Indian Summer

Surprises
This morning I was surprised to find fog over the Ancestral Digs when I picked up the newspaper and checked on my driveway project. Yesterday I applied a second coat of asphalt sealer as the sun was setting, and marveled how quickly the temperature fell once the Sun lowered behind the southwestern ridge of the Inland Valley.

While I waited for the day to cool enough to apply that second coat, I checked on the Local Forecast Discussion. They made no mention of the falling overnight temperature, and pretty much said "Summer for another week" No wonder I was surprised.

More surprising are the radio weather spots this morning promising two days of cooling off, before the heating begins again. This morning's Discussion says: "Focus is on Hot inland temps...coastal stratus/fog...then cooling next week, and today likely the coolest day of the week". It goes on to say the Pattern Change promised for next week will be a Classic North Wind Event, with clearing of the Marine Layer at the Coast, a Thermal Trough building over the Coast, and Hot Conditions Inland. Jeez, the different local weather outlets are all over the map this morning!

That Pattern Change would be "Indian Summer" in Bay Area-Speak. It's San Francisco's Real Summer, unlike the oft-quoted Mark Twain quip: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" Academic types still haven't agreed that Twain actually ever said it, but Chamber of Commerce types agree he should have. What's a little Literary Fib to The City with panache?

Climate Fib?
Little white lies to prop up a City's literary bona fides are probably harmless, though some would argue for Historical Accuracy. What if raw data used by Climate Scientists and Public Policy Makers was treated similarly? Nobel Prize winner, Al Gore keeps "reminding" us that Global Warming is "Settled Science". If so why are stories like this still seeing the light of day? By it's nature, Science is never "settled" Half of all working physicists today are still trying to disprove Einstein's Theories. Providing data from published scientific papers is required for peer review, so other scientists can try to replicate or refute the results postulated by the publishing scientist.

Policy Makers across the Industrial World are deciding if spending huge sums of money to mitigate Climate Change is going to please or enrage their citizenry. The crisis-response-mode has been activated because the drumbeat of the Climate Alarmists is being heard loudly. Something must be done! Look at the Computer Models!

Remember the Geek's Lament: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Visit Anthony Watts' Surface Stations Website, and decide for yourself if the data warrants wholesale changes to the way the First World does business.

Latest estimates put Earth's age around 4.5 Billion years. The Climate's been changing the whole time. What's the hurry now?