Uncle Bill's Canadian blog

Citizenship and the EU

2011-07-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

You know, I often find myself wondering about this. I've said before that as soon as I'm eligible I will apply for Canadian Citizenship, and this remains my intent. The question being; do I wish to remain a citizen of the UK, and thus a citizen of Europe? Will I want to maintain dual citizenship status? While I don't, and have never really minded the notion of being a citizen of Europe, I don't like the way a closed circle of unaccountable politicians and bureaucrats are taking it.

When a torrent of micro managing regulation goes onto the statute books without so much as a bye, leave, or thank you. Then I don't want to be a citizen of the EU. If legislation can be cut and pasted from directives originating from within the undemocratic cancer that is the EU Commission without so much as a sneeze from the elected body. Then I don't want to be a part of the European Union. When I watch the insane debt bubble looming over the countries that are part of the Euro, then I think I'd be better off not being a citizen of the EU.

Don't get me wrong, I love Europe. All of it. I love most of the places, and most of the people I've met on my travels. Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Luxemburg, and yes, even Belgium. I'm sure a lot of Germans, Italians, French, Spanish, Dutch, Luxemburgers and Belgians feel exactly the same way.

There are things that are done far better in Europe than the English do. The TGV's (Ironically, many engine and coach units built by British Manufacturers) that zip across France and Spain. Much more comfortable than flying. European Motorways, and I have many fond memories of French N and D routes. Airports.

My head is crammed with delightful European memories like the almost overpowering liquorice tinged smell of Basil on the road from Florence to Genoa. The dusty glory of a Tuscan summer. Champagne cellar tours in Rheims, the dazzling brilliance of the Mont Blanc glacier on a sunny day. The dusty expanse of the Saarland and Rhine Valley in midsummer. Little family roadside restaurants off the beaten track. People who readily forgave my poor language skills, but didn't mind so long as I made some effort (However awkward) to speak their language.

The sheer weight of european history and culture is tremendous and never less than impressive. Yet all that is good in Europe is slowly dying of bureaucratic poisoning. A stolid, boneheaded, ignorant top down political delusion that assumes one code of law will do for all. If it were general law, like don't steal or don't cheat, I'd be all for it, but what bugs me is the increasing micro management foisted upon the majority by vocal lobby groups. Chair polishing time wasters passing law after law without any real thought for the consequences. A system of governance that reduces the rights of the individual to whatever largesse an overweening state can be bothered to hand out. With every new piece of legislation the system becomes ever more inflexible.

To compare; in general terms of materials science, the stiffer a substance becomes, which mostly mean becoming more tightly grained, the more fragile and prone to shattering it becomes. So it is with law. The more constricting and inflexible law becomes, an increasing number of people keep will slamming into it until a social critical mass is reached, and something has to give. At that point either the edifice collapses under it's own internal pressure, or enough people get together to form a hammer. As is happening right now throughout the Middle East at present where tired, inflexible regimes are cracking under the strain. The EU are interfering because that's where most of their oil comes from. Yet their interference is actually making things worse.

For example; outside intervention is giving Gaddaffi's main power base, his alliance of tribes something to rally against. Where he might have slunk off to Venezuela with a couple of billion in unmarked bills in times past, that door has been shut to him. With no exit strategy he has to fight. More Libyans will die because of it. All because of short sighted, posturing EU intervention. I do not support this, nor do I agree with what is happening within the EU. Not too chuffed about Canada being dragged in, but that's NATO for you.

There is no course of remedial democratic action open to me. My UK MP is a buffoonish rubber stamp who does not care about his constituents views. My UK MEP is so remote and unaccountable that they might as well be located out in Lunar Orbit. Therefore I do not want to be a citizen of an enlarged EU.

At some time in the next three years I'm going to have to make a decision about citizenship. If, once a full citizen of Canada I renounce my citizenship of the UK, and thus Europe, if I get stuck in Europe for any legal reason I will always have the option of deportation back to my new home. Yet if I have dual citizenship, that choice might not be so readily open to me, and any protections I might have as a Canadian citizen might be somewhat diluted.

The Canadians look after their citizens, you see. The tacit constitutional contract between state and individual is largely intact over here. You have to really want citizenship, and therefore it's not an easy road to travel. That is where its value lies.

Upon sober reflection I think I'll have to plot this one through carefully. It has been said that those who wish to give up citizenship of the UK should undergo a psychiatric evaluation. But what is insane about wanting to renounce a country that has changed the terms and conditions of citizenship without consultation, leaves sizeable tranches of its populace effectively disenfranchised, where people can be imprisoned without trial, their families dismantled, yet has the effrontery to describe itself as 'democratic?'

From where I stand at present, with no other door open to me, the renunciation of everything I was brought up to believe in may be the most potent protest I can lodge.

Censored

2011-05-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

Blogger censors blogs. 3 Comments and an update missing from the last post.

Sod you lot, I'm off to Wordpress.

Update: So it was cock up rather than censorship. I stand corrected. I'm still off to Wordpress.

Romequake! (Not)

2011-05-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Just took this screengrab of the area surrounding Rome following the scare story that the current alignment of planets (Meaningless apart from it being nice to see a tidy solar system) might cause a large earthquake near Rome. Well, according to all the online resources, no earthquake. So those who left the city and headed for the hills may have been a tad ill advised. Although heading for the hills might have been a teensy error of judgement, considering where the last largish quake occurred. My annotation.

Hi ho, gotta go. Duty calls.

Hi ho

2011-05-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

There are some days when the world has a definite "Oh, FFS!" air about it. Thoughts don't gel, arrangements are difficult, research leads to too many dead ends. Today is one such day, hence the old Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band number. You have to cheer yourself up somehow.

When is a volunteer not.....

2011-05-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

What is a Volunteer'? I'd always thought it was someone who gives up some of their time to good causes instead of vegetating in front of the idiot box. Voluntary work is what I do on average for eight hours unpaid each week, sometimes as much as twelve or fourteen. For the accepted usage of the term, see the definition below, which is derived from several sources.

vol·un·teer
[vol-uhn-teer]
–noun

A person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.
A person who performs a service willingly and without pay.
Military . a person who enters the service voluntarily rather than through conscription or draft, especially for special or temporary service rather than as a member of the regular or permanent army.

Derivation;

obsolete French 'voluntaire' (now volontaire), from voluntaire, adjective, voluntary, from Old French, from Latin 'voluntarius' (Adjective; willing)
First Known Use: circa 1600

Now nowhere in that lot does the phrase "Made redundant then asked to come back by your ex-employers to do your old job for zip."

Someone needs to send the UK Cameroonies and their 'big society' a dictionary. Dozy lot.

The evil of PAF C23

2011-05-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Back in the bad old days of slavery in the United States, there was a thing called the 'Underground railroad' which spirited escaped slaves over the border into the anti-slavery (Abolished in 1834) British run Province of Canada amongst other places. Many into Ontario, although a number of notable families who can trace their lineage back to those days ended up in BC to make their mark in a free (ish) country.

The 'railroad' hit its peak during the US Civil War years with estimates of up to 100,000 freed slaves being bandied about, although sources indicate that the successful number is closer to 30,000, or even as low as 6,000. Considering the network of safe houses was mostly informal, the lowest figure seems the most likely.

The reason I bring this up is the continuing furore about 'secret courts' and forced adoptions in the UK, the most high profile of which is the recently leaked case of Vicky Haigh, which may only be the tip of a very large and polluted iceberg. From what I can see, various UK Social Service departments have been operating against basic human rights laws, and the Police have been complicit. Although in their defence I'd say that the Police are fed a line, and are bound to comply with the demands of Social Services. All Social Services have to do is make an allegation, and the blind juggernaut of Police and Courts rumbles into action.

The heart of the problem lies with PAF C23, which sets out 'targets' for adoptions and care orders. At this point I blink heavily and suppress the need to go "WTF?" How can you set targets for Social Service driven adoptions like a commercial sales operation? What complete fucking genius came up with that crazy idea? What affectioned time pleaser first mooted Key Performance Indicators for adoption? Which sectionable bunch of cretins put it into action? Who insist that the practice continues? Ofsted, that's who. I discussed the matter this morning with Mrs S, who opined that giving Social Workers 'adoption targets' was a licence for corruption. To quote from the UK Parliament early day motion;

Ofsted continues to put pressure on local authorities to increase the number of adoptions; recognises that the only significant way in which this can be done is to increase the adoptions of babies and toddlers

Such is the motivation for stealing unweaned children from their parents almost literally at birth. One of the cited reasons for such evil is an unverifiable 'risk of emotional abuse'. Now being a parent, I know that low level 'emotional abuse' is pretty much a two way street in any family. I've been on the receiving end, and tried very hard not to pay back in kind (Not always possible). And it's a pretty flimsy excuse for such a draconian measure.

There's also the accusation that certain people are using the Foster Care system as a regular source of income. At twenty thousand pounds a year per child, all you've got to do is foster two or three and it's easy street, at least financially speaking. Decline the unruly teens (Who the unscrupulous would just dump back into the 'care' system) and go for the toddlers. Three children, and you can live quite comfortably. Mrs S and I brought our two up on a net income of almost half that. We never starved.

Some families under threat of such child theft leave the UK and often flounder in new circumstances. Others, like Miss Haigh, have a wide circle of friends and associates overseas who have perhaps assisted her with tips about where to find accommodation, shielding her identity / location from officialdom where necessary. Others may seek practical assistance from Ian Josephs 'Forced adoption' website. Although I think Ian could do with a little assistance in creating a more user friendly site. Too many words Ian. It needs restructuring into something a little more practical and user friendly.

Here in Canada, we are still recovering from the scandal of 'Residential schools' where First Nations children were taken to Borstal like establishments to be 'educated'. The fallout is still making money for various ambulance chasing lawyers, who up until 2009 had big billboards up on Highway 19 north of town with wording like "Victim of Residential School system?" The scandal has cost the Canadian Taxpayer not far short of a billion dollars;

Total Compensation as of March 01, 2011: CAD$960,247,668

Taken from the original source here. When the scandal finally breaks (As break it must, injunctions or no) in the UK, guess who will be picking up the tab? Got it in one - Taxpayers

Perhaps the powers that be should recognise that, like with slavery, people (Even small and helpless ones) are not property.

Although I won't be holding my breath for that penny to drop.

Cross posted at Orphans of Liberty. Or rather not.

For weekends, everywhere

2011-05-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

One from the very, very, early days of a mis-spent youth. Full volume. From one of the classic albums of all time.

Every screen grab tells a story

2011-05-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Over 2 to one against. 'Nuff said.

UK Referendum results

2011-05-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

Official UK referendum results will be found on this web page, here. The results should start coming up at 4pm UK time, that's 8am Pacific Standard time. So I shall have a leisurely breakfast and watch the fallout from the Wet Coast of Canada, as my shift doesn't start until 10am local time tomorrow.

As for the local stuff and by elections, the Tellytubbygraph have a nice little map thingy which is already showing some results. There's also a page for the Scottish elections, here and the Welsh elections here.

Pundits are predicting a caning for the Lib Dems. Scottish safe seats are trembling in the face of a possible SNP majority. The fat lady hasn't sung yet, but hearken! Are those vocal scales I can hear being practised from the backstage dressing room?

Oooooh dear.

Canadian Census 2011

2011-05-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Have just completed my first ever online census for Canada. Not all that onerous, and about as basic as it gets. Essentially it boiled down to these questions;

Who are you?
How many live there permanently?
Who are they?
Is this your correct address?

Remarkably painless. Five minutes. I can do this.

Hate sites and the law

2011-05-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

The new Harper Government here in Canada may be about to make rather a large mistake. In their proposed new crime bill C-51 there is a clause that will effectively make it an offence for a Canadian web site owner to link to a 'hate' site, or one deemed to have 'offensive' material. From the Parliamentary publication here;

2.1.1.1 Hate Propaganda (Clauses 4 and 5)
Hate propaganda offences must be committed against an “identifiable group.” Clause 4 of the bill adds “national origin” to the definition of “identifiable group.”8

Clause 5 of the bill provides that the offences of public incitement of hatred and wilful promotion of hatred may be committed by any means of communication and include making hate material available, by creating a hyperlink that directs web surfers to a website where hate material is posted, for example.

Okay. I can see a few potential issues here. As one who occasionally writes "Fuck" or in an exasperated expostulation "What the fucking hell were they thinking of?" does this make this blog a 'hate' site? A number of the web sites and blogs I link to regularly use pejorative language on various topics. They also express what some (but not all) might call 'extreme' views on various issues. Which I link to because it's interesting / howlingly ridiculous / amusingly apposite. I cannot control their content, and if that content changes without my knowledge I have no say in the matter. If I might not wholly agree with someone's point of view or the way they express it, does that mean I have to remove all reference from this or any other blog I contribute to?

Such a policy is unworkable, and here's why. Even the most vaguely web savvy person knows about the Wayback machine where everything is laid bare. So if the authorities were to send me a nasty email threatening prosecution about such an errant link or post, even if said 'hate' link or post is taken down, it's already too late. The material will still be available for as long as those cacheing servers exist. Seeing as they are based in the USA (as are the servers upon which this blog is based) and all over the world, such a threatened prosecution would be pointless. I couldn't really comply, even if I wanted to. The offending material would remain.

It's worth noting that the authorities in Canada have tried to prosecute bloggers in the past over 'hate' material, one 'hate' blogger has even done time pre trial, but I understand no prosecutions have taken the offending content down. All they've actually done is kept some lawyers in work.

The idea of trying to regulate an international medium based on a domestic standard is on a hiding to nothing. Firewalls leak (Great Firewall of China). News gets out (Like from Iran and Syria). The only way to stop people saying things you don't like is to pull the plug entirely. No Internet at all. In today's web enabled world, is that workable?

As far as offensive content goes, my own take is that everyone is entitled to say what they damn well please on their own web space. It is their god given right to make a fool of themselves in a public forum, just as it is my right to ignore, highlight or hold them up for ridicule. The web allows everyone that privilege. In that way it's very democratic. However, if this clause in crime bill C-51 stays, that right of critique goes with it, because linking to 'hate' material, whatever that might be, and for whatever reason, may invite prosecution. Likewise discussing contentious issues regarding other cultures. Debate is essential. Democracy cannot really function without it. And 'hate' is such a very subjective term.

As always, the law of unintended consequences will be found grinning and lurking in the shadows where web related matters are subject to legislation. For example, the bit about 'harassing messages' in clause 11 may end up biting a few credit control companies in the ass. This could get interesting....

Cross posted at Orphans of Liberty.

The Carbon Cycle

2011-05-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Shamelessly nicked from the Australian 'No Carbon tax' campaign site. Comes under the category of 'many a true word spoken in jest'.

You know it's weird. Despite multiple failures of prophecy, there's a strata of society who have got degrees and suchlike coming out of their ears who still support the premise. One is tempted to ask why. Do they know better than the rest of us? Observation would suggest not. Seems to me that the modern education process is missing something, like critical path thinking. Or perhaps more accurately that elements which should be considered are dismissed for purely idealogical reasons.

The weather consistently fails to do what us poor peasants are told it's going to do by the ever-fearful advocates. Those with a sceptical eye are told we're in the pay of some eeeevil secret clique of industrialists. Okay, where's my cheque then? Yet when you examine the millions being thrown at doctrinaire pro disaster activist groups by both governments and private trusts, you can't help but think 'what's in it for them'? The whole 'trace gas runs the climate' is such an arrant piece of tinfoil hattery that it's hardly worth pointing and laughing at. Yet policy makers the world over appear to be right behind it.

In short, as the diagram comically indicates, there's money to be made. The only problem is that in reality 'Carbon taxes' are a classic economic implosion in the making. To be succinct; reduction in productive activity (Industry) to prevent (unproven and unproveable predictions of) changes in climate will be followed by a shrinking resource base (Taxpayers) as industry shrinks and the 'green' economy fails to deliver. This will be paralleled by a massive redistribution of everyone else's wealth to god alone knows where, possibly via the Cayman Islands to the proverbial Swiss Bank Account. Thence into vaults for gloating over, big yachts, private jets, exclusive holiday homes that rarely see visitors (Including the owners), and other such essentials to the human condition.

It's not that I mind other people getting wealthy. It's just that I'd rather they worked for it, rather than having my tax dollars automatically siphoned into their pockets.

Alternative vote

2011-05-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

After the recent Canadian Federal General Election, I was surprised to find out that the Alternative Vote system of election has been tried and discarded in British Columbia, Canada. In the early 1950's no less. Back in the UK, the Alternative Vote system is being touted as a 'fairer' system of apportioning the popular mandate, but is it really?

Taking the 1953 BC election as a yardstick, where AV was the voting system. This being a real world example of the practice in action, not theory or modelling, but real live, in your face numbers.

In 1953 the victorious Social Credit party started out at the first count with just under 38% of the total vote, which increased to just under 46% of the vote after 'adjustment'. The smaller parties who were knocked out after the first count had their votes allocated to the winning party, not spread amongst the others. See Wikipedia entry here. Er, hold the phone. So how is that 'fairer' than the first past the post system? Explain it to me. By that I mean explain it without any flim-flam, in words an ordinary voter can understand. Especially when we're voting for a specific person to represent us, not merely their party.

The words say 'fairer', but the numbers add up to something else. As far as AV is concerned, I'm not convinced. Needs more thought.

Cross posted at Orphans of Liberty.

Canada has a majority government

2011-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

Have been watching the Canadian federal election results come in. Regarding the screen grab taken at 22:10 PST 2nd May 2011 (02:10 ET 3rd May). Looks like we have a majority government at long last. With over a 60% turnout, no less. Glad to see our local incumbent retain her seat, as she's a good solid constituency MP. The Liberals and Bloc Quebecois are pretty much toast, electorally speaking. The Greens have one seat in the lower Gulf Islands. Although their victory is hardly surprising out here on the hippy drippy West coast. From observations based on other countries it has to be said that Green MP's tend to have the electoral life span of Mayflies. Especially when the voters find out what all those eco-friendly policies really mean. They'll learn. With an overall majority in power the Greens are still pretty much irrelevant anyway.

Interestingly, a bunch calling themselves the Pirate Party of Canada fielded a candidate who won 331 votes locally, see their Manifesto here. Incidentally, the Libertarian party vote (A smidgeon short of 6,000) just (but only just) outstripped the PC Party.

Harper's Conservatives, regardless of their other (often hysterically over hyped) failings, have proved a steady hand on Canada's tiller of state in these economically straitened times, and have thus earned their (current) twelve seat majority. It was an eleven seat majority as per screengrab, but that's the thing about dynamic web content, you set your screen to auto refresh, and the news moves faster than the speed of blog.

All results culled from Elections Canada date and time as screengrab. However, these are only the preliminary polling day results. As a non-citizen I don't have a vote, but I will be watching the final results with interest in the morning.

Good grief

2011-05-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Have been asked to send the odd expatriate piece to the brand new group blog 'Orphans of Liberty'. Frankly I'm surprised they wanted an ex-enforcement officer and sometime 'agent of oppression' on the site, but there you go. However, I'm all better now, and my days of confronting the inconsiderate are almost four years in my past, which is slightly longer than I spent in that wretched job.

I see there is a lot of whining about the UK Police arresting known troublemakers to stop them getting in the way of last Fridays public celebrations. Oddly enough for someone of a (mildly) libertarian bent, I'm with Julia M on this. Julia posted that it was okay to keep known agitators away from the pomp and circumstance. I agree. That day was for the people who love and revere the Royal Family to express their devotion, not to have the day marred by some self aggrandising eejit haranguing them, lying down in front of Royal Coaches, and any other bit of childish attention grabbing mischief said self aggrandising eejits could generate.

If you don't like a party, that's fine, don't go. What is most definitely not fine is to spoil it for others. That's like stomping petty jackboots along a table laid out for a kids street party, kicking the jelly and sandwiches to the ground because their laughter annoys you. Liberty is right and good, but the line is most definitely crossed to oppression when you intend to interfere in the happiness of others.

As far as the celebrations were concerned, I'm an ex-monarchist. However, this does not entitle me to disrupt proceedings, no matter how strongly I feel that the terms of my UK citizenship have been altered without my consent. The old ways will decline and fade without my intervention. I will make my destiny elsewhere. That, after all, is what I left the UK to do.

As for the Alternate vote thing; hey, how come people in the UK get to vote on the voting system, and not on the greater issue of whether they want to be part of a European superstate? The only vote on the matter was back in the 70's, and that was for an entirely different beast.

Regarding AV, over here in Canada the briefly adopted Alternate Voting system was ditched after one election, and a Single Transferable Voting system proposed. Although we've still got first past the post as the 2005 referendum to adopt STV missed it's mark by 3%.

A day of modestly good news...ah

2011-05-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Having had the experiences with UK Social Services that I have, I'm heartened by the dropping of the planned Child database. Anything that gives these people, a number of whom have some very strange ideas indeed in my personal experience, less power can only be an improvement. The current scandal over the SS trying to seize the unborn child of Trainer and ex-Jockey Vicky Haigh has been quite alarming. Surely that sort of measure should only be applied if a child is in genuine danger, not just because Ms Haigh had a stand up row with her ex at a petrol station. A more sensible decision would have been to drag both parties before the beak and tell them to stay clear if they couldn't stand the sight of each other. Mind you, in my experience, UK Social Services don't always (some never) do sensible. My reflexive response to the statement "I'm a social worker" is generally to nod, smile, and look for the nearest exit without telling them my name.

On a more cheerful note, recent family discussions about the near to medium term, and what the next generation is going to get up to have all centred around Vancouver and the west coast. Youngest is talking about getting Canadian experience for six month after she's graduated to see if she likes it, as is Eldest. However, as a parent, one should always be aware that these are merely discussions. Although preparing contingency plans in case they both decide to turn up on the same day may be a good idea.

There's even more work than of late, so blogging has had to take a back seat. I just don't have the time to do everything.

The bagging of Bin Laden should come as good news to all sides of the religious divide. That is, if the news of his death is not an exaggeration, and not like the famous Nizam of Hydrabad, who was allegedly feeling 'much better' after his widely reported demise. Ironically, Bin Laden's boys have to date reportedly killed more Muslims than any other religious grouping. Funny that, seeing as they apparently want to 'defend Islam' against all us wicked 'Crusaders'. Not that I'm a 'Crusader' myself, my antecedents were all peasant and Yeoman farmers to a man (And woman). None of us C of E, either. As a historical note, most 'Crusaders' were the Templars and Hospitallers, who were driven from the Jerusalem area by the 1300's. Later on these groups were denounced as heretics, murdered and their fortunes plundered by the European Church and Nobles of the time. So the 'crusader' thing is a bit of a reach really.

Just as an observation, without Bin Laden and his cohorts ramming of Airliners into the World Trade Center, we might have been spared a couple of wars. So I for one am not sorry he's been slabbed. In a corner of Hell the fires will be burning a merry little glow of welcoming. The only trouble is, that he's probably inspired a lot more of the suicidal fruitcake fraternity to keep the pointless slaughter going for a while. The cell structure of Al Qaeda will remain without its figurehead, and many more will die for one man's vanity.

Oh well, what the hell, it's Canadian Federal Election day tomorrow, so I shall watch the results come in online, and although I can't vote yet, our local incumbent has my best wishes. She's a good constituency MP, and that buys my vote every time, even if I don't totally agree with her Party's policies.

The last Royal Wedding

2011-04-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Mrs S and I were discussing this particular topic today. The usual squishy smarmy media overkill, the hyped up 'threats' of a few people who really need to go out, get a job and do something positive with their lives. The whining about 'heavy handed policing' before the couple have even walked down the aisle.

I was particularly amused that Brown and Blair haven't been invited, and vouchsafed that the only thing that would make me watch is if at the end when the happy couple were making their vows, the two ex Prime Traitors were dragged off to the Tower for a little off the top. A new block and freshly sharpened axe being mere courtesy details. I'd love to have the ticket concession for that particular event. I could retire.

"We should be so lucky." Said Mrs S. "I could do with a giggle."
"I won't watch. Seen one Royal Wedding, seen 'em all." I replied.
"It'll be the last one." She opined.
"Really?" Quoth I. A little surprised.
"The Royal family will cease to exist in it's current form in the next ten years. The EU will see to that." She continued.
"I know Charley boy is getting cosy with the Commission. You don't think someone has offered him the top job do you?" I posited.
"All a bluff. No politician worth his salt wants a hereditary hierarchy, unless of course it's his progeny." Mrs S shrugged.
"So you reckon it's game over for the Windsors?" I asked.
"Afraid so." She said. "I used to be quite fond of the Royal Family."
"I still won't bother watching." I said. "Even if it is the last."
"Got enough DVD's for viewing this week?" She asked.
"Sure." Said I, and that was the end of the discussion. Red Dwarf and the latest series of House MD it is, then. I'm working that day anyway.

By the way: It can (and has been) cogently argued that Queen Elizabeth the second has broken her coronation oath. Therefore, if said oath was ever a two way bargain between Monarch and Subject, one could be forgiven for thinking that neither she and the 'firm', nor the government of the UK, has any sovereignty left over UK born residents at all.

As an additional thought; to show loyalty, one must swear or affirm it in front of witnesses. An oath of fealty to any authority can never simply be assumed without at least some tacit or overt agreement from all parties.

Funny things, oaths and promises.

Maastricht and Lisbon

2011-04-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

A small penny dropped this afternoon. Perhaps it's just me being thick and getting the joke long after the punchline, but the thought occurs that both the Treaty of Maastricht and the Treaty of Lisbon were signed and ratified by UK Prime Ministers who had taken over from the previous incumbent without a general election to give them a proper mandate.

Major who took over from Thatcher signed the Maasstricht treaty.

Brown who had his Buggins turn after Blair signed the Lisbon treaty.

Gentlemen (and of course non male gentlefolk) draw your conclusions. Could both treaties be invalidated on these grounds? Probably not, but we can wish. can't we?

Biggest joke is Soros trying to shoehorn Brown into the top IMF job. I think Soros must want the IMF to collapse. Because such an event is certain with such a complete fiscal idiot as Brown at the helm. Or has Soros lost so big on the flatlining Carbon futures market that he's desperate to make money some other way? Mm-hm.

Whither Democracy?

2011-04-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm currently ploughing my way through the writings of Tom Paine (The 18th century Radical - not this guy), and one thing strikes me; one of the problems with democracy is voters. The people who will support a particular party no matter what, or people who have insufficient reading skills to understand the issues. Those who vote for a specific candidate because they're told who to vote for. They all warp the process.

Paine appeared to believe in Rousseau's postulate of the 'Noble savage', and advocated the extension of voting to everyone over a given age. Which is where the major problem with Democracy lies. We humans aren't all equal. As I have probably posted before, only 15% of a given human population can be described as fully self aware all the time, and thus cognisant of the effects of their choices. Most people aren't. We do things like substitute behaviour response loops or opinions for thought, and often can't tell the difference. Democracy needs people capable of thinking clearly to work effectively.

Longrider had a bitch about a silly Grauniad posted proposal to give two votes to pregnant women, and I'm inclined to agree. So I posted the following comment;

I’m increasingly of the opinion that the franchise should only be extended to those who can pass a voter comprehension test. Say a simple paragraph and ten related questions, in English (Or the host language of your country), to be completed when you turn up to vote. You pass, your vote counts. You don’t, it doesn’t. Simple.

This way the opportunity to vote could be safely offered to 16 year olds who have sufficient comprehension skills to understand some of the issues.

Or of course be 'bovvered' to turn up to vote. This way those who want the franchise and are capable of participating can do so. Such a scheme may result in fewer votes actually counting, but there are advantages to that, too.

Good Friday?

2011-04-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

- Or as one man said as they were nailing him to a tree...

"I don't see what's so bloody good about this."

A rather simple shop assistant made the cardinal error of wishing me 'Happy Earth day'. My response was, "Am I supposed to find the nearest piece of dirt and wish it happy birthday?" Sorry, but it's Easter. I don't do fatuous crap for the gullible like 'Earth day'.

I really shouldn't take the piss out of the credulous idiots who think 'green is good'*, but dear god almighty they do sit up and beg for it so.

*Although if you can explain to me what is 'good' about regressing our technological base to pre industrial levels and the deaths of several billion people I'll be amazed. After I've called you a 'genocidal knobhead' to your face of course.

Points of law

2011-04-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

You poor buggers back in the UK may have some cause for a little sigh of relief. The heinous Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which gave people who should never have that kind of power; to wit, local authorities and social services, the right to snoop into your deepest areas of privacy without requiring any form of justification or evidence. Often for the pettiest of matters. As could have been predicted by a two year old, said powers have been abused. This article from Pinsent Masons Out-Law site brinks a chink of light.

A home office reform is coming which will require permission for such intrusions in the form of a warrant, presumably sworn out before a Judge or Magistrate. Failure to comply will mean up to a fifty thousand quid fine from a body known as the Interception of Communications Commissioner. This will also apply to Telecomms firms. So read those End User Licence Agreements carefully for little snippets about 'gathering data' and other such innocuous phrases which will effectively allow a service provider with a licence to eavesdrop. Although it is worth noting that RIPA allows Telecomms providers to snoop for purposes connected with providing or operating their service, or 'enforcement', which presumably means making sure no one uses their services without stumping up for same. The permission under RIPA to retain your personal details / activity presumably remains unchanged.

While the 'requiring permission' move is a positive step, I'm still of the opinion that RIPA was a typically poorly thought through piece of New Labour legislation which should be axed. That and the Civil Contingencies act, where a UK Government can suspend elections for unspecified periods. Both are, as I have repeatedly blogged, evil and unnecessarily repressive pieces of legislation wide open to abuse.

The row over Super-Injunctions rolls on with a 'for the cheeldren' justification. Although I think that matters before a court should automatically require a ban on mainstream reporting until the case is over with anonymity for Defendant, Victim, and Witnesses. Jurors of course are bound to keep schtum, and rightly face prosecution if they don't. In the case of Parliament, as Parliament forms part of the regulatory mechanism, debate on an issue which would normally be considered Sub Judice should be allowed as a form of oversight. Such a principle, applied with no exemptions might be better than the current mess, where defendants can be stopped from contacting their MP or even mentioning that they are subject to an injunction. You can't tell me that's right.

A third issue, to do with the panic stricken flight cancellations due to last years Mt Unpronounceable eruption, means that even if the powers that be decide to cancel all flights as a wholly unnecessary precautionary measure, the cancellation clause in your travel insurance may not apply. So, no test case. So, even when the 'risk' is an over reaction, there's no redress? Hardly worth stumping up for the extra cover is it?

Gas and other bubbles

2011-04-19T22:38:00.001-07:00

Speculators are driving up the price of Gasoline again, even though there's no hint of a shortage. No 'peak oil'. According to some sources there's actually a glut. A full thirty seven days surplus.

Having read this piece of excellent journalism courtesy of Al-Jazeera's Danny Schechter, we're informed via investment insider Phil Davis that speculation is driving the market, not scarcity, and Josh Clark's informative article over at Howstuffworks.com. Phil's recent piece on oil prices can be perused here. Bubble, next Oil, burst, when, the, will. This was a store bought sentence, and you know how they sell everything in flat packs nowadays. Some self assembly required.

The mystery of the number of ships hanging around idle in Nanaimo Harbour is solved. Apparently CN rail are having trouble getting the grain shipments across the Rockies from the Midwest, so the ships are having to wait longer than they should for their cargoes. Food prices will rise because of this I've no doubt. Speculators will also no doubt be delighted. Although I'm informed that the grain producers aren't terribly chuffed.

You know, I don't see informed stuff like this in the UK press. All the news is full of puff pieces, poorly cut and pasted press releases, and complete Fark. Oh yes, and lots of stuff about some couple getting married on April 29th this year. Good for them, say I. Although I'm not too impressed with the nutters who think that chucking rocks at people getting married makes a valid political statement. P.S. I haven't been invited. Not that I'm going to watch any of the endless hoopla, although I did hear some porn producer was angling for the rights to film the Royal Conception. What the hell, they'll be videoing everything else.

Time for bed.

Busy...

2011-04-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

It's Spring. There's lots to do outdoors. Bowstrings to shoot in, fish to hook. You know how it is.

Oh, and cleaning. Clearing log stores for next years supply. Evicting the spiders webs. Cleaning the pool. Getting ready for Summer.

Who's afraid...?

2011-04-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

Via Autonomous mind, this piece on Fukushima and related matters by Lewis Page over at The Register.

"Some of us at least are getting a bit sick of the idea that you simply aren't allowed to tell frightened people quite bluntly to act their age – and we're getting more than just a bit sick of irrational or unscrupulous fairytale-spinners making them frightened in the first place."

I second that.

Nitrogen as 'pollution'

2011-04-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

First spotted via 'An Englishmans castle' the latest nonsense dressed up as a scientific study has hit the lamestream media. Nitrogen is now, according to them, a 'pollutant'. Well bust mah britches! Now Nitrate pollution yes, that is a problem. Agricultural Nitrate runoff (Often linked to biofuel production) has been linked to plankton blooms, coral reef bleaching and other serried unpleasantries.

Note the differences between Nitrogen, Nitrates and Nitrites.

Nitrogen, according to the encyclopaedias, is;
A mostly inert element with the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. A colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.

Nitrate, according to the self same references, is;
A polyatomic (several atom) ion with the molecular formula NO−3 and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. In organic chemistry a nitrate is a functional group with general chemical formula RONO2 where R stands for any organic residue. Nitrates have a wide range of uses; Ammonium Nitrate, a fertiliser, when mixed with the right concentration of Fuel Oil, becomes ANFO, a powerful explosive still favoured by nutty dissident Republicans in Northern Ireland.

Which should not be confused with Nitrites;
The Nitrite ion has the chemical formula NO2−. The anion is symmetric with equal N-O bond lengths and a O-N-O bond angle of ca. 120°. Nitrites are often used, as salts, in meat and other food preservatives.

"Yes." The researchers responsible might opine. "But they've got eevil Nitrogen in, yeah?" I think someone failed (Or never studied at all) basic Chemistry. They've looked at Nitrogen fixing as a process, ignored basic issues and processes, and then done the 100 metres semantic conclusion jump. FAIL.

Examine the following statement (Amongst others) from the report:
"It's much more efficient to obtain protein by eating plants rather than animals." Ah, so it's a 'Go Veggie' puff piece dressed up as science.

I think a vegetarian diet must do something to the mind. While humans are capable for subsisting on vegetables alone for months or even years at a time, they will always need supplements of elements which a vegetarian diet is naturally low in. However, such a diet is specifically low in the various Omega fatty acids and various enzyme components which fully nourish the human body. These protein chains are specifically useful for both aiding the development and keeping nerve and brain tissue healthy.

Humanity is, like so many other species, omnivorous. Our digestive systems say it (Adapted for a mixed diet), our dentition says it (Incisors and canines are for cutting and tearing). Man has not evolved to live on Fruit and grains alone.

Humans need the protein chains generally found in meat and fish. As for fats, ever heard of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, & K? Yet ignorant people would have us think all fat is 'bad'. Excuse me, who has to buy dietary supplements? Not omnivorous I.

Whilst Vegetarianism or Veganism may be a lifestyle choice for some (Hey, be vegetarian if you want - nobody really minds), they should not foist their choices on others. Especially through dodgy reports like this.

Sunday summary

2011-04-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Living where and as I do, I've decided to take a far more relaxed attitude to the scaremongers and puritans of this life. In similar vein, comedian Robin Williams had useful advice for young women in danger of being involuntarily deflowered; "Point and laugh." Although kicking purveyor of unwanted affection in the family jewels, then running like hell might be a good addendum to this concept. Pain, as is often observed, is a great teacher.

In the UK, Camerons clowns continue to throw taxpayer dollar at gruesome 'green' policies while indulging in swingeing defence cuts. Then they undertake yet another grandstanding military mission in foreign lands. Why not just cut the green subsidies altogether and not have to sack members of the armed forces (on active duty, via e-mail - WTF!). Jeez, some people just cannot wake up and smell the coffee.

Facebook 'reminders' on a profile I asked to be deleted many moons ago are still ending up in my spam filter. It seems that their espoused 'ethics' of freedom of expression are as wafer thin as their ability to delete profiles when requested. Especially when the Facebook pages of those espousing an overtly sceptical bent have been suffering censorship. Porn is one thing. Dissenting opinion another. All together now; point at Facebook, and in hissing tones, shout "Hypocrites!"

Over at the doughty Inspector Gadget blog the saga of how Diversity Coordination appears to be more important than core function continues. This appears to be a local authority infection, raging unchecked. A massive injection of P45's into the upper echelons and affected areas appears to be the only possible cure. Immediate high amputation may result should symptoms persist, Failing that, the demise of the entire organism.

The Netherlands US and UK intend to take legal action against the Icelanders regarding their bank collapse. The Icelanders decision not to sell future generations into tax servitude, and who the money is owed to comes under the magnifying glass (via Old Holborn) here.

All the time, those in power try to cover their arses (and their larcenous tracks) by inserting get out of jail clauses (Via the Ranting Penguin) for MP's into fraud legislation. Hang on a minute, doesn't that directly impact on the law's impartiality? Effectively creating an unaccountable ruling political class? That's very brave of them. Especially considering how similar regimes always seem to end up.

Ah well. Time for coffee.

Playing

2011-04-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

Tell you the truth, of late I've gotten bored with the idiocy of the current UK administration. What a bunch of losers!. Instead of fixing the economy they're whining apologies to all and sundry about what our ancestors did or didn't do. Just as bad as the last lot.

Then there's all the scare stories about things which might give you cancer if you have a specific genetic weakness and if you ingest 100 times the usual daily input in a very short time frame. Shock! Horror! Probe! Yawn.

As kind of an antidote to the above misery I've been spending cooking time playing with food. Mrs S came out of hospital with a liking for Jello (Jelly). So I have been obliging this revived taste. Being the inventive type, I've been trying things out (See picture) just because I can. Layering Jello is remarkably easy, and as you can see I've been embedding fruit in the dishes. Although I'm told Pineapple is a big no-no. Does something to the setting properties of the stuff we use over here I'm told. Have already tried chocolate (Dark chocolate doesn't work so well - too bitter). Strawberries are exactly right, and turning out a jelly mould without having the moulded jelly disintegrate or delayer is just a matter of the judicious application of hot water to the outside of the jelly mould. Dead easy, and the end result gets demolished with gusto.

Far too much fun for kids.

Killer comment

2011-04-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

Seen in this Wattsupwiththat comment thread on the Courtillot presentation video currently doing the rounds:

RockyRoad says:
April 5, 2011 at 7:00 am
As far as climate goes, the sun is a leading indicator; carbon dioxide is a trailing indicator. It’s as simple as that, folks.

All the modelling and protestations to the contrary cannot make it otherwise. Even if there are powerful political and financial lobbies still pushing the 'it's all CO2' agenda. Said lobbies have got a lot of their capital (Fiscal and emotional) tied up in the related Carbon trading and similar schemes, and simply cannot allow it to fail or they'll have lost money and / or face, possibly both.

Expect more shouts of 'Denier' / 'Heretic' - Whatever.

Lets face it, if 'Carbon taxes' worked to improve the environment as posited, we'd already have seen more benefit from them by now; apart from the increases in the cost of living they have been responsible for.

Arrangements made.

2011-04-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

After a full day spent making arrangements, booking flights, cars, hotels, relatives back bedrooms and sundry divers means of transportation, Mrs S and I are lighter in pocket but easier of mind. Well, at least she is. I'm just the designated driver on this particular mission.

We will be arriving in the UK this Summer for a brief familial sojourn attempting to studiously ignore every negative, while spinning the positive. I do not intend visiting any of my old stamping grounds, apart from a side trip to visit parent and pick up a passenger, and will be looking for such diversions in the way of lounging around, either in a pool, sauna, or with a book, avoiding watching Television, and not giving the proverbial tinkers cuss about anything but the specific task in front of me. Fortunately, every hotel we are booked into have pools and saunas. My swimming shorts will be packed.

Will be spending as little time as possible in shopping areas. Will drive at or slightly below the posted speed limit. Will avoid contact with anyone in a uniform or having even the vaguest whiff of officialdom about them. Will give Charity Muggers a brief withering look of contempt before ignoring their protestations and going about my own business. Of course there will be the tedious ministrations of Airport Security, but as I intend carrying nothing but my duty free allowance across the various borders I must cross, they will have no cause to give me grief. I may be caught pointing and laughing at the odd Windmill, and privately marvel at the delusion that caused its consideration as a means of effective electrical generation. I will probalby gasp briefly in amazement at the cost of living in the UK. I may be heard softly sighing with relief as the plane taking me home to Canada exits UK airspace.

At various junctures I may snore pointedly, at which point Mrs S will stick an elbow in my ribs. The die is cast, the money spent, and I have my own thoughts about what will please me.

Blogging excuse

2011-04-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Currently in the middle of plotting and planning a trip to the UK for an important family event this Summer. Not that I really want to go, but Mrs S is driving me crazy with her never ceasing picking over fine details. My own inclination is to take a look at the available options and make a decision within two minutes. She spends hours agonising over each small facet, insisting that I am at her side to advise every two minutes and thirty seconds. Regardless of what I am doing.

This has led to an almost complete halt in writing activity, as what my Landlord laughingly calls the "Honey-do" list grows by the day. In addition having my wife click on a 'Scareware' link that took me (Why me? I didn't screw it up.) the best part of a day and a half to fix and recover all her documents and re-secure her laptop. My life has not been my own.

There is a risk that frustration levels may reaching meltdown status, and there has already been one minor explosion. Core chilling is required.

At this rate I'll need a damn holiday to get over planning a bloody holiday. Grr!

Census tale

2011-03-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

Talking with Youngest via Skype this morning. She recounted her experience with a Census official at her student dwelling.

FX: Knock knock. Front door of house shared by five Students is opened by Youngest, shivering in the cold. Outside is a Census Official.
CO: "Have you filled out your Census form yet? You have to you know, you can be fined if you don't."
Youngest: "Yes."
CO: "It's a criminal offence not to fill it in and return it you know."
Youngest: "Yes we filled it in. Yes we posted it."
CO: "Fines of up to a thousand pounds."
Youngest: "I know."
CO: "You have to do it properly you know, or you can be fined."
Youngest: "What?"
CO: "It's a criminal offence you know."
Youngest: "I know. We filled it in, we posted it."
CO: "Oh." Apparently having delivered the supposedly intimidating spiel, said Official was apparently quite crestfallen at having delivered it to someone who'd actually filled the wretched thing in. Door is firmly shut in said Officials face.

Mind you, she told us with a knowing smirk, she didn't actually tell him what answers they'd given. Tsk. Students, eh? No respect for overweening authority. I blame the parents.

Very well then...

2011-03-29T16:37:00.001-07:00

Howls of derisive laughter about the Cleggeron saying that because of fears highlighted over the problems at the Japanese Fukushima Nuclear power plant, more modern nuclear power stations will possibly not be built in Britain. Oh my giddy aunt! Where do my ex-compatriots find these people?

Is Britain on a the edge of a major subduction zone like Japan? No.

Does Britain need more generating capacity over the next five to ten years? Yes.

Can Britains current power needs be met solely by 'renewables' like wind or solar, or will they ever be? No.

Very well, you'll freeze.

As elder sibling reminds me every time we talk - "The lunatics are in charge of the Asylum." I cannot but help but agree.

Cartoon adapted from the famous original by Low.

Journeys

2011-03-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

There is a trite little aphorism that states "The future is a journey". Our futures are always journeys of one sort or another, from simply walking down the street, to stepping onto a flight to a new way of life in a new country.

This article in the Tellytubbygraph annoyed me with its patronising assertion that satellites or robotic probes could do everything mankind needed outside of this thin little biosphere we call home, and that manned spaceflight is simply showmanship and hubris.

I felt moved to leave the following;

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky once said; 'The Earth is the cradle of mankind, but mankind cannot live in the cradle forever'.

This was the promise of those early orbital flights. It is also said that "The future is a journey". This rather begs the corollary that "If you don't try, you won't ever go anywhere." Satellites alone won't do that.

At least China and India are trying.

Although I may have warped the original Tsiolkovsky quote slightly. Nonetheless, the truth of it remains.

This is what occasionally gets under my skin when talking to people who think we should 'take care of problems here on earth first'. To me, the people who trot out such sayings are short sighted, narrow minded, and don't understand much about the nature of humanity at all. They're not very historically astute, either.

Voices from the anti manned space flight faction would have you think that mankind will, or can actually deal with things like world poverty, famine, and the other excuses they trot out. They don't seem to get that the main drivers of poverty and famine are the self same people they claim will provide the 'answers'. This is the lesson of History, and gets repeated rather too often for my liking.

I've said it before, and I'll keep on saying it as long as I have breath; we are an expansionist species. It comes from our hunter / gatherer heritage. Humans need space to expand into and exploit, because if they didn't, well they wouldn't be human for a start. Manned space flight isn't a luxury item, it's an essential. Because if we don't at least try to get off this rolling ball of rock and take a look around, then we as a species are just marking time to extinction.

E Books

2011-03-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days I've been looking at various means of expanding my library without choking up the house with bookshelves. Enamoured as I am with the sheer pleasure of handling words on good old low tech paper, I've got to thinking that my addiction for the printed word might need some modification. Whilst a good book is like a solid single malt, a good meal or a fine wine, there is something to be said for more workaday reading (Classed in my eyes like a reasonable plonk, a solid bacon butty, or a Jamesons) reduced in its physical bookshelf size.

My reading rate has been clocked around the 1200 Words per minute rate on average, although my typing remains at a lowly 15 words per minute max, despite all efforts to teach myself touch typing. This means I read. A lot. Always have done, from pulp Sci-Fi to Camus, Kafka and Voltaire and all stations in between. Including technical manuals. My parents were always critical of this need to read, but the more I got scolded, the more I wanted to curl up with whatever I happen to be reading in a cosy little corner. As a child I used to read underneath the blankets with a torch, hiding in the back seat of the car in the garage, while walking the dog, in bed, wherever. To me, part of heaven is an entire library all to myself with no chucking out time.

Ergo, one of the things I've been considering is a E-reader like a Kindle or similar for general leisure time reading. There's something called a Kobo which I found interesting, and a whole bunch of other E-readers from the petite and basic to Netbook size, many of them with their own web browsers built in. The only real issue is catalogue and flexibility. The last thing I want is a 'content incompatible' type warning when loading a pdf or similar from outside the e-readers host catalogue. If Barnes and Noble have what I want, but Amazon don't, I want to be able to read content from multiple suppliers. As an aside, I find all these 'locked down' formats a big turn off, I mean what's the point of buying something you can't port across to another media for your own private use? Whoever comes up with the closest thing to a multi-format reader may find a ready market in me. Expandable content is also a must, so I can dump stuff I'm really not interested in onto an SD card or via a Mini USB link to make room for others.

Thinking aloud, the text to speech thing I'm not interested in. I can read, so why the hell do I want anyone else to do it for me? Audio books are only for in the car on long road trips, which I'm not doing at the moment. Don't listen to Radio in the car, and have my own music (Mainly prog rock to classical) on a 4Gb data key. This is probably why the latest pop thing (Whatever recycled pap that currently is) kind of passes me by.

Replaceable batteries are also a plus, as the last thing I want is my workaday reading list rendered inaccessible because the e-reader battery has gone down quicker than a cheap hooker on payday, forcing repurchase of a whole new e reader (and catalogue of text). Electronics fail for various reasons, and catch you out even with the best possible backup and restore policies. Something which runs off a replaceable cell phone battery might be a good idea. A capacity of 1100mA sounds more than sufficient. If one can adequately power an ageing Nokia 6310i cell phone after nine years, then maybe I should be looking for one with that kind of option.

Despite my initial resistance to the idea, a quick arithmetical exercise quickly persuades me that an e-reader may be an economical proposition. Book shelves cost to build and fill, never mind the actual cost of the book itself. Say if I want to buy three months reading, say around twenty or so volumes, I need a new half bookcase a year. That's not including all the technical magazines and periodicals I like to browse for various snippets. Cost can ramp up into well over two hundred bucks a quarter just to feed my general reading addiction. That's even with bi-weekly visits to the library for one off reads. A couple of hundred for an e-reader followed by 3-5 bucks per download soon drops the average price of my word fix.

Although there's still a good deal of information sifting to be done based on portability, durability and sheer basic functionality, I found this list a good basic guide.

Pass it on

2011-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

As an antidote to all those hair short wearing alarmist guilt mongers. Celebrate the human ingenuity that keeps most in the Western world warm and cosy by not turning out the light of the world. Human achievement hour.

Feel free to copy and pass on (Didn't put pictures of the Internet and computing stuff because I couldn't find any images I thought were suitably sexy).

The next Tolpuddle Martyrs

2011-03-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

Back in the real bad old days before protective associations and Trades Unions were allowed to exist. A bunch of 19th Century agricultural labourers in Dorset, so ticked off with their treatment, formed a 'Friendly society', refusing to work for less than a set rate. The leading members of this association were James Brine, James Hammett, George Loveless, James Loveless, Thomas Standfield, and John Standfield. For their 'crime' of standing up for themselves, they were arrested and sentenced to Transportation in 1832. Their trial and sentences were essentially a warping of the law to serve a vested interest, seeing as the legislation forbidding such associations was repealed in 1825 (But what's really new about that, eh?).

History has a tendency to repeat itself in slightly different ways, because the mistakes made have a tendency to be forgotten by those who consider themselves to be in authority. In like fashion I see this 'Lawful rebellion' thing sizing up to be the basis of a similar movement. Of course the Martyrs were only one of many such groups looking to protect themselves from overweening authority, but they put their checkmark in the History box before all others.

In similar fashion, Ranty and his growing band of like minded people are busy using the legal system to fight everything from excessive council tax bills to a parking ticket. Facing arrest, Bankruptcy and other serried consequences, they have picked up the mostly quenched torch of liberty and blown on its embers. I foresee their actions making great changes sometime in the future. So long as they stay on topic and don't alienate people by wittering on about stuff better left in the X-Files.

However, I make this one caveat. It took generations before the Martyrs actions brought about a better life for their heirs and successors. Their beginnings changed the socio economic landscape between employer and employee, master and servant. In some ways for the better. In others, their nascent movement was hijacked by those with a more sinister, destructive political agenda.

To conclude; There is a paradigm shift beginning. Away from the inefficient, incompetent collectivist ideals of the 19th and 20th centuries, perhaps towards a more 'people centric' future where grass roots movements hold the balance of power. I'm not sure where the 'lawful rebellion' movement is going to end up, but I have the distinct feeling that a smart young politician who hitches his coat tails to this particular comet will go far.

Do you believe....?

2011-03-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Seen over at Jo Nova's blog. From her speech to the 'No CO2 tax' protest in Australia.

CO2 feeds plants. It’s the only” pollution” pumped onto farms to grow food. Did you know plant life goes dormant if CO2 falls too low? Farmers don’t just pump in an extra 5 or 10% either, they ramp up the concentration 4 or 5 fold in greenhouses. Did the government scientists forget to mention that?
Australia is the largest exporter of coal in the world. But did they say that China digs up nearly 10 times more coal than we do?
The famous ice core graphs of Al Gore — expanded to 20 meters square — turned out to show the opposite of what he claimed. Temperatures drive carbon and lead it by 800 years. Worse,iIt was well known, and not contested two years before he made his movie.
'Global warming' stopped, and none of the models predicted that.
The endless droughts — ended.
All that CO2 and Global storms hit their lowest level for 30 years.
And you have to wonder: nearly 90% of the thermometers in the US are too close to artificial heat sources. 90%. How much do the climate science team care about the science?
75% of thermometers used in the 1980’s have dropped off the official record. All that money, and less instruments to measure with…
They adjust the data — sometimes 50 years after it was recorded. Think about that. The 1970’s kept warming for the next 30 years.
3000 ocean buoys looked and couldn’t find most of the missing heat that our planet is supposed to be storing.
6000 boreholes tell us the world was warmer 1000 years ago, and even warmer again 5000 years ago. None of the models can explain that.
all the models predict a hot spot, and 28 million weather balloons can’t find it;
31,500 scientists don’t think we need a carbon tax. That includes 9000 phd’s. There’s a grassroots revolt going on out there. This was done by volunteers, and done twice. There’s never been another petition like it in science, ever. Did the media forget to tell you that too?
For every dollar paid to a skeptic, big government paid 3500 to global warmers.

With citations and links to empirical observations. This is not tinfoil hat territory, this is 'Stop taking the piss you bastards' territory.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, 'Western' nations are still pursuing the weird idée fixe that a reduction in atmospheric Carbon Dioxide will somehow 'save the world'.

This begs the question; is a warmer world better or worse? I think that colder is worse, and in spite of all the predictions, the 'warming' isn't happening as predicted. At this juncture one is tempted to ask; "What do they know that we don't?" or more likely; "What the fuck are they on?"

It's quite plain to see that the models upon which Green policies are based don't mesh with reality. Every time one of these half-assed postulations bites the dust it's because 'It's getting warmer'. Well it isn't. The Winters aren't warmer. Neither are the Summers, despite the hogwash pumped out by much of the lamestream and various pressure groups. It still snows - despite assurances to the contrary there is snow in places it doesn't normally snow. There are no more Hurricanes or typhoons. Fewer than 'normal' in fact. Everything points to a cooling planet. Atmospheric ice crystal phenomena like Sundogs are growing more common in lower latitudes than we're used to. Certainly more often observed. Heavy and prolonged frosts in subtropical growing areas like Florida.

People are beginning to notice, and it's only a matter of time before the money hurled over the beached dead whale of 'Green' policies forever condemns the Western Nations to a historical footnote. Mind you, I think we're due for a major economic upset anyway. Money is being spent on Green policies that the West hasn't a hope in hell of repaying, and the only door at the end of that particular path is bankruptcy. This means no more money for new infrastructure, which means a decaying return on basics like water, sewage and power. Real poverty. Real people starving. Real population dieback. But that won't matter, as it will only be the 'little people' who will suffer because their 'leaders' got it completely, magnificently and utterly wrong.

Writing as one of the 'little people', I'm not impressed.

Yeah...... tools

2011-03-23T20:43:00.000-07:00

To help ameliorate that yawning feeling of despair many in the UK may be feeling after finding out that the latest budget was more of the same pain repackaged, here is a great song and an amusing video. Oh, and great tools, yeah?

Even if it does get cut a bit short at the end. Now I need a lie down in a darkened room.

Fear and loathing

2011-03-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

Now I've been drinking, so the following post may be even less lucid than my usual febrile ravings. However, I think I'm at that nexus that falls under the category of 'in vino veritas'

One of the problems I currently see with humanity in general is that we live in a near perpetual state of fear. We're trouser fillingly terrified about everything. There are some folk so scared that they can't set foot outside their own front door. We're scared of what the neighbours think of us, what our parents or family think. We're petrified for future generations or shitting ourselves about the state of the planet, which incidentally can do quite well without us.

Well the Bill Sticker take on it is; "Auchtahellweit!" Mind you, that's easy for me to say. I've faced my fear and stepped on its twinkling little toes. Not that I'd readily do it often - jeez louise - I'm not bloody stupid. Had I been an old scaredy puss, me and Mrs S would never have even considered emigration.

The problem is that we let irrational fears rule our lives. Fear of strangers; most surprisingly nice - providing you aren't going to try and be all huggy with the weapon toting basket case from the bad neighbourhood. Fear of the future? Well, you know; the future is the end result of good or bad decisions. Good or bad can come from both - depending upon how you as a person are willing to look at the outcomes. As far as irrational fears go, my two biggies are spiders bigger than my fist, and sheer drops over two hundred metres straight down. Also not terribly chuffed about people sticking guns or knives in my face with menaces. Not scared about media driven scare stories like Bird / Swine / Whatever Influenza, Cancer (Been there, done that), Pain (Likewise) and big earthquakes. I've trained myself to be competent in various survival techniques if everything goes pear shaped, and if pressured into a real scrap I'm no pushover.

This is not to say I wouldn't be scared, this isn't about the fear, it's about how you react to any given problem. You 'pull your big girl panties on and deal with it'. So instructs one of those amusing motivational sayings my Sister in law has posted on the wall at her place up in town. Anything new can be scary, but if you're going to do the old Rabbit staring at headlights trick, then unfortunately (For you) you might be bucking for a Darwin Award. From whatever standpoint.

Fear makes you vulnerable. Mostly to the next Snake Oil Salesman who says his / her product is the answer to all your ills, real or imagined. Understanding your fear makes you capable of kicking said Snake Oil Salesman in the metaphorical crotch and walking away whistling a happy tune.

As I said, I've been drinking.

Time for bed.

Syzygy

2011-03-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Recently heard the word Syzygy referred to in the context of the close approach of Earth's moon, or 'Perigee Syzygy'. The only other time I'd come across this word (No, I don't follow the X-Files) was in Joe Haldeman's 'All my sins remembered', so I did a little digging.

Here are the main definitions;

(astronomy) A kind of unity, namely an alignment of three celestial bodies (for example, the Sun, Earth, and Moon) such that one body is directly between the other two, such as occurs at an eclipse
(psychology) An archetypal pairing of contrasexual opposites, symbolizing the communication of the conscious and unconscious minds
(mathematics) A relation between generators of a module
(medicine) The fusion of some or all of the organs
(zoology) The association of two protozoa end-to-end or laterally for the purpose of asexual exchange of genetic material
(zoology) The pairing of chromosomes in meiosis
(Literature) In ancient prosody, a group or combination of two feet. Ancient metricians varied in their use of this term. Some use it regularly for a dipody or (dipodic) measure. Others call a tautopody, or double foot, a dipody, but a combination of two different feet a syzygy. Some, accordingly, giving the name syzygy to tetrasyllabic feet (regarded by them as composed of two dissyllabic feet), speak of an iambic or a trochaic line as measured by dipodies, but an Ionic line as measured by syzygies—that is, by single Ionics considered as combinations of trochees and pyrrhics. A peculiar use is the restriction of the term syzygy to compound feet of five or six syllables.

Yes, it's a good ten dollar word, but not one I'd care to use.

Radiation poisoning

2011-03-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Locally, there have been items in the press about people rushing out to their local pharmacy for doses of Potassium Iodide, and getting very cross when told there isn't any.

Said persons would be well advised to examine this chart before going into headless chicken mode.

Latest on the stricken plant has issues with Fukushima's No4 reactor, which like 5 and 6 was supposed to have been shut down for maintenance and refuelling at the time the Tsunami hit. Containment 1 and 3 buildings have had the roofs blown off by Hydrogen gas build up and ignition, and there has been some radiation release. Although when you compare the doses recorded so far to the exposure from a single Computerised Tomography scan, I think those concerned about Radiation exposure over here in BC might justifiably be accused of over-reacting. What the hell, it's their money.

Warning: Large doses of Potassium Iodide during pregnancy can harm a developing foetus. Also acts as a skin and eye irritant.

Hyper and Super Injunctions?

2011-03-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

What sort of legal process is at work here? Picked up at Anna Racoons, this nasty little snippet, where legal injunctions have been granted that not only forbid the injunctee from mentioning it, but also forbid them from asking their Member of Parliament for help? Even to the point where a threat has been made to take the injunctee's children into 'care' if the injunction is breached. Isn't such a threat in itself illegal, no matter who makes it? Not only under the old Common law statue, but also under European Human Rights Law?

It's only over the past few years that we've heard about 'Super' injunctions which forbid mention in the Mainstream (Mostly to do with where idiot footballers are reputed to have parked their willies). Yet forbidding mention in the Houses of Parliament? Is that legal? Surely such an injunction would be a clear breach of Parliamentary Privilege, as we are led to understand it.

This speech by John Hemming MP is most enlightening. Clearly there are some UK 'Limp Dems', who are less limp than others.

Popcorn ready. Another one to watch.

Not that anyone will have noticed, but..

2011-03-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Life has been rather busy and self absorbed here at Maison Sticker. Mrs S, as I may have mentioned, has been quite poorly and as a result I've been doing my best blue arsed fly impersonation. Ergo, the blog has taken about fifth place in my list of priorities. It's been;

William this, and William that, and William where's my book?
And can you help me shower dear, if you promise not to look.

With many and deep apologies to this little ballad from Rudyard Kipling.

Those who have to care for an indisposed loved one will understand what I mean. I'm also on the home stretch of a Novel project, which should be finished in two weeks. Followed by attempts to sell same. Providing of course that I'm not still full time Nurse, Taxi Driver, Cook, Home Help, Personal Shopper and Majordomo as well as shift work.

The good news is that my better half is well on the mend and will be fully independent in another three to four weeks. Will catch up on comments and seismic stuff as domestic disruptions return to their normal level. Although I did pick up on this item on the Russian news service. The original vid is in Russian, but there is translation and a transcript.An interesting eight minutes and forty seconds. The Russians have an experimental Seismic Prediction system? Who knew?

Boris gets it

2011-03-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

There is no rhyme or reason to an earthquake, and we should ~~for once~~ abandon our infantile delusion that we are the cause and maker of everything.

Doesn't happen often, but when a politician gets it (almost) right, they should have it pointed out and applauded.

Likewise:

We now know that the work done at Climatic Research Unit barely qualified as science; they kept it secret to stop other scientists checking it; thus breaching one of the foundations of the scientific method.

Graham Stringer, MP for Bolton & Blackley.

H/T Bishop Hill for the Manchester Confidential piece.

Why Corbyn gets it right

2011-03-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

One of the most risible suggestions from the pro-CAGW crowd is the assertion that changes in the weather, or rises in atmospheric CO2 are responsible for Earthquakes. In précis their explanation goes; More CO2 in Atmosphere - Atmosphere heats up - ice melts - more volcanoes and Earthquakes (You're alll doooooommed! - give us your money). Even under the scantiest of scrutiny this postulation falls down and bangs its head on a rock. Let me explain a few reasons why.

First; 'rebound' Quakes need to lose a lot of ice before they happen. Ice is a comparatively light material (919kg per Cubic metre) as opposed to water (Pure 1000kg per cubic metre). They also take a long time post de-glaciation to happen. In addition, unlike quakes in subduction and active fault zones they tend to be lower intensity. Also, ice loss is not thought to affect plate tectonics. Not that we're going to have a problem with less terrestrial ice if the current nascent (Early days at present) cooling trend continues for another few decades. Likewise the catastrophic claims of sea level rise don't (Ahem) hold water.

At the moment we are, despite claims of 'The hottest decade - ever' in the beginning of a cooling phase of the Earth's climate. The 'warmest decade ever' is a false claim. Historically it has been warmer - this is proven by clues scattered throughout historical records of the Medieval and Roman Warm periods, and that's just within recorded history. The extended Northern range of various settlements / cultivated crops like vineyards up near the Scottish border, and Medieval Norse settlements in Greenland. Other clues can be found within overlooked / ignored Chinese records still which range back up to 5000 years. No citations as my Mandarin extends to 'Good Morning' and 'Happy new year'. I'm as dependent on translations as the next Westerner. Mind you, Medieval Chinese records can be just as incomprehensible to the average Modern Chinese as Medieval Church Latin to the average current English speaker.

Piers makes the claim that the Earth is in the first stages of a cooling phase which will cover thirty years, and then stay cooler for around a century or so. He bases his claims on his understanding of the Lunar and Solar cycles. "Don't be silly!" The pro CAGW crowd scoff. "How can the Moon or the Sun affect the weather? What utter rot!" They tend to dismiss his work out of hand. To them he's a crazy old crank with untidy 'mad scientist' hair. How wrong they are. Which I will try, in my idiosyncratic laymans fashion, to explain.

Meteorology is a minor study of mine. Having been an outdoorsman most of my life, I like to know when to head for cover or leave the heavy raincoat at home. I've also worked with pilots, who have to make an in depth study of the weather, as their (and their passengers) safe passage depends upon their understanding of the weather. My understanding covers things like what a cold or occluded front is, and what it means. Why high pressure in certain areas means get out the sun tan lotion, and in others, put another log on the fire. Katabatic and Anabatic winds, all that sort of stuff. As for the Moon not affecting the Earth's weather? Erm, what about the Tides? Tidal changes are mostly lunar influenced and with variations due to various tricks of geography, circle the planet twice a day. Although the Sun is also well known to affect tides.

Now what many people don't seem to appreciate is that the figures given for the Earth / Moon's system orbit around the sun, which is a known variable star, fluctuate within a given range. Now here's a little thought experiment for you, a small demonstration of how heat diminishes rapidly as you move away from its source. Put your hand near a heat source, say an incandescent light bulb or fire. Move your hand away and notice how rapidly the sensed radiant heat diminishes. This is not a straight line relationship. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but it's not that keen on straight lines, either.

In a near vaccuum, such as our solar system, this radiant heat is, within an area often referred to as the 'Cinderella zone', sufficient to support life as we know it. This zone or orbital path is not all that wide, in astronomical terms. When you take into consideration the fact that the Moon does not only orbit the Earth, it influences the Earth's solar orbit. The laws of motion tell us it could not be any other way with two masses circling each other. The Earth does not follow a true smooth elliptical curve around the Sun, it wavers or oscillates in a pattern that can be plotted mathematically, a sort of elliptical shallow sine wave. Take into account the slight variability of the Sun's heat energy, and we can work out how much energy will be falling onto the Earth at any given time. With a little knowledge of Meteorology, any net variations can be plotted for to predict possible major events due to a greater of lesser amount of energy within the parameters of Earth's 'Cinderella zone'. Although compensations such as the known current weakening of the Earth's Magnetosphere will also need to be plotted.

Furthermore, a weakening of the Earth's Magnetospere, or magnetic shield may also allow more energy in, it also allows a greater influence of cosmic rays on cloud formation. Read up on the work of Henrik Svensmark, whose research has a known correlation with the well established cloud formation effect of 'cosmic rays' first observed by Wilson in the early 1900's. More cloud formation and cloud cover increase Earth's albedo, which reflects the sun's light away from the Earth, thus reducing the energy received at ground level. Doesn't have to be much, a tenth of a percentage point can affect weather / climatic patterns.

This is why any net effect of CO2 induced temperature variation will be lost. Whilst CO2, and more importantly methane and water vapour, form an insulating blanket as part of Earth's atmosphere. Major Climate variations also appear more influenced by orbital and until recently relatively overlooked Solar / Earth electromagnetic interaction. Which is another factor we don't understand the full climatic ramifications of.

Piers Corbyn so often gets his forecasts right because he understands the cycles of our planet as it wobbles and precesses around the solar system, and their net effect within the thin skin of Earth's biosphere.

Furthermore, the suggestions that there are positive climatic related feedbacks which mean a hundred or so parts per million of CO2 will turn the Earth's climate into a raging volcanic soup like Venus. These are demonstrably so far fetched they veer into serious tinfoil hat territory along with 'Chemtrails', crop circles, the Flat Earth society, 'born again' creationists and UFO's. There are few observable positive feedbacks in nature. Energy follows the laws of thermodynamics. The 'It's all CO2' assertions tapdance merrily all over established observable principles. The CO2 led models consistently fail to predict warming or cooling. Therefore I'm led to the conclusion that said postulation is too two dimensional an answer to a far more complex question.

In light of the above, I respectfully submit that the CO2 based hypothesis of Climatic variation is deader than a doornail that's just had the last rites following a surgical autopsy. I further submit that taxing 'Carbon' emissions is about as pointless as rearranging deckchairs on a sinking ship. For the sakes of the future economic well being of the world, we should stop. Now. Unless of course you're happy to see your great grandchildren growing up in a new self imposed medieval period. Although that might depend upon whether you see them as one of the Serfs or not.

* Please note that there are no references within this entry to either side of the 'Climate war' of words waged in Desmogblog, Wattsupwiththat, Realclimate or any affiliated web site. They were considered too partisan for the purposes of this blog. Wikipedia sources have likewise only been linked to if they were on non-partisan topics not directly related to climate, and therefore held as suspect.

Christchurch NZ subsidence

2011-03-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

One of the things I've been thinking about regarding the recent February 22nd Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, is if there was any collapse of an old magma chamber, surely there should be associated subsidence.

During the quake, according to the satellite image embedded in this article, the ground literally bounced half a metre. The soil underneath parts of the city briefly turned into a virtual liquid, leading to reported subsidence in the area of up to 300mm (1ft). This phenomena is not uncommon during large earthquakes.

Now having looked at the Quake distribution since the first 7.3 and the discovery (Reactivation?) of the Greendale Fault, my thought is that this fault is extending, and that the next 'big one' will occur either off shore or further towards the mountains as part of a more active fault system. Note the depth of the fault on the snagged graphic from the Christchurch Earthquake map site (You have to run the full sequence from Sept 4th). Most of the dots indicate a consistent fault depth of around 5-7.5 km, with a bias pointing towards the end of the Hikurangi trough subduction zone. See this page from the University of Canterbury Geology department.

Geologists of the British Geological Survey discuss the Christchurch Quake distribution in the video below.

Hmm.

Just as an aside; we've been having a lot of Solar flare activity over the past few months. Which allowing for a certain latency in any possible internal heating process, starts to look like there is a degree of real life correlation in the hypothesis. I think there may well be more large seismic events / Volcanic Eruptions to come in the next few months, globally speaking. As we keep on being told, we're in for a 'big one' over here in Southwestern BC, it may be a good idea to keep the old disaster kit on standby. It won't hurt if I'm wrong. Although we've been getting a steady trickle of small seismic shocks which relieve some of the stress building up down below. It could continue like this for another century. On the other hand......

Nuclear Power station panicmongering

2011-03-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

There has been a minor issue with a two Japanese nuclear power plants, which the mainstream are milking for all they're worth. It's headless chicken time again folks!

What actually has happened at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant number one:

The 'explosion' and fire was in a turbine hall, not a reactor or within a containment building or vessel.

Two employees and two subcontractors were injured at the time of the big Honshu Quake yesterday. One employee received a years 'safe' dose of radiation. Which was probably around the same figure as some Medical Tomography scans deliver (Around 1-2Rem, with 0.5Rem dose for a standard X-ray).

The backup diesel generators for the reactor circulation got swamped by the Tsunami and stopped working. At the time of writing, replacements are being installed.

Speculation in the lamestream is rampant about Meltdowns and 'Chernobyls', but the Japanese reactors are Boiling Water reactors, which once shut down begin the long slow process of cooling. They don't melt down.

Oh. No more panic there then. Hi ho, time for morning coffee.

Updated midnight PST 12th/13th March 2011.

Lots of speculation still about 'meltdowns', but as the reactors have been shut down, the slow cooling of reactor cores has begun. Yes, according to the press releases, there have been some problems with getting water into the reactors, but considering they've just had a massive tranche of seawater sloshing about after a Tsunami and major earthquake, I'd say the Engineers had everything at reactors one and two under at least some sort of control.

Update: H/T Depleted Cranium. Explosion at Number 3 reactor (Not in the containment structure) Possibly due to unvented Hydrogen. As an aside; to the commenter who told me I didn't know what a containment building looks like, I spent part of my early career working in and around Coal, Gas and Nuclear power stations on fire alarm / suppression systems. FYI; I do know the difference between a turbine hall and a containment building. Also between main breakers and transformers, smoke stacks and cooling towers. Funny how so many people don't, eh?

West Coast BC Tsunami watch

2011-03-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

In the wake of the big Japanese Earthquake. Environment Canada has issued the following Tsunami warning for the Western BC coast (Their caps);

A LARGE EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED IN THE PACIFIC BASIN NEAR JAPAN. THE WEST COAST ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTRE HAS RAISED THE ALERT STATUS TO ADVISORY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES OF COASTAL BRITISH COLUMBIA:

ZONE A - THE NORTH COAST AND THE HAIDA GWAII ISLANDS

ZONE B - THE CENTRAL COAST INCLUDING BELLA BELLA, BELLA COOLA AND SHEARWATER

ZONE C - THE OUTER WEST COAST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND FROM CAPE SCOTT TO PORT RENFREW

AT THIS TIME IT IS BELIEVED THAT A LOW LEVEL TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD IMPACT MARINAS AND OTHER COASTAL INFRASTRUCTURE OR CREATE STRONG CURRENTS IN HARBOURS AND ISOLATED COASTAL AREAS. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN THESE ZONES HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO ACTIVATE THEIR EMERGENCY PLANS AND TO IMMEDIATELY EVACUATE MARINAS, BEACHES AND OTHER AREAS THAT ARE BELOW THE NORMAL HIGH TIDE MARK.

Here on the Eastern shore of Vancouver Island we shouldn't notice anything, rather like the last Tsunami alert. The people who should pay close attention to the bulletins are those around Port Alberni, Tofino, Uclulet, and Port Renfrew. I can hear those surfboards being waxed from here.

Did go looking for Japanese webcams on the big Japanese quake last night, but the only one I could find was an out of focus view of someone's office wall in the Miyagi district.

Update: Tsunamis of 5-6 ft (1.5-1.8m) high have been reported at the Alaskan end of the Aleutian Islands and at Crescent City, California. Nothing reported from the west coast of Vancouver Island at the time of writing. For Canadian citizens in Japan, there is help available via this site.

Update: As of March 11th at 20:00, the West Coast Tsunami advisory is cancelled.

Money for nothing

2011-03-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

By their own admission, the Ministers and high up panjandrums in charge of ~~taxing future generations into slavery~~ mitigating 'Climate Change' ~~really haven't a fucking clue~~ are unsure of the effect, spending $280 billion of taxpayer dollar on ~~policies that don't and can't work~~ decisions to prevent a ~~highly disputed~~ predicted global temperature rise based on ~~fucking useless~~ climate models.

Now we hear that one such in England is having a steel wire fence put around his property to prevent angry members of the public ~~and disaffected party members~~ storming his house and doing him harm. Personally I am in great favour of this high level protection; it is my deeply held conviction that all UK politicians and personnel in charge of climate mitigation measures (Of whatever stripe, let's not be partisan about this) should have this level of protection. They should have the 'right' to be free from violence.

Now I'm not for a moment suggesting that perhaps if some clever dicky were to say, wire the new security fence to the mains and drop an extra secure extra padlock with a crop resistant shackle on the gate (or even weld the gate shut), the politician in question would have to stay in the warmth and comfort of their own delightful home, safe within the bosom of their nearest and dearest. Safe from the angry majority of the population, and not being able to make any half assed decisions that further messed up said populations lives. A small jammer would might stop his cellphone and Internet access and stop the ~~bleeder~~ person in question doing any more economic damage. However, this is just my idle speculation, and in no way an incitement for anyone to actually do this. ~~Although I'd be laughing like a drain if they did.~~

To quote the wise words of the fictional General Tacticus (From Terry Pratchett's Jingo); "If your enemy retreats into an impregnable fortress - see that he stays there."

Then, with the benefit of some inadvertent but perhaps welcome ~~purgatory~~ 'quality' time spent with their ~~demanding children and impatient spouses~~ lovely families perhaps they might think twice about spending money the taxpayer doesn't have.

Correction: It's not a home it's a whole party conference. Still, the same principles apply. 'Rings of steel' work both ways.

Dessert is on me

2011-03-09T21:27:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those days. Slept badly last night. Mrs S's illness has meant I'm holding down a new shift job, acting as her chief carer, and losing much sleep in the process.

Our landlord, who is pure diamond, pokes his nose around the door to keep an eye on her when I'm working, and Mrs S has me on speed dial in case of serious problems. However, this has led to a few catering issues. The irregular hours I'm now working mean I'm not home on time to cook and clean up. However, I do try, and in the spirit of the new diet my wife wants to go on, I've been trying out new recipes. One of which is Coconut milk ice cream. You can see where this is going already can't you?

I got back from work later than normal, having done the shopping and loaded up on goodies to cheer her up. I got the mixture into the freezer, and as we don't have an ice cream maker, got into a routine of whisking every ten minutes while cooking the evenings repast.buy

All went well, the ice cream began to solidify, and I seemed to be heading in the right culinary direction when tiredness caught up with me. I didn't mean to, but fumbled the dish in mid stir, the dish dropped vertically onto the floor, base first, the impact splashing big splodges of melting coconut milk and honey mixture liberally all over me, the kitchen floor and the dog, who ran for cover. I swore loudly. Thinking Mrs S had fallen, Landlord came running to help, but I managed to keep everyone out of the newly blodged kitchen before we all went for an impromptu skating session.

Fortunately only a third of the mixture was spilled, and I was able to complete the batch without contamination of the remainder. As far as Coconut ice cream is concerned; next time I'm going to buy the bloody stuff. Although having said that, I'm not so sure anyone makes Honey and Peanut Butter flavour Coconut ice cream outside of Thailand.

9.3 degree cooling trend?

2011-03-08T18:29:00.000-08:00

From this site: contiguous USA figures supposedly demonstrating a 9.3 degree per century cooling trend. Kind of makes all those predictions of a warmer world look a bit silly, don't it?

Figures apparently culled from the NOAA, although the site provides no direct link to source data.

All right, I've been saying that the whole warming thing was poor science since 2006, but this is a short term average, and those frequently seesaw up and down. Besides, it's still Winter.

Still, the investment package in Winter sports goods and Snowmobiles looks like coming good. I'm thinking positive. Although not necessarily in temperature.

Wrapping up warm. Log fire blazing. Larder full.

Regards

Bill

A very English revolution

2011-03-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Seen last night via EU referendum, but I was too tired to comment on: The real English rebellion begins. Albeit a 'lawful' one. 'Arresting' a judge for not confirming that he was 'serving under his oath of office'? What a super wheeze.

I've been getting a lot of traffic from the good Captains site for some time because we share some common ground, ideologically speaking.

Essentially the Captain and his mates are as ticked off as a lot of ex-pats like me (Or should I call myself a refugee?) with the UK political antics of the last twenty years. Yet they have decided to act, and I wish them well. Although my natural cynic looks sidelong at things like the evil civil contingencies act, and the repression it could be used for. Though Ranty and friends are in a state of 'Lawful (not legal) rebellion', the legitimacy of their protest under law may be considered a mere administrative detail when the live ammo is handed out.

Notwithstanding, my own understanding of the state of 'Lawful rebellion' is this; Your sovereign and government repeatedly ignore you, and overturn the law to their own advantage. They perform acts of effective treason against their legal offices; ignore sworn oaths, sign over sovereignty, that sort of thing. Which leaves the dissenting subject one of four options; leave, knuckle under, open revolt, or the more obscure state of 'lawful rebel'.

To become a lawful rebel, there is an old, I think medieval, provision within the law saying that a subject may in protest transfer their alleigence to a 'committee of barons' by serving three affidavits properly witnessed and served. The rest is knowing the difference between a 'law' and a 'statute'. Laws must be observed, but as a 'lawful rebel' you do not have to observe statues. As EU and local authority powers are based in statute, there lies the lawful rebels power. Ranty and friends have all the details.

The knowledge base required to be a lawful rebel is quite extensive, and from what I can see, you have to be pretty sure of your ground. Migraines beckon, methinks. This is an area where even lawyers may fear to tread.

While Mrs S is indisposed, we have got the popcorn out on this one. Being history buffs and very aware of the context of what Ranty and friends are up to, we will be watching with keen interest from the other side of the Atlantic.

I'm given to understand that there are a few folk around Vancouver Island who are giving the 'lawful rebel' thing a try, but the law is a trifle different over here, and the RCMP will have no truck with people drinking and driving, then claiming to be 'lawful rebels' when pulled over. Disregarding Statutes of Contract law is one thing; using it as a license for anti-social behaviour another.

As an aside; the average RCMP Constable has a battery of legal powers which might make the average despot drool; but there are a lot of checks and balances in the system here, which makes abuse of those powers a risky business. Besides, they still command the respect of many Canadians, and if you have that, keeping the law and 'maintaining the right' is a lot easier.

This revolution thing seems to be the meme for 2011. Gadaffi is being offered an out by his rebels, and all across the Middle East a seismic political shift is underway. In all colours of regime; from Theocracy to nascent democracy, changes are afoot. The world will be a very different place, politically speaking, when the dust settles, and the Western powers would be best advised to stay out of it, or be mightily embarrassed. We can do deals to keep the oil flowing, but not use military force, which will annoy the locals, and make them less amenable to doing business in the future. This ain't the late 1800's or early 1900's and gunboat diplomacy won't work there. We (and the Russians, and the Chinese) sold them the weapons, remember?

Hi ho, back to watching volcanoes and seismic shifts, of one sort or another.

Christchurch NZ since 22nd February 2011

2011-03-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

Just ran the sequence of quakes since 22nd February and watched the following pattern emerging. Whilst the number of quakes has tailed off, aftershocks are still coming in at 3-4 magnitude, many at between the 5 and 8km depth level. At this point I'm wondering whether the current tremors indicate the formation of a new extension to the Greendale fault.

Webcams are still down in the centre of Christchurch, although most of the local traffic cams seem to be operative.

I'm still waiting for some ~~moron~~ highly qualified non-scientist / government adviser to blame the Christchurch quakes on 'Man made global warming'. Just so I can play 'spot the looney', and I'm not talking about the Canadian one Dollar coin.

Krisuvik comparison

2011-03-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

Just been looking at the latest swarm activity around Krisuvik, Iceland. The activity seems to be migrating away from Kleiforvatn under the lava fields to the West. Depth seems to have retreated to the 3-7km level, so for the moment, until any other developments are forthcoming, I'd say the threat of an immediate eruption is receding.

There's been a little shallowish grumbling under Grimsvotn which might indicate a minor eruption will be underway shortly. This is nothing unusual, and generally results in glacial floods as lava melts the ice above.

I'm still hacking away at a post about the planet and electromagnetism, but every time I try, there's been a new development. So, back to the drawing board.

I'm also feeling more tired than usual. Mrs S is back from hospital, and I spend the time I'm not at my new job running errands and generally making sure she's comfortable. It's also playing havoc with my sleep pattern, which isn't too wonderful as I'm currently working in shifts (and very pretty I look, too).

Hi ho. Time for bed. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

I refuse to answer that question..... can't I?

2011-03-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

The right to refuse to incriminate yourself got eroded by this latest ruling from the UK's high court.

The case involved Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was jailed in 2007 for his part in the illegal interception of mobile phone messages for the News of the World newspaper. He now faces a number of civil suits related to other instances of alleged hacking.

Football pundit Andy Gray and comic Steve Coogan both claim that Mulcaire intercepted their messages and had asked the High Court to strip him of his right to avoid self-incrimination.

Does anyone else see the law of unforeseen consequences grinning in the shadows and sharpening a blade?

Call me Mr Paranoid, but I'm willing to bet this judgment will be coming to bite an innocent party near you in the not too distant future.

On the plus side, the High court has further ruled that newspapers don't have to identify anonymous commenters. Although I'm sure some ideologically motivated editor will do so.

It's official

2011-03-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

Britain just attained Third world status.

This post at Wattsupwiththat about a featured article in the Tellytubbygraph.

I know we get more power outages than average out here in the Canadian boonies, but deliberately running down a power infrastructure for idealogical reasons? Now I know I've said that most UK administrators couldn't run a bath, but this just takes the whole pack of chocolate coated Hob-Nobs. Now they're admitting it in public? I'd be rolling on the floor laughing, but I've still got family back there.

Send that man a straitjacket and a trip to the rubber room. Major league facepalm territory.

Fortunately, not everyone is so stupid.

Sometimes...

2011-03-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you get dreams so vivid they seem like reality. Last night was a case in point. I swear I dreamed an entire movie and novel combo; characters, plotlines, the whole nine yards. With a full supporting cast of Zombie like creatures, and various feeders off human life force. A really stonking bad guy, and a cast of all too human heroes and villains. A battle against subtle and not so subtle forces of repression.

The dream almost had the feel of a false memory, but nowhere can I find a record of a similar piece of work in any of my previous reading or viewing. Multiple searches can find nothing even vaguely genre related apart from a couple of early sci-fi disaster type movies from the late 50's.

Where it all began was with Delcatto's question about power generation from the Earth's magnetic field which has had me thinking about various related issues. A decent end result should be done and dusted in ninety days if I buckle down to serious work. A 90,000 word novel, and a cut 'n paste job of dialogue into a screenplay. Everything is so well mapped out I could almost do it in my sleep. Which is ironically where the process got kickstarted.

I'll give it a whirl and see where the thought takes the idea.

Light posting

2011-03-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

Mrs S is in hospital and there will be light posting only until she comes home, hopefully tomorrow morning.

Real life is full and busy. Work and life commitments take precedence.

Those Icelandic Volcanoes appear to be playing a game of 'hurry up and wait', although I'm half expecting something interesting within the next 2-3 days. Mind you, I've said that before and nothing's happened. The Krisuvik swarm activity has dampened down to the time being.

Have some ideas I'll put up in a longish post maybe on Friday to see if anyone can be bothered to bite.

She's gone

2011-02-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

Gaddaffi's once inseparable blonde Nurse has legged it back to the Ukraine. Which is a sign that there's not much life left in the old dictator.

No matter the powerless posturing of the current set of Western 'leaders', I've got a feeling whatever new bunch of governments arising in the wake of the protests may be tougher to buy than the batch of Middle Eastern dictators currently on the way out. Not that the big finance houses could afford them any more. I think the Saudi's are fairly safe for the moment as they've bought off their populace with a new batch of 'benefits'. However, the Middle Eastern domino's are toppling, and who knows what knock on effects will follow.

In a way it's rather like watching volcanoes and earthquakes. You can never quite be sure what's going to happen next.

The best thing the western powers can do so as not to stir up the anti western factions, is to stay well out of it. Not that they will of course.

Christchurch webcams

2011-02-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

In case anyone wants to see what's happening in Lyttleton Harbour and Christchurch, there are available webcams. A couple in the town are out of action, but others are still up and running.

Lyttleton Harbour here.

Christchurch here. Although it looks like a bunch of stills have been put in as a placeholder while the main cameras are down. They do show the damage done by the shocks though.

Traffic cam links around Christchurch here.

Donation link to help the Kiwis is on the sidebar at the top.

'Flux ropes' and power generation

2011-02-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Two Russian researchers, Boyarchuk and Pulinets, posited back in 2004 that flares and associated Solar electromagnetic phenomena might induce Earth tremors and perhaps extra heat within the Earth’s nickel iron core. More recently, (2007) the NASA THEMIS experiment detected things dubbed 'flux ropes', or concentrations of electromagnetic force linking the Sun and the Earth. The net effect of these variations has, so I'm told, a minor effect on the inner Earth, and increasing convection of magma within the inner and outer mantle, rather like happens in boiling water. The extra energy venting itself via various volcanic outlets like ‘black smokers’ down in the various oceanic spreading zones, Volcanoes, and the melting of rock in subduction zones. At present there are no certain proofs in the public domain although such an induced heating effect is in line with electromagnetic theory, and can be observed under experimental conditions.

As an aside; this core heating effect is probably also why Venus has such a hellish corrosive soup for an atmosphere. Venus is, like Earth, thought to have a nickel iron core, and this is thought to be heated vigorously by its passage through the more tightly packed magnetic field closer to the Sun. As I've posted previously, volcanism is the culprit for Venus' atmosphere, definitely not CO2. For example if CO2 was the culprit, Mars would be a lot warmer than it is, having a similar concentration of atmospheric CO2 (About 95.32%) to Venus (96.5%).

To get to the crux of the matter; my friend Delcatto asked the question; “Could we harness the electromagnetic force from the Sun to provide power?”

My answer is ‘No’.

For the following reasons;

The concentration of electromagnetic force, even at the poles, does not appear strong enough. If it were, then our biosphere would not be habitable, at least to us.
Why? Because the Earth needs to have a molten core. Without it our fecund little world would be as dead as Mars. Life as we know it depends on a complex interplay of energies and forces requiring heat from both above (the Sun) and below (the Earth), which is what allows our fragile little 10 kilometer deep biosphere to exist, sandwiched between a figurative heaven and hell. Significantly reduce the heating effect of the Earth’s core, as would happen if enough of the electromagnetism at the poles were diverted for power generation, and, to put it bluntly, life on Earth would be (Eventually) buggered.
To get sufficient concentration of force lines for power generation, you have to divert them from somewhere else into some kind of collector ring. It would not be a good idea to stick such a device over the polar regions of Earth, see reason 2, but near Venus to power something like a wormhole portal for interstellar travel? There’s an intriguing thought. If such a device were possible, power transmission issues would render transfer to Earth less than useful (Until some clever dicky rewrites the physics of power transmission that is). Venus would ‘benefit’ from the reduction in volcanism due to a cooler core and perhaps eventually become borderline habitable, or at least not quite so hostile as at present. However, such a cooling process would require (at the very least) a couple of million years. So, no panic there, then.

Which just gave me an absolutely spiffing idea for another science fiction story. Ta muchly.

Krisuvik swarm: count 356....er 425

2011-02-27T04:29:00.000-08:00

In the screengrab, which is representative rather than definitive, as I couldn't be sure I was getting the whole lot on. The tremor count at the time of observation was 356 at 13:25 GMT in the last 48 hours. That is a hell of a busy weekend. I make it over 228 since midnight, local time and rapidly increasing. For preliminary data, that's going to keep someone busy.

Range of tremors is mostly 2+km depth on the third day of near continual swarm activity. No idea what this portends, apart from I'd still like some idea of what the water levels of Kleiforvatn are doing. It's still jaw meets desk territory.

More later today. This bears watching.

All data from Icelandic Met Office Earthquakes page.

Update: My goof. Count is 356, not 367. Revised.

Update: As of 15:00GMT 394 Tremors. That's a whole lot of shaking.

Added to top of sidebar: Christchurch Earthquake Appeal. Thanks to Small Dead Animals for highlighting the link.

Update: 425. Also peaking and shallowing. See data grab below.
Sunday
27.02.2011 17:27:36 63.928 -22.034 1.1 km 4.1 90.07 4.8 km NNE of Krýsuvík
Sunday
27.02.2011 17:25:21 63.920 -22.030 1.6 km 3.4 90.07 4.0 km NNE of Krýsuvík

Will be very surprised if something doesn't blow in the next 24-48 hours at this rate.

Update: 514 tremors in the Reykjanes peninsula area in the last 48 hours as of 22:25 GMT. Most close to Krisuvik.

Christchurch again

2011-02-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Just been reviewing data nabbed from the Christchurch Quake site. Seems to me that as the most recent activity is easing, returning gradually towards pre big hit levels. Magnitudes are mostly between 2-3, and some of it is going deeper. Way deeper. From around the 2-9km depth mark on Tuesday (The biggest quakes epicentres were about 5km down), to as deep as 38km at 04:45 (NZ time) 26/2/2011. Almost all in that narrow band just south of town. Wonder what's going on down there?

Hmm. My logic tells me there's nothing to worry about as the worst is past. My instinct is telling me not to take any holidays in Christchurch NZ for the next week or so.

I'm sure a proper volcanologist will tell me I'm being a bit paranoid. Yet having looked at this University of Arizona website, the Christchurch area was 'aseismic' from 1990-99. The Te Ara site tells a similar (but not quite) story. As always, the problem is insufficient information.

New link for British Columbia tremors

2011-02-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Via Environment Canada, this link contains details of earth tremors in South Western BC. Added to Volcano links on the sidebar.

If anyone is interested there was a 4.3 magnitude 300km WNW of WhiteHorse in the Yukon at 3:08 PST this morning, but there have been no reports that anyone 'felt' it.

Krisuvik activity 2 day swarm

2011-02-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

Have been looking at the latest activity under Krisuvik with a little more critical eye in the wake of the revelation that the swarms at Hengill were caused by water injection into heated strata by the power station people. Having compared and contrasted the screengrabs I took at the time, there's a definite similarity in depth and intensity.

As the Krisuvik field is close to the large lake called Kleifarvatn, I find myself wondering if there's currently some form of leakage into the fault complex that might be a causative factor. According to it's Wikipedia page entry the lake has leaked periodically since a big quake in 2000. Wonder what the water levels have been doing recently?

Ah....

2011-02-25T21:56:00.001-08:00

You know, last night I felt so down that I called the Samaritans for counselling. Must have misdialled because I got though to this Pakistani call centre.

I told the guy on the other end of the line I was desperate, suicidal even. Then he got all excited and asked me if I could drive a truck.

No idea why..........

New Icelandic link

2011-02-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of commenter Smiler03; a new treasure on the Volcanic matters blogroll. The Iceland Volcano and Earthquake blog.

He has the story about the recent Hengill tremor swarms being man made, and the juice behind the recent Krisuvik activity. Brief and to the point, with a better inside track than I could ever hope for.

When is an eruption overdue?

2011-02-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

A theme picked up from this post on Erik Klemetti's 'Eruptions' blog.

We keep on hearing in the media that this or that volcano is overdue, and that consequently "We're all doomed!". Yellowstone is 'overdue', Mt Baker, Mt Rainier, and just about every currently quiet volcano on the planet is 'overdue'.

The problem is that we still don't seem to understand more than the basics of what makes a volcano go 'foom!' We understand the what, but as to the underlying when and where, we're pretty much adrift, making half educated guesses. We are told that we're 'overdue' for a 'big one' (Earthquake) in this area, but the problem is that there is too little information available on the stresses building up in the crust below us. Ergo we get caught out when something like the Christchurch disaster hits. Millions, billions even are wasted on 'preventing' phantasms like (I really do get tired of the whole circus) man made global warming when there are far greater local risks from unmapped seismic activity. Then a cynical voice pops into my head saying "Ah, but you can't tax volcanoes and earthquakes, can you?"

A minor breakthrough in predicting volcanic activity has been published over at UBC Vancouver, where certain kinds of eruptions can be predicted by their sound signature. Specifically those with 'stiff' magma. Yet we're no closer to predicting when or if a Volcano will erupt, or a major earthquake will occur. Yes we can monitor swarm activity, but the information we get from that is currently very superficial.

The Earth under our feet talks, it resonates, it shouts. Humankind's problem is that we firstly have a poor understanding of what the earth's crust is trying to tell us, and secondly trying to listen is a little like having an in depth conversation in a Disco. There's a too much background noise, not just from human but from other activity. Isolating and eliminating various sound signatures is stuff that until recently was the purely the domain of military sonar specialists. Yet like trying to chat up an attractive person of gender choice (let's not be sexist here- meh), sound is only part of the communication. Relying on sound alone easily gets you into situations with metaphorical undergarments round knees and real red face. Depending upon the situation and whether you're having fun, or perhaps not.

Carrying on with the chatting up in Disco conceit, there's far more to detecting eruptions than simply sound. There's motion, expression, and perceived mood. Sometimes these moods are hard to divine, but they are there. So maybe sound detection alone is only a part of the answer.

It has been posited that changes in geomagnetism or even changes in the solar magnetosphere may have a subtle impact on volcanism, rather like Svensmark's cloud climate hypothesis; where increased particle bombardment from cosmic rays when the solar wind is low increases cloud formation, increasing albedo and thus reflecting sunlight away from the Earth's surface. Thus making the Earth cooler.

Study of other planets in the solar system tells us that volcanic activity can be driven by energy generated by a body moving through a magnetic field. Published work by Russian researchers Sergey Pulinets and Kirill Boyarchuk, amongst others, point in this direction. As Earth is known to have a nickel iron core, so it is suspected does Io, one of Jupiters Inner moons. Now Io, the moon in question, is a highly volcanically active place, and has a curious phenomenon suspected to be due to magnetic activity, a ‘flux tube’ of highly charged electrical activity connecting Io and Jupiter. It is thought that this produces an inductive heating effect in Io’s nickel iron core, driving the observed high level of volcanic activity. This is perfectly in line with accepted electromagnetic theory where a metallic body moving through a magnetic field will induce electromagnetic activity in said body.

It may interest anyone who gets this far in my often poorly structured posts, that similar 'flux ropes' between the Sun and Earth have been observed by NASA's THEMIS mission.

Ergo, it may be argued that observed changes in the interaction between the Sun and the Earth’s magnetic fields may have some effect upon the heating effect of the Earth’s core, thus providing a driver of volcanic activity. Local changes can be measured with magnetometers. Whilst this type of measurement alone may not be sufficient to act as a volcano / earthquake early warning device, in combination with stress meters, additional observations should be sufficient to build up a better picture of what the Earth is telling us, deep down.

Going back to the chatting up in the disco conceit, thus may we be able to see what the object of our intentions (Seismic activity) is going to do by joining up the dots of sound, electromagnetism and observed local physical changes. Thus easing the task of knowing what 'mood' our potential date is in. Then we may have a better idea of what any given volcano or earthquake fault is liable to do, and perhaps get the hell out of Dodge before a Pompeii happens.

Grímsvötn grumbling

2011-02-24T22:42:00.000-08:00

Just spotted this little grumble under Vatnajökull which is rather reminiscent of last years minor eruption and glacial floods.

Usual caveats about tremors and eruptions apply, so until someone can come up with a monitor that can measure the frequencies that theoretically indicate when a volcano is about to go foom, we're stuck with conjecture and old fashioned methods of measurement. I'm waiting to see what the big brains over at UBC are going to come up with.

Christchurch Quake distribution.

2011-02-24T22:23:00.000-08:00

Regarding my post on the Christchurch Earthquakes. Here is a screengrab of published seismic activity during the last seven days in that area. From the 18th to the 25th February, New Zealand dates and times.

As I posited earlier, the majority of the activity, including the big ones, have all been located in a fairly tight geographical area in the north caldera wall of an extinct volcano. The dots show the epicentre of each tremor, colour coded for depth.

The thought occurs that if one side of a caldera shifts, that moves the stresses around, and it's only a matter of time before more tremors hit around the rest of the perimeter. When and where appear to be the only issues outstanding.

What's so great about freedom anyway?

2011-02-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

A simple man's discussion of liberty and freedom.

In the workshop the other day, working on a couple of small projects I found my mind wandering as it sometimes does when my hands are busy. Nothing much, just a little combination carpentry and engineering, general workaday stuff I do as a volunteer. I found myself wondering in the wake of the various Middle Eastern protests, what is freedom? What does it mean and who does it really benefit? Is it really in the words of the song; “just another word for nothing left to lose”? Why is it preferable (or not) to the alternatives? Why are people prepared to fight and die to attain it? Why do we make such a fuss?

What do the words ‘freedom’ and / or ‘liberty’ mean?

Here are some dictionary definitions for ‘Freedom’

Freedom is the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
Freedom is exemption: immunity from obligations or duties
Political freedom is the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression.
Freedom is commonly known as a state of being free from government oppression.
Self ownership

Similarly for ‘Liberty’

Autonomy: immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence
Freedom of choice; "liberty of opinion"; "liberty of worship"; "liberty--perfect liberty--to think, feel or do just as one pleases"; "at liberty to choose whatever occupation one wishes"
Personal freedom from servitude or confinement or oppression
Shore leave: leave granted to a sailor or naval officer
Familiarity: an act of undue intimacy. As in “A downright liberty”
Liberty is a concept of political philosophy identifying the condition in which an individual has the right to act according to his or her own will. In feudal times, a liberty was an area of allodial land in which regalian rights had been waived.

So those are the dictionary definitions, but does being ‘free’ mean freedom from want or hardship? No. If anything it means you work a bloody sight harder to earn your daily crust. Longer hours, and there’s no extra money in it. There’s no magic support moolah from the state if work dries up. You’re pretty much on your own.

Does it mean freedom from fear?

Well yes and no. Fear is pretty subjective anyway. Having walked mean streets without body armour, with what often seemed every voice turned against me, I know that fear only gets in the way of dealing with daily risks. To be free of fear, you just have to look into your inner mirror and say; “Yes of course that scares me, but not so much that I can’t or won’t do anything about it.” Otherwise you’re just a soon to be ex-rabbit staring into onrushing headlights.

Does freedom mean having no ‘rights’?

Depends what you call a ‘right’, doesn’t it? Some contend that only an institution like a state or statutory body can grant ‘rights’. What these Statist ‘rights’ tend to be are generally along the lines of; “Whatever I want given to me for free, for doing nothing in return, right now.” Such as the ‘right’ to ‘free’ services like medical cover and education or the ‘right’ to safety (Whatever that means). For me a ‘right’ derives not from what I want from the state, but from what I should be free to choose for myself, providing I promise not to whine if I screw up and it all ends in tears.

Put simply, the Statist wants a free lunch in exchange for a reduction in their liberties and increase in everyone else’s taxes. Contrariwise, the Libertarian doesn’t want the lunch, the extra tax, or the loss of choice. They just want to be able to run their own lives without having to ask permission all the time, or to have to pay for the choices of others.

Freedom can also be viewed as a balance between rights and obligations. You may have a right, but you have an obligation not to abuse that right to the detriment of others. Who also have exactly the same rights as everyone else. In a free society there should be no private law or privilege for the wealthy or famous. No ‘superior’ rights, such as in the case of vociferous minorities. No handicaps or positive discrimination to make things ‘fair’. Because any such bias in a truly free society is ‘unfair’. If you don’t understand that, well, you don’t ‘get’ the concept of fairness or freedom at all. We all have limitations, it's what you turn them into that counts.

Freedom also means not being subject to summary arrest or detention without evidence or charge. It means being able to voice an opinion without intimidation, physical or otherwise, or any form of detention. That means no one is allowed to thump you, or threaten to do so, for speaking your mind on a topic. No one is allowed to harass you or yours for not agreeing with them. It also means you can’t do that to others if you disagree with them.

Freedom also means the right of self defence. So if you tell someone to leave you in peace and they either threaten you, or attempt physical harm, you can take such steps as are necessary to negate the threat. In this situation, your right to prevent yourself or others being harmed should out weigh their right to disagree with you, should they escalate to violence first.

So what good is freedom anyway if you don’t really get anything out of it?

Ah, the question of the born slave. In a word; motivation. Freedom, or the self determination that comes as part of the package means you are master of your own destiny. It means choice. On the simplest level the power to make decisions for yourself without having to ask permission, with all the chances and thrills that brings. Once you’ve gotten past the fright of finding yourself firmly at the controls of your own life, it’s a remarkably refreshing experience, and not one you’ll give up without a bloody good fight.

So why are people willing to die for freedom?

A nice easy one, this. See also last sentence of previous paragraph. Self volition, freedom of choice and suchlike are fundamental human needs. I could trot out a whole bunch of buzzwords like ‘empowerment’, but that implies the power in question wasn’t an option in the first place. No one, apart from a slave, and not even then, likes being bossed around and told what they can think, say and do. Given enough provocation by an uncaring elite, even the most downtrodden worm will turn.

Looked at from an historical viewpoint it’s almost inevitable that an enslaved population will revolt. Chronicles from ancient civilizations to the present day are littered with such events. From Spartacus and before to the 20th Century Civil Rights movement and beyond. Having the ability to decide your own fate, at least for humans, is as natural as breathing. We are not a herd animal. Tribal yes, herd, no.

Hang on, this freedom thing just sounds like chaos, no one really wants that do they?

Whilst a state of absolute chaos where no rules apply, is undesirable, rigid enforcement is just as undesirable. All rules have circumstances in which an exemption is desirable for the benefit of others as a whole.

Humans, and just about every organic life form on the planet follow rules which can be ascertained by simple observation. The ‘simplest’ tribal society has a raft of rules governing dress, behaviour and diet. Yet what is right for them would most definitely not be appropriate for the average Western city dweller, and vice versa. Yet even in supposedly chaotic situations there are rules. Arbitrary and eccentric, but rules nonetheless.

There are certainly those who cannot function outside of a tightly defined set of rules. I’ve met a few and I understand one thing about them. Rules give them certainty. Rules define their tight little comfort zones. Rules are their security blanket. They long to dictate to others simply because it gives them a feeling of power which has been attained without first attaining either merit or ability. They want everyone to be the same as them, and can’t tolerate those who are different.

There is a saying that one man’s Anarchy is another’s business opportunity. For those who are prepared to ‘wing it’, the looser the system is the better. Yet even such a system has rules, which can be learned and worked within. All that you really need to know are the absolute boundaries beyond which you may not go.

Yeah, but this liberty thing, it’s just people being selfish isn’t it?

Is it selfish to think of and for oneself, and allow others to do likewise? To quote Oscar Wilde from ‘The soul of man under socialism’;

“It is grossly selfish to require of one's neighbour that he should think in the same way, and hold the same opinions. Why should he?………….…A red rose is not selfish because it wants to be a red rose. It would be horribly selfish if it wanted all the other flowers in the garden to be both red and roses.”

From De Profundis he quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson;

“It is tragic how few people ever 'possess their souls' before they die. 'Nothing is more rare in any man,' says Emerson, 'than an act of his own.' It is quite true. Most people are other people”

Freedom and liberty, if they mean anything at all, are about the sense of possession of one’s own spirit. To own oneself is by turns exhilarating, exasperating and exhausting, but a hell of a lot more interesting and enervating than the simple trudging existence of modern human bondage. Who was it that said. “The unexamined life is not worth living”? Oh yes, according to Plato, good old Socrates.

Christchurch, NZ

2011-02-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

My comrade in words the Angry Exile brought this site to my attention which kind of tells a greater story about the Christchurch Earthquake than the one currently being covered in the mainstream.

Often when an Earthquake is reported, all you see are the headlines, like '200 people killed in quake horror' for example. When you read the associated articles, they skim over the surface, glossing over important details that might be actually useful, apart from generating mere sympathy for the victims. The really interesting thing about the Christchurch tremors is the concentration of seismic activity and where it is happening.

What really did the damage was not one big quake, like the 7.1 magnitude on the picture from 4th September 2010, but a series of rapid hammer blows of 3-4+ magnitude after the main shocks of 6.3 and 5.7, which occurred within twelve minutes of one another. They were followed by a 5.9 magnitude quake less than two hours later. If you run through the sequence of tremors, you can see that the vast majority of the recent shocks recorded are in what is known to be the northern caldera wall of an extinct volcano. Having run through the recent sequences, I'd hazard a guess that what is happening under the Southern edge of Christchurch is a widespread collapse of the old volcanic vent system and magma chambers in the 2-12km depth range. Perhaps even slippage in the faults within the caldera walls as they 'settle'. Not directly related to the nearby Greendale fault at all.

I'm only an amateur observer of such phenomena, but that's what it looks like to me. Go look for yourselves. Run the sequence of 22nd February and you'll see what I mean.

Eyjafjallajökull again.

2011-02-23T07:26:00.000-08:00

A bunch of small tremors today just over a kilometre down under good old Mt Unpronounceable. Usual caveats apply about tremors and eruptions. Magma chamber could be draining, not filling, no data on ground deformation or tilt etcetera, etcetera. So as usual pretty inconclusive, but surprising nonetheless. Nothing on the local webcam. Just small, shallow(ish) tremors.

Not much worth getting excited about. For excitement, Kilauea, Hawaii is having a few collapses in the crater wall, and the lava lake is rising. Bulusan in the Phillipines has been erupting for the past couple of days. Plenty of 'excitement' there.

Reykjanes peninsula activity is still grumbling away, but going deeper, and scattered tremors through Vatnajökull.

Meanwhile, back here on Vancouver Island it's snowing. We have an extreme weather warning no less.

One Ceausescu moment coming right up

2011-02-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

Quoted from this Al-Jazeera article.

"I am a fighter, a revolutionary from tents ... I will die as a martyr at the end," he said.

"Muammar Gaddafi is the leader of the revolution, I am not a president to step down ... This is my country. Muammar is not a president to leave his post."

"I have not yet ordered the use of force, not yet ordered one bullet to be fired ... when I do, everything will burn."

Statement 1 and 2 I would say are true. Statement 3 is a lie because there have already been incidents where Libya's armed forces have fired on civilians.

My money is on it all ending like this;

Of course this is pure conjecture, but I'll back my conjecture, which is based upon observation and historical precedent, against any other prophesies.

Another one bites the dust?

2011-02-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

According to the UK Daily Telegraph Libyan Dictator Gadaffi has legged it to Venezuela. That's something I never thought I'd see, rather like Morris Dancing Star Wars Stormtroopers.

Reuters has the Venezuelans denying the report. No confirmation by the most reliable news source in the region, Al-Jazeera as yet, but I hope that there is some sort of belated justice against Gadaffi's regime for people like those murdered at Lockerbie, and Yvonne Fletcher. Not to mention all those Libyans tortured and killed by the diktats of a socialist dictator.

Should Gaddaffi truly be an ex dictator, one can also only hope that the Libyans don't get another government which is just as bad. Good luck guys, you're going to need all you can get.

Hellisheiði again

2011-02-20T21:07:00.001-08:00

Two swarms in the past nine days near Hellisheiði. Todays activity is definitely shallower overall than nine days ago (See red underlined tremors in upper graphic.) First reported in this post.

Not sure what this means, but as there are webcams close by, if any activity does make it to the surface, we're in a very good position to see it happen on the Eastward facing camera of Highway 1 (See previous post on Hellisheiði.) As it is close to Icelands biggest geothermal power generating facility, I'm assuming that the guys at Hengill will be keeping a close eye on their seismographs too. Will check again first thing in the morning before I go to work.

Update: Tremor activity has slid back a little and the swarm seems at the time of writing to have diminished with most activity back down at the 2-5km level.

Seen in the narrows

2011-02-20T14:12:00.000-08:00

Surfaced from working on my current MSS to hear a loud noise, like one of the usual aircraft buzzing overhead. Sounded rather like one of the twin engine turbojet aircraft that Jazz use for the Vancouver to Nanaimo run. The sound hung around and got louder.
"What's that?" I asked Mrs S, who was reading in the front room. "Are we being buzzed or something?"
"I don't know." She said, raising her head from the Peter Ackroyd she is currently absorbing.

So I took a look and my jaw just went south for the Winter. A hovercraft! A real live, no shit hovercraft! In Coastguard trim no less. I mean I'd heard they'd got one, but I never thought I'd ever see a hovercraft again outside of a science museum. A quick google later I've got the details; It's the CCGS Siyay, a fisheries and coastguard vessel based in Richmond, Vancouver.

I know my picture is crap, but by the time I'd gone and found my camera it was over a mile away, roaring down the side of Link Island. So I had to improvise using my spotter scope.

That has just made my day, possibly my week with an option on the whole of February.

One for the Neo-Malthusians out there

2011-02-20T06:55:00.000-08:00

You know, I was quite happy when the Jehovah's Witnesses gave up predicting the end of the world. Now I'd be just as content if another group would all give us a rest from their annoying doomsaying. If you think the world could do with fewer people, as always the message is; "After you."

The fine art of killing

2011-02-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

There is a a lot of discussion on various hunting archery forums about the type of arrowhead best for despatching one's quarry quickly, and with the least amount of fuss and shortest bloodtrail. That's the whole point of hunting; to kill as quickly and cleanly as possible. To me the best kind of kill is the 'one shot drop', where the target is struck in such a way that it dies as close to instantly as possible.

Regarding 'instant' death. Aside from being hit by a blast so large that the shock is enough to shred every single atom in a body simultaneously, or the vaporisation and / or complete annihilation of brain tissue, there is no such thing as instant death. With humans for example; decapitation is not instant; the blood flow may be gone, but the brain tissue does not actually begin to die for two minutes. If it's very cold, even longer. There are plenty of anecdotal instances where the shock of the decapitating blow has not been sufficient to cause immediate unconsciousness, so the actual victim may be construed as still alive whilst their still conscious head is rolling around on the ground. Electrocution does not always cause immediate unconsciousness, nor does poison either inhaled or otherwise ingested. Judicial Hanging likewise. As an aside, a bullet in the back of the head is possibly the quickest and least painful, as when done properly it instantly destroys the pons medulla, which controls respiration and heartbeat. A jacketed fragmenting round may be preferable as after penetration of the skull, it should break up and instantly destroy brain tissue, causing as close to instant death as is practical.

As far as humans are concerned; without the brain, we are little more than a series of biological pumps encased in meat. This is because the brain is the seat of consciousness and awareness. In the case of hunting a prey species, in order to convert living protein into usable meat, the brain must therefore be shut down. In the case of a chest trauma, this means depriving the brain of blood by wrecking the pumping systems that keep it alive. Anyone who has trained in CPR will tell you that you must keep up those chest compressions to replace the action of the heart. The idea being get keep blood flowing within two minutes of a cardiac arrest or the brain tissue begins to die. When sufficient brain tissue dies, the person or creature it guided is no more.

Notwithstanding the above, killing Deer with a bow differs from using a firearm, because an arrow kills mainly by cutting vital blood vessels and causing massive blood loss. Not so much by impact shock and tissue damage as with a bullet. To kill effectively with an arrow means being able hit consistently within a twenty centimetre circle at twenty five to thirty five metres range, and have sufficient fieldcraft to be able to stalk to within that distance. Arrows, generally speaking, are not the best tool for penetrating thick bone such as that of a skull, and unless hitting square on, will tend to glance off.

I've always felt there is more of an art to killing with a bow rather than the simple mechanics of squeezing a trigger, as with a crossbow or firearm. The bow is more of an extension of your own body. Although Compound bows with all their gadgets and mechanical aids have always seemed to me a bit like cheating, but then I'm more a fan of 'traditional' hunting archery. For me, the skill is the thing, not the bag size. Whatever the tool, killing for food is a fine art, and one that merits a little judicious study to get it right.

Bearing the above in mind and not wishing any animal I wish to grace my dinner table in installments to die slowly, I decided to research the topic in detail before thinking about going on a hunt proper. Considered judgement is that a chest shot is best and least distressing to the animal to be shot. Various angles are favoured, but the most likely to result in a suitable killing target is judged to be slightly from a rearward angle (30-45 degrees) from full side on. However, there is a lot of disagreement about the type of broadhead that kills best. There are mechanical broadheads, with trochar heads and 2, 3, or 4 blades. There are traditional forged heads, stainless steel, alloy and all sorts on the market, which all look suitably deadly (See below). Some of them even look like they were designed by wannabe starship designers.

Having examined some of the better ones, a few weeks ago I got into a discussion about the best tool for the job of hunting with an experienced bowhunter. I'd seen a number of fancy mechanical broadheads and was keen to try them out. When I spoke of my interest, my friend was dismissive of 'mechanicals'. He was quite blunt on the matter and told me not to "Waste your damn money." According to him, the best hunting arrow head was a simple bevel edged two blade broadhead with a three to one length to width ratio. He also referred me to the work of Dr Ed Ashby which is published here, which is often taken as the seminal work on broadhead bowhunting.

Having read Dr Ashby's body of work, which is considerable. I have elected to purchase a 3 pack of the classic 'Ashby' design. Over a hundred bucks a throw, but well worth the investment I feel. If unavailable, there are a number of other forged two blade hunting tips which may not be as robust, but will do the job just as effectively. From what I can see, the two blade designs offer better killing and penetrating power than the three or four. With access to a simple metalworking shop, it wouldn't be too much of an effort to make my own to a similar design.

There's also the issue of fletching. An arrow is above all, a silent killing tool. In order not to 'spook' the prey so it starts or jumps just as the shot is taken, and thus is only wounded, the arrow must be as quiet as possible. One of my more experienced bowhunting acquaintances has done a little work on this topic, and worked out that a four inch 'banana' cut feather is the quietest fletching you can put on an arrow.

If fresh venison is going to end up on my dinner plate, I'd prefer that the Deer in question died quickly without knowing what hit it. Just because I hunt occasionally doesn't make me a completely bloodthirsty heartless bastard. Just someone who acknowledges humanity's genetic heritage as a tribal hunter gatherer. Even if I do have a slightly more than warped sense of humour. H/T to the Filthy Engineer for the 'Sainsburys Bambi' picture.

Katla status 19th February 2011

2011-02-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

Low level grumbling with a semi regular burbling every few hours from 100 metres to a kilometre and a bit down.

As usual, caveat about tremors alone do not indicate an eruption is either pending or not.

Sometimes.....

2011-02-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

A simple look can encapsulate everything you want to say. Although I'm still wondering what 'listenting' is.

That's odd

2011-02-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

Having the view over water that I have, one of the things I've noticed recently is the small flotilla of bulk carriers anchored at the top of the Tricomalee channel between Valdes and Kuiper Islands. I saw the lights of four last night. Three the night before, and all of them riding high and empty. Two others are clearly visible up just outside Departure bay. Too far away to make out names and numbers, but it is odd to see so many of these big ships just sitting at anchor like that. They weren't parked up like this in the last three years to my certain knowledge.

These Handymax size bulk carriers (like this one) are expensive to run, and leaving them unused makes me wonder. For it to make money, shipping has to be on the move all the time. For that much money to be effectively sitting still for the best part of a week means that the pulp trade has slacked off considerably. This does not bode well for the local economy. Normally, these guys come and go without hanging around.

Considering that the passage to that point is fairly narrow and relatively shallow for such shipping. I'm amazed that anyone would want to park even one a hundred and fifty metre long ship down there. Let alone four.

Fruit Warning

2011-02-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Saw this article about radiation and food over at Wattsupwiththat and fell about laughing. The article points out that the levels of background radiation in naturally grown foodstuffs, like bananas, are higher than we think. For example;

Relative food radiation levels;
Beer= 390 pCi/liter
Tap Water= 20 pCi/liter
Milk= 1,400 pCi/liter
Salad Oil= 4,900 pCi/liter
Whiskey= 1,200 pCi/liter
Brazil Nuts= 14,000 pCi/kg
Bananas= 3000 pCi/kg
Flour= 140 pCi/kg
Peanuts 8,000 pCi/kg
Peanut Butter= 120 pCi/kg
Tea= 400 pCi/kg

In fact most foods contain some form of radioactivity. This is perfectly natural. The world is filled with various kinds of radioactivity. It occurs regardless of human activity.

One of the figures quoted is our total exposure to radiation in a year is in the region of 360 millirems a year. Before you go running off to berate others about atom bomb tests, remember that a single transatlantic flight can expose you to about 4 extra millirems a year, whereas dosage from atmospheric pre ban treaty nuclear tests has been calculated overall at 1 millirem a year. Moving to a location 1000 feet above sea level exposes you to an extra 5 millirems a year. That's not including radiation from the soil and rock underneath your feet. Like granite? High natural background radiation just from that fancy counter top in your kitchen.

Figures culled from here. Please go and read.

Next time some anxiety prone goes off at me about the wickedness of nuclear power stations, food residues and sterilising with Gamma radiation, I think I'll just ask them about how many bananas they eat.

Mt St Helens

2011-02-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Reports of a small Earthquake swarm not far from Mt St Helens south of the border are coming in. Whether this develops further is on my list of things to watch. The swarm itself is reported at around approximately 2-5 kilometres depth. This sort of tremor activity is generally thought not to be indicative of eruption, just a little bit of subsurface rearranging of geological furniture.

Iceland is pretty quiet at the moment, seismically speaking. Considering where it sits on the mid Atlantic spreading zone, this is mildly surprising. However, I'm sure another swarm will be along in the next few days.

Did the Earth move?

2011-02-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

A 2.9 magnitude Quake popped up in the Georgia Strait this afternoon about thirty five kilometres away, and no, the Earth did not move for me. I was busy at work and never felt a thing. Neither did anyone else in town for that matter. One of my cousins used to live not far from the epicentre, which was on the eastern side of Saltspring Island. Mind you, a 2.9 can easily be mistaken for a heavy truck passing close by.

There are experts predicting that we're overdue for a 'big one'. Which meant we had a big province wide Earthquake drill three weeks ago, which had people hunkering under desks instead of getting the hell outdoors and into the nearest wide open space before the building fell on them. A serious grumble would have me out through the nearest exit in very short order.

Nevertheless, my Emergency kit duly languishes in the car just in case. Canned and dried food. First aid kit. Multitool. 12 litres of emergency drinking water sits in a cupboard by the front door. Bow is always in 'ready grab' position on the stairs. Hunting knife in Quiver. Axe and shovel in toolshed. Good relations with neighbours. We'd all club together if need be, it's that kind of neighbourhood. But then I've found this about Canadians, no one has to tell them what to do, they just get on with it.

One of the reasons I like it here so much. Even if the Earth hasn't moved for me.

No veiling of issues

2011-02-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

Regarding the latest row over veils and voting. There should be no 'ban'. However the rules on identification at voting should be tightly enforced. If the recording officer requires ID before a vote card is issued, then he or she should be allowed to verify the ID of the voter before doing so. The right to vote is important enough to transcend a purely personal preference, which is all this veil malarkey is. It's a tribal, not religious observance.

Re this desire to permanently hide the face. My youngest covers up whenever she's feeling upset, defensive or fragile. When the hoodie and the scarf go on, Mrs S and I try to cheer her up rather than berate her for hiding. Doesn't stop her doing it, but it does make her hide less frequently. We talk to her about what's making her feel sad, kid her that she's being a bit 'weird', then she brightens up and her inner sun comes up again. The hoodie comes off and all is smiles.

Maybe there's a lesson for everyone in there somewhere.

Volcano love

2011-02-15T06:03:00.000-08:00

Power outage last night due to a bit of a storm, so no blogging. Picked up this little snippet about 'Love waves' from Mt St Helens. Named afte Geophysicist Augustus Edward Hough Love. No threat of eruption, just seismic grumbles like those of nearly 30 years ago which followed the famous 1980 eruption.

How appropriate for Valentines day.

Activity at Langjokull, Iceland has settled down to regular grumbles which probably mean nothing. Similar pattern under Katla. About as quiet on the Iceland front as it ever gets, tremor wise.

One of the things that has piqued my interest is a claimed correlation between solar flare geomagnetic activity and Volcanoes. Seeing as there was a big X flare yesterday on the Sun (The biggest since 2006), this postulation should soon be put to the test. Will be keeping a weather eye on various seismometers to see what truth may be found there.

Happy Valentines day

2011-02-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

This is for Mrs S. She won't like the song, but she'll get the message. Happy Valentines day, love.

Correction; she likes the song, the message, and by proxy, me. I going off to blush now.

This is interesting...

2011-02-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

The Internet as a way of funding independent media?

That is interesting.

Guys, I have a couple of MSS I'd like some help converting to visual media. Hmm. Who needs publishers, eh?

Video hinc domum tuam

2011-02-13T04:05:00.000-08:00

Which means; "I can see your house from here."

Adding to the volcano links sidebar the Mt Baker Volcano observatory. This is an active volcano which is on my front doorstep. Well not quite. Ninety four miles away, but perfectly visible on any clear day. Active Volcanoes I can't see from my deck on a clear day are; Glacier Peak, Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier. That's Washington State in the USA. There are a couple of active Volcanoes in BC, but being British Columbian Volcanoes they're far too laid back to do much erupting. Mt Garibaldi for example, just up the road from Squamish, hasn't belched for around ten thousand years.

Not that any eruptions are thought to be immanent, but it's nice to know I would have a relatively safe ringside seat should Mt Baker decide to blow.

Update: Additional thoughts on predicting volcanic activity on 'Bubbling under' page.

Buerkish comment?

2011-02-12T07:50:00.001-08:00

Talk about being behind the curve. Widely reported amongst the blogs, but picked up from wattsupwiththat.com, this quotation from BBC's Radio Four programme, 'The Moral Maze'.

“not long ago, to question multiculturalism…risked being branded racist and pushed into the loathesome corner with paedophiles and climate change deniers“

Now that is so downright offensive to anyone who has quite reasonable doubts about the veracity of 'Climate Change Science' I don't even know where to begin. It was bad enough being lumped by ignorant media pundits into the same corner as historical revisionists who denied that the WW2 slaughter of Jews, Gypsies, Disabled and homosexuals happened, but with paedophiles? I can forgive blinkered ignorance, and even stupidity. However, that sort of insult borders on unforgivable. It's the kind of ill considered remark that richly deserves a punch in the mouth. On the other hand, perhaps that is the reaction craved. "OO look at the bad man mummy, he hit me!" If it wasn't so politically correct and infantile it might be funny.

There is a better way which will be more effective recompense for the offence and provocation offered. Taken from one of the penultimate songs from the Who's Rock opera 'Tommy' the line goes; "Let's forget you, better still."

Mister Buerk, you owe a lot of people an apology for that ill considered and unpleasant remark. Not that any mealy mouthed insincere public offerings without your immediate dismissal will be enough to atone. Now get out of that Moral Maze.

Update: Cranmer thinks that Buerk was lampooning colleagues who routinely make the same type of assertion. Having listened to the linked clip twice, I'm not inclined to agree. Although having written that I don't listen to Radio 4 or watch the propaganda mill that BBC TV has become, and have not done so for several years before leaving the UK. I leave that for stronger stomachs.

Addendum: Lets face it, if someone can get booted out of their job for saying 'jungle drums' when casually referring to a rumour mill, then why should someone else not be sacked for comparing those who do not agree with them to paedophiles or similar? Lampoon or not.

Sauce for the goose. Let's see some parity here.

Prestahnukur tremor swarm, Iceland

2011-02-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

Some quite intense earthquake swarm activity today under the south west corner of the Langjökull glacier. Three tremors of over 3 magnitude, and 39 smaller quakes observed within the last six or seven hours. Depths are mostly between 1-6km, which is fairly shallow, although Langjökull itself is off the main mid Atlantic spreading zone, unlike yesterdays little grumblings just off Highway 1.

Usual caveats about tremors and eruptions apply, but the Peak of the Priests, or Prestahnúkur last erupted in 3350 BC, it is thought. There are no records of an eruption since that time. Lot of hot springs in the area, so I'm assuming this is another one of those 'rearranging of the volcanic plumbing' events that occur in active vent systems from time to time.

Update: Swarm activity continues, with activity tracking North and East through the vent system which is known to extend quite a way under Langjökull.

News update: For those looking for Volcano webcams, an extensive list with links (Now on sidebar) can be found here. If you don't like waiting for your eruptions, archive and recent footage of eruptions can be found here (Also added to sidebar). Many tips of the hat to Erik Klemetti, Geophysicist.

World Bank Joins Rush Away from the Green White Elephant

2011-02-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

Picked up from the Filthy Engineer. Well spotted that man.

"With economists plainly joining an increasing number of scientists in global warming skepticism its little wonder there’s now a mass flight away from ‘renewables;’ such that both investors and governments are compelled to follow suit in the clearest indication yet that green energy won’t live up to its promises.

The key to long-term economic success now appears to be safely premised once again on solid market innovation, not ideologically driven government subsidies; such subsidized ventures have a long and notorious history as lame duck enterprises. It seems ‘green renewables’ has become the latest of these white elephants."

Well, well. The markets have got the message, and maybe we can have our 'Green' taxes reduced then. Or am I being over optimistic here?

Not far from Hveragerði, Iceland

2011-02-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Keeping up my observations on matters seismic and volcanic in Iceland, this little swarm jumped off the screen at me this morning. The depth of the tremors is mostly around the 2-9Km mark and behaving a bit like a coffee percolator on the boil. Personally, I think the Gods of the Icelandic underworld have gotten a bit bored with the decor and are moving the furniture around down there.

For those who want to take a visual of the area, most of the activity seems to be almost directly and to the East under two Highway webcams (East and West Facing, not that there's much to see apart from ice and traffic) situated on the Reykjavik to Hveragerði road. Perhaps slightly to the north between the Hellisheiði geothermal facility and the big waterfall at Gullfoss.

Mubarak gone

2011-02-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

President Hosni Mubarak has waived the office of president

From Al-Jazeera Live blog.

I thought he was going to hold out until September. How much of a difference will his going make to the ordinary Egyptian on the street?

Yes, 'Climate Change' is to blame

2011-02-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

This may sound a little odd coming from a supposed 'denier' like myself. However, I'm increasingly of the opinion that 'Climate Change' is a major problem that should, and can be addressed fairly readily.

For examples, I'm going to cite the massive Australian bush fires, the Queensland floods, and the resultant environmental damage and a number of other events and strategies which are all caused by 'Climate Change'. I am persuaded that it is a real problem. With real solutions. Here are my arguments;

Firstly; The issue of Man made climate change. Changing land use such as deforestation is known to cause real changes in precipitation patterns. The most well documented example is Mount Kilamanjaro, where deforestation has reduced the amount of transpiration in the local atmosphere, so there is less moisture to crystallise in the freezing air at high altitudes and fall as snow on the mountain, hence the shrunken snowcap. Likewise the regular floods in Bangladesh. Deforestation upstream removed one of the natural buffers to flood prevention. The deforestation is man made, therefore the change in the local climate is likewise. These are no-brainers.

The Australian bush fires of 2009/10 have also been cited as being caused by Man made 'Climate Change'. This is also true, well sort of. Environmental regulations driven by the supposed need to prevent man made climate change were responsible for preventing landowners clearing brush, which in the dry season became ready tinder, and exacerbated the regular forest fires which resulted in the deaths of 230 people. Angry townspeople berated their Mayor afterwards for these 'Green' policies. The impact of the Queensland floods were likewise increased by 'Man Made Climate Change' for the self same reason; Environmental regulations and policies interfered with river management and flood prevention measures. Massive pollution from rare earth production in China for elements used in the building of Wind Turbines, Solar panels and 'Green' cars. Bats with their lungs turned inside out and birds splattered by not so eco-friendly Wind Turbines. Generating capacity reduced. The UK grinding to a halt because the authorities thought it was only going to get 'warmer'. Eco-unfriendly light bulbs containing heavy metals which require special disposal lest they leave a toxic legacy. The threat of economic stagnation and decline. All because of 'Man made Climate Change' and the mistaken supposition that Carbon Dioxide is a major climate driver that will cause massive destruction.

Yes, 'Man Made Climate Change' is to blame. As are all its advocates. We need to wind these policies back and invest in better energy generation technology. We need to dispose of wind and solar subsidies before they bankrupt us. These are doable right now. Not to change them is unsustainable.

Ironic really, because 'sustainability' is one of the buzzwords used to push the unsustainable 'Green' agenda.

Bárðarbunga and general Iceland tremor activity

2011-02-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of media interest in Bárðarbunga recently, and I've posted the two screengrabs from the Icelandic Met Office Earthquake web site. The top picture was a record of recent tremor activity from 6th January 2011. The lower was snapped today. I've annotated it with rough approximations of where various volcanoes are, and what was happening today. Not a lot is the answer. Which of course doesn't make very good copy, but it is accurate.

What does this portend? We don't know.

Update: The man whose quotation began the scare, Dr Pall Einarsson, is also quite rightly annoyed about how his interview has been twisted in the lamestream media. A classic demonstration of how the search for dramatic 'stories' can make black look white and conjure non-existent bogeymen out of the slightest shadow.

Volunteerism

2011-02-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

I do around nine to twelve hours voluntary work every week and one of the things I've noticed over the past two years has been a significant decline in the number of volunteers. I wasn't sure why until recently.

Put simply, a volunteer is someone who gives up their time, often with expenses completely unpaid and often using their own tools. Yet I'm seeing a sea change in voluntary work locally that has led to a shrinkage in the numbers of people giving up their time for good causes. It's got to the point where even the local branch of the Red Cross has been struggling to keep volunteers.

The problem as I see it is the increasing 'professionalisation' of the voluntary sector. The increase in paperwork necessary for prospective volunteers has gone from a single sheet waiver and CRB check, to a number of quite heavyweight legal documents, reference checks, and more in depth Criminal Record Bureau checks. In short, it's becoming more of an effort to volunteer. This puts a proportion of people off.

The skill levels required of volunteers are also increasing. Where once professional qualifications were not required, now they are being increasingly demanded by non-profits because their public liability insurance demands it. A transformation is occurring where volunteers are becoming more like unpaid part time workers. Again, this is another demotivating factor.

No one has yet suggested that volunteers clock in and out, but I think with the current crop of new management moving into relatively well paid Executive posts at National level, it's only a matter of time. These guys are coming in with brand new shiny university degrees in their hot little hands, and don't really understand what makes a volunteer tick. I've met a few, and while their enthusiasm can be infectious, the whole pep rally thing kind of palls after a while. Especially when there's another form to sign. It's more intense, and makes for a slightly less friendly environment, which is one of the reasons people volunteer.

This transformation in voluntary work may prove the last straw for many people who volunteer, as while respective charities need them more and more, there will be fewer people willing to jump through the extra hoops to provide the help said charities provide.

If this is the model for Cameron's 'big society', they need to stop and very carefully think it through again.

Bárðarbunga observations

2011-02-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

According to this story in the Tellytubbygraph, Dr Pall Einarsson, a professor of geophysics since 1999 at the University of Iceland has said that Bárðarbunga is next on the list of big eruptions.

Having gone through my catalogue of screengrabs for Vatnajokull, I've noted a lot of swarm like activity reported in the Bárðarbunga area around the 5-14km depth range on the following dates since April 2010. 28th May 2010, 26th September 2010, 1st January 2011 and 7th February 2011. Screengrabs reposted below.

There have been a number of similar 'deep swarm' type activity events observed in the same time period along the mid Atlantic spreading zone as it passes through Iceland. Approximate locations from North to South;

1) Tjörnes fracture zone 10-13km NE of Grimsey
2) Loki area, Vatnajokull
3) Krisuvik area, Rekjanes peninsula

All are on the mid Atlantic fault and have been displaying similar swarm activity periodically since I started my observations back in April 2010.

As I am fond of saying; the usual caveats about tremors alone apply. Like Dr Einarsson, I wish there was more data available re ground deformation etc which might give better warning of an eruption and so reduce the guesswork, and therefore the possible damage and disruption.

Volcanoes erupt. It is what they do. It would be helpful if we knew more about when and how big.

Ditching Firefox

2011-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

Well that's it; Firefox is no longer my browser of choice. For the past couple of months the only way to close the bloody thing was via task manager, where it often showed up as using over 90% of processor time and over half my system memory. Searches of various tech forums only gave me the option of rolling back to an earlier version. I've already tried this, and it only provides me with limited browser function. Not acceptable.

I really liked the 'Noscript' utility which blocked annoying pop-ups and interminable advertisements, I liked the layout, functionality and ease of use. Regrettably Firefox has been getting slower and slower despite regular cache clearances and even in desperation, one complete re-install. So it had to go. Now, like Internet Explorer, it resides unloved and unused, gently drifting down the list of favourite programmes like a leaky old wooden dinghy until it is forever lost from sight.