Cold and Dark

By stoat on January 8, 2010.

Cold, isn't it? And quite dark too (is that the [[Equation of time]]?).

DSC_3880-snowy-path

But I'm rather enjoying this snow - it is clear and crisp, so far. I've only fallen off once.

[Update: Looks cold but lovely from above [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/8447023.stm

]. Mind you, it is warm elsewhere]

DSC_3883-snowy-foot

There are sandals underneath that, in case you'd missed how hard I am :-)

Tags
Misc
cold
dark
equation of time
pix
Snow

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I'm staying at my parent's house, Easton's Castle, in South Dakota. It's a bright and sunny 26 degrees below zero (F) this morning, and we have had around 8 inches of snow. Like when I was a kid, I scooped out their 300-foot driveway by hand, and I'm sore as heck. The house in is in 20 acres of woods, so it's a beautiful Doctor Zhivago-like scene. No blonde, though. My poetry ain't good enough.

Most people would ski, but to each his own.

By carrot eater (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink

I've been seeing a lot of voles scurrying across the roads. (No obvious stoats in pursuit.) I've never seen them do this in warmer weather. Perhaps the salted tarmac warms them up.

By Vinny Burgoo (not verified) on 08 Jan 2010 #permalink

Hey, I figured out how to use
septic TM Stoat
with appropriate credit.
Now to see if it'll work at RC and Eli's and other blogs.

[I'm glad to see it - I insist on my trademarks being recognised. Don't forget I own "gone emeritus" too -W]

What with Gavin's inexplicable surge of politesse re Lindzen (noting that it moved Tom Wigley to post a refuting comment), you may find yourself censored at RC, Hank. But do try!

By Steve Bloom (not verified) on 09 Jan 2010 #permalink

Speaking of cold and dark, who's this BBC guy?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/8443687.stm

[Looks like some ratehr crap guy in a suit :-). Hopefully this will stop them pushing their seasonal forecasts, which aren't suitable for public consumption (though they are useful for expert consumption) as they full well know -W]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/dailypolitics/andrewneil/2010/01/i_did_warn_…

They used to hide their seasonal forecasts away and label them as "Experimental". They don't do that any more, though the reliability hasn't improved AFAICS, and the forecasts are of the same type - eg beyond the ken of anyone in the media and, as you say, not really suitable for general public consumption. So why they pushed them more is a bit of a mystery.

[Alas, I think the answer is "because it is in someone's career interest". It gets you noticed, and if its all f*ck*d up, well, you can blame someone else -W]

"[Alas, I think the answer is "because it is in someone's career interest". It gets you noticed, and if its all f*ck*d up, well, you can blame someone else -W]"

Well, despite their short term forecasting having been largely very good this last month, in very difficult conditions, they're going to be remembered for the LRF - so something will probably change.

TBH, I reckon they should ban the press office from mentioning them, and also remove the link from the short term forecast pages. Then the press can't just churnalise them and would actually have to do a bit of work to report on them - thus removing any media mentions completely.

[I think they should just disband the press office :-) -W]

"[I think they should just disband the press office :-) -W]"

Well yeah, but let's try and keep our wishes somewhere close to reality, here. ;)

[i]"Hopefully this will stop them pushing their seasonal forecasts, which aren't suitable for public consumption (though they are useful for expert consumption) as they full well know"[/i]

I'm intrigued - please elaborate