Still No Power

 It appears that we have been collateral damage to God smiting Donald Trump's July 4th celebrations.

It Was Just a F%$#ing Snowball Fight

The Manhattan District Attorney agrees, and dropped assault charges against one of the participants.

Manhattan prosecutors declined to pursue an assault charge against Gusmane Coulibaly on Thursday night, instead charging him with misdemeanor obstructing government administration and a harassment violation in connection with the viral Washington Square Park snowball fight.

………

In court, prosecutors said that after reviewing the evidence, they were unable to prove that an officer suffered a physical injury caused directly by Coulibaly’s conduct and therefore did not pursue an assault charge. They said the investigation remains ongoing.

About a dozen uniformed officers sat in the courtroom along with union leadership, including Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry.

And the cops proceeded to whine about this, like the entitled babies that they are.

It's just a snowball fight, and if the boys in blue had not attempted to engage in dick swinging, nothing would have happened. 

My One Regret During Our Little Snow Storm

We got about 8 inches of snow in late January, and it was followed immediately some freezing rain, so we had about 3 inches of frozen snow atop about 5 inches of powdery snow.

It would have been perfect snow for an igloo.

I could have cut blocks of ice out with a knife, and used the powder as a mortar and insulation.

I wish that I had thought of this earlier.

I have been in an igloo, when I was 6 in Anchorage at some sort of a winter fair.  I recall it being much warmer than the outside. (I also saw the start of a sled dog race that was not the Iditarod, and went on my first roller coaster.) 

I do not expect to see a similar sort of snow in the next few years.

Anyone Know of Any Good Recipes for Groundhog?

It's Groundhog Day………

After hearing that pretty much all of the rodent pests predicted a late spring, I want to roast Punxsutawney Phil and the rest of his ilk on a spit.

In other Groundhog Day news, this being of the Harold Ramis/Bill Murray version, I have another Epstein post that I am working on.

It's Groundhog Day………

Oh crap. 

I'll Take 8 Inches

No, not that.

I'm referring to the snowfall, which was about 8 inches in my area over the weekend.

Given that the predictions were for as much as 16 inches. I'd say that we dodged a bullet. 

Love working from home right now. 

Snark of the Day

The pogroms are starting. https://t.co/XZx17qwu8V

— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) January 25, 2026

Stoller is, of course, making a joke here.

Helping someone dig their car out of the snow does not qualify as a pogrom, regardless of the religion of the car driver or the shovel wielder. 

If you value your sanity, you may not want to look at the comments, where a number of truly dense people or organizations missed the humor entirely. 

Deep Thought

The worst part of being bald is not the lack of hair, it's the feeling of snowflakes landing on my scalp.

It's snowing in Maryland right now. 

Yes, I know, I could wear a hat, but I hate hats. 

We Are Unbelievably Screwed

It looks like a collopse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is increasingly likely.

This will disrupt weather over the world, but particularly in Europe, where would could see temperatures drop by 10°C (18°F).

Note that Paris, France is 3 degrees latitude further north than Toronto, Canada, so this is a big deal.

Time for a climate update. Tipping points are approaching. To present this information this systematically, consider the following:

•  Bad things are already happening, and they’ll continue.
•  Over not much time, the bad things will also get worse.
•  Then tipping points will be reached, after which the worst is baked in.
•  Some years after that, the worst arrives in full.

This process is true in a great many areas: sea level rise, for example, and coastal destruction.

The seas are already rising, due partly to ocean expansion (warm water takes up more space than cold water), but due mainly to melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica. Once the tipping point for glacial melt has been reached, all ice will be guaranteed gone at some future time, and a full sea level rise disaster is bound to occur.

What will that look like? Greenland ice melt will cause 24 feet of sea level rise; Antarctica ice melt, 230 feet. The world’s coastal cities, where 15% of world population lives, will erode with the shores and be drowned. In the U.S., 45% of GDP will be lost. 

The tipping point for the collapse of AMOC is currently predicted at 10-30 years.

We need to do something now,  and we are currently ruled by people who are literally pro anthropogenic climate change.

Game over, dudes! 

Lesson Learned

If the temperature is 93°F, today is not the day to cook up some birch pitch using ancient techniques.

Lots of fire and lots of smoke and no shade is not a recipe for a happy Matthew.

Yes, I know what happened today in Iran, but I am too fatigued and out of it to say anything about it.

OK, This One Is Real Snow

Schools closed,my office shut down, and insane people on the roads, though the latter happens in any weather in Maryland.

We got a bit over 7 inches.

In Buffalo, or Rochester, they would call this a light dusting.

This is the first serious snow that we have had in the area in a few years.

Bummer

Less than 2 hours, and all the snow has melted.

The joys of Maryland weather.

I wanted to make an igloo.

First Real Snow of the Season

Sweet!

Posted via mobile

It's 2 November

And I am sitting outside in Centerville, Maryland, and it is 61°F, and the sky looks

Like this:

More Climate Change Weirdness

While this is hurricane season, the emergence of a micro hurricane in the Caribbean is not how things have gone in the past.

5 miles in diameter, cyclonic, and hurricane force winds.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the water is almost as hot as a bathtub:

A hurricane so small that it could not be observed by satellite formed this weekend, surprising meteorologists and even forecasters at the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Oscar developed on Saturday near Turks and Caicos, and to the northeast of Cuba, in the extreme southwestern Atlantic Ocean. As of Saturday evening, hurricane-force winds extended just 5 miles (8 km) from the center of the storm.

This is not the smallest tropical cyclone—as defined by sustained winds greater than 39 mph, or 63 kph—as that record remains held by Tropical Storm Marco back in 2008. However, this may possibly be the smallest hurricane in terms of the extent of its hurricane-force winds.

………

Writing in his summary of Oscar's development on Saturday afternoon, National Hurricane Center forecaster Philippe Papin noted that the hurricane was only discovered due to a last-minute flight by Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft.

"It is fair to say it's been an unexpected day with regards to Oscar," he wrote in his 5 pm ET advisory. "After being upgraded to a tropical storm this morning, a resources-permitting Air Force Reconnaissance mission found that Oscar was much stronger than anticipated and in fact was a tiny hurricane. It is worth noting that remote sensing satellite intensity estimates are currently much lower."

 This is not normal.

Great Shades of Elvis!

I am referring, of course to Hurricane Milton, which went from a Category 1 Hurricane to Category 5 in less than a 24 hours, and  now has sustained winds of over 180 mph and a pressure in the eye of less than 900 millibar.

It's dropped slightly since peak, but they are looking at a 12-15 foot storm surge in the Tampa area.

Sunday morning, it was just a tropical storm.

Don't worry though, Florida is protected from woke types who have been warning about anthropogenic climate change.  You can thank Ron DeSantis for that.

Another note, even at its worst, Milton will not be the most deadly weather event in the United States.

It might not even be in the top 10.

Typically, the most deadly weather events are heat waves, where you can see thousands of deaths.

(On edit)

Yes, Marjorie Taylor Greene is asserting that the government created the hurricane with our super-duper weather control machine.

I just wanted to know that I just got off the phone with ZOG, and there were no Jewish Space Lasers involved in this storm.

Fasten Your Seat Belts, It's Going to Be a Bumpy Ride

Ocean temperatures, 2005 vs. 2024 So, it's the end of June, and we already have 2 3 named storms including Hurricane Beryl, the earliest category 4 hurricane ever.

I think that there is a good chance that we might end up running out of letters this year, as we did in 2005, when Hurricane Katrine devastated New Orleans:

Hurricane Beryl strengthened into what experts called an “extremely dangerous” category 4 storm as it approaches the south-east Caribbean, which began shutting down Sunday amid urgent pleas from government officials for people to take shelter.

Beryl had strengthened into a category 3 hurricane on Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

It took Beryl only 42 hours to strengthen from a tropical depression to a major hurricane – a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with 1 September as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

Beryl is now the earliest category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a category 4 storm on 8 July 2005, hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said.

………

Following behind it, tropical storm Chris formed near eastern Mexico on Sunday, but will begin to weaken after landfall, the US National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The storm is expected to produce rainfall totals of 10 to 20cm across portions of eastern Mexico through Monday, the Miami-based forecaster added.


Hurricane Ivan in 2004 was the last strongest hurricane to hit the south-east Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage in Grenada as a category 3 storm.

“So this is a serious threat, a very serious threat,” Lowry said of Beryl.

………

Warm waters were fueling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher. Lowry said the waters are now warmer than they would be at the peak of the hurricane season in September.

Beryl marks the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Klotzbach.

Clearly, anthropogenic climate change is a myth, amiright?

Bummer

Another cloudy night, which means that once again, despite the largest geomagnetic storm in over 20 years, I will be unable to see the northern lights.

I'll check Aurorasaurus when the weather is clear.

Today in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

10 days ago, we had the first significant snow in the Baltimore area in 3 years. 

Same as it ever was.

Today, I'm walking to my car, and the sun is setting, and it's 69°, in January.

And so today, I find myself sitting behind the wheel of my (Parked) car asking myself, "Well, how did I get here?"

This is in no way shape or form normal.

Posted via mobile.

First Real Snow in 3 Years in Baltimore

Bad enough that they canceled the Martin Luther King birthday parade.

I've missed the snow, even though it reveals is the worst part of being bald, having snowflakes fall on a bare scalp.

I have really missed the snow in the past few years, so the 2-4 inches are welcome, even if it makes for an inconvenient commute.

A New Recipe for Baked Sheep

•  Take a few dozen sheep.
• Have them flee to a greenhouse to get out of torrential rains.
• Have them eat the 600 pot plants.

You now have thoroughly baked sheep.

 As Anna Russel would say, "I'm not making this up, you know."

A flock of sheep have found themselves enjoying a slightly different diet this week after they devoured more than 600 pounds of cannabis.

The herd of unsuspecting herbivores were looking to satisfy their munchies when they inadvertently chomped down on a hefty stash of medical cannabis growing in a nearby greenhouse.

Near the town of Almyros in Thessaly, Greece, a greenhouse cultivating therapeutic marijuana became an unexpected diner for the animals as they grappled with the aftermath of Storm Daniel.

The storm resulted in Europe's highest-ever monthly precipitation. Relentless rain wreaked havoc across the central region, combining torrential downpours with landslides, crumbling roads and bridges, and crippling vital water supplies.

While looking to avoid flooding, the herd of sheep sought refuge in the greenhouse and simultaneously helped themselves to over 600 pounds of cannabis crops.

The bewildered shepherd watched as his flock began to exhibit what he called "strange behavior."

Speaking as a veteran of many VERY mellow discussions in college fueled by leafy green goodness, this behavior is not strange at all to me.

………

In 2017, the Greek government legalized the use of cannabis for medical purposes. In 2023, Greece inaugurated its first-ever medicinal cannabis production plant. The cultivation of cannabis for medical use has presented much-needed economic opportunities for the country.

………

Cannabis has been seen as a solution to some of the challenges facing Greek farmers, who have seen a drop in profit margins on traditional agricultural products in recent years.

………

Meanwhile, some scientists have even tested out feeding animals cannabis to see what happens. In 2022, dairy cows that were fed a diet containing industrial hemp experienced several physical and behavioral changes, including increased yawning, salivation and unsteady movements.

Here's a question, what the hell do you put on a resume for the last bit, "Got cows stoned and watched them?"

That does not seem to me to be a career booster.