Taking A Break -- November 26, 2018

Word for the day: use the word "philopatrous" in a sentence. Best definition is for its noun, "philopatry."

"Are NoDaks, by nature, philopatrous?"

Sorry. Time to move on. 

I have to take a break. I am overwhelmed with "stuff" this morning. Scroll down -- it's been an incredible morning of news: natural gas; Bakken wells coming off confidential list; surprise surge in spot electricity price at 1:00 a.m. in New England; the Yellowfin wells; the Wiley wells; etc. Enjoy.

But I have to take a break.

Not sure when I will be back on the net.

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How Many Drops Of Water Are In The World's Oceans?

Spend some time on this graphic. There are two halves to the graphic. Be sure to look at both halves. The left half shows the  change in capacity over time with a turn to renewable energy; the right half shows the change in financial cost over time with a turn to renewable energy.

All of this activity to date will have no effect on total CO2 emissions (FWIW) over the long term; absolutely none. Why? China and India are not included in the graphic (and never will be).

If "we" meet the UN climate recommendations (which is financially impossible), the experts suggest that we will prevent the earth from getting two (2) degrees warmer one hundred years from now.

This is undated. I will provide the link when/if I find it. The graphic was sent to me by a reader who seems to be watching the same movie I'm watching. Algore et al are watching another movie.

By the way, speaking of movies, note all the movies coming out this holiday season with #MeToo white women using high-powered handguns to take revenge. Meanwhile, these same actors tell us that "we" need to do more to control handgun violence in the United States. Whatever. Sorry for the digression.

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The Book Page

I'm in my "whale" phase.

The book, The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea, Philip Hoare, c. 2010.

Third or fourth reading; not all of it, but selected parts.

By the way, before I go any further, John D Rockefeller prevented several species of whales from going extinct. Just a bit of interesting trivia.

Trivia: JFK collected scrimshaw; his last Christmas gift from his wife was to be a piece of scrimshaw with the presidential seal commissioned by Jackie; she placed the scrimshaw in his coffin.

Note: An endangered species regulated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Importation for commercial purposes has been prohibited since 1973. Interstate sales of registered pre-act teeth with scrimshaw is allowed under a special federal permit. ... Antique scrimshaw (100 years plus) can be sold interstate.

This is a great "beach" book. Maybe even for après ski.  

I have a tradition of reading Black Beauty to the grandchildren, a chapter at a time, during their early years, ages 3 to 7 perhaps, gradually transitioning from my reading to their reading the book to me. I remember reading the book three or four times, all the way through, out loud, with Arianna. I don't recall how much I read with Olivia.

I'm beginning to think maybe I will read The Whale to Sophia. Unlike Black Beauty which is perfect for reading to children, The Whale is not. I would have to pick and choose certain selections from the book. We'll see.

Last night I brought the book over to her house along with one of those huge National Geographic posters, a 1976 "Whales of the World." She was mesmerized. She had just been out to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach: the first drawing on the poster she pointed to was a killer whale, saying she saw "Orca." And, yes, indeed, there's a huge mural (or maybe even a sculpture, I forget which) of an orca at the aquarium. 

I completely misread The Whale the first time I read it. It's really a biography of Herman Melville and/or a biography of Moby-Dick. I thought it was about whales. It is but in a very, very interesting way.

The dots that connect:

Genesis -- Moby-Dick -- The Whale. Had I not been in my "Genesis" phase, I would not now be back in my "whale" phase. LOL.  

This is a top-shelf book. 

See also Charles Melville Scammon.  

See also The Eye of the Whale.

More on Phillip Hoare's book here.