Sea Level rise impossible ... oh, yeah?

The Americans for Limited Government had an article "An Alarming Trend" On: 04/22/2009 10:21:00 by Isaac MacMillen and Robert Romano. Basically, they state that melting ice caps can not raise sea levels because ice floats, lakes keep water from reaching the oceans, and plate tectonics raise mountains which trap water in snow and ice.

I couldn't stand it and submitted what was to the be the first comment as follows:

"Greenland's Ice Cap is Melting at a Frighteningly Fast Rate"
(http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0811-06.htm)

The vast ice cap that covers Greenland nearly three miles thick is melting faster than ever before on record, and the pace is speeding year by year, according to global climate watchers gathering data from twin satellites that probe the effects of warming on the huge northern island.

The consequence is already evident in a small but ominous rise in sea levels around the world, a pace that is also accelerating, the scientists say.

According to the scientists' data, Greenland's ice is melting at a rate three times faster than it was only five years ago. The estimate of the melting trend that has been observed for nearly a decade comes from a University of Texas team monitoring a satellite mission that measures changes in the Earth's gravity over the entire Greenland ice cap as the ice melts and the water flows down into the Arctic ocean. ...


"Sea level rise could bust IPCC estimate"
(http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16732-sea-level-rise-could-bust-ipcc-estimate.html)

Sea level rises could bust official estimates – that's the first big message to come from the climate change congress that kicked off in Copenhagen, Denmark, today.

Researchers, including John Church of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, presented evidence that Greenland and Antarctica are losing ice fast, contributing to the annual sea-level rise. Recent data shows that waters have been rising by 3 millimetres a year since 1993.

Church says this is above any of the rates forecast by the IPCC models. By 2100, sea levels could be 1 metre or more above current levels, he says. And it looks increasingly unlikely that the rise will be much less than 50 centimetres.

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecast a rise of 18 cm to 59 cm by 2100. But the numbers came with a heavy caveat that often went unnoticed by the popular press.
...
Because modelling how the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will react to rising temperatures is fiendishly complicated, the IPCC did not include either in its estimate. It's no small omission: the Greenland ice cap, the smaller and so far less stable of the two, holds enough water that if it all melted, it would raise sea levels by 6 metres on average across the globe. ...


ExxonMobil scientists ... participate in the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and numerous related scientific bodies. (http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/energy_climate_views.aspx)

Barbie is 50!

Barbie's 50th birthday was officially celebrated March 9, 2009.

Above: Natural Barbie -- A Brazilian artist’s rendition of what the doll would look like if she had aged normally.

Source: MARCH 2009 AARP BULLETIN (page 35)

Priest needs to "re-examine" the historical evidence ...

World
Former Student: Bishop Often Attacked Judaism
by Sylvia Poggioli

All Things Considered, February 25, 2009 · Until last month, Bishop Richard Williamson was barely known outside the ultra-conservative world of the Society of St. Pius X. That was before Pope Benedict lifted his excommunication.

Full story at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101139679

J. R. Madden (JRMadden) wrote:

"The historical evidence is hugely against Jesus Christ having been deliberately crucified as a deliberate policy of Pontius Pilate," J. R. Madden said in the Comments section of NPR.org.

"In fact," he also stated, "the historical evidence is instead hugely supporting of 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler."

Wednesday, 25 Feb 2009 15:15:23

I predict ...

NPR BREAKING NEWS: Congress Backs Delaying Digital TV Switch To June
02/04/2009 15:26:12 Central Standard Time

Congress has decided to give people four more months to prepare for the upcoming transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting. The House voted Wednesday to postpone the end of analog TV signals until June 12. The move is meant to address concerns that more than 6.5 million Americans with older TVs would not be ready by Feb. 17, the originally mandated deadline.

More at NPR.org: http://n.npr.org/NPRI/jN12773202_34500.htm

I predict ... In four months time, it will be estimated there are more than 8.4 million Americans with older TVs that will not be ready for the new mandated deadline.

Comment at NPR.org - Media Circus

Media Circus by David Folkenflik

Bartiromo Goes In For The Kill

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100010589

J. R. Madden (JRMadden) wrote:

Addressing U.S. executive compensation:

It is my understanding most C-level executives compensation must be approved the company's Board of Directors. It is also my understanding a lot of the Boards of Directors are made up of C-level executive from other companies. Therefore, the old paradigm of "Your scratch my back and I'll scratch your back" possibly comes into play.

Then again, maybe it does require big bucks to find C-level executives who will do exactly what the C-level executives at other firms are doing in making those "tough" decisions:
Let's cut costs = layoffs at the bottom and/or outsourcing;
Everyone one else is making a fortune in derivatives = me too;
Regulation = What regulation?;
I [believe] in free enterprise & capitalism = Please give me money, Uncle Sam.

And in conclusion:

If you got into the housing market with the belief that prices would continue upward indefinitely / forever ... isn't that the biggest Ponzi scheme of all?

Friday, 30 Jan 2009 16:14:58

Majel Roddenberry, widow of 'Trek' creator, dies

By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer – Thu Dec 18, 6:15 pm ET

Majel Roddenberry played Nurse Chapel on the original "Star Trek."
Photo Credit: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Majel Barrett Roddenberry, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's widow who nurtured the legacy of the seminal science fiction TV series after his death, has died. She was 76. Roddenberry died of leukemia Thursday morning at her home in Bel-Air, said Sean Rossall, a family spokesman.

At Roddenberry's side were family friends and her son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr.

Roddenberry was involved in the "Star Trek" universe for more than four decades. She played the dark-haired Number One in the original pilot but metamorphosed into the blond, miniskirted Nurse Christine Chapel in the original 1966-69 show. She had smaller roles in all five of its television successors and many of the "Star Trek" movie incarnations, although she had little involvement in the productions.

She frequently was the voice of the ship's computer, and about two weeks ago she completed the same role for the upcoming J.J. Abrams movie "Star Trek," Rossall said.

Roddenberry also helped keep the franchise alive by inspiring fans and attended a major "Star Trek" convention each year, Rossall said.

"I think `Star Trek' will always be her legacy," Rossall said.

"Star Trek" and its successors often focused on political and philosophical issues of the day. Roddenberry and her husband, who died in 1991, believed in creating "thoughtful entertainment" and were proud of the show and the passionate devotion of its fans, Rossall said.

"My mother truly acknowledged and appreciated the fact that `Star Trek' fans played a vital role in keeping the Roddenberry dream alive for the past 42 years. It was her love for the fans, and their love in return, that kept her going for so long after my father passed away," her son said in a statement on the official Roddenberry Web site.

Born Majel Lee Hudec on Feb. 23, 1932, in Cleveland, she began taking acting classes as a child. She had some stage roles, then in the late 1950s and 1960s had bit parts in a few movies and small roles in TV series, including "Leave It to Beaver" and "Bonanza."

She met her husband in 1964 during a guest role for a Marine Corps drama he produced called "The Lieutenant." That same year, she was cast in the pilot for the "Star Trek" series as the no-nonsense second-in-command. The pilot did not appeal to NBC executives and a second pilot was made, although parts of the original later showed up in a two-part episode called "The Menagerie."

The couple married in Japan in 1969 after "Star Trek" was canceled. After her husband's death, Roddenberry continued her involvement with the "Star Trek" franchise.

She also was the executive producer for two other TV science fiction series, "Andromeda" and "Earth: Final Conflict.

###

Gustav recovery continues ...

Yesterday, Friday, 05 December 2008, a work crew with Allcraft Roofing & Construction started removing our old roofing materials about 0700 CT.

After a short delay around midday waiting for the correct color shingles to arrive [Our color is 'barkwood.'], the crew finished the installation by about 1700 CT.

We have two new wind-powered attic vent turbines along with all the other new components that make up the roof covering system. The shingles are supposed to be good for thirty (30) years and 100 mph winds. Let us strongly hope so.

This morning, I made my way into the attic to remove various buckets and catch pans from beneath the hole of one of the vent turbines ... the one that had blown away during Hurricane Gustav. I did not slip and put a leg through the great room ceiling this time.

Roofing nails continue to appear on the driveway despite the crew's diligent cleanup activity.