Thursday, December 18, 2008
A Christmas Story
It was Christmas eve in the midwest. There was a man who had been in a family where his wife and his children were Christians but he was not. And he rejected it. He sat home that Christmas eve in front of the fire. It was cold out and the snow was blowing. His wife and the little children had gone to the chapel in the nearby village for a Christmas eve service to honor the Christ they loved. He sat by the fire reading the paper.
All of a sudden he heard a loud and repeated thumping. He thought someone was banging on the door. He went to the door and opened it but found no one was there. By the time he got settled back into his chair, he heard it again and again. And he was bewildered as to what was causing it until he realized that something seemed to be smashing against the window. And so he went to the drapes and he pulled the drapes aside and to his amazement, a flock of birds was flying into the window. A snowstorm, you see, had blown in. And the birds had been caught away from their shelter and they couldn't find their way back. They couldn't fight the wind. They saw the lighted window and the warmth of the light had attracted them. And they were literally flying into the glass trying to get to the light to get warm. They would freeze to death, you see, if they didn't find some shelter.
Well, the man who had refused to go with his family to the Christmas eve service because he had no interest in the Christ of Christmas was all of a sudden very compassionate for these poor birds. And so he wondered how he could help them. And so he opened the door and went out in the cold and tried to chase them away so that they wouldn't kill themselves against the window. And then he ran to the barn and he threw the doors open and he whistled and he shooed them and did everything he could to get them to fly to the barn, they wouldn't do it. He even went so far as to take some corn and some bread and make a big trail from the window to the barn. And they wouldn't follow it.
In frustration, he said to himself, "If I could just communicate with them. If I could just tell them that I don't want to hurt them, that there's warmth and there's shelter and that they'd need to stop beating themselves to death against the glass. But I'm a man and they're birds and we don't speak the same language. Oh, if I could just become a bird, I think I could tell them."
And then it hit him. The whole meaning of Christmas dawned on that man. Mankind had been beating itself to death against the barrier that kept him from the warmth of God's love until somebody became a man and told us the way.
Global Warming Update: Frigid Storm Closes California Freeways, Drops Snow in Malibu
LOS ANGELES — Snow snarled major mountain highways and even dusted Malibu on Wednesday as a cold storm hit parts of California. One person was killed by a wind-related helicopter crash, and an overflowing river on the U.S.-Mexico border led to the evacuation of nearly two dozen people, rescues of about 50 horses and the deaths of four others. Styming thousands of commuters and travelers, snow shut Interstate 15 over 4,190-foot Cajon Pass east of Los Angeles and roads through the San Gabriel Mountains connecting metropolitan Los Angeles to the commuter suburbs of Palmdale and Lancaster in the high desert to the north.
Interstate 5, a major trucking and travel route connecting Southern California with the Central Valley and Northern California, stayed open over 4,144-foot Tejon Pass most of the day, with on-and-off Highway Patrol escorts, then finally was shut down in the afternoon as conditions deteriorated. Massive backups developed below all the passes.
Calen Weiss, 19, of Tarzana, his brother and two friends wanted to go snowboarding at Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains but instead got stuck on I-15 in Cajon Pass for an hour as visibility fell to about 40 yards.
"It looks like Whoville, all snowy, but with less joy and more extreme misery," he said by phone from the Summit Inn.
Heavy rain also fell in some parts of Southern California through the day.
Near the California-Mexico border, San Diego firefighters and lifeguards evacuated 21 people along the overflowing Tijuana River, said spokesman Maurice Luque. They included 12 to 15 people who were on high ground outside a home, surrounded by up to 4 feet of water.
Five people were taken out by helicopter, while others were escorted in Border Patrol all-terrain vehicles, Luque said. Three men were taken to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia.
About 50 horses also were evacuated, but three others drowned and one was euthanized after tripping on barbed wire, Luque said.
To the east, several vehicles collided and slid into ditches on Interstate 8's mountainous grades as heavy snow fell at the San Diego-Imperial County line. Other vehicles were stuck on the steep upgrade, their wheels spinning on the snow-packed surface, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Blowing snow, slush and ice prompted the Antelope Valley Transit Authority to cancel all its local buses, along with 18 commuter runs that usually carry some 650 people from the Palmdale-Lancaster area down to Los Angeles and back home.
The regional Metrolink rail system agreed to carry bus commuters who had already reached Los Angeles back home, spokesman Francisco Oaxaca said.
However, trains were ordered to proceed slowly because of the snow. Two trains also were delayed around 45 minutes at midday because engineers could not see the red, green and yellow track signals.
It was the first time in his 15 years with Metrolink that snow had caused such problems, Oaxaca said.
Transit agencies in the East have special equipment to clear tracks and otherwise handle snow but "we're not equipped for this kind of weather on a consistent basis in this part of the world," Oaxaca said.
In the Santa Clarita area north of Los Angeles, a wind gust caused a helicopter to crash, killing an electrical worker on the ground and leaving the pilot with minor injuries, county fire Inspector Frank Garrido said.
The helicopter was hired by Southern California Edison to string electrical lines between power poles in the Bouquet Canyon area.
"It was hovering above the ground. A gust of wind made the helicopter spiral," Garrido said.
Garrido said the accident report stated that the dead man was an Edison employee, but utility spokesman Steve Conroy said the victim was employed by the company operating the helicopter.
Late in the afternoon snow fell in the Malibu area.
"It's a combination of snow and rain, so none of the snow is sticking on the ground," said Craig Levy, director of a juvenile detention camp near Mulholland Highway. "It's kind of cool if you think about it. It's kind of unusual to see snow in Malibu."
More severe cold was on the way, the National Weather Service said.
Freeze warnings were issued for late Wednesday through Thursday morning for the Sacramento Valley, the northern San Joaquin Valley and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region, among others.
"A freeze warning means subfreezing temperatures are imminent or highly likely. These conditions will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation," the NWS said.
Freeze warnings were also issued for north San Francisco Bay area valleys, and a combination of frost advisories and freeze warnings were issued for parts of southwestern California. - FoxNews.com
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Global Warming Hits Las Vegas: McCarran closed to arriving and departing flights due to snowstorm
The ongoing snowstorm has stopped flights from landing or leaving at McCarran International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
"No planes are departing for Las Vegas from anywhere in the U.S. right now," said FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.
Gregor said the airport doesn't have snow removal or deicing equipment, which means there's no way for snow-covered planes to leave safely.
"The forecast is not looking particularly promising for anybody who wants to fly into Las Vegas," he said.
Officials at McCarran International Airport say there have still been some arrivals since snow started falling in Las Vegas, although departures from other airports to Las Vegas have been stopped for the time being.
"McCarran International Airport is not closed. In the last hour, the airport has handled 14 arrivals and zero take-offs," airport officials said in a written statement. "Normal flight operations will resume once the inclement weather has improved."
The National Weather Service in Las Vegas has issued a winter storm warning for heavy snow for the valleys and deserts of Clark, southern Nye and Lincoln counties until 6 a.m. Thursday.
John Adair, a meterologist with the National Weather Service's Las Vegas office, said as of 2:30 p.m. the entire Las Vegas Valley was receiving either snow or sleet.
“This is a very rare snow event,” Adair said.
Snow is expected to accumulate on the valley floors across Clark and southern Lincoln counties. Snow will continue to fall through the afternoon and tonight before tapering off Thursday morning.
This storm is expected to bring 3 to 6 inches of snow to the valley floors and up to 10 inches to the foothills above 2500 feet.
Icy conditions are resulting in major road closures in Southern Nevada.
Interstate 15 was closed at 1:30 p.m. in each direction at Primm due to snow and icy conditions, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced.
U.S. Highway 95 was closed from Railroad Pass to state Route 163, the Laughlin turnoff.
Chains, snow tires, or four wheel drive vehicle restrictions are in place for Mountain Springs and Mount Charleston.
The transportation department announced at 2:30 p.m. that state routes 163, 164 and 165 have been closed in both directions due to the weather.
State Route 160 between Las Vegas and Pahrump was closed as well. Motorists who must go to Pahrump are being advised to head north on U.S. Highway 95 to Indian Springs and then south on state Route 160.
Transportation Department Spokesman Bob McKenzie said motorists are being advised to stay in Las Vegas if possible.
The Nevada Department of Transportation plans on using a liquid deicer called magnesium-chloride on the part of the valley's freeway system tonight, McKenzie said. The liquid will be spread over bridges and viaducts and areas most likely to freeze on Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95, McKenzie said.
State Route 159 is being plowed and remained open as of 3 p.m.
Because of travel conditions, Henderson employees were sent home from work at 3 p.m., city officials announced. Emergency operations will continue and public safety and public works employees are on call.- Review Journal.com
People! This is global warming at its best. We should be very afraid! We are all going to burn to death due to our man made carbon print! We need Al Gore to save us! Where is Obama and his imaginary Office of President Elect to address this horrific change in the temperature due to global warming. We need immediate government action!. . . . .It is the end of the world people.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
12 Reasons for Christmas
1. "For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth." (John 18:37)
2. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8; cf. Hebrews 2:14-15)
3. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)
4. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)
5. "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
6. "God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:5)
7. "For God so loved the world that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16).
8. "God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." (1 John 4:9; cf. John 10:10).
9. "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15).
10. "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many may be revealed" (Luke 2:34f).
11. "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed." (Luke 4:18)
12. "Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." (Romans 15:7-8; cf. John 12:27f).
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In the words of the Joker in the blockbuster hit "The Dark Knight."
Joker: "Everything burns!"
Friday, December 12, 2008
Video Shows Every Flight on Earth.
Aspiring scientists from the Zurich School of Applied Sciences have built a video simulation that displays the flight path of every commercial flight in the world over a 24-hour period. There isn't much of an application for it, but it sure is cool to look at.
While the map may look complex, Dr. Karl Rege tells us he and his team found it surprisingly simple to assemble using data readily available on the internet.
"We used a commercial website called FlightStats to gather global flight and schedule information," he says. "So there was no need to contact the different airlines."
The team mined FlightStats for the departure and arrival times of every commercial flight in the world, then plugged it all into a computer to assemble their simulation. For the sake of simplicity, they assumed every plane traveled at the same speed and every flight took the most direct route to its destination. Then every flight was assigned a position on a Miller cylindrical projection, which is similar to a Mercator Projection but doesn't distort the poles so much.
"After that we drew it, that was it," Rege says. "It was that easy. We are astonished that nobody did it beforehand."
Well, others have done it, but on a much smaller scale...
Below: Flight activity over Europe.
