and that the consequences are imminent and dire. Since the number of new high temperature records has fallen off [statewide, not micro climate/badly situated stations] and the only 2009 all-time extreme statewide record was for Maine... a new minimum of -50°F in January... the forces of alarm and hysteria now want everyone to subscribe to the notion that cold is hot.

NOAA has tracked snowfall records for over 100 years in the Washington DC area.

The biggest unofficial snow (before official records began) was in January 1772 when as much as 36 inches (3 feet) may have fallen in the Washington DC-Baltimore area. It has been called the Washington-Jefferson snowstorm because it was recorded in both of their diaries. [note: this was during a particularly cold period]

DC	Baltimore	Dulles
28" Jan 1922	26.8" Feb 2003	24.6" Jan 1996
20" Feb 13+14 1899	26.6" Jan 1996	22.8" Feb 1983
18.7" Feb 1979	26.5" Jan 1922	21.7" Feb 2003
17.3" Jan 1996	22.8" Feb 1983	19.3" Dec 2009
16.6" Feb 1983	22.0" Mar 1942	16.3" Feb 1979
16.4" Dec 2009	21.3" Feb 1899	14.1" Mar 1993
16.4" Feb 2003	21.0" Dec 2009	12.1" Dec 1979
15.0" Jan 1918	20.0" Feb 1979	12.0" Feb 1987
14.4" Feb 1958	15.5" Feb 1958	11.8" Feb 1967
14.4" Feb 1936	14.9" Jan 2000	11.6" Feb 1972
14.3" Feb 1900	14.3" Jan 1928	11.4" Dec 1967
13.8" Jan 1966	14.1" Dec 1960	11.1" Jan 1987
12.7" Feb 5-7, 1899	13.1" Feb 2006	10.6" Dec 1982

Gee, prior to this year, the early part of the 20th century seemed to be when the big snowfalls occurred [note that the Dulles airport may not have been recording much in 1899]. About 25" fell in Washington DC on Feb. 5-6.

[click image for larger view]

Maybe the stories of global warming are a bit overblown? Or maybe the Time argument is specious? Or maybe big snowstorms happen for other reasons?

"...it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary." George Orwell - "1984"

Don't you just love data that has not been altered and manipulated and algorithmed?

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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