Morning News Blog

Water those plants!

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:30:39 GMT

A tip from horticulturalist and KDKA-TV Morning Show viewer Susan Cain. She reminds us to water our shrubs, trees, and other plants...especially those planted this year. According to Susan, in a warm, dry fall like this, the transition to freezing weather is very hard on plant life if they have not been watered in well. That's a great tip and I thank Susan for it. The rain we get late tonight and tomorrow will help but not erase the moisture deficit we carry for 2009...which is currently over 5 inches.

So get out there and water, regardless of what the neighbors say!

D-Bow

Great Weekend Coming!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:38:01 GMT

How about a fair amount of sunshine and warmer temperatures for the weekend (November 7 and 8)? Looks like temperatures in the low 60s for Saturday and mid 60s for Sunday under partly to mostly sunny skies. Lows will be in the 40s Saturday and Sunday night.

I'm among those who continue to shuttle plants from the front porch to inside the house back to the porch, etc., depending on how those overnight lows are looking. My thought is that I spend a good bit of money on plants, so why not try to keep them alive from one season to the next? And I have noticed that plants just do better outside in the sunshine and fresh air. Doug Oester, our gardening expert, agrees with me and does the same thing with his plants. Eventually, of course, the weather gets cold enough that winter really is here and the plants have to stay inside until spring. So, the longer I can go with giving them that outdoor air, the better chance they'll have of survival. Looks like I'll be hauling all those plants back outside for the weekend.

Then, there's that exterior painting I still have to tend to. Andy Amhrein, our hardware guy, says that there's still plenty of time for painting, as most paints will do well in temperatures down to about 40 degrees. So, I guess I'll be climbing a ladder and doing that, too, this weekend. Ugh...all of a sudden it's sounding like a lot of work. Bring back the cold weather!

D-Bow

The Hot and Cold of Weather

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:53:51 GMT

Today I'm being shadowed by Christina, a 17 year-old young lady from South Allegheny High School. I showed her my blog entries and asked her what I should write about. She said she doesn't understand how it can be so cold one day, this time of year...and so warm the next. My thought is that if that's what's on Christina's mind, it's probably on the minds of many others in the viewing audience. So, let's address her question and hope it serves others, too.

October is a transition month, as we say goodbye to the summer months and prepare to say hello to the winter months. It can literally feature a little of this and a little of that. Part of the explanation for this has to do with the tilt of the Earth on its axis...23 1/2 degrees. As we orbit around the sun, the angle of the sun gets higher in our sky as we approach the Summer Solstice (approximately June 21) and lower in the sky as we approach the Winter Solstice (approximately December 21). We're heading into that lower angle sun time of year, obviously. The lower angle sun gives an increasing glancing blow of incoming solar radiation, which doesn't warm us up as much...and of course, our days get shorter and nighttime lengths get longer...allowing for more cooling still.

As our source region for cold air (the arctic region) gets more active and sends more and more fronts at us from a northerly direction, the frequent blasts of air can have a pronounced cooling effect on our weather. But we are just now splitting the difference between the arrival of autumn and the arrival of winter, so when the clouds clear up and winds come in from the southwest, we can still get a nice dose of warm air. That's why we can have the phenomenon known as "Indian Summer," which we've been talking about, this week.

So we can get frosted heavily, such as we did on Monday of this week. And that can be followed by a day in the 60s, followed by two days in the 70s...as we saw on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. To me, this is what makes Pittsburgh's weather some of the most enjoyable and interesting in the United States. We get all four seasons and they are all beautiful.

Thanks for the question, Christina, and I hope you enjoyed your "shadowing" in the Weather Center.

D-Bow

Indian Summer...What Is It?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:51:22 GMT

I get asked this question a lot and I know if you do a search on the internet, you can come up with a variety of definitions of what actually is "Indian Summer." But the version I learned 30-some years ago seems reasonable and no one really can discount it. The explanation goes as follows.

In the old Indian tribes, back in the day, it was up to the braves to do enough hunting and fishing during the summer to lay in an adequate store of food for the winter. And most of them did, but there would always be one or two lazy ones who just didn't get it done. They would sit around with their feet propped up, thinking they could get the extra hunting and fishing done later. And then, it appeared they had waited too long. A widespread killing frost would occur, ending the growing season...perhaps even a few snowflakes would be sighted. It looked like winter was here. But then would come a spell or two of sunny, mild days and clear, crisp nights. It served as a reprieve for those who hadn't been doing what they should have been doing during the warm weather months. So, the lazy Indians would get out there and fish and hunt like crazy in order to play "catch up." This spell of weather became known as "summer for the lazy Indian"...which, over time, became shortened to simply "Indian Summer."

Many years ago, I worked in Syracuse, New York, surrounded by various Indian tribes...most notably the Onondagas. They agree with this description of Indian Summer, although some of them disagree with each other over whether a killing frost is all that's necessary or if you need to have an actual snowfall before it can happen. Some tribesmen even suggested you had to have enough snow to track a deer before you could have real Indian Summer. But the most widespread, accepted definition of Indian Summer is the one I have given you.

In some years, you might have just one or two spells of Indian Summer. In other years (El Nino winters are an example), you can have Indian Summer episodes in November, December, or even early January. We're heading into an El Nino now, as a matter of fact, so we'll see how many spells of this great weather we can squeeze in. Enjoy!

Protesters Well Organized

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:35:52 GMT

In the past few days, we've seen what appears to be a well orchestrated effort by the recent G-20 Protesters. The videos posted on YouTube, the various soundbites that have made air, lambasting the police as being the ones who started all the trouble in the streets. And the latest is that the protesters are claiming hearing loss as a result of being subjected to the high pitched sounds emitted by the crowd-disbursement hardware.

The police officer we talked to explained that the level of sound emitted by this equipment has to be kept within safe guidelines, so as not to damage the hearing of the officer operating the equipment...imagine that. The cops continue to get bombarded with complaints and accusations over their handling of the G-20 street demonstrations, but have any of the protesters protested the damage that was done to the shops of those just trying to make an honest living? If they have, I've missed it.

I don't want to sound like a "goody two shoes" type, rushing to the defense of the cops. But this all seems to be way too organized and calculated to me. Maybe you'll think I'm off base. But the next time you're in big trouble, who would you rather call--the police or somebody who throws rocks for a living?

D-Bow

Russell Crowe Sightings?

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:17:11 GMT

I'm interested to hear if any of you have had any run-ins with the Hollywood invasion that's going on in our hometown right now.

We have Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks filming "The Next Three Days," with filming earlier this week in Fayette County, yesterday at the Steel Plaza T station, and today at the Allegheny County Jail.

Jake Gyllenhaal has been spotted jogging around town as he films "Love and Other Drugs" with Anne Hathaway.

Denzel Washington is also set to start filming a new movie called "Unstoppable."

If you've snapped any pics or have any stories, send them along to jlokay@kdka.com.

Welcome To Pittsburgh. Now Put This On.

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:35:01 GMT

After Monday's home finale at PNC Park, Pirate rookies were forced into the finest of all women's clothing and sent out onto the mean streets of the North Shore.

Fortunately, it was a day game, so our Buccos weren't confused for any ladies of the night.

There's a reason they were 40-41 at home this year. I would venture to guess this was not the reason.

Credit for the pics goes to my good friend Brian, whose last name I'll leave out since he has much more dignity than I ever will.

Anarchists Want No Rules

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:26:37 GMT

Someone once said that we fear that which we don't understand. Certainly the protests of the anarchists in our city have been somewhat frightening, this week, with their penchant for dressing in shrouded clothes and face coverings...and for throwing rocks and destroying things. They seem to have no tolerance for anyone else's views, all too willing to shout someone down...and when they get a microphone to speak into, they continually make the claim that they never start trouble--it's always the police who do that.

I have to say I don't understand these folks, so I did some reading about anarchism in an attempt to do so. There are numerous sub-headings to anarchism, including individual anarchism, mutual anarchism, egoism, and others. But the common theme is that they don't believe there should be any rules for anyone. Let the winner take all. No government, no system of punishment, no regulation of commerce whatsoever.

To make their point, they disguise themselves in these dark outfits with faces mostly covered, so that when they start destroying things, it will be hard to prove who did what to whom. And so they shout and break things and disrupt. Do you ever wonder how they have so much time on their hands that they can travel around to functions, such as G-20, and express in this way? I suppose it's because they don't work...and therefore hate those of us who do.

Personally, I will always like rules. It means we have to look out for each other and respect each other and take care of each other. The rule of law even protects those among us who hate the rule of law...and have zero appreciation for a country that provides it.

After seeing the positive notoriety Pittsburgh has been getting in international coverage, this week, I have come around to seeing the benefits of G-20 being here. But I do look forward to it being over with, so that our city can return to normal...and the anarchists can move on.

D-Bow

G-20 Blogging

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:07:53 GMT

I'll be talking about specific commuting issues pertaining to the G-20 summit on my traffic blog, Lokay Lane, at http://www.kdka.com/lokaylane.

Have a safe morning, and let me know what your commuting plans are (if you're allowed to share the info!)

Blog Guilt / G-20 Information

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:50:46 GMT

I'm back to the blog, and just in time for G-20.

The restrictions that downtown workers (at least, the ones that have to work) are facing are pretty daunting. The thought that many of us will be working in what will effectively be a ghost town isn't the problem. The problem, of course, is trying to get into that ghost town!

Knowledge will be the key. As your friendly traffic guy, I'll be on top of everything G-20 traffic related over the next two days. If you haven't planned out your routine, you have 24 hours to make it happen.

These particular restrictions start tonight after 11 P.M., and continue until about 4 P.M. on Friday.

Just remember the basics:

IF YOU'RE DRIVING:

The only authorized entry points into the immediate downtown area will be set up at the Clemente Bridge, the Smithfield Street Bridge, and Fifth Avenue near Grant Street.
Unless you live downtown and have a license to prove it, you will NOT be able to drive into the Golden Triangle.
Interstates/Parkways will remain open -- but they're subject to rolling closures, especially tomorrow starting around 8 A.M.!

IF YOU'RE TAKING THE BUS OR MASS TRANSIT:

No trolley service into downtown beyond First Avenue. You'll have to transfer to a 33X bus. (more at http://www.portauthority.org)
All bus routes will run, although the stops will differ from normal. Again, more information on the Port Authoirty website, with specific details on how it affects each and every route.

Here's a little tidbit of traffic trivia for you: the Rivers Casino will open the top floor of its massive parking garage to commuter traffic -- provided you're in place by 9 A.M.