Jeaen San Blas

What's your NPR name?

Measuring the Weather

Today's easy access to the internet makes it possible for anyone to contribute their weather station data to national and regional weather databases. For example, the Citizen Weather Observer Program is a private-public partnership with three main goals: (1) to collect weather data contributed by private citizens; (2) to make these data available for public weather services; and (3) to provide feedback to the data contributors so that they have the tools to improve the quality of their data. If you have a weather station and access to the internet, you can participate. Your real-time data will be used in NOAA weather prediction models and appear on their mesonet web page. Making your data available is simple and free. Information on how to join is available from the WX4NHC amateur radio station at the National Hurricane Center.

Even if you don't own your own weather station, you can contribute to the advancement of weather science by joining Climateprediction.net, a distributed computing project that allows personal computer users to participate in the world's largest climate prediction experiment. Each participant runs their own unique version of a state-of-the-art climate model, simulating several decades of the Earth's climate at a time. The model runs as a background process on ordinary desktop computers and will not affect other computing tasks. At the end of the experiment results are sent back via the internet. Simulations of present climate and past changes will be used to test different model versions and the most realistic will be used to predict the climate of the twenty-first century.

Albums from the Heart

Custom Photo Albums - Now even busy people can create meaningful and lasting gifts honoring their loved ones using this online service that guides you through a step-by-step process for creating unforgettable custom keepsake scrapbooks. Because many people are overwhelmed with the prospect of trying to find just the right words to capture their true feelings for the special people in their lives, www.heartalbums.com is designed to make it an easy and enjoyable process. An album from the heart is the perfect personal keepsake. It will be treasured forever.

Pandora.com

Pandora is a music discovery service that finds new music based on your old and current favorites using data from the Music Genome Project. Listen for free.

Black Eyed Peas

Do you know how hard it is to drive into Arco Arena after a concert? If you think it's hard getting out of the parking lot (and I agree with you, it's hard!), you should try getting in!

That was my challenge last night. After driving all the way around the entire arena, finding every driveway either filled by exiting cars or barricaded, I finally found one lane entering the lot... the service entrance. It took me to the loading docks at the very back of the arena.

So, I started my long trip back around the arena, this time dodging all the people who were still walking out of the building. And, thank God for cell phones. Without them, I don't know how I would ever have found the two girls whose retrieval was my reason for entering this obstacle course.

I guess it was all worth it so Carrie and Aissa could see The Black Eyed Peas! Huh? The what? Oh, all right! I admit it. That's not as silly as The Strawberry Alarm Clock! (Incense and Peppermints, anyone?) And no worse than The Turtles. Or The Beatles.

Ah, youth!