This is the five thousandth published post on WUWT, since this is a computer written blog, publishing the number in binary seemed appropos. 1388 for you hexadecimal fans.
I don’t have anything profound to say. It is just a number, and other blogs have reached and exceeded this number, so it is no biggie. But, I will share a few thoughts.
- I find myself running the most visited climate related website in the world. I never set out to do that, it just happened to turn out that way. WUWT has been a part of climate history, partly by skill, partly by persistence, partly by luck.
- I think of blogging much like I did my days of broadcast TV, it is a 24/7 occupation. I’m always “on”.
- I’m proud of what this blog has achieved. I’m proud of the reach we have.
- OTOH there are things I’m not proud of. I’ve made some stupid mistakes, said some things I regret, and sometimes I’ve let my emotions get the better of me. I’m human. That said, I’ve learned much too. I’d like to think I’ve learned from mistakes and that I’m better at this job now than when I started.
- I’m thankful for the supportive community we have here. I was stunned and gratified that you all came to my aid in getting funds to publish the surfacestations paper. Know that all of you have my sincere gratitude.
- Some days it is a struggle to post something new. From that I realize that I’m tired, probably I need a vacation. I haven’t really had one in several years where I can “disconnect”. Every business trip or even trips with the family inevitably turn into another station survey. My kids know what an MMTS and Stevenson Screen is. They shouldn’t.
- I get more email every day than I can respond to. For those of you that have sent inquires and never got an answer, know that I’m sorry for that. I have to choose what time I have.
- I’ve made thousands of friends, and probably an equal number of enemies. Some days it is a sobering thought. As a result, I have had to be more diligent with my home and business security than I did before.
- I wish I was thirty pounds lighter. I spend way too much time in front of a PC.
- I worry more than I used to. Life seems far more complex than it was 4.5 years ago when I first started doing this. Getting things done seems harder than it used to be.
- Living in California has become depressing. Owning a business in California even more so. The regulation and business climate here is insane. Just today I learned our electricity rates would be going up to pay for Smartmeters. Pissed I am.
- I thank Steve McIntyre, who has always been an inspiration. He set the standard. I’m sure he feels many of the same things I do.
- I’m doubly grateful to the volunteer moderators and guest authors. Without you, I’d be toastier than I am now.
- We live in interesting times, times get more interesting with each passing day.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
“partly by luck”
No Anthony, we are the lucky ones.
There’s very few people that can do what you do, and even fewer that can do it so well.
Thank you
Anthony,
You are an amazing man, and I thank you.
I also thoroughly enjoy seeing warmists getting their panties in a bunch due to what you do. Keep up the good work.
Know that you have made a difference, Anthony. That’s a part of your legacy that can never be taken from you. Thank you for your persistence. I will be forever grateful.
Living in California has become depressing. Owning a business in California even more so. The regulation and business climate here is insane. Just today I learned our electricity rates would be going up to pay for Smartmeters. Pissed I am.
Thanks for all you do and all you put up with. California is indeed legislating itself into death spiral but don’t let it get to you.
“partly by skill,”
Absolutely.
“partly by persistence,”
Definitely.
“partly by luck.”
I don’t think so. No luck involved. Just hard work on your part!
Every now and then I like to reread your first post (http://wattsupwiththat.com/2006/11/17/welcome-to-watts-up-with-that/) and smile at the distance you’ve come.
Well done, Anthony.
Best on the web and I enjoy every minute I spend here expanding my education from all your reports and respondents- even the trolls.
My big number-$ 14 trillion dollars-almost the federal debt, and from a book that’s out of date. “If Columbus, from the minute he stepped ashore in the “new world”, started borrowing money at $20,000 dollars a minute , would have by the year 2000 , only spent less than half our national debt.” Now that is a big scary number!
Dear Mr Watts:
I apologize for being a softy. Tears come when I see the dedication, the humility, and the integrity in the pursuit of the truth evidenced by you and others including Mr. McIntyre. With apologies to all those who I can’t name here who believe and act as you do in pursuing science with the highest standards, I am among thousands – if they had the time to just look- deeply indebted and grateful.
Well Anthony,
One can only hope that the new smart meter will not catch fire like some of them CFL’s.
If you don’t exceed the mandated input to your home by running the AC in the summer, you should be fine.
California in the future h/t Sleeper (FF to 7:40)
Thanks to you I now know how our weather data is gathered and why the reports sometimes defy what actually happens locally.
01000011 01101111 01101110 01100111 01110010 01100001 01110100 01110101 01101100 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 01110011 00100001
That’s “Congratulations!” in binary, by the way. Well, ASCII characters expressed in binary… but I digest.
Great work.
Anthony – your blog is the epitome, the sine qua non of balanced, unbiased information and data for us layfolks and for professionals alike. And on top of that, it’s fun to read, although sometimes a mindbender. A point of sanity in an otherwise chaotic science environment.
As I noted earlier, I routinely pass on posts from your blog. They are well-written and solid. I personally have learned so much, so…
I humbly say – “Thank you.” All the time and effort you invest is gold for us.
The best to you and your family.
BobW in NC
“WUWT has been a part of climate history, partly by skill, partly by persistence, partly by luck.”
Partly by just. . . attitude to the question. WUWT has never been afraid of publishing thoughtful opinions from any pov on the question. In fact, often you’ve sought out men and women like Walt Meier and Judith Curry to come here and tell some of us why we don’t quite have it right after all.
If you think it isn’t noticed by the audience, it very certainly is. It’s a sizeable part of the success WUWT has enjoyed. While I would never suggest that anyone *ought* to only have one site bookmarked on any important question they have an interest in, the fact is that if WUWT *is* the only site that one has bookmarked on the Climate question, you can do quite nicely from the articles, links and references that appear here.
I can’t think of another site I’d be willing to say that about. No disrespect intended to any of them, but true nonetheless.
Rob Dawg says:
May 10, 2011 at 4:43 pm
“Living in California has become depressing. Owning a business in California even more so. The regulation and business climate here is insane. Just today I learned our electricity rates would be going up to pay for Smartmeters. Pissed I am.”
“Thanks for all you do and all you put up with. California is indeed legislating itself into death spiral but don’t let it get to you.”
California is an experiment in Progressivism, created by God, as a warning to all others who might be tempted to follow the Progressive Genie. Its demise will be long and terribly painful but wonderfully instructive to all about how mankind should live.
Surely, someone will come up with a “fix” for the Smartmeters. Right out of the movie “Bliss,” is it not? What a nightmare.
lapogus says:
May 10, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Yes, Anthony, thanks for all your good work – lang may yer lum reek.
Luckily this reek causes global enlightenment rather than dimming.
And as a somewhat-frequent guest author for the past few years, I would like to thank you, Anthony, for allowing my posts to reach a large audience, and to thank you and the moderators for all of the work that goes into maintaining WUWT and keeping it a nice place to exchange information and thoughts.
I am sure that there are blog with many more posts. But few of them rely so much on one key person, and way fewer have said as many sensible things as WUWT, and I can’t imagine any of them has a more dedicated person as the head of it. We are all in your debt.
Ric Locke says:
May 10, 2011 at 4:33 pm
“And if California becomes intolerable, there’s always Texas…”
The Hill Country & Edwards Plateau area is definitely worth a look. Scenery, history, and the humidity is lower. Remember Dr. Steve Lyons from the Weather Channel? When he decided to go back to gubmint work, he took over the NWS Office in San Angelo.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/sjt/?n=office
ANthony, as a relative newcomer to all of this, all I can say is that you provide the seed of service which will lead to a harvest of disseminated ideas. Exposing the nuts and bolts of the Vaudeville Act that is CAGW, or whatever the heck it will be called after the Durban Derby, goes further towards “saving the planet” than those climate jockeys could ever hope to.
Keep up the good fight, and thank you for your diligence.
I stumbled upon your humble blog a couple years ago and now I know more about Climate and CO2 then I ever wanted to. Can’t help it. This site is an addiction that I need a daily fix of. Whenever I get into a debate with someone that says we gotta do something or the world is coming to an end unless we act or I debate someone on the Hydro mess we in Ontario see ourselves in (we aren’t California yet but we are getting there and we have been paying for “smart meters” for a couple years now. Thank God there is an election this fall) I always end by refering them to your site and say get back to me. I never hear from them again. Thanx Anthony I know you make a difference. Your reach extends far and wide and here in Canada it shows with our media using you as resource.
I like to think that you are partly responsible for the Conservatives here in Ontario pledging to cancell the 7 billion dollar wind turbine contract that the liberals signed with a Korean company if they win the election this fall.
Don’t worry about your kids. Kids who participate in Daddy’s job are MUCH better off than kids who just see Daddy’s paycheck. You’re doing EXACTLY the right thing.
1001110001000… This is the five thousandth published post on WUWT, since this is a computer written blog, publishing the number in binary seemed appropos. 1388 for you hexadecimal fans.
Once YET AGAIN, we Octal fans get the cold shoulder… 11610 representing!
Congrats on the achievement!
Since the post is sort of open, I would like to bring attention to another piece of fraud from the warmist community:
This graph from Skeptikalscience:
http://www.skepticalscience.com/images/SLR_models_obs.gif
Pretends that sea level rise is following the worst-case-scenario of the IPCC prediction.
And it seems sort of right at first glance, but watch closely:
The worst-case scenario of the IPCC is 6 centimeters per decade.
The figure also shows 6 centimeters rise, pretending that it follows the IPCC worst-case.
But take a closer look!
The 6 centimeters rise in the figure is not for 10 years, it is for 20!
You are an inspiration.
I believe you and Steve Mc. should receive a Nobel Prize one day.
Thanks for the well-run, content-rich website. I’m a long-time lurker who has not always found the time to explore everything, but has found everything explored very useful, helpful, and rational as rebuttals to those who have continued to expand the intellectual fad that is the Deep Certainty over man-made global warming.
Thanks from another person inspired by your efforts. And if the intellectual fad passes, you will have helped facilitate that event.
And please take a vacation — your fans need you in top shape. :^)