Yes I agree. I do find the obsession with plotting linear regressions of temperature data fairly strange, since surely even the most ardent climate skeptic acce

Yes I agree. I do find the obsession with plotting linear regressions of temperature data fairly strange, since surely even the most ardent climate skeptic accepts the existence of solar cycles (and volcanism etc). Once you accept that there are external drivers of the climate system, I don't know why you would ignore what they have been doing. Anyway, I'm not the one trying to claim that there is suddenly no longer an energy imbalance in the climate system because of a decade of (incomplete) surface temperature data. I do think it's worth pointing out how cherry picked the 'pause' argument is though, even on its own terms.