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Holiday #3 at Mom & Dad's

Today was yet another family celebration, and again a lot of fun. We watched some old 8mm films from the late 50s through early 70s, and provided our own commentary, as there is no sound on the film. Chris had arranged to have them transferred to DVD for preservation and ease of showing. Good memories and good times!

Holiday at home

Christmas has come and gone, and our family get-together (21 people) was pleasant, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Maybe they were all too full to complain, with a large ham, standing rib roast, and home-made pasta with Bolognese sauce (thanks Jeff and Lisa!), potatoes, veggies, pickles, olives, cheeses, smoked salmon, wine, beer, soda, pies, cookies, candy, and more!

Who doesn't love "thunder snow"?

Didn't get out today after church / shopping / lunch. Stayed home and made candied orange peels, and started preparations for Christmas dinner at our house.

Nice weather!

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
410 PM EST SUN DEC 21 2008
INTERIOR YORK-INTERIOR CUMBERLAND-COASTAL YORK-COASTAL CUMBERLAND-SAGADAHOC-LINCOLN-KNOX-SOUTHERN CARROLL-MERRIMACK-BELKNAP-STRAFFORD-INTERIOR ROCKINGHAM-COASTAL ROCKINGHAM-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF... NORTH WINDHAM... GORHAM... BRIDGTON... BIDDEFORD... SACO... OLD ORCHARD BEACH... PORTLAND... SOUTH PORTLAND... WESTBROOK... BATH... TOPSHAM... WALDOBORO... BOOTHBAY HARBOR... WISCASSET... ROCKLAND... CAMDEN... THOMASTON... WOLFEBORO... CONCORD... LACONIA... TILTON-NORTHFIELD... MEREDITH... ROCHESTER... DOVER... DURHAM... DERRY... LONDONDERRY... EXETER... PORTSMOUTH... HAMPTON
410 PM EST SUN DEC 21 2008

...BANDS OF HEAVY SNOW AND THUNDER SNOW WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING...

HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS ACROSS SOUTHERN MAINE AND SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE...ESPECIALLY ALONG AND NEAR THE COASTLINE. THERE MAY BE AREAS OF THUNDER SNOW BETWEEN 6 AND 8 PM ALONG AND NEAR THE COAST AS WELL. TEMPERATURES WILL BE MAINLY IN THE TEENS. NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE...GUSTING TO AS HIGH AS 35 MPH AT TIMES...CAUSING BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

Later:
715 PM EST SUN DEC 21 2008

...NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS PORTIONS OF MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE...

HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO FALL AT A RATE OF AN INCH OR TWO PER HOUR ACROSS MUCH OF MAINE AS WELL AS CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE THROUGH 9 PM. THE VISIBILITY WILL BE NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. WINDS WILL GUST OVER 30 MPH FROM THE NORTH...BEFORE WINDS SWITCH TO THE WEST. THIS WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW.

THE SNOW WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH IN INTENSITY ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST MAINE BETWEEN 8 AND 10 PM. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN IN THE TEENS.

TRAVEL WILL CONTINUE TO BE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING.

Who doesn't love "thunder snow"?

New England weather continues

Yesterday and last night's snow added up to almost 12 inches, but it was very light and easily removed. Tomorrow's doesn't sound as though that will be the case - it may even end as rain or ice. I don't think we want ice!

I was able to go cross-country skiing this morning. The number of downed trees and branches in the woods is quite high. Trails required numerous short detours, and the day is rather cold, but it still beats sitting home. Not sure if I will be able to get out in tomorrow's storm to ski again, but I have Monday off...

It's still officially fall, but looks like winter!

I had the day off from work and did some shopping to help the economy. There was plenty of traffic on the roads and people in the stores. If everyone is buying, we are in good shape in our area.

The snow didn't start until almost 3 PM vs. the noon forecast, but it's definitely snowing hard, temperature in the low teens, and quite windy. With another snow storm expected Sunday night, we should have our first white Christmas in several years. And since I have Monday off I won't stress too much about cleaning up early in the morning.

Still recovering, with snow today

Just to prove it's winter, Mother Nature decided to add to people's burdens by sending in 2-3 inches of snow. Obviously it's easier to deal with when we have power, but it's not especially welcomed. The forecast includes potential for substantial snow Friday into Saturday, and then again on Sunday. A white Christmas is pretty much assured at this point!

Tens of thousands of customers (not "people") are still without power in NH and ME, many or even most of them within about a 25 mile radius. We are grateful for our return to civilization on Monday.

We have power!

At 1:30 PM today (Monday) our power came back on. A truck came by the house (I was told) that took care of the branches and trees that had fallen Friday, followed soon by two more trucks from out of state (not sure where they came from, but thanks!!!!). With all the problems I had seen since the storm, I didn't think there was a chance that we could get power before tomorrow at best, but at 1:30 PM today it was on!

A friend from work said that he got power at 2 AM today and a neighbor set off fireworks to celebrate. I think that was probably an appropriate response after the stress and (for many) loss that we endured.

Now that we don't need the generator, I have passed it on to a brother-in-law who is still without power (after he and his wife stopped by for showers), hoping that it will carry him through and reduce his dependency on his fireplace. He lives in a small street off a small street off our road, so it's hard to predict when he might get power back. A good sign was that a truck came around and cleared trees/branches from his neighborhood this morning, but no activity since then.

Durham NH status of storm outages

To: Town of Durham Mailing List
Subject: Town of Durham: Power Outage Update - Monday - 12/15/08 - 10:00 a.m.

Dear Members of the Community,

As of 10:00 a.m. today, Monday, 12/15/08, the N.H. Office of Emergency Management reports widespread power outages across the state currently affecting approximately 165,600 customers combined with widespread debris and downed power lines causing road closures.

Durham Town Officials have placed calls to PSNH and are awaiting feedback at this time concerning areas of power restoration focus within the community. When this information becomes available, we will update the community via the list server and our Town website. We'll also distribute blue flyers downtown this afternoon with the latest information for residents who cannot access the internet.

This week's weather forecast is as follows:

Today (Monday, 12/15/08): A chance of showers after 7am. Cloudy, with a high near 49. Southwest wind between 8 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tonight: Showers likely, mainly before 4am. Cloudy, with a low around 32. West wind between 7 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tuesday: A chance of rain showers before 1pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a temperature falling to around 31 by 5pm. North wind between 6 and 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Tuesday Night: Snow likely. Increasing clouds, with a low around 21. Light north wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Wednesday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 31. Northeast wind between 3 and 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday Night: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Thursday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 38. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Friday: A chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

A Federal emergency declaration has been received for the State of New Hampshire for Federal financial assistance. The National Guard continues to distribute cots and water from the FEMA staging area at Pease.

The N.H. Department of Transportation reports 39 segments of state roads are still closed; 199 segments of local roads are still closed including 10 roadways which are either totally or partially obstructed by power lines in Durham as follows:

Bagdad/Canney
Davis Ave.
Dennison Rd. (by Middle School)
Ambler
Faculty Rd.
Dame Rd.
Durham Point Rd.
Meserve Rd.
Stevens Way
Willey Rd.

N.H. Electric COOP outages are down to 7,600 and are expected to be back on line by Monday.
Unitil reports 13,000 outages.
National Grid reports 7,000 outages.
PSNH is reporting a total of 138,000 customers still without power.
Phone service interruptions are largely awaiting power restoration - will usually follow by a day.

For assistance, contact the Durham Police Department at 868-2324. The Red Cross shelter at the Oyster River High School on Coe Drive is still in operation and will continue in place until no longer needed.

Ice storm!

We had a horrible ice storm late Thursday into Friday, knocking out power to 320,000 customers of PSNH. That compares to 55,000 in the bad ice storm in 1998. We have been without power at home since around 3 AM Friday, and as I write this Monday morning, there is no sign of any activity on out street - a main state highway that one might think deserved some attention.

My manager at work sent a note Friday that contained a special message to me:
"Sounds like it's a mess on the roads this morning. All schools are closed. Work from home if you can or delay coming into the office until mid-day when things warm up a bit. MIKE - DO NOT RIDE YOUR BIKE IN TODAY! ; )" Such a reputation!

Thank goodness the generator is working, and that I had installed the Gen-Tran unit that allows us to have heat, hot water, refrigerator use, and main floor lighting. We are even able to watch VCR/DVD on the TV. It's an old one, so I'm not too worried about unclean power from the generator.

I bought the generator in 1995, and until last week had amassed a total of about 12 hours on the hour gauge. It's now around 40 (I don't run it all day, and not at all during the night). Slow payback for the investment, but it looks pretty good today!

Saturday, the ice storm didn't stop an annual Christmas party at a home in York despite having no power on a cold night. Our host showed incredible courage and persistence by holding the party, which was (as usual) a magnificent time. We have time to catch up with friends, meet new people, eat great food, and sing carols.

Lack of power was not a substantial impediment to our enjoyment (even if we couldn't flush).

No, I haven't quit yet

I just haven't prioritized this site, but probably should. Looking back over older posts I see that it stirs memories that my porous brain can't retain, and are actually interesting to me, at least.

We're experiencing the first real winter weather, other than a small amount of snow last Sunday. It's beginning to ice up in the area, with worse weather expected later tonight. I haven't ridden my bike to work all week, the first time since early April when I was taking some medication that advised against exertion. (Why doesn't the spelling of that word look right?).

Concerts for CCSB (http://www.ccsb-sing.org) last weekend, and working on SCC concerts in January.

More soon, I hope.

Welcome to May!

Now that May has arrived, so have April showers (downpours on Monday afternoon and most of Tuesday) and cooler weather. Those who had last week off (most schools in the area, though not those in Rockingham county) had a wonderful week of weather!

After the showers ended we have gone back to rather chilly weather, with 28 degrees greeting me for my bike ride to work this morning. No jacket necessary on the ride home, but the wind was in my face again for the final home stretch.

Another week, almost

Saturday I cleaned up my "hybrid" bike and cleaned the gunk out of the chain on both that one and my commuter bike that's been having chain issues. Removing the chains and soaking them in degreaser made a world of difference, although I might have done serious damage to one of them when putting it back together with the chain tool. So far, no problems, but I'm not sure there won't be a catestrophic failure at some point. Hopefully without injury!

There was a reception for Fr. Cole at the Cocheco Country Club on Sunday. He is leaving us after 10 years. I remember meeting him when I was president of the Pastoral Council back in 1998. He greeted me at the door of the Parish Hall by name, having gone through the parish directory photos and memorizing all the members of the council. A real "people person" who will be missed.

Monday and Tuesday were bike to work days, and rather warm in the afternoons. Tuesday nights are set aside for rehearsals in York Village for the Seacoast Community Chorus.

Wednesday (and until Friday noon) we had people from Wausau visiting, so we went to Christopher's for dinner. After that I went to York Harbor for rehearsal #2 for the week. A very warm day for this time of year!

Thursday (today) was the first day that it was warm enough to bike to work without needing to wear a jacket. 59 degrees, and it went well into the 70s, though it was rather windy.

Summer is coming, the "kids" are moving to the beach, and UNH is almost done for the year...

My week, and more

I made it through the week, enjoying the arrival of spring. Today it made it into the high 70s, even though it started out at 35 or so. My bike ride to work was nice.
I've seen many ducks at the reservoir, including Mallards and Mergansers.

Saturday is when we're turning on the water at the beach house in York Beach, and Beth and Pete will probably be moving there for the summer.

Lots of things happening this week, including rehearsals, board meetings, and finance committee meetings.

It's good to be busy, but sleeping is needed, too!

Red Sox in Cincinnati, and more

Bought the airplane tickets, and ready to go! Keith assures me that there are 2 tickets, one for me and one for Bob. Fingers crossed...

Cleaned up the bike today. Boy, was it ever dirty and grimy from the winter commute. I took off the studded snow tires and put on the fancy new Kevlar reflective sidewall road tires. My commute will be a couple of minutes shorter each way, I'm sure.

Made it!

I made it through the week and the weekend of performances, set-ups, take-downs. Lots of fun with moments of stress and excitement mixed in. A wonderful time and it's great to be part of this group! http://www.ccsb-sing.org. If you missed the concerts, we have links on the site that will give you an idea of the quality and substance that we offer. I'm sure audio from the latest concerts will be available soon and I will be updating the site. Check back soon!

Chorus activities continue

This will be a busy week of singing. Special rehearsal in the afternoon for "sectionals" - I'm in charge of the tenors. Tomorrow night is our regular CCSB rehearsal night, Tuesday in York for the SCC, Wednesday night a special CCSB rehearsal at Berwick Academy, and then concerts Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

That's on top of work, possible x-country skiing on Thursday, and a monthly board of directors meeting for a non-profit, where I am also treasurer.

Today I sang at a memorial service for a wonderful man (photo includes his wife talking to a friend at a 2007 Christmas party). I only met him a couple of times, but know that he was a very nice man who loved his music. Those who knew him well have only the kindest words for him.

His obituary says:

"For 47 summers, he was the organist at Trinity Episcopal Church in York Harbor, and for 30 of those years he was also the choir director. He was also the choir director and organist at First Parish Congregational Church in York for 17 years. He was a member of the American Guild of Organists and the Seacoast Community Chorus."

He planned the entire service to the tiniest detail, in a multi-page letter. Very interesting!

The service was wonderful, moving, and very musical, as he would surely have wanted.

Josh and Papa's pants

Who is this young man in white pants?




















You might be suprised to hear that he once was highly rated on "hot or not".

Don't they ever delete things from that site? Here's the link from 2002! http://www.hotornot.com/r/?eid=NMOQE8O&key=MBY

Official Rating 5.9 based on 131 votes
He checked his score:60 months ago

Snowy Friday - Late March

Definitely not a good day to be on a bike. (Please excuse the formatting - I didn't want to spend too much time on it)

24 Hour Summary
Time EST---------Temp----Dew Pt Pressure WindMPH Weather
11 AM Mar 28----32.9 ----31.3----29.89----NE 10 snow; fog
10 AM Mar 28----32.7 ----31.5----29.89----NE 13 light snow; mist
9 AM Mar 28----32 -------32 ----29.89----NE 9 light snow; fog
8 AM Mar 28----32.5 ----31.5----29.9 ----NE 8 snow; fog
7 AM Mar 28----32.5 ----31.5 ----29.9----NE 9 light snow; mist
6 AM Mar 28 ----32.4----31.5----29.93 ----NE 5 snow; fog

Rest of Today
Snow through early afternoon...then snow likely. Total accumulation of 3 to 6 inches. Highs in the mid to upper 30s. Northeast winds around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.

Trouble afoot

Nice biking weather coming up. From the National Weather Service:

A Mix Of Rain And Snow Will Develop Late This Evening Or Shortly After Midnight Near The Connecticut River Valley... Spreading Into Southern Maine Late Tonight. As The Precipitation Falls More Heavily... It Will Change To Snow As Temperatures Hover Near Or Just Below The Freezing Mark. The Snow May Fall Heavily At Times Late Tonight And Friday Morning. The Snow Is Expected To Taper Off During Friday Afternoon.

At This Point... It Appears As Though A Large Portion Of Southern New Hampshire And York County Maine May Receive 6 Inches Or More Of Snow. Since There Is Still Some Uncertainty Regarding The Final Track Of The Low... It Is Possible That Areas Further North Could Receive Heavy Snow As Well. The Snowfall Forecast Will Be Refined This Afternoon.

If You Have Travel Plans Late Tonight Or Friday In This Area... Stay Abreast Of The Latest Forecast... As Travel Could Become Difficult Due To Heavy Snow.

We'll see how this plays out...

Easter date peculiarities

This year, the March 23 date for Easter is the earliest it has been since 1913, and it won't be this early again until 2228 according to what I've seen reported. The earliest possible date is March 22, and that hasn't happened since 1818 and won't happen again until 2285.

The latest it can fall is April 25, which happened in 1943 and will occur again in 2038.

2038 also happens to be when, on January 19 at 03:14:08 UTC (the evening of the 18th here in Eastern US), the Unix operating system date/time, using the POSIX system, will "wrap around" back to what represents December 13, 1901.

There is thought that this might require efforts similar to those taken to avert problems when January 1, 2000 came around. Though many think there wasn't a problem back then, it only appeared that way due to the tremendous coordinated efforts of thousands of people coding, testing, and monitoring systems around the world. I can attest to the hard work required!

Let's hope 2038 passes smoothly, as I will be 87 in January that year (if I'm still around, of course), and hope that I won't be hooked up to some machine that decides to fail...

Windy day!

It's clear, but very windy today. In fact, gusts could be around 50 mph.
I decided not to ride my bicycle to work, to avoid being hit by blowing
objects or running into fallen branches. There will be plenty of better
days coming soon.

I'm back!

Let's see if we can get this thing going again, if only for my future reference. Memory is a fleeting thing, and it's interesting to me to read what happened over the months/years.

1) Hoping to go to a Red Sox game in Cincinnati with Bob and Cindy in June. Waiting for word from Keith on potential tickets...

2) Planning for a day of cross-country skiing somewhere up north in early April with Mike.

3) Getting back into biking to work now that the snow has receded somewhat. I'm working only 4.7 miles from home now, so it's not the long travail that it was in previous days. Shorter trips, but I can ride almost every day I don't have a scheduling conflict. Rain isn't too much of a problem, but heavy fog can be.

4) Working on the SCC blog (http://sccsingers.blogspot.com/) to get that group into the semi-modern world of the internet.

5) Webmastering CCSB's web site (http://www.ccsb-sing.org/), keeping up with their news.

Lots of other things, as well, so I have to move on.
Later!