Good Friday the 13th morning!
Chain Reaction Results
I got a lot of comments that these were pretty tough, so don't worry too much if you couldn't get them right. However, those that got "dating" correct in chain #2 will get a bonus point since less than half of the people who responded were able to come up with the right answer. That's a rule that's consistent across all puzzle-type games played in my updates.
Players: 28
Chain #1:
This
Instant (18/28) (Other Answers: Is, Item, Ice, Irish, Is Not A)
Coffee (17/28) (Other Answers: Clean, Christ's, Cold, Chop, Club)
House
Chain #2:
Speed
Dating (13/28) (Other Answers: Diver, Demons, Detector, Driving, Dog, Dial, Dart, Delivery)
Game (21/28) (Other Answers: Going, Gone, Gives)
Over
Scattergories Challenge Results
Halloween Costumes
President - 14 yea, 5 nay, 2 points awarded.
Things at a Football Game
Pabst - 6 yea, 12 nay, no points awarded.
Pants - 13 yea, 6 nay, 2 points awarded.
Piles - 13 yea, 6 nay, 2 points awarded.
Plexiglas - 10 yea, 9 nay, 2 points awarded.
Ploy - 2 yea, 17 nay, no points awarded.
Combine Punter and Punt? - 7 yea, 13 nay, these two are not combined, punt receives 2 points.
Autumn 2006 Regular Season Point Standings (34 people played this week)
The regular season will run through December 15 and the playoff week will be the week of December 18-22.
December 11-15 will be a three-game, double point week.
The top player at the end of the playoff week will win a lovely weather-related prize (if not a previous winner in the last year).
If you would like your city and state listed next to your name, send me a note with the information.
Maroon text indicates that these players had the best week. Green text indicates a perfect week.
* = received a bonus point for Chain Reaction.
^ = moved above the playoff cut line this week
-- = moved below the playoff cut line this week
$ = previous winner
Please verify your point total for accuracy. Any scoring updates will be immediately posted on the Web site.
Perfect Score: 21
Greg, Madison, WI: 20 (+9)*
Max M., Cut 'n Shoot, TX: 20 (+9)*
Steve L.: 19 (+7)*
Dan, Henderson, NV: 18 (+8)*
Sharon, Kaukauna, WI: 18 (+7)*
Sue, De Pere, WI: 18 (+9)*^
$Karl, Appleton, WI: 16 (+7)*^
Sally: 16 (+5)*
Sarah H., Appleton, WI: 16 (+5)
Bethany: 15 (+6)^
Kelley: 15 (+4)
$$$Nia, Appleton, WI: 15 (+4)
--------Preliminary Playoff Cut Line--------
$Brian, Madison WI: 14 (+6)
Clair, Rhinelander, WI: 14 (+7)*
Jan, Berlin, WI: 14 (+3)--
Mom: 13 (+4)
Rhonda Lop.: 13 (+7)*
Sheila, Appleton, WI: 13 (+7)*
Barb, Berlin, WI: 12 (+2)--
Becky T. and Dad: 12 (+3)
Juanita: 12 (+4)
Diane Sm.: 11 (+5)
Jordan, Little Chute, WI: 11 (+9)*
Chris Ke.: 10 (+5)*
$Tammy, Madison, WI: 10 (+1)
Tony: 10 (+2)
Mary, Berlin, WI: 9 (+2)
Deb: 8 (+3)
Katie/Bart, Mukwonago, WI: 8
Lisa, Appleton, WI: 8 (+2)
Nicole, Madison, WI: 8 (+4)
Adam S., Evansville, IN: 7 (+2)
Mary, Appleton, WI: 7 (+4)
Stacy: 6
Al, Germantown, WI: 5 (+2)
Bree: 4
John/Shelley, Oshkosh, WI: 3 (+0)
Today’s forecast grade: C-
NowCast: (Courtesy of the National Weather Service)
Northern Wisconsin:
Widespread light snow will continue across much of central and north-central Wisconsin this morning. A few bands of heavier snow showers were embedded in the large area of light snow...so the snow will fall more heavily at times. Temperatures crept upward during the night...and were now at or a little above freezing at most locations. That will greatly limit the amount of blowing and drifting of the snow...and should also limit accumulations a bit. Most areas north of Wausau will pick up an inch or two of snow between 500 am and 900 am. From Wausau southward...temperatures should be warm enough to prevent much accumulation other than on grassy areas.
http://www.wunderground.com/DisplayDisc.asp?DiscussionCode=GRB
Wisconsin Forecast:
Now: At 8am with clouds, scattered snow showers, and plenty of wind, temps are mostly in the low to mid- 30s.
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/wi/hourly.html
http://www.pollen.com/state.asp?id=wi
Synopsis: Did you like my Romeo and Juliet reference yesterday? As for today, a very strong area of low pressure centered just north of Lake Superior will continue to push polar air into Wisconsin courtesy of very strong winds as indicated by the tight isobar formation (lines of equal pressure) in the map below.
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/sfc/ussatsfc.gif
Today: Cloudy and very windy with scattered snow showers. 1-3 inches of snow is possible north, maybe a dusting on the grass central, and the light snow or flurries may mix with light rain or drizzle south. High of 42 central, mid- 40s south, and upper 30s to near 40 north. Chance of precip 60% north, 40% central, and 20% south.
Tonight: Clouds and wind, scattered snow showers. Lows near 30.
Tomorrow: Decreasing clouds and winds but increasing temperatures. A little bit, anyway. Highs mid- 40s central, upper 40s south.
Sunday: Partly cloudy and warmer, highs mid- 50s central, upper 50s south.
Next Week:
Monday: Mostly cloudy, maybe some drizzle late, highs 52-57.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, maybe some light rain. Highs 58-63. Chance of rain 30%.
Wednesday: Cloudy and breezy with a better chance of rain. Highs 55-60. Chance of rain 40%.
Today in Las Vegas, Nevada: Isolated storms today with a better chance tonight and tomorrow. Dry Sunday. Highs near 80 today but only in the 70s this weekend.
http://www.wunderground.com/US/NV/Henderson.html
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USNV0040
Today in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina: Sunshine all weekend, highs mid- to upper 70s.
http://www.wunderground.com/US/SC/Hilton_Head_Island.html
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USSC0155
Today in League City and Pearland, Texas: Scattered storms tomorrow and Sunday, cooler highs mid- 70s today but back into the lower 80s this weekend.
http://www.wunderground.com/US/TX/League_City.html
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USTX0745
http://www.wunderground.com/US/TX/Pearland.html
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USTX1029
Today in Evansville, Indiana: Sunshine through the weekend, highs low to mid- 60s.
http://www.wunderground.com/US/IN/Evansville/KEVV.html
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USIN0190
Vernon, Connecticut Forecast Link:
http://www.wunderground.com/US/CT/Vernon.html
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USCT0236
Yesterday’s Climate Data Links: (Courtesy of the National Weather Service)
Wisconsin
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/wi/climate.html
Illinois
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/il/climate.html
Indiana
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/in/climate.html
Nevada
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/nv/climate.html
South Carolina
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/sc/climate.html
Texas
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/tx/climate.html
Weather/Space in the News:
Buffalo digging out from 'snowiest' October day
A rare early October snowstorm downed tree limbs and toppled power lines in Buffalo, leaving about 155,000 customers without electricity. The city set a record for its "snowiest" October day with at least two feet of snow covering parts of the city. Forecasters say up to 5 more inches of snow may fall.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/10/13/ny.snow.ap/index.html
Jupiter's Little White Spot Turns Red
WASHINGTON - Just a little more than a year ago, the small spot on Jupiter was a pale white; now it matches the reddish hue of its bigger sibling, the Great Red Spot, and boasts 400 mph winds, according to new data from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Both spots are actually fierce storms in Jupiter's atmosphere. While the red spot — at three times the size of Earth — is much more noticeable, strange things are happening to the smaller spot.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061011/ap_on_sc/jupiter_s_spots
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/little_red_spot.html
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/12/1433231&from=rss
Black Hole Observed by X-Ray Satellite
NASA scientists and their international partners using the new Japanese Suzaku satellite have collected a startling new set of black hole observations, revealing details of twisted space and warped time never before seen with such precision.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/spinning_blackhole.html
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/10/1626229&from=rss
In Case You Missed It:
Wisconsin band on probation for road trip disharmony
MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin has put its marching band on probation after receiving reports of severe misconduct during a trip to Michigan last month.
The school is not releasing details on what happened during the trip to the Sept. 23 game. But Chancellor John Wiley described it in a letter to the band's director as behavior "that can be seen as anything from boorish and offensive to patently dangerous and unlawful."
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2622462&campaign=rss&source=NCFHeadlines
Wisconsin library joins Google book project
SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- The University of Wisconsin has agreed to take part in Google Inc.'s bid to scan book collections of the world's great libraries, joining a second wave of backers for the controversial project, the two organizations said late on Wednesday.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Google plan to provide access to hundreds of thousands of public and historical materials from the UW-Madison libraries and the Wisconsin Historical Society Library, they said.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/10/12/google.library.reut/index.html
Remember those magical moving pictures on the wall in the Harry Potter series? Thanks Chad for the link!
Pandigital busts out four video-playing digital photo frames
Although the built-in MP3 player on Pandigital's newest foursome of digital frames is commendable, it's certainly not a new addition, and while they lack the integrated WiFi that certain alternatives have, boasting the ability to play back full-motion MPEG-1/2/4, and AVI video along with the usual still slideshows is definitely noteworthy.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/12/pandigital-busts-out-four-video-playing-digital-photo-frames/
