I knew I should live in the city eight years ago

In Science confirms my opinion of life in the country, I described the worst incidents during my eleven years in the country that convinced me that life in the country was dangerous.  It turns out that I had realized that I belonged back in the city in December 2005 and wrote about it in my LiveJournal.  Here's I'm mismatched with my place of residence, which describes where I should live based on a meme from OKCupid.

For almost 2 years, I figured that I lived too far out in the country and that I should move into the city to be closer to my jobs and have access to services, like regular trash pick up, that I don't have out here. With no trash pickup, I have to be very diligent about sorting my waste into burnables, recyclables, compostables...and stuff that I have to sneak into trash cans in the city. Bleah, that's a pain. I've had enough of living in the country. I'll miss the lake and wildlife, but it's just not practical anymore. I started fixing up my house and finally put it on the market this June. So far, I've had no takers. This coming week, I'll have to decide whether to relist my house and, if so, should I list it with the same realtor. I probably will. It turns out that the fellow who assigns judging positions for the marching band circuit works there. I want to keep him happy, as I really enjoy judging.

The relevant test on OKCupid (below) also shows that I'm mismatched with my residence. In fact, I'm so mismatched that I'm at the other end of the spectrum. My current house is best described by that classification as a secluded hideaway--a cottage on a lake, the most rural of all settings. The test thinks I would be happiest in a rowhouse in a city, the second most urban setting. Well, a condo near good shopping and public transportation would be nice, but I don't think I'm going to move to Detroit to renovate a rowhouse. It would be as bad as keeping this place maintained, and I don't have the time for that, either!

Rowhouse 'Hood
You scored 28 out of 40 on urban-rural and 25 out of 40 land intensity.
People know you as: The Bohemian Gentrifier
Quote: "That crack house just needed a little paint."

Your score indicates that you are a city-dweller of the old-school. You like a dense, finely grained neighborhood with restaurants, churches and brothels all on the same block. Although you've never spoken to him personally, you know that guy Eddie down the street is a pimp and you're sure to tell your lame suburban friends about him at every opportunity, just to freak them out.

The bad news is that as more and more people like you move into your neighborhood it gradually becomes less cool and more expensive. Enjoy things while you can, because in 5 years you're going to have to move to the next 'hood uptown.

Examples of places you should live: Baltimore, Philadelphia

Follow over the jump for the description of the kind of neighborhood where I ended up moving to, after four years in a small town.

Discovery News reviews Chasing Ice

While I'm on the hot topic of climate change, I'm sharing Discovery News' Film Review of Chasing Ice with my readers.  I've written about Chasing Ice before, but I'm nearly always happy to revisit a topic and get another perspective on it.

In our debut episode of the DNews Screening Room, Trace gives us his review of the acclaimed documentary "Chasing Ice."

For a month of free Netflix instant streaming, go to: netflix.com/dnews

I found that worthwhile.  Now I'm looking forward to the review of Gasland, another film I'm thinking of showing to my students.  They've already seen the scene of the the exploding tap water in the CNN video I embedded in Fracking town hall in west Michigan.  Let's see if the rest of the film is worth watching.

Science confirms my opinion of life in the country

Three years ago, I wrote about the lowlights of my experience living in the country on my LiveJournal.  I'll quote it in full over the jump, but the executive summary was that I thought life there was even riskier than life in the city and I had had enough of it.  Now, Discovery News confirms my opinion in City Vs. Country- Which is Safer?

You'd think peaceful country living would do wonders for your health. No pollution, less violence, seems like the obvious way to go, right? But it isn't so cut and dry. Trace looks at risks, and life saving benefits of each.

The science agrees with me--city life is safer.

Follow over the jump for Life in the country.

Corpse flower blooms

I'm taking a break from cleaning to recycle this video I originally used in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (the cost of Arctic thawing): The Corpse Flower: Behind the Stink from National Geographic.

After an anxious wait, the famous corpse flower finally bloomed at the US Botanic Garden. While many visitors expected to smell the flower's powerful scent, a few were a little disappointed. Learn the science behind the corpse flower's smell.

What does this have to do with this month's theme?  It takes place in a hot house. *rimshot*

I know, that pun stinks as bad as the flower.  Deal with it.

The Weather Channel on climate change and Congress

I opened Climate science choking on the latest serving of Satan Sandwich with the following discussion of the hot topic of sequestration's effects on federally funded research.

In More science and the Satan Sandwich, SciShow on sequestration's effects on science, and Space and astronomy news: Satan Sandwich edition #1, I described the effects of sequestration on science research in general and NASA in particular, as well as efforts to reverse them.  Now, it's time to show how the latest serving of Satan Sandwich is hurting climate research, which might be more of a feature than a bug.

Three videos this week from The Weather Channel expand on that subject and its effects, beginning with Federal Sequester Furloughs Hurricane Hunters.

The Weather Channel meteorologist Julie Martin reports because of mandatory furloughs due to the sequester may hamper the Air Force Reserve's hurricane hunters this season.

Video does not embed, but this cartoon by Wuerker gets the point across.

The Devil is indeed in the details.

Congress isn't just causing problems by imposing austerity.  It's actively trying to change the research priorities of NOAA, as reported  in Weather Forecasting Bill Raises Eyebrows.

A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to direct money from climate change research to improving technology for weather forecasting. Meteorologist Mike Bettes has the story.

One of the effects of climate change is the loss of coastal towns and cities.  The sea doesn't even have to rise to make it happen as explained in Town Will Disappear by 2025!

The Weather Channel host Matt Sampson tells us how storm erosion will wipe the city of Kivalina, Alaska off the Earth by 2025.

And climate change research isn't important?  Yeah, right.

Gas prices begin August by bouncing off the post-spike bottom

I concluded Prediction confirmed on gas prices with good news, then a not so rosy prediction.

Sure enough, when I walked past the corner station, it was selling regular for $3.49, almost a dime below the Detroit average.  Not only did I call the price, the fear premium spike is definitely over.

I would post Professor Farnsworth, but because this price is below the expected national average of $3.52 for the current Brent price of $107.17, I expect that we're near a bottom, just like we were at the beginning of the month.  The local price is not likely to go much lower, and that's not good news.

I was sure enough of my prediction that I filled up my car's tank at $3.49 that Sunday evening.  I felt a little foolish on Monday morning, as the corner station dropped its price to $3.45.  That ended up being the post-spike low.  Tuesday, the corner station's price jumped 24 cents to $3.79.  Wow.  I knew prices wouldn't get much lower (they didn't) and would likely go up soon (they did) but I didn't expect anything that drastic.  It turned out that all I had to do was wait.

The rest of the week followed the usual scenario.  The three stations down the street held firm at $3.49 on Tuesday.  Wednesday, they raised their prices to $3.59.  The corner station dropped to $3.69.  What usually happens next is that the corner station matches the other three.  Sure enough, the corner station joined the rest at $3.59.  That's where all of them stand today.

So, I ended up being right.  The prices dropped only slightly and then rose.

As for what's next, Econobrowser lists the national average at $3.64, the Michigan average at $3.68, and the Detroit average at $3.61.  In addition, the expected national average given the current price for Brent crude of $108.95 should be $3.56.  Therefore, the local prices are reasonable.  What will determine the direction is the price of crude, which shot up earlier in the week but is now dropping.  If it stays up, so does gas.  If it continues to drop, gas should follow.  It's as simple as that.

Examiner.com article on Ann Arbor City Council endorsements

Stephen Kunselman, here pictured with his daughters Sophia and Sabrina, earned the endorsements of the Michigan Daily and AnnArbor.com this past week.
Credit: Kunselman for Council.

Michigan Daily endorses city council candidates

Michigan Daily, University of Michigan's student newspaper, announced its endorsements for Ann Arbor City Council on Wednesday.
...
In Ward 3, the student newspaper endorsed incumbent Stephen Kunselman over challenger Julie Grand, while in Ward 4, the editorial staff recommended Marcia Higgins over challenger Jack Eaton.
...
Michigan Daily followed the lead of AnnArbor.com, which also endorsed both incumbents on Friday, July 26th.

Michigan Daily's reasoning for their endorsements at the link.

I can't endorse candidates at Examiner.com, but I can report other outlets' endorsements.  In fact, I've come to specialize in it.

Stay tuned for coverage of these contests, as well as the millage elections in Ypsilanti Township, on Tuesday night.

Hot topic: Wet and dry seasons shifting over U.S.

Here's another climate story from LiveScience that I used in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (the cost of Arctic thawing) on Daily Kos last Saturday night.

Weird Weather: Dry Seasons Start Earlier, Are Wetter
By Becky Oskin, Staff Writer
July 25, 2013 10:36am ET

Call it weird, call it extreme, maybe even call it the new normal. Wild weather in the United States in the past decade has amassed a long list of toppled records and financial disasters.

Some of these exceptional weather events included unusually heavy rain and snow. Now, a new study confirms that everywhere except in the Atlantic Plains region, more rain and snow is falling during wet and dry seasons alike. The Atlantic Plains are the flatlands along the central and southern Atlantic Coast that stretch from Massachusetts to Mississippi. On average, the total precipitation in the contiguous United States has increased 5.9 percent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

What's more, the timing has changed too. In some parts of the United States, dry seasons are arriving earlier and wet seasons are starting later than they did 80 years ago. The time shift does not necessarily extend the length of dry or wet seasons, because most areas have transitional periods in between these precipitation extremes.  In the Ohio River Valley, the fall dry season starts two to three weeks earlier today, the researchers report. In east New York, the wet season now kicks off on Jan. 8 instead of Feb. 1. And in the Southwest, the summer monsoon is starting later than it did during the middle of the 20th century.

Welcome to the 400 ppm world.

Hot topic: the cost of Arctic thawing

In last night's entry, I listed climate change and hot topics as being relevant to this month's theme.  I present stories from Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (the cost of Arctic thawing) on Daily Kos that are both--the estimated high cost of methane released as a result of global warming.  All stories are from Livescience.

Global Price Tag for Arctic Thawing: $60 Trillion
By Becky Oskin, Staff Writer
July 24, 2013 12:54pm ET

The beautiful, stark scenery of the Arctic may be priceless, but the warming of the region could come at a great cost to the world.

The Arctic's rapid warming could cost the global economy more than $60 trillion if melting permafrost releases huge quantities of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, a new study finds. The cost nearly mirrors the $70 trillion size of the world economy in 2012.

Permanently frozen ground, called permafrost, beneath the Arctic's East Siberian Sea could belch out 50 billion tons of methane at any time, researchers said in an analysis published today (July 24) in the journal Nature. More than a trillion tons of methane is thought to be trapped in the Arctic Ocean's icy marine sediments in the form of what are called methane hydrates, some of it in shallow water.

With so much at stake, that figure was immediately disputed.

Arctic Methane Claims Questioned
By Becky Oskin, Staff Writer
July 26, 2013 05:19pm ET

A scientific controversy erupted this week over claims that methane trapped beneath the Arctic Ocean could suddenly escape, releasing huge quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas, in coming decades, with a huge cost to the global economy.

The issue being debated is this: Could the Arctic seafloor really fart out 50 billion tons of methane in the next few decades? In a commentary published in the journal Nature on Wednesday (July 24), researchers predicted that the rapid shrinking of Arctic sea ice would warm the Arctic Ocean, thawing permafrost beneath the East Siberian Sea and releasing methane gas trapped in the sediments. The big methane belch would come with a $60 trillion price tag, due to intensified global warming from the added methane in the atmosphere, the authors said.

But climate scientists and experts on methane hydrates, the compound that contains the methane, quickly shot down the methane-release scenario.

It turns out that the $60 trillion figure is the accumulated damage over the next two centuries.  Still, that's a lot of money.

Just the same, even without methane, more heat and drought is in store for the planet, as shown in the videos embedded in Warming and drought in NASA simulations of this century's climate.

Nablopomo for August: Hot

So, what's this month's theme?

HOT
It's the middle of summer, and you could fry an egg on the sidewalk in D.C. We're escaping the heat by jumping in the pool and hanging out in air conditioning, though we're also embracing the heat, happy for warm weather after months of long sleeves and sweaters.

This month, we're exploring the word hot. Whether we're talking about physical hotness or a spicy dish, we'll be examining the things that heat us up. Do you avoid or embrace hot button issues on your blog? What is the difference between being hot-tempered and passionate? And debate with us: is hotness something you can ever lose, and what age does it come about?

That's from the website.  What about the email?

Hot town, summer in the city: BlogHer is back from Chicago and hot posts abound. Hopefully your creativity was set on fire with the great panels and keynotes. If you were at home, ride a little of that energy you see bouncing around the blogosphere right now.

Hotness is in the eye of the beholder, so we're counting on you to lend your voice and determine what is hot and what is definitely not. What is the hottest age? The spiciest dish? What lights your passion? August's theme is hot, and we'll be discussing all things that exist at higher temperatures.

Let's go through the checklist.  Hot weather/global warming?  Check.  Sex?  Check.  Food?  Check.  Hot button issues?  Check.  Hot topics?  Check.  Yeah, this looks like a good month for me.  I don't even think I'll need the prompts.

So start thinking about what's hot and sign up for August's NaBloPoMo.

Done.