Last week, I wrote about facing burnout after running WUWT over 10 years without having any real vacation during that time. I’ll have to say, I’m overwhelmed by the response, the well wishes, and the offers for help.
It’s gratifying to know that I have friends around the world, some vocal regulars, some occasional commenters, and some silent readers. I heard from many people who were first time commenters, and many regulars too. I had suggested that I take a month off, and more than a few said that’s not enough time. Looking back, I think they are right.
I’ve received a kind offer to go to New Zealand, with offers of lodging and I’ll be taking up that offer in July. If there are readers in NZ that would like to meet up, feel free to drop a comment, or use the contact form. I may even be persuaded to give a short talk while there as I did when I toured Australia on a speaking tour back in 2010 😉
Following that, I’m headed into the mountains of the Sierra Nevada for three weeks, and then I’m going to cap off my hiatus with a visit to southern Oregon to view the total solar eclipse in August. I think it will be a fitting ending for a much needed break – to see one of the most awesome natural wonders. I’ve never seem a total solar eclipse, but I have witnessed several partial solar eclipses, and one annular eclipse.
There are so many people that deserve my thanks, and I’m awed by the outpouring of support. On an ironic note, one person in particular deserves mention, and that’s Dr. Michael Mann. Had he not tweeted this…
…I probably would not have had the outpouring of support I had. I mean wow, 698 comments.
Charles the Moderator is organizing a new moderation team (thanks to all who volunteered) and there will be new guest authors publishing during my hiatus. I’d also like to thank Ric Werme, who rebuilt the WUWT sea ice page last weekend, which had been plagued by roadblocks thrown my way by wordpress.com and by some of the providers themselves.
When I return in late August, I’ll start overhaul on other elements of WUWT, so that it keeps going strong for another 10 years. I may pop in for an occasional update, or if something catches my eye, write about it.
My sincere thanks to all and best regards – Anthony
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.I’m just a lurker, but I so very much appreciate your site. Please have a great vacation. My wife and I are traveling for Minnesota to South Carolina to see the complete eclipse. I wish you all the best!
I’ve lived in New Zealand for all bar seven of my 71 years. It’s no doubt better than most other places on the planet but it’s not quite the paradise painted in the comments above. One drawback: petty crime, fuelled by drug use — so always lock your car and know where your wallet is at all times.
And anyone coming here in July, even to the “Winterless North” where I live, should wrap up warm and be prepared for an abundance of wet weather.
Graphite,
The petty crime wasn’t a problem when I was there in ’79, but things had changed when I came back in ’89. Yes, it appears that drugs play a role in the Americanization of NZ. What a pity that the US has had that kind of influence.
What???!!! It’s America’s fault? How do you work that out? You sound like one of those Yanks who spend their lives apologising for the US, with no distinction between failure and success.
Believe me, New Zealand is and always has been capable of turning out its own criminals, its own drunks and drug addicts, its own low-lifes, its own oxygen thieves of all descriptions.
Finally, Anthony is being hosted in New Zealand by people he no doubt knows and who know him. They’ll have an itinerary sorted out and no input from outsiders is necessary.
The man is going on holiday; leave him alone.
Graphite,
Strange reply! First off, it was addressed to you, not Anthony, so there was no need to admonish me to “leave him alone.”
It used to be accepted as a truism that NZ was about 20 years behind the US, culturally. When I toured there in 1979, that seemed to be about right. The people I met and observed seemed similar to what I experienced when I was in high school in the ’50s. However, when I returned in ’89, I experienced a theft immediately upon arrival and it appeared that drugs and the Goth culture had made significant inroads on the teenagers. Locals informed me that there were now problems with motorcycle gangs.
There was far less TV to watch in NZ than I was accustomed to, and it seemed to me that it was divided between locally produced news and sitcoms, and Hollywood movies. I blame the Hollywood movies for providing undesirable role models for your youth.
It is interesting that you think that a Kiwi knows better what a Yank might find interesting in your country than another American who has visited there. Certainly, residents may be aware of things that I’m not, but as to judgments as to things that are interesting, you are giving yourself too much credit for understanding Americans. It is not your place to tell me that my input is not necessary. Anthony is quite capable of making those decisions himself. You are a poor emissary for NZ, and quite unlike those I have met there.
Clyde,
This sort of patronising comment — “the Americanization of NZ” and “What a pity that the US has had that kind of influence” — is what gets up non-American noses. Mine, anyway. As does this: “a truism that NZ was about 20 years behind the US, culturally”.
Which part of America were we 20 years behind in 1979? Wilmington, Delaware? Boise, Idaho? Des Moines, Iowa? Huntington, West Virginia? Burlington, Vermont? Lubbock, Texas? Huntsville, Alabama? Or New York, New York? And are all those cities identical in their cultural chronology?
New Zealand had a gang problem in the 1980s, still has, but only a tiny fraction of the trouble comes from motorbike gangs. Also, American bikes are looked upon as a bit of a joke down here; we went from British Nortons, Triumphs and BSAs to Japanese Hondas, Suzukis and Kawasakis without ever bothering with Harley Davidsons . . . apart from the midlife crisis guys; they love ’em; no riding skill required.
As for “I blame the Hollywood movies for providing undesirable role models for your youth”, you can blame it all you like but believe me, no more than a handful of Kiwi kids are basing their lives on what Hollywood provides, good or bad. And isn’t that Goth stuff English in origin?
As for me knowing better what a Yank would find interesting in my country, I would offer no advice unless I knew the guy personally. And as I don’t know Anthony personally I gave no advice bar in another post saying that taking in a rugby match would be a poor choice.
My “leave him alone” admonition was prompted by the screeds of suggestions on what Anthony should do while he’s in New Zealand, one of them your idea, which I consider weird for a bloke who’s being hosted while here, that he should use public transport.
And I repeat that — Anthony is being hosted while here. Let his hosts, who know him, organise his itinerary.
As for me being unlike other Kiwis you’ve met here, well, if you’d stayed longer you would have come across my type. I’m not unique. I’m blunt, I’m opinionated, I tell it like it is and, above all, I don’t like people who piss in my pocket.
Graphite,
Maybe Clyde doesn’t know that crime rates in the US have been dropping since the early 1990’s: (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/21/5-facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/)
Or that the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 23.5 million people need treatment for addiction to drugs or alcohol: ( they estimate that about 11 million seek help) That’s just 7% of the US population, so I find it hard to justify the insinuation that drugs are a major influence in all things “American” or that increasing drug use automatically equates with increased crime rates. Boredom and economics are also factors in petty theft.
It’s bad enough that Clyde seems oblivious to the fact that being a “Yank” himself doesn’t make him an expert on every other Yank and what they do or do not find interesting, but he also seems to think that what he personally experienced or saw in 1989 (as in highly pathetic automobiles vs a much more effective public transit system) will surely be of use to Anthony now… 28 years later. I mean, he did suggest that the NZ people seemed to change, and not for the better, in the mere 20 years between his visits…so according to his logic, if them poor, innocent, easily influenced young Kiwis were so easily overwhelmed by the influence of them “fancy, bright lights and flashy picture stories from Hollywood” in 1989, (not to mention the addictive vices and evil behaviors that he thinks run rampant among Americans) then NZ today must be a veritable wasteland overrun by roving bands of teen savages who steal everything in sight so they could rent American movies and buy American drugs!!
(snarkity snark snark…just sayin)
I believe Clyde believed he was being helpful. I also believe, like Graphite, that his comments regarding differences between Americans and New Zealanders were offensive and easily viewed as condescending. Anthony did not request suggestions or ideas for his trip and I hope he spends every single moment doing exactly what he wants to, and ONLY what he wants to.
Godspeed, Anthony, and come back with great stories and new friends!
Come to Cork City in Ireland and I’ll buy you a pint! You’ve done a fantastic job on this website and the scientific world owes you a huge debt of gratitude!
As we say here in the real capital of Ireland, Michael Mann is a ferocious langer!
Anthony, sorry I missed your original appeal for help. I’ve just caught up with WUWT today and have dropped a donation in your tip jar.
Enjoy your time off for decompression. You’ve more than earned it!
The Arctic winter was the warmest on record! GOOD TIME TO LEAVE YOUR POST
Was it? News to me.
How long of a record are you talking, here?
Not on Greenland…record ice thickness on land…
The Arctic region I know best is Alaska. Here are winter record high dates for Arctic sites there:
Barrow: December 1932, January 1930, February 1938.
Nome: December 1969, January 1977, February 1986.
Admittedly, Nome is high subarctic.
It was??? Then why are NOAA and other “credible” agencies reporting that 2016 was warmer in the Arctic??
I’m having a problem understanding your point. What exactly do you think Anthony’s “post” is….and how exactly does him being at his post, or away from it, affect the weather in the Arctic?
A warm welcome to New Zealand in advance for you Anthony .If you get a chance come to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves near where I live . New Zealand has incredible sports people ,the All Blacks are one up against the British and Irish Lions rugby team with two more tests to play .Team New Zealand have to win just one more race in Bermuda to take the Americas Cup back to New Zealand not to bad for 4 and a half million people .up against the USA.
WUWT is the best anti alarmist blog on the web and we sure need common sense to prevail Anthony ‘
I see some remarks about petty crime in New Zealand which is really only in some city areas the same all over the world but I have lived here all my life and only had a couple of items stolen in 74 years .Come to the country areas Anthony great places great people.
Graham
Americas Cup is New Zealands Cup
Yep, when they win it. That is how it works.
You’ll get plenty of support in NZ from farmers; farming accounts for half the GHG emissions, a third in methane from ruminants.
Yes Stephanie we farmers are fighting against this most stupid theory ..Our livestock eat vegetation ie,grass maize and other crops that all absorbs CO2 from the air . The livestock belch methane during there digestion and this methane lasts in the atmosphere for an average of 8 to 10 years and is broken down to CO2 and water vapor which is exactly what grass needs to grow .The average amount of methane in the atmosphere is 1,7 parts per million or there about . Activists and opposition politicians in New Zealand demand that the government apply a tax on all livestock which would take income away from farmers to go where ? The government has resisted and rightly so because 90% of our produce is exported to feed the world and no other countries are taxing there farmers therefore we would be penalizing our major export industry and loading another cost on to them when we are already paying levies on fuel and electricity to go towards buying carbon credits . We have some of the lowest cost farm operations in the world as the majority of our livestock are not housed in winter and farm management systems maximize grazed pasture all year round so that our energy use is minimized compared to most agricultural countries.
Glad to hear you are coming to Oregon. Now if we can turn our I-5 left coast into patriots who also want to make us great again, life would be damned near perfect here in the Eastern 2/3rds of Oregon.