Wednesday, July 30, 2008
best. costumes. ever.
Photo taken by sohmer999 at the San Diego Comic Con. He titled the photo "best. costumes. ever."
Don't know about best ever. But they're right up there.
If they don't look familiar to you, you're obviously not following the webcomic Looking For Group.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Electric car in the wild
First 100% electric car I've seen on the streets (or public parking lots) in the US outside of California. It's a Zenn, and this one was so new it still had it's dealership spec sheet stuck to the window in the back seat. I think if I had one of these I'd leave that up for a while, too, so nosy people like me can see what the car is and does.
At 25 mph (40 km/h) max speed, this car would still be being tailgated and honked at in our neighborhood, where even residential streets are posted at 30 mph (and the locals usually want to go 40 to 45 mph instead). And I'd never be able to use one for my own 30 mile (each way) commute. But it's fun to see new alternatives becoming available for people who have jobs near enough to home to make use of them.
Yeah, bicycles and buses are options for folks who live near their destinations, too. But if you've ever had to stand at a bus stop during a dark Minnesota winter morning, or ride a bike in sub-zero F weather, you'll understand why many folks just can't bring themselves to rely on buses or bikes for their every day needs. In the Twin Cities region of Minnesota it can and often does snow anytime from October through April. Not the coldest place on earth, but not a bike friendly environment for much of the year.
The public transit situation here isn't very good. They're slowly putting in light rail trains (and many are fighting that every step of the way) and the bus routes and schedules I've seen are not designed with rider convenience in mind. Heck, I drove a fellow student home from our community college class all semester long a few years back because the buses stopped running to the college well before the last classes let out. And this wasn't a dinky school in one floor of an office building, but a school with two campuses. Tiny by California Community College standards, but fairly big campuses for Minnesota.
Community college night classes serve a lot of people trying to get an education so they can improve their job prospects. These are often people who need public transit the most. Especially given the relatively high cost of tuition for classes in the community and technical colleges here in Minnesota. If you're already dropping $500 tuition for each class, plus another couple of hundred dollars for books and supplies, a "starving student" may not have much money left in her/his budget for a car and gas/repairs/maintenance. Makes me wonder how many people don't go to classes because they can't afford transportation.
People earning more money pay more taxes and help keep an economy rolling. Call me radical, but I'd think schools of all sorts would be a high transit priority for the region.
Even in San Diego, where owning a car is all but mandatory for the average individual, the transit system is better than it is here. I've heard the Minnesota government claim that not enough people use public transit to make it cost effective. I understand they've even cut down on some of their services to save money. If something is broken, claiming you won't fix it until more people use it just seems pretty demented to me.
When they finally put in a limited electric powered light rail line here - one 12 mile stretch running from downtown Minneapolis through the airport to the Mall of America - the number of riders exceeded their expectations by a huge margin. According to Wikipedia, "In less than two years after opening [in 2006], the line had already reached (and far exceeded) its 2020 ridership goals." And yet the idea of expanding the system to something more broadly useful to the Twin Cities Metro population in general is still controversial (read "expensive").
I just don't understand how improving the efficiency of public transit (and in a greener fashion for that matter) can be so controversial. I guess I can chalk it up to my being a liberal rebel.
At 25 mph (40 km/h) max speed, this car would still be being tailgated and honked at in our neighborhood, where even residential streets are posted at 30 mph (and the locals usually want to go 40 to 45 mph instead). And I'd never be able to use one for my own 30 mile (each way) commute. But it's fun to see new alternatives becoming available for people who have jobs near enough to home to make use of them.
Yeah, bicycles and buses are options for folks who live near their destinations, too. But if you've ever had to stand at a bus stop during a dark Minnesota winter morning, or ride a bike in sub-zero F weather, you'll understand why many folks just can't bring themselves to rely on buses or bikes for their every day needs. In the Twin Cities region of Minnesota it can and often does snow anytime from October through April. Not the coldest place on earth, but not a bike friendly environment for much of the year.
The public transit situation here isn't very good. They're slowly putting in light rail trains (and many are fighting that every step of the way) and the bus routes and schedules I've seen are not designed with rider convenience in mind. Heck, I drove a fellow student home from our community college class all semester long a few years back because the buses stopped running to the college well before the last classes let out. And this wasn't a dinky school in one floor of an office building, but a school with two campuses. Tiny by California Community College standards, but fairly big campuses for Minnesota.
Community college night classes serve a lot of people trying to get an education so they can improve their job prospects. These are often people who need public transit the most. Especially given the relatively high cost of tuition for classes in the community and technical colleges here in Minnesota. If you're already dropping $500 tuition for each class, plus another couple of hundred dollars for books and supplies, a "starving student" may not have much money left in her/his budget for a car and gas/repairs/maintenance. Makes me wonder how many people don't go to classes because they can't afford transportation.
People earning more money pay more taxes and help keep an economy rolling. Call me radical, but I'd think schools of all sorts would be a high transit priority for the region.
Even in San Diego, where owning a car is all but mandatory for the average individual, the transit system is better than it is here. I've heard the Minnesota government claim that not enough people use public transit to make it cost effective. I understand they've even cut down on some of their services to save money. If something is broken, claiming you won't fix it until more people use it just seems pretty demented to me.
When they finally put in a limited electric powered light rail line here - one 12 mile stretch running from downtown Minneapolis through the airport to the Mall of America - the number of riders exceeded their expectations by a huge margin. According to Wikipedia, "In less than two years after opening [in 2006], the line had already reached (and far exceeded) its 2020 ridership goals." And yet the idea of expanding the system to something more broadly useful to the Twin Cities Metro population in general is still controversial (read "expensive").
I just don't understand how improving the efficiency of public transit (and in a greener fashion for that matter) can be so controversial. I guess I can chalk it up to my being a liberal rebel.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
chemical spill
I had to clean up a messy dihydrogen monoxide spill this morning before leaving for work. I admit, I was being careless when I left a tippy container of it uncovered and unattended, but I'll be careful not to repeat that mistake when there are curious rodents around.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding DHMO, I continue to use it as a cleaning agent around my pets, and even around food. I remember hearing in my chemistry class years ago that it is derived from naturally occuring sources, which is a bonus. It doesn't leave behind any residual odor, and is non-irritating to my hands when kept at room temperature, so I don't have to wear gloves when using it. I do keep a link to the DHMO material safety data sheet (MSDS) handy but I am convinced that, when handled properly, DHMO is perfectly safe.
There were no injuries as a result of this morning's spill, though the one of the cats got some on her paws and wasn't amused.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding DHMO, I continue to use it as a cleaning agent around my pets, and even around food. I remember hearing in my chemistry class years ago that it is derived from naturally occuring sources, which is a bonus. It doesn't leave behind any residual odor, and is non-irritating to my hands when kept at room temperature, so I don't have to wear gloves when using it. I do keep a link to the DHMO material safety data sheet (MSDS) handy but I am convinced that, when handled properly, DHMO is perfectly safe.
There were no injuries as a result of this morning's spill, though the one of the cats got some on her paws and wasn't amused.
Monday, July 21, 2008
hero for a day
My hero for today is a guy named Mitch.
We lost our air conditioning yesterday while we were out watching Dark Knight. It's been in the mid 80's F in the house since we got home. I made some calls last night and then more this morning, looking for someone to come defend us from the Heat Miser.
Yeah, I'm a wimp.
I have in-laws in Arizona who would laugh at me like we do when they tell us it's getting cold there, when it's still above 50°F there and it's in the single digits here. But I start wilting at about 80°F. I got severely overheated as a tween during a visit to Phoenix, AZ in the summer, in a car without air conditioning. If I'm never that sick again it will be too soon. But more to the point of this post, I haven't tolerated heat well since.
Heat doesn't just make me tired or cranky. It can knock me flat. I once walked out of an over-air-conditioned building into a So. Cal. 90°F day and the transition hit me with tunnel vision and dropped me straight onto my butt on the ground in a matter of minutes.
So after being told by several AC repair companies that they couldn't get anyone out to us to do a repair for three days or more (though they could sure get someone to come give us an estimate on a new unit today or tomorrow) I found a locally based company called Pronto that sent someone out an hour after my call. That someone was a nice fellow named Mitch who found the problem and fixed our AC unit in just a few minutes, despite getting stung by an angry paper wasp from one of two nests that were hidden in our AC enclosure. (More of these wasps were nesting in a new spot.)
So, Mitch from Pronto is my hero for the day. He defeated the dreaded Heat Miser and restored our cooling (it's still 82° in here but cooling, finally), was attacked by unhappy stinging insects, and the rest of his day will be spent in houses that are too hot, or outside in the sun and heat, and yet he was as pleasant as can be.
After being hot for the previous 20 hours, and then hotter outside in the sun while Mitch finished up the repairs - wimp that I am - as soon as Mitch left I came inside and nearly fainted. I went from hot but fine to full blown pre-migraine aura, sweating hard, and headache and dizzy in just a minute or two. My mister was here, so he quickly got me some (more) water and a cold pack from the freezer.
Did I mention I'm a wimp?
I'm feeling much better after an hour of laying down with the cold pack, though I'm running a low fever and the headache is still throbbing in the left side of my head. More water, some tylenol, and parking myself right next to the AC vent are in order. The cats are all flopped and snoring. The ratties are asleep. And I'm going to log off the computer and rustle up that ice pack again. I'll make up the missed work hours later in the week.
Oh, but before I forget - I mentioned a while back in another post that we knitters and crocheters will put a cozy on just about anything. Well, this item falls more into the sweaters for unexpected recipients category than a cozy, but I think it deserves some applause. Serious points for creativity and style. I'd've posted the photo here, but Squiddles has the blogging feature on the photo disabled.
We lost our air conditioning yesterday while we were out watching Dark Knight. It's been in the mid 80's F in the house since we got home. I made some calls last night and then more this morning, looking for someone to come defend us from the Heat Miser.
Yeah, I'm a wimp.
I have in-laws in Arizona who would laugh at me like we do when they tell us it's getting cold there, when it's still above 50°F there and it's in the single digits here. But I start wilting at about 80°F. I got severely overheated as a tween during a visit to Phoenix, AZ in the summer, in a car without air conditioning. If I'm never that sick again it will be too soon. But more to the point of this post, I haven't tolerated heat well since.
Heat doesn't just make me tired or cranky. It can knock me flat. I once walked out of an over-air-conditioned building into a So. Cal. 90°F day and the transition hit me with tunnel vision and dropped me straight onto my butt on the ground in a matter of minutes.
So after being told by several AC repair companies that they couldn't get anyone out to us to do a repair for three days or more (though they could sure get someone to come give us an estimate on a new unit today or tomorrow) I found a locally based company called Pronto that sent someone out an hour after my call. That someone was a nice fellow named Mitch who found the problem and fixed our AC unit in just a few minutes, despite getting stung by an angry paper wasp from one of two nests that were hidden in our AC enclosure. (More of these wasps were nesting in a new spot.)
So, Mitch from Pronto is my hero for the day. He defeated the dreaded Heat Miser and restored our cooling (it's still 82° in here but cooling, finally), was attacked by unhappy stinging insects, and the rest of his day will be spent in houses that are too hot, or outside in the sun and heat, and yet he was as pleasant as can be.
After being hot for the previous 20 hours, and then hotter outside in the sun while Mitch finished up the repairs - wimp that I am - as soon as Mitch left I came inside and nearly fainted. I went from hot but fine to full blown pre-migraine aura, sweating hard, and headache and dizzy in just a minute or two. My mister was here, so he quickly got me some (more) water and a cold pack from the freezer.
Did I mention I'm a wimp?
I'm feeling much better after an hour of laying down with the cold pack, though I'm running a low fever and the headache is still throbbing in the left side of my head. More water, some tylenol, and parking myself right next to the AC vent are in order. The cats are all flopped and snoring. The ratties are asleep. And I'm going to log off the computer and rustle up that ice pack again. I'll make up the missed work hours later in the week.
Oh, but before I forget - I mentioned a while back in another post that we knitters and crocheters will put a cozy on just about anything. Well, this item falls more into the sweaters for unexpected recipients category than a cozy, but I think it deserves some applause. Serious points for creativity and style. I'd've posted the photo here, but Squiddles has the blogging feature on the photo disabled.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Dark Knight
The Mister and I had tickets today for the noon showing of The Dark Knight at the Imax theater at the Minnesota Zoo. We arrived about an hour and 20 minutes early to pick up our tickets from will call, where the the cashier told us that the folks ahead of us had bought tickets for the show before The Dark Knight as well (a documentary called African Adventure 3D). This meant they would already be seated in the theater when the crowd coming to see only The Dark Knight arrived, giving them good seats without standing in line for an hour. She pointed out that with their double feature special (they offer tickets to a second Imax film on the same day at a discounted rate) it was a good deal all around. Would we like to do the same?
We needed to kill an hour anyway - might as well do it in an air conditioned theater. So we paid a bit more cash and joined the other handful of early arrivals in line for the 3D safari. Fun documentary. Impressive visuals. You feel like you're this close to a lot of amazing critters.
And The Dark Knight?
By the sauce of His Noodliness, it really does live up to the hype it's getting, and then some. I'm not going to try to summarize how freaking amazing it is, or what about it makes it so. Everyone else on the web has done that for me already. Just take everyone's word for it. If you are even vaguely a fan of action films, super heroes, super villians, or scifi for that matter, and you aren't in the subset of such fans who are too young or squeamish to descend into the grim bowels of Gotham City via the big screen, you must see this film.
Oh... and I think a super villain must've been by our house, because we came home to an air conditioner on the fritz... The Heat Miser maybe?
We needed to kill an hour anyway - might as well do it in an air conditioned theater. So we paid a bit more cash and joined the other handful of early arrivals in line for the 3D safari. Fun documentary. Impressive visuals. You feel like you're this close to a lot of amazing critters.
And The Dark Knight?
By the sauce of His Noodliness, it really does live up to the hype it's getting, and then some. I'm not going to try to summarize how freaking amazing it is, or what about it makes it so. Everyone else on the web has done that for me already. Just take everyone's word for it. If you are even vaguely a fan of action films, super heroes, super villians, or scifi for that matter, and you aren't in the subset of such fans who are too young or squeamish to descend into the grim bowels of Gotham City via the big screen, you must see this film.
Oh... and I think a super villain must've been by our house, because we came home to an air conditioner on the fritz... The Heat Miser maybe?
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Joss Whedon strikes again
I'm a little late in tuning in to Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Act 3 was released today, so I saw the full series in one shot. I gather it will be on the web for just a short time, and then will be distributed via a web download for a small fee*. The Mister and I both loved it - no surprise given some of the blog posts I'd already seen floating around about it. We couldn't stop laughing, the cast were all delightful in their roles, and the songs are now stuck firmly in my brainpan. So, since it's not going to be viewable on the web indefinitely, we bought all three acts through iTunes for very few shiny gold rocks.
If you hold your geekhood dear, don't miss seeing this super musical miniseries.
J!NX is currently out of stock on all of the women's Dr. Horrible t-shirts**. I hope that means they've just not received them yet, and not that they've already sold out.
In other news, I received a copy of Photoshop CS3 for my birthday so I will probably spend a big chunk of the weekend pushing buttons and exploring new options and features that I've only drooled over until now (I have been using Photoshop 7 for ages, which is many revisions out of date). And we've got our tickets already to see The Dark Knight in Imax tomorrow.
edit 20080731:
*It's available on the web again for free. Go see it!!!
** Jinx got more shirts in. Ours are on their way.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
dvd eve
I spent the evening watching The Patriot on DVD. I guess it was the whole Mel Gibson film, caricature of good and pure heroes vs. sadists and buffoons impression I got of the story that put me off since it's in a pseudo-historical context. I dislike historical fiction that wanders so far off into the "fiction" department that it comes off like a skewed propaganda film. So I'd avoided it until now.
That said, I decided it was time to watch it since it's a film with Peter Woodward in it that I hadn't seen yet. And to my surprise, I quite liked it, despite it's living up to my initial pessimistic impressions of the plot. I had to decide going into it that I was going to watch it as a "fantasy" film, rooted in no way in actual history, which helped.
Of course I enjoyed Peter Woodward's performance as General O'Hara. That's a no-brainer. But how is it I'd never heard before that along with Mr. Woodward, it also has Jason Isaacs in it? Or Adam Baldwin, Rene Auberjonois and Heath Ledger? That's what I get for ignoring it based on it being a Mel Gibson flick.
And as for Jason Isaacs... his performance as the vile and dastardly Colonel Tavington was yummy... er I mean very well done. Can't really root for Tavington... he's too good at being dag nasty evil for that, but he makes you love to hate him.
I would have liked to see where the heck the film was trying to go with Adam Baldwin's character, Captain Wilkins. Wilkins seemed to be rolling along on a trajectory toward a climax of character development of some sort, but it felt to me like that ride never quite made it to its destination.
So for the film in general, how to rate it? Out of 5 points I'd say it gets negative 3 for historical accuracy. The plot is predictable and disappointing, so no points there. But for yummy villains it gets a 5. So if my math is right that ends up with a final score of 2.
That said, I decided it was time to watch it since it's a film with Peter Woodward in it that I hadn't seen yet. And to my surprise, I quite liked it, despite it's living up to my initial pessimistic impressions of the plot. I had to decide going into it that I was going to watch it as a "fantasy" film, rooted in no way in actual history, which helped.
Of course I enjoyed Peter Woodward's performance as General O'Hara. That's a no-brainer. But how is it I'd never heard before that along with Mr. Woodward, it also has Jason Isaacs in it? Or Adam Baldwin, Rene Auberjonois and Heath Ledger? That's what I get for ignoring it based on it being a Mel Gibson flick.
And as for Jason Isaacs... his performance as the vile and dastardly Colonel Tavington was yummy... er I mean very well done. Can't really root for Tavington... he's too good at being dag nasty evil for that, but he makes you love to hate him.
I would have liked to see where the heck the film was trying to go with Adam Baldwin's character, Captain Wilkins. Wilkins seemed to be rolling along on a trajectory toward a climax of character development of some sort, but it felt to me like that ride never quite made it to its destination.
So for the film in general, how to rate it? Out of 5 points I'd say it gets negative 3 for historical accuracy. The plot is predictable and disappointing, so no points there. But for yummy villains it gets a 5. So if my math is right that ends up with a final score of 2.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
teh mad suxxor
I was scheduled to fly to Boston in two days to attend the Jumpcon convention. I have been looking forward to it for months, especially because I'd paid extra to have a ticket to be seated at Peter Woodward's dinner table (as one of 12 guests). And on my birthday no-less.
I just got an email from Jumpcon announcing they were issuing refunds due to the cancellation of the event. They posted to their website yesterday to notify attendees that it had been canceled (3 days before the event was supposed to take place) and sent out the email notices today.
I'm angry and seriously disappointed. And now I've learned that this isn't the first event they've had to cancel.
I've been told that if I can produce receipts for my airline tickets they will refund what I spent on them. Same goes for my room at the hotel (which I booked directly through Jumpcon so no receipts should be needed.) So now I have some phone calls to make, and some paperwork to come up with in order to get my refunds.
Their messages on the website today read as follows:
I just got an email from Jumpcon announcing they were issuing refunds due to the cancellation of the event. They posted to their website yesterday to notify attendees that it had been canceled (3 days before the event was supposed to take place) and sent out the email notices today.
I'm angry and seriously disappointed. And now I've learned that this isn't the first event they've had to cancel.
I've been told that if I can produce receipts for my airline tickets they will refund what I spent on them. Same goes for my room at the hotel (which I booked directly through Jumpcon so no receipts should be needed.) So now I have some phone calls to make, and some paperwork to come up with in order to get my refunds.
Their messages on the website today read as follows:
Message from Shane Concerning JumpCon Boston
Submitted by admin on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 13:36
* Boston
Announcement to fans coming to JumpCon Boston:
I regret to announce the cancellation of our Boston event. Many factors that needed to come together
to make it happen simply did not. We tried everything humanly possible and
were unable to overcome the insurmountable obstacles. This is not to say
that I don't take the blame myself, I do. I wanted to see this succeed so
badly that I was blinded to some warning signs that should have been
obvious. If I have learned anything through this process it's that running a...
(Read the rest at their site)
A Message from Fernando Martinez
Submitted by admin on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 13:47
* Boston
To all fandom:
Please be advised that despite all my efforts to try to salvage Jumpcon, as of today - I see absolutely no chance of this event happening.
When I was hired by Jumpcon, I was assured that the Boston event would happen and that the funding was all arranged. I spent countless days and hours negotiating new appearance contracts with the stars and their agents to try to save the event, only to find that Jumpcon was unable to fulfill it's financial obligations to the stars after all.
I regret that the stars were financially harmed by not being paid their appearance fees or cancellation fees.
I regret that the stars representatives, who were so nice and gracious, were not paid for their time and ended up looking bad to their clients. And I especially regret that the fans were harmed financially and (although not intentionally) were betrayed when they placed their trust in Jumpcon. I have been promised by Shane at Jumpcon that he would return every penny to the fans, I hope that is one promise he can keep. (Read the rest on their site.)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Return of the Mummy
Leg up and wrapped from foot to thigh to bring down the swelling from being up and around at work yesterday. Three inches of swelling around my knee and thigh goes beyond uncomfortable and crosses into painful as it puts pressure on my knee and makes it hurt to walk.
I brought it down a bunch overnight, then if the wrapping works it gets looser as the swelling goes down. So I have to rewrap to get more reduction since the bandages used for wrapping a lymphedema affected limb have very little stretch. So it's rewrapped now and elevated again.
The good news is my new compression stocking has arrived now so today, if I can get the swelling back down, I can wear that to work to prevent a repeat of yesterday's puffage. It's a higher level of compression than my previous stocking was, and it's full length, so I'm optimistic about having more freedom to get up and move.
I am due to get on a plane in 3 days, and flying aggravates my lymphedema, so I have to get the swelling down before hand. I'll be planning on sleeping in the bandages so any swelling that sneaks through my compression stocking can be brought back under control. That said, I'm hoping dearly that the stocking will do it's job and keep the swelling at bay.
I brought it down a bunch overnight, then if the wrapping works it gets looser as the swelling goes down. So I have to rewrap to get more reduction since the bandages used for wrapping a lymphedema affected limb have very little stretch. So it's rewrapped now and elevated again.
The good news is my new compression stocking has arrived now so today, if I can get the swelling back down, I can wear that to work to prevent a repeat of yesterday's puffage. It's a higher level of compression than my previous stocking was, and it's full length, so I'm optimistic about having more freedom to get up and move.
I am due to get on a plane in 3 days, and flying aggravates my lymphedema, so I have to get the swelling down before hand. I'll be planning on sleeping in the bandages so any swelling that sneaks through my compression stocking can be brought back under control. That said, I'm hoping dearly that the stocking will do it's job and keep the swelling at bay.
Monday, July 14, 2008
weather malfunction
With apologies to Han Solo...
Uh, we had a slight weather malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?
Another storm came through last Friday night, bringing an amazing light show and a frenzy of media coverage. The one confirmed tornado the storm generated that I know of (an EF3) was in Willmar, MN, which is about 90 miles away from us. It clobbered a turkey barn and there were a few injuries, but thankfully no one was killed. (If you are curious, NOAA has posted photos and an official NOAA storm report for this tornado.)
When the storm had passed the power was out, and my Mister joined some of our neighbors outside for a beer and some fireworks. Their conversation eventually turned to food, and prompted us to get together with several folks from the neighborhood for a picnic on Sunday evening. Joe smoked a bunch of ribs in his Weber bullet, and the neighbors brought delicious grilled corn, deviled eggs, blueberries and home made coleslaw.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
mn afternoon storm chat
There's a short video of the storm we're discussing on my flickr page.
( Edit: Here's a local news channel's report on this storm. )
[ ] indicates text changed later for clarity/name removal.
| Me: | you there? | 12:20:30 PM |
| Friend: | yeppers | 12:22:00 PM |
| Me: | where'd this thunderstorm come from? | 12:22:17 PM |
| Friend: | thers a storm? | 12:22:23 PM |
| Me: | it was beautiful when I left[*]. Not a cloud in the sky. | 12:22:33 PM |
| Now lightning and small red squirrels fleeign for cover | 12:22:46 PM | |
| Friend: | fun! | 12:22:52 PM |
| Me: | hey... that sounds like hail | 12:27:36 PM |
| peekign outside | 12:27:42 PM | |
| oh yeah, that's hail alright | 12:27:58 PM | |
| blocks of ice falling from the sky in loud fashion | 12:28:12 PM | |
| in big chunks | 12:28:29 PM | |
| ok, hail stopped. raining now | 12:31:46 PM | |
| not so big. lima bean sized | 12:32:03 PM | |
| Friend: | uh oh | 12:32:15 PM |
| on its way? | 12:32:25 PM | |
| Me: | only did it for about 2 mins | 12:32:28 PM |
| Friend: | ok | 12:32:32 PM |
| Me: | lemme look at the radar | 12:32:32 PM |
| raining hard now | 12:32:38 PM | |
| Friend: | rain good - hail - not so much | 12:33:02 PM |
| unless it takes the roof off my house | 12:33:10 PM | |
| hahahahaha | 12:33:11 PM | |
| Me: | take a bit more than this for that | 12:33:30 PM |
| sirens going off | 12:34:09 PM | |
| Yeah, WCCO shows it moving your way link | 12:34:35 PM | |
| Friend: | not good | 12:34:59 PM |
| maybe it will head more south | 12:35:06 PM | |
| Me: | you don't want that. | 12:35:15 PM |
| the bigger part is north of us | 12:35:20 PM | |
| Friend: | ooo | 12:35:23 PM |
| Me: | only a little bit is this far south | 12:35:29 PM |
| course, only the red bits are over us | 12:35:44 PM | |
| Friend: | its dark and stormy looking outside | 12:35:58 PM |
| Me: | cats no likey the sirens | 12:36:17 PM |
| Friend: | I bet not | 12:36:40 PM |
| Me: | and unless it breaks up, it's definitely coming your way. Hail might not go with it though? | 12:36:49 PM |
| Friend: | in bloomington the red parts are north and south of us | 12:37:20 PM |
| which is good | 12:37:22 PM | |
| heading right ot the airport tho | 12:37:42 PM | |
| Me: | yuck | 12:38:00 PM |
| it's moving fast. shouldn't delay much I'd assume | 12:38:11 PM | |
| Friend: | no | 12:38:16 PM |
| Me: | and your hastas should be ok. wasn't a lot of hail | 12:38:24 PM |
| Friend: | yea | 12:38:31 PM |
| Me: | and peppers, and cukes... and tommytoes | 12:38:44 PM |
| you got tommytoes? | 12:38:50 PM | |
| Friend: | lots of tommy toes | 12:38:56 PM |
| Me: | oooooooOOOOoooOOOoooo | 12:39:01 PM |
| can I has one? | 12:39:03 PM | |
| Friend: | if they survive the hails | 12:39:13 PM |
| Me: | shoo hail! | 12:39:21 PM |
| Me: | hmmm rain's gone. sky's a weird sea-green-blue tho | 12:39:44 PM |
| Friend: | thats not good either | 12:39:53 PM |
| Me: | not green green... | 12:40:04 PM |
| Friend: | green usually means bad | 12:40:06 PM |
| Me: | or yellow green | 12:40:09 PM |
| more robin's egg but not right for sky behind clouds | 12:40:21 PM | |
| Friend: | maybe the after hail look | 12:40:36 PM |
| Me: | could be | 12:40:41 PM |
| I'm not really well versed in rain/hail skys | 12:40:56 PM | |
| California girl | 12:41:01 PM | |
| Friend: | basic rule is green is bad | 12:41:12 PM |
| Me: | we got some sleet now and hten | 12:41:14 PM |
| Friend: | get out of the outside | 12:41:18 PM |
| Me: | whew. got that one covered | 12:41:27 PM |
| Friend: | in [South Dakota] the other thing was no wind meant take cover | 12:41:37 PM |
| only got still before twisters came | 12:41:45 PM | |
| Me: | ahhh | 12:41:47 PM |
| of course. they screwed up the weather patterns | 12:41:57 PM | |
| Friend: | yea | 12:42:02 PM |
| I still get nervous when I realize there is no wind | 12:42:12 PM | |
| Me: | NOAA says Chance of precipitation is 60% | 12:42:13 PM |
| Friend: | Id say maybe closer to 100 | 12:42:24 PM |
| Me: | ooo it's dark dark dark now | 12:42:34 PM |
| Friend: | round 2 | 12:42:42 PM |
| Me: | like after sunset dark | 12:42:46 PM |
| not nighttime dark | 12:42:55 PM | |
| Friend: | like the street lights just came on dark? | 12:42:57 PM |
| Me: | but late dusk | 12:43:00 PM |
| lemme check | 12:43:05 PM | |
| yup they're on | 12:43:21 PM | |
| Friend: | keep an eye on things | 12:43:29 PM |
| you in a basement? | 12:43:36 PM | |
| Me: | curtains are open. near basement | 12:43:41 PM |
| Friend: | good | 12:43:44 PM |
| Me: | watching sky from the couch | 12:43:55 PM |
| Friend: | good | 12:43:59 PM |
| make sure you can gather the kids [feline variety] in a hurry if you need to | 12:44:12 PM | |
| you should be ok | 12:44:18 PM | |
| but never a bad idea to be ready | 12:44:25 PM | |
| Me: | NOAA not reporting any rotation | 12:44:35 PM |
| just hail | 12:44:37 PM | |
| and "DESTRUCTIVE WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH" | 12:44:56 PM | |
| buckets of rain falling now | 12:45:19 PM | |
| visibility just decreased significantly | 12:45:39 PM | |
| going to take a photo out the door. brb | 12:45:45 PM |
A shot of the storm, taken from my front door.
| Me: | wind blowing rain sideways across roofs | 12:48:22 PM |
| lightning | 12:48:28 PM | |
| sky is really dark now | 12:48:36 PM | |
| some hail again, not much | 12:48:46 PM | |
| lightning and much greener sky | 12:49:07 PM | |
| kind of ugly green gray | 12:49:26 PM | |
| Friend: | let me peek here | 12:49:39 PM |
| Me: | NOAA says: DOPPLER RADAR HAS INDICATED SOME WEAK ROTATION WITHIN THIS STORM. | 12:50:17 PM |
| laptop is on battery power now since the storm is so close. rather not have it plugged in just now | 12:50:51 PM | |
| Friend: | yea | 12:51:33 PM |
| good idea | 12:51:35 PM | |
| [My relatives] had a pc get fried that way | 12:51:51 PM | |
| even thru a surge protector | 12:51:58 PM | |
| but then their house got hit by lightening | 12:52:08 PM | |
| so not much a surge protector is going to do about that | 12:52:22 PM | |
| [they] said it was about midnite and all of their lights came on | 12:52:41 PM | |
| scary then | 12:52:49 PM | |
| pretty funny now | 12:52:52 PM | |
| Me: | yup | 12:53:06 PM |
| our puters and TV (and off atm) are on full fledged UPS boxes, but the laptop not so much. | 12:53:39 PM | |
| Ugly green sky... yellowy now. | 12:54:04 PM | |
| Rain in sheets. Lightning near on top of us. And the cat tried to sneak out while I took a few photos out the door. | 12:54:32 PM | |
| Friend: | hahaha | 12:54:43 PM |
| Me: | She wouldn't have wanted to be out there long I spect | 12:54:49 PM |
| Friend: | nah | 12:54:55 PM |
| Me: | Oh wow | 12:54:56 PM |
| Friend: | she would be al "why did you let me go here?" | 12:55:09 PM |
| Me: | nearly done passing over by the look of the radar images on WCCO | 12:56:27 PM |
| Friend: | i see that | 12:57:40 PM |
| Me: | and it's getting a bit lighter, though not less stormy | 12:57:43 PM |
| Friend: | heading here now | 12:57:43 PM |
| i think the city takes some of the stuffin out of it | 12:58:06 PM | |
| Me: | worst winds look like they've passed. | 12:58:08 PM |
| it's amazing how fast the color of the sky changes | 12:58:36 PM | |
| it was a yucky green just a few mins ago, now back to more gray than green | 12:59:08 PM | |
| I should break for a commercial or something... I feel like a sports commentator | 12:59:35 PM | |
| Friend: | [my husband] is on the phone | 1:04:56 PM |
| he can hear the branches breaking | 1:05:10 PM | |
| Me: | ugh | 1:05:12 PM |
| Friend: | its a mess there | 1:05:24 PM |
| our tommy toes are in bad shape | 1:05:40 PM | |
| Me: | calling [my Mister] to tell him to stay inside when it goes over. | 1:05:44 PM |
| Friend: | and its still in full swing there | 1:05:46 PM |
| Me: | oooo no! | 1:07:09 PM |
| Friend: | [my husband] said theres about a foot of water in the street | 1:07:39 PM |
| was watching a idiot try to drive through it | 1:07:52 PM | |
| south of me yet | 1:08:07 PM | |
| Me: | Oooo poor tomatoes | 1:08:07 PM |
| Friend: | yea | 1:08:10 PM |
| we have them tied up | 1:08:14 PM | |
| but its reall windy | 1:08:19 PM | |
| Me: | Ok, sky is a normal rain-gray now | 1:08:24 PM |
| Friend: | good | 1:08:30 PM |
| Me: | thunder outside is that constant rolling sound that sounds like a plane flying overhead | 1:08:42 PM |
| Friend: | im glad that [my husband] is home with [my son] | 1:08:51 PM |
| Me: | yup | 1:08:55 PM |
| Friend: | it sounds very scary now | 1:08:56 PM |
| Me: | Sirens are going off at [my Mister]'s office now | 1:09:09 PM |
| I'm glad even Minnesotans aren't totally unphased by this stuff | 1:09:36 PM | |
| not like an office full of San Diegans in a mild earthquake. | 1:10:02 PM | |
| Who all look around for a minute... say... was that a quake? and then go back to business unless there are non-locals in teh room who need comforting | 1:10:35 PM | |
| (while I sneaked off to check in with the USGS website and fill in teh survey on their Did You Feel It page) | 1:11:11 PM | |
| Friend: | yea - but we loves our weather here | 1:11:51 PM |
| Me: | yeah | 1:11:57 PM |
| you folks with your weather guys in the mornings comparing notes on which of the twin cities has the coldest windchill that morning. | 1:12:27 PM | |
| Oooo St. Paul gets the trophy today at -27F | 1:12:47 PM | |
| Friend: | haha | 1:12:56 PM |
| Me: | winter is fun around here | 1:12:57 PM |
| Friend: | when it hit 60 below in Embarras | 1:13:05 PM |
| there was a lot of folks who were ticked that it broke the previous record - where ever that was | 1:13:28 PM | |
| Me: | I love watching the locals in short sleeves at 12° F | 1:13:29 PM |
| Friend: | yea | 1:13:34 PM |
| I have a 60 below mug from when that cold snap hit | 1:13:54 PM | |
| Me: | woot | 1:13:59 PM |
| Ok, storm's officially blown over. Sky is almost starting to look blue again through the gray | 1:14:56 PM | |
| Me: | sunny now. go figure. teh deck is even dry now since it's not real wood. | 2:12:19 PM |
| Friend: | [my husband] said the power is out all over bloomington | |
| they went to savage to find lunch | 2:30:00 PM | |
| Me: | the chipmunks are ferrying seeds back and forth from the neighbor's bird feeder. all must be well out there now. | 2:43:20 PM |
* when I left the house for a doc appointment at 9:30.
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