I kick you, you kick me.

Two games done in this weekend's Fenway Park face-off between my beloved Yankees and the evil Boston Red Sox. On Friday night, the Yankees pounded the Sox and recorded a 20-11 victory. On Saturday afternoon, the Sox returned the favor with a 14-1 embarrassment of the Bronx Bombers. Sunday night sees the rubber game. If the Yankees win, they leave Boston with a 7 1/2 game lead. If Boston wins, the lead is cut to 5 1/2 games.

It must have been tough for both teams to play these first two games in such humid weather conditions. Both games featured lots of home runs, which is to be expected when the humidity level is high. Contrary to popular baseball mythology, humid air is not "heavy," and does not weigh the baseball down. In fact, because water molecules are lighter than air molecules, the overall density of humid air is actually less than that of dry air at the same temperature. So it's logical to expect fly balls to carry further on humid days, and that seems to be the case for the first two games.

Temperatures are expected to cool down this week as a Canadian air mass moves into the region. This should make for some nice baseball weather as the Yankees return home from their ten-game road trip after finishing up at Fenway Park. Anyone at Yankee Stadium next Saturday--come by Section 305 and say hello.

Of Hurricanes and El Nino

Sure has been a long time since my last blog post. The end of the Spring Semester and the quick turnaround to Summer Session have occupied most of my time (along with the arrival of our first granddaughter in June).

So now that Summer Session is entering its final week, I can look ahead at some upcoming vacation time and begin to think about this year's hurricane season. The National Weather Service has yet to publish its final estimate of what the 2009 hurricane season will be like (that should be out during the first few days of August). But it seems that the Atlantic may be quieter this year than in the past few. There is a strong El Nino developing along the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean, and that is expected to continue through the upcoming winter. El Nino is an unusually warm water current that flows eastward along the equatorial Pacific towards the South American coast. When it develops (usually every 3-4 years, but unpredictably so), the Pacific becomes much warmer than normal, while the Atlantic and Caribbean remain cooler than normal. This tends to sharply decrease the number and strength of tropical storms and hurricanes that form in the Atlantic from June through October. So I expect that the forecast will call for fewer Atlantic/Caribbean storms than in the last few years.

That's certainly good news for the residents of Florida and the Gulf Coast, as they have been pounded since 2004 with one tropical system after another. In 2004, Florida experienced four major hurricanes (Charlie, Helen, Ivan and Jeanne). In 2005, they were hit with Wilma (which earlier had been the strongest hurricane in Atlantic/Caribbean history), while the Gulf states had to deal with Katrina and Rita. Last year, Gustav and Ike did their damage from New Orleans to Galveston and Houston.

Hopefully, the developing El Nino will lessen the activity in the Atlantic and give all those folks a breather, along with all those others who have vacation plans along the North and South Carolina coasts. Nothing worse than dragging all that stuff down south, then having to evacuate in the face of an approaching storm.

I guess the only thing left to wonder about is what Jim Cantore and Stephanie Abrams of The Weather Channel will do with themselves if there are no hurricanes to stand in the middle of.

Summer Session Online at CCSU

For the second summer in a row, I'm teaching a course on severe and hazardous weather that is being offered only online. I find online courses to be a mixed blessing for both me and the students in the course.

For me, the fact that I don't have to maintain a presence on campus every day is a nice change of pace. I spend much of the day online, waiting for students to ask questions, grading assignments as they are submitted, and moderating chat rooms where students can interact with me and each other. Even though I never see any of these students face-to-face, I actually feel that I get to know them better than most students in my larger in-class courses. That's the part I like.

What I don't like, however, is, in fact, the lack of face-to-face contact. I pride myself on my ability to get difficult concepts across to students through use of the board (blackboard or whiteboard). That aspect of teaching doesn't exist in an online course. I rely on the students to keep up with, and learn and understand the material presented to them online, but I know that for some, it just doesn't happen.

Online courses are moneymakers for the university, as there are little or no overhead costs involved (no classroom lights to keep on, no air conditioned rooms to keep cool, etc.). But they are not for everyone, and students often don't realize that until they are in over their heads.

Auto Updates? Thanks, but no thanks.

Recently, I've been having problems with my computers at home. I have a somewhat unique situation in that my desktop computer (now over four years old) runs Windows XP and is still working well for me. My notebook computer came with Windows Vista Home Edition, and, while it took me awhile to adjust to the differences, it also works well, and (contrary to what those smug Mac folks would have you believe) hardly ever crashes or malfunctions. I have a home wireless network, and both computers speak to one another with never a harsh word between the two of them.

However, I've always been one of those types who wants to have the latest updates for every piece of software that I have. So I usually set my computer to automatically download and install these updates (for XP, Vista, Firefox, IE, etc.). Most of the time, they install with no problems and often provide improved functionality. Recently, however, that hasn't been the case.

I tried to install the Service Pack 3 update to Windows XP. It didn't work. In fact, I got a message telling me that the update installation failed. So I went back to where I was, and now I get continuously reminded that I need to update to Service Pack 3.

Then I installed an update to Windows Vista on my notebook. No problem with the installation, but when I restarted the computer, it refused to recognize the CD/DVD drive. In fact, it told me I didn't have one. I restored the system to its old, non-updated state, but still no CD/DVD drive. Luckily, I found a solution on Google, and all is well. But I won't run the update again, that's for sure.

Finally, there's Firefox 3.0.10. It updated itself automatically then proceeded to crash my computers (both of them) over and over again. I finally uninstalled it, and cycled back to a much earlier version of Firefox that works fine. And I no longer get automatic updates for it.

Newer isn't always better.

Mirror Images

People who have a hard time understanding how weather moves across the country from west to east should only look at east coast vs. west coast weather this week and weekend.  Last week and into early this week, the western U.S., particularly in California, was in the grip of an early spring heat wave.  Temperatures in Los Angeles were in the upper 80's, which is unusually warm for this time of year.  At the same time, here in Connecticut, we were looking at temperatures in the 50's for most of the early part of the week.

The upcoming weekend promises a reverse of those conditions.  Here in Connecticut, record-high temperatures are possible, as the mercury on both Saturday and Sunday will rise into the upper 80's.  Only those regions near the coastal waters will escape the extreme heat, as cool water temperatures act to keep temperatures lower as a sea breeze develops both days.  On the left coast, however, things will swing back to a slightly below normal condition, as temperatures in southern California will return to the mid to upper 60's.

The hot weather will not help firefighters in South Carolina who are fighting a major wildfire in the North Myrtle Beach area.  Conditions have been very dry, and some of the expensive homes and golf courses around Myrtle Beach have been threatened.  At least 69 homes have been destroyed as of this writing, and more are under the gun.

Baseball's Back...Spring, Not Quite

What a cold Easter weekend it's been here in Connecticut. Both yesterday and today featured temperatures that did not make it out of the 40's. Hard to believe that the calendar says mid-April, and we're one week into the 2009 baseball season. At least there's hope for the upcoming week that we'll see temperatures into the 60's as we move into mid-week.

The Yankees will officially open their new Stadium on Thursday, and I'd love to go, but I can't, for two reasons. First (and most importantly) I have classes to teach. Second, I don't have a ticket, and at this point, I can't afford one. There are still tickets to be had from the official Ticketmaster website. Face value......$2625.00!!! Obviously not an option. And I've seen nothing on StubHub (MLB's official ticket resale site) for less than $225. I'll just have to record the game, and watch it when I get home from work. At least the weather should cooperate for the opener, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's. A nice day for baseball. In fact, any day they can play is a nice day for baseball.

Out Like a Lamb

March lives up to its reputation here in Connecticut.  In like a lion, out like a lamb.  That couldn't be more true than it's been this month.  On March 3rd, we had the coldest  day of the month, with a high temperature of only 22 degrees F here in New Britain.  Today, on the last day of March, we've seen the mercury top out at a balmy 59 degrees.   At Bradley International Aiport, almost 8 inches of snow fell on March 2nd.  There was no more snow for the rest of the month, even though March is climatologically the second snowiest month of the year.

That's not to imply that there won't be any more winter weather here in New England.  There are plenty of reports of accumulating snow in past years, even into the early part of May.  But as the length of daylight grows longer, and the intensity of the sunlight grows stronger, winter is finally losing the battle as springtime weather takes over.

Only 6 more days till the Yankees open the 2009 regular season in Baltimore.  I can't wait!

What a Turnaround!

Just eight days ago, in my last post, I talked about the impending 8-12 inch snowstorm that had just begun around Connecticut.  In fact, much of the state got exactly that amount of snow, with some regions getting upwards of 14 inches of new snow.  And this, just after all the winter's snow cover had finally melted.

Now, little more than a week later, all of that snow is gone.  With the past weekend's 60+ degree weather on both Saturday and Sunday, it has all melted away.  Even after living in New England for over 30 years, I am still amazed by how quickly the weather can change around here.

Let the Fun Begin!

After a dusting of snow early this morning, the main event here in Connecticut is finally underway. Snow began here in the Hartford area around 9 PM, and should become quite heavy overnight.

Looks like a good 6-12 inches for the Hartford-New Britain area. Highest amounts (12-15 inches) will be in northeastern Connecticut and across central Massachusetts and southern Vermont and New Hampshire.

Oh well! Who wants to look at dull brown ground anyway? Fresh snow is much prettier.

A Taste of Spring, Then Back to the Reality of Winter

Yesterday's high temperature of 60 degrees at both Bradley Airport, and our own weather station here at CCSU gave us all a taste of Spring. Then the cold front moved in, and just before 2 AM today, the wind shifted back around to the northwest, the dew point plunged from the 40s back to the teens and suddenly, here we are back in winter once again. And it's not over yet.

A quick moving storm system will develop along the stalled front to our south and snow should break out overnight and last into the morning hours tomorrow. Look for an inch or two of the white stuff, as a prelude to a much nastier storm that will affect the region late tomorrow night and through a good portion of the day on Monday. It looks as if we could see as much as 6-8 inches of snow by the time this storm is over late Monday afternoon or Monday evening. Some areas of southern New England could see as much as a foot of snow from this storm. Still, the nature of coastal storms is their inherent unpredictability, so don't expect the broadcasters to narrow in the forecast amounts until later tonight, or, in some cases (for the more conservative forecasters) later tomorrow.

The seemingly never-ending winter of 2008-2009 marches merrily on...

Finally in the New Yankee Stadium

It's been 3 1/2 months since the Yankees ended their 2008 season and closed the doors on historic Yankee Stadium. A brand new stadium has now risen right across the street, and the Yankees will open this ballpark officially on April 16th (although a couple of exhibition games will be played against the Cubs on April 3rd and 4th). It promises to be a magnificent new facility.

However, the way in which existing season ticket holders have been relocated has been, to say the least, frustrating. I have had a Saturday season ticket plan since 1999, right behind home plate in the first row of the upper deck. I was told early on that seats in that part of the new stadium would be reserved exclusively for full season ticket holders. So I filled out an online questionnaire and let the Yankees know where I'd like to sit for this coming season.

Apparently, all that went out the window. I just received my new seat location this past Tuesday. They've put me in the upper deck beyond the foul pole, in fair territory, in right field. This is where Jason Giambi used to hit home runs on a good day. I guess I shouldn't complain too much, though. A significant number of Saturday and Sunday plan holders weren't even offered seats on the weekend days--they were relocated to WEEKDAY plans (mostly Mon-Thurs night games). And the silver lining is that this particular location saves me a lot of money compared to last year. My seats are $15 less per ticket than I paid in 2008. I'm not thrilled to be way out there, but I am thrilled to be in the new stadium, and I can't wait to see what the new place looks like from the inside.

Bad Ads and Dumb Ideas

Now that "the Big Game" is nearly here, I thought I'd go off on some of my pet advertising peeves. Let's start with "the Big Game" itself. What's with the NFL not allowing us to use the word "S...owl" in advertising? It's not as if they wouldn't benefit from everyone talking about the game for two solid weeks. But, if you're an advertiser, you can't use that word without paying the NFL a fee. How stupid is that? It's gotten to the point where the Brotherhood of my own synagogue couldn't publish a flyer advertising its annual Super...oops, I almost said it...er, Big Game party for fear that they'd be sued for using the word.

Next...how about the car dealerships here in Connecticut that advertise that they can get anyone credit, even if you have no credit or "slow credit." I'm still trying to figure out exactly what "slow credit" is. So then they tell you that you can own this $39,000 car for just $99 down OR $99 per month. It's a good thing that I have a DVR on my TV so I can freeze the ad and read the tiny print before it vanishes from the screen. Seems that the $99 down deal requires a 60-month loan with a monthly payment approaching $900 per month. And the $99 per month deal, for a 60-month period requires a down payment of over $30,000. I don't know many people with bad credit who could afford either one of these scenarios. And suffice it to say that I'd never do business with any car dealership that would resort to such misleading tactics. Would you?

Cold, Cold and More Cold

If you're thinking that this has been one cold January, you are absolutely right. Through the first 21 days of 2009, the temperature has averaged 4.4 degrees below normal. Fourteen of the 21 days have had daily average temperatures colder than normal, and we are 10 percent above the normal heating degree day (HDD) total for the month so far. For those unfamiliar, a HDD is a measurement of heating fuel usage. It is calculated by subtracting the daily average temperature--(MAX + MIN) /2--from a base of 65 (the average temperature below which it is assumed that you must use fuel to heat your home). So, for example, a day that has an average temperature of 25 degrees, accumulated 40 HDD (65-25). The more HDD we accumulate, the more fuel we use (i.e., the colder it is).

Normally, at this time of January, we'd be anticipating a "January Thaw." This phenomenon, a marked warming late in the month that lasts a few days, actually shows up in long-term averages for the region. But don't look for one this month. Computer models show a quick warm-up (to the upper 30's) for Friday, but then right back to the below-normal weather pattern for the remainder of the month. The daylight hours are getting longer now, but the old saying still holds true--"As the day lengthens, the cold strengthens." In fact, the climatologically coldest days of winter come at the very end of January and into the first few days of February (in spite of the increased daylight). Things normally begin to turn around by mid-February, but don't fool yourselves--there's still plenty of winter left before the grass begins to turn green once again. Stay warm.

The Joys of Automation

If you've logged in to the CCSU Weather website (www.ccsu.edu/weather) in the past three days, you may have noticed that our live weather screen is not updating properly. This, unfortunately, happens everytime there is a power interruption on campus. It causes our computers to go down, and they do not automatically reboot and transmit the current weather information to the internet.

This requires me to physically log in to the Weather Center computer and start things up all over again. This is usually not a problem during the semester, when I am on campus every day, but during intersession, I'm not always there if there's a problem. If the weather cooperates, we may have things fixed tomorrow. But if not, I expect things will be back to normal by Thursday afternoon. Sorry if the lack of live weather causes an inconvenience for anyone. You should be aware that our system continues to record and log weather conditions, even when they are not updating, so, once the system is back online, all the weather data for the past few days will be uploaded and available to all the weather geeks out there.

Snow and ice overnight into tomorrow morning, so be careful out there.

I Hate Winter

One of the things that people living in the northern part of the U.S. like is the change of seasons. And certainly, the fall foliage display here in New England is a highlight of the year's weather that always takes one's breath away, no matter how many times it's experienced. And I would miss that difference between winter and spring, between spring and fall, and the crispness of a fall morning.

And while I admit that living in a southern location where it's warm all the time would be somewhat attractive, it would also be somewhat boring. Having said all that, I still have to say that I hate winter. By mid-December here in Connecticut, the leaves are off the trees, the lawns have turned to a dull shade of greenish-brown, and the skies are almost always gray. Sure, there are some crisp, sunny days thrown in here and there, but they seem to just tease you for a day or two before the relentless gray comes back again. And once the ground is covered with snow, even that little bit of ratty green disappears, not to be seen again until late March. And of course, there's no baseball.

Perhaps I'm just becoming older and more curmudgeonly. I have to admit that it's a distinct possibility.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I know, I know. The stock market is a mess. The economy is in shambles. There is terrorism, war and unrest all over the world. And yet, on Thanksgiving Day, we can all find something, no matter how small or insignificant, to be thankful for.

So, as you sit down to Thanksgiving Dinner with friends and family, take a moment to reflect on the good things that life has to offer you every day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Talk About Stressful Weather...

A number of years ago, the National Weather Service used to release a Weather Stress Index to indicate the degree to which the weather would cause stress on the human body.  How that stress was defined was to compare the type of weather that would normally be expected for a particular time of year to the actual weather that was forecast to occur.  So, for example, a 90 degree day in Miami in September would be a lot less stressful than a 90 degree day in Minneapolis on the same day.  Conversely, a 40 degree day in Minneapolis in November would be a lot less stressful than a 40 degree day in Miami at any time.

We've certainly seen our share of weather stress this week in Connecticut (and much of the northeastern part of the U.S.).  At my home this morning, the mercury bottomed out at 14.8 degrees, more than 15 degrees colder than the normal low of 31 for this time of year.  And while today's normal high temperature is 48 degrees, we topped out here at 36.5 degrees.  And the cold is only getting stronger as we move into the upcoming weekend.  

To make matters personally worse, last weekend, my wife I visited our son, who lives in San Diego.  Three solid days of absolutely crystal clear skies and temperatures near 90 degrees were immediately followed by the cold, blustery weather we experienced as soon as we returned to Connecticut.  Now THAT'S stressful!

A Nice Day for All the Veterans

Somehow, it always seems that the weather turns out to be nice on Veteran's Day. And today is no exception, as the sun is shining here in Connecticut, and the mercury should get up to the low 50s this afternoon. Tomorrow looks great as well, with morning sunshine giving way to afternoon clouds. It will be on the cool side, however, as I don't expect we'll break the 50 degree mark tomorrow.

Things go downhill for the latter part of the week and into the weekend. A series of low pressure waves will bring rain (and maybe some snow to higher elevations) on Thursday and through much of Friday. Saturday and Sunday don't look much better, with clouds and the continuing chance of rain or showers.

While we may not agree with all the wars fought by this country in the recent past, we still need to honor those who have answered the call and put their lives on the line for our freedom. So if you know someone who has served, give them a tip of the hat today.

Yes We Can....Yes We Did!

Americans turned out in record numbers (largest percentage of eligible voters since 1908) to speak up for change in America yesterday. My thanks to all who took the time to make their voices heard.

In the words of the late President Gerald Ford, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over." And while it might be a cloudy day in Connecticut today, the sun is shining all over this great nation of ours. And the American beacon of hope, freedom and leadership is once again shining brightly all over the world.

Vote Today to Change America!

Please don't forget to vote today, if for no other reason than to honor and remember those who gave their lives so that you might still have that right.

This is our opportunity to take back America. Vote!