SOMEBODY PLEASE INFORM MOTHER NATURE

It's December, for God's sake. DECEMBER.

Comments

[John]

Michigan is looking pretty good right now...

[HooBert]

Michigan, Schmichigan, John. Come to Virginia- no earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis or (usually) blizzards.

[TCK]

This is what it looks like this morning in my neck of the woods - roads are treacherous, temp's at about 10 above (it's gonna get all the way up to 13) - and still - I'll take this over a hurricane any day...

[Powerhungry]

That settles it. We must add Mother Nature to the Axis of Evil.

NUKE HER!

[LabSpecimen]

This is what it looks like from my office window, here in beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio!

[John]

HooBert...we don't have any of that stuff either. But when we do have blizzards, the snow removal team is slightly more than a guy in the back of a truck with a pile of salt. ;-) We got four inches last night. And nobody noticed.

[Somewhere North]

Personally, I blame the Japanese mafia. NOTE TO DONALD (Conspiracy Theory) RUMSFIELD AND DICK (I like to bomb things) CHENY: Please don't bomb Japan. They make great cars, great electronics and they are really sorry about the whole Pearl Harbour thing and they never liked Saddam anyway...

[Eli]

Hey, at least people are starting to learn Greek letters! Now *that's* a really useful skill these days.

[LadyBug]

I'd be happy to. What's Mother Nature's email address?

[ceeg22]

at least in Michigan we're not crippled by an inch of snow!

[KOW]

Okay, the hurricane season OFFICIALLY ended on Monday. This came from higher up. Who was responsible for sending Mother Nature the memo? Whoever (s)he is, (s)he's fired.

[southerngirl]

In my area it is actually cool enough today that I had to wear shoes.

[Suzy Q]

*huddles in a small corner in Miami, clutching bottles of bleach and water*

[southerngirl]

Suzy Q - what about the beer?

[Somewhere North]

What did Florida do to tick off God? Must have been that last election....

[Shell Answer Man]

Heads must roll.

[Suzy Q]

southerngirl, I'm not a beer drinker, my poison is red wine, which is really good for hurricanes, since it doesn't need chilling.

*makes note to stop at Publix and buy LOTS of red wine, just in case*

[gjcjax]

What I don't get is why the US National Weather Service is naming these things after Greek letters? How about we meet in the middle somewhere... like Pig Latin.

ps. I'm a Michigander also, but converted to a Floridian Hurricanian. Not sure which is worse.

[TCK]

southerngirl - I truly feel for you, having to wear shoes and all...would it cheer you up if I mailed you a box of snow?

[southerngirl]

a box of snow....is that code for "parfait?"

[Andy Williams]

Try to remember the winds of September
A hurricane was named Katrina
Try to remember the winds of September
That violent sister whose name was Rita
Try to remember, season ends in November
If winds once so tender, now blow and billow
Try to remember, and if you remember, then hunker

[djtonyb]

pssst, southerngirl, parfait would be a box of green stuff...

[Eleanor]

*zips in*

I heard that someone on this thread was passing out parfaits.

*raises hand*
Me too, me too!

*hangs around with outstetched hand*

[Eleanor]

Sheesh!

outstretched hand.

[southerngirl]

The answer is "YES". And the box of snow can be white, or green. As long as it isn't yellow. ;)

[ArcticAl]

Of course it's cold in Florida with the next hurricane forming off shore. I came down to Orlando for a conference for the last two days from Canada, so the weathers got to be crappy. There's a frost warning for tonight for god's sake. Meanwhile everyone back home thinks I'm languishing in a hot tropical paradise laying on the beach. It always happens when I come here. My apology to Floridians for coming without giving you enough warning to stock up on storm supplies.

[azred]

yes - it IS winter. it's plumeted all the way to 70 degrees farenheit here during the day.

*ducks flying sack of nickles*

[southerngirl]

azred ~ are you my neighbor?

I believe it's going to be 80 degrees here tomorrow.

*goes to closet to find bikini*

[U.O]

All that I hear from My Bride (Remember Her?) when I phone home from rainy, foggy and chilly SoCal is

It's cold ... shut up!

(No, not really, but she's belaboring the obvious ... I remember that it's usually a lower temp. in Bismarck than in Pico RIvera, however, all things considered, I'd really rather be there than here ... except that the job takes me here ... greed can be a funny thing ... eh?)

(Of course, I gotta have a job to pay for the heating bills, right? Except, I'm not there to enjoy the home fires ...)

Sorry about the rant ... just ... ... ... nothin' ...

[southerngirl]

U.O., you just go ahead and rant, darlin'.

So, does Your Bride ever feel the urge to join in our lunacy?

[U.O]

sg -

No, not really ... she accepts -- even tolerates -- my enthusiasm for the blog and this whole crew, and will listen (occasionally) to my request that she enjoy a particular gem of the moment from the blog ... but she's not much into the 'net except for email to me and the kids ... and QVC ... and Old Navy ... and (I'm fairly sure) several other sites ... NTTAWWT!!! ... I'm glad she enjoys that part, but she works away from the house (has an efficiency, rather than drive 80 miles to work -- one way -- every day) and so doesn't see the computer until the weekend ...

However -- I think she is comfortable -- even pleased, perhaps -- that she knows I'm having fun, and meeting new friends and so on ... yadda, yadda, yadda ...

Sorry. End of TMI ... (you did ask, so I hadda explain some of the whys and wherefores ...)

[Jacki]

We think this is bad. I saw a show on one of the nature/history/science channels the other day that basically stated that every thing from the Dark Ages to buring witches at the stake to the Irish potato famine was caused by a 4 degree drop in global temperature. The moral of the story was that we are due for another one any time now.

See here for the basic gist. I think the show was called Little Ice Age for those that have TIVO/DVR and want to see it.

[Jacki]

Suzie Q: God how I miss Publix. As fate would have it my supervisor lived in Ft. Lauderdale for 30 some years before moving back to KY and the majority of my professors received degrees from FSU in my hometown of Tallahassee, FL. We speak often of Publix in the same way other people speak of the dead.

My supervisor, discussing the lettuce selection here, stated to me the other day, "Of all my friends in Florida, I miss Publix the most."

I'd kill for a loaf of the plain sub sandwhich bread...20 days until I am there for Christmas and eating my way through the store.

Neither rain nor sleet nor tornado nor hurricane will keep me from shopping at Publix!

[U.O]

Jacki -

REALLY interesting reading, about the LIA ... however, should we interpret this to mean that global warming is not a bad thing? (Not trineta be sarcastic here, just really wondering in a serious -- well, semi-serious -- manner ...)

[Eleanor]

Michigan is looking pretty good right now...
Posted by: John | 12:13 PM on December 2, 2005

Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw...

[marlodianne]

U.O.: Global warming is a misleading name actually, because people tend to assume it stops there. I hear so many people say, 'oh a couple of degrees warmer! That's a GREAT thing! Bring it on!'

Argh.

What actually happens is, besides the ice caps melting which chucks anybody living under *current* sea level underwater (a huge portion of the populated world, as well as the food supply), is that the weather goes insane. Completely unstable. And while the universe always aims to entropy (chaos), the planet will try to stabilise itself, the only way it can.

Cue up: An Ice Age.

This happened in our own history. Not in our written history, but it's in the geological record, when man was already wandering the planet. Of course, we assume that one wasn't triggered artifically (see noted chaos<->eqilibrium<->order problem).

To add to the fun, most scientists argue Overshoot. Which says, basically, even if we impossibly convinced every stubborn twit to straight up and fly right Right This Freakin Instant it's way way too late to make a difference. I've read arguments that we haven't even paid for what we did in the Industrial Revolution yet. You know, back when London literally had a layer of black soot on it, causing species change, and yellow fog that burned your skin.

Geologists know the earth has a different sense of time, but sadly, people use that as an excuse to deny and misbehave forever.

[Jacki]

U.O. - the documentary I saw showed that the Earth has a repetitive cycle of the Gulf Stream current getting caught up north (I forget how now) and this causes fresh glacial water to mix with the salt water, which disrupts some air current (you know, the major one) which results in global climate cooling.

As for global warming, the name is not indicative of the effect. This will increase the melting of glaciers, thereby causing another global ice age.

For more on this informative topic, set your DVR to record Snowball Earth, showing on a cable science channel near you, at some point I'm sure since it has come on my TV at least three times since I originally saw it.

In the meanwhile, stock up on anti-freeze and snowshoes.

We hope you have enjoyed this very informative and scientifically based segment of the Blog.

[Jacki]

Note: This scientific segment of the Blog defers to marlodianne in all aspects factual or important to understanding the nature of real events.

[U.O]

Wowser! Jacki, I am in AWE of your erudition ... and, again, I am not attempting to be sarcastic -- or even mildly humorous -- (note: I said attempting ... I don't often succeed, even when I try ...) -- this is tremendously interesting ...

Now that I've illustrated my lack of awareness or paying attention, I'll suffer the slings and arrows of critics for my apathy ... or general ignorance of the matter ...

I'll try to bookmark that Snowball Earth item, so I can look it up when I get home to the satellite dish ... most motels I stay in don't have much on the science channels ... and the odds that I'll catch it when one might be on are pretty slim ...

tnx4 the informative stuff ...

[marlodianne]

Thank you, Jacki :)

And yes, I am an actual scientist, along with just, you know, being a geek.

Of course, I prefer working as a writer. More fun, less dangerous. ;)

[U.O]

marlodianne --

Funny ... I din't think you looked like a geek ... prove it! Lemme see your pocket protector ...

[U.O]

md-

Of course, you realize that my reference to said "pocket protector" reinforces and renews my license to drive the Geezer Bus ... I don't think geeks use those any more ... that went out with high button shoes ... when I was a kid ... and, sort of a geek ...

[Mr. Completely]

*Tosses U.O a slide rule*

*Hands Eleanor a much-overdue parfait*

[marlodianne]

U.O.: um yes, never even seen a pocket protector, and I've been a geek, nerd, and general weirdo since, well, birth. I don't think you need one, unless you are using papermates.

What triumph of geekhood do you prefer? My labcoat? My molecule set? NSERC reports? My dean's list? My video game collection? My well worn giddy path in Future Shop? My CSS? My open source software? My rage at this Aeon Flux revulsion?

Or how 'bout...my enormous endless function digital watch? :D

Marlo Dianne--writer, artist, wondergeek

[Powerhungry]

The geek shall inherit the earth.

[U.O]

All Hail!

The Geekness Of The Great MarloDianne ...

We Are In Awe Of Her Geekhood ...

(Those'll do, md ... wowser!)

Mr. C -- to this day, I regret selling my slide rule(s) when I switched majors out of engineering to ... several other waypoints along the trail, before finally getting a degree ...

[Cyn]

Mr. C! i see you too are enjoying breakfast with Willie. oh wait... it's way past morning. gee, how time flies;)

MarloDianne, i've always been impressed by your knowledge, but had No idea of the extent.. had to add my erudite comment .. wait for it .. GAH!!
*bows n genuflects*

[ma nature]

i know it's december... but i do have a quota to fill.
Do be careful there now.

[Cyn]

perdoname? surely you know we jest.

[Cyn]

d'oh. nevermind;)

[Cyn]

♪it was paranoia i know♫

[Poop Dogg]

Why can't they pick any old name, like Andy?