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While we all, even nationally, were watching the news and locally hearing emergency broadcasts, I went out and took a few photos. Then I retreated into the house until the storm eased up.

I'm sure we all learned a little about what to do in a tornado situation yesterday. I had personal experience with them while visiting Denver in the 1980's and again on a trip to EPCOT in Florida about 10 years ago. These things can be very scary. Until yesterday, the idea of them showing up where I live didn't seem possible.

As I think about this, Climate Change, Global Warming and our impact on the planet, something simple occurs to me: Nature seeks balance. We upset the balance and nature will seek to get it back. If we create a vacuum, nature tries to fill it. This weather may be natures knee jerk reaction to help restore balance.

As we try to be better stewards of our environment, we also need to be careful we do not over-react and create new problems as we try to make up for mistakes already made. This is one reason conservation is our best immediate weapon against climate change and it is something we all need to do.

The good news from these storms is an improving water supply for the coming months. Keep in mind, we are still making up for being way overdrawn on our water budget. Please continue to be very frugal with your water use.

There is an article you can get to on the related link that lists 10 ways to go green that are not your typical angle on the subject. I really like what she has to say and her justifications. Follow the link for the whole article and I will summarize here:

1. Buy less stuff - vote with your wallet about shipping packaging and processing.

2. Try to set up your situation so that being green is easier than alternatives.

3. Try to start a "no use day". Keep only the necessary lights and heat on, but avoid tv, computers, video games, etc...

4. Low hanging fruit - if something seems like an obvious green move, don't wait, do it.

5. Use human power instead of gadgets. Often the cleaning of a device is added work that replaces the real work.

6. Eat based on your location. This will minimize shipping and processing. If something doesn't grow in your area, avoid it.

7. If it is the end that matters - change your means. If you want to be warm, don't heat the house, heat yourself with an electric blanket, dress warmer, etc...

8. Go at the big hogs. The things that are probably your biggest energy costs are heating, cooling, refrigeration, transport and your meat consumption.

9. Cut things in half. Nobody enjoys giving things up, so consider halving them instead.

10. Try and look at tasks and items with a new perspective. Sometimes a new perspective will reveal an interesting alternative that makes a task enjoyable that you may otherwise run to a non-green solution for.

Follow the related link below for the whole article:

Lets start by reminding ourselves that correlation does not necessarily mean something is in fact the cause. Until cause is verified, correlation means we should be suspicious and investigate.

Now, the chart above creates some real suspicion. The correlation of our oil volatility and the destabilizing in the investment environment are very close to in sync. If you really start to break down the timeline of events and economic impact closely, you almost see a simple cause and effect type pattern. More reason for suspicion.

As we work to protect the environment and shift away from non-renewable energy sources, this information is something to consider and remember so that we stay motivated.

Follow the related link for a ton of data and timeline comparison complete with charts and references.

2.4MB Glacier Comparison Images - click here

For some reason, people are still questioning these issues. I think we are past that and the questions should be "how bad has it gotten", "what can we do about it" and maybe "how much of this is directly caused by humans vs natural cycles". The last question of course is futile and does nothing to help toward a solution.

If you know anyone who prefers to believe it is a hoax or simply will not accept it until the evidence hits them personally, these photos may help.

From CNN:

In Double Exposure, images from the archive of pioneering mountain photographer Bradford Washburn have been placed alongside more recent photos taken by journalist David Arnold revealing the regression of glaciers in Alaska and Switzerland.

In 2005, Arnold was admiring Washburn's famous 1960 image of climbers on the Northeast ridge of Doldenhorn in Switzerland and started wondering what the peaks and glaciers Washburn had so expertly documented looked like now.

Soon enough, Arnold was off on the first of five flying expeditions to Alaska and the Swiss Alps.

Side by side Washburn's and Arnold's photos record the true extent of glacial retreat -- six and 14 and miles respectively in the case of the Shoup and Guyot Glaciers in Alaska.

Arnold's painstaking attention has produced images which faithfully reproduce Washburn's angles and perspective. He even made sure he shot his photos on exactly the day of the year, sometimes the same time of day as Washburn.

The pictures speak for themselves.

This still isn't my usual, but it is more re-enforcement for leaving Internet Explorer. If and when MS fixes the problem you can consider going back. I will not be going back, I like one of the alternatives better - Firefox.

"Microsoft still has not released a patch for a major zero-day flaw stemming from IE6 that was used by Chinese hackers to attack Google. After sample code was posted on a website, calls began for Microsoft to release an out-of-cycle patch. Now, France has joined Germany in recommending its citizens abandon IE altogether, rather than waiting for a patch. Microsoft still insists IE8 is the 'most secure browser on the market' and that they believe IE6 is the only browser susceptible to the flaw. However, security researchers warned that could soon change, and recommended considering alternative browsers as well."

Keep in mind too, when Internet Explorer 8 is running in the mode that makes it the safest, you can't view Java Script without interaction, Flash or other rich content. This makes it difficult to click results in search engines, view news articles or generally use the web. My computer is totally secure when turned off and unplugged from the wall, however, I prefer a reasonable level of useability.

Now, just an FYI in case you are wondering what a Zero-Day vulnerability is: Called either Day Zero or Zero-Day, it is an exploit that takes advantage of a security vulnerability on the same day that the vulnerability becomes publicly or generally known. Zero-Day exploits are usually posted by well-known hacker groups. Software companies may issue a security bulletin or advisory when the exploit becomes known, but companies may not be able to offer a patch to fix the vulnerability for some time after.

I am curious why this particular flaw is being labeled a zero-day flaw. The Black Hat society has been pointing it out for years in their regular security bulletins.

If you have seen conflicting articles, the MS executive summary is at the related link below and the second paragraph covers it all: "Our investigation so far has shown that Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is not affected, and that Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, and Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 on supported editions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 are vulnerable."