FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Redtooth]

Hell, with young kids, about all I know about these days is Hannah Montana.   

Hell, I've never even been to Butte.

Tmerts,

Save yourself the money......trust me

BTW---- I appreciate the karma love AO 

[OzJohnnie]

Pretend we had "totally irrefutable" proof that aliens would come from space and take over the planet 100 years from now.  Wouldn't we start building space based laser stations with nifty talking robots now?

Imagine we had "totally irrefutable" proof that butter increases cholesterol and causes heart attacks.  Wouldn't we all start using margarine now to stop us from dying of heart attacks?

The point is that finding "totally irrefutable" proof of something in a complex system, like the human body or the planet's climate, is near on impossible.  The point is also that there are things, such as solar activity and urbanization, which have a far greater footprint on the climate than carbon, and therefore a far greater impact on climate changes.  The point is also that during the course of human civilization we have experienced both significantly colder and warmer climates, neither of which, obviously, extinguished human life.

Present the totally irrefutable proof and the answer becomes obvious.  Until then we must keep searching for the proof.  Without that, how do we know whatever action we recommend won't exacerbate, rather than relieve, the perceived problem?

[tmerton]

Hell, I've never even been to Butte.

Tmerts,

Save yourself the money......trust me

Too late.  My wife lived in Butte (taught at the Catholic high school there) and has many stories about it.  We'll no doubt visit some day.

My favorite story comes from a classmate in law school.  He got a summer job in MT doing highway construction and one night found himself in a bar in Butte.  He apparently was there as the evening entertainment was getting started - i.e., two drunk guys started mixing it up with each other.  My classmate, being a peace loving guy from Texas (and, I might add, an athlete in good shape), thought this was senseless and tried to intervene to get the two lads to step back and calm down ... at which point both of the lads turned on him.  As he tried to explain that he was just trying to stop a senseless fight in which someone was bound to get hurt, one of the lads observed, "Man, you don't know sh!t about Butte." 

As I say, my wife loves Butte - a place that's "a mile high and a mile deep, but where everyone's on the level" (the slogan of the Butte Chamber of Commerce no doubt).

[Rugman]

Pretend we had "totally irrefutable" proof that aliens would come from space and take over the planet 100 years from now.  Wouldn't we start building space based laser stations with nifty talking robots now?

Imagine we had "totally irrefutable" proof that butter increases cholesterol and causes heart attacks.  Wouldn't we all start using margarine now to stop us from dying of heart attacks?

The point is that finding "totally irrefutable" proof of something in a complex system, like the human body or the planet's climate, is near on impossible.  The point is also that there are things, such as solar activity and urbanization, which have a far greater footprint on the climate than carbon, and therefore a far greater impact on climate changes.  The point is also that during the course of human civilization we have experienced both significantly colder and warmer climates, neither of which, obviously, extinguished human life.

Present the totally irrefutable proof and the answer becomes obvious.  Until then we must keep searching for the proof.  Without that, how do we know whatever action we recommend won't exacerbate, rather than relieve, the perceived problem?

And that is the answer, isn't it.  But risk management deals with probability in situations where uncertainty is the norm.  Are there not some things we could be doing to make this a healthier planet to live on that will also reduce "global warming" at the same time?  

[Rugman]

People do often confuse climate and weather, though. There are many sources for carbon emissions.

To even think that we -- puny, insignificant man -- could affect the climate of the Earth in any meaningful way because we burned some all our coal and oil is the height of arrogance, vanity, and pretentiousness.

Since we're taking a loooong term perspective here, I made one correction.

I reject your "correction" and the notion that we have used up our coal and oil. My whole life I have heard about the same three things which supposedly are going to happen but never will: (1) Soccer is going to be the next big sport in this country, (2) the Arabs are going to drive Israel into the sea, and (3) we are going to run out of oil.

OxyBob

Never meant to say it was all used up already.  But in the scale of time you are talking about, someday it will be used up and sometime before that our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, whoever will need to see it coming and do something about it.

[finsleft]

Well here's one thing I know for sure. Yesterday in my mail I received a flyer announcing "Bethel University Adult Education-Now in St. Cloud."

I take that as irrefutable proof that the world has truly gone to hell.

[OzJohnnie]

The Earth and Moon as seen from Mars.  Let's see Bethel try and educate some adults there.

[DutchFan2004]

People do often confuse climate and weather, though. There are many sources for carbon emissions.

To even think that we -- puny, insignificant man -- could affect the climate of the Earth in any meaningful way because we burned some all our coal and oil is the height of arrogance, vanity, and pretentiousness.

Since we're taking a loooong term perspective here, I made one correction.

I reject your "correction" and the notion that we have used up our coal and oil. My whole life I have heard about the same three things which supposedly are going to happen but never will: (1) Soccer is going to be the next big sport in this country, (2) the Arabs are going to drive Israel into the sea, and (3) we are going to run out of oil.

OxyBob

When #2 happens I don't want to be around!!!!!!!!!

[DutchFan2004]

My whole life I have heard about the same three things which supposedly are going to happen but never will: (1) Soccer is going to be the next big sport in this country, (2) the Arabs are going to drive Israel into the sea, and (3) we are going to run out of oil.

When #2 happens I don't want to be around!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, as we all know, #2 happens.

OxyBob

I don't know if that statement is really true.  Informed people know it will happen. 

[Gray Fox]

My whole life I have heard about the same three things which supposedly are going to happen but never will: (1) Soccer is going to be the next big sport in this country, (2) the Arabs are going to drive Israel into the sea, and (3) we are going to run out of oil.

When #2 happens I don't want to be around!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, as we all know, #2 happens.

I don't know if that statement is really true.  Informed people know it will happen. 

The uninformed may not know it will happen or when it will happen, but it does happen, so when it does happen, then the uniformed will know it has happened, and will thereby no longer be uninformed about it happening. So, eventually we will all know it happens, whether we know it or not.

OxyBob

Any bear in the woods knows that #2 happens.

[retagent]

It is the universe that makes fun of us all.

[Willy Wonka]

Could this be how TDT — or should I say Mystikal? — is able to live in the comforts of Florida while flying all over the country without having a job??

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080304/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/porn_ring

[OzJohnnie]

GOD! I miss the football season.  I'm bored stiff.  And, apparently, TDT is facilitating kiddie porn rings in this fair land.  Roll-on the opener.

[janesvilleflash]

I think it's just awful that you guys would try to tie TDT into such a thing. Don't you guys use your heads at all. Right in the first paragraph it says "highly sophisticated", that CAN'T involve TDT.

[Rugman]

Back to 99 in karma again.  I promise not to say anything today about religion, politics or natural history.