I removed myself from Pro MD Gazzette.

For my own reasons, mostly because I was tired of getting my posts here posted there by mistake. I am a simple guy, there is only so much confusion I can handle.

Can you tell I want to go fishing?

A Fisherman

Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.
A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure.
Dusk rain on the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds;
Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night.

A zen poem for you to ponder as you read your morning rounds. I am experiencing so coffee ground crappy beverage. Tamp that shit down. Don't let is go over the side. Don't make me dump the whole pot. Damn it man!

Impressionism Art is a good find.

Found in Goodwill and auctioned for $40 grrr. It pays to have an interest in art people. I met a friend of my wife recently and as we were touring his new digs, i noticed a nice sea scape painting on the wall with Winslow as the signature. Which if you know, Homer was all about the sea. Its it real? Will let you know when I do.

Tropical Atlantic Visible Imagery - Satellite Services Division

Tropical Atlantic Visible Imagery - Satellite Services Division

Look at that long line of cloud formation at the bottom. Things like that don't happen all the time you know.

Hugo anyone?

Some times I get lost looking at old hurricane data. Like today, most of you stop by and expect to see some witty something or the other and got pretty much nothing. Sorry about that. I got lost in the NHC website. I came to my senses somewhere in the Hugo archive and thought I would bring this back and post it for you to look at. Here we are 25 days into the 08 season and I am already diggin in the past for something to write about. Hopefully this will be a quiet storm year and I get more time to do stuff like hurricane research.

Now that is a sink!

Ammonite washbasin. Those are the words you are looking for. I wish everyone was this creative with their housewares. I don't think I would want to brush my teeth in this, but it would be super phat in my powder room.

Summer Haiku

rabbits eat clover
tomatoes grow rapidly
hummingbirds fly past

Hello summer!

Check out this. What a way to kick off the summer sol. This is in the Austrian Alps. Pretty neat looking. When I lived in Europe, I grew to appreciate the fact Europeans with thrown down a fest for just about anything. Springfest, Summer solstice, Octoberfest, Hrvest fest, Fasching, whatever the occasion there can be or already is a fest. The main point is to get out and join arms with the other villagers, sing and be merry. Or sit around and talk about how the old fest was harder but more rewarding and the new fest is a shadow of its former self. But talk like that comes after a few beers. Anyway I am getting carried away because I went and got a 12 pack of Sol beer and made shelves in my garage all weekend. On Saturday, I did take note of where the sun came up and went down on my horizon around my house for vegetable and gardening tips. Alright look closer at those mountain fires.
Pretty neat stuff huh? What did you do for this fresh new season we are starting now?

I gots some international flava!

Alright peeps from around the world. My little map up there is showin me I get hits from all over. What up South Africa? What up Europe? Sorry to lump all you Europeans together, I know you are all adamant about your independence, but to us lumps across the pond, you are just Europe to us. Its a good thing you put that EU thing together, it just cuts down on confusion. Or adds to it. Depends on where you stand I guess. Either way since its summer again, I want to bring back the food idea of the week. Its summer, time to eat food and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

First, we grill. We grill a bunch of stuff other than cows, pigs, chickens. Somewhere along the way, even before I met my wife, I decided that beef didn't digest to well in my system. I would eat a steak or a burger and that shit would sit in me like a rock. Eventually it grossed me out. Hey some of you can eat iron and shit bullets. Thats great, it just aint me. So I keep my meat to turkey and seafood. We don't miss much in the way of traditional food, you know the burgers, dogs, kabobs, and all that jazz. So here is a favorite of our household for you.

This come from Rob Rainford. Who? If you don't know, I ain't telling you. Catch his show, you will not be disappointed. This turkey burger works good on a bun or in a pita. Left overs in a wrap kick ass for a Monday lunch.

Turkey Burgers

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 tbsp curry powder (15ml)
• 3 x green onions, finely chopped
• 1 x garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tsp grated ginger (10ml)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon (15ml)
• 1/2 tbsp all spice (7.5ml)
• 1/2 tbsp coriander (7.5ml)
• Salt to taste
• 1 x large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs (60ml)
• 1/3 cup silvered almonds, optional (75ml)

Directions:

Turkey Burgers

1. Preheat grill to 375°F/190°C or medium high heat.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. With cold-water dampened hands, shape into a 4, ¾ -inch thick patties. Place on tray. Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.
3. Lightly oil the grate and grill each burger for 6 minutes per side, or until entirely cooked through. Serve as a sandwich in pita, bread or on a burger bun garnishing if desired with tomato, onion, lettuce and yogurt.

Then to balance it out, get a big pile of greasy fries and some cold beer. Enjoy!

Big Moon Pimpin cheese...

Taken last night at the Temple of Poseidon in Greece. Pretty Phat.

'Rembrandt Laughing' is self-portrait - Yahoo! News

'Rembrandt Laughing' is self-portrait - Yahoo! News

Good read.

Poems from the commons.

Human Touch

Touch -unappreciated
the feathers tickle,
goosebumps ride your skin,
touch -experience it again
lest we forget
the grace of-
a person who cares
missing the Touch
which makes you aware.

A work from a decade ago. Yeah I was working out some issues. But if you have been tuning in, you can totally see the Dickinson in this work.

Category 2 Storm Could Flood New Orleans

ABC News: Category 2 Storm Could Flood New Orleans
WTF? A cat 2 could roll over NOLA this year. Maybe two. I thought this country had money? WTF? They can build this shit in Holland, but we get some fucked up halfassed shit that can't withstand the spin cycle of a fuckin Maytag? Sometimes I want to hit someone for shit like this.

George Takei

George Takei has some word on marriage equality. He and his partner were among the first to get a license to marry. Live you dreams Mr. Sulu.

Poems from Emily Dickinson.

In this short Life by ED

In this short Life
That only lasts an hour
How much -- how little -- is
Within our power


This is one of the many shorties that ED wrote that I get the most. These little poems of hers is one of the foundations of my writings. Sure I haiku a lot, but before that became a cornerstone in my writing, I was trying to write like ED. Another thing that gets me is her how. I know you saying what? How she puts the right words in the right spot. Good words. The right words. Complicated words, but simple words. Or the random capitalization is something else I love. Her poems remind me of the layered reading you can do online now. Like in this poem, the word Within. Cap on w, a big powerful letter telling us the within is important. Damn it, now I am waxing all poetic and have to get back to work. Talk about confusion Wednesday...

Comet gets eaten by the sun.

c2_big.gif (GIF Image, 512x512 pixels)

Dude this comes from the Space Weather website. Comet goes in, sun kills dead.

Sometimes there are signs...

Three cheers for Cali. Equal Marriage for everyone involved is the way to go. Seriously, hetros have like better than a .500 average for divorce, its not like the "sanctity" of marriage means much to over half the people that try it. Thats harsh, I know, but I stand by it. Either way I don't feel gay people should be discriminated against for who they love. Thats whacked man. So it was with anticipation that at 5:01 Pacific Time my wife and I found ourselves staring at the clock on the cable box like it was New Years Eve. We were celebrating with thousands upon thousands of people at that moment. And it was good. Gay people are going through their suffrage movement. They will see unprecedented equality in my lifetime. Like women and black people before them. I am glad I got to watch this piece of history play out. It will be something if there is a rush of gay people move to Cali and the influx of money from the marriages saves the economy and that becomes the model for economic recovery. I guess Nebraska would go broke. New York and Florida would be fine. Delaware too. But there were signs that this is good. First as 5:01 hit, I was eating rainbow sherbert when my wife and I toasted a celebration with my sherbert and her chocolate chip cookie. Then about 15 minutes later, there was a perfect rainbow in our front yard. I am talkin full on arch from ground to ground. It was there about 10 minutes. Seriously how many times do you see a perfect rainbow? And 15 minutes after one of the most populous states allow a rabid minority to do something they have be wanting for, in some cases, a lifetime? Coincidence? I think not. Just a sign somethings are with good timing.

So all you haters out there, move on to another issue. Actually, to be done with this issue, what needs to happen is government should be taken out of the marriage process. Allow churches to issue the license and marry who they want. It would be up to the government to regulate the transfer of property and all the crazy laws that come with that. If you belong to a church that doesn't want or allow gay marriage, fine you can have that, but be tolerant of other views, cause they are letting you have your hatin views. Haters. There will be plenty of churches lining up to marry all the gay people that wish to embark on that journey. Just like there will churches that will shut their doors to that opportunity to increase their flocks. Oh well, you live and die by what you believe, right?

Morning Poetry with Emily Dickinson

My wife and I were cleaning out the home office and got to thinning out my collection of books. Trust me, it needed to happen. There is a core group of books I must have around and I feel like I got back to that. Cut the white noise out. One of those books I used to read all the time found its way back into my hands, The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson. I love it. I love her. She was the poet that first grabbed me and probably the one I aspire to write the most like. Will I ever be able to tell you why, probably not. Its just that feeling you get when you know your reading or viewing something special. So I went back to the poem. The one that I got down and dirty with to figure out that meaning of what poems were all about. And here it is. Discussion will follow if time permitting. Enjoy. There is a lot packed into this one, so read it a couple of times and think of the imagery used.

Because I could not stop for Death
by Emily Dickinson


Because I could not stop for Death
He kindly stopped for me
The Carriage held but just Ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the School, where Children strove
At recess in the ring
We passed the fields of gazing grain
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us
The dews drew quivering and chill
For only Gossamer, my gown
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the GROUND
The roof was scarcely visible
The cornice in the ground.

Since then 'tis centuries and yet
Feels shorter than the DAY
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

Spring Haiku

bright sun splashes us
hummingbirds buzz by our heads
evening breeze kisses

Pre-dinosaur era burrow discovered in Antarctica - life - 08 June 2008 - New Scientist

Pre-dinosaur era burrow discovered in Antarctica - life - 08 June 2008 - New Scientist

And this is important why? I will tell you why. It proves that life and all the quirks that come along with it were here longer than we thought. Seriously. We know nothing of our past. Hell before we found this pre-dino and a few million years after the great Permian extinction when we thought all was toasted on the planet. Shows us we don't know shit. We only think we do.

In too deep....

Fathers Day passed this weekend. I never gave to much thought about this holiday. Still don't. Why celebrate a person for one day for doing what is right? You should celebrate mom and pops all year. I guess some folks need that recognition. See this is what happens to a human mind after being wiped clean by the military and then dowsed in cynicism from a formal education. Good stuff. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Well almost anything. What brought on all this? Mostly cause I am a dad now. Having a family, providing, caring, being there even when you're sick with a smile on your face is what its all about. So one gets to wonder what make a dad a good dad. So I can't answer that, but I can tell you how I don't want to end up.

Sunday I get up and roll out to the grocery store at like 7:30 am for some breakfast stuff and a couple of other odds and ends. Like wet cat food. We give our cat one pouch of Wiskas once a day. You would think we have a addict the way that cat cries for that stuff. So I am standing in line and I notice that there were quite a bit of dads in the store. I thought that kinda off considering that this was Fathers Day and all. After gathering supplies, I wander up to the only open register in the store and plant myself in wait. After getting my stuff up on the belt and moving up a little, the guy behind me looks at my stuff and says, "You got your kids coming too?". I was like "No, I got my wife and kid at home." The guy just looked at me like I had three heads. Thinking nothing more of it, I paid my tab and rolled out. Then I got settled in the car and started looking around the parking lot. There were a lot of hung over 40 somethings, maybe 50 somethings, walking in and out of the grocery. These were not the men of shining example. These were men who had left their wives, or their wives left them. Struggling to the store for some generosity for their offspring. Life has beaten them pretty damn good. Is there blame? TO who and for what? I don't know. But at that moment I had some clarity in my life. Fathers Day is not a happy day for everyone. Sometimes Fathers Day reminds certain men that when it comes to welding they may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but in relation to family, they are complete failures. That weighs on a soul because its hard to watch a beautiful person grow out child of your own blood and know you had little or nothing to do with it.

So what to do with these Children of Men? Someone needs to wake up these men. Define the word commitment in your head and live it. Everyone needs to be committed. Good, bad or otherwise.

Have a good weekend.

Here is the wide view of the Atlantic this afternoon. Not much going on. On the other hand it looks like good weather. Have a good weekend and don't forget to cut your grass.

Spring Haiku

early tomatos
small hard green orbs on the vine
summertime will come

Keeping the kiddies safe.

I can't stay away from the CSPC website.





Backyard Leisure Recalls Swing Sets Due to Fall Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Adventure Play Sets and Create N Adventure Wooden Play Sets

Units: About 11,000

Distributor: Backyard Leisure LLC, of Pittsburg, Kan.

Hazard: Hangers holding the chains for the gliders can break, causing a child to fall and suffer injuries.

Incidents/Injuries: Backyard Leisure has received 114 reports of glider hangers breaking, including three reports of minor injuries to children. Injuries included abrasions and a child being hit in the head by a chain that detached from a hanger.

Description: The swing sets are made of wood and feature various types of gliders, slides and swings. The recalled models include:
Adventure Play Sets Model
Pathfinder Swing Set 65008
Conqueror Swing Set 65208
Create N Adventure Wooden Play Sets
Cedar Ridge Wooden Swing Set 30008
Windsor Wooden Swing Set 30108

“Adventure Play Set” or “Create N Adventure,” and “Pittsburg, KS 66762” is printed on a plaque in the middle of the swing sets’ upper beam. The name and model number is printed on the manufacturer’s instructions that come with the play set.

Sold at: Wal-Mart stores nationwide and Wal-Mart.com under the Adventure Playsets brand, and Toys “R” Us stores nationwide under the Create N Adventure brand from January 2008 through May 2008 for between $400 and $1,500.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the gliders from the swing sets and contact Backyard Leisure to receive free replacement glider hangers and repair instructions.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Backyard Leisure at (866) 546-7902 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, visit the firm’s Web site at www.adventureplaysets.com, or email the firm at custservice@adventureplayets.com

Poems from the commons.

Little

surprises happen constantly,
the best unannounced.
small wisps, brushing you as
they pass,
gently surprising
occasionally sometimes
sparingly, small
wonders the little ones.

Impressionism Artist of the Week - Edouard Manet

ahhh Olympia. Where do we start? That gaze? That stare? The orchid? Or the little kitty at the foot of the bed? Or the negress servant with the flowers. I mean all the sexuality in the world is packed into this painting. And isn't it still what men look for in women? That look. That stare. Beautifully confrontational.

What draws me to this painting is the classic feel of the pose. Plus The flatness of the image is drawn from japanese woodblock art. And you know how I feel about that. If you don't maybe I will start throwing in that art for you. Japanese woodblock art is so freakin overlooked. Wake up people! It's bad ass.

Poems from the commons.

Comfort

The arms create the harbor,
a resting place from the torrid
storms that anger the waves.
Waves that beat blissfully
on the small frail vessels.
The weather in the harbor?
It changes the same-
but the waves move along...
obscure in their size.

Impressionism Artist of the Week - Edouard Manet

hmm- how can you discuss modern art and not include Edouard Manet? He should get as much credit as anyone for shattering the preconceived notions of the truly old school about what art is. Manet didn't use kid gloves either. His first real controversy came from this work, The Luncheon on the Grass. As you can see, what sparked the controversy is the nude woman having lunch with two men. I guess the subject matter made people, especially academics, more than a little uncomfortable. So when he submitted this to the Salon for exhibition, they rejected it. Thus kicking off a movement of artist that even though rejected by the standards then, were determined to get their works displayed. And they had support. Napoleon III gave them the "Salon of Rejects" to display the controversial works in. More later.

Spring Haiku

haze permeates all
sticking, clinging, and all hot
Where art thou spring gone?

Dubai still leading the world when it comes to kick ass architecture.

This is what the future Dubai Opera House and Cultural Center will look like. How freakin cool is that building. Its got that appeal you get from Wright for blending with nature, but at the same time it looks like something on the far outpost of Tattooine. Either way it will be a world class gallery with over 5,000,000 sq ft of space for exhibits, an opera house that seats 2,500, and a playhouse that seats 800. Pretty much every artists or performers dream facility. Seriously, Dubai has to be on your list of vacation spots.
They got the neatest toys.

Keeping the kiddies safe.

Below is a recall on the Children's Animal Tracking Explorer Kit. Just some FYI because I would totally want to know if my child's face was going to swell to the size of a beachball if she plays with the plaster of paris.

Name of Product: Animal Tracking Explorer Kit

Units: About 2,200

Importer: MindWare, of Roseville, Minn.

Hazard: The powder in the kit marked “plaster of paris” is actually calcium hydroxide, which poses a risk of skin and eye irritation to children using the product.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recalled “Animal Tracking Explorer Kit” includes a bag of white powder marked “plaster of paris” which is actually calcium hydroxide. It also includes nature study tools and equipment (field lens, specimen jars and bags, labels, puff bottle, plastic gloves, spatula, cardboard strips, paper clips, mixing pot, tweezers, spoon, notebook) and Explorer Guide.

Sold at: The firm’s Web site, www.MindWareOnline.com, and by MindWare’s catalog from September 2007 through December 2007 for about $25

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled explorer kit away from children and contact MindWare to receive either a free replacement product or for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact MindWare at (800) 588-1072 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CT, or email the firm at custserv@mindware.com

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Yes Yes, I have finally gone and see the latest and greatest from the Lucas Speilberg collaboration. What can I say? I loved it. Was it the best movie in the series? Probably not. Did it grab me like Raiders? No. But it did grab me. I enjoyed the whole film from start to finish. The action sequence in the middle of the film was kind of drug out, but other than that no complaints. There were so many little things to pick up on, I can't wait to buy this film and watch it about 50 times. There was so much of Lucas packed in this film. The opening sequence with that Ford coupe, that car looked a lot like that yellow ride in American Graffiti. Lucas grew up cruising the strip. He thought he was going to race cars until a bad accident when he was 18. Good thing huh? Or when Indy declared "I like Ike!". It was true to the time of 1957.

So there were two other people in this flick I had to reserve my opinion on. Cate Blanchett and Shia Labeouf.. Well I really had no reservations about Cate. She is always a performer. And a looker too. Now I was never that big on Shia. Why? I can not put my finger on it. It sure isn't his body of work. I dug Transformers. What turned me around about the kid was The Greatest Game Ever Played, which you should watch with the US Open right around the corner. Now for his role in Indy 4, well at first I was not down with him being Indy's kid, but it fits. He pulled the role off great. So kudos to Speilberg for finding this kid. As for turning the franchise over to him, I think that would be a good idea. Another movie for him and Ford to pass the torch and who knows how many cameos Ford can do after that? Dude will be around forever.

All in all I loved it. I liked the attention to detail of the 50's. I liked the story. I liked the characters and the fact the original characters are still the same. And hat tip to Karen Allen for keeping herself together. Girl looks good for her age. And the alien aspect of the story isn't that far fetched people. At all. Dig? Alright thats about I got to say about that. Go see it.

Back to the grind....

Yep, sure am. Hey it was a great 4 days off. My wife and I got a bunch of stuff done. We finished putting the final touches on the home office and cleaned out a bunch of stuff that we have been putting off for awhile. And it looks good. Thursday we went down to OC with the daughter and we watched her ride all the rides at Trimpers that we used to. Talk about messin' with your emotions. It was super fun to watch and go through that with my wife. Our little girl is gettin' so big. But that ain't all bad, we get to do the big girl stuff with her now. We turned her loose on the beach, watched her throw sand, ate some Thrashers fries, got some Fishers popcorn, and beat the hell out of whack a mole. Plus the rides. She was a tuckered out girl. We did some more stuff over the weekend, but more on that later...

Monday Haiku

I am smellin like
a rose on my birthday death
bed. Dead and bloated.

Spring Haiku

mosquitos are coming
puddles litter the landscape
sundogs in the sky

Political Haiku

Obama o-eight
landslide victory for change
No Bush No Clinton

Spring Haiku

peppers and 'maters
green and growin in backyard
basil tickles nose

Vacation Haiku

Taking the time off
lots of fun with wife and child
beach, Thrashers fries, sand

Vacation.

You will not hear from me until Monday June 9th. Peace. Well I do have a string of Haiku lined up for you. They will post daily. Couldn't leave you totally out of the loop now could I?

I sooooo want it.

Anyone who knows me personally knows about my fetish for pocket watches. I still wear them. In fact I am pocket watchless right now cause I just tore my chain and clip up on my Field and Stream job. But this would be an idea replacement. See if I was rich this is the shit I would by. I am such a cracker.

The 9 Most Devastating Insults From Around the World.

The 9 Most Devastating Insults From Around the World | Cracked.com

Spring Haiku

wet air hangs adrift
humidity returns, yes
natures sauna lives

2008 Hurricane Season - Atlantic wide view IR sat

Great Day in the mornin! Or afternoon. How about g'day mate. Here is the afternoon shot of Atlantic activity. Pretty wet out there. Nothing to exciting. Fun to look at. All those pretty colors.

Sorry for the slackin and lackin in postin...

But all my free time has been chewed up with playlist.com. I found that and embedded that music player at the bottom of this blog. Now I can listen to my favorite crappy music, or close to what I like, just about anywhere. Love the free storage. So there it is, some more of me. More insights into my personality, more insight into what I listen to...I feel so naked...so exposed. Please stop looking at me. Stop it. Just listen to the music if you like....oh and you can thank me for not setting it on auto play. I don't like it when I get all jacked up by a loud site. Just click play.

More later....

Spring Haiku

Fast thunderstorms pass
heavy rains fall , the deluge
birds search for the worms

Impressionism Artist of the Week - Vincent Van Gogh

I know, I know, VVG is post impressionism. But that would have messed up my weekly header from auto prefill. And I can't do that because that would break up my routine. That would be like not drinking coffee in the AM. Which isn't right either. Back to our featured artist. Van Gogh. This is a little know piece called Orchard with Blossoming Plum Trees
(1888). I love it. Click on the image and study the brush strokes on this one. It will teach you something.

2008 Hurricane Season - Tropical Depression Arthur

Damn that didn't take long. Here is the technical skinny...

TROPICAL DEPRESSION ARTHUR ADVISORY NUMBER 7
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL012008
1000 PM CDT SUN JUN 01 2008

...ARTHUR DISSIPATING BUT POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINS CONTINUES...

AT 1000 PM CDT...0300Z...THE CENTER OF DISSIPATING TROPICAL
DEPRESSION ARTHUR WAS LOCATED INLAND NEAR LATITUDE 17.4
NORTH...LONGITUDE 91.3 WEST...OR NEAR THE NORTHWESTERN BORDER
BETWEEN GUATEMALA AND MEXICO ABOUT 95 MILES...150 KM...
SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF CIUDAD DEL CARMEN MEXICO.

THE DISSIPATING DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST AT ABOUT 6
MPH...10 KM/HR. THE REMNANTS OF ARTHUR ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
MOVING VERY SLOWLY SOUTHWESTWARD AND REMAIN OVER SOUTHEASTERN
MEXICO AND NORTHERN CENTRAL AMERICA DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 30 MPH...45 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. ARTHUR IS DISSIPATING INLAND OVER SOUTHEASTERN MEXICO.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1006 MB...29.71 INCHES.

ARTHUR AND ITS REMNANTS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN
ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES OVER PORTIONS OF BELIZE...
GUATEMALA...AND SOUTHEASTERN MEXICO WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS UP TO 15
INCHES. THESE RAINS COULD CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND
MUD SLIDES...ESPECIALLY IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN.

REPEATING THE 1000 PM CDT POSITION...17.4 N...91.3 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...SOUTHWEST NEAR 6 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...30 MPH.
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1006 MB.




So what are we looking at? That dense ass rain ball climbing on the land there. I gotta say thats probably going to be the theme of this season. Rain. Get you some boots now. Before some one corners the market on them and you end up paying to much. I had a feeling about this storm back in the day. Glad to see my storm instincts are still kickin. Kind like riding a bike i guess.

So over the weekend, we had a line of thunderstorm roll over us a few times. Down here in SoCo we had 3 such storms over the weekend. It was pretty darn fun. That stuff that came over Saturday was creepy. It looked and felt all tropical. And that sunset last night was blood red. Creepy part 2. Both were spectacular to see. I found a new way to be a storm junkie. I got this bad ass phone. It is more like a mini computer than a phone. But you can make calls on it so its a phone. And so much more. It can do all that crap the iphone does. I just don't get the hype over the iphone. Anyway this website has a mobile service that kicks ass for doppler on the mobile device. I was loving it. I could tell when the front was coming over to the 5 to 10 minute range. When the dense rain was coming. All that jazz. It was a learning experience. But thats what life is all about, the experiences. And I like to experience weather. And live to tell about it.

Hurricane Season 2008

Alright people. Today kicks off the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season. There is probably a lot of stuff you need to do to get ready. Don't slack. I want to try to keep this as daily as possible, so check back ofter. I want to start with some education. Here are some terms to know. We are going to start with the tropical range of storm variants. These are the storms I like to get outside and watch as the blow over. There will be a test on this at a later date.

Tropical Depression:

A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed (using the U.S. 1-minute average) is 33 kt (38 mph or 62 km/hr) or less.

Tropical Disturbance:

A discrete tropical weather system of apparently organized convection -- generally 100 to 300 nmi in diameter -- originating in the tropics or subtropics, having a nonfrontal migratory character, and maintaining its identity for 24 hours or more. It may or may not be associated with a detectable perturbation of the wind field.

Tropical Storm:

A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind speed (using the U.S. 1-minute average) ranges from 34 kt (39 mph or 63 km/hr) to 63 kt (73 mph or 118 km/hr).

Tropical Storm Warning:

A warning that sustained winds within the range of 34 to 63 kt (39 to 73 mph or 63 to 118 km/hr) associated with a tropical cyclone are expected in a specified coastal area within 24 hours or less.

Tropical Storm Watch:

An announcement for specific coastal areas that tropical storm conditions are possible within 36 hours.