JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Brian Austin Whitney Blog Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

Hi Folks,

We had a giant storm today and now the temperature is plummeting and will be well below freezing every night the rest of the week. Ack. There was one lighting/thunder hit that was the most powerful and intense I have ever experienced. It shook our entire house including the cement foundation in our basement and the strike wasn't even close by. I saw the flash of lightning and then nothing for a good 7-10 seconds and then BOOM. And it just kept going. In fact, we thought perhaps a plane had crashed or a major explosion was happening because we got up and went outside and it was STILL rumbling... weird.

We were watching on the discover channel a series called Planet Earth. It has some of the most amazing footage I have ever seen. Not just is subject but in quality as well. Every episode has had things that simply make your mouth drop open in awe. If you have the discover channel (or better on demand) check it out. You'll be blown away.

Is anyone out there looking forward to seeing Grind House? I am... it's diametrically opposite of Meet The Robinsons (which is a GREAT film for families) but I love variety.

I am heading to Florida to visit family for a couple days next week, so at least we'll get away from the cold then.

Brian

Well,
I saw that storm on Fox. It was about as black as you can get. In Florida, as well as here the pollen is out in full force. But the weather is nice. Supposed to get a bit cool for a few days.

The pollen here in Tampa Bay is really bad right now too.
Warm weather and no rain!

Yep, freeze tonight (4/4/07) here along the Ohio River in Portsmouth, southern Ohio, 30 degrees, snow called for Thursday morn. This is one of those regular cold snaps the Earthmen knew about, because they lived and worked on the Earth instead of clicking keyboards and shuffling papers in climate controlled boxes. They had names like Blackberry Winter, Dogwood Winter, Indian Summer, Squaw Winter, Johnathan Winters, Elke Sommer. No, wait. They had to know them to protect their crops, because life depended on it.

Keep yer eyes peeled in Floridy. Ma Nature's getting cantankerous and you never know if she's going to be like she was last time you saw her or will do something totally unexpected. (But please don't tell her I said that.)

Planet Earth on Discovery Channel has been quite interesting. The narrator sometimes makes statements that are more subjective than objective but mostly she just narrates. The overview that we are sharing this planet with so many other life forms makes me wonder just how much of it is ours. We lay out strips of concrete that just lay there and wait for us to use them as highways, depriving nearly every other creature, plant or animal, of any use of that piece of land. We cut down whole forests, hundreds of square miles, disrupting the use of all those other creatures.
It's kind of like, if you came home and found a big plate of brownies on the table, how many are yours? And how many should you leave for the rest of the family? Because that's what we are, with our kindred plants and animals, we're family. You can't separate health of the planet from your own health.
Brother bee, right now, is suffering Colony Collapse Disorder, occurring in 22 states, where the bees stop coming back to the hive, and, eventually, the Queen comes out, and the remaining bees evacuate, leaving their brood, the honey, and pollen food stores behind. Something's really wrong. Al Einstein said, "If the bees go extinct, man will be extinct in about four years." Problem solved?

Brian,
A few weeks ago you sang the praises of google earth. I downloaded it and checked it out. Yesterday I was checking weather.com to see if I could get my jog in before it rained. The radar overlayed on google earth and it was the coolest radar map I ever saw. It happend be exactly the time Indy was getting doused. As I looked at the street level map through the opaque red color indicating heavy rain I wondered what conditions on the ground were like.

I haven't seen that but it sounds cool. I will have to check it out! It's BRRRRR cold here right now. I am guessing that is heading your way!

Brian

By the way, here's a pic I took last night after the storm. There's some more in the new Visual Arts/Photography Section of JPF. Check it out for lots of cool photos and paintings.

Don't know where your going to in Fl.,but here on the southwest coast it is dry and very warm (almost hot). We are in a drought and some of the politicos are talking about more water restrictions.I just heard today that we might get some rain soon with an approaching cold front, so we won't have a totally hot easter, maybe in the 50's in the morning. Enjoy your stay in the shoeshine... I mean sunshine state. Ben

I'll be in the Tampa area. I won't make it quite that far down.

Brian

Oh my goodness!! That's an incredibly beautiful picture!
Didn't get that storm here in RI ,,,but it has been and is still rediculously cold ... Crazy Weather If I hear one person complain about a hot August night this year I'm gonna slap 'em aside the head
Joanne

Yep, that's a "good" pic Brian. It already brings the seed of a song---
"The Light Through The Trees"
Reveals heaven to me
The glory of God
And a world yet to be

Well, it could go in "another" direction too <G>
Wy

I'm a day late on this one But,
YUK!!!! it's been snowing here since yesterday afternoon. And the forcast shows snow til Monday.
I hate winter. Got to talk my wife into moving south.
Somewhere between Nashville and Monteagle.
I have family in the Monteagle area.

So *that*'s what happened to our winter. Dang Easterners took it. Temperatures soared into the blistering 70s yesterday here in coastal Oregon (from the mid-20s the night before) and are supposed to stay there for a while. Might even see the sun today (a rare sight in coastal Oregon).

I guess if I'm going to see any more snow, I'll have to go visit somebody. Y'think it'll still be there come Pineyfest?

The Artist Formerly Known as Moonless Joe

Joe,

For some reason I always thought your were way inland in Oregon. Just checked out my wall maps and see you on the coast.. next time I come through I am staying at your house! ; )

Brian