I have a huge pile of reading material at the moment, but thanks for the tip. I just read a plot summary.

If I become more sociable, do I then lose the traits that enable me to fix my concentration on one subject for hours on end? The two do seem to be linked.

As an Aspie, I’ve given this one a lot of thought, because there are plenty of neurotypicals out there who want to make people like me “more sociable”, which is code for “making those of us with neurological atypicalities more “normal””.

I’m not telling you not to be pedantic, no. I’m saying that your observation is pedantic. The problem is that the fact that it was cold in Adelaide is not something that can be generalised to the whole planet.

Being pedantic about it, yes. That data point is useless, even misleading, without reference to all the other data points. Deniers frequently misrepresent climate change by referring to the weather in one location. That’s what I’m objecting to.

I’ve spent a lot of time close to, even handling, bumble bees. I’ve never once been stung. They will attack if you interfere with a nest, but not when going about their day-to-day activities. It’s safe to sit close to a nest and watch them, as I have done many times while studying them. “Social” wasps will also only…

You are half right. Among colonial bees, such as bumble bees and honey bees, male bees can’t sting because the sting is a modified ovipositor, which obviously male bees don’t have. Queen bees also can’t sting, because they need the ovipositor for ovipositing, obviously. Female workers can sting, but usually won’t…

Single observations tell you nothing. On aggregate, we are breaking many more hot records than cold records. The fact that the climate is being disrupted means we will see more extremes, including the occasional cold oddity. Cold weather will still happen.

This is a global average, but the answer to your question is slightly more nuanced. Earth is at its hottest in July (at aphelion, counterintuitively) because most of the planet’s land mass is in the northern hemisphere. Continents warm faster than oceans because oceans have greater thermal inertia.

So how much of this mineral would I need to, say, read by? Would there be an advantage over an LED?

The weather in Adelaide tells you precisely nothing about global temperatures.

You provide the long pig fat cat, I’ll cook it.

If the rich take most of the food (and continue to eat meat) while the poor starve I’m not going to suddenly start “getting along with” them. I’m going to rake out that copy of Dr Lecter’s Cookery Book, and probably Dr Lecter’s Great Barbecues.

This would be 5pm-6pm GMT, for the benefit of non-Americans.

Those are Rhosgobel rabbits, not hares.

I agree. I can count to 156 (denary) on my fingers in base 12*^, with more integers than are available in denary.

While it is true to say that biofuels derived from sugarcane “have not had such a dramatic impact” (quote - World Bank) on food prices as other biofuels it is not true to say that they have had no impact. It’s also not clear whether the World Bank (hardly a hive of communist agitators) report took into account the…

Either you plant sugarcane, or you plant food. What part of this is so complicated? We have this problem in my country where they are planting maize for biofuel.

Sugarcane production in Brazil is in direct competition with food production, as well as causing habitat destruction, not least of rainforest.

I’m not saying it’s that simple. Yes, a general shift down the food chain would help. The biofuels fiasco (I know of no environmentalist who backs the widespread use of biofuels) helped create a food crisis, as has the growth in meat consumption as some developing countries try to show they are “developed” by…