Category: Hodgepodge
So, Want To Follow James Spann On Social Media?
People have referred to me as a “social media expert”. Nope… I am not. And, I am not sure there is such a thing. But, I do enjoy interacting with people, and I have connected with many via social media platforms over the past 10 years.
Here is a look at what to expect if you follow me….
*Nobody has access to my accounts but me. I have no staff, and no “helpers”. Every post and tweet is from me. It takes much of my time, but I enjoy the interaction. But remember, there are a few times when I am “off the grid”.
*I do my best to answer all questions. I really do. But, when the weather is really active (especially during winter storm threats and severe weather situations), I simply can’t answer every one of them. This blog is where we post long, detailed, frequent updates, and I always send people here anyway. Social media is NOT a good long form platform for crucial weather information.
*Constructive criticism is welcome, and needed. But, if you are a troll, hater, or know-it-all that is looking for a fight, be prepared to be blocked. I block first and ask questions later… my social media accounts always feature good, in depth discussions and there is no room for a troll. Go troll somebody else.
*You will get occasional plugs for Big Brains Media shows (our new media business). I work long, hard hours at social media with no compensation… the best way you can support me is to listen to Big Brains shows that appeal to you. Most of the weather geeks know about WeatherBrains, but we do some other cool shows too, with many more exciting things in the pipeline.
Where to find me….
GOOGLE PLUS: Honestly, this is my favorite platform of all. Yeah, I know… most say they just hear crickets when they try it. My advice… give it a chance. I often post the most detailed information there because Google Plus is so effective. Join, and “circle up” some good sources of news and weather information. Put the Google Plus app on your phone and tablet. I believe Google is 100 percent behind this social media network, and it has a great future. Some really, really good weather experts hang out there, and we use their video platform (Google Hangouts) for WeatherBrains every Monday night.
I have found very few trolls and haters, and the discussion is excellent. Come join us. You just might find yourself using less and less Facebook.
I do not put automated severe weather warnings on Google Plus… but I do post frequent weather updates, including important posts during severe weather.
TWITTER: Love the nature of the short messages. It is like a breaking newswire. I have almost 100,000 followers, and they are from all over.
Let me caution you… if you follow me on Twitter, be ready for lots of tweets in your timeline. Most are about weather, but for some reason I have become the “information bureau”, meaning I get some very important tweets about traffic and breaking news. I retweet all of the information I get that is useful to large numbers of people. You follow me, and you will know what goes on around Alabama. And, in many cases, the country.
And, yes, I love sunrise/sunset pictures. If you hate them, you might not want to follow me.
Like Google Plus, I do not automate severe weather warnings on Twitter. We have an account called @ewarn where you can get all Alabama severe weather watches and warnings.
But, I will post frequent severe weather updates during active events on Twitter.
FACEBOOK: Let me say up front Facebook is not a good platform for getting severe weather information. Due to the FB “Edge Rank” algorithm, you won’t get all of my updates in your news feed, generally speaking. So, do not use this as a primary method of getting severe weather warnings.
I do understand Facebook has the largest number of users in Alabama, and I understand I have to be there with frequent, useful, and relevant updates. But, I must admit I am very frustrated. Facebook wants us to pay big bucks to reach most of our followers, and I get the idea the problem will only get worse in coming years. This why I REALLY want you to come over and join us on Google Plus.
Warnings are automatically posted to my Facebook account, and I post frequent updates there as well.
It is important to note I reached my 5,000 friend limit years ago. But, I can have an unlimited number of followers/subscribers (the account has over 100,000 followers now).
And, in addition to the regular account, I also have a “like page” with over 120,000 likes. This is open and you can post pictures, video, or share important weather reports to me and the world. I check it often, but most of the weather updates are on the regular account.
INSTAGRAM: You are welcome to share pictures with me this way… I am “@spannpix”. Here I post the “best of the best” pictures from the “Spann Twitter Army”… the shots are simply beautiful if you cruise over there.
I do have a Pinterest account… but I must admit I have not really done much with that platform. And, I have ended my FourSquare checkins in an effort to simplify my digital life. I do checkins using Google Plus, and I keep them private so people won’t be bothered with them in their Google Plus feed. I just like to keep a running diary of all the cool places I visit. You don’t need to be bothered with that.
Linkedin? No presence for now.
So, if you dare, come along and connect. The ride together will be fun.
THE UNOFFICIAL TOP 10 LIST OF BEST PLACES TO EAT ON THE ALABAMA GULF COAST
With over 500 Votes being recorded here it is …..
THE UNOFFICIAL TOP 10 LIST OF BEST PLACES TO EAT ON THE ALABAMA GULF COAST
Lulu’s
The Original Oyster House
Doc’s
Sea N Suds
The Shrimp Basket
Tacky Jack’s
Desoto’s Seafood Kitchen
Wolf Bay Lodge
Lamberts
Bahama Bob’s
Honorable Mentions …. These restaurants were just edged out of the Top 10 but I believe they deserve mention as they are new or off the beaten path and deserve a try if you are trying to form your own list of favorites…
Felix’s Fish Camp on the Causeway near the USS Alabama in Mobile – absolutely awesome food and service … can not be missed…good stop on your trip down just off I-10
The Tin Top Restaurant in Bon Secour about 10 minutes from Gulf Shores
Cosmos – Canal Road – locals favorite
Cobalt Restaurant just across Perdido Pass bridge – seafood is wonderful and setting on water is top notch watching boats go in and out of Perdido pass
The Gulf – brand spanking new right before you go across the Perdido Pass bridge, made out of shipping containers … outside seating on water can’t be beat
Franco’s Italian Restaurant – next to Bruno’s in Orange Beach – when it is time for something other than seafood this is the spot…
I hope this helps everybody on their next trip to the beach …. if we missed a place or you have your own opinion on the best then let everybody know in the comments…
Hope to see you soon on Alabama’s Gulf Coast and remember to give my niece Elyssa Jacobs, who had a heart and bone marrow transplant, a “like” on FB if you enjoyed this … she started it off….
http://www.facebook.com/athirdchanceforellah
Thanks – John Oldshue
Vote for ” THE UNOFFICIAL TOP 10 LIST OF BEST PLACES TO EAT ON THE ALABAMA GULF COAST “
This nice sunny day makes me think of the beach … and when I am at the beach that means food … so I decided it was time again for us to make ” THE UNOFFICIAL TOP 10 LIST OF BEST PLACES TO EAT ON THE ALABAMA GULF COAST “ … in the comments section below name the spots or spots you think have the best food on the Alabama Gulf Coast ( Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fort Morgan ) …. On Thursday we will tally up the score for your favorite places and give you the results … just in time for Spring Break !!!!
My niece, Elyssa Jacobs, had both a heart transplant and bone marrow transplant so I decided to let her go first in the voting…. she selected El Potro Mexican Restaurant … Please like her FB page if you get a chance at
http://www.facebook.com/athirdchanceforellah
Thanks,
John Oldshue
Deadline Extended for Gradate Scholarship
Greg Carbin from the SPC sent us word that the deadline for a valuable graduate meteorology scholarship had been extended to March 8th.
FLASH (the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes) and other organizations are behind the Storm Struck Scholarships. In addition to meteorology, there are also scholarships for social science studies, resilient construction, risk management and natural disaster financial services.
Learn more at http://www.flash.org/scholarship/.
January 17 Alabama Snow… A Look Back
A quick hitting winter storm impacted Alabama on Thursday, January 17, thanks to a deep 500 mb upper low moving right overhead.
Here is the forecast graphic we used going into the event…
The broad placement and general idea for the event was right on the money, but the devil is in the details, and clearly there were problems.
You know the saying… “cold core upper low, weatherman’s woe”. This is from the discussion on the blog Wednesday evening…
“As I have stated here in recent days, we have a limited skill set in dealing with snow output from cold core upper lows like this. No two systems act the same, and I can almost guarantee you there will be surprises. Some of you will get more snow than you expect, and others will see nothing more than a flake or two. There is very little skill in identifying the exact placement of the heaviest band of snow.”
While most folks did indeed get two inches or less… as forecast, there were also surprises, also as forecast.
Let’s look at the surprises…
*The heaviest snow was west of where our forecast indicated. I figured the highest snow amounts would be over the northeast counties. It was to the west… over Walker, Cullman, Northeast Jefferson, and Blount Counties. Amounts over these three counties were generally three inches… with locally higher amounts. (note… the map below is only for the Birmingham NWS CWA; it does not include the Huntsville NWS counties)
The snow shut off over Northeast Alabama seemingly as the result of some kind of occlusion process which shut down the dynamic forcing for a while. A large scale version of the same process that can choke off a tornado for a while in a severe storm.
*The biggest surprise was the degree of travel issues related to the snow. I expected very little issues, with black top roads only being wet in most places except for higher terrain. I was wrong.
An analog event in December 1997, which produced 3-5 inch snows over West Alabama with a similar cold core, resulted in no traffic issues, and only wet roads. This time, the snow came down so fast that roads were snow covered, and we had a number of wrecks and traffic snarls through the midday and afternoon hours. I-65 north of Cullman was a huge mess.
I have said many times humility is missing in our science; there simply is much to learn. The guys at the NWS in Washington, D.C. are taking some real heat for a big time snow bust with this system.
Many were furious at school system administrators for their decisions on school openings, closings, and transportation schedules yesterday. Don’t get mad at them, get mad at me. They can only use the guidance provided by professional meteorologists, and I honestly didn’t think road conditions would be so impacted by the snow. They are in a no-win situation during winter weather events, much like those of us in my profession. You will make people mad pretty much by any decision in their case, or forecast in our case. But this time the main issue was bad guidance on road conditions. And, that is our fault, not theirs.
Pretty confident cold core snow output across the Deep South will remain a mystery for at least one more generation. We will do some digging through the charts in coming weeks to look back at this from a science perspective and see how we can do better next time. And, also, review the impact on travel. Honestly, we are in the weather forecasting business, and not the travel forecasting business, and maybe we should not dabble as much into forecast road conditions. Some great advice given to me long ago… “tell them what you know, and don’t tell them what you don’t know”.
Let’s go enjoy the sunny weekend….
