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The meteorologically bizarre turn of events in the Charlotte region over the last 48 hours is history, and we're back in a more typical late-January pattern.
So that begs the question ... what happens next for our weather?
First, let's look at a few of the highlights from our wild Wednesday weather:
-- Our morning low of 62 degrees broke a record for the warmest low temperature in Charlotte for the date. The old mark was 59 degrees, set in 1914.
-- Our afternoon high of 77 degrees barely missed tying the record for the date. The mark is 78, set in 2002.
-- While most of us in the immediate Charlotte area received about 3/4 of an inch of rain, there were some staggering totals in the mountains. The line of thunderstorms chugged to a near-halt for several hours in the high country. The result was flooding. Boone recorded 5.9 inches of rain. Asheville's total of 2.76 inches set a record for the date.
-- As the cold front pushed across North Carolina, we briefly had a situation in which winter had returned in the west, but it was still spring in the east. At 3 a.m., the range of temperatures in the state was 53 degrees. It was 19 in Franklin, in the western mountains, but 72 on the Outer Banks.
For the next few days, we're back in what meteorologists call an amplified pattern. That means there's a big dip in the jet stream, with Alberta clipper low pressure systems diving into the Southeast, bringing quick shots of snow and reinforcing blasts of cold air.
One of those systems will cross the mountains tonight, bringing 1-3 inches of snow to the ski resort areas. And behind it, temperatures will be colder Friday. We'll be lucky to get above 40 degrees Friday in Charlotte.
Another clipper will zoom through the region Saturday night. This time, precipitation could start as rain in the mountains but will change to snow, with another accumulation. And this system could slide far enough south to bring light snow into Hickory and Statesville -- and possibly even some flurries to Charlotte. Of course, you might have to get up at (or stay awake to) 3 a.m. Sunday to see it.
After that, it'll be chilly and windy again Sunday, before turning milder for most of next week.
The longer-range patterns continue to advertise generally mild weather for at least the first half of February. There are no signs of really warm weather, but temperatures seem to be headed for seasonal to slightly above-average readings.
At this time of year, the average highs and lows are 52 and 31. That's 2 degrees warmer than at the coldest point, in mid-January. We're on the way back up.
So the first half of February looks like mostly 50s and low 60s for highs, if the computer models have it right.
Beyond that is anyone's guess. Will we return to cold weather for the last few weeks of winter, or will we stay seasonal into March? The longer-range models don't agree.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Storms gone ... so what's next?
The meteorologically bizarre turn of events in the Charlotte region over the last 48 hours is history, and we're back in a more typical late-January pattern.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Winter tornadoes are especially treacherous
The powerful line of thunderstorms plowing its way eastward toward the Charlotte region Wednesday afternoon is carrying a real threat to lives and property.
Any doubts about that were dispelled about 11 a.m., when a tornado barreled through Adairsville, Ga., a town north of Atlanta on Interstate 75.
According to early reports, the funnel cloud damaged a McDonalds restaurant and blew dozens of vehicles off nearby I-75.
The timing of this storm system could make it especially treacherous in the Charlotte region.
A few things to remember about these unusual winter severe weather outbreaks:
-- Many of these storms are low-topped. That is, the cloud tops don't stretch 50,000 or 60,000 feet into the atmosphere, as is the case during warm-weather seasons. The tops of these storms can be much lower.
-- Because of those low tops, these storms often contain no lightning. They can roar into an area with little warning, causing considerable wind damage.
-- Because of the atmospheric conditions in these winter severe weather outbreaks, the storms often don't weaken when the sun sets. Overnight storms can remain quite strong, as was the case early Wednesday across Tennessee and Kentucky.
We'll keep you updated on developments during the afternoon and evening. One trend to watch for is the development of what meteorologists call "discrete" storm cells. These storms form ahead of the main squall line, and they are often responsible for tornadoes. There are signs of these discrete cells forming Wednesday afternoon over Georgia, moving east-northeast.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Severe storm possibility Wednesday
Just three days ago, we were dealing with sleet, freezing rain, school closings, and hundreds of motorists smashing into guardrails and other vehicles.
Now we're talking about 70 degrees and a chance of damaging winds and tornadoes in two days.
A brief switch in the upper atmospheric steering currents will allow a return of very warm weather to the Carolinas for about 48 hours, starting later today. But that will end Wednesday with a strong cold front and the threat of severe weather.
After another cloudy and cool afternoon today, with high temperatures probably only reaching the upper 40s, the pattern change will start tonight. Warmer air will arrive from above, probably trapping cooler air near the surface and causing fog in the early-morning hours.
But once the sun rises, mixing the atmosphere Tuesday morning, the fog is expected to dissipate in a hurry, and we'll see temperatures reach the upper 60s.
Wednesday also will be warm, but a strong cold front will be approaching the region by late morning and afternoon.
Harry Gerapetritis, of the National Weather Service's office in Greer, S.C., said there will be very strong winds in mid levels of the atmosphere in advance of the front, and some computer models indicate those winds will be transported to the surface as the front approaches.
In addition, heavy rain is possible in the mountains and foothills, and those areas already have received 6 or more inches of precipitation in the last few weeks. So flooding also will be a threat.
"Both a flash flood watch and a high wind watch could be needed" in the mountains for Tuesday night and Wednesday, Gerapetritis said.
In the Piedmont, the threat is expected to develop after midday Wednesday, when the cold front approaches.
Gerapetritis said a few of the thunderstorms could become severe, especially in the Interstate 77 corridor of North Carolina, and in the South Carolina upstate.
"Damaging wind gusts will be the primary threat, but isolated tornadoes will be possible as well," he said.
His assessment is supported by the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. In fact, SPC meteorologists have painted a large area of the South and Midwest -- stretching from Texas to central Illinois and Indiana -- for a threat of severe weather Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, the severe threat area stretches from the Gulf Coast to Virginia and southern Kentucky.
Behind all this will be a return to cold and stable conditions for several days. High temperatures will only reach the middle and upper 40s Thursday through Sunday, but there are no signs of low pressure areas that could bring another threat of frozen precipitation.
In fact, some of the longer-term models point to a rather mild (even warm) period for at least the first half of February. We'll be talking more about that in coming days.
Friday, January 25, 2013
What's worse ... sleet or freezing rain?
The winter storm system moving across the Carolinas today is bringing all three types of precipitation -- snow, sleet and freezing rain.
We won't have to worry much about snow, as a "nose" of warm air several thousand feet up in the atmosphere is melting the precipitation as it falls. Some of that is refreezing into sleet, and some is reaching the ground as rain -- then freezing.
Anyways, since we're seeing a little of everything this morning, here's a quick primer on how it forms. And I'm including my two cents' worth on what's worse ...
This requires cold air in all levels of the atmosphere. The only areas seeing snow today are in the northwest mountains, because the "warm nose" (I'll explain this later) isn't expected to reach as far north as the Boone area.
Power outage impact: Usually none, unless the snow is very heavy.
Road impact: Considerable, although crews usually can manage snow with plows and salt.
For sleet to fall, we need a relatively thin column of warm air in the middle levels of the atmosphere. Precipitation starts falling as snow, melts on its way down and forms rain droplets, then freezes back into ice pellets as it moves within a few thousand feet of the surface.
Power outage impact: None.
Road impact: Intense. Sleet causes big problems on the roads, as it tends to melt when reaching the surface and then freezes immediately. Also, sleet tends to fall when precipitation is heavier. The overwhelming volume of sleet causes pockets of frozen pebbles to form on roads.
For freezing rain to fall, we need cold air at the upper levels, and then relatively warmer air all the way to the ground. But the surface levels have to be at or below freezing.
Power outage impact: If ice accumulates 1/4 of an inch, tree limbs can fall onto power lines, and we have trouble. When ice accumulates to 1/2 inch or more, there can be widespread problems. Accumulations in the Charlotte area from today's system are only predicted to be 1/10 of an inch.
Road impact: Often, the main travel lanes on major roads remain in pretty good shape during freezing rain. Ice tends to form on the curbs -- and, of course, on bridges and overpasses, where the road surface is colder. Sidewalks are especially dangerous. One other thing -- downhill sections of roads tend to get ice, too. I'm sure there some explanation for this, but you'd have to ask a Physics teacher.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Farmers' Almanac not shutting down
We interrupt coverage of Friday's potential winter storm system with some really important news.
The editor of the Farmers' Almanac said Wednesday morning that the annual publication, which is 196 years old, will continue to be printed.
That was in some doubt after an announcement earlier this week that the manufacturing facilities at the almanac's headquarters in Lewiston, Maine, will be shutting down. That closure will eliminate about 75 jobs.
Peter Geiger, the Farmers' Almanac editor, says the issues that have been printed at the Maine plant since 1955 had been used for promotional purposes. Geiger, the parent company of the Farmers' Almanac, produced a variety of promotional materials at the plant, Peter Geiger said.
But the Farmers' Almanac that you see on shelves in grocery stores, magazine racks and book stores was printed at another plant, in Wisconsin.
The Farmers' Almanac remains interesting reading. It is loaded with facts -- some obscure, some of real-life value. It also contains a number of other articles, but its noteworthy appeal is meteorology.
The almanac, of course, contains weather forecasts that are produced far in advance -- more than a year in advance, for some months. The authors say their predictions are based on a number of scientific principles, and considering the inconsistencies of computer models used by the National Weather Service and other meteorologists, it's sometimes tough to criticize the Farmers' Almanac methods.
Geiger says the almanac is "much more than just a physical product. It's a way of life, a belief that you can live life more simply, naturally, and in harmony with the world around you."
By the way, the almanac's forecast for the next few days in Charlotte is "mild with showers." Oh, well ... you can't get them all right.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Another Friday, another iffy forecast
It would be easy for meteorologists if arctic air was in place across the Carolinas, and a big low pressure system was moving out of the Gulf of Mexico toward the region.
That would mean a big winter storm.
But as was the case last Friday, a storm system expected to affect the region this Friday won't have all the ingredients needed to produce a sure-fire, lock-cinch wintry forecast.
Last Friday, the powerful low pressure system was lacking cold air. It got cold enough, briefly, for a few bursts of snow. But for the most part, that was a serious rain-maker.
This week, arctic air will be in place. The questions surround the storm's path and the amount of precipitation.
The cold air arrived early Tuesday and won't really leave this week, although it will become slightly modified across the Southeast. By Thursday, high temperatures might be in the range of 45 to 48 degrees in Charlotte.
The low pressure system hasn't formed yet. It will develop off a larger storm in the Pacific, then will follow a path into the western United States, across the Midwest, and then eventually into the Southeast or Mid-Atlantic.
The computer models have been evolving over the last 24 hours, and that probably will continue to happen for another 24 to 48 hours. Monday at this time, the Friday event looked like nothing for the Carolinas. It appeared as if low pressure would track along the Ohio Valley and bring some major snowfall to places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England.
But some of the computer models have begun forecasting the low will dive a bit, into the Southeast.
Precipitation amounts still look light, but with arctic air in place when something starts falling from the clouds Friday morning, it wouldn't take much to cause problems.
Temperatures could be in the upper 20s and low 30s when something -- snow, sleet or rain -- begins falling. If it's rain, the precipitation will freeze on surfaces (especially bridges, overpasses, tree limbs and wires). That's the working definition of freezing rain.
Right now, there is nothing pointing toward a major freezing rain event for the Charlotte area. But there is enough input from computer models to show a few hours of light freezing rain, and that would be enough to bring some big business to auto body shops.
Farther to the north -- let's say, along the I-40 corridor -- the precipitation would be more likely to start as snow before changing over to sleet or freezing rain. Some of the computer models show Hickory and Statesville remaining below freezing for much, if not all, of Friday.
There's a long way to go yet. If the models shift the storm back to the north, we could be looking at a bit of sleet or freezing drizzle Friday, but nothing else.
As WCNC-TV chief meteorologist Brad Panovich notes, "This one bears watching."
Monday, January 21, 2013
Inauguration -- today's near-miss, and some history
Today's inauguration ceremonies for President Obama will take place under fairly nice conditions for this time of year.
Temperatures reached 60 degrees Sunday in Washington, and although it'll be quite a bit cooler today, the weather still will be better than what you'd expect in the nation's capital for Jan. 21.
If the ceremony were taking place eight hours later, or 24 hours later, it would be a lot different -- and not nearly so nice.
And in looking at history, you get even more appreciation for today's mild conditions. Some past U.S. Presidents have been inaugurated in horrible conditions.
For the official swearing-in ceremony at noon today, the forecast is for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 40s. The average high for Jan. 21 in Washington is 43 degrees, and the temperatures might reach the upper 40s during Monday afternoon's inaugural parade.
A strong cold front, accompanied by a weak low pressure system, will cross the Mid-Atlantic later Monday. Snow could break out by late afternoon, temperatures definitely will be tumbling. All this will be accompanied by a stiff northwest breeze. It's possible that an inch of snow could accumulate this evening.
Tuesday's high temperatures in Washington won't get out of the 20s, so it's a good thing the calendar has placed the inauguration today.
But as I said earlier, it could be worse.
The National Weather Service's office in Baltimore-Washington has produced a nice feature article, complete with photos, on the history of weather for the inauguration.
Anyone of my era probably remembers the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. The event already was historic, because Kennedy came into office as part of a new era in politics, as a fresh political face. He also came into office a day after an 8-inch snowstorm buried Washington.
Old video of the swearing-in ceremonies and subsequent parade make it look as if the inauguration took place in Duluth, not D.C.
Some other interesting tidbits from history ...
First, you'll remember that until Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inauguration in 1937, the event took place March 4. In 1909, William Howard Taft's events were moved indoors because of an early-March snowstorm, with 10 inches of the white stuff. Winds knocked down trees and power poles.
A cold rain fell in 1841, when William Henry Harrison was sworn in. He caught pneumonia and died a month later.
In 1937, for the first Jan. 20 inauguration, a nor'easter moved up the East Coast. Temperatures were in the mid 30s, and more than 1 3/4 inches of rain fell in Washington. FDR insisted on riding in the inaugural parade in an open car.
Ronald Reagan's two inaugurations made history -- in different ways. In 1981, it was 55 degrees when he took the oath of office at noon. That's the warmest ever for a Jan. 20-21 inauguration.
But four years later, at his second inaugural, the parade was canceled in the wake of the worst arctic outbreak in the eastern United States in decades. That was the outbreak that produced a low temperature of minus-5 degrees in Charlotte. It was 7 degrees at noon that day in Washington, with wind chills of 20 to 25 degrees below zero.
Check out the Weather Service's article here http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/Historic_Events/Inauguration/Inauguration.html
Friday, January 18, 2013
That was one crazy weather week!
The week has not ended, but it appears as if our wild weather has, fortunately.
We've gone from late spring, to fall, to winter -- all in a span of five days. We've tied or broken records for warm temperatures and rainfall. We've had thundersnow, regular snow, and flooding.
A blast of cold air -- the coldest we've seen in probably two years -- is coming early next week. But we'll have time to discuss that later.
In the meantime, let's take a look at some of the amazing weather of our past week in the Charlotte region and the rest of the Carolinas, in no particular order:
-- Charlotte's high temperature last Sunday was 75 degrees, which tied a record for the date and was about 25 degrees above the average high for that time of year. That came a day after we had a 73-degree high.
-- The weather turned cooler in Charlotte late in the week, but not to the south of us. On Thursday, while Charlotte dealt with a cold rain and temperatures in the upper 40s, it was nearly 80 degrees as close as Columbia and Florence (about 90 to 100 miles away). Get in the car, drive 90 minutes, and switch from overcoat to shorts and T-shirts.
-- The warm front that divided winter and late spring on Thursday pushed south late in the afternoon. Temperatures fell from 78 degrees in Columbia to 50 degrees in three hours.
-- Mountain rainfall was excessive, and it certainly put a dent in drought conditions. Some totals I saw this morning included (for the past seven days): 12.18 inches at Wallace Gap, in Macon County in the western mountains; 9.33 inches at Highlands; 8.57 inches at Sylva; 7.39 inches at Elkville, in Wilkes County; 6.49 inches at Ararat, in Surry County; 4.99 inches at Healing Springs, in Davidson County; and 4.81 inches at Jacobs Fork, in Burke County.
-- Rainfall on Thursday from the strong low pressure system was 2.38 inches at Charlotte's airport. That set a record for the date.
-- Thursday's rain in Charlotte was the most since May 8 (2.41 inches). And Thursday's rain was 3 1/2 times the total for the entire month of November.
-- Shelby recorded 3.1 inches of rain Thursday. That was the most for the day anywhere in the United States.
-- There were numerous reports Thursday night in the area of thundersnow. WCNC's Brad Panovich did a nice job in an Observer chat Thursday of explaining the phenomena. You need about 60 degrees' difference from ground temperature to the top of the cloud for a thunderstorm to form. That's not hard to find in summer. It is in winter. But on Thursday night, with air temperatures around 35 degrees, the extremely cold tops of clouds in the strong low pressure system were around minus-30 degrees.
What will next week bring?
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Thundersnow from a potent little storm
The low pressure system that will be responsible for heavy rain and snow today and tonight across the Charlotte region is not your typical winter storm.
This is an unusual system that has fascinated weather fanatics and meteorologists -- the kind of storm we don't see very often.
It is expected to produce thundersnow, and precipitation falling at extremely heavy rates.
Any other winter system that crossed our region with snow, ground temperatures around 50 degrees, and air temperatures around freezing wouldn't be a threat to drop accumulating snow. It would melt on its way to the ground, or quickly when it touched ground.
But this storm is different.
It is very strong, not very big, and will be moving quickly. It is strong enough to create its old cold weather, actually.
As I've written before, this column is not aimed at meteorologists, but at people who are fascinated by weather. So I won't go into deep detail. But suffice to say there will be a lot of vertical lift in the clouds.
As WCNC-TV meteorologist Brad Panovich noted earlier today, it takes a difference of about 60 degrees between ground and upper level of clouds for a thunderstorm. That's not hard to get in summer, but it's unusual in winter. Ground temperatures will be near 35 degrees, but the very cold air aloft in this strong system will have readings about 20 to 30 degrees below zero.
When that happens, precipitation falls at very rapid rates.
Heavy rain is likely this afternoon and early this evening across the area. And as the center of the system crosses the area, temperatures will tumble, and the very cold air at the top of the cloud columns will be sent to the ground. That will help saturate the air with cold temperatures, enabling snow to reach the ground.
If the snow falls heavily enough, it will overcome the relatively warm ground temperatures and accumulate. Obviously, the process will be helped in places where ground temperatures are cooler (such as the mountains). But if it snows really hard in the Piedmont, those places could get a quick 2, 3 or even 4 inches of snow.
A similar storm hit the area March 1-2, 2009. Heavy rain fell that Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, and the rain changed to snow about 7 p.m. that day. Between 1 and 2 inches accumulated.
But a deformation zone -- one of those areas of heaviest precipitation -- formed in a corridor from Gaffney, S.C., to west of Gastonia. Strangely, that zone was right along Interstate 85. Snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour, and between 8 and 12 inches accumulated. Cars and trucks were stranded on the interstate highway overnight.
Will that happen again tonight? Possibly, somewhere.
Either way, this is an interesting storm to watch.
Something I forgot ... There are some absolutely amazing temperature contrasts today in the Carolinas. While we're talking about a snowstorm in North Carolina, on the other side of a warm front stretched across South Carolina, it's like April.
Can you believe that the 3 p.m. temperature in Columbia, just 90 minutes away, is 78 degrees! And it's 81 degrees in Kingstree, S.C., about halfway between Columbia and the coast. Or try 78 degrees in Florence.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Waiting for cold air? It's coming next week
The mountains are likely to get a full dose of wintry weather Thursday afternoon and evening, with heavy snow expected to fall for several hours.
That's great news for the ski resort operators and their customers, as the 3 to 6 inches of snow will set the stage for a fun weekend. It's certainly welcome news to those folks, especially after last weekend's spring-like conditions.
Lower elevations, such as Charlotte, will get rain from Thursday's storm, although we'll be seeing a brief shot of winter-like weather next week.
After the storm passes Thursday, it looks like we'll have generally dry and seasonal conditions Friday through Sunday, with highs in the upper 40s Friday and the mid 50s Saturday and Sunday. But a pair of cold fronts will cross the region late Sunday and Monday, and when all that has been completed, an arctic air mass will be the controlling factor in our weather.
Despite full sunshine, we'll be lucky to reach 40 degrees Tuesday afternoon in Charlotte. Morning lows Tuesday might be in the teens.
It'll be cold (mid 40s) again Wednesday, but it appears as if the cold air will be a short-lived event. High temperatures are forecast to be back in the mid 50s Thursday and Friday.
Meteorologists have been talking for weeks about sudden stratospheric warming at the north polar region, and the eventual displacement of bitterly cold air into Canada and the United States. Some of that very cold air has arrived in the United States, but it's been bottled in the northern part of the country.
When the cold air has tried to poke into the Southeast, it's been short-lived. Looking ahead into early February, it looks like that pattern will continue. That doesn't mean we can't get snow, sleet or freezing rain. The storm responsible for mountain snow Thursday will be working with only marginally cold air. But the short-lived cold air intrusions are good news to those who don't like winter.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Fog, crazy temperatures, talk of snow ...
Sorry for being away a few days. A little virus caught me last weekend and sent me to the hospital briefly, but it's time to get caught up here.
There is a lot of weather news out there, and I'll try to address it all briefly:
"SNOW" TALK ... A storm system is expected to cross the Southeast on Thursday and Thursday night, with temperatures marginally close to the snow level in parts of the Carolinas, Tennessee and Georgia.
Most of the computer models show this as a rain event for Charlotte, and the National Weather Service and most meteorologists are buying that solution. There'll be plenty of precipitation -- around 1 to 2 inches in parts of the Piedmont and foothills -- but temperatures simply aren't cold enough for snow.
Those who are wish-casting for snow say the low pressure system could strengthen enough to cool the atmosphere in the areas of heaviest precipitation, and that's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. But the computers simply don't show the system getting strong enough to do that.
Having said all that, stay tuned to the forecast. And snow certainly is likely in the mountains, especially above 3,000 feet. Finally, the exact track of the system will play a role in where the heaviest precipitation falls.
THE FOG ... It's dense again this evening, and that's a sign of a stalled front nearby. Remember those 70-degree temperatures we had over the weekend? If you live 40 to 50 miles south of Charlotte, you're still enjoying the warmth. A cold air wedge became established during the daytime hours Tuesday, stretching generally east-west across South Carolina.
At 9 p.m., it was 48 degrees in Charlotte but 61 in Camden, S.C. -- and even warmer, 70 degrees, in Columbia.
It's a safe bet that the fog will continue throughout the night in the immediate Charlotte area, but it's not so clear what happens Wednesday. The forecast is for the cold air wedge to break down, and temperatures to climb into the mid 60s in Charlotte. But these wedge conditions almost always are much, much more stubborn than expected. Don't be surprised if we remain in the low to mid 50s much of the day, with low clouds.
TEMPERATURE PLUNGE ... The much-ballyhooed (by the computer models, for weeks) arrival of polar air now seems to be more likely, early next week. A pair of cold fronts are predicted to cross the Charlotte region Sunday and Monday, and high temperatures Tuesday might struggle to climb much above 40 degrees, despite plenty of sunshine.
Will it be a transient (i.e., short-lived) shot of cold air, or will the polar outbreak last a while? That's still an open question, but it looks like the end of January and beginning of February will be quite a bit chillier than the past several days, at least.
Friday, January 11, 2013
No winter here ... but look elsewhere
While we in the Charlotte region prepare for a weekend of 70-degree-plus temperatures and wonder whether the really cold air poised to drop southward will ever reach the Southeast, there is no lack of winter in other places.
A blizzard is taking aim at the Rockies and upper Midwest, and the northwest flow behind that storm will bring the coldest air in two years to California and Arizona this weekend.
Meanwhile, a blizzard is paralyzing Newfoundland, with some amazing snowfall totals and winds that are knocking out power to thousands of customers.
COLD AIR MOVING SOUTH ... Meteorologists have been watching the big mass of cold air for days, and now it appears to be moving toward the lower 48 United States. We've written earlier this week about Sudden Stratospheric Warming, and how that condition will dislodge polar air southward (except we're not exactly sure how much of it is pushed onto our side of the globe).
By early next week, temperatures are expected to tumble about 40 degrees in the Rockies, Midwest and northern Great Lakes.
BLIZZARD ... The storm began taking shape Friday morning, dumping heavy snow in much of Idaho and in places like Salt Lake City. Winds gusted to near 80 mph in parts of Colorado. That storm is predicted to produce blizzard conditions this weekend as it treks on a northeast course out of the Rockies. Montana, the Dakota and northwest parts of Nebraska and Minnesota will get heavy snow and strong winds before the storm moves into Canada.
WEST COAST COLD ... Behind the storm system, very cold air will funnel into Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. Los Angeles will get lows in the mid 30s the next three nights, and it will be in the lower 30s near San Francisco. Light frost is predicted for the desert areas around Palm Springs, and there could be frost in the interior valleys. It is not expected to be bad enough to damage crops.
Want some more cold. How about upper 20s and a hard freeze in Phoenix on Saturday night? And temperatures will reach the upper teens on the Arizona-Mexico border at night this weekend.
NEWFOUNDLAND STORM ... Much farther to the northeast, a separate storm system is crossing to the south of Canada's eastern-most province Friday. That puts most of Newfoundland on the north (cold) side of the storm, and the precipitation is falling as snow. Up to 30 inches of snow is possible in places, and winds are gusting above 60 mph. Power is out across the province.
You can get some interesting Twitter accounts (including photos) of the storm https://twitter.com/search?q=%23snowmageddon.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Our area -- surrounded by weather news
It looks as if the Charlotte region will be surrounded by big weather news over the next several days, while the computer models struggle to figure out how far south the arctic air will descend next week and beyond.
In the immediate future, we're in for some very warm weather -- except for Friday.
Temperatures are soaring well into the 60s today, but they'll be limited to the upper 50s by clouds and showers Friday, as a warm front slides northward across the region. But remember -- even the upper 50s are a lot milder than the average high of 50 degrees in Charlotte at this time of the year.
The three days after that, Saturday through Monday, will be downright silly with the mild weather. High temperatures will push into the lower 70s each day, and there'll be some sunshine accompanying the warmth Saturday and Sunday.
While all this is happening to us, areas near the Charlotte region will be dealing with big weather news.
Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are threatening parts of the deep South today, and while the severe weather probably will weaken by Friday, there will still be a chance of flooding rains to our west. The heavy rain is expected to fall in Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and maybe southern Kentucky.
A few showers are likely in our region, but what we get will pale in comparison with what falls to our west.
Meanwhile, to the northwest, bitter cold will be the story.
An outbreak of arctic air is forecast to plunge into the Rockies and upper Midwest by early in the weekend, and some of the temperature contrasts will be ridiculous. Fargo, N.D., is expected to have a high of 40 degrees today. That's downright tropical in January for North Dakota. But by Monday, the afternoon high is forecast to be 2 degrees.
Eventually, the cold air will reach the Carolinas. The best guess is that it arrives next Friday, but it's hard to tell how much cold air will actually move into the Southeast.
The computer models seem to hint at the coldest air being held north of the Carolinas. But I've seen posts on weather bulletin boards, noting that cold air -- which is heavy, dense -- sometimes spreads a lot farther south and east than the computers predict. Given that a storm system could be moving across the Southeast late next week, we'll need to watch the temperature forecast closely.
Beyond that, who knows?
Consensus earlier this week was that a prolonged period of cold weather was headed for our region. Now a lot of the computer models are hedging on that, showing only a couple of short-lived cold snaps -- and nothing more than slightly-below-average temperatures (i.e., highs in the upper 40s) for late in the month.
Meteorologists have done a good job of determining the various players in our forecast, but the science of figuring out how those players interact is the tough part.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
How warm will the Carolinas get?
Once a warm front pushes north of the Charlotte region sometime early Friday, we're in for several days of temperatures that are far above seasonal averages.
In fact, we could make a run at record highs this weekend, when temperatures are expected to climb above the 70-degree mark.
The warm front will spread plenty of clouds and some rain into the region from late Wednesday until early Friday, as it slowly moves northward across the Southeast. After that, we'll be under the influence of high pressure off the Southeast coast.
If skies were reasonably clear, it's possible temperatures Saturday through Monday could push well into the 70s. The all-time records are 75 degrees Saturday (set in 1890) and Sunday (1960), and 77 degrees Monday (1907).
But it looks as if there'll be considerable cloudiness those days, and possibly even a few showers. That could serve to put a lid on temperatures, holding them in the upper 60s. Either way, it's a far cry from our average high of 51 degrees at this time of year.
The big difference will be at night. As the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C., noted, Tuesday morning probably will be the last time for a week -- at least -- that temperatures fall below freezing in Charlotte. Our morning lows this weekend might not drop below the 50-degree mark. That certainly will help keep the heating bills in check.
It continues to look as if some really cold air will spill into the Southeast toward the end of next week, but the jury remains out, in terms of how long the cold will hang around. Any outbreaks of cold air will be doing battle with a stubborn high pressure ridge off the Southeast coast.
Monday, January 7, 2013
You like warm winters? Enjoy next 10-14 days
Those of you dreaming of arctic air and snow ... don't read this.
Today's entry is for those who moved to the Carolinas to escape 15-degree mornings, icy roads, and snow on the ground. A warming trend is headed for the Southeast -- and, for that matter, for much of the eastern United States.
We could be looking at temperatures near 70 degrees by the end of the weekend.
We'll get there gradually. High temperatures today will only reach 50 degrees, but we'll have sunny skies, and that will make it seem nicer. The sunshine continues Tuesday, with highs reaching 55 degrees.
By Wednesday, a warm front is expected to develop along the Gulf Coast and trudge northward. That will mean cloudy skies both Wednesday and Thursday. Highs on Wednesday could be near 60 degrees, but as the warm front moves through the area Thursday, daytime temperatures might be held back a bit by clouds, showers, and a northeast flow just to the north of the front -- in our area.
Then the milder air takes control Friday. A ridge of high pressure is expected to set up shop in the Southeast, and it will serve to block the advance of any cold air for a while.
Forecast highs are low 60s Friday, then mid to upper 60s Saturday and Sunday.
Just for reference sake ... Charlotte's average high temperature at this time of year is around 50 degrees.
A cold front is expected to approach by late in the weekend, but the Southeast high pressure ridge will serve to weaken the front. That means a likely continuation of mild weather for much or maybe all of next week.
The long-range forecasts continue to point toward a much colder solution for the final 10 to 12 days of January. A combination of conditions is forecast to push arctic air into the Rockies initially (by the weekend) and then gradually nudge the much colder temperatures farther to the south and east over a period of a week or so.
If all this verifies, we'll have colder conditions by around the 20th of January, and that could set the stage for a period of chilly weather.
How chilly? It's too early to tell. Between now and then, if you're a warm weather fan, just enjoy.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Mild next week, then winter returns
It looks as if we're in store for mild weather next week, but don't get too accustomed to it. Winter appears to be planning a return visit later in the month.
The computer models point to above-average temperatures across all but the Northeast next week, and that will translate into afternoon high temperatures well into the upper 50s and possibly the lower 60s by later in the week for the Charlotte region.
The warm-up will begin after a weak storm system crosses the area late Saturday and early Sunday. It dropped to 22 degrees at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on Friday morning, and temperatures probably will be in the mid 20s again Saturday at daybreak.
Then comes a change to warmer conditions for all of next week.
After that, there are a bunch of signs pointing to some pretty cold weather returning to the United States and eventually making its way into the Southeast. The best guess among meteorologists is that the Southeast will see the cold weather arrive somewhere around the 16th to the 20th of the month.
A couple issues are at work here. A number of meteorologists are pointing to sudden stratospheric warming in the arctic. That is a buildup of relatively warm air between 25,000 and 100,000 feet above the ground in the far north. Accu-Weather mentions this in a story today (http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/nasty-cold-waves-could-be-in-t/3586088).
This condition tends to send cold air near the surface southward. About the same time, the North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation are forecast to be in a negative phase. That means the atmospheric pattern would steer weather systems into the central and eastern United States.
One possible fly in the ointment -- the persistent low pressure in the eastern Pacific. The atmospheric flow in the eastern Pacific has tended to block the southward movement of cold air so far this winter. If the Pacific Oscillation is negative, that could stop any arctic outbreaks from pushing very far south of the Midwest and Great Lakes.
The long-range computer models think the cold air will win out. Accu-Weather meteorologists predict the arctic air will move into the upper Midwest and Rockies initially, then keep pushing a little farther south and east. For a while, the Southeast will remain in the mild air, they predict. Eventually, they say, arctic air will dominate.
WCNC's chief meteorologist, Brad Panovich, posted a GFS model forecast on his Facebook page yesterday that shows some really brutal cold in the Southeast later this month.
Some of you are saying, "We've heard this before," and you're right. Some meteorologists have been predicting a turn to much colder conditions since late November, and it hasn't happened.
In the meantime, enjoy the milder conditions next week. That seems almost certain to happen.
We'll have to wait and see what happens beyond that.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
2012 -- a year of no-shows
Want to know what kind of weather year 2012 was for the Charlotte region?
Two of the biggest stories of the year were things that did not happen.
Sure, there were a couple major events in the area, including a tornado inside the Charlotte city limits and a record-setting heat wave.
But for the most part, 2012 lacked major stories -- at least in the immediate region. Nationally, it was the year of a devastating drought in the central United States and a devastating hurricane/superstorm on the East Coast.
Among the biggest stories for Charlotte-area weather in the recently-ended year, though, were the Winter That Wasn't, and the Thunderstorm That Never Arrived.
Here's a look at the big regional stories -- including two national stories that had a local impact:
MARCH TORNADO ... This was a freak, of sorts. A major outbreak of tornadoes occurred March 2 and 3, but a stationary front had been draped across the Carolinas border for much of March 2. Areas to the north of that front were in cooler, more stable air. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado watch for areas south of the front.
But in the early-morning hours of March 3, a Saturday, a strong thunderstorm along or just north of the stationary front caused a tornado to form east of the city. The twister touched down near Reedy Creek Elementary School and carved a path into Cabarrus County. Although some meteorologists think the twister might have reached EF3 strength, the National Weather Service classified it as an EF2, with top sustained winds of 130 mph.
JANUARY TORNADO ... This one was really a freak storm. Tornadoes in mid-winter are a rarity, even in the South, although with last winter's mild temperatures, maybe it shouldn't have been surprising. Three tornadoes struck in Rutherford, Burke and Catawba counties, causing about 20 injuries and damaging or destroying about 100 residences.
THE WINTER THAT WASN'T ... It was one of the mildest winters in history, and if not for a brief period of sleet on the evening of Feb. 19, Charlotte might have gone without even a trace of frozen precipitation for the first time since records starting being kept in 1878.
Various atmospheric patterns collaborated to keep temperatures mild in the east. In January, Charlotte's highs reached 60 degrees or warmer on 12 days. There were four 70-degree-plus days in February. Spring started the same way, as March (the first month of meteorological spring) had 10 days in the 70s and 10 more in the 80s. In fact, it was the second-warmest March in Charlotte history.
STORMY AND STEAMY ... May, July and August were hot, humid, and stormy. Charlotte recorded nearly 6 inches of rain in May, and there were much-higher totals in some parts of the area -- thanks to numerous thunderstorms. At Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, there were storms on nine days in May; 16 in July; and nine in August. June was a dry month.
Some parts of the Charlotte region recorded nearly 20 inches of rain from early May to early September. It was welcome, especially considering how dry the last few months of the year turned out.
JULY 4 HEAT WAVE ... For three straight days -- June 29, June 30 and July 1 -- the official high in Charlotte was 104 degrees. That equaled the city's record high temperature, and there were readings of 106 and 107 degrees in the region. The high also reached 100 degrees on July 5 and 8. Air conditioning technicians were working around the clock to keep up with the demand for repairs.
The heat finally broke on July 9. It turned out to be the fifth-hottest July in Charlotte history.
WESTERN WILDFIRES ... While this did not directly affect Charlotte, there was an indirect connection. A C-130 plane from a Charlotte-based Air National Guard unit crashed July 1 while fighting a wildfire in South Dakota's Black Hills. Four of the six crew members were killed. An investigation later determined that the plane encountered severe turbulence and was caught in a downdraft.
THE THUNDERSTORM THAT NEVER ARRIVED ... Never has a busted local forecast had such a big impact nationally. The stormy pattern that had been persistent in Charlotte during the summer continued into late August, for the start of the Democratic National Convention in the city.
Strong storms hit on the Saturday, Monday and Tuesday of the DNC (Sept. 1, 3 and 4), with more than 2 inches of rain falling. Some flooding was reported in the Saturday storm.
President Obama was scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech outdoors on Sept. 6 at Bank of America Stadium, and many of those who had volunteered their time to help with the convention were promised a ticket at the event. Unfortunately, meteorologists predicted another day of stormy weather on the 6th, with a cold front forecast to move through the region.
On the 5th, Democratic Party officials scrubbed plans for an outdoor speech and moved the event indoors to Time-Warner Cable Arena. Naturally, most of Sept. 6 was dry and sunny.
SANDY ... The Charlotte area escaped any direct impact from the hurricane-turned-superstorm. But North Carolina took a shot from Sandy in two different ways. As the hurricane chugged up the coast, closer to shore than originally expected, strong winds and high waves tore up roadways and houses along the Outer Banks. And once the storm moved inland, its back-side precipitation brought heavy snow to the North Carolina mountains. Ski resorts were able to open at the beginning of November.


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Germany's retail sales rise in July
Data from Destatis showed that retail sales in Germany during July rose by 1.7% from June, posting the biggest growth since January 2014. Retailers also recorded a yearly sales growth of 1.7% in the first seven months of 2016.
The German economy grew by 0.4% in the April-June period after posting a 0.7% increase in the first quarter with the support of private consumption.
More free plastics newsPlastic resin (PP, LDPE, LLDPE ,HDPE, PVC, GPS; HIPS, PET, ABS) prices, polymer market trends, and more...
- European PE markets set for 2nd bullish month on rising costs
- Turkey's PP and PE markets propelled to a firm start to H2 despite vulnerable conditions
- Asian PVC sees V-shaped recovery in Q2, what will Q3 bring?
- Will capacity additions cast cloud on ethylene upsurge in Asia?
- US PVC offers in Egypt rise steadily but resistance grows in tandem
- PE buyers' resistance grows in SEA; duty-free origins more competitive than Mid-East
- Polymer demand cools in Turkey: Is price correction ahead for PP, PE and PVC?
- China's rising PET trend takes a pause, but longer-term outlook remains firm
- Uptrend in China's import PP market continues but cautious mood returns
- Hikes in Asia July PVC offers baffle some buyers, further rally under discussion

subset: commoncrawl


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Posted 9 years ago
(1 item)
This is a Hamm's Bear watch from the early 70's. I got it for my 13th birthday from my dad. He was in the bar and restaurant business and he got it from one of his distributors. I've had it in storage for 35 years so it's like new. It's a Helbros brand watch, I pulled it out the other day and wound it and it ran like new.


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I'm not done with the Fortunate Series. I'm sure there will be more. But I thought it would be nice to change gears and do a little update. And then I realized a third of the summer was already gone. I am simultaneously thrilled and heartbroken. Hooray, back to school routine is imminent! Boo, we have a limited time left of flexibility.
The girls and I recently embarked on a trip back to our homeland for nephew Jeremy's lovely wedding to the delightful Rachel (Must do more blogging! I am Descriptive today!). Captain America had a freak project come up that meant he couldn't get away. While it was commonplace at the Old Job, it's a rarity at the New Job. So I went with three children by myself. For 5 hours. One way. To my parents house. Parents, who were in Germany. The girls were really fantastic travelers, or I might have died.
Bonus! I got to see my aunt & uncle and a cousin & his family who I hadn't seen in about 3 years. It was so good to see them, and watch my kids play with my cousin's kids. If I were feeling really nostalgic, I'd say it felt like passing on some sort of legacy. Unfortunately, it perpetuated the theory my cousin has that Captain America doesn't exist. The last time I'd seen them on a trip to Wyoming, Captain America was also stuck working (at the Old Job).
So we all went to the Lovely Wedding. And I have to say, I was sort of transported back to my own wedding day. It was a small wedding in a small church with a small wedding party. And a whole lot of cake. It doesn't seem like mine was that long ago. Only the kids who were at my wedding are now grownups. Really great grownups. And one was the groom.
Wedding highlights:
- Nephew/Groom WROTE the processional. As in, he composed music. Which was the processional. And it was beautiful. If it hadn't said he'd written it in the program, I would have sat there wondering where the beautiful song came from. And then the romantic in me thought it was the coolest thing ever that he wrote the song for his bride, and I imagined him sitting somewhere thinking of the music that would be in the air when she walked down the aisle to him and writing each note of it down. (You'd think I'd spent my entire summer reading love stories. But I haven't. I haven't had time.)
- The Bride. Oh, she was lovely! It was kind of an ivory lace affair and her hair was curled and partially pulled back and she skipped the veil altogether and the whole picture was perfectly fitted to the day.
- The cake. It was delicious. And we were encouraged to eat seconds. YES.
- I have three children. Which means I am now handing the baby to strangers without caring. I gave Zoey to the catering lady while I helped the older girls get food.
- Nephew and Niece (elementary students at my wedding - GAH) have turned into such nice grownups. Not that I wondered. But they really have. Ella has always been very excited to see Jeremy, and even though it was his wedding day and he would have been more than allowed to brush her off, he was so patient with her attention. And I don't mean patient as in tolerant, I mean patient like he didn't even seem to mind. And Shelby is always making conversation or whisking the girls around. Heck, even the best man taught Ella the Macerena.
- I did not get a speeding ticket.
For the trip home, I had downloaded an audiobook of Ramona and Beezus narrated by Stockard Channing. I thought maybe it would buy me a half hour til the girls got sick of it or Zoey screamed so loud they couldn't hear it. IT BOUGHT ME THE WHOLE STINKING TRIP. Any time I paused it to pull over for a potty break or lunch or gas, the girls piped up "What happened?! Can you turn it back on?" And Zoey alternated quietly playing with her toys and sleeping. Quietest car ride ever. Mad props to Stockard Channing on a fantastic reading. And genuine thanks to God for a trip that could easily have gone the opposite way.
So congratulations, Newlyweds! It was so wonderful to be there. I hope in 13 years you are invited to a similar wedding that brings up all kinds of warm fuzzy moments from your own.


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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policies Priorities and former economic adviser to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, will speak on "Making Sense of the Budget Crisis" at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library. His talk is part of the Penn State Democracy Institute's lecture series. Co-sponsored by the University Libraries, the event is free and open to the public.
Bernstein will speak on the 2013 budget and deficit ceiling crises, as well as those that loom on the horizon for 2014. He will offer an analysis that draws on his experience as economic adviser and policy analyst in the Obama administration. An extended question-and-answer session will follow the talk.
Bernstein served as chief economist and economic adviser to Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class and as a member of President Obama's economic team from 2009-11. Prior to joining the Obama administration, he was a senior economist and the director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
His expertise includes federal and state economic and fiscal policies, income inequality and mobility, trends in employment and earnings, international comparisons, and the analysis of financial and housing markets.
Based in the College of the Liberal Arts, the Penn State Democracy Institute brings together the top faculty and graduate students in several disciplines to develop knowledge and training that will provide legislators, policymakers, voters and the public with better ways to improve debate, discussions and governing in our country. Through teaching, creative research projects and public programs, the Democracy Institute will explore better routes to deciding controversial issues, like health care and environmental regulation, and address how government can become more responsive to the people.
For more information on the Democracy Institute, go to http://democracyinstitute.la.psu.edu/.


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I see the term, "this" used here and there and I don't understand what it means. I have searched around and has been said it means the current item. Well, I understand current item when using a cursor traversing through a linked list and how it stops at the current item. maybe that's it? Even if I'm hitting the nail on the head here, I don't understand how "this" is used. I have seen "this" used in two ways.
one way was something like this: this.xyz = xyz;
another way I am seeing it now in my book in the binary trees chapter is this:
{ right = right.removeRightmost( ); return this; }


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Good-enough mothers: A review of Wrecker
Summer Wood
304 pages, hardcover: $20.
Bloomsbury USA, 2011.
In her second novel, Wrecker, New Mexico author Summer Wood draws on her personal experience as a foster parent. Wrecker is a bruiser of a boy who "seemed to need to feel his body collide with the physical world to know he existed." He's born and mostly raised outdoors in a story that is less about him than about the adults attempting to guide this troubled child through the wilderness of life.
Single mother Lisa Fay gives birth to Wrecker in a San Francisco playground in 1965. Three years later, she's imprisoned, and the boy is sent to his uncle in the California backcountry. Uncle Len, his body "a compact knot from thirty years of working the woods," already has his hands full with an invalid wife. His neighbors, who pursue an alternative lifestyle on a nearby farm, pitch in to help raise a child they didn't ask for but cannot turn away.
Wrecker especially bonds with Melody, who fears losing him when his mother is eligible for parole in 15 years. "Whatever it was his mother had done ... it wasn't bad enough to turn her son. Even at this distance, his heart tracked her like a plant hungry for light."
The wildness of the surrounding landscape is beautifully rendered and reflects the rambling nature of Wrecker's nontraditional parenting. Wood, the recipient of a $50,000 award from the A Room of Her Own Foundation, raises important issues, challenging our definition of what makes a family and, even more, what it means to be a mother. Melody rues that "there was no reliable scale that let her know whether she was doing a decent job or screwing him up royally" -- apparently unaware that she'd be doing the same even if Wrecker were her biological son. Both birth mother and foster mother fear they've failed the child, and dread the day of reckoning.
Of the two male characters influencing Wrecker, one grows trees while the other chops them down, but both instill in him the value of physical labor. This quiet and sensitive novel inspires nostalgia for the days when a boy could spend his youth running wild in the woods, instead of passively plugged into technology. And it reminds us of what a difference it makes when adults truly open their hearts to a child who needs to be loved.


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Facebook is holding a press event at its headquarters on Tuesday.
The company hasn't said what it's announcing.
TechCrunch columnist MG Siegler says Facebook will finally announce a "Facebook phone."
Or, at least, Siegler kind of says that.
He writes:
Multiple sources have told us that they expect some sort of Facebook Phone to be on display on Tuesday.
Now for the caveats (and they're important). It's not entirely clear if this will be an actual piece of Facebook branded hardware or if they will simply use hardware from a phone maker to show off some sort of new Facebook OS for mobile. That is to say, it could very well be that the "Facebook Phone" is more about a Facebook OS running on a phone (or a few phones).
But then he writes:
Complicating matters is all the chatter that Facebook has both publicly and privately told partners such as Google and Apple that they had no intention to build their own phones. Again, maybe it's semantics. Or maybe Facebook simply changed their minds. Or maybe this phone/OS isn't meant to compete head-on with the iPhone and the Android phones that Google focuses on. Perhaps this is meant solely for emerging markets.
Then Siegler quotes something Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at a TechCrunch event in September:
"It's a juicy thing to say we're building a phone, which is why people want to write about it. But it's so clearly the wrong strategy for us."
Finally, Siegler nearly walks back the entire thing:
Facebook is fairly good at keeping things close to the vest these days. And the truth is that there are a number of things the company could announce on Tuesday. But speculation that is something smaller, like a new app, doesn't jibe with the multiple sources telling us this is going to be "a big deal."
So there you have it. Facebook will reveal a phone on Tuesday. Or maybe it won't.


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Carlo is 19 years old and he just lost his sponsor — again.
"I just learned that my sponsor cancelled, but I am told that I'm getting a new one."
Only two years from completing the Leadership Development Program*, Carlo has gotten used to not having a regular sponsor.
He had three different sponsors in the Child Sponsorship Program and welcomed a new one when he transitioned to the Leadership Development Program.
A number of sponsored children would be discouraged to lose a sponsor several times. Losing old relationships and building new ones through letter writing is not an easy task for a child.
"As a little boy, I was one of the quiet ones at the student center, but I confess that I didn't really enjoy writing letters, especially when I knew that I wouldn't get any replies."
But despite the constant change in the name of sponsor he would be praying for and writing to, Carlo did well and went on to become a Leadership Development Program student. He has always been an overachiever.
His parents knew right away that he was meant for greatness since he was born with two healthy legs. Both Carlo's mother and father have polio. Carlo's father, Peter, shares,
"I am just thankful that none of my six children have polio. Carlo is the middle child and the youngest of my boys."
Now older, Peter has retired from work as clerk at the local government office.
Help Families Affected BY COVID-19
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"As I grew older, my body got weaker and suffered from more back pains. Maybe it's from the years of walking on crutches."
Corazon, Carlo's mother, does not rely on crutches but walks with a limp. Her left leg is smaller than the right. She remains very active in organizing community events for the local government where she offers her services as a volunteer.
She heads the local women's organization, as well as the people with disabilities organization that she herself established. She recently led a sporting event that was participated in by a number of disabled persons coming from different parts of Cebu City, Philippines.
With overachieving parents, Carlo felt the pressure to excel growing up. He studied hard and got good grades, except in math. In his second year of high school, he was challenged by one of his teachers to face his fears and pursue the one subject where he did not excel, and that's exactly what Carlo did.
"I studied math so hard until I became one of the top math students in high school. Since then, I found greater joy in my studies."
He was admitted into the Leadership Development Program and chose to take engineering as his course of study. Today, he is a fourth year student in electronics and communication engineering at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City. This school consistently ranks as the top university in Cebu.
"But the reason why I chose electronics and communication engineering is not because of my love for math but because of my love for music. As a communications engineer, I would get to work on amplifiers, music-related programs, and other exciting multimedia technology.
"I dream of someday working in a huge office and of being in charge of people, gadgets and technology."
Despite studying to become an engineer, Carlo has not forgotten his first passion in life:
"…to teach people and help them succeed in life. When I look back at what I've written in 'My Plan for Tomorrow' while I was still in the Child Sponsorship Program, I said I wanted to be a pastor someday so that I can teach and lead people."
Although he is not a pastor today and did not decide to pursue theology, Carlo is very much involved in the work of the church. Apart from being a youth representative at the church board, he is the youth president, a member of the praise and worship team, and one of the young speakers at church.
He laughed when he realized,
"I am very busy organizing people and events just like my mother."
When asked whether he considers himself a leader or not, Carlo told us,
"Not yet. Although I am handling people and events at church, I still have a lot to learn and a lot of growing to do. I want to see lives changing, and that means I still need to change many things in my life."
When Carlo's recent Leadership Development Program sponsor cancelled, he realized an important lesson in life.
"When I look back, I can see God's faithfulness. Despite not having a regular sponsor through the years, God had sustained me and even let me join the Leadership Development Program.
"Now that I am about to get a new sponsor, I know that it is God who is supporting me all the way. I am encouraged to not quit."
*This content honors our historical Leadership Development Program. To learn more about our current youth development opportunities, click here.


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News from the world of Maths
March 14, 2014
We love every number equally but there is no denying the fame, ubiquity and usefulness of the number pi…
March 10, 2014
How chickens' eyes solve a subtle maths problem.
March 7, 2014
Tomorrow is International Women's Day, and it got us wondering… could this be the year we finally have a female winner of a Fields Medal?
March 4, 2014
"[String theory] has led us in strange directions that we couldn't conceive of; it's revealed depths of mathematical structure that we couldn't have anticipated". Watch a video interview with Professor Michael Green, winner of the 2014 Fundamental Physics Prize.
March 4, 2014
A clever statistical technique helped the Kepler mission to find the huge haul of new planets it announced last week.
March 4, 2014
The funeral of the great flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía this week reminded us of the mathematical and musical reasons we love flamenco.
February 27, 2014
We've read the book. We've bought the T-shirt. And now, finally, here it is: the movie of one of our favourite maths problems
February 27, 2014
How to catch those elusive gravitational waves.


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Irwin Chen got his BA in English Literature from Yale University in 1994, and spent one year in the Netherlands on a Fulbright studying design at the Jan van Eyck Akademie in Maastricht. He returned to New York where he began work as a digital designer, first for Jessica Helfand and later at Funny Garbage and 2x4. He served on the board of the AIGA NY chapter from 2012-14. He is the founder of Redub LLC, an information design and interaction design consultancy.
digital publication design, interaction design, interactive data visualization, digital annotation
Collab: (Spring 2020)
Interaction Design News Apps (Spring 2021)


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Pixie is a voice actor, cabaret performer & slam poet From the Blue Mountains in NSW.
She enjoys writing short fiction, plays for radio and stage as well as her own brand of weird poetry.
She hosts the 'Off-Beet Poetry Slam' held bi-monthly in Katoomba, and is a theatre reviewer for 2SER FM in Sydney.


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Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Bob The Skutter, May 2, 2011.
I think you two should get a room
Well it's obvious the series that'll continue is the ones about lesbians copping off anyway.
Who died at the end of last season.
I have memories that don't make sense and can't be real.
Spoiler: Being Human series 3/4
Mitchell got George to kill him, and George is leaving in this series.
As is someone else apparently, I don't watch it but doesn't sound like many of the original cast will be left now.
Spoiler: Being Human series 4
Annie will be the only original character left. Not sure about Nina, but if she's still there she'll at least be from the first series, while there's a werewolf who was a recurring character last series back and a new vampire.
I do know that Alice isn't in it as much which saddens me. I hear she's going to be back for season 3, though. I need my psychopath crush in the show.
Idris got a Golden Globe for Luther! Well done.
Some pretty stiff competition in the category too...
We'll Take Manhattan airs tonight on BBC 4.http://www.tvguide.co.uk/detail.asp?id=114411680
BBC One have cancelled Garrow's Law.
Seems to me this is a continuation of the new BBC One channel controller dumping previous hits, like the new BBC Three controller is doing.
Will be interested if the writer updates holding on, I enjoyed the original.
BBC Two have commissioned a series by the director of the original The Killing.
Latest BBC Two drama showreel
^COOL. I wonder how flippin' long it will take for some of these to make their way to BBCAmerica?
Looks cool, nice to see Gillian Anderson there
BTW, anyone else wact The Line of Duty that's been on BBC2 the last 6 weeks?
Not exactly the Shadow Line but I thought it was quite good
Yep, looks like we have permanently stolen her from the Americans, which is good. We deserve her more anyway.
We might as well just give her citizenship!
I loved it. A few niggles, not least the painful Wire-wannabe bits on the streets and even in some of the dialogue, but otherwise 5 hours well spent. Totally agree it had nothing on The Shadow Line but what has? I hear a second series is already confirmed too, which I think is actually needed. Wrapping up with the captions, as it was a real story, was too rushed for my liking.
Also, you really cannot go wrong with Craig Parkinson.
I started watching it last night but thanks to painkillers wasn't paying attention. They already renewed it for a second series.
Separate names with a comma.


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Relationships with
Photo Credit: Alfred Kinsey's picture is courtesy of Entomology Lantern Slide Collection. Photographic illustrations of Alfred Kinsey are copyright © by their respective holders. The images are published with permission or as allowed by the copyright law's fair use or quotation provisions. If any copyright holder objects to an image being included, please notify us and it will be removed immediately.
Disclaimer: This information about Alfred Kinsey is derived from astrological interpretation of Alfred Kinsey's date, time, and place of birth.


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Dr. Cottam, along with his staff of therapists, uses a variety of techniques to address your uniques needs and goals.
Welcome to Cottam Health Partners ...
Dr. Cottam and his staff have been helping people in the valley achieve better health and well-being for over 20 years.
Here at Cottam Health Partners we strive for personalized care in a warm friendly environment. Our focus is on the unique health care needs of each individual that comes into our offices. Our friendly and enthusiastic staff is here to make you feel welcome and tailor your treatment to help you attain your health goals.
Our services include:
Call for an appointment today… and take the first step on the path to better health!
Call or text us to schedule an appointment:
10631 S. 51st Street #4
Phoenix, AZ 85044
© 2013 Cottam Health Partners
Phone: 602-492-4476


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- Grand Carrera - TAG Heuer Watch Grand Carrera Calibre 17 (TAG-470)
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The Global Liquid Natural Gas Market research report provides detailed information about the industry based on the revenue (USD MN) and volume (Units) for the forecast period. The research study is a detailed analysis of this market emphasizing the market drivers and restraints that oversee the overall market growth. The trends and expected prospects for the market are also included in the report which provides an intellectual understanding of the Liquid Natural Gas industry. Furthermore, the report quantifies the market share held by the significant players of the industry and gives an in-depth view of the competitive landscape. This market is classified into different segments with a comprehensive analysis of each with respect to a geography for the research period
At first, the Global Liquid Natural Gas Market report presents a basic introduction of the industry containing its definition, production strategies, and Liquid Natural Gas applications. Later, the report illuminates the global key Liquid Natural Gas industry players in detail. In this segment, the report presents the Liquid Natural Gas market shares, production access, product description. The entire Liquid Natural Gas market report is further divided into countries/regions, prominent manufacturers and several segments for the Liquid Natural Gas competitive landscape study.
Request For FREE Sample Pdf [email protected]https://market.biz/report/global-liquid-natural-gas-market-sp/116664/#requestforsample
Top Manufacturers of Global Liquid Natural Gas Market:
Bechtel Corporation
BG Group
Applied LNG
Australia Pacific LNG
Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company
Report Scope:-
A. Base year for estimation:-2018
B. Actual/Historical data:-2014 and 2018
C. Forecast period:-2019 – 2023
D. Market representation:-Volume in Million units, Revenue in USD Billion, and CAGR from 2019 to 2023.
E. Regional scope:- Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East & Africa, and South & Central America.
F. Country scope:- Italy, Russia, U.S., Spain, India, Canada, U.K., Germany, China, Japan, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.
G. Report coverage:-Volume forecast, competitive landscape, revenue forecast, growth factors, and trends
Do Inquiry Before Accessing Global Liquid Natural Gas Market Report:- https://market.biz/report/global-liquid-natural-gas-market-sp/116664/#inquiry
A mixture of primary and secondary research has been used to define market estimates and forecasts. Sources used for secondary research cover (but not restricted to) Paid Data Sources, Technical Journals, SEC Filings Company Websites, Annual Reports, and various other industry publications. Specific details on the methodology used for this report can be provided on demand.
Highlights of the report:
>> A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market.
>> Market shares and strategies of key players.
>> Important changes in market dynamics.
>> Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume.
>> Market segmentation up to the second or third level.
>> Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments.
>> Emerging niche segments and regional markets.
>> An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market.
>> Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the market.
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Over the past several years I've gotten in the December habit of compiling lists of my favorite music releases. While I was in seminary taking preaching classes, I sought out an exercise that would help me enjoy, evaluate, and communicate texts in a creative way to an audience. Since, at the time, all I was doing was reading and reading and writing and writing about biblical and theological content, I used music reviews as a way to hone my skills. For about two years I wrote reviews for a small indie music blog out of Macon, GA called the Blue Indian (here is 2010 and 2011). It was in this time that I realized if you could charitably and critically evaluate content that you sometimes did care deeply for, and some that you just didn't "get," and still make a compelling presentation to an audience, you had done most of the logistical tasks of preaching (which is what I wanted to work on).
So I present to you my list of twelve (a cheap way to continue to expand my list and delay decisiveness once more each year) favorite records that came out in 2012. A brief disclaimer: these are my favorite records of this year, not necessarily the "best."[1] They might not be your favorites and for that I don't apologize. I may be skewed or inconsistent. For instance, I'm well aware that half of these selections are from the South (including VA). I'm also aware that I'm a sucker for M. Ward and the Avetts and unlike the Mumford boys (who came up big last year), they're near locks on any favorite list I'll likely write. Again, I don't apologize for this, everyone needs these kinds of go-tos.
I don't have a fixed criteria for this evaluation. Some of these albums and artists operate within a decisively Christian confession and view of the world, others quite the opposite, and many wrestle somewhere in the middle. Some tilt towards the traditional, some towards the experimental, most hold both in some sort of tension. Some are household names, while others share the fate of prophets in their respective hometowns. I've included a Spotify playlist of this list in its entirety as well as a playlist featuring a single song from more than 40 (just wait until the year 2040!) notable releases. I'd also love to hear, in the comments, some that I may have missed. Cheers on a great year of music to have enjoyed and blessings on what I hope shapes up to be another. -CEB
12: Mirage Rock (Columbia)
Band of Horses
These bearded bards have smoothed out some of their previous rolickers into a milder but really interesting album. They've dusted off the legendary Glynn Johns (father of Ethan) for his first production gig in nearly three decades and it really pays off. You can really hear the Carolina hills amidst the Wilsonian harmonies.
11: The Clearing (Dead Oceans)
The earthy duo from Upper Air has expanded in number and so has their sound. This record, grouped with the most recent offerings from Bon Iver, the Rosebuds, and Megafaun, would make for a really oddly cohesive April Base box set: ranging from ambitious and bombastic to charming and homespun. Between the recurrent wildlife vagabonding and Phil Moore's strangely entrancing songwriting meter, you are bound to get sucked in by the bare beauty and precious vulnerability of this music.
10: Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices (Asthmatic Kitty)
The Welcome Wagon
This time around Pastor Vito Aiuto and wife Monique cobble together a less-overtly Sufjan Stevens-infused collection of hymns and spiritual songs. Again, the covers are outstanding, ranging from Crowder to the Cure. The hymns are imaginative appropriations of some lesser-known texts, and Vito has continued to prove himself a worthy auteur and purveyor of surprisingly sacred music in the vein of a Brooklyn-hipster-Reverend Gary Davis.
9: The Carpenter (Universal Republic)
Avett Brothers
The Avetts were in a pickle on this one. After working with Rick Rubin on I and Love and You and simultaneously getting flack from longtime fans longing for the mountain-punk of their beginnings and getting lauded by a much much larger audience, this album, their seventh full-length studio record (and 14th total release!) bore many of the pressures of a sophomore album. Somehow they managed to do it. In the midst of immense scrutiny and personal and familial trial, they produced a record with genuine warmth of sound and lyrical depth. In my mind, The Carpenter resists conflation with the Mumford phenomenon (though similarities abound and some might disagree), due in part to the band's willingness to explore (and fall flat in some cases) while frequently tipping their caps to unabashed influences like Townes Van Zandt and Doc Watson. These influences lie very near the surface but don't seem as forced or forceful as the literary and biblical allusioneering of their comrades.
8: Life Is People (Dead Oceans)
Bill Fay
This record came out of nowhere for me. I had heard both Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) and Damien Jurado cover "Be Not So Fearful." But Bill Fay was as obscure to me as he actually is. Tweedy, himself, makes an appearance on Fay's first album of new material in 41 years. Fay returns the favor with a cover (almost in latter year Johnny Cash fashion) of Tweedy's "Jesus, Etc" in one of the finer moments of the record. "The Healing Day" offers a cathartic, eschatological anthem for fans of Cash, Billy Prince Billy, Wilco, and Nick Cave.
7: A Wasteland Companion (Merge)
M. Ward
For being a spliced-together collection of songs from the road, Companion sure doesn't sound like it. While decidedly less lo-fi than his earlier records, and conspicuously featuring indie sweetheart, Zooey Deschanel (the "She" from his other notable project), "Clean Slate" and "Pure Joy" could fit in on an anthology of his best and most characteristic.
6: Voyageur (Zoe Records)
Kathleen Edwards
This past fall, I've countlessly heard, from both sides of the aisle, the bemoaned, "if so-and-so wins the election, I'm moving to Canada." Canadian Kathleen Edwards diffuses this by threatening the inverse on the lead track of Voyageur and then shows her hand on this "empty threat." Voyageur succeeds through heartbreaking lyrics and vocals, and daring and skilled arrangements. Even in some of her less poignant moments, she manages to pull off sounding sincere singing about sidecars and pink champagne in a way rivals Kim Kierkergaardashian's ability to combine crass and contemplative.
5: Fear Fun (Sub Pop)
Father John Misty
Best described as a trip, Fear Fun, is part Josh Tillman travelogue and part apocalyptic fantasy. Woven strands of reality and fiction are incarnated in hazy Laurel Canyon fare. The result is remarkably more interesting than either the lush harmonies of Tillman's former gig as drumming Fleet Fox or his intense but often monotonous singing-ax solo fare. With the album, he chopped off his hair, and was seemingly and suddenly imbued with newfound frontman swagger. I've wondered on more than one occasion if this could this be a neo-Robert Johnston scenario? While confusing at times, hilarious at others, and shrouded in darkness even in its sunnier moments, FF has to be considered one of the oddest and most enjoyable albums of 2012.
4: Fake Blood (Removador/Harvest)
Floating Action
Black Mountain experimenteur Seth Kauffman teamed with Jim James of My Morning Jacket and toned down some of the sitar from last year's wonderful but difficult Desert Etiquette to arrive at his most complete work since his solo album Research. This "conservatism" suits him well, as a little restraint helps the supreme nuance come out in fewer and less labored listens. The title of the record stems from his observation and frustration at the pervasive ability of "fake blood" (art that doesn't hurt to make, but safely appears so) to sell records and make fans. This epitomizes Seth's ability to surprisingly craft and juxtapose. After all, when asked about surprising interests and influences, he once listed Saabs, Paula Abdul and Karl Barth in the same sentence.
3: Boys & Girls (ATO)
Alabama Shakes
"I feel so homesick. Where's my home? Where I belong or where I was born?" questions Brittany Howard on "Rise to the Sun." Her ability to repeatedly package such existential wonderings in, to borrow a buddy's descriptor, such "gronky" (here think something akin to Led Zep, Janis Joplin, Chuck Berry, Ike Turner… a funky sonic patina) containers shines. Throughout this sparkling debut, the Shakes prove that while there is nothing new under the sun, its revolution around the earth and its faithful reemergence can endlessly illumine what we already know in surprising and quite enjoyable ways.
2: Big Inner (Hometapes/Spacebomb)
Matthew E. White
Not since Illinois has it been so cool and engrossing to listen to an album that sounds, at times, like a glorified high school marching band jam session. Like Sufjan's masterpiece, Matthew E. White (who's arranged for the Mountain Goats, the Sounds of the South tour and whose backing band has richly ornamented the huge sounding and hugely successful eponymous Bon Iver record) has proven that once you dive in you find the brass and fanfare is actually secondary. Listen and you'll be rewarded with a rich lyrical tapestry. The sacred and the profane touch at times, their threads crawling over each other, combined though not indistinguishable. At times you wonder if White is miming Randy Newman or Qoheleth as he muses about the sun's hiding place on "Steady Pace." Or when he takes up the slave-song meme of crossing the "Brazos" and explodes into a more than 5 minute long, album-ending chorus of "Jesus Christ, he is our Lord! Jesus Christ, he is your friend!"
1: Maraqopa (Secretly Canadian)
Damien Jurado
After warming up with a handful of cover songs and Jurado's previous release, Saint Bartlett, the Jurado/Richard Swift production tandem has hit full-stride with Maraqopa. Sometimes enigmatic and others jangly and humorous, the amount of texture, attention, and the nuance kept me listening to this record throughout the whole year. While his sound has evolved, his writing has remained constant. He pens "I heard you call my name. You were outside the door. How did I not hear you before?" on "This Time Next Year" a parousia anthem whose opening doo-wop chimes are broken up by surf-guitar distortion. Lines like these are sneaky. In some ways they underwhelm, but Jurado has developed a penchant for writing such startlingly simple lyrics that lack any semblance dullness or pretension, but manage to strike the hearer as stark and unalloyed.
[1] Stanley Hauerwas, upon receiving the honor of "Best American Theologian" in 2001 by TIME Magazine responded, "Best is not a theological category." Likewise, I'm not sure "best" is always a great or suitable category for artistic works.


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- 13-year-old Amy Mather on how she started coding with the Raspberry Pi | Wired Technology: [Video] "Watch Clive Beale and 13-year-old Amy Mather discuss how they took an established concept and edited it to reflect their own original ideas. Mather is a computer programmer who has become famous in the Raspberry Pi community for being a passionate advocate for coding using the tiny computer."
- The Ethics of Mob Justice | In These Times: [Warning for discussion of harassment] "Thanks to the Internet, and its capabilities for raining Hell down on strangers, every one of us is being forced to decide how our morals about refraining from offensive behavior and causing harm extend to cover people who are offensive and even harmful."
- From the Linux Australia Debate: The Experience of Women in Information Technology | Lev Lafayette: "In an environment where women, from a young age, face constant denigration for even having the temerity to engage in the profession of information technology, where their presence is mocked, their opinions devalued, etc., it is not surprising that one result among the bold and the few that survive this screening process, that they want to create groups, internships, and so forth to help provide a supportive environment against very difficult odds. Some may complain against such exclusiveness on principle; and it is quickly acknowledged to be a fine principle. If this is the case, then perhaps review such groups having a required experience for application. That is, a certain internship it is not reserved for a woman because they are a woman, but because they have experience as a woman in this social environment."
- Why Pinterest Is Seriously Valuable (and What It's Teaching Men in Power) | Medium: "Pinterest isn't for everyone. But I think it bears noting that it's overwhelmingly men who make this comment about Pinterest: "I don't get the appeal." Sure, I've made that comment about a hundred apps that have gone on to acquire absolutely huge user bases — mostly men in roughly the same demographics as the apps' creators. But what I don't do is dismiss the app's ability to find a market. I simply acknowledge that I'm not their target market."
- Introduction: Science Fiction and the Feminist Present | ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media & Technology: "Feminist science fiction, in the collective analysis of the writers gathered here, proves to be a diverse and amorphous category in which real and imagined science and technology bleed into one another. The essays call attention to the ways in which fictions and realities of scientific speculation shape how we experience the nexus of gender, new media, and technology––from the gendered history of physics to the migration of brain-scanning technology out of laboratories and into the world, from imagined visions of reproductive technologies to sentient robots to the social consequences of cataclysmic change in urban landscapes."
- Testy | Alison Bechdel: " […] at one school I visited recently, someone pointed out that the Test is really just a boiled down version of Chapter 5 of A Room of One's Own, the "Chloe liked Olivia" chapter. I was so relieved to have someone make that connection. I am pretty certain that my friend Liz Wallace, from whom I stole the idea in 1985, stole it herself from Virginia Woolf. Who wrote about it in 1926."
We link to a variety of sources, some of which are personal blogs. If you visit other sites linked herein, we ask that you respect the commenting policy and individual culture of those sites.
You can suggest links for future linkspams in comments here, or by using the "geekfeminism" tag on pinboard.in or the "#geekfeminism" tag on Twitter. Please note that we tend to stick to publishing recent links (from the last month or so).
Thanks to everyone who suggested links.


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Hi all,
This is Zach, and for those who know me, this is the only time I will reference my real name on the board going forward, and I ask you do the same. I've decided to change my name for privacy reasons, as I have been very open about my struggles with various treatments and it would be very bad for my real identity to become connected to certain posts on this forum, i.e by a Doctor or someone close to them, treating me. So I've done this for my best interest.
This is the only post I will make on the matter, and eventually I will ask to have it deleted once sufficient time has passed and everyone knows my new handle.
Attn: I've changed my user name
Anything on your mind that isn't about RLS? It's nice to realize that there is life beyond this disease and have an opportunity to get to know our online family in a different context.
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The second and final batch of holiday clothing is now listed in the shop. Be sure to remember all domestic shipping gets a free Priority upgrade for the month of December, so there is still plenty of time to get your favorite piece of clothing before Christmas!
And, I know that darling flower power maxi dress doesn't really fit the 'holiday theme', but it was just too cute not to list right now. :)


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Cold and flu season is officially upon us. With the holidays right around the corner and a busy schedule knocking down your door, now is no time to get sick! Bypass the cold and flu season this year with natural remedies, herbal supplements, TLC and a little common sense. These 15 tips will help you out!
Don't get sick this year! Avoid the cold and flu season with these 15 tips. Photo By TheGiantVermin/Courtesy Flickr.
1. Wash your hands. It might be cliche, but good hygiene goes a long way.
2. Aim for the elbow. Even if you wash your hands right after coughing on them, you're still likely to spread germs in the process. Cough into your elbow.
3. Keep your hands off your face! Cold and flu germs enter the body most easily through mucus membranes around the nose, eyes and mouth, so keeping your hands away from these areas will lower your chances of getting sick.
4. Be a clean freak. Cold and flu viruses may be lurking on often-touched surfaces in your home. Wipe these surfaces down with a homemade disinfecting cleaner made from vinegar
5. Be anti-social. Large crowds and public surfaces are hot-beds of cold and flu germs. Avoiding these two can lessen your chances of getting sick.
Eating foods rich in antioxidants such as tomatoes can help prevent illness. Photo By Susy Morris/Courtesy Flickr.
6. Exercise. Moderate exercise boosts immune function and can help you recover from a cold faster. Intense exercise has the opposite effect, however, so remember to not over-stress yourself.
7. Don't short yourself on sleep. A study last year found that people who sleep fewer than seven hours each night are three times more likely to catch a cold. While you sleep, your body repairs itself and recharges its immune system. If you're not getting enough sleep, you're not allowing your body the time it needs to recharge, leaving your immune system vulnerable.
8. Humidify! Cold viruses prefer dry conditions (one reason this illness is more prevalent in winter), so keeping the air moist can help keep colds at bay. Add moisture to your indoor air through a humidifier—just be wary of mold and bacteria. Replace the water daily and clean the humidifier out every few days with soap and water.
9. Up your antioxidants. Eating healthy plays a major role in immune function. Add antioxidant-rich foods to your diet such as leafy greens, berries and even tea for an extra boost of free-radical-fighting agents.
10. Get enough Vitamin D. Vitamin D strengthens the immune system, so not getting enough of this essential hormone—a likely scenario in winter, given the sun's weak rays—could leave you susceptible to the cold and flu. Take a Vitamin D supplement regulated to 1,000 or 2,000 international units daily.
Moderate exercise and relaxation can help keep your immune system strong. Photo By lululemon athletica/Courtesy Flickr.
11. Supplement with herbal remedies. Boost your immune system and fight cold-causing viruses with a little help from the herbal world. Echinacea, garlic, oregano and other plants are known for their immune boosting properties.
12. Relax. Stress can weaken your immune system and leave you vulnerable to illness. The holidays in particular can cause elevated stress. Learn to relax with these stress relief strategies.
13. Gargle with salt water. Salt draws out the fluid causing your itchy, scratchy throat and helps kill bacteria. Add half a teaspoon of salt to a glass of water and throw your head back. This may dry your throat out, so be sure to drink plenty of fluids and humidify.
14. Leave over-the-counter remedies on the shelf. Decongestants and pain relievers target the symptoms but don't fight the root of the problem. Continued use of these drugs can produce a "rebound effect" after you've stopped using them in which the mucous membranes swell, leading to an even worse runny nose. If you do take over-the-counter drugs, carefully read the labels to make sure you're not doubling up on any drugs, such as acetaminophen.
15. Using natural remedies to treat your symptoms. All you need to soothe that sore throat, runny nose and aching muscles is right in your kitchen. Treat your symptoms to these natural remedies while letting the cold run its course.
Susan Melgren is the Web Editor of Mother Earth Living. Find her on Google+.


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Crews at Westover, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., and Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H., prepared for an emergency landing because there was concern passengers onboard the C-5 B might require medical attention, CBS News reported.
Westover spokesman Lt. Col. James Bishop told WBZ-TV, Boston, the military transport plane -- traveling from Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, to Dover Air Force Base, Del. -- experienced a loss of cabin pressure at an altitude of 34,000 feet, but there was no in-flight emergency and no one was reported injured.
Master Sgt. Exanderton at Hanscom Air Force Base told CBS about 25 people -- including two children -- were onboard when the plane experienced sudden decompression in its cabin
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/...#ixzz2smKSmZet


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The reality TV world is reeling from the news that the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Taylor Armstrong was found dead on Monday night.
Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter told AP that Armstrong, 47, was found hanging and was pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m. Monday in a home on Mulholland Drive. No suicide note has been found and an autopsy is being conducted.
Taylor, 40, filed for divorce on July 15 from Armstrong, citing physical and verbal abuse. The show frequently showcased their on-air fights and she told People he would sometimes grab her, shove her, throw things at her and pull her air. He told the magazine the show had hurt their relationship.
RumorFix.com spoke to Russell Armstrong last month and he seemed to be struggling to deal with the split and the spotlight.
"This is a devastating time," he said. "We had a wonderful marriage and I don't want you to get the impression that Taylor and I are bitter enemies — we're not. We have a beautiful five-year-old daughter who we both love."
He added, "The pressure of being in the TV spotlight was pretty overwhelming. It took our manageable problems and made them worse. We are very supportive of each other and love each other. I will support her as best I can moving forward."
Russell's lawyer, Ronald Richards, tells TMZ, "I feel bad because his credit cards weren't working … He had tremendous financial problems."
Richards adds, "He was also extremely bummed out about the divorce with Taylor. As far as a will, even if he does have a will, they don't have any assets, so I'm not sure what there would be left to leave. I am extremely saddened … I had no idea he was depressed."