That's how mine looked.  I just stuck a gold sheetrock screw in there until the plug started spinning and popped it right out.

Spiff wrote on 07/24/08 at 20:05:45:


That is not absurd, just a matter of the reality of the natural things happening on and in the planet.

I do not know if the exact numbers on this but the basic idea is true.  Thanks to to wonders of the discovery channel, etc,  I have seen comparisons of the volume of a single volcanic explosion and the estimated output of human industry, and the result is that the human effort pales in comparison to the volcano's.  There are a lot of volcano's out there and we usually have at least one per year that pop's it top somewhere in the world.

back to the screw -- 1) it comes out quite easily because it was not meant to be permanent -- they know we are going to yank it.  It's like those annoying tags they put on mattresses.  It's OK to remove them.  Really.

2) I drilled a smallish hole, inserted a self-tapping sheet metal screw NOT TOO DEEP, then -- very carefully -- used a small block of wood and the back end of a claw hammer and it popped right out.  Be very careful not to pry against anything but the block of wood and rest the block against a solid part.  Lotsa luck.

Spiff wrote on 07/26/08 at 14:02:51:


We can take this to The Cafe.  Disclaimer- in my post I had been drinking.  I didn't remember the exact numbers but the gist of what I remembered from earth science in college was that the earth itself has put out way more greenhouse gas than we have, primarily through volcanoes.  I've checked the numbers in both your studies and a couple others.  You are right- in a year, we're doing a piss-poor job of taking care of our planet.  However, the numbers on human activity are pretty recent.  Whereas the numbers and cumulative effect from volcanic activity have been pretty much constant for the past 10 or so millennia.  I'm not suggesting we do nothing about greenhouse emissions.  I hate smog, sucking diesel fumes, and the noxious odors from our local production plants.  I just think we may be overreacting and overstating the effect human activity has on the earth's warming and cooling cycles.  I also recall something to the effect that most of the rise in global temperature has been in industrialized metropolitan areas, rather than world-wide.  Paved/bricked areas have a way of retaining and radiating heat, especially with a covering cloud of automotive emissions.  I do share a bit of the concern over some of the glacial shrinking, but I don't know that we have enough information to pinpoint the cause.  

Keep in mind also, that the numbers you supplied relate only to CO2, and not all of the greenhouse gases expelled.  Couldn't find numbers.  Maybe you can? (I'm open-minded enough that if my arguments are shown to be faulty, I'll modify them.)

Of course, I may just be talking out of my tushy.  I'm college edu-ma-cated, but I'm not a climatologist.

And your crickets chirping was due to my contributing long hours toward the growth of our GDP.