Irish Class, January 26, 2015
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Fadas: áéíóúÁÉÍÓÚ
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| Ó bearradh na Rónta. | “From when the seals were shaved” | (A really long time ago) |
| Chom Gaelach le muca Dhroichead Átha | “As Irish as the pigs of Drogheda” | (As Irish as can be) Droichead Átha = “bridge of the ford” |
Figuring the odds of Earth’s global hot streak
First, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration calculates global average temperature going back to 1880. That’s 135 years. So if no other forces were in play and temperatures last year were totally at random, then the odds of 2014 being the warmest on record are 1 in 135. Not too high.
Irish Class, January 12, 2015
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Fadas: áéíóúÁÉÍÓÚ
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| Go dtí Lá San Dic | Until the day of St. Dick | (there is no St. Dick) |
| Lá nach dtig | A day that never comes | i.e., when hell freezes over |
By Mike (“Plutokiller”) Brown:
2014 Was The Hottest Year On Record Globally By Far
As the JMA graph shows, there has been no “hiatus” or “pause” in warming. In fact, there has not even been a slowdown. Yes, in JMA’s ranking of hottest years, 1998 is in (a distant) second place — but 1998 was an outlier as the graph shows. In fact, 1998 was boosted above the trendline by an unusual super-El Niño. It is usually the combination of the underlying long-term warming trend and the regional El Niño warming pattern that leads to new global temperature records.
What makes setting the record for hottest year in 2014 doubly impressive is that it occurred despite the fact we’re still waiting for the start of El Niño.
‘The Interview’ Brings In $15 Million on Web
LOS ANGELES — “The Interview” generated roughly $15 million in online sales and rentals during its first four days of availability, Sony Pictures said on Sunday.
Sony did not say how much of that total represented $6 digital rentals versus $15 sales. The studio said there were about two million transactions over all.
So the answer to the 2012 opinion piece
Is Algebra Necessary? is YES!
From Dan Meyer,
The Tragedy of the American Military
Not your usual left-wing rant. The blame is thoroughly bipartisan. Even Bernie Sanders takes a hit.
The American public and its political leadership will do anything for the military except take it seriously. The result is a chickenhawk nation in which careless spending and strategic folly combine to lure America into endless wars it can’t win.
George R.R. Martin Ruins Christmas
Preceded by an exceptionally obnoxious commercial. I felt like killing everybody associated with it, so you could say it fits 🙂
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 