Thar She Blows! And Blows, and Blows, and...

I woke up this morning, fired up the coffee, and raised the shades. My initial impression: what a brilliant and beautiful day! Just the sort of day to do the High Plains Mini-Grand Tour, i.e., Portales – Big(ger) City^TM – Cannon Airplane Patch – Portales. And then I read this:

/O.CON.KABQ.WI.Y.0033.061114T1800Z- 061115T0600Z/ HARDING COUNTY-FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS-QUAY COUNTY-DE BACA COUNTY- ROOSEVELT COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ROY... CLAYTON...TUCUMCARI... FORT SUMNER... PORTALES...CLOVIS 354 AM MST TUE NOV 14 2006

A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM MST THIS EVENING.

EXPECT RAPID INCREASES IN WIND SPEEDS THIS MORNING...WITH WEST WINDS INCREASING TO 25 TO 35 MPH. EXPECT LOCAL GUSTS TO 50 MPH...INCREASING IN COVERAGE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. EXPECT STRONGER WINDS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS AND FROM TUCUMCARI WEST...WHERE WIND SPEEDS WILL INCREASE TO 30 TO 40 MPH WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 55 MPH.

Well, OK. Maybe it’s just the sort of day to stay in and watch the dust swirl by my window as El Casa Móvil De Pennington rocks none-too-gently from side to side. Mini-Grand Tour deferred until tomorrow.

Just Askin’…Why are weather bulletins/advisories always IN CAPS? No one communicates using teletype any longer; we modern folk get our WX briefings information via Tee Vee or the internet, nu? So: dispense with the caps, please. No need to shout, we read you 5x5.

Are you addicted? In the WaPo (Caught in the Web…More People Say Heavy Internet Use Is Disrupting Their Lives, and Medical Experts Are Paying Attention):

Concern about excessive Internet use -- variously termed problematic Internet use, Internet addiction, pathological Internet use, compulsive Internet use and computer addiction in some quarters, and vigorously dismissed as a fad illness in others -- isn't new. As far back as 1995, articles in medical journals and the establishment of a Pennsylvania treatment center for overusers generated interest in the subject. There's still no consensus on how much time online constitutes too much or whether addiction is possible.

But as reliance on the Web grows -- Internet users average about 3 1/2 hours online each day, according to a 2005 survey by Stanford University researchers -- there are signs that the question is getting more serious attention: Last month, a study published in CNS Spectrums, an international neuropsychiatric medicine journal, claimed to be the first large-scale look at excessive Internet use. The American Psychiatric Association may consider listing Internet addiction in the next edition of its diagnostic manual. And scores of online discussion boards have popped up on which people discuss negative experiences tied to too much time on the Web.

[…]

The Web site for Orzack's center lists the following among the psychological symptoms of computer addiction:

· Having a sense of well-being or euphoria while at the computer.
· Craving more and more time at the computer.
· Neglect of family and friends.
· Feeling empty, depressed or irritable when not at the computer.
· Lying to employers and family about activities.
· Inability to stop the activity.
· Problems with school or job.

Physical symptoms listed include dry eyes, carpal tunnel syndrome, migraines, backaches, skipping meals, poor personal hygiene and sleep disturbances.

Hmmm. I definitely have a feeling of well-being while at the computer. Unless my frickin’ connection does its “go-slow” routine or decides to just give up altogether, which is not a rare occurrence. Then I feel like getting in my car, running down to Yucca Telecom’s building and fire-bombing the SOBs. These feelings just might be a problem. Ya think? And don’t go talking about “sleep disturbances,” mmm-kay?

LaShawn Barber has a post on this article, with 39 comments (as of this writing). The comments are most interesting; it seems like a lot of folks spend a lot of time on-line, but few seem to think it’s a problem. (via That Law Prof in Madison)

Where is that Fat Lady, anyway? (via Real Clear Politics)

In New Mexico 1, County Clerks are in the process of counting of the 2,698 provisional ballots and 1,058 "in lieu of" ballots still outstanding. Each ballot has to be scrutinized to determine whether it's valid or not before being added the candidate's final tally. By law, the count has to be done by Friday.

Right now, incumbent Republican Heather Wilson has a 1,487-vote lead over Democrat Patricia Madrid.

Heather Wilson isn’t my representative (and she’s anything BUT fat), but I like her. A lot. Could have something to do with the fact that she’s an Air Force Academy grad, but it’s more likely because she’s all in favor of killing terrorists.

Slow news day in The Big(ger) City^TM …

A Clovis police car was damaged Friday night by a tossed pumpkin, according to police reports.

Around 6 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. Douglas Ford called police to report a tail light on his cruiser had been broken when someone threw a pumpkin at it the night before, the report said.

[…]

There were no witnesses or suspects, the report said.

Sheesh. A crime wave. Good thing I decided to stay home today.

Right on cue… It’s 1057 hours as I put the finishing touches on this post. And the wind is howling!

Today’s Pic: SN1, SN3, and Grandson Sean in a hangar at Cannon. Get ‘em while they’re young, I always say. As always, click for larger. April, 2003.