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Here’s a breakdown of some of provisions in the emergency war supplemental

#3: Goat Gouda

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been experimenting a little with cheeses. Back in small-town NC, there was American, Cheddar, Swiss, and Parmesan (which came in a can). I find a few more choices at my neighborhood Giant and Safeway. Then Whole Foods has the most indulgent selection of cheeses I’ve ever seen. So, from time to time I’ll pick up a block of something that looks interesting and smells aromatic. I really enjoy the dry, salty cheeses like Pecorino Sardo. I’ll occasionally pick up a blue cheese, like most recently a potent gorgonzola. My consistent favorite is a smoky goat gouda, though. It’s a relatively dry cheese with a pleasing aroma, and a smooth, sweet flavor. It has a bit of a bite, which makes it exciting, but not as much as the blues. It also melts nicely over a warm burger, a feat that is not easily accomplished with the incredibly dry pecorinos. Actually, the last three meals I’ve cooked at home were juicy hamburgers, heavily seasoned, mixed with a little spinach and topped with a couple of slices of Gouda. Also recommended with crackers, potatoes, or Fillet Mignon.

Over the past three decades or over the past hundred years, it’s well accepted that the Earth has gotten warmer – at least by measurable amounts. It’s also well accepted, but not often acknowledged that over the course of the Earth’s history, it has been a lot hotter and a lot colder. Well, this article about polar bear populations in Canada suggest that the warming isn’t as bad as many have claimed. Last year’s tropical storm season also attests to this.
Now, I’m something of an environmentalist myself and an avid reader of The Treehugger. I highly recommend Treehugger as a resource for radical and reasonable environmentalists. And yes, it is possible to be both.
And now I get to the point of this post. Global warming has been called THE defining issue of our generation worldwide. Now natural climate change is well, natural, so it’s really Man Made Global Warming that is of concern, and these days, it’s our release of CO₂ or carbon dioxide that catches all the blame. (I wonder if the politicos and environmental pundits keep saying CO₂ for fear that people will figure out that carbon dioxide is the same stuff that we and every other animal creates each time we breathe.) I believe a reasonable view of this can go anywhere from man’s effect on global temperature is negligible to man’s effect on global temperature could cause “catastrophic” change over the next two centuries. I’ll briefly note that Gore’s claims of near-instant catastrophic climate change does not fall within that range of reasonable. Personally, I’m in the negligible to insignificant category. This excellent global warming video says normal solar patterns are the cause of global temperature change and this article on planetary warming supports the video’s claims.
Now that we’ve dispelled any unfounded, sensationalist theories about carbon dioxide, can we focus on some real issues like that scum floating on top of the Potomac?

I was harassed by St. Louis police officers for driving too cautiously.

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Later I remember that when I was pulled over (by one officer in a golf cart, and one in a squad car) I was wearing sunglasses and a sleep mask.

#2: My Caterpillar Boots

In 10 years, I’m on my second pair of Caterpillar boots. They are probably the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. They’re also some of the best looking and certainly the most durable.
I just found out today that the actual product name is the Second Shift Steel Toe. I got my first pair sometime before spring of 1998. I know I had them then because I wore them to my Junior Prom. In 1999 I wore them to my job washing cars because they were better at keeping my feet dry than Gore-Tex hiking boots. In 2000, I wore them to hike to the base of the Grand Canyon and back.
Did I mention they have a steel toe? Yes. My most comfortable pair of shoes has a steel shank and steel toe. They performed superbly on one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever made.
I’m not sure when the sole started to wear through, but when I started catching rocks inside the heel, I bought another pair. Same shoe, half a size larger. It seems like I wear them daily. Probably not, but they’re certainly not collecting dust. Think work with everything from holey work jeans to dress slacks. The two sets of speed laces up top also make them the shoe I slide on when I just need to run down stairs to check the mail.
Oh yeah, I still have the first pair I owned. They’re a bit too dirty and scuffed up for the office, but they get a good workout with any painting or heavy work I do.

You know how carbonated drinks are all full of suspended carbon dioxide (CO₂)? What about oxygenated drinks? Could they suspend oxygen in the same way? Wouldn’t that be better tasting and better for you? It would be a little bit like the oxygen-bar effect, except with caffeine. Is there some problem with suspending O₂ in H₂O that I would know about if I had paid more attention in Mrs. Batton’s AP Chemistry?

I’m staying home today and catching up on all kinds of work. I started hearing some loud noises this afternoon and didn’t think much of it at first. There’s a lot of traffic around here, and a lot of aircraft fly nearby. I hear a lot of noises and can’t figure out what they are. But the noises continued. My first thought was that it sounded like cannon fire. Then I thought maybe fireworks. For about half an hour, the explosions continued, so I decided to investigate. So, to the best of my ability, I ran across the permafrost that is covering Northern Virginia to find out what was going on. Right across the street from my building, there was a Revolutionary War reenactment.

And then there was this random snow storm.

This begins a brief series detailing a few products, services, and such that I absolutely love.

#1: My Oakley Half Jacket sunglasses

I typically couldn’t justify spending over $100 on a fashion accessory. I can make an exception for Oakley sunglasses though. The frames look great, especially the Bronze/Titanium Iridium in brown/black which goes well with most anything I wear. They fit my face perfectly and the “UNOBTAINIUM

The ice pellets are here, dialog on global warming has been postponed, the busses are all stuck, the roads are all jammed, and my truck is in the shop. I will be at home.

I just read this article in the NY Times that uses the new Virgin Earth Challenge prize as a jumping off point to talk about global climate change. There’s a lot of talk about the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and compares the work of their real scientists to the sensationalism proposed by Al Gore.