Ticker for March 16, 2008

                
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March 16, 2008     March 16, 2008     March 16, 2008     March 16, 2008




A CARL Is Born

Our world has been graced by a number of great Carls. Where would our
understanding of the mind and Self be without the tension of Carl Jung?
And surely Carl Jung could appreciate the ironic duality of the great
Carl Sagan's simultaneous enthusiasm for exploration and introspection.
Speaking of introspection, Sandburg turned the literary lens upon our
own country in a way that has informed generations. Carl Rogers's
humanism has informed scores of developments in the last 75 years.

And, of course, no weather-blog about Carls would be complete without
a nod to the oh-so-Tickerly-named Carl Weathers, whose gripping
portrayal of Apollo Creed inspired, uh, somebody.

Well, today, we announce a new entry to this list of great Carls.
Behold CARL, the newest Mesonet site at Lake Carl Blackwell. This
week, CARL graduated from the Mesonet spare parts pile to a bona fide
operational station. Here are CARL's vital statistics:

Site:  CARL (Lake Carl Blackwell)
Locus: 5.0 miles east of Orlando, OK in Payne County
Lat:   36.1473 deg N
Lon:   97.2859 deg W
Elev:  293 meters above sea level

We expect CARL to live up to the world's long line of successful
Carls. So, if you don't mind, we want to take this opportunity to
speak directly to CARL.

(aside to Ticker Effects Crew: cue something dramatic, like Pomp and
Circumstance or Wake Up the Echoes. Start faintly, then build for
effect as our message grows more dramatic.)

CARL, you're in the real world now, there are -wait, just a second-

(guys, I said cue some dramatic music)

Sorry about that. Where were we?

CARL, you are observing the real world now, there are no do-overs
like back in the calibration lab. Everything you say counts now,
unless the QA meteorologists figure out you're lying. You alone are
the voice of western Payne County. Well, actually, MARE has been the
voice of western Payne County for 14 years now, but you can be a
great helper. Don't end up like GRAN or TULL or your anagrammatic
kindred CLAR (although some would argue that CLAR's failures were
the result of a bad environment). Follow the lead of noble, reliable
stations like LAHO, HOBA and TALI.

Keep your soil probes planted firmly in the ground and always stand
straight and tall, but no taller than precisely ten meters, or you
will be out of compliance. And stay true to the atmosphere, at least
within an acceptable and pre-determined margin of error.

This opportunity is yours, CARL. Yours to change the world, one
five-minute observation at a time. Think of all the drylines and
pre-frontal troughs you'll resolve, CARL! Think of all the micro-,
macro-, and heat-bursts you'll discover! Oh, the places your data
will go, CARL!

(crescendo, daggoneit, CRESCENDO!)

Report the world, CARL! Count every drop, degree-day and dewpoint
surge!

May the wind always blow directly in your face, CARL, and may the
sun shine brightly into your single, laterally-mounted, aluminum-
shielded photo-voltaic eye. Because if either of these were untrue,
you'd be doing a pretty lousy job of reporting wind direction, or
a bird will have defiled your pyranometer, respectively.

Carpe Auster, CARL.