Editing 1324: Weather
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | Social norm accepts casual small-talk as an ice breaker for interaction — usually it is always safe to talk about the weather without hitting any disagreements as there are rarely any personal | + | Social norm accepts casual small-talk as an ice breaker for interaction — usually it is always safe to talk about the weather without hitting any disagreements as there are rarely any personal view points about the weather — in contrast small-talk is never about political subjects or similar where chances are that there are strong personal view points. |
− | In this strip [[Cueball]] is | + | In this strip [[Cueball]] is an expert on {{w|meteorology}} and {{w|weather forecasting}}. When [[Hairy]] makes a comment about the weather, Cueball launches into a detailed technical discussion, not realizing Hairy is simply trying to engage in small-talk. Only weather experts would have this problem, but this topic is a common opening for a conversation in casual small-talk. Cueball switches to small-talk once he realizes that Hairy is confused and didn't expect this level of technical information. |
As to the jargon: | As to the jargon: | ||
*{{w|Jet stream|Jet streams}} are strong air currents high in the atmosphere which have a big influence on the weather. | *{{w|Jet stream|Jet streams}} are strong air currents high in the atmosphere which have a big influence on the weather. | ||
− | *18z is 18:00 {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} (6 | + | *18z is 18:00 {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} (6 PM in Greenwich, England, 10 AM in California). See {{w|ISO 8601}} at Wikipedia. The letter "Z" is used as 'Zulu' in the {{w|NATO phonetic alphabet}}, meaning just UTC. |
*GFS is the {{w|Global Forecast System}} (also known as NCEP-GFS). It is a computer model used by the {{w|National Weather Service}} to predict the weather up to 16 days in advance. The model is run 4 times a day and the output is distinguished by the UTC hour it was started (18z in this case). | *GFS is the {{w|Global Forecast System}} (also known as NCEP-GFS). It is a computer model used by the {{w|National Weather Service}} to predict the weather up to 16 days in advance. The model is run 4 times a day and the output is distinguished by the UTC hour it was started (18z in this case). | ||
− | *Part of the prediction is the {{w|atmospheric pressure}} expressed in {{w|Bar (unit)| | + | *Part of the prediction is the {{w|atmospheric pressure}} expressed in {{w|Bar (unit)|mbar}} (or mb). 960 mbar is very low pressure, which is usually associated with seriously bad weather (record low pressure for Minnesota was 963 mbar till 1998). |
− | *"Think it'll verify?": A forecast "verifies" when an analysis of observations at the forecast time are found to match the forecast. Cueball is asking if Hairy thinks the prediction of a | + | *"Think it'll verify?": A forecast "verifies" when an analysis of observations at the forecast time are found to match the forecast. Cueball is asking if Hairy thinks the prediction of a 960mbar low will be shown to have been correct. |
− | The title text clarifies the problem weather nuts like Cueball here have: Unlike other geeky pursuits (like, say, the {{w|Derinkuyu Underground City|Derinkuyu Underground Cities}}, | + | The title text clarifies the problem weather nuts like Cueball here have: Unlike other geeky pursuits (like, say, the {{w|Derinkuyu Underground City|Derinkuyu Underground Cities}}, one of the most well-known {{w|History of Turkey|archaeological sites in Turkey}}) weather is a fairly common small talk subject. As a result, weather geeks have to be constantly vigilant so as not to launch into technical monologues. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:Cueball: ...Right. Sorry. Uh, yeah! Weather sure has been crazy. | :Cueball: ...Right. Sorry. Uh, yeah! Weather sure has been crazy. | ||
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:Weather geeks have it tough. | :Weather geeks have it tough. | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]] | ||
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