by Steve Sakiyama –
I’m terrible with names. I have no trouble recalling important things (like science and sports trivia), but when it comes to remembering names, I’m not the crispiest chip in the bag. The reason for this is a mystery – just like Stonehenge, the Bermuda Triangle, and the fluctuating price of gas. On the other hand, my wife easily remembers the names of people we barely know, including their pet dogs. “Hi Mary, I haven’t seen you in years. And how is your dog, Bowser?” If I tried to do this, I would readily mix up their names – the repercussions of which are something you really don’t want to know about.
Since I’ve been accumulating names and faces since birth, I wonder whether my brain reached a memory storage limit at some point. A strange name saturation occurred, around 1970 I think, leaving me very little room to stuff in new names since my “best before” date.
Maybe heredity has something to do with it. When my mother wanted to get my attention, she would first say the names of my siblings (and perhaps our dog) before eventually landing on mine. They came in rapid succession: “Chris, Greg, Fido, Steve.” It was her way of audibly scrolling through our family rolodex until she found the one she wanted. This explains why I do the same thing when our kids, grandchildren and dog all come to visit.
While we are on this topic, where does the name “meteorologist” come from? The comedian Richard Jeni said if somebody is a meteorologist, you expect them to talk about … meteors! Their forecast would be: “Haven’t seen any. No meteors, no asteroids, no Klingons. Fabulous night for space travel! The long-term forecast, however, indicates that in 10 million years a huge meteor will barrel into the central Pacific, putting an end to all life on the planet.”
Actually, the term “meteorology” comes from the Greek word meteoron, meaning “things high in the air,” so a meteorologist is someone who studies the atmosphere. Since the science of the atmosphere is very broad, there are different kinds of meteorologists that have unique specialties. For example, Forensic Meteorologists recreate weather conditions for accident and crime analysis, Fire Weather Meteorologists provide weather information for wildfire behaviour and suppression efforts, and Broadcast Meteorologists are skilled at communicating weather information to the public. Other specialists include those in Forestry, Severe Weather, Oceans, Air Pollution, Climate … the list goes on.
Let’s check the long-term outlook for November (for weather, not meteors). There is a preference toward above-normal temperatures, but for precipitation, the models can’t decide whether it will be wetter or drier than normal.
November is unforgettable. When Christmas decorations appear in stores shortly after Halloween, it’s easy to think that we’ve skipped November completely. But how can we? This month we get to wear warm sweaters, make hearty soups to enjoy with others, and look up to scan the mysterious, brooding skies. We can walk outside to watch our breath just for fun – the ephemeral, white wisps floating upwards in ever-changing shapes that disappear into the air. Late fall is upon us, so find a forest path splashed with the colour of fallen leaves – nature’s royal carpet, welcoming us into a magical world that we will never forget.
~ Weatherwit
