Environment

Maiden Voyage

Palazzo in Palm Desert

On Friday, we finished preparations for our initial excursion in the new RV. We had been stocking the RV with the necessities ever since we brought it home from the dealer. Naturally, we didn’t remember everything, so we went without some items and improvised on others. Damsel has been keeping a log of things we need the next time. It will be better next month.

The drive out was a pretty good test for the new rig. We encountered gusty winds and the usual rough road on select places along I-10. The Palazzo handled much better than our previous class A. The new air ride smoothed out the teeth-chattering bad spots on I-10 between Quartzsite and Blythe to mere thuds underneath rather than the entire inventory of dishes and other things on board banging up and down. The rear-engine configuration allowed normal conversation in the cockpit rather than having to shout to be heard, especially when in lower gears going uphill.

We will be back out here again sometime in March for another visit. In April, however, we have a longer excursion planned to Northern California to welcome our second great grandchild who is due the middle of that month. We will also take some scenic routes along the way going and returning.

We are enjoying the new rig and accessories. The DirecTV receiver allows us to view our regular programming just like we were at home. Wait! We ARE at home away from home. 😀

Global Warming Lies Exposed (Again)

bullsh1t.jpgIn an effort to refute findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that backed off of the anthropogenic climate change claims, sources now tell us that our own National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) flat-out lied about earlier findings in a report. A retired NOAA scientist recently came out to expose that the NOAA report was “doctored” to give the impression that the earlier IPCC findings were in error and should be disregarded.

Now that the Trump administration is in charge, Texas Congressman Lamar Smith justifiably has launched an investigation into the false report. Without the previous administration and it’s biased #fakenews climate change agenda, perhaps Congressman Smith’s effort can gain some traction.

From Thomas Gallatin writing for The Patriot Post:

In 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change acknowledged what some in the climate science community had begun calling a “hiatus” in global warming — that “the rate of warming over the past 15 years … is smaller than the rate calculated since 1951.” This acknowledgement by the IPCC threatened to derail the alarmist narrative of human activity being the primary cause of global warming espoused by many on the Left. And indeed it was, as skeptics of anthropogenic global warming used the IPCC’s admission as further evidence to support their questioning of the politically correct narrative.

Fast forward two years to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) release of a report, known as the “Karl study,” which stated flatly, “There is no discernable (statistical or otherwise) decrease in the rate of warming between the second half of the 20th century and the first 15 years of the 21st century.” The report further asserted that IPCC’s conclusion about a “climate warming hiatus” was “no longer valid.” This report conveniently supported Barack Obama’s climate alarmist agenda and his dubious claims of the science being “settled,” even though at the time there were several government scientists who raised objections over the reliability of the report, claiming the data was cooked.

This prompted Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee to launch an inquiry into the claims of manipulation of climate data and records by officials at NOAA. However, much of the committee’s efforts were frustrated over Obama’s last year in office due to NOAA officials’ refusal to comply with records requests even upon the issuance of subpoenas.

Over the weekend, a recently retired top scientist from NOAA, Dr. John Bates, alleged that the Karl study report applied questionable data in order “to discredit the notion of a global warming hiatus and rush[ed] to time the publication of the paper to influence national and international deliberations on climate policy.” Rep. Smith responded to the latest revelation by saying that it “justified” the committee’s investigation into the matter. He added that, under the Trump administration, he trusts they will be able to get to the bottom of the matter.

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The Degeneration of Scientific Processes

science.jpg

I found this graphic over at Ace of Spades the other day. Sadly it depicts yet another degeneration in processes as a result of being constantly under attack by progressives and the mainstream media (but I repeat myself).

I do remember from 8th grade science the process for advancing a hypothesis through observation, experimentation and finalizing a theory and then retesting the theory via modifications to the original hypothesis. Those fundamentals have, sadly, been abandoned by many of those in the scientific community in favor of political payoffs in the form of grants to obfuscate facts and formulate fake results.

The graphic above is signed @BiffSpackle, who, as far as I can tell, is on the correct side of the political spectrum according to the linked Twitter® feed.

Winter Sunset

Winter Sunset

Wintertime brings cloudy skies from time to time, and, so far, this January has been more cloudy than not. A nice thing about the partially cloudy skies late in the day is the brilliant, fiery color display produced as the sun sinks below the horizon. I took this image last week during a break in the weather.

For the rest of January, the weather outlook is for more sun and more occasional rain. We can deal with the clouds now, since there are statistically likely to be 300 days of sunshine this year. Most of the overcast cloud covers seem to occur in the Winter. We are looking forward to having warmer, sunnier days.

January Campsite

January Campsite

We’re in our usual desert RV park visiting the kids and grandson. As you can see from the photo, the campground is nearly full. There are a few sites here and there that are empty. Many of the license plates on the RVs are from colder states whose occupants are obviously here to escape winter. A.K.A “Snowbirds.”

I met one of the neighbors who hails from Spokane; he and his wife will be camped here until March. He mentioned that back home there is eighteen inches of snow on the ground. I cannot blame those northerners who are able to escape the winter weather for heading south during the winter.

Damsel and I look at the license plates at home in Wickenburg too, since our town is a very popular place for snowbirds and rodeo participants. Thursday last, we counted a dozen or more from places like Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and even a couple from Alaska.

While Damsel and I are bundled up against our “winter” conditions (highs in the 50’s), some of those guys show up at the store in shorts and T shirts. I guess coldness is a relative thing.

Ominous Road Warning

Ominous Road Warning

Damsel and I made the trip from Arizona to the California Low Desert today. The weather was agreeable for most of the way with the exception of some crosswinds that affected our transition along some places as we drove along Interstate 10. The warnings were not without merit, although we have had worse conditions on previous trips.

Damsel took this photo as we approached Desert Center. The traffic was a bit heavier than the last few times we made this trip. We cannot connect the additional traffic with any specific event or holiday, so I presume the heavier traffic is a random event.

At any rate, we are comfortably camping in Palm Desert this evening and will be entertaining our kids and grandson over the weekend. They stopped by for a little visit before heading to the other grandparent’s place to bed down until tomorrow when they will return for another visit.

Inclement Weather

Inclement WeatherIt looks like the long holiday weekend will bring our desert some rainfall. I took this photo this afternoon at about 4 PM as the dark clouds approached from the southwest. It didn’t actually start raining until around 5:45 PM but the rain is still persisting at two hours after it started.

Our forecast calls for continued chance of rain throughout the year-ending weekend and on into the first part of next week. Damsel and I are all self-contained in that all of the shopping is done for the holiday weekend menus and we’re well stocked with other survival provisions.

We know it is very cold in other parts of the country and it will be relatively warm here compared to some places, although our high temperatures are not forecast to exceed 55 or 60 degrees for the next few days. That is harsh for us since it has only been a few weeks since the highs were in the 90’s.

Meanwhile, we’re battened down and prepared to enjoy a nice Happy New Year holiday regardless of conditions. We wish you all a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!