Life on Mars, Social Life in Florida, and Other Stories

Base10 apologizes for the sparse posting the last couple of days, but has just been a bit busy at work. Among his projects are: (1) an allocation plan for a major bureau that just never seems to go away, (2) another allocation plan for a major bureau that just started, (3) migrating our current allocation plan for everybody else to software that everybody knows how to use, (4) the usual computer repairs and tweaking, (5) a plan to do a survey about a timely issue, (6) interpreting the results of a survey about a similar issue, (7) crunching numbers for a survey on an unrelated issue, (8) the usual numerical analysis of response times and radio runs. This is my life, folks.

Anyway, since Base10 is in a science and technology kind of mood, there are some interesting items in the news recently. These scientists believe there is life on Mars. Not before in ancient times, but right now. They base their claim on methane concentrations in the Martian atmosphere.

Meanwhile, researchers in Mongolia have discovered the fossil remains of a 55 million year-old bunny.

And then there's this item, which provides some protection for cyber-straying husbands--at least in Florida.

In this item, Reuters sides with the global warming paranoids. The lede,

A parcel of studies looking at the oceans and melting Arctic ice leave no room for doubt that it is getting warmer, people are to blame, and the weather is going to suffer, climate experts said on Thursday.

The article talks about several studies that confirm a rise in global temperature. The story alas, does not describe any evidence about the second assertion, that human activity is to blame. Oh wait, this is the "proof:"

"Could a climate system simply do this on its own? The answer is clearly no," Barnett [the researcher] said.

Now I don't claim to be one of these new fangled scientists, but doesn't the scientific method say you have to prove something, not just assert it?

Science martches on!
- posted by Base10 @ 10:30 PM