and started a firestorm.

About five days ago I put up this post on Perfect Duluth Day about comments made by a local meteorologist on a local radio show. In the wake of Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize this meteorologist said that he wouldn't pay a dime to go see An Inconvenient Truth because Al Gore was a "left wing nut." Here is the whole conversation that was originally aired on KUWS.

I thought that dismissing Al Gore as a "nut" was a silly ad hominem attack and beneath someone who was a public figure and a scientist, so I said so.

What have I wrought? The discussion got heated fast and even made the local paper, which only added fuel to the fire after that.

For a post that was supposed to be about civility in dialogue I sure brought out the worst in some people. Over 100 comments later the sniping continues even after the meteorologist himself posted to the blog apologizing for his choice of words and, having watched the film (he wouldn't have given a dime to see), he posted what I thought was a reasoned review of it from his perspective.

While I'm elated that the blogosphere can bring some accountability to public figures, I'm more downhearted by the tone of discussion.

Posted by ironic1 at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

This was made by some friends of Fuzzy and, just for the record, I've never done costumes. No comment on the body paint.

Posted by ironic1 at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My pal Neal, King of the Geeks, has started a new project and, thus, a new blog. In his own words:

I have a 1996 black 4door geo tracker that is starting to rust away. I'm not ready to give it up yet as I love this little car. It's gone across the country, climbed up the tallest mountain in CO, pulled numerous people out the snow, and never fails to impress me, even when I think it's going to die. It's not the prettiest thing anymore so I decided to let others make it pretty for me.

I'm going to be spraypainting Pepe with chalkboard paint and having my friend weld a metal box to the back door that will hold chalk. I'm going to encourage people to draw whatever they want on Pepe (within reason of course). I'll continue to take pictures and upload them to the blog. Additionally, I will encourage people to take a photo of them next to their completed piece and send it to me. If they took video of them chalking my car, that would be great too.

Update - October 22, 2007

Pepe has been painted...

and has been chalked!

Posted by ironic1 at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I've always been a math geek. I love helping my kids with their math and, in fact, lately I've been doing math for fun.

So I really appreciated this proof. I found it on msxnet.org.

Posted by ironic1 at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I just finished watching season one of Heroes on DVD. I love the central message of the series... you effect large things by tending to the small things. One would suppose a cheerleader would be insignificant when one is considering possible nuclear catastrophe. I love that this series takes the lives of seemingly disassociated people from all over the world and weaves them together into a very satisfying narrative.

I think the most significant thing they did with this series is how they start every show with an image of planet Earth. That simple image tells much of what they are trying to say. It's about all of us. Nothing happens that doesn't impact something else. An office worker in Japan is connected to a politician in New York is connected to a policeman in California is connected to a cheerleader in Texas is connected to a biologist in India is connected to a webcam stripper in Nevada and so on and so on.

The opening season was very satisfying and brilliantly executed from beginning to end. I'm hopeful they can maintain this level of story telling in seasons to come.

Posted by ironic1 at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yep, I've been summoned for Federal Jury Duty. I'm in the jury pool for November and December and while that's not an ideal time framework for a man of the cloth, I'm kinda looking forward to it.

I've always been a civics nerd in my own way. Most people I've talked to who have served on a jury have found the experience to be a positive one, overall.

So, anyone want to disabuse me of my delusion? Anyone have any jury stories to tell? Good, bad, or ugly, I'd like to hear them.

Posted by ironic1 at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)