”Carbon Dioxide, Homo Imbecillus, and Bacteriae”

The Universe has not changed very much for the last hundred million years. Neither has the Earth. Untill a creature which, not too long ago, named itself Homo Sapiens Sapiens arrived on the scene. Atle likes to give the name Homo Imbecillus to this species.

If you go around the world you will in many places meet old place names like Land’s End, Cape Finisterre and so on. Later the Earth was the centre of the Universe. Religions made this a crucial issue. And religions still make weird somersaults of the mind.

Now we should know better than putting our species in the centre of everything. But Homo Imbecillus doesn’t.

Even environmentalists tell us that WE can change the way things are by changing our way of living. What do they mean about environmentally friendly cars, by the way? Cars releasing no carbon dioxide when driving? What would happen if every Chinese and every Indian were driving around in environmentally friendly cars?

Bacteriae have been here for a long, long time. We have not. They must have an ”intelligence” superior to ours. If not they would have been extinct.

Land’s End is in fact still very close. Ernest Hemingway grew up in a town of ”wide lawns and narrow minds”. http://www.lostgeneration.com/childhood.htm  - Not to different from most of us even if we think different.

Free Counters

”Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere”

are measured in parts per million. Recent preindustrial levels are supposed to have been 280 parts per million – 280 out of 1.000.000 which is 0.028 %.

In 2013 the level is supposed to be 395.15.  See http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-dioxide-levels.htm  In per cent this is 0.039515 %. The increase is 115.15. The increase in per cent from 280 is an amazing 41.125 %.

There are different ways of making graphs depending on how you make the graph, that is the values you put in the horizontal x-axis and the vertical y-axis. See http://www.ehow.com/how_5743992_create-graph.html  Data tables should be included next to the plotted graph for easy reference.

The graphs will look different according to the inputs. If you look at the graph below you will think that what you see is the increase in carbon dioxide levels. What you see is in fact only the data which is put into the graph. If the data in the y-axis had been 1.000.000, 2.000.000, 3.000.000, and 4.000.000 line marking the increase whould have been completely flat to the eye from 1.000.280 to 1.000.395.15. The increase in % of the last two numbers is 0.009498 %, an incredibly small increase in per cent.

 

Carbon dioxide level graph

The following chart plots the monthly mean atmospheric carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii. Because I cannot paste the graph here you will have to click the link. the graph is pretty steep.

Chart/graph source : Dr. Pieter Tans, NOAA/ESRL

See http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-dioxide-levels.htm

This graph is stunning. This is what you and I see, and this is what the policy makers see. To be more precise: This is what the people who make the graph WANT us to see. What we see is approxmimately(?) the increase in per cent from 280 parts to 395,15 - about 41 %.

To make my point a bit clearer you have to read this hypothetical example:

In Norway one year 100 people died from the flu. The next year 200 people died. An increase in mortalities of stunning 100 %. In Norway there are about 5.000.000 people. If we live for 80 years 62.500 will die every year. The mortality rate is 1,25 %. An increase of 100 one year is an increase in the mortality rate from 1.25 % to 1.252 %. Although mortalities due to the the flu soared to an amazing 100 %, the mortality rate increased only 0.002 %

THERE ARE MANY WAYS OF READING GRAPHS. MANY OF US READ GRAPHS AS THE DEVIL READS THE BIBLE.

Just remember that I do not mean that my way is the correct one…

"More beetles from Thailand!

I collected a handful of beetles feeding on guava fruit. See photos:

”Hvem vil betale for dette?”

Nettaviser i Norge ser ut til å ville ta betalt for deler av innholdet. Når kvaliteten på innholdet i nettavisene stort sett er langt under pari, hvem vil betale for dette? De fleste lesere av nettaviser er nok innom flere aviser på nettet, skummer gjennom overskrifter og tar en nærmere titt på det som virker interessant. Da har man neppe interesse av å betale for innholdet i alle de avisene man eer innom. Men det er jo lov å forsøke.

Følgende overskrifter er hentet fra noe som Dagbladet kaller” Pluss”:

Insektsex spår været

Hopper over forspillet og går for en «kjappis» dersom regnet kommer.

Møter du en krokodille vil den svømme ved siden av deg til du er inne på grunna før den slår til

Fant kjærligheten med en 25 år eldre mann som 17-åring og ble enke da hun var 32

Det lønner seg å prute, og det er store penger å spare

Hvem gidder å betale for dette, mon tro? Ikke Atle i hvert fall! Minus for Blabla…

"Beetles mating!"

I collected some nice beetles today. While they stayed inside a plastic bag two of them used the opportunity...

”Det baller seg på!!!”

Hva er det Atle leser i Aftenpostens nettutgave og andre steder på nettet? ”En konservativ geistlig i Saudi-Arabia har sagt at kvinner som kjører bil risikerer å skade eggstokkene og dermed føde barn med skader.” http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/Geistlig-i-Saudi-Arabia-hevder-at-det-skader-eggstokkene-a-kjore-bil-7324512.html

Hva som derimot er SIKKERT, er at det er SKADELIG FOR MENN å sitte for mye, enten det er i bil eller andre steder.

Atle sier ikke mer, men oppfordrer spesielt middelaldrende og eldre menn med ”problemer” til å tenke selv før det baller seg på.

”Aktuelt på NRK no?”

Noen ganger er det så det kvepper i Atle både med og uten grunn. Slik også da han klikket seg inn på NRK sine nettsider. (se øverst til venstre på http://www.nrk.no/ )

Han tenker på rettskrivningen! Dette er faktisk Nasjonal Samlings rettskrivning fra den gangen det norske nazipartiet satt med en del av makten under andre verdenskrig i Norge. Nå ble skrevet no den gangen også på bokmål.

Muligens et godt forsøk på samnorsk av Nasjonal Samling?

”Paragliding in heavy winds at Khao Sadao”

 We arrived at take off after noon on Wednesday. At that time there was too much wind to have a safe start. 8 to 10 meters a second and westerly. However, it was possible to take off from time to time, but only for 10-20 seconds. You risked to be ripped up in the air. Later the wind slowed down in longer intervals, and I decided to have a try. Take off  was OK, but a bit too much wind up there. By and by the wind picked up, too.

There was not much lift at the ridge even if the wind sometimes peaked at more than 10 meters a second – 0,1 to 0,7 m. The wind blew almost along the ridge. I had to check the ground speed from time to time. Once I counted 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2, -3, -4, -5 before pressing speed bar. Extremely much movement in the bamboo forest. As the wind picked up I definitetly wanted to land before dark at around 6 o’clock, but it was very difficult to get down due to strong and shifting wind. At last I made it after almost 10 tries. I was some 10 meters too far in from the ridge, and at 3 meters suddenly the pressure in the wing disappeared (rotor!) and I was grounded safe and sound but not a 100% controlled landing. Suddenly there was no pressure in the wing. The last meters I went down pretty fast and landed on my bum (photo). A nice and interesting flight almost at the limit of what I think is OK. On Thursday there was much wind from the morning, and I decided it was better to go home. For the local pilots: The grass is cut on take off. 

"Khao Sadao a possibility on Wednesday/Thursday"

Looks like the wind and rain might take a small break. Especially the wind. Have to check the meteorogram on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

”E-Readers Can Make Reading Easier for Those With Dyslexia”

 

 

An earlier study by Schneps tracked eye movements of dyslexic students while they read, and it showed the use of short lines facilitated reading by improving the efficiency of the eye movements. This second study examined the role the small hand-held reader had on comprehension, and found that in many cases the device not only improved speed and efficiency, but improved abilities for the dyslexic reader to grasp the meaning of the text.

The team tested the reading comprehension and speed of 103 students with dyslexia who attend Landmark High School in Boston. Reading on paper was compared with reading on small hand-held e-reader devices, configured to lines of text that were two-to-three words long. The use of an e-reader significantly improved speed and comprehension in many of the students. Those students with a pronounced visual attention deficit benefited most from reading text on a handheld device versus on paper, while the reverse was true for those who did not exhibit these issues. The small screen on a handheld device displaying few words (versus a full sheet of paper) is believed to narrow and concentrate the reader's focus, which controls visual distraction.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130918181126.htm

Read for yourself the same text as above. You will probably experience that one or more of the texts below are easier to read than the one at top. If the top text had only one or two lines it would have been very difficult to read and grasp the meaning:

An earlier study by Schneps tracked eye movements of dyslexic students while they read, and it showed the use of short lines facilitated reading by improving the efficiency of the eye movements. This second study examined the role the small hand-held reader had on comprehension, and found that in many cases the device not only improved speed and efficiency, but improved abilities for the dyslexic reader to grasp the meaning of the text.

The team tested the reading comprehension and speed of 103 students with dyslexia who attend Landmark High School in Boston. Reading on paper was compared with reading on small hand-held e-reader devices, configured to lines of text that were two-to-three words long. The use of an e-reader significantly improved speed and comprehension in many of the students. Those students with a pronounced visual attention deficit benefited most from reading text on a handheld device versus on paper, while the reverse was true for those who did not exhibit these issues. The small screen on a handheld device displaying few words (versus a full sheet of paper) is believed to narrow and concentrate the reader's focus, which controls visual distraction.

An earlier study by Schneps tracked eye movements of dyslexic students while they read, and it showed the use of short lines facilitated reading by improving the efficiency of the eye movements. This second study examined the role the small hand-held reader had on comprehension, and found that in many cases the device not only improved speed and efficiency, but improved abilities for the dyslexic reader to grasp the meaning of the text.

The team tested the reading comprehension and speed of 103 students with dyslexia who attend Landmark High School in Boston. Reading on paper was compared with reading on small hand-held e-reader devices, configured to lines of text that were two-to-three words long. The use of an e-reader significantly improved speed and comprehension in many of the students. Those students with a pronounced visual attention deficit benefited most from reading text on a handheld device versus on paper, while the reverse was true for those who did not exhibit these issues. The small screen on a handheld device displaying few words (versus a full sheet of paper) is believed to narrow and concentrate the reader's focus, which controls visual distraction.

An earlier study by Schneps tracked eye movements of dyslexic students while they read, and it showed the use of short lines facilitated reading by improving the efficiency of the eye movements. This second study examined the role the small hand-held reader had on comprehension, and found that in many cases the device not only improved speed and efficiency, but improved abilities for the dyslexic reader to grasp the meaning of the text.

The team tested the reading comprehension and speed of 103 students with dyslexia who attend Landmark High School in Boston. Reading on paper was compared with reading on small hand-held e-reader devices, configured to lines of text that were two-to-three words long. The use of an e-reader significantly improved speed and comprehension in many of the students. Those students with a pronounced visual attention deficit benefited most from reading text on a handheld device versus on paper, while the reverse was true for those who did not exhibit these issues. The small screen on a handheld device displaying few words (versus a full sheet of paper) is believed to narrow and concentrate the reader's focus, which controls visual distraction.

”Bee and wasp venom, centipede venom, scorpion venom, snake venom – 7% vinegar”

 What works against stings og bites from these insects and snakes?

As a former beekeeper I was stung a lot of times. By and by I got hypersensitive against bee stings; one sting could result in a swelling probably weighing between a half and one kilo!!!

Then I started to put on a cotton wad soaked in 7% vinegar letting the cotton wad stay on the place of sting for about one hour. The result was no swelling and no pain.

The chemical reaction of bee venom is said to be acidic. Still vinegar acid works. Vinegar also works on wasp stings. The wasp venom is said to be slightly alcalic or neutral.

The other day I talked to a boy who was stung by a large centipede. Stings from these centipedes hurt very much, maybe for weeks. He put on lime juice which is acidic, and he had no pain at all.

Probably using a wad soaked in 7% vinegar will relieve the pain and danger if you are bitten by a snake, too. At least it is worth to have a try immediately after you are bitten before heading for a hospital.

What made me post this is that I was much too close (20 centimeters) to a Krait snake some days ago. In fact it was between the two fabric layers of a hammock in which I was reading. I felt something moving inside the hammock but didn’t care to too much. When packing the hammock the snake popped out.

I guess the different osmotic pressure of the vinegar and the venom makes the venom ”wander” to vinegar side if you put on the vinegar immediately.

"200+ mm rainfall this week"

makes me wait deciding to go south for paragliding in Rayong. The rainy season is really here now.

”Jukseksperter – Overrasket hvis noen blir dømt”

Nå er det mulig at Atle har begynt å miste gangsynet – eller trenger han briller?; han begynner å bli usikker. Mer på http://www.nrk.no/sport/fotball/_-overrasket-hvis-noen-blir-domt-1.11236114

Men når man kommer til kjernen – er det egentlig store forskjellen mellom juks og jus i mange saker?

”More on double standards concerning use of gas in Syria and Iraq”

The quote is fetched from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Iraq_War#Use_of_chemical_weapons_by_Iraq

” Use of chemical weapons by Iraq

See also: Halabja poison gas attack, Iraqi chemical weapons programme, and Second Battle of al-Faw

Iranian soldiers had to use full PPE in front line of Iran–Iraq War

In a declassified 1991 report, the CIA estimated that Iran had suffered more than 50,000 casualties from Iraq's use of several chemical weapons,^[173] though current estimates are more than 100,000 as the long-term effects continue to cause casualties.^[34][174] The official CIA estimate did not include the civilian population contaminated in bordering towns or the children and relatives of veterans, many of whom have developed blood, lung and skin complications, according to the Organization for Veterans of Iran. According to a 2002 article in the Star-Ledger, 20,000 Iranian soldiers were killed on the spot by nerve gas. As of 2002, 5,000 of the 90,000 survivors continue to seek regular medical treatment, while 1,000 are hospital inpatients.^[175][176]

Victims of the 1987 chemical attack on Sardasht, Iran

According to Iraqi documents, assistance in developing chemical weapons was obtained from firms in many countries, including the United States, West Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France. A report stated that Dutch, Australian, Italian, French and both West and East German companies were involved in the export of raw materials to Iraqi chemical weapons factories.^[177] Declassified CIA documents show that the United States was providing reconnaissance intelligence to Iraq around 1987–88 which was then used to launch chemical weapon attacks on Iranian troops and that CIA fully knew that chemical weapons would be deployed and sarin attacks followed.^[178]
On 21 March 1986, the United Nations Security Council made a declaration stating that "members are profoundly concerned by the unanimous conclusion of the specialists that chemical weapons on many occasions have been used by Iraqi forces against Iranian troops, and the members of the Council strongly condemn this continued use of chemical weapons in clear violation of the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which prohibits the use in war of chemical weapons." The United States was the only member who voted against the issuance of this statement.^{[179][note 5]”}

"Coastal hang in Rayong"

is an option next week if southerly winds at Khao Sadao fail.

”Flying from Khao Sadao on Sunday”

The wind on Khao Sadao is quite tricky. I knew there was not going to be much wind. Very often at low winds there is tail wind some time around noon. This happened on Sunday, too. I managed to make a reverse take off when the wind picked up a little. I even came higher than take off. Before I could make a top landing, however, there was major sink...

"New try at Khao Sadao in the weekend" but not possible to write text on blogger.com for the moment...

”USA and gassing – double standards?”

 Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran

The U.S. knew Hussein was launching some of the worst chemical attacks in history -- and still gave him a hand.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/25/secret_cia_files_prove_america_helped_saddam_as_he_gassed_iran

Double standards are found everywhere. Remember the Japanese soldiers who were executing for waterboarding American soldiers during the last world war? Remember the waterboarding in the name of fighting terrorism? Former President Bush is even proud of it – still he does not travel very much abroad these days for fear of being indicted.

It still remains to see what the USA and the UK will do in Syria.

"Helse i hver dråpe!!!"

Her er regninga etter helsetoppenes fest

39 middagsgjester drakk for over 29 000 kroner i Oslo.Se http://www.adressa.no/nyheter/innenriks/article8162765.ece

”Cutting grass at Khao Sadao”

was finished on Sunday. Much wind - 15 meters a second. Not easy to sleep in the tent due to much wind. Seemed to be waves coming down. Monday morning it was possible to take off, but I chose to wait till later because of the probability of strong winds higher up.

”New species of homo sapiens – homo imbecillus!”

Atle has just made a new discovery. In the slip stream of homo sapiens some new species have just popped up: Homo sapiens putinis, homo sapiens obamatis, homo sapiens cameronensis, homo sapiens staliniensis, homo sapiens helleniensis, and many others. All these are in recent times preceded by homo sapiens ignorantis and homo sapiens imbecillus.

As Atle himself clearly is belonging to the latter species he has, for the time being, no further comments.

As they say

Have a nice day

"50 PPG ved Had Chom Tawan"

i ettermiddag. Mye "action", ja. En pilot kræsjet i bilen vår som var parkert ved en trerekke, men det gikk bra med begge parter.

Selv trakk jeg litt skjerm i laminær vind. Til Khao Sadao i morgen. Bilder senere.

”It is too late now, UK and USA!”

The photo shows the destroyed computer containing the Guardian’s copies of the Snowden files. Background info on http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/nsa-snowden-files-drives-destroyed-london

Still there exist copies in Brazil and the United States, and the UK and the USA know about these copies. Then why do the British perform an act that puts them in company with despotic regimes only naming them makes you want to clean and rinse your mouth?

Atle does not want to look for an answer as he, like many times before, has to admit that he does not know very much.

However, it is interesting to see how clever leaders are defrocking themselves (do you remember the story of H C Andersen, The Emperor’s New Clothes?). Not too different from leaders like Stalin, Hitler, and Mao (just to mention a few), Obama and Cameron have stripped themselves of a fair share of credibility. Everyone stands, or will stand, stark naked facing history.

"Khao Sadao again"

I will have a look at the take off at Khao Sadao this weekend. The wind will probably be too strong, but I can cut some grass at the take off. As far as I know nobody has cut grass and bushes for three months. Wonder what it looks like. For sure very different from the take off at Juvass in Norway.

”Mountain flowers of Norway”

Walking in the snowclad mountains of Norway most of the time you look up and around. Still there are some hidden secrets around your feet.

"Forbord flying site in Stjørdal"

I went past Forbord in Trøndelag today. No pilots there and no paragliding. Tomorrow I go to Vågå, but I guess there will be rain and northerly winds. No more flying in Norway this year.

"Something to think about for selfish people in a selfish country in a selfish world?"

Watch the video clip, listen to the girl and enjoy the music.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=445160435578419&set=vb.172753116192710&type=2&theater

"Agurktid?: Hund rev lam"

leste Atle i en lokalavis. Tre dyr i samme overskrift! Hva blir det neste. Kan hende denne: Sau rev bjørn? På tide nå at sauene tar igjen. Mener nå Atle!

”Last flights this year from Vole”

 The weather forecast looked quite promising, but there were too cloudy today. Still I had two flights. At Rikssenteret there are only a few pilots now. 

"Vole og Salknappen"

Vi var først på Vole og så Stein Are fly tandemvinge med passasjer (bilde). Sidevind her og lite sjanse for løft. Deretter dro vi opp til Salknappen hvor det nok var i overkant av vind. Gode startforhold for HG,

og Kristian fikk en fin tur. Vinden tjafset litt for mye med PG-en min, og jeg pakket ned. I morgen blir trolig min siste dag i Vågå i år. Værutsiktene er PG-positive. Får se om det blir brukbare forhold enten fra Vole eller fra Salknappen.

"Flowers and flying in Jotunheimen"

At 1.800 meters asl there are quite a few flowers even if there are stones and rock almost everywhere. No flying for me yesterday. Instead I walked around.

Today at Vole in Vågå I touched cloudbase at about 2.900 meters asl.