Messages

241

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 31, 2012, 07:03:01 PM »

I must say I am very happy to see that FEMA and the government are handling this much better than in Katrina. It looks the lesson she left in 2005 has been heeded this week.

242

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: October 30, 2012, 12:37:27 AM »

I went to a political rally in Fargo tonight and Bill Clinton was a speaker! That is probably the closest I will ever get to a former President. 

243

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 30, 2012, 12:35:48 AM »

The amount of damage I am seeing in New Jersey and New York City is beyond comprehension. The death toll from this storm - and the eventual cost, which personally I think could rival Katrina - is likely going to be very high.

244

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 29, 2012, 02:45:04 PM »

Sandy is hauling some tail towards Atlantic City and should make landfall early this evening.

245

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 29, 2012, 01:10:40 PM »

Irene made landfall during a weekend, so the market would be closed. As far as I can see from the records the exchange opened as normal the following Monday.

Technically the market is open today - just only for electronic trades. And the only time I can remember the market being closed is September 11th...and the following day when it plunged 600 points.

246

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 29, 2012, 02:02:06 AM »

With less than 24 hours before landfall, all I can say to the people of the Northeast and New England is "godspeed."

247

General Weather Chat / Re: What's the weather in your area?

« on: October 28, 2012, 10:50:56 PM »

31° Mostly Cloudy. A low of 30 can be expected tonight with a chance of Wintry Mix.

248

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: October 28, 2012, 02:27:00 AM »

Tsunami sirens are now going off for all locations in Hawaii. Waves of 3 to 7 feet can be expected. First waves arrive at 10:38 HST (5:38 AM EDT).

249

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 27, 2012, 05:30:39 PM »

As for the warnings, the entire Northeast is now under multiple watches/warnings/advisories, so the warning is definitely out. I really hope people make some common sense decisions in these areas and evacuate or at least make or be completing preparations for Sandy, especially those in coastal and low-lying areas, as I have a feeling the flooding in these areas could be unprecedented.

250

General Weather Chat / Re: What's the weather in your area?

« on: October 27, 2012, 02:04:44 PM »

31° Partly Cloudy. Our high today is 34° after a low of 22° last night.

251

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 26, 2012, 01:47:45 PM »

GOES-14 will be doing 1-minute scans of Sandy until landfall or dissipation. You can view a constantly updating loop here, at

http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=dev/lindsey/loops/goes14&image_width=1020&image_height=720&number_of_images_to_display=50

252

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: October 26, 2012, 01:43:24 PM »

I am not a fan of Windows 8 - it seems more suitable for a tablet. In my oh-so very humble opinion, Microsoft is taking a gamble with this. If sales don't come through as they hope, Microsoft may face some really hard times ahead - I wouldn't be half-surprised to see the company go under.

253

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 25, 2012, 01:52:59 AM »

Sandy is now a Category 2 monster with winds of 110 mph. She could very likely become a major hurricane within the next 12 to 24 hours.

254

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Sandy

« on: October 24, 2012, 03:18:22 PM »

HPC is now strongly suggesting major impacts could be felt in New England from this storm. The pressures associated with the models still appear to be highly exaggerated - although pressure could certainly be in the low to mid 970s - possibly high 960s.

255

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: October 24, 2012, 09:58:03 AM »

I feel all the money spent on advertising should instead be going to support our country.  Many of the ads aren't even by the candidates themselves.  People have already decided on who will get their vote, and the debates are a far more useful tool than these ads.  Only a few states get targeted as the others are simply untouched, and I don't feel it's fair that the votes in a few states will count way more than those in other states.

If I had any control on how our election works, I would propose a drastic change:  Only the popular vote would decide the winner of all races.  I'd have the polls open during daylight hours from Election Day on Tuesday all the way to the following Sunday, but you can still only vote once.  There would be no excuse for not showing up at the polls in my idea.  Then, all the votes would be tallied in the following week, and the results would be announced when it's final.  Everyone's vote would actually count, and voter turnout would be significantly higher.  I'd argue it's well worth the extra time and effort proposed in my system given how important these elections are in our country.

That's really a great idea!  I think this system could also give third-party candidates a greater chance of getting votes, since they don't really get many electoral votes nowadays, if any at all.

I think there are problems with both the electoral college process and the popular vote process, but I do think overall our elections should be handled differently. I find it amusing that the Republicans are almost guaranteed 24 states, and the Democrats only 17, yet the Democrats have a significant lead in the EC because of powerhouses like California, New York, and Pennsylvania. The only real big player Republicans have is...well, Texas and sometimes Florida.

Ohio is going to be fierce, though. If any one state is going to decide this election, it's going to be Ohio.