Sunday, August 28, 2011

Irene Cometh...

It's Sunday morning, 9:20am.  Irene has made landfall in NYC at 9am.  She is now a tropical storm.  I'm not relaxing just yet.  We aren't supposed to peak out for another hour or two.  Her wind speed is only 65 mph, but I'm getting big wind gusts!  I hope I can write and post this before the power goes out.  It's flickered three times in the last half hour. Now it went off and on twice.  Yeesh.  So far my poor sunflowers are the only victims of the rain and wind.  I figured as much.

Before Irene:


And this morning:



SIGH.  It happens every time I plant them.  So far that big branch is all that's fallen.  I'm cautiously optimistic the rest of my trees will stay rooted in the ground.

My husband works for a local university in the security department.  He's been there since 2pm yesterday and won't be home until 11 tonight.  He wanted to come home last night, but I told him to stay put.  I'd rather he have one night of discomfort than getting hurt. 

Going to wrap this! Be safe!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Weather Geeks Unite!

What the hell!

We had an earthquake today.  We had mountains of snow this winter.  Blasting heat, frigid cold.  An EF-3 tornado just north of us.  And now Irene, which hopefully, will be a bunch of media hype and will tra-la-la out to sea.  The way the weather has been this year? We're probably going to get a direct hit.

The weather geek in me is excited...the homeowner?  Not so much.

My trees that give me shade in the summer and color (and bags and bags and bags of leaves) in the fall, suddenly look menacing.  I see my wires down and my car squished.  I'm a planner...I'd rather be over prepared and look silly, then to be unprepared and panic.  Sue me, I'm a worrywart like my mom.  It's genetic.  It's in my DNA.

I follow every conceivable weather thing on Twitter.  I don't follow hacks.  I follow the Weather Channel, Jim Cantore (♥), NWS Taunton, MA, Skywarn and Geoff Fox.  I respect the hell out of these guys.  They don't hype.  There are no wild "!!!" like some local meteorologists around here.  They call it as they see it.  If they're concerned, you know damn well I'll be watching closely.

I was eighteen when Hurricane Gloria hit in 1985.  I thought it was the coolest thing.  We had no power, the damage and trees down were awesome!  We took pictures, we were in awe of Mother Nature's wrath.  Now I own a house and a car.  I'm a mom.  My geekiness has to be tempered so I don't scare my daughter.  My son just gave her his "Idiots Guide to the Weather" by Dr. Mel Goldstein (So sorry that he retired today.  I've met him...really nice guy!) and told her to read it.  My theory has always been "You won't be so afraid if you understand it."  But, I have to allievate her fears and answer her questions.  And I need to protect them as well.

And if Jim Cantore shows up in Connecticut?  I'm outta here (once I get his autograph!)!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Stop the presses!

I met someone new today.

His name is Jim Shelton.  He's a writer for our local newspaper, the New Haven Register.  He's been there twenty-eight years!  Way back when there were no Internet...or computers for that matter!  Articles were typed on one of these (for you young 'uns who've never seen one)...


He's doing a piece on moving...and all the "fun" that goes along with moving your crap from point A to point B.  We talked for a half hour.  Probably the easiest half hour of chatting I've done with someone new.  I told him about the time I moved from Cheshire to New Haven when Matt was a baby.  How my brother Jim and his buddy Attila threw my mattress out my second floor bedroom window because "It was easier to do it that way." And how they took a dance break on the roof of the U-Haul when C&C Music Factory came on the radio!  Then he video interviewed me for the website...and I didn't sound like a goober!

We talked about writing and how blogging is the way to go now.  There's no way to get into a newspaper without a bachelor's degree.  But what really bothers me is the fact people aren't reading or buying newspapers anymore!  We get instant news on Yahoo or Twitter. We have it coming right to our iPhones and Blackberries.  Who wants to read what happened the next day? 

Here's where newspapers totally rock over iPhones...
  • Can you potty train your puppy on an iPhone?
  • Can your cat lay on it in such a way, that no matter what you're trying to read, you can't?
  • Can you walk up to someone intently reading an article and knock it out of their hands?
  • Can you start a blazing fire with one?
  • Does an iPhone have that "rustle" (wait, there must be an app for that)?
You get my point.  And what about guys like Jim who do this for a living?  Stop buying newspapers and his job is gone...along with a few thousand other people. 

Pick up a newspaper the next time you hit Dunkin' Donuts on your way to work.  Put your smart phone away and support the local guys.  I know they'd appreciate it.

And thanks Jim for the words of encouragement (told ya I'd put you in my blog!!).  :)