Sunday, February 16, 2014

Report From the frozen midwest - and the NCL

So long time and no posts WTF? Well life mostly.

But we are in the first “real” winter since our improve adventure started. Last Feb. I was in the Bay Area and it was colder there than in Detroit. This year I’m hear and it’s in the 70’s in the Bay Area and Detroit is breaking records for cold and snow.

Jan. was the snowiest Jan. ever recorded in Detroit, and the coldest. As it turned out it was also the snowiest month ever recorded in Detroit period. With a bunch of days breaking individual records.

Feb. is looking like more of the same. Lots of snow and a few heat waves in the 40’s but mostly in the teens.

The most snow ever recorded in winter in Detroit was 93.6 inches in 1880-1881

As of Feb. 11Detroit had 70.8. Which kicked 1899-1900 out of fit place (69.1).

We had probably an inch accumulate this week and we are scheduled to have about four inches today and tonight so that might jump us right into third place leaving 2007-2008 (71.7) and 1981-1982 (74.0) in the dust.

To get to number two it only takes a few more inches (1925-1926 (78.9)), but number one still has a sizable lead. On the other hand we are only had way through Feb. and the year I first got here it was still snowing in April, so we still have a good chance.

Last year was the wettest one ever recorded for Detroit, and California is officially in a drought. So obviously Climate change is fiction...

Actually I generally bypass the whole political question and go straight to the “weird shit is happening more often” and if we can’t agree on what is causing it can we agree to try to find ways to survive it?

Because wether it’s people driving cars, or a cyclic change, or “god’s will”, we all have a vested interest in trying to find a way to stick around till things get better. So stuff like solar power and alternative fuels can be pushed as ways to stop climate change, but that is a hard sell to some. But they can also be sold as ways to survive what is obviously happening. Because when everyone north of Panama gets “real” winters and the far north, like Detroit, is only getting a month or two of thaw, it’s going to get tricky survival wise.

And BTW the heat and Drought are bad but what the scientists keep pointing out, but somehow doesn’t get a lot of press, is that the heat only goes so far, then the gulf stream changes and in a decade or so we are in an ice age.

I grew up with the concept of ice ages taking thousands of years to happen. But then they took core samples from the arctic ice pack and oops, the last one came on in about ten years. Atlanta had a hard time with a few inches of snow how are they going to do with permafrost in 2025?

I love bread but if the wheat states don’t get a growing season what do you think is going to happen to the price of bread? The basic thing is that world population was growing at a dangerous level. It’s tapered off. And it’s sustainable, but what happens when you cut the food supply in half?

Where do you get the power to keep the population from freezing to death.

But lets get to the really important stuff. No grains no BEER. Or bourbon, etc. No spring no Baseball. No Nascar (they could do it indoors but then they would have to use electric cars to avoid asphyxiating everyone, so Prius nascar?)) No grazing land, no hamburgers.

American’s will be forced to watch Curling on Sundays and sip some heavily marketed beverage made from recycled urine. OK the beverage is close to what those guys are drinking now so they may not notice that part. But no pretzels or burgers to go with it!, that’s a show stopper.

So stop trying to sell climate change, or trying to get people to do “what’s good for the earth”. Sell the image of drinking piss while watching curling as what is waiting around the corner. NCL Sundays, anyone?

Report From the frozen midwest - and the NCL

So long time and no posts WTF? Well life mostly.

But we are in the first “real” winter since our improve adventure started. Last Feb. I was in the Bay Area and it was colder there than in Detroit. This year I’m hear and it’s in the 70’s in the Bay Area and Detroit is breaking records for cold and snow.

Jan. was the snowiest Jan. ever recorded in Detroit, and the coldest. As it turned out it was also the snowiest month ever recorded in Detroit period. With a bunch of days breaking individual records.

Feb. is looking like more of the same. Lots of snow and a few heat waves in the 40’s but mostly in the teens.

The most snow ever recorded in winter in Detroit was 93.6 inches in 1880-1881

As of Feb. 11Detroit had 70.8. Which kicked 1899-1900 out of fit place (69.1).

We had probably an inch accumulate this week and we are scheduled to have about four inches today and tonight so that might jump us right into third place leaving 2007-2008 (71.7) and 1981-1982 (74.0) in the dust.

To get to number two it only takes a few more inches (1925-1926 (78.9)), but number one still has a sizable lead. On the other hand we are only had way through Feb. and the year I first got here it was still snowing in April, so we still have a good chance.

Last year was the wettest one ever recorded for Detroit, and California is officially in a drought. So obviously Climate change is fiction...

Actually I generally bypass the whole political question and go straight to the “weird shit is happening more often” and if we can’t agree on what is causing it can we agree to try to find ways to survive it?

Because wether it’s people driving cars, or a cyclic change, or “god’s will”, we all have a vested interest in trying to find a way to stick around till things get better. So stuff like solar power and alternative fuels can be pushed as ways to stop climate change, but that is a hard sell to some. But they can also be sold as ways to survive what is obviously happening. Because when everyone north of Panama gets “real” winters and the far north, like Detroit, is only getting a month or two of thaw, it’s going to get tricky survival wise.

And BTW the heat and Drought are bad but what the scientists keep pointing out, but somehow doesn’t get a lot of press, is that the heat only goes so far, then the gulf stream changes and in a decade or so we are in an ice age.

I grew up with the concept of ice ages taking thousands of years to happen. But then they took core samples from the arctic ice pack and oops, the last one came on in about ten years. Atlanta had a hard time with a few inches of snow how are they going to do with permafrost in 2025?

I love bread but if the wheat states don’t get a growing season what do you think is going to happen to the price of bread? The basic thing is that world population was growing at a dangerous level. It’s tapered off. And it’s sustainable, but what happens when you cut the food supply in half?

Where do you get the power to keep the population from freezing to death.

But lets get to the really important stuff. No grains no BEER. Or bourbon, etc. No spring no Baseball. No Nascar (they could do it indoors but then they would have to use electric cars to avoid asphyxiating everyone, so Prius nascar?)) No grazing land, no hamburgers.

American’s will be forced to watch Curling on Sundays and sip some heavily marketed beverage made from recycled urine. OK the beverage is close to what those guys are drinking now so they may not notice that part. But no pretzels or burgers to go with it!, that’s a show stopper.

So stop trying to sell climate change, or trying to get people to do “what’s good for the earth”. Sell the image of drinking piss while watching curling as what is waiting around the corner. NCL Sundays, anyone?