Lousy Smarch Weather

[On location in Laurel, Maryland]
What is today, May 12th? That may be what the calendar says, but it definitely didn’t feel that way. It was chilly (upper 30s-low 40s) all day long, and this morning there was even a half inch of snow on people’s cars in State College, at least down around the Orchard Park area. Snow! In mid-May! In central Pennsylvania! It’s not like this is Minnesota. When I first heard about the snow, I was pretty disappointed that I had missed it because of sleeping in a bit. But it was definitely a raw, nasty, rainy “spring” day outside. At least the next couple days should be more spring-like.
So what am I doing in Laurel, Maryland? Walter & I drove down here today for the National Weather Service (NWS) / National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Ensemble Users Workshop, which runs from tomorrow through Thursday here at the Holiday Inn. We were at the last one they had back in Nov 2006, at the same hotel actually. So we already had the area all scouted out for good places to eat. That’s probably the most important part of going to any conference, in my opinion. 🙂 But hopefully this time around I’ll be able to understand and contribute quite a bit more than a year and a half ago, when I was still a n00b to ensemble forecasting. Also, neither Walter nor I have to present anything at this workshop. It’s much more relaxing to be at a conference when your only job is to be a sponge for information and take some notes on what’s being talked about.
Yesterday was not the most pleasant day for a picnic, but we had our spring picnic anyway for Penn State Christian Grads. This time we didn’t have the picnic at one of the parks in State College itself (like Holmes-Foster), but instead up at Spring Creek Park up by Houserville, largely because it’s one of the few places around here that has flowing water (or water at all), with the pavilions right next to a cool covered bridge too. Anyway, we managed to get all the grilling in before the cold drizzle really got going, and it was a good time. I wasn’t crazy like Dan and leap-frogging people though (leap-frogging *standing* people), haha. I definitely think I’d injure myself, and probably the person I was trying to jump over as well, if I tried to do that. After the picnic a bunch of us went over to Tracy’s place to warm up by playing Wii and some board and card games. There was plenty of Guitar Hero played last night. I’m still not great at it, but gradually getting better (up to 80% on medium). I know there’s not necessarily shame in playing on easy, but I’d rather challenge myself and get learn on a tougher (but still mostly manageable) difficulty. It was also fun last Wednesday to play Smash Brothers against people (Tim and Tracy) much closer to my skill level than my undergrad roommates from GAC. It’s much more enjoyable to play games when you actually have a chance to win.
Finally, maybe there’s a presidential candidate I might consider voting for. I’d definitely consider Bob Barr more palatable than John McCain. We’ll see how the campaign shapes up though.
If any of you ever happen to find yourself storm chasing in west Texas, beware of the local cops!
Growing up, I always thought it was cool trying to figure out what shapes or things various clouds resembled. Heck, I still do that. The day might be coming soon when it might not take quite so much imagination to figure out what a cloud looks like. Is there any place safe from corporate advertising?
A friend of mine from undergrad, Nate Lund, was awarded the U.S. Army’s Soldier’s Medal earlier this month in Minneapolis. What did he do to deserve such an honor? Well, when the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed last August in downtown Minneapolis, Nate & his wife Christine rushed to the scene to give medical aid to victims. I’m proud of what they did, and the Christian witness their lives are (and not only in the aftermath of the 35W bridge collapse). Good on ya, Nate! Congrats!