When did “cat” become a trend for hurricanes?

I try to be a glass half-full type person but I have moments where my pet peeves bubble up and I can’t hep but talk about it. Actually, I have a post about a few of my pet peeves here and I guess I should add another one to the list since hurricane season is bound to make me go crazy! Only one of these two reasons can be true for why news anchors and weather forecasters have swapped out “category” for “cat” when referring to the intensity of the summer storms.

The efficiency of one syllable vs. three might be one reason for shortening ‘category’ to ‘cat’ or (and this is the real reason, in my opinion) it’s solely because of sensationalism. There’s something dramatic about saying ‘cat 5’ on air because it sounds more frightening, more intense.

I guess it’s no surprise that, at the end of the day, ratings are the bottom line. It’s why Geraldo is/was so dramatic, Jim Cantore rose to fame, and (not to get political but…) why politicians seek fame. They want to be popular, have high approval ratings, and make money. But it’s only been in the last ten years or so that ‘category’ has been dropped for the more chic and melodramatic ‘cat.’

-Out of the Wilderness

Amazon Prime with Megan Thee Stallion – The Song and the Lyrics

Amazon Prime Day is coming up and besides the obvious question–how is something advertised as one day lasting two days?– there’s also a question of the song used in the ad. The song is by Megan Thee Stallion and it’s an original called “It’s Prime Day.” Take a listen to the song in the 2-minute ad…

The Lyrics.

Real hot girl sh–
I’m Tina Snow and I shop all the time
I can be who I want thanks to Amazon Prime
With the shorts that make the booty sit like mine
Once you log in, it ain’t nothing hard to find
They got lashes, jewelry, clothes, candles
Imma log in and blow a bag on my animals
4oe got a shirt, Juanita got a purse
How ’bout squeaky toys let’s see who catch it first
Do you know what today is
I promise ya’ll don’t wanna miss out on this deal
They ask me to host last minute, I ain’t scared
I planned a whole party I ain’t even left the bed
I bought the pillows, the blankets, some candles for the mood
The curtains – matter fact everything in the room
With just one click you could have anything
The only downside is it don’t come with me

Real hot girl sh–
It’s Prime Day
Start clickin’
Sign up to be a member if you want free shipping
It’s Prime Day
Start clickin’
Sign up to be a member if you want free shipping

You wish you could put this booty in your search bar
Baby this the kind of body that you work for
But you can buy the weights for the reps
Cream to make you sweat and a two piece set
If you a hot gamer girl then we got what you need
Like a thingie thing that connect the two PC’s
Or the headsets with the really super cute ears
A frame for your photo or a body sized pillow
A case for your phone, a little sexy thong
I got everything I wanted and I never left home
If they said Amazon ain’t got it that’s cap
You can shop all the deals if you download the app
I can change my hobby how I change my man
I can send a gift saying, “we should just be friends”
Today I’m the chef, tomorrow I’m a bunny
Put me on a hundred cause I look like money

It’s Prime Day
Start clickin’
Sign up to be a member if you want free shipping
It’s Prime Day
Start clickin’
Sign up to be a member if you want free shipping.

-Out of the Wilderness

A Hollywood Horror Global Cooling Day

It’s the kind of thing you only see in the movies. Imagine checking what the weather is going to be later in the day and this is what you see:

I wasn’t sure if I should put on a heavy coat or take shelter! What was weird is that the cow in the tornado had frozen milk coming out of its utters. Wild times, I tell ya. It was one of those days global warming climate change activists will point to for years to come.

“See! Your gas-guzzling SUVs are destroying weather!”

-Out of the Wilderness

Triathlon Swim: To Dive or To Jump? That Isn’t The Question!

I have a triathlon coming up and the start line is a long narrow dock. It’s the only one I’ve done so far where you jump in from a raised platform (unlike the lake entries where athletes run from the shore down into the water). My brother-in-law is doing this race, as well, and it’ll be the first race both of us have twice which is cool for a lot of reasons. But this dock entry thing… how would you approach the start: Diving in or jump in feet first and then start the swim?

He and I did a test recently in a pool to find out which method is most beneficial, each having pros and each having cons. The biggest pro for diving is a smooth transition to the swim stroke. That’s a big pro, too. Like, HUGE. But with this method there’s potential for a big con: hitting the water and having your goggles knocked out of place. That’s as big of a con as I can think of! Or it could be too shallow. The drawback of jumping in feet first is a total loss of any momentum (from a jump vs. a dive). Once in the water, the swimmer must move their body into a horizontal swimming position and then begin the swim. The big pro of this feet-first entry is that it’s safe.

In our time trials, as rudimentary as they were, a dive entry was measurably faster and in discussing it, we thought it used less energy than the feet-first entry (because of having to maneuver one’s body from vertical to horizontal in the water). Sometimes in our dive tests our goggles became dislodged or water splashed in. To try avoiding that, I began to duck just before breaking the surface, using the top, rear part of my head to hit the water first and this seemed to take most, if not all, instant water pressure away from the strap of my goggles. We also tried diving in the most normal way. Mine ended up around my mouth. Not ideal!

But for this upcoming race, diving is prohibited so I’ll be jumping in. No one wants to be disqualified before even having a chance to compete!

-Out of the Wilderness

Trump Outwits Biden in First Presidential Debate

In the first 2024 Presidential debate, a lot of focus was surrounding two basic questions: 1. Will Joe Biden be able to keep up due to his apparent cognitive decline and 2. Will Trump steamroll through the debate, a mistake he made in 2020? To answer those plainly, Biden was still standing at the end of the debate so I think Democrats are counting that as a win. The muted mic aspect of the debate kept Trump from being a bully.

But with that said, neither of the guys were particularly compelling. And did they really argue about who’s a better golfer? 🥴 With a few exceptions, all they did for 90 minutes was bash each other about their respective 4-year terms as Prez. Where was the hope? Where was the inspiration? I would’ve loved to hear about what their specific plans are for the next 4 years. I thought Trump had an amazing opportunity (and Biden, too) to connect with Americans when he was asked about helping people with addiction problems. Talk to those specific viewers who struggle with addiction about how you’re there to support them, help them, love them, and get them through this tough battle they’re facing. It would be OK to point out logistical strategies for helping with addictions (preventing drugs from getting into the U.S., etc), but that is information for the mind. It was a chance for either candidate to warm people’s hearts. “We’re there for you. We want you to overcome and be stronger once we defeat these addictions together.” But neither Trump nor Biden showed any compassion.

Another curiosity of mine was how the debate would have went if Trump wasn’t the Republican nominee. Just for kicks, I imagined if it were Vivek Ramaswamy up there on stage with Biden. Can you imagine the verbal bloodbath (pardon my use of that taboo word) that would’ve ensued? I think Biden would have literally pooped in his pants twice with the shellacking from Vivek. On the flip side, I really couldn’t think of any Democrat that could’ve done the same to Trump, imagining if Biden were swapped out with anyone I’d heard of (Newsome, Michelle Obama, Whitmer, etc.).

Early reactions to the debate are indicating that Republicans and Democrats saw the same things: A weakened man (apparently with a cold no one knew about until after the debate?) who is just a shell of who he used to be even 3 or 4 years ago. Donald Trump was more orange than usual (TV makeup, I guess?). Age limits might be a thing we need to seriously discuss.

-Out of the Wilderness