Just in time for hurricane season, the web site and blog are restarting! The first real post will be on the forecast for the upcoming Hurricane Season, and should appear on Monday, May 1st.
Note that geophysical hazards (hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc) and cats are about all that will be discussed here on the blog going forward. Sadly, I won’t comment much on history, or at all on geopolitical issues.
The last year has been incredibly stressful. Most of my work in recent months has been in the geopolitical realm (including interactions at levels that would horrify some), and by its very nature that has to be off the radar, especially in today’s political and media climate. I’d love to do a retrospective on how the world has changed over the last year, what I got right, what I got wrong (as well as how others missed the mark even worse). As I ranted on the old site, it has become impossible to have a civil discussion on any controversial topic without become a target for activists. If it were only on-line that would be one thing, but when it becomes physical threats, we have entered a very dangerous dystopia. Democracy, or even rational decision making, cannot exist in that environment.
This has infected the highest levels of our society and government. When a senior government official says “I agree with you, but if I said that even in a private briefing I would get cancelled” we are in serious trouble. We are living in what is almost certainly the most dangerous period in human history. These problems won’t be solved with simplistic, cartoon depictions and jingoistic sloganeering, but by careful, rational analysis that includes a healthy dose of self-awareness. Please keep that in mind as this year unfolds.
It’s likely to be a lot more “interesting” than we would like …