It's the end of the world

What with all the predictions flying around for 2009, I thought I'd recycle this vid about the end of the world as predicted by the doomsayers.

.......and what might come afterwards......

Happy new year.

Good gosh a mighty

Well flabber my ghast and pass the Wellington boots! The media worm appears to be turning; at least where it comes to the UK Daily Telegraph. For over the past 12 months a writer called Christopher Booker has been giving mainstream coverage to those who have serious misgivings about the doom mongering dogma of CO2 driven man made climate change. Now other columns in the same newspaper have elected to voice the doubts often fervently echoed in the comments. Particularly this report.

I stand ready to be toppled by the gentlest caress of avian plumage.

Snow Casualties

The recent snow has wrought much inconvenience and a number of casualties including eight Snowmobilers who got caught in two consecutive avalanches. Seven of the party are still unaccounted for at the time of writing.

Fortunately our only local casualty was a young female Deer which had taken shelter under a bush and died of cold. Took a walk with Dog this morning to see the still deep frozen carcase emerging from a thawing snowbank. Venison anyone? The only human casualty in our little enclave has been the wounded pride of a number of 4x4 drivers who have come to grief in roadside culverts despite snow chains etc.

Driving in the snow is a skill and requires decent snow tires, steady and slow acceleration and deceleration. Oh yes, and migraine inducing concentration. Having driven vans, cars and ridden a motorcycle in snowy conditions, I know whereof I write. There are those who can put the hammer down, trust to luck and come up smiling every time, but I'm not one of them. The ditch would beckon strongly. As for indulging in festive cheer; I won't even breathe on a glass of wine within twenty four hours of driving because sure as shooting, I'd get pulled over and busted for drink driving if I did.

Slow day

Spectacular view this morning. Fog and low cloud on the other side of Mudge Island positively glowed like a Turner seascape in the morning light.

Our roads are now a lot safer to drive. The snowplough, (Or in our case a Road Grader) a curious looking contraption with a hydraulically controlled ram blade slung under the cab, came through last night and cleared off most of the compacted slush and ice that made driving so tricky yesterday afternoon. Well done City Hall. It was getting too tricky out there.

Today we've stayed in and hunkered down. Wife to catch up with her reading, and me to pursue my literary ambitions and occasionally delve into 'Sarum'.

I see Christopher Booker in the UK Daily Telegraph has claimed that the Anthopogenic theory of Global Warming has been disproved in 2008. Personally I think it was disproved by the complete failure of all the apocalyptic doomsayers predictions to even begin coming true by 2005. Someone should let the warmista's know that theories need observable proofs, which the theory of Man made CO2 driven climate change has been conspicuously lacking in. Well, apart from unfounded scare stories and a lot of fudged statistics. Yet even now there are those with demonstrable evidence of non man made climate shifts, still choose to believe that humankind has any significant effect on the globalclimate. Obviously the salutory tale of the 'Emperors new clothes' is no longer taught in elementary schools any more.

Now, climatewise at least, we are in the midst of a Solar Minima and cool phase of the Pacific and Atlantic Decadal Oscillations. Things will get quite chilly for the next few years, and it may be worth considering moving further south. New Mexico maybe. Although there have been news items about Florida suffering from snow and ice recently. There goes the price of Orange Juice. Fortunately the latest weather news suggests it's got warmer down there again. Just goes to show that it isn't a warmer climate we should be worrying about.

Back to the grindstone tomorrow. I have calls to make and e-mails to shoot off.

I see Longrider has dropped off the blogging map. Looks like a domain ownership issue, so I'll wait a week or so before editing him off the sidebar. Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose.

Thaw

We are undergoing a very welcome thaw at present. Unfortunately, thaws pose their own hazards. Packed snow and slush turns to ridges of hard packed ice that renders useless all your petty attempts at steering in a straight line. The first kilometre out from home at present is a real queen bitch to drive. After that the middle of the road is mostly clear and makes for easy driving. When the thaw finally reaches our little enclave I will be a very happy bunny.

In the woods the underbrush is surfacing as the tide of crystalline white recedes. For days the only tracks into the woodland have been those of Dog and myself. Only the Deer have ventured under the laden canopy of branches. When the paths are clear I might even venture down to the beach to see what else has arrived.

Well, that's my first White Christmas since the 1960's and as far as I'm concerned you can keep it. White Christmases are for kids.

Back to business

More snow. A fine dust this time, but thickening with every keystroke. Getting home last night was fun if you like that sort of thing; especially the last kilometre. Having abjured alcohol for over twenty four hours my reactions got us safely along stretches of road where far more well equipped vehicles had come to grief in the ditch. These were vehicles with 4 wheel drive, snow tires, snow chains, the works. Just like the one in the picture. Yet they were off the road and we somehow safely skittered past, up hill and down dale, jouncing over every icy slush packed rut. After we arrived home I slumped into a nervous collapse over a large, and well earned, glass of Malt Whiskey.

MSS revision day. Have already 'Murdered my darlings' and will resubmit MSS sample to publishers in the new year. The mini screenplay is done, and I'll get that out of the door in January too.

BC Sunshine

Rain glorious rain. The snow has stopped and as of 12pm it started raining. Of course it'll take a day or two to clear all the snow, but I've never been so glad to see good old British Columbian Sunshine. I don't care if it rains all January.

Back to Nanaimo's usual temperate climate.

We've been having trouble with our 4x4 of late with some damp in the fuel line which has caused cut outs and a good deal of embarrassment on the highway. Half a tank of 94 octane and half a flask of STP fuel additive later and good ol' Sue is purring like a Puma on steroids.

Wife and I are off to party with family, leaving our fearless guard dog (not) with friends so he can courageously cower under the sofa. Bless.

Oh dear...

Just a little wintry amusement to lighten a so far very dark day. Oh well, it will only get lighter from here on in. The darkest day of the year is over thank goodness.

More snow shovelling today as we attempt a snow break out for a Christmas with some of our (over) extended family. Promises to get complicated as always. Wife is slightly emotional missing girls who are going to Englands Lake District for the holidays. This promises to put a damper on the festivities; therefore I cannot relax and have to do my best imitation of an emotional rock. Why do we do this to ourselves?

I'll need a break to get over the break.

A chat with real people

Been talking to the neighbours of late, and what they've said about the local climate and weather rather fits in with my own, albeit anecdotal, observations. Cold snaps like the one we're currently experiencing seem to happen in approximate 10 and 20 year cycles. Mostly they're not as intense, but it still forms a pattern. Working backwards from 2007 / 2008 the colder weather was noted in 1996 & 1998, before that 1987 / 88, 1978 was supposedly cold and wintry, 1971 was one of those 'All Canada' events, rather like the early 1960's and 1950's. Before that we have no local information, and the Airport Weather records only go back to 1979.

This got me thinking. In the UK we had an exceptionally cold winter in 1947, I've no information on the 1950's to hand, so I can't include that, but I recall trudging to school through heavy snow in 1967. 1977 was particularly cold and snowy. 1981 / 82 was pretty rough where I lived. 1987 had a cold snap that saw our household cut off from power, water, everything for three complete days. 1997 had a few snowfalls if I recall correctly, but nothing too exceptional, yet 2007 / 2008 have been distinctly chilly.

Again; this is all anecdotal based on memory so the years may be out, but the approximate 10 and 20 year cycles are definitely there. I'd have to check some impartial temperature records to be sure, along with precipitation measures etc. These cold weather events appear more driven by solar activity and major volcanic events than anthropomorphic causes.

Funny what a bit of a gossip with people whose memories go back further than the official temperature records will turn up.

The next person...

The next media idiot to reiterate the claim in my vicinity that all this bloody snow is to do with their farcical 'global warming' theory is going to get some nice icy 'global warming' stuffed forcibly down the back of their fashionable Gore-Tex jacket.

I've got to the point where, when I heard some Environmental advocate had died of Cancer today, all I could think was "Good. That's one less of the bastards." This is most unlike me. I am mostly a gentle soul without an ounce of malice in my heart.

"Weather is not the climate", according to some of the pro AGW whack jobs, but I would like to point out that Climate is the sum of the Weather. So there. Like geology is not about sedimentation, but a lot of sediment eventually makes rocks. Like the ones in the Pro AGW advocates heads.

Some snow is fine, but if I'd really wanted to experience a heavy Winter I'd have gone and got a job in Alberta. I've been digging through fourteen plus inches of snow since half past nine this morning and my temper is slightly frayed. I need tea.

Work work work

Well, there's another ten inches or so of white fluffy global warming on my doorstep. Time to get shovelling. We may be due a minor thaw today, but I'm a little dubious about that assertion.

Snowbound

Have been revising the 'Sky full of stars' MSS today because I'm sure as shooting not going anywhere. The snow started to fall first thing and it's still falling. Old family friends have rung up to say "It doesn't normally do this".

I've made good use of the time making hearty stews that will keep even when the power goes off. Four good helpings of home made Chicken Madras, Two fish stew, four Pork and carrot stews. All they need is heating up on our gas cooker. Wife and I will not starve.

The crop of icicles we've started to grow over the front porch are mostly a good twelve inches long, with one about nine feet in length. The Lilac bush outside our front window has a crop of stylish decorations in frozen water crystal that would make a seriously artistic Interior designer green with envy.

Not bothering with any Canaerobics today because it's due to snow until the small hours. First thing Monday morning will mean I'll be grafting with the shovel. We've had the best part of a foot of snow so far today which will take around forty minutes to clear. Tomorrow will be sunny with a bit of a thaw, but until then we're snowed in. Not that I mind, but all this weather enforced leisure is getting a tad monotonous.

Wife is getting a bit cabin feverish, but now she's fed and properly watered and we've had a good heart to heart, I am pleased to say she's (Mostly) her old self again. Getting cards from old friends over in the UK, to which I have been responding with phone calls and e-mails, the post being a bit too unreliable at present what with the weather.

Video choice today: 'The Razors Edge' (1946). Am now going to get Dog outside for a romp. Today we will give the woods a miss because there's a stiff and rather gusty breeze which might bring down some of the more heavily laden lumber.

Walk in a white forest

Have just returned with Dog from a short foray into the local woodland. Judging from the tracks, the only other creatures to visit our area were a couple of the local Deer population and one of the local canines. No human has walked these paths since the first snow. Even the Raccoons and Jackrabbits are hunkered down.

Once you get amongst the trees what hits you first is the silence. Barely a whisper so that you can literally hear snow and ice drifting down from the trees and hitting the ground. Your own breathing sounds stentorious and a moments pause can enable the rushing of blood through your body to be quite audible. Then the lapping of water from down in Dodd Narrows becomes too loud as your hearing adjusts to the overall lack of noise. The odd warning creak from cold strained timber cautions against making too much noise. A functioning Heat Pump on a house a hundred metres away is unwelcome, industrial. The slightest sound is amplified tenfold. Compared to this, a Library would be a cacophony, a wall of intrusive sound.

Trees bow under their coating of light powdery snow, moving slightly in a timorous breeze, and everywhere the brilliant whiteness carpeting the forest floor and half coating every single branch and tree trunk in sight. Down below, the water is a pastel mid blue grey ruffled by the sub zero breeze. All else is shadows in the white, camouflaged by the cold into indistinctness.

After a couple of minutes your unprotected skin begins to prickle, and even a heavy overcoat seems to be full of holes through which pinpricks of cold seem to find their way. Anywhere in your clothing where there is an imperfect seal, heat leaches out, letting the cold air nick you with it's sharpness.

Yet this is not the cold I am used to, it does not drag the heat from your bones and sap your will. This cold whips at you like a million small goads, driving you on; home to your welcoming little island of warmth in the midst of the whiteness; home to the comforts of hot drinks and blessed blood heat. This cold sends you home.

Today is cold. Perhaps not Albertan cold, but cold enough for this poor mortals blood. Wife has just told me that the radio reports say it has begun snowing in Harewood. The next pale layering will be with us soon.

Get over it

My favourite Eagles track from the 'Hell freezes over' tour. Which funnily enough it feels like it might be doing tonight with a very un-Nanaimo like minus thirteen Celsius prophesised. Last I checked our thermometer outside the kitchen window it was minus five and sinking. Brr.

Great line in the song "I'd like to find your inner child and kick it's little ass." Oh yes.

Managed a trip into town for a 'Do' we got invited to although any sudden acceleration or deceleration threatened to put our little 4x4 into a tailspin (Despite good snow tyres). One pedestrian just stepped straight off the kerb on the other side of the road and made a rude gesture because we didn't pull an emergency stop to let him all the way across. I know pedestrians and buses generally have priority, but had I tried to stop quickly on that precise stretch of compacted snow and ice we would probably have broadslid across to the left hand side of the road and into him, there was that little traction. Not a happy thought.

All Christmas presents are wrapped and ready to be delivered. We have invitations for drinks and stuff over the festive season. Six days left to Crimbo. It could well be the first white Christmas I've seen since the 1960's. Yay.

Canaerobic exercise

I've discovered how so many Canadians keep fit. It's a system of exercise unique to Canada called Canaerobics.

It's jolly hard work but comprises of three basic steps;

1) Buy a snow shovel
2) Wait for it to snow
3) Get shovelling

For the advanced practitioner:
4) Wait for it to snow again (It will)
5) Get shovelling (Again)
6) Repeat as necessary (It will be)

I've been doing it all day long. Great for building up those necessary ice hockey muscles in the shoulders, thighs and back. Good for converting 'Molson muscle' into real muscle too.

Now I think I'll go to bed.

Update:
More snow. Hi ho.

Busy going nowhere

Have just taken Dog out for a brief morning walk. The 4x4 is buried, and it's still snowing. Even the ubiquitous Deer tracks that normally cross our yard are absent. Told Wife not to bother getting out of bed. Looks like we're going nowhere today.

Time for coffee.

Snow day

At the moment we're having a bit of a snowy interlude around Nanaimo, with an extra 10-12cm (4-5 inches) of snow at the time of blog entry to add to the foot or so outside the door. Van looks like a rather large snowdrift outside the back door. Had to drag Wife away from work as there was a significant risk that if we had waited until usual finishing time we wouldn't have been able to get home. Even our little 4x4 was struggling, the snow clogging our tyres and converting them to racing slicks.

We managed to avoid ending in the ditch like this guy above by the skin of our teeth, and a not a little intense concentration on the part of yours truly.

Above is the road home. Not quite white out conditions, but getting there.

Nanaimo Parkway southbound at around 1pm Pacific Standard Time.

Another section of the Parkway. This with the snowploughs on continuous duty.

Managed to finish my Christmas shopping today anyway. Presents will need wrapping, but for the moment I'm snuggling down.

Odd observation. Today at 3:13 PST this blog was graced with a visit from the web server registered to the Netherlands Ministry of Justice. That's slightly after midnight if I've got my time zones right.

A big hi from Vancouver Island to the guys in Tech support over there. Doesn't it get boring on the graveyard shift sometimes? Wet and miserable over there too if the local forecast is right. Despite all the current cold and inconvenience, I think I'm much happier over here.

Has Honda cracked it?

Perusing my reading list of blogs as usual and came across this little gem from the UK's Top Gear TV programme.
The item was about the Honda FCX clarity, a Hydrogen fuel cell car currently only available in California for 2009 under certain conditions.

*Subject to limited availability, in designated, limited California market regions, to approved lessees by American Honda Finance Corp. Closed end lease for 2008 FCX Clarity, for qualified lessees meeting specific use and operation requirements. Not all applicants will qualify. No purchase option. Zero capitalized cost reduction. Taxes, license, title fees, liability insurance extra. Monthly payments of $600.00 for 36 months. Total monthly payments $21,600.00. No mileage limitation or excess mileage cost.

As it says on Honda's own dedicated web site.

The video tells part of the story, but on the face of it this particular car may have part of the answer to the transport / emissions conundrum. The production of sufficient Hydrogen and development of a refuelling infrastructure may follow if the trial programme is practicable. The price of Hydrogen is the other matter. Can it be economically produced in sufficient quantity to supply demand? I hope so.

Another more cynical, thought emerges; will this category of technology shut the Eco freaks up? Personally, I think not. Certain of these guys want the whole concept of the car and the liberty it gives to the rest of us to die and be buried deep. They hate anything above the level of the horse and cart and subsistence agriculture. They hate liberating technologies because they do not understand why people need it, and what they cannot understand they fear. Simply cruise the Internet for any tin foil hattery about a specific technology. The lies are out there, and I regret to say they've got the facts outnumbered.

My predictions if this fuel cell technology takes off? There may be spurious stories about Hydrogen causing Cancer / Lung Disease etc bandied around by the media, perhaps even direct action against Hydrogen production facilities. Next thing you know, the water vapour from the exhaust of a fuel cell powered vehicle will end up in the same category as CO2, classed as a cause of 'Global Warming' (Some of which would come in handy around about now, it's minus six celsius outside my house, and that's without wind chill). No dopubt some future politician will build a whole 'Eco vote' campaign around it, similar to the one currently based around CO2 emissions. (Engage Sarcasm mode) We must 'save the planet'. Yeah, right (Sarcasm mode off).

I like the Honda concept, it has possibilities. Providing of course that the law of cock-up doesn't get in the way. However, Honda have a good track record of delivering technical solutions, so I will remain guardedly sanguine about the future. Even if it isn't going to become mainstream until 2018.

So this is......

Well, if this is the Global Warming the politicians and activists keep wittering on about, it's very pretty to look at, being deep, crisp and even etcetera, but it's also bloody cold. Currently minus 2 Celsius by our thermometer outside the kitchen window and SNOWING. Current depth around ten inches (25cm) and deepening. Now This latest batch of the white stuff looks like it's here for the next day or so if these two photo's (Taken at 08:10 PST 14th December) are any indication.


Brother in Law is supposed to be driving up from Victoria this evening. Well, if he hasn't got snow tyres the Mounties won't let him even attempt the Malahat, the highway between Victoria and the rest of Vancouver Island (Webcam link here). Current conditions look pretty difficult. Time to hunker down and stay home I think.

Update:
10:20. A Snow covered Mudge Island is materialising as the snow fall eases. There is a thick ghostly carpet all the way down to the waterline and our thermometer is reading slightly under minus three Celsius. Dog and I have been out for a romp in the white stuff, which is over a foot deep (30cm) on our drive.

Dog loves snow. Just as well really.

Snow gone

Looked out of our window this morning, and all yesterday's snow has gone. There might be some left up on Mount Benson, but we'll see that when Wife and I pootle in to town for a civic 'do' this afternoon.

Next report is for another, more substantial fall to hit in the early hours of Sunday. Must make sure everything is in standby mode in case the power goes, although BC Hydro, our local Energy supplier has been trimming potentially fragile trees that might bring down the power lines all Summer, so maybe we'll get away without outages this year.

Last year, one heavy fall of snow brought down eleven trees across Barnes Road which feeds down into our little Waterfront enclave. This year we're wrapping up extra warm.

Snow on the road

Some quite heavy snowfall in town that is currently turning to rain. Got a call from Wife around 11am when the white stuff started coming down and so fired up the 4x4 and dashed off to the rescue. The Island Highway was quite greasy despite the volume of traffic, and the steering wheel gave a couple of minor twitches as we passed over some compacted slush at a couple of points. Local gossip reported a few people stranded when their cars couldn't cope with the compacted ice and slush. However, we didn't see anyone in obvious distress, so matters can't have been that bad.

Current conditions on the main routes out of Nanaimo are not too bad at present, although we heard a report of an accident near Terminal Mall on the radio around fivish as we made our way home. We elected to go home the long way and ducked out of town along Bowen and Pine down to Tenth Street. Sue, our little 4x4 (As in a boy named) coped easily with the conditions. Now Wife, Dog and I are tucked up cosy and snug at home. That reminds me, I was going to make a little mulled wine this evening. Good idea.

The video is a bit naff, but.....

I'm not a fan of 'Xena - Warrior Princess' apart from thinking 'great number', and red blooded carnal thoughts about Lucy Lawless bringing a lump to the old trousers.

Never saw the movie 'Electric Dreams' from which this song came so this one is missing from my ELO archive. A cracking little tune by Jeff and the boys. I think an MP3 download is in order.

Forecast for snow days

While we're waiting for the snow to arrive, I've taken the liberty of adding a little seasonal snow to the blog. Not that anyone will notice, my reader stats logging something between zero and 'whoops, what's this load of old tosh'. It pleases me.

Local forecast is for a six inch snowfall sometime in the next three days. Whether it gets to us down at the waterfront I don't know. We'll see. Our little Mountain Goat of an SUV is thoroughly prepared with Winter Kit, snow tyres etc, so we're quite looking forward to slipping it into 4x4 mode and pootling around in the Wintery whiteness.

Gas prices locally are still slipping downward, and have reached 82 cents (About 44p UK) per litre. Still a ways to go yet. Amazing what happens when the speculators get their fingers burned isn't it? No money to gamble with, the latest 'Peak Oil' scare being ignored. I don't mean to be complacent, but the world is still here, and economic difficulties aside will continue to be.

Day job has been keeping me quite busy of late, and I seem to spend half my life in or travelling to, meetings. Still, I took it on, and although there's much to do we're getting there. Which a lot of people won't be doing if we get a big dollop of the white stuff as prophesised. Time for a coffee break.

Global 'Cool it' Video

Although I don't agree with the "It's all CO2" argument, and that the climate changes with or without human influence, I like this video and what Bjorn Lomberg has to say. Especially his approach to the arithmetic of the situation. Loved his explanation that 'saving' one Polar Bear (Maybe, maybe not) a year in fifty years time with Carbon tax was pointless because 3-500 Ursus maritimus are shot per year for making a nuisance of themselves. Want to prevent 'heat deaths'? Some air conditioning might be a good idea. Oh, and what about the cold related death toll? Which is ten times any caused by heat.

As Bjorn points out, if you want to make a difference, increasing the albedo of urban areas and planting more greenery seems like a far more sensible idea than the economic seppuku of 'cap and trade' and 'carbon taxes'. More money for energy R&D would be good too. Put some more cash into projects which can bring positive results, like jobs in technology research and production. More efficient Solar panels? Maybe? Cleaner, and more efficient power production? Yes, good idea. Cleaner and more efficient cars? Definitely. Money into Fusion power research? Yes, a priority.

We need research and development. Anyone who has been in business knows that a healthy, well managed R&D department underpins a companies ability to keep producing better products and so keep making a profit. Bjorn makes his points well. Spend less on the 'climate' and more on adaptation.

H/T Theo Spark

Paradise found - on YouTube

From the ultimate Demigods of comedy. Utter brilliance and terrific news.

Sea Lion surprise

Took time out from the day job to take Dog for a good walk along the sea front and came across this piece of waterfront theatre macabre, a decidedly deceased Sea Lion. Possibly a Steller because of the lighter coat colour and wider, flatter snout. It's also over the maximum size (2.5m) for a California Sea Lion. The one in the pictures I took is 2.74m long as close as I could measure.
The scale in the picture can be ascertained by the tape measure, which is stretched out to twelve inches in the top picture (305mm) and twenty four inches (610mm) in the picture below. As you can see, the corpse is pretty fresh and despite the gulls having pulled the eyes out, is in pretty good condition. Another couple of tides will change things though. My smaller walking staff as seen in both pictures is 50 inches (1.27m)long to give a further idea of scale.

Now this is the third dead marine mammal I've come across in the last four months or so on the same hundred metre piece of waterfront. On this one there were two blemishes in the pelt that could possibly be bullet holes, but I can't be sure because I've only ever seen bullet holes in people before now (Long story, one I'll save for another day. Suffice it to say I didn't cause the holes in the people).

Two dead seals and a Sea Lion washed up within four months on the same stretch of shoreline? That I think pushes the envelope of coincidence a bit too much. Has someone been potting the local Pinniped population? I'm told that it happens. Possibly as a measure to protect the local Salmon population, which is currently at a low.

Fog and awe

For the past three days it's been foggy, and today visibility seems to have closed in to well under a hundred metres. You keep on waiting for the greyness to burn off, but I suppose this is the downside of living close to the sea, although I can't recall this happening last year. The temperature hits the dewpoint and bye bye view of Mudge Island. Yet right now the fog appears to be lifting, and not before time. That was getting truly depressing.

Yesterday afternoon Wife and I travelled up to the Galaxy Cinema and spent it watching the latest Bond movie, Quantum of Solace which left me a little stunned with the visual overload during car and rooftop chases. I think I'll have to watch it three or four times to catch all the detail in the various chases. Daniel Craig too seems to be closer to Fleming's literary creation than any of the previous incumbents. He seems to have encapsulated both the brutality and mortality of the role. The sense of violence he brings with him is intense and more tangible.

The opening sequence of the movie reminded me of an incident I witnessed on the entrance to the St Gotthard road tunnel in Switzerland a few years ago, where a car, an Audi TT as I recall, got caught in the blind spot of a big truck. The truck moved over into the exit lane and first pushed the car onto the hard shoulder, then as the hard shoulder narrowed on the exit slip road, began to crush it against the crash barrier while all the time the car was buckling, the windscreen starring, the car driver all the time sounding his horn and shouting. We were on my old Triumph 900 just behind the truck and couldn't believe what we were seeing. Bits and pieces of trim scattering all over the road. Behind, we had to do some fast manouevring to avoid some rather nasty punctures. By comparison, in the movie Bond's Aston Martin got off lightly. The Audi was totalled, finally coming to a scrunched up halt, jammed between the crash barrier and the truck, a third smaller than it was. Fortunately, the driver and his family got out unhurt.

Am currently boning up on Mathematics and Physics as a background to improving my job prospects. It's surprising how much you forget over the years. However, the old learning comes back pretty quickly too. All you need is a little practice and the fog lifts.

Update: Twenty minutes later and the fog is back with a vengeance. Just goes to prove the old Vancouver Island saying; "If you don't like the weather right now, go inside and wait five minutes."

Jones' theory of cock up

I would like to introduce a law that should help make life more readily comprehensible. Feel that the world is against you? Feel oppressed? Maligned? Unfairly treated? Want to know why?

Postulation:
Here are the answers. Jones's three laws of human existence, which are:

1) No person or procedure is infallible.
2) No matter how highly intelligent / educated, no human has their brain switched on at all times.
3) Humanity is governed by the universal law of cock up.

Abstract:
1) Institutions and Governments are made up of people.
2) All people are fallible.
3) All procedures are created by people.

Therefore all Governments and procedures, without exception, are fallible, and subject without exception to the laws of cock up.

Observational proofs:
1) You may fill in the form 'correctly', but you cannot guarantee that it will be read correctly by the recipient, even if the right form reached the correct person in good time.
2) Everyone, even the most intelligent and 'caring', has off days, hangovers, emotional upsets etc which cloud their judgement and make them as friendly as a deranged rattlesnake with a psychotic fetish for ankle biting.
3) Under sufficient negative personal pressure, all people default to negative emotions (Unless the drugs are still working).
4) Even the best happy pills stop working sometimes.
5) They may be out to get you, but the odds are that 'they' will screw up somewhere along the way.
6) The more complex the plan, the greater the likelihood that it will fail spectacularly.
7) The shriller the claims to the contrary, the greater the likelihood of abject failure.
8) 90% of humanity does not use anywhere near 10% of their brain capacity, and the other 10% has 90% less brain capacity than the other 90%.

These rules apply specifically to the UK, although experimenters /researchers in other countries are currently subjecting the above rules to high level axiom destruction procedures.

A little politics

Well, the Sea Lions are barking up in the Neck of Dodd Narrows this morning. The noise is half way between a hound baying and a foghorn. Dog grows ever more insouciant about all the strange noises, although last night he ran out of the house straight into one of the local Black Tail Deer, and both parties beat a hurried retreat. Dog almost bowled me off my feet as he ran back inside. Another walk curtailed.

This morning I've been reading the news to see that Canada may end up having another general election occasioned by a row and possible no confidence vote over the funding of political parties.

Over in the UK they've arrested one Member of Parliament for being in possession of the latest immigration figures and a 'hit list' of potential government parliamentary 'rebels'. Special Branch turned over a constituency office and the MP's home in what would appear to be a clear breach of Parliamentary privilege. There is much outrage being expressed in the public domain, and not a little satire over this affair.

For myself, I'm rather ambivalent about it all, and rather glad I no longer live in the UK. On the other hand, had the arrest been a matter of national security (Aiding and abetting terrorists, selling secrets to foreign powers), then my view is that feeling someone's collar, no matter who they might be, over the matter would have been 'a fair cop, guv'. On the other, as the material would have only embarrassed the incumbent government had it been disclosed during parliamentary question time, I think the arrest is a bit over the top, as the current UK Prime Minister did almost exactly the same thing re disclosure back in 1996, and he never got turned over for it.

This begs the question "Who gave the order?" for Damian Green's arrest. Do they not understand that arresting troublesome opposition MP's has a worrying English historical precedent and a tendency to trigger wider conflict. No wonder UK politicians aren't in favour of an armed populace. On this occasion the Speaker of the House has certainly been found wanting. As for the 'Home Secretary and Prime Minister didn't know', well that's spin; nothing more or less. Arrest a member of the opposition? They are supposed to know. Although telling the current Mayor of London and the leader of the opposition instead smacks of political chicanery on the part of the UK Government. I'd describe it as a pretty blatant attempt at 'deniability' if anyone could be bothered to ask me.

Got notification that after 27th February 2008, it's no use applying for Permanent Residence under the sk1lled migrant program unless you fall under one of the specific occupations on the new list. Our application was put in well before then, and I've been working legally over here for the last year so this new announcement doesn't affect us. I hope. However, if things deteriorate over the other side of the water, then I may end up putting in an application for political asylum.

IPCC approved technology

Have just run across this wonder of modern technology, as approved (I am assured) by no less august a body than the IPCC using modern climate physics as developed using this model.

Have been introduced to the writings of James P Hogan, and Wife is wondering why I'm smiling so much. Specifically Kicking the sacred cow.

From Vermont Tiger via James P Hogan.

A small excerpt

Thank you to those who were kind enough to take note of my febrile mental meanderings about Nuclear Fusion. Here is the passage from my MSS 'a sky full of stars' giving a brief laymans description how I concieve a Nuclear Fusion reactor might be made to work.

Inside the fusion reactor behind their compartment, multiple toroids of plasma formed, began to spin, merge, then intersected and with a sudden roaring crackle burst into a star hot fusion reaction. Electrostatic grids bled off the energy into hungry batteries and uncharged coils, power greedy drives sucking at the immediate abundance of energy, ready to push the forty metre long octagonal cylinder into a higher orbit.

It's just a rough idea of course, but what I conceive is rather like having a Farnsworth type central chamber with a number of accelerator, or Tokamak style coils feeding 'streams' of accelerated plasma into and out of it.

The mathematics of such a device are beyond me, since I am just a wannabe Science Fiction writer with several MSS currently sitting in a number of publishers 'slush piles' awaiting reading. Sometimes in my gloomier moments I wonder if they have not already been put in file 13.

Idle fusing musing

I've been watching the progress of the polywell type reactor with a great deal of interest. The first results appear encouraging, and although Nuclear Fusion was not obtained, they have been able to generate plasma.

Now I’m no nuclear Engineer, but I’ve been fascinated by the results obtained by Dr Richard Nebel and his team with the WB-7 fusion device. Whilst only having a rough understanding of Nuclear Fusion, I find myself wondering thus; what would happed if you took several small Tokamak type devices and arranged them so that several plasma toroids intersected at the same point in a polywell type containment chamber. Rather like in the Polywell, but with better control of the plasma flows. Kind of a cross between the Tokamak and Polywell Fusion concepts.

If anyone can be bothered to read this; and you understand I may be way off beam here, as I understand it the Tokamak design accelerates a plasma toroid within a magnetic containment field, firing high energy lasers into the toroid to achieve Fusion. The Polywell design tries to bring several plasma streams together at a single point to achieve Nuclear Fusion. Both methods are close, but so far, the only man made Nuclear Fusion has been achieved in a Thermonuclear Detonation where a Fission device is used to trigger a Fusion reaction.

I may just be showing my complete and utter ignorance of the subject, but if a Tokamak can achieve plasma containment, rotating a plasma toroid at high speed, and a Polywell can obtain plasma at a point but seems to suffer from poor containment; say you have a Tokamak type coil array which can guide plasma in a stable (ish) toroid; if you arrange four or six Tokamak type coil arrays mounted in a circular pattern which have a third of the plasma path open into a using Polywell type vacuum containment chamber. The idea being to make all six plasma toroids intersect around a central point in the containment chamber at high speed with enough cumulative energy to begin a Nuclear Fusion reaction. Maybe three should be contra rotating to converge the Hydrogen ion plasma streams together at close to light speed whilst keeping the start up energy cost down. 'Fuel' in the form of Hydrogen / Boron / Tritium / Deuterium etc could be injected from the coils rather than directly into the containment chamber.

Again, I may be talking through my figurative hat, but my training and my job are partly about thinking outside the box and I also write Science Fiction. Am I on to something here, or are there factors I’m not aware of that would militate against such a solution?

I've envisaged just such a power plant as the Fusion Generator which powers the first Earth built generation of Faster Than Light Omega spacecraft in my MSS 'A sky full of stars'. May all be complete cobblers of course, but it's good enough for fiction.

Good news if that Gas prices on the Island have dipped under ninety cents a litre (88.9 cents or about 48 UK pence a litre at current exchange rates). Hmm. Maybe some people can't afford to speculate in the market and artificially inflate the prices any more. Have also been amazed at the level of intellectual impoverishment that leads people to parade around in the snow carrying banners saying 'stop global warming now'. In the snow? What drugs are these people on? Bet if I wandered past a few of them I would catch the distinctive heavy sweet odour of Marijuana as I passed by. They don't call it 'dope' for nothing.

Selling

Have been looking at one of my old MSS in an attempt to make it more saleable. The story is fine, no problem there. Epic scale, love, hate, revenge and all the old hokum. It's just the central character. He doesn't work too well. Any old how. I've had a bit of an epiphany today and will be changing him a bit. Making him younger and altering the circumstance of his genesis. Not Harry Potter young, but late teens graduating up into early 20's. Plenty of scope for the complexities of a hormone driven adolescence, teenage angst etc.

I'm over my fit of pique at being lumped in with people who believe that there's some big Government 'Conspiracy' which faked the Moon landings, wierd ideas about ice trails left by passing Jets and the Assassination of JFK. I've gone past that and am buckling down to work to produce saleable product. First job is to produce a short screenplay to see how one section of the story works in a more visual medium, and if it turns out good enough I'll pitch it at someone I know over in Vancouver. You never know, I might even sell the bloody thing.

Am I a conspiracist?

Well until I read that not believing in ‘global warming’ could make you a conspiracy theorist, I would have thought it quite reasonable to assume that someone was promoting the ‘cause’ against hard evidence. Never even considered that I was a conspiracy nut. Now, according to the UK Daily Telegraph, believing that there must be some kind of agenda for promoting the idea of Anthropogenic climate change makes you a whack job conspiracy theorist. Admittedly it is number 29 on the list, but to put it ahead of ‘Chemtrails’? Oh come on guys, get real.

Real conspiracy theories are based on a strange logic that can leap tall buildings (and factual evidence) in a single bound. A really good one is that all those who do not believe in Anthropogenic climate change are in the pay of ‘Big oil’. Funnily enough, the amount garnered in funding from the oil companies and other sources (Under $10 million) is dwarfed by the absolutely wodges of dosh being chucked around to promote the opposing view (An admitted $300 Million and then some). Kayaking to the North Pole to 'prove global warming', and being stopped by ice a good four degrees of latitude earlier than Nansen's attempt in 1893. Yet he was lauded for his 'success' at 10 Downing Street. Go figure. That's flying in the face of historical evidence for you. Despite being told that the Polar Bear is declining, more reputable sources say that the population has undergone a fivefold increase since the 1960's. It has all the hallmarks of a conspiracy, but I don't think the people promoting 'the end is nigh' are clever enough for that.

The facts are out in the real world. Not in the distorting mirror of certain media outlets editorial policy. CO2 is not the answer. It's an excuse.

In academia it’s been almost a running joke for several years that sticking ‘and the effects / influence of climate change’ into the title of your research proposal is a guaranteed way to get funding. People who take the contrary view are denied a media platform. This is not conspiracy, it's actually happening.

When 31,000+ people (Meteorologists and Climatologists included) with high level degrees (Over 3000 with Doctorates) sign a thing called the Manhattan declaration, does that not give it more validity than the 2,500 claimed to have contributed to the latest IPCC report? Although according to several sources, only four actual papers were quoted from in the IPCC's 2007 report. Yet the IPCC report is given credence, even when the figures it relies on have been cherry picked from a very small data sample.

Even when temperature figures have to be adjusted using an obscure methodology which GISS won’t publicise and doesn't match the more accurate Satellite data. McIntyre successfully debunked Manns ‘Hockey stick’ graph showing that you could put almost any data you pleased, and the damn thing would still put out the distinctive sudden upward trend. Anthony Watts and Steve McIntyre forced NASA's GISS into a 2007 'climbdown' over the statement that the 1990's was the warmest decade on record (It's actually the 1930's, a period of industrial decline). Temperature measurements are taken from recording stations in hot spots on car parks, and by other local heat sources which give false positives on temperature data. See surfacestations.org for the results. What’s not to get?

To suggest that Earth’s temperature increases are all mankind’s fault, or that the days are sunny / rainy / snowy / whatever is not only hubris but downright irrational when you actually look at the evidence. Did stone age man go into paroxysms of guilt believing his camp fires had caused all the ice to melt and kill off the Mammoths? Get a grip. This planet could lose mankind tomorrow and within a hundred years you’d be hard pressed to find any trace of us as a species.

Additionally, Eco-journalism is the fat teat upon which many humble scriveners have set their metaphorical lips. I don’t blame them. There’s lots of money in it and we all have to eat.

Every company that makes Nuclear, Wind or Solar generation equipment has something to gain by promoting the ‘End is nigh unless you do something about it by purchasing our products’ viewpoint. The EU is actively promoting ‘carbon trading’. That isn’t conspiracy; it’s bloody cold hard fact. There’s serious money to be made. Providing of course everyone is happy to pay extra to the 'carbon traders' for the necessities of everyday life (Goods need transport, transport needs fuel, a 'Carbon levy' on fuel will drive the price of transported goods up).

No wonder any contrary view is being demonised. No wonder the ice cap increase in Antarctica and the near record Arctic ice growth is studiously ignored in the mainstream media, yet every sunny day is supposedly a ‘symptom of global warming’. Every cold day too. They get you coming and going. Oh and the 'warmest on record' reporting isn't worth a damn if your records only go back thirty years. When it comes to climate, you need centuries of data to 'prove' a trend. This isn't just me, there are some quite eminent people out there saying it too. Funny how so many are 'retired'and no longer have to worry about jobs or funding isn't it? People in the media or politics who speak out against the CO2 theory are being sidelined or even sacked. This too is incontravertible fact. So where's the flaming conspiracy?

I’m just amazed anybody believes in the anthropogenic viewpoint any more.

Me, I'm fed up of the whole AGW business and only go commenting to counter the outright falsehoods and misrepresentations. The politicians who see the hype and jump on the bandwagon to raise taxes to buy votes for themselves. The companies who use the palaver simply to promote their products. The mainstrean media outlets who use it to sell copies. Panderers all. If the proposed taxes only affected them and not me I'd blithely sail on by and snigger behind my hand at all the fuss. It's Piltdown Man all over again. Paley's watchmaker fallacy.

Belief in the Anthropogenic CO2 (man made CO2) theory of climate change / global warming is symptomatic of everyday people's inability to understand technology, post millennial anxiety if you will. It is a natural reaction for people to fear what they do not understand, that much is hard wired into most humans as a survival strategy. Ergo they take comfort in various religions and other anti technological belief systems, of which Man made climate change is one. Believing in Aliens from outer space is another.

To conclude; I'm not mad. There isn't a conspiracy. It's just a massive cock-up and I'm genuinely pissed off with being lied to. That is all. Now I have better things to do.

And in closing.......

What doesn't it cause? From Numberwatch via Climate-Skeptic, Tom Nelson and Marc Morano.

Right, this is the phenomenon that's got the current President elect of the USA all steamed up. He promises 'action' on climate change. Seems like it won't be only Bush that people will be calling stupid in the future. Glad the Harper administration north of the 49th parallel doesn't seem so keen on economic suicide. Canadians know about cold.

A climate confession (Or Why I became a 'denier')

Once I believed in the theory of global warming. I thought, quite sincerely, that mankind was going to destroy life on Earth with an excess of CO2.

Being of an enquiring mind, I began to look at the figures and theories to gain a greater understanding of the subject to see if there was more I could do. What actually happened was that all my researches gave me quite a large reality check. The physics just didn't stack up. The increased CO2 levels actually lagged, not led an increase in temperature. There were proper, peer reviewed scientific papers about ice cores which proved this beyond all reasonable doubt.

Then I began to look at the history of climate over the past few millennia. Ice (or frost) fairs on the Thames? Greenland with thriving agricultural communities? Vineyards in northern England? Northwest passage ice free? All of these things are well recorded throughout our history. All well before human mass industrialised society. What on Earth was going on?

I looked at the effect of volcanic eruptions upon regional climate. I looked at the sunspot cycles, magnetosphere variations, the cosmic ray correlations of cloud formation, and then had a second long cool look at the original theory of CO2 climate change. In order to 'work' the theory needs an infinitely thick atmosphere, which planet Earth doesn't have. In addition, CO2 only trapped sunlight in two specific wavelengths. This was a bit of a revelation to me. My own amateur research, designed to gain a greater understanding of man made climate change actually led me to a change of heart.

The doom laden predictions in the media also made me pause for thought. Then I began to look at the old 'new ice age' predictions from the 1970's. Industry was on the decline in the Western hemisphere and people were already talking about a 'post industrial society' as early as the 1980's. So where was all this extra CO2 coming from? Cars alone? Yes, but improved engine technology is resulting in cleaner air. I remember what walking along the streets could be like before cleaner burning car engines became commonplace. The diesel fumes alone used to give me massive migraine type headaches. The same for jet engine technology. Power stations were becoming more efficient, and fluidised bed technology and reclaim technology was resulting in air cleaner than I could remember. Especially in the cities. Smog is less common than it was, and I remember how downright dirty the air in Birmingham, England could be back in the 1970's. In the late 1990's I genuinely thought we were winning the war on human produced air pollution.

Then there were the long range forecasts. My faith in those disappeared back in the 1980's after a series of weather events were gotten completely wrong by no less august a body than the UK Meteorological Office. They weren't just wrong, they made the opposite prediction. Likewise, all the predictions of global catastrophe I've been reading since the 1970's all have one major factor in common; they haven't happened.

When I looked more deeply at the physics and geophysics, I realised the doom and gloom predictions couldn't happen. For example, one prediction was about the Gulf Stream grinding to a sudden halt. To understand why this cannot happen you have to look at the Earth's ocean currents as a whole. The northwards flowing Gulf stream has a correlating deep water sister that provides recirculation of arctically cooled water, and as warm water flows on the surface, this flows underneath it to rise southward in warmer tropical waters and be reheated to become the Gulf stream again. If you think how many cubic miles of water this shifts in a day, you begin to see how idiotic this specific prediction is. The Gulf stream, and North Atlantic drift are part of the global Thermohaline (THC) circulation of ocean waters. The energy level changes for such an event would require a massive freezing, not warming. As I have posited before, the Physics just doesn't stack up. The disaster predictions are, if viewed objectively, downright anti-scientific. They are almost without exception emotional, and have more to do with politics than science.

Now there is a warming effect from greenhouse gases. Without it the Earth would be much colder. This warming effect has a limit though, and can be thought of as a blanket around the Earth. This 'blanket' also radiates a varying amount of energy out into space. Like an actual woollen blanket it can only retain so much heat energy. Anyone who has actually spent a night sleeping under the stars can confirm this. It can get awfully cold, even in tropical climes at night, and that is exactly what half our little blue green home world is sitting in; night. Year in, year out. Out of the glare of the sun, the temperature of space is very cold. Minus two hundred and seventy six degrees Celsius cold. Cold enough to freeze the very oxygen in your haemoglobin, and then some. That is what Earth orbits in. Without the suns heat there would be no little blue green world at all, because all the complex systems that produce the water and air could not happen. This is a very simplified view of an extremely complex system, but for all that is nonetheless valid because it works as it does.

There was also the political aspect. Back in my activist days (Tree planting, campaigning against green belt development), it was all rather genteel; and apart from raised voices in meetings and threats of lying down in front of earth moving machinery, the Environmental lobby was a small and mostly local affair. In the 1990's however, I noticed new voices at the back. More strident, more extreme. Quite frankly what the more conservative of our number called "serious wierdo's" were joining the movement. Those who didn't baulk at using violent tactics. The extreme Animal Rights activists, previously a minority, became mainstream. As did the anti-roads protesters. In the face of the new extreme Environmentalism I felt sidelined, my more low key views about a balanced environment ignored. Gradually I stopped going to meetings and disassociated myself from the various causes. Then when GreenPeace started telling lies over Brent Spar that was the last straw for me and as I watched the other causes like the World Wildlife Fund and RSPCA become ever more politicised, I knew that they were not causes I could support any more.

Then there was Al Gore's film, 'an inconvenient truth'. That was so full of pseudo scientific nonsense that it actually made me actively disbelieve in man made climate change. It was partially because of the misrepresentations within that film that I became a 'climate change atheist'. Nothing to date has made me want to change that outlook. In fact as the pro man made climate change lobby grows ever more shrill and hysterical, calling people who don't agree with them 'Climate criminals', 'Climate change deniers' or in the pay of 'Big Oil' oh pur-leaze!, I grow ever more convinced that they have lost the debate. My reasoning is this, if they had truth on their side, they wouldn't need to call people names when they disagreed with them.

Someone is bankrolling these strident voices. Probably not directly, but there is a small number of very rich people who stand to lose big time if 'Carbon trading' doesn't pay off. Al Gore alone is reputed to have pumped three hundred million dollars into the cause of promoting the apocalyptic view. That's not loose change. It has been suggested that companies with a vested interest in 'Green' technology have been implicated in promoting the anthropogenic element.

This is my last word on the subject; any effect man has on the 'climate' is generally localised. CO2 alone can't be the culprit because it has both physics and history against it.

It's not that the climate doesn't change, it's just that any human element is minimal and overall, inconsequential. The climate changes without, and even in spite of humankind. Committing economic seppuku for something they had no control over will be a very sad epitaph for the Western democracies.

I like this man

Roger Helmer MEP, speaking in debate in the EU Parliament. A fuller version of his quite reasonable view that climate change alarmism is simply that; alarmism. Don't agree with everthing he says, but most is backed up by sound logic and calm appreciation of the facts, not the hype. Find it here. At 29 minutes and 18 seconds it's a bit of a long furrow to plough, but it had me nodding along in agreement.

H/T An Englishmans Castle

Where he and I fundamentally disagree is my contention that you have to have a vested interest, be economically and scientifically illiterate or have your head stuck up between your pert little buttocks to believe all the global warming climate scare stories. It's just weather, and to paraphrase a quote from the Rubaiyyat of Omar Khayyam;

“The moving clouds do rain, and having rained move on. Nor all thy clamouring nor all thy cries, can say that cloud was raining lies.”

Standing in the rain

Ah, good old ELO. I once lived around a mile up the road from their drummer, Bev Bevan. Nice bloke, and still breathing. He had a big place, think it was called 'Cornerways' or something like that, near the Warwickshire village of Rowington. Big old mock tudor house with a lawn the would give a New Brunswicker palpitations of jelousy (They like acre sized yards in New Brunswick. That and big decks. "Hey, honey, come sit on my big deck." or "Look at the size of my deck."). Wonder if he still owns it.

Damp foggy day all day today here on our part of Vancouver Island with visibility around 100 metres. Not a Sunday for getting out and about, just a day for snuggling down and keeping warm. Oh, and trying to fine tune the Synopsis for the current MSS. Next is the sequel, followed by an attempt to re-draft my half finished Cerberus trilogy.

Am watching the current financial crunch with a certain heaviness of heart. It had to come, but I would rather that it wasn't taking such a bite out of our capital as it is. No matter, we have to earn our way in this world, and that is what I and Wife are doing. Standing in the rain. Doing our best.

A small act of remembrance

Today is Remembrance or Armistice day, a national holiday in Canada, so I thought I'd dust off my Dad's old medals and post them. They're nothing special. No conspicuous bravery, no mentions in despatches, just four bits of metal that say 'He was there'.

Left to right:
France & Germany Star
The Italy Star
1939-1945 Star
War Medal

OMG

Proof of global warming? Or is it just that shrinking (Not) Arctic ice cap that's to blame?

H/T Theo Spark

Remembrance Sunday

Juno Beach, June 1944. Canadian Troops disembarking. In one of the LST's (Landing Ship Tank) pictured in the background is a (then) 19 year old Royal Naval Signals Rating who grew up to be my Dad.

Lest we forget.

Alternative food strategies

Wife wants to lose more weight. To do this she has enacted a new edict; that there shall be no more potatoes, pasta, rice or flour served at mealtimes. Nor shall there be any 'healthy' options ready meals. Yet the demand is that the high protein element of the meal (Chicken / Beef / Pork / Fish etc.) shall not be served just with green vegetables.

Being the chief cook and bottlewasher in the household, it falls to yours truly to come up with the goods. Being the obliging husband I am, I've been scratching my head to find a lower carbohydrate alternative that isn't too sweet, perfumed or pulpy for our mutual likings. As Wife likes to put it; "Here's a new challenge for you Jones." As always, I sigh heartily and brace myself unto the task. It's either that or divorce proceedings.

Finally, an answer to my culinary conundrum has been found; Hummus (Or Homous, whatever). A higher protein, lower carbohydrate alternative which can be adapted to go with just about anything. One problem I have with the store bought stuff is firstly it's a pricey alternative to rice, pasta or potatoes at CDN$1.99 for 100g, and secondly it's full of stuff like Sesame paste (Tahini) which I've always found leaves a slight bitter aftertaste. Notwithstanding, there have been two issues to address; firstly price, and secondly flavour.

The cost I take care of by buying dried chick peas and olive oil, the two main ingredients, in bulk. Last purchase of Chick peas was 500g (Just over a pound weight) at CDN$3.90 a kilo. Which works out at about CDN$1.95 (roughly 1GBP). For Olive Oil, I buy the cheap stuff a litre at a time, which is about CDN$7-8 (around 4GBP /litre) if you buy carefully. A litre will make a lot of Hummus. Garlic I generally get at CDN$2 for 3 cloves, and a 3lb bag of Onions for CDN1.60.

Flavour, well, I've taken to adding any savoury spice / vegetable I fancy after the base mix has been prepared. Sea salt and black pepper with Parsnip. Broccoli with a pinch of Parmesan is nice. Beetroot with salt and pepper. Coriander and / or Cumin. Any of these are easy to do and damned impressive is you have someone to impress with your limited culinary skills.

Garlic Hummus Base mix method:
Stick half a pound (about 250g) of dried chick peas in a basin and pour in a litre or so of water. Leave to soak overnight then boil chick peas until soft. Failing that, put the whole shooting match in a saucepan and bring to boil, then turn down the heat and simmer (slow boil over minimum heat) until the peas can be mashed with a fork. Take off heat and drain for a couple of minutes.

Using a potato masher or food processor, mash the peas. Fine chop a largish onion and soften thoroughly in a little water brought to the boil for five or so minutes. Take off heat and drain. Add to softened Onion to mashed peas and mash some more. Crush and fine chop three cloves of Garlic, add to mix and mash. Add a cupful (150-200ml) or less of Olive oil to the mix and mash further until the chick peas, onion and garlic mixture resembles golden grainy mud like in the picture below.


Decant into bowl of choice. Can be served still warm as is, or left to cool in fridge for later use. Experience shows that the resultant mix will keep for a couple of weeks in an old sealed margarine tub without going manky. Pat yourself on the back, you have made Hummus. Now go off and split the atom or something else equally as ingenious. You are officially a clever person.

Additional flavourings;
Once the base mix is done, all you have to do is take out as much as you need and add flavouring of choice, be it salt and black pepper, red pepper, chili, curry powder, you name it. I've taken to adding whizzed up (Liquefied in food processor) Broccoli with a large pinch of Parmesan or other strong cheese. Beetroot with sea salt and a dash of vinegar. The mix can be briefly heated in a saucepan or microwave and served hot if desired. Makes for variety and prevents boredom. This also means you can invite any Vegetarians (Should they be fortunate enough to have you for a friend, or any friends at all, apart from other like minded moralisers) over to dine and without bestirring them to their usual state of high moral rectitude.

For those who might complain "But where's the Tahini?" I usually try to explain that we like it better this way. Well, at least until Wife gets bored with Hummus as an accompaniment to every meal. I give it a month, maybe even two weeks before she's asking me for buttered baked potatoes, french fries, Lasagna, or garlic fried rice again. Heavy sigh.

Yet another musical interlude

Another blast from my past. Foreigner's track 'Urgent' from 1981 with a Sax solo that just blows you away. The kind of songs that just grip you by your hair and drag you along.


....and of course 'Bad Company' by Bad Company.
Plus this track, 'Rock and Roll fantasy'.

Whenever I listen to these tracks I'm always taken by the sheer musicianship of these guys. No cheap three chord thrash. You can pick out every note, drumbeat and chord. Superb.

No sign of last nights nocturnal visitor, so I assume he's gone looking for a meal elsewhere. Hi ho, back to the grindstone.

Wild life

I think we have a Cougar in the area. A big ugly moggy. One of these.
Went out to hand our landlady the monthly rent cheque this evening when we heard a noise like nothing I'd ever heard before. A kind of double scream repeated. One long cry followed by a shorter one, twice. A bit like the scream of an Eagle, but without that raspy quality big birds have in their cries, yet definitely not human. The scream, definitely not a screech, was from quite close to, less than a hundred and fifty metres if my educated ears are any judge.

Landlady looked alarmed but before she disappeared indoors I was treated to the gossip that a Cougar had been sighted recently about a mile away, so it might just have been one. Although I've never actually seen a North American Cougar in the flesh. Not that keen on meeting one close to without a gun in my hands, although I'm told they're quite shy of people, so perhaps the chances are fairly remote.

Landlady's cat also disappeared sharpish which is another clue, as that particular domestic feline isn't fazed by any of our population of Bald Eagles or the local dogs. He doesn't take any nonsense from the Raccoons either, feisty little so-and -so. Whatever made the noise has to be a bit out of the ordinary as Dog is fussing and can't settle. Well, if it hangs around for a few days I'll give the Wildlife Officer a ring and ask what they do about Cougars, if anything. I know they trap Black Bear (Ursus americanus vancouveri) and relocate them. Not sure about Cougars.

If we do have a Cougar locally then our local population of Black-tail (Mule) Deer had better look out, although I think they are more at risk from the traffic. One sturdy looking buck bounced across the road right in front of me when I was driving home this afternoon. Good test of reflexes I can tell you. Good test of my vans brakes too.

For myself I'm not awfully troubled as I usually tote a fairly hefty five foot long wooden walking pole when I go out. This is to take pressure off an old Rugby injury which flares up from time to time, but also for feeding to predators who get too close to Dog. Point first, a la kebab if you catch my drift. Although my older brother's assertion that "My first confrontation with a Bear will be your last". While Dog and I are out walking in the woods I give Mr Bruin plenty of time to get out of the way by calling loudly to Dog. I try to work on the principle that most wild animals (With the notable exceptions of Grizzly or Polar Bears) generally have the sense to leave people alone unless surprised, starving or provoked. In this way we do not confront, we co-exist.

Gosh, all this excitement fair wears you out. Time for a Jameson's I think.

Real Comedy

The physical, in the shape of the infamous Morcambe & Wise mimed 'Breakfast sketch'.

And arguably one of the best verbal comedy sketches of all time from Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker.

A couple of blasts from my past

Fire on High. Track one, side one from 'Face the Music'.



'Big wheels', from the 'Out of the Blue' double album. Can't remember the track off the top of my head. Think it was on the same disc as 'Mr Blue Sky' and 'Summer and Lightning'. Web searches bring it up as track 11, side one, disc one. Lost my copy in the move from England. Heavy sigh.

I like these videos.

Michael Crichton RIP

Michael Crichton, author, died of cancer at the age of 66 today. The creator of such works as 'The Andromeda Strain', 'Jurassic park' and 'Timeline' will be sadly missed. Liked his output, and I recall devouring the Andromeda Strain on the day of purchase, sitting in coffee bars, on trains and later at home, reading continuously.

I can only wish my own work could be so well received. God speed Michael.

Things I never knew could happen

Price of gas locally has just edged below a dollar a litre which should make travelling a bit cheaper. Nice day, but quite brisk outside and I've started to wonder when the first low level snows will arrive. Friends who have lived on the island for some time are remarking that it feels distinctly colder this year.

Was watching some UK Webcams last night and found out that apparently it's illegal to walk through parts of London, England in fancy dress. Some people I know did this in the early hours of the morning (4am Pacific Standard Time, 12pm GMT) and were accosted by some council employees who 'arrested' them.

I don't get this. With all London's ethnic diversity, why was a group of apparently law abiding citizens thus treated? They chanted no slogans. They carried no placards. They brandished no weapons. They just walked, chatting to each other while some of them wore masks like these. They posed no threat to public order. What is going on over there?

A musical interlude

Just found this old Moody Blues track on Youtube. There are a lot of good memories associated with it, and I will be passing the time while waiting for a few people I know to take a little walk in fancy dress in London. Cannot be there, so I'm going to stay up late and watch the fun, or lack of it, via webcam. If of course the webcams aren't shut down for some reason.