Day by Day on Gun Control...

Oh, exactly right, Chris!  Exactly right...

Penn & Teller on Gun Control...

Bullshit!, they say...

Is This for Real?

Simon M. passes this along, saying “If I'd read this on April 1st I'd have thought it was a joke.”  Here's the start of the piece:

Harvard University geoengineer and environmental scientist David Keith has a "plan B" in case of an environmental emergency.

Keith's unusual proposal is this: Force reflective particles into the Earth's upper atmosphere -- the stratosphere -- to reverse global warming.

"One approach is to disperse particulates at high altitude to reduce the effective solar flux entering the atmosphere," Keith and his fellow researchers report in the Nature Climate Change journal and Environmental Research Letters.

I'm guessing Simon would be very surprised to learn that many such schemes have been proposed, generally followed by a round of raspberries from the warmist crowd.  It seems that even if one accepts the notion of runaway global warming, proposing to fix it by engineering a solution is automatically bad – even if said solution is vastly easier and cheaper than the solutions being proposed by the warmists (e.g, carbon taxes, huge reductions in carbonaceous fuel use, etc.).  Several scientists who have proposed engineered global warming fixes have reported being harassed, having their funding threatened (and, in at least one case, actually withdrawn), and so on.  It's Mann's way or the highway, it seems...

The Bagpiper...

Via reader Jim M.:

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around.

I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together.

When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Science Breakthroughs...

It's that time of year again – time for the inevitable “Best of the Year” lists.  Here's our first one: best science breakthroughs of the year.

Blog Update...

Sorry about the light blogging, friends.  We've been a tad busy :)

First, on Christmas Eve, Debbie had her “two month” surgery followup – and the news was almost entirely good.  The joint is healing nicely, and the surgeon expects to release her for weight-bearing in four weeks.  Her flexion was good – good enough for him to accuse her of “showing off”!  The only thing her surgeon didn't like was her extension – it was not quite as good as on the last followup, mainly because she was so focused on the flexion.  Debbie left that followup in good cheer, a marked turnaround from last time...

Yesterday we watched the old version of A Christmas Carol (the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim); it's a Christmas tradition for us.  At the same time, I roasted a 22 lb. turkey, and for dinner we had a simple repast of fresh-roasted turkey, homemade gravy over rice, and peas.  Delicious!  The turkey came out surprisingly well (considering that I cooked it, instead of Debbie), and the gravy was terrific.  Yum!  Then later in the day, our friend and neighbor Jimmy brought down two dinner plates for us from their Christmas dinner – we're looking forward to devouring them today.  He also brought down some pieces of Michelle's awesome lemon cake, sprinkled with fresh berries – I'm afraid none of that survived past this morning.  Yum!

This morning I dismembered the turkey, producing a full gallon container of tender turkey meat and a lovely skeleton which is simmering on the stove as I write.  It will become the base for turkey variant of the traditional Mexican soup Caldo Tlalpeño.  We're not using any of the recipes at the linked page; I just wanted to give you an idea what this soup is like –most of you probably never heard of it.  We discovered it at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Chula Vista years ago, and have loved it ever since.  The cilantro and lime are vital components – if you choose to try this soup, don't forget them!

Merry Christmas, everyone!