Dave Schumaker

Remember when phone booths used to be pretty prevalent? I wonder how long it will be before electronic communication renders these guys obsolete?

Awhile ago, AT&T released an app for the iPhone called Mark the Spot, which allows users to send a message to AT&T pinpointing their location, the problem (dropped call, no data coverage, etc), along with various diagnostic information. I use it often.

One thing I've noticed lately though is that whenever I open the program to report a problem, my iPhone instantly finds a connection. Have you seen this strange phenomenon?

I think AT&T is toying with me.

A photo of mine appeared in an article about Veronica Belmont and Ryan Block in Geeksugar, for their series of "Geeks We Love" articles!

Nikon D300, Nikkor 24mm f/2.8, and an SB-600 flash w/ LumiQuest 80-20 diffuser.

This weekend, a number of our friends ventured to Lake Tahoe for some R&R. We stayed in a friend's family's cabin, went snowboarding, and watched the Super Bowl.

Of course, the perfect way to start (and end) the trip is by visiting In N' Out.

Hah, someone created an intro for the television show Lost as if it aired in 1976.

An old clip from the Late Show with Conan. Louis C.K. explains how our life is amazing, but no one is happy. Hilarious!

Just saw this absolutely ridiculous article posted on Digg, by way of the Guardian: "Water vapour caused one-third of global warming in 1990s, study reveals."

That's gotta be one of the more sensationalist titles ever written in the climate change debate, which will help fuel and legitimize claims made by climate change deniers. Anyway, the article does have some interesting nuggets and things that should be discussed.

Scientists have underestimated the role that water vapour plays in determining global temperature changes, according to a new study that could fuel further attacks on the science of climate change. The research, led by one of the world's top climate scientists, suggests that almost one-third of the global warming recorded during the 1990s was due to an increase in water vapour in the high atmosphere, not human emissions of greenhouse gases. A subsequent decline in water vapour after 2000 could explain a recent slowdown in global temperature rise, the scientists add.

Basically, scientists need to do a better job modeling how water vapor plays a role in climate change. That said, there are few interesting things to consider, that this article fails to mention:

• Examples of common greenhouse gases are CH₄ (methane), CO₂ (carbon dioxide), N₂O (nitrous oxide), and H₂O (water!).
• The atmospheric concentration of CO₂ and CH₄ *is* increasing, mainly due to anthropogenic causes (burning coal, oil, and natural gas).
• In general, the concentration of H₂O in the atmosphere varies (but is dependent on atmospheric temperature), however there is a complex relationship between increased H₂O -> increased cloud cover -> increased albedo.

The second thing to consider is the relative impact each of these gases have on trapping heat. In general, all greenhouse gases are compared to CO₂ (which has a value of 1.0). This is called the global warming potential.

Methane is 25x stronger at trapping heat than carbon dioxide! Again, the atmospheric concentration of both of these gases is increasing. What is water vapor's effect on trapping heat?

A GWP is not usually calculated for water vapour. Water vapour has a significant influence with regard to absorbing infrared radiation (which is the green house effect); however its concentration in the atmosphere mainly depends on air temperature. As there is no possibility to directly influence atmospheric water vapour concentration, the GWP-level for water vapour is not calculated.

Anyway, how do we know that concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are increasing? I wrote an article about that on the Geology News Blog awhile ago. Check it out.

Tomorrow is a big day! It's Apple's latest keynote / Stevenote and rumor has it that they'll finally be debuting their revolutionary new tablet. Either that, or a new paint ball gun.

We haven't seen this much hype prior to an Apple keynote since Macworld 2007, when Apple announced the iPhone. It'll be exciting to see what Steve unveils.

We'll be there, covering it live at gdgt. Tune into our live blog at 10AM Pacific for live commentary and photos from the event as it happens.

It'll be exciting no matter what happens. Personally, I want some new software. Multitasking on the iPhone. Please?

First up, we have a cat scaring off a bear. Granted, the bear still got the garbage bag, but this cat was ready to throw down and show who is boss.

Next, we have dogs. What happens when dogs meet polar bears? Apparently, love.

As much as I love dogs, I might have to reconsider what animal I want guarding my house!

[Cat video via Laughing Squid]

Footage from the front of a cable car, traveling down Market Street, circa 1906. Fantastic. I absolutely adore these old videos of San Francisco!

Originally, this video was thought to have been recorded sometime in 1905. Recently, someone analyzed the weather, vehicles, and shadows from people / objects and concluded it was filmed four days before the Great San Francisco earthquake of 1906!

This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot. From New York trade papers announcing the film showing to the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and conditions on historical record, even when the cars were registered (he even knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!). It was filmed only four days before the quake and shipped by train to NY for processing.

[Via Long Now Foundation and Flixxy]