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What is it #1

In an effort to engage myself in more photography, I thought I’d start a series called “What Is It?” where I post pictures of things that I don’t know the name or function of.

This is something that I saw hanging from some power lines while stopped at a red light (Folly and Maybank if you’re curious, but I’ve since noticed these at other places). The cables going into either end suggest to me some kind of monitoring device, but I could be wrong. If you happen to know what it is, by all means leave a comment and enlighten me.

What is it #1

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TD8 on the way

A system moving out in the mid-Atlantic was designated Tropical Depression 8 at the 5AM update, and from the looks of the 5-day forecast, might become the first one to significantly affect the east coast sometime late next week. Could become a tropical storm as early as this evening, in which case it would be TS Hanna. Still too early to be certain but this definitely one to keep an eye on.
Update: A little earlier than I expected, TD8 has been upgraded to TS Hannah with the 11AM update.

HANNA HAS BEEN MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST…OR 300/10…DURING THE LAST 6 HOURS. HOWEVER…A MOTION TOWARD THE NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT 2-3 DAYS AS HANNA MOVES AROUND THE SOUTHWESTERN PERIPHERY OF THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE. THEREAFTER…THE TRACK BECOMES MUCH LESS CERTAIN AS IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN HOW HANNA WILL INTERACT WITH A MID-LATITUDE TROUGH FORECAST TO MOVE OFF THE U.S. EAST COAST. MOST OF THE DYNAMICAL MODELS SHOW HANNA BEING LEFT BEHIND IN AN AREA OF WEAK STEERING. HOWEVER…THE TRADITIONALLY GOOD PERFORMING GFS FORECASTS HANNA TO TURN NORTHEASTWARD AT DAYS 4 AND 5. THE OFFICIAL FORECAST ASSUMES THE FORMER OF THOSE SCENARIOS AND SHOWS A SLOW WESTWARD TRACK.

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The n lap barrier

One of the things I hate about running on a track is the monotony. Even back in high school when I was running track, the most I could manage was 4 or 5 laps around the 400 m track before I got so bored out of my skull I had to stop.

Still running on the somewhat smaller track at work, still doing the 6 laps (1 mile). It’s become much easier now than when I first started. Still sucking wind at the end of 6 laps, but recovering much faster. I’d probably be farther along if I was a little more consistent in my running.

Now my challenge is to break that 6 lap barrier, the point where my mind and body have become used to stopping. That mental and physical barrier can be a tough one to get past. When you’re first starting out, you can barely make the distance, and when you do it feels so good to stop. Then after your endurance has reached the point where you can make the distance without collapsing into a puddle of goo, you’ve become used to stopping at n laps. The legs shut down and Brain thinks “Ok, done! Finally!”. Running in 28°C+ weather doesn’t help things much either.

I’m ready to up my distance a bit now, so I think it’s time to get back on the road now and leave the track behind.

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On the heels of Fay

Here comes TD Gustav, which the NHC declared with a 2PM update. It went from being a disturbance with 30 mph winds all the way up to a tropical storm with 60 mph winds in about 8 hours. Looks like Cuba will be in for another good soaking. A few more days should show if Florida is in for some more rain.

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Welcome to Mosquitoville

All this rain we’ve been getting has been very welcome for my lawn, but one rather unpleasant side effect is the booming mosquito population.
While wandering through a field at Hazel Parker Playground for the latest instalment of my Lowcountry dog park series, what I thought was just weeds whipping against my legs turned out to be me being stabbed by several dozen mosquitoes. When I looked down, my legs were practically covered in mosquitoes feasting away. Needless to say, many of those didn’t survive to make use of their meal, but my legs are going to be one big itchy mosquito bite soon.
Time to dig out that mosquito repellent.