The ‘Old’ Consensus?

Did NASA scientist James Hansen, the global warming alarmist in chief, once believe we were headed for . . . an ice age?

…

On July 9, 1971, the Post published a story headlined “U.S. Scientist Sees New Ice Age Coming.” It told of a prediction by NASA and Columbia University scientist S.I. Rasool. The culprit: man’s use of fossil fuels.

…

Aiding Rasool’s research, the Post reported, was a “computer program developed by Dr. James Hansen,” who was, according to his resume, a Columbia University research associate at the time.

So what about those greenhouse gases that man pumps into the skies? Weren’t they worried about them causing a greenhouse effect that would heat the planet, as Hansen, Al Gore and a host of others so fervently believe today?

“They found no need to worry about the carbon dioxide fuel-burning puts in the atmosphere,” the Post said in the story, which was spotted last week by Washington resident John Lockwood, who was doing research at the Library of Congress and alerted the Washington Times to his finding.

IT’S THAT DARN BUSH’S FAULT!!1!!1

I took a look at my website statistics yesterday and discovered that I’d already used up 73% of my bandwidth for this month! After poking around a bit, I found out the reason.

Some websites have been hotlinking my music. On the one hand, I’m like, Excellent! because someone actually wanted to do that. On the other hand, I’m like Bogus! because I have to have my bandwidth for my own stuff too.

So I enabled hotlink protection for music files on my site. You can still listen to all of my music by putting the link to the song directly in your browser (or by clicking on it through this website like normal), but it will no longer be possible to hotlink them from another site. Should save me some bandwidth…but we shall see.

If anyone has any problems accessing the music from this site, feel free to comment on this entry to let me know.

We went “live” with our new computer system at work yesterday. There were a few minor issues, but on the whole it went very well. All the testing paid off!

This will hopefully mean that next week will be getting back to normal here at work. That’ll be a relief. Although we also go word that one of my co-workers, who’s spouse was laid off from a different job, might have to leave due to financial concerns (long story, with personal stuff, so I won’t relay it here except to say that it means that I might no longer have a back-up for my position again).

But at least I’m not Floyd Landis, eh?

So I got my coffee this morning and decided I would write a blog entry that begins with the words “So I got my coffee this morning and decided I would write a blog entry that begins with the words ‘So I got my…’”

Obviously, I haven’t finished my coffee yet.

On the other hand, in the shop they were playing CNN on the TV (no volume, of course, but closed captioning). First, I will say, Thank God no OJ!

Instead, we’re going to focus on the Jena 6 (personally, I liked the new’s term Texas 7 better…). Now, my parents grew up during the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (TM). I’ve read a bit of history on it, and I could probably ask them for clarification too, but I seem to recall from what I’ve read that back when there actually was widespread racism running rampant in the South, blacks were being (I don’t know) like killed and stuff… But today, racism = six black people beating up one white person (which isn’t the racial part) … and then being charged for it!

I think it says something about how far Je$$e Jack$on has fallen when the only instances of racism he can find is a shock jock (Imus) and six thugs.

Please, can we get over this already?

You want to know why “race tensions” are so high? (Well, CNN seemed to want to know since they were asking it.) Answer: because Je$$e Jack$on would be unemployed if they weren’t.

A couple of things. Today, we should finally get our upgrade for the computer system to go live. It’s been in a test system for the past three or four weeks, so that’ll be nice to finally get going.

Secondly, I think it should be illegal for the radio to play anything by The White Stripes. Ever. But especially not early in the morning as I get ready for work. I don’t think I should start off the day feeling like I want to hurl….

I didn’t care about OJ in 1995….

AND I DON’T CARE ABOUT HIM NOW EITHER!!!

I just realized this, so I’m putting it here before I forget it :-) When looking at factors for any number using the Excel spreadsheet format, you only need to do the math for a number (X) between 1 and the square root of X in order to determine if there are any factors greater than the square root of X. Thus, to find whether X is prime, you only need to test up to the square root of X, and if you find no factors then X is prime.

As I came back from my lunchbreak today, I thought of something that would give my blog a little more pizzaz. But by the time I ran through the rain, trying to stay dry (it didn’t work), I forgot what my idea was exactly. (Cleverness, however, is more than simply spiking cookies with ex-lax. Deviously clever, I knew I’d persevere somehow. Even if it meant writing a post on giving my own post a self-referential shiv!)

Forget all that for a moment, although I’m sure I don’t need to tell you. Great cleverness is better than that! Hence, this post with its lovely words. I could tell you exactly what’s going on with it, but that would spoil it–and besides, then I’d have to remember! Just persevere through it, as if you were heading to the hoop like Shaq. Keep thinking deep. Looking for the obvious simply won’t do.

Meanwhile, I’ll pretend that I have a point to this dreaded omen. (Not really, though others might disagree if you were to ask them.) Okay, this post really came about because I spoke with Travis about Stephen King and Umberto Eco earlier, and this is but a continuation of that still.

Perhaps I could let you in on it, but first I want Travis to look. Quietly, we doth wait for the TAJ. :-)

Really, it’s not that difficult, even if you don’t know the first four digits of pi. Supposedly, that would help, but in reality it would not help enough. Therefore, I maintain that you need no mountain, for a molehill is sufficiently big. Unless you’re insistent, but that’s beyond what I’m qualified to speak of.

Very soon we come toward the ending, see? What happens next, or should we say what already did? Xanax might prove the ex-lax to be naught but ad-hoc. Yet perhaps there is more to it than that, if this post really be superb. Zounds, Travis, will I be forced to conclude this in abstentia?

I was just catching up on the comments on Triablogue’s Sincere Offer Polemics post and saw this quote by Steve.

He [the libertarian] believes that hellbound sinners have freedom of choice for the first 70 years of life, give or take, but lose their freedom of choice for the remainder of eternity.

I think this perfectly hit the nail on the head, although I would expand it slightly. Not only is this the case for the hellbound sinner, but also for the heavenbound redeemed. For, if Arminianism is true, then we have freewill on Earth for our lives, but as soon as we die we lose our freewill. In heaven, we will never sin and fall from grace; in hell, we can never choose to trust in Christ.

Why is this the case? Why is it that libertarian freewill plays such an important role for such a meaningless insignificant portion of time? The argument that God must really respect libertarian freewill rings hollow when we realize that He only “respects” it for a glimpse of time under the most common Arminian theological systems. Indeed, the fact that God doesn’t respect it in the future under most Arminian schemes is a death nail for that system: If God can make it so that the Arminian cannot sin in heaven, then why could God not make it so Adam would never sin in the Garden? The argument is that God cannot violate liberatarian freewill so Adam had to be free to choose–but if this is the case, then the Arminian can never be assured of his salvation for he must always be free to choose to leave heaven too.

On the other hand, the Calvinistic view is consistent both in this life and in eternity. Our natural state is to hate God. We do not need to teach men to sin, it comes naturally. Only the changing of a person with the God’s merciful regeneration can alter this state. If God does not act to alter someone’s nature, that man will always remain a sinner. Thus, Hell will be eternal for the unregenerate. On the other hand, if God regenerates someone, His justification is an eternal decree. In heaven, we will not sin for God will complete our sanctification and make it impossible for us to sin. At no point in the Calvinistic scheme does libertarianism come into play (although compatiblism does), and thus Calvinism remains consistent through both the present and the future.

Arminianism isn’t.

Apparently, the Broncos this year are going to become procrastinators. Oh well, they’re still winning at least.

But that’s not really relevant, for today THE REAL SPORT BEGAN!

That’s right, it was the Burgundy/White game for the Avs! The first preseason hockey game of the year, and Burgundy won :-)

Not that it counted. No, no, I don’t just mean “Preseason games don’t count.” The Burgundy/White game is when the Avs play…the Avs. Still, the real games are starting up soon!

*w00t*