12.30.2002
i have a million
little things to blog about but foremost on my mind at the moment is what the hell is the difference between sleet and freezing rain (of which we are supposed to have both this evening)?
I found this tidbit on the weathernotebook.org:
December 22, 1998 transcript # 265-2
Subject(s): differences in precipitation
Title: Listener Question: Hail, Sleet And Freezing Rain
Hi, I'm Dave Thurlow from the Mount Washington Observatory and this is The Weather Notebook. Today we have a question that comes from Megan Burt-Kidder, a New Hampshire Public Radio listener:
Megan: "I've always been curious as to what the subtle differences are in the atmospheric conditions that allow either sleet, hail or freezing rain."
Well let's look at each one individually. First up is hail, which falls mainly during the summer. Hail falls from thunderstorm clouds which extend miles high into extremely cold air. Updrafts bring raindrops from the bottom the top of the cloud where they freeze into ice pellets. They then fall only to be blown back up where any coating of rain freezes and the hail stone grows layer by layer for each time the up-down cycle occurs. The hailstones, sometimes the size of baseballs, finaly overcome the updrafts and fall to the ground.
Now sleet falls in the winter if and when when the air temperature is below freezing near the ground and above freezing up in the clouds. Rain forms up where it's warm and falls into the cold air, freezing into little pieces, what we call sleet, on the way down.
Finally freezing rain is almost like sleet except it freezes after it hits the ground forming a glaze of ice. So hail falls from summer thunderstorms and each stone can be as big as a pea, a quarter, or a grapefruit, sleet and freezing rain fall in the winter, sleet being ice pellets and freezing rain being rain that freezes whe it hits the ground.
Now didn't ya always want to know that?
To catch you up very quickly: nearly a foot and a half of snow in Pittsfield on Christmas day--was gorgeous and amazing. We walked in it for a little bit until my face felt very frozen. Loot included a food processor, toaster, clothes, a pig pot (which is awesome!) and a gorgeous silver and ruby band to serve as an engagement ring until we manage to figure out wedding rings (think we'll have them made) and the ceremony this spring. As some of you may recall, he had asked me earlier--but we're sort of casual about this sort of stuff, which suits me just fine.
9:04 PM | link | up| archives |
12.24.2002
heading off to
the Pitt. I check my trusty weatherbug to see if we'll be blessed with Christmas snow and lo! and behold! This is what I see: Possible heavy snow. Possible total storm accumulation near 2 feet. Lows in the mid 20s. Chance of snow 100 percent.
Wow! Wow. I haven't seen that much snow since we were kids. We used to get a lot of snow where I grew up in Nine Mile Falls, right outside of Spokane, WA. My father used to help us make the best snow forts.
Using the handle of a shovel, he would help us make eye holes in the sides so we could see the enemy. He was always the enemy, however, and the first thing he would do would be to aim at the eyeholes to plug them up! We would round up all the neighborhood kids and have a huge snowball fight once we had the fort done--often it was all the neighborhood kids and us against my dad. We always lost! The picture is of me, my sister Misty and my little brother, Chase sitting on the top. That's me with my bad early 80's flat near-mullet hair holding our little Cocoa dog. You can see a couple of the eyeholes not yet plugged up. Clearly we took up most of the snow in the yard to make the thing!
Every year the forts would be different. Some years they were square, sometimes they had half-roofs on them. You had to have some hole in the roof in order to pop up and throw the snowballs. I remember one year we had a tunnel to go into it. The snow was so compact that it was always the last snow to be left in the neighborhood when everything thawed.
I look forward to the snow tomorrow, after today's big Christmas gathering at Joe's parents' house. His Uncles and cousins all converge on the house for the evening and the result is a lot of really nice, happy people under the same roof. I love being a part of that. Tomorrow maybe we'll be able to go outside and play with Joe's 2-year-old nephew Clement and build snowmen, snow angels and the like. Joe's mom, Rosie, always gets into the snow building--last year when we arrived she had already made a snow bear in the front yard to greet everyone.
So I will leave you for a few days with a very Merry Christmas! Safe travels and warm wishes for a wonderful holiday!
8:17 AM | link | up| archives |
12.23.2002
memoriam
Joe Strummer, age 50, one of rock's most influential songwriters, vocalists and guitarists, died today.
When the punk icons I worshipped as a teen start dying off, I begin to really feel what it means to be older.
2:38 PM | link | up| archives |
12.22.2002
feeling weak and woozy
after a whirl-wind day of last minute shopping. Finally, everyone is done. Now we just need to do the wrapping. Joe and I opened some of our gifts early--last night, on a night when we are alone and not rushed. We go to his parents for Christmas so we don't want to drag the presents that come to the house all the way over there to open and drag back so we open them early. He got me a beautiful ring, a silver band with little rubies in it--an engagement ring since he didn't have me one earlier. He has great taste in baubles! He also got me a gorgeous vase--I always put my flowers in plain glass florist vases and this one is actually a really pretty green and brown pottery one. Will look nice in the dining room on the sideboard.
Exhausted now, from wandering around Harvard Square with all the other shoppers. Hordes of people make Joe cranky and me tired. I'm just so glad that the shopping is over, fini, ended.
3:19 PM | link | up| archives |
12.17.2002
got to love
100 degree fever, aches and aches and pains. And bad belly. :(
Today on my way to work some idiot would not get off his cell phone for a good ten miles as he was driving behind me, weaving around in the lane. When he finally did get off the phone, he proceeded to pull nose hairs out of his nose. The worst part was that he was actually a good looking guy. Blech.
I bought a robot head for Joe for Xmas. He has all the signatures from the original Lost in Space crew on a robot that he has...but his mom inadvertantly threw out the head a few years ago. Finally, after three years of searching, I've found the head! He knew that I did the auction--I had to make sure it was the right robot. :)
6:54 PM | link | up| archives |
12.16.2002
i found
this wonderful place while penning a new poem:
anthology of stars
IV. day-star [poetic]
Bright kenning, blinding ball of kinetic flame,
we spread out, cosmologically, instantaneously,
clumping into inflated matter and dark energy.
Born with cosmic acceleration, exploding supernovae
that could potentially continue forever.
Or so I read. Or was it said?
The geometry of the universe, its overall uniformity,
moves away from me, moves away from she, and he,
and, in particular, toward a gradual nothingness
that will expand over trillions of years, dissipating
matter and energy into distinct particles, stretched thin
across the cosmos.
We sit in a black place,
charcoal before the day-dawn,
before the white star rises
to greet thousands
of bright blooded hearts.
9:11 PM | link | up| archives |
driving
snow outside, slowing to a strange swirl near my window. The tide is going out but the waves are crashing white against the rocks in the cove. The clipper ship is lit up with its Christmas lights and not a deck hand to be seen in the windy, wet weather. Strangest of all are the six swans swimming below my window. Three stark white and three with slightly brown tinged wings--I'm assuming the females. They swim either in a line, or in a triangular formation, around the docks, over to the windows of the office building, out along the pier. They truly are beautiful and graceful.
12:48 PM | link | up| archives |
12.13.2002
the most disturbing
bit of Happiness I have ever seen. I think I had my jaw on the floor half the time--in shock, in disgust, in shamed fascination. The performances were amazing. Absolutely amazing.
11:58 PM | link | up| archives |
12.12.2002
anthology of stars
III. Cynosure
I pulled away, knowing that it
was too much sphery heat to hold,
knowing that such effulgence was
meant for gods greater than I, even
when buffered by lead and rosemary,
even if it could herald my descent
down the serious, hardened stones.
Inside, red gold curled along the little
bump at the nape of her neck.
I marveled that so much glitter, glitter
and glimmer could push against the velvet
voice, even if the heavens had fallen open,
stellar formations brightening as she leaned
against the darkened window, attentive
even to the slightest breath of winter,
not looking at me, looking out instead,
across the gaping aërolite wound
still burning in the fields.
10:04 PM | link | up| archives |
courtesy
of my dear friend, Nicole...the State of the Nation.
3:22 PM | link | up| archives |
12.9.2002
out of all those I threw
away, I could have been sending all those unwanted AOL CDs here. Amazing way to take a stand against wasteful marketing programs.
2:04 PM | link | up| archives |
12.7.2002
what i have learned about tree farms
is that people go weeks and weeks before Christmas, tag the trees they want then call ahead so that when they are ready to pick them up that they are cut, shaken and wrapped to go. Drove an hour to that damn farm and all the trees were strange sizes, scraggly, off a bit, too short...or already tagged by other people. We ended up driving back to local Wilson Farms which had gorgeous trees, lots of wreaths, homeade eggnog and gingerbread men. I love when we trim the tree--Joe makes a wonderful dinner and we have good cheese and fine wine, then we listen to Christmas carols, trim the tree and toast over a bottle of bubbly. Afterward, we settle down in the cozy glow of the tree and watch It's a Wonderful Life. Third Christmas in a row for us and I love how magical this evening always is.
5:58 PM | link | up| archives |
12.6.2002
anthology of stars
II: Blush, Flush, Incarnadine Riddle Rust
Two-fisted vermouth girl, swaddled in
Italy, bursting with rubineous stars, sharpened
in velvet, surrounded, hearty with wild celestial
bodies, glowing, luminary, smiling shine.
11:12 PM | link | up| archives |
time for
some holiday cheer.
Back from Atlanta (what an uninspiring place!) and back into a winter wonderland. Going out tomorrow to cut the tree, then back home for champagne and decorating along with a cozy fire. In between my homework this weekend, I plan on getting some Christmas baking in as well.
I suppose I should think a little bit about Christmas presents...no clue what to get for most people, least of all for Joe...
5:39 PM | link | up| archives |
12.1.2002
been absorbed
in Black & White.
But aside from that, have some of the xmas decorations up...the place is starting to look cozy. Thinking about the annual party so we can show off the place. Will be wonderful to have friends over with the fire burning, everyone merry and warm.
The wind is blowing like mad here...glad I'm not driving on the highway today. I have the worst time driving my Sportage in the wind...definitely seem to be ready blow into the next lane when I get hit by a gust.
Kitty has loved having us home for four days...it's funny, in the last year he has turned completely into a lap cat. Always has to be ON you, sitting on whatever book you are reading, lying on your stomach if you are on the couch. He was always friendly, but not to the point of wanting to nearly possess you...
This week is a crazy week...nearly the last week of class, plus heading to Atlanta for 2 days for business. Already I find myself anxious for Christmas and another five days off...
3:08 PM | link | up| archives |
