Thursday, January 08, 2015
Why now?
Obsolete symbols and metaphors tend to fade as the origin fades. When new symbols and metaphors arise, they're based on new concrete images.
Why, then, have TV weathercasters JUST NOW started using a lighthouse as an animated icon for fog? Lighthouses are firmly obsolete, replaced first by radio navigation like LORAN, and finally by GPS techniques.
Somewhat atypically, the Weather Bureau has adopted a more modern and directly understandable icon:
This is the third winter in a row that we've endured freezing fog through Dec and part of Jan. Freezing fog does no harm to houses, but it makes walking nearly impossible. I'm getting cranky from lack of exercise.
Previous two winters finally switched over to snow in mid-Jan, and ended up with a near-average snowfall amount. We had one decent 4" snow last week; finally a good excuse to rake the roof under my fanatical ice-dam prevention protocol. Exercise felt good. Maybe this indicates an impending switchover to snow.
Later, in spring: Nope. Never reverted to mean. Ended up as a low-snow winter. 17" total. Not the lowest ever, but close. NOT COMPLAINING!
Why, then, have TV weathercasters JUST NOW started using a lighthouse as an animated icon for fog? Lighthouses are firmly obsolete, replaced first by radio navigation like LORAN, and finally by GPS techniques.
Somewhat atypically, the Weather Bureau has adopted a more modern and directly understandable icon:
This is the third winter in a row that we've endured freezing fog through Dec and part of Jan. Freezing fog does no harm to houses, but it makes walking nearly impossible. I'm getting cranky from lack of exercise.
Previous two winters finally switched over to snow in mid-Jan, and ended up with a near-average snowfall amount. We had one decent 4" snow last week; finally a good excuse to rake the roof under my fanatical ice-dam prevention protocol. Exercise felt good. Maybe this indicates an impending switchover to snow.
Later, in spring: Nope. Never reverted to mean. Ended up as a low-snow winter. 17" total. Not the lowest ever, but close. NOT COMPLAINING!Labels: Heimatkunde, switchover
¶ 5:17 AM
