@NeilT: I've noticed that those people are right far more often than those who use only the existing material/techniques and analyse these data to death. There is actually a good reason for that. The published estimates by the IPCC and other major organizations are deliberately conservative. They make statements based on things they can 'prove', not what they they suspect. For example, the estimates for sea level rise by the IPCC omitted any significant acceleration due to ice dynamics. And they said so. In general, you will find that the IPCC estimates are nearly always optimistic vs actual events simply because there are more 'known unknowns' with the potential to make things worse than 'known unknowns' with the potential to make things better.

@TenneyNaumer : The continued lack of a substantial slowdown in melting put me in mind of this old scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJr-JYejg_0#t=207s