Categories
10 Things Travel

The Top 15 Worst Airports for Holiday Travel

As you get ready to travel for the holidays, maybe you should reconsider where you head out to for the family vacation.

We’ve all heard horror stories about hours (and days!) long waits at the airport as everybody rushes to get home to visit with family and friends. But maybe you should choose where you go a little better if you really want to save airport time at all.

Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, What's Funny About This
Holidays in Hell:
In Which Our Intrepid Reporter
Travels to the World’s Worst Places and Asks,
“What’s Funny About This”

Categories
Science Websites

Interactive: Weather forecast for your area in the year 2100

There is one common denominator in most small talk conversations: “HOW’S THE WEATHER WHERE YOU ARE?

Why is the weather such a topic of discussion? Because it’s safe. Everyone has an opinion on it, and you can’t argue whether someone’s wrong.  If you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour – it’ll likely change.

AcuRite Digital Thermometer
AcuRite Digital Thermometer

Categories
10 Things Travel

The 5 Least Pleasant Places to Live in the US

Everybody loves where they live for some particular reason or other.

It could be as simple as “home is where home is”, or that you have grown up with a tight circle of friends in the neighborhood and don’t ever want to move away.  Web Watch knows many people who moved out of their parents’ home only to move in to the house next door or just down the street.

Did they do it strictly for family?  Sure, in part — but the area they chose to live in must have some redeeming qualities about it as well.

Pleasantville
Pleasantville

Categories
How To Travel

How the weather will affect your commute

What’s your daily commute looking like these days?

If you’re like most people, your commute is in the 15-30 minute range.  Most people want to live near where they work in order to maximize their home time and not spend their day merely sitting in their car in traffic.

The 2-Second Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants
The 2-Second Commute:
Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants

Categories
Gadgets Travel Websites

Where does the wind blow across the US?

What’s the one topic of conversation that you can always have with a stranger that you can have with your parents?

“HOW’S THE WEATHER?” (or variations to that effect)  It’s too warm, cold, wet, dry.

Everyone has an opinion on the weather, what it should be and what it was.  It effects pretty much everybody in some manner.

400-Watt Wind Generator
400-Watt Wind Generator

Categories
How To Video

Why you shouldn’t keep your pet in your car

Do you drive your dog around each weekend?

Is your dog the kind that travels with its head out the window, sniffing as the world goes by?  Or is your dog a bit more casual – sitting comfortably in the passenger seat and napping?

Or are you the kind of driver who insists on driving with your dog sitting in your lap (and possibly getting in the way of the airbag, should it be needed in an emergency situation)?

Car Thermometer
Car Thermometer

Categories
How To

25 Tornado Survival Tips

From the NOAA:

  • At night, keep looking at ground level for tell-tale signs that a tornado is snapping powerlines, such as quick, bright flashes of either blue-green to white.
  • Not all tornadoes are funnel clouds. Some have no clouds at all, making them nearly invisible from a distance, save the flying debris and dust that may be seen underneath a set of low clouds

From the OLD FARMERS ALMANAC:

  • While they could occur at any time of day or night, tornados most typically form in the afternoon
  • Check out the color of the sky.  If the sky is a pale green color, that’s a common tornado possibility indicator
  • Other common indicators include large hail and dark low-lying clouds.  Approaching tornadoes sound like oncoming freight trains.

From NATIONWIDE INSURANCE:

  • No matter where you are, get as low as you can and get down. Get covered with a blanket, sleeping bag, or other heavy material that can protect you from flying debris.
  • Have a battery-powered (better yet, a hand-crank powered) weather radio that can also pick up your local news radio or TV station audio.
  • Don’t open all your windows “to alleviate pressure inside the house”. You may be hit by flying glass if you choose to do this at the wrong time
  • The southwest corner of your basement may not be the best choice to take cover in, as most tornados come from that direction
  • Caught while out driving? Don’t park under an overpass or bridge, as that can be more dangerous than taking cover in a nearby ditch.

From ABC NEWS

  • Stay away from windows, doors, and outside walls
  • If you see a tornado while you’re driving, don’t try to out-run it.  Leave your car and find shelter immediately instead

From NATURE’S FURY:

  • If you’re taking cover in the basement, be sure that you’re not underneath anything heavy from the first floor, such as a piano or refrigerator, in case the floor above you weakens
  • After the tornado has passed, avoid going near down power lines.
  • Avoid lighting candles or using anything that could generate a spark, until you’ve confirmed that there aren’t any nearby gas leaks

From FEMA:

  • Make an emergency kit, consisting of extra batteries, food, water.  Try to have enough to last you at least 72 hours.  Think about the essentials you may be without during that time (power, heat, clean water, etc)
  • If you think a tornado is approaching, grab and wear appropriate clothing for after the tornado has passed – sturdy shoes, jeans, work gloves, jacket/sweatshirt (depending on climate).  These may be clothes you’ll need to wear for a few days in uncomfortable conditions
  • Have a contact plan with friends, family members, co-workers. Cell networks may be out of service temporarily, so don’t assume you can rely on your cellphone

From SECRETS OF SURVIVAL:

  • Half of all tornadoes each year happen during April, May, and June
  • On a regular basis, take an inventory of your possesions for insurance purposes, have that list documented and secured in an off-site location, such as a bank’s safety deposit box
  • When taking cover, stay away from corners as they tend to attract flying debris. You’ll be better off in the center of the room, underneath a sturdy piece of furniture.
  • Most injuries occur from flying debris, building collapses, or when trying to outrun a tornado in a car

From FIRST AID on ABOUT.COM:

  • Tornadoes usually travel about 30 MPH, but can reach speeds as high as 70 MPH. Note that travel speed is different from the rotation speed of the cyclone itself.
  • Try to get to the center room of whatever structure you’re in, preferably in the basement

From POPULAR MECHANICS:

  • While you can consider building a SAFE ROOM in your home, one tornado researcher says that if he’s caught in a tornado situation that he’s going to head for the nearest covered culvert outside. Stay away from grocery stores, gymnasiums, warehouses, or anything else with a large roof span.
Categories
How To Websites

How to track historical weather patterns – useful info when buying a new home

Whenever you’re looking to buy a new house, you take into account all sort of things that are important:

  • is the neighborhood safe?
  • are the neighbors seemingly social in the manner you would enjoy?
  • are the homes and yards kept up?
  • have the home prices appreciated properly, or were they overpriced and all underwater?
  • what’s the ratio of rentals to ownership?
  • how long is the commute to work?  to the local grocery store?

and more…

But there is one thing that many people don’t consider when they’re looking to get into a new home: