A writer and a tropical muse. A funky Lubavitcher who enjoys watching the weather, hurricanes, listening to music while enjoying life with a sense of humor and trying to make sense of it all!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Signs of Possible Development in SW Carib
There are a few models that something may develop in the SW Carib in a few days and lift our way. The ones not predicting development are showing a moisture flow.
Hard to say.. but it would be the right place and the right time of year.
As for Miami today... nice, cool.. temps in the low 70s but moisture in the atmosphere, clouds.. gray... nice.
As for my house... the various members of the family are split in the political arenas but united in their passion for politics, news and wanting to make a different.
McCain has the right side of the driveway and Obama the left ;)
Most everyone has already voted early and thought it was interesting to mention that at work several people voted by absentee.. just easier.
Anyone that has an absentee ballot filled out can take it to their local polling place and move past the line and go inside, hand it to someone who marks it and put it in the box yourself! Depends on where you vote but at The City of Miami Beach City Hall you can let the guard know you have an absentee ballot and he escorts you up into the elevator and to the people upstairs and you bypass a long wait.. IF you have a filled out absentee ballot already.
Also.. when they send you UPstairs in the elevator.. know that depending on the order you are going INTO the elevator you end up in a different place in line. One lady who waited online for a long time got to the front of the line.. the guard told her to go in the elevator, she was first in.. and when the elevator opened and she came out she ended up at the back of the line upstairs.. not a perfect system.
The water is at the end of the line.. go figure, free bottles of water for your effort!
Got to go.. Shabbos is about to start here and it's party hardy time at the Meyer house. Kids have friends over for Shabbos and there is a Bnai Akiva Shabbotone going on as well.
Watch the SW Carib... give it a few days, we'll see.. would love to see a Paloma this year ;)
BOO! 92 L is STILL THERE... Tropically Active and Alive
Go figure..still alive, still has color and still there. Hanging in... can it go Boo tomorrow?
Time will tell.. I'm here, watching the news ..the endless news and thinking what to do today during my long lunch as I am working a split shift as we call it.
Didn't sleep much, woke up early... had coffee in the shower. This is the absolute best way to have coffee if you need to really wake up. If you have a place in the shower to put the cup of joe.. you make a great cup of coffee, turn the hot water on... stand there with the hot water raining down over your body and against your back and sipping the really great cup of joe... oh wow, coffee in the shower, telling you... the next best thing in life to a good cup of cafecito on Lincoln Road or watching a sunrise in Key West to start your day :)
Seriously, wouldn't it be wonderful if Starbucks delivered??
Tropical Illusion or Tropical Activity? You decide...
Getting down into the last days of the real Hurricane season here.. the final stretch, the final 2 days or so before we move past October All Over and into the Realm of Freaky November Storms...
There is an area in the tropics that begs any real tracker to look at a satellite and wonder on why the NHC gave this even a 20% sort of weak chance. And, the reason is because it is there... it's got color, it's been consistent over the last few days and even shows signs of some odd twisting factor..
Conditions are not really favorable, winds are strong across the basin and last night they insisted on the Miami local weather that it was pulling north and that our temps were going to be falling into the low 50s. The fact that they mentioned it at all during an early October Cold Spell shows how impressive a wave it really is..
But.. cannot see how it can do much except exist which in some way is a minor victory in itself as it really shouldn't be there and yet it is...
Is it an illusion? A ghost? A possible weak storm developing? Or just rain making it's way across the Atlantic Tropical Basin?
You decide... You loop it and if you do and it's still visible on the loop you tell me how that keeps flaring up despite everything being thrown at it...
Every storm has it's hour...whether it has a name or it is just stormy weather, it develops, it exists and it dies. Every storm has it's hour and as of this hour the wave is still alive.
I ignored it last night because I was tired and frankly wanted to wax poetic on the cold front but got interrupted when my best friend Magda came over to share a bottle of Alfasi Pinot Noir and discuss.. life. Hey, best friends are best friends and we have much to discuss. Life is big you know? That's how we get through life and death and everything in between... a bottle of good wine and a whole lot of honest talk. Good red kosher wine. So.. no post last night, but since our area of possible tropical development is ...STILL there and STILL has some color I am going to post now and throw it out to you and let you decide.
Shame.. love the name Paloma. Would love some Halloween storm named Paloma. What would it be? A gypsy? A flamenco dancer? A dove? A dancer... a kitten?
Doesn't this just look perfectly Paloma?
Or is this Paloma? A kitten or the lady? Which is it?
Will there be a Paloma this year? Don't know. Can't say. Am not sure.. Something to ponder while listening to the music...
Cold Front Moving Through... Tropical Development Look West? Alton Road Mess and Train Whistles In the Night...
Well... slight chance of something developing in the Epac but not sure if it will rain or spin... High in the Carib is pushing moisture west.. check it out
Cold front trying to move through South Florida. 72 degrees and winds out of the west...doesn't sound very tropical in Miami to me tonight.
I have the windows open, I can hear traffic far off in the distance on the expressway. Maybe.. if the wind shifts I can hear the train whistle blowing like I do in the winter.
Got a lot done today, not enough...
Went to Whole Foods.. which we used to call Wild Oats and got some Emergency Cs.. and a few things I was out of.. some tofu and delicious apples and waited by the Lakes of Alton Road for the S Bus..
I know they are working on the problem because they were set up by the sewers on the NW corner of the street with barricades. On my side of the block there was the swampy, bug infested marsh that has been there for weeks. Dry day, blue skies and yet the ground was still covered in month old water with things swimming in it and well... I imagine they have the dry season to get it fixed. Yes, I know the water was high this morning at high tide, my carpool friend mentioned it as we watched water oozing out through the mangroves onto Indian Creek again.
I know... I've mentioned this before but hey... doesn't standing water breed mosquitoes and create some sort of health concern if not just trashing up the neighborhood for the tourists?
Either way.. Wild Oats is gone and the new not so improved Whole Foods is not anywhere near as good. The coffee bar sucks these days..
So... back to the Starbucks on Lincoln Road I go.
It's officially a cold front.. Mendy, my 19 year old son just insisted I come outside with him and "feel how cold it is" before locking up the house. Yup, air moving in through my window... very cool.
As for Tropical Storms... there was one in Yemen this week.. just because it's not in our part of the world does not mean it's not storming somewhere else..
Story here... a very big tragedy unfolding and we have heard little of it on our side of the world as we worry on economics and the elections.
"SANA, Yemen - Flooding caused by a tropical storm has killed 90 people and displaced 20,000 others in southern Yemen, police and the World Food Program said Monday.
The WFP, which said 20,000 people were displaced, said it has been difficult to get aid to hard-hit Hadramut province because many roads were destroyed by floodwaters after Thursday's storm.
A police official said 90 people died and 24 farms were wrecked."
As for me.. I'm going to bed, back in Miami, back in my bed... back in my world.
Listen.. I Love L.A., I am a real Miami Girl.. but my boyfriend lives in North Carolina.. so ...what's a girl to do? Hmmmnnn?? Hey, he graduated from F.I.U. like me so ... go friggin' figure.. it's a small, small world and we are keeping it all connected on electronic beams that bind this bright beautiful new world we live in... on Planet Earth.
Check it out... another friend of mine from High School... the amazing Earthman..
www.earthman.tv
(was good to see a few of my old friends living up there, nice to have a Coral Park Reunion even if.. we weren't in South Florida.. Go Rams!)
72 degrees ;) and going south... down into the upper 60s ;)
Night..Bobbi
oh..............my goodness..... I hear the train whistle blowing :) Wow.. nothing like a train whistle blowing in the evening breeze..
There are no storms and no storms are expected to form.
Why? Because you see those fronts draped across the basin... they are signs of things to come and even though there is a small drop of color down near Cuba, it won't form but will just ride the front out to sea. It is possible though not probable that a storm can still form at the end of an old stalled front. But, for today... we are celebrating a cold front and the change of seasons. As the jets raced over my house on their way to Dolphin Stadium it occurred to me how low the clouds were outside...how wintery it looks in ways. I turned the AC off, opened the windows and told the kids to take the fan out of the sukkoth.
But, I wanted to share a few tropical tidbits though while sitting through one of the many commercials in the Dolphin Game.
This was posted by Fred at www.hurricanecity.com on the message board. Excellent read, worth reading and thinking on..
And... on www.flhurricane.com there is the topic "Back to Slow" which is .. well said in my opinon.
Enjoy the slow... sometimes things form this time of year but it has been my feeling we are ahead of time by almost a month and I think Omar's track was more a November Storm.
Going back to watching Ricky Williams run... and enjoying the game, the season I am in and keep watching those satellites but this is a good illustration of why October is usually All Over... but just remember the season does not end until November 30th... officially anyway.
I'll post as time allows... have some pretty pics from NC...
And.. yes I brought home colored leaves which sit near my conch shells!
Go Ricky Go... good to move on, forgive and live and let live :)
Besos Bobbi Ps.. Pennington and Porter aren't bad either ;)
Late October... Football, State Fairs, Politics and the Tropics
Well, kinda sorta back but my mind is still lost somewhere in between the Fall up north and a cold front about to move through Miami. Funny, the fall temps in Miami after the Cold Front passes through should be about the high daily temps of Raleigh while I was there... go figure. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective.
Last Sunday I was at the North Carolina State Fair..
Really.................
But.. am back in town in time for the Miami Dolphins to play Buffalo at 1pm.
Also back in town to see nonstop commercials for local races that are slinging more mud than you might see at a pig race on a wet day at the State Fair. Seems the State races are hotter in South Florida than the National ones that except for a few Obama commercials are almost non-existent in what is supposed to be a hotly contested race in a Swing State.
Quick political comment... move down past the paragraph if you don't want to read it. I'm a Palin girl personally. Sorry if that upsets anyone here but I believe in what I believe and I find it sad in today's world that to say you are not a liberal and are in ways conservative you risk being mocked and attacked as holding back the tide of the future and change. What kind of future remains to be seen. My politics are all over the place as I am for one thing, against another and some things mean more to me than other things. I am Pro Life except in the case of the health of the mother. Sue me... I mean seriously, one of my best friends is adopted, my cousin is adopted, my nephew is adopted, about 4 of my kid's best friend's are adopted (I seem to be an adopted person magnet) and had the mother's of these important people in my life simply aborted their babies I can't imagine how different my life would be. I don't think abortion should be used as a form of birth control and I have been friends with 2 girls who insisted to doctors in NY they were 3 months pregnant and were 5 months pregnant... I just think it's overused and the "back alley abortion world" is gone as today's kids use condoms as a part of sex more worried on AIDS and other diseases than my generation that took classes on venereal disease and were told we would have to take meds for 2 weeks to get over it. Today's generation is a different generation and sadly they are more savy on sex because they have to be and in today's world being a single mother is not considered the same as wearing a Scarlett A on your chest for life. So...don't use the back alley abortion scare tactic on me. I'm impressed with the fact that Sarah Palin is smart, beautiful, a m mother and able to govern a State all at the same time. And, her husband is cute too! Seriously.... this is who I am and had a long talk with my friend Magda and she also is a big Palin fan. A lot of women are and at work with other women who are very liberal they are afraid to say so.. but among others they are very proud of her. I am. That's where I stand. Another friend of mine asked if she could split the vote and vote for Obama and Palin. In this election people who are not Obama supporters are ridiculously afraid of saying they do not support Obama for fear of being called names... so many don't say how they feel. When someone wants to talk about it they always preface it by saying quietly "how do you feel about Palin?" and then when they see I like her and don't want to crucify them they let go miles of praise. That said... Biden has a good record on Israel which is important to me but I find him more erratic than McCain. I have respected McCain for a good part of my life and I like him. Yes, he is old.. much older than he was 4 years ago when he should have run and it bothers me he didn't then as it would have saved us 4 more years of Bush. Obama... is... an enigma to me. And, it's going back to the State Fair analogy like buying a pig in a poke. Who is he? Let him stay in the Senate a while longer and in 4 years or so I will know and maybe then I can jump on the bandwagon... as yet, I can't.. would like to, but just can't. I like Clinton but he was and is responsible for a lot of the problems we are having with trade... and other things yet I would have most likely voted for Hilary or Richardson and put aside my Pro-Life beliefs as I don't think we should vote for any candidate on the basis of ONE part of the platform puzzle but when you add them all together I do give more weight to Pro Life, Israel and Universal Health Care... not an easy decision for me or others in this country who are not knee jerk Democrats or Republicans. The world to me is not black and white.. it is shades of blue, green, gray, orange and purple... But, if you are pro-choice and you are a die hard democrat than vote for Obama... but don't trash Palin simply because you can and pretend it is not a sexist joke unless you are going to make some sexist joke about Biden or Obama or McCain. IF we want to see women succeed in taking part in the politics that run this country, serving as Senators, Governors and Presidents we need to stop trashing the women who don't agree with us politically and simply say .. I don't agree with her beliefs but I am proud of her and how far she is gone in what is mostly a man's world. And, in my world ..if you can look beautiful and smart so much the better, we shouldn't have to go down to a man's level and dress and talk like them to get ahead in the world. Let's see Obama, McCain and Biden walk on heels and keep on campaigning and we will see how good and smart they look and sound at the end of the day... Women need to support other women even if they don't vote for them, vote your beliefs, vote whats on your political platform but don't make fun of a woman who is trying to make it politically in the world and open up doors for your daughters to break through that infamous glass ceiling... don't vote for her but don't knock her just because she doesn't agree with you.. that is all I am saying.
Back to the weather... I think the hurricane season is pretty much over. I am not saying we can not have a stray storm form somewhere and race across the map but the upper level winds are howling as they say in time for Halloween and cold fronts to make their way through the State all the way down to my western window.
Winds are shifting today... Miami is tasting fall, football is on TV, the election gets closer and closer and you can vote early at a polling place or send in an absentee ballot. Do it... vote, vote your conscience and your heart and let's move on with putting this country back together as it is broken in so many ways.
Let's move on to Fall menus... soups and stews and chili and football games and the holidays.
I would say that sometime in the next 30 days a tropical system or quasi tropical system will pop up somewhere but I think the days of Cape Verde storms are gone. I think anything going towards land along the Atlantic Coast is over unless it's a Nor'easter.. or a backdoor cold front. I wouldn't count out some late season storm that rides up a cold front.. especially in a year where cold fronts are coming early but that window is closing fast.
Okay, so I don't see any real tropical development going on as pressures are rising in the area that was disturbed. It's still disturbed but not percolating :)
I'm in North Carolina having a very nice taste of Fall hanging with both old friends and new friends. Did the State Fair, took a walk down the cul-de-sac and stood in amazement as the wind blew and leaves rained down onto the grass in multi-colored hues dancing in the wind as they fell. It was pretty. I started taking pictures til I realized it does that a lot here and I can watch it anytime lol. But, it was a pretty moment, windy and blue skies and the grass and bushes are all green and only a few trees have begun to change color but enough for me to get a taste of Fall.
Met my friends at the Fair and walked around, we got lost from each other, reunited and planned lunch for today in the Sukkoth at their house. Dropped the teenage girls off at the Mall and went for lunch. Was nice.. see the pictures below of their sukkoth :)
A lot of UM fans up here at the fair wearing UM Sweatshirts for the UM Duke game. And, that is it for now from here from me to you.
If you are Jewish or so inclined visit your local Synagogue tomorrow night to dance with the Torah and hang with friends. Make a L'Chaim and have share the joy!
Love ya all, I'll be back on Thursday in the Tropics!
A very pretty yellow tree sits outside my window. It looks like that golden tree in the forest that my best friend Linda liked so much. I don't remember it's name, but the leaves were all golden.
So, it's fall and I am up north in Raleigh which is considered the deep south by the people here but it still begs the question.. how can something called North be Southern? But, it is.. very friendly people and houses with big wrap around porches and accents that drawl all the way to country kitchens.
And, I'm watching loops of the tropics far away. A coastal low will form off of the Carolina's it seems and continue moving away I think. Sun is coming out slowly, it's blue jean weather not flip flops and short skirts lol.
Watch the area of cloudiness around the Yucatan for possible development later this week. I don't see how anything could develop that strong as I don't think conditions are all that great but something weak could develop and wander it's way towards Florida maybe. A real strong maybe. A weak Floyd storm from 87 maybe... maybe..or go south of Florida towards Cuba and through the Straits. Just thinking out loud with my fingers. I don't really see it but the models do.. yet they see all sorts of different things. So, until they are looking at the same fantasy storm I won't worry on my few kids left back in Miami this week.
Omar was a storm for the record books, strong storm. As was the Redsox come back last night. But, can they do it again?
Time will tell.. keep watching as October is not really all over but the rhyme pretends it is..
Have a nice weekend. I'm busy with Shabbos North Carolina style and I'm not cooking, I'm on vacation.. feeling the Fall and the change of the seasons.
Besos Bobbi
Funny, when I was here this Spring the Yellow tree was purple. Funny how trees change colors up north.. or northern south. Well, you know what I mean ;)
Tropical Trouble In the Carib Again. And, Rain in Miami & on the Lakes of Miami Beach
Been a long day.... and it's far from over...
Woke up this morning to a threatening sky and jumped a jitney downtown for a rendezvous at Bayside. Went through a torrential, tropical downpour complete with flooded streets and thunder and lightning. Sipped a cup of coffee, wrote and watched the boats bob about in the Bay. Got to Miami Beach on the S Bus. The nice lady driving the bus looked at me when I told her I wanted to get off at Wild Oats and let me off in the middle of the block so I could wade my way down Alton Road trying to stay dry.
There was a small river running down the East Side of the street where high grass looked like the banks of a canal somewhere along the turnpike. Luckily, the water had not gotten so high that it was possible to get into Wild Oats. The lady at the register said she was happy as two weeks ago it made it up to her register. Does anyone get the idea that possibly there are just too many people on South Beach, too much new construction and the sewer system is not able to take it? Something is definitely wrong there.... Bought my stuff, got some good coffee and waited in the drizzle for the next S Bus to come and watched sweet old ladies trying to stay dry from the rain and away from the curbside puddles. Sweet lady, looked at me and shrugged and shook her head like it was just another part of living down here in this picturesque paradise.
Then Nana came and went. Not the old lady but the Storm... as predicted it fell apart.
Then 15 popped and looks primed to be Omar and to intensify. A storm watch has been posted for Puerto Rico as it is close by. It is supposed to catch a train to the NE out of the Carib if and I do mean IF the models play out. A very typical November track but in October again making me feel we are several weeks ahead of the year.
Paloma is hiding near the Central American coast if that too develops though where it would go is unclear.
Here's the pic... you see what you think.
Poor Puerto Rico, what is next for them this year?
In Florida a front is draped across the region making rain and making my Sukkoth wet (the little Jewish Tiki Booths we make this time of year for our holiday when we eat outside unless it's raining)..and threatening to make us eat inside for dinner. Hoping not, making chicken with Polynesian Sauce, CousCous, Vegetables, Soup, Gefilte Fish, Babaganush, Hummus and Fresh Salad for dinner with Challah and Wine (good merlot) so rain, rain go away come again another day.
Went shopping with Sharon at Publix for those last minute extra purchases, another soda, another hummus and came out to a crime scene. Stuck in the rain AGAIN, under the awning with a bunch of people trying to stay safe from the cops and the rain. 16 cop cars descended on Publix on 8th Avenue and 163rd Street for yet another day in the hood. Cops in bullet proof vests clutching their gun ran past as the entire parking lot filled up with rain and various types of cop cars like a segment of Smokey and the Bandit and then they came out with this kid... sort of semi hoodlum looking kid and semi lost student being caught skipping school. Took 4 cops to get him into the cop car, with his NMB Sr. High ID flying in the breeze or rather the rain. Then they laid out yellow tape everywhere, just behind Sharon's car and up and down 8th Avenue all the way to 163rd Street. Fire Rescue came, under cover cops, NMB cops. The nice guy in the yellow rain coat walked us out to the car which was about 4 feet from the yellow tape and loaded our groceries into the car. There is NOTHING on it in the news. SIXTEEN COP CARS! Sixteen..no it wasn't a movie.. seriously, I would know. Just another day in the Hood in NMB and a semi-normal trip to Publix! LOL. I'm sure that's normal.
Life in Miami is always like a cross between CSI Miami and Miami Vice, really...
Then again I live in a state where they are debating on putting the peacocks on birth control. Really... honest. And, Peta worries on Kapores and Postville. Here little peacock, we got a small little candy pill for you... Good thing they haven't tried to put the parrots on South Beach on the pill...
So.. stay tuned and keep watching the tropics if you live in the Virgin Islands or Mexico or who knows... it's 2008, almost 2009 and we are still in the hurricane season.
Still tracking after all these years...
As for me.. I won't be around the next few days as I am going offline for the Jewish Holiday of Sukkos.
Watch www.stormcarib.com for good local info on the possible Paloma or Omar, sure sounds like we are making a Rudolph Valentino movie here in the tropics.
Love you all, thanks for hanging in there and reading my blog and wading your way through the prose and the water on South Beach ;)
It's the whole truth, trust me.. I couldn't make this stuff up!!
Besos Bobbi and Happy Sukkos
Mendy made it.. even sort of decorated with the croton plants ;)
Tropical Storm Nana Forms So Far Away in the Atlantic
Nana formed this afternoon in the far distant Atlantic with a long winded discussion from the NHC that was almost hard to follow. Sounds almost apologetic.
"although the convective organization of the area of low pressure located over the eastern Atlantic has degraded some this afternoon...the system has maintained sufficient convection for a long enough period to consider it a tropical cyclone. During the afternoon...the center of the cyclone has become exposed well to the west of the large area of deep convection due to westerly shear. An ascat overpass from 12z indicated maximum winds of 30-35 kt. Given the typical low bias of this instrument...the cyclone is declared a tropical storm...the fourteenth of the 2008 season. The long-term survival of Nana seems bleak as strong upper-level westerlies are forecast to continue. All the intensity guidance shows weakening and so does the official forecast. The official forecast shows Nana degenerating into a remnant low in about 48 hours...but it would not be surprising if it occurred sooner."
That's from wunderground.com's site... http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/at200814.disc.html
Did this really start with a small "A" or is part of it missing one? All in CAPS on my cellphone on seahorse emails. Do forecaster's at the Hurricane Center forget to capitalize the first word in sentences? Can't imagine they do ... Probably some quirk in the wunderground world of weather. ;)
Oh Lord... what can I say?
Here today... gone tomorrow? Or will it sneak further west under the radar?
As mentioned several times here the area around the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico has been suffering small quakes on a daily basis. Seems they were a pre-shock and today there was a strong 6.1 Quake on the 90th anniversary of their strongest recorded Quake that was 7.3. We forget while watching the tropics how seismologically active this region is even though it's not in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Both Cuba and Jamaica are also prone to strong Quakes just not that often. Strange coincidence. Maybe there is something to their being an Earthquake Season. Who knows.. But, worth mentioning that PR has definitely had it's share of what Planet Earth has thrown at it this year.
Scroll down for the weather if you aren't interested in musing..
I have the TV on this morning and it's explaining to me the economy is falling apart and it's explaining to me that the campaigns of both candidates are basically in a free fall towards an election date in November. Obama is leading but he isn't really saying much or doing much and is playing prevent defense which readers of this column will know I hate. McCain is doing what he does best, old NFL football, trying to pick up yardage. Biden has been quiet, something about a death in the family which is sad but should he become President someday I would expect him not to disappear and Palin is either sinner or saint depending on your party affiliation it seems.
I like her. Let me go on record and think the way she is trashed is sexist as terms used to describe her by people who don't agree with her or who aren't Pro-Life would never use those words about a man. I'm sorry. It's true. And, she stands up for her beliefs and that is indeed what America is and that is our right in America to hold different beliefs from the state.
And, I campaigned for Kerry and I was harassed by thugs who were working on Bush's campaign and now when I am not campaigning for Obama I am harassed by my die hard democratic friends and told how old McCain is and who stupid Palin is...
She is neither stupid nor dumb she is one smart... woman. She manages to stay married to what appears to me to be a darn handsome man though admittedly I am predisposed to like Native American Men and has a large family (also like me ) and likes doing her hair and wearing heels and doesn't seem to feel she cannot dress and act like a woman and go out into the world and make a difference. She can walk and talk and think on her feet faster than Obama or McCain if you ask me however many here don't like what she says. That is your right. But, she is a great role model to me for my daughters because it shows them that they can go out and be both beautiful and smart. That to me is a BIG PLUS for women no matter what you believe on Pro-Choice or States Rights or the Best Way to Get Out of Iraq.
And, I agree with Bill Clinton who still continually amazes me every day. Not only can he speak and stir people's emotions and intellect.
Clinton said the other day in an interview he is tired of people defaming politicians running for office. Why can't people simply look at the views, platforms and choose, decide and vote. Why do they have to speak negatively about the candidate they support. It was a long speech and I am too pressed for time to google or youtube it but it's out there. He thought all 4 people on the platform were smart, intelligent people but it's about choosing the platform you believe in the most.
That to me is the bottom line with this election.
Anyone can point out what is wrong with this country. Obama inspires. McCain has experience. Palin has real potential. Biden has had a lifetime of work in the senate as has McCain. Read the bios. Read the platforms. Make a decision and let's GET ON with this whole process. I'd say move on but don't want to be accused of joining Rob Reiner's party. (giggling, private joke, haha)
This country has problems. We have cars that burn on gas that we shouldn't be burning to begin with.. If the big automakers go down maybe it will be because they are part of the Greed Game.. big oil, big gas guzzlers and how many people..single men do I know who are out there riding the newer better bigger vans. Can someone explain THAT to me? Is that a sign of machoness or what? If you are a soccer mom or father than I can understand. I see more young men driving around in these big vehicles supporting countries overseas. What is so friggin wrong with a car that fits you and possibly your date or your dog or your pals? Why can't people take the bus places? Why can't people ride a bike? Walk?
Why do we have to live so far away from our jobs? Why do we have to drive half way across the state to shop at IKEA or spend our lives in Walmart instead of some small neighborhood store? Where have all the neighborhood stores gone? Where have all the small jobs gone? Overseas. Outsourced. I have to call T-Mobile today and pray I get someone who doesn't apologize ten times in the conversation, use the word "actually" fifteen times and then tell me his name is "SHAWN" yeah right, Shawn with an Indian accent.. Pakistan or the ever popular Iceland. Help!
We need a hero and unfortunately none have shown up this year and the market is in a free fall that I think is more panic generated than anything else but then panic drives the car that the gas companies make money from..
We need to stop, breathe and think.
And, a good hero would help.
Wanna know two heroes I have this year in the not so political realm?
Ronnie Brown.. for his energy and hard work that has helped spark the Dolphins Comeback and I'm sorry he got fined $10,000 for his little short, small victory dance that neither taunted the other team or was a big distraction during the game. It made my game.. it made the Dolphins better and do we really in this economy need to fine a pepped up player $10,000 for doing the smallest dance in the endzone after scoring? Why not make him do community service hours supporting some charity?
As for the WEATHER PART ... we are in a transition. There are some yellow areas out there high lighted by the NHC but ... not sure if they will develop and if they do if they will turn out to be anything. We'll see. It rained, the windows are open and the air feels different.
I'm going to work.. just leaving you with this thought... we need a hero, a real hero in actions and deeds not just in inspiration. Inspiration may turn the engine on but the car needs gas to drive .. until we find a way to work with electricity or magnets or something... we are a big smart country, this shouldn't be sooo hard!
We need a hero in this country and a hero with morals, with a plan and with a purpose because we are in a holding pattern until we find one... with the economy, with terrorism, with a need for new energy forms and with so many things I can't even list like cities too big and our infrastructure too large .. we need a hero. Here's hoping to you finding a hero in your life and not talking just politically... or meteorologically!
As for me.. hoping you all have a good sweet year and all your prayers were answered. Even Rob Reiner :)
Though some of his moisture may move back across the United States down the road.
Really beautiful storm to watch spin, safely away from our world.
The first big report by Gray for 2008 season was 13 storms I believe. He updates a lot but I found his report last night going through things. We are at 13.. for those of you who are tropically tired I think we are at the end of the road. Not sure if there will be one last big storm but think we are winding down. Yes, models still lust for a Cape Verde Storm but the rhyme goes October All Over and we are getting closer to all over.
We'll see.
For now... watch Norbert Spin.. and know the waters over in the Pacific are warm... very warm.
Raising the El Nino Flag here and want a reason to put it back up on the shelf? We'll see.
Besos Bobbi Ps easy fasting to anyone fasting for Yom Kippur. Long ago in 1926 the Great Miami Hurricane Made Landfall as Jews were going to temple for Kol Nidre.. talk about a Day of Judgement that year..and praying to be kept in the Book of Life. Talking Hebrew Calendar, of course... Easy fasting!
Marco Maintains Tropical Storm Status - Is El Nino Hiding in the Wings?
Marco has been maintaining tropical storm status nicely and is quite strong within it's 4 or 5 nautical mile wide area. This beach in Tuxpan could feel it if it passes overhead. Pretty beach for lovers to walk down..or for loners to walk down, which ever you are .. a lover or a loner it's still a beautiful beach.
Marco is what is called a Midget Cyclone. No jokes. Really.
"midget tropical cyclone—A tropical cyclone with a radius to the outermost closed isobar of 100– 200 km.
These cyclones can support hurricane-force winds with central pressures significantly higher than larger storms."
The above definition is from the AMS Glossary. It's a weather thing.. American Meteorological..
Anyways... it's going to move towards land. Small systems like this are not easily affected by steering currents so the path will not vary much from what is expected.
Small little red dot in the Bay of Campeche but it's there and the NHC attended to it as they should. Listen it's like looking at a thumbtack on the floor. It's a small, small little thing and can go unnoticed for days, weeks but should you happen to step on it..that little pointed object can really hurt and get your attention. Small or Huge it's nice to know the NHC is busy doing their thing.
Another interesting tibdit of trivia here I am going to mention is that their has been a lot of activity in the Puerto Rico area and Caribbean of minor earthquake activity. I checked to see if there was anything in Mexico and again this season noticed how much minor activity is in going on around Puerto Rico. Not sure if this is a prelude to something or just normal shifting and shuffling of the earth's surface down there. Like a dance..
As for trends... the epac is busy and there are tropical systems off the West Coast of Mexico. There is also a slight rise in sea surface temperatures there. And, this strong ongoing flow from SW to NE across the Caribbean/Atlantic region that is there even without strong frontal boundaries.
Very indicative if you ask me of El Nino... about to come out of hiding.
I don't know. I read a lot of academic meteorological stuff ;) I watch graphs. I hear the pros and the cons. Mention El Nino and it's like starting a Presidential Debate. Everyone has an opinion. This to me is a sort of gut feeling based on what I am seeing that we are moving out of a neutral phase towards an El Nino phase.
We'll see. Supposed to form as we enter into the Winter season which is why it is called El Nino. "The name El Niño, from the Spanish for "the little boy", refers to the Christ child, because the phenomenon is usually noticed around Christmas time in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of South America.[1] " From Wiki...
When I was in school that was the answer we gave in meteorology class. The little boy who shows up around Christmas time like Christmas Lights lighting up the East Pacific however sometimes it doesn't go away when it's time to take the lights down.
Tropical Storm Marco Forms, Rapid Intensification for the Small Storm
In meteorology size does not matter. If something is a closed system with strong winds whirling around that center it is a bona fide storm and in this case named Marco. Possibly small after his namesake Marco Dane (we know what soap the gang at the NHC watches... )he will cause trouble for someone in his path.
Small storms have the ability to intensify rapidly and he has done so all afternoon and they have issued a Hurricane Watch in case the trend continues. So small, cradled there like a circle children drew on the map with crayons yet it is very real, very windy and yes... very small but it has a name.
Good link posted to some info on Hurricane City Message Board:
Excerpts from the NHC Discussion tells a kind of dramatic tale of a quickly put together flight into the storm, very impressive actually. Sort of like a NHC version of the Wild Cat formation it seems, no huddle, let's do it and fly it and get the info. Impressive that they acted so fast with little notice.
"Marco could be near hurricane strength as it approaches the coast...and accordingly a Hurricane Watch has been issued for a portion of the Gulf Coast of Mexico. It should be noted that if the current intensification trend continues...it may be necessary to issue a Hurricane Warning later this evening."
"We thank the 53rd weather reconnaissance squadron for their quick response to our short-notice request to investigate this storm."
So... a storm this small that forms in the morning can indeed near hurricane force winds by the evening. Small storms have their own quirky dynamics that allow them to do things big lumbering storms cannot.
For those of you who love lighthouses, read on about the Veracruz Light house or tower, reminds me a bit of the Freedom Tower in Miami or one of those beautiful old buildings in St. Augustine.
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/mxg.htm
Look at these satellite images of Marco. On Dvorak you can see the intensity of his inner core yet look over at the State of Florida... that central core is smaller than Lake Okeechobee. It's a small storm. It's powerful. Small but powerful. Like an angry killer bee I suppose.
A list of some storms that have hit Veracruz. Personally, I was always partial to Roxanne.
To quote from the Wikipedia Link posted below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracruz
"Veracruz as the entry point for conquest, became the principal point of communication and harbor between Spain and New Spain. From this port were shipped many products to Europe like cotton, rice, wheat, domestic animals, gun powder, textiles, wine and all the considerable produce from this rich colony and particular territory."
Now you know something about Veracruz other than it being the site of romance novels and recipes for great fish dishes..
As for the One Life to Live link to the boys at the NHC..
Think on this... these names are used on the various lists.
Marco Karen Dorian Vicky Victor Rene Erika (vicky..) Katrina (now off the list) Larry Danny Sam Wanda Vince
This does not take a brain surgeon here and there are a few names that have been retired... and seems they were not fond of the Buchanan Clan (no Clint? no Cord? Hmnnnn)
Hmmmmnnn
Some storms have only one life to live and others... stay on the lists year after year.
Enjoy and hope you all reading this are able to ride out the financial storm affecting our country. Shame we don't have any good models to forecast what will happen next.
Be well.. Bobbi
Then again... Marco went over to General Hospital and he did a few lifetimes didn't he? Some models have Tropical Storm Marco making it to the Pacific however I have a problem with a storm that small making the crossing...but well.. hate to count out a storm named Marco...
That mass of convection hanging down around the Yucatan finally formed into something official in the Bay of Campeche.
Here's the official word and it is forecasted to possibly become Marco if it follows the forecast.
"AT 1000 AM CDT...1500Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION THIRTEEN WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 19.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 94.1 WEST OR ABOUT 140 MILES...220 KM...EAST OF VERACRUZ MEXICO.
THE DEPRESSION IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 10 MPH...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT DAY OR SO. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER WILL BE APPROACHING THE COAST OF MEXICO LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY TUESDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MPH...55 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...AND THE SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO BECOME A TROPICAL STORM PRIOR TO LANDFALL."
Not sure it will get a name but probably. It's small but it's viable and definitely got a tight little circulation.
Will the Wild Cat Formation Get the Miami Dolphins a Wild Card Slot?
You just never know.. there's something about the Dolphins this season that is making me believe again that anything is possible.
Not much tropical to talk about but it did rain at the Dolphin game as a result of moisture hanging around the frontal boundary but hey.. blue skies are beginning to shine again as the Fins Win and make it 2 in a row meaning... we have a winning streak!
To the fans of the Miami Dolphins this was like a Category Two Hurricane spinning wildly through the Caribbean and about to break Category Three Status.
This is big! This is major! This is news.. and I am happier than I thought I could be this season or this lifetime.. again ;)
Let's look around the web and see what people were saying and are saying about the Dolphin's game with San Diego.
First we have the Miami Herald, trying to be cool and rational and not assume they could use the Wild Cat formation two weeks in a row and win with it!
Well, this article was WRONG... seems they can and did rely on the option of the Wild Cat so much so today that I heard announcers referring to them as the Miami Dolphin Wildcats ;)
Go figure.. it wasn't a fluke! Lightning can hit twice!
I knew they should win when they held the Chargers on that fourth down play. That was awesome. I screamed. Even I couldn't believe they did that. When Ronnie Brown started dancing with his team mates in the end zone like they were College Players hyped with a win over the old rival except this was just another team, not some big rival but the Fins were playing with their heart and soul and as my brother emailed me, they came to play. They played tough and hard football. Like some cross between an great old college team and some old great NFL team. They didn't give up.
They faked, they ran, they passed and when all else failed they manage to get a first down on a interception call. Even last chance measures worked and when things are working well they are working wonderful.
Was a wild game. Wild Cat formation works just fine for a team that is coming together on many levels and has depth again and fine coaching.
Let the return kick guy work as a receiver. Let Ronnie Brown pass a few. Pennington plays carefully. This is a team that is rocking steady and whether in the rain or in the sun they are playing like the old Miami Dolphins.
My 14 year old son who doesn't have many memories of the Fins being a winning team texted me during the game from his friends house with every play.
Best text of the day was "Its like their not the dolfins"
They do to me... they look like the Dolphins I always loved and always will. Love comes again this year in 2008 and wondering how many games we will win and what our impossible chances are for even making it into the Wild Card Slot using the Wild Cat Formation :)
Who knows? Sometimes dreams do come true ;) if you only believe...
There is an area under investigation by the NHC but it's a sort of long range, watching it on satellite, if it improves we will raise the orange flag but for now a big, wide yellow circle in the SW Carib.
Yellow... for slow down, you move to fast... the flow over the top of the area of convection is moving too fast, got to make the convection last.. just conga down the cobblestones, looking for fun and feeling groovy. Giggling. Boy does Yellow forever remind me of Peter. It's even that sort of pale yellow. Not exactly a color that screams "Hurricane on the 11 PM News!" More for entertainment purposes only...
Check it out at NHC Central. www.nhc.noaa.gov
Yellow.
I see it. It's there. I also see strong winds zooming over it and making it awfully hard to get anything going.
Something formed the other day, looked good and was blown away. Why will this area be any different is what I want to know. I think we are going zonal... seasonal, think the hurricane season is getting away from us but maybe I'm speaking too fast. Have to watch a bit longer before I can say that for sure. An October storm.. yeah, an November one.. probably but think the real heat is off and oddly there is still activity in the Epac. I am almost wondering if El Nino is hiding somewhere, lurking around somewhere.
Down near South America is a nice Westbound Wave that I think may cross over into the Pacific and do something there.
A Mid-Atlantic Wave being blown apart by a beautiful upper level low. If we had a hurricane as strong as that upper level low.. we'd have a tropical show going on.
Another wave far out that even the Canadian model is having problems really developing.
Boy, you know it's a slow day when the Canadian model looks blech..
As for me.. going to work. Going to go watch the parrots fly and get some Starbucks to start my day, back on my diet, High Holiday Sweet Days over. Gonna make soup for dinner, and pick up some Hummus at the CVS on Lincoln Road, get some veggies at a bodega somewhere on Washington with a shot of Cuban Coffee and cannot wait for the weekend to read, relax and plan out the next few weeks of my complicated but fun life.
This is my shabbos reading... gonna curl up out on a lawn chair in the backyard and read a printed copy of this.. it's a keeper. I love MJO info almost as much as I love Java Joe...
Thank God It's Friday ...
Will update if I see some need to...
Have a great one.. Bobbi
Ps.. Bradford S. Barrett, Lance M. Leslie, great names.. great minds, great alliteration. I should do some writing over the weekend. Real writing, been coming down with it all week like a bad case of the measles. Words and phrases keep weaving their way into my mind.. like when you want to go Pier One and it nags at you that something is there if only you go take a look.
1st Thursday In October in the Tropics & Miami Beach
There are a few waves out there and areas of interest that people are watching. But, nothing much is really going on.
Some of the bigger topics being discussed are:
Dr. Gray's Forecast. Not giving away the ending..read it yourself, the link is below!
http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/
Dr. Gray's forecast for the month of October which is put together by Dr. Phil, not the other Dr. Phil who does the self-help shows or Punxsutanwney Phil but our Dr. Phil Klotzbach the weather Dr. Phil who works his hardest to bring out the CSU/Dr. Gray Forecast we have come to know and love.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_J._Klotzbach
Phil is the one of the right, with reddish hair. Not to be confused with Dr. Gray who is beginning to look like Sting..the musician not the bee. Bzzz..anways...
If you aren't happy with that... try this one:
http://www.punxsutawneyphil.com/
Next... there are a lot of people unaccounted for still from Ike and there is a question of a few hundred people who are still missing. Were they washed out to sea or did they get out at the last minute to safety and never thought of calling the local news media? Are they floating somewhere at the bottom of the Gulf Of Mexico? Will we find bits and pieces of their lives the way we are Steve Fosset?
Yes.. people are talking on Steve Fosset whose plane seems to have been found..or parts there of as it slammed into a mountain. Where is Steve remains the question? Like the missing people from Galveston and Bolivar Peninsula?
Then there are the waves.. one out in the Atlantic and one in the SW Caribbean Sea. Historically I don't love that area as I find it hard.. to ummm really pin down and every will of a wispy cloud seems to be a big tease and nothing much ever happens and yet... in October.. November you get these systems that do form and zoom off to the NE or ENE out towards Open Water..
I don't know.. I don't see anything really forming to write home about but maybe in a few days, beginning of next week?
None of these waves have formed completely nor have they decided who to vote for but so far they are debt free and not being affected by the economy so ..that's good.
As for me... I'm working late tonight and then going home to watch the debates.
Rosh Hashona was sweet, wonderful, beautiful.. nice, one of the nicest I have had in a while.
May you all be blessed with a beautiful, happy year..
I'll be back tomorrow.. if and when I can find something to write about that is topically tropical!
Bobbi Ps..
view of the trucks out on Miami Beach ...water has receded and they had the video trucks out checking out the sewers I suppose.. don't think all is that well in paradise but the City isn't saying if it isn't!
Location: Miami, Raleigh, Crown Heights, Florida, United States
Weather Historian. Studied meteorology and geography at FIU. Been quoted in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post & everywhere else... Lecturer, stormchaser, writer, dancer. If it's tropical it's topical ... covering the weather & musing on life. Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/#!/BobbiStorm
