It started with an entry about the Köppen climate classification. I used the word Köppen in the title.

As an entry is named, its link is automatically created. WordPress didn’t appreciate the inclusion of an “ö” with an umlaut in the link and just stopped.

Dead!

You could get to my home page, but everything else was AWOL.

This is one of those messy jobs where I had to go into the database which contains the blog entries and manually remove a few. The database is deep within the bowels of the website and critical to nearly every part of it.

It was tightrope without a net time. There’s always the worry I’ll fix something until it’s REALLY broken!

I’ll rewrite my Köppen climate classification entry later. Right now I’m just glad to be clickable again.

I’m saying this now even though moving is still weeks away.

We’ve already thrown out a dumpster’s worth of stuff. It’s possible we’ll need another… hopefully smaller.

A man came by to prepare an estimate for moving our household goods. This is alchemy, right? He walked around and took notes. He seemed very knowledgable. How can you translate that into weight?

At the moment our plan is to drive Helaine’s SUV. Google says 41 hours of driving from here to Irvine, California where we’ll live. A week’s drive? I’d be happier with five days, but there’s no sense pushing it too hard.

Doppler will not be strapped to the roof!

We’ve started keeping lists. Who has to be informed? Cable, oil, lawncare, electricity, etc., etc., etc.

So many decisions. So many tasks. So little time.

The most intricate part is putting all the pieces together in the right order. Some steps are dependent on earlier steps being completed. That’s especially true of the two ‘closings’ we’ll be part of.

Frazzled? Me? Sure. It probably gets more intense from here.

Our tax laws make this possible! This is a face palm moment, right?

Before we let Apple off the hook, let’s remember tax policy is greatly influenced by lobbying which is paid for by people/corporations whose ox is about to be gored.

During the last election Mitt Romney said he paid all the tax he owed and not a penny more. Left out was these were tax rules Bain Capital had rallied for.

What I’m getting at is, when someone says they’re just following the law, take that with a grain of salt.

Meanwhile, what’s going on here with Apple has been going on in England with Google.

From BBC.com: Google’s boss has told UK politicians to “sort out” the tax system, after criticisms of the internet search giant by Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Mr Miliband told a meeting of the firm’s staff that he was “disappointed” it had paid just £6m in corporation tax on UK sales worth £3.2bn in 2011.

But executive chairman Eric Schmidt said Google followed “the tax laws of the countries we operate in”.

I’m sure they have, but I close my eyes and see accountants playing Twister on the books!

There was a time when big business and the American dream were closely aligned. We could afford to give corporations a little slack, because in the end we knew they’d employ people and drive prosperity. Those days are over. We shouldn’t favor corporations with gifts for acts they no longer perform.

We can’t afford big corporations being financial takers. We just can’t.

Huffington Post: Citizens for Tax Justice, which advocates steeper corporate taxes, said it surveyed major U.S. companies and found that 26 on average paid no net federal income taxes between 2008 and 2011, among them General Electric and Duke Energy .

“This isn’t fair to the rest of us,” said Bob McIntyre, director of the left-leaning tax research group.

No joke. It isn’t.

This doesn’t just go on with money moving to Ireland or the Cayman Islands. There is a state-to-state competition as well.

Take a look at your phone bill (if AT&T is your home or cell carrier). Look down near the bottom for a copyright notice.

Since 2008 all of the current and past AT&T trademarks and previous regional Bell names are now owned by various Nevada Limited Partnerships based at 645 East Plumb Lane Reno, Nevada. This office location is currently an AT&T main office-formerly occupied by SBC/Nevada Bell.

That means when your Connecticut phone bill comes, a rights fee is paid to AT&T Intellectual Property for displaying logos, etc. That lowers AT&T’s taxes here by shifting the income to Nevada where there’s no corporate income tax! Any time you see an AT&T logo, money is being moved to Nevada.

The problem with fixing the tax code is those who want the code fixed (you and me) will be outspent and outmaneuvered by those who want to avoid paying taxes. I wish I had the solution.

Back in the Eisenhower administration, Charles Wilson was nominated for Secretary of Defense. He had been president of General Motors so there was concern he’d make any decision that affected GM in the company’s favor. He said he would not…

“because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa”. – Wikipedia

Those days are gone.

Take a look for yourself!

As of 3:20 PM there are two Severe Thunderstorm Watches covering Northern Connecticut. Both run until 9:00 PM (though they’re sometimes cancelled before the expiration).

PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE…
SEVERAL LARGE HAIL EVENTS WITH A FEW VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE SEVERAL DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 70 MPH POSSIBLE

As mentioned earlier, the Lower Midwest is primed for tornadoes again. Tornadoes are unlikely in Connecticut today.

If you’re interested in geeking out, this page from the Storm Prediction Center leads to all the forecast and observed parameters for the Northeast today.

Remember, forecasts age quickly. Don’t depend on my blog post for current storm info.

This information is current as of Tuesday morning at midnight. When you look for a forecast, look for current information.

Terrible day today in the Southern Plains. 18 reported tornadoes. Around 100 reports of large hail. Nearly two dozen children killed at school. Thirty others dead as well.

The storms were well forecast. The area was warned. Some storms are beyond simple defenses.

Folks who live in Oklahoma hear warnings all the time. I suppose it’s easy to dismiss them and think, as has always been the case for most people, the storm will hit someone else. That was especially true because Monday’s severe weather set up in about the same place as Sunday–unusual.

Tonight concern is centered from the Missouri bootheel through Eastern Illinois and Western Indiana plus a little corner of Kentucky and Tennessee. Tuesday it will be Northeast Texas (maybe the Dallas metroplex) into Northern Louisiana and Southern Arkansas under-the-gun.

Here’s the lead from the Storm Prediction Center’s tech discussion. Read what you can. I’ll follow with a translation to English.

CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT PRE-FRONTAL CONVECTION DURING THE DAY 1 OVERNIGHT HOURS WILL RESULT IN OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES LOCATED WITHIN THE WARM SECTOR AT THE START OF THE PERIOD…AND THESE ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL FOCUS FOR SUBSEQUENT THUNDERSTORM REDEVELOPMENT DURING THE DIURNAL HEATING CYCLE ON TUESDAY.

A front is moving in from the west tonight. Thunderstorms will fire up ahead of it. Cold air, outflow from the storm, will pour down from the cloudtops.

The cold air will dislodge warm parcels near the ground which will keep the thunderstorm cycle alive.

Here in Connecticut we sometimes see storms refire from outflow, but there’s little skill in predicting which exact one. That’s why most watches and warnings you get from real people (like on TV) will talk more about general conditions than saying, “If you live on Flugle Street hit the basement now.”

We can nowcast these cells, not forecast them.

Tuesday in the Lower Midwest will be muggy. Overhead the jet stream will run a moderate speed, helping to draw parcels of humid air skyward from the surface.

ALTHOUGH LOW-LEVEL WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE AOB 20-25 KT…FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE WINDS WILL INCREASE AND VEER WITH HEIGHT IN RESPONSE TO THE PROGRESSIVE SHORT WAVE TROUGH…PROVIDING SUFFICIENT VERTICAL SHEAR FOR ORGANIZED CONVECTIVE STRUCTURES INCLUDING A FEW SUPERCELLS TO DEVELOP. VERY LARGE HAIL…DAMAGING WIND GUSTS…AND POSSIBLY A FEW TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE…ESPECIALLY WHERE BOUNDARY INTERACTIONS MAY ENHANCE LOW LEVEL SHEAR/SRH. ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO GROW UPSCALE BY EVENING WITH SEVERAL QLCS/S FORMING WHICH MAY RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN WIND DAMAGE POTENTIAL. ACTIVITY IS THEN EXPECTED TO WEAKEN GRADUALLY BY 03-6Z AS THE SHORT WAVE TROUGH LIFTS NEWD AWAY FROM THE REGION AND DIURNAL COOLING BEGINS TO STABILIZE THE BOUNDARY LAYER.

There won’t be much wind on the ground, but it will increase and change direction as it climbs. Wind shear is part of the formula for supercells.

The discussion mentions QLCSs, Quasi-Linear Convective Systems. These are storms which pack a line of damaging winds on the leading edge. Maybe you heard me mention “bow echoes” on TV? That’s part of the QLCS life cycle.

The worst times for storms will be Tuesday afternoon and evening with things finally simmering down before midnight.

Tornadoes are nasty. They often pack stronger winds than the strongest hurricanes. The whole concept of safety in a tornado is more relative than absolute. Tornadoes can grow stronger than any of our prep, as happened today.

I watched a man interviewed on CNN tonight. He carried all his worldly possesions in a laundry basket. He felt terrible for those who suffered more. He considered himself lucky tonight in Oklahoma.

I just can’t imagine.

There is no place like Connecticut. Incredibly beautiful. We will miss that a lot.

It’s tough not to notice the speed at which we transition from bare trees to fully leaved. That’s obvious in today’s shots. Three weeks ago there were few leaves open. Today, many tree lined roads are covered with a green canopy.

These photos were taken on River Road and Tuttle Avenue in Hamden, just at the edge of Sleeping Giant State Park. That part of town is really rural.

We had an “Open House” today. Our real estate agent came by with additional signs and balloons so anyone driving down our quiet cul-de-sac would know. Home shoppers were encouraged to just drop in.

The last thing a home buyers wants to see is the home owner! We get it.

The “Open House” was 1-3 PM. We needed to evacuate. First we needed to clean.

Helaine and I are grown-ups. The place doesn’t get that dirty. Still, there’s a different standard for potential buyers. We want to show the house in its best possible light. Buyers expect no less.

Where to go? We needed to kill at least two hours with Doppler in tow. And the weather sucked!

“Moderate drizzle,” I said to Helaine as we pulled into the lot at Ikea on Long Wharf.

Drizzle has to do with drop size, not intensity. The automated observer at Tweed/New Haven reported it as Light Rain/Fog/Mist.

Doppler is quite an amazing dog. She rode on Helaine’s lap in the car, then transitioned into her stylish camo bag. She was not thrilled putting all four paws in, but she didn’t fight it. She was a quiet and passive observer as we walked through the store.

In situations like this, Doppler makes herself as close to invisible as a white dog in an over-the-shoulder camo bag can be. Most people walk by without knowing she’s there. Really.

Our trip today is another part of the moving process. We get a chance to redecorate. At the moment we’re just looking–trying to define our combined taste. No buying yet.

It’s easy to kill a few hours at Ikea. We waited for the all clear before returning home.

We’ve lived 23 years in this house. If we could only bring it with us. That would make things so much easier. We’re going to miss this house.

It’s no secret you are being followed incessantly as you traipse across the Internet. Sometimes the result of this data mining is beneficial, sometimes not.

It’s always creepy.

Last year the New York Times revealed how Target knew customers were expecting without asking.

As Pole’s computers crawled through the data, he was able to identify about 25 products that, when analyzed together, allowed him to assign each shopper a “pregnancy prediction” score. More important, he could also estimate her due date to within a small window, so Target could send coupons timed to very specific stages of her pregnancy.

It’s upsetting that Google, Facebook, Target and an untold number of data brokers know. It’s even worse when it’s the government.

News reports in December 2005 first revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been intercepting Americans’ phone calls and Internet communications. Those news reports, combined with a USA Today story in May 2006 and the statements of several members of Congress, revealed that the NSA is also receiving wholesale copies of American’s telephone and other communications records. All of these surveillance activities are in violation of the privacy safeguards established by Congress and the US Constitution.

That’s the Electronic Freedom Foundation’s spin in the last sentence, but I agree. The 4th Amendment has this covered.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Of course the 4th offers no protection when it’s disregarded!

Beyond that, what’s promised and what’s delivered are often two different things. Recently a former FBI agent appeared with CNN’s Erin Burnett.

More recently, two sources familiar with the investigation told CNN that Russell had spoken with Tamerlan after his picture appeared on national television April 18.

What exactly the two said remains under investigation, the sources said.

Investigators may be able to recover the conversation, said Tom Clemente, a former counterterrorism agent for the FBI.

“We certainly have ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that conversation,” he told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday, adding that “all of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether we know it or like it or not.”

“It’s not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court, but it may help lead the investigation and/or lead to questioning of her,” he said.

Some folks doubt what Clemente claims, but even if it can’t be done now it’s aspirational. Certainly the government is looking for easy snoop access wherever they can get it.

The FBI has been lobbying top internet companies like Yahoo and Google to support a proposal that would force them to provide backdoors for government surveillance – Wired.com

I am not one of those people who worries about government gone wild. I am much more worried about government employees connecting the wrong dots and making bad assumptions. I don’t want to be undone by some bug in the system. Even a tiny error rate (or a small number of agents with an agenda), multiplied by our 314 million citizens, could cause trouble for millions.

Mistakes already happen.

Officials say an 18-month-old girl was mistakenly pulled off a JetBlue flight before it left Fort Lauderdale because airline employees thought her name was on the U.S. no-fly list.

You can check your credit report and undo errors. You can’t do that when you’ve been surveilled. Most likely you won’t even know.

When data is secret and conclusions drawn based on secondary or tertiary actions there’s nothing you can do. That’s wrong.

I wonder if writing this will get me watched?

NASA scientists have just seen the largest explosion on the Moon since they started looking for them eight years ago! At 4th magnitude brightness, an explosion earlier today (UTC) would have been visible to the naked eye.

It’s obvious the Moon has been pelted with meteorites and other space junk over the uncounted millenium. Most of us think of those events in the past, not present. That’s wrong.

More objects hit the Earth than Moon because of our much greater size and gravity. Most burn up in our atmosphere. The Moon has no atmosphere. Anything plunging to its surface will make it down intact.

Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Center, was the first to notice the impact in a digital video recorded by one of the monitoring program’s 14-inch telescopes. “It jumped right out at me, it was so bright,” he recalls.

The 40 kg meteoroid measuring 0.3 to 0.4 meters wide hit the Moon traveling 56,000 mph. The resulting explosion packed as much punch as 5 tons of TNT.

For the metrically challenged, that around 90 pounds and a foot wide. In other words, a good sized rock. NASA will now look closely at the impact site, hoping to see a new crater 50 or 60 feet across.

At the same time the Moon was getting hit, an ‘all-sky’ camera in Ontario noted a cluster a deep-penetrating atmospheric hits here on Earth. The paths line up. They are all most likely from the same source.

That’s not unexpected. Meteor showers, like Perseids or Orionids, which never make it to the Earth’s surface, often hit the Moon too. The image on the left shows impacts from the last eight yeas.

This is another impediment to sending men back to the Moon. Space is incredibly perilous.