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Saturday, January 19, 2008
In honor of the campaign season . . .
The Florida Primary is Jan 29--ten days from now. Results on the Republican side will be
a big deal, while the national Democratic Party is not counting the primary because the date was moved ahead of their desired
schedule. Today, we debut our Florida Politics page, with an interview by Tom DeMarchi of Richard Grayson, fiction-writer-turned-write-in-candidate. And I had the pleasure
of reviewing Yellow Dog Democrats to Red State Republicans, in the process learning a lot about how Florida's
political scene got the way it is. People from elsewhere constantly ask me about our politics, where we can brag that
we lead the nation in both drama and absurdity. —Lynne
Barrett
Sunday, January 13, 2008
News that is no news to us
The Seattle Times highlights Books and Books as one of the “unique” US bookstores, saluting the Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Bal Harbor and (new) Grand
Cayman stores for beauty, knowledge, great food, and the incredible lineup of author events —70 a month. We think Florida independent bookstores are varied and full of local flavor—not to mention
the ghost of Kerouac over at Haslam’s. Take a look at our Bookstores page which is arranged more or less geographically. In upcoming months we are going to have a Bookstore Corner to profile
some of the diverse stores in the state: big, small, new, antiquarian, special interest, or fresh combinations. (Has anyone
realized my dream of the bookstore/laundromat?) We’ll be happy to take some nominations or to hear from authors on tour
about their experiences and recommendations. Write us at floridabookreview@gmail.com. —Lynne Barrett
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| (Image from a Florida postcard) |
Weblinks to follow the weather:
www.nhc.noaa.gov - This is the official site of the National Hurricane Center. It's probably the most "official" site on the
web, so if you have trust issues, go here. They've made several improvements since last year, most notably the cool map
on the front and a new small news feed at the top. I'm not sure if they're still not using the "line of uncertainty."
In the past, their maps have been less definitive, with a huge cone, especially for slow-moving storms. Plus, it's not
as colorful, and we all like colors, don't we?
www.wunderground.com/tropical/ - This is Weather Underground's tropical weather site. They are good if you want easy access to a wide range of information,
including things like the "historical" diagram which shows how similar past storms have moved. They have a good
variety of computer models (which are lacking on the NHC), and they're very easy to navigate. They're also the best
source I know of for hurricane blogging - Dr. Jeff Masters blogs about tropical activity pretty consistently, although if
you're a complete beginner he may seem a bit jargonish. Plus, they're the best location for hurricane news if you're
trying to "one-stop shop" for weather info at your mansion on Fisher Island, your home in the Hamptons, the Manhattan
apartment, the London flat and the Chateau on the Loire. On the con side, they are a commercial entity, so there are ads around
the site.
www.skeetobiteweather.com - These guys have very clear diagrams that show not just where the storm will go, but how strong it will be in different
locations. They're also good for more minor systems, as they show "investigation areas" that may develop into
depressions, which neither the NHC nor Weather Underground does. Their historical records, however, have not been updated
since 2005. They have a slightly wider variety of computer models than Weather Underground, though you need to visit both
sites to see all of them. They can be a bit slow in updating (they normally have a 45-minute to an hour lag in updating after
the NHC, as compared to Weather Underground's 5-minute lag), but that's because they end up presenting much more information
with their diagrams. They come across as no-frills, with their relatively plain layout and lack of things like "wind
history" that the other two throw in. --James Barrett-Morison
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