Below are the most recent 15 friends' journal entries.

Monday, July 13th, 2009
hurricane_blog	9:00a	Muggy and hot this week http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/hot_summertime_weather_this_we.html Looks like a typical summertime week: Muggy and hot with occasional afternoon thunderstorms. Today's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, highs in the lower 90s and lows in the upper 70s. There is a 30 percent chance of rain today, easing to 20 percent this evening. The forecast for the rest of the week is similar. Temperatures should rise a bit by mid week and the chance of rain increases toward the weekend. So far so good: On average, the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season emerges by July 10. As of this morning, the tropics remained quiet. (Comment on this)
springdew	12:27a	Children of Earth So, I've seen it, in tiny Youtube-sized bites. ( Vague-ish spoilers, then. ) (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
hurricane_blog	10:00a	Does rain ... yawn ... make you sleepy? http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/does_rain_yawn_make_you_sleepy.html Why does rain make people sleepy? Perhaps it’s the staccato of raindrops on the roof. Maybe it’s the gentle patter of a drizzle against a windowsill. But with each passing shower, many folks feel a horrible urge to crash on the couch. That has been often lately. South Florida saw a lot of stormy days in June; more than 17 inches fell in some areas, the National Weather Service said. Actually, lots of people get heavy eyelids and for a variety of reasons, said Ken Kronheim, a licensed mental health therapist who is an expert on this rain-sleep thing. For starters, the rain produces “white noise,” which suppresses the senses, he said. “You don’t hear a lot of the outside environment,” said Kronheim, who also is an assistant fire-rescue chief for the Broward Sheriff’s Office. “It almost puts you in a trance.” Further, it tends to be dark outside when it’s rainy and overcast. “It’s a very sleepy environment when you think about it,” he said. Then there is the humidity, which makes the air feel heavy and your head feel fuzzy, he said. Some might think rain reduces barometric pressure, prompting people to snooze. Indeed, one study conducted by The Boeing Co. in 2008 – on how pilots are affected by hypoxia – found that lower pressure means less oxygen in the atmosphere, which results in less oxygen in your body which translates to sluggishness. Kronheim, who was once a flight medic for the Sheriff’s Office, said he thinks the study is probably right. “One of first signs of a lack of oxygen is drowsiness and fatigue,” he said. On the other hand, according to weather service meteorologist Andy Tingler, barometric pressure remains about the same or slightly increases during a rainstorm. While Kronheim has conducted no studies of his own, he has done in-depth research into sleep, what enhances it and what hurts it. Along the way, he found something interesting: “Statistics show people sleep better when the weather is nice.” The basic reason behind that is rain is sometimes accompanied by cracks of thunder and lightning and, “any kind of stimulus will disrupt sleep,” he said. From a more psychological standpoint, he said the sound of water can take a person back to the safety and warmth of a mother’s womb. Talk about sleeping like a baby. Rain doesn’t make everyone sleepy. Some get hungry; some feel amorous. Others charge to the bathroom on the power of suggestion. Scott Weiner, who runs a home business in Fort Lauderdale, said he keeps working when it pours. Carlos Salgado, of Boca Raton, who sells computer software, said he much prefers sun. “When it rains all day long everyday, I don’t feel energetic,” he said. “The feeling is not good.” Capt. Don DeLucia of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said he doesn’t get zonked out when it’s raining because he and his crew of paramedics frequently respond to calls when it’s storming. On the other hand, he admitted, “If I’m laying around the house and not doing anything, I’ll fall asleep from boredom, and the rain is just an excuse.” Marge Merriman, 87, said rather than make her sleepy, rain gives her enjoyment. “I truly love the rain because it keeps my garden green and everything beautiful and blooming,” said Merriman, of Boca Raton. “I go out on the patio, have my coffee and watch it.” Today's forecast: Partly cloudy skies with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 90s, lows in the upper 70s. (Comment on this)
indigochildkate	1:32a	red, white, and fuck you I am so sick of this country. I have always been a very patriotic person. My family emigrated here from Sicily in the late 1800's, and every generation of my family has served in the armed forces in some capacity since War World II. I was raised to believe in the "system" and the national government, and was ingrained with an overwhelming amount of pride that I was a citizen in a country of the free. So it is with an astonishingly heavy heart that I harbor such unbridled rage for the country in which I live. For all intents and purposes we are still a "young" country, so we are bound to run into mistakes other, more mature, countries have already addressed. However, some of the issues I have with this country are more than mere growing pains. I'm the watchmen on top of the Titanic, and I see a fucking iceberg. I was fed up with the media a long, long time ago. Ever since the 1980's, post-Vietnam, members of our government thought it would be best if they had a "controlling interest" in the media and that which it reports. Check your history, it was Nixon's distrust of the media that had him and his ilk "investing" money into broadcasting companies in an attempt to influence their reporting. And each subsequent administration became that much better at it. But it's old news that we can't trust the news. Partisan politics have always been an issue, but we no longer have a spectrum of Liberal and Conservative. Within the past twenty years our Liberal party has moved more toward the center and right and our Conservative party has moved somewhere right of Arkham Asylum. Our political right has delved so far into the religious lunacy bin that even Ayatollah Khamene'i would be proud. As for the political left, Democrats have become the new Republicans. Where is the truly progressive party that is in favor of gun control, gay marriage, unambiguous cut in military spending, higher taxes for the rich, universal health care, and more stringent penalties on companies who pollute? It seems that the Democratic party has finally evolved into a vertebrate life form, but is now standing in its own way. But partisan politics have been a strain on our society for a very long time. So I guess it is watching the idea of a Public Health Option die in a righteous and holy fire that has murdered my inner patriot. Watching the AMA plea with congress because poor little Aetna couldn't possibly compete with the big bad federal government while simultaneously telling John and Jane Q. Public that it's a money-sink and an atrocity was nauseating. And those same insurance companies were asked, under oath, in a congressional hearing if they would stop rescinding benefits to loyal customers who have payed their premiums, and under oath they said definitively, "No". And without so much as a soundbyte on mainstream news. The funny thing is that countries like France who do have a mixture of public and private health care absolutely love it, and even the right-wing conservatives in Britain herald their fully public health care as one of their "national treasures". Health care is a huge point of contention for me, personally, as an American. As a world leader and the only "Superpower" I find it appalling that we are ranked 37th in health care, right behind Morocco, and that we're 18th in Academics, right behind Norway. Yet ask any American, and they'll tell you, "We're number 1!". Sadly the only thing we're "Number 1" in is HDL cholesterol. We've become a country too fat, sickly, and stupid to solve our own problems who have developed a penchant for telling others how they ought to live. And yet most of us wouldn't be able to tell you where Iran is located on a map because we think it's Apple's latest treadmill product. But why fix what we're comfortable with being broken? I'm serious. Don't genuinely ask us to fix our problems. That's what Socialists would do! No, instead we turn into a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man because our collective lethargy has reached such an all-time high we can't possibly overcome our own inertia. I'm pissed off, I'm fed up, and I'm god-damn tired of watching these tiny beacons of hope being squashed. I've reached the point of my great-grandparents, who left their home country in search of a land where they would not be oppressed. A land where their children would be provided real opportunities to excel. I still lower my head when Ol' Glory flies, but my love for the Stars n' Bars is no longer enough for me to stand idly by and watch my kinsmen be surreptitiously oppressed. I've finally reached my wit's end. Current Mood: pessimistic (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, July 10th, 2009
hurricane_blog	9:00a	Slightly cooler and possibly stormy today http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/slightly_cooler_but_still_hot.html It should be a degree or two cooler today thanks to a wind shift, the National Weather Service in Miami said. It also might be stormy, as there is a 50 percent chance of rain. "We are expecting scattered thunderstorms, and some of the storms could be strong to severe with gusty winds, large hail, frequent lightning and heavy rainfall," said Robert Garcia of the weather service. Officially, the forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with highs in the low 90s and lows in the upper 70s. The weekend should be steamy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday and a 30 percent chance on Sunday. For the past few days, the winds have been coming out of the southwest, pushing hot air off the Everglades toward us. As of today, there should be more a southeast sea breeze, forecasters said. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
hurricane_blog	1:40p	El Niño arrives in time for hurricane season http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/el_nino_arrives_in_time_for_th.html It’s official. El Niño has arrived just in time to greet the meanest stretch of the hurricane season, government forecasters said today. That’s welcome news for hurricane-vulnerable zones, because the large-scale atmospheric condition inhibits tropical storm formation. Yet it would be foolish to let your guard down, officials at the National Hurricane Center said. After all, Category 5 Hurricane Andrew demolished much of Miami-Dade County in 1992, an El Niño year. “Even if the season produces one hurricane, that one could come here,” said James Franklin, branch chief over the center’s hurricane specialists. Just the same, El Niño is one of the main reasons forecasters predict a relatively subdued storm season. Additionally, sea surface temperatures are cooler than normal. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls for nine to 14 named storms, including four to seven hurricanes. Colorado State University forecasters William Gray and Phil Klotzbach predict 11 named storms, including five hurricanes. An average season sees 11 named storms, including six hurricanes. Klotzbach said El Niño “does reduce landfall risk slightly.” He said on average, Florida faces a 50 percent chance of a hurricane landing and a 25 percent chance of being hit by a major hurricane, with sustained winds greater than 110 mph. When only El Niño years are considered, the probability drops to 37 percent for a hurricane and 18 percent for a major hurricane, he said. El Niño forms as a result of abnormally warm waters in the equatorial Eastern Pacific Ocean. At the end of June, that region was about 2 degrees warmer than normal, NOAA said. Although currently considered weak, the El Niño is expected to strengthen by the heart of the hurricane season, August through October. El Niño suppresses storms by increasing thunderstorm activity off the west coast of South America. That, in turn, creates atmospheric instability and wind shear, which interrupts tropical storm formation, Franklin said. In 2006, the last year that El Niño made an appearance, nine named storms developed, including five hurricanes. None made landfall. However, in 2004, the previous El Niño year, 15 named storms formed, including nine hurricanes. Four of them —Charley, Ivan, Jeanne and Frances — killed more than 85 people and caused more than $44 billion in damage in Florida alone. So far this year, no named storms have formed in the Atlantic basin and none were on the horizon, said hurricane specialist Lixion Avila. “It’s very nice and quiet, which is normal for this time of year,” he said. (Comment on this)
Monday, July 6th, 2009
kobold	6:58p	Forgotten verse I have stuck, somewhere in my brain, bits of a bible verse - something about knowing someone by their works - am I just cobbling things together or is that a an actual verse? Got it - thanks, all. (17 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
hurricane_blog	11:00a	South Florida unlikely to see a hurricane in July http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/south_florida_unlikely_to_see.html If history is any indicator, South Florida likely won’t see a hurricane this month. Since 1851, when tropical records started, no hurricanes have hit this region in July. Knock on wood. Four tropical storms have, however. According to the National Weather Service, the last one was Tropical Storm Bob on July 23, 1985. It first hit the West Coast then aimed toward Lake Okeechobee. Before that, unnamed tropical storms arrived in July of 1936, 1899 and 1878. 1878? That was the year Thomas Edison patented the phonograph. (For you youngsters out there, a phonograph was the 1800s' version of a DVD player.) All this is to say July is rather slow, tropically speaking. Yet, on average, the first tropical storm spins to life by July 10. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
hurricane_blog	10:00a	Fireworks should fly without much threat of rain http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/fireworks_should_fly_without_m.html Fourth of July fireworks should fills the skies on Saturday night without much threat of rain, the National Weather Service in Miami said. During the day on Saturday, the chance of rain is 50 percent, easing to 30 percent in the evening, meaning there could be some scattered showers or even a thunderstorm. "By 9 p.m., most everything should have moved offshore," said weather service specialist Bob Ebaugh. "So there's a good possibility you'll see fireworks." Otherwise, afternoon storms are likely throughout the long holiday weekend. The chance of rain is 60 percent today and 40 percent on Sunday. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
hurricane_blog	7:25p	Storms still possible into the evening http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/storms_still_possible_into_the.html Update as of 4 p.m. The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for southeast Broward, mainly Hollywood and Hallandale, as well as northeast Miami-Dade County through 5:30 p.m. today. That comes after storms produced up to 2 inches of rain in that area since 2:30 p.m. today, flooding some streets and low-lying areas. Original blog: The strong storms that buffeted South Florida this afternoon for the most part have moved offshore, the National Weather Service said. Just the same, isolated showers and thunderstorms could continue through this evening, particularly in Palm Beach County, said meteorologist Gordon Strassberg. "We can't rule out that things won't re-fire again," he said. Earlier this afternoon, the weather service received a report of a tornado forming near North Miami Beach and issued a tornado warning. However, the report was unconfirmed, Strassberg said. "We didn't receive any reports of damage," he said. The unsettled weather is the result of tropical moisture flowing into the area combined with a strong sea breeze, Strassberg said. (Comment on this)
hurricane_blog	9:00a	Less rain, more heat today http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/less_rain_more_heat_today.html We’ll probably see rain again today – but also more sun. That means more heat. Today’s forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Afternoon temperatures are expected to be in the low 90s with heat index values as high as 105 degrees. This evening, the rain chance eases to 30 percent with low temperatures in the upper 70s. June rain: As you might guess, June was wetter than usual. A National Weather Service recap shows most areas received more than 10 inches of rain, or about 1 to 3 inches more than average. Miami Beach was swamped; it saw more than 17 inches, or almost 11 inches more than normal. Curiously, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport received 6.86 inches, or 3.15 inches below normal. Someone must be holding an umbrella over that particular rain gauge. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
indigochildkate	2:36p	hello july! Things are still blissful here in prenuptial Missoula. Every day is a lucid fantasy, and it's starting to sink in that this is real. This is my life, now. You've come a long way, baby. But in less diabetes-inducing news, my writings are a bit... scatterbrained. I have a few different ideas storyboarded, but it's all piecemeal; I don't have a single idea structured from beginning to middle to end. The issue I'm running into, as a writer, is that my ADD kicks in. I'll get focused on an idea, research and pre-write, and after I've spent any good amount of time on the idea I get, well, bored. Or worse, I'll fail to remember the appeal of the story. I've toyed with the idea of writing a chapter or two and let the story evolve on its own accord; however I find that (at least for me) the stories end up capricious and non sequitur. I'm also a perfectionist who doesn't believe in drafting, in spite of being told repeatedly to just write. In an attempt to help me out with that I've applied to the local newspaper. It's a foolish idea, I know, because not only do I have no experience in print journalism but come September I'm off on part II of my college tour. There's also a new RW/RR Challenge which starts filming around September that I'd love to do, so any sort of serious job is probably not in my best interest. Not to mention I've started down the road to some light commercial modeling. It's nice to know that I have a bunch of things that are being juggled, even if they are only in the background, as I've been feeling a bit guilty with how lackadaisical my summer is. See, I've essentially taken June, July, and August off. Now, three months vacation out of a calendar year is a pretty sweet deal, I won't lie, but after around week three I begin to enter a Snoop Dogg mentality: "my mind on my money and my money on my mind". And, like any good Sicilian, I begin to feel guilty about putzing around the house all day. I've tried planning some activities, but every day winds up very devil may care. The plus side, however, is that even though I'm not writing a whole bunch I am doing quite a bit of reading. And nothing beats a gorgeous summer day spent lazily reading under a tree. Current Mood: happy Current Music: Sara Evans - As If (1 Comment |Comment on this)
hurricane_blog	9:00a	Rain shouldn't wash out the Fourth http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/07/rain_shouldnt_washout_the_four.html You know how it works; there are no guarantees when it comes to the weather. Yet forecasters think the widespread rains of the past few days should taper off by the weekend and you should be able to see fireworks under mostly dry conditions on Saturday night, July 4. Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies and a 60 percent chance of rain. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the mid 70s. The rain chance is expected to ease to 50 percent on Thursday and 40 percent on Friday. The weekend should be relatively nice with a 30 percent chance of rain on both Saturday and Sunday. "Then, unfortunately for the people who love sunshine, it could be raining again by Monday," said meteorologist Andy Tingler of the National Weather Service in Miami. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
hurricane_blog	5:55p	Soggy afternoon ahead http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/06/soggy_afternoon.html We've seen a few breaks of sun today, and we'll probably see a few more. But overall, it should continue to be a rather drizzly gray day, the National Weather Service in Miami said. "We'll continue have showers on and off through the afternoon and into the early evening," said meteorologist Andy Tingler. Tingler said some storms earlier today generated wind gusts up to 40 mph, particularly along the coast. While the heavy rains should let up by this evening, there could be some scattered showers and thunderstorms before midnight, he said. Yet more showers are expected on Wednesday. The rainy conditions are the result of tropical moisture flowing in from the Gulf of Mexico combined with a cold front descending across the state, Tingler said. (Comment on this)
hurricane_blog	9:00a	More rain, storms on the way http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/blog/2009/06/more_rain_storms_on_the_way.html Expect another soggy and at times stormy day today, the result of tropical moisture streaming out of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, and some of the rain could be heavy. Highs in the upper 80s, lows in the mid 70s. Again, the main reason we’re so waterlogged this week: The remnants of that tropical disturbance in the Gulf continue to stream in this direction. We'll probably see more rain, clouds and storms on Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Miami said. (Comment on this)