The *BRR* Count!

It's crazy weather today... cold this AM and now looking at a shade temp of 66 degrees. Nuts.

I know some people down here are looking left and right for the final horseman of the apocalypse following the election of Barack Obama, so when the Dow inches below 8000 and then plows further down the day after, my ears go up.

That said, still no signs of a Barackalypse. Do you hear that, Congressman Broun?

NONE.

It has been

10

days since Paul Broun proved himself unworthy of a spot in Congress.

Phtooey.

-rl

Reports of my demise were unsubstantiated...

Wow, that was an extended absence from the blogosphere, but I'm back and ready to roll.

Georgia is home to 24 of the fastest growing counties in the United States, mostly counties in the northern half of the state.

From Georgia Public Radio:

Blue Ridge Mountains Growing Fast
September 19, 2007 - 3:15 PM
By Ashley Horn - Rome, GA

Georgia has 24 of the nation’s fastest growing counties, the majority in North Georgia near the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Fannin County in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains has grown the most. This is mainly because of so-called "half-backs," or Northerners who moved south to Florida and are purchasing a second home half way back.

Kristen Gunia is Fannin County Director of Development. Gunia, who is from the North, said that living in the Blue Ridge Mountains is a geographical compromise between North and South.

“We are a fairly moderate climate all year round, in the 60’s and 70’s. We do have some snow but very little and so its kind of an ideal midpoint location where they can get out of the heat but not have to go back to the snows and some of those things either,” Gunia said.

Most owners don’t live in Fannin county full time, so there is plenty of time for the economy to adjust to the growth, said Gunia.

I wonder how the halfbacks are feeling after the heat of this past August...

I've added a link to the UGA Hillel blog.

Not much else for the time being.

-rl

Interesting stats

In case you haven't noticed, it's been a scorcher of a month down here in Athens. We had several streaks of 100+ degree highs and dryness that would make the Sahara go "you camel-drivers are dry!"

I'm not generally one to get on my global warming horse in a public setting, but when you look at August (and the rest of the year, for that matter), you might begin to wonder...

13 of 26 recorded days (so far) with temperatures at or above 100 degrees.
Record highs set on 9 separate occasions, with a streak of 5 consecutive record-setting highs.
3 days where the average temperature for the day did not go below 90 degrees.
21 of 26 days days where the low temperature did not go below 70 degrees.
The average monthly high temperature to date: 99.6 degrees.
The average daily mean temperature to date: 86.3 degrees.
No measurable rainfall recorded until August 16.
Less than 1 inch total rainfall record in the whole month until August 26.

Stats retrieved from: NOAA

That and winter existed for the total of a day, not that I'd expect it to be around much longer down here, the point remains... this year has been warm, to say the least. Last year was warm in Ohio, especially when the A/C was down in the Learn and Earn office.

Who I am to say, though. W would tell me that I'm no climatologist and that I have no scientific credibility and he'd be right. But I do notice patterns and the pattern is that it's hot, hotter than I remember growing up, oh so not-that-long ago. So maybe that's something to notice.

But I'm no climatologist.

-rl