IanM

Leaving Fredericksburg shortly after a light lunch, we are in the target zone and expecting to catch some decent hail, along with the chance of an isolated cell or two as we head toward evening. We'll start streaming around 7-8pm UK time.

I'm still editing video and pictures from yesterday - this is a quick stitch that needs more work, but she was a beauty!

And so the red meat consumption begins - a light snack to fuel us through the afternoon - yep, 2 x 1/4lb patties, a pile of pastrami and a little smoked turkey to top it off. Nap time...

It's hell out here - 1030am and the sunblock is on, cars are set, the gadgets are working. We think the guests are going to really like the new set up, especially the gr-earth info on the nav lap top.

Hi Kaddy, welcome to the forums. You've got the essentials covered there, but don't forget the ball gown for the evenings where we eat out in luxury restaurants, though I do find that green clashes terribly with the decor in McDonalds, so it's best to avoid that.

We have an egg protection system available for use, and a new laptop that will hopefully cope with the heat better. It actually looks very cool, and has a 17" screen so everyone can see it better.

I have some new gear to play with this year too - a stabiliser and microphone for video footage, on top of all the usual gubbins : 1 x laptop for navigation, radar and general internet use on the go 1 x laptop for photo and video editing 2 x in car mifi for wireless internet access in the cars (and GPS built in for navigation) 1 x verizon payg dongle as a back up plan 2 x GPS dongles 1 x mobile signal amplifier to increase reception in the back of beyond 2 x 12v multi adapters 1 x streaming cam and windscreen mount 1 x Canon 7d with ultra wide 10-24mm and 28-75mm lenses lots of gb of memory 1 x slr stabiliser for smooth panning etc 1 x shotgun mic and wind baffle 1 x lapel mic for commentary about a mile of cable Some sun block, and maybe a white t shirt or two Ian

Hi Nic We don't have that set up right now, I'll find out if there is a reason for there not being a For Sale thread other than the fact that you may be the first person who has asked. Ian

I was going to walk the dogs this afternoon, but seem to be spending my time deleting posts and tidying up the posts that comment on the deleted posts. If someone posts something odd/off topic/in huge font/abusive/not model related, could we try to resist commenting in the thread please? I will be grateful, my dogs will thank you and this thread will steer back towards what it is designed to be. Thanks Ian, Buddy and Pepper

There's a model moods and emotions thread for a reason, please use it. The constant off topic posts in here are overwhelming the thread. think before you post, if you aren't 100% certain that it is model related, then don't use this thread. Thanks

It's a shame that hoping that the ability to understand how science works is something everyone will leave school with is such a pipe dream - it's also much more fun, and easier, to believe the hype and ignore scientific consensus. We have a sound bite society, and the crowd instinct is to believe every thing written in isolation as the absolute fact rather than consider how each result sits within the overall picture. The more I think about this PR issue, the more I realise that we may have hit peak 'climate fatigue' it's just too long a time scale to hold interest, the nitty gritty is boring, and the hyped end of the world scenarios that the media ran with initially have made the PR job much tougher. In short I think people are bored of the message, particularly in the context of 'fixing it will cost money, that we don't have' so it is easier to grasp hold of any straw that tells us we don't have to worry, it's not our fault etc. In short, there is a chance that at least in the short term, the PR battle is lost and Climate plc need to repackage the argument to make it more saleable, cheaper energy, or at least lower bills by increased efficiency - go for the money, ignore the Arctic ice and win the argument by making it directly effect this generation, not a few generations down the line. Another pipe dream , I know...

So to summarise GW, you're saying that scientists can't shout loud enough to be heard above the PR machine of the 'other side'? Isn't that the whole point under discussion? How to improve the PR, and capture more hearts and minds? Rather than writing the same thing over and over, what would you suggest the Climate Change plc PR department do to increase their chances of successfully communicating at all levels - government, corporate and most importantly public perception? I'd suggest that continually pointing at the 'other side' and accusing them of cheating and not playing fair isn't the way this particular battle will be won, and from where we sit today, the current plan doesn't seem to be working too well either - and it's basically the same plan that's been employed since Global Warming hit the public consciousness in the 70's. So it's either time to change the approach, or accept that it isn't something that can be 'sold' easily and wait for the chance to say 'I told you so' as Norfolk sinks. I think changing the approach makes more sense? And Noggin, isn't that the point of warnings, get the message across in a way that will be heard and understood and encourage people to take action to avoid the worst case scenario playing out? In the Western world it worked, in Swaziland the infection rates in the under 50's are so high that it may simply cease to exist as a society if prompt action isn't taken (source UN Development Program). I don't want to derail the thread, but this illustrates the need for warnings and buy in at a societal level to achieve a real, measurable result.

Um, are our winters changing is the topic... Could we stick to the script a little more tightly please?

To reiterate my reply in the post above : Nope, we're just trying to find a way to stop any climate area becoming a battle of entrenched opinions that degenerate into frustrated arguments and end up with aggressive posts that create more work for the team than is reasonable. The whole area became unwelcoming to new posters and was becoming a stale back and forth with no progression or chance for new ideas or threads to take root owing to the beast it had become. We want it to be more conductive to being a discussion forum and it will be back. So let's enjoy the break and not turn other areas into a pseudo climate thread where possible, please? Thanks Please bear this in mind, and normal service will be resumed very soon, we don't want to stifle the conversation, but definitely want to muffle the yelling :-)

Fellow residents of the south east, I know some of you have the raintoday radar bookmarked, and it is a well loved view of the rain (snow) today. But did you know that http://www.netweather.tv/radar updates faster, has lightning, satellite and your weather reports as optional layers. And it makes sure I don't have to keep selling the kids school shoes on eBay, one at a time...

It's typically a ratio of between 6-8 to 1, so 1mm of rain would produce around 6-8mm of fresh snow.

Gavin Don't get too hung up on GFS snow depth charts, they are experimental and well known for being a little over enthusiastic....

The Climate area is temporarily hidden while we try to find a way to make it generate less reports and complaints, the ratio of reports to posts leaves every single thread, even the model discussion in the shade. With that said, I'll lock this now, and once we have a plan, we'll make sure everyone knows what is happening.

This planned downtime has now been moved to tomorrow morning at 10am, again for around 3 hours : Update to the planned outage of the Met Office radar system – now scheduled for 1000 UTC on Thursday 17th January 2013 Please note the planned outage of the Met Office radar system has been delayed and is now scheduled to take place tomorrow, Thursday 17 January 2013, starting at 10:00 UTC, lasting for approximately three hours. As previously advised there will no new radar available during this time. When the system is restored the missing data will not be available. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.