Liars and whores

It’s deep frost on all the roofs here, the temperature is definitely below zero. However, the weather app on my computer shows 4°C. I looked at other sources – yup, they show 4°. I already noticed a pattern there; they always show at least 2° more than the sensor in my car, which is within 0.5° from the sensors reporting the condition on the road, so I know it’s accurate. But, how is that possible? Shouldn’t the meteorologists have the most accurate sensors? They should, normally. However, in the recent decades in the West, this is not how it works.

How it works is that the “higher ups”, the ones holding the wallet from which the scientists are paid, decided that we’re having a global warming, and that’s the scientific truth. Since the scientific truth is already known and should not be disputed, all the measurements should reflect it and show that the global temperatures are indeed rising. The countries and stations that don’t show accurate measurements will have their funding removed. So, we now live in a world where scientific measurements are accurate if they align with politics, and not the physical reality, and political accuracy is rewarded with funds, so that the databases can be filled with politically accurate temperature readings, and those who dare to measure the actual physical reality will be perceived as wildly inaccurate compared to the adjacent measurement spots, and the heads of departments will get demoted and their funding removed.

One will ask how is it possible to spoof temperature readings, and I’ll just laugh. I don’t think they even use thermometers anymore, I think they just use some infrared satellite map and the computer reads out the values based on what somebody told it to read out. Also, all the scientists know what to say in the media when asked about anything. It’s like that joke about the Sunday School, where a nun made a small quiz, and the answer to all four question was Jesus, and she then decided to cheer the kids up a bit and asked “What is it that lives in the trees, has a fuzzy tail and gathers nuts for the winter?” One kid answered “I know the correct answer is Jesus, but to me it sounds a lot like a squirrel.”

The scientists know the correct answer to every question is global warming. No amount of walnuts in a hole in the tree will change this truth, because they know who holds the wallet. They are just like a whore telling her customer he has the biggest cock she ever saw, because a happy customer returns and pays extra.

Same old

I discovered something when testing the new camera and lens today. It works best for taking the kind of pictures I normally take, only of things that are inaccessible because they are far away.

Also, I’m still in a B&W mood.

Thoughts

I’ve been having interestingly contradictory thoughts recently. On one hand, all kinds of disasters are looming. On the other hand, the largest percentage of my consciousness is preoccupied with transforming karmic substance from global sources. And on the third hand, I’m preoccupying myself with various things in order not to go crazy. So, apparently, it’s photography’s turn now. The weather here on Hvar is gloomy and not really conducive to creating colourful imagery at the moment, so I’m doing what I can and shooting black and white gloomy stuff:

The new A7RV camera and the FE 100-400mm GM lens are in the mail and should be here in a day or two, and then I’ll be able to say what I think about them, but honestly, it’s not like I’ve seen any telephoto motives lately. It’s the most dour part of what passes for winter on the normally sunniest Adriatic island. So, I’ve been walking with A7II and the Zeiss 16-35mm, and I really like the results.

Speaking of which, what made me upgrade to the A7RV? Essentially, it’s not that I really planned it much. I looked into the recent developments in photo equipment, and by “recent” I mean the last 8 years or so, and I was amazed at how far some things progressed. So, when I decided to go for the telephoto lens, I also decided it’s time for a camera upgrade, because if something manages to impress me, it’s really good. Ignoring the cameras that specialise in video at all cost, and speed at all cost, I wanted something that had the best resolution and dynamic range I can get on the 35mm Sony platform, and also the fastest, smartest autofocus. This narrowed it down to A1II (50MP) and A7RV (60MP), which I already found super impressive earlier, and I decided that for my specific case of “photographic quality first” the A7RV is slightly better, and the fact that it was also less expensive didn’t hurt. I was considering the older model too, the A7RIV, because it has the same sensor and thus the same image quality, but eventually decided against it because all the other electronics were seriously improved on the newer model. Also, the new model gives me the option to shoot 26MP RAW in cases where I don’t need resolution greater than what I already have now, which is a good option to have because it saves storage, and if I’m shooting hand-held closeups where most of the image is blurred out, 26MP is already an overkill, because the super-resolution files are something I would need for shots with lots of high-frequency detail, such as wide-angle landscapes, that would benefit most from being printed large. So, this versatility appealed to me, because it’s not like my current camera suddenly became outdated with its 24MP; I fully intend on using it as a second body for the wide-angle in cases where the A7RV is married to the telephoto. Anything I take with it can be printed quite large, and in other respects (meaning colour and the dynamic range) it should be identical to the new body.

PS. the new acquisitions arrived:

On the left, the A7II with the 16-35mm Zeiss. On the right, the new A7RV with the FE 100-400mm GM. Everything works, but other than configuring and cleaning them I didn’t have a chance to do much, since it’s a nice day finally and fresh fish arrives on Wednesday, so something had to be done about that. 🙂

The first experiences are that the grip on the new camera is more comfortable and bigger, which was one of the main problems with the old one. Also, the AF seems as fast as on the EOS 3, from what I could see; everything is exactly as heavy as I calculated from the online numbers, but manageable. The birbs are very quick and mostly hidden in the trees so I couldn’t score any quick wins, but that is not unexpected. The fish was tasty.

Campi flegrei volcano acting up

There is a serious increase in earthquakes at Campi Flegrei supervolcano site near Naples, Italy. Essentially, it’s an earthquake swarm indicating a rise of magma, which is already shallow enough.

From what I can tell, this one doesn’t need much to go critical, and it’s hard to tell what magnitude of a disaster is imminent, because those things happen on a scale, it’s not just “nothing happens” and “everything explodes”. However, since there’s a city of 6 million people there, even a small eruption would cause mass panic and ashfall would endanger a significant portion of the population. A moderate eruption happening there would be a huge disaster, merely because the area is so densely populated. However, if this thing really blows, there’s no need for warnings or evacuations because the safe area will begin somewhere outside Europe.

Campi Flegrei is a supervolcano, like Toba or Yellowstone. If that one blows up, I’m close enough that I’ll likely end up under a meter of ash. That’s why I’m not worrying about it much, because there’s nothing I can do about it. I am, however, posting this notification, because it suddenly became a thing, and I don’t think all those volcanoes are just acting up by accident or at random. There must be a common causal factor, either something geological like that magnetic pole shift that seems to be going on, or gravity causing tidal forces in the Earth’s molten interior (either planetary conjunction or something else), or some kind of a neutrino flux from the Sun increasing radioactive decay and thus increasing the convective movements in the molten interior. Too many things are acting up, and those that are closest to being critical already might go over the limit.

Santorini volcanic activity

As expected, the politicians and their regime “scientists” lied again, claiming the activity so far was tectonic in origin, while they knew for at least ten days that there’s water temperature rise and volcanic gasses detected around the resurgent dome island within the Santorini caldera.

How can you tell that the politicians and scientists are lying? Their lips are moving. The fucking bastards are only interested in “not creating panic”, unless they want to create panic, then they’ll create it around every non-issue at hand.

That’s why I have a radiation sensor at home, because I just can’t trust those bastards. They will either claim there’s radiation when there’s none, in order to keep everybody locked down, or they will remain silent about radiation when it’s present in order to hide something. The only way to be able to tell is to have a reliable sensor under your own control. But to return to the issue at hand, Santorini. I suspected it was volcanic activity from the start, because the seismic explanation was not consistent with the position and character of the earthquake swarm, which was centered in the volcanic area, and looked as if magma on the move is breaking through rock. So, what now remains to be seen is not whether there will be an eruption, but how big, and how destructive.

Historically speaking, it can be a small one that just fizzles out after a few weeks, or it can be a big one, like Krakatoa, that blows up the island sky high and floods the Mediterranean with tsunamis, also covering the surrounding area with ashfall. So, let me just model it.

When Krakatoa erupted, it was initially a perfectly common Plinian eruption: a column of gray smoke, very bad for the locals but nothing that much out of the ordinary, and this lasted for I don’t recall how long, days or weeks, until the magma chamber emptied. However, that’s when it all went south, because the underwater part of the magma chamber got eroded and the almost empty chamber got flooded with sea water. This all instantly turned into steam and the entire island exploded. My hunch tells me that something very similar happened at Santorini when it created the bronze age cataclysm that ended the Minoan civilization. Basically, there’s initially an eruption, and everything looks like a common local calamity until sea water breaks into the underwater magma chamber, which is when all hell breaks loose. So, those are the basic parameters of the situation. There’s going to be a volcanic eruption, and it’s going to make earthquakes, gray column of volcanic ash, and make lives miserable for the people in the vicinity. Then it’s either going do die down and sleep for the next few centuries, or, if we’re really unlucky, sea water is going to break into the fire pit and make a big boom.

My recommendation is to keep an eye on it. Even if it’s just a normal Plinian eruption, it’s going to disrupt air traffic in the neighboring countries, which is something to be aware of if you’re traveling in the region. Also, the volcanic ash might disrupt the electrical grid in the region, so power outages are to be expected in areas with abundant ashfall. Having air filtration devices at home, and particle filtration masks, is probably a good idea, because volcanic ash is essentially cement that turns into concrete in one’s lungs. Not fun. Also, it blinds you if it gets into your eyes. This means avoiding going out while it’s in the air, except if you’re very close, and you need to get the hell out. How do we know staying at home and waiting it out is a bad idea in areas immediately afflicted by a Plinean eruption? Because we found people in Pompei and Herculaneum entombed in volcanic ash. So, the advice for Santorini and the nearby islands would be to evacuate immediately, without delay, because they won’t be able to evacuate you once it starts properly, and whatever the ultimate size of the eruption, it will be bad locally. As for everybody else in the region, watch the direction of the wind, and watch for the direction of possible tsunamis. You need to be ready to react in multiple ways, depending on what ends up happening. Plan evacuation routes in case of tsunami or volcanic ashfall in advance. Also have sufficient food, water and cash for two weeks. Be aware that electricity might go out regionally, and that air traffic might be grounded across Europe.

I didn’t mention earthquakes, because I don’t know the extent to which they may be a problem. They are definitely going to be a problem in the region, and the tensions might propagate across tectonic plates, creating tremors farther away. I don’t know where, or how big, but they are definitely another thing to be aware of.