American Football and Why Time is Already Dead

Here is a brief rambling on football, and the American concept of time; namely, the idea that we're constantly running out of it. 

I should have written about China, just because of the fact that I'm experienced with Chinese cultures somewhat and also the diverse amount of products they send us, mostly cheap stuff like tins, nick knacks, and iPhones. The Chinese do not have near as much freedom as we do, and I regularly hear stories about how one family member or another flees China to come live here. They (the stories) usually end on a screechy note, lamenting the fact that America's freedoms are fast disappearing. The scary part of that may be, even though Chinese sometimes want to come live here, eventually it might not be that much more free. They are sort of a hybrid of a market based culture and a communist culture, and as far as I know they are the only working example of a rich communist country (as in healthy middle class). Still, the Chinese do not have as much say as we do. The Internet there is tightly policed, and forums and everything on the Chinese Internet is monitored and censored if not in line with what Big Brother wants. Well, that's not entirely true: The censors will usually let people rail against politicians, but any attempt to organize resistance in any way is immediately stifled and the people are subject to correction.[1] 

Also I'd really like to join the Football-bashing bandwagon (where there is one): I've never even really liked sports, usually favoring crafts, carpentry, and outdoor activities to sports and other large social gatherings. One might label me as anti-social for that reason, but I can be quite amiable when I need to be, and I also sell quite a few things, so that makes me have to come out of my shell. However, I know of quite a few people who don't like football, and quite a few people who do. Really, I think it's a personal preference - although, as the text points out, it's basically more celebrated than Christmas. Here's what other people think of the Super Bowl:

Belgium: "A welcome excuse to invest millions in commercials. Sadly, there's no bowling involved. Also, some diva sings "God Save the Queen" – the American version."

So here's to Belgium, the other part of our class this week. Yes, of course my post is about America! Mostly...

Americans rush around, constantly thinking that they are running out of time. Personally, I hate clocks. My natural rhythm is to wake up at 8 and go to sleep at 12: now, how the heck am I supposed to survive in a country of morning people? Jokes aside, America really does suffer from clock hysteria. Personally, I think it may be at least part of the reason so many of us are on antidepressants, that and a very large ad campaign to convince Americans' that their lot in life is not enough. I typically don't handle very much TV, because after watching a full 1/4 of my show taken up by ads, I'm about ready to go buy a Mercedes, a BMW, a Ford, and some pain pills for good measure - likely for my pocket book. However, even I have invited the time-is-money concept into my life. When working, it feels like a part of my life is being taken away from me as I pay my tabs. Time is money, and I've fully integrated this into my business practices. (I build sheds, so eventually, the more tools I own, the faster I am and the more money I make.) However, sometimes this takes away from my enjoyment of the simpler stuff - while working, I feel like my time should be spent creating stuff, and while doing crafts, I feel like I should be working hard. Not enough time, that little voice says, not enough time!

Cited here is a great article by the Business Insider detailing the different views that each culture has on time. [3] Personally, I show up on time because everyone else does; at home, I tend to approach a task with an apparently more Asian view, that is, my task is rather like a pool, and there is time in my pool, and perhaps I may walk around it before realizing I must do G and H before starting A, and that does not bother me. Other people, I've noticed, tend to be driven insane by this. I enjoy that.

References:

1. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/345/6199/1251722.abstract

2. http://mic.com/articles/80855/what-people-from-other-countries-think-of-america-s-obsession-with-the-super-bowl

3. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-different-cultures-understand-time-2014-5

Why is Antarctic Sea Ice Exceeding the Models? Isn't Stuff Supposed to be Melting?

   This week I'll be taking a look at recent assertions that antarctic sea ice extent, which is currently not in line with global warming climate models, and examine why this may be, and whether or not it gives us adequate reason to reject the climate change theory. [1]
    Recent evidence from the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows that on Sep 22 2014, Antarctic sea ice went to a record breaking level of 7.76 million sq mi, which is the highest level since records began for sea ice extent. [2]
    Unfortunately, while this is certainly actually good news for the planet, it was somewhat bad news for climate scientists, whose models predicted that sea ice should be decreasing, not increasing. However, the article from NASA's Goddard Space Center points out that it's really not practical to expect the entire globe to warm and in other words behave in the same manner. If it did, everywhere would be hot already and we would be in trouble. Thus, extra sea ice, overall, it's not going to destroy the scientific community, and it's not actually much for the skeptical community to go on, either. While the sea ice extent is record breaking, there are several practical ideas for why the ice broke records. 
   There is also the primary point that while Antarctic ice broke records, Arctic sea ice continues to decline much more rapidly than Antarctic sea ice is gaining. A recent report by NOAA concludes that Arctic sea ice is unlikely to return to it's previous levels. [3]
   Another thing that the skeptical sources fail to take into consideration [1] is that continental ice is still receding. [4] The article in citation 4, an article by the Science magazine, says that "The short answer is that while the overall climate is warming, it’s a complicated system..." A reference is also made to melting of the actual continent itself - this freshwater, when melted, has a higher freezing point than the surrounding sea water and is thus more easily frozen. This may seem counter intuitive, but just think about it for the moment: If something freezes at 50 F, and something else freezes at 10 F, it has to be much colder to freeze the material at 10 F. Thus, the material that freezes at 50 F is said to have a higher freezing point. Saltwater has a lower freezing point than freshwater; thus it is harder to freeze. 
   It is very important to be able to think globally. This can be difficult when most people don't usually think beyond their town or county. Global climate reporting relies on the whole world's temperatures to make accurate assertions about the past, present, and future. Sometimes these models are not entirely accurate, but it in no way makes them wrong. As a case in point, global average temperatures have actually been going up faster than models suggested. Obviously, the models are not perfect, but this does not mean they should be thrown out the window.
   While it does seem like this event, which is not in line with climate models, should be shaking the scientific community, it is not. Scientists are well aware of the problems they face in predicting such massive data quantities, they are quite confident about their science. Meanwhile, while the ice on the pond is growing, the ice on the land is still plummeting into the ocean. 
   While we are worried about individual things that scientists miss that can discredit the scientific community, the reality is that the science behind this is quite solid. Personally, I am more willing to put my weight behind science, rather than cherry picked facts. While scientific skepticism is healthy, and indeed, a mark of the scientific community itself, we no longer believe in things like "the earth is flat," because we have the mountain of data to show that the earth is round. Ish.

References
1. Bastasch, Michael. "Climate FAIL: Antarctic Sea Ice Did The Exact Opposite Of What Models Predicted." Watts Up With That. Watts Up With That, 03 Mar. 2015. Web. 05 Mar. 2015. <http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/03/03/climate-fail-antarctic-sea-ice-did-the-exact-opposite-of-what-models-predicted/>.

2. "Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches New Record Maximum." NASA. NASA, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2015. <https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/antarctic-sea-ice-reaches-new-record-maximum/index.html#.VPiU0sbqN6p>.

3. "National Snow and Ice Data Center." Climate Change in the Arctic. NSIDC, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2015. <https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/arctic-meteorology/climate_change.html>.

4. Gramling, Carolyn. "What's Going on with Antarctic Sea Ice?" What's Going on with Antarctic Sea Ice? Science, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2015. <http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2014/10/whats-going-antarctic-sea-ice>.