WCCO’s Chris Shaffer:

He did say “sacks”… right?

(via Tim and Fleshbot)

I decree it to be Spring!

Yo Spring, Happy Saturday.  ( <— seesmic video. )

Sure, I don’t have any actual power to decree a season, but that’s never stopped me in the past.

So, despite the recent weather’s attempt to bring us down, spring has triumphed. It’s time for the migrations to begin.

That’s right, I’m talking about the return of garage salers.  

We drove to the coffee shop this morning and there are garage sale signs popping up faster than tulips. I’ll bet you’ve seen them too. I’ll bet you may have even stopped.

Come on people, don’t be shy, it’s a guilty pleasure we all share. Let’s talk garage sale.

It’s still raining.

And I just heard snow flurries tomorrow morning.

Happy May, people.

Has the rain gotten you down?

There seems to be something about this weather that is making the air equal parts glum and humidity. 

Still, on my drive home tonight I found myself thinking of sunsets.

Yesterday Cameraphone10000 captured this sunset from our yard. 

Where is your favorite place in the Twin Cities to watch a sunset?

I’ve always loved the sunsets at Lake Hiawatha Park.

April may have been rainy and cloudy for fired WCCO weather anchor Paul Douglas, but he’s got some news up his sleeve for this summer. A new syndicated weather service called WeatherNation.

Ed Kohler points to Graeme Thickins‘ tweet:

Paul Douglas will start co in June to syndicate weather info to midsize TV stations, called WeatherNation - saving ‘em a ton of money

Ed also points to Douglas’ LinkedIn profile, which lists four startups, including WN:

This summer we launch WeatherNation, syndicating, “central-casting” weather reports for web sites, cable channels and broadcasters from a new studio in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities.

Meanwhile MinnPost reports this morning, “KARE features an interview tonight with recently fired WCCO weatherman Paul Douglas.”

Allow me to speculate: I think the news is going to hit officially tonight.

I’m totally in favor of more competition in weather reporting, especially from private companies. And kudos to Douglas, who refused to go out like a lamb.

I drove through some nasty hail on 494W on my way home from The Mars Volta concert in St. Paul last night. Lightning was striking all around the airport and MOA, the hail was pelting my car’s recently refurbished paint job (thanks a lot, God) and the thunder was shaking my car.

Turns out just around that same time three construction workers were struck by lightning at MSP Airport. More info here here and here.

From KARE 11:

According to police reports, the man was setting out orange cones around 10:20 Monday night, for a construction project at the airport. Two other workers were with him. Lightning from a passing storm hit the man in the head, then passed on to his co-workers, who both got jolted in the hands and arms.
“Like an electric fence,” one of them told police.

According to the Strib:

The three construction workers, whose names were not immediately available, were hurt at 10:20 p.m. when lightning struck the vehicle they were in on a taxiway near the E concourse north of the Lindbergh terminal…

Well, whether they were standing outside or in a truck, it’s good everyone’s okay. That lightning was nasty.

Oh, and in case you think you’re safe in your car, the Strib says:

Contrary to belief, rubber tires and rubber shoe soles do not provide protection from lightning, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website.

NONE OF US ARE SAFE!

Photo adapted (poorly) from Flickr via Creative Commons Attribution remix license.

It’s gardening time in the land of Minneapolis Metbloggers so let’s take some poetic license and spread the seeds of information.

I spent my early afternoon shopping for garden supplies. I needed to buy a few trees, replacements for those destroyed in last fall’s big wind storm, and to browse for some new gardening ideas. 

I found an interesting annual called the daisy vine that grows 5-8′ and flowers all summer and I bought a few whitespire birch trees. Bachmans is having a tree sale that includes 15% off and free delivery for all trees, except pines.

Any other gardening deals happening we should all know about? Anyone else getting worked up to garden? 

While this surreal picture doesn’t show it, it’s finally starting to feel like spring in Minnesota. What that really means is not shorts and sandals, but orange cones and detours. Yes, it’s the start of the “second season” – road construction.

On a trip from Bloomington to Uptown yesterday, I passed through at least 6 construction zones. The one that really peaked my curiosity was the American Boulevard bridge over I-35W. With this bridge just being completed a couple years ago, I really had to find out what was going on. According to the City of Bloomington website, the abutment is sinking but “structurally the bridge is sound.” Next time I think I’ll just continue in ignorance.

If you’re in Minneapolis, you will have to contend with road construction and some street sweeping parking restrictions that start today. Find out the schedule for your street from this tool on the city website. You might also receive an automated call (no guarantees, though!) if you have a listed phone number.

Despite the start of transportation woes, it will be nice to finally go outside without a coat. Today’s forecast calls for a high of 70 degrees. Personally, I’m hoping it starts staying in that range.

According to the almighty Bob Collins:

“Paul Douglas is no longer with the station,” WCCO spokesperson Kiki Rosatti told me this afternoon. Earlier this week, anchor John Reger was let go in a “restructuring” that has hit local CBS stations across the country hard. About 8 persons were let go on WCCO’s television side and the company is offering “a limited number of buyouts” to staff members.

According to the Minnesota Monitor, Douglas probably isn’t worried about keeping his mortgage current, however:

Don’t fret about where Douglas’s next paycheck will come from, though. He’s rich. In 1997 he sold an early entrepreneurial venture called EarthWatch (a 3-D weather graphics modeling tool that had been used to produce the special effects in Twister and Jurassic Park) for $3 million, and last year he and a partner realized somewhere north of $22 million when they sold Digital Cyclone, a service that sends customized weather forecasts to cellphones and other personal electronic devices.

Probably no coincidence the lead story on WCCO is “Employers Slash 80,000 Jobs From March Payrolls.”

According to National Weather Service forecaster Tony Zaleski, “heart attack snow” is headed for Minneapolis Saint Paul.

No man or woman is save from the “heavy, wet variety that will strain the bodies of shovelers tonight and Tuesday.”

From the Double-Tongued Dictionary:

With temperatures within striking distance of freezing during much of this precipitation event, the snow which falls is to be heavy and fairly wet—what’s often referred to as “good packing” or “heart attack” snow. The weight of such snow means it must be shoveled with extreme care to avoid a heart attack.

Here are some snow shoveling tips:

• If you are inactive and have a history of heart trouble, talk to your doctor before you take on the task of shoveling snow.
• Avoid caffeine or nicotine before beginning. These are stimulants, which may increase your heart rate and cause your blood vessels to constrict. This places extra stress on the heart.
• Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is just as big an issue in cold winter months as it is in the summer.
• Dress in several layers so you can remove a layer as needed.
• Warm up your muscles before shoveling, by walking for a few minutes or marching in place. Stretch the muscles in your arms and legs, because warm muscles will work more efficiently and be less likely to be injured.
• Pick the right shovel for you. A smaller blade will require you to lift less snow, putting less strain on your body.
• Begin shoveling slowly to avoid placing a sudden demand on your heart. Pace yourself and take breaks as needed.
• Protect your back from injury by lifting correctly.
• Stand with your feet about hip width for balance and keep the shovel close to your body. Bend from the knees (not the back) and tighten your stomach muscles as you lift the snow. Avoid twisting movements. If you need to move the snow to one side reposition your feet to face the direction the snow will be going.
• Most importantly — listen to your body. Stop if you feel pain!