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MET_GEO_CASE
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Name: Casey
Country: United States
State: North Carolina
Birthday: 1/17/1986
Gender: Male
Interests: Meteorology, geography, geology, astronomy, traveling, birdwatching, Classical music, classic literature, photography, photo-editing, biking, hiking anywhere away from civilization but especially in mountainous areas.
Expertise: Meteorology, GIS, geology, amateur astronomy, photography, computers
Occupation: Between undergrad and grad sch
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/26/2004
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| More Global Warming stuff.
Being as I am an aspiring meteorologist (or at least physical scientist), I cannot help posting on this topic again. It's a hot topic in our world today (anyone notice?), and those of us who actually are in the know (at this point, it would only be marginally for me) have an obligation to share whatever knowledge we have on the subject. So, while it may be boring to many of you, I may actually post on this blog more often than once every quarter if my posts are associated with this contentious subject.
The video I recommended earlier "The Great Global Warming Swindle" has intermittently been available on either http://video.google.com or http://www.youtube.com. I would still encourage you to view this video, again if for no other reason than to present the other side of a topic that has falsely been called a "shut case." At the same time, I would also encourage you to watch "An Inconvenient Truth," as boring as it is, in order so that you can see what are the most commonly held opinions on global warming. Both videos have a large degree of scientifically-correct information, but also contain some errors. I will be posting at a later date on what those errors entail. One contrast between the two films that you will notice is the high degree of sensationalism presented in the Al Gore documentary that is absent in the other film. For the record, I agree more with the conclusions of the scientists in "Swindle" than I do with those presented in "Inconvenient Truth." Al Gore largely bloats the conjectures of those even in the IPCC, trying to paint as bleak a scenario as possible at the expense of reality. Unfortunately - for him, in that he largely disassociates people like myself who are looking for a balanced look at the subject, and for others (the largely uninformed public), in that they are duped into believing a politician's sensational statements - this oversight (intentional or not) has only broadened the debate on global warming, rather than solidified it. At the same time, I will acknowledge that Gore's movie has been highly influential and has definitely won over a lot of "undecided" individuals on the subject.
Before I leave you with some informative videos on the subject, I would like to make a clarification first:
I am neither a AGW (anthropogenic (human-induced) global warming) theory supporter or a AGW denier. I am attempting to view this subject from all sides in order so that I can come to a better understanding of the matter. Shutting up those in opposition to the theories held by most scientists - as is being done by those in the media and in political arenas - is not only foolish, it is dangerous. Science only works in the presence of open debate and objectivity. The influence of politics and media is almost entirely detrimental to the advance of science. The majority of scientists have been wrong before, and it is foolish to think they have come to a consensus on the topic of global warming.
On the well-known, but little-understood Kyoto Protocol (this is informative AND funny):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGUbhAm9Zs
Part I of the Great Global Warming Swindle
Trailer for An Inconvenient Truth
(See if you can catch the random nuclear bomb shot near the end of the trailer)
There will be many more videos that I will post in subsequent blog entries.
Please leave your comments with questions, arguments, disagreements, etc. on my page. This will help foster debate on this important issue. I'd also like to know that my postings are actually being read.
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| You know, I'm pretty sure no one reads this blog anymore. I can't blame anyone but myself for that one. What can I say - I really don't know what to put on here. So yeah, I guess I'll just put up a moderately-brief update about my life in case anyone happens to check in.
I'm currently in Asheville, North Carolina working for NOAA at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). It's just a 10-week summer internship, but I'm starting to feel like I'd really like to live here/work here once I finish college. (That is, of course, if they would hire me.) I've been here about a week. The work has been great so far: I've learned a lot and have gotten a fairly large amount accomplished. I've got my own cubicle! I'm pretty thrilled about that.
I just moved into my first apartment today after work. It's really really, nice - though I'm paying for it. It's like $495 per month plus a $150 registration fee. Then again, the apartment is 1200 sq. ft. (3 bedroom), with washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, included electrical, wireless internet, etc. It'll only be for two months, and I'm making a pretty good wage at NCDC, so it won't cut into my bottom line too badly. So far I've only got one roommate (and I hope it stays that way, because I won't know who the other person is if he's assigned to this apartment), and we're getting along well so far.
Hmm, besides that...yeah...I'm now a senior at Valparaiso University. I still haven't decided what I'm doing or where I'm going for graduate school, but I'm starting to narrow it down. I have the GRE to take yet this year, and I'm not looking forward to that. My roommate at college got engaged over the summer, so that is going to make living with him next year much different than this last year. I'm happy for him though.
Haha, it just goes to show how often I post here...I never mentioned the fact that I bought a $1600 camera during Christmas break. I bought a Nikon D200 with an 18-70mm lens, a carry case, extra battery, and a few other odds and ends. I've been taking pictures like a fanatic with that thing ever since December, and have been going even more crazy since spring started. For example, I went with a friend into the mountains this weekend and took about 250 pictures in 4 hours - good ones too! I'm hoping to buy some more equipment this summer with the money I earn from my internship, but practicalities may get in the way of that dream.
So yeah, that's kinda what's been going on. If you actually do still read my blog, leave a comment so I know that I'm not wasting my time.
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| Yes, yes, I am back. I wondered if I'd ever post again on this site, but well, here I am again. I haven't posted since the first day of college this year....so there's probably no one who even comes to this site anymore. Anyway, I came upon a very good video that I'd highly recommend watching. It's called The Great Global Warming Swindle, a documentary made by a British producer. For those of you who watched "An Inconvenient Truth" and somehow missed the gross scientific errors propagated in that film, this documentary will help give you the other side of the story. And, for those of you who just can't stomach the political agenda of Al Gore in his film and want to hear the real facts, I'd highly recommend this documentary. It quickly becomes clear upon watching this that the "consensus" that all the global warming activists claim that climatologists, geologists and meteorologists have on this issue is a strong misrepresentation of the truth. Most of the people interviewed in this film are professors and research scientists, so this hopefully will help you doubters realize that scientists are far from reaching a common consensus on this issue.
Oh yeah, and this documentary is well made as well, so you shouldn't be bored. It's 75 minutes long. Let me know what you think of it. (At least watch the first 25 minutes - that's the most important part.)
Unfortunately, for those of you who didn't watch this video by now, it's now been removed from YouTube for copyright violation. (Figures, all the good videos from YouTube get deleted eventually.) So, if you want to watch it, I guess you'll have to buy the video.
(Oh, and for those of you who forgot, I'm currently finishing my junior year in meteorology, so I'm up near the front lines in this debate - I'm not some big-mouth, arrogant, conservative bigot trying to justify my greed, nor am I even slightly "anti-environment," so keep that in mind.)
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| Just thought I'd let you all know that I'm back at college. I'm staying in a way nicer dorm this year - and it's only slightly more expensive than the dive I stayed in last year. Having air-conditioning this time of year is simply great. This place is quieter, smells better, has larger rooms, and there are laundry machines are on the same floor. So, I'm happy...for now, classes haven't started yet. I'll be posting soon what classes I'll be taking this semester.
For now, I'm going to post my "Top 15 Classical" list. It's narrowed down from my top 75 favorite classical pieces list. It is more or less in order. I can recommend any of these pieces without reservation (in fact, most Top Classical lists have most of these pieces on them). Since I own literally thousands of different classical pieces, my Top 15 is a prestigous position for a piece - in short, it's the "best of the best."
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Symphony
no. 5 in E minor, Op.64 - Tchaikovsky
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Piano
Concerto no. 2 in C minor, Op.18 - Rachmaninov
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Scheherazade,
Op.35 - Rimsky-Korsakov
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Piano
Concerto no. 3 in D minor, Op.30 - Rachmaninov
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Symphony
no. 9 in D minor, Op.125- Beethoven
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Symphony
no. 5 in C minor, Op.67 - Beethoven
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Piano
Sonata no. 23 in F minor, Op.57 "Appassionata" - Beethoven
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Violin
Concerto in D major, Op.35 - Tchaikovsky
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Symphony
no. 6 in B minor, Op.74 "Pathetique" - Tchaikovsky
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Violin
Partita no. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 - Bach
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Passacaglia
and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 - Bach
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Concerto
in G minor, RV315, Op.8 No.2 "Summer" - Vivaldi
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Scherzo
no. 2 in B flat minor, Op.31 - Chopin
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Symphony
no. 6 in F major, Op.68 - Beethoven
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Ballade
no. 1 in G minor, Op.23 - Chopin
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If you look closely at this list (and know your stuff  ), you will notice three things:
- I love the piano (5/15)
- I love the Romantic Era (12/15)
- I love music in minor key (13/15)
So, let me know what you think of this list. If you're familiar with any of these pieces, please comment, I'd love to hear what your opinions are! Any amazing pieces you think I should have included? Let me know!
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| If you're wondering why I haven't posted in a while, I'll let you know that it has nothing to do with me being busy. To the contrary, I've actually been doing very little of interest lately, and simply have had nothing to post. Thus, I am going to need to start posting stuff besides just updates on my life - random stuff, I don't know quite what yet. Soooo...I just thought I'd let everyone know that my summer has been rather eventless but that I'm doing well and have been making (mostly) good use of my "eventless" time.
Okaaaaaay. Fine, a couple updates: I got a new notebook computer (I sold my old one to Kelly) as I mentioned earlier. It's a Dell Inspiron E1405 - Intel Core Duo 2.0GHz, 100GB HDD, 2GB DDR SDRAM, DVD +/- RW Drive (in case you cared). Also, I bought another 200 classical CDs  . That puts my collection to very near 550 classical CDs.
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