Trust

Usually I follow Weather.com for my forecasts.

I’ve been following the Weather Channel since it was just 24 hours of Doppler radar.  On a rainy day, Dad and I could site forever, just watching the sweep of the radar change the precipitation pattern.  And if there was a tornado watch in affect?  We were rapt looking for that hook echo.

I’ve got the Weather.com app on my phone and have a couple bookmarks for my browser.

But today I get up in Santa Cruz, and I hear rain on the bathroom skylight.  I look out the window and I see rain.  What does Weather.com say?  It’s cloudy.  Cloudy until 8 this morning with the dun coming out later.

So I pull up the back-up, Wunderground.com.  Weather Underground says that it’s likely to rain until 3 PM today.  Now, yes, I’m pulling for rain because I can go home sooner, but still…  How do you get such discrepancies?

We also have a meteorologist working for PG&E who gives us periodic forecasts so that we can be prepared for days like today.

I have an acquaintance who is a meteorologist.  I met him when I bought a DSLR camera from him.  Later, I bought a tripod.  He get interviewed often by the Bay Area news shows.  I respect that there is a lot that goes into being a certified meteorologist as opposed to a weather girl in a tight top and skirt.  We all just wish we could be wrong as often as some forecasters are.

Asymptocity

Okay, so I never was really racing to post things, but lately I’ve certainly decelerated.

It’s been hard with the extreme routine of life for the past twelve weeks to come up with something new to post.

I’m still working my way through the Dune series.  I have to admit I’m excited that the next book will be back in the original series, but I’ll be taking another break in the stride to read Terry Pratchett’s new one (Dodger).

I have watched a few movies lately.  “Men in Black 3” was a fun, tight little time travel movie.  “Apollo 18” was so so.  “The Dictator” was a typical Sascha Baren Cohen movie.  “Seven Psychopaths” was a whole lot of fun.

This weekend, it sounds like I’m probably going to see “Skyfall” and we’ve got tickets for 12/14 to see ‘The Hobbit”.

Clever, You're Not

This post goes out to all if the DJs who think it is the height of comedy to play "Here Comes the Rain Again" by the Eurhythmics.

It isn't, and we're tired of it.

Just stop.

Wheels

Today I went for a bike ride.  I fear one of the last for a while unless the weather is nice on the weekends.  Sure I’ll keep riding between work and the hotel, but with the time change tonight, it’s going to be too dark in the evenings to go for a long ride in Santa Cruz.

I managed to get to the Natural Bridges Park twice, and that was cool.  Today, back at home, I made it to Costco and back in exactly an hour.  I was a great ride with minimal wind, and perfect temperature.
On my way back home, I started thinking of my past pedal powered vehicles.

I never had a Big Wheel, but I did have a little red tricycle.  I can remember riding around the subdivision with my parents.  they still talk about how I would pedal hard to keep up with them.

Then, when it was time for something better (with training wheels), I got a yellow Schwinn.  I believe it looked something like this.  Except mine was yellow.

Then, for 1976 and the bicentennial, Schwinn made a special Spirit of ‘76 version of the Stingray.

Then for my 10th birthday, I got a Raleigh Rapide 10-Speed.  I had that bike until I went to college.  And it got stolen the first week.

That year for Christmas I got a Peugeot.  (Yes, Papaw, a Poopy-Joe).  I had that one for several years until it got stolen as well.

Then dad gave me his old bike, and I rode it a little, but I never really took the time.

Then Jennifer met the owner of Citizen Chain, and got her red bike (later stolen).  A few months later (with my some of my severance money from ETIC), we bought me my bike.  It got stolen once, but I took it back, as you’ll remember.  And now, it will probably be the bike I’ll have for a long time.

Unless of course, I decide to have the guys at Citizen Chain make me up a bike special.

Good Eye, Bad Eye

Have you ever had one of those mornings when the thoughts going through your head while putting in your contacts could be used in a spy or police interrogation?

If you relax this won't go so hard on you.

Don't fight it; we'll just have to start over.

Are you trying to be difficult?

See, now wasn't that easy?