Valentine’s Day Yesterday and Today February 14, 2010

Snow White Loves Me

Al's Idea of A Happy Valentines

Valentine’s Day and This Date in History: What’s the deal with this? Who invented it? I always figured it was a conspiracy of the greeting card people and chocolate manufacturers to try to boost business in the dark days of winter. Al Capone thought it was a good day to get rid of his competition on this date in 1929 at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago. His little escapade became known as the St. Valentines Day Massacre and it probably marked the beginning of the end for Capone. The violence was just so over the top that the public and authorities got fed up and went to great lengths to capture or kill Capone, which they eventually did.

Teddy's Sad Entry

It was not a happy day for Theodore Roosevelt whose wife not only died on this date in 1884, but so did his mother. His diary notation for the day simply read, “the light has gone out of my life.” In some ways, it may have paved his way to the presidency because he was so distraught, he basically dropped out and went west for a couple of years. It was on this quest that he developed his love for the outdoors and his robust attitude. He was probably better prepared for a big future than he would have been otherwise. In any event, whatever or however Valentine’s Day came about, don’t make light of it, guys. Three years ago, I tried and it flopped. I took Snow White to a family restaurant….one in which patrons stand in line with cafeteria trays. I thought it would be funny. The humor was obviously lost as for the next 365 days the subject was brought up from time to time. Don’t be like Bob.

Nice Restaurant...Not A Great Idea For Valentines

Treat the day with great respect because, if you don’t, you will be reminded of your transgressions for the next 12 months. No doubt, there are plenty of nice places to eat in town and your efforts will be well rewarded. I did my best to make up for my disaster to Snow White and last year I succeeded. She deserves all that I can give and I know there are hundreds of left over suitors who would love to do the same, though they are afraid I may order up a thunderbolt in their nether regions if they attempted to do so. Snow White is the grandest of all Valentine’s ladies in my book.

Click Here to Find out more about Wayside...Or Pick Your Own Special Way for you and Your Valentine Can Show Your Love

So much so, that last year, she came home and said that every day was Valentine’s Day and that we show our love for each other every day and so we don’t need any special day for that. So, what we did last year was we went to Wayside Christian Mission and made donations of food, pillows and cash. I began to think about it and Snow White’s pretty smart. I mean we do love each other every day so, why do I need a special day? If I’m going to spend money on February 14, why not drop it on charitable organizations that directly help others, particularly those who are in our own communities? If Valentine’s Day is a day of love, then why not show it that way? There are three variations of love. There is Phillipi, which is brotherly love. That is why Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love. There is Eros, which is sexual love. And then there is Agape, which is spiritual love, or for Christians, the love of Christ. In my view and that of others, in order to have a successful love relationship, you need to have all three. Otherwise, more often than not, the relationship will eventually crumble. But, modern Valentine’s Day and the commercial aspects of it generally revolves around the romantic or Eros aspect of love…except of course for family members. But , you know what I mean. If we are going to break off a piece of love and use it to represent Valentine’s Day, then why not take off the one that truly is a giving of oneself with no expectation of getting anything in return? How about following Phillipi or Agape, and give to others. We Americans do it alot.  This past year, I was invited to speak to the men at Wayside and it was quite an experience.  Snow White wondered the other day how many people this past year had a pillow to sleep on because we chose to NOT buy stuff for each other. 

Donations Up in 2005 From 2004

In 2005, the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 65.4 million Americans did some sort of volunteer work. Thats a shade under 30% of the population. Now, that is actually volunteering time and effort to make a difference, not money and time is a priceless commodity.  Yet, people often give money instead of their time and that’s okay because organizations need money to operate. Americans step to the plate in that arena too. According to a study by the Giving USA Foundation, American estates, corporations, foundations and individuals gave some $260 billion to charitable causes in 2005. If we transformed the culture to give that $50 you spend on Valentines Day candy or flowers or dinner to a local charity instead, think of the huge shot in the arm that would give local groups and how much you could do for so many other people. Snow White is right…every day should be Valentine’s Day with your loved ones. It’s just an idea. And now you know why I say that Snow White is the grandest Valentine of all…and she’s like that every day. Nevertheless…I’ll still do something for her on top of the donation….just in case…after church we’ll go to her favorite place for brunch.  Always a winner…and it will be especially so if it’s snowing by then, though I doubt it will be snowing yet.

So, what about the history of Valentine’s Day? The history of the day is, as usual, a bit sketchy. I’ve heard that it was linked to some pagan fertility festival of days of yore and other tales take it to Geoffrey Chaucer somehow. As with many old traditions emanating from Europe, this one seems to have some tie to the Catholic Church. I don’t care to go into it but you can look it up for yourself. Here is a take on the day from the Catholic Encycolopedia. If you don’t like that one, then try this site that doesn’t have a religious sanction. These two should provide some answers though and probably create more questions. The only answer I have for you though is to show your feelings every day to your loved ons and treat this day with the respect that you would treat your loved one(s)! Jokes don’t work.

NWS Louisville is a shade more agressive than me, but it's an academic difference and no big deal

Weather Bottom Line:  As I’ve been telling you, we’re going to get snow.  And the 18Z Saturday NAM and GFS were remarkably similar.  They both take the low down to our Southwest and then swing it sharply northeast almost right over the top of Louisville.  It’s a pretty good track for snow and also, once the low passes, for the wrap around deformation zone over us.  So, we’re looking for the snow to begin maybe a little on Sunday but mainly begin in earnest on Sunday night and then through Monday before it tapers off Monday night.  Then, with cold air filling in behind it we get flurried to death Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning.  NWS is calling for 4-6 inches…I’ve been thinking 3-5 inches…whatever.   Just know that we will have snow and that your drive to work or school may be interesting Tuesday morning….I would say Monday but it’s President’s Day!

Sat 18Z NAM calls for about 3 inches by early Wed AM

Now, an interesting wrinkle from the 12Z GFS showed up and that is for the low that is traversing the south on Thursday into Friday to bring us more snow.  Earlier, the solution had been for the low to be so far north that we get rain-ice-snow.  Then at 12Z it was all snow to the tune of another 2-3 inches.  But, the 18Z had it even farther south to where we just get a dusting. But, the ECMWF and the GEM both had similar solutions for this first event and also for a snow feature on Thursday/Friday.  We’ll have to see how that shakes out but…as I’ve been saying all along…I don’t see how we get above freezing anytime soon. For some reason, public longer range forecasts keep showing highs of 35 or 36 for days 4 and 5 and every time we get to those days, they’ve lowered the highs.  I’d expect the same this time, unless the low tracks farther north on Thursday.

New Valentine’s Day Idea; Cold Pattern Again? February 14, 2009

Snow White Loves Me

                                                                                                                                

Al's Idea of A Happy Valentines

Valentine’s Day and This Date in History: What’s the deal with this? Who invented it? I always figured it was a conspiracy of the greeting card people and chocolate manufacturers to try to boost business in the dark days of winter. Al Capone thought it was a good day to get rid of his competition on this date in 1929 at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago.  His little escapade became known as the St. Valentines Day Massacre and it probably marked the beginning of the end for Capone.  The violence was just so over the top that the public and authorities got fed up and went to great lengths to capture or kill Capone, which they eventually did. 

Teddy's Sad Entry

It was not a happy day for Theodore Roosevelt whose wife not only died on this date in 1884, but so did his mother.  His diary notation for the day simply read, “the light has gone out of my life.” In some ways, it may have paved his way to the presidency because he was so distraught, he basically dropped out and went west for a couple of years.  It was on this quest that he developed his love for the outdoors and his robust attitude.  He was probably better prepared for a big future than he would have been otherwise.  In any event,  whatever or however Valentine’s Day came about, don’t make light of it, guys. Two years ago, I tried and it flopped. I took Snow White to a family restaurant….one in which patrons stand in line with cafeteria trays. I thought it would be funny. The humor was obviously lost as for the next 365 days the subject was brought up from time to time. Don’t be like Bob. Treat the day with great respect because, if you don’t,  you will be

Nice Restaurant...Not A Great Idea For Valentines

 reminded of your transgressions for the next 12 months. No doubt, there are plenty of nice places to eat in town and your efforts will be well rewarded. I did my best to make up for my disaster to Snow White and last year I succeeded.   She deserves all that I can give and I know there are hundreds of left over suitors who would love to do the same, though they are afraid I may order up a thunderbolt in their nether regions if they attempted to do so. Snow White is the grandest of all Valentine’s ladies in my book.

So much so, that this year, she came home and said that every day was Valentine’s Day and that we show our love for each other every day and so we don’t need any special day for that.  So, what we did this year was we  went to Wayside Christian Mission and made donations of food, pillows and cash.  I began to think about it and Snow White’s pretty smart.  I mean we do love each other every day so, why do I need a special day?  If I’m going to spend money on February 14, why not drop it on charitable organizations that directly help others, particularly those who are in our own communities?  If Valentine’s Day is a day of love, then why not show it that way?  There are three variations of love.  There is Phillipi, which is brotherly love.  That is why Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love.  There is Eros, which is sexual love.  And then there is Agape, which is spiritual love, or for Christians, the love of Christ.  In my view and that of others, in order to have a successful love relationship, you need to have all three.  Otherwise, more often than not, the relationship will eventually crumble.  But, modern Valentine’s Day and the commercial aspects of it generally revolves around the romantic or Eros aspect of love…except of course for family members.  But , you know what I mean.  If we are going to break off a piece of love and use it to represent Valentine’s Day, then why not take off the one that truly is a giving of oneself with no expectation of getting anything in return?  How about following Phillipi or Agape, and give to others.  We Americans do it alot. 

Donations Up in 2005 From 2004

In 2005, the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 65.4 million Americans did some sort of volunteer work.  Thats a shade under 30% of the population.  Now, that is actually volunteering time and effort to make a difference, not money.  People often give money instead of their time and that’s okay because organizations need money to operate.  Americans step to the plate in that arena too.  According to a study by the Giving USA Foundation, American estates, corporations, foundations and individuals gave some $260 billion to charitable causes in 2005.  If we transformed the culture to give that $50 you spend on Valentines Day candy or flowers or dinner to a local charity instead, think of the huge shot in the arm that would give local groups and how much you could do for so many other people.  Snow White is right…every day should be Valentine’s Day with your loved ones.  It’s just an idea.  And now you know why I say that Snow White is the grandest Valentine of all…and she’s like that every day.  Nevertheless…I’ll still do something for her on top of the donation….just in case.

So, what about the history of Valentine’s Day? The history of the day is, as usual, a bit sketchy. I’ve heard that it was linked to some pagan fertility festival of days of yore and other tales take it to Geoffrey Chaucer somehow. As with many old traditions emanating from Europe, this one seems to have some tie to the Catholic Church. I don’t care to go into it but you can look it up for yourself. Here is a take on the day from the Catholic Encycolopedia.  If you don’t like that one, then try this site that doesn’t have a religious sanction.  These two should provide some answers though and probably create more questions. The only answer I have for you though is to show your feelings every day to your loved ons and treat this day with the respect that you would treat your loved one(s)!  Jokes don’t work.

NAM 7AM Sat...just a few light showers

Weather Bottom Line: The forecast is pretty simple.  A little system comes through on Saturday.  Perhaps some light showers for the first part of the day and afternoon highs only in the low to mid 40′s.  Chilly on Sunday.  Then we warm a bit above seasonal levels before our next best rain chance shows up in the middle of the week.  I think that the biggest weather news this time around is to not turn your furnace off or put the coats away just yet.  It’s a little early to tell but all indications are that we get cold again after Wednesday and the long wave pattern is shifting back to what it has been for much of the season with a ridge building out west and a big trof in the east.  There’s no way to tell how long it lasts but it would appear we will have another round of several days at least of colder than average air toward the end of next week through the weekend, if not beyond.

Two Gun Hart, Mini-Marco And Rain Is On the Way! October 7, 2008

Jim and Al Capone Ended Up on Opposite Sides of the Law

On This Date In History: Everyone has heard of Al Capone. In fact, old “scarface” is one of those figures in history that is interesting in that he has been remembered long after his death because he did bad things. Same with Billy the Kid who would probably just be described today as a thug. But think of all of the law-abiding people who go unnoticed in the annals of history. That leads us to Al Capone’s brother. On this date in 1952, Al Capone’s brother died. Jim Capone was quite the opposite from his brother. While Al was making millions in the 1920′s bootlegging whiskey during Prohibition, Jim Capone was a law enforcement officer specializing in violators of…Prohibiition!

Two Gun Hart

When Jim Capone was a boy, he ran away to join the circus. He traveled about the country and throughout Central America before arriving in Homer, Nebraska. For some unknown reason, he thought that Homer was a great place to live. So, he stayed in Homer and changed his name to Richard Joseph Hart. One reference claims that he chose Hart in reference to his cowboy film hero, William S. Hart. A flash flood struck the town and “Hart” rescued a man and his daughter. He then married the daughter. One source claims he served in World War I while another says that he “invented a war record and became the head of the local American Legion. He became known as “Two Gun Hart” because he wore guns on each hip, like a cowboy, and was said to be able to hit a bottle cap with a single shot from 100 feet with either hand. He became the town’s marshal and then the sheriff.

I Guess Jim Liked the Western Look For Two Gun Hart

I gotta tell ya, the history on this guy is not consistent. What seems to be true is that he became a Federal Prohibition agent and busted a bunch of stills and gained a reputation for being a tough guy. He joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a Prohibition Agent and was said to be quite rough. One story is that he killed an Indian in a barroom brawl in a saloon in Sioux City, Iowa. He was acquitted of any charges after the jury found out the dead guy was a bootlegger. He was re-appointed Homer’s town Marshal but was fired after he was accused of a petty burglary while on night patrol. Broke, he appealed to his family for money and his brother Ralph began sending him a monthly check. It was only then in 1940 that he told his wife that his brother was Al Capone.

As I said, the history written on James Vincenzo Capone is very inconsistent. Nevertheless, there is one truth out there that is quite ironic: Al Capone broke Prohibition Laws and Jim Capone served to uphold Prohibition Laws and the law breaker is the famous one while the law enforcer remains largely forgotten. Here is a biography about Two Gun Hart and here is another biography of both Jim and Ralph Capone, though I cannot vouch for the veracity of either account.

Rainfall Amount Forecast Wed Oct 8, 2008

The forecast remains on track with rain likely on Wednesday. The Hydrological Prediction Center has a revised QPF (rain amount forecast) that is advertising a greater rain amount for our area. If it is correct, then some folks may get more than the 1/2 inch to an inch rain total. That is good news. If you are looking for cooler, more fall like weather behind the front, then move or go on vacation because the air behind this front is generally no different than the conditions that we have had of late.

Satellite 1007 0215Z

Tropical Storm Marco Forecast Track 1006 11pm

Tropical Storm Marco: Tropical Storm Marco is one tiny little guy. Its the little

Tropical Storm Marco Spaghetti Model 1007 00Z

blob on the above satellite photo at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Norbert in the Pacific looks much better. You will find the National Hurricane Center Forecast Discussion for Tropical Storm Marco below. The forecaster calls it “minature Marco” and suggests it may be the smallest tropical cyclone that he has ever seen with but a single cluster of convection. This thing started off at the end of last week over the western Caribbean and wandered across

Tropical Storm Marco IR Satellite 1007 0315Z

the Yucatan. Monday morning it appeared over the extreme southern Bay of Campeche as a small circulation area and developed some decent winds. There’s a big fat high to the north of the system so it shouldn’t do anything but move into Mexico and then fall apart, though the spaghetti models suggest that whats left of it gets caught up in a frontal boundary and rotates around through the flow into west Texas. Its so small though I suspect it will not be a significant player down the road. Incidentally, Marco as a central pressure of 998 mb. When the remnant of Hurricane Ike passed west of Louisville and kicked up 40-60 mph winds with gusts to 75 mph for 4 or 5 hours, the pressure was 997 mb.

Al Capone, Jim's Baby Brother

TROPICAL STORM MARCO DISCUSSION NUMBER 3

NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL132008

1100 PM EDT MON OCT 06 2008

MINIATURE MARCO HAS MAINTAINED ONE SMALL COLD-TOPPED THUNDERSTORM CLUSTER…ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE…OVER THE LOW-LEVEL CENTER. THEREFORE…THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS BEING KEPT AT 55 KT IN LINE WITH THE LAST AIR FORCE RECON DATA…EVEN THOUGH DVORAK SATELLITE CLASSIFICATIONS ARE T2.0/30 KT FROM BOTH TAFB AND SAB. I HAVE WORKED SOME TINY TYPHOONS IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC BEFORE…BUT HORIZONTALLY-CHALLENGED MARCO COULD BE THE SMALLEST TROPICAL CYCLONE ON RECORD. INITIAL MOTION ESTIMATE 295/06. MARCO HAS REMAINED ON THE PREVIOUS FORECAST TRACK…SO THERE IS NO CHANGE SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST TRACK OR REASONING. MARCO IS EXPECTED TO MAINTAIN A GENERAL WEST-NORTHWESTWARD MOTION TO THE SOUTH OF A STRONG MID-LEVEL RIDGE PARKED OVER MOST OF THE GULF OF MEXICO…AND MAKE LANDFALL IN 18 HOURS OR SO. THE OFFICIAL FORECAST TRACK IS ROUGHLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NHC MODEL GUIDANCE SUITE. ALTHOUGH MARCO MAY BE SMALL IN STATURE…IT HAS BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN DEEP CONVECTION NEAR THE SMALL CIRCULATION CENTER THAT ONLY HAS A RADIUS OF MAXIMUM WINDS OF ABOUT 4 NMI. SMALL SYSTEMS LIKE MARCO CAN SPIN UP QUICKLY…BUT THEY CAN ALSO SPIN DOWN JUST AS FAST. VERTICAL SHEAR IS FORECAST TO REMAIN RELATIVELY LOW AND SSTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ABOVE 28C UNTIL LANDFALL IN ABOUT 18 HOURS. THEREFORE…SOME SLIGHT STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE. THE SHIPS MODEL BRINGS MARCO UP TO HURRICANE INTENSITY IN 12 HOURS…AND UP TO 71 KT IN 18 HOURS…WHICH SEEMS A LITTLE TO AGGRESSIVE AT THIS STAGE. THE OFFICIAL INTENSITY FORECAST IS A BLEND OF THE STRONGER HWRF AND THE WEAKER GFDL…WHICH KEEPS MARCO JUST BELOW HURRICANE STRENGTH.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL 07/0300Z 19.8N 95.4W 55 KT

12HR VT 07/1200Z 20.2N 96.4W 60 KT

24HR VT 08/0000Z 20.7N 97.8W 25 KT…DISSIPATING INLAND

36HR VT 08/1200Z…DISSIPATED INLAND OVER EASTERN MEXICO

$$ FORECASTER STEWART

Ness Gets a Job October 29, 2007

Frost advisory is in effect for much of the viewing area. For points North of Caruthersville and East of Simpsonville to Bardstown, there is a freeze warning. High pressure over head will keep us crystal clear and very little wind allowing the mercury to fall. After we get our first hard freeze, then these types of advisories and warnings are no longer issued. In the South though, they are issued all season. We will warm up nicely Monday afternoon but will be chilly again Monday night. We will continue to warm up until late Wednesday when a front comes through quietly….not enough to hamper trick or treaters….and seasonal temperatures return for the end of the week.

On This Date in History: The man above…Elliott Ness…was on the road to employment and history. This is something I did not know….the 18th Amendment(Prohibition) was ratified in January of 1919. But it was a moot point because apparently no one enforced it. It wasn’t until 9 months later, on this date in 1919, that the Volstead Act was passed by Congress, over-riding a veto by President Wilson. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of the law. I didn’t know there needed to be an act of Congress for authorities to enforce Constitutional Amendments. Anyway, the Federal Government was then authorized to enforce the law and the creation of a special unit of the Treasury Department to forcefully do so. That’s where Ness comes in. He was assigned to Chicago and had the unenviable task of taking down Al Capone, which he did for not paying his taxes on illegally obtained money. Illegal or not, you need to pay up. I wonder what he was supposed to list as his source of income on his return? I also wonder what Wilson was thinking when he vetoed the Volstead Act. I mean, part of the oath as President is to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Technically, one might say that his veto was in contradiction to his oath and therefore qualified him for removal of office. That makes me wonder if anyone suggested that? Usually, if I’ve thought of something then someone else already has too, but perhaps I will investigate.

Oh….one other thing not on the subject…Britney Spears. If you want to send letters of support, I suppose you can contact this Lexington Church. It made the AP wires but not too many newscasts…except perhaps in Lexington.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/27/arts/NA-A-E-CEL-US-Britney-Spears-Church-Support.php