It is more likely that extreme weather including relentless snowfall is an effect of climate change rather than any kind of proof that all is well with mother nature. But nobody can proclaim that huge snowfalls are caused by climate change or that it is proof otherwise. Are the deniers so ignorant to think that cold days and snowflakes will never happen again or are they simply perpetuating a myth and hoping to keep everyone else ignorant? Are there opportunists on all sides of public debate? Surely there are greedy loud mouths and false prophets anywhere there is a chance to make money with face time in the arena of media and common conciseness. It isn’t about the long term path of human progress but instead is the short term goals of our own ego. A potentially hazardous game of diversion.

The Earth and nature is the only expert, we’re only trying to unlock the formula and understand how it works. Regulating a planet’s temperature range is like a giant heat pump. Weather is there to move heat. That is what a hurricane does, what a nor’easter is there for, why the weather changes and why we look to weather forecasters for what is happening. All that change and seemingly unpredictable weather is there to keep things within a range where life can survive in all its diversity. We can only push those natural capabilities just so far before that heat pump must create ever more extreme events to maintain the natural balance. When an extreme event passes over your head you might have to batten down the hatches and pick up a shovel. Complaining won’t help. Snow happens.

However I’m also of the mind that no matter how advanced we become or how enlightened we think we are we have to stop pretending that war is anything but a brutal and barbaric way to settle arguments.  So while you’re doing it, do it right and go all in.  Stop talking about nation building, stop saying it isn’t about the oil, stop all the talking.  Shoot to kill and finish it quickly.  And when you’re done making a mess, take the gold.  Or the oil, or whatever it is that is that country’s resource.  We don’t fight in places that have nothing of great value.  It just happens to be how it works.  Take the gold and stop pretending you are compassionate.  People are dead and you’ll never convince the survivors of anything else.  One man’s collateral damage is another man’s son. You can fool the people that are safely back home but not anyone else.  So take the money, how much worse can that be?

There isn’t any way to have a nice war so go all the way and finish the job by stealing the resources.  You’ve already destroyed everything else.  Now go home with the booty.  And then fix your economy or whatever it is that you keep talking about instead.

Sunrise today in Reykjavík is at 11:23 and sunset at 15:30 (3:30 pm).  In the northern West Fjords the sunrise is at 12:09 with sunset at 14:53 (2:53 pm).  You can bet that they will be happy to finally see more sunlight in the coming days.

So, at 17:47 coordinated universal time give a thought to the thousands of generations that came before and marked this moment as the rebirth of mankind; the new year.  To the folks in Iceland that is at 17:47/5:47PM and to those on the east coast of N.A. that moment is at 12:47.

farsælt komandi ár

Not that tough economic times aren’t serious issues but for most people it is at worst a crisis of luxury.  Nothing that requires a panic mode.  And if your country is involved in a war then shouldn’t that be the most important issue at hand?  Your children are being killed in far off lands and the most important topic is the apparent devaluation of your house?  Or worse, the state of affairs going on with this week’s celebrity gossip?

We let politicians argue over whether to pull out or stay and the million other arguments over ideology and other stalling tactics.  Shouldn’t the common goal be to finish and go home?  We can disagree over how, where, and what for but the common good is to not have your children in uniform die no matter what your politics happen to be.

Bring the boys and girls home from the horror of war before spending more time arguing about it.  Bring them home now.  Unfortunately for that goal it is the very people with the power to achieve this that do not have their children in the line of fire.  For the rest of us, we are not the “Fortunate Son“.

So forget about how I personally feel and in turn I won’t give a crap about your opposing view.  But can’t we agree that ending it one way or the other is a common feeling?  There is no nice way to run a war so why spend months arguing over the fine line between war crimes and honor?  If you are going in then go all in and be done with it.  Time to bring them home.  And then talk to me about your economy.  But I’ll still not care about your celeb gossip.  (FYI, Elvis and MJ are still dead)

To the more equatorialzed visitor it is very noticeable that 9:30AM is still black as the darkest night.  The sun finally rises after 10AM and gets later each morning, it stays low giving a prolonged sunrise that changes by the minute but lingers into lunchtime.  At the peak it may still appear with morning like patterns and colours.  Depending on your own position you may easily be the shadow of clouds, fjords, and buildings.  More often the clouds and fjords.  A tree shadow is rare though.

And then the long sinking to sunset.  But not long enough, the fleeting light was brief and now it is leaving us.   The sunset is slow and equally as interesting as the sunrise.  It is only early afternoon and already the light is fading.  The sunset comes earlier each afternoon. And then darkness.  Very dark.

13:41  19 November

Some have called them delusional when they proclaim a bright future for themselves.  As if they should spend/waste a lot of time analyzing details and extrapolating the future on a pie chart.  Simply get on with it.  What do you want and how do we get there while attempting to be fair to all?  Learn from but don’t wallow in the past.  Respect and acknowledge history but look ahead and remain flexible.

Thunder due to the speed of sound is about the past.  Rainbows are about right now and point to the proverbial Eden in the future.

The almighty kreppa doesn’t have to dominate the news every day.  Life goes on and we must pause to take notice.  Turns out the otherwise stoic Icelander are possibly the worlds best at something you might not expect.  Film at 11.

.Inspired by the kreppa but this goes way beyond, a whole neighbourhood that was built just before the bubble burst has been bought out in a bizarre scheme to gather votes.

.The conficker worm doing strange things in Iceland and beyond.  Excerpt:

“Reports are trickling in about the impact from the Conficker worm, as infected systems passed zero hour at midnight and began downloading additional malicious components. Here are a couple of the more notable incidents caused by Conficker so far, according to published reports: — ‘… shortly after midnight local time, an ATM in the capital city of Reykjavik began spewing 100-Krona notes. … A nuclear missile installation near Elmendorf Air force Base outside of Anchorage, Alaska briefly went on a full-scale military alert after technicians manning the bunker suspected that several of their control systems were infected with Conficker.’”

.Iceland gets an unexpected boost that will help the country and the U.S.

.A few tidbits to make this day much more clear.

I hope your April 1st was as funny as mine.

The Icelandic nation has been nearly wiped out about three times in the last 1,000 years, through famine, disease, or volcanic eruptions. So what we are experiencing today is like a luxury problem.