Whether Weather

The National Weather Service is about to boost its computing power by more than tenfold, which officials hope will translate to better weather forecasts.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's two supercomputers will more than triple in computational ability this month January, 2015 and more than triple again by October, 2015. Computers will go from now being able to handle 426 trillion operations per second to 5,000 trillion calculations per second later in October, 2015.

NOAA chief Kathryn Sullivan, in a press release, said the computer boost, "Will lead to more timely, accurate, and reliable forecasts." It would be nice if some of the climaticogasmic scientists would upgrade their capabilities to predict, rather than just forecast.

Wordology, Perfect Storm

It is actually a cliché and will not go away as most clichés usually do. One would naturally think a perfect storm is about weather, but it is seldom used to discuss weather. In fact, it was used for a few hundred years before a Texas weather bureau first used in 1936: "The weather bureau describes the disturbance as ‘the perfect storm’ of its type. Seven factors were involved in the chain of circumstances that led to the flood."

A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said "I haven't used it once after 30 years in the Weather Service and am proud to say I've never used 'Storm of the Century,' either." Major weeknight network newscasts (NBC, ABC, CBS) used it a total of 32 times in the past year; USA Today used it 22 times, and the New York Times used it 57 times, all discussing non-weather related items.

Current usage describes a perfect storm as a confluence of circumstances that tend to exaggerate a situation, such as:
May was another perfect-storm month for the NBA.
A strong showing by Tiger Woods was a perfect storm of scoring conditions.
Budget cuts led to a perfect storm of unintended consequences.
The confluence of the Internet, TiVo, cable TV, and DVDs, means we are looking at a perfect storm.
The economic disaster was caused by a perfect storm of real-estate headaches.
About the recently fired Catholic bishop - ‘Bishop Bling’ was a perfect storm.
At the end of the day, I guess a perfect storm is better than using 'at the end of the day'.

Five Old Wive's Tales Debunked

Chocolate causes acne
The American Academy of Dermatology says acne is not caused by any specific type of food, including chocolate. The adolescent affliction is linked to the levels of testosterone in your body.

Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your eyes
According to WebMD.com, the worst thing that can happen as a result of sitting too close to the screen is a nagging headache.

Carrots improve your eyesight
The American Optometric Association found that 48% of Americans still believe carrots are the best food for eye health. And though it does have beta-carotene and Vitamin A. Dark leafy greens like spinach are even healthier for the eyes.

Taking a swim less than one hour after eating will give you cramps
The Mayo Clinic says it is perfectly safe to swim after you eat a light meal or snack. The site does recommend taking a break after eating a big meal, not because of cramping, but due to lethargy.

Lightning never strikes the same place twice
According to the National Weather Service, lightning can strike the same place numerous times. In fact, the Empire State Building is hit an average of 25 times a year.