Tropical Update for July 6th

So far, things look pretty calm in the Atlantic Basin and people are still making noise about the higher than normal temperatures in this area since earlier this spring. We'll see if things get as bad as has been forecast. Most people say it will rival 2005.


Here is the most recent Graphical Outlook for the Atlantic basin from the National Hurricane Center...







There are two areas of concern, and neither look like they will develop into anything approaching tropical storm strength.  The tropical weather outlook follows:

ZCZC MIATWOAT ALL
TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
200 AM EDT TUE JUL 6 2010


FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC...CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO...


1. A SMALL LOW PRESSURE AREA LOCATED NEAR THE SOUTH-CENTRAL LOUISIANA 
COAST IS PRODUCING A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AS IT MOVES
WEST-NORTHWESTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH. DEVELOPMENT OF THIS LOW IS NOT
EXPECTED DUE TO THE INTERACTION WITH LAND AND THERE IS A LOW
CHANCE...NEAR 0 PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL
CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS
POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN LOUISIANA TODAY.


2. A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE NEAR THE EAST COAST OF THE YUCATAN
PENINSULA CONTINUES TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD BUT DISORGANIZED
CLOUDINESS...SHOWERS...AND THUNDERSTORMS. A TROPICAL DEPRESSION
COULD STILL FORM OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS THIS SYSTEM MOVES
NORTHWESTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH. THERE IS A MEDIUM CHANCE...30
PERCENT...OF THIS SYSTEM BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS. REGARDLESS OF DEVELOPMENT...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA
DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO.


ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.


$$
FORECASTER PASCH

Weekly Hurricane Outlook with Mark Suddoth [July 6th Edition]


Now we turn to Mark Suddoth for his take on the data...









For more information on Mark's activites, check out the following links:






Hurricane Track


Ustream Feed


Twitter


Premium Services






That's all I have for today. It looks like the next couple of weeks should be okay...but don't take that for granted. Make it a habit to at least daily check out the tropical weather conditions. Sometimes, things change quicker than expected.


The time to prepare for Tropical Storms is before they hit. Well before they hit, not just in the week before one comes ashore. A good place to get started on preparing for a storm is the National Hurricane Center's Preparedness Page.


Even people in my area of the Appalachian Mountains should make preparations for disaster, most specifically for flooding or landslides.

Read More

NC General Assembly 07-06-2010 Legislative Calender

This is the legislative calender for today in the North Carolina General Assembly. Note the first item on the agenda...it seems like the legislature of our state is using the 'crisis' in the gulf to maximize their advantage. Read the bill at the link below or at the bottom of this post. 


Also this week, I am adding a new feature to the beginning of each week. The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners has been releasing a video recap of the previous week's legislative activities as it relates to local government in "This Week at the General Assembly". I've embedded this past Friday's episode below the legislative calender.

9:00 - 11:00 AM	Judiciary II (Senate) Oil Spill Liability, Response, & Preparedness (S836) Taxpayer Optimization Act. (H1377) Committee Hearing: Receipt and consideration of information related to Yadkin River in and near Stanly County	643 LB
9:00 AM	Finance (House) Drivers Licenses Change Expir./8 yrs to 65 . (S181) Greensboro/High Point Boundary Swap. (S1361) Planning & Zoning in Forsyth County. (S1435) Durham Stormwater Facilities Assessments. (S1446)	544 LOB
9:30 AM	Sen. Phil Berger	Press Room LB
10:00 AM	Judiciary I (Senate) Chapter 50B Fee Clarification. (H1874) Safer Streets/DNA Initiatives. (S1383)	1027 LB
10:00 AM	Judiciary II (House) Special Needs/Pooled Trusts/Medicaid Reimbur. (S765)	421 LOB
10:00 AM	Judiciary I (House) Honor Wishes of Members of Military/Remains. (H76) Courts-Martial Amendments. (H1412) General Statutes Comm. Technical Corrections. (H1740)	1228 LB
10:00 AM	Judiciary III (House) Carolina Beach Harbor. (H2065) Clarification of Nuisance Abatement Laws. (S372)	1425 LB
11:00 AM	Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources (Senate) Agenda to be announced	544 LOB
12:00 NOON	State and Local Government (Senate) Watauga/Sunday Bow Hunting Exemption. (H1696) Brunswick Co. Economic Dev. Comm. Membership. (H1920) Wake Email Address Lists/Electronic Access. (H1921)	1124 LB
12:00 NOON	Transportation (House) Street Construction/Developer Responsibility. (S761) Highway Patrol Motor Carrier Fines/Local Fees. (S1214) Goldsboro-Wayne Municipal Airport/Changes. (S1445)	1228 LB
1:00 PM	Session Convenes (Senate)	Senate Chamber
1:00 PM	Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House) Honor NCCU's 100th Anniversary. (H1407) Honor Jimmy Reese Lowry. (H2080) Albemarle Electric System's 100th Anniversary. (H2081)	421 LOB
2:00 PM	Session Convenes (House)	House Chamber

Visit the website for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners for more information.



S836v5 Oil Spill Liability

Read More

Independence Day as Celebrated in the Macon County Veterans Memorial Recreation Park

Here are a couple of videos to give a glimpse of how my fellow Maconians and their guests celebrated our Independence from Great Britain. I think that I live in the greatest place anywhere, and here's part of the reason why...





A day in the park





Excerpts from the Fireworks Display




Previously:


The 2010 Independence Day Parade in Franklin, NC

Read More

The 2010 Independence Day Parade in Franklin, NC

Independence Day was observed on Saturday, July 3, in Franklin, and here is a brief photo and video essay on what I saw...

2010 Independence Day Parade in Franklin, NC from Thunder Pig on Vimeo.

The parade was fun (as always), and I enjoyed spending the morning downtown watching the parade and seeing friends and the people I grew up with. Franklin is one of those special places that I hope never gets the urge to become a larger town...

Read More

Chicago City Council Passes New Handgun Restrictions Only 4 Days After Previous Restrictions Struck Down By Supreme Court

Barely four days after the Supreme Court affirmed the right of Chicagoans to keep and bear arms in defense of their families and property, the city council of Chicago has passed a new draconian set of Daley handgun restrictions. Perhaps I should add Mayor Daley and the 45 members of the Chicago City Council to the Gun Control Advocates Hall of Fame pictured above.


Mayor Daley had been prepared to have his unconstitutional restrictions overturned, according to this article in the Chicago Tribune.


Read more about it...

Four days after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted Chicago’s longtime handgun ban, the City Council on Friday enacted a whole new set of gun-control measures.


Alderman voted 45-0 in favor even as some of them acknowledged how little the restrictions would do to quell violent crime.


The rush job is aimed at having a new set of established handgun restrictions in place before a lower court enters a final order to formally strike down the city’s gun ban.


The ordinance “places reasonable regulations regarding who should and should not be able to possess a handgun in their home for self-defense,” Mayor Richard Daley said after the special council meeting. “With this law, we're supporting adults who legitimately want a gun in their home for self-defense. But at the same time, we're trying to keep guns out of the hands of gang bangers and drug dealers who only want to terrorize our communities.”


Several aldermen, however, said the ordinance is more likely to affect responsible, law-abiding gun owners than the thugs causing mayhem on hot weekend nights.


“You cannot legislate criminals, they are going to be criminals no matter what,” said Ald. Ed Smith, 28th. “And the people who intend to do crime, they are going to do it in whatever manner they can. They are going to get a gun wherever they can. And they are going to use it. And they are not going to register their gun.”


After making a similar acknowledgement, Ald. Deborah Graham, 29th, issued a plea. “I also would encourage gang bangers who get those guns unlawfully to stop getting them unlawfully,” she said. “We’re going to increase the penalties to make sure our communities are safe.”


When the new law takes effect in 10 days, people who want to keep a handgun in their homes and be on the right side of the law will have to obtain Chicago firearm permits. To get one, they must take firearms training and not have convictions for a violent crime, unlawful use of a firearm or two or more charges of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.


Each weapon would have to be registered, and those with permits will only be able to register one weapon each month.
Guns could only be kept in the home, and each per permit holder in the home could only have one handgun in readily operable condition at a time.

Source: Chicago Tribune


Will the last American who believes in the Second Amendment turn the lights out in Chicago when they leave?


Previously:

Supreme Court Affirms Second Amendment

Read More

NC General Assembly 07-02-2010 Legislative Calender

The North Carolina Senate will be convening a rare Friday session today...

10:00 AM

Session Convenes (Senate) [Listen Live]

Senate Chamber

Read More

Cupola Removed from Old Jackson County Courthouse

I spent this morning watching the removal of the cupola from the iconic old courthouse that overlooks Main Street in Sylva, NC. Here are some photos and video of that from my perspective...

















The Sylva Herald Blog also has some photos of the cupola removal.


**update**


Ruminations from the Distant Hills has also posted some photos of the cupola removal.

Read More

Jackson County Jaunt Ivia Google Earth Flight Simulator

See my previous flight in my Google Earth Flight Simulator Adventures.


I've always loved maps ever since I could remember. The more detailed the map, the better. I used to skip lunch one day a week (back when it was 85 cents) and when I had enough to buy another topographic quadrangle from the power company [Nantahala Power & Light...now long since absorbed by Duke Energy], I'd drop by and get one. They were something like $3 at the time. They are $10 to $15 now, depending on where you get them. Of course, you can get digital copies of them for free if you do a little googling around. (I've got the digital set for all of western North Carolina, a good part of north Georgia and eastern Tennessee)


Anyhow, I wrote all of that to get the point across that I've always been interested in seeing where places were in relation to other places, and interested in seeing the geography. I spent untold hours pouring over the maps, even using tracing paper to see what lakes would look like if they were filled to higher levels, or what a new dam would look like if placed in such and such valley or what the skyline would look like from such and such place.


Now, with tools such as Google Earth, we can see a much closer approximation of what things actually look like from above (or even on the ground), and the Flight Simulator inside Google Earth is an excellent visualization tool that can help us understand and synthesize an even greater understanding of the world around us....and allow us to go places we'll never get to see in person.

Read More

NC General Assembly 07-01-2010 Legislative Calender Copy of 2010-11 Budget as Ratified

It's the start of a whole new fiscal year of shenanigans from the critters in the North Carolina General Assembly.


The budget for the 2010-11 Fiscal Year has been ratified by the General Assembly. Here is a copy of it:


Senate Bill 897v8 NC FY 2010-11 Budget as Ratified




Related:


Bill History
HTML Version






...and here's what they have planned for today...

9:00 AM	Judiciary I (Senate) Electioneering at Early Voting Sites. (H748) File Lis Pendens for Certain Erosion Actions. (H789) Gov't Ethics and Campaign Reform Act of 2010. (H961) Adult Day Care Criminal Record Check Process. (H1703) Safer Streets/DNA Initiatives. (S1383)	1027 LB
9:00 AM	Judiciary II (Senate) Ban Mobile Phone Use While Driving. (S12) General Statutes Comm. Technical Corrections. (S1165) Special Care Dentistry Collaboration. (H144) Amend Conditions of Probation. (H859) Local Delinquent Sewer Fees. (H1736) Domestic Violence Training for Judges. (H1762)	1124 LB
9:00 AM	Rules and Operations of the Senate (Senate) Use of 911 Funds. (H1691) Designate Psoriasis Awareness Month. (H1115)	414 LOB
9:00 AM	Finance (House) Collect DNA Sample on Arrest. (H1403) Catawba Energy Efficiency/Renewable. (H1814) Regulate Towing From Private Lots. (S1136) Construction of Wills and Trusts. (S1176) Local Gov't. Other Post-Employment Benefits. (S1212) Economic Incentives Alignment & Changes. (S1215) Expand Cabarrus County Tourism Authority. (S1357) Kannapolis/Concord Doughnut Hole Annexations. (S1444)	544 LOB
10:00 AM	Judiciary I (House) General Statutes Comm. Technical Corrections. (H1740) Expand Access/Confidential Intermediaries. (H1463) Wilmington Civil Service Rewrite. (S430) Prohibit Medicaid Fraud/Kickbacks. (S675) 2009 Omnibus Campaign Finance Law Changes. (S716) Enable Registers of Deeds to Protect Identity. (S900)	1228 LB
10:00 AM	Judiciary III (House) Carolina Beach Harbor. (H2065)	1425 LB
10:00 AM	Judiciary II (House) Health Choice Program Review Process (H382) Nonprofit Grants/Increase Accountability. (H1852) Winston-Salem/Council Meetings. (H2050) Winston-Salem/Informal Bids Electronically. (H2059) Amend Cemetery Act. (S18)	421 LOB
11:00 AM	Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources (Senate) Clean Marinas Amendments. (H1708) Suspension and Revocation of Fishing Licenses. (H1714) ENR Reports Consolidation 2010. (H1802) Coyote Controls. (H1824)	544 LOB

Read More