Dream Sequence

Written by Dr. Mel

Monday, 11 July 2005

Did you ever have one of those dreams that you were back at school? You are lost, or find out that you have a final in a class that you never attended? There are other variations on the theme, but I have been told that those dreams have something to do with thoughts of unfinished business. I don’t know about that, but I did have a dream the other night that I was back as an undergraduate at Penn State. The semester was just beginning, and when I finally looked at my class schedule, I could not figure out where the classes were being held – complete confusion, so I woke up. As a student, I did have trouble with a nuclear physics class. The instructor came from Scotland, he spoke very softly and in a heavy British-style accent. I couldn’t understand  a word. So, I skipped all his classes, did the assignments on my own, and only attended during the exams. Maybe, that was my unfinished business. Actually, I think my dream was inspired by news stories on Hurricane Dennis. One of the biggest private weather consulting firms in the country was frequently interviewed during the storm by the major networks, and that company had a humble start at Penn State while I was a student. The head of the company was my forecasting instructor. Also, recently, the company made some headlines for being among other private weather firms that are taking aim at the National Weather Service's role in providing information to the public. Senator Santorum of Pennsylvania has even put up some legislation to place some boundaries on the role of the government agency. I think this business will forever remain unfinished. The problem is that the National Weather Service is very good, and thanks to technology, anyone with a small computer has access to the most complete set of weather information on the face of the planet – most of which is free of charge. When I first began teaching, real-time weather data would cost over $20,000 per year, and that was a lot during the early '70s. Now, that same data, and a lot more with great detail is available through the free National Weather Service websites. Anyone with an interest in weather, professional, or otherwise, can pretty much find everything on these websites for preparing, analyzing and predicting the weather. Historically, the National Weather Service would provide data, storm warnings, and general forecasts for the public while the private sector would get specific for particular clients. Now, these websites allow for plenty of specificity, providing a person has experience in interpreting the information. This entire issue could turn into a nightmare for some in the private sector. But, for weather fans, teachers, and many others, including decision makers in weather sensitive    areas, it is just, well, sweet dreams.

 

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