Not telling you how to drive

We don't need to be told how to drive and I'm not about to start in on that. Instead, I'll offer just a few ideas that will make winter driving more interesting.

1. I've often wondered why Holden has three national pharmacy chains. This week, I got a partial answer. We need a place where we can get a special deal on stuff that will aid our various states of motion.
   You can get a recliner for those days when you've got nothin'. On better days, hop onto a scooter and get around the neighborhood. And, finally, when you're really ready to inflict your driving on your fellow citizens, pick up a GPS for Dummies.

via walgreens.com
2. Then, strap on your driving bib.
   
   
   
   
   via The J-Walk Blog: Driving Bib
   
   
3. Scrape the windshield just a bit.

via bookofjoe: Police Alert for 'Peephole' Drivers
4. Sequence your genome: Slashdot Science Story | Bad Driving May Have Genetic Basis
   
5. Order your car insurance from Progressive, one of America's pro-homosexual giants: 2010
6. And hit the road:
   
   
   
   
   via Convertible Fail
   
   

Stalking the wild fropa

I worked for a guy who moved from New England to San Deigo. He told the story of watching tv one night. The weather guy started into the forecast, paused, tossed the papers in the air, and shouted, "Why do I bother? The weather's gonna be great. It was great yesterday. It's great today. It's gonna be great tomorrow." He then walked off the set.
It's a good story, whether it's true or not.

To weather nerds, a day of low clouds and fog is just as interesting as a bright sunny day. Neither, of course, is as exciting as impending storms, but there'd be some of that, too. On that Saturday, a cold front was due, bringing the possibility of strong winds and rain and perhaps a thunderboomer. The SkyWarn team was ready.
You might think that the people who show up for a conference about weather might be people who, oh, how do I say this, might not have a lot of dates on Saturday nights?
In truth, the folks who attended the 10th Annual Southern New England Weather Conference, for the most part, looked quite normal. They're just really, really passionate about weather.
The 200 attendees included professionals from the broadcasting, the National Weather Services, other government agencies, businesses, and academia and amateurs ranging in age from 11 to those who gave the maritime forecast to Noah.
We gathered at The Clay Center at Dexter and Southfield Schools in Brookline, in a neighborhood where the houses for sale are listed on Sotheby's. The cars driven by the attendees, however, were Subarus, minivans, and old red pickups.

The presentations were rich with interesting detail. Some presenters were professionals, such as Mish Michaels talking about the New Hampshire Tornado of  2008. She brought video clips from her tv coverage and referred to herself as a reporter as much as a meteorologist. Other people were professionals in their own domains, but hadn't spent a lot of time making conference presentations. As a result, there were quite a few "I-don't-know-how-this-thing-works." moments as they struggled with Powerpoint.
All, however, knew their stuff and brought passion to their material. Joe DelliCarpini, National Weather Service office in Taunton, detailed the convergence of wind, moisture, and temperature at the several layers of the atmosphere that resulted in the December 2008 ice storm.From the report by Christine Sullivan of the U.S.Department of Agriculture (PDF)), I learned the decisions regarding tree-replanting after the 1953 tornado led to the Asian long-horneded beetle infestation, which, in turn, left the trees in Greendale even more vulnerable to the ice accretion.

The conference featured a series of presentations on education, showcasing how kids and college students can learn about the weather. In one session, two high school freshmen showed us how to identify highs and lows, warm and cold fronts, areas of high moisture content, low temperatures, and strong, jet stream winds using the tools of the modern era - maps and other data from the National Weather Service.
Hurricanes and other tropical systems that go past us or go out to sea often have a significant impact on the Canadian maritime seas and shorline. A system that misses us can push 100' waves against the Nova Scotia coast. We learned this because Canada has a Canadian Hurricane Centre. Peter J. Bowyer (PDF link) explained, for example, how deep ocean waves can be refracted against the undersea ridges along George's Bank, amplifying the wave heights and pushing walls of water against Peggy's Cove.
We have satellites watching over us at every moment, generating a firehose of data that the Internet can bring to our desks and laps and pockets. It's in the times of serious trouble, though, that legions of old-school ham operators, with their battery-operated radios and wire antennae that can whip in the winds, bring news to all who listen. It was the hams who filled the gap in emergency communications during the ice storms. Julio Ripoli of the National Hurricane Center in Miami (PDF link), spoke of the hams who report on falling buildings and crashing waves in the Caribbean during hurricanes. If you meet a ham operator, thank them as you would thank a soldier or anyone in public safety.
Broadcast meteorologists in New England are our rock stars. As such, I tried to be cool when I had the chance to meet Dick Albert, Harvey Leonard, the aforementioned Mish Michaels, Cindy Fitzgibbon, Matt Noyes,  and others. I didn't ask for autographs, but, later, I did befriend Noyes on Facebook.

Panel: Cindy Fitzgibbon, Fox 25 - Boston, Michelle Muscatello, Harvey Leonard, Nick Morganelli | CBS 3 Springfield, Matt Noyes.

I drove home through heavy rain and wind, comforted in the knowledge that there are weather nuts, professional, amateur, and student, standing watch with the promise of a sunny day tomorrow.

* fropa is weather slang for frontal passage, a change of wind direction that often triggers precipitation and brings a change of air mass.

Finding food

As some of you may remember, I've recently been pushed to the curb while the Army of Wheat-Eaters^[1] marches on.
Truth be told, it's not been bad. I have to be careful, read labels, and be a bit resourceful. Those meatballs in the freezer, those yummy ones, for example, include bread crumbs. So, it's just rice pasta and sauce, but no one left the table hungry.
(Our sons recall that, one time, I was using a meat loaf recipe that called for seasoned bread crumbs. We didn't have any, so I used animal crackers.)
Most stores have special needs sections, although the selections aren't always plentiful.

Free of gluten-free

The Intertubes come to the rescue. This site, | Gluten free, food allergy free, provides maps to restaurants that are prepared a number of dietary restrictions. For example, here's what's in our area:

Not a lot, but not bad.

Portrait of a something as a young someone

I'm gonna guess that this picture was taken on Christmas Eve when I was about three. We exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve; it made it difficult to get into the whole Santa Claus thing, but I was otherwise quite well immersed into the rest of the American culture.

This picture was taken in Westminster. We lived in the garage while my father was building the house. As you can see, well, you can see.
My father's mother, Mummu, is on the right.

99 years

My father's parents would be celebrating their 99th wedding anniversary today. They were married in Kivijärvi in Finland on this day in 1910. (Note that the newspaper's typography couldn't handle the umlauts in the town's name.)

Click to enbiggen (1.8MB file image).

This is a blog about work

I had a moment to look at my reflection in the stainless steel doors of the elevator. "This is a guy who has a job," I said to myself.
There were and are plenty of other details that jumped the queue - is a dual-boot Windows/Linux configuration is better than setting up virtual machines[1], is IE6 causing that display problem on the client's system?, do I have a blank engineering notebook?, are there any good Flash decomplilers?, what's for supper?, what am I not going to do now that I have paid work to do?
The way that I found this job is interesting as well. I've subscribed to a particular email list for something like 20 years. This list, managed by a former DECcie, posts occasional technical writing jobs along with various questions regarding tech doc work. Last Wednesday afternoon, this job showed up on the list. The description included several topics that I'd recently been discussing with some friends.
So, I replied with a brief cover note and a copy of my resume. The next day, the hiring manager called me. We talked on the phone for 45 minutes. I had a few quick answers that could help out immediately and planned to have a couple more resolved by the time that we would meet in person. Yesterday, the manager and I met. It was a good match. We liked each other and had plenty to talk about, on and off topic. I offered my references, but she said that she was convinced that I knew my stuff and could help.

Just like that. I have work to do. It sounds like fun.

[1]The CPU on my 64-bit laptop doesn't support 64-bit virtual images, so the only way to have a 64-bit Windows Server 2008 on my laptop is to install it in a dual-boot configuration.

More on time

For TaxiGuy:

via

Crime in suburbia

From The Landmark (subscription required):
[Editor's note: there were 17 suspicious and one strange person, activity, or thing.]

Holden

Monday, October 12

7:05 a.m. Suspicious pickup truck on Wachusett St.
8:27 a.m. Motor vehicle with flat tire on Chapel St.
10:37 a.m. Stray dog brought to police station
1:27 p.m. Occupants of pickup truck throwing eggs at passing vehicles on Brattle Street
1:58 p.m. Caller requesting directions
2:18 p.m. 911 Report of several juveniles on Bancroft Road; no problems at this time
2:47 p.m. Branch in roadway on Anderson Ave.
4:02 p.m. Tractor trailer ran out of gas on Doyle Rd.

5:06 p.m. Two suspicious males walked into woods with shotgun on Wachusett St.

Tuesday, October 13

4:20 p.m. Temp fences removed near bridge construction and equipment blocking entrances; caller concerned about kids going down tunnel
4:45 p.m. Child on bike fell, small injury, on Park Ave.; Boy Scout at scene took care of cut
6:01 p.m. Report of two females yelling, possible domestic, on Salisbury St.; not domestic, they were laughing
8:01 p.m. Loud explosion reported on Wachusett St.
8:31 p.m. Suspicious person attempting to solicit for water group/safe alternatives

Wednesday, October 14

9:21 a.m. Report of vehicle parked on Reservoir St. in woods for two mornings, could be hunting
9:57 a.m. Skunk caught in hockey net on Princeton St.

10:19 a.m. Two men walking on Doyle Road picking through people's trash
10:24 a.m. Fraud/scam investigation
3:14 p.m. Motorcycle speeding around Heather Circle

6:37 p.m. Caller reports car deliberately drove over trash can; husband chased car down the street and spoke to driver and occupants
9:01 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle at Eagle Lake
9:41 p.m. Vehicle having mechanical problems on railroad tracks on Sunnyside Ave.

Thursday, October 15

1:14 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle on Salisbury St.
10:38 a.m. Branch down on wires, three poles down on Doyle Rd.
10:53 a.m. 911 abandoned call from Birchwood Dr.; no emergency
12:23 p.m. Caller inquiring about sister in Lowell; advised to call Lowell
12:27 p.m. Dog in parking lot at school on Reservoir St.
1:27 p.m. Narcotics violation at high school
3:05 p.m. Elderly male got off bus and refused to get back on on Wachusett St.
3:38 p.m. Report of person slumped against window in car at high school; disabled vehicle
4:25 p.m. Report of skunk on Wyoming Dr.
6:01 p.m. Vehicles with three kids stealing pumpkins on Britney Dr.
7:54 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle on Mason Rd.
8:28 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle on Mayo Dr. with interior light on, no one in vehicle

Friday, October 16

2:17 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle on Mason Rd.
9:20 a.m. Well-being check on Main St.; baby heard crying, resident took a long time to answer door
12:30 p.m. Report of three youths on Parker Ave. rolling tire into street
7:42 p.m. Strange motor vehicle parked on Banbury Lane, not familiar to the area

11:45 p.m. Assisted motorist with directions to highway; GPS broken

Saturday, October 17

12:04 a.m. Report of excessively loud music on Slipper Hill Lane
12:27 a.m. Lights at center intersection cycling through crosswalk with no pedestrians present; MassHighway informed
8:34 a.m. Older male hitchhiking on Main St.
10:26 a.m. 911 hang-up; mother reports son had his phone taken away and is upset
2:06 p.m. Trash can fire at Davis Hill School
3:10 p.m. Suspicious person at children's school on Shrewsbury St.
6:34 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle on Reservoir St.
7:27 p.m. ATM cards switched at bank
10:52 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicles on Banbury Lane

Sunday, October 18

10:21 a.m. Suspicious phone calls
10:57 a.m. Large puddle on Main South by railroad bridge

2:26 p.m. Neighbor dispute over empty lot
4:53 p.m. 911 Accidental from Greenbriar Lane

Paxton

Monday, October 12

2:22 p.m. Caller lost keys while hiking at Moore State Park, Sawmill Rd.
5:53 p.m. Report of suspicious white van, Brigham Rd.

Tuesday, October 13

7:17 p.m. Caller reporting fish tank has been moved, concerned someone has been in house, South St.

Wednesday, October 14

7:37 a.m. Assist fire dept., Streeter Rd.

Friday, October 16

8:24 p.m. Assist fire dept., possible pole fire, Asnebumskit/Ridgewood Rds.

Saturday, October 17

4:06 p.m. Assist at fire call, fire extinguisher sprayed setting off alarms, Sunset Ln.

Princeton

Monday, October 12

6:43 p.m. Public service, Mountain Rd.
7:02 p.m. Motor vehicle lockout, Boylston Ave.
8:10 p.m. Request for animal control officer, Houghton Rd.
10:04 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Town Hall Dr.

Thursday, October 15

7:00 p.m. Assist animal control officer, Main St.
9:35 p.m. Property returned, Worcester Rd.

Friday, October 16

11:09 a.m. Request for animal control officer, Dowds Ln.
5:18 p.m. Assist animal control officer, Boylston Ave.
5:53 p.m. Traffic safety hazard, Esty Rd.
6:47 p.m. Traffic safety hazard, Mountain Rd.
9:31 p.m. Public service, Westminster Rd.
9:33 p.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Ball Hill Rd.

Saturday, October 17

10:53 a.m. Public service, Town Hall Dr.
11:25 a.m. Assist animal control officer, Mountain Rd.
1:19 p.m. Property found, Town Hall Dr.

Sunday, October 18

2:47 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Mirick Rd.
5:22 p.m. Public service, Main St.
5:47 p.m. Request for highway department, Mountain Rd.
6:09 p.m. Disturbance, gun shots, Ball Hill Rd.

Rutland

Monday, October 12

9:41 a.m. Two small dogs running loose in Miles Rd. area
6:22 p.m. GPS stolen out of car at WPI, caller concerned that personal information might be accessed, Main St.
7:05 p.m. Lost orange and white cat, Cameron Dr.
8:20 p.m. Bear walking through yard, Pleasantdale Rd.

Tuesday, October 13

1:02 a.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
9:03 a.m. Cow stuck with head under fence, Glenwood Rd.
9:08 a.m. Keene, N.H. PD requesting information, Main St.
10:36 a.m. Missing gray cat, Edson Ave.
12:13 p.m. Vehicle parked beside Milne Rd.
4:42 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
5:32 p.m. Person at station for assistance with keys locked in vehicle, Maple Ave.

Wednesday, October 14

11:55 a.m. Employee reports being bitten by dog, Main St.
3:28 p.m. Traffic safety issue, Main St.
6:04 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.
6:24 p.m. Person at station to speak with officer, Main St.

Thursday, October 15

9:34 a.m. Suspicious motor vehicle, Memorial Dr.
11:31 a.m. Quarantine notice for dog served, Juniper Ln.
1:25 p.m. Assist other agency, Main St.
1:32 p.m. Assist police in South Carolina. with information
2:21 p.m. Motor vehicle lockout, Miles Rd.
3:15 p.m. Assist resident locked out of her home, Main St.

Friday, October 16

2:49 a.m. Motor vehicle accident, Maple Ave.
12:06 p.m. Caller wants information about his dog being quarantined, Juniper Ln.
12:53 p.m. Report of two dogs loose in yard of home, Turkey Hill Rd. One dog is chasing horses on the property
2:53 p.m. Person witnessed young girl punching dog in the head, Central Tree Rd.
6:15 p.m. Report of bear in yard, Wildbrook Dr.

Sunday, October 18

8:57 a.m. High water alarm, Miles Rd.
10:38 a.m. Dog hit by car, E. County Rd.
1:22 p.m. Repo agent having trouble with client, Maple Ave.
8:16 p.m. Truck stuck in grassy/muddy area, Hillside Rd.
8:17 p.m. People throwing snowballs at passing motorists, Maple Ave.
11:18 p.m. Assistance requested with log stuck under car, Miles Rd.

Sterling

Monday, October 12

2:06 p.m. Bear walked over swimming pool liner, fell in and clawed its way out seriously damaging liner and pool sub-structure

Tuesday, October 13

5:14 a.m. Someone in caller's back yard yelling, Sunset Dr.
7:59 a.m. Vehicles in driveway, alarm sounding, officer met with homeowner, Hazelhurst Way
8:33 a.m. Deceased calico cat in driveway, Leominster Rd.
8:42 a.m. Officer checked exterior of home where alarm is sounding, Boutelle Rd.
11:28 a.m. Person reports stolen truck, Riverview Rd., civil issue
2:31 p.m. Caller reporting someone in white van claiming to be tracking "rabid" raccoon, Laurelwood Rd.
5:01 p.m. Officer investigation, follow-up, Boutelle Rd.
5:29 p.m. Officer investigation, follow-up, Kendall Hill Rd.

Wednesday, October 14

9:16 a.m. Loose cows, Boutelle Rd.
10:03 a.m. Suspicious activity, Holden PD reports
3:12 p.m. Officer investigation, Kendall Hill Rd.
8:17 p.m. Family of skunks living under deck of home, Princeton Rd.

Thursday, October 15

1:18 a.m. Traffic stop, female transported to residence in Leominster, Leominster Rd.
7:06 a.m. Officer wanted, debris in road, possibly fell off truck, Pratts Jct./Leominster Rds.

Friday, October 26

10:11 a.m. Report that elderly gentleman entered barn, placed a saw in wheelbarrow and took it away, Clinton Rd.
5:48 p.m. Disturbance, police disperse gathering, Gates Rd. Youths on Rail Trail, yelling and screaming obscenities. No-trespass order issued to youths
8:46 p.m. Suspicious activity, Chace Hill area, people ordered to leave

Saturday, October 17

10:40 a.m. Parking violation, road blocked, Meetinghouse Hill Rd.
1:53 p.m. Parking violations, Hall Ave.
7:44 p.m. Four teenagers in middle of Rte. 62 won't move out of road
8:51 p.m. Possible gunshots, Kendall Hill Rd.

Sunday, October 18

12:06 a.m. Person at station reporting rocks thrown all over Main St.; services rendered
1:16 a.m. People throwing rocks behind light department, Main St.
10:39 a.m. Assist citizen with installation of car seat, Leominster Rd.
12:39 p.m. Person wants to file complaint against someone, Leominster Rd.