Off to the Islands

Over the next month, I will visit two islands in the Chesapeake Bay (Fox and Tangier) and six Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Tortolla, Virgin Gorda, and Jost van Dyke). Counting smaller islands that I will visit as part of the trip (Buck Island, Water Lemon Key, etc.), I may hit a personal record of 12 islands in a month.

That's a lot of islands. Will I be able to handle it?

I don't know, and you won't either. Because while I am visiting those different versions of early Paradise, I am not going to be spending much time online. So while I am gone, enjoy your life, go outside, and come back to visit me in late July.

I love you, Bonnie. Thanks for clicking on all of the ads.

Very cool science

Diet Coke and Mentos, and one hell of a video. I think I know what I am doing on the first day of class next year! Check it out.

Al Gore's movie

I finally saw an Inconvenient Truth today. It was great--a stirring call to action, with good science, a positive message, and a relatively realistic portrayal of the consequences of inaction. People who dislike Al Gore will find this movie a surprise: Al Gore comes across as simply human (and often funny), with very little of the bombastic pretense and condescension that dogged him in 2000. Maybe it took losing the presidency to bring out Al's humanity. Whatever happened, Gore and his message make for a good story. This is a movie that grips you almost from the beginning and doesn't let go.

For all the political overtones of global warming, this was more a scientific and personal than political movie. Republicans and Democrats alike should feel comfortable going to see this film. The huge, high-resolution graphics alone are worth a trip to the theater. Check the movie website for theaters in your area that are showing it (there's one in Austin and several in Dallas). Watch the trailer, and then go see this excellent movie. It will change your outlook on global warming, and possibly your life.

I like this review:

Roger Ebert has given An Inconvenient Truth a Four-star review writing in the Chicago Sun-Times:

“The director, Davis Guggenheim, uses words, images and Gore’s concise litany of facts to build a film that is fascinating and relentless. In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to.”

P.S.--Those of you, after seeing the movie, who asked me if Al Gore offset the carbon dioxide released in his travels--go to this link for recent stuff. It occurred to me that Al Gore couldn't offset his travels before the last few years, when the offset market got going.