The US Weather service does a pretty good job of predicting the weather; no complaints there. My problem is that weather hazards are a combination of weather and location. For example, my understanding is that 8" of snow overnight can really mess up NYC. However, upstate in Oswego County, 8" overnight can be pretty much the norm. I hate seeing "Winter Storm Alert" only to check in further and see that total snowfall will amount to 1"-3". "High Wind Alert" for Buffalo when wind speeds are 35-45mph is just plain silly. That high wind alert is perfectly valid for other places, but not there.

The real problem is that if every snowfall is identified as a winter storm, people won't react when the same description is given to an expected serious snowfall.

library books about the heroes of science:Jenner, Pasteur, Robert Koch, Walter Reed and of course, Jonas Salk.

When did those books become passe?

and/or your kids had that second measles vaccination? Wouldn't it be nice if we could all look it up on our electronic health record? Just another example of how Obama Care is making things better!

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/world/europe/rev-christian-fuhrer-east-german-whose-prayers-inspired-protests-dies-at-71.html?_r=0

Some here say the the Stassi started taking all the seat in church, which meant they were listening to the pastors preach about peace from the Bible, and that maybe they were converted enough not to shoot people.

So, people in my group are discussing the Berlin Wall and how all the young'ens don't know nothin' about it, and attributing the collapse of the Soviet Union to "Mr. Gorbachav, tear down this wall!"

I use loose leaf tea, which is fine when I make one cup for myself in the morning. The problem is sometimes I want to make a large pot of tea to sit and drink with visitors. If the tea leaves are left in the pot, that second cup is awful. The only solution I can come up with is to find a tea basket large enough to hold say 8 cups worth that will fit my company tea pots. Anyone here know where I can get one?

A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America." by Colin Woodward (2012)



The Short version is here:

http://www.tufts.edu/alumni/magazine/fall2013/features/up-in-arms.html

He describes which Europeans first settled which regions, how they thought of society and government, how they expanded (or didn't) across the continent and how that thinking has influenced American history.

I think the book offers an excellent explanation of voting patterns and incidentally, an understanding of various regional code words. The same words or phrases may have very different meanings depending on which region you're from.

a show about people who keep their homes absolutely spotless at all times.

This is a live action re-make of the animated feature, starring Lily James as Cinderella. I've seen some of the advertising stills and trailer, and it looks to me as if Lily James as Cinderella has been given a much smaller waistline than she has in her publicity stills.

Am I seeing something that is not there, or has Disney used clothing design and photographic technique to give the real CInderella the same waistline as the animated Cinderella?

No Cinderella here, but it makes the point:

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2014/11/disney-princesses-waists