I see that the temperatures back home are hovering around freezing—unseasonably warm for Minnesota, but still, I get to post this picture taken outside my hotel here in Phoenix.
What's that? Palm trees, blue skies, and it's warm enough that I could run around naked (they're comparative biologists, they're used to seeing weird organisms, but I think I'll spare them that particular sight.)
Hi, Mary! Hi, Skatje! Hi, Connlann! Hi, Alaric! How's January in the frozen North treating you all?
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I love winter in the desert. (Although most of Phoenix doesn't look very desert like) It is supposed to drop down to 60 I think tomorrow.
> I could run around naked
*shudder*
You mean you're already doing the photo shoot for Skepdude?
Don't worry PZ. Dawn Redwoods may return to Minnesota sooner than you expect.
Just to remind you of your real place in the world. It's cold here, only 25degC. Rained a bit, for ten minutes...
Phoenix has palm trees? I thought it was in a desert! Oh, right, they're using up the aquifer.
I hear that in Las Vegas they replace the palm trees every week, as it is too dry for them to last long.
Tsk, tsk. Here in Alicante (Spain), we have around 20ºC today, and besides, I can see the mediterranean from the window of my office at the Neurosciences Institute. Beat that :-)
Really, Llewelly? Well, they should spare the expense, and start using artificial trees - which would be more in keeping with the overall vibe of the place anyway.
Sixty degrees in Phoenix? Hah! So global warming IS a myth!
That reminds me. Those folk who are using the Colorado snowstorms as an excuse to crow about global warming being a myth after all - are they they same folk who were prompted by the Colorado heatwaves of six months ago to publicly accept the validity of global warming? How quickly they forget (and how easily they overlook that local weather, extreme or not, prove nothing anyway).
I have a question for the forum, Off Topic. What is the Limestone Cowboy, and why is there no mention of it on Talk Origins? I found references to it on Google, but no refutations or explantions other than the expected Creationist spin. (I guess I need to get myself a copy of Mark Isaak's new book...)
To Kseniya,
The top hit on Google for "Limestone Cowboy" finds this debunking by Glen Kuban.
Ah-hah! Thank you, Sonja. I must not have quoted my search string (or something) or maybe I'm just stupid or lazy (or something). Anyway, thanks for the pointer. :-)
Myth. Vegas isn't anywhere near as hot or dry as Phoenix; PHX has a heat island, and probably in the next decade or so will have a day when the temperature -- even at night -- never drops below 100 (f). Vegas still isn't quite that big ... yet.
Besides, as insane as traffic is in Vegas (they only comparatively recently got their freeways in place -- like in the last decade for full deployment), there'd be no way to get the construction gear in place to actually replace the trees.
Talk about rubbing it in.
Actually, it's relatively cold down in Arizona this winter. We often go there in the RV, and my brother lives in Tucson, so we keep track.
The "frozen North" in west central Minnesota isn't so frozen. There isn't any snow! We are currently experiencing rather balmy weather with puddles instead of snow in the parking lots.
Snow showers are predicted for Sunday and Monday. Hopefully, the snow will wait for PZ's arrival since I know he wouldn't want to miss out on shoveling.
That's nice, PZ, but I'd like to see you visit Phoenix six months from now and report back how you like the weather then.
That Hyatt looks like the one I'll be at February 6-10 for the Academic Surgical Conference, where I'm presenting an abstract. I guess I missed you guys by five weeks.
Wow. I stayed in that very Hyatt in 1997 for a high school journalism convention. Time flies.
well. a shout out back at you
Wanna pay for your trip? Take in a few roomies for the football game this wekend. They only need a place to park their bags between parties, as they'll probably pass out by the pool or be in jail. Be sure you get cash. Don't be bashful. There are no rooms anywhere. Some don't even have tickets.
We've hardly had any snow here in Montreal, and I understand from a friend that New York city has had none. If this keeps up ...
And the bit about Colorado being a supposed GW "counterexample" - well, in case it needs to be said - snow can be a sign of warming too, as it is in the Arctic, where in the middle of winter it doesn't snow, because it is too cold.