Editing Talk:1410: California

''and remark that "They've gone plaid!"''
I heard them say: 
"They've gone Plait!"
I think it was "They've gone to plaid!" [[User:Chrullrich|Chrullrich]] ([[User talk:Chrullrich|talk]]) 08:16, 20 August 2014 (UTC)
:Correct, the [http://sfy.ru/?script=spaceballs script] contains: They've gone to plaid. [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 08:36, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

Spaceballs was parodying the use of surreal colours and patterns and the like when travelling at high speeds (ludicrous speed in the movie, hence its use in the legend of the graph) in older science fiction movies like 2001 a space odyssey. Plaid refers to the common textile pattern see:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid_(pattern). Also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygE01sOhzz0. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.186|141.101.99.186]] 09:30, 20 August 2014 (UTC)
:Spaceballs is really full of movie references! I originally saw the movie on BBC1, so I was surprised to see the Alien reference in the restaurant when I bought the DVD, because the BBC decided to cut the sequence for being distasteful! [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 11:36, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

:Another thing to note with regards to the Spaceballs reference which is itself referencing 2001 relates to the actual mechanical process by which Kubrick created the famous 'beyond' light-tunnel sequence. The technique called slit-scan photography was adapted to motion pictures from its then-traditional still photography roots by Douglas Trumbull while he worked with Kubrick on this iconic sequence. The technique involved a process of exposing the film to an abstract image being lit/seen through a thin vertical slit. The means by which we see California squeezed down to a slit-like slice to produce this graph over time actually resembles greatly this process we see employed by Kubrick and Trumbull. See: http://vimeo.com/41747091 as well as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slit-scan_photography for a little more in-depth information. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.211}}

And here we have evidence of global warming. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.190|173.245.54.190]] 12:54, 20 August 2014 (UTC)
:Or at least climate change.  [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.41|108.162.216.41]] 12:06, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Looking at the color key reminds me of an aviator's scale of turbulence: nil, mild, moderate, severe, extreme. Extreme is when the rotating air overwhelms any possible control input (elevator, rudder, and aileron) so the plane's attitude is at the mercy of the wind, without recourse. AFAIK, plaid turbulence has not been reported by any surviving pilot. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 13:20, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

@108.162.238.144: While I agree that "ludicrous" is a normal English word, it isn't used very often. A Google search for "ludicrous" only turns up 2 dictionary references  before linking to the wiki page for Spaceballs. So I think it's plausible that Randall thought of Spaceballs when using ludicrous instead of exceptional. [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 14:14, 20 August 2014 (UTC)
: Plausible? Pretty much certain, given that he backs it up with the plaid reference. [[User:Jim E|Jim E]] ([[User talk:Jim E|talk]]) 16:12, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

;Unclear how the morphing of California works to compress horizontally and provide a point for the vertical axis of graph

The top of California goes east-west, and the bottom actually slopes a bit north as it goes east, and of course the the initial image is rotated a bit clockwise.  The way the bottom of california morphs, it looks clear that drought values are being averaged across horizontal parallels that are not straight east west.  But the top of california seems to be treated differently - rotating quickly back to east-west.  Does anyone know where the detailed data is?  Is it only available as the images from NOAA, or are there data values?  Can anyone reproduce this graph?  [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 21:07, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

I disagree that the use of "ludicrous" is not in reference to Spaceballs. Yes, it might not be; but the other reference to Spaceballs in the title text suggests that it is. Context, people. [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 13:26, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

The data can be found here

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/DataTables.aspx?CA
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.99|173.245.52.99]] 02:54, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

The map has been streched, but I fail to see how it should be rotated, much less by 45°, which is quite a lot. ANB, [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.208|108.162.229.208]] 10:17, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

This graph synthesizes a series of static Drought Monitor maps into an intuitive time-by-latitude drought history. At times, a series of maps with an east-west drought severity gradient (let's use 'worse in west CA as an example) will be stacked horizontally. Uncompresses, you would see drought to no drought, then drought to no drought again where the ensuing map starts, then drought to no drought again, etc., until conditions change. The "crushing" of the longitude lines, however, results in a chart that shows what the most prevalent condition is along the latitude in question, changing with time as conditions change.

Expanding the longitude lines back to scale at the start and end of the chart effectively demonstrates how the graph was created without needing a lot of words.

ONE POINT MUST BE CLARIFIED: While I'm flattered, I shouldn't get sole credit for producing all the original maps. "Rich Tinker" just happened to author the last map used. The weekly Drought Monitor has 9 authors who take turns authoring for 2-week stints. And we get a lot of feedback from regional and local experts (with an array of specialties) which helps us fine tune the depictions, sometimes to the sub-county level. I expect that doesn't matter much when your crushing the large state of California down to a line of infinitely small width. [[User:Rttinker|DryAndDrier]] ([[User talk:Rttinker|talk]]) 02:53, 31 August 2014 (UTC)