Good evening, 919 Gang. An early day
tomorrow means an early deadline tonight.
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CARL LARSEN writes:
About
The Big Chill....is it news?
For
a while, I used to ask "What were they thinking?" after reading the
U-T.
I
haven't done that for a long time, as the paper steadily has marched back from
the depths of journalism. (If you didn't read Pauline Repard's excellent
remembrance of the Brenda Spencer "I hate Mondays" killings, I urge
you to do so.
Now
my "What were they thinking?" outcries are directed to the north --
toward the LA Times.
For
two days now, I've looked in vain for a good Page 1 story in the Times on the
more-than frigid weather gripping much of the nation.
I'm
sure your friends, relatives and acquaintances have been in touch with the
hardships they're facing this week, while we in turn smugly tell them about our
sunshine and providential rain.
Big
story, certainly, but for the Times NADA of import, except a refer on Page 1 to
an inside AP story.
When
is the last time you heard that mail delivery was suspended across nine states,
that commuter-rail systems ground to a halt and officials rushed to house
homeless people found on park benches amid -30 temperatures?
We
all know the homeless situation is a problem that no one can get a grip on, but
did you know that the homeless population in Chicago alone is an estimated
80,000? One kind-hearted soul opened his or her wallet to provide hotel
accommodation to a number of homeless. I know that if I were homeless, I'd
certainly be trying to scrape together the Amtrak or Greyhound fare to get me
to California, or someplace where the weather is milder.
Now,
you might say that in today's rapid-fire era, we all know about the Big Chill,
so why should the Times tell us what we already know?
Instead,
they gave us a nice story on dogs being shooed off the streets of Tehran by the
government.
Don't
get me wrong. I like dogs, but I think the upheavals created by the Big Chill,
days after upheavals caused by the government shutdown, has a big impact here
in temperate California as well as Bemidji, Minn. Somehow, I've felt that the
Times for a long time has been disconnected from what some derisively call the
"fly-over" states.
By
contrast, the U-T had just what I was hoping for: a weather story just where it
belonged, on Page 1 with a large photo, and with a science-based sidebar on how
the chill might favorably impact our dreaded Santa Ana winds. Call that the
local angle.
There's
something refreshing when your news values run parallel with those at the daily
newspaper.
BRIAN CLARK writes:
I would have written sooner, Jack, but my
fingers were too cold to type. Just kidding, but it is mighty (gawd-awful)
chilly in these parts. Minus 21 as I write this at 1 a.m. on Thursday. I’d be
asleep, but my 18-year-old daughter is having a slumber party. The four seniors
are a noisy group - giggling and talking about “girl stuff,” as my daughter
puts it. Back to the weather report:
On
Wednesday morning, when it was minus 27, I managed to lock myself out of my
house. In a bit of a rush, I’d forgotten my keys and my billfold inside as I
was headed off to play tennis. When I couldn’t start my car - imagine that? - I
found that the key pad on my garage didn’t work. It was frozen. So I threw
myself (figuratively speaking) on the mercy of my neighbor across the street.
Just walking to his house, all of 40 yards, hurt my face and my lungs. Anywho,
he let me in and I called my landlord. Just about that time, my daughter, who
lives with her mother half-time, showed up. (She didn’t have a key either
because we’re spoiled by the garage-door opener.) So we went for coffee, had a
bonding experience, and then we met my landlord back at the my rental house
about 90 minutes later and all ended well. Why, she even paid for my coffee.
But she’ll get it back, many times over, as I am paying for half her college.
Ouch.
On
a scientific note, some folks in this region have reported hearing subterranean
booms during our cold snap. These are called cryoseisms, a mini explosion
within the ground caused by the rapid expansion of frozen water. So as Ricky
Ricardo might have said, the earth seems to be ’sploding.
Wiki
tells me that cryoseisms sometimes occur when temperatures rapidly decrease
from above freezing to subzero, and are more than likely to happen between
midnight and dawn (during the coldest parts of night). In general, cryoseisms
may occur three to four hours after significant changes in temperature.
Perennial or seasonal frost conditions involved with cryoseisms limit these
events to temperate climates that experience seasonal variation with subzero
winters. Additionally, the ground must be saturated with water, which can be
caused by snowmelt, rain, sleet or flooding. Geologically, areas of permeable
materials like sand or gravel, which are susceptible to frost action are
likelier candidates for cryoseisms. Following large cryoseisms, little to no
seismic activity will be detected for several hours, indicating that
accumulated stress has been relieved.
Now
for something more pedestrian: While I was waiting at my neighbor’s - the
fellow who snowplows his driveway in shorts in the middle of winter - we
discussed whether or not it might really be true that if one took a leak (i.e.
peed) in such cold temperatures, one's stream would freeze before it hit the
ground. To say nothing of, oh well. A question or two for Dr. Science. And an
experiment which I shall not attempt. Perhaps someone in this erudite group
knows the answer. One final note, as if minus 27 weren’t cold enough, the
windchill factor makes it feel like its minus 50 or even colder. Which is why
my face hurts to breath when outside. And why I shall continue to urinate
indoors, thank you very much. Unless I lock myself out again. :o(
ROB
HANLEY
writes:
National Weather Service says it's 12 degrees
outside right now (8:50 a.m.) in Bowling Green, Va., which is about 35 miles
north of Richmond. NWS says wind chill makes it feel like 4 degrees. I believe
them. Was warmer yesterday, but wind was especially brutal.
We burn
fuel oil in our furnace, which is running almost constantly this morning,
though I have it set to only 60 degrees. Fortunately, the end of the government
shutdown means I'll get my Coast Guard retirement check, so I can pay the oil
man when he replenishes my rapidly dwindling supply.
Not
to worry. In a few short months we'll be suffering through another hot, humid
Virginia summer and we'll be hoping for a cooling breeze.
PAMELA
DUGAN
reports:
Piece o' cake here in
north-central Alabama. Monday's high was 60, Tuesday's was 34. Up to 2 inches
of snow was forecast for early Tuesday so schools were closed. Temperatures
dipped into the 20s, but we got rain before then and no snow or ice. Many
disappointed children and parents who had bought sleds. It's only 38 now at 10
a.m. Thursday--we've been going through a lot of firewood--but we'll hit 59 on
Friday.
PRESTON
TUREGANO writes:
Polar Vortex? I think the original one was at
the old press office at the old Cop Shop on Harbor Drive. I believe that space
was part of the old jail, so it didn’t have any, or proper, heating. During the
winter, someone would bring a portable space heater. Thank you, Homer Clance,
or was it Sue Edelman?
REBER: Whenever
you jam a bunch of people into a building you are going to have too-hot,
too-cold problems Unfortunately, at the U-T those were my problems (except at
the Cop Shop). The absolute worst was the old El Cajon building. The problem
seemed to be News vs. Advertising. One side (can’t remember which) always
wanted to turn the thermostat up; the other kept turning it down. The engineers
visited the building frequently and assured me the HVAC system was working
properly. The complaints kept coming. One day I asked the engineers to check to
see if perhaps the thermostat was the problem. Joe LaBella told me, “Jack, we
disconnected that thermostat a couple of months ago. They kept turning it up
and down and up and down. No wonder they had problems.”
MIRIAM
RAFTERY
writes:
I don’t have any personal stories to share on
the polar vortex, though seeing Chicago light up gas lines afire alongside
railway tracks to keep them from freezing and cracking was interesting.
I also saw a story about alligators poking
snouts above water in North Carolina just before their ponds froze over.
Apparently the gators freeze but can still breathe and later thaw out and are
fine. They say more of them are doing so this year; apparently it is an
adaptive though creepy behavior. They will probably outlive us all.
Meanwhile here is an entertaining bit
of news: KDKA fired a news staffer who ran video of Patriots QB Tom Brady with
the words “known cheater.” Brady was implicated in the infamous “deflategate”
scandal with the Patriots. Outraged fans put up a GoFundMe site and promptly
raised more than $10,000 for the fired staffer. So what do you think?
Justifiable firing over the prank, or over-the-top retaliation for what some
fans on Facebook are claiming should be hailed as “truth in journalism?”
Truth really is stranger than fiction some
days.
As for surviving the winter chill here in sunny
inland San Diego, we complain when we have to ditch the flip-flops and put on
sneakers to go outside and pluck oranges off the fruit trees in January.
DAVID GADDIS SMITH writes:
Many claim the New England Patriots over the
years have engaged in illicit activity to deflate their opponents.
It was funny, however, to see these two L.A.
Times writers used the word illicit in their lead Wednesday when the
word elicit should have been used. The same wording appeared in the Union-Tribune
in writing that Patriot safety Devin McCourty might retire after the Super
Bowl.
PATRIOTS
REPORT
By Mike DiGiovanna
and
Jeff Miller
ATLANTA — The news
this week was big enough as
to illicit reactions from Devin
McCourty’s New England
teammates.
As for the Los Angeles Rams making it to
Sunday’s Super Bowl after an illicit hit was not called against them, well,
just minutes earlier an illicit face-masking was not called against the Saints.
Had it been called, the Rams likely would have scored a touchdown after getting
first and goal at the 1, completely altering the endgame, making it so that the
Saints would have had to score a touchdown to go ahead instead of merely being
able to run down the clock and score a tie-breaking, last-second field goal. So
if people are going to complain about the bad non-call that might have cost the
Saints the game, are they also going to complain about the bad non-call that might
have cost the Rams the game had it not been for the later bad non-call?
As for Sunday’s game, may the best
team win without the benefit of bad calls!
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CARL LARSEN writes:
This
is a great opportunity for someone interested inscience writing or communications
at a large research university.
March
15 is the deadline to apply for the inaugural Bruce V. Bigelow Memorial Science
Communications Fellowship, a partnership of UCSD Health, the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography and Jacobs School of Engineering. It is a
full-time, paid, nine-month interdisciplinary fellowship.
Among
qualifications required of candidates are: active pursuit of a career in
science writing/communication, a bachelor's degree in a related area and/or
equivalent experience or training, along with two years of relevant experience.
For
more information: https://health.ucsd.edu/news/Pages/Bigelow-Science-Communication-Fellowship.aspx
or contact former Union staffer
Scott LaFee, director of media relations for UC San Diego Health, at slafee@ucsd.edu
It
would be great, wouldn't it, if the first recipient found her or his way to the
award through a mention in 919.
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ANTONIA
(TONI) ALLEGRA
forwards:
Jack, Did you see this piece on journalism -
print and internet - and its future? If you wish, please share the first story
on this www.niemanlab.org queue today:
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REBER: Join me
tonight in wishing Arline Smith a Happy Birthday February 1.
P.O.
Box 2239
Ramona,
CA 92065-0938
United
States
