Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW)

So I know there are a lot of skeptics of AGW, but I am still fairly certain that the prevailing viewpoint holds that AGW is real.

In my opinion, the negative effects of pollution are obvious whether or not AGW is real.

Also, many of the soulutions offered (alternative enegry, energy concervation, more energy efficient trasportation) are also good things whether or not AGW is real.

Still, I found a couple of good sources discussing the current scientific viewpoint.

The Royal Society of the UK provides a very simple guide.

The American Institute of Physics has an amazingly comprehensive source.

A Strange Dream

I had a dream last night that I was a very successful business-man who made a lot of money on investments and trading. I was also, for some reason, and African American named Dwayne Wade.

I was approached by an old friend who had now become the principal at my old high school (my actual high school) about investing a small fraction of the schools funds. Somehow I was able to convince the county to invest a good portion of their funds, and the funds of any of the teachers, and principals who wanted it, in my new hedge fund for public schools.

I was very proud. This county was not going to have budget problems in short order. But then I got real nervous. What if state workers, being the non-investors they typically were, started demanding that I invest things in a certain way, or start pulling their money out in a panic. I would not be able to time trades at all.

So I made a deal. I would end the hedge fund if anyone pulled out their money within a year, or if anyone demanded that their funds be invested or not invested in certain ways ever. It was to be part of the contract. Somehow people agreed.

Later, there were old teachers who would come in wanting to invest, and would say things like, "don't invest my whole income just a small portion" (apparently the state had decided to automatically put part of their income into my fund). I informed them that they would have to talk to the state or county people to deal with that. I felt sorry for that. Since they likely wanted all their concerns addressed by a single person.

That's when I woke up. I don't know how I would have handled the situation. I would probably have made sure next time that a representative from the automatic withdrawal program is at the customer relations office when taking investment requests.

Are Journalists Science Dopes?

Richard Feynman said something to that effect once....at least about a particular journalist. I watched a clip of the Today Show where an economics professor was making medal predictions. A few things annoyed me.

1) He wasn't allowed to finish even the basic explanation, before interupted by blabbering of how confusing it was.

2) Then there was a joke about "decoding" this rather simple formula.

And to top it off, the graphic included used the U.S. flag for Germany.

Communication Skills Found Wanting

I read my older posts, and now have a glimpse into what people mean when they say they don't understand me. This blogging exercise is useful, if for no other reason than providing me feed-back on my written communication skills (even if it is from me to myself).

I suppose, a journal may have filled the same purpose; but I rarely ever went back and read my old journal entries. I certainly didn't evaluate them for how well they communicated ideas.

I need to relearn English. Can you believe that it has been over 12 years since I took writing instruction?

I don't know grammar, and I rely on my spell-checker for spelling.

I wonder if there is a good cheap course on writing. I may as well get voice-coaching/public-speaking tuition while I'm at it.