Posts from — October 2014

Position: 22.2N 66.6W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [320°] near 13 mph [20 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 125 mph [205 kph].
Wind Gusts: 140 mph [225 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 115 miles [185 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 25 miles [ 35 km].
Minimum central pressure: 954 mb ↓.

Currently about 705 miles [1135 km] South of Bermuda.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Bermuda.

It is now the second major hurricane of the season and is still gaining strength.

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.]

The BBC is kind: Ebola: Hospital mistakes blamed for US transmission. The head of the Centers for Disease Control characterizes the new case at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital as “a breach in protocol”. It was a potentially deadly fv<k up by the same people who sent Thomas Eric Duncan home with some meds when he showed up at their emergency room with flu-like symptoms and told them he had been in Liberia. They lied about his telling them about Liberia, and now it would appear they didn’t properly train their people to keep themselves safe.

They did remember to send the decontaminating team to their worker’s apartment immediately, which is progress, but they don’t seem to be able to do something as simple as maintaining the safely of the personnel who deal with Ebola patients.

Position: 18.7N 63.4W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [315°] near 12 mph [19 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 85 mph [140 kph].
Wind Gusts: 100 mph [160 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 105 miles [165 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 25 miles [ 35 km].
Minimum central pressure: 984 mb.

Currently about 40 miles [ 65 km] North-Northwest of Anguilla.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, and Anguilla.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for St. Maartin, St. Barthelemy, Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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: 33.7N 49.9W [ 4PM CDT 2100 UTC].
Movement: East [100°] near 25 mph [41 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Wind Gusts: 65 mph [100 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 205 miles [335 km].
Minimum central pressure: 993mb ↑.

Currently about 865 miles [1395 km] East of Bermuda.

Fay has lost its tropical characteristics and become extra-tropical. This is the final NHC advisory.

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.]

It’s the second Monday in October, so it is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Have a happy one.

The US Federal government has decided to call it Columbus Day, even though it should be the 12^th of October which was the second Wednesday in 1492. But it’s okay that the holiday is on the wrong day, because Christopher Columbus [AKA: Cristoforo Colombo, Cristóbal Colón] didn’t find what he was looking for and identified what he did find incorrectly. The important thing is that a large area of the map got changed from “here be dragons and sea serpents,” to “here be gold and cannibals” and no mention was made of the oppressive heat, mosquitoes, or hurricanes.

[Read more →]

Position: 16.6N 60.2W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [275°] near 12 mph [19 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 75 kph].
Wind Gusts: 55 mph [ 90 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 60 miles [ 95 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb.

Currently about 80 miles [ 130 km] East-Northeast of Guadeloupe.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Guadeloupe, Desirade, Les Saintes, Marie Galante, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, St.Maartin, Saba, St. Eustatius, Barbuda, Antigua, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the British Virgin Islands.

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: 34.1N 58.2W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: East [080°] near 24 mph [39 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 65 mph [100 kph].
Wind Gusts: 80 mph [130 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles [280 km].
Minimum central pressure: 988mb ↑.

Currently about 400 miles [ 645 km] East-Northeast of Bermuda.

Fay passed over Bermuda at about 4AM CDT.

The hurricane status was short-lived.

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: 30.9N 65.0W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [010°] near 17 mph [28 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 70 mph [110 kph].
Wind Gusts: 85 mph [135 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles [280 km].
Minimum central pressure: 989mb ↓.

Currently about 95 miles [ 155 km] South of Bermuda.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Bermuda.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Bermuda.

The storm’s closest approach to Bermuda will occur overnight. The island is already feeling the effects of the storm.

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: 25.9N 64.5W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northwest [345°] near 13 mph [20 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 75 mph [120 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1000mb.

Currently about 440 miles [ 710 km] South of Bermuda.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Bermuda.

There is a technical difference that makes this subtropical vice tropical which is relevant to forecasters and researchers but not to people in the path.

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.]

Family Portrait

Do you want to play?

[Editor: I’m going to call the kit, Tadpole – a smaller and younger version of Froggy. Instead of washing up after dinner, Tadpole wants big brother Hadley to play tag.

Friday Ark

The NHC is tracking Invest 99L which is currently Northeast of Puerto Rico in the Atlantic. Their 7PM discussion gave the system a 60% of becoming a tropical or sub-tropical depression in the next 48 hours.

If this system develops it may pose a problem for Bermuda early next week. This is the height of the active portion of the hurricane season, but this year has been abnormally quiet.

The Nobel Committee as made another practical decision:

The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to a trio of researchers for improving the resolution of optical microscopes.

Eric Betzig, Stefan Hell and William Moerner used fluorescence to extend the limits of the light microscope.
…
The Nobel Committee said the researchers had won the award for “the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy”.

They developed a system that allows researchers to see minute details at the cellular/molecular level without using an electron microscope. This makes it less expensive to do all kinds of basic research.

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CNN reports on the death of Thomas Eric Duncan:

(CNN) — Several Ebola patients treated in the United States have survived, but the first person ever diagnosed with the deadly virus on American soil didn’t.

Thomas Eric Duncan died Wednesday at a Texas hospital, 10 days after he was admitted.

“Mr. Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle. Our professionals, the doctors and nurses in the unit, as well as the entire Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas community, are also grieving his passing,” hospital spokesman Wendell Watson said in a statement.

When they reported that Mr. Duncan had been put on dialysis, I knew he was dying. The end stage of Ebola involves the failure of the body’s organs. The people who survive generally have strong and healthy immune systems that will eventually conquer the virus, if the victim can be kept hydrated and protected from secondary infections.

In a break with several recent choices the Nobel committee has made a practical choice for this year’s physics prize, Invention of blue LEDs:

The 2014 Nobel Prize for physics has been awarded to a trio of scientists in Japan and the US for the invention of blue light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura made the first blue LEDs in the early 1990s.

This enabled a new generation of bright, energy-efficient white lamps, as well as colour LED screens.

While I am personally annoyed by the prevalent use of blue LEDs on computers, I do appreciate their value in color screens and flashlights.

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OTOH, the decision of the Canadian Parliament by a vote of 157-134 to involve itself in bombing ISIS in the Middle East is a poor use of resources. The money would do more good spent on helping refugees fleeing the conflict than whatever effect it might have on ISIS.

It was safe to turn on your computer …

The BBC reports: Attack code for ‘unpatchable’ USB flaw released.

The reason the flaw is considered ‘unpatchable’ is because it is part of the USB standard. The standard has to be changed so manufacturers know what they can do to fix it, and then the firmware for every USB device needs to be updated with the change. Of course that assumes that the firmware can be updated. OTOH, if it can’t be updated you are probably safe as there is no way of injecting the malware.

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Another extra crispy squirrel for the cats this morning. Heard the boom at about 10AM as the squirrel shorted the transformer that delivers power to three houses, including my Mother’s. They cross from the yard across the street to the trees on this side by running along the electric lines which are insulated. It is the wires from the transformer that are bare.