We now interrupt our regularly scheduled program….

September 30, 2013.  

Congress, or at least some therein, has decided that it is more important to do what they feel is best for their party, than what is best for their country.  That it is more important to tow-the-line of the rabid wing of their party than compromise for the good of everyone.  That it is better to shut the whole government down rather than move one inch, give one iota, or bend one branch.

  Both sides claim they are being reasonable.  Both claim they have offered compromises.  Both sides are saying their opponents are being inflexible while their rabid wings nod in glassy-eyed agreement.  Neither side will budge.

  So here we are.  

  At midnight, the government officially shuts down.  780,000 to 800,000 of us will find ourselves out of work, through no fault of our own, save the careers we chose to pursue.  We work hard, as hard as anyone else.  We don't like seeing money wasted any more then the next guy because, you know what, it is our tax dollars we're spending, too.  I, just like you, want every penny's worth for my tax dollar.

   We Feds are Americans, too, though some would have you believe otherwise.  We have families and homes and bills to pay, just like everyone else.  We have hopes and dreams and desires.  We are no different from you.  Really.  But starting at midnight tonight, there will be one difference between you and me.  You will have a job to go to in the morning.  And I will not.  Honestly, how would you like to be considered non-essential?  That will be my status tomorrow.  

  What will this political theater accomplish?  Not a lot that anyone will notice day to day.  Essential services will continue.  Social Security will be paid, mail will be delivered, food will be inspected.  Most Americans will hardly even notice a difference.  Unless they know one of us.  They might notice if they wish to visit a National Park, or get a passport.  For most of them, it will be a minor inconvenience, at worse.  For some of my colleagues, they will be wondering if they will be able to pay their rent.  

  And therein lies the one lever we Feds might have in this puppet theater.  It is not a lever we wield from choice, but of necessity and we do not wield it out of spite.  With no certain end visible on the horizon, many of us will hunker down and conserve our resources.  We will spend less, as we don't know for certain when our next paycheck will arrive.  As this show drags on, the economy will begin to drag.  You simply can't layoff 800,000 people and not expect to see an impact.  In one swift lack of action, Congress could drag our slow, lumbering economy back down the slope it has so recently struggled to climb.  It doesn't seem worth the risk.  

  Tomorrow I am required to go to work for four hours, to help with the "orderly shutdown of the government".  That is not time I will be paid for until a continuing resolution is signed.  I have no illusion an actual budget will be approved. The money I would have earned during normal operations will not go back into the economy because I will not have it.  The money I have now will stay where it is as I must conserve it should this be a prolonged shutdown.  And with the Debt Ceiling fight looming in the next few weeks, even a quick resolution to this crisis will not necessarily free my purse strings.  We could be right back here all over again very, very quickly.   

  What have I done to deserve this?  Nothing, save that I have chosen to work for the Federal Government, doing a job that no one would do in the private sector, because there is no profit in researching coastal hazards.  My chosen field seeks to understand where we are most vulnerable along our coastlines.  I feel that what I do can help someone stay safe during a storm.  I feel I can help people, and there is value in what I do.

  My thanks for this?  Furlough.  Because our elected officials are too narrow minded to understand compromise, I will bear the brunt of their disagreements.  For doing the best job I can, I am being sent home, without pay, to ponder choices that are not my own.

  Tell me, where is the justice in that?

Rough Weather

  As I was driving home this evening I noticed a lot of cars coming at me with their lights on.  In Florida, if your wipers are going, you're supposed to have your headlights on.  Most people forget to turn their lights off until they turn off their cars.

  I scanned the horizon for a dark curtain of rain below the clouds, but instead noticed that one tall thunderhead was draped in a gauzy white, sunlit curtain of rain falling from its highest reach.  Ah, there is it.  Someone is getting a sun shower…  Nice.

  By the time I got home, the edge of that curtain of rain was dripping lightly, but steadily, on the house.  

  Then the fun began….

  When the thunderhead producing the rain was met by a gust front moving up from the south, it began to pour heavily.  Edward and I had started grilling chicken for dinner as the rain increased.  Our grill is on the porch, thankfully undercover, so the grill was dry.  As the rain picked up it started to slant to the south.   I turned to Edward, and gestured in the direction of the rain.  But when I turned back, the rain was no longer slanting to the south.  Literally, in a matter of seconds, the rain had shifted from slanting to the south, to slanting to the north. I blinked, Edward said "oh shit".  He'd seen this before, in April 2010.   

  The wind was picking up more and now the rain, which had initially been blowing the other way, was blowing onto the porch and onto the grill, which steamed as the rain now falling on it evaporated.  The trees and plants in the ditch swayed ominously.   

  In April of 2010, a front moved down from the northwest, with heavy rains and strong winds.  As the front made landfall we got a tornado warning.  Radar indicated tornadic activity offshore of Largo, moving east.  Toward the house.  I tried to call Edward from work, but what I didn't know was that lightening had struck the streetlight outside the house 15 minutes earlier.  Our phone line was fried and the power was out.  Edward, with nothing else to do, stood watching it rain out the back window.  First to the north, then to the south then from the east.  All in less than a minute.  Then the tree branches started falling.  A tornado had passed approximately a half mile north of the house.  The rapidly shifting winds were the only indicator Edward had as to what was going on.   

  Tonight, as Edward watched the shifting winds, I got out the computer.  The National Weather Service monitors storm clouds with doppler radar, generating a map called the radial velocity.  Clouds approaching the radar are colored red, while those moving away are colored green.   Usually, between the bright red and green areas, there are fainters colors.  When you see two bright opposing colors side-by-side that usually means bad things.  Tonight, that spot was right over us.   Strangely, there were no tornado warnings, not even a severe thunderstorm warning, only urban flood warnings.  That fit as 20 minutes after it started we had 1.25 inches of rain in our gauge.

  By the time the chicken had finished, the winds had shifted to the north again, and calmed down significantly.  The grill was no longer getting rained on.  The areas of red and green on the radial velocity map had started to separate and moved north and offshore.  It was still raining, but things were much quieter.  

  We finished dinner in peace and continued on with the rest of our evening.  I'm still surprised that not even a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued.  That's the problem with knowing how to read those maps.  They can scare scare the shit out of you.  But mostly, I'm glad there was no damage.  A small branch came down in the back yard, nothing of any significance.  I'll pick it up in the morning when I walk the yard before work.  In the meantime, both of us can't help but wonder about this year's weather.  It seems like this area has seen more then its fair share of tornados and waterspouts.  And we're not done yet.  Hurricane season has begun to stretch it's legs as we approach the peak of the season next week.  Only time will tell if we are in for more rough weather.