Tag: Memorial Day

Into The Alley

Stef’s ball curves ever so slightly left. Helaine’s goes straight. I try and aim a light right from the center to hit the pocket. I seldom do.

forest lanesSunday. Memorial Day weekend. We went bowling with the other Irvine Foxes. Six Foxes. Two lanes. Ninety minutes.

The last time we bowled was in Wallingford, CT. It’s been a while.

Everyone bowls differently. We all share lack of control!

Irvine Lanes first. We arrived at eight. They close at nine.

What kind of bowling alley closes at nine?

Next stop Forest Lanes in Lake Forest, just south of us. They’re open to 11:00 PM.

Michael, Melissa and Max bowled on 13. We were on 14.

Stef’s ball curves ever so slightly left. Helaine’s goes straight. I try and aim a light right from the center to hit the pocket. I seldom do.

Stef bowled a 135! That was tops for all of us and an all-time best for her.

In the car on the way home she discussed strategy for next time. She’s going with a heavier ball. My daughter is very competitive. That will serve her well.

Good times. Great seeing the cousins. It’s been a while since we lived near family.

First Fruit

It looks like a cherry tomato, but it’s supposed to be full size.

This plant is growing in a pot. Maybe I should thin things out a little to concentrate the growth? I don’t know. I’ve never had to do that before.

first-tomato

I just ate my first tomato of the season. It’s still April. I usually don’t plant until Memorial Day. Oh, California!

Here’s the problem. It looks like a cherry tomato, but it’s supposed to be full size.

This plant is growing in a pot. Maybe I should thin things out a little to concentrate the growth? I don’t know. I’ve never had to do that before.

The taste was good, though a little pulpy. Not as many seeds as I expected.

I’ll keep observing. Tomatoes are worth it.

Coast-To-Coast

As I wait for my flight today I am waiting for an airplane crewed by folks whose seniority is too low to get off on Memorial Day weekend? Sully didn’t fly Memorial Day, right?

I know there are pilots who read my blog. Correct me if I’m wrong. As I wait for my flight today I am waiting for an airplane crewed by folks whose seniority is too low to get off on Memorial Day weekend? Sully didn’t fly Memorial Day, right?

I am at Gate 4 at Bradley waiting for my flight. I’m flying to Burbank with a stop (but no plane change) in Las Vegas. Google’s new flight info points out this is the longest scheduled flight currently operating from BDL at 5:50 to LAS. The LAS-BUR leg is on top of that.

Originally this trip was supposed to be for Stef’s birthday on Friday. Then my secretive San Fernando Valley friend called asking if I wanted to come to his birthday/BBQ tomorrow.

What the hell. I was already scheduled to be in the neighborhood. Stef will pick me up, have dinner with me, then drop me off.

I’m in Los Angeles until Tuesday afternoon then hop a plane and spend the rest of the birthday celebration in Las Vegas. Helaine and I won’t see each other until the baggage claim at McCarren. Stef follows.

There will be lots of pics and stories over the next few days from the left side of the US.

Who Works Holidays?

So, Monday, if you fly on an airplane, guess who’ll be piloting… and who’ll be running the control tower at the airport?

I am working on Monday, Memorial Day. It’s my choice. I have total seniority at work. It is likely I will be working with lots of our younger staff; people with little seniority.

It’s like that in most jobs, right?

So, Monday, if you fly on an airplane, guess who’ll be piloting… and who’ll be running the control tower at the airport? Ditto, if you have to go to the hospital. These, by-and-large, are the least experienced people.

I’m not sure why I’m even talking about this. There’s little we can do.

Meanwhile, don’t get sick or fly Monday.

On The Radar

I have to get ready for work – yes, even on Memorial Day&#185 the news goes on.

I snuck a quick peek at the radar, looking to see if the predicted thunderstorms were already showing. They were. Little blips – small but intense. It looks like an advancing army.

Over the next few hours they’ll grown in size and intensity. Another day at the office.

&#185 – As top seniority of our on-air staff I really have choice of any day I choose.

The Cutoff Low

Let me bring you into “Weatherworld” for a moment. Here in New England, we’re having a stretch of cool and damp days as a low pressure system waffles around the area.

The meteorological term for what’s controlling our weather is a “cutoff low.” That means the low pressure system is cutoff from the force of the jet stream – there’s nothing to push it on its way.

Short term forecasting is fairly simple. It will stay lousy.

Longer range forecasting is much more difficult. These cutoff lows stay stable until something unclogs the pattern. Unfortunately, that’s often impossible to predict until the moment it happens.

I’m forced to forecast a continuation of what’s going on, knowing that might not necessarily be the case. It’s the best forecast, but it’s not my most confident of forecasts.

With Memorial Day weekend a few days away, I’m hoping something happens sooner rather than later.

Back To School

When I was a kid, summer meant time off from school. Not so today. I’ve been taking classes at Mississippi State University for five semesters. A week ago, I started the sixth. It goes on through much of the summer.

Am I wrong? Doesn’t the word ‘semester’ imply there are only two?

During the two cooler weather semesters, assignments are due once a week. The summer semester is compact, so now I’ve got assignments due every five days. Even today. Memorial Day, I had two quizzes due.

Making it even tougher is the anticipation of our summer vacation trip to Las Vegas. Before we go, I need to get ahead. I’ve already started by taking a quiz due Friday this afternoon. Tonight, I’m hoping to finish one homework test which is also due Friday.

This semester, one course is on DVD and the other VHS tape. DVD is my preferred medium. Not only is it more portable (I can bring a portable DVD player or laptop) but I can easily watch lectures at double speed. It is much more understandable than you’d imagine. The DVD software I use allows me to watch ‘sped up’ video while correcting the speaker’s pitch. In other words, it doesn’t sound like Donald Duck.

So far, I’m enjoying the summer’s courses – Applied Climatology and Radar Meteorology. Both are courses I know something about – but I will learn more.

Unfortunately, there is one small thing which is driving me crazy. One of my instructors pronounces ‘es’ as ‘ex’. So, escape becomes ‘excape.’ He knows what he’s talking about as far as climatology is concerned, but each time I hear this mangling of the language it’s like scratching chalk on a blackboard.