NWS Nds Vwls 4 Ths 4cst

For the past week, the weather has been typical winter weather here in central Ohio: dreary, cold and snow/rain/freezing snow.

I wanted to see what it was going to be like this weekend, so I visited the National Weather Service’s forecast site (which I use instead of other sites for two reasons- they don’t have ads on their site and most other weather sites get their weather information from the NWS).  When I saw tonight’s forecast, I was confused, scared and bewildered:

The forecast for this afternoon and New Year’s Day are pretty straightforward.  Simple explanations and easy-to-understand graphics.  But what about tonight? Are frozen stalactites going to be raining down upon partiers in Central Ohio?  What is this FzgDz? Did they run out of vowels, or are they giving forecasts in leetspeek?

After Googling the phrase “FgzDz,” I found out it stands for “Freezing Drizzle.”  In fact, most of the sites that come up are weather related.  So fear not, Central Ohio, there’s no massive vowel shortage and you won’t be impaled by icicles tonight.  Just some freezing drizzle.  Makes me glad The Civee and I are hanging around here tonight.  Happy New Year, everyone.

Claire’s Psychic: Soothsayer on a Slow Ride

The next and final season of Lost is a little more than a month away.  With less than 20 episodes to go, there are a lot of unanswered questions that remain part of the show’s mythology.  This series, “I Want Some Freakin’ Answers” will take a look at some of the lesser mysteries that I’d still like answered.

He was the bassist for Foghat.

He was also the Russian President for two seasons of 24.

And as an accomplished voice actor, he’s been a part of shows like The Critic and nearly every Star Wars video game until a few years ago.

Yet it’s Nick Jameson‘s role as Australian psychic Richard Malkin that interests Lost fans.  He’s only appeared in two flashback episodes, and is potentially responsible for two characters getting on Flight 815, which brought them to the mysterious Island.

Or maybe not.

Claire visits Malkin, who appears spooked by some vision of Claire’s baby.  After finding out that Claire intends to put her baby up for adoption, Malkin later implores Claire that she must not allow the “baby to be raised by another.”  However, he later changes his tune, saying he knows of an acceptable couple in Los Angeles, but she has only one option for transportation: Oceanic 815.  In fact, he’s quite adamant about it:

MALKIN: It has to be this flight. It can’t be any other. They’re already scheduled to meet you when you arrive. Flight 815. Flight 815.

We next meet Malkin in Season 2, during Eko’s flashback episode “?,” when his daughter has a near-death experience.  Malkin tells Eko the near-death experience was  mistake and that he’s a fraud as a psychic.  Only, we later find out that Malkin’s daughter did experience something supernatural.

(And yes, there’s a deleted scene where Malkin admits to Eko that he was paid by the Los Angeles couple to convince Claire to give them her baby.  But since it was deleted, it never happened).

So the question remains: is Richard Malkin for real or a fraud?

It would tie in well to Lost’s mythology if Malkin was able to see the future.  Claire and Aaron are important players in the whole story.  It’s hinted at the end of Raised by Another that Claire suspects Malkin knew all along that Flight 815 would crash and she would survive. This would ensure that Claire and no one else raised the baby.

But Malkin’s encounter with Eko (and the deleted scene) are evidence that Claire’s being on 815 was coincidental and he was perpetrating a ruse.

I’d like to think that Malkin was an important player.  The biggest piece of evidence is his insistence on Flight 815.   It’s likely though, that this mystery won’t be answered.  There are other, bigger mysteries, and this might not fit in to the time left to tell the Lost story.

Still, as long as there isn’t a Foghat reunion going on this winter, maybe Malkin will reappear on Lost one last time.

Forgive the Mess

So this afternoon I noticed that we’re a little more than a month away from the next season of Lost.  I was ready to write a new entry in the I Want Some Freakin Answers series (hint: it involves a former Foghat bassist, Russian Premier and voice of Emperor Palpatine), but then got a note that I should update the version of WordPress the blog is running.

Most of the time, upgrading WP takes two minutes.  But this time, it was more like two hours.  Had some difficulty with the version of SQL I’m running not being compatible with WP and the flux capacitor mucking everything up.

I had to upgrade the SQL and re-install (and re-configure) WP.  Not everything is working yet.  But it will be soon.

And hopefully I’ll get to the longawaited post about what a Foghat bassist has to do with the mysteries of Lost.

Children From the Produce Aisle

Being a first-time expectant father, I have a lot to learn about the pregnancy process.

Relatively speaking, men have it easy for the nine months their significant other is pregnant.  So in an effort to be a good husband, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn as much about what the Civee is going through as possible.  However, in my effort to be studious, I’ve also become quite bewildered.

In an effort to explain what the baby is like at a certain point during the pregnancy, many books and Web sites will liken the baby’s size or weight to an outside-the-womb item.  That’s all fine and dandy.  However, most of these sources like to compare the baby to a fruit or vegetable.  Take, for example, the bountiful resource babycenter.com.  In their “Your Pregnancy: Week by Week” section, they liken a baby’s progression to the following:

• sesame seed
• lentil bean
• blueberry
• kidney bean
• grape
• kumquat
• fig
• lime
• lemon
• apple
• avocado
• turnip
• bell pepper
• large heirloom tomato
• banana
• carrot
• spaghetti squash
• large mango
• ear of corn
• average rutabaga
• English hothouse cucumber
• head of cauliflower
• Chinese cabbage
• butternut squash
• try carrying four navel oranges
• large jicama
• a pineapple
• your average cantaloupe
• honeydew melon
• crenshaw melon
• a stalk of Swiss chard
• a leek
• a mini watermelon
• small pumpkin

Right now, The Civee’s at week 23.  It’s weird and frightening to picture her giving birth to a large mango.  But beyond that, I’m not sure what a rutabaga looks like.  I have no idea how a crenshaw melon is different than a honeydew melon.  And I thought English cucumbers were always wrapped in plastic.

It would be nice if they could think of other real-world items (weighs as much as a can of paint, as big as a Playstation controller) that they could compare the baby to.   I applaud the creativity, but comparing a baby to fruits and vegetables is confusing, and scary when one is in the middle of the produce aisle trying to pick out a good kumquat or jicama.

A Close Call For Richard Cuomo

Earlier today, reputable news sources reported that Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo and his family were involved in a bus crash, with Cuomo being hospitalized due to rib pain.

However, now eonline is reporting that Rivers is okay.  See for yourself:

Get well Richard.

In all seriousness, I wish Rivers, his wife and daughter a speedy recovery.  A few months ago, The Civee was involved in a car accident and while she’s okay now, she was shook up pretty bad.  And after hearing the basics on the phone right after it happened and waiting to find out more, that’s not a good spot for anyone to be in.

Sure, some Weezer concerts may have to be postponed, but aside from some rib pain, the important thing is Rivers is okay.