March 2004 Archives

Though I worked tonight, I made sure to stay home long enough between shows to see Billy Crystal open the Oscars. Now, after work, I'm watching it again.

Billy Crystal is the King of Comedy. He has an amazing presence and comic sense. The fact that he doesn't do the Academy Awards in consecutive years seems to only make him better, as in "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

I noticed tonight that Billy was getting rim shots during jokes on his opening performance.

Meanwhile, I really did look forward (for weeks) to his opening movie and song. They were worth waiting for... and re-watching.

Helaine went out this afternoon. While on the road, she called. No problem. Later, on her way home, she called again.

Busy! Except, of course, it wasn't.

It seems like yesterday, but it was the end of September when last our phone died. What a helpless feeling. The phone is our lifeline to health and safety in a way that computers or a cell phone can't approach... at least not yet.

I immediately went down to the basement and plugged a phone into the network jack, where the phone line enters the house from the street. Dead. The problem was somewhere outside, and so the responsibility of the phone company.

I am much more upset about the way my local phone company, SNET (actually, they are now a very small part of a very large national company and have dropped SNET for SBC) handles outages like this than the outage itself. It seems as if someone said, "We've already inconvenienced Geoff... why inconvenience us too by sending someone out on Sunday?"

As far as I can tell, nothing at all was done about this problem today. Nothing.

The last time this happened to me, I made it clear that I thought it was wrong for the phone company, once it knew of an outage, to let a line continue to ring busy - as opposed to a recorded "out of service" announcement.

No change. It still rings busy after being reported.

In 2004, to a child with an elderly parent, a phone that's busy for hours means the possibility that someone is ill... or worse. If my parent's phone was busy for hour after hour, I'd call the police to check it out. This is an uncaring policy which must be changed.

Though you can see the status of your repair on-line (a feature I found to be worthless and wrong back in September) you can't report the outage online. Nor can you easily even get the number to report the outage! Their website lists 611 for residential repairs - a number that won't work if you're using a cellphone to make the call, or if you try to get someone out-of-state to make the call for you (as I did today - contacting a friend in Florida via Instant Messenger).

We still have no cell service from the house, but at least our current phones allow you to call 9-1-1 using another carrier's towers. That service is only available about half the time. The rest of the time the phone is looking for a Cingular tower that's not there.

The current automated estimated repair time is 01:00 PM Monday.

We got a call around 10:00 AM from a phone company technician. A squirrel had eaten through a few lines taking down 3 family's service. After 19 hours, we're back.

In other techno news, I woke up this morning to emails from my dad and others telling me my website had disappeared. In its wake was this lovely page saying, "Please contact the billing/support department as soon as possible.¹" It is not from the "How to Win Friends and Influence People" playbook.

Here's what happened. I had been experimenting with a program to produce tide tables. It runs a 'daemon', meaning a continuous background process. I have just found out, that's against my terms of service. The fact that this program used nearly no resources seemed to be besides the point.

It has been removed. I have been reinstated. Life's never simple.

Hey - at least I was able to call them to begin clearing it up.

¹ - After sending an email to hostforweb's tech support, they have changed the message to be less draconian. A quick and correct solution.

The two NASA robots continue to poke around on the surface of Mars. We are explorers - even robotically. The difference between these explorers and a Columbus type explorer is what they're looking for.

Back in the 15th Century, man was looking for a shortcut to goods he could use. If the trips were successful, spices, gold and other treasures would come back on a triumphant return. At the moment, nothing's coming back from Mars.

Today's explorers have a somewhat more ethereal goal. We're looking for signs of life, the origins of life, the origins of our universe. It's heady stuff. It's exploration in the abstract. Unlike the 15th Century, there may be no practical payoff.

Today the AP reported; "Mars rover Opportunity has found evidence that the Red Planet was once wet enough for life to exist there, but the robot has not found any direct traces of living organisms, NASA scientists announced Tuesday.

Of course, the next step will be to look for signs of life. But (with apologies to George Harrison) what is life? It's not a stupid question. If you're thinking people, insects, plants, you're way up the ladder from where scientists will look. In fact they will be looking for incredibly simple forms of life - forms so simple, that to me, it's difficult to separate life from simple chemistry.

A few years ago I went to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to look at ALH84001, the Allen Hills meteorite. Some scientists believe this chunk of Mars, which through an unbelievable confluence of events ended up on Earth, holds fossilized evidence of Martian life. But the fossils are so simple, the life so rudimentary, that most lay people would yawn and turn away. That's how I feel about its fossils - though the story of how it got to Earth and how why scientists know to go to Antarctica to find meteorites is more than a little fascinating.

Over the next few months, NASA will probably use the results of this incredible engineering triumph to try and fund more missions, and people will start talking about searching for life. Just remember, it might not mean what you first thought.

This email flew in tonight

Since I am the entire geofffox.com team - I know it's bogus. But this is so cleverly done (and I'm sure it's a virus). What could scare you more than hearing your email has been cut off!

The term to describe this is "socially engineered." The email is so compelling, that even otherwise savvy computer users will open it - and get infected. Amazing.

We're getting our first tastes of spring... and it tastes really good. Since the beginning of February, the strangle hold of winter has diminished. Precipitation has been sparse. Temperatures have gotten warmer.

A few days ago, moments after stepping out of the shower and while still in a towel, Helaine called me to the front door. She beckoned me outside to experience a mild day. It was great. And, she didn't even lock the door behind me.

This morning, on the front steps, I looked down to see the first plants of the new season poking through the still frigid ground. Most of the snow on our lawn is gone, though not all. Within the next few weeks the leaves should start budding on the trees.

Meanwhile, down in Florida, they played baseball today. I heard a partial Mets score on WCBS while taking my shower.

The biggest difference in our local environment is in the sunshine. There are more hours to enjoy it - significantly more. The Sun itself shines from a higher angle in the sky, cutting through less of the atmosphere, producing a somewhat different color than winter's illumination.

When Ivy was alive, she'd look forward to this time of year and the corresponding solar position in the fall. As the day went on, she'd chase the sunshine, which warmed patches of carpet and marble. During the summer the sun was too high and didn't come in through the windows. During the winter, when the Sun was significantly lower, it was blocked and of no use to her.

I looked at my car this afternoon and wanted to take it to the car wash. That's a warm weather reaction.

I thought of taking down the top and riding in the fresh air. When I first got a convertible, I did that in December. The 'actual' temperature got the better of me today, so it stayed down. But with the heat blasting, and seat warmers turned on, I might give it a shot next week.

There is still the threat of snow. Helaine reminds me of the April when we paid Frank to do the Spring cleanup in our yard and plow - all in the same week.

Right now there's no snow in our future that I can see. A few more weeks and we'll be home free.

I love the Spring.

I'm on my way to Chicago tomorrow morning for a few days. It's work related, and though it's not nefarious, I don't think I can talk about why I'm going.

Hopefully, on my way home I'll say it was valuable. Right now, I'd rather not be going. But, I'm going with an open mind.

As I packed, I thought about how much of home I was taking with me. I'm taking a laptop. The hotel, right in the center of the city, has high speed Internet access in all rooms and Wifi access from the lobby. Still, I double checked to make sure my modem would work should it be necessary.

I have grown addicted to email, to writing in this blog, and the web in general.

I'm also taking my cell phone. This is such a recent change in our societal norms. It used to be, if you were in Chicago, you were in Chicago... and difficult to find. With cell phones, I'm a local call, no matter where I am.

Earlier this year, while I was visiting my family in Florida, someone called from work asking me if I could be in early to be in a tease. I explained I was on the golf course in West Palm Beach.

I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. But, it's my choice to take the phone, so I must be leaning toward good.

I'll also be taking the digital camera, plenty of memory, and a cable to move images to the laptop. Since I've never really spent any time in downtown Chicago, I'm looking forward to getting as many shots as I can. Right after I get home, the camera is going to the hospital for a pixel that's always on.

Chicago's most recognized landmark is the Sears Tower. But, to me, nothing says Chicago more than the succession of bridges over the Chicago River. I remember seeing that image every week on The Bob Newhart Show.

Considering I won't be home until midnight tonight, I'm leaving awfully early tomorrow. I'll be leaving the house around 7:00 AM for the shlep to Bradley. At the moment fog and rain seem probable. In Chicago thunderstorms might show. By the end of the weekend, there's the chance of snow.

I've gotta remember to pack my open mind.

A few weeks ago Elizabeth McGuire of Hartford Magazine asked me to respond to some thoughts from the news director of one of my competitors. I thought you might like to read the finished product.

Six O'Clock is just too early to get up. That puts me on the outs with most of America. I've always been a night person - even as a kid. Now, as an adult working second shift, it's even more ingrained.

It had been foggy on the drive home from work last night and there was still a smudge in the air as I set out this morning. I-91 is normally lightly traveled during my works hours. That is changed at 7:00 AM. There was traffic but it moved smoothly up through Hartford and then into Windsor Locks where Bradley International is located.

It was an opportunity to tune around through morning radio. My friend Bob Lacey, who I met my first day in radio in October 1969, is syndicated, so I tuned around looking for "Bob & Sheri" out of Charlotte. Other than a few days spent in Charlotte itself a few years ago, I hadn't heard them.

The show is great - woman friendly and FCC friendly. I caught a segment with an improv comedian from Florida. It was funny, thought there was probably more in studio laughter than he deserved. Studio laughter is important because it telegraphs to the audience that you're funny. I'm serious. It creates a shared experience when you're listening to the radio alone. As much as we hate 'canned laughter' or sweetening on sitcoms, it's tough to watch them without it.

I found Bob and Sheri on "The Beach" from Long Island. As I drove north the signal faded around Meriden. Bob will be glad I finally listened.

I parked the car at a remote lot and started to pull my bags as the cell phone rang. No matter what I do, no matter how I set it, the cell phone reverts to the same ring... the sound of an actual bell. Most of the time it's in vibrate only mode, but in the car, out of my pocket, I need the noise.

It was Helaine calling. She had been looking online and United didn't have a flight with the number I had. Not only that, they didn't have a flight to Chicago at my time! I told her not to worry... though how was I to know?

At Bradley I approached the United counter and was greeted by a large man with a huge bandage on one finger and that same arm in a sling. He was a fan, greeted me by name, and helped me get what I needed. I always hope at that moment of recognition the words, "and we're putting you up front today" will follow. It did not. But, he was very nice and the boarding pass process went smoothly.

I'm not sure what happened with my flight number... and seat assignment. My boss, also traveling today, and I were supposed to have adjoining aisle seats. Instead, we're both in the middle, deep in the upper teens on a flight other than the one listed on our reservations. The flight is overbooked by two.

There is a pecking order to seat assignments. Most casual flyer's don't know this, most business flayers do. The seat I'm in is normally reserved for someone's aunt who flies once a year. Frequent fliers, of which I am currently not, are on the aisle and by the windows and much closer to the front.

The girl, sitting to my left, quickly fell asleep, leaning her head against the bulkhead and her butt toward the armrest. I wish I had retractable elbows. Though both of my 'neighbors' are slim, I'm really jammed in. This must be horrendous for someone who is large.

I had casually checked the Chicago weather over the last few days. Originally it looked like thunderstorms might coincide with my arrival. I remember circling Bradley a few years ago as a thunderstorm crossed the field. The pilot came on the PA system and said a thunderstorm was there and, "we don't do thunderstorms."

Now, the forecast had changed. By the time I left Connecticut, the front had already crossed through Chicago. In the terminal, with my boss and two others from our sister station in Springfield, I mentioned that it would be a bumpy flight and probably a rough landing (winds were predicted to gust at 50+ mph).

As I write this, we're in the middle of the bumpiness. The plane has been shuddering as if we're on a very rough road. A few minutes ago, the pilot came on the PA again, illuminating the seatbelt sign at the same time and telling the flight attendants to sit as well. It's tough to type when the keys are moving away from your fingers.

He didn't know if the turbulence would be light or moderate. I extended that for him as I listened to include severe. So far, the turbulence has been far short of that.

Soon we'll be in Chicago. With no checked luggage, the trip to the hotel should be easy.

My experience in Chicago is very limited. Years ago I had been here briefly for my niece's bat mitzvah. There was no traveling into town - I stuck to the 'burbs. This trip will be very different.

Our bumpy flight let up for a while, and then we headed groundward. I had my headphones on, listening to air traffic control. As Chicago's tower gave out landing instructions, the wind gusts hit 37 knots or 43 mph.

When the wind blows that fast, it is never steady and it's hardly ever directly down the runway. I watched as our wings bobbed up and down. Flying slower, preparing to land, a plane becomes less aerodynamic. This was a difficult landing and the crew up front was earning their pay.

We had met up with our two counterparts from Springfield. No one had checked bags so it was directly to a cab. The three of them climbed in the back while I took the front passenger seat. The seat itself resembled my apartment as a bachelor (minus the mushrooms growing through the bathroom floor).

Our driver was a round faced man with lots of facial hair and a ready smile. After deciding which Hyatt we were at, we were on the road.

I snapped a few shots through the window. He could see I was a little obsessed, so when I saw a car alongside with a particularly apropos license plate, he rolled my window down so I could get a better shot.

As the expressway let out into a city street he pointed to a McDonald's, taking up what looked like an entire city block. The world's busiest McDonald's he said. Who I am I to dispute that?

Check in at the hotel was easy. I am up, just above the 20th floor. My room with single king size bed is nicely sized. There is free high speed Internet access.

My window looks directly across a courtyard to a boxy glass clad office building. I spent a few minutes looking at the people working across the way, wondering what it was they were doing. I'm sure they spend a significant amount of time looking back at what the people are doing here in the hotel. Use your imagination.

We were hungry and set out for lunch. Walking is the best way to see a city. Hopefully someone will explain it to me, but Chicago's downtown has a very distinct architectural style. There is very detailed masonry seen on many buildings. Often buildings top out with interesting touches, as opposed to a flat roof on a tall building. I'm going to add a photo gallery as there are too many shots to have here on the blog.

We crossed the Chicago River over the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The Chicago River is about as wide as a good sized city street. The natural banks no longer exist. The river is now an glorified canal. If there is traffic on the river, I didn't see it, though the bridges are draw bridges.

Across the river I discovered a Chicago of double decker streets. Again, this is something I am discovering, but it is probably quite well known. By double decker, it is as if someone decided the city was too busy so they built another one on top of the first. There are streets under streets. Intersections exist under intersections with traffic lights and sidewalks and shops. I've never seen anything like it.

While walking in the subterranean world we went past a true cultural icon, The Billy Goat Café. We didn't go inside, but from the outside, it's a little hole in the wall, underneath the main streets, down where the Sun never shines. The Billy Goat is the inspiration for the famous "Cheeburge - Cheeburger - Fries - No Pepsi" of Saturday Night Live.

Our lunch stop was Shaws Seafood. We entered and instinctively headed to a wide open room that is probably unchanged in my lifetime. Lunch was great. It's a shame I'm dieting, because the desserts looked really good - as did the bread.

Tonight, it's dinner at Lawrys The Prime Rib - a world famous steakhouse. I'm looking forward to the walk there.

The real reason for the trip begins tomorrow morning. In the meantime, Chicago has a new fan in me.

Wow. I am just blown away. Years ago, my agent at the time asked me if I would be interested in working in Chicago. I said no. What an idiot!

The city is vibrant. Downtown is clean and full of people. I am entranced by the architecture. There are restaurants and there is entertainment.

Of course the downside is the weather. Chicago is full of weather. It's cold, windy and snows in the winter. Thunderstorms and heat can be brutal during the summer.

And, of course, I am not driving through Chicago traffic as a resident would. The city itself seems very livable - good for me, but not for my wife who is not a city dweller and probably never will be.

My boss and I left our hotel and walked the ten minutes down Michigan Avenue to Lawrys. It's a fancy steakhouse. After a quick sit at the bar (club soda for me - a non-drinker even off the diet) we were ushered into the dining room.

The wait staff is costumed. I'm to sure exactly how to describe it, but our waitress was dressed like a formal maid in a wealthy European home. Though the menu is simple, ordering is not. Certain dishes need to be requested early - like my asparagus and mushrooms.

The main dish is prepared tableside from a silver colored rolling cart. In fact, nearly everything was prepared at the table, including our salads. Al in all, dinner was very good and I'd go back again.

On the way back to the hotel a street saxophonist played the Sanford and Son theme. It was perfectly fitting.

The real stuff starts tomorrow morning at 8:15 AM. That's early for me... even when it's only an elevator ride away.

On a trip, the most difficult thing for me is getting to sleep. No matter what I do, I always find a reason to put it off. So, it's no surprise it was after 1:30 AM CST before I fell asleep. Actually, it would have been difficult to go to bed any earlier as I had a noisy neighbor in an adjacent room.

Good opportunity for some thoughts on The Grand Hyatt. The walls were paper thin - don't like that. On the other hand the bed was very comfortable with good lighting when I needed it (like reading things on the nightstand).

The TV didn't pull from it's cabinet making it difficult to watch while using the computer (which was tethered to the high speed Internet line). The desk and chair at the DSL cable's termination were excellent. The swivel chair was very handy and a nice touch... and it was comfortable .

I had never stayed in a room with the right chair for a desk area and it really makes a difference.

The bathroom was well lit with a good sized sink area. The shower curtain was cloth/plastic and hund from a rod that curved outward from the tub. That's why Sunday morning, when I forgot to tuck it in, the floor was flooded. The water pressure was excellent. The towels were almost large and thick enough (water pressure and towel size/thickness make or break a hotel room for me).

My meetings started early Saturday morning and lasted all day. I am pleasantly surprised that I did get something positive from the trip. Most of the presenters were excellent, but not all. Most of the presentations were correct for the audience, not all.

That's about all I can say. Sorry.

The meetings ended at 5:30 and after a break to wash my face, call home and check email, Kirk (my boss) and I headed over to WMAQ Channel 5, the NBC owned and operated station in Chicago. One of our former anchors, Darren Kramer, is now a weekend anchor there.

WMAQ is located in a brand new facility not far from the Tribune and WGN Radio. The building is an homage to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the NBC headquarters in New York City. In a plaza in front of the building is a freestanding building containing a single studio with glass walls, like the one the Today Show broadcasts from. That studio is used for the morning news.

The newsroom, and studio used for the Saturday show is on the second flood of the building. The newsroom itself is large and contains a second studio used for Telemundo, NBC's Spanish outlet. We met Darren's co-anchor and the weekend weatherperson and then went upstairs.

WMAQ has three studios on the third floor - and uses none of them. One is leased to Jerry Springer, and I understand taping days for that show are a trip, to say the least. A second studio is used for Judge Mathis, a court show which used to precede our news cast (and provided horrible ratings as the lead-in). More interesting is what's come of the third studio.

It is outfitted like 8H (Conan's studio) in New York, with audience seating. On weekend nights, a live Sinatra tribute is performed (though not broadcast) from there. It's a pretty cool idea. We were in the studio for a moment and the setup and performance going on were very impressive. The room was just right for what was going on.

Dinner was downstairs in an Italian restaurant. I've become pretty good at ordering while dieting. It was Caesar salad as an appetizer and a steak entrée. I passed on the mashed potatoes and carrots but was able to eat most of the vegetable medley that came with dinner. If I'm good, can I have my old metabolism back - please?

Darren had actual work to do (those slave drivers), so Kirk and I turned up Michigan Avenue and walked along. The saxophonist from the nigh before was there. The street was jammed with foot traffic. This is a good sign of a vibrant city. Chicago's downtown is acting as a magnet.

Michigan Avenue has plenty of shopping and restaurants. I saw what looked like upscale apartment (or condo) buildings and a few nice hotels, including another Hyatt.

As we continued down Michigan Avenue, a brightly lit building stood out. It was the Water Tower (and as we approached and I could see the corner) the Water Works. I am told these were two buildings which survived the Great Chicago Fire. They nicely set off the rest of the area, including a vertical mall across the street.

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Chicago does seem to have its own architectural style. I'm not educated in this, and maybe someone reading will know the full details, but the city has a distinctive architectural character that I had not seen before. Also, many of the buildings are bathed in projected light, including the Wrigley Building - right on the river adjacent to the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

We darted into Borders. Bookstores are treasures for travelers or others with too much time on their hands. I'm an addict when it comes to computer books and magazines and was able to come home with a magazine specializing in digital photography.

With an early call for Sunday, we turned back toward the hotel.

I decided to program my cellphone as my alarm clock. There's something about hotel clock radios that I don't trust. Saturday morning I woke up before my alarm. Sunday morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of my cellphone vibrating on the table next to me.

The Sunday morning sessions started at 8:30 and I almost made it on time. Everything went well until I leaned back and spilled a warm cup of coffee on my pants! Up to the room to change and I was back in the swing of things.

We were originally scheduled to leave about 6:30, losing an hour on the way and arriving in Hartford late. Tonight, with snow on the way, late wasn't going to be good. Kirk call United, found out they wouldn't let us make changes over the phone with our USAir codeshare tickets, and that there might be some seats on the 1:15 PM non-stop home.

The taxi to the airport was uneventful as was security. Well... let me take that back a little. With security today, you have to disassemble yourself as you're screened. My watch came off and joined the cellphone, coat and small things in one plastic tray. The bag from my laptop was in another. Yet another had the laptop itself. Finally, my rolling carry-on bag. At least I didn't have to remove my shoes. Still, after security I had to put myself together as if I were some sort of huge kit.

The podium agent wasn't sure we'd get on - so we sat at the gate area and waited as the entire plane boarded. Still no word. Finally, the go ahead.

So, I'm writing this from, yet another, very bumpy flight - this time on my way home.

Later tonight, or tomorrow, I'll post my photos. Most were nighttime shots and need a little Photoshop enhancement to brighten them up.

I've already told Helaine I'd be open to going back to Chicago with her. I hope it's sooner rather than later.

Much to the displeasure of those around me, I love taking photos. Maybe love is too small a word. Once, on a trip, trying to rush me along, Helaine called out, "Enough Ansel."

I've posted a sampling of my Chicago photos in the gallery section of the website. If you have a high speed connection, try the slideshow feature in the upper right hand part of the screen.

Finally... if you'd like to read my series of Chicago entries, in the order they were written (as opposed to the blogging norm of most recent first), I've set up a page just for that.

Since returning from Chicago, I've been catching up on the news. One of the recurring themes today is the question of whether Martha Stewart's attorneys failed her?

There is an implication that good lawyering should achieve the desired result, no matter what the cause of action. We, unfortunately, live in a society that believes the goal of a well presented defense is to allow someone to be unaccountable for their actions. If that's the criteria by which the Stewart verdict is being judged, the critics are right.

But, isn't the whole idea of competent counsel, a fair and just result?

It is in the selfish interest of the accused (if guilty) to get an unfair and unjust adjudication. Hey - if it were me, that's what I'd want. That's not what's in the best interest of our society - and our court system is supposed to be operating in the best interests of society.

Maybe it's time we reassess exactly what it is lawyers do. Is a lawyer who can get a guilty client 'off' any different than a trainer who supplies an athlete with steroids that can't be detected?

In a fair and just society, the question shouldn't be about what Martha Stewart's attorneys did, but what Martha did herself.

It's snowing now, as I write this entry. There's little wind, so I can watch the vertical path of the flakes as I look out the window.

My lawn is white as are the tree limbs. Some buds have started to form on the trees out front - and they're covered too. The street and my driveway are wet, not white.

The bad news about March is, it can still snow. It was the middle of March that saw the greatest snowfall ever recorded in the Northeast, The Blizzard of '88 (1888 that is).

Since the ground is warmer and the Sun higher in the sky, even a cloudy day can heat up road surfaces enough to melt what comes down... unless the snow is heavy and sustained. Then all bets are off. The snow preps the blacktop until it's cold enough to allow accumulation.

We're not there yet, and I don't suppose we will be.

Still, these are giant economy sized flakes. Down on the lawn, the little piling up there is good packing snow - perfect for snowballs and building forts. There's just too little of it to do anything.

This is a cruel snow, since it follows a tease of warmth. Being sick of the cold, I was ready. And now, at least temporarily, my hopes are dashed.

Yesterday, Los Angeles and San Diego went into the 90s. San Fransisco broke a long time recored getting well into the 80s. I'm jealous, very jealous.

Can't we have just a teeny bit of global warming?

The last time I wrote about Intern Jayne Smith was during the summer when she helped out with Emmy award judging. Jayne had been a college intern in meteorology at the TV station and spent a few semesters in the Weather Center.

She's a very nice girl. We were very happy that she was always available to be Ivy's companion when we went out of town. She is shy and quiet... maybe too shy and quiet.

It has been very tough for her, a degreed meteorologist, to find her first job. First, you need a tape - which she made at Channel 8. But, without experience her taped work was always a little on the edge (As it should be for a beginner. If it were too easy everyone would do it).

She'll be great, but she needs to work regularly, under deadline, on camera, show-after-show.

After some very disappointing and drawn out turndowns, and over a year of looking, she has finally been offered a job and will move, sight unseen, to Bismarck, ND. It sounds very scary.

Luckily for Jayne, Bismarck is the perfect place to go. She'll be working with some stable, nice people, used to working with beginners. There won't be the same pressure in Bismarck that there might be in a larger market. She'll have the opportunity to forecast nearly every kind of weather from heat waves to tornadoes to blizzards.

My first job was at WSAR 1480 in Fall River. MA. I remember it like it was yesterday... even though it's about 35 years ago. It's likely Jayne will remember this job forever too.

She'll be great.

This blog is non-partisan. I don't favor one ideology or candidate over another. I work in a newsroom, which is supposed to be balanced and objective. So, even as the weatherman, this seems like a reasonable policy.

On the other hand, I am not blind. I am watching the 'dance of the candidates' as the 2004 presidential campaign gets under way - long before either convention. I can't remember as early a start. With the insatiable appetite of cable TV news, we'll soon be sick of it all and anxious for November 2nd, so we can just put all the petty sniping behind us.

I've been thinking about the candidates and watching poll numbers over the past few days. Who is vulnerable? Why are they vulnerable? Why is Kerry already head and shoulders ahead of the president (though it is so early that poll any numbers are meaningless)?

It won't be long before President Bush starts looking to work around his negatives. It is my opinion that he will see Vice President Dick Cheney as a liability.

Again, this doesn't represent my opinion of Vice President Cheney or President Bush. But, I see the vice president's association with Halliburton as a huge target for the Democrats. They will try and paint Halliburton as representative of everything bad with this Republican administration and use Cheney's prior association (he was its president) to drive their points home.

Here's my prediction. When November comes around, the Republican ticket won't be Bush/Cheney. The Vice President could find any number of reasons, from health on down, to graciously bow out.

There are a number of Republicans with squeaky clean reputations that come to mind... like Colin Powell or Rudolph Guiliani. Either of those two would more benefit the president's re-election bid.

I mentioned this tonight to a number of people I work with, and most said it sounded reasonable, though not likely. I called my dad in Florida and he said it was an idea he had thought about, and accepted, a few weeks ago.

If it happens, remember today is March 10, 2004. If it doesn't happen, it was my dad's idea.

Here's something I've noticed after all these months of writing. No matter how hard you like, how much you try, you can't get all the errors off a page. I envy those who write and have an editor.

Each entry here is written and rewritten and then run through a spell checker. Then, usually, I read it again (the exception is when I write at my desk at work where I don't have a spell checker that can be used on this site). I always find, and correct, errors.

Yet when I go back in time and look at something that's been online for months, I can usually find more errors!

There is one thing I'm curious about, having seen itself manifested dozens of times. It would seem our brain thinks in sounds and not spelled words. For instance, in the paragraph above I had originally used 'town' where I meant 'time.' These are two words that are similar in sound.

There's probably already research germane to my discovery - but to me it's a revelation.

Maybe there's a good freelance business for someone who will proofread and edit the online work of others?

This comes to me from my friend Paul Brownstein. It might be my all time favorite email, and says a lot about why I love Southern California:

It's been two and a half weeks since I began dieting and so far, so good. I was so distressed about my weight when I began, that I couldn't look at the scale to note my starting weight. The best estimate is, I'm down 11-12 pounds and that's a huge difference.

Within the first few days, my suits started fitting better. Of course the fit of my clothing was the original signal to me that it was time to lose a little. Today, Helaine told me she could see I was thinner.

I'd like to lose 15 pounds more (which would take me back to what I weighed 20 years ago), but that will take a few months. I'm willing to make that commitment. I never thought I'd have the willpower to diet, but it's not that bad. It's just that once I get to my goal, I immediately return to being a carb loving, pigging out, hog.

That's stupid. Unfortunately, intellectualizing the problem doesn't make it go away.

Of course, once you begin eating the way you did before your diet, you will move back toward your pre-diet weight. No diet can immunize you against your own bad habits as you move forward.

In the past I had been a strict Atkins adherent. This time, it's a cross between Atkins and South Beach. I suppose I've just used South Beach to introduce a few foods I had never used before... but I'm still closer to what Dr. Atkins prescribed.

I like Atkins because the weight that comes off, and comes off right away, is from fatty places, like your belly.

There are two foods I've discovered on this trip through the diet that have really surprised me. The first is a chocolate fudge bar from Klondike. The fudge bar is excellent and I'd enjoy it even off the diet.! It uses Splenda for sweetening. I've tried Splenda in coffee and didn't like the taste (nor do I like any artificial sweetener in coffee). It's a different story in baked goods. Helaine made a flour free almond pound cake, sweetened with Splenda, and it's really good.

The second surprise is the new Atkins wraps at Subway. I've had the chicken bacon wrap with ranch dressing, and it's really good. Allegedly it is has 8 grams of carbs, which is acceptable. Packed with veggies it's more filling than I'd expect from its size.

This past weekend in Chicago I was able to keep dieting even though it was all restaurant food. Once you realize what you can and cannot have, it becomes easier. I have yet to crave for the things I shouldn't be eating so far.

I'm still never taking my shirt off at the beach. America continues to be safe in that regard.

Every night, on my way home from work, I head north on I-91 and then cut west for a few miles on State Route 40. Route 40 is a beautiful little gem of a road. As it wends its way between North Haven and Hamden, you pass by hundreds of yards of exposed rock face. The geological history of Connecticut is out in the open, and to a non-geologist like me, picturesque. At least once or twice a year students come by bus or van, stand by the side of the road, and examine the rocks to help their classroom work.

It is a wide road with nice shoulders, large separation between opposing traffic and very few cars. In my 13 years of traveling this road I have never seen a police officer with radar or laser gun... until last night.

As I crested a hill, approaching another car in the right lane, I saw a darkened car on the right shoulder. Moving closer, I noticed what looked like a roof rack. I tapped my brakes. At that very instant my radar detectopr went off. That's about the time the car I had been approaching noticed. Too late for him. Twenty seconds later he and a State Tropper were on the grass.

One of my co-worker, passing by a few minutes later, was sure it was me. He's seen me pass him by loads of times.

There's really a larger problem here. This is a beautiful road, built for speed, with an unreasonably low speed limit. It's never higher than 55 mph, and drops to 35 mph before the road ends at a traffic light. That 35 mph limit is lower than the non-divided highway you're forced on!

How do roads get speed limits? I have no clue. It just seems that this one is inappropriately low.

I feel bad for the guy who (probably) got a ticket. I'll be going slower and keeping my eyes open wider tonight.

I've written, on more than one occasion, about my camera and the obsession I have for taking pictures. I've taken over 6,000 since getting my Fujifilm Finepix S602Z. In fact, Sunday is the first anniversary of its purchase. Which brings us to today's little quandry and journey.

Sometime in the last month, my camera developed a very small problem. One pixel, the smallest photo element it resolves, became stuck in the on mode. So, in every picture, there is one miniscule red spot. If I didn't tell you about, you would never see it within a picture. Since I post process nearly every picture in Photoshop anyway, it was easy to work around. Still, once I noticed it, it was tough to dismiss.

I discovered the problem is February, and since the camera has a one year warranty, I wasn't too worried. That is, until I couldn't find my receipt.

I called Bangalore, India (I didn't know that's where I was calling at the time) to speak to Circuit City's support folks. About 10 days later the receipt appeared in the mail, having been mailed from an office in the states.

I wanted the camera for my Chicago trip. Unfortunately, after I returned, I forgot all about the camera's illness. Yesterday Helaine asked when I was sending it in, and I got a box to prepare it for shipping today.

When I went to finish the project I noticed the one year anniversary of the purchase is Sunday. I couldn't get it to the repair depot before Monday! A quick phone call verified my concern... If it wasn't in today, forget the warranty.

So, early this afternoon, I hopped in the car and drove to Enfield. Connecticut is a very small state, but I live in the far south and Enfield is all the way north - over 60 miles in each direction.

I found Precision Camera Repair without too much trouble (only one wrong turn). It is in a low slung building in an office park, across from Enrico Fermi High School. I parked at the end of the lot and walked past one glass door with an arrow pointing to another glass door. Looking inside the first, I saw men, sitting at work benches, working on cameras. Curled tubes on each bench probably supplied compressed air. This is demanding work where dust... and bad eyesight, aren't very helpful.

Once inside the lobby, I looked into an office with four women sitting in separate cubicles. The cubicles met at a center point - sort of like the spot where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet. A young woman in the back section saw me and stood up to walk my way. She was pretty, and was made more so by the fact that she was wearing a formal dress... as if she were going to some nighttime affair.

It would later turn out that she worked a second job, as a deejay. She was at job number one, but dressed for job number two.

She took my camera, typed a few pertinent notes into a computer, and gave me receipt. She said they'd mail it back to me.

Meanwhile, for the next 15-20 business days (why can't they just say 3-4 weeks?) I will be without my camera. I still have an older Casio QV-2000UX - but it's just not the same.

There is a way to check the status of my repair, using their toll free number. Like a sick friend in the hospital, I will call to see how my camera is doing.

I nearly forgot this... and I wish I would have captured it with the camera.

On my way through Enfield, I passed a sign which advertised "Comedy Night" at the local VFW. There would be food and drink and lots of laughter. Headliner TBA.

Headliner TBA! Now that's advance planning and an incredible amount of trust.

I have two desktop PC's in this room. The first - the one I'm typing on now - is a box I built myself after spending weeks pouring through every computer publication and website known to man. The other is an older, slower machine they were throwing away at work. It has hosted at least 10 different flavors of Windows and Linux and is constantly in a state a flux.

The CPU - the brains behind the computer - is an Intel Pentium II-300. By today's standards, it's old and slow. Here's the dirty little secret - if all you're doing is word processing and web browsing, it's perfect.

Shh, don't tell.

It is my auxiliary machine and I do use it a lot, sometimes for photos and video, so it would be nice if it were a little faster. Last night I found what I hope will be the solution to this problem.

Tiger Direct is advertising a motherboard/memory/CPU/cooling fan combo for $99.99. That's an unbelievable deal and will give me a spare machine that's faster than anything else here.

If you're not a computer geek, a motherboard is the circuitry that ties together the computer chip (CPU) and everything else. Different motherboards have different functionality. This is pretty much a Swiss Army Knife, with video, audio, network connections and a host of other features right on the board. Previously, these demanded separate cards.

Usually, video on the motherboard isn't my favorite way to go. It's is often slower and less well thought out than stand alone video card which plug into a slot on the board. Since I'm not a game player, and video speed isn't paramount, it's a very small trade off.

This motherboard uses an AMD Athlon XP 2400+ CPU. When most people think of computer chips, they think Intel. This AMD is a virtual work alike. Other than cost (AMD is cheaper) I can't see any difference - and I've been using AMD chips for years.

The plan is to remove the motherboard from the auxiliary machine and replace it with this one. The case, power supply and disk drives will remain the same. Everything should just plug in.

It really is very close to getting a brand new machine for $99.99. Of course that $99.99 is after rebates, but I'll be diligent.

Earlier today, having already decided this would be a fun/good thing to do, I went to a local computer show in an elementary school gym. I couldn't have matched this deal for less than twice the price.

This is a project I'm looking forward to. Ripping a computer apart and rebuilding it is something you don't get to do every day. Hopefully, when it gets booted for the first time it will understand my angst and go right to work. Otherwise, I will be forced to threaten it with water. PC's are scared of water.

Sometime on Monday the little counter on the bottom right of this website will spin past 99,999 and move into six digits. It's my website, and I am impressed. I never thought there would be anywhere near this much traffic.

However, let's keep this in perspective. Compared to a large commercial site like Google or Yahoo I'm not even a rounding error. This site has so little traffic that it easily shares a computer with dozens of other small sites (and my server is in Chicago).

For a one man operation with no promotion, and no draw other than a look at what I'm thinking on any given day (not much it often seems) 100k since July is livin' large.

To define terms, each time a full page of this website is viewed the counter goes up one. This page counts as one. If you go back and look at a single archived entry, that's another one. Looking at a full screen of thumbnails in my gallery is one more. And, if you click on any of them to get that single image in a larger view that is yet one more.

There are other counters at work on the site. Most of them operate behind the scenes on the management pages.

This is the 400th entry in my blog which started on July 4, 2003 (you can see the titles of each with links by clicking here). The combined text and images here take up 285 MB. This website has spit out a little less than 15 GB of data, enough to fill 20 or so CDROMs. There have been 56,000 separate visits to the site. If you count each individual file that's called on, each image, style sheet, table and text files, you will be just short of 1.5 million hits!

This site is fully indexed on all the search engines, but gets the most traffic, by far, from Google. The largest number of referrals come from people entering the name, "Scotty Crowe," John Mayer's road manager who I had written about... and who doesn't appear on other sites often enough to move me from a prominent showing on Google and Yahoo. In 2003, Scotty was only number 2, just behind "giblet gravy," a term I had used in a context that probably wasn't be searched for.

There are other Geoff Fox's listed on the Internet - many others. But, I am the number one result when you Google my name. I'm also high on the list for 'dissed' and, of course, Scotty Crowe.

Each day, between 350-450 of you visit, looking at about 2 pages per visit on average.

There is a certain amount of exaggeration when you see all these numbers. Some do nothing more than reflect the Internet equivalent of a wrong number, as people come here by mistake. Others are reflecting robots and spiders and crawlers from search engines like Google, Yahoo and now Microsoft. Still more, less than 10% but significant, are from me... looking for errors and proofreading my work (I spend a lot of time spellchecking and proofreading my work and mistakes still get through all the time).

Actually, I often stay away from the public pages, lest I run up the counter.

If I told you how much this endeavor has cost, you'd probably be surprised. The main software is Movabletype, which is free. Same goes for Gallery, my photo gallery software and GrADS which produces the meteograms. All the software on this site is freeware.

Renting my little corner of cyberspace is also pretty cheap. I paid $100 for one year of webhosting, which provides the destination when you type http://www.geofffox.com. For that $100 I get 350 MB of space, more bandwidth than I can use, and the ability to control my mailboxes and truly be the master of my own domain! Owning geofffox.com is another $20 (I also own tv-cd.com).

Please accept my thanks for coming here and helping me stay motivated. I have become somewhat anal - posting virtually every day. I am surprised, gratified and a little scared when I think you've spent a time reading what I have to say.

Since I'm in the midst of a diet (doing very well thank you), I thought this would be a great time to join Helaine at the supermarket. Maybe... possibly... in this carb conscious time, there are new foods for me to eat.

Fat chance!

I am a very lucky man. My wife spoils me like crazy. She does virtually all the shopping for me. It is unusual for me to be in the grocery store with or without her. I am probably qualified to get that surprised look President Bush (41) had at a grocery convention years ago, when he saw scanners for the first time.

At times, while Helaine was going back for something she had forgotten and I stood silently and motionless next to the shopping cart, I felt like a lox. I wanted to pull out my cellphone and pretend I was calling my wife for advice, as so many other men there were doing. Being in a supermarket and not being in motion makes you stand out.

I had read, on the South Beach Diet, that brown rice and certain non-flour pastas might be OK. When I looked at their carbohydrate counts, I knew they weren't for me. In fact, many of the items I looked at had reasonably low carb counts, but only at the expense of portions sized for a flea.

The Klondike Fudge Bars I have taken a liking to weren't available. Helaine had stocked up - but we're hoping this is an anomaly, not the sign that they're gone.

I realized one more very important thing as I watched Chantee tally up the bill. When you eschew bread, pasta and other carbs and replace them with protein, you're going to pay a lot more for a bag of groceries.

There's snow in the forecast for tomorrow. In some ways I'm glad I'm on vacation... in others I'm not. It will be interesting as it unfolds.

Today, the Sun is beating down on bare ground and pavement. This time of year there is significantly more heat energy than a month or two ago. When the snow begins, the first few inches - maybe more - will melt on contact.

After a while, if it snows heavily enough, the ground will cool and snow will stick - but it takes a while and it's a very tough call with little guidance. Any forecast in this regard, from anyone, is more guess than skill.

There's one other interesting piece of this puzzle. If you look at a cross section of temperatures through the atmosphere (that's the box on the very top of the graphic), you'll see a significant area of temperatures above freezing starting at around 850 MB (near 5,000 feet) and heading up a few thousand feet more. That means a period of sleet, which also tends to keep accumulation down.

With each additional variable in a forecast, you increase the chance for error. As I said... in some ways I'm glad to be on vacation.

I swear by Popfile to rid my inbox of spam - but it's failing me now as spammers are getting more crafty. Within the past few weeks, messages that look very 'spammy' to the naked eye have been buzzing through Popfile. It was easy to figure out how.

Popfile compiles a 'corpus', a list of words that normally do or don't appear in my emails. Spammy words are likely to get an otherwise nice mail kicked out.

These new emails take a paragraph or two of text (it looks like AP wire copy or something similar) and inserts it in the message. The text is so long, it overwhelms the spam content.

The really sneaky part is how this long text is displayed. Unlike the ad copy, these innocuous words are displayed in the smallest possible size. It is so small that the letters aren't even formed. It's just a blur of small smudges. I had to copy it into a text editor to see what was really going on.

It's my guess that Popfile will be strengthened to fight this new scourge. And the spammers will come up with something else. It seems to be a never ending saga.

Here's the part that I totally don't understand. Hasn't everyone who wants Cialis or Viagra, and is willing to blindly buy on the net, already gotten it? I've gotten thousands upon thousands of solicitations for this kind of drug. I understand why someone wouldn't want to go to their doctor or pharmacist to explore this problem, but the numbers can't be this great.

Then there's the question who is going to ingest a substance that comes from a website which has to spell Viagra, V1@GR@ and falsifies its return address?

The products sold using spam have changed greatly over time. Bootleg software and prescription drugs seem to be the hot items at the moment. Many things I might have seen advertised a year or two ago are gone.

The quantity has also changed. Since January 6, 2004, 61% of my email has been spam (and that doesn't count the untold thousands of messages I filter out before they get to my mailbox)

It all boggles the mind.

Blogger's addendum - This morning, another similar spam came in. Here's what it looks like:

A new head start for elite women, a new course and an Olympic year couldn't stop Meb Keflezighi from making it the same old story at the Gate River Run.Keflezighi, of Mammoth, Calif., became the first man to win four consecutive River Run titles, catching Colleen De Reuck on the Hart Bridge and outrunning Abdi Abdirahman to the finish to win by 2 seconds on Saturday."It was a fast pace from the early going and Abdi gave me a run for the money," said Keflezighi, 28, who finished in 43 minutes, 10 seconds, to win $15,000, including a $5,000 bonus for being the top finisher.De Reuck, of Boulder, Colo., led most of the race after being one of 25 elite women to get a head start of 5 minutes, 16 seconds, longer than the 5-minute planned advantage because of technical problems. The head start was instituted for the first time to add drama to the race. De Reuck, 39, said she knew her split times were not fast enough to hold off the men."At least for the first 7 miles, I was just trying to secure the [women's] lead," said De Reuck, who finished first among the women in 49:02 and took home $10,000. "When I heard [from spectators] they [the top men] were there, I knew they were going to fly down the bridge."But the men's leaders really made up most of the time on the bridge incline, cutting a 40-second deficit in half.Race officials said the finish was one of the closest in the 27 years of the River Run, but did not have records available to confirm where it ranked.A clock problem caused the extra advantage for the elite women, but USA Track and Field men's championship liaison Mark Zenobia said the problem would have been more damaging if De Reuck had finished first overall and by less than 16 seconds.Race officials said they had to be certain the start was done properly because the race is the U.S. 15K championship. The event had 7,601 finishers, a River Run record.Abdirahman, who finished second last year by 28 seconds, said he ran a strong race but was not happy with second."I thought I might outkick him, but ... he had a little more surge at the end," said Abdirahman of Tucson, Ariz. "I wish I had another 50 meters."Catching the women was not important. I knew I would catch them, but I didn't get the bonus, so it didn't matter."But Keflezighi, a late commitment to the race because he was recovering after qualifying for the Olympics in the marathon last month, said he didn't think he would have caught De Reuck without the 25-year-old Abdirahman pushing the pace.Keflezighi beat the record of Todd Williams, who won three consecutive titles from 1994-96.Race director Doug Alred said the extra 16 seconds made the race more exciting and he might adjust the equalizer bonus based on the field next year.De Reuck pulled away from Sylvia Mosqueda by 25 seconds in the fourth mile and won by 1:06 over the fellow marathon trials qualifier."I felt OK for the first mile and a half," said Mosqueda, a Los Angeles resident. "But right around 3 miles, my legs were like lead. I didn't feel like I was racing; I felt like I was running."Tatyana Pozdnyakova, a Gainesville resident who won the Los Angeles Marathon on March 7, finished third among women (50:15) and first among Masters women -- ages 40 and older. Pozdnyakova, 49, won the $50,000 challenge bonus in Los Angeles where women received a 20:30 head start in the 26.2-mile race. Dennis Simonaitis, 41, of Draper, Utah, was the top men's finisher in the Masters division. He finished in 48:31.Kim Pawelek, who finished 10th among women (52:54) and is also going to the marathon trials April 3 in St. Louis, was the top women's finisher from Jacksonville. Zepherinus Joseph was the top Jacksonville runner (23rd, 48:34) and is awaiting word on whether he will be representing St. Lucia in the Olympic Games at Athens.One of the worst runs of his career probably helped Dale Earnhardt Jr. save his season.A week after he nearly was parked for running too slow, Junior zoomed by Jeremy Mayfield with 15 laps to go and sprinted to an easy victory Sunday in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
He also won the season-opening Daytona 500."Last week was as bad as it ever gets," Earnhardt said. "But we didn't get on each other too bad, and we stayed pretty focused."Rookie Kasey Kahne was third -- his third straight finish in the top three -- and Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman followed him across the finish line.Defending series champ Matt Kenseth, who had won the past two races, rallied from a lap down to finish sixth.At Las Vegas last Sunday, Earnhardt started 26th and quickly drifted to the rear of the field at the start. His Chevrolet was so far off the pace that NASCAR warned his crew he was right at the minimum speed.After eventually finishing 35th, Earnhardt and the team spent Thursday testing at Kentucky Speedway. Just as their session was ending, they hit on a setup that worked, and Earnhardt was fast all weekend at Atlanta."We went testing, and we're going testing this week," Earnhardt said. "We're going to test, test, test, until we lap the field."I'm determined and devoted to running like this every week, no matter what it costs."He qualified seventh and stayed near the front, then dominated the latter stages. He passed Mayfield's Dodge for the lead with 60 laps to go and held the top spot until the leaders made their final pit stops under green.Mayfield came in with 26 to go and his crew changed four tires in 14.3 seconds, then Earnhardt followed three laps later. His stop was nearly a second faster, but he came back on the track in third, behind Mayfield and Johnson.With 20 laps left, Earnhardt drove by Johnson on the inside and set his sights on Mayfield. He didn't take long.Junior ran up high in Turns 1 and 2 to get momentum, then swooped underneath Mayfield down the backstretch, moving into the lead with hardly a struggle."We had a great car to start with, but it just seemed as the race went on, the tighter we got," Mayfield said of his car's handling. "Dale Jr. and those guys got ahead of the track and we didn't."Kenseth started 30th and was up to 13th after 15 laps, and eventually got to sixth before the first pit stops. But he made a rare mistake, spinning his Ford as he came into the pits, and dropped a lap down after a drive-through penalty.He made up the ground during the second caution for oil on the track, because he was the first lapped car behind the leader, and got his fourth straight top-10 finish to start the season.Kenseth leads Tony Stewart by 82 points, with Earnhardt another eight points back.

And, here's what those little lines say:

I get ads from a lot of companies I've done business with. This is different than spam, and I don't mind. I'm hoping most of them are above board and if I asked, I'd be removed. It is a guilty pleasure to look through the ads in search of something I now want, since I only now know it exists.

I was looking through some stuff from Overstock.com when I ran into this. It's an ad for a book on Microsoft Flight Simulator. Please compare Overstock's price with list.

Oops.

The snow started lightly a few hours ago. Now it's really coming down. A quick peek at the radar shows there's no let up in sight. I had suspected it would take a long time for there to be accumulation on the road surfaces - and that still looks right.

Even so, it's depressing to know that Spring is only a few days away and it's still snowing. Not only that - it might snow again this week!

Where are these people who tell me they love the four seasons? Maybe they're talking about Frankie Valli and his group from the sixties. I can't see how they're loving this now.

At the time when I should be getting out and sniffing the fresh air, I am in the house, wondering whether we need gutter heaters. I was hoping to play golf this week. Who am I kidding?

Earlier in the week, I had asked a friend for a favor. He said "As long as you don't even mention the word "SNOW" any more - for the rest of the winter - you're all set."

What now?

This is a seminal moment in the life of a springtime snowstorm. Once it starts accumulating, as long as the precipitation doesn't turn to rain or sleet, it keeps accumulating. This is regardless of air temperature.

Our goose is cooked. A quick look at some computer guidance and the radar says we have hours to go.

The final totals will be below, or on the low side, of most predictions. It will still be unfair for mid-March!

In today's ShopTalk, a daily newletter for broadcast journalists (and those who sit in the same room with them), Alan Mendelson of KCAL wrote an interesting letter:

This is a subject I've thought about a lot. So, I responded:

This essay was written for the New Haven Register and will be published Friday March 19, 2004 in their Op-Ed Section.

Spring arrives Saturday morning at 1:42 AM. It's about time. I can’t remember a winter trying my patience more.

In case you've been hermetically sealed for the last four months, let me summarize winter '03-'04 for you. It snowed 6,000 times. We saw the mercury drop to 80° below zero with a wind chill of -200°. During this winter, the wind blew greater than 35 mph for all but six minutes... and during those six minutes we had sleet. There are now four body shop owners in Connecticut who are richer than Bill Gates.

Each autumn, as I begin to dread the annual suicide plunge of the leaves, some well meaning soul will seek me out to tell me how, "I just love the four seasons." Where are they today? Bring 'em on! Maybe they're really talking about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It's possible. They certainly weren't fondly anticipating what we just went through.

We get winter, and the other three seasons, because of a quirk of cosmic fate. The Earth tilts on its axis in relationship to our orbit around the Sun. That tilt brings us varying lengths for our days, varying intensity of warmth from the Sun, and all the weather we can handle.

I have friends in California who look at winter pictures from here in Connecticut and remark about how quaint and beautiful it is. It's easy to use "quaint" when you've never watched your car's forward motion through the passenger side window, as you pirouette gracefully down Whitney Avenue. They are in California, where school is cancelled for rain, for heaven’s sake!

Quaint is not a word used by those who pay for plowing and heating oil, who live in a place where you can't put plain water in your windshield washer tank, and who consider, during any given storm, whether gutter heaters might be a good idea.

It could be worse. The sneaky secret in astronomy is, winter is our shortest season. Summer lasts 94 days while winter is only 89. Unfortunately, winter packs 94 days of grief into that more compact package.

Now, the countdown begins anew.

I will relish the days of spring and the warmth of summer. And then, sometime in August, there’s the realization the inevitable is drawing closer.

If, in that shoulder season, someone should ask me about Global Warming, I will look serious and concerned - but in my heart of hearts I’ll be thinking of Frank, my plow guy, in his Lexus.

It's been pretty well established that an asteroid or comet, plunging into the area around the Yucatan Peninsula, was the cause of the demise of the dinosaurs. The ash and dust thrown up by this unfathomable event blotted out enough of the Sun's energy to change our climate. The dinosaurs and much of the rest of Earth's living creatures couldn't evolve fast enough to survive.

In the 4.5 billion years of the Earth's history, that's not a terribly unusual event. Unfortunately, it was unusual to the dinosaurs and it would be jarring to us. Our time frame is very different than the Earth's

I mention this because it's amazing how close we come from time to time... today, for instance.

Monday, NASA scientists working on NEAT (Near Earth Asteroid Tracking) discovered a 'small' asteroid, which they named 2004FH. At 60-125 feet in diameter, it is tiny compared to the dinosaur's nemesis. It's still pretty darned big.

The 1908 Tunguska explosion, which leveled 750+ square miles of forest in Siberia, came from an asteroid not much larger!

NEAT is actually supposed to look for larger asteroids which might threaten the Earth (not that there's anything we could do). 2004FH snuck in, despite its size, because of its proximity.

Tonight (March 18th at 5:08 PM EST) this asteroid will pass within 26,500 miles of Earth. Let's try it another way. Scientists reference distances like this in AU, astronomical units, representing the average distance between Earth and Sun. 2004FH will be only .0003AU away!

If the distance to the Sun was one mile, this asteroid would be 1.5 feet away.

NASA says there's no cause for alarm. It will pass safely by. Asteroids do all the time, though they're seldom noticed before hand. This one won't even be visible in North America.

Here's how you'll know if this bad boy really is trouble. If there's no blog entry tomorrow - 2004FH was a little closer than anticipated..

Steffie wanted to go to the mall, and we didn't want her to drive there, so Helaine and I spent the evening at the movies. Last week we had thought about going, but there was nothing that interested us. This week there's the new Jim Carrey movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

I can't remember a movie I have enjoyed less - not recently, certainly.

Forget the plot for a moment (because, even if I wanted to, I don't think I have figured out what the plot is). In a love story, and this is a love story, the characters should be ... lovable. Clementine, as played by Kate Winslet, is someone I avoid at all costs in real life. An alcoholic who is psychotic, flighty, cruel and manipulative. Need I go on?

Carrey spends the entire movie fighting his good sense, staying smitten with her. Why? He dumps an unseen live-in-girlfriend for her. Why?

I don't know. And, with this movie squarely in past tense, I don't care.

The movie is 'cut' in a very edgy style and past and present are tantalizingly juxtaposed. But technique is not enough to support a film. There is no meat on this turkey.

To me, this is the strangest revelation. As much as I disliked this movie, I continue to like Jim Carrey more and more. He, as Kate Winslet, played a character who never enticed me to know him more. Yet there is something charming about him which jumps off the screen. There is a special 'it' which some people have which allow them to light up a screen and overshadow those around them Jim Carrey has such a presence. But his character gives him little to work with, and left me cold.

As I was looking for some detail to put into this entry, I stopped by the movie's website. There was a quote from Karyn James of the New York Times. That was strange because the film was reviewed in the Times by Elvis Mitchell. I wonder how far out of context the quote was taken?

I have often wondered if there's a point of no return in the movie making process. Past that point, when the movie's true quality is revealed, it's too late to stop the production. Now, Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood and the others will go and promote it.

We went to see this at the Showcase Cinemas in Orange. To add insult to injury, it seemed like the theater wasn't heated at all. The concrete floor was incredibly cold, and as the movie wore on, I did everything I could to keep my feet up.

Other than that, it was great.

As a kid, waiting at the bus stop on Horace Harding Boulevard for the Q-17 to Downtown Flushing, I could read the destination sign and know which bus it actually was, while it was blocks away. My eyes were good.

I got my first reading glasses about 10 years ago, and have now moved to bifocals (progressive, for vanity's sake). As time has gone by, the reading prescription has gotten a little stronger. It's a vicious cycle.

Those few times when I can't wear glasses - trying to see whether it's conditioner or shampoo in the shower - I am helpless. Words which were once clear are now smudges.

Two years ago, again for vanity's sake, I tried bifocal contact lenses. Despite what is advertised, there is no such thing. Or, maybe there are contact bifocals. They just don't work!

I went through four or five different pairs. Sometimes my sight was sharp up close and fuzzy far. At other times it was the complete opposite. At no time could I see anywhere near as well as I see with glasses. It was a compromise beyond what I was willing to make.

The whole idea of contact lens bifocals seems like science fiction. With glasses, your eyes move, the glasses sit still, and so you look through a different area with a different prescription. With contacts, as your eye moves, so do the lenses. How could you be looking through different prescriptions?

The last time I had a new prescription for my eyes was when I tried the contacts two years ago. Over the past few months, the glare and/or scratch resistant coating on my glasses had started to discolor and spot. And, my eyes have continued to weaken. Time for new glasses.

We have eye care insurance at work, and so I made an appointment with the national chain our plan suggests and headed over. The exam was fine.

Well, it was fine for an eye exam. Is there anyone who really knows if they're giving the right answer when the optometrist says, "Which is sharper, this... or this?"

And then there's the point when a puff of air is blown into your eyes!

After the exam, I headed over to the table where you actually buy your glasses. How can eyeglass frames cost more than a computer motherboard... or DVD-RW? This must be the highest markup business known to man. And the screws still come out from time-to-time.

With two years of good wear, and a look I like, I decided to keep these old frames and just replace the lenses. That's progressive bifocals with scratch resistant and anti-glare coating - no frames. Want to take a guess?

It was around $400! And, I have insurance. This was after the insurance. I was incensed, stood up, and walked out.

At the time, I didn't know if that was the right or wrong move, but, I felt it was ridiculous to pay that much for something that is, after all, a commodity. The glasses at any two shops should be exactly the same if they're made to fill a prescription.

Directly across the street was another chain eyeglass place. I walked in. Another guess?

Same job, $277. And, my insurance doesn't even come into play. Even the $277 seems high, but considering the first number I ordered them on the spot.

With all this behind me, I sent an email to the benefits director at our company. He handles insurance for the hundreds of employees at our many stations. My point to him was, what's the use of the company paying if no one is getting a benefit we couldn't get without the insurance? It's not the company's fault. They think they're giving a benefit to their employees. And he agreed.

He called his contact from our insurance company, who said something didn't seem quite right. And that's where I left it.

This story's not over yet.

Steffie is now a junior in high school. I won't embarrass her, but to say every parent thinks of their child as... well, as their child. So, it's tough to come to the realization that she will soon be applying for and entering college and then, leaving home.

I don't want to face the reality that any of us have gotten older. Who does?

Saturday was to be our first in a long series of college visits. We weren't going far, C. W. Post College of Long Island University (my friend Peter says it's really "LG" and pronounced "Long Guyland").

C. W. Post is located on the former estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post. It was cereal money that built this incredible estate. People must eat an incredible amount of cereal, because this place, as a private residence, reaches the kind of grandeur few of us would even imagine.

It is located on the North Shore of Long Island, in an area still referred to as the Gold Coast. Though Long Island, especially Nassau County, is densely populated and a poster child for suburban sprawl, the area around the Post campus retains its genteel nature and airiness.

L.I.U. purchased the land in 1947. The campus originally hosted 219 students. I can't imagine what the land is worth today. Over 300 acres of prime real estate boggles the mind.

We were 20 minutes early for our 12:00 noon tour. Over that twenty minutes, a few other families filtered in and sat in a waiting room in a majestic Tudor style building, originally part of the estate.

A tour guide, a junior dance major from Rhode Island walked us through the campus. Though nice, most of the buildings needed some fresh paint of their trim.

As we walked to lecture halls, classrooms, the library and even a 'sample' dorm room, it struck me that this was a totally foreign experience for Steffie. Over the next few months she will get a perspective by seeing other schools as well. This was a good start.

Back at the admissions office we met briefly with an admissions officer and then, were on our way. The day was young, so we headed to one of Long Island's most historic spots.

At 7:52 A.M., May 20, 1927, Charles Lindberg left on his solo flight across the Atlantic. The Spirit of St. Louis, loaded with gasoline, lumbered down the runway before finally becoming airborne. He barely had enough altitude to clear the telephone lines at the end of the runway at Roosevelt Field.

You would think Roosevelt Field, though no longer used for aviation, would be a memorial or historic shrine to the bravery, accomplishment and good luck of Charles Lindberg. No, this is Long Island - it's a mall.

With four anchor stores and nearly 250 specialty shops, Roosevelt Field is the largest mall I've ever been to. This was a Saturday in the off season, but the mall was packed.

The exit off the Meadowbrook Parkway puts you right in the mall's parking area. We walked through a 'big box' sporting goods store, and into the mall's upper level. We were overlooking a carousel and an immense food court.

The food court was centered around a ring of small restaurant counters, under a huge Zeppelin, . Unfortunately for me, mall food isn't conducive to the low carb way of life. There wasn't a great deal of choice, but I found a steak salad at the Great Steak and Potato Company. The steak was sliced thin, like you'd find in a cheesesteak sandwich. Any thinner and the pieces would have been see through.

As large as this mall was, and as happy as Steffie and Helaine were at the store selection, I was disappointed. There were few 'guy' shops. There was one bookstore - a small Barnes and Noble (though still signed B. Dalton on the outside). Try as I might to find a book or magazine to sit and read, there was nothing.

After another trip through the food court (different restaurant, still a salad), we headed to the car and back to Connecticut.

Why would anyone want three PCs at home? I'm not talking about the machines shared with my family. These are my computers. Granted, two of them are discards; computers deemed too slow by others.

I have done most of what I could to optimize these older machines. They're loaded with memory and unnecessary processes are shut down. You still can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear, but you can get a lot closer than most people expect.

The laptop, a Pentium II 300 MHz model, is my road machine. It's got a wireless card and is often downstairs in the family room (especially if I'm watching TV and playing poker). It is sometimes sluggish, but never enough to be a bother.

The second desktop is also a P-II 300. Well, it was until a few days ago.

I wondered if it would be possible to bring this machine into the 21st century without spending much cash. TigerDirect was having a sale where the net cost (after rebates) of a motherboard, fast processor chip with fan, and memory was only $99.99. I decided to give it a try.

It took about three days for UPS to deliver my package. Looking in the box, everything was there, in its original packaging. So far, so good.

Fearing the 256MB RAM stick that came with the kit wasn't enough, I went to Staples and bought another 256MB. It was $30, after rebate, bringing me to $130.

What is missing in a deal like this is a great deal of documentation. There were no instructions with either the CPU chip (an AMD XP 2400) or the fan. There was a sticky label on the chip's packaging saying, in essence, "you break it, too bad."

Instructions don't seem like a big deal, but mounting the fan isn't totally intuitive and a thermal compound paste (included) has to be applied between the fan and chip.

My first step was unplugging the old motherboard, unscrewing and removing it from the case. No problem. It came out really easily.

Since the computer industry standardized motherboard sizes, my new ATX board should fit exactly where the old board sat. It did. A new plate fit between the case and motherboard, allowing the external plugs for video, audio, mouse and keyboard to be accessible. So far, so good.

Each individual peripheral, like a disk drive, has to be wired for both data and power. It sounds tougher than it is. There are distinctly sized plugs for each operation. It's tough to go wrong, though it is possible if you're not looking, to put some plugs in backwards.

The manual for the Soyo motherboard was well illustrated and easily led me to the right sockets on the board for all these cables. I did have to call AMD to try and figure out how to set an on-board jumper. I was on and off the phone in two minutes.

AMD, if you're listening, I'm impressed.

It took a bit over an hour on the kitchen table before I was ready to plug it in. I lugged the case upstairs and plugged it into my KVM switch. KVM stands for keyboard, video, mouse. All it means is I can run two computers from one set of devices. Hitting the scroll lock key twice toggles my keyboard, mouse and monitor from one machine to the other. It's pretty simple, saves space and lots of money.

The system started to power up, but the normal beep as it's getting ready to go was replaced by a continuous tone for a few seconds and then... silence. The machine shut itself down.

Uh oh. I took a look at everything under the hood. Something had to be wrong. I didn't see anything out of place. So, I went to Soyo's website and searched out my problem.

Someone had described a similar outcome for another motherboard. It hinged on the safety circuitry not sensing the cooling fan on the computer chip. Sure enough, my fan was plugged into the wrong socket.

Though the fan was spinning, keeping things cool, the motherboard's circuitry though it was just an extra fan, not the one necessary to keep the chip operating. I moved the plug and bingo, it booted.

I spent the next few hours going through a bunch of different operating systems, trying to decide what I wanted. I loaded Windows XP and two different flavors of Linux.

Since I was aiming to keep the cost down, I went with Linux. Specifically, it's "Mandrake Linux 10 Community," a close-to-production release. It's free! I actually downloaded the installation disks the night before and burned them onto Cd's. Unless you play games or run some very specific applications, Linux is fine. There are browsers, email programs, graphic design software, etc. Most of it them are free.

I find it a little more difficult to get answers to Linux questions, because I know fewer people who run it than Windows. But, I am constantly 'mitchering' with my machine, and that brings up situations most users wouldn't get into.

I went to bed a happy man. My machine was humming along. This ugly duckling was now the fastest machine in the house. Life was good. And then, I woke up.

Hitting the power button brought nothing. No noise, no lights, nothing.

I had built this system in an old case with an older, weaker power supply. I can't be sure, but my best estimation is the power supply was stressed with this new configuration. As it cooled, it broke down. A digital multimeter across the power pins showed no voltage anywhere.

My goal here was to keep costs down. Now, with the extra RAM, I was already $30 over my original cost. I could have spent $60 at CompUSA or Circuit City to get a new supply, but decided to log onto eBay and see what was available.

For $20, including shipping, I bought a 420 watt supply to replace the 230 watt model I've surely fried. It's coming from California, so I'll be without this machine for most of - maybe all - of the next week. My $100 machine is now $150.

Still, if the power supply is the problem, and if it boots up right away, this will be a great investment. For $150, a computer someone wanted to throw away, will be a screamer. And, I did it myself. It's no big deal.

March is supposed to come in like a lion and out like a lamb. I remember commenting on March 1 how lovely it was - how lamb like. How strange. Now things have changed.

The graph below plots the temperature and windchill from Meriden Markham Airport, not far from where I live.

Take a look at the slope of the plot. It sure doesn't look like it's warming to me! Of course, over the short term, weather is - well, it's weather, it's changeable. This trend shouldn't show up when we look at seasonal numbers.

If it does, Mother Nature will have some explaining to do.

Not bad! One week and one day after driving to Precision Camera Repair in Enfield, my Fuji S602Z is back. A very quick check doesn't show the single red pixel that brought the camera to the hospital in the first place.

Reading the repair ticket, it looks like the camera was realigned for autofocus, recalibrated for data and had a thorough cleaning and testing. Under parts used are "LCD, ELECTRONICS AND ASSOCIATED PARTS." So, I'm assuming there's a new sensor inside, though it makes no difference as long as it's working.

This has been mentioned loads of times, but I love this camera. By far, it is the finest camera I've ever used. Though I'm tempted by the new digital SLR's, I will wait. This camera is doing everything for me right now.

I was on vacation last week - trying to spend as much quality time in pajamas as was humanly possible. Today, I'm back at work and things have changed!

The station is undergoing a number of significant projects, all at the same time. The newsroom's computer system has been updated. That's probably good in the long run. Unfortunately, for the next few days... or few weeks, we will see errors common with new systems. They'll probably be more obvious to us, behind the scenes, than to the audience. Still, you want backstage action to be smooth.

We're also putting in a brand new set over a new studio floor. Most of the floor project was done last week and the week before. It is a beautiful, shiny, acrylic top to our poured concrete studio floor. It will look sharp. But, like most thing that are solid black and shiny, it will show dirt and need daily attention.

I'm not sure what the finished set will look like. I've seen plans, but am having trouble visualizing it. Since most sets are centered around desks which sit four, there is a certain amount of similarity. Those who understand more clearly what's going on say, it will look great.

Excellent.

In the meantime, I have been thrown out into the newsroom with a desk placed at the end of a few other desks in much the same way an extra chair is added to a table of four in a restaurant. I'm used to working in the studio, which is fairly quiet most of the time. It's strange for me to hear people talking and kidding around while I work. I have to resist the urge to say shhhh.

In a week or so, I'll be back in the studio. I'll try and remember to bring the camera and get some shots.

I was just interviewed for the Stonington Times in far Southeastern Connecticut. The interviewer wanted to know about snow, its costs, and how this winter stacked up.

In reality, and in spite of my kvetching, winter was about normal. It just started off so brutally that I got sick of it sooner than normal. We didn't have much of a summer or fall - that added to the whole scenario.

Even today, with temperatures in the low 50s, there are reminders that winter isn't that far behind us. On my side lawn, this pile of 'permasnow' stands defiant.

This is not the normal, sweet, fluffy snow that falls from the sky, but that evil icy junk that gets plowed and then compressed. It whiteness reflects the warmth of sunlight away. Its density prevents the air's temperature from affecting anything but the very outer skin. It shares a survival instinct with the Norway rat - the unofficial animal of New York City.

At the same time, buds are starting to show on trees. This is from one of my peach trees (in the opposite side yard from the permasnow). Before long the air will turn colorful as the first of the flowering plants and bushes gets going.

In our front yard, bulbs we planted 12-13 years ago will shoot up and flower and be eaten almost immediately by the neighborhood deer. It's a vicious cycle.

From now until late fall, what you see on the left is my favorite view. This home, an old mill house with the spillway nestled right up against the foundation,
is across a small pond and a few streets over from where I live. As the trees fill in, the house will become tougher to see. The view will remain excellent, and made better because I'll be walking over to look instead of driving.

Just an observation.

Israel kills the leader of Hamas. The Palestinian's say that act has “opened the gates of hell”.

Deeper in Asia, Al Qaeda issued this notice, as relayed by the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia: "Learn your lesson, you lackeys of America, the brigades of death are at your gates . . . Our brigades are now preparing for a fresh strike. Will it be the turn of Japan, America, Italy, Britain, the al-Sauds, Australia . . .?"

This rhetoric is supposed to scare the intended targets... but are they implying that we thought they were just playing around until now?

Gates of hell? Brigades of death? Tell me something I don't already know.

It's sobering to say talk this despicable and violent has lost much of its impact.

I have written, more than a few times, about the U.S. manned space program. It's a good idea on paper, or maybe it was thirty years ago. There's little reason anymore to send men into space as explorers in the 21st Century.

Advances in remote sensing and robotics in general (and for these purposes I consider vehicles like the Mars rovers to be robotic) now allow machines to do more than humans, in harsh environments, without the life support costs and without the devastating downside of failure that humans bring.

More than once, on the news set, after a story about the space program has run, my colleagues have turned to me and said, "I bet you'd really like to do that." It would make sense. I'm a science kind of guy. My answer is always, no. It always has been.

I just finished an article from the New York Review of Books by Dr. Steven Weinberg, the University of Texas/Austin Nobel Prize winning physicist and am amazed that he and I agree so fully about sending men to space. We both say, "no."

His well documented essay goes point by point to show that we send men into space because of our emotion - not for the sake of science. He points out, as I did earlier, that the tragic Columbia disaster was a mission with minimal science, in a program with little purpose or hope of ever fulfilling its original reason for existing.

I found Dr. Weinberg's email address and sent him a note - as if a Nobel laureate needs my reassurance that his ideas are sound. Maybe the note really wasn't meant to benefit him. Looking back, it was reassurance to me that I'm not a Luddite... at least as far as space is concerned.

Blogger's addendum - After writing to Dr. Weinberg and telling him "It is good to see I'm not some lone Luddite fruitcake sniping at the manned space program (or, if I am, that there are two Luddite fruitcakes out there)," he responded "One good thing about fruitcakes - they stick together. SW."

He deserves another Nobel for that line alone!.

Ann, our evening co-anchor, and I were on our way back from dinner when my cell phone started to vibrate. It was the assignment desk calling. There had been a major accident on I-95 in Bridgeport. Details were sketchy. It was a tractor trailer, full of fuel oil, and there was a huge fireball. We didn't know exactly what was going on - but it was big.

I handed the phone to Ann. As she talked, I sped through the city, toward the TV station five minutes away.

"Ann, I'm going to run this light," I said at a lonely intersection about halfway there. And I did.

We returned to the newsroom, which had moved from its normal routine to a more frenetic pace. The chopper was flying in from its hangar in Chester. The DOT had removed access to the traffic cameras near the scene (I have no idea why they do this - but they always do). The assignment desk was buzzing, making and taking calls.

Before the cameras went away, Jeff Bailey (left), our webmaster and a former show producer, had scoured the DOT's web based cameras and plucked a shot of flames in a nearby building. Those cameras too were soon removed. He said he was lucky, but it was instinct that told him to look.

There wasn't much for me, the weatherman, to do. So, I stepped back and took in the scene.

When there is breaking news, a newsroom is a fascinating place. It's not just getting the story, but getting the story to those who will tell it. Then there's coordinating all the disparate elements. Will the art department whip up a map? Can we move a reporter off an earlier story and down to the scene. Does the copter have enough gas to stay aloft? If it has to refuel, what's the best time to do it... and where?

Is this a fact? Do we know for sure? Can't guess. Gotta know.

Our news director was there, as was our 6:00 PM producer. The newsroom coordinator who had been in the neighborhood, stopped by, and was pressed into service. It was astounding to watch the flow.

I-95 is the busiest road in the country. The section cutting through Bridgeport, recent scene of years of construction, would be out of service for an indefinite period of time.

The desk checked the hospitals. We had gotten information - as it turns out bad information - that lots people were being taken to area hospitals. You can't let bad information get on the air.

Reports came in, and checked out, that diesel oil carried by the tractor trailer had washed into a storm drain and was now heading to Long Island Sound through a nearby creek.

We went on the air, cutting into coverage of figure skating. The phones lit up as angry skating fans vented. It doesn't make any difference what you're covering or what you're pre-empting. There are always calls.

The helicopter arrived on scene and Ann let Dennis Protsko, our chopper reporter do his thing. Later, Keith would anchor a cut-in, and then at 10:00, both of them together.

Having been in the chopper many times, I can tell you the best view is the view from our camera - not with the naked eye. Dennis has the advantage of both reporting and controlling the camera. I had watched in a monitor as he approached the scene. The camera, on a mount between the copter's skids, darted back and forth as he scanned the scene. As he told his story on-the-air, the video followed along.

Other reporters, cameramen and live trucks arrived on the scene and we started to fill in details. We broke in twice during skating, did an extended 10:00 PM news and then our normal 11:00.

It was exciting to watch everything come together. TV news is normally heavily scripted and produced. This was seat of the pants - and it was great.

The directors fought off our control room automation system. They would need to make instant decisions - not preset ones. That's not what the system does best - but no one would ever know tonight.

I don't wish this kind of tragedy on anyone. But, when something big happens, I want to see the people I work with step up to the plate - and they did.

I'll see the ratings tomorrow, but they're not the indicator of what we did. We couldn't go door-to-door telling people to turn us on. What we had to do on a night like this was convince those who were watching that we were masterful (and we were). Then, next time it hits the fan, maybe they'll come back.

I'm really lucky to have been there and watched this. If you work in a team environment, this is what you'd want your team to do.

I can't be accepted as an unbiased observer here. Of course I have a stake in how we do. But, I mean every word. I wouldn't write it if it weren't true.

Note: As great a job as we did, the best photo of the night goes to the Connecticut Post and photographer Christian Abraham. It is their photo, so I can't post it, just link to it. This will win some prize, for sure.

I hadn't been on the computer more than a few seconds when I got an instant message from Bob in Florida. Had I seen what was going on in the South Atlantic?

For tropical weather systems, the South Atlantic is like Death Valley. There are a variety of reasons they just don't form or exist there. That is, until today.

With no reconnaissance flights and little advance study, it's tough to say 100% whether this is a tropical storm or hurricane (I guess it would be a cyclone there). But, the photo makes a very convincing case.

Based on some visible satellite image loops I've seen, it's intensifying and heading toward the Brazilian coast. This storm, if it continues, will bring a type of weather unheard of to a place ill prepared to deal with it.

I have looked in all the usual places to find more information on the storm. The Hurricane Center has nothing. Same thing goes for the Navy's FNMOC. I would doubt the Brazilians have a hurricane forecasting branch of their own.

Stay tuned. This will be interesting. And, I'm not sure it would even get a name as there's no list for that area.

Good grief. My recent experience with eyeglasses hasn't gotten any better!

Earlier I had written about how a high price from our insurance company's preferred provider sent me packing, across the street. Today, I got the lenses they made.

They're awful! Worse than the glasses I wanted to replace.

I believe the probem is not in this second shop - these people have been great, and I might as well mention their name because I have nothing bad to say about them: OptiCare.

When the optician took a look at my old lenses, then the prescription, and then the new lenses, he realized the optometrist at the first place had prescribed reading glasses weaker than what I was replacing! As much as I'd like it to be true, at age 53 my eyes are getting worse, not better.

I drove to work, sat at my computer and knew it was going to be very difficult to read the screen. A quick call to OptiCare has gotten me an appointment for tomorrow morning with their optometrist and the promise of my old, pitted, scratched lenses back in this frame for another week or so. Then, hopefully, a better prescription so I can see clearly.

It's always something.

Steve got his refurbished Compaq computer from Tiger Direct yesterday. He plugged it in, turned on the switch and... nothing.

Been there. Done that.

He was beside himself. After waiting, computerless, for a week or more, he was now faced with the prospect of sending it back, waiting some more, and getting another machine. This, of course, is one of the larger downsides to mail order.

I offered to come and take a look, and this afternoon I did just that.

If you pull out the AC plug, and if you then take out the CMOS battery, the machine will boot. Unfortunately, you have to do this every time you shut the machine down and bring it back up! Even if the clock didn't reset it would still be a royal pain.

Tomorrow, he will try and get a new battery to see if that helps. Otherwise, it's back to TigerDirect. Bummer.

The only hurricane ever seen in the South Atlantic continues to move toward the East Coast. The National Weather Service Hurricane Center, here in the states, says it is a minimal hurricane with top winds over 75 mph. That poses a threat for Brazil's coast.

On the other hand, the Brazilian meteorological experts say, "no it's not."

Here's what the AP reported late Saturday, starting with a quote from Meteorologist Dr. Gustavo Escobar of the Brazilian Center for Weather Prediction and Climatic Studies:

Normally, here in the states, a storm this size causes little or no damage. But, we're building to a higher standard, especially in hurricane prone areas, than Brazil. Brazil is a country with absolutely no experience in this regard.

I'm hoping Dr. Escobar is right. I'm afraid Jack Beven knows better.

I am in love with the concept of Linux. It's possible, at the very same time, I'm not in love with Linux itself. I have spent the last 2 days loading at least 10 different configurations of Linux onto the new 'old computer.'

First, an explanation. Every time I mention Linux I see eyes glaze over. What is it? Why is it there?

Linux is an operating system. It is based on Unix, a wonderful operating system which (I think) was devised at Bell Labs a long, long time ago.

An operating system is what stands between you and your computer. It knows how to wake the computer when you apply power and it provides a handy set of commands and protocols to speak to the computer.

Like French, Spanish and English - each operating system can tell your computer meaningful things, but using different words. And, each operating system understands different words.

Programs meant to run on Windows do not run on Linux (this is a simplification, but the exceptions are really out of the norm right now). Obviously, the opposite is true as well.

So, why run Linux, when everyone else is running Windows?

Not only is Linux free, that is immediately evident. But Linux represents a different way of doing business. In its simplest form, anyone who uses the basic building blocks and adds to them for their own purposes, contributes those additions to all other users. Even without charging for the software, there's a reasonable business in charging for technical expertise.

Most web servers are run on Linux. Many scientific applications run on Linux too. Google is either running on Linux or something closely related (I can't remember at the moment).

My hope is to run Linux alongside my Windows machine and use it for utility purposes, including developing new pages for my website, and weather analysis using GrADS.

The problem is, in a somewhat anarchistic community, the various Linux flavors aren't always compatible with one and another. Not only that, Linux is nowhere near as good as Windows in recognizing the hardware within your computer. So, it is hit and miss as to whether any particular Linux distribution will be able to do anything that another distribution can.

I started with Fedora Core 2. It is the latest rendition of what is the desktop successor to Red Hat Linux. Then Mandrake 10 Community. Later Fedora Core 1. Each time I configured my machine a slightly different way, loading some programs and excluding others.

None of the Linux variants could see and understand the video controller for my computer. I am running video, but not at the speeds I should be getting. Some of them saw my audio card - well, all of them saw it. They just didn't see it in a way that would make it work. In some flavors of Linux I was easily able to switch to a working audio solution; though I know about the solution only through a lucky find while looking for something else.

All of things things would be fairly painless in Windows.

As I type this, I am loading Red Hat 9. It is an older distribution, one that Red Hat itself doesn't support any more. There seems to be a lot of software that I want to run which is already packaged for this particular variant. I'm in the final stages, which means over 300 MB of fixes and updates, all of which were downloaded through my cable modem.

Sometime later tonight I will be finished. Hopefully, RH9 will be the answer to my prayers. Otherwise, it's back to the drawing board and more installs.

One more thing. Here in the Fox household, Linux is referred to as "The Penguin." That nickname is based on Tux, the Linux mascot, who is a penguin, of course.

The unnamed, South Atlantic hurricane did come onshore last night. Unfortunately, what the American hurricane experts said was right and what Brazilian meteorologists said was wrong.

As I said yesterday, I was rooting for the Brazilians to be right. This is why!

Have you ever watched a car commercial on TV? At the end, there's always 'mouse' type, often taking away what's being offered in the commercial - or at least attaching conditions to it.

My question is, why is it necessary to have it there in the first place? Or, if it is necessary, why are requirements satisfied by having it in a form that can't be read or understood?

Much of what the government mandates, though well intentioned, forces people to go through the motions with no intention of of satisfying the need that led to the mandate in the first place.

Let's use airport security as another example. Today, we hope, airport security is a high priority. Yet there was screening at airports, with x-ray detectors, before September 11. However, we allowed the airlines to satisfy their safety mandate by going through the motions. It was a system rife with problems, populated with lowest bidder employees.

I don't mean to pick on the airlines or car dealers, because this also applies to banks and anyone who lends money, drugs and dietary supplements, and a host of other products and services.

The point is, if it's worth doing, do it right. If going through the motions really is enough, why do it at all?

Maybe the headline is a little strong. It's probably not the end of an era, but certainly the leading edge of a slippery slope that WCBS radio in New York is now on.

First, my credentials. I have had a WCBS button on my car radio since 1969 (except for the short time I spent in Phoenix). Even when I lived in Florida, and could only hear the station a few minutes at a time... every once in a while, it got a button. At home, it is on while I shower every day.

It was disappointing, to me, when WCBS got the Yankees. I have nothing against the team (well, as a Phillies fan, I guess I really do), but each game and its attendant pre and post game show eats into the news content. The calculation on the station's part is that most games are played at off times for news.

Later today, that changes. With the Yankees playing Tampa in Tokyo this morning at 5:30 AM, for the first time since they went to news in 1967, WCBS will not be running news in morning drive.

In essence, the station is saying baseball is more important than news. It would not have been my decision.

American Express must be on to something, because I'm about to promote their website and a very funny web only 'commercial' with Jerry Seinfeld and his good friend Superman.

Helaine and I are Phillies fans. With the baseball season starting soon (it's already started for the Yankees and Devil Rays - in Tokyo) I set out to buy the Major League Baseball online package. This is something we've done in the past.

You plunk down your money and get a subscription - either the radio play-by-play to all the games of one team, all the teams, or a video package. The amazing thing is watching or listening on your PC. The quality is quite good.

There are all sorts of pricing arrangements. If you go to the Major League Baseball website, the advertised price is $14.95 per month, or $79.95 for the season, for video (and not all games are available as video), or $19.95 per month and $99.95 per season for radio and TV.

So far, so good. MLB has the rights, and they can charge what they wish.

At the bottom of the page, next to a small MSN logo, is this text: "MSN Premium subscribers get MLB.com All Access with your subscription."

I went to MSN's website, and here's what I found there: "All new or existing MSN Premium members receive MLB.com All Access, which includes MLB.TV and MLB.com Gameday Audio." The price, $9.95 per month, with three months free!

This doesn't make any sense to me, but I signed up anyway.

Quite honestly, I wouldn't sign up for MSN if they gave it away free. There is some software in the deal and better access to some of Microsoft's services, but nothing I really want.

I guess if I were a marketing major, or Bill Gates, a lightbulb would turn on above my head and the reason for this pricing arrangement would become crystal clear. I am neither... obviously.

This was my 11th trip to Community School in Prospect to participate in their DARE graduation. DARE is Drug Abuse Resistance Education and it's a program Prospect runs in the 5th grade.

It's a program that's not without controversy. There have been charges over the years that it has encouraged children to turn in their parents, or that it does nothing at all but cost towns money.

I really don't know.

So, why do I go? And, why do I feel it is so rewarding to me?

First, I think the critics overstate their case. But, even without that, this ceremony has always felt like a family affair. The kids like that their parents are there for their accomplishment. I always talk about this program really means their parents know they're starting to make independent decisions - and they hope they make the right ones.

After the awards I usually take photos with people and sign autographs. And, I always get a kick out of meeting the kids. It's good to be in the fifth grade.

While on the stage, I asked everyone with a digital camera to take my picture and send it to me. So far, I've gotten... none.