Good Evening:
Headlines are ringing: winter is coming!
But, first I must digress and explain how is it that I ended up with the responsibility to bring winter weather to Israel (i.e., bring the the rain at the right time and place). Basically, at the end of the 18 Blessing Prayer there is a place for personal prayers. At that time, I respectively pointed out that folks have been complaining to me for years about the weather, which isn't at all fair because I don't have much to do with it at all (at least not more than anyone else). This year, it was especially bad because here it seemed to stay warm for far too long, while other places were having normal or even colder weather than usual (in fact, a good part of the US is being blanketed in heavy snow, and even hurricane force winds (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/us/thanksgiving-weather.html?)). It was then that the fog lifted, my "prayers" hit home and I was given responsibility for this winters weather.
As I wrote, winter is coming and the last evening of the month will see the warmest temperatures for quite some time. In fact, I was able to arrange for a steady decline in temperatures from the start of December(Sunday) until the end of next week, and possibly into the following week (there is only so much cold air to go around, and I have to pay for it). Moreover, the end of next week and the following week could see persistent showers. I say "could see" because I'm not very good at multitasking and I have to first get the cold down before going on to bring the rain.
All this will be made possible by a shifting of the upper air pattern over Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. After a small ridge of warm air builds over our area on Shabbat, the pattern will split with one area of cold air moving southward along the western coast of Europe and another will drop down into our area. In between, an amplified ridge will build into central Europe.
This is a bit unusual, as relatively warm weather will remain at the time over Greenland, which usually ends up pushing the trough of cold air over western or central Europe, leaving us on the warmer side of the weather, where we've been for the last month. Fortunately, the warm air over Greenland should dissipate as we move towards the middle of the month, which should allow colder air to flow across Europe. This should open the door for cold air to slide southward into the eastern Mediterranean. It's a lot on my plate, but if all goes well, winter will be here.
By the way, the system arriving at the end of next week could be downright chilly, not just wet, but the kind of chill that makes you want to button up and possibly put on a hat. That's winter in Israel.
That's the winter my wife remembers when she was a child, but it came in October.
I am not sure if my wife really knew what she was signing up for when she agreed to marry me. People calling at all hours of the night to find out if they'll be able to get out in the morning, after a night of ice and snow. I can't tell you how many times we've had to wake up for just such phonecalls.
She should have been prepared, but it wasn't one of the questions she thought to ask about when we met ("do people call you at night?"). Instead, we spoke about some of our goals, some of our likes and dislikes, and technical things: would we be okay with internet or TV in the house, and would I make a mess in the kitchen -- important subjects for sure.
I thought that I had covered all the bases, and overall I think I made the right choice to marry my wife. Hence, you can imagine my surprise, which was followed by shock and consternation when I saw her prepare a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich for my son's breakfast.
She -- I almost feel like this is not something that should be in a blog -- she put the peanut butter on one slice of bread and the chocolate on the other. That is not a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich!
That's like two people marrying and never sleeping in the same bed (at the same time). You can't make a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich that way, and you can't grow watermelons either.
Barry Lynn
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Weather It Is (Was That Rain?)
Good Evening:
The weather these last few days has been a bit stormy. Just today, we had thundershowers dotting the area around Jerusalem, and yesterday even saw some rain in the center of the country.
There is also a bit of a nip in the air, and yet winter doesn't really feel like it has arrived. Moreover, there is a blocking high centered to our north which is basically putting any weather changes on hold. It is associated with warmer, drier weather in southeastern Europe, including Israel, and wetter and colder weather in western Europe (on the backside of the high is a trough). Yaakov Cantor of the "Israel Winter Weather" group wrote that "three factors favor a higher probability of high pressure and at times, a “blocking high” from Greenland to Scandinavia. First, we are near the minimum in the sunspot cycle, which in the past 100 years correlates with high pressure in those areas. Second, the atmospheric pattern from this spring into early fall featured frequent episodes of such blocking highs, and such patterns tend to persist and recur. Finally, the ocean temperature pattern with abnormally warm waters from near Greenland to Iceland, and abnormally cool from off the coast of southeast Canada to near France, favors a better than usual chance of blocking highs this winter." He expects this type of blocking pattern to persist into late December or early January.
And yet, there is some indication that the block will, at least temporarily, be replaced by a trough of low pressure that could bring rain from sometime next week until the first week of December.
But don't worry that we won't have any weather at all -- just prior to our recent showers, we had weather of a different type: missiles, which seem to have morphed now from a "nuisance" (unless you were hit by one) to be able to explode with the destructive power of a small tornado. The good news is that our Prime Minister was heard to says: "Our enemies got the message..."(https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-goals-of-gaza-operation-achieved-in-full-our-enemies-got-the-message/)..." and "I believe the message is starting to get across (https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-islamic-jihad-knows-israel-will-keeping-striking-with-no-mercy/),” that we are not to be trifled with. Except that the news following Shabbat was that HAMAS just fired at Beer Sheva. (https://www.timesofisrael.com/conflicting-claims-as-to-whether-hamas-leaders-okayed-rocket-fire-at-beersheba/). So, I am not sure that anyone is really listening to our Prime Minister, anymore.
Even more interesting is that the Media is bending over backwards to pretend that the ceasefire that "started" early Friday lasted through the continuing rocket fire emanating from Gaza. Look at the headline of this article in the "Times of Israel" (and it wasn't alone among media outlets): "Fresh rockets target south but shaky Gaza ceasefire appears to hold."
(https://www.timesofisrael.com/fresh-rocket-fire-targets-south-but-shaky-gaza-ceasefire-appears-to-hold/). The TOI article noted that the rocket fire was the fourth violation of the ceasefire. Either there is "ceasefire" or there isn't, or does the old, but not so-old joke still hold: "we cease and they fire?"
When does a stated policy become a thing of ridicule? When did we become an object of ridicule? Perhaps when it was claimed that if one rocket is fired from Gaza... we would return or attack with such ferocity.... or when the previous Prime Minister Olmert agreed to accept an economic separation between the Israelis living inside the area demarcated by the Green Line (the old Armistice Line) or outside it (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/eu-and-israel-end-trade-dispute-1.1152244) -- the end result being a process leading now to the European Court of Justice ruling that the building of Israel towns in Judea and Samaria -- the home of Jewish life going back to the time of the Bible is "characterized by the fact that they give concrete expression to a policy of population transfer conducted by that state outside its territory)" (https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-landmark-ruling-eus-top-court-says-settlement-product-labeling-mandatory/). Of course, the court forgot to note the irony that the only ones who engaged in population transfer were the Europeans. They transferred the Jews to the gas chambers.
It's not just us our policy makers and media that must have read George Orwell's book "1984." HAMAS says that that Israel will not choose when there will be a ceasefire; that the decision to carry out military campaigns remains in the hands of HAMAS (and Islamic Jihad), and “Israel bears the consequences and results of its ongoing aggression.” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/blamed-for-beersheba-rocket-fire-hamas-says-israel-wont-choose-timing-of-ops/).
So, let's summarize: the Israeli government claims that it will show "no mercy" and that "we will protect ourselves." But, we stopped the bombing very soon after it started and didn't attack HAMAS at all. The media claims that a "shaky" ceasefire still holds (https://www.timesofisrael.com/fresh-rocket-fire-targets-south-but-shaky-gaza-ceasefire-appears-to-hold/), but missile fire continues. HAMAS claims that it can attack us when ever it wants, but we would be the aggressor.
In the meantime, Islamic Jihad has developed a 300 kg bomb that can easily destroy a building (https://www.timesofisrael.com/islamic-jihad-used-new-rocket-with-300kg-warhead-during-fighting-report/).
Fortunately, we don't have any real tornados here. At least that is something.
Of course, as long as our leadership continue to blow hot air, and our media reassures us that skies are clear and sunny, we've got nothing to worry about.
Barry Lynn
The weather these last few days has been a bit stormy. Just today, we had thundershowers dotting the area around Jerusalem, and yesterday even saw some rain in the center of the country.
There is also a bit of a nip in the air, and yet winter doesn't really feel like it has arrived. Moreover, there is a blocking high centered to our north which is basically putting any weather changes on hold. It is associated with warmer, drier weather in southeastern Europe, including Israel, and wetter and colder weather in western Europe (on the backside of the high is a trough). Yaakov Cantor of the "Israel Winter Weather" group wrote that "three factors favor a higher probability of high pressure and at times, a “blocking high” from Greenland to Scandinavia. First, we are near the minimum in the sunspot cycle, which in the past 100 years correlates with high pressure in those areas. Second, the atmospheric pattern from this spring into early fall featured frequent episodes of such blocking highs, and such patterns tend to persist and recur. Finally, the ocean temperature pattern with abnormally warm waters from near Greenland to Iceland, and abnormally cool from off the coast of southeast Canada to near France, favors a better than usual chance of blocking highs this winter." He expects this type of blocking pattern to persist into late December or early January.
And yet, there is some indication that the block will, at least temporarily, be replaced by a trough of low pressure that could bring rain from sometime next week until the first week of December.
But don't worry that we won't have any weather at all -- just prior to our recent showers, we had weather of a different type: missiles, which seem to have morphed now from a "nuisance" (unless you were hit by one) to be able to explode with the destructive power of a small tornado. The good news is that our Prime Minister was heard to says: "Our enemies got the message..."(https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-goals-of-gaza-operation-achieved-in-full-our-enemies-got-the-message/)..." and "I believe the message is starting to get across (https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-islamic-jihad-knows-israel-will-keeping-striking-with-no-mercy/),” that we are not to be trifled with. Except that the news following Shabbat was that HAMAS just fired at Beer Sheva. (https://www.timesofisrael.com/conflicting-claims-as-to-whether-hamas-leaders-okayed-rocket-fire-at-beersheba/). So, I am not sure that anyone is really listening to our Prime Minister, anymore.
Even more interesting is that the Media is bending over backwards to pretend that the ceasefire that "started" early Friday lasted through the continuing rocket fire emanating from Gaza. Look at the headline of this article in the "Times of Israel" (and it wasn't alone among media outlets): "Fresh rockets target south but shaky Gaza ceasefire appears to hold."
(https://www.timesofisrael.com/fresh-rocket-fire-targets-south-but-shaky-gaza-ceasefire-appears-to-hold/). The TOI article noted that the rocket fire was the fourth violation of the ceasefire. Either there is "ceasefire" or there isn't, or does the old, but not so-old joke still hold: "we cease and they fire?"
When does a stated policy become a thing of ridicule? When did we become an object of ridicule? Perhaps when it was claimed that if one rocket is fired from Gaza... we would return or attack with such ferocity.... or when the previous Prime Minister Olmert agreed to accept an economic separation between the Israelis living inside the area demarcated by the Green Line (the old Armistice Line) or outside it (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/eu-and-israel-end-trade-dispute-1.1152244) -- the end result being a process leading now to the European Court of Justice ruling that the building of Israel towns in Judea and Samaria -- the home of Jewish life going back to the time of the Bible is "characterized by the fact that they give concrete expression to a policy of population transfer conducted by that state outside its territory)" (https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-landmark-ruling-eus-top-court-says-settlement-product-labeling-mandatory/). Of course, the court forgot to note the irony that the only ones who engaged in population transfer were the Europeans. They transferred the Jews to the gas chambers.
It's not just us our policy makers and media that must have read George Orwell's book "1984." HAMAS says that that Israel will not choose when there will be a ceasefire; that the decision to carry out military campaigns remains in the hands of HAMAS (and Islamic Jihad), and “Israel bears the consequences and results of its ongoing aggression.” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/blamed-for-beersheba-rocket-fire-hamas-says-israel-wont-choose-timing-of-ops/).
So, let's summarize: the Israeli government claims that it will show "no mercy" and that "we will protect ourselves." But, we stopped the bombing very soon after it started and didn't attack HAMAS at all. The media claims that a "shaky" ceasefire still holds (https://www.timesofisrael.com/fresh-rocket-fire-targets-south-but-shaky-gaza-ceasefire-appears-to-hold/), but missile fire continues. HAMAS claims that it can attack us when ever it wants, but we would be the aggressor.
In the meantime, Islamic Jihad has developed a 300 kg bomb that can easily destroy a building (https://www.timesofisrael.com/islamic-jihad-used-new-rocket-with-300kg-warhead-during-fighting-report/).
Fortunately, we don't have any real tornados here. At least that is something.
Of course, as long as our leadership continue to blow hot air, and our media reassures us that skies are clear and sunny, we've got nothing to worry about.
Barry Lynn
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Weather It Is (Will It Ever Rain?)
Good Afternoon:
I am sure that many of you are asking: "will it ever rain?" I see a few folks wearing boots, regardless of the heat, but others are enjoying the no jacket weather during the day and no need for an air conditioner at night.
Ever since I went over to the dark-side of the weather -- and took it upon myself the responsibility to decide when it will and and won't rain, I seem to be getting into more and more trouble. You see, the farmers want rain, and folks are itching for a change, but my wife doesn't like winter. Really, I don't think that people really appreciate the pressure I am under, but one iron-rule of marriage is don't upset the wife. So, I've had to be extra sensitive about turning fall into winter. Or, maybe that's summer into fall. I really don't know, I just know that I'm not sleeping late enough since the clocks changed.
With all this going on, someone this morning slipped me a note with a drawing of an arrow on it, pointing to a rain cloud, and a date: November 21st. Then, he says something like:"you've got to break a few eggs to make an omelette," and I'm wondering if he's speaking about my barometer or my bones.
Needless to say, I was a bit disturbed by this incident (and it happened at the Synagogue, too!).
So, I told my wife that I can only keep this guy off of me until about late Thursday, but then I've got to do my job, switch the winds from southeasterly to northwesterly, bring in some humidity, bring some showers, and then really open the faucet by late next week... "Or what," she asked: "that's what I'm worried about," I told her.
Just to make his point, I found this pile of snails feasting on a plate of lettuce and other tasty vegetables in my front garden. I don't know if you know, but where I come from these are slugs -- only these are all dressed up -- and what's another name for slugs -- bullets. You get my point.
While I'm on the subject, I might mention that snails are perfect for kids who'd rather take care of a pet than hug it. I was left wondering, though, how these snails all ended up at and on the plate at the same time. I just don't think it can happen naturally (which does indeed make me worry -- more). Snails move at a top speed of 1 meter per hour, and I find it it very hard to believe that these snails were just waiting for that plate of vegetables to appear in our garden. The only thing I can think of is that their antennae eyes also serve as radio-transmitters, and they must have a few lookouts ready to spread the word. From there, it's just a slimy slide away down the spider silk-line to dinner.
I really hope that they won't mind the rain.
Barry Lynn
I am sure that many of you are asking: "will it ever rain?" I see a few folks wearing boots, regardless of the heat, but others are enjoying the no jacket weather during the day and no need for an air conditioner at night.
Ever since I went over to the dark-side of the weather -- and took it upon myself the responsibility to decide when it will and and won't rain, I seem to be getting into more and more trouble. You see, the farmers want rain, and folks are itching for a change, but my wife doesn't like winter. Really, I don't think that people really appreciate the pressure I am under, but one iron-rule of marriage is don't upset the wife. So, I've had to be extra sensitive about turning fall into winter. Or, maybe that's summer into fall. I really don't know, I just know that I'm not sleeping late enough since the clocks changed.
With all this going on, someone this morning slipped me a note with a drawing of an arrow on it, pointing to a rain cloud, and a date: November 21st. Then, he says something like:"you've got to break a few eggs to make an omelette," and I'm wondering if he's speaking about my barometer or my bones.
Needless to say, I was a bit disturbed by this incident (and it happened at the Synagogue, too!).
So, I told my wife that I can only keep this guy off of me until about late Thursday, but then I've got to do my job, switch the winds from southeasterly to northwesterly, bring in some humidity, bring some showers, and then really open the faucet by late next week... "Or what," she asked: "that's what I'm worried about," I told her.
Just to make his point, I found this pile of snails feasting on a plate of lettuce and other tasty vegetables in my front garden. I don't know if you know, but where I come from these are slugs -- only these are all dressed up -- and what's another name for slugs -- bullets. You get my point.
While I'm on the subject, I might mention that snails are perfect for kids who'd rather take care of a pet than hug it. I was left wondering, though, how these snails all ended up at and on the plate at the same time. I just don't think it can happen naturally (which does indeed make me worry -- more). Snails move at a top speed of 1 meter per hour, and I find it it very hard to believe that these snails were just waiting for that plate of vegetables to appear in our garden. The only thing I can think of is that their antennae eyes also serve as radio-transmitters, and they must have a few lookouts ready to spread the word. From there, it's just a slimy slide away down the spider silk-line to dinner.
I really hope that they won't mind the rain.
Barry Lynn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)