Weather!

[orin stepanek]

Orin, do what I do: shop online!

I do for somethings; but I'd rather go to the stores. I feel more confident seeing what I'm buying.

[Sam]

Orin, I wish you would please just keep that stuff up there in Nebraska. We don't want it down here in Oklahoma.

Glad I don't live in the Twin Cities! They had 17 inches of snow in 18 hours!

I'm [mostly] glad I live in the Twin Cities! We had 17 inches of snow in 18 hours! Lots of fun to go play in [just not much fun to shovel cars out of].

I made a snow fort up on my roof to watch the Geminids from (blocks out some of the city lights and wind), but the only problem is the temperature: high of 5°F during the day, and my sleeping bag's only good down to 15°. I managed to stay out for about an hour last night until I couldn't feel my toes, and another half hour before realizing I'd rather walk than see a few meteors. Tonight I'll probably buy some foot/hand warmers.

[rstevenson]

Yesterday the temperature was -3C; this morning, +5C; this evening, +11C; by Wednesday night they say it'll be -6C. Now that's a serious C-saw of the sine-wave sort if I ever saw one.

Rob

[owlice]

It's 28F (-2C) right now in DC.

[jman]

Yesterday the temperature was -3C; this morning, +5C; this evening, +11C; by Wednesday night they say it'll be -6C. Now that's a serious C-saw of the sine-wave sort if I ever saw one.

Rob

Rob, last night we swung from -6 to +7 (C) in 3 hours. I love Calgary winters for this.

Environment Canada - Hourly

[Beyond]

Floridians are worried about freezing their fruits off. Many are going to be spraying a little water on them to make a thin ice coat and hopefully keep them from freezing. If it works, they can then look forward to tomorrow night when it may even be a little colder!

[orin stepanek]

I'm [mostly] glad I live in the Twin Cities! We had 17 inches of snow in 18 hours! Lots of fun to go play in [just not much fun to shovel cars out of].

I made a snow fort up on my roof to watch the Geminids from (blocks out some of the city lights and wind), but the only problem is the temperature: high of 5°F during the day, and my sleeping bag's only good down to 15°. I managed to stay out for about an hour last night until I couldn't feel my toes, and another half hour before realizing I'd rather walk than see a few meteors. Tonight I'll probably buy some foot/hand warmers.

Hi Sam! When I was younger and more resilient I used to frolic in the snow also! Now I'm older and not too resilient to the thermal drops one must endure out in the cold; and more apt to stay indoors unless I absolutely have to be out and about. We (my wife and I) are going shopping tomorrow. Somehow I hope to endure.

[emc]

As soon as the temperature drops below freezing… I’m ready for spring… life’s too cold below freezing…

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[orin stepanek]

Today it was raining ice. I stayed indoors except to let the dog out and to put salt down on the sidewalk.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[Céline Richard]

This is a very shocking video, i didn't know a patch of black ice could make the road so impassable
I hope there were only equipment damages, no injured people.

Céline

[neufer]

[b][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Feller]Bob Feller[/url][/b] (Nov. 3, 1918 – Dec. 15, 2010), <<The Heater from Van Meter>>

---

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

<<In 1911, the Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse was built at the eastern end of the extended western breakwater. The conical, cast-iron tower incorporated the keeper’s quarters and was fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens. In 1916, a one-and-a-half-story fog signal building was added. The fog signal was affectionately known as the “cow” because of the deep mooing sound it made. In spite of its whimsical name, the whistle was a valuable asset to sailors, as its signal penetrated twelve miles — two miles farther than the beacon on the west pierhead. The 1911 West Pierhead Lighthouse still welcomes vessels large and small to Cleveland with its modern beacon that flashes an alternating red and white light every five seconds.>>

[orin stepanek]

Hi Art! Light house becomes an ice house! Not where I'd want to live.

[Céline Richard]

Hi Art! Light house becomes an ice house! Not where I'd want to live.

I wouldn't like to live there, neither me , it might be a little bit noisy inside.

However, it is so beautiful, with the flying of the seagulls, the changing of light with the timorous sun's rays, and the huge waves sometimes taller than the lighthouse!
I would be glad to be able to sea an ice lighthouse like this one, near my home.

Thanks a lot for posting this video

Céline

[neufer]

However, it is so beautiful, with the flying of the seagulls, the changing of light with the timorous sun's rays, and the huge waves sometimes taller than the lighthouse! I would be glad to be able to sea an ice lighthouse like this one, near my home. Thanks a lot for posting this video

<<"The Light-House" is the unofficial title of the last work written by Edgar Allan Poe. Biographer Kenneth Silverman believes Poe began writing "The Light-House" between May and August 1849. The work was never officially titled. He did not live to finish it, and had barely begun it by the time of his death in 1849.

The story is told as a series of diary entries, the first being New Year's Day, 1796. The setting is somewhere near Scandinavia, possibly in the Norwegian Sea.

• On January 1, the narrator records that it is his first day in the lighthouse, and records his annoyance at the fact that he had a difficult time getting the appointment to man it, even though he is of noble birth. He records that a storm is in progress, and that the ship that brought him "had a narrow pass". He also dwells on the concept of being alone, and how much he looks forward to spending time alone, just him and his dog Neptune, so he can write his book. He briefly comments that he hears some echo in the walls, thinking they may not be sturdy, but catches himself and claims that his worries are "all nonsense", alluding to a prophecy made by his friend DeGrat, who got him the appointment to the lighthouse.
  
  On January 2 he describes the sea as being calm and uneventful, the wind having "lulled about day-break", and expounds on his passion for being alone.
  
  On January 3 he describes the day as being calm and placid, and resolves to explore the lighthouse. He again begins to worry about the safety of the structure, but tries to reassure himself. The last line reads, "The basis on which the structure rests seems to me to be chalk..."
  
  A heading for January 4 follows, but there is no text.

It is uncertain how the story would have ended and there is some debate if "The Light-House" was intended as a short story or a novel. Silverman speculates that the work might have been complete in its two-page form and the final blank entry implied the narrator's death. It is likely the last fiction work Poe wrote.

Themes of foreboding, isolation and paranoia are apparent in "The Light-House". Its style is very straightforward and plainspoken, in contrast to the more elaborate and decorated prose of Poe's earlier stories, implying a shift in Poe's writing style which the author did not live to realize.

Like many of Poe's works, "The Light-House" has been studied autobiographically. The lighthouse keeper, then, stands in for Poe himself, who is expressing his own feelings of being alone and isolated and questioning if he can survive. It is very similar in theme to the later and also unfinished short story "The Burrow" by Franz Kafka. Both involve a reclusive narrator who obsesses over the safety of his enclosure, though Kafka's work was much closer to completion and, consequentially, much more elaborate. Given the obscurity of Poe's story, it is very unlikely that Kafka had read it.>>

Art Neuendorff...

[Céline Richard]

"The Light-House" is the unofficial title of the last work written by Edgar Allan Poe. Biographer Kenneth Silverman believes Poe began writing "The Light-House" between May and August 1849. The work was never officially titled. He did not live to finish it, and had barely begun it by the time of his death in 1849.
(...)
Like many of Poe's works, "The Light-House" has been studied autobiographically. The lighthouse keeper, then, stands in for Poe himself, who is expressing his own feelings of being alone and isolated and questioning if he can survive.
It is very similar in theme to the later and also unfinished short story "The Burrow" by Franz Kafka. Both involve a reclusive narrator who obsesses over the safety of his enclosure (...)
Art Neuendorff...

I didn't know anything about this last work of Edgar Poe. The analysis is very interesting.
Indeed, if the lighthouse keeper stands for Poe, thus Poe might have experimented huge loneliness. Moreover, a sea storm appears to be dangerous: as one can't go outside the lighthouse, during a sea storm, one is likely to feel imprisoned. However, for someone on a boat, the lighthouse can represent a mark in a wild world, which can enable him to find his way until the shore, until home.
Thank you a lot Art (Neufer)

Céline

[owlice]

It is cold here, only 36°F, which is our forecasted high for the day. Windy, too. I'd like a bike ride, but with the wind, that's not going to happen.

[Céline Richard]

It is cold here, only 36°F, which is our forecasted high for the day. Windy, too. I'd like a bike ride, but with the wind, that's not going to happen.

Above all, a bike ride, while the ground is likely to be frozen, may be dangerous
Please Owlice wait for spring!

Céline

[owlice]

Oh, Céline, I ride in winter, too, on trails, not on the frozen ground! Not below 30°F, though; that's about as low a temperature I will ride in. Lower than that requires a suitable coat which I don't have! Sometimes I do run across little puddles which are unexpectedly crunchy, but if there is a lot of snow on the trail, I do not ride. It has been a few weeks since I have ridden and I am anxious for a ride (or two or three). Perhaps tomorrow will be better and I can ride then and I hope I can ride on Christmas, too.

[jman]

I'd also recommend a set of studded tires. Many people here ride well below freezing. I think they're nuts - to ride with rush hour traffic at 20 below zero, but they're always out there.

[owlice]

I'd have to be braver/own Gore-Tex to need studded tires! I'm a pretty wussy rider, though I'm trying to be better about riding at night and through the winter. I have thought about studded tires, but for most occasions where I'd need them, it's unlikely I'd be able to drive to the trail head, anyway, and I don't have the outerwear that would be required, either. I can manage with layering what I already have down to about freezing or just a bit below; into the 20s, though, and I'd need something more than what I have.

It's 43°F now, which is fine for riding, but the winds are 25-35 MPH, which is too windy for me. I don't even want to walk with winds like this, never mind ride!

[owlice]

...WINTER STORM WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
LATE SUNDAY NIGHT...

THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
LATE SUNDAY NIGHT.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE...SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS...POSSIBILITY OF 5 OR MORE INCHES.

Whose idea was this?!?!

[bystander]

Were you singing "White Christmas"?

[owlice]

NO!!! I'm hoping to get in a bike ride today (though at the moment, a nap appears a greater possibility); the incoming storm was supposed to miss us!

[geckzilla]

Oh, you're in DC? And you say a snowstorm is coming? That just means there's a global warming rally of some sort going on so that the news guys can take ironic pictures of them.

*post not meant to instigate a discussion on how the effects of global warming may lead to snowstorms*

[orin stepanek]

I walked a mile on my treadmill; burned 250 calories. I try not to take naps as they interfere with my overnight sleep; though I feel like it sometimes. I used to ride my bike outdoors; but I hate to watch out for the traffic. So I walk and bike indoors now. It's not as scenic; but I can always turn on the boob tube while I'm exercising.