Tim Ross

Air Quality Alerts Explained!

August 13, 2008 - No Responses

The Air Quality Index is a standard based upon guidelines established by the Environmental Protection Agency. Somehow you just knew the government had to be involved in this, didn’t you? And isn’t it great to see your tax dollars so hard at work!!!

Though the EPA has developed a phone book sized guide to understanding the AQI, let me try simplify this thing. Bottom line…the AQI tells you whether the air you’re breathing is clean or dirty… simple as that! The daily AQI is particularly concerned with the health effects you’ll suffer in the short term… the next day or so. The AQI considers five major air pollutants; ground-level ozone, airborne particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Ground-level ozone and particulates are the two pollutants that pose the greatest health threats.

You can forget all of the hoo-hah associated with the AQI and “Code Orange” alerts… just concentrate on a single number. Generally speaking, an AQI lower than 100 represents a healthy situation. Anything over 100 is cause for concern, especially for those people with related health issues, ie: heart or respiratory ailments and/or advanced age. The higher the number the greater the health risk for everyone.

One last thing, and this is just my personal observation over time—Please know that 42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Or was that 43.5%?

AIR QUALITY “COLOR CODE” CHART

Categorised in Global Warming

Gimme Sumathat Global Warming!

June 18, 2008 - 3 Responses

Global warming? You’ll have a tough time selling that concept to me. I’m convinced most of the credible investigative science has been suffocated beneath a smoldering pile of politics and emotion. But, for the sake of a lame argument, let’s say it IS happening. SO WHAT! What’s wrong with a little global warming? It worked out pretty well for us the last time around! You may recall from your grade school science lessons that all of North America was beneath 3000 feet of icy glacier for tens of thousands of years. It’s referred to as The Ice Age. It didn’t last forever. All it took was a brief period of above normal temperatures and… BINGO!… the North American ice shield receded northward revealing an intensely beautiful landscape beneath… what is now, in part, the United States of America. Actually, when you get right down to it, the glacial covering didn’t recede at all…. IT MELTED… presumably as a result of global warming!

Hmmmmmm? The North American glacier melted? Isn’t that what some scream from the highest rooftops is happening in Greenland right now? Greenland got its name from the Vikings. Back then it really was green. Scientists know that’s true because, in recent years, they have unearthed, or de-iced, as it were, many artifacts from that period. And these artifacts suggest a rather robust agricultural Greenlandic lifestyle. So, if Greenland’s ice shield is, in fact, melting anew… THAT’S GREAT NEWS, isn’t it? As soon as it is gone they can get back to growing things… like food, for instance! You know there is a global food shortage, don’t you! How can green grass and more food be a bad thing?

How did all of that ice get here in the first place? It certainly suggests a sustained period of global cooling at some point in the past. What caused that? And what caused the global warming that subsequently melted the ice that once covered both Greenland and North America? Back then there was no convenient and evil United States of America on which to heap the blame. There were no American cars, trucks and factories belching out tons of smokey oooosh across the landscape. I ask again, “What caused the period of global warming that melted the Ice Age glaciers covering most of North America?” Here’s another question: What shape would North America be in today if, back then, hyper zealous global warming alarmists had been able to convince the populace that the sky was falling? Answer: North America and half the planet would still be frozen under 3000 feet of ice! Translation: None of us would be here today to travel to and fro across the nation screaming, “The sky is falling!”

Call me crazy… but… I’ll take North America as it is today, thank you very much!

Categorised in Global Warming

It’s Not Going to Happen!

June 18, 2008 - No Responses

You’ve heard the dire predictions: The state of Florida will soon be under water as a direct result of the melting polar ice caps! Let’s set the record straight. IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Even if global warming is commencing, and I doubt it (NASA scientists believe Earth has actually been cooling for the past ten years or so), the workaday world on planet Earth, in itself, could not possibly cause enough global warming to melt ALL of the Earth’s ice. And even if it did… SO WHAT?

For the purpose of clarification, let me suggest a simple experiment. Fill a glass (any glass) with ice and then add some liquid (water, coke, juice… it doesn’t matter). Fill it full… close to the brim. Now wait for the ice to melt. What do you think will happen? Most people I’ve queried believe that, as the ice melts, it will cause the liquid in the glass to overflow. Not true! In fact, the liquid level will actually lower just a little. ”How can this be?,” you ask. It’s all just simple physics. Much of the mass of an ice cube isn’t mass at all… it’s air! Each ice cube consists of thousands, if not tens of thousands of tiny air pockets. When the ice melts and the trapped air is released, the volume of water settles to a lower level in the glass because the empty air pockets no longer take up valuable space. Pretty cool, eh?

I’ll leave you with one more thought. Let’s assume, for the sake of further argument, that some set of circumstances does cause all of the polar ice to melt. Polar ice represents only a very small portion of the total earth surface. In the worst case scenario it would be analogous to adding a cup of water to an already full bathtub causing no perceivable difference in the bathtub’s water level. In fact, since most of the ice in the ice fields is below the actual surface of the ocean and, as stated previously, much of that ice is really just empty air bubbles. The water from the melted ice would simply take the place of what was once ice and empty space and the levels of the world’s oceans would likely fall instead of rise. So come on people… get a grip! All of the polar ice isn’t going to melt and it doesn’t matter if it does. End of story. Life is good. Enjoy it!

So, please, the next time someone tells you that Florida will soon be under water because of melting polar ice caps, set the record straight: Short of an unexpected and truly cataclysmic natural event… IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! And if it happens as a result of some cataclysmic event of a magnitude intense enough to melt all of the polar ice, believe me, it’s not the rising water we’ll have to worry about! We’ll all be dead long before the rising water reaches town hall in Tampa! Honest scientists, those who are not living in fear of the professional backlash of scientific political correctness, know this is true. They may not admit it… BUT THEY KNOW IT! This ain’t rocket science… it’s entry level Physics 101.

Categorised in Global Warming

Perpetually Pooped

June 18, 2008 - No Responses

Grandma says you’re retired,

And you’re not working anymore.

Grandpa are you tired again,

And were you pooped before?

Categorised in Original Poetry

Mr. Snipper Zipper

June 13, 2008 - No Responses

I’m afraid to wear my pants.

I’m scared what’s underneath.

‘Cause Mama says my zipper

Has tiny little teeth!

* Based upon my very own childhood memories

Categorised in Original Poetry

Make Way for Tim the Tool Man!

June 3, 2008 - 4 Responses

I recently returned from a brief vacation and couldn’t wait to get on the tube to share good news about a project I tackled while off work. Like so many homes in this part of the world, I have a bonus room over the garage. This room is very hot in the Summer and very cool in the Winter, sometimes so much so that it’s almost unusable. But I FINALLY took charge and eliminated the major reason for that discomfort. I insulated my garage doors… and WOW!!! What a difference it made!!! I should have engineered that project many moons ago! And, having publicly shared my “success” story on TV during one of my many morning weathercasts, I should have assumed I would get a few questions. AND DID I EVER! Sooooo many phone calls and email messages have come flooding into my office since mentioning my project on TV. Wanting to be of some assistance to others interested in eliminating this same problem in their homes, I have composed this note.

My son and I installed it all in about 90 minutes and we didn’t work all that hard at it. It was a leisurely pace. We just figured it out as we went along…. there’s no particular expertise required. Just go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a few big sheets of foam sheathing. That’s the stuff you see in home construction attached to the outside walls just before the brick is laid. It’s usually shiny silver, baby blue or pink… very noticeable during home construction. It’s a very pliable and durable 3/4″ foam. It’s very light and easy to handle. It comes in 4’ X 8’ sheets. Since panels in most metal garage doors are 4 feet wide, it works very well. A standard size garage door will require two sheets of foam with very little waste. I didn’t have access to a pickup so, while in the store, I literally cut the 8 foot panels into four 2 foot sections with a utility knife…. then hauled ‘em home in my car! Once back in my garage I did a final trim with a utility knife to the exact size needed. This aint rocket science!

Invest in a few sheets of foam and a couple of tubes of “original” Liquid Nail and have at it. As I mentioned, plan on two sheets of foam for each garage door you are insulating. Just “spot glue” the cut panels to the garage door with Liquid Nail. It was very easy and inexpensive to do… it really was. I spent about $50 and 90 minutes on the entire project. If I can do it… anyone can do it. And I can’t even begin to imagine the savings I’ll incur in heating and cooling bills in the coming weeks, months and years! Whooooo Hoooooo!

One last thought: You have to manage the heat. During the heat of the day (this time of year) you have to keep the garage door closed. Once you open it up all of the afternoon heat will rush into your garage. When you do that the new insulation panels that you installed on the doors will work against you… holding the heat in your garage. We pull our cars out of the garage in the morning and then park them outside until evening. The panels will do their job if you do your part. I’m anxious to see what they will do in cooler weather.

Categorised in Uncategorized