reading list

Yesterday after work i just escaped into a book. I finished Rachel Neumeier's Death's Lady trilogy. The first book felt complete and stand alone, and i found the in this world with a mental institution housing a distressed person from another world to be different and engaging. Would real therapists and psychiatrists approve? I dunno, but i enjoyed it. The next two books are one story that i was impatient with -- just as likely a me problem as that of the text, as in retrospect i regard it with some pleasure. The fourth book, last night, was of redemption. The lovely aspect of these books is the alternate world has recovered from a long traumatic time of cruelty and the young leader has an instinct for healing.

And i escaped there again.

I am privileged in that generally we can sit out the ice and snow and enjoy looking and walking in it. The stretch of road we are on retains the ice long after it clears elsewhere, our north slope grounds are shaded by tall pines and we keep the snow for a long while. I suspect that once we get round the curve i will, as usual, be surprised at how different everywhere else is.

"KEY MESSAGE 1...Confidence continues to grow in at least measurable snowfall in central NC Fri night into Sun morning, but considerable uncertainty remains with an incredibly wide range of potential snowfall amounts and related impacts.... This pattern is favorable for at least light snow with a high snow/liquid ratio within central NC, but also brings an incredibly  difficult forecast challenge.... The likelihood ... remains a point of considerable uncertainty and may not be ironed out until 1-2 days before the event begins. However, the top analogs and latest suite of ... model guidance highlights at least the potential for significant snowfall totals somewhere from the Carolinas into the Mid-Atlantic. There are a few failure modes for this setup which would result in less precipitation over central NC. "

I like reading the local NWS (RAH) area forecast. The above is essentially how i skim the text. Whole paragraphs of technical air masses and troughs and poetic phrases like  the "stronger synoptic ascent overspreads" i consume to produce some abstract impressionist concept of weather maps in my head, but i am on the look out for the process. These forecasters speaking to other forecasters focus on certainty and uncertainty and the basis for claims. The meaningful weather maps right now focus on what the probability is that warning or watches need to be issued -- not how much.  The graphical ten day forecast i look at has no way to condense in all this uncertainty, except for the numbers to jump around as new models are run.

The Weather Channel is apparently naming it Winter Storm Gianna.

Meanwhile, the project planning for which i am scheduled to fly to Ohio this weekend -- exhale, it will be what it will be -- gripped my heart yesterday with dread. I am feeling inadequate as i look into some cryptographic technologies and consider the chuzpah with which we undertake this planning. I think i had forgotten the depths of some of the issues facing us in this work, and yesterday it all came back to me. I am ... thankful ... for the pause that means i have this complexity in mind as we head into the planning.

Meanwhile, i read one of my Republican senator's statements critical of ICE and fume at the wishy washy way he weasels his critique to "protect President Trump's legacy." The press has carried stories about the fear these politicians have of getting in the crosshairs of the MAGA and Q faithful who have shown themselves willing to assault and attack. The attack on Paul Pelosi, on judges, on governors, even the attempted assassination attempts -- yes, i can understand the fear. But there are people on the street in Minneapolis who are brave and are also facing violence and attack and no doubt MAGA and Q faithful are doxxing people who have made themselves visible -- can this senator not be brave enough to do more?

The number of deaths in ICE's custody has shot up this year and part of it is the ignorance in which they bring people into custody, the lack of support for the people who have chronic conditions, the utter lack of care. Funding of DHS should also be contingent on hiring the medical staff and translators and custodial staff, and buying supplies to support the people in custody. If ANYONE is in custody, the state should be meeting their physical and legal needs.

ICE needs to be held accountable for those deaths, too. Not just the terror they are causing on the streets, but the tedious quiet horror of neglect in custody.

Argh, there is so much wrong with the whole horrible, racist process.