We apologize for postponing the original date of the Open House, but given the winter weather concerns across portions of the Tennessee Valley, it was the most prudent decision. We have decided on a new date, and hopefully temperatures will be a little warmer in March. The details of the original Open House still hold true, and they follow below.

As part of the five year anniversary of the Huntsville National Weather Service Office, we are hosting an Open House on Saturday, March 8th.

This event, which is free and open to the public, will give you a chance to tour our Operations Area, where we make all our forecasts and warnings. Tour space is limited, so arrive early to pick up your free tour tickets.

Additionally, we will have a childrens area with a bean bag toss, coloring activites, videos, and a hands-on hurricane activity. Nearby, there will be a full size weather safety miniature golf course hole.

Other fun activites include a weather forecasting contest, putting you in charge of making a forecast for Huntsville. In fact, the best forecast will win one of several prizes--ranging from a job shadow with one of our forecasters, to an official NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio.

We will also have a whole area dedicated to hydrology, climatology, and cooperative weather observations. If you've ever wondered how we acquire data, or how we use it, you'll certainly want to pay a visit to this section.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday March 8th, and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Saturday, March 8th, 10 AM to 3 PM

National Weather Service Huntsville, AL - 5th Anniversary Open House

The laptop computer hard drives stolen from the Davidson County Election Commission office are in the hands of Metro police.

It doesn't appear that sensitive information was accessed, police reported.

Investigators found the computer hardware at The Muse, a club in the 800 block of Fourth Avenue South. The business features concerts, tattoos and an exercise studio.

Tax records show that an investor group owns the building.

Police said 45-year-old Robert Osbourne admitted to selling the computers at the business for cash.

Metro's Code Enforcement department shut down the building Thursday due to violations.

Metro police said other parts of the stolen computers were found at a home in Goodlettsville.

Stolen Laptops Recovered

Coast Guard surveillance video of the T2 Lab Explosion. The Coast Guard has numerous surveillance cameras watching over the port of Jacksonville, Fla. This helps Coast Guard crews maintain complete maritime domain awareness. The video surveillance system is a new capability the Coast Guard has developed with its new Sector Command Center – Joint, a multi-agency initiative to improve the security of the port of Jacksonville. This video is being released after ensuring it did not violate the security of the new system. Video courtesy of Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, Fla.

T2 Lab Explosion

“The blast at T2 was among the most powerful ever examined by the CSB.”

“…There are several steps in the process [of producing the gasoline additive MMT]; the first step involved heating and reacting organic materials with metallic sodium. It was during this step the [batch] reactor ruptured. Prior to the rupture, eyewitnesses reported hearing loud hissing, seeing vapor venting, which indicates the development of excess temperature and pressure inside the reactor.”

“Following the rupture of the reactor, its flammable contents mixed with air and ignited, releasing large amounts of thermal energy as seen on the U.S. Coast Guard infrared video released last week. [CG video here] The reactor was designed for high pressure and had steel walls 3 inches thick. Under normal temperatures and conditions, it would require a pressure of several thousand pounds per square inch to rupture this vessel.”

“We recovered large portions of the vessel’s top head—weighing hundreds of pounds—approximately one quarter-mile away. This gives an idea of the tremendous power of the explosion.” (emphasis added)

See the next post for a link to the video... It's a very big "release of thermal energy" !!

Jacksonville T2 Site Still Too Dangerous for Investigators

DENVER - A man who had a two-bag-a-day popcorn habit - believed to be the only consumer to develop the “popcorn lung” that has plagued factory workers -sued yesterday claiming injury and saying the maker had failed to warn of the risks of sniffing the “buttery aroma.”

Wayne Watson’s attorney, Kenneth McClain, said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court names The Kroger Co. A Kroger spokeswoman declined to comment.

Watson’s case of “popcorn lung” and his two-bag-a-day popcorn diet gained national attention last year when doctors diagnosed him with the rare lung condition linked to the flavoring chemical diacetyl.

The lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages, says Kroger “failed to warn that preparing microwave popcorn in a microwave oven as intended and smelling the buttery aroma could expose the consumer to an inhalation hazard and a risk of lung injury.”

Popcorn lung, also called bronchiolitis obliterans, has affected workers mixing vats of flavor, who have severe respiratory illnesses from inhaling diacetyl vapors.

You butter believe it: Man sues over ‘popcorn lung’

In addition, the information on the laptops was not encrypted.

See this is what gets me is that they "The City of Nashville" and the state for that matter got done in the butt by nobody but (no pun) their own stupidity.

Personal information should have been protected, but was not. The lack of physical security should have not been an issue.

All i see is the press talking about the lack of physical security.

Someone needs to loose their job, period. The IT people in Nashville are really that incompetent?

Being 'Proactive' Could Have Lessened Election Theft Risk

The election is over, the results are now known.
The will of the people has clearly been shown.
We should show by our thoughts and our words and our deeds
That unity's just what our country now needs.
Let's all get together.
Let bitterness pass.
I'll hug your elephant.
You kiss my ass!

Still stands for 2008 I think...

:P

This calls for my favorite political poem...

After her third-place finish in Iowa, there are reports that Hillary Clinton's campaign is thinking of running negative ads against Barack Obama. Humorist Brian Unger provides the Clinton campaign with some ready-made negative ads, free of charge.

Hahahah ! :P "Give it up..."

Unger Report:Making Negative Fun! {MP3}

The new 6ft (1.8m) ball, weighing about 1,100lbs (500kg), is covered with 9,576 light-emitting diodes that use the same amount of electricity as 10 toasters.

hmm ... Now what they need to do is make each LED module with RGB LEDs and make the computer controlled...

:P

NY Times Square ball 'goes green'

Effective January 1, 2008, the following rules apply to the spare lithium batteries you carry with you in case the battery in a device runs low:

* Spare batteries are the batteries you carry separately from the devices they power. When batteries are installed in a device, they are not considered spare batteries.
* You may not pack a spare lithium battery in your checked baggage
* You may bring spare lithium batteries with you in carry-on baggage – see our spare battery tips and how-to sections to find out how to pack spare batteries safely!
* Even though we recommend carrying your devices with you in carry-on baggage as well, if you must bring one in checked baggage, you may check it with the batteries installed.

The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of “equivalent lithium content.” 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100 watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours:

* Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold.
* You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are shown below.
* For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal per battery.
* Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!

New Lithium Battery Rules for U.S. Airplanes