Tule Fog

(Nov. 23, fog warning, Accuweather.com-compare with image to the right)


It is the time of year when something very fascinating happens in the state of California: the Tule fog (pron.tool-ee)

Tule fog is a weather phenomenon named after the tule grass that grows in abundance throughout the Central Valley (seen right is satellite imagery of the Central Valley, covered by a blanket of Tule fog, the bar at top right equals 600 km.), and is caused by rapidly cooling overnight temperatures and moisture literally draining down from the Sierra Nevada mountains into the bowl-like valley. Without wind turbulance, the unique geography of the Central Valley prevents the dense fog from dispursing.


(image courtesy of the Web: Bakersfield, CA)

Underneath the Tule fog conditions are extremely low visibility, often less than 600 ft. ahead, and is an unavoidable hazard for motorists across the state. In fact, Tule fog is the leading weather related cause of fatalities in CA.


(photo by me, on my street this morning: Nov. 23, 2008)

So, right now the Valley is under a dense fog warning. If you can see in the photo above, the end of my street isn't really visible. But in my experience, the fog in my area is pretty light. It can be much, much worse! Growing up as a child I remember my father driving me early in the morning during my winter break, from my hometown, the Upper Boondocks, to visit my grandparents in the Boondocks, where I live today. The Tule fog was terrible every morning, and with the filitered early sunlight it made everything look blue. I felt as if I was living on the surface of another planet, like Neptune.

As an adult, I used to spend my evenings partying or just hanging out in the Upper Boondocks. In the evenings during the Tule fog season, as I stepped outside I felt as though zombies were about to step out of the fog. It was so thick, you couldn't view the other side of the street. It's very spooky stuff!


(photo courtesy of the Web, from Antioch, CA)

Underneath all that stuff are cities and farms, people, and ZOMBIES!


(photo by me, this morning, looking towards the sky-I could see the moon)

In this photo, you might be seeing snow, but that's an illusion. The air was so thick with moisture this morning, that when the flash of the camera went off, all the little beads of moisture that were hanging around lit up and appeared out of focus, creating the "snow" effect.

My SAT Test Results=Happiness

I have viewed my SAT Test results that arrived last evening. This was an important event because the University I am applying for has different categories for admission, and the primary factor in my case is due to the fact that I graduated from High School over 5 years ago. The benefit of falling into this category is that I am exempt from being scrutinized for any failed courses I took in HS, and in my case there were a few. This category is also exempt from having to pass the SAT or ACT test, and instead the school administers its own placement exams.

However, if a student scores 500 or better on the SAT Critical Reading and Reasoning test (and 500 on the math test, which I opted not to take because I stink at math) they may opt out of the University's placement exam. I believe my score on the SAT Reading test better reflects my abilities in that area, so that's why I took it. And so, here are the results:

Test Date	Test	Score	National Percentile
11/2008	SAT Reasoning Test
	Critical Reading	680	93%
	Math	330	5%
	Writing	530	62%
	Multiple Choice	56 (score range: 20-80)
	Essay	6 (score range: 2-12)

I beat my own expectations on the reading portion, I was predicting 75 to 85% of a National Percentile. I also expected a better score in the writing department, even though it passed (still, it's irrelevant to my admission) I guess it just proves that I am a lazy writer. As for the math, well, what can I say? As my You Tube profile reads, the practice of mathematics is not one of my interests, although I am interested in the history of math and mathematicians.

But the primary test, the TRUE GEM is that Reading score. I'm so proud of myself! It's so beautiful, I think I'll enjoy some Harvest Moon pumpkin ale! CHEERS!

Space Doggy, an Introduction

All I seem to be doing lately *yawwwn* is sleeping. How is it possible that I require 12 hours of sleep every day? Yes, it's becoming difficult to accomplish anything (other than practice my dream flying and teleportation techniques) these days. A proper introduction may shed some clues to my condition, or even *yawwwn* cure me.

*12 hours later*

My name is Matt and I grew up in, and presently live in, California, and that is my chihuahua "Tiny" Dog. Actually, he is the family dog, but he is my best friend, and I will miss him dearly whenever I move out. I'm 24 years old now and a few years ago I had to move back in with my parents because I was too depressed and couldn't find any work. That was in Portland, Oregon, a very beautiful city, but it was nothing like where I grew up. Now I've taken better care of myself and I gave up the unhealthy behavior that contributed to my depression, but this process has also placed me on a strange path facing new opportunities and responsibilities and my knowledge of this leaves me more than just a little scared and anxious about the near future.

For example, applying for college, I recently participated in the SAT Reasoning Test, a comprehensive, and very secretive test (shh, I can't say any more or they will kill us both!), used by colleges and universities to predict how well incoming freshman will perform with college coursework. Now typically this test is administered to High School Juniors and Seniors, and at my testing location this was 99% true, but I was the exception. I felt really old and creepy, like maybe I should have stood up before the test and explained "this is what happens when you act totally narcissistic, become addicted and regard your family and country with unsound spite and hatred. You'll be forced to live at home, work pitiful jobs and enroll in college when most of your peers have already left graduate school. So, don't FAIL THIS TEST! Go back to school."

Situations like this remind me of why I am where I am today, with a good bit of humility, which isn't a foible for me, this attitude has served me well. But I do feel anxious because in the past I have chosen the easiest and most destructive paths, that now I wonder how and if I am prepared for this more difficult but rewarding path.

It is also true that in High School I didn't have a passion for any one subject. My drawing and painting have always been hobbies. I used to write poems, scripts, journals, musings and High School news articles. During my dark days I was determined to author a novel. My determination to be an author faded away when I realized that all of my work was negative, depressing, and not directed towards an audience other than myself. Somewhere along my way I discovered Chopin and a few of his Nocturnes. Chopin's music awoke in me a sense of longing for something mysterious: a passion, and a deep need to share my musical expressions through the piano.

That was three years ago, and I am very eager to bring my passion for piano music to the University I am applying for. I crave, and need, professional and conventional advice from teachers and fellow musicians in order to bring forth and share my passion with a larger audience.

CONCLUSION: Maybe if I had friends who weren't a little dog who likes to sleep with me as long as I do, I wouldn't spend 12 hours in bed. I'm grateful for You Tube, for the awesome people and characters I've met there, and I'm grateful for you too, you invisible virtual audience.