Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Weird but real
At this time of year it’s usually cold at 7:30 in the morning when Mrs H and I set off on the school run. The car thermometer might show 5C for example, but it could be anything from a frosty -2C with ice on the windscreen to a mild 8C.
By the time we are tootling back from the school run at about 9am, the car thermometer is likely to show a slightly higher temperature, maybe a couple of degrees higher depending what kind of weather we’re having. In summer the temperatures will be considerable higher of course.
As everyone knows this is such a normal part of life that even mentioning it seems like a footling thing to do. In which case, how is it possible to persuade supposedly rational people to pretend they are worried about trivial global temperature rises far smaller than those we experience throughout the year and in daily life?
A good answer is that it isn’t possible unless mass conditioning is real. In which case, mass conditioning is real. It may seem weird to see real people in real life repeating the conditioned phrases, but they do. Weird but real.
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7 comments:
From the Wizard of Oz:
Dorothy performs Glinda the Good Witch's simple magic spell: all she has to do is click the heels of her magic shoes and repeat, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home..."
And so the catch phrases roll over into advertising "OMO washes whiter" (are we still allowed to say that?), "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent".
And then into politics. But who now believes that Labour looks after the Working Man or that the economy is safe in the hands of the Conservatives?
And yes, that means I anticipate being disappointed by REFORM, but I will use them as a means of punishing the current useless lot.
This is the first year in which our pear tree buds have begun to open in February. I think the likely cause is the el Niño and the rather long lasting air flow from warm places.
how is it possible to persuade supposedly rational people to pretend they are worried about trivial global temperature rises far smaller than those we experience throughout the year and in daily life?
"Have you thought about carrying a lightweight jumper or fleece with you? You can save time and effort, and the planet can save itself!"
Absolutely. A few years back we had a temp of -16C one winter night, then a couple of summers ago we had temps of almost +40C. Strangely, with just a few exceptions, once the extremes were over all the plants in the garden came through both experiences. The birds continued to raid the feeders and the cats continued to find ample supplies of mice. While I don't want to live permanently in either temp I refuse to worry about a change of 1C per century.
The philosophical implications of the school run … had not considered those. Sobering.
One of our two conference pears breaks its buds end of jan/early feb religiously. The other is end of feb or early march. The sole williams pear breaks bud late february.
Nature hedges its bets.
DJ - I anticipate being disappointed by REFORM too, but as you say, it's a means of punishing the current useless lot. Better than not voting or a spoiled paper in my view as it is more specific about wanting change, however imperfect.
decnine - yes it's weather and we should be grateful that for some time we have been going through a benign phase. Things could change as El Niño peters out, but that's weather too.
Sam - and people know this, they know they adapt as a matter of seasonal habit. They see the clothes in the shops go through seasonal changes every year.
Woodsy - it's ludicrous isn't it? This time of year anyone can experience a much bigger temperature change simply by going outside.
James - it's the dull weather and early mornings, the old brain needs to chew on something.
Bill - nature does hedge its bets and can even adapt to being knocked back by late snow or frosts.
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