Fulks Sends Out a Cold Warning for the Upper Midwest

Gordon Fulks, physicist, U of Chicago, now in Oregon, keeps me posted.
This news is serious.
From the National Weather Service:
Bitter Cold Temperatures Remain in the Central U.S.
“Temperatures across the central U.S. will continue to be 10-30 degrees below normal as an arctic airmass remains in place. Gusty winds in this region will contribute to extremely cold wind chills, especially in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota where Wind Chill Advisories are in effect.”
From a low this morning of – 37 F, conditions at International Falls, Minnesota have warmed to -8 F this afternoon. But more bitter cold is on the way:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=48.6023149&lon=-93.40406789999997&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=International%20Falls%2C%20MN%2C%20USA#.UsHug_slja8
Wind Chill Warning
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
306 PM CST MON DEC 30 2013
…DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILL VALUES EXPECTED TONIGHT…
.ANOTHER PUSH OF ARCTIC AIR WILL ARRIVE TONIGHT AND COMBINE WITH
LIGHT WINDS TO PRODUCE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES ACROSS
THE ENTIRE REGION. TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS IF VENTURING OUT
TONIGHT OR TUESDAY MORNING.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WIND CHILL
WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON CST
TUESDAY.
* WIND CHILL VALUES…35 TO 45 BELOW ZERO EXPECTED ACROSS
NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND INTO DOUGLAS COUNTY IN EXTREME NORTHWEST
WISCONSIN. WIND CHILL VALUES AS LOW AS 50 BELOW ARE POSSIBLE
FROM INTERNATIONAL FALLS TO THE IRON RANGE AND INLAND AREAS OF
THE ARROWHEAD.
* IMPACTS…EXPOSED FLESH COULD FREEZE IN A MATTER OF MINUTES.
Woops, wish we had some warming.

Men's Health Morons

Please don’t choke when you read this nonsense.
You should be reminded that this is what appears in these silly grocery store and book store mags all the time.
Usually with pics of well defined boooodies.
http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/health/for-heart-health-steer-clear-of-fizzy-medicines-20131230
There is no point in explaining why the premise of the article is stupid–how does one establish the magnitude of stupid when there is no measure of stupid in the casual health press–salt is a threat to 30 year old exercise freaks? I don’t think so. Old guys with congestive heart failure or kidney disease–maybe.

Wanna Know Why I Consider Public Health People Creepy?

Just read this smarmy and self congratulatory piece by some Public Health public relations shill.
After reading it, ask yourself the question–is this author a legitimate representative of the American Healthcare system or a visitor from Mars?
http://blogs.plos.org/publichealth/2013/12/30/the-biggest-public-health-stories-of-2013/

Another Stupid Biofuel

You can’t make this stuff up. Renewables projects are the playground of air heads. Here’s another stupid idea, jatropha–a bush now promoted as an alternative fuel source. Sorta like cane and corn to ethanol and canola oil for diesel additive. I am breathless with anticipation on the breakthrough that is jatropha.
Another waste of land and good resources to produce an inferior energy source that benefits from green projects and renewable fanaticism. Almost as maddening as taking away some remaining tiger and orangutan habitat, taking down forest for an inefficient plant that requires a carbon using process to be converted to fuel.
Any physicist can splain to you, if you believe in plants, that plants be made of compounds that are not energy dense–they must be converted by a process that takes energy to make something that has concentrated energy. Compression makes coal and petrol dense–they are cooked down in high pressure earth mantel.
Here’s the interesting thing.
We used to burn wood,because it had more electron bonds and energy than burning weeds and manure and trash, then we moved up to coal and oil because, by golly the physics favored our choice–high energy concentrations, now we are going back down the energy ladder? Help me out here, is that progress? Look at the waste of land and resources, even carbon imprint required because of the renewable religion of coalophobia and petrolophobia.
I know nuclear would be better, but that’s another lesson.,
Often wrong but never in doubt, the geniuses of the green community. Repeat after me–for miles driven ethanol produces more carbon dioxide because it is less energy dense. Moreover ethanol burns hotter and is hydrophilic so it is hard on engine parts. Ethanol adds increase the cost of fuel, it has a big land, carbon and water use footprint, and it only survives because of the politics of the ethanol mandate and a little thing called the Iowa caucuses along with our friends at Archer Daniels Midlands and the farmers who are getting rich on high priced corn while mexicans can’t afford tortillas.
Damn shame.
Read about jatropha below–it’s probably more stupid than ethanol if that is possible. After that, class dismissed.
http://www.nationalreview.com/node/367178/print

More on Core

Core Curriculum has been a subject here recently, since JunkScience.com aficionados are naturally inclined to pedagogical matters.
Even as diagnosticians or analysts junkscience devotees are obligated to consider, for example, the vectors and etiologies of the ignorance that create and allow junk science.
If junk science is the product of corruption and ignorance–we probably should be concerned about primary, secondary and higher education curricula.
Continue reading More on Core

Solar Strikes Out Every Time

Norm Rogers is an excellent analyst because he is.
I know him from his writing and previous take downs of stupid ideas in enviro/energy matters.
He had a successful career as an evil capitalist, and I applaud him for it.
So Norm gets top billing at American Thinker today, but look at the archives and you will see, this ain’t his first rodeo.
Continue reading Solar Strikes Out Every Time

Fracking is REEEALLY SCARY, Send Donations to. . .

I am astounded at the ignorance of people about fracking–it doesn’t contaminate ground water, it’s safe and important for progress and energy self sufficiency.
Hysterical reactions and media hype, and of course time for enviro organizations to put out scares to pump up donations.
Continue reading Fracking is REEEALLY SCARY, Send Donations to. . .