Almost Sort Of Cold Front

But not really. It rained here for a bit. At times it was raining rather hard. There was some urban flooding in the areas that always seem to flood.

Temperatures ARE a little cooler. So some people I know are going on about "the cold front".

But...alas, it is not a cold front. During and after a cold front you can expect a few things to happen. Really - you can. Do not believe me? Next time one passes over observe for yourself!

1. It rains like crazy. It really comes down. This is typical for the first fronts to hit. See the warm moist air is displaced by the rapidly moving cold front. The air is forced up. Where it gets cold. Cold air can not hold moisture, so it all falls as rain. Or sleet. Or snow. It all depends on how cold we are talking about. But as the front passes, the rain/sleet/snow stops. Down here we get hard rain, but after the hard rain stops the weather clears fast.

2. The prevailing winds change direction 180 (more or less) degrees. Low pressure air spins counter clockwise. High pressure air spins clockwise. The cold front is ALWAYS the leading edge of high pressure. So the winds change direction.

3. The weather clears rapidly.

4. It gets colder.

5. You generally feel better as the higher pressure air allows your lungs to take in more oxygen with each breath.

6. Pressure RISES. This is a very important concept.

What happened today was after the hard rain, we got a few hours of drizzle. It got a little cooler, but not that much. Highs for today are forecast to be 88 degrees. Better than 96, but not really "cold". The winds did not change direction. In fact right now there is no wind. It is dead calm. The sky did not clear, there are still clouds out.

And most importantly, the pressure is currently FALLING. This means that a high pressure zone could not have moved over this area. In fact, it means a LOW PRESSURE area is approaching.

So....not a cold front.

The Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine shall remain in the fridge for some more time.

The Weekend

The end of the week approaches. I guess this is a good thing. And this will not be a regular ordinary weekend - this one lasts three days. Unless your place of employment is communist and does not believe in three day weekends. OK so maybe communist is a bit harsh. I should have said unless your place of employment operates 24 hours a day. Yea all the banks will be closed - but what if you do not work for a bank? What if you work for a utility company or something?

Well in that case you may get screwed out of a three day weekend. But as a consolation prize you get an extra days pay.

Someone told me it was Nixon who decided to make Memorial Day and Labor Day fall on a Monday. Supposedly these two holidays used to fall on a calendar date. So sometimes Memorial Day would be on a Wednesday some years and a Saturday other years. The story goes that ole Nixon thought that sucked, because on a Wednesday you get the day off but then what? You still have to be at work Tuesday and Thursday. And if it fell on a Saturday - well a lot of people have that day off already! But making the holiday fall on a Monday means a three day weekend. If this story is true it is why Nixon will be remembered as a better President than Bush. But I digress.

The weather outlook for me looks crappy.

SATURDAY
EAST WINDS 15 TO 20 KNOTS. BAY WATERS CHOPPY IN EXPOSED
AREAS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON.

SATURDAY NIGHT
EAST WINDS AROUND 15 KNOTS. BAY WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

SUNDAY
EAST WINDS AROUND 15 KNOTS. BAY WATERS A MODERATE CHOP. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON.

Monday's forecast is pretty much the same as Sunday. The meaning of "Bay waters choppy in exposed areas" means if you are south of Key Biscayne, it will be choppy. And it looks like the best chance for rain is in the late morning and afternoon - prime time for boats.

But I will probably head out anyway. The offshore forecast is even worse. The offshore conditions for Saturday call for 6 - 8 foot seas and winds at 20 - 25 knots. It also says that bay waters will be "rough in exposed areas". If this holds up, there will be small craft advisory up this weekend. Or at least for Friday and Saturday.

Now under normal conditions I would be ready to scrub any boat mission this weekend. The old boat could deal with a choppy bay, but it would be a rough and wet ride. The new boat is a power cat. It will offer a much nicer and drier ride.

In a way, the not so great conditions will be good. I will get to fully test the boats ride characteristics. I will go out Saturday, Sunday, or maybe both days.

I still have to solve the mystery of the non functioning check card. The thing is still "broken".

The cheese heads said that I have to pay them $80 to be not guilty. And there is a 50/50 chance that the judge will be a dick and charge me with court costs. If I get nailed with court costs, then the cost is whatever the ticket fine is - in my case $133.63 How they arrive at $133.63 is beyond reasoning. Why not $135? What the crap is with the 63 cents? What if I only have $133.62? Will I get sent to jail over a penny?

My other option is to pay for traffic school, which is only a little less than what the cheese head will charge. And then I get a 18% discount on the ticket.

In light of all this, should I put my guilt or innocence in the hands of the lowest tier of the lawyer world. Traffic ticket attorneys. You know all the other lawyers point and laugh at them. "Hey, there goes Ralph! He almost flunked out of law school and barely passed the Bar Exam. He works for The Ticket Clinic now. He can not even afford a new Mercedes hardtop convertible every other year! What a looser!".

Online traffic school is $15. I then get a 18% discount on the fine. So the fine will be $109 plus the $15 for the traffic school works out to $124. The cheese head is cheaper, but there is a 50/50 chance that it will cost more. About $89 more. So do I flip the coin for $89? Heads I save $44 tails I loose $89.

The question now is do I feel lucky. Well do I?

Now taking all bets! I also offer video poker.