Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"The evolution of the scientific debate about anthropogenic climate change illustrates both the value of skepticism and the pitfalls of partisanship. [...] in 1988, James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, set off a firestorm of controversy by testifying before Congress that he was virtually certain that a global-warming signal had emerged from the background climate variability. [...] Most scientists were deeply skeptical of Hansen's claims; I certainly was. It is important to interpret the word 'skeptical' literally here: it was not that we were sure of the opposite, merely that we thought the jury was out.

"At roughly this time, radical environmental groups and a handful of scientists influenced by them leapt into the fray with rather obvious ulterior motives. This jump-started the politicization of the issue, and conservative groups, financed by auto makers and big oil, responded with counterattacks. This also marked the onset of an interesting and disturbing phenomenon that continues to this day. A very small number of climate scientists adopted dogmatic positions and in so doing lost credibility among the vast majority who remained committed to an unbiased search for answers. [...] But as the dogmatists grew increasingly alienated from the scientific mainstream, they were embraced by political groups and journalists, who thrust them into the limelight. This produced a gross distortion in the public perception of the scientific debate. Ever eager for the drama of competing dogmas, the media largely ignored mainstream scientists whose hesitations did not make good copy. As the global-warming signal continues to emerge, this soap opera is kept alive by a dwindling number of deniers constantly tapped for interviews by journalists who pretend to look for balance."

-- Kerry Emanuel, "Phaeton's Reins", Boston Review, January/February 2007

The oil situation, which had seemed all solved except for trivial details, has turned into a clusterfuck. The current official word is no oil until Friday (maybe Thursday if we're lucky). Now to start looking for additional solutions before pipes and toes freeze.

Why are things so seldom as simple as it sounds like they're going to be going in?

And just because I feel compelled to say something unbearably cute: "a kitty-cat washing her face". Sorry, no video to go with that, but most of you have spent enough time around cats to supply the appropriate mental image from memory, right?

Alrighty then. Some oil in the tank now, more on the way in a couple of days, furnace lit. A Dremmel (actually a very Dremmel-like tool by Black & Decker) was involved, as well as a lot too much stress and a little too much "wtf?", and the oil pump is making an ominous buzzing sound, but there is flame and the house is starting to defrost. The kitchen is still a "damn, my toes are cold even in shoes" zone, but my bedroom, which was 282K/9°C/48°F all night despite the continued struggle of the electric space heater, is now a marginally less painful 283K/10°C/50°F and should be a bit warmer still by the time I finish typing this. The house should be up to a sane temperature well before time to figure out whether I'm up to going to 3LF tonight.

The oil from that Citgo foreign-oil-for-poor-Americans-to-show-up-the-US-government program should still be showing up Thursday or Friday, but there's some full-retail-price oil in the tank now thanks to the small oil dealer we bought from last time:

"Hi, can I possibly get oil delivered today, or are you completely over-scheduled already? I've run out."

"Er ... yeah, we can do that."

[payment details, address, etc.]

"About when should I expect you?"

"In about five minutes. We're a couple of blocks away right now."

(Hmm. After something like that, I guess I'd better say who it was, in case anyone in Baltimore wants to know: A&A Heating Oil Co. Five minute delivery isn't a matter of policy -- I was lucky they were nearby at the time -- but they do seem rather focussed on customer service and were out here working on my furnace around midnight during the first cold snap of the winter back in November or December or whenever it was.)

Alas, that was not quite the end of the adventure. Because I'd not noticed until the oil was completely gone, they had to bleed air out of the pump. And the bolt that serves as the plug for that had its head so rounded off that they couldn't turn it. I offerred to square it off with the Dremmel-oid, and they ran off to make other oil deliveries while I did that. I'm afraid I made a bit of a mess of it, but however fugly it is now possible to get a good grip with a cresent wrench or pliers and turn that sucker. So I rang back to report my progress and got instructions over the phone for bleeding the thing myself so as to not have to wait an hour or so for them to get back to my neighbourhood.

It took me a few tries, and I found out just how far across my basement that pump can squirt oil past the loosened bleed-plug. But the furnace wouldn't stay lit for more than a few seconds at a time, and the pump made that ominous buzzing sound after running for a few seconds ... Whee; more stress, still cold. Bleah.

Another phone call, advice that if just bullying the furnace into cooperating didn't do the trick at that point, then we were into the real repair service call area instead of a routine get-it-started deal. They also said that if the pump wasn't working, it would wind up being replaced, not repaired in place, so I've got nothing to lose by running it even if it makes sick noises because "if it's about to die, it's about to die, and you're not going to make the situation any worse than it already is." So back to the basement to glare at the furnace and will it to cooperate, and eventually it did stay lit, but the pump is still making that disturbing, loud buzzing sound so I'm still wondering when the other shoe will drop.

There's more to the story that goes before what I've described here, but miscommunication and loooooong times on hold and terms changing by surrprise and asking Mom for money and sorting out whether the available-while-waiting-for-the-deposit-to-clear portion would be enough in time and inventing a plan-B and getting an overworked-sounding customer-service sorting-things-out person to do me a huge favour, though they can be made entertaining if told with enough panache, aren't quite as entertaining as, "I had to take a cutting-disc to a bolt to get the heat working" and, of course, the memorable, "We'll be there in five minutes" -- and since this is already more than long enough I'll stop here and leave the rest summarized as a confusion of glitches and miscues unless anyone really wants the details.

And, let's see ... current bedroom temperature: 285K/12°C/53°F. Headed in the right direction, slowly.