If the Earth Is Warming, Why Am I So Cold?

If things continue, those who militantly support the theory of global warming may have egg on their face.

Over the past year, anecdotal evidence for a cooling planet has exploded. China has its coldest winter in 100 years. Baghdad sees its first snow in all recorded history. North America has the most snowcover in 50 years, with places like Wisconsin the highest since record-keeping began. Record levels of Antarctic sea ice, record cold in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Greece, South Africa, Greenland, Argentina, Chile -- the list goes on and on.

Snow in Baghdad??? Global warming proponents are quick to mention that with global warming it means a overall warming of the earth and some parts of the earth will get colder, but it appears that the past twelve months have counteracted all of the warming over the last 100 years.

And the ice that was melting in the arctic?

Gilles Langis, a senior forecaster with the Canadian Ice Service in Ottawa, says the Arctic winter has been so severe the ice has not only recovered, it is actually 10 to 20 cm thicker in many places than at this time last year.

As the author of a second article point out though, "OK, so one winter does not a climate make. It would be premature to claim an Ice Age is looming just because we have had one of our most brutal winters in decades. But if environmentalists and environment reporters can run around shrieking about the manmade destruction of the natural order every time a robin shows up on Georgian Bay two weeks early, then it is at least fair game to use this winter's weather stories to wonder whether the alarmist are being a tad premature."

WSJ iPhone Review

Apparently, the press embargo on the iPhone is now broken, and thus all kinds of newspapers and websites are releasing their reviews. So far, the vast majority appear to be positive... very positive in fact, and far more than I expected with the known drawbacks of the iPhone. I am not sure yet if this is just the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field, or if Apple really has redefined the smartphone space. The Wall Street Journal's review is among the best and most balanced.

The iPhone's most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt -- who did most of the testing for this review -- was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly.

But the iPhone has a major drawback: the cellphone network it uses. It only works with AT&T (formerly Cingular), won't come in models that use Verizon or Sprint and can't use the digital cards (called SIM cards) that would allow it to run on T-Mobile's network. So, the phone can be a poor choice unless you are in areas where AT&T's coverage is good. It does work overseas, but only via an AT&T roaming plan.

I am sticking with Tmo and my Sidekick III, but I know at least one guy who will be camping out at the local mall in hopes of scoring an iPhone. I'll let you know my impressions when he is showing it off on Sunday.

NYT iPhone Review

As long as we're giving in the iPhone mania, why not a video review that actually gives you a chance to see the thing in action.