Jim McKay at archy had a birthday on Thursday, and I failed to mention it. After a certain point if someone mentions their birthday you should acknowledge it.

Apparently riding the ‘Tour de Rook’ isn’t enough pain, so Rook is going to update the Movable Type software again. He remembers things going smoothly, while I remember my account being lost and then his blog roll evaporating. YMMV.

Rook asked a question “What makes him so important?”, dealing directly with David Brooks, but it applies to most of the people on major Op-Ed pages. What exactly have these people done in their lives that makes them worth reading? Have their ‘prophesies’ turned out to be true or not? Brooks is supposed to be a conservative, but the only thing he seems to want to conserve is his personal paycheck as a pundit.

Most of the East Coast bloggers have checked in, but there are millions without power, so you have to wait.

For the people who weren’t impressed with the amount of damage that Irene did, let me just say – that was the preliminary event. The main event is fighting with your insurance company to get the coverage that you have been paying for.

Position: 35.0N 65.5W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [010°] near 21 mph [33 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 45 miles [ 75 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1008 mb ↑.

Currently about 190 miles [305 km] North-Northwest of Bermuda.

All Watches and Warnings have been discontinued. The storm is weakening over cooler water and wind shear generated by Irene. It is expected to become a post-tropical low by Tuesday.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 45.3N 71.3W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [025°] near 26 mph [43 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Wind Gusts: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 320 miles [520 km].
Minimum central pressure: 980 mb ↑.

Landfall at 8AM CDT in New York City, downgraded to a Tropical Storm.

Currently about 50 miles [ 80 km] North of Berlin, New Hampshire.

Irene transitioned into a Post-Tropical Storm near the US / Canadian border, and this is the final advisory on the storm.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of New Brunswick from the US border northeastward to Fort Lawrence and the South Coast of Nova Scotia from Fort Lawrence to Porters Lake.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]