Earth Science Picture of the Day
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/11/undulatus-asperatus-cloud-observed-over-guatemala.html
Dr. Shephard’s WeatherGeeks this week was great, talking about the polar vortex.
@brendanloy had some fantastic scathing tweets about the stupidity that emanated from NY Gov. Cuomo’s mouth after the Buffalo snowstorm.
NOAA’s Environmental Visualization Laboratory has some great tools to play around with.
http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/
The British Antarctic Survey published a study of Antarctic sea ice done via a robotic submarine that used an upward looking sonar
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/press/press_releases/press_release.php?id=2839
Not sure who first put this out on Twitter, but it’s a fantastic photo, I think from the Canary Islands, fog spilling out of an elevated valley
https://twitter.com/NEweatherHQ/status/535873427006304257/photo/1
Skydaver out!
Audio Fog Bank
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Fog Bank, Nov. 17, 2014
Wow, I've fallen behind, and missed a bunch. With no further ado, the Nov. 17 Fog Bank
APOD for Oct. 29 of iridescent clouds over Colorado.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141029.html
Great aurora video at space weather.com
http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=29&month=10&year=2014
ESPOD with a photo of a rainbow taken from aloft
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/11/rainbow-from-aloft.html
Space.com has a photo of the Astronomy picture of the year
http://www.space.com/27197-astronomy-photo-contest-winners.html?adbid=533451340744105984&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856&cmpid=514648_20141115_35646847
Since it's so darn cold this week, I thought I'd close with the website for the National Snow & Ice Data Center
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
Audio Fog Bank
APOD for Oct. 29 of iridescent clouds over Colorado.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141029.html
Great aurora video at space weather.com
http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=29&month=10&year=2014
ESPOD with a photo of a rainbow taken from aloft
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/11/rainbow-from-aloft.html
Space.com has a photo of the Astronomy picture of the year
http://www.space.com/27197-astronomy-photo-contest-winners.html?adbid=533451340744105984&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856&cmpid=514648_20141115_35646847
Since it's so darn cold this week, I thought I'd close with the website for the National Snow & Ice Data Center
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
Audio Fog Bank
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Fog Bank, October 20, 2014
Eric Fisher, Chief Met. for CBS in Boston, has a nice article on technology & tornado identification
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/10/08/why-some-of-the-mystery-is-gone/
Astronomy Picture of the day gets two slots, with a short video of sprite lightning in slow motion.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141013.html
and an Auroral corona picture taken in Norway, from Astronomy Picture of the Day
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141014.html
An oldie, but goodie. From April 25, 2013, NOAA's Weather Ready Nation news on Dual Polarization Radar
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/news/130425_dualpol.html#.VDx4wNR4ru5
I'll close with two links from ESPOD.
ESPOD again with lenticular clouds over the Andes
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/10/lenticular-clouds-over-the-southern-andes.html
ESPOD has a photo of a roll cloud in Brazil
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/10/morning-glory-over-southeastern-brazil.html
Audio Fog Bank
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/10/08/why-some-of-the-mystery-is-gone/
Astronomy Picture of the day gets two slots, with a short video of sprite lightning in slow motion.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141013.html
and an Auroral corona picture taken in Norway, from Astronomy Picture of the Day
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141014.html
An oldie, but goodie. From April 25, 2013, NOAA's Weather Ready Nation news on Dual Polarization Radar
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/news/130425_dualpol.html#.VDx4wNR4ru5
I'll close with two links from ESPOD.
ESPOD again with lenticular clouds over the Andes
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/10/lenticular-clouds-over-the-southern-andes.html
ESPOD has a photo of a roll cloud in Brazil
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/10/morning-glory-over-southeastern-brazil.html
Audio Fog Bank
Fog Bank, October 13, 2014
Jesse Ferrell had a great set of photos of asperatus clouds over NYC
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/weathermatrix/incredible-nyc-asperatus-clouds-this-morning/34907758
CoCoRaHS has a webinar coming up October 23, on atmospheric rivers. The webinar will be recorded and available for later viewing.
http://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=wxtalk
NASA offers a mailing list to get science updates from the ISS lead scientist.
https://lists.nasa.gov/mailman/listinfo/iss-program-science-group
The National Snow & Ice Data Center published their 2014 arctic melt season review
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2014/10/2014-melt-season-in-review/
Spaceweather.com has a very nice gallery of photos of the lunar eclipse
http://spaceweathergallery.com/eclipse_gallery.html
CIMSS_Satellite tweeted a picture of the Blood moon from the GOES East satellite
https://twitter.com/CIMSS_Satellite/status/519918104923881473
Audio for Fog Bank
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Fog Bank, Oct. 6, 2014
I'll start this week with a photo of a fog bank, from Earth Science Picture of the Day
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/10/the-fog-rolls-in.html
Astronomy Picture of the Day with a full circle rainbow
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140930.html
@NOAASatellites tweeted about National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) and the Deep Space Climate Observatory, DSCOVR. The satellite is going out to the earth-sun Lagrange 1 point, about 1 million miles from Earth, and will monitor solar activity.
http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/index.html
Tony Rice commented on pictures of the Milky Way. How about a picture of the Milky Way just before the sun rises over the Sahara, taken from the ISS?
http://www.nasa.gov/content/milky-way-viewed-from-the-international-space-station/#.VCxYQ-fc0Qg
A great aurora picture taken in Norway
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/10/auroral-corona-over-hemnesberget-norway.html
I sent out a tweet at the start of the show with my solution for watching The Weather Channel on a television .. Here it is:
Bonus link --- the polar vortex
http://www.gocomics.com/closetohome/2014/10/05
Audio Fog Bank
Monday, October 6, 2014
Fog Bank, Sept. 29, 2014
I really should have numbered these ...
Hello, WeatherBrains listeners, this is David Phillips, skydaver on Twitter
Astronomy Picture of the Day, with a photo of the Aurora & volcanic light pillar
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140923.html
Earth Observatory had a great photo and discussion of Clouds & Dust over the Sahara, taken from the ISS.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84400&src=eoa-iotd
ESPOD has some great rainbow photos on Sept. 27.
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/09/the-span-of-a-rainbow.html
I've got a comic about the science news cycle I think you'll like
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1174
A few final, short, comments on the WeatherGeeks show on The Weather Channel. Dr. Shepard. A+. Guests, A+ (you were great, James, can't wait to see next week) Graphics … makes me think of a bad Geocities web site.
Thanks for listening, Skydaver Out
Audio FogBank
Hello, WeatherBrains listeners, this is David Phillips, skydaver on Twitter
Astronomy Picture of the Day, with a photo of the Aurora & volcanic light pillar
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140923.html
Earth Observatory had a great photo and discussion of Clouds & Dust over the Sahara, taken from the ISS.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84400&src=eoa-iotd
ESPOD has some great rainbow photos on Sept. 27.
http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2014/09/the-span-of-a-rainbow.html
I've got a comic about the science news cycle I think you'll like
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1174
A few final, short, comments on the WeatherGeeks show on The Weather Channel. Dr. Shepard. A+. Guests, A+ (you were great, James, can't wait to see next week) Graphics … makes me think of a bad Geocities web site.
Thanks for listening, Skydaver Out
Audio FogBank
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
A Critique of "Weather Geeks", from The Weather Channel
In my last Fog Bank segment, I went off on a rant about "Weather Geeks", the new show on The Weather Channel.
I thought it might be worth while to go into details about the show.
First, the good things about the show. The host, Dr. Marshall Shepherd, is great. It's obvious that he's having a good time with the show, and talking with his guests. His guests are great. I think Dr. Shepherd's interviewing skills will improve, as well. That's the single issue I have with Dr. Shepherd; I think he takes a little too much time asking his questions, and could get to a question more quickly, rather than setting up so much background as he asks the question. That's a pretty minor issue, and one that others may disagree upon.
It's the video production of the show that irritates me.
I'll start with what isn't in the show. On a high definition TV, the Weather Channel shrinks this show down to about 3/4 of the screen. In the space made available, they have a bottom and side bar to show stuff.
The bottom bar is almost tolerable. It has The Weather Channel logo on the left hand side, with the time & temperature alternating above that. To the right, the local conditions & forecast are displayed.
There is a crawler bar above the current conditions, that is a distraction, and nearly content free. It showed "information" such as "PollenCast" for El Paso, Game Day Kickoff temperatures for NFL games, and non-weather headlines. It is a waste of space.
The side of the screen is worse. This portion is divided into three sections. The top section says "Brought to you by The Weather Channel". Really? I'm SO glad you told me! I might have missed the logo on the bottom, and the fact that I TURNED ON THIS CHANNEL TO WATCH THIS SHOW!
The middle section of this bar is even worse. It's showing things like days until events (fall, winter, Halloween, Christmas), barometric pressure, temperature, dewpoint, and on and on. Some of the bits of information are not uninteresting, but could be shown (and may be shown) in the bottom section along with current conditions. What is inexcusable about this section is the way the information is presented. Every single infographic is animated, in a speedometer type graphic. As the temperature is displayed, a circular line winds around until it reaches a point on the scale to match the temp. Inside the circle, the numbers flash as if they're counting up to the value being shown. Even the days to an event get animated like this. This is just stupid.
In the lower section, they show the name of the next few items that are going to be displayed in the middle section.
This is a complete waste of space.
Onto the video of the show itself.
There's a large, opaque, bottom third, showing "WxGeeks", and a banner that describes the topic under discussion. When that banner changes, it's animated. The banner slides to the left, then slides back out with the new text. If the name of the guest is shown, that's shown on top of this bottom third, taking away even more of the screen real estate.
The set has a large green screen or monitor bank behind the desk where the participants sit. The graphics shown are constantly changing, with storm clouds rolling by, lightning flashing, numerical formulas scrolling around, animated charts, and on, and on, ad nauseum. Not one single bit of that information has anything to do with what is being discussed.
My final gripe (for now) concerns the switch from the in studio cameras to footage from other locations. For every single transition like that, the screen shows an animated (less than 1 second) Wx Geeks logo screen. The footage being shown, while usually slightly relevant to the discussion, is only rarely discussed by the participants, and provides very little value to the viewer. Coming back to the studio camera, the same animation is shown.
To the directors and producers of this show, I say that just because you have a production effect capability doesn't mean that you have to use it all the time. I'll stop short of saying that someone should take a fire ax to the control board ... but that thought is in the back of my mind.
I'll continue to watch, because Dr. Shepherd & his guests are great, and the discussions are great. I might watch the show online. Doing that gets rid of the bottom & side bar, and the small screen size on a computer or tablet make the junk shown behind the guest less obtrusive. The Weather Channel should make the show easier to find on the website, though.
To paraphrase an old insult, this TV show is perfect for radio.
I'll update this post with corrections or further observations after I watch episodes.
(@WXGeeksTWC tweeted a line to the online video of the show, which, as I mentioned, does not have the bottom or side bars. It still has all of the other issues I mention.)
I thought it might be worth while to go into details about the show.
First, the good things about the show. The host, Dr. Marshall Shepherd, is great. It's obvious that he's having a good time with the show, and talking with his guests. His guests are great. I think Dr. Shepherd's interviewing skills will improve, as well. That's the single issue I have with Dr. Shepherd; I think he takes a little too much time asking his questions, and could get to a question more quickly, rather than setting up so much background as he asks the question. That's a pretty minor issue, and one that others may disagree upon.
It's the video production of the show that irritates me.
I'll start with what isn't in the show. On a high definition TV, the Weather Channel shrinks this show down to about 3/4 of the screen. In the space made available, they have a bottom and side bar to show stuff.
The bottom bar is almost tolerable. It has The Weather Channel logo on the left hand side, with the time & temperature alternating above that. To the right, the local conditions & forecast are displayed.
There is a crawler bar above the current conditions, that is a distraction, and nearly content free. It showed "information" such as "PollenCast" for El Paso, Game Day Kickoff temperatures for NFL games, and non-weather headlines. It is a waste of space.
The side of the screen is worse. This portion is divided into three sections. The top section says "Brought to you by The Weather Channel". Really? I'm SO glad you told me! I might have missed the logo on the bottom, and the fact that I TURNED ON THIS CHANNEL TO WATCH THIS SHOW!
The middle section of this bar is even worse. It's showing things like days until events (fall, winter, Halloween, Christmas), barometric pressure, temperature, dewpoint, and on and on. Some of the bits of information are not uninteresting, but could be shown (and may be shown) in the bottom section along with current conditions. What is inexcusable about this section is the way the information is presented. Every single infographic is animated, in a speedometer type graphic. As the temperature is displayed, a circular line winds around until it reaches a point on the scale to match the temp. Inside the circle, the numbers flash as if they're counting up to the value being shown. Even the days to an event get animated like this. This is just stupid.
In the lower section, they show the name of the next few items that are going to be displayed in the middle section.
This is a complete waste of space.
Onto the video of the show itself.
There's a large, opaque, bottom third, showing "WxGeeks", and a banner that describes the topic under discussion. When that banner changes, it's animated. The banner slides to the left, then slides back out with the new text. If the name of the guest is shown, that's shown on top of this bottom third, taking away even more of the screen real estate.
The set has a large green screen or monitor bank behind the desk where the participants sit. The graphics shown are constantly changing, with storm clouds rolling by, lightning flashing, numerical formulas scrolling around, animated charts, and on, and on, ad nauseum. Not one single bit of that information has anything to do with what is being discussed.
My final gripe (for now) concerns the switch from the in studio cameras to footage from other locations. For every single transition like that, the screen shows an animated (less than 1 second) Wx Geeks logo screen. The footage being shown, while usually slightly relevant to the discussion, is only rarely discussed by the participants, and provides very little value to the viewer. Coming back to the studio camera, the same animation is shown.
To the directors and producers of this show, I say that just because you have a production effect capability doesn't mean that you have to use it all the time. I'll stop short of saying that someone should take a fire ax to the control board ... but that thought is in the back of my mind.
I'll continue to watch, because Dr. Shepherd & his guests are great, and the discussions are great. I might watch the show online. Doing that gets rid of the bottom & side bar, and the small screen size on a computer or tablet make the junk shown behind the guest less obtrusive. The Weather Channel should make the show easier to find on the website, though.
To paraphrase an old insult, this TV show is perfect for radio.
I'll update this post with corrections or further observations after I watch episodes.
(@WXGeeksTWC tweeted a line to the online video of the show, which, as I mentioned, does not have the bottom or side bars. It still has all of the other issues I mention.)
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