Nice Autumn Days

After all the rain, wind and cold we've experienced over the past week, it's nice to be able to forecast some nearly perfect Autumn weather for the upcoming weekend. Those of you with Friday off will have a great day, with perfectly clear skies, light winds and, although we'll get off to a chilly start, temperatures reaching up to near 60 in many inland locations across Connecticut.

Another frontal system will move through on Friday night, giving us some cloudy skies into early Saturday that should lead to partly cloudy skies by afternoon. Temperatures will be about 10 degrees cooler on Saturday, with many areas topping off only around 50. Sunday looks like another beautiful day with lots of sunshine and highs in the 56-58 degree range.

If only there weren't so many leaves to rake....

A Chance to Change History, A Chance to Make History

As I write this, only 10 days remain until the 2008 Presidential Election. And in this election, Americans have a chance to change history and to make history at the same time. I remember when I first started voting, almost 40 years ago, that no one ever believed that a woman or an African-American would ever be elected President of the United States in our lifetimes. The history of our country would lead many to believe that we could never overcome the discrimination of our past and change the perception of the United States around the world.

Now we stand on the threshold of a history-making election. We can change that perception of America on November 4th by electing Senator Barack Obama of Illinois as our next President.

Sen. Obama has shown that he has the composure, and the intelligence to lead this country back to the greatness of the post World War II years. Those were times when the world knew that America stood for freedom and democracy around the world. President Kennedy realized that same thing when he started the Peace Corps in the 1960s. But the last eight years have seen our reputation sullied at the hands of the current administration. Our Constitution is under attack from within our own Executive branch. America's image is tarnished. Senator John McCain promises more of the same--an endless war in Iraq, and more tax cuts to the wealthiest one percent of Americans while the middle class continues to struggle with high health care costs, loss of retirement funds and foreclosures on homes. His choice of a completely unprepared running mate brings his judgment into serious doubt. We have a chance to move forward and regain our stature around the world, and to show the rest of the world that we can, indeed unite as one nation, and move beyond the past eight years into a new decade of leadership.

I support Barack Obama for President, and I hope that you will join with me in voting for him on November 4th.

The opinions stated in this blog are solely my own, and in no way represent the Physics-Earth Sciences Department or Central Connecticut State University.

Caribbean Vacations During Hurricane Season

Every summer, people wonder and worry about whether they should plan a Caribbean vacation during the months of August and September. After all, these are peak hurricane months in the tropics, and, while prices tend to drop on vacation packages, one always runs the risk of having a hurricane or tropical storm put a real damper on that much-anticipated vacation.

Here's something you should think about, if such a vacation is already in your plans for next summer. You might be better off booking a cruise vacation, than sticking with just one island. The major reason I say this is that when tropical weather threatens, a hotel cannot just pick up and move out of the way. A cruise ship, however, can alter course to avoid the bad weather entirely. And while that may sound like no big deal, it can completely change the nature of your vacation. For example, a couple of years ago, a major cruise line altered its planned itinerary for a cruise from New York to Bermuda. The island was in the potential path of a hurricane. So the captain, in consultation with the cruise line, decided to take the ship north to New England and Canada for the 7-day cruise. Needless to say, this raised howls of indignation from passengers, who had packed clothing in anticipation of tropical weather, and were now facing weather of a much cooler nature. Many threatened to sue the cruise line. But the fine print in the cruise contract left them with no legal recourse. The cruise line reserves the right to skip scheduled ports-of-call, or even change the itinerary altogether if, in the captain's opinion, the ship might be threatened by tropical storms or hurricanes. Most cruise lines, if they know in advance, will offer passengers the option to cancel and rebook at no charge. If the itinerary change is a last-minute affair, they will often give you some onboard credit to make up for the inconvenience. But be aware that they are under NO obligation to give you any sort of compensation for weather-related itinerary changes.

Having said that, you are still probably better off on a cruise ship that can avoid bad weather than on an island in the direct path of a major storm, with the airport shut down, and no way out.

The Blog Goes Political

If you've visited this blog before today, you've probably noticed that I list "Obama for America" as one of my favorite websites. So it's no secret who I'm supporting in the upcoming election (now just 29 days away). Aside from one message about Gov. Sarah Palin, I have steadfastly resisted posting any politically oriented opinions on this blog (as it has been, and still is, mostly about weather related topics).

However, with the nasty, negative turn that Sen. John McCain's campaign has now taken (and vows to continue right up till Election Day), I have to speak up. Sen. McCain had a nice post-convention bounce, and actually had a slight lead in polls coming out of the Republican National Convention. But instead of talking issues, his campaign turned to a series of out-and-out lies about Barack Obama and his (Obama's) positions. The result of that negative campaigning was a drop in support for McCain. Having seen that fail, McCain attempted to politicize the financial crisis in America, "suspending" his campaign to return to Washington and push the bailout package (which failed in the House after he became involved in the negotiations). The public and the press did not fall for this campaign stunt, so Sen. McCain did, in fact, debate Sen. Obama and lost that debate by a considerable margin. Last Thursday, Gov. Palin, while not self-destructing, as many expected, failed to convince many Independent and undecided voters that she is ready for the Vice Presidency (and, heaven help us, the White House). The McCain campaign has lost even more ground over the past few days.

Yesterday, the campaign announced that they would devote the remainder of the time before the election to attacking Sen. Obama's patriotism and honor. Those attacks began this morning with a new ad that paints Sen. Obama as "dangerous" and "dishonorable." Most of these attacks are, once again, based on more lies and deceptive video clips. Gov. Palin, over the weekend, accused Sen. Obama of "palling around with terrorists," and being "unlike most Americans." This morning, she commented on Sen. Obama's association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, conveniently ignoring her own association with the Wasilla Bible Church, which recently hosted David Brickner, the head of Jews for Jesus, "a ministry that is out on the leading edge in a pressing, demanding area of witnessing and evangelism,” according to the Church's pastor Larry Kroons. According to Brickner, terrorist attacks on Israelis are God's "judgment of unbelief" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. It's very real. When [Brickner's son] was in Jerusalem he was there to witness some of that judgment, some of that conflict, when a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can't miss it."

The McCain campaign is out of ideas. They cannot debate on the issues, as they are completely out of step with the American public. So they attack Barack Obama and they will bring out all the old, disproven ideas (he's a Muslim, he went to a madrassa as a child, he won't wear an American flag pin, etc.) to scare voters into supporting McCain (a man who graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the U.S. Naval Academy).

I never thought this possible, but the McCain-Palin ticket is, in my opinion, even scarier than another four years of Bush-Cheney. And this won't be my last political post before Nov. 4th.
It should be interesting to see how tomorrow night's second Presidential Debate develops now that the tone of the campaign has changed so dramatically.

Mystique and Aura...Appearing Nightly

I went to my last game at Yankee Stadium yesterday afternoon. And there are so many memories I have of the "Cathedral of Baseball" that I thought I'd put some of them into words here. First, let me say that when the sun is shining and the sky is a beautiful shade of blue, that first view of the field as you walk up the runway and into the upper deck just takes your breath away. There is no other view like that in baseball, and I’ll miss it once the new stadium opens.

Also, in the ten years that I’ve been a partial season ticket holder, I’ve made lots of friends in the seats around me. None of us knows where we’re going to be seated next year, so we basically said goodbye yesterday.

As the game ended, I just stood at my seat, surveying the beautiful green grass down below, the view of the county courthouse beyond centerfield and the old Concourse Plaza Hotel at the crest of 161st St. in the distance, and realized I’d never be inside this old building again. That’s when my emotions actually got the best of me. A friend in the next seat had a tear running down his cheek.

But the sadness was mixed with the euphoria of a Yankee victory, and being lucky enough to once again hear the strains of “Enter Sandman” as the bullpen door opened and the greatest closer in the history of baseball emerged to do what he does better than anyone–shut down the opposition with a perfect ninth inning.

I’d love to be there tonight, but I consider myself very blessed to have seen so many great moments in Yankee Stadium and to have been able to share them with all 55,000 of my best friends…and the best fans in baseball. Those of you that were fortunate enough to see any of the 2001 World Series games at the Stadium will know exactly what the title of this blog entry means. Thanks for the memories.

Fighting the "Cry Wolf" Syndrome

Two weeks ago, in the face of the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, New Orleans officials ordered a mandatory evacuation, and told residents that if they did not leave, they were "on their own." Many residents complied and the city was a virtual ghost town by the time Gustav brushed past. Damage was nothing like that from Katrina, and many residents, upon returning, said the evacuation was unnecessary, and they would not leave again.
Obviously, those words were in the minds of many residents of the Galveston Bay area as Hurricane Ike approached the region last Saturday morning. By noon, some beachfront communities were completely cut off, as water levels had already risen past nine feet, submerging the only access roads. As it turns out, over 140,000 area residents did not evacuate, either choosing to ignore the advice of the National Weather Service, or being unable to leave for whatever reasons. The death toll from Ike has already topped 40 in Texas, with over 2000 having been rescued from their flooded or destroyed homes. Many felt the evacuation order was unnecessary and simply ignored it. Some undoubtedly lost their lives. Many more lost their homes. In the wake of the storm, many who stayed were quoted as saying, "next time, I'll leave," --the exact opposite of the reaction to Gustav in New Orleans.
The US Geological Survey has posted some "Before" and "After" photos of the Bolivar Peninsula (a particularly hard-hit area just east of Galveston). Almost all of the beachfront or near-beachfront homes here are completely gone, either blown or washed away by Ike's fury. Click here to see what's left.
How do we fight "Cry Wolf" Syndrome in the future? There are no clear answers. We live in a country where people are free to be as stupid as they like. But faced with an approaching catastrophe, we should think about choosing what former Hurricane Center Director Neil Frank used to call "the path of least regret."

Why Tell the Truth When Lying Works Just as Well?

When she was announced as John McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said that she "told Congress 'thanks, but no thanks' on that Bridge to Nowhere." When she made her VP acceptance speech at the Republican Convention, she repeated the exact same line. And earlier today, at a campaign rally, she, once again, used the same line in her speech. By now, every news organization in the United States has reported that, in fact, she did not reject the Bridge to Nowhere. In fact, she supported it during her campaign for Governor. And, in fact, Congress had already dumped the idea well before she changed her mind. But she did take the money that had been earmarked for the bridge and used it in Alaska.

So the question remains...why is Governor Palin still lying about the Bridge to Nowhere? The answer is simple...if you tell a lie often enough, people might begin to believe it.

Just one person's opinion.

It Could Be Deja Vu All Over Again

At this hour, Hurricane Gustav is gaining strength once again, having cleared the northwestern tip of Cuba. It is a Category 4 hurricane, and could briefly become a Category 5 storm before weakening back to a Category 4 as it approaches the Louisiana coast. Even so, this is not good news for New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina was a strong Category 3 hurricane when it passed just east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Gustav could be worse. The forecast track puts the storm just WEST of New Orleans on Monday. Such a track would put New Orleans on the stronger right-hand side of the storm's eye. That means that southerly and southeasterly winds of up to 140 mph will be sending huge amounts of water up the Mississippi River and into the heart of the city as the storm makes landfall. The flooding might be worse than it was three years ago.

A mandatory evacuation of the city has been ordered beginning at 8 AM on Sunday. City and state officials have informed the public that if they do not leave, they are effectively on their own. Over 2000 National Guard troops and 1400 police officers are already on duty in advance of the storm's arrival. The New Orleans Superdome will NOT be used as a "shelter of last resort" as it was in 2005.

If the storm does cause massive flooding and damage in New Orleans, it should result in a most interesting debate on how (and even whether) to rebuild the city in the wake of yet another devastating hurricane.

Greetings From the Beach

Hello from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My wife and I have been here since Monday, and in that time we've experienced a whole range of coastal weather. Daytime highs have been, for the most part, in the 90's with high humidity. And there hasn't been much relief on the beach as the intensity of sunlight (which heats the beach sand to temperatures too hot to walk on without shoes) has pretty much erased any effect of the daytime sea breeze.

Last night, the weather changed as a line of severe thunderstorms moved through. The lightning was quite impressive and there was a good soaking rain that persisted into the late night hours. This morning was a bit cooler and less humid than we've seen over the past four days. We've been fortunate that there have been no tropical weather systems affecting the east coast of the U.S. while we've been here.

But we're off to an active start to this year's tropical storm season, with five named storms already. The only piece of good news right now for the east coast and Gulf states is that the Pacific seems to be very active right now, and that often leads to a lack of activity in the Atlantic/Caribbean. But the most active part of the season still lies ahead (from late August through September) so there's still plenty of time for the Atlantic Ocean to produce some tropical weather.

Save on Gasoline by Paying Cash? Not Really.

Recently, the state of Connecticut enacted legislation that enabled gasoline stations around the state to offer savings to customers (usually around ten cents per gallon) who pay with cash, rather than using a credit card. Sounds like a good idea, right? Wrong. One must always operate on the assumption that businesses will always seek to maximize profits. Here's what I have observed so far.

On a local major commercial traffic strip, known as the Berlin Turnpike, there are a number of competing gas stations. Each offers fuel at the same price (currently around $4.19 per gallon for regular unleaded gas). However, a couple of these stations have begun offering a discount for cash. So, you think you might be able to save some money by paying in green? Forget it. The two stations that I have seen offering such a discount have raised the price of regular unleaded gas by 10 cents per gallon, to $4.29. Then they offer you a 10 cent per gallon cash discount, bringing the price back to $4.19 per gallon. So are cash customers saving money? No. But credit and debit card customers (and that's most of us, as the price of tankful of gas is more money than Donald Trump carries in his wallet) now get to pay 10 cents a gallon MORE than we did before. This is known as "highway robbery," or, in this case, "turnpike robbery."

To be fair, there are still plenty of gas stations that are not offering this so-called "cash discount." They still charge the going rate, whether you choose to pay with cash or plastic. Those are the stations that I tend to patronize. I don't like getting ripped off.

Is There Such a Thing as a Healthy Tan?

For years, I've been telling my students in Introductory Meteorology and Earth Science classes of the hazards of overexposure to Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV is a known cause of skin cancer and malignant melanoma (a particularly nasty and almost always fatal form of cancer).

Nevertheless, not a day goes by in a Summer Session class where I don't see students (usually female, but often guys as well) coming in with tans that are so dark that it makes me wonder whether they spend ANY time indoors. And my warnings to them about suntan and skin cancer seem to fall on deaf ears. I am particularly vocal when it comes to the subject of tanning salons. And now, my position has been supported in a column by Dr. Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania on the MSNBC website (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25378496/).

Dr. Caplan discusses how our society has made the tanned skin a desirable thing--a "healthy glow" as it were. Here's an excerpt from Dr. Caplan's column:

"A couple of high school students in my neighborhood recently told me they are getting ready to hit the beach this summer by tuning up their suntans inside tanning beds.

When I asked one of my colleagues here at Penn, Dr. William James, a professor of dermatology, if the high school students had the right idea about getting a head start on a tan, he laughed out loud. A tan, he said, represents nothing more than damage to the skin. It is the body trying to defend itself against an environmental hazard — too much UV light. In other words, indoor tanning gets you ready for the beach in the same way that getting scalded in a hot tub gets you ready to be boiled alive."

I have a relative who is a slave to the sun. He is younger than me, and always sports a dark tan, even in winter. But his skin is already beginning to show signs of aging--wrinkles, dark spots--that normally wouldn't appear for years. Overexposure to UV ages the skin prematurely, and robs it of its natural elasticity. And then, of course, there's that cancer thing.

In my opinion, anyone who spends money on tanning salons must be incredibly vain, stupid or both. And anyone who spends considerable time in the sun without using sunblock of AT LEAST SPF 15 (SPF 30 would be better) is asking for trouble down the line. Save your skin---skip the tanning bed.

Lots of Thunderstorms

It seems to me that we are experiencing more than our usual share of thunderstorms here in Connecticut this summer. Joe Brumbach's monumental 1965 work, The Climate of Connecticut tells us that most Connecticut thunderstorms occur in the northwest hills. Thunderstorm frequency drops off as one heads south and east towards the Rhode Island shoreline. The reason, ostensibly, is that cool breezes coming off Long Island Sound tend to stabilize the lower atmosphere near the shoreline, reducing the frequency of thunderstorms.

But this summer, the entire state seems to be getting a lot of thunderstorms. Over the past two weeks, it feels like there are storms across the state on an almost daily basis. The atmosphere has been unstable for quite awhile now, and it only takes a little local heating, or a weak cold front moving across the state to set off the fireworks.

So, is it global warming that's giving us all the thunderstorm activity? Who's to say. We've already had temperatures reach 99 degrees this month, far earlier than normal. But early June heat waves are not that uncommon here. I remember a doozy of a heat wave in early June of 1984. But one of the main features of the global warming model is an increase in extremes of weather, and a lot more storminess. I guess we'll just have to wait on this one. The jury is still out.

"Hartford" magazine: Don't bother

For the last few months, I've been receiving a copy of "Hartford" magazine in the mail. I'm not a subscriber, so I really don't know why it's been coming. And thank goodness I'm not, because, in my humble opinion, this "magazine" isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Each month seems to bring a new round of "who's who and who's doing what" in the Hartford area. These are essentially photos of various Connecticut "celebrities" at parties around town. It's like the society page of the NY Times with lesser known names and in glossy color. I'm guessing that most of us couldn't care less.

The articles are more like advertisements than anything else. It seems as if each month brings another "Best of...." article. If it's not restaurants, it's dentists. If it's not dentists, it's physicians. If it's not physicians, it's "Best Towns to Raise Children." I'll tell you this. If I were a dentist or physician in the area, I'd be pretty upset about these types of articles. They seem to be nothing more than popularity contests, and often leave very good and very qualified practitioners out. Add to that the fact that the article pages are often surrounded by ads for various medical and dental offices, and it leads one to wonder just how "objective" these puff pieces are.

About the only thing worthwhile is the monthly restaurant listing. Some of the eateries are reviewed, others are not. And advertisements also appear on the same pages as restaurant ratings. But at least I know the addresses and phone numbers of places I might want to dine at.

So if you're not getting this mag for free, as I assume most others such as myself are, don't waste your money buying it. Better to visit the local public library, where you can peruse it at no charge.

A Perfect Holiday Weekend

Growing up here in the northeast, my family and I used to venture to the Catskills for most Memorial Day weekends. And it always seemed that there would be at least one rainy day over the course of the holiday. Not this year, however. In fact, the weather has improved each day through the holiday weekend, capping off with a great day today, with temperatures reaching the low 80s everywhere in Connecticut but the shoreline (where the sea breeze off the cool L.I. Sound will keep the temperatures only in the 70s).

What else might make the weekend perfect? How about a sixth Yankee win in a row this afternoon in Baltimore? Combined with a typical Red Sox West Coast trip (disaster in Oakland), the Yankees are finally gaining ground on the Sox. The only problem is that the Tampa Bay Rays haven't yet realized who they are, and are playing lights out. This could only happen in the Bizarro World.

Subway Series Game 1--Rained Out

I had hoped that the Yankees and Mets could get Friday night's game at Yankee Stadium in, between the raindrops around the northeast tonight. Unfortunately, it was not to be. That probably means that the matchup between the Yankees' Darrell Rasner and the Mets' Johann Santana will be pushed back to tomorrow afternoon.

That's a good thing, as I'll be at the game and it should be quite a matchup. Both teams are struggling right now, as their offenses continue to sputter along. The Mets are without Pedro Martinez and El Duque Hernandez, while the Yankees' rotation hasn't been looking great lately, and both Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada remain on the Disabled List.

Tomorrow's weather should be a little better for baseball, with mixed clouds and sun, and the chance of some scattered showers or thundershowers later in the afternoon, and temperatures around 70 degrees. As a diehard Yankee fan, I'm hoping for some late afternoon lightning, but mostly from Yankee batters, not from the weather.

Of Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Tornadoes

It's been an active tornado season in the U.S. midwest so far this year. Yesterday, more tornadoes struck in Oklahoma, where at least 22 were killed. Earlier today, an earthquake of Richter Magnitude 7.8 struck near the city of Chengdu, in the Sichuan province of China (approximately 900 miles from Beijing). As I write this, at least 9000 have been confirmed dead. The death toll will likely rise much higher, as the last time a quake of 7.6 or higher struck central China was in 1976, and 240,000 people died. The area around today's quake is home to 10,000,000 people, and, in at least one community, some 80% of the buildings have been destroyed. School children have been reported buried in the rubble of their own schools, which collapsed on top of them.

Last week, the world watched as a strong hurricane, Cyclone Nargis (hurricanes are called "cyclones" in the Indian Ocean), swept through the country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), killing at least 100,000. Natural disasters make us aware that we live on a dynamic, ever changing planet. We must not forget that we can never control the forces of nature, but we can do our part to protect ourselves from the worst of them.

In the face of so many people killed, injured, or left homeless, it almost seems petty to carry on about the rising price of a gallon of gasoline. We may not like the military government of Myanmar, or the repressive regime in China, and we may have political differences with the voters in the midwestern U.S., but the individuals who live in those places, and who have been affected by these disasters are human beings, just like us, and they certainly deserve our sympathy and our aid.

You can help by visiting www.redcross.org and supporting the relief efforts of the American Red Cross, both at home and abroad. Thanks.

Finally, Some Much Needed Rain

There hasn't been any measurable precipitation at Bradley International Airport since April 12th. That's 15 days without any rain. During that time, the grass has sprung up and turned green, and most trees have blossomed, throwing tons of pollen into the air. Allergy sufferers have been miserable for the past two weeks, without a cleansing rainfall to remove all that pollen from the air.

Time to rejoice! The next day or two should see some significant rainfall across the state. That should wash much of the pollen away, but it comes at a price. Temperatures will be a lot cooler than we've gotten used to over the past two weeks. The sun should return by mid-late week and temperatures will be a lot closer to normal.

Unfortunately, the rain will invigorate all those lawns, and that means we'll be spending more time behind the lawn mower in the next few weeks.

It's Allergy Season!

Connecticut has a reputation as a state that brings out the worst in people's allergies. When my wife and I moved here in 1978, we found a whole new bunch of allergies we never had while living in New York.

As winter rolled into spring over the past month, I found myself wondering when the buds would start popping on the trees in my backyard, and when the grass would finally start to green up. This last week of sunny, warm weather seems to have pushed both the grass and the trees to move into full pollen mode. And while the new green on the branches and on the ground looks really nice against the blue sky of spring, it's becoming hard to see the colors through my increasingly itchy, watery eyes.

Nevertheless, it's a ritual I've lived through for many years now, and I know that in a few weeks (a few miserable weeks, I might add) all the trees will be in full bloom, and all the grass will have sprouted, and the allergy season will die down until late summer, when the ragweed blooms and the hay fever season begins.

Well, it's almost time to mow the lawn. Now where did I put that pollen mask?

96 Years Ago Today...

April 15th for most people brings visions of long lines at the Post Office, as many of us scurry to get our tax returns posted before midnight tonight (did you put if off until now?). But for a lot of people, April 15th means more than just tax day.

96 years ago last night, at 11:40 PM, the most opulent passenger ship of its time, the R.M.S. Titanic, struck an iceberg and began taking on water. In less than three hours, at 2:20 AM, the largest moving object ever created by man (at that time) disappeared beneath the waters of the North Atlantic. The ship took over 1500 souls with it. Of 2207 people on board, only around 705 survived.

Weather played a significant factor in the Titanic disaster. It was a perfectly clear night, with no wind at all and no moon. The lack of moonlight made it difficult to see icebergs at a distance. In addition, the lack of wind meant that there were no waves at all. Under normal conditions, waves lapping up on the bottom of an iceberg make it easier to see. Thus the men in the crow's nest did not see the iceberg until it was too late, and at the speed the Titanic was moving, it wasn't possible to dodge the ice. The ship struck the iceberg a glancing blow.

Now we learn, according to yesterday's New York Times, that a new book shows that the builders of the Titanic may have used substandard iron and rivets in its construction, thus causing the bow plates to pop open when they struck the ice. If the iron plates and rivets had been stronger, the e damage might have been less and the ship might have stayed afloat longer, or even survived the collision entirely.

Historians have always been fascinated by the Titanic story and all its aspects. Now, on the 96th anniversary of the world's greatest peacetime maritime disaster, they have something new to think (and write) about.

The Ten Best Days of the Year

It's a gorgeous day in Connecticut today. Warm (near 70 degrees F), hardly a cloud in the sky and a pleasant northwesterly breeze. In fact, I'm inclined to say that this might be one of "the 10 best days of the year." Local weathercasters have been using that term whenever the weather is nearly perfect. In fact, there may actually be more than 10 such days in a given calendar year. So how does one decide when such an award is justified? Easy. You realize it as soon as you step outside.

The air smells sweet, the birds are singing, the sun is out. The temperature is perfect. You'd like to spend the entire day outdoors, playing in the park with your dog, taking a nice long bicycle ride, or enjoying a walk with your significant other. The 10 Best Days of the Year can't be defined. You just know it. And believe me, for those of you who are not in central Connecticut today, this is definitely one of the 10 best days of the year.

Now if only theYankees would start hitting....