Dinner with my wife

I think everyone who has been married more than a couple of years has had a dinner like the one Marshall Ramsey relays on his blog today:

The Entree - Marshall Ramsey

It's the things rolling around in your head that don't break the silence that are really interesting. If the marbles rolling around my wife's head are anywhere near in line with the marbles that I haven't lost yet, we'll be OK for a long, long time.

Climategate 2.0 - The Crooks Skated Again

{EAV:86cf06edf9ab240e}
How is it that anyone who may have valid questions about scientific data has a tough time getting more than a couple of words in edgewise in a discussion about global warming/climate change/weirding/whatever's next with some political science/history major flunkie who speaks the party line and thinks they understand statistics, but many thousands of emails between the guys who started this whole mess doesn't fully discredit them? Maybe we should have gotten some of the AGW proponents like Michael Mann or Phil Jones to comment on some of their employees height in relation to the height of their wife. Apparently that's all it takes to discredit you from a more important goal of something like running the country (see Herman Cain hackjob at Politico).

Regardless of whether their wives are a similar height to any of their coworkers, it drives be absolutely batty that we let people get away with bunk like the original climategate emails, which at least put a moment of hesitation into major policy makers and the public. But the wonks on the left who are using this as a wedge issue can't let go EVEN WHEN THE PERPS DO IT AGAIN, as evidenced by the utter lack of stories on this in the media and the continued mention of global warming (or appropriate, up-to-the-minute-fits-the-data-now alias):

• Climategate 2.0 - New Emails Rock the Global Warming Debate Forbes.com
  
• Climategate 2.0 Emails .torrent file - You’ll need a bit torrent client
  
• Original Climategate Emails .torrent file - You’ll need a bit torrent client
  

I believe, based on some data I have seen, that there are in fact strange things happening in the climate. However I don't believe that there are that many catastrophic changes going on at this point. Based on the climate's behavior in the past when concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) & hydrocarbons like methane (CH4) were higher, I do not believe that the carbon dioxide that has been put into the atmosphere by burning fuel over the last couple of hundred years has had any statistically significant measurable affect on the climate (Univ of East Anglia, Penn State, & the IPCC statistics show you can prove anything). That does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that I don't think we should do everything we can to smartly decrease the amount of pollution we spread around the world as well as limit the amount of damage to natural resources. Sustainability is an entirely different focus than climate science, though the two often get commingled. For resources that are finite, we should decrease their usage to extend the quality of life that we have attained. As the lifeblood of all the plant life on the planet, I do not think that CO2 qualifies as pollution. Whatever EPA wonk came up with that one... I can definitively say that they are an idiot. Updated to correct torrent link for Climategate 2.0 as well as add the original emails so they are all in one place.

Measuring Social Media

I am trying to learn about different ways to measure effectiveness in "getting out there" in the world of social media. I am spending a bit of time exploring things like:

• Empire Avenue, an investment/community game that allows you to monitor statistics of your media
  
• Klout, descriptions and metrics of your influence and who you influence
  

There are some efforts I begin in which I feel WAY over my head. This is one of those efforts. I hope I can change that soon.

Kiwanis Nuclear Power Speech

I had the opportunity to speak to the Kiwanis International, Vicksburg Chapter today about nuclear power. I am always amazed at the level of interest from folks who don't have a background in the same admittedly nerdy subjects I've studied. I managed to explain that once you get outside the "hot rock box", a nuke isn't really much different than any other power plant.

If anybody out there would like to hear nuclear power explained in terms normal folks can understand, I would be happy to share what I have learned over the years about the technology.

UPDATE: A friend with whom I served in the Navy recommends the children's book Nuclear Power - by Amelia Frahm - to get the basics of nuclear power across to kids without imparting irrational fear. I haven't read it yet, but I trust Chris's judgement so here is a link to it from Amazon:

Rain, Rain Go Away

As much NOT fun as it is commuting in dense fog and later rain, the after effects are certainly welcome. First, the sky does some pretty cool things right as fronts pass through. Clouds just aren't as interesting in the middle of low-gradient weather. Things liven up when the temperature/humidity differences start to show up. Second (and my favorite) is the brilliance of color, specifically the greens and browns of plant life, just seem to pop with a surrealist edge.

I accordance with the guidance purveyed in The Life of Brian, always look on the bright side of life.

Local Farmers & Produce

My search for locally grown food just became much easier. Since my wife & I returned from a trip to east Tennessee on a visit to some friends that live outside the rural town of Maryville, we have been looking for farms that raise meat and vegetables to reduce the amount of mass-produced food we eat. We are primarily looking for a source of poultry, eggs, and vegetables.

While searching for something to watch between football Saturday, I ran across Farmweek and didn't blow past it. They ran a piece about a web-based engine to help you find agriculture providers as well as the providers finding customers. It's called Market Maker. Pretty straight forward concept, but it is eeking its way into a market that is not well-known for being super techie - namely small ag. I'm glad to have found it. I looks like it takes proactive effort from the grower, which was the point Farmweek was trying to get across. Here's the list I got within 50 miles of my location:

• Barr Farms - Mendenhall, Mississippi
  
• Cedar Hill Gardens - Brandon, Mississippi
  
• Dancing Hooves Stable - Jackson, Mississippi
  
• Flying M Farm - Vaughan, Mississippi
  
• Le Petite Poulet Farm LLC - Jackson, Mississippi
  
• Livingston Springs Farm - Flora, Mississippi
  

I'm pretty sure Dancing Hooves is live horse sales even though they categorized themselves as meat & poultry. Who knows? Either way, not really my market. But I plan to visit the others over the course of the spring and summer to source some of my food. I'm curious to compare & contrast this clearly government funded effort with the more "organic" AgriTrue effort that Jack Spirko is starting up.

Social Network Prepping

So I am all about prepping for food/water/shelter/energy and am a gung ho fan of people like Jack Spirko at The Survival Podcast. But prepping is typically described as what to do to continue on living, surviving. But we all recognize something is going to get us eventually. When it does, what about your Facebook page? In 2011 a high school classmate, Thomas Baggett, succumbed to a unexpected illness. Following his death, his Facebook page lit up with messages of rememberance from his old friends as well as his students in the St Louis area. However, the lack of a reply was palpable. I ran across an article today about a new Facebook app call If I Die that allows you to pre-record messages that can play once the 3 people you assign confirm your death. I am curious how things might have been different if Thomas had been using it.

I also wonder, though. Do you say the things now that you would say to your friends and family after you die if you could? Are you even capable of putting yourself in the right mental frame of reference to speak to them with not only the right perspective to understand how they will receive the message but also the words that you really want to say given that you would now be dead? I spent about 5 minutes thinking about what I would say and I'll tell you... it takes a lot more than that.

I think that you should get as much off your chest while you are alive. If nothing else, it removes the need to have to use this app. I recently reconnected with an old friend after about 3 years of radio silence - attributable to me, by the way. It was eating at me that I hadn't picked up the phone and finally just did it. We had a wonderful conversation, but it was weird that so much of it had to be spent on catching up.

If you read this far, here are a couple of action items for you to bring prepping into your Social Network:
1. Think of someone with whom you haven't spoken in a long time but should have or you are estranged.
2. Figure out how you played a part in it. Note: Even the most 1-sided arguments have 2 sides somewhere. Find it.
3. Reconnect. Use your face, a phone, or a handwritten letter. Save Facebook & email for those who you don't really care to talk to or who you already connect with enough that there's no need.

Lily Price's First Photo Shoot

We were extremely pleased with the work that Olivia Grey Pritchard did for us right when LP was born. Check out her blog OliviaGreyPritchard.blogspot.com

Olivia did an awesome job for us and I would recommend her highly. She took control of our unruly models and made some photographic magic happen.

LP's First Bite

While the family was off work, in-laws in town from DC and Charlotte, and basically enjoying being together with no commitments, LP (my baby girl) passed a few pretty major milestones. Pictured above is her first bite of solid food. We had worked on rice "cereal" a bit. Sidenote: for those of you who don't have kids, before they get to the stuff you may think of as baby food they move from milk to a goopy concoction of ground rice and water that they call "cereal" but it's basically watery goop. LP took the peas and ate them like it was her job. I think it was one of the least messy feedings I've ever seen for a new food eater. She was all decked out with the massive cloth/plastic hybrid bib (think dressed out as a radiation worker) and I fully expected her to take a spoonful or two into her mouth and then redecorate the kitchen with it. But to our surprise and joy, she ate like a super big girl and managed to stay cleaner than our oldest son (7) does during a typical meal.

So CONGRATS LP!!!

Here, deer...

I'm hoping for a discount on venison today. Worst case, beautiful day in the woods.


Update: No venison. I flirted with a doe for about 45 minutes after she came running toward my antler rattling, which sounds pretty realistic if I do say so. I rattled 2 more times while she stood there and tried to figure out why she couldn't see the two studs she could hear 75 yards away. I was trying to take one with more meat so i waited. A dad and 2 kids squirrel hunting in the same woods came too near and flushed another doe, who convinced the one I had been engaged with to mosey on. I sat around and enjoyed the afternoon, trying to tease another one in with antlers and a call. No joy. To all my northern hunter friends... you should really come down here and hunt sometime. I burned up while wearing a T-shirt and BDU pants - SOOOO glad I don't live in Minnesota.

The boys went out with Papaw and their new Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun. They didn't see anything in the 15 minutes they were able to stay in the stand, but they spent some time learning what rubs and scrapes are. Then they went to the "range"... my oldest proved he will be another sharpshooter nailing coke cans from about 15 yards away while my 5-year old plinked the cans a few times and scared the bejesus out of the oak trees behind the cans.

Nerdliness is Genetic

Tonight I introduced my kids to astronomy via telescope. One (hyphenated) word... awe-inspiring.

Previously we have used a pair of 70s vintage 7x35 binoculars from Sears or just gone out with the old eyeballs. You can see a ton of objects with your eyes and even more with binoculars, but there are some advantages to the telescope that I had never considered for the kids. Namely:

1) I find interesting things and they can just walk up and look - We started with the moon via a 25mm eyepiece and worked them up to the 12mm and finally 4mm eyepiece. That gave them 3 different chances to look at the moon over the course of 30 seconds, see the same thing 3 times at increasing magnification, but feel like they were looking at 3 completely different views.

2) The increased detail makes things look "like the box" - Too often things disappoint compared to the marketing. Beginner/entry-level telescopes certainly fall into that category. Trying to head this off at the pass, my sis-in-law (who bought the scope for Christmas) and I explained that stars will still look like points of light but we can see more. We also explained that we will barely be able to see the details of the planets (Jupiter's stripes, Saturn's rings, etc.). They were stoked when they could see extreme detail in craters along the shadow terminator on the moon. They couldn't (be still enough to) resolve the stripes or red spot on Jupiter, but I saw the stripes. That will take a little practice for the boys to master.

3) They can actually see things moving in space - We often sit outside and watch satellites orbiting and figuring out which ones we are seeing during visible passes. Until the telescope, this was the peak of their observed understanding of orbits and motion in space. The 4mm eyepiece changed that tonight. I lined up the westernmost lunar horizon with the eastern edge of my field of view and let the moon traverse the field. My 5-year old asked how I was making the telescope move across the moon without touching it. But my 7-year old jumped in with "Daddy isn't moving the telescope, the moon is moving around the earth. And DADDY, YOU CAN SEE IT MOVING! LOOK!"

That was enough to brighten my night and put a smile on my face as I got more acquainted with the scope in the cold after they went to bed. It also rekindled my desire to eventually buy or construct a high-quality telescope like a Stellarvue refractor or a homebrew Dobsonian. My poor wife... my strange, completely nerdy hobbies just never end. Did I mention we tilled in some compost and planted some winter rye in one of our poorer soil beds this morning at the request of my 5-year old? :)

Note: Images via easthampshire.org & knapton.net

Help: Mushroom Identification

These mushrooms have spawned in a few places around my yard, primarily where pine trees once stood (the roots are still in the ground). They are also popping up in shady spots in 2 of my beds. I'd appreciate some help identifying them. A few more pictures are shown below.

They may be utterly inedible. But they might be a perfectly acceptable addition to a salad or other dish. I hope a roving mycologist checks in and lets me know.

The Toys I Always Wanted

The kids each got an iPod Touch AND a Nintendo DS Lite for Christmas. They also racked up with tons of Lego Ninjago stuff and this new game called Beyblade (marketed on Cartoon network with its own cartoon). Awesome aunt Jen, aka Papucha kicked in with a new refractor telescope from Tasco, which comes with a microscope kit, too! Santa even added a Playstation 3, but my oldest immediately said Mr. C brought it for me.

Now I am not a huge gamer nor do I have a TON of time to just play. But I have to say that the shift from toddler-type toys to "big kid" toys is very welcome. My wife & I both enjoy playing Beyblade enough that we sat down for about 10 minutes and did it while the kids were on a day trip with their grandparents. My oldest son can now put the complex Lego sets together, so he takes off and occasionally yells down that he needs help putting 2 difficult sections together. Bottom line, it's like being a kid again and I'm game. Quality time is no longer tickling Elmo, but building Lego jets and submarines, shooting Nerf guns or their new BB guns, launching rockets... the list of awesome goes on.

Here are some links to the cool stuff the kids got. If you want it and buy it through these links, I'd appreciate it.

Papa Johns

I am frustrated at Papa Johns. We ordered pizza over an hour and a half ago and now the phone number doesn't work. Want to go to plan B but already gave them my card info online. DOH!

UPDATE: Apparently we were the last order to be listed as "30-45 Minutes" but as far as the swamped restaurant was concerned we were NOT on that list. We ended up getting the pizza after an hour and a half. They tried their best to make it right though... they gave us a free pizza for next time.

Nostalgia for a Broom Trick

This video proves that I am still moderately flexible, performing the "Broom Trick". Why on earth was I trying this in the first place? Well, a video has surfaced from a cousin of my dad doing the "broom trick" when he was my age. He can't swing it anymore, so I was volunteered to entertain the family at our Christmas gathering. There is a 4-video sequence that is pretty funny to watch. But this one is the one in which I figured it out:

Here is the original in which my dad tried to pull it off:

Santa is following me

I am almost positive Santa has begun following is today. It must be that Elf on the Shelf, Thomas, passing intelligence to the Central Present Fulfillment Agency (90.0N 0-180E/W)

Stolen: My Heart

My 5 month old baby girl makes me smile inside... she smiles at me almost every time we interact. Even when she's been screaming her head off she'll laugh herself silly with a little tickling or funny singing from Daddy. Her eyes lock onto me and she watches me like I'm her hero. She either loves her Daddy or finds me remarkably strange. Regardless, I'm hooked... she's nuzzled up to me napping now. If she is softening me up for a huge wedding on Necker Island down the road it's working.

Podcast Withdrawal

With no long commute today, I haven't had the opportunity to listen to any podcasts. I'm in a moderate state of withdrawal from all things preparedness, skill building, & hobbies that will drive my wife crazy. Among other reasons, continuing to increase the hobbies that drive her crazy is certainly high on her list of "Reasons I Don't Want Dillon to Commute So Far Every Day".

Debate? Nah... It's Over Already, MmmK?

While I despise listening to politicians blather on with party line after party line, the potential debate between Inhofe and Markey discussed at Junk Science could be interesting. Both of the fellas are pretty staunchly in there corners, so I do not expec them to listen to each other. But if the moderator could keep them in check, they could get some interesting points on the table.

OR WHAT, EH?

Sometimes a nation bends to pressures from NGOs or even state actors, but others they don't. Often when they don't they couch their reason with well-spoken diplomacy crafted to allow them to later do whatever they deem necessary and remain consistent with previous statements. However, sometimes they just tell the NGO what amounts to the 7 year old child's reponse: OR WHAT?

In the case of Canada and their interaction with the UN, maybe it's time to bow up 7-year old Canadian style with a big old OR WHAT, EH?