In the past few years, I've found myself very drawn to reading memoirs. I'm definitely more a nonfiction than a fiction person, and memoirs fit right in with this bent of mine. And I find it so meaningful to read the stories of people's lives, with a more reflective perspective in the telling of the events. Sometimes, I like view experiences in my own life with a memoir approach, wondering how I would view and interpret each (notable) event years later when writing a memoir of my years and years of life. It helps me deal with disappointments and savor enjoyable times.
For the occasion of Hispanic American Heritage Month, I read My Beloved World by Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In addition, it was fitting to read this in the month when the Supreme Court convenes its new term, which happened on October 7 this calendar year.
It was quite something to read about each stage of her life as she zoomed in with incredible depth: her childhood in the Bronx, her school days at Blessed Sacrament and Cardinal Spellman, her experience as a minority student at Princeton in the 70s, Yale law school, working as an assistant district attorney, and her job at Pavia and Harcourt before becoming a judge. (She states outright in one of the chapters that she has no intention for this book to shed light on her judicial perspectives, but they can somewhat be inferred from her experiences.) She really opens up about her experiences, many of them deeply personal, and that tone for the book was firmly set right at the beginning when she wrote about the traumatic experience of being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.
I was able to connect with many details of Ms. Sotomayor's life, as we share a common Hispanic heritage, though she is Puerto Rican, and I am Mexican. This was manifest in how I picked up on many references to Spanish phrases.
The book's title comes from a line from the poem "A Puerto Rico (Regreso)", which means "To Puerto Rico (I Return)", by José Gautier Benítez. It is clear from the wording that the narrator has left his native Puerto Rico for another land, and then returns, sensing immense thrill in seeing his native place again. He profoundly expresses a paradox, that he cannot thrive without being in his homeland, but cannot truly love it unless he is away from it.
That poem really struck a chord with me as I ponder my relationship with home, especially in regards to how I spent much of the past four years away from it while purusing my university education. It reflects how wondrous I perceive my home, and how close I remain to it, just as many in Hispanic cultures are close to home and family.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Defending Marriage
Early in the morning on Wednesday, October 23, I awoke, well before sunrise. I drove from my Abuela's house to Queen of All Saints Basilica on Chicago's North Side, a distance that, at 5:15 AM, could be covered in about 5 minutes. There, I planned to meet a bus that would take me down to Springfield, IL, for Illinois Family Institute's (IFI) Defend Marriage Lobby Day. This trip came just a week after having been in Washington, DC, the US capital city.
A couple of weeks or so before this day, I had come across a news article online that mentioned opponents and proponents of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness (RFMF) Act, also known as Senate Bill 10, were going to gather at the Illinois State Capitol, as Representative Gregg Harris had said he would call the bill for a vote in the House during its Fall Veto Session. I was eager to head to Springfield to take a stand for marriage as God intended it. So I looked around for details about the event, finding them at IFI's website. Eventually, I found out about a bus that would go from Queens to Springfield, sponsored by the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Chicago, which was pretty good to have the transportation covered.
So there I was, early in the morning dark, pulling up to Queens. I didn't see the bus there right away, so I drove around the church complex to see if it was parked in a different spot. By the time I had made a circle, I saw the bus pulling up.
I was among the first to arrive. About an hour later, somewhere between 12-20 people were on the bus, and we were on our way south, on nearly a straight shot on I-55 from Chicago's southwest suburbs to Springfield. Ashley Harris, who works in the Archdiocese's Office of Peace and Justice, served as the facilitator of our group's proceedings. He gave us a number of resources, as well as instructions for what we would do during our time there.
Because of a traffic delay on a few-mile stretch south of I-80 and then a refueling stop outside Dwight, it took us nearly 4 hours to get there. But upon arriving, we were ready to jump in. I had been to Springfield on three different occasions in the past on visits to see the sites in the city. More recently, I had passed through on the train while enroute to and from the AMS meeting in Austin, TX. This would be the first time I had gone there for any kind of lobbying. But I am already well steeped into the habit of contacting my government officials regarding important issues. In fact, I started calling my Illinois state representative, LaShawn K. Ford, at his Springfield office so much, I decided to log his number into my cell phone contacts.
The bus driver, a wonderful man named Jose, dropped us off near Capitol Avenue a few blocks east of the Capitol building. Upon reaching 2nd Street, we saw a rally of people by the Abraham Lincoln statue from a Chinese church in Chicagoland showing their support for marriage between one man and one woman. I found a collection of signs with this group, and I picked one up, which I carried around with me throughout my time at the Lobby Day.
It was at this point that we were scratching our heads as to where we would find the Stratton Building, which has all the offices of the House representatives, which we had in our plan to visit first. Some people in the group decided to head into the Capitol building, because there was a tunnel that connected it with the Stratton building.
So we got in the security line, at which point we started to get separated. After I went through the metal detector, I found myself standing at the edge of a large crowd of people packing the rotunda for the Defend Marriage rally. Unlike what I had envisioned from information I looked at online, this rally in the rotunda was an ongoing event for a number of hours, with various people, many of them ordained clergy, giving remarks. Later, I saw Bill Brady step to the podium and make a few remarks.
Anyway, while I wanted to take in the proceedings in the rotunda, I wanted to get to Representative Ford's office, and was trying to find a way to get to that underground tunnel. After a few minutes, I snaked through the crowd with a line of other people getting through, realizing as I did so that the side of the building I had entered put me right where the podium was.
I eventually got to an elevator that I took down to the lower level, and then followed the signs to the underground tunnel. I caught up with another person in the bus group, and we went up to the 2nd floor of the Stratton building, where we found our respective representatives' offices. (Among the resources Ashley had given us was a map with the location of all the representatives' offices in the Stratton building.) The hallways of the building were a happening place in the middle of a weekday, with the fall House veto session going on, and the people there for IFI's Lobby day were among others lobbying and conducting business.
I went in to the reception area, which was essentially one long corridor where all the secretaries sat, with additional doors along another wall for the representatives' offices proper. I saw Representative Ford go into his office and close the door, slightly wondering if I would be able to get a hold of him. I got in line behind a group of people who had an appointment with another representative. Then I stepped toward the secretary and told her I was there to urge Representative Ford to oppose Senate Bill 10. She told me that Mr. Ford had just spoken to a number of people about it, and then said, "He got the message", about opposing it. Then she said I could stand there with my sign, though not necessarily in a demeaning way, but more matter-of-fact.
I wasn't entirely sure what to do at that point, as I was doing all this on impulse. I stepped into the hallway to look for a woman who was in the bus group with me, and was also in Mr. Ford's House Representative district. Not seeing her, I stepped back into the reception area, and then asked the secretary if I could have a piece of paper and write Mr. Ford a note. As soon as I finished writing, Mr. Ford stepped out of his office. My impulses kicked in, and I said, "Mr. Ford, I'm Paul Rubio. I've come here from Oak Park to ask you to oppose Senate Bill 10." He then said, "Okay", and we shook hands. We then both walked out into the hallway at the same time, he to the House chamber for the session, and I to lunch. (When I talked with others in my bus group later, it appeared I was the only person who had physically met with his/her representative.)
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the diocesan cathedral for Springfield, IL, graciously provided lunch for my bus group and some others who had come. So I walked out of the Stratton building, around the Capitol complex, and then due east a few blocks to the Cathedral, orienting myself with the map Ashley had given us.
I got there a few minutes after noon, and a few minutes later, there was a prayer, and then we had lunch: Jimmy John's sandwiches and Cokes.
After downing my lunch, I was eager to get back to the Capitol, but I took a quick peek inside the beautiful sanctuary of the Cathedral. (It has the Cathedra for Bishop Thomas Paprocki, once an auxiliary bishop in Chicago.)
I got back to the Capitol shortly before 1 PM, with the speakers still continuing in the rotunda. I had seen a number of people wearing buttons supporting one man-one woman marriage, and I wanted to get one. When I asked about it, I was directed to tables that IFI had set up in the first floor north hallway. It was there that they were also handing out short letters printed on slips of paper that people were encouraged to hand to their respective representative, House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Republican Minority Leader Jim Durkin. I filled in the blanks with my info, and then went back to the Stratton building to give one of those sheets to Mr. Ford. His secretary wasn't there, so I placed my sheet on top of a small pile of them on her desk.
Then, I went back into the Capitol, and went up the stairs to Mr. Madigan's 3rd floor office, which was prominently marked with "Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan" above the door. There was a line of people waiting to get in, many with the same intention as I to deliver our slips of paper. I decided to go to Mr. Durkin's office first, and so I went through a door near Mr. Madigan's office. I walked down a hallway to Mr. Durkin's office at the end of the south wing of the building. There were people from IFI directing letter bearers like me. I walked into the office, placed my sheet on the desk, and then walked to the exit hallway. As I was doing this, I realized that I was essentially walking around the House chamber, while the session was going on. I could even hear part of the proceedings: It appeared at this moment, the House was discussing legislation to limit the number of free days at museums, as I could hear a woman talking about the burden on low-income families not having enough access to Chicago's cultural institutions. (If I had had more time, I would have liked to have gone into the chamber's gallery to watch the session, as it didn't require any kind of special pass.)
I walked out on the west side of the rotunda, and then back over to the line at Mr. Madigan's office. After a few minutes, a man came out to collect the sheets from those who had them. I handed mine in, along with those of two women who asked me to hand theirs in. I then dashed down to the main level and out to the Lincoln Statue, where, from 1 to 3 PM, groups of people where going on prayer walks around the Capitol complex, in 15-minute intervals.
As I neared the Lincoln Statue after making my circle, I met an impersonator of none other than Abraham Lincoln. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and then it was time for me to make my way back to the Cathedral to catch the bus back to Chicago.
We were all together by 2:30, and as we pulled out of Springfield, we watched a short film called Crescendo, developed by a pro-life group, telling the story of Ludwig van Beethoven's mother. The film was in German, and it was a bit difficult to follow the subtitles, and as such, it was hard to follow the storyline closely, but I could nonetheless tell that the mother had some personal struggles that she went through to give birth to Ludwig, who would grow up to become one of the world's great musicians.
Then, we watched a series of episodes of the program The Apostle of Common Sense, which basically talked about GK Chesterton and his views on Christianity, religion, spirituality, and Roman Catholicism, according to his many writings. I had read one of his books, The Everlasting Man, in my Christian Tradition class junior year of college, but it was hard to dissect the dense text to comprehend exactly what he was saying. But this program did such a great job of explaining his ideas, many of which speak of why Roman Catholicism is not only the best Christian denomination, but the best religious practice among all the world's religions. So there I was, taking in and appreciating GK Chesterton for at least a couple of hours, while riding through the open fields of central Illinois.
It was an interesting day. I sort of just jumped in and did everything on the fly when I arrived in Springfield, not exactly following a plan I had envisioned to attend the planned rallies and meet with my representative. I found myself scurrying around the Capitol complex, and the streets of Springfield. Of course, I came to the realization that this wasn't all about attending rallies, but a Lobby Day, with the idea of going to urge the members of the Illinois House of Representatives to oppose Senate Bill 10. The Illinois Family Institute did a wonderful job with the logistics, and helping to organize all the people coming to lobby, especially with the printed letter sheets.
And that's what made it a great day. I went down to where the government action takes place, to take my stand for marriage as God intended it at the beginning of the world, between one man and one woman, as a source of stability for family and society. What a feeling it was to be among so many like-minded people who believe the same thing about marriage, and to join in the cries of the people in the rotunda yelling out, "One man, one woman!" over and over, as I ambled around the Capitol.
I was also in a great company of people on the bus, who I was meeting for the first time this day, but with whom I already had a strong connection in our desire to stand up for what we know is right.
But above all, it was about how God was working in our hearts this day. Indeed, each time the bus started up, from Chicago, Dwight, and then Springfield, we prayed, so as to be in tune with the Almighty Source of all, who inspired us to be in Springfield this day.
But He has done more than that, as put so well by one of the speakers in the rotunda, and I was fortunate to catch it as one of the snippets as I was going here and there. This pastor recited the passage from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (NRSV). This pastor, after listing the wrongful practices, then emphasized the phrase in the passage that speaks to what the people once were, going on to say that Jesus Christ has changed our lives by redeeming us and granting us the gift of faith, just as Paul speaks here. I know He has changed my life, and now lives in me. So I live His way, and stand up for His truth, even in the halls of power in Illinois state government.
(This sign I'm holding says, "Strengthen Marriage Don't Redefine it". I carried it with me throughout my the time at the Lobby Day, except when I went into the upper floors of the capitol, where they were not allowed. I asked fellow lobbyists to get this picture and the one directly above with Mr. Lincoln. The other two are mine.)
A couple of weeks or so before this day, I had come across a news article online that mentioned opponents and proponents of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness (RFMF) Act, also known as Senate Bill 10, were going to gather at the Illinois State Capitol, as Representative Gregg Harris had said he would call the bill for a vote in the House during its Fall Veto Session. I was eager to head to Springfield to take a stand for marriage as God intended it. So I looked around for details about the event, finding them at IFI's website. Eventually, I found out about a bus that would go from Queens to Springfield, sponsored by the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Chicago, which was pretty good to have the transportation covered.
So there I was, early in the morning dark, pulling up to Queens. I didn't see the bus there right away, so I drove around the church complex to see if it was parked in a different spot. By the time I had made a circle, I saw the bus pulling up.
Because of a traffic delay on a few-mile stretch south of I-80 and then a refueling stop outside Dwight, it took us nearly 4 hours to get there. But upon arriving, we were ready to jump in. I had been to Springfield on three different occasions in the past on visits to see the sites in the city. More recently, I had passed through on the train while enroute to and from the AMS meeting in Austin, TX. This would be the first time I had gone there for any kind of lobbying. But I am already well steeped into the habit of contacting my government officials regarding important issues. In fact, I started calling my Illinois state representative, LaShawn K. Ford, at his Springfield office so much, I decided to log his number into my cell phone contacts.
The bus driver, a wonderful man named Jose, dropped us off near Capitol Avenue a few blocks east of the Capitol building. Upon reaching 2nd Street, we saw a rally of people by the Abraham Lincoln statue from a Chinese church in Chicagoland showing their support for marriage between one man and one woman. I found a collection of signs with this group, and I picked one up, which I carried around with me throughout my time at the Lobby Day.
It was at this point that we were scratching our heads as to where we would find the Stratton Building, which has all the offices of the House representatives, which we had in our plan to visit first. Some people in the group decided to head into the Capitol building, because there was a tunnel that connected it with the Stratton building.
So we got in the security line, at which point we started to get separated. After I went through the metal detector, I found myself standing at the edge of a large crowd of people packing the rotunda for the Defend Marriage rally. Unlike what I had envisioned from information I looked at online, this rally in the rotunda was an ongoing event for a number of hours, with various people, many of them ordained clergy, giving remarks. Later, I saw Bill Brady step to the podium and make a few remarks.
I eventually got to an elevator that I took down to the lower level, and then followed the signs to the underground tunnel. I caught up with another person in the bus group, and we went up to the 2nd floor of the Stratton building, where we found our respective representatives' offices. (Among the resources Ashley had given us was a map with the location of all the representatives' offices in the Stratton building.) The hallways of the building were a happening place in the middle of a weekday, with the fall House veto session going on, and the people there for IFI's Lobby day were among others lobbying and conducting business.
I went in to the reception area, which was essentially one long corridor where all the secretaries sat, with additional doors along another wall for the representatives' offices proper. I saw Representative Ford go into his office and close the door, slightly wondering if I would be able to get a hold of him. I got in line behind a group of people who had an appointment with another representative. Then I stepped toward the secretary and told her I was there to urge Representative Ford to oppose Senate Bill 10. She told me that Mr. Ford had just spoken to a number of people about it, and then said, "He got the message", about opposing it. Then she said I could stand there with my sign, though not necessarily in a demeaning way, but more matter-of-fact.
I wasn't entirely sure what to do at that point, as I was doing all this on impulse. I stepped into the hallway to look for a woman who was in the bus group with me, and was also in Mr. Ford's House Representative district. Not seeing her, I stepped back into the reception area, and then asked the secretary if I could have a piece of paper and write Mr. Ford a note. As soon as I finished writing, Mr. Ford stepped out of his office. My impulses kicked in, and I said, "Mr. Ford, I'm Paul Rubio. I've come here from Oak Park to ask you to oppose Senate Bill 10." He then said, "Okay", and we shook hands. We then both walked out into the hallway at the same time, he to the House chamber for the session, and I to lunch. (When I talked with others in my bus group later, it appeared I was the only person who had physically met with his/her representative.)
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the diocesan cathedral for Springfield, IL, graciously provided lunch for my bus group and some others who had come. So I walked out of the Stratton building, around the Capitol complex, and then due east a few blocks to the Cathedral, orienting myself with the map Ashley had given us.
I got there a few minutes after noon, and a few minutes later, there was a prayer, and then we had lunch: Jimmy John's sandwiches and Cokes.
After downing my lunch, I was eager to get back to the Capitol, but I took a quick peek inside the beautiful sanctuary of the Cathedral. (It has the Cathedra for Bishop Thomas Paprocki, once an auxiliary bishop in Chicago.)
I got back to the Capitol shortly before 1 PM, with the speakers still continuing in the rotunda. I had seen a number of people wearing buttons supporting one man-one woman marriage, and I wanted to get one. When I asked about it, I was directed to tables that IFI had set up in the first floor north hallway. It was there that they were also handing out short letters printed on slips of paper that people were encouraged to hand to their respective representative, House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Republican Minority Leader Jim Durkin. I filled in the blanks with my info, and then went back to the Stratton building to give one of those sheets to Mr. Ford. His secretary wasn't there, so I placed my sheet on top of a small pile of them on her desk.
Then, I went back into the Capitol, and went up the stairs to Mr. Madigan's 3rd floor office, which was prominently marked with "Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan" above the door. There was a line of people waiting to get in, many with the same intention as I to deliver our slips of paper. I decided to go to Mr. Durkin's office first, and so I went through a door near Mr. Madigan's office. I walked down a hallway to Mr. Durkin's office at the end of the south wing of the building. There were people from IFI directing letter bearers like me. I walked into the office, placed my sheet on the desk, and then walked to the exit hallway. As I was doing this, I realized that I was essentially walking around the House chamber, while the session was going on. I could even hear part of the proceedings: It appeared at this moment, the House was discussing legislation to limit the number of free days at museums, as I could hear a woman talking about the burden on low-income families not having enough access to Chicago's cultural institutions. (If I had had more time, I would have liked to have gone into the chamber's gallery to watch the session, as it didn't require any kind of special pass.)
I walked out on the west side of the rotunda, and then back over to the line at Mr. Madigan's office. After a few minutes, a man came out to collect the sheets from those who had them. I handed mine in, along with those of two women who asked me to hand theirs in. I then dashed down to the main level and out to the Lincoln Statue, where, from 1 to 3 PM, groups of people where going on prayer walks around the Capitol complex, in 15-minute intervals.
As I neared the Lincoln Statue after making my circle, I met an impersonator of none other than Abraham Lincoln. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and then it was time for me to make my way back to the Cathedral to catch the bus back to Chicago.
Then, we watched a series of episodes of the program The Apostle of Common Sense, which basically talked about GK Chesterton and his views on Christianity, religion, spirituality, and Roman Catholicism, according to his many writings. I had read one of his books, The Everlasting Man, in my Christian Tradition class junior year of college, but it was hard to dissect the dense text to comprehend exactly what he was saying. But this program did such a great job of explaining his ideas, many of which speak of why Roman Catholicism is not only the best Christian denomination, but the best religious practice among all the world's religions. So there I was, taking in and appreciating GK Chesterton for at least a couple of hours, while riding through the open fields of central Illinois.
It was an interesting day. I sort of just jumped in and did everything on the fly when I arrived in Springfield, not exactly following a plan I had envisioned to attend the planned rallies and meet with my representative. I found myself scurrying around the Capitol complex, and the streets of Springfield. Of course, I came to the realization that this wasn't all about attending rallies, but a Lobby Day, with the idea of going to urge the members of the Illinois House of Representatives to oppose Senate Bill 10. The Illinois Family Institute did a wonderful job with the logistics, and helping to organize all the people coming to lobby, especially with the printed letter sheets.
And that's what made it a great day. I went down to where the government action takes place, to take my stand for marriage as God intended it at the beginning of the world, between one man and one woman, as a source of stability for family and society. What a feeling it was to be among so many like-minded people who believe the same thing about marriage, and to join in the cries of the people in the rotunda yelling out, "One man, one woman!" over and over, as I ambled around the Capitol.
I was also in a great company of people on the bus, who I was meeting for the first time this day, but with whom I already had a strong connection in our desire to stand up for what we know is right.
But above all, it was about how God was working in our hearts this day. Indeed, each time the bus started up, from Chicago, Dwight, and then Springfield, we prayed, so as to be in tune with the Almighty Source of all, who inspired us to be in Springfield this day.
But He has done more than that, as put so well by one of the speakers in the rotunda, and I was fortunate to catch it as one of the snippets as I was going here and there. This pastor recited the passage from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (NRSV). This pastor, after listing the wrongful practices, then emphasized the phrase in the passage that speaks to what the people once were, going on to say that Jesus Christ has changed our lives by redeeming us and granting us the gift of faith, just as Paul speaks here. I know He has changed my life, and now lives in me. So I live His way, and stand up for His truth, even in the halls of power in Illinois state government.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Expressing Weather Enthusiasm
In the middle of this month of October 2013, I went on a trip for the purpose of attending the National Weather Association Annual Meeting, held at the Convention Center in North Charleston, SC. This organization brings together operational meteorologists in their interest of weather. It is regularly attended by many TV meteorologists and NWS employees. (Note that this is the National Weather Association, not to be confused with the National Weather Service, which is the US government weather agency.)
I was off to the Convention Center early on Monday morning, October 14, walking 1000 yards from my hotel--at least, that's what the Convention Center's website said was the distance. After getting my registration completed, I took my place in the large ballroom outfitted with tables and chairs for the presentations.
Following welcoming remarks from the NWA leadership at about 7:45, the general sessions began. First, there were presentations on tropical system storm surge and wind speeds, especially in regards to Sandy. Having just occurred a year ago, this major weather event is still fresh on many minds, and surely shall remain an important topic of discussion in the meteorology community for some time to come. Also during this session was a presentation on a model being developed for the general use of the public as a way to help people understand the effects of storm surge. This model, accessible online, allows users to adjust various parameters of a tropical system situation to see how flooding would affect buildings in a local community. Another one of the speakers was Bill Read, former director of the National Hurricane Center, who talked about how events like Sandy and Katrina are reason for concerns, given land usage in coastal areas, and the way insurance is structured.
After a break, there were presentations on social science and meteorology. There were many presentations on this topic that I attended throughout my time at the conference, and they were the ones that fascinated me the most. These presentations talked about how the public perceives weather risks, and how the meteorology community can effectively engage the public to help them be more resilient to extreme weather. One speaker even talked about using notable past weather disasters to help educate the public to be more prepared.
The one presentation during this session that stood out to me was how social media is used in NWS operations. This presenter mentioned Aristotle during her talk, noting from his philosophy how important emotional connections are for persuasiveness in relationships, which is part of opening avenues for communication, essential in the response to major weather events. The Christ College part of me swelled with delight to see how philosophy plays a role in this intersection of social science and meteorology.
Around the first break on Monday, I caught up with three meteorology students from Valparaiso University, as well as a fellow alumnus, who is a meteorologist for the NBC station in Elmira, NY. We went out to lunch together at Wendy's, and it was a good time back in the spirit of ValpU camaraderie.
After the lunch break, two TV meteorologists from the local area spoke about their recollections of Hurricane Hugo, when it devastated the Charleston area back in the late 1980's.
The next session of presentations focused on tornadoes and severe weather. The speakers talked about more effective ways to assess tornado intensity and damage. One speaker even questioned the EF-scale used to rate tornadoes, because it is based solely on the work of Dr. Ted Fujita, and it has a certain amount of domination as such, even though he is looked to as an expert regarding tornadoes.
Subsequent to another break was a panel discussion about societal impacts of meteorology. This is no doubt a topic of increasing concern in our society. There was a lot of good discussion among the panelists and with people in the audience voicing their concerns and insights about effectively reaching out to the public. One woman in the audience is a meteorologist with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. She mentioned that Australia doesn't have TV meteorologists giving weather reports on individual stations like in the US. As such, meteorologists don't have as much of a presence with the public there, and are looked down upon to an extent.
One thing emphasized was the use of "the public" in our outreach efforts. The idea of "public" is actually rather vague, because the members of the meteorology community can consider themselves part of "the public". Instead, this community is seeking to better communicate with the "end users" of the weather information that is sent out. I found this to be insightful.
I, for one, was glad to be present for such an important discussion. It's one thing to have the knowledge of meteorology within this community, but it's another matter entirely to communicate it in the right way for the general public, or rather, end users, so they can use it for their own benefit.
Around 5 PM, the panel discussion concluded. An hour later, there was a dinner reception held, as an opportunity to mingle with people. I met up with this great guy named Mike Mogil I had first met at the AMS Meeting in Austin back in January. I also got talking with a graduate student from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and one of his professors. There were good spreads of vegetables, small appetizers, and a carving station. This was one of many good opportunities I had to meet people, as were the breaks in between sessions.
I was back again at the Convention Center Tuesday morning a few minutes before 8 AM. The morning started with a weather briefing for the Charleston area. Subsequently, Ken Carey, in the NWA leadership, gave the keynote address, talking about how the meteorology community can be more unified in its approach to help the end users of its information to be more weather-resilient, as part of becoming a Weather Ready Nation.
Following this presentation was the first session of the morning, with presentations on severe weather. There were two case studies discussed, each having notable meteorological characteristics. Then there were two presentations on lightning, in regards to how it affects decisions made to protect players and viewers at NCAA games, and a technique to track lightning strikes for forecasting purposes.
During the break that followed this session, I had the chance to talk with a number of individuals, including NWA President Bruce Thomas, Bill Read, Ken Carey, and Janice Bunting, the NWA Executive Director-elect.
The session after the break was a presentation with four parts on the heavy snowfall associated with Sandy that fell in the highest elevations of the Appalachians, which can be described as a northwest flow event, which is a typical weather pattern that causes such snowfall. These presentations highlighted the high level of technical detail that is involved in describing weather events, which was present in many other talks. But with my background having studied the science, it wasn't really all that much over my head.
After these presentations ended, I got talking with some more people, especially the exhibitors about their companies and the products they offer for using and displaying weather data.
I definitely had a great time at the conference. It was a fabulous opportunity to meet people in the field, and attend presentations on technical analyses of weather occurrences, and weather's societal impacts, not to mention being part of the important discussions that came up. I was reminded of the significance this science has, and made me glad to have a part in it as a weather enthusiast, and to express it in such a gathering.
I was off to the Convention Center early on Monday morning, October 14, walking 1000 yards from my hotel--at least, that's what the Convention Center's website said was the distance. After getting my registration completed, I took my place in the large ballroom outfitted with tables and chairs for the presentations.
Following welcoming remarks from the NWA leadership at about 7:45, the general sessions began. First, there were presentations on tropical system storm surge and wind speeds, especially in regards to Sandy. Having just occurred a year ago, this major weather event is still fresh on many minds, and surely shall remain an important topic of discussion in the meteorology community for some time to come. Also during this session was a presentation on a model being developed for the general use of the public as a way to help people understand the effects of storm surge. This model, accessible online, allows users to adjust various parameters of a tropical system situation to see how flooding would affect buildings in a local community. Another one of the speakers was Bill Read, former director of the National Hurricane Center, who talked about how events like Sandy and Katrina are reason for concerns, given land usage in coastal areas, and the way insurance is structured.
After a break, there were presentations on social science and meteorology. There were many presentations on this topic that I attended throughout my time at the conference, and they were the ones that fascinated me the most. These presentations talked about how the public perceives weather risks, and how the meteorology community can effectively engage the public to help them be more resilient to extreme weather. One speaker even talked about using notable past weather disasters to help educate the public to be more prepared.
The one presentation during this session that stood out to me was how social media is used in NWS operations. This presenter mentioned Aristotle during her talk, noting from his philosophy how important emotional connections are for persuasiveness in relationships, which is part of opening avenues for communication, essential in the response to major weather events. The Christ College part of me swelled with delight to see how philosophy plays a role in this intersection of social science and meteorology.
Around the first break on Monday, I caught up with three meteorology students from Valparaiso University, as well as a fellow alumnus, who is a meteorologist for the NBC station in Elmira, NY. We went out to lunch together at Wendy's, and it was a good time back in the spirit of ValpU camaraderie.
After the lunch break, two TV meteorologists from the local area spoke about their recollections of Hurricane Hugo, when it devastated the Charleston area back in the late 1980's.
The next session of presentations focused on tornadoes and severe weather. The speakers talked about more effective ways to assess tornado intensity and damage. One speaker even questioned the EF-scale used to rate tornadoes, because it is based solely on the work of Dr. Ted Fujita, and it has a certain amount of domination as such, even though he is looked to as an expert regarding tornadoes.
Subsequent to another break was a panel discussion about societal impacts of meteorology. This is no doubt a topic of increasing concern in our society. There was a lot of good discussion among the panelists and with people in the audience voicing their concerns and insights about effectively reaching out to the public. One woman in the audience is a meteorologist with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. She mentioned that Australia doesn't have TV meteorologists giving weather reports on individual stations like in the US. As such, meteorologists don't have as much of a presence with the public there, and are looked down upon to an extent.
One thing emphasized was the use of "the public" in our outreach efforts. The idea of "public" is actually rather vague, because the members of the meteorology community can consider themselves part of "the public". Instead, this community is seeking to better communicate with the "end users" of the weather information that is sent out. I found this to be insightful.
I, for one, was glad to be present for such an important discussion. It's one thing to have the knowledge of meteorology within this community, but it's another matter entirely to communicate it in the right way for the general public, or rather, end users, so they can use it for their own benefit.
Around 5 PM, the panel discussion concluded. An hour later, there was a dinner reception held, as an opportunity to mingle with people. I met up with this great guy named Mike Mogil I had first met at the AMS Meeting in Austin back in January. I also got talking with a graduate student from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and one of his professors. There were good spreads of vegetables, small appetizers, and a carving station. This was one of many good opportunities I had to meet people, as were the breaks in between sessions.
I was back again at the Convention Center Tuesday morning a few minutes before 8 AM. The morning started with a weather briefing for the Charleston area. Subsequently, Ken Carey, in the NWA leadership, gave the keynote address, talking about how the meteorology community can be more unified in its approach to help the end users of its information to be more weather-resilient, as part of becoming a Weather Ready Nation.
Following this presentation was the first session of the morning, with presentations on severe weather. There were two case studies discussed, each having notable meteorological characteristics. Then there were two presentations on lightning, in regards to how it affects decisions made to protect players and viewers at NCAA games, and a technique to track lightning strikes for forecasting purposes.
During the break that followed this session, I had the chance to talk with a number of individuals, including NWA President Bruce Thomas, Bill Read, Ken Carey, and Janice Bunting, the NWA Executive Director-elect.
The session after the break was a presentation with four parts on the heavy snowfall associated with Sandy that fell in the highest elevations of the Appalachians, which can be described as a northwest flow event, which is a typical weather pattern that causes such snowfall. These presentations highlighted the high level of technical detail that is involved in describing weather events, which was present in many other talks. But with my background having studied the science, it wasn't really all that much over my head.
After these presentations ended, I got talking with some more people, especially the exhibitors about their companies and the products they offer for using and displaying weather data.
I definitely had a great time at the conference. It was a fabulous opportunity to meet people in the field, and attend presentations on technical analyses of weather occurrences, and weather's societal impacts, not to mention being part of the important discussions that came up. I was reminded of the significance this science has, and made me glad to have a part in it as a weather enthusiast, and to express it in such a gathering.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
An Oak Park Anecdote
Back in August, I wrote a post with my musings on what makes Oak Park a special place.
This past weekend, something happened that I felt really spoke to the nature of Oak Park society, and I wanted to write about it as a follow-up to that previous post, "Ode to Oak Park".
So Mom and I are driving back from church service on Sunday, and we turn from heading eastbound on Harvard Street onto Clarence Avenue. The first thing we notice is that both sides of the street are lined with many parked cars. Now, on a hot summer day, people flock to nearby Rehm Pool in such numbers that those who drive to the pool sometimes have to park on our block, which is a couple blocks away from the pool. But when that happens, usually the cars don't park all the way down the block as they did on this day.
We're left scratching out heads as to what's going on as we sneak into a space a door down from our house. A few minutes later, lo and behold, two horse-drawn carts are ambling down Clarence Avenue, with people sitting in the carts on stacks of hay.
We eventually realize that all this activity is due to Fall Fest, an event run by the Park District of Oak Park, being held over at Rehm Park and the Oak Park Conservatory. There were lots of activities and fun for families, including rides in horse-drawn carts. There was even a large bounce house, typical of block parties, in the design of a large pumpkin, befitting the fall theme. At the Conservatory, each family could take home a pumpkin. All of East Avenue was blocked off for two blocks south of the I-290, so that's why all the cars came to our block.
So here we have a festival that induces a convergence of people upon one location, in this case, a park. The fest is filled with lots of family-friendly activities, live music, and then some, catering to the many families with children that live here. And it's all in the spirit of celebrating this season of autumn. That's definitely Oak Park!
This past weekend, something happened that I felt really spoke to the nature of Oak Park society, and I wanted to write about it as a follow-up to that previous post, "Ode to Oak Park".
So Mom and I are driving back from church service on Sunday, and we turn from heading eastbound on Harvard Street onto Clarence Avenue. The first thing we notice is that both sides of the street are lined with many parked cars. Now, on a hot summer day, people flock to nearby Rehm Pool in such numbers that those who drive to the pool sometimes have to park on our block, which is a couple blocks away from the pool. But when that happens, usually the cars don't park all the way down the block as they did on this day.
We're left scratching out heads as to what's going on as we sneak into a space a door down from our house. A few minutes later, lo and behold, two horse-drawn carts are ambling down Clarence Avenue, with people sitting in the carts on stacks of hay.
We eventually realize that all this activity is due to Fall Fest, an event run by the Park District of Oak Park, being held over at Rehm Park and the Oak Park Conservatory. There were lots of activities and fun for families, including rides in horse-drawn carts. There was even a large bounce house, typical of block parties, in the design of a large pumpkin, befitting the fall theme. At the Conservatory, each family could take home a pumpkin. All of East Avenue was blocked off for two blocks south of the I-290, so that's why all the cars came to our block.
So here we have a festival that induces a convergence of people upon one location, in this case, a park. The fest is filled with lots of family-friendly activities, live music, and then some, catering to the many families with children that live here. And it's all in the spirit of celebrating this season of autumn. That's definitely Oak Park!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Listening and Speaking, Speaking and Listening
Stuart Shepard works for CitizenLink, the political action arm of Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. He puts together some fantastic videos offering commentary on the current socio-political situation in the United States. In my mind, he's a genius.
I watched his latest video, and you can, too, by going to this link:
http://www.citizenlink.com/2013/09/25/stoplight-grandstanding-on-principle/
I agree with the main premise, and mostly certainly agree with how Stuart compares the liberal mainstream media's portrayal of Texas State Senator Wendy Davis versus US Senator Ted Cruz. The end is the one part that really sticks out, the part that Stuart says we should remember about Senator Cruz's lengthy talk on the Senate floor. During that time, Senator Cruz said, "The frustration is that the men and women in Washington aren't listening". In light of this statement, Stuart then poses a question to the viewers: "Are we even bothering to tell our elected officials what we think?"
Now I hear a lot of talk that no matter what, some politicians have such a strong grip on their respective offices that there's no way they will ever get defeated. These politicians tend to ignore common interests and pay attention only to the special interests that provide them the resources (read: money) that keep them in office.
Yet our government is still founded on the idea that we the people elect officials to serve in government. In this model, they are dependent on the electorate in its entirety to derive legitimacy for their governing. Since we elect our officials, we should be involved in their work as our own. We should be taking the time to tell them what we think.
I do this all the time with government officials at all levels, from local to federal. This includes Representative Danny Davis, even though I disagree with his stance on a number of issues, especially social, in which he is firmly resolved; furthermore, he has a strong base of support on the West Side of Chicago that he never has to face any substantial opposition in any election for his Congressional seat. Even though I may be in an unfavorable situation as such, I still make it my business to interact with him, speaking my mind about issues that matter to me. Elected officials are there to listen to constituents and then act.
In some cases, these officials may very well pay attention. I once received an e-mail communication asking people to contact their Illinois state representatives to vote against the bill that would legalize homosexual marriage in Illinois. The man who sent out the e-mail said his state representative was actually counting the number of people who called, and took note of which side the caller supported. I contacted my state representative, LaShawn Ford, on this issue, and others--so much so, in fact, that I decided just to log his Springfield office number into my contacts on my cell phone.
While there are many times in life when it is better to listen than speak, when it comes to our elected officials, we should be speaking, because that is a fundamental and important part of our system of government.
I watched his latest video, and you can, too, by going to this link:
http://www.citizenlink.com/2013/09/25/stoplight-grandstanding-on-principle/
I agree with the main premise, and mostly certainly agree with how Stuart compares the liberal mainstream media's portrayal of Texas State Senator Wendy Davis versus US Senator Ted Cruz. The end is the one part that really sticks out, the part that Stuart says we should remember about Senator Cruz's lengthy talk on the Senate floor. During that time, Senator Cruz said, "The frustration is that the men and women in Washington aren't listening". In light of this statement, Stuart then poses a question to the viewers: "Are we even bothering to tell our elected officials what we think?"
Now I hear a lot of talk that no matter what, some politicians have such a strong grip on their respective offices that there's no way they will ever get defeated. These politicians tend to ignore common interests and pay attention only to the special interests that provide them the resources (read: money) that keep them in office.
Yet our government is still founded on the idea that we the people elect officials to serve in government. In this model, they are dependent on the electorate in its entirety to derive legitimacy for their governing. Since we elect our officials, we should be involved in their work as our own. We should be taking the time to tell them what we think.
I do this all the time with government officials at all levels, from local to federal. This includes Representative Danny Davis, even though I disagree with his stance on a number of issues, especially social, in which he is firmly resolved; furthermore, he has a strong base of support on the West Side of Chicago that he never has to face any substantial opposition in any election for his Congressional seat. Even though I may be in an unfavorable situation as such, I still make it my business to interact with him, speaking my mind about issues that matter to me. Elected officials are there to listen to constituents and then act.
In some cases, these officials may very well pay attention. I once received an e-mail communication asking people to contact their Illinois state representatives to vote against the bill that would legalize homosexual marriage in Illinois. The man who sent out the e-mail said his state representative was actually counting the number of people who called, and took note of which side the caller supported. I contacted my state representative, LaShawn Ford, on this issue, and others--so much so, in fact, that I decided just to log his Springfield office number into my contacts on my cell phone.
While there are many times in life when it is better to listen than speak, when it comes to our elected officials, we should be speaking, because that is a fundamental and important part of our system of government.
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