You Don't Need the Weather Channel

From my archives:

from the AOM Blog:

Forecast the Weather Like Daniel Boone

Technology has brought the world a long way, enabling us to consume more information in a few short minutes on Google Mobile than folks decades ago could locate in a week by plowing through books at the local library. And yet, with all this readily available information and the focus on being able to find information, the need to actually know and retain information has been decidedly diminished. There is still something to be said, however, for retaining the knowledge and skills that the men of yesteryear needed to survive, such as navigating by compass or starting up a respectable campfire. With that in mind, and with hunting season just around the corner, let’s look to the skies and sharpen up our skills in forecasting the weather.

Weather forecast for tonight: dark. Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning. -George Carlin

Now keep in mind that if the national weatherman equipped with Doppler radar and satellite imagery gets it wrong from time to time, you will too. Taking that into consideration, it is probably best to avoid making high dollar wagers with your buddies when you are confident that it will begin storming in the next few minutes. And yet, by utilizing nature’s telltale signs, you can make some fairly safe assumptions regarding what is around the corner weather-wise. Let’s take a look at some of the basics:

Cloud signs

As far as nature’s weather signs go, clouds will provide you with the most accurate indicators of things to come. Clouds are essentially water droplets or ice crystals (depending on altitude) that mass together in the atmosphere. There are many types of clouds, far too many to list, but some of the basic cloud types can indicate what weather patterns to be prepared for.

Cumulus

Cumulus clouds themselves are most often associated with pleasant weather. It is cumulus clouds that often take the shape of various characters in the imagination of creative youngsters as a result of their puffy, continuously changing appearance. While they are a sign of agreeable weather, it is not uncommon for cumulus clouds to form into cumulonimbus clouds, aka thunderheads, which are a sure sign that it is time to batten down the hatches.

Stratus

Stratus clouds are flat and featureless and often completely blanket the sky. As opposed to cumulus clouds, which are flat on the bottom and rise dramatically on the tops, stratus clouds are flat both above and below. While they usually do not indicate extreme weather to come, they do often produce a light drizzle or flurries.

Cirrus

Cirrus clouds are high altitude clouds which resemble wispy brush strokes. When the wisps curl at the end, they are often referred to as mare’s tails. These clouds are regularly associated with approaching storms, but can also come directly after a thunderstorm has passed.

Nimbus

Nimbus clouds can refer to any of the above clouds which have taken on a dark color, thus indicating high moisture levels within the cloud and rain to come. For example, a cumulonimbus cloud is a cumulus cloud that is uncharacteristically dark and foreboding, and is associated with thunderstorms. Cumulonimbus clouds often rise like towers into the sky and sometimes take the shape of an anvil, with the longer end of the anvil head typically pointing in the direction the storm is heading.

Proverbs That Stand the Test of Time

Weather proverbs are likely nearly as old as language itself, with the earliest recorded proverb dating back to the New Testament of the Bible when Jesus noted that “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’’’ (Matthew 16:2). While some proverbs add up to nothing more than old wives’ tales, many are based in scientific fact. Here are some notable examples of the latter:

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.”

and

“Evening red and morning gray, help the traveler on his way. Evening gray and morning red bring down a rain upon his head.”

When looking west in the evening, a visibly red sky can be taken as a clue that dry weather is coming (or staying). The red sky is caused by dust particles in the atmosphere, which only occur in dry weather. Since weather systems typically move west to east as a result of jet streams, you can safely assume that this dry weather is heading your way. A morning red sky in the east, however, denotes that the dry weather has passed you by and that a moisture rich weather system is likely to follow.

“Flowers smell best just before a rain.”

and

“When ditch and pond offend the nose, look for rain and stormy blows.”

Everyone is familiar with that smell that occurs after a good summer rain, when the air is rich with the smell of plant life. This is a result of an increase in air moisture or humidity, which drastically increases the strength of smells in the air and the distance they carry. Also, it is believed that the smells of swamps and marshes are held down near the surface when atmospheric pressure is high, but low atmospheric pressure allows these foul odors to rise and carry. Both the increase in humidity and the drop in atmospheric pressure associated with these proverbs are signs of wet weather to come.

“Chimney smoke descends, our nice weather ends.”

Keep an eye on the smoke from that roaring campfire you just built. If the smoke rises in a straight stack, you can anticipate fair weather to come. If the smoke rises in a stack as normal, but appears to be buffeted downwards once it reaches a certain height, you can bet that a storm’s a-brewin’.

“Beware the bolts from north or west; in south or east the bolts be best.”

As mentioned above, most weather systems travel west to east. This proverb simply infers that visible storms in the west are most likely headed your way, while those in the east have passed you by.

“A ring around the sun or moon, means rain or snow coming soon.”

The visible ring sometimes appearing around the sun or the moon is a result of ice crystals in cirrus clouds refracting the light off these celestial bodies. Since cirrus clouds generally indicate foul weather to come, you can assume that it is time to start waterproofing your camp.

“When clouds appear like rocks and towers,
The Earth’s refreshed by frequent showers.”

A reference to the cumulonimbus cloud patterns mentioned above, this proverb serves as a simple reminder that such clouds indicate that a storm is likely coming your way.

Tools of the Trade: The Barometer

Some of nature’s signs cannot be understood simply by observing them but require tools to measure. By utilizing a barometer, you can measure the atmospheric pressure which can provide you with a great deal of information on what type of weather is just around the corner. In the most basic sense, a barometer indicating high pressure in the area lets you know that fair weather is likely, while low pressure is a sign that you can anticipate wet weather to come.

Before you can get started you’ll need to be sure you have the proper equipment. Most personal use barometers are known as aneroid barometers and contain no liquid. These barometers contain a spring which is calibrated using a dial or knob located on the back of the unit. In order to calibrate your barometer properly you will need to head over to http://www.weather.gov/ and get a local weather report, which will include the current barometric pressure. Adjust your barometer to match.

While a general understanding that high pressure is good and low pressure is bad is a start, more advanced and accurate information can be gleaned from the barometer as well. The following barometer reference card, taken from Skills for Taming the Wilds by Bradford Angier, will assist you in your short term weather forecasting forays (Keep in mind that these measurements and what they indicate are only representative within the U.S. and Canada).

BAROMETER	WIND	WEATHER
High, steady	SW to NW	Fair with little temperature change for one to two days
High, rising rapidly	SW to NW	Fair with warmer weather and rain within two days
High, falling rapidly	E to NE	Summer: rain in 12 to 24 hours Winter: snow or rain with increasing wind
Very high, falling slowly	SW to NW	Fair, with slowly rising temperatures, for two days
High, falling rapidly	S to SE	Rain, with increasing wind, in 12 to 24 hours
High, falling slowly	S to SE	Rain within 24 hours
High, falling slowly	E to NE	Summer: light winds, fair Winter: precipitation in 24 hours
High, falling slowly	SW to NW	Rain within 24 to 36 hours
Low, rising rapidly	Shifting to W	Colder and clearing
Low, rising slowly	S to SW	Clearing soon and fair for several days
Low, falling slowly	SE to NE	Rain for one or two more days
Low, falling rapidly	E to N	Northeast winds heavy with rain or snow, followed in winter by cold

Source Material/Further Reading:

Skills for Taming the Wilds by Bradford Angier

The Book of Survival by Anthony Greenbank

National Geographic’s Complete Survival Manual by Michael S. Sweeney

Ready for Spring...

Nothing we can do to change the weather...

But we can learn how to deal with it.

Personally, I wish spring arrived about a month ago on December 26th.

From the DLM Blog:

How to Cure the Winter Blues

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 05:40 AM PST

I am writing this from Northern Scandinavia. It’s January and the situation outside is dark, cold, and generally without hope. It’s tough to live in a place like this, which is why I try to travel as much as possible during the wintertime, but sometimes you’re stuck, or you just want to spend one winter in snow country.

Whatever your reason is doesn’t matter, because there are ways to cure the winter blues, or at least dramatically reduce its effects.

And always remember, you are not alone in this.

With all that out of the way, let’s look at five simple ways you can cure the winter blues.

1. Vitamin D
   Vitamin D is an interesting vitamin because the only place you can get it is from the sun. Now, you can get some from milk, eggs, and liver, just to name a few sources, but they all came from the sun in one way or another.
   
   When it gets dark, cold, and the snow starts falling, you don’t have a solid source of vitamin D. Your body can store vitamin D for quite some time, but most of us don’t get enough sun anyway, so our reserves don’t last.
   
   Researchers and experts have found that a significant portion of people living in colder, darker climates are severely deficient in vitamin D.
   
   This can lead to a host of health problems that I won’t go into now, but a simple way to remedy the situation is to buy a vitamin D3 supplement.
   
   Of course, you want to consult with your doctor before you take any of the tips in this article. Nevertheless, a vitamin D3 supplement has helped me immensely in curing the winter blues. Here is another article supplementing this thought.
   


2. Fish Oil
   Fish oil provides much-needed omega-3 essential fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, which have huge effects on your mood, energy, heart, and even the brain development in infants.
   
   There are an astonishing amount of proven fish oil benefits. You see, your body cannot produce these essential fatty acids by its own accord. And the problem today is that a lot of the oils we consume (canola oil, sunflower oil, and so on) are ripe with omega-6 fatty acids.
   
   This skews the ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and causes inflammation in your body, which leads to, you guessed it, health problems.
   
   But let’s focus on the mood enhancing effects of omega-3 fatty acids. There’s a neurotransmitter called serotonin in your body, and when you eat fatty fish, or take a high-quality fish oil supplement, your serotonin levels go up, which leads to your mood going up.
   
   It has been shown that omega-3 fatty acids fight depression very effectively. Drug companies have made billions from this discovery by selling serotonin enhancing drugs, such as Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxil.
   


3. Nutrition
   Let’s face it, you probably aren’t eating as healthy as you could. This happens to all of us, especially if you’re even slightly depressed living in a sunless time of year.
   
   Your diet doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s okay to eat your favorite foods from time to time. The problem arises when you go overboard.
   
   The first step is to eliminate as many unnatural food items from your diet as possible. This includes processed foods, sugar, junk food, and so on. I think you know what I’m talking about.
   
   The foods that make me feel good are grass-fed beef, organic chicken, wild fish and game, fruits, vegetables, and berries. You won’t always be able to find organic or grass-fed food, and that’s okay. Do your best, and take it from there.
   


4. Light
   Even though we talked about Vitamin D and sunlight above, it still can make a huge difference in how you feel if you go to a tanning salon to get some light on your skin.
   
   It has even been proven that tanning salons can relieve depression and give your body a vitamin D boost. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there whether or not tanning salons are safe. Some say they cause cancer, while others say they don’t. Do some research, ask your doctor, and make your own choice. I personally do not think they are harmful if done in moderation, but again, I urge you to do your own research and form your own opinion.
   


5. Activity
   When winter arrives, I usually bunker up at home and try not to go out if I don’t have to. But there are a lot of great activities you can engage in when it’s winter such as ice hockey, skiing, sledding, or just going out with friends for a night of bowling.
   
   It’s easy to talk about these things, and they sound good on paper (or on the computer in this case), but how do you actually incorporate them into your life? The best way is to take things one step at a time. Don’t make big changes unless you really want to.
   
   Maybe you feel compelled to start with your diet and remove one bad food a week. Once you start seeing your energy soar, you might try going to a tanning salon, or even trying a few natural supplements.
   
   It’s all about small steps and steady progress.

What are you doing to keep from going stir crazy while cooped up this winter?

Written on 1/15/2011 by Henri Junttila. Henri blogs at, Wake Up Cloud, where he shows you how you can earn money online ethically. You can also get the Passion Blogging Guide, which is free, but really shouldn't be.

Photo Credit: bandita

Be Prepared

More than a Boy Scout Motto, it should be a motto for your family. From the DLM Blog:

Top Ten Disaster Preparedness Tips for Families

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 06:30 PM PDT

Disasters, particularly of the weather variety, roll through our world in late spring and early summer. It's easy to prepare yourself and your family, much harder to pick up the pieces once damage is done. Having lived on the Gulf Coast in the path of hurricanes like Katrina, Jeanne, and Gustav, I can tell you the old ounce-of-prevention cliché is right on.

Here are some tips from FEMA, NOAA and other government specialists about being prepared.

1. Understand the weather and non-weather crises that could affect your family and home. Talk about them often together in a non-intimidating way. Take a look at your home and region, getting to know your vulnerabilities to storm surge, flood, wind.
   


2. Consider subscribing to email alerts for storms, hurricanes, floods or earthquakes if your area is often at risk.


3. Designate a safe-room or safest area in your house and make sure everyone is aware of which area and why. If evacuation might be an issue, identify the places you can go, locally and distantly.


4. Make sure each family member knows escape routes and places to meet.


5. Appoint a friend or relative out of your area to be a clearing house of information. As each family member finds safety, they should call that designee who'll be your single point of contact.


6. Create a plan right now for what to do with your pets if you need to evacuate and remind everyone of that plan, often.


7. Put a list of emergency telephone numbers by your phones. Make sure your young children know how and when to call 911 and what to say.
   


8. Evaluate your insurance coverage periodically and remember that flood damage is not usually covered by homeowners insurance. Many insurance providers have redefined flood, so ask your agent. National Flood Insurance Program


9. Keep a stock of non-perishable emergency supplies in or near your safest area or safe room. Make a disaster supply kit and refresh it from time to time.


10. Buy a NOAA weather radio - do you know they come in wind-up, non-battery versions? If yours has batteries, replace them in June and December at the same time you do your smoke detectors.

Everyone in your family should take age-appropriate First Aid, CPR and disaster preparedness classes. Do it as a family and keep talking about how valuable it is to be prepared. You don't want your children, or you, for that matter, to live in fear or to feel anxious, and that's where preparedness comes in. If you have a plan and it's familiar to all of you, it'll kick in automatically when you need to take action.

Want to know more about the wind?
Read about tornados and being prepared.
Read about wind energy.

Written on 7/15/2009 by Maryan Pelland. Maryan is a professional freelance writer, in print and online, with a strong web presence at Ontext.com, Womandaybyday.com, and DemystifyingDigital.com.

Photo Credit: howieluvzus

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

Based out of Fort Wayne, you need to sign up thru Twitter. Click here to go there.

A New Way to Start the Day

In Fort Wayne this morning, it is dreary, rainy, slippery, and will only get worse. Then when I got to work and started opening emails, I found this from the DLM Blog:

7 Simple Ways To Burst Out of Bed Each Morning

Posted: 23 Nov 2008 05:59 AM PST

Way before the sun peeks over the horizon, a few chosen people awaken from their slumber and dive head first into their day. These chosen few accomplish a ton before the rest of us would ever consider rising from our nice warm beds.

Who are these juggernauts that have command over the morning hours?

In theory, your productivity level shouldn't differ if you rise at 4am or 11am. What matters is the quality of sleep that's giving your mind and body sufficient time to recover.

These early rising juggernauts, these unstoppable agents of productivity, they see things differently. They see these early hours as their chance to lay claim to their share of the day. They rise with purpose, act with determination, and achieve ruthlessly.

The sun has not caught me in bed in fifty years. - Thomas Jefferson

The world is in awe of these special people, so let's take a look at what pops them out of bed like a toaster strudel and what gets them up, sometimes before the alarm!

1. Appointment With Waking: The harsh truth about the human body is that we're creatures of habit. In some ways this can be extremely inconvenient when trying to take on new things. However, if we allow ourselves to live within the rules of our body's natural cycle, which is a 24-hour circadian rhythm, we will be pleased with the body's functionality.
   
   This means that when you find a waking hour that will work best for you each day of the week, you should stick to it. This will allow your body to want to support you in your endeavor of waking up, and rise you out of bed feeling fresh as a daisy.
   


2. The King and The Pauper Way Of Eating: The way our bodies function optimally is if we eat like a king in the morning and a pauper in the evening. This means that it's best to eat heavier, bigger portions in the morning because these meals will give us high energy throughout the day and then burn off.
   
   Eating like a pauper, meaning small light meals, in the evening allows us to go to sleep on an empty stomach. If your body is functioning normally, and you don't have stomach ulcers, going to sleep on a mostly empty stomach will allow you to sleep better. This nightly fast allows your body to take it's focus away from digestion and put it towards repair and rejuvenation of the body's cells.
   


3. Living With Purpose: Young children will do anything to avoid going to sleep at night. These same children are also the ones that can't wait to get out of bed first thing in the world. The simple reason for this non-lazy behavior is that they don't want to miss a thing.
   
   As adults we may need more persuasion than 'not wanting to miss a thing'. This is why we take extra steps in creating fun, life changing goals, and scheduling specific ways of how we'll get a step closer to these goals during this coming day. What we all need is not necessary a cause we're willing to die for, but at least a cause we're willing to LIVE for.


4. Plan Your Day: We can say we're going to live with purpose, but unless we plan, we can tell ourselves that we'll start living with purpose next week, or the week after that. Planning is one of the fundamental ways to maximize your mind to achieve your goals, and as such it plays a critical role in allowing us to have an awesome day, everyday. We need not do more than take 15 minutes the night before to succinctly organize the next days schedule.
   
   A schedule complete with waking time, most important things of the day, eating and recreational allowances. Having a tight schedule allows me to live out my day with definitive purpose, while getting more done, having more fun, and not wasting precious moments of my life.
   

   “Happy people plan actions, they don't plan results” - Dennis Wholey
   

5. The Water Hack: A bit of water before bed and half a liter as soon as you get up. The water before bed will serve in the rejuvenation process we mentioned above. While you sleep all your cells will fill up with this fresh water and create an over all well being within your body.
   
   The water in the morning does two things. One is it provides your first dose of water to get your mind and body going. Another function, as told to me by my endocrinology teacher (a very qualified person to say this), is that a dose of water in the morning triggers a cascade of physiological functions that engages your digestive system and causes you to excrete feces. You'll feel nice and light first thing in the morning!


6. Work That Body: In number 1 above I mentioned that our bodies adapt around a 24-hour circadian rhythm. This works for sleep, eating, exercise, and many other bodily functions. We're a pretty efficient physiological machine when you think about it. This is why getting a dose of exercise is optimal in the morning. It gets the blood flowing and stimulates you to function on a higher level.
   

   "Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." - Edward Stanley

   Once you're used to this routine, your body will prepare by providing you with high energy before you start to work out. As you can see, if you wake up with this high energy, you're going to just pop out of bed.
   


7. Have 'Me' Time: No morning is completely satisfying unless you've scheduled in some 'Me' time. Whether you enjoy meditating to clear you mind and give you laser sharp focus, or reading to gain some new knowledge about the world, make sure you schedule in this time.
   
   There may very a variety of things you enjoy doing, so this will be custom tailored to the individual. The point is that when you have something you REALLY enjoy doing right when you get up, you won't be able to wait until that alarm goes off till you jump out of bed and get to it!

See, that's all it takes! Try it for a couple weeks, get used to it, and soon you'll be relishing sunrises like this:

Written by Alex Shalman who is the author of How to Get a Girlfriend and Practical Personal Development Blog and Podcast.

Photo Credit: ohsoabnormal

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Prav's World

Thought I'd share this bit of wisdom to start our week from Prav's World, as it looks sort of like the weather outside right now as we are getting April rain & snow showers.

oops, forgot to add something yesterday

A Very Busy Wednesday Followed by a Busy Today and Busy Tomorrow and then VACATION!

Hey, I just wanna say, stop making excuses that there's nothing to do.

Last night I was was invited to a reception for Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream who was in town to give a talk at IPFW.

The talk was free and open to the public and filled with humor and truth. More on Jerry coming soon. (Like a You Tube I'm working on of an exclusive radio interview we did last week).

March has the final Pop Series concert of the Philharmonic featuring Patti Austin's tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, and there's plenty of activities to do besides moaning about our 43 inches of snow.

Of course, if you are really tired of the snow, just ignore it and start your warm weather activities now, like this lady did yesterday:

Some things never end

Winter in Fort Wayne for one. It was 50 when I left my home this morning and now it is rainy and the temp is dropping. 43 right now. Tomorrow's high is supposed to only be 34. And the street department is basically out of salt too!

Something else that seemed to never end was the television show M*A*S*H. It lasted twice as long as the war that it was about. Most of the actors are in their 70's now. Click here for a full update.

Bad Roads, Bad Drivers

Winter will never end in Northern Indiana, so it seems. Today we have one of those end of the season snow storms that closed schools. That meant slower traffic, but less traffic. I've had my own share of fender benders but nothing like these. See More

What's a Hoosier?

One of the most famous Hoosier's was the now retired Indiana University Basketball Coach, Bobby Knight. Hoosier is the nickname for the school. But it also refers to people who live in Indiana, the state. You could Google it, but you'll get multiple answers.

Bonnie, our crazy Canadian receptionist, that's what it says on her business cards), sent me Jeff Foxworthy's list, and I found 13 of them apply to me although some of them occurred when I lived in Michigan:

Forget Rednecks, here is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about

Hoosiers...

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you

may live in Indiana.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't

work there, you may live in Indiana.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in

Indiana.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who

dialed a wrong number, you may live in Indiana.

If "Vacation" means going anywhere south of Muncie for the weekend,

you may live in Indiana.

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Indiana.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you

may live in Indiana.

If you have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back

again, you may live in Indiana.

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging

blizzard without flinching, you may live in Indiana.

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave

both unlocked, you may live in Indiana

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife

knows how to use them, you may live in Indiana

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit,

you may live in Indiana.

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and

everybody is passing you, you may live in Indiana.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled

with snow, you may live in Indiana.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and

road construction, you may live in Indiana.

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you may

live in Indiana.

If you find 10 degrees "a little chilly", you may live in Indiana.

Sounds like the Hoosiers are very nice people

Inspiration from Pravs World

The weather here has been crappy. Rain, Snow, Flooding, fortunately no tornado's like our neighbors to the south.

Whatever you've been going through, here's a bit of perspective:

Snowed in? How about some classic Monty Python?

What's in your grocery cart?

A line from some comic:

Why is it that whenever we get blizzard warnings, we go to the store and buy the fixin's for French Toast? Bread, Eggs, Milk?

In my email this week came the following... (I'm glad T.P. made the top ten):

Top 10 Best-Selling Grocery Items

	Item	'07 sales*
1	Milk	$10.86
2	Fresh bread	$6.39
3	Cereal	$6.11
4	Cookies	$3.89
5	Toilet tissue	$3.78
6	Canned soup	$3.32
7	Fresh eggs	$2.92
8	Chocolate candy	$2.89
9	Potato chips	$2.82
10	Batteries	$1.59

* In billions

Source: Nielsen Strategic Planner

60 n' sunny in January

Today:





Not today:

53 degrees and climbing

Tomorrow we are supposed to hit 63. Normal temp is about 1/2 that. Looks like the only snowmen are in these old Calvin and Hobbes cartoons...

Sandbag season

Fort Wayne is covered with all kinds of white stuff we call snow. The temp is currently in the single digits. 5 above to be exact. This weekend and the beginning of next week we are supposed to have rain and temps in the 40's and 50's!

Now is the time to prepare by filing sandbags if your live where it is prone to flood. Don't wait for FEMA or anyone else from the government. Just do it.

There is a reason this town is also called Flood Wayne.

Here's what it looked like in 1982:

Cats, Computers, Crappers, and a wonderful family

After a self imposed computer sabbatical, I'm back to report the gory details.

1. Cats. We still have two, Puddy, also know as Pimp Kitty, due to the limp he has had for the past several years with a dysfunctional right front paw. Puddy has a new place to hang instead of the walk ways in the house, he has a cat tower, with a view to the backyard and a stuffed toy that is affectionately know as his "mama". Ya got to be there. 2nd cat, Napoleon around Thanksgiving became an indoor cat. He had been roaming the neighborhood, coming in for a bite but staying out all night and a lot during the day during the warmer months. He apparently was unaware of boundaries, because an upset neighbor, warned Kathy that if he appeared on his property (several houses away), Napoleon would "disappear". So I went to work on taming this wildcat. He howled for a few nights, we took extra steps to prevent him from running out the garage door and he has gotten used to the warmth of the inside of a house. He is still a little rough in his playing, but he is learning.

2. Computers. I wrote last year about my repeated attempts to keep a computer running and working properly. Well, my back-up laptop, the Acer Aspire 9500, kept crashing after I had our engineer at work do some modifications so I could get on the network at the radio stations. Just about every night, I would spend time working on the computer to fix the crash problems to no avail. It was taking too much time. So I was checking into the cost of having my old Toshiba with the faulty screen repaired, and trying to hold out as long as possible. Over the weekend I found out it could cost $500 to $600, and knowing in the back of my mind there were a few other things wrong with that computer, I decided to start shopping. My son still has his original laptop from college that had been covered under warranty and has lasted him for a good 4 years.
During that same time frame, I have had three laptops. Now I am also a heavy user. It goes with me everywhere. So I decided I needed a smaller laptop; instead of the big 17 inch screen, this is 14. I also wanted power, 2 gig instead of 1/2 a gig of RAM. And it had to be around $1000. Extra money would be spent on service contracts, so I bought the three year, full protection plan from a store that I trust will be around in three years, Best Buy. Best Buy also has the ability to do in-store repairs on H.P. laptops which was also an important part of the equation. As I write today, I'm in the process of moving files from my old computers to the new laptop, (which incidentally can automatically access my work network). Plus I am in the process of moving to online storage of files so I will have full access to stuff I need no matter what.

3. Bathroom. Almost 2 years ago we moved into our current house. It's an older home, around 45 or 50 years old. A three bedroom ranch. Sometime in 2008, I will redo the master bathroom sink and vanity. However, we have had another bathroom problem since we moved in. The toilet in the main bathroom was a "poor flusher". Original toilet perhaps, but it probably had been replaced once before. We were told by a drain specialist that it would need replacing. So after ignoring it for a few months, I decided to replace the toilet this weekend.

Now I have done this before so I knew the basics of what would need to be done. Problem was this is a house on a concrete slab and there were additional repairs that needed done that I was not qualified to do. I really did not want to mess up the situation worse than it was, and well, I finally called in the professionals to finish the job. He'll be here tomorrow. (This toilet thing was also part of my computer sabbatical, as I told myself that the crapper would take priority over the piece of crap computer.)

4. Family and Friends. Christmas afternoon, Kathy and I went to a movie. Did the same yesterday afternoon. Abby was having friends over and with just one bathroom, we decided to take off and leave. We saw Charlie Wilson's War, then went downtown for an early dinner with friends and wrapped it up with a game night with more friends. Made it back home by around 10:30 New Years eve and fell asleep before the clock struck 12. I also talked to all the kiddos and we all did "phone hugs" as they went to their new years celebrations with friends.
Kathy is working today, the snow is falling, and all is well as we kick off 2008!

Weather: Fact, Fiction, or Hoax?

Blizzard conditions, Deathly Freezing Rain, Thousands of cars lying in ditches, tens of thousands maimed or killed. Flood wipes out entire state, no survivors. It is all a bunch of Hype, and Fear mongering by the over protective weather forecasters that are trying to justify their jobs and technology with false predictions.

I live in Indiana. Grew up here, returned 9 years ago. I lived in town when Ronald Reagan came for a photo opp due to flooding in 1982. We had a lot of snow followed by a warm spell and the rivers overflowed. As a result our city built better banks for the rivers, changed zoning, created a new park (Headwaters) and moved forward.



Today however, the weather forecasters are unable to accurately predict what is going to happen in the next 24 hours or even the next 6 hours when it comes to bad weather.

And really, what would we do differently if we knew that we were going to get 6 inches of snow overnight? What can you do? Not much, just make adjustments to your plans. But to rely on our forecasters is just plain, dumb, foolish and stupid.

Until they can prove the accuracy of their forecasts, they're just crying "Wolf". And we have grown numb to their words of warning.