Please allow me to interject my feelings about Mother Nature

Is the volcano run by the crooks, or are the liars in charge?

 

There was a reason nobody lived there before it was the Capitol. Every single other major city on the East Coast was established before DC.

David Brinkley wrote an interesting book about how the New Deal and WWII changed the city. I won't vouch for any particular accuracy, but the thesis seems probable.

 

Tornado hit Manchester, UK.

 

Tsunami warnings in Japan. 5m waves expected.

https://x.com/mrjeffu/status/1741723568273232200?s=46&t=wVPJyeunUA-4G1zuWq69ug

 

I feel a little better than I did yesterday. The CFS model was nutso yesterday projecting single-digit highs for much of January in my neck of the woods. Today it's backed off of that with lows barely below freezing through Groundhog Day. The GFS model, which typically runs "hotter," only goes out to mid-month but isn't forecasting an Arctic Blast™ for me.

 

Virginia has reached a new level of pathetic.

My son’s rec basketball league canceled the entire weekend’s slate of games, our first of the season, due to a forecast of gray skies and drizzle for an hour on Saturday morning.

 

The first Eastern Mass. snowstorm of consequence has driven local TV news insane with joyous anticipation. Reporters doing liveshots next to the salt piles in the main depot in Chelsea. Reporters doing liveshots outside crowded supermarkets. Reporters interviewing hardware store owners about shovel sales. After one. of the latter, a morning anchor earned my Hall of Fame status by asking, "How do people lose their snow shovels over the summer anyhow?"

 

Don't they play inside?

 

"Yes, well, sorry, folks. But do any of you actually have experience driving in light rain?"

 

Yes, but four days ago, we were forecast to get an inch of snow. I guess the residual PANIC caused today’s cancellations.

Then the league director, instead of trying to reschedule Saturday’s games some time in the next three months, decided to just cancel all the games tomorrow too, so everyone in every league just plays one fewer game.

The parents of my players are PISSED.

 

Our grade-level commissioner’s email was awesome. “Make sure you let your team know ASAP, because otherwise you run the risk of one of your families trying to brave the 40-degree drizzle to show up at a closed building.”