The Spy Who Talked Too Much

Former NSA Director Michael Hayden spent yesterday afternoon trashing his former bosses in the Obama administration as he rode the Acela between DC and Grand Central Penn Station&#185. It was a series of off-the-record interviews which Hayden requested be anonymously attributed to a former senior administration official.

I know this because Tom Matzzie, sitting a few seats in front of Hayden, overheard the conversations and live tweeted the ‘event.’

Tom Matzzie ‏@tommatzzie
On Acela listening to former NSA spy boss Michael Hayden give “off record” interviews. I feel like I’m in the NSA. Except I’m in public.

Yes, the head of the NSA should be more discreet. And, yes, we’ve all trashed a boss or two to friends and colleagues. But there’s something much more troubling about Hayden’s conversation.

Here’s a guy who’s told anyone who’ll listen, including Congress, that intelligence his agency gathered would never be used for political or personal gain. And he’s pretty much doing exactly that!

He was using information he gained at the NSA to advance his own personal agenda. The fact that he wasn’t willing to stand behind his own words makes all of this scarier and Hayden more weasely.

The vacuum cleaner like collection of data by our nation’s security professionals and rubber stamp oversight by the secret FISA court scare the crap out of me. There’s a much better chance this haystack of intelligence will be misused than produce actionable ‘spy’ data.

&#185 – I originally wrote Grand Central. Penn Station is where Amtrak goes in Midtown Manhattan. My error. Thanks, Scott, for the email.

The New Computer: Vroom

IMAG0099-w1400-h1400

I spend a lot of time in front of the computer screen, much of it doing photography work and building websites. As my tasks have grown more complex my computer’s speed has become a concern. The decision was made before we left Connecticut, build a new computer in California.

That took place this weekend.

With months to ponder, I’d come up with a rough outline of what I wanted in-the-box. Over the last week the list was refined to specifics.

Everything was set to go at MicroCenter… until they refused to match one price on their website in the store. It wasn’t a lot, just 2% of my final bill, but it was upsetting and arrogant and I walked.

I headed to Fry’s where it all came together. Some items had to change because Fry’s didn’t carry the original, but I don’t think I compromised. In a few cases, I traded up.

My goal was to build a machine capable of video and photography (two of the most taxing chores a computer can accomplish) with two HD (1920×1080) monitors.

Why two monitors? It’s a question of real estate. More can be open and visible at the same time. It speeds the workflow. Once you’ve used two you never want to go back.

Here’s the rundown:

  • Intel Core i7 CPU–For most applications the Core i5 is perfect. The i7 adds capabilities my video and photo editing programs take advantage of. This CPU is “unlocked,” meaning I can overclock it, making it run faster than the factory settings. Scary territory. I probably won’t… but maybe.
  • MSI Z87-G45 Gaming motherboard–Z87 refers to the Intel chipset used on the board. It’s their latest iteration. This motherboard has loads of USB ports and is optimized for gaming. Once the chipset is chosen, I’m not sure how much difference the individual board makes. This wasn’t my first choice, but most reviews are very good.
  • EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 video card with 2gb RAM–It used to be video cards were dedicated to putting images on the screen. No more. Because video cards have special processors optimized to do math on video, some software developers have written their programs to use them. This should make video transcoding and editing and photo manipulation much faster.
  • 16gb RAM–The goal is to keep the computer from ever using a hard drive while calculating. More RAM eases that pain. I’ve never had more than 3gb before.
  • Windows 8.1–This was a tough choice. Microsoft made all sorts of user interface changes with Windows 8, which is built for both touchscreen and keyboard/mouse use. It is different and doesn’t do much that Windows 7 didn’t do. The jury is out, but I’ll get used to it over time.
  • Samsung 840 EVO SSD–My main disk drive is an SSD. No moving parts! It’s lightning fast. It’s also more expensive than a traditional hard drive and offers less space. On the other hand, my computer now boots in under 20 seconds. Programs load instantly. Glad I got it.
  • Western Digital Performance 2TB SATA hard drive–This is for data storage. The files I produce are immense.
  • Corsair H55 CPU cooler–In order to keep my CPU from frying and to keep noise down, I’m using a water cooler. So far, so good. The chip runs exceptionally cool (around 40&#176C) and it is quiet.
  • Corsair RM650 power supply–Designed to be quiet and energy efficient.
  • Thermaltake Soprano case–Insulate and vented to be quiet. It’s a little larger than I’d like, but it sits under my desk where it isn’t seen. There are four USB ports on the front panel, plus headphone and mic jacks.
  • LG Blue-Ray drive–Originally this was spec’ed as a DVD-RW. My friend Peter pointed out a BD-R holds 25gb on a disk, making it really useful for backups. At this point why be penny wise?
  • 2-AOC 2367 23″ IPS monitors–I got these at Best Buy for a great price. There are probably better monitors around, but for me these are perfect.

I found an online 3D video benchmark and ran it. The report said my machine maxed out the test!

There are true gaming hotshots who have machines faster, but the new computer’s pretty potent for my purposes. I’m happy.

Again With The Credit Card

visa logoIs it just the Foxes? Are we some sort of credit card scam magnet?

Helaine went to use our Chase Southwest Airlines Visa this morning and — REJECTED.

We had no warning. We had no notice from Chase. They just turned it off.

This is the fifth time!

Your card shut off in the past? Would you leave a comment telling me how many times? I’m really curious.

Helaine called and spoke to someone in the security department. I’m guessing he’s in Costa Rica because of his accent and because I’ve spoken to Chase call center operators there before.

This morning, a little after 6:00 AM while we were sleeping, someone purchased a $10 Petco gift card using our account. A moment later they went back and cancelled their own order.

My account had been sniffed! Someone was checking the number to make sure it was valid. The $10 was just a test. We passed.

Here’s where we get into the weeds. Chase is very diligent with this kind of fraud because they, not me, are on the hook for it. I’m guessing they’re less worried about checking accounts, where the consumer is often left holding the bag.

A few years ago when this happened the Chase agent tried to tell me they were doing this for my protection. No, no, no. My liability is zero (in most cases) by law.

Our card remains shut down, except in California. Tomorrow a new card arrives. Then the hassle begins!

We will have to go through our long list and change the account info for anyone who charges to our card. It’s an hours long process. No two businesses handle card number changes the same way.

So, why do we keep this card which seems attached to trouble? Through a quirk in our spending habits when Stef was in college and again this year, Southwest’s frequent flier program has been especially lucrative.

We have asked Chase to compensate us for this imposition by waiving their fee for the next year. This charge they shouldn’t reject.

The Science “Gravity” Got Right

Geostationaryjava3DThere’s lots of bad science in the move “Gravity,” but there’s one thing they got right: microgravity. Give me a few paragraphs and this will be about weather–honest.

Most people think astronauts float in space because they’re far from the Earth’s gravitation pull. Nope. Totally wrong.

The math behind gravity bases its calculations on the distance to the Earth’s center, not its surface. Adding a few hundred miles from the center of the Earth to the astronauts is a very small change. The Hubble Space Telescope’s orbit would still leave you with 90% of the gravitational pull you get on solid ground.

That’s not enough to make you float, though you’d weigh 10% less. Where can I sign up for that?

Astronauts are weightless for the same reason you’re weightless going down that first hill on a roller coaster. Orbiting Earth actually means falling around the Earth!

By flying the Hubble or International Space Station at just the right speed their fall matches the curve of the Earth. It’s as if that first roller coaster hill never ended. And, it’s why the space shuttle always flew at around 17,000 miles per hour (give or take a little depending on their exact orbit).

In the movie, George Clooney tells Sandra Bullock space debris will reappear in around 90 minutes. That’s the time it takes to orbit the Earth a few hundred miles up at 17,000 mph. Score one for the movie.

With me so far? Good, because we’re going to 1609 for a second and Johannes Kepler. He was a German astronomer studying Mars. Don’t ask why.

Kepler came up with mathematical laws to describe all this stuff. He figured out how how fast you’d have to go at any altitude to maintain an orbit. Kepler’s laws describe the planets orbits around the Sun and today’s satellites.

Here comes the weather part.

If it takes 90 minutes to orbit the Earth at Hubble altitude, what if you moved a satellite farther away? Could you orbit the Earth every 24 hours?

24 hours is the time it takes the Earth to turn once on its axis. The orbit of the satellite and the rotation of the Earth would be the same. Because they’d be moving in sync, the satellite would seem to hover over one spot.

Using Kepler’s 500 year old laws you can calculate a satellite 22,236 miles over the equator traveling 6,878 mph will orbit Earth exactly once a day. From the ground it would look motionless.

Johannes Kepler figured out where we’d put our weather satellites 500 years ago!

By placing them in geosynchronous orbit we get 24 hour coverage to track weather systems. The satellite is always looking down on exactly the same spot on Earth.

You don’t have to think about the math. All you have to know is it works! And because it does we have a view of weather Kepler could never have dreamed of, but that you see every day on TV.

Breathing Air You Can See

harbin pollutionHave you seen the pictures from Harbin, China? Smog got so bad school was cancelled and the airport closed. Visibility was so low drivers couldn’t see traffic lights, often until it was too late!

You can cancel school and close airports, but you’ve got to breath. Breathing shouldn’t be hazardous to your health!

You know, that used to be the story here in the Los Angeles area. Maybe not as bad as China, but at one time LA smog was the butt of jokes from coast-to-coast. We had air you could see! Long time Angelinos remember well. Mountain vistas would disappear for days or weeks at a time. Eyes would tear. Hacking coughs would persist.

Our smog is primarily linked to automobile tailpipes, but our location has a lot to do with it as well.

Most of us live in a low basin with mountains to the east. Temperature inversions trap emissions in the atmosphere, then sunlight (which we have plenty of) converts them to secondary pollutants, like ozone.

Before there were cars and industry there was haze in the Southland, but it took the internal combustion engine and dirty fuels to make that haze poisonous.

Too depressing. You deserve some good news… and there is some. According to NOAA:

“In California’s Los Angeles Basin, levels of some vehicle-related air pollutants have decreased by about 98 percent since the 1960s, even as area residents now burn three times as much gasoline and diesel fuel.”

We have what Harbin, China does not–very stringent pollution controls. Our cars run cleaner. We evaporate less fuel into the atmosphere. We’re more careful about what’s emitted from smokestacks
and chimneys.

Ask a seasoned SoCal native what it used to be like here. You might be amazed.

We still don’t meet the EPA’s standards for ozone levels. But, we’re moving in the right direction. On the other hand Harbin’s air pollution was 40 times what the World Health Organization considers safe!

Getting cleaner air isn’t easy and it isn’t cheap. That’s one reason developing nations see some of the worst air.

“See some of the worst air.” Pun intended.

There’s Less To The NFL’s Pink Program Than You Think

breast cancer research pie chart“Did you hear about the NFL and pink,” Stef asked?

If you’re a football fan you’ve seen pink all over the field in every October football game. The NFL is raising awareness and money for breast cancer research.

That’s not what Stef was asking about.

According to Business Insider, a shamefully small percentage of the pink proceeds go toward breast cancer research, the stated purpose.

In the end, after everybody has taken their cut, only 8.01% of money spent on pink NFL merchandise is actually going towards cancer research

And since the NFL is often the retailer, receiving 50% of the take, they may actually be making more money than the stated charitable purpose.

I’m a believer in doing good work through charitable donations. For two decades I helped JDRF raise money for diabetes research and a cure. Not only was 100% of my time volunteered, Helaine and I always gave an additional cash donation.

When I asked my blog readers to vote on an organization to receive a free website, Beacon Falls Congregational Church got it gratis. The same goes for the site I’m currently building for Hospice.

My father taught me you don’t make money on friends or charity. He was right.

The NFL makes more money than God. They squeeze cities to build their stadiums. I applaud their program to raise money for breast cancer awareness, but question whether their contribution is equal to the fans’ expectations.

We Saw Gravity

gravity movie posterHelaine and I joined my cousins Michael, Melissa and Max at the movies tonight. We saw Gravity in 3D on the Imax screen and digital projector at the Irvine Spectrum’s 21 screen theater. I considered taking Dramamine before we left the house!

If you’ve seen Gravity’s trailer or commercials you know there’s an accident in space. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are flung around as their space shuttle disintegrates around them. Like a Steven Segal/Bruce Willis/Sylvester Stallone movie, both remain unscathed while the world around them is blasted to smithereens&#185.

There’s been a great deal of talk about the scientific liberties taken within the movie. It’s a movie. I was willing to suspend believe.

However, much of the dialog, especially early on, just didn’t ring true. Mission control explained the impending doom to Clooney and Bullock as if they were speaking to a theater full space-naive people, not astronauts.

That being said, the movie was intense. The action seemed real. Even in the microgravity of near Earth orbit mass is mass. A human slamming into a giant metal structure is going to get just as banged up in space as on the ground.

In Apollo 13 director Ron Howard simulated microgravity by shooting scenes on the ‘Vomit Comet.’ Clooney and Bullock claim everything in Gravity was done on-the-ground (or reasonably near it). I have no idea how the effects were achieved. I’m impressed.

wpid-IMAG0082.jpgBefore the movie, as we sat through 15 minutes of trailers, one came on in 3D. The action was shot with long, fast lenses producing very shallow depth-of-field. It looked artificial. Jarring.

In Gravity the 3D never got in the way. It seemed organic. However, since 3D imagery can move action off-the-screen toward you, the close-ups were really close! Really, really close, especially on the gigantic Imax screen.

I was glad I went. I enjoyed the movie. But it was much more flawed than I anticipated. Sparkling reviews got my hopes too high.

&#185 – I don’t think I’ve ever type smithereens before. I’ll try and not let it happen again.

It’s Time For Me To Build A New PC

I spent part of yesterday afternoon in at MicroCenter Tustin. I’m getting ready to assemble a new computer, my third build.

Building your own PC is a lot easier than it sounds. There are a limited number of components necessary. You just buy the pieces, plug and play.

OK, there’s also the anguish part where you pray it will fire up when plugged in. I’ve been mainly lucky in that regard.

PC sales are down. For most folks the box they bought a few years ago is still plenty fast to get the job done. Computer makers are victims of their own success!

My problem is different. I need a machine that can easily handle the immense files used for photography and video. And, since I’m doing more web development&#185, two wide screen monitors would be nice.

My specs are fluid, but here’s what I’m looking at:

  • Intel I7-4770K CPU– This is the brain. It’s a quad core chip that runs fast and can be overclocked to run faster.
  • ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard — All the components plug into the motherboard. This one has sufficient USB and other ports. I’m not totally sure how different different motherboards really are, but there’s a lot of buzz about ASRock.
  • Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5″ Solid State Disk — There will be two drives. This first one is for booting the machine and loading programs. A solid state drive is VERY fast, especially compared to a conventional hard drive. They’re also more expensive with less capacity.
  • Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5″ 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive — This hard drive will be used for storage. Video files are immense! 2TB means 2,199,023,255,552 bytes. When was the last time you had two trillion of anything?
  • EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card — Most motherboards have video already built-in. The programs I want to use take advantage of the GTX 660’s “cuda cores,” which handle much of the math involved in manipulating stills and video. That means editing, rendering and transcoding will speed along.
  • Windows 7 64bit — There’s a lot of controversy between Windows 7 and 8. Some folks feel Windows 8’s touch/tablet oriented design makes it less able in a keyboard/mouse environment. I’m very unsure. This could easily change.

Beyond this there’s 16 gb of RAM, case, power supply, CPU cooler, DVDRW and a few other assorted parts.

I posted to the “buildapc” section on Reddit, but was disappointed with the level of advice I got. Feel free to throw your two cents in. As it is, I’ll be forced to make some choices without as much knowledge as I’d like.

Helaine asked how long this will take to build? After I get the parts, it should go together in a few hours on the kitchen table. Not much more than a screwdriver is needed. Maybe this weekend?

&#185 – I’m in the middle of redesigning the site for Connecticut Hospice. Their old site has served them well, but it needs to be updated for style and made easier to wrangle.

Mention Snow, People Go Nuts!

Doppler Versus SnowA few folks wrote to me because one of yesterday’s runs of the GFS computer model predicted snow over Connecticut for midweek next week. Mention snow and people go nuts!

Get a grip. Forecast models project that far out because they can, not because they’re good at it!

As it turns out, this morning’s GFS says, “Snow? What snow?.”

When I look at the models, especially when I see something unusual, I try and remember there’s a reason some events seldom happen–like Connecticut snow before Halloween. Climatology enters into the mix.

Of course unusual things (Halloween snow, Hurricane Sandy) do happen. Unfortunately the computer guidance promises a lot more often than it delivers.

There’s a joke among meteorologists about one overpredicting weather company that’s forecast a hundred of the last ten inches of snow!

Even here in SoCal I’ve got to be careful about the unusual happening. There was a story in this morning’s Irvine World News about the two inches of snow that fell here in 1949! It was also noted in an earlier Coast Magazine article.

Operations at Marine Air Station El Toro&#185 stopped. No equipment to deal with winter!

There probably won’t be snow in Connecticut next week, nor snow here in Irvine this winter. Probably, not definitely.

&#185 – El Toro was closed in 1999. It’s now the Orange County Great Park, under a mile from my house.

A Weather Observatory In Your Pocket

Your cellphone is a miracle of modern science. Along with all the features we think of most phones also have an array of sensors. Nowadays most smartphones know which way is up, how brightly lit their environment is and even have a feel for the Earth’s magnetic field!

Some phones can even sense the weather. That’s a big deal. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 knows the barometer, temperature and humidity.

Some clever geeks realized if they could assemble all this environmental sniffing it might add enough new observed data points to be useful. So began “WeatherSignal,” an Android app (sorry iPhone folks) which sucks this info off your phone for further analysis.

Understand, as weather observation platforms go your phone alone isn’t very good. The temperature in your pocket, purse or family room isn’t the same as the temperature outside. However, once you look at light sensor readings and combine hundreds or thousands of temperature and pressure observations, a pretty accurate picture emerges.

We’re still on the ground floor. A few universities and government weather offices have begun looking at this data and trying to find ways to use it to improve short term forecasts. Over time suites of sensors like what’s inside the S4 will become more, not less, common.

It’s sort of crazy to think the next breakthrough in weather forecasting might not demand satellites or super computers. In fact the next breakthrough weather observatory might be in your pocket right now. Crazy!

You Don’t Piss In The Well

It’s early afternoon in SoCal. Right now it looks like Congress will reach an agreement, the government will reopen and the debt ceiling crisis will be averted.

Where was all of this two weeks ago before we started looking like yahoos to the rest of the world? That’s humiliating.

In many ways this fight between Republican and Democrats reminded me of squabbles with Stef when she was four. Little kids have no leverage. To gain some their strategy often includes actions objectionable to both sides.

I’ll hold my breath until I turn blue while you think about that last sentence.

Like Stef at four the Republicans in Washington feel they’re without leverage. I won’t lie. That’s mostly true. They only have the power to say no and even that’s limited.

Hopefully, by our actions, Helaine and I taught Stef what Congress doesn’t seem to understand. When you fight, you need to remember there is a tomorrow. You don’t throw firebombs to make a point.

More succinctly, you don’t piss in the well.

Doppler Is A Sock Puppy

IMG_9528doppler sock

Dogs are flexible. They can put all four paws (and other parts I won’t mention) in their mouths. Sometimes that leads to trouble. For Doppler it was a hot spot she kept working at until it bled.

We needed to keep her paws out of her mouth. Unfortunately, it’s tough to talk sense to a dog.

Helaine and I both dismissed the idea of an Elizabethan collar. Would you want to wear one?

We tried bitter apple spray. I think Doppler has developed a taste for it.

I’d seen rubber booties and thought those would do the trick. When Stef was over this weekend I asked her to pick up a pair… uh… two pairs.

IMG_9535doppler sockNo booties, but Stef did find knit monkey face socks! There are little rubber nubs on the bottom for traction and, of course, a monkey face.

This is too easy. The sock is a success!

As far as I can see, Doppler doesn’t care, or doesn’t even know it’s there. She’s leaving it alone and has stopped going after her paw. We have to pull it up every once in a while, but that seems like a minor inconvenience all things considered.

It looks like the paw is healing… though she does look cute with one red sock. Maybe as a fashion statement?

A Fairytale Ending For Annie The Missing Dog

annieIf you’re with me on Facebook you probably know about Annie. Annie is the pet of our former neighbors, Glenn and Margie. An open door while a worker was in the house let her escape unnoticed.

Like most pups, Annie is a member of the family. Her loss was a shock. Glenn and Margie were beside themselves wondering how to find her and get her back.

They started getting the word out as soon as Annie was gone. My post, multiplied by all of you who shared it, was one method. They also had flyers printed and posted around town.

For the first two days, nothing. Then sporadic sightings, all in Hamden and within a few miles of their home.

As soon as a sighting came in they’d rush out to look and to slip flyers in mailboxes. Margie said it began to feel like they were “chasing a ghost.”

Over 700 flyers were distributed. They didn’t give up, but over time the trail started to grow cold. No calls Friday or Saturday.

Then, Sunday another sighting. Another scramble. Another dead end.

They drove home.

annie-2That’s where they were around 8:30 when Glenn looked at their back door and saw Annie, her tail wagging! Unbelievable, isn’t it?

How did she find her way back? Annie’s not saying.

It’s obvious she’d been through a lot. Her paw pads are worn, one cut. There’s a rash on her belly. She was caked in dirt and four pounds lighter than when she left. So far they’ve removed at least a dozen ticks.

The vet has looked her over today and prescribed some antibiotics. Annie will be fine.

After nine days if you’d asked me the chances of Annie being found, I’d have said slim… maybe none. The ratio of missing to found dogs can’t be good. And yet she’s happily home.

It doesn’t happen often enough. We don’t get enough fairytale endings. We’ve got one here!

Doppler And Roxie: Different As Night And Day

IMG_20131012_152134-w1200-h1200

Stef drove down from Hollywood to spend the weekend with us. Roxie came too. She saw me as the car pulled up and went a little crazy with excitement.

At the moment we’ve got three humans and two dogs here. We’re set!

Stef sometimes calls our dog, “Feather McFeatherstein.” At not quite ten pounds the name works for Doppler.

IMG_20131013_122719-w1200-h1200On the other hand Roxie was supposed to be a miniature dachshund, no more than 11 pounds. Uh huh. Sometimes things don’t work out as planned. Stef claims Roxie checks in at 20 pounds, but even that seems wishful thinking.

Roxie is the life of the party. She plays. She pulls. She chews (aggressively). She’s happy to be excited. She plops herself in my lap uninvited, begging for scratches.

IMG_20131013_133218-w1200-h1200Doppler is more laid back. A dog toy thrown in front of her will remain in place, totally neglected. An afternoon spent lying in her dog bed in the corner of the kitchen is just fine. She relishes pre-nap naps!

Most of the time they treat each other with benign neglect. I’ve napped with one on each side. No problem. I walk them and give them treats simultaneously. No problem.

It’s only when Doppler is in territory she feels is hers that sparks fly! Doppler will get intense, then growl, baring her teeth to show Roxie she means business.

I have never seen Doppler show aggression to any human, even little kids with quickly swinging hands and feet. She’s even good with other dogs–Roxie including. The one exception is when she feels her turf needs protecting.

I love them both as they are. I wouldn’t trade one for the other or change either one. They are as different as can be.

Cyclone Phailin Will Do Major Damage

tc phailin

Cyclone Phailin struck the east coast of India Saturday evening (India is 12&#189 hours ahead of PDT). A few hours before landfall top winds were estimated at 120 knots, gusting to 145 knots (around 135 mph, gusting to 165 mph).

It will be a while before we know the true extent of the damage. It’s likely catastrophic.

A cyclone is the name used near the Indian Ocean for storms we call hurricanes. In the Western Pacific these same storms are called typhoons.

Storms like this kill in a multitude of ways. Here in the US the biggest threat is not the wind!

“In the last 30 years, inland flooding has been responsible for more than half the deaths associated with tropical cyclones in the United States.”
Ed Rappaport
National Hurricane Center

That’s likely the case in India as well.

The Indian coast on the Bay of Bengal is reasonably flat with small mountains as close as 15 miles from the shore. Tidal and inland flooding are likely. Mudslides on rain soaked hillsides are possible too.

The force of the wind is so strong it’s difficult to fathom based on our own personal experiences. I’m going to use a little math, but I’ll explain every step. It’s worth understanding.

The force exerted by wind is logarithmic. That means in the calculation we multiple the wind speed by itself–we square it.

Simply put, if you double the wind speed, you quadruple the force! A 60 mph wind has four times the force as a 30 mph wind. A 120 mph wind has 16 times the force as that 30 mph wind!

Take a sheet of standard 4’x8′ plywood–32 square feet. If it was hit directly by a 165 mph gust it would be subject to over a ton of force–2,230 pounds!

The formula is: wind speed x wind speed x .00256 equals the force per square foot. Multiply by 32 for a sheet of plywood. So…

165 * 165 *.00256 * 32 = 2230.272 pounds

It will be a while before we really know what’s gone on in India. However, based on what we know expect a major tragedy even though this storm was well forecast and warnings issued. Sometimes there’s just no place to go.