The Great Greenhouse Catastrophe of 2013

Lying in bed late last night as the wind shrieked itself into a howling gale, I heard the tinkling of breaking glass. Upon inspection through the bedroom window this morning, I was dismayed to see my greenhouse has been ripped off its moorings and thrown bodily against the dry-stone wall at the boundary of my garden.

It’s trashed. The frames are bent, and there’s broken glass everywhere

That certainly was a severe gale! High Bradfield, South Yorks Pennines had 78mph gust this morning. 67mph Church Fenton & 60mph Waddington

— Paul Hudson(@Hudsonweather) April 18, 2013

 

EU rejects ‘backloading’ of CarbonCreds – Price immediately falls to barrel bottom

Psst, wanna buy some junk bonds?

Quote of the week: Eurocrat Martin Schulz on Britain’s place in Europe

This one made me laugh. He’s probably right so far as it goes, if it were to be one of the failed main parties sorting out the mess. However, Mr Schulz little world, constrained and demarcated by red tape and rules as it is, could be in for a seismic shift if the political tide turns in the UK and ordinary folk get a say in the matter, like they’ve been promised on more than one occasion. Ordinary folk in the UK are a little freer than mainstream politicos with the old anglo-Saxon and might take exception to what Mr Schulz is telling them…

Any attempt by the UK government to repatriate powers to Westminster is likely to be a drawn out and cumbersome negotiation.

Chris Huhne: going down for a spell

Disgraced former climate change minister Chris Huhne and his ex wife Vicki Pryce have been sentenced for perverting the course of justice at Southwark Crown Court this afternoon.

Chris Huhne has been sentenced to 8 months in prison

Vicki Pryce has got the same.

Lunch with Lindzen

An unexpected pleasure came my way today when I bumped into Dick Lindzen and his wife as they were on their way to prayer at Oxford’s Synagogue. At the time I was waiting for Jerry Ravetz outside Woucester College, and after he picked me up, we happened to pass Dick and Nadine further along the road. We pulled in for a word. Jerry furnished them with an introduction at the Synagogue, and we fixed to meet for lunch.

Old friend makes new friend: Veteran philosopher of Science Jerry Ravetz and Prof. Richard Lindzen exchange ideas.

When they came out of prayer, Jerry and I walked them straight across the road and into a Lebanese restaurant. This amused them no end.

“In the states, everything’s a car ride away”

A counterpoint to media misbehaviour, Wry smile Alastair

The recent death of Sir Alastair Burnet leaves a shining example of a quiet light spreading what only genuineness can do.

I never met him but I did know the older regime in broadcasting from my connections in radio and television behind the scenes. Independents really were hard working thoroughly professional and competent crowds, a pleasure to work with.

In contrast the BBC were losing the only marble it had as staff and departments were ejected. BBC Research for example had plenty of live wires, disbanded. I nearly went to work for the company they formed, no, not my style. What was left for today was predatory and horrid. Technically… well why did they pay outside experts? This is fine if there are competent in house overmanagers who know their stuff.

Cartoons by Josh: 2013 Calendar now at the printers – Order now!

Our old friend Josh has sent me flyer for his 2013 calendar. This is great idea for a stocking filler, buy one (or more) for your climate friends (or foes) and support Josh’s fantastic (and mostly unpaid) work.See below the break for the description and ordering instructions. Humour is a powewrful force in shaping ideas, and Josh’s talent speaks volumes for his insight into the important factors in the climate debate.

Click to order your 2013 Calendar at Josh’s website

 

Chris Huhne: Moving as slowly as possible these days

Image Courtesy of Fenbeagle
Click for full cartoon.

An out of date update on the Crown vs Huhne & Pryce case from the Eastleigh News.

Eastleigh residents will be heaving a sigh of relief with the news that Chris Huhne, Eastleigh’s popular MP, will still be available to switch on the Town’s Christmas lights next month after a judge postponed his trial on charges of perverting  the course of justice which were due to start this week.

Huhne along with his former wife Vicky Pryce are accused of dodging speeding penalty points – charges he has strongly denied.

He resigned his cabinet post as Energy Secretary in February in order to defend himself and on Monday it is understood his lawyers attempted to get the case dismissed.

After a week of legal arguments it has been decided by Justice Sweeny to postpone the trial to January 14 for legal reasons, but Eastleigh News cannot report on the nature of these legal reasons due to legal reasons.  :)

Read the rest here:
http://www.eastleighnews.org.uk/news/2012/10/05/huhne-ok-for-christmas-light-switch-on/

Harrison Schmitt: Eulogy for Neil Armstrong

Reposted from http://americasuncommonsense.com

AUGUST 28, 2012

Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong is a true national and international hero in the classic sense. His intellect, dedication and skills made him absolutely the best choice to be the first American and first human to step foot on the Moon in 1969 as Commander of Apollo 11. Quiet, thoughtful celebration of his life honors the man and his achievements.

Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012)
Source: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Armstrong conducted himself at the highest levels of professionalism – quick to make good decisions in service to his country, as a test pilot, and as an explorer in the best traditions of Lewis and Clark. He often stated, however, that our successes in these difficult arenas only come from the magnificent efforts of hundreds of thousands of others.

One of my many favorite Armstrong memories from Apollo relates to a spur of the moment decision he made late in his walk on the Moon. We all trained to focus on collecting the greatest variety of Moon rocks possible in the time available. But, having already quickly collected one of the finest sets of lunar samples, Neil thought the partially filled rock box needed something more. He rapidly filled the box with a large amount of the Moon’s soil. This soil became one of the most important samples ever returned from the Moon. Neil’s 30 minutes of sampling decisions at Tranquillity Base remain the most productive half hour in lunar exploration.

Neil was a gifted speaker, historian and professor. He did not give a large number of speeches or interviews, but all had been extensively researched and delivered with remarkable clarity and insight. Neil fascinated audiences with his clear articulation of historical events and the relation of technology, aeronautics and space to human activities in the past and future.

I had the great privilege to have known Neil as both a colleague and friend. Teresa and I give our heartfelt condolences to the extended Armstrong family and to his legion of friends, colleagues, and others so profoundly influenced by the life of Neil Armstrong. His historical insights, good nature and extraordinary professionalism will be missed more than my words can convey.

-Harrison Schmitt-

Something nice from the Royal Society

Well this is great. Judy Curry and Peter Webster will be presenting at this event, so I’ll get the chance to meet up with them again too. I’ll try not to be pushy here, but I hope I’ll be able to garner some interest in our techniques in the foyer and coffee bar as well as listening carefully to the tone and approach being offered by the various speakers during the formal sessions.

Handling uncertainty in weather and climate prediction, with application to health, agronomy, hydrology, energy and economics

Thursday 4 – Friday 5 October 2012

The Royal Society at Chicheley Hall: Home of the Kavli Royal Society International Centre, Buckinghamshire

Organised by Professor Tim Palmer FRS

For the attention of: Roger Tallbloke