Here we are finishing up our look into 20 Questions Tuesday’s weather edition. I hope all the US residents who read the blog enjoyed the Labor Day weekend. I know I did. Thanks this week go to Allrileyedup, the Em, Nadolny, JW, Peefer, Dr B-Dawg, and Wifey.
Without further ado, the questions!
1. Why do magic scenes in movies always show changes in the weather to emphasize the power of the magic being performed?
It serves to show people number 1: the magnitude of the power being unleashed and number 2: the lack of control of said power since it is unfocused and bleeding out to effect the surrounding meteorology.
2. Do you think the X-Men movies did a good job of showing off Storm's powers?
Not even remotely.
3. Would you ever participate in a tornado-chasing tour group?
When I was a recent college grad, most definitely! Sadly, I am pretty far removed from the natural hazards research that I focused on in college. I think I would be more of a fanboi hindrance than an encyclopedic help at the moment.
4. What's your favorite weather myth?
Groundhog’s Day is the biggest farce. What is it? If the groundhog sees its shadow there are 6 more weeks of winter and if it doesn’t there will only be 42 more days of winter? Something like that. By the way, to me, groundhog is sausage. Get it? Groundhog = ground hog = sausage! HA! I slay me
5. Where would you live in the world based solely on the weather and why?
Hmmm solely on the weather…. San Francisco, California. It has a Mediterranean climate that has been influenced by the cold deep water currents off the California coast. Too bad it is going to eventually fall into the sea and all…
6. Why do folks who hate the Ohio weather stay here. I mean, most of them could move (except for those with long established jobs, but then why didn’t they leave when they were younger).
I have found that people just enjoy bitching, and weather is something nice and out of their control that they feel they can legitimately bitch about without getting called to the carpet for their own behavior. I can’t bitch about how dirty the living room is because I don’t pick a damn thing up. I can however, gripe about how hot it is with impunity.
7. Doesn't it seem like kids today get school days off for weather that we would have easily trundled through as kids?
Kid’s today are coddled. Back in my day we had to stand outside in below freezing temperatures naked because all our clothes were wet from fording the river that separated our neighborhood from the local school. There we were naked shivering and getting ready to learn about readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic as Doberman pincers chased us so we would run barefoot over the freezing scree fields of volcanic obsidian that we had to eat for our school lunches.
8. Which is your favorite season?
Fall or "autumn" as the uppity folk call it
9. Why is it that weathermen can draw a pretty nifty salary from making (mostly wrong) guesses?
Very few weathermen actually generate their forecasts from scratch. Most of them (in the US) rely on the National Weather Service for most of their predictive data. As for salary, weathermen (in the true sense of the word, guys on TV explaining the weather) are pretty much few and far between. Their salary is based partially upon their relative celebrity.
10. Fall is swiftly approaching. Happy or sad?
Happy
11. What is the smallest atmospheric phenomena that can be called weather.
Microclimatology is a valid and thriving science. So I would say that the smallest atmospheric phenomena that could be considered weather could be as small as the temperature fluctuations one finds in a bank parking lot (for example).
12. What percentage of people regularly confuse climatic with climactic.
43%
13. Will New Orleans be adequately rebuilt before the next hurricane hits it? How about after?
Yes, it will, but the underlying issue will still be there. The problem with New Orleans is that there are significant portions of the city that are below sea level. When the levees go, those areas go underwater. Simple enough. If the next storm that hits the city damages the levee system in the city, the same issue is going to happen.
14. Does it make you sad when people resort to talking about the weather?
If not sad, then how does it make you feel?
What makes me sad is that conversations I have with my dad and conversations I have with my brother have boiled down to being solely about the weather. I love talking about the weather, but when it is all you have…
15. What is your favorite form of precipitation?
Snow
16. How well do you weather through storms?
Pretty well, my issue is that when the conditions get really strong, I am inordinately curious as to how it looks.
17. Ever seen something struck by lightning?
Yep, have you? It is very bright.
18. If you turned into a snowman, where would you live - North Pole or South Pole?
South Pole. No polar bears there, yet bunches of penguins.
19. Is there any kind of weather that makes you so scared you kind of want to pee your pants, but then you don’t ‘cause you’re the man of the family and you have to save face, but if you were alone, you’d pee?
Not that I can think of.
20. Those weird afternoon storms in Alabama in the summer – what’s that about?
The “pop-corn” showers that happen in Alabama typically have to do with the vast amounts of humidity that permeates the air in the early afternoon. The sun heats that stuff up, it condenses into clouds, pours for 15 to 20 minutes and then goes away leaving massive amounts of humidity and sun.
To recap:
I hate conference calls
Hate them with the fires of a thousand suns
A thousand I tell you
I hate even more when the participants of said conference call each individually call you before hand to discuss talking points
Lunch was too little
I am hungry already
That and my back is sore
Oh, and my shoulder is pretty achy too
I think I might be getting old
Thursday is a big big big big big big big day
I will talk about that tomorrow
Without further ado, the questions!
1. Why do magic scenes in movies always show changes in the weather to emphasize the power of the magic being performed?
It serves to show people number 1: the magnitude of the power being unleashed and number 2: the lack of control of said power since it is unfocused and bleeding out to effect the surrounding meteorology.
2. Do you think the X-Men movies did a good job of showing off Storm's powers?
Not even remotely.
3. Would you ever participate in a tornado-chasing tour group?
When I was a recent college grad, most definitely! Sadly, I am pretty far removed from the natural hazards research that I focused on in college. I think I would be more of a fanboi hindrance than an encyclopedic help at the moment.
4. What's your favorite weather myth?
Groundhog’s Day is the biggest farce. What is it? If the groundhog sees its shadow there are 6 more weeks of winter and if it doesn’t there will only be 42 more days of winter? Something like that. By the way, to me, groundhog is sausage. Get it? Groundhog = ground hog = sausage! HA! I slay me
5. Where would you live in the world based solely on the weather and why?
Hmmm solely on the weather…. San Francisco, California. It has a Mediterranean climate that has been influenced by the cold deep water currents off the California coast. Too bad it is going to eventually fall into the sea and all…
6. Why do folks who hate the Ohio weather stay here. I mean, most of them could move (except for those with long established jobs, but then why didn’t they leave when they were younger).
I have found that people just enjoy bitching, and weather is something nice and out of their control that they feel they can legitimately bitch about without getting called to the carpet for their own behavior. I can’t bitch about how dirty the living room is because I don’t pick a damn thing up. I can however, gripe about how hot it is with impunity.
7. Doesn't it seem like kids today get school days off for weather that we would have easily trundled through as kids?
Kid’s today are coddled. Back in my day we had to stand outside in below freezing temperatures naked because all our clothes were wet from fording the river that separated our neighborhood from the local school. There we were naked shivering and getting ready to learn about readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic as Doberman pincers chased us so we would run barefoot over the freezing scree fields of volcanic obsidian that we had to eat for our school lunches.
8. Which is your favorite season?
Fall or "autumn" as the uppity folk call it
9. Why is it that weathermen can draw a pretty nifty salary from making (mostly wrong) guesses?
Very few weathermen actually generate their forecasts from scratch. Most of them (in the US) rely on the National Weather Service for most of their predictive data. As for salary, weathermen (in the true sense of the word, guys on TV explaining the weather) are pretty much few and far between. Their salary is based partially upon their relative celebrity.
10. Fall is swiftly approaching. Happy or sad?
Happy
11. What is the smallest atmospheric phenomena that can be called weather.
Microclimatology is a valid and thriving science. So I would say that the smallest atmospheric phenomena that could be considered weather could be as small as the temperature fluctuations one finds in a bank parking lot (for example).
12. What percentage of people regularly confuse climatic with climactic.
43%
13. Will New Orleans be adequately rebuilt before the next hurricane hits it? How about after?
Yes, it will, but the underlying issue will still be there. The problem with New Orleans is that there are significant portions of the city that are below sea level. When the levees go, those areas go underwater. Simple enough. If the next storm that hits the city damages the levee system in the city, the same issue is going to happen.
14. Does it make you sad when people resort to talking about the weather?
If not sad, then how does it make you feel?
What makes me sad is that conversations I have with my dad and conversations I have with my brother have boiled down to being solely about the weather. I love talking about the weather, but when it is all you have…
15. What is your favorite form of precipitation?
Snow
16. How well do you weather through storms?
Pretty well, my issue is that when the conditions get really strong, I am inordinately curious as to how it looks.
17. Ever seen something struck by lightning?
Yep, have you? It is very bright.
18. If you turned into a snowman, where would you live - North Pole or South Pole?
South Pole. No polar bears there, yet bunches of penguins.
19. Is there any kind of weather that makes you so scared you kind of want to pee your pants, but then you don’t ‘cause you’re the man of the family and you have to save face, but if you were alone, you’d pee?
Not that I can think of.
20. Those weird afternoon storms in Alabama in the summer – what’s that about?
The “pop-corn” showers that happen in Alabama typically have to do with the vast amounts of humidity that permeates the air in the early afternoon. The sun heats that stuff up, it condenses into clouds, pours for 15 to 20 minutes and then goes away leaving massive amounts of humidity and sun.
To recap:
I hate conference calls
Hate them with the fires of a thousand suns
A thousand I tell you
I hate even more when the participants of said conference call each individually call you before hand to discuss talking points
Lunch was too little
I am hungry already
That and my back is sore
Oh, and my shoulder is pretty achy too
I think I might be getting old
Thursday is a big big big big big big big day
I will talk about that tomorrow