Coolest thing

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Roger Long

Roger Long

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Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
This is the coolest thing I've seen on my computer in a while:

http://hint.fm/wind/

When viewed in conjunction with doppler radar and weather maps, it lets me visualize the dynamics of the weather systems in a way I haven't experienced before.

It's beginning to dawn I me that I probably spend more time looking at the computer screen than sitting in the cockpit looking at the scenery when anchored. Oh well, cruising is just life except I'm on a boat. I'm enjoying being connected to the world. Part of me remembers wistfully though those long ago days in a catboat where the most sophisticated device on board was my wind up Timex watch. I don't think I could go back any more than I could become 40 years younger.
 
Roger Long

Roger Long

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Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
Kermit said:
If you were 40 years younger you wouldn't even consider not being so connected.
Click to expand
I re-edited the OP to clarify that point. BTW I just read that Facebook is losing it's cool among the 18-25 Y.O. demographic because so many grandparents and people my age are joining.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,783
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
That's a good thing! Remember our discussions when you were contemplating your trip and your "connectivity?" "Those were the daze..."
 
Bob J.

Bob J.

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Apr 14, 2009
773
Sabre 28 NH
Glad to hear your back is doing better & the worm has turned, life is good once again!
 
Kermit

Kermit

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Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Roger Long said:
...Facebook is losing it's cool among the 18-25 Y.O. demographic because so many grandparents and people my age are joining.
Click to expand
Don't get me started on Facebook. I heard some discussion on NPR yesterday from a male school teacher having 2 different facebook pages. One for his students to read and one for folks his own age. He was afraid his students might think knowing he needed to do his laundry was too much information for them. YOU THINK??? Dang, it would be too much information for me, too!

Dang I'm sorry for ranting. I just don't understand why people think it's so daggum important to write every-daggum-thing about their lives on facebook. Sorta like the post I read (I swear I'm NOT making this up) from a lady who was on her way to the ER after spilling hot grease on herself. REALLY? Is it that much more important to post that than to actually go?

Dang I'm sorry to have written this. Maybe I'll go post something on a blog somewhere...
 
Joe

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,010
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Kermit said:
Don't get me started on Facebook. I heard some discussion on NPR yesterday from a male school teacher having 2 different facebook pages. One for his students to read and one for folks his own age. He was afraid his students might think knowing he needed to do his laundry was too much information for them. YOU THINK??? Dang, it would be too much information for me, too!

Dang I'm sorry for ranting. I just don't understand why people think it's so daggum important to write every-daggum-thing about their lives on facebook. Sorta like the post I read (I swear I'm NOT making this up) from a lady who was on her way to the ER after spilling hot grease on herself. REALLY? Is it that much more important to post that than to actually go?

Dang I'm sorry to have written this. Maybe I'll go post something on a blog somewhere...
Click to expand
Kermit..... you are voicing the soul of my feelings, too.
 
Kettlewell

Kettlewell

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Apr 29, 2011
134
Finnsailer 38 Massachusetts
Boy, I'd go back in a minute. Love to get away from all the connectivity. When we first started cruising we used to go to an island with one pay phone that only worked about half of the time. It was that way all over the Bahamas. I used to tell my mother not to worry unless she heard from me.
 
Jimm

Jimm

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Jan 22, 2008
372
Hunter 33.5 Bodkin Creek - Bodkin YC
We could all get nostalgic and reminisce about rotary dial phones, real operators, B&W TV and IBM key sort cards......world continues to change, and we aren't going to stop it no matter how hard we try :bang:

But then, we can still sail to places where time at least seems to have stopped. Perhaps Roger found such a spot, however briefly........
 
richk

richk

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Jan 24, 2007
488
Marlow-Hunter 37 Deep Creek off the Magothy River off ChesBay
Roger
The designer of the page has done a tremendous job of visualization of air trajectory information. I assume it's surface air flow. Among other applications for this type of information is the study of pollutant releases into the atmosphere from point sources.
Keep sailing!
Rich
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,131
CC 30 South Florida
That is really cool. My daughter and her family reside in Tehachapi, CA and I don't like the gradient of those winds out there tonight.
 
B

Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,131
CC 30 South Florida
For those that have smart phones try the app "VOXER" It will turn the phone into a walkie talkey. It works pretty close to real time and besides voice communications it can send text messages and pictures. If parties allow, it can disclose their location to each other. It is free. I have not typed a text message since I got it. I inquired about how did they make their money and someone pointed out to me that all these startups all they need is to have enough capital to maintain their servers until Facebook or some big outfit gobbled them up for a billion+ dollars.
 
Roger Long

Roger Long

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Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
Rick486 said:
Here's the one I use.
Click to expand
I love the micro scale of this one:

http://www.sailflow.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=203&regionProductID=30&timeoffset=-1

I've found it about as accurate as weather forecasts in general. The hour by hour predictions are very useful as there is a big difference between going out into improving conditions vs rising winds.

Often, I'll see that the radio forecast is for winds that only happen in a small portion of the forecast area. The official forecast will be for the worst you may encounter in an area so the computer algorithm that creates these maps is quite useful.
 
Bill Roosa

Bill Roosa

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Jun 6, 2006
6,990
currently boatless wishing Harrington Harbor North, MD
Hey Kermit
the reason folks are posting "doing my laundry" on facebook is because they don't own sailboats or have other hobbies. God bless them they are struggling for purpose in their lives and all they can come up with is TV shows and laundry. They want to "get out and...." but gee it is too inconvenient today. Kinda like the guy that says there is not enough wind to sail, there is too much wind to sail, it is too cold, it is too hot to sail, to cloudy, not cloudy enough........ so there is the razor’s edge of circumstances that have to occur before it is "a good day to sail"
Facebook takes all that friction away and you can do it at home in your underwear in the middle of the night ..... so what do you talk about then? Laundry of course!
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,783
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Jimm said:
We could all get nostalgic and reminisce about rotary dial phones, real operators, B&W TV and IBM key sort cards......world continues to change, and we aren't going to stop it no matter how hard we try :bang:

But then, we can still sail to places where time at least seems to have stopped. Perhaps Roger found such a spot, however briefly........
Click to expand
Stop the world, I wanna get off!

How'd you know we have the world's first and only rotary dial cell phone? :doh:
 
FastOlson

FastOlson

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Apr 8, 2010
1,956
Ericson Yachts Olson 34 28400 Portland OR
Neat Stuff! Thanks.
Another site that takes NOAA info and puts it into fluid graphics is a surfing site. Waves and winds can be separately put into motion.
http://magicseaweed.com/
Input your area and select the annimation you want.

LB
 
Roger Long

Roger Long

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Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
The best tide data I found on the ICW was this fishing site. Evidently, fisherman take their tide information even more seriously than cruisers.

http://www.ezfshn.com/tides/usa/maryland

The navigation isn't completely intuitive but being able to click a tide station from a map is great when you don't have all the local names on the top of your head.
 
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