What’s on your mind?

[VulchR]

My Dad used to say the net pleasure you get from a boat is inversely-proprotional to its length.

He worked his way through numerous boats from a sailboat down to a kayak.

Depends on how stormy the waters around you are.

My father got a 28-foot boat but we used to get slammed in the Chesapeake Bay during thunderstorms. He had a few years of that, then upgraded to a 32-footer. It was actually more manoeuvrable than his first boat because it had twin screws, and it was safer when he and my mother went of US CGAux safety patrols. I'd say he was very happy with that boat - he spent most weekends on it and his CGAux crew got a commendation for rescuing the a family from a boat that sunk during thunderstorm. Still, I think these days when we know more about CO2 and the pollution motorised boats cause, I think he would have opted for a sailboat had he known.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Wet wool is on my mind.

The quite distinctive aroma of wet wool.

You know how you head to the local shop, (to pick up your organic milk and sundry other necessities), and it somehow pretends to stop raining, but then, changes its mind and the heavens proceed to gleefully open as you are half way - on a rather short walk - to the shop, thinking you are quite dashing with an elegant tweed jacket over your polo shirt, and also thinking (clearly, erroneously), that you didn't need to don a rain coat for such a short walk.

It reminds me of what one of my professors had remarked to me (years later) of his abiding memory from his teaching days - something he had never forgotten - which was the smell of wet wool (from seated soaked students) that assailed his nostrils as he descended the steps to take the lectern prior to starting his lecture.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Lying (or, optimistic) weather forecasts are also on my mind.

"Light showers", it said.

No, they are not not light; they are heavy and prolonged.

 

[decafjava]

I was mildly successful at staying engaged during Zoom calls. I always kept my camera on though, out of respect for the other meeting participants. Personally, I got really annoyed when people turned their cameras off...

You must have seen the clip with that one lawyer who managed to accidentally put a cat filter on his face on a zoom call with a judge. "I'm not a cat"

 

[Expos of 1969]

Wet wool is on my mind.

The quite distinctive aroma of wet wool.

You know how you head to the local shop, (to pick up your organic milk and sundry other necessities), and it somehow pretends to stop raining, but then, changes its mind and the heavens proceed to gleefully open as you are half way - on a rather short walk - to the shop, thinking you are quite dashing with an elegant tweed jacket over your polo shirt, and also thinking (clearly, erroneously), that you didn't need to don a rain coat for such a short walk.

It reminds me of what one of my professors had remarked to me (years later) of his abiding memory from his teaching days - something he had never forgotten - which was the smell of wet wool (from seated soaked students) that assailed his nostrils as he descended the steps to take the lectern prior to starting his lecture.

After reading the first two lines of your post I thought we were heading into an interesting story involving sheep.

 

[decafjava]

Lying (or, optimistic) weather forecasts are also on my mind.

"Light showers", it said.

No, they are not not light; they are heavy and prolonged.

My sympathy, my I ask which weather service you use (or which app)? I don't use the default iOS app but Swissmeteo and Weather Pro.

 

[Expos of 1969]

My sympathy, my I ask which weather service you use (or which app)? I don't use the default iOS app but Swissmeteo and Weather Pro.

On the weather app topic, I ditched the Apple supplied one as it was not working some of the time and I also stopped using the Finnish weather service and now mostly use the free version of Carrot Weather. It uses the data from Foreca, a private Finnish company which is used globally.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My sympathy, my I ask which weather service you use (or which app)? I don't use the default iOS app but Swissmeteo and Weather Pro.

Actually, I checked the BBC.

They are not always accurate, alas.

 

[Lioness~]

Lying (or, optimistic) weather forecasts are also on my mind.

"Light showers", it said.

No, they are not not light; they are heavy and prolonged.

My sympathy, my I ask which weather service you use (or which app)? I don't use the default iOS app but Swissmeteo and Weather Pro.

Actually, I checked the BBC.

They are not always accurate, alas.

Local weather services are usual at least 50% better.
But weather can sometimes change very fast.

I use The meteorological and hydrological institute in Sweden, general known here as (SMHI), and their weather services. Sometimes they can 'miss the target', but not very often at all. It also comes with a pretty detailed comment from the metrologist.
They also value their forecast in graduation between uncertain…etc…to certain.
Sometimes I check the weather on Apple Weather, sometimes not bad and sometimes very off.
More to get a second opinion when it's more important to me, and the forecast isn't very certain.

Like my mom said, there's no bad weather, only bad clothes. Vikings!
I'm not that weather sensitive, I'm used to it 😤

 

[Apple fanboy]

Actually, I checked the BBC.

They are not always accurate, alas.

Pretty sure most of them get the information from the same place. I tend to use the native Apple app and it mostly works.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The barometer is a more accurate forecaster than is the actual formal weather forecast, which (normally, these days) isn't too bad.

(My mother got caught out - and was totally blasé about it - by the notorious 1987 BBC forecast mistake).

Anyway, my raincoat was summoned into action.

 

[Apple fanboy]

The barometer is a more accurate forecaster than is the actual formal weather forecast, which (normally, these days) isn't too bad.

(My mother got caught out - and was totally blasé about it - by the notorious 1987 BBC forecast mistake).

Anyway, my raincoat was summoned into action.

As was mine for my lunch time walk. However it was almost dry for my walk home.

On my mind is a certain political discussion that came to light today.
Very disappointed in our PM.

 

[Expos of 1969]

The barometer is a more accurate forecaster than is the actual formal weather forecast, which (normally, these days) isn't too bad.

(My mother got caught out - and was totally blasé about it - by the notorious 1987 BBC forecast mistake).

Anyway, my raincoat was summoned into action.

Was that the Michael Fish incident?

 

[Chuckeee]

I remember hearing one of the best weather forecasts was: Today’s weather will be just like yesterday. It is correct at least ¾ of the time. But I’ll grant you that the times that it’s wrong are usually the times you really care about an actual weather forecast.

 

[Crowbot]

Local weather services are usual at least 50% better.
But weather can sometimes change very fast.

I use The meteorological and hydrological institute in Sweden, general known here as (SMHI), and their weather services. Sometimes they can 'miss the target', but not very often at all. It also comes with a pretty detailed comment from the metrologist.
They also value their forecast in graduation between uncertain…etc…to certain.
Sometimes I check the weather on Apple Weather, sometimes not bad and sometimes very off.
More to get a second opinion when it's more important to me, and the forecast isn't very certain.

Like my mom said, there's no bad weather, only bad clothes. Vikings!
I'm not that weather sensitive, I'm used to it 😤

I use WeatherBug. It uses locally sourced amateur weather stations so my readings come from a station less than a mile away. I keep an eye on the weather map to see if it's going to rain this afternoon.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Was that the Michael Fish incident?

Yes.

She had - quite literally - a day or so earlier, just returned from a foreign holiday (Turkey, or Greece), and, then proceeded to casually dismiss the weather forecast, thinking that it was of minor significance, and - cheerfully and completely blasé (she wasn't one to get stressed, and loved any kind of travel) - flew into Heathrow (in the middle of the storm) in order to meet her sister, who at that time lived in Eastbourne, and, of course, was stranded there in Heathrow for a night and the best part of a day, as trains weren't running.

She dined out on that tale for years, (she thought it hilarious) whereas my father was (initially) almost apoplectic with worry as this occurred during pre-mobile phone days.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

As was mine for my lunch time walk. However it was almost dry for my walk home.

Dry here, now, too.

On my mind is a certain political discussion that came to light today.
Very disappointed in our PM.

Disappointing but not terribly surprising, alas.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yes.

She had - quite literally - a day or so earlier, just returned from a foreign holiday (Turkey, or Greece), and, then proceeded to casually dismiss the weather forecast, thinking that it was of minor significance, and - cheerfully and completely blasé (she wasn't one to get stressed, and loved any kind of travel) - flew into Heathrow (in the middle of the storm) in order to meet her sister, who at that time lived in Eastbourne, and, of course, was stranded there for a night and the best part of a day.

She dined out on that tale for years, (she thought it hilarious) whereas my father was (initially) almost apoplectic with worry as this occurred during pre-mobile phone days.

During that storm we lost a greenhouse, a tailgate on our Vauxhall Cavalier and a garden shed.
Well truth be told the shed was helped along a bit by my Dad….

 

[Macky-Mac]

It was 43 degrees this morning, and it felt like even my sweatshirt wasn't enough, because I'm so used to warm temperatures. And then here are all these other guys wearing shorts and short sleeves, I'm not kidding... I don't know how they do it!

I almost can't wait to see how cold it gets in the winter...

hmmm......better prepare yourself for winter temperatures that have a minus sign in front of the number

 

[Chuckeee]

hmmm......better prepare yourself for winter temperatures that have a minus sign in front of the number

Or switch to the Kelvin temperature scale?

 

[HDFan]

Personally, I got really annoyed when people turned their cameras off...

You'd probably be even more annoyed to see the expression on my face when people are being really annoying. I'm not good at masking my feelings.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I was mildly successful at staying engaged during Zoom calls. I always kept my camera on though, out of respect for the other meeting participants. Personally, I got really annoyed when people turned their cameras off...

I never turn it on in the first place. Don’t even have (or need) a camera on my home computer. My MBP is used closed 95% of the time for work.
I’d rather see the figures you are sharing than your face is my attitude to work meetings.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have it (camera on, for Zoom meetings) on when necessary, and when that is the advised (and preferred) format.

 

[Crowbot]

I have it (camera on, for Zoom meetings) on when necessary, and when that is the advisd (and preferred) format.

I retired just before Zoom became a thing. And am I glad I did. My department had monthly meetings over the phone and that was bad enough. They never dealt with my section so it was just the rest of them jabbering on for an hour and a half. So I just muted the call and played games or did actual work. I wouldn't want to sit in front of a camera staring off into space.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I retired just before Zoom became a thing. And am I glad I did. My department had monthly meetings over the phone and that was bad enough. They never dealt with my section so it was just the rest of them jabbering on for an hour and a half. So I just muted the call and played games or did actual work. I wouldn't want to sit in front of a camera staring off into space.

I hear you.

However, sometimes, it is a choice between Zoom, and debilitating daily lengthy commutes.

In such circumstances, the former wins.