We all Need a Hero
At least I know I’d like one. The GoPro Hero2 is an amazing HD camera that comes with a waterproof case and all kinds of mounts. It would be an amazing camera for time lapse video captured from my deck!
Here is my first UStream broadcast from my phone:
November 20, 2011 Pusch Peak Sunrise Time Lapse
Originally posted at TonightsSunset.com
Not as much color in this one as we often get, but I like they way the cloud were moving and forming and unforming. 45 minutes around sunrise condensed into about a minute and 45 seconds
Fall No Matter How You Slice It
This post originally posted at my TucsonWeather.us site
Cornucopia of Information
I could also subtitle this post, “Fixin’ to be Fall.”
The Autumnal Equinox is upon us. Striking just after midnight here in Tucson. Specifically at 2:04 a.m. This marks the moment that the Sun will be directly over the Equator on it’s journey south. Of course it’s not the Sun that is doing the journeying so much as the tilt of the Earth as it goes around the Sun etc., etc. etc. You know. Stuff you learned in grade school science. I will mention that “Equinox” is Latin or Greek (I can never remember which.) for “Equal Night.” Presumably the entire globe has a 12 hour night tomorrow night. I think it’ll be close. Your individual equinox may vary however.
I always joke that the moment the Sun is over the Equator that you may feel a little dizzy, dogs may start barking, if you are doing the dishes you may drop one. Which is of course silly. I mean, who does dishes at 2:04 a.m.?
Meteorologically (probably not a word) speaking the Northern Hemisphere of our planet (including Tucson presumably) have been in the Fall Season for three weeks now. September, October and November make up the Meteorological Fall. The Autumnal Equinox marks the beginning of Astronomical Fall. So. No matter how you slice it it’ll be Fall for sure starting tomorrow. I just hope it’s cooler than 80 degrees at Thanksgiving!
April Foolin’
In general I'm not big into April Fool's Day. Those that know me pretty well are usually surprised to hear that. I tend to be a fun-loving guy who likes to laugh a lot. I guess it can be surprising when I say that I have a tough time coming up with April Fool's pranks, or jokes, that are good.
Sure, stoopid April Fool's jokes are a dime a dozen. Usually it's based on a lie that isn't hard to detect as a lie. Everyone has an uncomfortable laugh and then gets on with the day. Worse yet is a made up tragic story that causes wailing and sobbing only to be replaced by fists flying when the truth is revealed.
However, I do have one story of a joke that I actually planned out and pulled off that wasn't half bad. This is that story.
It was years ago in Roswell, New Mexico. I was the main Weather Anchor on the 6:00 and 10:00 news on KBIM-TV. I brought my son and daughter to work with me on April Fool's Eve along with the suit and tie that I was going to wear the next night. I used a photog to shoot the video. By the 6:00 o'clock news on April Fool's night, I was ready. I instructed my director to mess with the clipping on the weather wall shortly after I started my weather and then roll tape once I walked off camera. It worked brilliantly. Here's what the viewer saw that night in 1993:
We came out of the commercial and I got 10 or 15 seconds into the weathercast when I started to fade in and out on the air. I turned to the camera said, "something's not right, I'm gonna go check this out." I then walked off camera and out the studio door with the camera following behind. I walked into the control room and up to the "director" and it was my 4 year old son and 10 year old daughter. My son had the headsets on and my daughter was at the controls of the switcher. I looked at 'em and said, "I know it's your first time directing and all, but can you please try and get it right?" They said in unison, "OK Dad. NOT!"
I then walked back into the studio shaking my head and went on with the weather.
Fun times! Great team work between a news photog, director, tape op and my kids. My only regret is I didn't save a copy.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother Chris! Seriously.
How Cold is it?
COLD
New record low of 18 this morning which is also tied for the second coldest ever for a February Tucson morning. There's a chance we tied the all-time record February low of 17. We won't find out for sure for a few hours. If we didn't reach it, no worries. We have an even better chance tomorrow morning!
This could be the coldest February chill in Tucson's history. I go through all of that plus take a look at the cold, snow and freezing rain forecast for Texas in this morning's "Coffee and a Forecast"
Video streaming by Ustream
Here is a comprehensive look at the cold start originally posted on my TucsonWeather.us site.
Make it Real
I had this idea when I was posting YouTube videos on Facebook. Every song brought me back somewhere. Different stages, times, events, people in my life.
Songs have that power. To transport you back to whatever or whomever. Probably only the sense of smell is a more powerful memory prompter.
So, here is my first entry. Scorpions, “Make it Real”
I was traveling across the Arizona desert, almost to my destination of Roswell, NM when someone on the bus asked me if I wanted to trade. My Queen, “News of the World” cassette for his Scorpions, “Animal Magnetism” cassette. I am still fully convinced I got the better end of that deal!
I started listening and I heard “Make it Real” and it really spoke to my heart. See, I had left Oregon with only the possessions I could carry to pursue a dream of broadcasting. I was gonna make it real for reals! I had taken my last check, sold a typewriter my Mom had given me and bought a one way ticket to Roswell, NM.
Just a week before my friend and I were fishing. He was gonna go to Roswell and wanted to know if I wanted to go. I had never heard of it. No one had as far as I knew! It was before the alien stuff was widely known. I asked him how big it was and if they had any radio and TV stations. 50,000 people and yes, both radio and TV. I was in!
At the time I was a part time dishwasher barely making my rent. A promising student in school, I smoked too much pot to realize that I could actually go to college. I did know, however, that I could start a radio and TV career with a little talent in a small market. And that is what I aimed to do.
Off on an adventure, as 21 year olds are prone to do. It worked out just as planned. However, with all plans, it didn’t look or unfold the way I pictured it. So many life lessons along the way. The subject of so many other songs.
I did get a job a few months later as a part time DJ. That led to a full time gig and eventually, Music Director. Then into TV and finally a weatherman.
Now I am faced again with a dream, or a hint of one. Will I sell out and chase it like I did way back in 1984? It feels different. I have a car payment and debt and I’m old. Then there is the dream part. What is it I want to do when I grow up since I have already reached those goals of DJ and Weatherman?
I’m gonna play the song again and see if the song helps me to find the courage to really be what I think God wants me to be. I made it real once, maybe God wants to make it real in my life again!
Snowman Mike with a Snowicane Update
Snowman Mike Talks Texas and Moscow Snow
Global Warming Update
Winter Storm Warning, 3pm – 11am
Rain and snow moving in from a vigorous storm that is tapping some tropical moisture. How low will snow levels go? 3,500 feet, maybe lower. Yuma getting soaked and rain and snow is likely for southeast Arizona this afternoon through tomorrow morning:
