Scarlet Pimpernel

It's really unfair to say such things about Pablo Picasso!

Agree. If we can get a few week period in Feb-Mar, sort of like 2015, then who cares if Dec and Jan were awful? Now, I'm in no way implying that I expect a 2015-like repeat, but if we score something reasonably good and memorable, I won't much care to dwell on the first part of the season being a failure.

LOL!! Wait, is that actually getting into the medium to darker blue colors?

Don't forget the little-known but never aired episode where Scotty was having issues filtering out higher frequency signals over in engineering..."The Trouble with Treble!" (Ducking for cover after that one...)

That one was funny! I think even Spock had to give in somewhat to the overbearing furry cuteness!

@psuhoffman, not to overanalyze a 10 day deterministic GFS run, but concerning the rain we get from that bombing storm the first couple days of February...could part of that be due to the shortwave/low just north of the Lakes, messing up the thermals for us? I do see that the high and 50/50 move out more rapidly than we'd like too, which I think was mentioned as well. Regardless, that is quite a nice setup which I'm sure will change.

Love the "old" original Star Trek, and the Next Generation as well (have seen all of both series at one time or another). While I liked many of the Next Gen episodes, what really sticks with me for some reason is the one where Picard's mind is "taken over" by a space probe, which has him re-live an entire lifetime as someone from an old civilization that had long gone extinct. As if to keep the memory of their history alive (I liked the touch at the end where the flute he played while re-living the memory is then given to him as a gift). I believe that Netflix should have "Galaxy Quest" available, certainly on DVD (but I don't think it's available on their streaming service). We rented that out from them within the past year or so. Agree on Tim Allen, I liked the first Santa Clause movie.

You should check it out! Pretty funny movie, and a good spoof of the old "Star Trek" series (hopefully you've seen that, haha!!).

Yup, indeed...very talented actor. He could play anything from serious to quasi-comic...and still get off those snarky one-liners no matter what the role.

Yeah, that does seem to be where we're headed in terms of a parade of storms. I would think where you're at, one of these at least might have a good shot to give you a decent paste job even if temperatures are somewhat marginal. Closer in to the metro DC area, we'd need a lot more help I'm sure.

Sure is! If you dig deeply enough into the dirt underneath the early blooming daffodils and forsythia, you might actually find winter down there somewhere!

Agree! Funny movie and gotta love Alan Rickman's performance too...

Didn't realize Beethoven had those connections...interesting! His music has always been my favorite...very powerful, always depicting a struggle (with eventual triumph) via music. For the longest time, I never had been able to see any of his symphonies performed live, though I have recordings of his entire complement of symphonies with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (and the 9th, Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph Von Dohnanyi...the interpretations of the 9th are different between those musical directors, but both are excellent for different reasons!). Then while still in Atlanta back in the late '90s, I was able to see the 9th performed live...TWICE! One time was a guest conductor. The other was a "farewell tour" by the Atlanta Symphony's then-musical director Yoel Levi (who was well liked and popular). Levi did the entire Beethoven "cycle", all the piano concertos and symphonies. I mustered what I could financially (as a grad student at the time) and was able to see him do the 5th symphony, 9th symphony, and the 5th piano concerto ("Emperor"). Well worth scraping the cash for the "nose bleed" seats to see Yoel Levi conduct Beethoven! Not to mention, Robert Shaw's influence on the chorale part of the 9th was amazing (he was formerly chorale director in both Cleveland and Atlanta years before)!!

Well, heck...there's even an implied death band (of rain) over MoCo it appears! Fitting, for this winter.

(Putting my response here in Banter) Yes, it is an amazing memorial, I agree whole-heartedly! I've walked through there several times mostly on the way to softball games either on a weekend morning or weekday evening. But never got around to really taking time to look at the memorial more thoroughly (which I damn well should do, I know!). The times I've cut through there on my way to the fields on Ohio Drive, I always walked past that impressive carving...it looks as if he's literally walking out of the stone (maybe the intended effect?). And yeah, the early evening/morning light always inspired my photographic side, but alas, I never had my damned DLSR with me to do it right (only carrying my softball equipment bag at those times)! So, I'll be making it my goal this spring at some point to go out there in the morning to get a few shots, since the sun at that time hits the carving just right! Oh, and yup, I certainly noticed your MLK icon every year at this time (also of course, I do like your regular Beethoven one!!). High five back to you!!

Agree, I like that photo too, @stormtracker (have see you use that every year around MLK day). Sorry to be too off-topic, but it reminds me that I have been meaning to go out to the MLK memorial either early enough in the morning or in the evening, to get a photo of the granite carving of him. I've walked by there on a few occasions early evening, and think a side profile shot of that carving with the light at that time of day would be amazing if I can capture it right!

Great, just what we need, another wash-out Saturday!

A bit late here, but belated congrats to @mappy on the moderator tag! I knew you were doing that when needed before, but now it's official and all!

Hey @psuhoffman, sounds like a really fun weekend trip in Gettysburg!! Glad to hear you all had a great time! Oh, I particularly liked the photo of you with the maniacal look on your face, staring at the drinks, as if deciding which one to attack first (and the knife in front of you adds a bit of, uhh, atmosphere?)!

I'm not sure where the cold air comes from, other than a wrapped-up mid level circulation kind of deal. I know we're not supposed to mention this storm, but "March 6, 2013" suddenly came to mind!

Sorta, kinda, almost looks like a unicorn trotting up across the Blue Ridge there, if you stare at it long enough.

Because many times in and around the Beltway, traffic goes about as fast as lines at the DMV office!!

Pretty much. Not much else to do, maybe check in and see what's going on over the next couple of weeks and hope we can score something for Feb/Mar at some point. It's about as bad and boring as things can get right now...at least, I don't think the pattern can get much worse than a shutout to near shutout look. What, stronger ridging than anticipated with 60 degrees instead of 40s or 50s?

That Feb 2015 squall was quite a neat event, wasn't it, @Bob Chill? I got like 2" in less than an hour followed by gusty winds and brutal cold. That still remains perhaps my favorite "little" event of all time which led into a great 3-4 week period of winter that year!

OK, I'm going to apologize here in the appropriate place (banter!), for perhaps perpetuating an ongoing argument some where having with @Mersky in the medium range discussion. I should have probably copied and posted those in here instead, and perhaps I should not have engaged the argument so much in the first place. But I'll admit, I was a bit upset at some of the things being said. Oh well, guess we're all a bit sour with the latest forecast and ensemble indications. At any rate, if mods want to move any of that into here instead, feel free. And again, apologies...I normally do not go into it like that with people.