What McCain campaign wants you to think

What McCain campaign wants you to think about:
Palin
Lipstick on a pig
Fear
Terror
War
Culture wars
Obama's funny name
Bridges to nowhere (supported or otherwise)

Airplanes on ebay (not personally places there or otherwise)

What they don't want you to think about:
The economy

Insight

There was some great insight I had on waking up this morning that I cannot recall at all. It is quite funny how that happens. I am having a brilliant insight and then like it never happened - poof. Reminds me of smoking pot. Great insights - all meaningless. I know... I'm getting older (that is of course humordamnit)

It's funny, I just read that the American women took the gold and silver in the Olympic games in Beijing. This was in the individual event (as it must considering that as teams that could not have taken the gold AND silver). It's funny because the Chinese women took the gold in the team event and thus highlighting strategy and cultural differences between the two countries. One more group oriented and the other more individual oriented. I think both countries would benefit from respecting the opposing philosophy a little more.

Recent climate articles - may (never) read

Here are a couple of potentially interesting articles. Not sure if I'll get a chance to read them anytime soon though.

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 35,
L11701,

doi:10.1029/2008GL033273,
2008

http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2008/2008GL033273.shtml

Is the observed NAO variability during the instrumental record unusual?

Semenov, V. M. Latif, J. Jungclaus, W. Park

Abstract

Observed multidecadal variability (30 yr
running means, trends, and moving standard deviations) of the North
Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during the instrumental record is compared
to that simulated by two different coupled general circulation models
in extended-range control experiments. Simulated NAO exhibits strong
low frequency fluctuations, even on multi-centennial time scale.
Observed multi-decadal NAO variations agree well with the model
variability. Trend probability distribution functions, observed and
simulated, were not found to be different with statistical
significance. Thus, multi-decadal NAO changes similar to those observed
during the instrumental record, including the recent increase in
1965–1995, may be internally generated within the coupled
atmosphere-ocean system without considering external forcing.

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 35,
L11603,

doi:10.1029/2008GL034059,
2008
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2008/2008GL034059.shtml

Potential predictability of rapid changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Hawkins, E., R. Sutton

Abstract

We explore the potential predictability
of rapid changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
(MOC) using a coupled global climate model (HadCM3). Rapid changes in
the temperature and salinity of surface water in the Nordic Seas, and
the flow of dense water through Denmark Strait, are found to be
precursors to rapid changes in the model's MOC, with a lead time of
around 10 years. The mechanism proposed to explain this potential
predictability relies on the development of density anomalies in the
Nordic Seas which propagate through Denmark Strait and along the deep
western boundary current, affecting the overturning. These rapid
changes in the MOC have significant, and widespread, climate impacts
which are potentially predictable a few years ahead. Whilst the flow
through Denmark Strait is too strong in HadCM3, the presence of such
potential predictability motivates the monitoring of water properties
in the Nordic Seas and Denmark Strait.

20 Things The Millionaire Next Door Does NOT Do

Stop thinking of money as stuff, as friends, as escape. Start thinking of it as storage for your future needs especially as a buffer in emergencies.

clipped from www.marcandangel.com Pay for Lawn Service Go to a Hair Stylist Use Time as a Measurement for Success Buy Brand New Cars Carry a Monthly Credit Card Balance Eat Out on a Regular Basis Think He Knows It All Socialize with People Who Waste Money Desire Instant Gratification Pay Retail for Name Brand Clothing Keep His Money in a Checking Account Replace What is Not Broken Visit the Tanning Bed Impulse Buy Waste Time on Senseless Activities Focus His Attention on Negative Obstacles Bet The Farm Fly First-class Rent Earn Every Dollar He Makes at His Day Job

Program Yourself

this is cRaZy! (in chris tucker's voice)

clipped from www.youtube.com

its like a hard drive

Joe: They can fail catastrophically.

Bob: What can?

Joe: Hard drives.

Bob: Funny that.

Joe: What’s that?

Bob: That something called a hard drive can fail catastrophically. I mean if it’s so hard...

Joe: Not surprising to me.

Bob: Why is that?

Joe: Well if you look in nature you will find that the more rigid something is the more likely it will fail catastrophically.

Bob: Like buildings? Like the twin towers in New York.

Joe: Yea but not like you think. I mean buildings are not as rigid as you think. Did you know that the Washington Monument sways 1/8” in a 100 mile per hour wind? And that isn’t a design quirk either that is part of the structural integrity of the building. It needs to give some or otherwise break.

Joe: We need to all include a little give in our lives. Or...

Bob: Or it’s like a hard drive.

Joe: Yea, its like a hard drive.

Subprime Meltdown

Gretchen Morgenson has some interesting things to say about Greenspan.

clipped from www.npr.org Fresh Air from WHYY, October 10, 2007 · Pulitzer Prize-winning business columnist Gretchen Morgenson talks about the subprime mortgage crisis and its effects on the markets and on the economy. Morgenson, an assistant business and financial editor for The New York Times, has covered the financial markets for The Times since 1998.

What Killed the Mammoth

What led to the late Pleistocene extinction of North American Megafauna? The old theory was hunting by the newly arrived human population. But now...

clipped from www.sciencefriday.com One team of scientists thinks it knows what killed the woolly mammoth and other ice-age creatures. In a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they say they have evidence that a comet or other low-density space object exploded in the upper atmosphere of the Earth about 13,000 years ago, possibly leading to the extinction of mammoths and the decline of Stone Age people. We'll talk about their findings. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection. Listen: more audio options streaming: RM WM download: mp3 NPR audio help podcast (what's this?) Tools: Print Share Mail Del.icio.us Digg Newsvine Google Netscape Windows Live Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati

Winning the Cancer War

clipped from www.sciencefriday.com In this segment, Ira talks with cancer researcher Robert Weinberg about what he calls the last frontier of cancer research. Weinberg has been instrumental in studies of oncogenes, genes that can spark the rapid cell multiplication associated with cancerous tumors. Now, in two studies published over the past month, Weinberg and colleagues present clues as to how tumors spread through the body. They found that microRNAs, small molecules that typically disrupt protein production by binding to the messenger RNAs that transmit DNA instructions for proteins, can cause tumors to metastasize. Could the research help curb the spread of cancer within people? We'll talk about the research. Listen: more audio options streaming: RM download: mp3 NPR audio help podcast (what's this?) Tools: Print Share Mail Del.icio.us Digg Newsvine Google Netscape Windows Live Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati

Biotech: Printing Living Cells

clipped from www.sciencefriday.com In this segment, we'll look at new research into using inkjet technology to build artificial tissues. Writing in the journal Science, Paul Calvert describes efforts to convert the common home office technology of inkjet printing to manipulate living cells. Using printing technology is of interest to biomaterials researchers because it is a precise, simple, rapid and clean process that avoids contamination. Researchers have successfully printed bacteria, yeast and animal cells. What will it take to move from those studies to more complex tissue? Is it realistic to imagine 'printing' living tissue? Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection. Listen: more audio options streaming: RM WM download: mp3 NPR audio help podcast (what's this?) Tools: Print Share Mail Del.icio.us Digg Newsvine Google Netscape Windows Live Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati