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Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Hey everybody, Jerry, Karen, Melissa and Wendy are coming to visit! Cool yeah? I mean, pretty much everybody likes to have visitors. But just hold on a minute, before you rush off to shops to get something nice for dinner, maybe there’s one thing that you should know about our guests. You see, the problem here is that when they actually do come rapping on your front door, then the chances are that the door will smash through the lounge and pin you to wall before you can say ‘come in’.These are some of the names that the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have decided should be given to a selection of the hurricanes that will likely batter and bruise the US Atlantic coast during the coming 2007 season. They’ve been doing this since 1953 (naming hurricanes), the idea being that short distinctive names are "quicker and less subject to error than the older more cumbersome latitude-longitude identification methods." No argument there then, and neither can we disagree that this is especially important when exchanging detailed storm information between the hundreds of widely scattered stations, coastal bases, and ships at sea. So phew, the scientists and professionals have been clearly informed, now what about the rest of us?
How are we, the people who aren't aware of the meteorological intricacies of a hurricane supposed to react to the news that Felix is coming? Probably we all know from popular culture that Felix is a cat name. Also he is not a big cat like an escaped tiger; he’s an amazingly cuddly cartoon cat. Sort of deceiving, don't you think? These magnificent forces of nature with friendly names won’t be sound so amazing when sitting in a deep safe bunker somewhere, wowing our colleagues with satellite images of a ‘perfect’ storm. We’ll be waist high in water and debris, screaming the names of loved ones into the ravaging winds. We won’t be watching the mathematical data as it streams and twists into virtual chaos. We’ll be watching crackling reports from the nearby, broken community that has already been visited. We’ll know that we’re next.
The personification of hurricanes is wrong. If the WMO really want to warn people about what is happening, and not just track them efficiently, then sure, stick with the alphabetical listing (after all, I wouldn’t presume to suggest anything that would screw up your filing system) but how about starting with ‘Aaaarghhhh, run for your lives’. Admittedly, not as catchy as Andrew but it gets your attention don’t you think? Okay, I am stretching the point here but it is still a point worth making.
Oh, and one more thing before I run for the hills. On the subject of categories, use your imagination Mr Weatherman! Five isn’t scary enough to alert people. Five billion is. If you want to make sure everyone gets on the highways in plenty of time, think big.
This article was written by Andy Tilley, author of Recycling Jimmy. It is "an outrageous romp into 'suicide for profit' and the darkest aspects of human nature, told with brilliant black humor and a zest for life." You can find out more about his novel from his site. If you are interested in contributing to the thinking process and become a guest writer on The Thinking Blog, find out more information here and be my guest!
9 thoughts:
I agree completely! People don't get the warning signs they need with such cute names.
Great one! Where do you get these great pics?
I just googled them.
So true, those cute names don't give people needed warning and innocent people get caught in the name game! and most people don't know what those ratings mean anyway! very nice pictures btw!
Um, as someone who's lived through Andrew, Katrina (which was a nonevent where I am) and Wilma (which in my county still has people fixing roofs), the naming is insignificant, not really a factor. We KNOW what a hurricane can do and category numbers are very real. The one thing that could be a little better balanced is the local media hype. They have a responsibility and do a great job (it's really they that get people to act), but sometimes it's almost like they're disappointed when it loses strength or passes by, i.e., nothing to report.
I think the system of naming and categories works well. It's historical, accurate and easy to remember.
Those are AMAZING images! Wow! I wish I could catch stuff like that on camera!
Here in the Caribbean we are very hospital and sometimes we get very emotionally visits of this nice girls and boys. I can remember some very impactant visits. We got some intensive small talk with Hortensia, George, Mitch and Jean - till today you can find some signs from their impact.The last one - Dean - was a little bit shy and passed in the south of the island without big impact.
I got the experience that the girls a very much more smart and lovely. The boys came and destroyed with brutality all in the way - I am sure this is part of machismo!
But this is part of nature and we had to adapt, to learn to live with nature and not against her - nature never will adapt to us, in contrary, I am sure she is a female with a very big instinct for vengeance!!
I've been looking all over for this!
Thanks.
What do you think? Post your thoughts..