AstronomyEnjoyer

Went to get lunch at the Flying Goose and on the way back home passed the entrance to the land of wealth. Looked like the cloud deck was a little higher than last time so decided to drive up and check it out. Much better visibility this time, and is that Okemo I see poking out?

My word, the clouds are beginning to lift. The Southern flank of Sunapee is finally free! Went to Market Basket to pick up a facial lotion with SPF. Gonna need it for all this sun I'm anticipating.

When I think climate engineering I'm thinking reactive measures vice preemptive measures, so stuff like switching to renewables (though hugely important) wouldn't fall under that definition, while something like carbon capture would. And while I know there are several companies, research institutes, think tanks, universities, whatever, engaged in coming up with ways to either mitigate solar radiation or remove carbon from the atmosphere, you are correct in pointing out that they aren't at scale because they aren't profitable. The mantra I used to hear from climatologists is that money and intellectual effort is better spent not on figuring out ways to pull carbon from the atmosphere, but on how we ensure it's left underground in the first place. A crude example might be as follows: A company develops some sort of carbon capture infrastructure that requires power. Given that this is a green energy project, the company ensures that their device is run off locally installed solar panels. Under that aforementioned mantra, it would be better just to take the power from those solar panels and plug it into the grid - bypass the silly hardware. By doing so you've prevented more carbon from leaving the Earth's crust than you could've ever captured from the air. Crude example but that's the gist of it. To Tip's point, and like you've highlighted, we're already there. If we had a magic button that switched all of our energy needs away from fossil fuels we would still have more carbon in the atmosphere than desired. And so now we have to look at those climate engineering projects and begin to envision them at grand scales. And that's when the clown show starts because some of the options on the table are pretty drastic, zany, and downright absurd. Anyway let's bomb Krakatoa!

00z GFS nightly clown map for the weenies (myself included). Nearly all accumulation south of the White Mountains is from a storm that impacts New England at around hour 280. If nothing else, hopefully this helps lend credence to the idea that we will be entering a favorable pattern mid-month.

The real excitement will start when we decide that attempting to induce eruptions is a good idea. Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai? Oh my poor dear, you have chest congestion and a sore throat. Take this lozenge in the form a low yield nuclear weapon. That will clear you right up.

One of my rather childish ambitions (and there are many) is to plant some more, let's say, unusual specimens in the yard. I'd really like to see if a Tulip Tree could grow - I've never seen one in New England but I know they're around. I'd also like to see how well a Douglas Fir would do. My parents planted some kind of Magnolia in Pepperell, MA and it would blossom beautifully every spring, but I think the poor thing only managed to grow from about 3ft to 5ft in 15 years.

Yeah, super first world problem I had was with humidity this past summer. No AC at my place, and the damp chaser system on my grand piano is busted. Not only did the piano end up going wildly out of tune, the key slip swelled up so bad that keys began jamming and it became unplayable. Didn't feel like doing anything about it over the summer but it has since gone back in tune (for the most part) and the keys aren't jamming against the slip anymore.

Yup, Sulfur Dioxide seems like the first go to, with multiple ways to deploy it. Maybe Tambora or Krakatoa will let off a big one to give us a little help.

I think we're just going to let this get so bad that we're forced to start large scale climate engineering and that's when the real clown show starts. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Daytime high temperatures seemed to have been about average where I'm at, it's just we had so many precipitation events and cloud cover that it seemed like I never had a night here where I was able to radiate, and I live in a valley that can radiate well. The past ten days my low temperatures were barely lower than my daytime highs. To me it kind of parallels a lot of this past summer, where daytime highs weren't anything to speak of, but heat records were broken because nighttime lows were so high. Just so much moisture last year, and the theme seems to be continuing.

Don't know the history of that guy or what his deal is, but everything you've said regarding January interior snow and warmth, at least at my location, is right on target.

have fun!

Well, at least it's something. Given that it's modeled at 250 hours it's likely when 00z runs it will disappear into the ether anyway.

18z GFS with the fantasy storm that's only 250 hours out. Better than 300+ I guess, lol.

18z GFS is a no go for southeastern Mass.

I take outdoor photos pretty much everyday. According to image metadata, Jan 22 was the last time there was clear skies and the sun was out. Take a look at this beauty right here. Edit: I found another pic from this day. Can't see the sun, but there's still blue sky and evidence of sunlight, haha.

Not even sure I've had that much. I can't remember the last time I saw the sun.

First photos of Feb 2024 - Nothing but overcast here today. Went for a walk and took a few pictures of the east slope of Mt. Sunapee. The way the ice covered trees blend seamlessly into the clouds gives a kind of ghostly, ethereal feel. Still would be nice if the frickin' sun would come out.

00z GFS Kuchera. Posted in honor of Moonshine who I think might be getting married today (yesterday). If not, truthfully, I probably would have posted it anyway.

And with a strange QPF distribution.

FWIW, 00z ICON says yes to SE Mass weenie snow a week from now.

Ah shit, didn't she say she was getting married today? I'm doomed.

@Prismshine Productions Where are you? I need backup. Getting absolutely destroyed in here.

God, depending on years it's possible. I was electronic warfare JSF at Edwards. Lotta dorks out there with that hobby though, haha.

Hence the paranoia.