Storm Season - Mike Peregrine

Yeah, still alive ...

2009-01-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm still around, just been concentrating on other stuff. This is the time of year that I start thinking about weather again, in anticipation for what's coming this spring. Just a quick pic I took of a friend's pup out in San Diego ... had forgotten about this photo and just came across it this morning.

QOTD - Amy Poehler

2008-09-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

Quote of the day from SNL last night:

NBC Universal purchased The Weather Channel this week for $3.5 bn. NBC's goal was to reach the elusive 'let's keep the TV on for the dog all day' demographic.

Hurricanes and Fabricating Fear

2008-09-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the nation's media machines, one thing is painfully obvious: FEAR SELLS.

I'm under the belief that irrational fear actually generates more problems, however, than the events provoking them in the first place. It is a truth that all of us maintain both rational and irrational fears, and these to an extent dictate our actions.

Think about this ... an irrational fear of snakes may drive a person to panic when seeing a snake in any circumstance. The instant panic provokes a response. The individual runs as hard as they can in the opposite direction and in the process trips on a branch they did not see, strikes their head and is gravely injured. Now ask yourself: Did the snake cause this incident? Would it have been preferable for this person to have cultivated a fear of tree branches rather than snakes?

The fact is that it wasn't the snake that caused the accident ... the snake just happened to be there. The accident can actually be attributed to irrational fear. And that fear was fed and nurtured over time ... most likely, by accumulating mis-information. An appropriate and measured response to seeing a snake may have been to simply turn and walk away. Or to stand completely still. These responses are fed by knowledge and understanding, rather than fear. But to get such a response, we need to prepare ourselves for the fact that if we are walking outside, from time to time we will come upon a snake. It is a fact of the world in which we live.

It's interesting that I once watched a program in which a man (who loved snakes, by the way), climbed a tree so that he could catch and hold an African Black Mamba. For those of you who do not know, this is considered the single most venomous creature on the planet. When he caught the snake and started to climb down the tree, he said something I thought was interesting: 'I want to be careful as I climb down, not because I'm afraid of getting bitten, but because I'm afraid the snake might somehow accidentally bite itself.' That got me to thinking ... what keeps a snake from biting itself and suffering from the effects of a toxin its own body produces? It is not afraid of itself. It is not an irrational creature, but rather lives by instinct. And part of that instinct must include a respect for its own power based on the knowledge of what it is capable of.

We have this built-in natural fear as well. It is the respect for our own power that keeps us from doing stupid things ... taking unnecessary chances ... and putting our lives at impossible risk. Don't believe me? Go lay in your driveway and ask someone to run you over with your car. Hey ... maybe you'll survive just fine. That's a risk you'll have to determine your willingness to take. We feed this inborn respect over time as we grow and mature and learn the things we can do and the things that will risk getting us hurt.

Okay, so it's time to look at some statistics. Here are some average numbers of fatalities caused by various things in the United States each year:

Deaths from drunk driving = 17,000
Deaths from cancer = 547,000
Deaths from gunshots = 30,000
Pedestrians struck by cars = 5000
Lightning strikes = 73
Plane crashes = 120
Hurricanes = 75

Now, going strictly by the numbers, it would be much more rational for me to feed a fear of drunk drivers (or driving in general) rather than a hurricane. In fact, you are more likely to die fleeing ahead of a hurricane than from the hurricane itself. Don't believe me? Check your numbers.

So what people need when it comes to the way they decide to face of the natural forces of this planet is not an irrational fear ... what they need is to build a healthy respect. People do not typically respond well to attempts at scaring them into action. This is feeding irrationality. Actually, give people some credit. They are smarter than that. Why is it that people respond to strong warnings so negatively oftentimes? Why do they fly in the face of logic and remain determined to ride out a storm on the beach rather than simply drive 30 miles inland?

For many, it is because of experience. Most of them have experienced a hurricane before in some form or fashion. They've seen the news, they've heard the reports, they've witnessed the damage firsthand. But when the next storm comes, they still don't budge. They are willing to take the gamble that they'll live to tell about it. They rationalize their fears based on that experience. You can beg them. You can plead with them. You can show them the people who have died in the big hits. But none of that matters. Why? Because you are attempting to create irrational fear in someone who feels they know better than you.

So what is the solution? I'm not exactly sure. How do you persuade someone to take action they may not otherwise be inclined to take? How do you help someone to see that just because the last storm did not kill them, it does not mean the result will be the same this time? My guess is that the answer lies in society in general and creating a culture that responds pro-actively to threats. But as we think about the things standing between us and arriving at that point ... one of the first big obstacles is the profit created by an enormous and catastrophy-hungry media.

Panic

2008-09-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

Definition:

a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.

We live in a panic culture. There are rational fears, there are irrational fears ... and then there is the way that we react to fear.

The media is currently shaping attitudes and encouraging a panic mentality by the way the "news" is reported. Put the right slant on things and you can force millions of people into a knee-jerk panicked state of mind.

Such is the case with hurricanes. By using language like "certain death" in warning language, the media are then given license to exploit and create a near panic environment. What did we see with gas prices across the country yesterday? A uniform jump. Long lines at pumps. Why?

Because speculators were encouraged to panic about the situation in the Gulf with Hurricane Ike. They were goaded into it, like a million cattle being forced into the chutes. The reality is that the oil rigs in the Gulf are built to withstand a Cat 2 hurricane pretty easily. There of course will be some damage, but hey ... hurricanes are factored into the system, right? Even if there was catastrophic damage to the U.S. oil supply in the Gulf, who cares? The U.S. imports 70% of its crude. I think we'll manage to get through the weekend on what we've got. But no. We should all panic instead. Horde gas. Force price escalation through more speculation. Yes, that makes perfect sense.

And then there are the lives. Any time extremely forceful language is used in weather, it is a gamble. It's a gamble because the storm may or may not turn out as expected. And then next time another storm comes through, people may or may not believe you when you issue a warning.

What we need to do is spend our time looking at the constructive ways to prepare for and protect ourselves from the weather. We need to create a culture of positivity ... pro-action. How can that be done with a media environment bent on death and destruction?

In the United States of America, we love to P-A-N-I-C.

Hurricane Ike Update

2008-09-12T08:08:00.001-07:00

Ike has some work to do if it plans on getting its act together. Satellite imagery this morning shows ragged, non-descript structure, and the eye is non-present. The interesting thing is the effect Ike is having on wave activity in the Gulf, pushing large swells over the sea walls in Galveston, even though the storm is still a good 12-15 hours away from making landfall. Galveston will likely get swamped by this storm. But unless the hurricane can do some serious cycling during the afternoon today, Ike does not look like a super healthy wind machine to me.

And by the way - the whole "certain death" quote blasted all over CNN, MSNBC, etc. was old the first time I read it. If it's that bad, they need to go ahead and issue a "certain death" warning or something, I guess.

Update - for the best shots of hurricanes from space that I ever remember seeing, pay a visit here. You won't regret it. Thanks to Mike H for the heads up.

Compare this vis sat to the one day before yesterday posted below. Looks like Ike has gone through a significant weakening cycle. It would need to reorganize itself in order to strengthen significantly prior to landfall.

Meanwhile, closer to home, Kansas City is experiencing a heavy rain event. Lots of flood warnings out, particularly on the south side. The drive was rough and everyone was drenched this morning.

Latest Ike Photo

2008-09-11T12:26:00.001-07:00

Cool view of the storm today. Ike remains a perfectly-shaped hurricane.

I Like Ike

2008-09-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

The latest satellite image. Perfect, pretty little spirals.

New Headline

2008-09-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

I came across this story on the KC Crime Blog and the picture just begged for me to add my own caption.

Scott's 5/29/08 Video

2008-08-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Tornadovideos.net posted Scott's footage from our chase on May 29th. What an unbelievable storm. Beautiful!

KC Plaza Photo Walk

2008-08-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Went on my first photo walk last Saturday. Over 50 photogs showed up and took some great images. Here are a few of mine. Definitely going to do that again, as it forces me to see things differently than when I'm just walking around on my own. And I love all the different perspectives you end up with from different people. (Click for full photo.)

Blog Status

2008-08-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Going into hibermode for a while as multiple projects are now consuming my attention. I'll still post periodically if something interesting catches my attention. Feel free to check back every now and then ...

Enjoy what's left of a wonderful, cool summer and fall.

Tornado and Severe Weather in Poland

2008-08-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Video taken of what appears to be a significant tornado this week in Poland. Violent storms there killed three people.

Coolest Lightning Video ... Ever

2008-08-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the good folks at Stormtrack for this one. Just spectacular!

Slow motion lightning

Thoughts on Windows Vista

2008-08-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

Just a few words about Windows Vista, after watching one of their latest propaganda pieces on how wonderful it is (and how the rest of the world must be high for thinking it's not so terrific). In the ad, they have folks try it by telling them they have a brand new operating system in testing called Mojave (which is just Vista incognito). They all ooh and aah, of course. However, I have come to my own conclusion that Vista simply isn't ready for out-of-the-box use by the ordinary Joe. Here's why ...

Three days into my chase vacation this year, my laptop experienced some serious issues that needed attention. I didn't have the time to correct everything, and ended up buying a new computer to finish out the trip.

The first computer was a top-of-the-line gaming laptop sold by Gateway. It was Best Buy's best laptop. Loaded with Vista 64-bit, this laptop experienced a fatal error a week later and was rendered instantly useless. So I took it back and exchanged it for another, an Asus gaming laptop. I'm not a gamer, but I like the graphics capabilities of these models - and Asus is known for quality motherboards. I really wanted my money back so I could go buy a Mac, but Best Buy wouldn't hear of it (it was an unacceptable two days past their ten day deadline).

Got it all hooked up, but quickly noticed an issue with the Internet. The speed had dropped to a snail's pace. It was as slow as dialup when loading most web pages. Nice. So I start doing the research and it turns out this is a known issue with lots of folks perscribing every known fix from firewalls to Uncle Ned's magic elixir. After a full week of trying fix after fix and tweak after tweak, I finally managed to achieve decent enough speeds to avoid yanking my hair out by the roots.

Next came the program compatibility issues. I first noticed it when trying to run Spotter Network on the new machine (a no go). Most specialized software simply isn't made to play nice with Vista 64-bit (even in compatability mode). Everywhere you turn, you find programmers who are currently working on a compatible upgrade, but are not ready yet. Need to work with Adobe Flash in one of your web pages? Sorry, but not even the all powerful Adobe is ready for Vista ... not even now, over a year later. Would you like to edit video on your computer? Well, be prepared to have fun getting it to recognize your particular camcorder, that's all I can tell you. You will most likely be forced to locate updated drivers and then locate several buried settings that stand in your way ... so yeah, good luck with all that.

Here's another nice one. If you use any wireless hardware (keyboard or mouse), Windows Vista doesn't know exactly how to cope, I guess ... because it won't allow your laptop to go into sleep mode. Vista is sort of like a five year old kid, because there are literally TONS of reasons why it doesn't like to go to sleep. This weekend I spent my time researching why, after walking away from my computer, I come back to find it still awake and processing hours later, heating up my machine and making me grumpy. I have tried all the fixes I can find at this point, but I'm up against yet another road block. I am forced to shut down or manually put it to sleep every time I walk away from the thing.

In short, nearly every single thing I have done on my new computer has required hours of research and reconfiguring to become something halfway workable. I really feel bad for the people out there who aren't technically minded or have the time or ability to do the research. Our firm, which is considered one of the most forward-thinking law firms when it comes to technology, has also pretty much decided at this point that Vista is not ready for enterprise use and will probably not roll it out at all. Even Microsoft has apparently back-pedaled now into continuing to support XP at aleast through 2014.

Microsoft, please start developing Mojave for real, because Vista is not the end all, be all OS you make it out to be.

TVN Tornado Probe

2008-08-06T21:25:00.001-07:00

Reed Timmer uploaded video of the construction of his 300 pound tornado probe. They successfully deployed it pretty close to our position on the May 29th storm, where they got some terrific video. This vid shows the construction as well as the tornado southwest of Glen Elder, Kansas that day.

More Dust Devil Trivia

2008-08-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

In poking around the net, it turns out that Wikipedia has a pretty good entry on dust devils. In addition to the Navajo belief that 'if a dust devil spins clockwise, it is said to represent a good spirit; and if it spins counterclockwise it is said to be a bad spirit,' there is this tidbit:

Dust devils, even small ones (on Earth) can produce radio noise and electrical fields greater than 10,000 volts per meter. A dust devil picks up small dirt and dust particles. As the particles whirl around they bump and scrape into each other and become electrically charged. The whirling charged particles also create a magnetic field that fluctuates between 3 and 30 times each second.
These electrical fields assist the vortices in lifting materials off the ground and into the atmosphere. Field experiments indicate that a dust devil can lift 1 gram of dust per second from each square meter (10 lb/s from each acre) of ground it passes over. A large dust devil measuring about 100 meters (330 ft) across at its base can lift about 15 metric tons (17 short tons) of dust into the air in 30 minutes. Giant dust storms that sweep across the world's deserts contribute eight percent of the mineral dust in the atmosphere each year during the handful of storms that occur. In comparison, the significantly smaller dust devils that twist across the deserts during the summer lift about three times as much dust, thus having a greater combined impact on the dust content of the atmosphere. When this occurs, they are often called sand pillars.

This has me wondering about the relationship between electricity and a large parent mesocyclone again. If a dust devil can generate fields greater than 10,000 volts per meter, you have to wonder what a large, persistent mesocyclone is capable of producing.

This also makes me wonder if there may be some artificial means of creating large, rapidly rotating air columns that could somehow be used to generate electricity. It's out there, I know - but interesting to consider.

Cool Denver Dust Devil

2008-08-05T11:40:00.001-07:00

Yes, I hate iReport ... but this is still cool video. It almost looks anticyclonic to me -

The Two Golden Words and the "H" Blog

2008-08-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

Dan Robinson's latest blog entry about the reality of chasing about sums it up, I'm thinking. Two golden words that all newcomers should take to heart about chasing: Nobody Cares.

Year after year a fresh batch show up looking to make it big, become some sort of action hero and live the good life as a famous storm chaser. I don't even try to respond to the posts anymore or make any attempt to bring these people somewhere into the realm of reality. They will discover it on their own soon enough. The only real gratification in storm chasing comes to the individual who just does it because they love it. Then every storm becomes a gift.

In other news, Mike Hollingshead finally started a blog, looks like. He's been added to my blog roll at the right. Hopefully he will actually use the thing. Believe it or not, I actually check the chase blogs more often than the forums. I can pick and choose whose feeds I get on my iGoogle homepage and then see the posts that deserve a click. No more wading through nonsense. So H - and every other chaser out there with a blog - if you have something cool to share, don't forget to blog it. If it's good enough to share in ST, copy and paste it into your blog too. Geeky types like me enjoy that sort of thing.

Hurricane Dolly Makes Landfall as Cat 2 Storm

2008-07-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Dolly managed to strengthen to Category 2 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale before making landfall on South Padre Island, Texas this afternoon. At least one tornado has been spotted so far near Brownsville.

Stats:

Max. Sustained Winds = 100 mph

Max. Central Pressure = 965mb

Movement = NW @ 6 kts.

Stormtrack Chaser Thread

Planet Green's Greensburg: Best Show on TV

2008-07-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

For most, reality television is little more than an opportunity for people who otherwise would have no chance at fame to enjoy their fifteen minutes, typically at the cost of our brain cells as we are forced to watch human pettiness at its worst.

Not so in the case of Discovery Channel and Leonardo DiCaprio's Greensburg, an ongoing documentary series concerning the tenacity of a small town in Kansas as it struggles to reorganize and completely reinvent itself after the EF 5 tornado that virtually obliterated the town from the face of the earth.

As a storm chaser, I have seen a lot in the way of destruction. I have watched as people clawed their way out of a broken home, shock written all over their face as they attempt to assimilate what has just happened to them. But the real story isn't in those first critical moments. It actually comes later, as that same person struggles to rebuild a life that has been taken severely off course by something beyond their control. Greensburg does an excellent job of documenting this process, as it is seen through the eyes of the residents of this small but tough town.

We've long been aware of the fact that people who live in the plains are survivors. We are accustomed to building a cooperation of sorts with the environment around us through agriculture and the understanding that this planet and it's natural forces have the ability to dominate us. Greensburg shows this spirit nicely. The people are working as a community. Yes, there is disagreement. There is confusion. There are questions as to whether they are making the right choices. But slowly, they are working together to help each other. I love the simple values so often portrayed on this show, as it reminds me of my own youth, growing up in a very similar small town. It almost makes me want to move there myself.

I am also taking away a better understanding of what confronts town after town after similar incidents leave them reeling each spring. What exactly do you do after you are stripped of every resource from which you have ever benefited? Where do you start? Who do you call? Who is trustworthy and who isn't? How are you going to regain some sense of normalcy again? This tells me there is a need for some sort of improved system for dealing with the aftermath of tornadoes in the plains. FEMA does what it can, and bridges the gap in the lives of these folks by providing temporary shelter. But it cannot deal with the full scope of a disaster, and really teach people what works and what does not when it comes to re-creating a working infrastructure. It would be wonderful to have someone who can walk people through the process, show them the steps it will take and answer their questions as time goes on. While the story of Greensburg, Kansas is unique and tragic, it is not without parallel. It may not be the case that an entire town is lost every year, but if a person were to add together all of those lives affected by severe weather each spring, the list would be long and staggering. There are so many other towns, other lives, other farmers. They all have stories.

I'm looking forward to the remaining episodes of Greensburg, simply because it has such a positive message. There is hope after disaster.

Nebraska Weather = Lame

2008-07-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

It was going to be a great event. Four of the world's top NASCAR drivers coming together for an exhibition race on a dirt track in rural Nebraska. Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Kenny Schrader and Sterling Marlin would fly in this past Thursday afternoon and do up an old-fashioned race at the track in Eagle, Nebraska - just east of Lincoln.

My brother facilitates these races across the country through Patrum Racing. He knows the drivers and spends time with them. This would have been his first time coming to the plains with a race, so the whole family was looking forward to being there and sharing in the excitement.

As usual this year, Nebraska weather had other plans. Thursday was forecast to be bright and sunny. The SPC outlined a slight risk well to the northwest of Lincoln. Any storms that should occur would come much later on, overnight. Riiiigghhhtt. By 4:00, the rain was coming down by the bucket full. Of course, I had already taken the time off work, squeezing what little vacation I had left. Had already paid for the hotel room, and was closing in on the Nebraska state line as my bro called with the news that the race had been canceled. One of the drivers had already arrived, the others had all been either in the air or in the process of landing as the rain started.

What this means is that he will have to come back to make the race up. Do twice the work for the same amount of money, at a terrible inconvenience to everyone involved.

Just one more reason to hate the sky over Nebraska this year.

Long Live Bertha

2008-07-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Bertha is officially the longest-lived July tropical storm ... ever. It's heading back out into the Atlantic now with no threat to land.

In other tropical news, a potential depression is continuing to show signs of strengthening east of the Winward Islands. The NHC is going to check this one out this afternoon.

There is the potential for this year to end up pretty light on hurricane activity. La Nina appears to be moderating (although, we've been hearing that for months now). Very mild conditions for much of the Carribbean and continental U.S.

Personally, I'm loving this summer. We seldom hit 90 degrees, and other than the humidity, it's been a very comfortable season.

Cameras are for Criminals

2008-07-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

Amazingly, a man in the UK recently ran into problems and was branded a pervert for taking photos of his own children playing in a park.

He said: 'I started taking photographs of them having a good time. Moments later the woman running the slide told me to stop.
'She told me I could not take pictures of other people's children. I explained that I was only interested in taking photographs of my own children and pointed out that this was taking place in a public park.
'I then showed her the photos I had taken to prove my point.
'Then another woman joined in and said her child was also on the slide and did not want me taking pictures of the youngster. I repeated that the only people being photographed were my own children.
'She then said I could be taking pictures of just any child to put on the internet and called me a pervert.

He was forced to involve two police officers, to confirm that yes, it is within his rights to take photos of his children. We live in remarkable times.

USA Today Blog Concerning Altered Footage

2008-07-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

USA Today has this to say about Fabel's faux pas. A point that I would like the media to understand in all this (which so far no one has been willing to admit) is that this embarrassing situation greets them as a result of their own choices over the past few years. It seems nearly as difficult for the media to accept some degree of responsibility as it was for the individual who sold the bad video in the first place.

You beg for free video. You beg for the public to send in anything and everything. Do you really believe that people everywhere have journalistic integrity somehow hard-wired into their brains? And whatever happened to checking your sources? All I can say is, get used to feeling embarrassed, because in this society of sensationalized citizen journalism, this is just the first of many fun moments to come for you.

Storm chasers are a unique bunch, in that they consist of people who are so passionate about weather that they will go to every length to learn how to successfully intercept a tornado. But relatively few among these are true photojournalists. People with integrity can most certainly be found among the ranks of chasers, and these are the ones with whom the media should become familiar and use for the purchase of quality product. There are also journalists who have picked up chasing (from chasers), but few of these understand the dynamics of a supercell or the endless tools and tricks up a chaser's sleeve for making successful intercept after intercept.

As time goes on, doing business with the media is just less and less desirable. Chasers should create their own media machine and offer their product directly to the people who want it. AP wants a photo? Fine, we'll provide a link where you can buy it at cost. But no more negotiating with freebie seekers.

Media: You are not victims. Stop trying to hold yourselves out as such. I do not feel sorry for you. You will continue to get what you pay for.

2008 - The close of the season.

2008-07-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

The storms have made their annual move to points north, and the final few pinwheeling lows are churning up the last great supercells of 2008 across the moisture-laden fields of the Canadian-American border country. It's time for me to look back at the season and do some reminiscing.

My first official chase of the year was on May 2, 2008. I was disorganized (typical for first chases of the year). The storms were powerful that night, but generally non-productive. It was a good event for the first chase of the year.

Next came May 10. The Picher, Oklahoma storm stood as an effective barrier for most chasers trying to make an attack from the north this day. As a large, destructive tornado was forever destroying the small town of Picher, not five miles north there was one of the most glorious rainbows I've ever witnessed. This event was unique in that I saw a tornado without realizing it at the time. It was clearly visible in my video later, however. Distractions kept my attention off of it. This terrible event claimed many lives, including that of storm spotter Tyler Casey, as he was performing his duties on behalf of his neighbors. It also brought out the best in storm chaser Mike Scantlin, who went out of his way to help people in need that horrible night.

On May 23rd, I took the Welch family on their first official chase experience. We saw a brief tornado northeast of Ness City, Kansas. But the real show came a bit later, as we endured the first of three major wind events for me this year ... the 80 mph RFD fest near the reservoir.

My favorite day by far was May 29th. Scott Currens and I were first knocked around pretty good by the Kearney, Nebraska monster ... and then privileged to witness one of the sky's great wonders of the year between Tipton and Glen Elder, Kansas. Multiple voritices danced in front of us as we sat in awe, watching. It was amazing. Scott, I hope you and I will chase together again.

On June 5th, Jay Antle and I played tag with several supercells that were moving at hyper speeds across the Kansas countryside. We sampled three cells, including one that produced reports of tornadoes southwest of Manhattan. In the end, the sky beat us to death, but it was still interesting.

Next up was another memorable night for me ... June 11th. Brian Stertz and I were first assaulted by a very close lightning bolt emanating from the core of the storm that had previously chewed up the town of Manhattan. We were very close to Circleville/Soldier, Kansas. The lightning convinced us to back out to Holden, where we sat in eerie silence as the town went dark and got quiet before we witnessed a large tornado off to the northeast. This tornado took a life in Solder, where we had been just minutes before. Other storms this fateful night claimed the lives of little boys camping in the summer. What a tragic evening.

That was my last official tornado chase for the spring season, followed by two lightning chases. I imagine that I'll continue to head out to get lightning as the summer goes on, and then there's fall to look forward to. It's been quite a year.

Storm master, poet and philosopher David Hoadley says it in a way I just can't. As he relates, storm chasing is the:

experience of something infinite, a sense of powers at work and scales of movement that so transcend a single man and overwhelms the senses that one feels intuitively (without really seeking) something eternal -but ephemerial- almost a conscious thought, but just below the surface. As when a vertical 50,000' wall of clouds glides silently away to the east (intermittent, distant thunder) and goes golden in a setting sun against a deep, rich azure sky, one can only pause and look and wonder.