My sister, Susan, has pointed me towards another interesting bird cam. This one is spying on a great blue heron nest in Ithaca, New York.
For more bird cameras, click here...
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Name the Ospreys
Last week I posted about the newly installed webcam that's focused on the osprey nest at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester. VIMS is asking for reader input on what to name the nesting ospreys. The form has a number of suggested names to choose from or you could write in your own suggestion. I kind of favor the names William and Mary. VIMS is a part of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.
You can vote here through Friday, March 30th. The winning names will be announced on Monday, April 2nd.
You can vote here through Friday, March 30th. The winning names will be announced on Monday, April 2nd.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Pollen Season off to an Early Start
I probably don't have to tell you, but we in the Southeast are under attack from pollen. Scientists say the mild winter and an early spring has led to a bumper crop of pollen. And they're predicting a prolonged pollen season.
According to Pollen.com (pollen is so widespread now it has it's own website), the pollen forecast will be in the the high range from the Ohio Valley to Florida. The pollen count has been through the roof. Nashville, Tennessee recorded a reading this week of 11,000, seven times the mark considered very high.
What's interesting is that the pollen we can see is not usually the problem. Pollen experts say pine pollen, which is the main source of the yellow dust we see on our cars in the spring, is too big and heavy to cause allergy problems.
The pollen count is expected to remain high for at least the next few days. If you need me, I'll be tracking down a BJ's sized bottle of Claritin.
Link:
www.Pollen.com
According to Pollen.com (pollen is so widespread now it has it's own website), the pollen forecast will be in the the high range from the Ohio Valley to Florida. The pollen count has been through the roof. Nashville, Tennessee recorded a reading this week of 11,000, seven times the mark considered very high.
What's interesting is that the pollen we can see is not usually the problem. Pollen experts say pine pollen, which is the main source of the yellow dust we see on our cars in the spring, is too big and heavy to cause allergy problems.
The pollen count is expected to remain high for at least the next few days. If you need me, I'll be tracking down a BJ's sized bottle of Claritin.
Link:
www.Pollen.com
Highway Advisory Radio Moving to 1680AM
The Virginia Department of Transportation is in the process of moving its Highway Advisory Radio signal in Hampton Roads from 610 AM to 1680, at the high end of the AM band. Highway Advisory Radio is a network of low power (10 watt) stations with a synthesized voice that broadcasts highway traffic information. I've come to rely on these stations when driving in some of the more congested parts of Hampton Roads. The information comes directly from VDOT and is usually up to date.
I'm familiar with low power radio, having started my broadcast career at Longwood College's 10 watt (we preferred 10,000 milliwatt) WLCX. Low power stations have limited range. VDOT's signal is sometimes difficult to hear, especially at night, when the stations are often drowned out by other, stronger stations. Jennifer Gwaltney, a public information officer for VDOT, tells me the move to 1680 AM should create a clearer signal.
The move to 1680 AM should be completed by the end of April.
Link:
http://www.vdot.virginia.gov/travel/highway_advisory_radio.asp
I'm familiar with low power radio, having started my broadcast career at Longwood College's 10 watt (we preferred 10,000 milliwatt) WLCX. Low power stations have limited range. VDOT's signal is sometimes difficult to hear, especially at night, when the stations are often drowned out by other, stronger stations. Jennifer Gwaltney, a public information officer for VDOT, tells me the move to 1680 AM should create a clearer signal.
The move to 1680 AM should be completed by the end of April.
Link:
http://www.vdot.virginia.gov/travel/highway_advisory_radio.asp
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Free PDF Converter
Here's a good website for my teacher friends who are always scouring the Internet for lesson plan ideas. Sometimes a good idea comes in the form of an Adobe PDF document. If only there was a way to edit the PDF to make it fit your lesson plan needs exactly. There are several ways, but there's one way that I have found that's easy and, better yet, free.
Use the online PDF converter at this website.
http://pdftools.orgfree.com/webapp/
Upload the PDF you want to edit and it will automatically convert it into an MS Word document, which you can then download.
Use the online PDF converter at this website.
http://pdftools.orgfree.com/webapp/
Upload the PDF you want to edit and it will automatically convert it into an MS Word document, which you can then download.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Bird Cams
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science at Gloucester Point has just announced the launch of its "OspreyCam." It's a live web camera overlooking an osprey nest on top of the 65 foot water tower adjacent to the VIMS property on the York River.
The OspreyCam becomes the second bird of prey cam in Hampton Roads. The first was the Eagle Cam at Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
Incidentally, The Eagle Cam is the only camera known to have captured anything of the meteor that flashed across the Eastern Seaboard in 2009. You'll see a brief flash of light in this silent video footage. About 30 seconds later, an Eagle does its impression of the "dramatic squirrel" when the sonic boom hits.
My favorite bird cam, however, features one of our tiniest birds. The Hummingbird Nest Cam is pointed at an Allen's Hummingbird nest that sits in a rose bush in Orange County, California.
Link:
News release announcing the OspreyCam
The OspreyCam becomes the second bird of prey cam in Hampton Roads. The first was the Eagle Cam at Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
Incidentally, The Eagle Cam is the only camera known to have captured anything of the meteor that flashed across the Eastern Seaboard in 2009. You'll see a brief flash of light in this silent video footage. About 30 seconds later, an Eagle does its impression of the "dramatic squirrel" when the sonic boom hits.
My favorite bird cam, however, features one of our tiniest birds. The Hummingbird Nest Cam is pointed at an Allen's Hummingbird nest that sits in a rose bush in Orange County, California.
Link:
News release announcing the OspreyCam
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Good Economic News...in Two Lines
"New economic numbers are showing a 6.7 percent jump in retail sales between last month and the year before. And automakers Chrysler, Ford and Volkswagen all posted strong sales gains in February."
In short, February was a good month for the economy.
The above is my summary of two articles I spotted Friday morning. One was a report from the Associated Press showing a sizable jump in retail sales in February. The other was a story in the Los Angeles Times on a strong showing by some automakers. The resulting two lines come from the need to balance detail with brevity, since my newscasts are only one minute long.
In short, February was a good month for the economy.
The above is my summary of two articles I spotted Friday morning. One was a report from the Associated Press showing a sizable jump in retail sales in February. The other was a story in the Los Angeles Times on a strong showing by some automakers. The resulting two lines come from the need to balance detail with brevity, since my newscasts are only one minute long.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
DMV Announces a New Street Level Crash Map
The Virginia DMV has unveiled a new webpage that combines their database of traffic crashes with an interactive map. The result is a map that shows the exact location and severity of a car accident.
In the statewide view, the map shows the number of crashes in each county. Virginia Beach, for example, recorded more than 6,000 accidents in 2010. Zooming in on the map will provide precise locations and times of individual accidents.
The new page is seen as a safety benefit. In a news release, DMV Commissioner Richard Holcomb points out that prospective home buyers can learn which streets or intersections are more accident prone.
For now, the map includes data from 2009 and 2010. DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes tells me 2011 data will be added in a few months. Crash data from earlier years will be added later.
In the meantime, the DMV does have a website with text listings of accident data going back to 1999. That page can be found here.
On the web:
http://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/safety/crash_data/mapping/tredsmapping.asp
In the statewide view, the map shows the number of crashes in each county. Virginia Beach, for example, recorded more than 6,000 accidents in 2010. Zooming in on the map will provide precise locations and times of individual accidents.
The new page is seen as a safety benefit. In a news release, DMV Commissioner Richard Holcomb points out that prospective home buyers can learn which streets or intersections are more accident prone.
For now, the map includes data from 2009 and 2010. DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes tells me 2011 data will be added in a few months. Crash data from earlier years will be added later.
In the meantime, the DMV does have a website with text listings of accident data going back to 1999. That page can be found here.
On the web:
http://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/safety/crash_data/mapping/tredsmapping.asp
Cox and WAVY Reach a Deal
Cox Communications and LIN Media, the parent company of Hampton Roads TV stations WAVY and WVBT, have reached an agreement on a new retransmission pact that will keep WAVY and Fox 43 on Cox's cable service. The deal was reached just hours before the old agreement was to expire.
It's only the latest in a series of down-to-the-wire deals between local broadcast television and the cable TV industry. In the past 12 months we've also had last minute agreements between LIN Media and DISH Network and between DIRECTV and Belo, WVEC's parent company.
I've written earlier about how such disagreements came out of the 1994 Cable Television and Protection Act, which gave local TV the right to negotiate with the cable companies over retransmission rights. However, a search of the Google News archive found an even earlier instance that also involved WAVY-TV 10. In 1993, WAVY was blacked out to Cox Cable subscribers for three days until a new agreement could be reached.
On the web:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/breaking/dp-cox-wavy-agreement-0301,0,5847883.story
It's only the latest in a series of down-to-the-wire deals between local broadcast television and the cable TV industry. In the past 12 months we've also had last minute agreements between LIN Media and DISH Network and between DIRECTV and Belo, WVEC's parent company.
I've written earlier about how such disagreements came out of the 1994 Cable Television and Protection Act, which gave local TV the right to negotiate with the cable companies over retransmission rights. However, a search of the Google News archive found an even earlier instance that also involved WAVY-TV 10. In 1993, WAVY was blacked out to Cox Cable subscribers for three days until a new agreement could be reached.
On the web:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/breaking/dp-cox-wavy-agreement-0301,0,5847883.story
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