Some days, you just have to laugh. As WUWT readers know, we’ve had the Josh 2013 Skeptic Calendar done independently in the UK via Bishop Hill, and of course we gauged interest here at WUWT. Josh sent over the artwork via email which I turned into the USA version. (Note: Dr. Mann probably doesn’t realize that Josh is a professional illustrator in the UK who gives his climate caricature services to skeptics free each week, just for fun.) Last week I sent out a few free copies to some folks that I thought could really use some Christmas cheer: Dr. Mike Mann, Dr. Gavin Schmidt, Dr. Peter Gleick, and Dana Nuccitelli.
Never beyond my wildest dreams did I think it would turn into a #Kochmachine conspiracy theory issue. But then again, there’s this strange pervading idea that skeptics are well funded and well organized. Here’s what Dr. Mann Tweeted today:
If four people is “widely distributed” well then I guess we all need to revise our world view.
It gets even funnier. Here is what he posted on Facebook:
The return label says COSTCO Photo Center, not Heartland, not Koch Brothers World Headquarters, and not “Skeptic Lair”. I guess Dr. Mann really is out of touch with the common man, because all he had to do was visit COSTCO photo center to see for himself that ANYONE can create and order calendars, and have them sent to friends or family, just like I did. No Koch Brothers credit card needed.
It is really easy. All you have to do is upload JPEG images (Josh’s artwork emailed to me) and use the calendar creator wizard.
Here’s what it looks like after completion in the COSTCO photo center website:
And in answer to the question of:
“Who paid for production and shipping costs for this flashy (apparently widely distributed) Anthony Watts WUWT climate change denial calendar?”
The answer is, me. I used my personal credit card, here’s the screen cap of the order to Dr. Mann. I’ve blurred out his address as a courtesy to him:
See the “did you know” sidebar item that allows you to send orders from COSTCO.
So, I spent a whopping $15.84 to send this, and about the same for the other three. Given the reaction, I’d say my plan to spread a little good humor just didn’t work on the humorless.
Merry Christmas anyway Dr. Mann, and to you too Gavin, Peter, and Dana. (Of course none of this would be an issue if the world had just ended yesterday like it was supposed to, but I’m an optimist).
If you want a calendar, you can get one here. For the USA edition, Josh and I split the meager profit, the Koch Brothers get nothing. If you are in the UK/Europe, you can get one at Bishop Hill’s place. Or at http://www.cartoonsbyjosh.com/
P.S. Oh, I should mention, I gave one to Steve McIntyre too. Here’s (Right to Left) Steve, Mosher, Charles the Moderator, and I at AGU in San Francisco at a private dinner at COCO500 (Steve and I split the check). Note the Josh calendar on the table:
UPDATE: 9AM PST 11/23 It seems Dr. Mann’s ploy has backfired. This article is now #1 on WordPress worldwide. See the screencap from the WordPress dashboard:
Transport by Zeppelin says:
December 22, 2012 at 7:06 pm
Michael Mann’s Christmases are now less joyful than at any other time in the last 2,000 years, according to Christmas tree ring data.
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This made me LOL. Thanks for that. 😉
Merry Christmas to the WUWT community!
Romans 12:20: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
“Widely distributed” obviously means “plenty of plenty” which is, indeed, four. Reference:
http://bigbangtrans.wordpress.com/series-2-episode-02-the-codpiece-topology/
Leonard: What? I’ve dated plenty of women. There was Joyce Kim, Leslie Winkle.
Sheldon: Notify the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, the word plenty has been redefined to mean two.
Wow. I hope Rodney Erickson (a fair guy on climate issues), interim president at PSU, is sent this thread. He needs to have Dan Larson (also a fair guy), Dean of the College of Science, get Mann some needed help. Sad. This is not helping Penn State.
well this is Mann we are talking about. the guy probably wishes he could drive a Co2 spewing sports car so he wouldn’t have to launch lawsuits to prove how big a mann he is.
u.k.(us) says:
December 22, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Steven Mosher says:
December 22, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Ya Anthony, I figure that you could start by contacting college republican groups and do group sales.
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Of what?
REPLY: The calendar, silly. See Mosh’s comment upstream – Anthony
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I walked into an inside discussion, felt it, didn’t listen to my inner voice.
Live and learn.
My fault for intruding.
We call this poking the bear… The man will already be known in the history books as the biggest fool of the century.. that is if he is remembered at all.
Merry Christmas Anthony and mods and thanks for almost another year so far of great posts
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[+emphasis]
I thought the good Dr. Mann’s latest discovery was a temperature record partially based on “missing” tree rings(?)
I sent a spoof April Fool joke to a Nobel Prize winner in the UK a decade ago – it was a skit on Harry Potter and astrology called ‘Baccy Potter and the Nobel Laureate’s (dream about being) Stone(d)’ – it was spoof about a hippy astrologer reading the Nobel’s chart – of course it was done knowing a bit about the person’s life, which of course is scientifically unacceptable as you are supposed to ‘analyse data blind’.
What was hilarious was that people that I was a true believer in astrology. I wrote an astrologer’s interpretation of the state of the world at the exact time the Twin Towers came crashing down too, but that doesn’t mean astrology’s true, it just means that this is what astrology would say presented with a particular planetary constellation.
One thing people need to get a life about is this: just because you read about something, learn about its principles and mores, doesn’t mean you believe it per se. You don’t have to be a Christian to read the bible, a Muslim to read the Koran etc etc.
Thing about astrology is this: the way to test it scientifically is to analyse the charts of various people without telling them and see if their future lives bear any relation to the analysis.
No point in telling them the outcome, because by doing that you favour the possibility that they will either conform to the predictions or rebel against them due to the knowledge of what was said.
I’ve never come across anything more pathetic than scientists calling themselves scientists and then saying that the only people who can analyse one set of data is themselves.
True scientists are happy for anyone to do it, because they are confident that either they will be vindicated or a new truth will emerge.
Looks to me like Michael Mann is indulging in out and out defamation. Perhaps time he suffered a bit of lawfare himself.
There’s obviously no way you could afford to spend $15.84 without funding from Big Oil.
I like the idea of Kenji sending these gifts in the future… and with, of course, a list of his esteemed credentials. And there could be pictures of Kenji in his lab coat, running complex experiments on cutting edge research…. on…. yellow snow, or something. 🙂
Many people who live well at tax-payers’ expense don’t realise that out there in the real world are others whose future is not assured by the tax-payer and who thrive due to their own hard work and risk taking. These people can’t understand that others are prepared to do something at their own expense.
ROFL! Mann should get his head checked.
I sent the UK version of the Evil Big Oil-funded calendar to a millennial catastophist of my acquaintance, to give you an idea, he thinks George Monbiot is the final arbiter of climate science.
His reply? ” Thanks (seriously) for the calendar – it is clever and funny, if misguided”. So there you are Guys and Gals, spread the good news in calendar form this Christmas.
Perfect Anthony. It would have been very amusing had those four each only contacted one another at first, making it appear the distribution were ‘widespread’. Worth every penny. A Merry Christmas to you and yours and the Mods and all who contribute here. Thank you for all you do..
Kenji studying Pine Bark Beetles;
Wow, a “free” ….”christmas gift”
Mann = Ebenezer [snip – a bit over the top – Anthony]
Anthony, surely this post should be filed under the new topic “I send people stuff”. Merry Christmas to all. Paul.
That’s my thought too. Here’s the background on the Anthony/Heartland deal, which has been posted in one form or another widely enough that warmists ought to know about it. Watts isn’t paid for his blogging. A Heartland document describes a request he made last year for funding for a different project:
Watts later reported on the progress of this project. Most of the money, apparently, will go to a contract programmer and for equipment and internet fees:
See http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/04/07/an-update-on-my-climate-reference-network-visualization-project/
Bwahahaha! This made my cold, dark, Christmassy Oslo morning, thanks, Anthony. 🙂
Skiphil, what an ill-timed comment about Michael Moore after the Newtown massacre. You had a problem with Moore’s Columbine movie?
As Bugs Bunny would say, “What a Maroon!”
Snort. A perfect Christmas gift.
One of the reasons why we’re winning (along with data, analysis and science) is that the sceptics have a collective sense of humour. I fear the warmists are just a tiny bit humour challenged.
Along with sketchy science, the inability to lighten up and deal with people in good faith is costing them a lot of good will. (Romm’s reaction to Ridley is a great example of this.)
For the rest of us, Merry Christmas!