93rd AMS Annual Meeting - 6–10 January 2013

The theme for the 2013 AMS Annual Meeting is “Taking Predictions to the Next Level: Expanding Beyond Today's Weather, Water, and Climate Forecasting and Projections.” 

Join NCAR and UCAR in the exhibit hall at the AMS this year:

NCAR - Booth 520  
The NCAR booth will be staffed by Carol Park and Michelle Rangel. Maura Hagan, Peter Backlund, Chris Davis (ASP), Davide Del Vento (CISL) and other NCAR staff will also be in the booth during the week. If you would like to spend some time in the NCAR booth, please let Carol (park@ucar.edu) know or just drop by. We will be giving away NCAR branded totes, pens, notepads, magnets, and (non-branded) chocolate kisses!

COMET - Booth 521
And at WeatherFest: Booth W1308
Whether you're an experienced meteorologist honing existing skills or a student looking for new topics of interest, we have something for you. Explore interactive distance learning materials and classroom training opportunities on a wide range of geoscience topics. Meet members of the COMET staff for informal Q&A and a tour of COMET's MetEd Website. We'll also have handouts on a wide variety of topics.

Spark: NCAR & UCAR Science Education at WeatherFest Booth W1310
Look for Spark's booth right across from the WeatherFest stage and experience "Weather that Spins," featuring tornadoes, hurricanes, and vortices of all kinds. We'll be exploring angular momentum, the Coriolis Effect, and the forces that quite literally put a spin on weather. Hop on the turntable and get a spin yourself, then look at recent weather events that spun their way into the record books!

UCP - Booth 523 
Ligea Ruff and Chrystal Pene will be at the UCP booth this year. We invite any UCP Programs to use our booth/display monitor to give presentations and/or demos. Let Ligea (lruff@ucar.edu) know if you would like to use the screen or our booth seating area. We are giving away recyclable pens and luggage grabbers this year. We will be showing Air • Planet • People - and other UCAR videos - on our screen, along with our UCP PowerPoint slide show. If you are planning to be at AMS, please stop by the booth. See you in Austin!

Unidata - Booth 524  
Members of the Unidata Program Center staff will be at the booth; feel free to stop by to talk with us. The booth will feature live, hands-on demonstrations of Unidata software and services, including a look at the current state of the AWIPS II environment. Come and talk with the developers about what's coming up and what you'd like to see.

EOL and friends, Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities - Booth 936
Check out the Doppler on Wheels radar truck and visit with staff from EOL and other LAOF colleagues to learn about the available NSF observing facilities and how to request them. This is a great opportunity to meet and talk with facility managers and NSF representatives and ask questions that you may have about a specific facility or the request process.

The GLOBE Program - at the NASA booth
And at WeatherFest
Look for UCAR staff from the GLOBE Program Office on Sunday at WeatherFest, where they'll be helping visitors explore weather with the same kinds of scientific equipment used by primary and secondary students around the world to make cloud observations and other scientific measurements. In the exhibit hall, GLOBE will have a table at the NASA booth providing visitors with information about the GLOBE Program, so look for them there as well. 

To update this list, contact Zhenya Gallon or Carol Park.

How to speak Texan:

• Howdy = hello. Most people “in the city” really only use it when they want to sound Texan on purpose. If you hear it, it will probably be in combination with another very popular Texas expression (y’all), as in Howdy y’all!
  
  
• (All) y’all = you.  If you want to use “you” to adress more than one person, you need to add at least one, preferably two “all”, as is (all) y’all. Say you want to find out about this evening’s plan. Turn to the group of people you are talking to and you could say something like So, what are all y’all doin’ tonight?
  
  
• Coke = any kind of soda. I’ve actually ordered a coke before and was asked what kind I wanted. I was a little perplexed because I assumed “coke” = “Coca Cola”. So, if you have people over and they ask Do you have any cokes? they probably want to know if you have any sodas and what kind.
  
  
• I’m fixin’ to do something = I intend/am getting ready to do something. Somebody calls you to ask if you’re on your way. You could answer No, but I’m fixin’ to leave now.
  
  
• Washateria = laundromat. It's where you go to wash your clothes - not your food.
  
  
• Long story short = When someone prefaces a story with "long story short", get ready to hear a really long story.