Filing for Social Security

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A bit shy of two hours into this morning’s Highway 6 road race, I was out by myself (dropped long before by the main field in the Masters division – some of those old guys are tough!) when I glimpsed an electric green jersey creeping up from behind.

We were on the long gentle climb out of the Rio Puerco valley toward the finish line, and I was pooped. The spot of green was closer each time I glanced back, until finally he pulled up next to me.

“You aren’t 60, are you?” he asked. I told him no, and he was delighted. He was pretty sure there was no one ahead of us older than him.

His name was Dwight.

“How old are you?” I asked Dwight. “62,” he said. “I just filed for Social Security.” We could see someone dangling a couple hundred meters up the road, and Dwight suggested we try to catch him. It seemed a fine idea.

There’s a little road cut about a mile from the finish line, and as we reached it I shifted into a bigger gear and started hammering. My heart rate hit the red line within moments and we began reeling in the guy ahead of us. I kept looking behind me, and Dwight was right there the whole time, pounding right through to the finish line.

Dwight’s my new hero. When I grow up, I wanna be just like him.

The Doggie Savant

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When Sadie came nosing into our room a little after midnight Tuesday morning, whining, waking us up, my first thought was that Timmy had fallen down the well. But we don’t know anyone named Timmy. And we don’t have a well.

Then I thought perhaps another pop culture icon had died.

When I got up Tuesday morning, I realized that the snow had collapsed the bamboo shade lattice Lissa and I had built in the backyard. Sadie was trying to tell us something.

Why I Don’t Give a Shit About Global Warming

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OK, that’s an intentionally provocative and more than slightly misleading title. The original and more meaningful title for this was “Climate Variability: Thinking About What Matters,” but is that gonna sell?

I spend time on this blog explaining the science of anthropogenic climate change, and explaining the flaws in some of the more egregiously dishonest attempts to debunk it, which may create some misapprehensions about what I think is important. I was thinking about this recently when, for a project I’m working on, I came across some interesting data about the allocation Colorado River water (click through for more):
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The South Will Rise redux

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More on the Metric Martyrs’ struggle (which I mentioned last week):

Brussels chiefs launched an investigation after a Euro-sceptic campaign group in the North-East received an abusive email from a European Commission address.

The Metric Martyrs Defence Fund, run by traders who opposed the use of metric weights and measures, was called “f****** Luddites” in the message.

It was sent from an email address using the same cec.eu.int domain name used by workers at the Commission.

Neil Herron, who runs the Sunderland-based campaign, last night demanded an inquiry to find if it came from a member of staff.

Putting Papers in Order

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Pepys:

At the office from morning till night putting of papers in order, that so I may have my office in an orderly condition. I took much pains in sorting and folding of papers.

I really need to do that. But it’s such a nice warm day, the bicycle beckons.