Climate Denial Crock of the Week

I have written very little about Climate for a number of reasons
* it is a very complex science
* there are many great resources on the Internet on Climate issues
* we seem to be doing very little to avert the threat - which is depressing
* denialists are absurd and irritating fools, who I tend to avoid

Some of the best Internet resources that I have found include:
RealClimate , Open Mind , Deltoid and Brave New Climate .

These and many more sites are very interesting and informative, but require a considerable amount of reading and study to fully understand.

Peter Sinclair has provided a solution with Climate Denial Crock of the Week , on YouTube, where he provides relatively short and graphic videos rebutting common climate change denialist myths.

Here are some of his videos:

Myth: Global warming stopped in 1998




Myth: Temperature rise precedes Co2 rise, therefore Co2 does not cause warming



Myth: Al Gore said that by the end of the century, sea level would rise by 22 feet but the IPCC said that it would rise by only 23 inches



Myth: It was warmer during the "Medieval Warm Period" and the "Hockey Stick" is a fraud.



Myth: The Oregon Petition




Myth: Other planets are warming as well, so the cause must be the Sun



Myth: The surface temperature record is distorted by the "Urban Heat Island Effect"



Myth: Climate Scientists in the 1970 thought that the planet was cooling



Myth: "Unstoppable Global Warming every 1500 Years"



Myth: It's the sun



Myth: Arctic Ice is not Melting



Myth: It's Cold at the moment, so there is not Climate Change



Myth: There is plenty of Sea Ice around Antartica, so there is no Climate Change



Nonsense from deniers



Myth: Increased CO2 in a warming world will improve plant growth



The Mythnakers Film" The Great Global Warming Swindle



Models



Polar Ice Update

The Seven Basic Principles of Magic

Penn and Teller are two American magicians.

One of the first tricks from their Las Vagas stage show is shown in the video below:



The video is part of a fascinating article in Wired Magazine .

The trick is called Looks Simple, and the point is that even a puff on a cigarette, closely examined, can disintegrate into smoke and mirrors. "People take reality for granted," Teller says shortly before stepping onstage. "Reality seems so simple. We just open our eyes and there it is. But that doesn't mean it is simple."

The basic magic principles are:

1. Palm - the lit cigarette
2. Ditch - cigarette in ear
3. Steal - pencil stub
4. Simulate - pull out "cigarette", really the pencil stub
5. Load - real cigarette from ear
6. Misdirect - with flashlight
7. Switch - pencil for cigarette

Here is another interesting video from the same article.

Attention, it turns out, is like a spotlight. When it's focused on something, we become oblivious to even obvious changes outside its narrow beam. What magicians do, essentially, is misdirect—pivot that spotlight toward the wrong place at the right time.

The article also contains a fairly long video of Penn and Teller performing and explaining the Cups and Balls trick.

The main point of the article is that magicians and other sleight of hand "artists" such as pickpockets, are working with scientists in the study of human perception.

Well worth a read.

Cosentino Threshold

Last night we went to a show called Cosentino Threshold.

We went with David and Glenda. The show was at Wyndham Cultural Centre, so we first tried out one of the local restaurants; this time Indian.

None of us had checked the details of the show and had expected it to be another drama, and were pleasantly surprised as the show unfolded. The photo at left is the publicity shot.

The Consentino website accurately describes the show:

Cosentino's brand new production 'Threshold' will take you into the mysterious depths of your imagination as you witness the art of illusion, dance and escapes. Utilizing controlled mentalism and by manipulating the mind, body and soul, Cosentino proves that even the human body can surpasss its limited threshold.

... dazzling magic and illusions blended with energetic dance, dangerous and nail-biting escapes, audience participation, humour and many surprising twists.

Here are some photos from the website which give an indication of the visual style of the show ...

... as does the YouTube video below ...


A great night out!