Hurricane Harbor

A writer and a tropical muse. A funky Lubavitcher who enjoys watching the weather, hurricanes, listening to music while enjoying life with a sense of humor and trying to make sense of it all!

Monday, December 31, 2007

Goodbye 2007! HELLO 2008! Happy New Years

To all of my friends out there in internet land...

I wish you all a Happy New Year.

A Happy, Healthy, Fun, Fantastic 2008!

May the Iowa Caucus finally give way to the rest of the Presidential Election... so many running, who to choose from?

We'll see.

As for the Fins... My December Page on the 2007 Calendar is... Chris Chambers. Sort of says it all..seeing how he is in San Diego currently no longer Miami. Seems there is a time to move on in life, nothing stays the same... you got to know when to hold them and when to fold them. Besos Bobbi ... so long 2007!

From Sunny Miami Beach to wherever your may be...

Wishing you a Spectacular 2008!


Saying goodbye to 2007...
Just some odd pics that say a lot and some that don't.
In the words of Shakespeare...

Tis a tale, told by an idiot signifying nothing...

































We all have Particular Harbors... some no longer exist except in our memory... like the FLICK and Jimmy singing and holding your boyfriend's hand in yours or lying on top of a car watching the moon float by and deciding if we were doing the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason...

I know... uncross my legs and take some Rescue Remedy... if life were that easy...





Friday, December 28, 2007

A Look At the Past.. Bhutto Assassination

This is a must read for anyone who thinks they knew who this woman was that was assassinated yesterday in Pakistan.

Do you know she went to Harvard?
Do you know she went to Oxford?
Do you know at 35 years old she was one of the youngest chief executives in the world?
Do you know she tried to right wrongs that led to her father's death in a long struggle for democracy and victory over evil.

Read this if you didn't know those things... if you thought you knew who she was:
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bhu0bio-1

She could have led an easy life, making money, raising her children and doing whatever women from her level of station in life do to pass the time away. But she didn't.

She went after the bad guys, she followed her dreams... more so she had a dream.

She was a hero in the most heroic sense. Unlike Superman she was not protected from bullets or bomb blasts... she was human and she died.

One can only hope that her life inspires young women and men everywhere to stand up and continue her fight in places where terrorists threatened to plunge their countries back into an archaic past of feudal, tribal warfare and might makes right.

When she was elected in 1988... almost 20 years ago... it was seen as a move towards the future and Pakistan was held up as an example of a woman in that region where women rarely have many rights...where a woman was elected head of her people. A woman with wisdom, style, heart, education and elegance who inspired the people towards democracy. She was leader of the Pakistan People's Party and with purpose and passion she was part of a process that looked to be achieving things that even we here in the West could not achieve. From within, she made changes. She was from the beginning a people person... her key to success was that she could inspire the people.

Yes she was a woman. Yes, that was part of her aura... her legacy. And, Americans were reminded that in India, in Israel, in Pakistan a woman could lead her country. Maybe it's a British sort of legacy because both Elizabeth the Great and Margaret Thatcher led their countries while in this country a woman's role seems often ceremonial "First Lady" for example. IF Hilary wins... does Bill become "First Man" ?? I wonder... sure Drudge will have fun with that.

But seriously... this is not about her being a woman or a first anything... it's about a moment in time when Pakistan, a country who is BY THE WAY... part of the Nuclear Nations of the World... moves forward into the future or back into the past or worse.... gets lost in a slide in the region into a shift of power to Osama's multi-level armies of terrorism supported by his long inspirational reach and his deep pockets of wealth which in fact.... most sadly come from this country.

I don't care a fig personally about Mexicans crossing the border illegally and trying to take jobs in America that most Americans do not want to do... they make money, they spread it around encouraging things to grow. Women in LA can work and make more money because they have a nice Alicia or Banessa or Gloria at home taking care of their house and kids and both employer and employee are spreading money around the system. I know, I am liberal on immigration.

What I do care about tremendously is the tremendous amount of money that leaves this country... money not spread around here but given to fundamentalist groups in the Middle East who use that money to encourage little terrorists to grow and go out and stop the process of democracy.

You want to shut down terrorism and win the war on terrorism? Follow the money trail, shut it down, close it off like a leaky hose leaking water all over the front lawn but in this case... dollars are leaking into the Osama's hands and into the hand of the groups he has inspired and it is used against us.

You want to talk about immigration? I don't have a problem with people from our south coming into this country working low level jobs that would not be open to them except others do not apply... I have a problem every time I go into some mini-mart that used to be run by some nice Cuban family that is not owned by some middle eastern conglomerate of families that share their tithing...their dues, their monies sent back home and got to tell you naive Americans.. it is not going to support Aunt Martha in the nursing home. Many are honest but many more are not and money from corner dollar stores to multinational corporations is going dollar by dollar back into the hands of the terrorists who are trying desperately to take Pakistan and other countries in that region back to the past..

Shut off the money... Follow the money trail... Shut it down.

You can't shut down the border from Pakistan to other areas.. it's why Osama and friends slip back and forth easily... there aren't a lot of crossing guards, just rocks and desert and open land. No "fences" in that part of the world. Just an invisible dotted line that corresponds with your map in your child's geography book.

So.... remember this brave, beautiful woman and let her inspire you and your children of both sexes to fight for their dreams. Even if she died... the process doesn't have to die unless we let it. Shutting down the leaky pipe of money that flows from America to that region's terrorists would be a bigger achievement that any other we could achieve in our War on Terrorism.

The world has lost an amazing woman. Learn about her... think on her and think on what better role model she is to the world than the Brittany's and other endless parade or American Party Girls who don't think on going out into the world and achieving things but maybe marrying some nice lawyer some day who might run for President some day and they can one day be a "First Lady" and give lots of parties in the White House.

This is a time in our destiny when we have a chance to choose who we will become in the next century... a place that honors drugs, teenage pregnancy, million dollar rap stars and bio-engineered sports heroes or... people with values, goals, dreams and passion who want to make a difference in the world. To leave this place a little better than you found it when you were born.

It's not about how we are born or how we die... it's about how we live.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Weather a Matter of Perspective and some music...

So, it occurs to me today while walking on Lincoln Road at lunchtime.. it's all a matter of perspective when it comes to weather.

My room was freezing, the main building was hot. I felt like Goldilocks in search of the perfect temperature and some quiet time away from the gardeners who were making out building look beautifully manicured.

Tourists were wandering around in tank tops, bikini tops and bathing wear.. locals were dressed in winter clothes sporting fancy new high heeled boots.

An ibis seemed to be lost under a tree that sported a family or two full of parrots.

My son in Postville IMed me to tell me it's snowing AGAIN........

My daughter in Miami has a ticket to go to NY for a weekend to see snow...

Everyone is in search of the weather they want... and somewhere else, a person is complaining there is too much snow, too much sunshine, too much rain.

Are we ever happy? Or are we perpetually lost like the little Ibis walking around carefully trying to navigate down the hill of vines that were wrapped around the ficus tree where he somehow lost himself.

I was trying to work on my unfinished novel while avoiding working on an article I really need to finish. Okay.. I don't "need" to finish it.. it's not due at the editor for some time. The novel calls to me, begs me to work on it and amazingly I was able to do that today.. until the gardener showed up with his whole crew.

So much to do.. so little time... such beautiful weather in Miami today.. unless you wanted to ski or sled down a hillside.. in that care, you were out of luck.

Enjoy some music from my son's site and listen to the sampler... of course unless you were looking for Greek music or Indian music in which case you would need another website because music like weather is all a matter of perspective.

http://sameachmusicpodcast.libsyn.com/

Besos Bobbi
Ps.. did you know it's a reference question to be asked "will it snow in NY if I can get a $5 fare on Spirit? Can't say.. no promises. Hurricanes I can predict, snow... nope.

Foggy Morning In Miami



Really foggy. Beautiful. Always loved the fog.

When I lived in California in Long Beach we had so much fog in the morning. Or Santa Monica.. even better.

Love the fog. Love the way the fog would partially shroud the Jacaranda trees on San Antonio Way.

Got to go.. back to work... well I was at work yesterday..

Gosh.. guess that messes up air travel in South Florida..and the roads... stay home, take the day off.. relax.

Enjoy your presents .. those that got presents...

As for me... going to jump in the shower and wash the cobwebs away.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/357250.html

http://www3.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI71470/

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

From My Miami Heart to Yours...



A hello this holiday day!

So many memories I have of Christmas morning for a little Jewish girl.. that's funny but true.

I wish I could stay home, I wish I could go to the movies.. want to see Charlies War movie and the Bucket List (looks good) and or... just be a kid on Christmas morning. Watch TV... sports, soaps... just goof off.

But...gotta go to work. I work at a Jewish College... the non-Jews have off and we work, then we get off Purim which is... another whole megillah ;) and they work..

So...............

This has to be one of my all time favorite pictures because it means a lot to one of my dearest friends who always talks about the big magnificent Santa that used to be put up on the Burdines Building downtown. And... well... that was some Burdines in it's day. Loved looking for a new Nancy Drew book and having my mother tell me it was too expensive and how we couldn't afford it while she looked at something important and worthy of our money... while my Aunt or my Grandma Mary would buy the book for me :)

Merry Christmas... from Miami... with love

Monday, December 24, 2007

Two Degrees of Seperation

I watched the moonset this morning... beautiful, really beautiful.. low in the sky, fuller than full and there was mars right beside it.. two degrees away.

It was a chilly morning for Miami, not cold but not warm.

The sun was about to rise in the east, over my shoulder, behind me... light gold and the colors of coral or the inside of a conch shell were beginning to outline the horizon..

But the full moon stole the show... hanging there luminously as the moon does.. so close and big that it looked like you could see all of it's craters and even just possibly find the man hiding in the moon..

Hiding maybe from mars... just two degrees away.

Hope you are all with someone you love this holiday season... no seperations of any degrees..

Bobbi

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Sunday, December 23rd, 2007 - Rainy Morning In Miami



So I sit here in the pre-dawn darkness listening to the rain falling gently on the other side of my open jalousie window. The Miami Herald has yet to land on my lawn nor has the Sun-Sentinel. There is the slightest hint of color in the sky, lining the horizon and I am waiting for the sun to come up and start my day.

The Dolphins are still on a "winning streak" as they have yet to fight their next game. Hey ... I'll take my victories where I can grab them lol and I am not up north fighting the sleet or snow to get home to my wintry destination. Then again I think on "winter" and I think... well maybe seeing "winter" wouldn't be that bad. If it didn't take so long to get to Postville I might seriously hop on a plane for my birthday and spend it somewhere covered in white however...it's an all day event getting to Postville. Maybe he would meet me in Minneapolis? I like Minneapolis, spent a few summers of my life there... beautiful city. On the other hand I can sit here, typing in a tank top while listening to the rain through an open window. Can't do that this morning in Iowa can you now?

So... I'm here in Miami waiting for the sun to rise, about to make coffee and ready for the paper. And, I am grateful for the smell of the coffee brewing, the colors of the sunrise and my beautiful weather.

The grass is grateful for the rain. The bougenvilla outside my window is grateful. The little cat who can't sit on the wet car next door is not grateful.

According to Drudge Hilary is pointing out Obama's weaknesses, Huckabee is going after the right wing religious vote and Guiliani is just happy to be alive in New Hampshire.

There are no hurricanes to talk about so technically this blog is a freebie today. Part of my promise to write every day or as much as possible and my writing game I play with a few people. Great book Jay, thanks... I owe you bro. Reading a very good book called, "Running Naked in the Mind Field" by Kary Mullis, Nobel prize winning surfer-slash-scientist and I wonder...where are the guys like that.. the people like that who use both parts of their brain and a piece of another brain thrown in for good measure. Someone who can worry on DNA while out riding his surfboard or is the meaning of the surfing that he doesn't? What do people do when they can't stop thinking? Writers write. One of my favorite quotes by F. Scott Fitzgerald:
“Writers aren't exactly people...they're a whole lot of people trying to be one person.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

I suppose I watch the Miami Dolphins play football for 3 hours and lose my mind and heart into it a bit and put life on hold or try to..

The rain makes everything seem and look so fresh, so sparkly, so clean.

I'm going to go sip my coffee outside, watch the sunrise now unfolding while I type on the computer. The sky is almost pink, the little clouds parading by are a dark lavender. My newspaper still hasn't arrived.

There are no storms in the tropics this December morning... but you never know when some stray out of season storm will be born so... keep watching.

Today I am watching the national radar however because my daughter and her husband who drove in from Ottawa for Shabbos to Philly will call me a little later and ask me some questions about the "snow line" and I'm going to be ready for the question this time :) I think they wanted to be in the States to watch the Eagles game personally.

Have a beautiful Sunday... wherever you are and as a friend says... enjoy the weather you got.. ciao for now, Bobbi

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Big Shake Ups Today...Guiliani In Hospital and New Zealand Shakes

New Zealand had a strong earthquake... I lead with that only because... geology is one of those earth sciences that I made this blog originally for... weather and geology nuts go hand in hand like peanut butter and bananas on whole wheat bread with a drizzle of strawberry honey!

The Pacific Rim is not very stable today as big planetary shifts take place.

Speaking of shifts... Giuliani had his plane turned around after it was in the air and immediately checked himself into a hospital. Unless he had an inner ear infection ??? it is doubtful that he went back to the ground for anything short of signs of heart or a stroke. I listened this morning to reporters on TV reminding everyone that he had suffered cancer a while back. Come on... let's get real here.. if it was a worry over a recurrence of Cancer they could have waited til he got back to the East Coast. Usually, one only goes back for something that could be a life or death matter. I'm sure it wasn't a hang nail but it has been a real nail biter for him this week as he has seen his position of front runner slip away in a landslide of interest in Huckabee. Talk about pressure, if that isn't enough to make someone's heart go pitter patter what is? I wish him well. I don't wish he wins the election but I do wish him well.

There is nothing sadder in politics than a politician past his prime. A man who didn't go for the brass ring when he should have... and time slips away. My daughter who has lived in New York longer than I ever did loves him. She's also a die hard republican and not very interested in the Democratic Race.

Interesting... very interesting.

As for me... I still wouldn't be surprised if Cheney steps down for some health reason before too much time passes away.

Change is in the wind my friend... really in the wind.

Nope, not a song cue.. late for work, have to go find whats left of my Victoria Secrets Curl or Wave stuff and so I am waving goodbye. Have a good day.

And... as for my forever friend... thank you, I love you ;)

Hey I am feeling generous today, who knows that big volcano in the Azores or Canary Islands or wherever could sing today and we could get washed away in the world's biggest tsunami since we don't remember when because the Internet didn't exist then so I am living in the moment.

Love Bobbi

Labels:

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

RIP - Dan Fogelberg and Scarecrow's Dream

Something I have meant to do but hadn't done.

I just wanted to say... I'm sorry, I feel bad and yet it's hard to feel so bad for a man who made so much beautiful music, lived his life his way and died where he wanted to in a place he loved.

A lot of people love Maine.
A lot of people loved Dan Fogelberg. I knew a few who loved him much.

Great song.. anyone who has ever been in love and lost or loved the sound of the falling rain will forever be haunted by this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djCUfGVd9lY&feature=related

Others... dreamers will forever be moved by Scarecrow's Dream.

Incredible video... incredible person.

Huckabee Makes Hurricane Harbor Blog

Okay, so there isn't anything tropical going on and Fidel Castro is STILL ALIVE.........so I figure, we will talk on Huckabee.

Why not.

I mean he is a real candidate or he isn't.

The cross was there on purpose or it wasn't. I mean what is the big deal, it's not like it was a burning cross... and my mother who is Cross Phobic sees crosses everywhere (probably some genetic memory of my great-uncle's tobacco farms being burned and set on fire by the Ku Klux Klan in Quincy Florida but I am digressing in a parenthesis here...)... some people are like that.

Anyways....

Here is the interview about the Cross.. you view, you decide..



Personally, I think Romney is in trouble (darn I liked his father) and Hilary better lighten up... smile more as for Obama... he bores me. Sorry, he does. Shrugging my shoulders. I think Hilary is in trouble because once you get on her mailing list (yep, i did) all she does is ask for money. It gets tiring.. you know like those little begging children in Suddenly Last Summer who they told Montgomery Cliff not to go near but well.. he didn't listen..........

The sun on South Beach has JUST come out. All morning it's been cold, gray, wintry looking. See the tree... caught there between the pretty palms but with no sun to keep me warm... Now the sun came out and I am going out for a walk... a talk... a look around and well...

Huckabee.. it's like a bad movie, well you know with the writers on strike.. you got to stay entertained somehow ;)

Love and Kisses... Gillian
(i mean bobbi... )
Ps.. Paul is alive backwards.. got to give the man credit, he is witty or has very good writers. His name in the spellchecker asks you if you meant "hackable" lol.. Maybe Jimmy Stewart would have played him in the old days..................



See.. winter on South Beach

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Miami Dolphins On A Winning Streak and Jupiter Goes into Capricorn and Fidel Speaks!

Still basking in the glow of the Miami Dolphins Victory on Sunday and like so many in Miami wishing they would, could, would beat New England this weekend. Don't laugh. I know people with crazier dreams....... Then again being a muse I know a lot of crazy...

Speaking of Crazy... Fidel Castro released a statement yesterday. I know cause.. my ex-husband, good friend... texted me to put on the news. He knows as many of you do that I am waiting for the day..

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jYZ_bYLit90ntF-asFgqp2Q5XEigD8TJONEO0

Imagine... now he wants to listen to voices of the youth. Well, I imagine he means specifically the youth he brain washed into believing America is out to get Cuba and Cuba is the last bastion of pure, socialistic, communistic integrity... Story is developing, stay tuned...

And, I'm wearing my favorite long jean skirt that looks a bit like a mermaid and makes me look long, thin and good. Enjoying the temps in the 50s and the Holiday decorations everywhere down here, up there and even over in California.

So like... we are in that countdown period of 10 days to Christmas. Chanukah is long gone and yet I still have the overwhelming desire to go out and get myself something for Chanukah and to light some candles.

It's always strange when they are so far apart.

Of course at my old job I got to do the Kwanzaa display and decorate the tree.. boy do I miss that job ;)

http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml

Time passes.. quickly. I told my daughter yesterday that in a few months it will be spring and the 500 Ft of snow in Ottawa will finally melt. I didn't tell her it may flood Syracuse and Vermont in a wall of water but well... so much I haven't ever told her.

Time passes.

In case you don't think so... look back to a musical moment of the past and maybe you too will sit and stare with me.. your head at a tilt like you do sometimes thinking.. "what were we thinking in the 80s" :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbOh-dFE3N0&feature=related

Really... boggle the mind.
Then again, I liked Cyndi Lauper back then..



though she somehow is beginning to get that Kellie Pickler look.
Maybe they have the same hairdresser/make up artist?

Gotta go... Enjoy the day wherever you are... be it Cold in Miami or Colder in Ottawa or in that cute little bar/pub across the Street from Fenway Park ;)






Today... Jupiter, the planet of fun, expansion, luck and that famous red spot is moving into Capricorn.. and I.. Bobbi, a sweet, good hearted, fun loving Cappy wants to have FUN... so come on, some come on... Let's Have Fun!

http://news.google.com/news?tab=wn&hl=en&ned=us&q=jupiter+in+capricorn




(like you thought there was something Tropical to talk about??)

Monday, December 17, 2007

Miami Dolphins Win ... Cold Front in the Florida!!





Christmas came early to Miami this year in the form of a BIG win over the Baltimore Ravens in a game where Greg Camarillo shined like this year's brand newest, shiniest Christmas ornament!

The whole game he played beautifully, as did CLEO Lemon who was interception free and steady or as Dan Marina said after the game during an interview "a solid performance by Cleo Lemon" worthy of a win and a celebration that made everyone feel as if they had just won the Super Bowl!

I would talk to that kicker who gave up 80 yards on two penalties and was unable to get the ball in bounds twice. I would have someone give Cleo lessons on scrambling better but then again not all quarterbacks are scramblers. But..he was steady and didn't fold, didn't throw interceptions and didn't give the ball away. That is how you win game! And.. speaking of take aways, we took the ball away at least 4 times that I remember. Don Shula used to say, over and over... you have to win the take away/give away battle to win games.

So..will Wayne sell the Dolphins or won't he? Time will tell.

As for me... was personally one of my best games all year. Sat inside the house, watching and feeling the cold front race through online with one of my favorite friends in one long 3 and a half hour plus text session watching and enjoying the game together. Saved it. LOL. I never did find a can of coke hidden away in my room for emergencies...and managed to suck on one blue rasberry tootsie roll pop through the whole 5 quarters! But, we had fun and they won!

Great game.. it may be all a matter of perspective and insignificant to many but to us... here in Miami.. it was like finding a pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow and most probably given a little gold dust for luck by the 1972 Miami Dolphins Players of Perfect Season fame who were there yesterday for the 35th anniversary of that Very Perfect Season!

As for weather...

Well, I'm wearing my beautiful, brown, seude high heel boots with my favorite brown jacket with a drop of something around the color (fake fur/wooly stuff) and sipping a Starbucks Christmas Blend Tall Coffee. It has warmed up to 55 degrees with wins out of the NW at 13mph and gusts to 17mph but trust me the gusts on Lincoln Road are way closer to 20plus as the wind tunnels up Lincoln and blasts people away standing on the corner of Washington Avene and Lincoln Road! Wind Chill makes it feel 50, the low was 53. You might laugh that off if you are in Ottawa under five feet of snow but in Miami with the wind blowing in off the Ocean and the sun not up to full speed.. it's boots weather :)

Okay, so it's warming up now to 59 but still feels like Winter to Miamians and still feels like we opened some late Chanukah present that arrived late or just... Santa came early this year ;)

Happy Miami Dolphins Win
Thank you Greg Camarillo for a very happy Dolphin Victory!
Wecome to Miami ;)



http://www.faniq.com/video/Dolphins-Win-Greg-Camarillo-TD-catch-YouTube-4355,3/sports_featured

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Winter Wonderland, Birthdays, Cold Fronts!!!

Okay, I live in Miami and it's not really a winter wonderland the way you think of .. but for me... I have the windows open, a bird is chirping outside and there are incredible clouds this morning. Hints of Pre-Frontal Boundary (does that not sound soooo sexy???) or.. pre-frontal moisture... pre-frontal trough ;) ?? Oh come on, if you are a weather lover then that sounds so darn sexy :)

So, anyways... I woke up to low clouds, cone shaped racing low across the sky in the pre-dawn darkness... SSE to NNW... GOOD SIGN. That gave way to this beautiful sunrise... BETTER SIGN!

See picture below :)



See radar...



Yup.. a front is on it's way.. Pre-Front, Real Front, Cold Front!

And, I realize this may be the last time I feel warm for the next few days .. unless I'm drinking soup, coffee or hot chocolate.

This front is a little special as a little bit of Olga is wrapped up in this front... an extra dose of OMPHFFF from Olga and her tropical moisture mixing together with all that cold air and energizing this front more than most... we got Meso Hail near Key West!!!

This was Olga... very still there just a day or so ago.. before it became caught up in the front.. see Olga thought that frontal boundary was sexy too!! Like a ride on a winter wonderland rocket ship out of the Tropics...and all the way north to Boston or Greenland or wherever old Tropical Moisture goes after it's been caught by a Cold Front...



Great post explaining this better by Mike on HurricaneCity:
http://members.boardhost.com/hurricanecity/msg/1197780374.html


I know.. I shouldn't talk about "Winter" as I am living in Miami. My daughter is in Ottawa this year (working for Chabad and freezing her... well you know what off) and she has made it clear before the Winter Solstice even arrives "she has had enough of winter" lol.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?
id=0bb3fe25-5317-4ec2-8ae6-3040e3b0b168

Not sure what 55 centimeters is but I get the idea...



So...to each his own. To my son in Postville, Iowa... to my daughter and son in Brooklyn to my daughter up in Ottawa winter may mean something different to you than it does to me but... to me it means cold, fresh, beautiful air rushing through the house after a sky that turns dark purple and presses down out of the NW and races SE across the sky, the wind shifting so fast and hard it feels almost like you are on Shore Drive by Lake Michigan and sweaters, jeans, boots... soup on the stove and an extra beautiful cover on my bed.

I have a friend who is about to have a birthday :) So.. Happy Birthday, I owe you some birthday email card I suppose. Actually, I have two friends and a daughter-in-law having birthdays. One has already gotten their present, think of me every time you spritz and only I would do whatever crazy thing you ask me to... just to make you smile! I'm sure I will regret it. To my daughter-in-law and my other good friend, thank you for being in my life (I won't regret it, haha)

Giggling. LOL ... oh Lordie as my brother says... ho ho ho it's a winter wonderland.

Now.. going to end this with a youtube example of how...what a song stylist is vs "just a singer" ... love this song, I know Jay loves it too! But, who do you love baby? Dean or Bing? Both make the song their own... same song, same site... two different sounds, much the way some people write... even when they try the rhythmn in their head keeps the same beat.

Happy Pre-Frontal Birthday Boundary!! lol.

Bye for Now.. Bobbi
Watch the front swoop through and choose who you like best.. Dean or Bing...

http://www.intellicast.com/National/Radar/Current.aspx?animate=true



Friday, December 14, 2007

Neil Frank Announces Retirement!



Biggest news I can think of and worthy of reporting.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5377951.html

The man who inspired so many in Miami during his early days of being Director of the National Hurricane Center.

Dr. Neil Frank was and will always be to those of us who respected him... the Meteorological Equivalent to Superman! If there was someone looking out for us who was going to protect us, warn us and take care of us.. it was Neil Frank.

We missed him when he left Miami for Houston and I am sure those in Houston will miss him always ...

There is no one like him. He was and is a one and only.

Years ago he showed my brother around the Hurricane Center giving him a tour like you would visiting royalty.. in those days before 911 and Homeland Security and he told my brother that when you see something you want in life.. go after it. Grab a tiger by the tail and you don't let go.

The man has more passion in his soul than most people could even dream about having.

Have a good Shabbos everyone and have a wonderful weekend..

Live Laugh Love.. Bobbi

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Olga Discussion and Quick Thoughts on the NHC Discussion #8

I just wanted to say that I've never seen a discussion so poorly written from a scientific view point as the Tropical Depression OLGA Forecast Discussion #8

I'm sorry but what is going on over there? Too much December Partying? Perhaps a lot of the real scientists are on vacation and not aware that Avila is left running the place and writing some sort of OP ED piece of self-glorification on how he has been lucky enough to downgrade this storm. If it wasn't the NHC I'd giggle. If it was a blog it would be cute. If it was a post on Hurricane City or FLhurricane or EVEN maybe, perhaps even better at Storm2K... it would be a cute comment but this is the NHC and it is supposed to be a scientific explanation from a meteorological perspective of what is happening with the tropical entity known as OLGA.. not some fluffy piece on how the sharp shooter Avila has personally added another storm head to his mantel piece. What is he shooting deer? He pat himself on the back so hard he is probably still wheezing. This is not Discussion worthy of the NHC and it has to be a real low point for him... tell it to the fruit guy at Publix, don't tell it to me in a Discussion. Explain to me what happen... as Jim does at Hurricane City.

The thought that Avila is writing this drivel over there and getting paid for it is sort of like pondering on how many millions the Miami Dolphin players are getting paid to lose and piss away their season..

Really, an all time low. I can say this. It's a blog. Heck, it's my blog.

When I go to the NHC and read their Discussion I expect to get quality... not something that reads like an entry in his own personal diary..


I quote from the rambling diary like entry Avila posted:

"ONCE AGAIN...I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TERMINATE ANOTHER TROPICAL
CYCLONE THIS SEASON
. SATELLITE IMAGES AND RADAR FROM PILON CUBA
SHOW THAT THE CENTER OF THE DEPRESSION IS BECOMING LESS DEFINED.
THE LOW-LEVEL CIRCULATION IS STILL ESTABLISHED...BUT THERE HAS NOT
BEEN ANY SIGNIFICANT PERSISTENT CONVECTION FOR ABOUT 12 HOURS OR
SO. THE CYCLONE IS INITIALIZED AS A 25-KNOT TROPICAL DEPRESSION BUT
FORECAST TO BECOME A REMNANT LOW VERY SOON...PERHAPS AS WE SPEAK."


You want to really see what happened to Olga and explained by a REAL expert??

Listen to Jim at HurricaneCity..
Great explanation and discussion on Olga
http://www.hurricanecity.com/update.htm

Great view of Olga and her "demise" and the rainfall that is going to mix with a frontal boundary (smile, smile) and pull north up over my little house most likely, perhaps as you are reading in a day or so... and rain itself out or help energize the front a bit.

Read all over the web about the path of destruction that was left behind and the rising death toll and devastating dollar losses across an already economically poor region. Olga was some storm..... even if briefly and the NHC relied too heavily on the GFDL ensemble package again.. but hey, we are still only learning why storms behave the way they do.

It's a learning process. We keep learning.

Be well... take care and really... can we get some quality control at the NHC?

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT2+shtml/122027.shtml

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Tropical Storm OLGA Seriously, models show RECURVATURE...


So, seriously gang. Olga (if she hangs in there) has the potential to be a real annoying storm.

The always great Skeetobite has the track on the page with all the info and well.. you just have to see if she can hang in there long enough to be a problem .. later in the forecast period.
http://www.skeetobiteweather.com/picservice.asp?t=m&m=17

Easy to write off the storm. Easy to laugh it off.

But, the need to be practical and cautious out weighs the road of denial.

This storm has brought a massive, unfolding tragedy in the Dominican Republic where 7 people are known dead (that will climb) and many did not take it seriously .. despite Government warnings to do so... because it was so late and post-season.

From aol:
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/freak-tropical-storm-batters-caribbean/20071212064009990001

more links to story.. just updated to 8 and will keep climbing:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-12-12-voa46.cfm

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2007/12/olga_still_on_a_westward_track.html

She may weaken but she can strengthen again too and there is a lot of latent heat down there. The further west she goes the more she has a chance to get out over warm water enough to pull together some more. She bears watching. All joking aside, this storm has been a real tragedy maker so far and with long range models showing her looping, stalling and catching a NE bound frontal passage ticket out of the Caribbean.. I wouldn't turn by back on her completely!

Just in case... better safe than sorry ..

Olga and Santa Claus



Olga, who was named in error by the way... after a spell checker asked if Zola was supposed to be OLGA and her daddy who was busy playing online poker just hit "change" without thinking...

Well.. Olga is all grown up now and she is a Tropical Storm on a mission.. she is cruising fast.. possibly all the way to Mexico..

"OLGA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 23 MPH...37 KM/HR...AND THIS
MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 40 MPH...65 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS." (hot off the presses... 1pm!!)



To understand how we got you have to understand Olga..you have to understand her history, her life..what drives her..


Well you see... Olga got in a fight with ole Saint Nick and ran away from the toymaker's studio. She was supposed to be busy this year working on this dorky little toy car driven by a Bee. Barry Bee. I mean really, are there no words for how low you can go?




So, after a loud cellphone arguement with Santa who had gone noodle fishing in Oklahoma while leaving her and Mrs. Claus in charge of the shop she decided this really stunk. I mean a real all time low in her life. What was so important about Oklahoma that Nicholas HAD to go and take care of some noodle all by himself as opposed to taking care of the toy shop like a good Santa should.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ihJ8EXRZ0&feature=related
(you GOT to see THIS)

It's not that she didn't like bees, she just didn't think they drive toy cars nor did she think any child would really play with the toy more longer than 30 seconds before playing on the computer or texting ten of their closest friends.

She just thought there had to be more to life than Santas Workshop in the Artic Circle. I mean.. she thought maybe one day Superman would fly by, fly down and stop to talk but nooooooooo noooooooooo Superman had to fly fast and do nothing more than send down a flirtateous wink on his way to his Ivory Ice Castle and she was alone with Mrs. Claus who did nothing but bake peanut butter cookies waiting for Santa to get his butt back from Oklahoma.

While watching an old movie on the DVD player while putting little Barry Bee into his little zoom zoom car she got an idea. There she was watching Sweet Charity when...........it hit her, she HAD to GET OUT and DO something with her life.... An ephinany... a moment... and she remembered that old saying to Seize the Day and she decided to get up, get out and go find her life...



Something better, somewhere warmer ..somewhere down in the Tropics. She heard all about Global Warming and she wasn't scared off by the simple little fact that the Hurricane Season was over.. no Sireee, she knew a warmer winter was waiting somewhere and she decided there was no time like this time... to get up and go off in search of love, adventure and well... she'd figure it out eventually...

So................
She got up.. and she is currently kicking up her heels down in the Caribbean going westbound.. in search of her own personal, particular harbor...

When she finds it.. she'll text someone at the NHC and Santa back in Oklahoma and tell Mrs. Claus where to send the peanut butter cookies!!



if you want a list of things that Olga wants.. she has sent the list to Bobbi and you may email her, ask her...and well... a girls got to do what a girls got to do..



:)

Happy Holidays Olga!

(I told you I was bored and restless, you never believe me... start believin'! and no NOT doing the Journey thing again :P)

Besos Bobbi
Loop de Loop:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/flt/t1/loop-vis.html

Very Suggestive Water Vapor Loop... Does Olga Recurve?

That's the question here. Seriously, something is going on and even on the morning local weather they were talking "cold front" and how it is "inching it's way closer" and look at this water vapor.

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_wv_east_loop-12.html

The morning discussion is a long rambling, well written but hard to buy explanation on how...

either it stays to the south and because of a lot of Caribbean heat it could become a hurricane ...and why that isn't likely

or.. it pulls to the north of the track but they refuse to use the R word yet (recurvature) and go with the models they don't like as much as the southern ones and well.. it goes right of track (look at the water vapor loop) and if that happens, well they don't really want to go there..

or it could just die out... (i think they are hoping for this, word had it that they called Matt at the NWS and begged him to go light some candles in the grotto at St. Marys for it to just DIE ...fast, before they have to start dealing with it here

I'd watch the various local forecasts written by the various local NWS offices for hints at what is blowing in the wind

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_wv_east_loop-12.html

Sorry.... but I see eventual recurvature and I wouldn't rely in December on the GFDL and it's click of model friends who are more likely sunbathing at the Delano on South Beach that predicting December weather... if you get my drift here.

I'd go with globals and watch the fronts because you have to stay in the present. This is not July it's December gang.. I know, we have decorations up on Lincoln Road.
Nice strong breeze yesterday, stronger today... seems to me the answer here is blowin in the wind

Besos from Miami... more later

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_wv_east_loop-12.html

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Presenting... TROPICAL STORM OLGA

Olga goes Tropical!

She was last seen on the beach in the Dominican Republic.. Go Go Olga!

Generally West according to Avila at around 13mph, talk about vague.

More later...wild, really.

How is this not Tropical? And..where did they get that name from??

Excuse me?

Look at it on visible, looking real tropical to me..

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/flt/t1/loop-vis.html

loop it.. check it out for yourself..

Beautiful.

Olga is a Tropical Name.. ummmmnnnnn

So... I got to thinking... supposedly these new lists were made up from names common to the tropics......

Okay.. so we think of Olga like this.. pretty girl, found on the web.. very Olga..



No... can't be...
I looked some more.....

No..that would be a June Storm..


I put in cute spanish words, Carib stuff... Tropics..



getting closer..



Maybe... a few singers..



Olga Picasso????????





Fess up guys.. it just isn't a Tropical Name...

Russian maybe.. This is what you get for playing with Mother Nature and pretending Olga is a good old Jamaican Name.. you get

Olga in December while Ice Storms ravage the Country..

What is in a name afterall?

The girl's name Olga \o-lga, ol-ga\ is pronounced OL-gah. It is of Old Norse and Scandinavian origin, and its meaning is "blessed, holy; successful". The Russian form of Helga. Popular in the Russian imperial family. The Russian Saint Olga was a princess from Kiev and a 10th-century Christian convert. Gymnast Olga Korbut.

Olga has 5 variant forms: Elga

Oh Olga Doing Puerto Rico


Oh Olga, what you do to me. Got some song in my mind but can't remember it now. Will find it later and add it in.

Really does look tropical this morning. Heard Miami may get the tail end of some rain from Olga later in the forecast period.



If it wasn't for the lack of leaves on the Frangipangi Trees.. you wouldn't know it was winter in South Florida. The Poincinana across from where my Great Grandparents lived on Whitehead Street.. .... ... is STILL in bloom!!

Besos Bobbi

Okay.. song is Deliah but well... you know, reminds me of it ;)

Monday, December 10, 2007

Tropical Storm OLGA Forms...



Just got back from Key West and in time for the formation of the Tropical or Subtropical Storm Olga.

Amazing, really... Jim talked to me about this the other day.. I wasn't even watching.

Well, I've been busy.

I'm watching now...

Have to unpack and go through 100 emails with pictures and read some sites and info and loop some loops.

Amazing December, thank you Beven lol.

Mind you that track can change as more info is found and as long as the center stays where they say it is and doesn't jump.

Happy Tropical Chanukah!
Bobbizzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Special Tropical Disturbance Statement Issued - Really, This is Not A Test..

A special tropical disturbance statement was issued today.

I suppose it's a long shot but it's got a good spin, good shape and in an area where it can develop a bit so.. keep watching.

Not home and don't want to post much here but worth mentioning.

Key West is balmy tonight, a cool breeze but warmer than a normal December. Quite beautiful, a jillion stars in the sky visible from the patio out by the pool. Unreal.
Here celebrating Chanukah and the 12th Anniversary of Temple Bnai Zion..a synagogue that my great-grandparents helped start once upon the time a long time ago. Amazing to think that 120 years later I am lighting candles on a menorah in the same spot on the planet where my great, grandmother did in the 1880s on a small island just north of Havana in a time that the city of Miami did not even exist.

As for the tropics... Franklin says it's a possibility..
Text of Statement below:

SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENT
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
500 PM EST SUN DEC 9 2007

AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAS BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED
TODAY ABOUT 550 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST OF PUERTO RICO...IN
ASSOCIATION WITH A SHARP SURFACE TROUGH AND A LARGE UPPER-LEVEL
LOW. THE SYSTEM IS ALREADY PRODUCING GALE FORCE WINDS...MAINLY TO
THE NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF THE MAIN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS. THE
SURFACE TROUGH HAS BEEN MOVING WESTWARD AT ABOUT 15 TO 20 MPH...AND
THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT DAY OR
TWO. WATER TEMPERATURES ARE STILL WARM ENOUGH IN THIS AREA TO
SUPPORT TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION...AND UPPER-LEVEL WINDS ARE NOT
ESPECIALLY PROHIBITIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT. THIS SYSTEM HAS THE
POTENTIAL TO BECOME A TROPICAL OR SUBTROPICAL STORM DURING THE NEXT
24 HOURS...AND INTERESTS IN THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS...THE
VIRGIN ISLANDS...PUERTO RICO...HISPANIOLA...AND THE EASTERN BAHAMAS
SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THIS SYSTEM.

FURTHER SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AS
NECESSARY. FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...CONSULT
STATEMENTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

Happy Chanukah Tebow and Gator Fans Everywhere



Okay...there is an interesting pattern of warmth in the Carib but not much will probably come from it. If you just look at one snap shot you could think .. "go little wave in the Atlantic!" and then.......remember it's December.

Then again.. Hurricane Alice formed in December on my birthday so.... in a year where the only unbeaten team is Hawaii in College football.. anything can happen I suppose.

So... Congratulations to my friends in the Gator Nation on the big award going to Tebow.. wow, big, very cool.

As for Chanukah.. don't forget to light your menorahs!

As for me.. I'm out of here. Taking a few days to decompose, relax and write. Maybe on a Greyhound Bus I can find my mind again.

Love and Kisses,

Besos and Shalom

Bobbi

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Hurricane Season 2008 Buried By the Miami Herald

No.. not talking about an obituary. Talking about an article about predictions for next year's Atlantic Hurricane Season.

There it was.. buried in the back, small article. No one is listening anymore.
Between the predictions being a bit off and the hurricane season of 2005 being a distant memory... priorities are such that during Art Basel Week in Miami.. no one wants to remind anyone visiting maybe that Miami is in Hurricane Country.

Oddly, but understandably, an article on someone having a link to a site where you could duplicate the parking permits on Miami Beach during Art Basel week when the city raises all its prices for the tourists and the locals are left in left field paying twice as much money and or trying to find a place to park which is a feat more impossible than the Dolphins making the playoffs....That Makes Page ONE!
There it was in the Miami Herald today, front page... Miami Beach Fake Parking Permits discovered. Don't worry the City of Miami Beach is working feverishly to re design them so that they will he harder to copy.

What the Herald doesn't explain is that Spellman works out of the old Bank Bldg on Lincoln and Washington and he along with others on Miami Beach are being raped by the consortium that owns the City Parking and Beach Towing conglomerate. Anyone working on Miami Beach this week that did not just throw in the towel or try walking across the causeway needs a reality check and it should not be allowed that the City Lots can raise prices on tourists on a random basis for which ever events they deem worthy. When stores on Lincoln Road or Duval Street in Key West try to do that with their Tee Shirts Stores the City cries foul and threatens them with breaking all sorts of consumer, business laws.. something about Price Gouging... but seems the City of Miami Beach can hike up the prices for their regular parking lot by double if not more when they want for big ticket events. Spellman makes his point if you ask me and the Herald knows a good story when they see one... Condi and Iran was buried back on 8A.

It's one thing for a City Lot to be full, but it's another thing that they can smell the tourists coming and raise their rates faster than a Gypsy trying to tell fortunes at a Carnival when they see a good mark..er customer passing by.

Why is okay for the City to cheat the taxpayers and raise their regular price?
I know.. Y is a crooked letter.. so is the towing racket on Miami Beach...........

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/336755.html

By the way... a good blog, the Herald linked to it .. more fun than the Herald article.
http://stuckonthepalmetto.blogspot.com/2007/12/park-miami-beach-ruh-roh.html


As for buried article on the 2008 Hurricane Season.. here is the link/story below.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_dade/story/336509.html

Active '08 hurricane season in forecast
Posted on Sat, Dec. 08, 2007Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY MARTIN MERZER
mmerzer@MiamiHerald.com
Unbowed by recent setbacks, a team of university forecasters Friday predicted that next year's hurricane season -- still nearly six months away -- would produce slightly above-average storm activity.

The team from Colorado State University, formed decades ago by scientist William Gray, is expecting 13 named storms that grow into seven hurricanes, including three intense hurricanes, with winds above 110 mph.

The long-term averages are 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two intense hurricanes. The season begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

For the last three years, the full-season forecasts issued by the CSU team and by a separate group of government forecasters have been well off the mark.

Some experts view the forecasts with considerable caution and they worry that the errors could undermine the credibility of the generally more accurate forecasts of actual hurricanes and tropical storms.

Nevertheless, some elements of the media devote considerable attention to the full-season forecasts.

On Friday, for instance, The Associated Press published a bulletin-like ''NewsAlert'' with the first word about the CSU forecast, followed by a story labeled as ``Urgent.''
Active '08 hurricane season in forecast
Posted on Sat, Dec. 08, 2007Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY MARTIN MERZER
mmerzer@MiamiHerald.com
Unbowed by recent setbacks, a team of university forecasters Friday predicted that next year's hurricane season -- still nearly six months away -- would produce slightly above-average storm activity.

The team from Colorado State University, formed decades ago by scientist William Gray, is expecting 13 named storms that grow into seven hurricanes, including three intense hurricanes, with winds above 110 mph.

The long-term averages are 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two intense hurricanes. The season begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

For the last three years, the full-season forecasts issued by the CSU team and by a separate group of government forecasters have been well off the mark.

Some experts view the forecasts with considerable caution and they worry that the errors could undermine the credibility of the generally more accurate forecasts of actual hurricanes and tropical storms.

Nevertheless, some elements of the media devote considerable attention to the full-season forecasts.

On Friday, for instance, The Associated Press published a bulletin-like ''NewsAlert'' with the first word about the CSU forecast, followed by a story labeled as ``Urgent.''

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Winter Weather and Chanukah

or Hanukah or however it's written in english....

Short post here on the reality of winter hitting in the NW an area that we don't usually hear about unlike the Northeast or the Great Lakes.

Winter hit with a vengenance this year... up north at least.
Birds chirping here and the slightest chill in the air in Miami.

Getting snow reports from kids in Iowa and Ottawa... they are fighting over bragging rights.

Glad they aren't here:
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_120407WX_grays_harbor_KS.692eaaa4.html

Otherwise.. first day of Chanukah!

Find light, be happy!

Besos Bobbi

Monday, December 03, 2007

Where's Winter? Too Warm in Miami

I'm here.. pondering the biggies of life.. how seagulls can see, why bumblebees fly and wondering where winter is..

Trying to understand why good people die and Castro goes on forever, why why why???

Drinking Cuban Coffee without sugar and even that doesn't wake me up.

Lost and lonely, or whatever that song is from the Eagles..

Enjoy... I'm okay... going for a walk, after I finish my project at work. HAHA... get it, get it.. I HAVE A PROJECT lol... used to get so sick of hearing about their projects..



I want winter!
(have really great boots to wear...)