WAWAwawa ..wawa..wawawa..waawaa..waaawaaa..wa..wa……wa……….wa.
The thermometer read -20 F this morning. It hasn’t been that cold for a few years. As I sat in the Jeep listening to my battery die hard, my mind wandered fondly to the green meadows of P-Chem and the Nernst equation. This equation sets forth the relationship between temperature and cell potential. The University of Arizona has this fantastic Nernst simulator (web version) that lets you dial in temperature and immediately see the effect on the voltage of the electrochemical cell. It is plain to see that as the temperature drops, the EMF drops as well.
Knowing that nature wouldn’t let me summon sufficient wattage from my battery, I went back inside and switched on CNN. After seeing multiple replays of an indignant journalist hurling a pair of shoes at our president, I was treated to an ad by the Central Intelligence Agency- the CIA. Yeah, the CIA is advertising on CNN! Take a minute to get your arms around that.
Strangely, uncharacteristically perhaps, I experienced a synergistic swelling of sympathy after seeing the shots of Bush II being assaulted by Iraqi footwear followed by the patriotic CIA ad. For a moment- just a sparkle in time- a quorum of voices in my head agreed that somebody should kick that journalist’s ass. Bush II may be a buffoon, but he is OUR buffoon and nobody should treat him like that. There- I said it.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
“It is plain to see that as the temperature drops, the EMF drops as well.”
That is only half the battle. The viscosity of the oil increases as the temperature decreases so that your starter is calling for mroe juice when when battery can supply it less.
Oh what I have to look forward to: that cold air at your house today will be at my house tomorrow. As they say, it does’t matter how cold it is, if your car starts, then you’re doing o.k.
Bush deserves prison. He’s killed 100,000 Iraqi’s, assisted in destroying
our economy, ignored evidence that would keep us out of war.
He’s right up there with Saddahm in my mind.
A shoe is getting off light. You should take no pride in a man who mocks his own constituents.
Hi Fallow, I see your point. But I think it is naive to focus all of the blame and anger on a single foolish President. While he was the policy point man, in fact he was facilitated by the entire store of resources of the United States of America and a majority of voters- twice.
A great many Americans made money in this tragic adventure. Do not the makers of military arms bear some moral connection to this? Why should the makers of cluster bombs get a pass on this?
What about the morally bankrupt congress that approved the invasion of Iraq? What about the millions of Americans who sat on their couches watching the events unfold on TV and shook their heads at the tragedy of the thing? Are they really so powerless??
And, what about the US Constitution? Is this document comprehensive enough to control a trigger happy president empowered by default through an apathetic citizenry? The constitution could use some revision.
While I don’t think that level of disrespect is appropriate for a world leader, if PM Blair had led a UK invasion that had gotten, say 100000 Americans killed and left the US a steaming wreck, ballistic shoes would be the least of Mr. Blair’s security worries if he came to the US for a visit. One might have figured that the presence of a significant insurgency and a less-than-stellar government might have led President Bush and his advisors to realize that any Iraqi welcome was unlikely to be an unmixed celebration of his presence. No one is going to make us accountable for what we’ve done in Iraq, and given the lack of judicial or other recompense, throwing shoes at W is about as much satisfaction as any Iraqi (or anyone else) is likely to get.
I’m really getting sick and tired of all the hydroxylic acid accumulation in the darn place I live. They told me when I moved here there would be a lot of the stuff.
By I didn’t know they really really meant there’d BE A LOT OF THE STUFF!
It’s annoying. I’m not a darn polar bear for Chist’s sake.
Where the hell is global warming!
This is Global Warming! Global Warming lowers temperatures. Global Warming raisess temperatures. Global Warming leaves temperatures unchanged, too. Yahweh is punishing you for not buying
indulgencesCarbon Credits from Carbon Credit arbitrageur extraordinaire Al Gore, Jr.http://www.spaceweather.com/
No sunspots, no faculae, slightly smaller solar constant, the Earth freezes. The next sunspot cycle is almost two years overdue. Next year’s cold, wet, short growing season will starve the Third World as the Green Revolution falters. The future we have purchased on faith at obscene cost has arrived real world in real time full bore at full revs. We must further sacrifice for those who produce nothing but appetites.