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An active weather day is in store for the Central and Southern Plains eastward to the Mississippi River today. An outbreak of severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, including large and long-tracked tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds is expected to begin later this afternoon in portions of the Great Plains and move eastward as the day progresses. Thunderstorms are expected to develop over parts of Kansas and southern Nebraska this afternoon, with more storms developing late this afternoon and this evening over Oklahoma and Texas. These storms will move eastward into western Missouri, western Arkansas, and western Louisiana by...

February 2007 Import Highlights: Released on April 17, 2007 Preliminary monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in February 2007 has been released and it shows that four countries have each exported more than 1.10 million barrels per day to the United States. Including those countries, a total of five countries exported over 1.00 million barrels per day of crude oil to the United States (see table below). The top five exporting countries accounted for 72 percent of United States crude oil imports in February while the top ten sources accounted for approximately 89 percent of all U.S....

YowzaIt's Friday! "...While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their...

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Early Spring: Thousands Flock To Punxsutawney, Pa., For Annual Rite (CBS) PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. A new pair of hands pulled Punxsutawney Phil from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that the groundhog offered a new prediction. Phil did not see his shadow on Friday which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter. Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 14 times and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time...

[Snip highlights] "...Crude oil markets will continue to show heightened volatility and price spikes cannotbe ruled out, as participants react to short-term developments ranging from politicalcrises to the weather forecast. However, under our baseline forecast, to which weattach a probability of 50%, markets respond to the price signal. Consequently, drilling activity continues to increase while consumption growth continues to slow, and inventories are replenished. As the factors underlying the recent price spikes unwind, we see crude oil reverting to its long-term average price of $40-45 in nominal terms. This assumes that demand growth is roughly offset by advances in productivity,...

I developed a detailed thread topic called "Summer in January", complete with pictures of beautiful people in bathing suits, satellite photos of snow cover in the northern hemisphere, and a fascinating story about 85 inch snow drifts in Denver. But you're not getting that thread because my computer decided to crash. Instead, you're getting a bare bones, low budget thread held together with duck tape and a prayer.

Yes! It's Another Friday. Esyay! It'sway Anotherway Idayfray.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND RAPIDS MI 602 PM EST SAT JAN 13 2007 ...WINTRY MIX EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY... .AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS SATURDAY AFTERNOON WILL MOVE NORTHEAST TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. SOME LIGHT MIXED PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF FREEZING RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW WILL IMPACT THE AREA AS THIS DISTURBANCE PASSES THROUGH. MIZ056>059-064>067-071>074-140715- /O.CON.KGRR.WW.Y.0001.070114T0500Z-070114T2100Z/ OTTAWA-KENT-IONIA-CLINTON-ALLEGAN-BARRY-EATON-INGHAM-VAN BUREN- KALAMAZOO-CALHOUN-JACKSON- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...JENISON...GRAND RAPIDS...IONIA... ST. JOHNS...HOLLAND...HASTINGS...CHARLOTTE...LANSING... SOUTH HAVEN...KALAMAZOO...BATTLE CREEK...JACKSON 602 PM EST SAT JAN 13 2007 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 4 PM EST SUNDAY... A WINTER...

10 worst excuses to miss work 1) As I was walking to work… I was hit by a plane/helicopter. This sounds so weirdly stupid that it might leave your boss completely speechless. The secret is to sound pretty dramatic or hurt and hang up the phone immediately, though. He/she’ll probably be too astonished to call you back and will just drop it, hoping you will come to work a normal person the next day. 2) I died If you say this in a very natural voice, something like: ”Hey, I can’t come in today, I died, sorry guys”, I guess...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new testing procedures that will cause fuel economy estimates on the stickers of new vehicles to drop an average of 12% for city driving on most 2008 model year vehicles, and 8% for highway driving, the Associated Press reported. The changes are in response to consumer complaints that fuel economy estimates often don't match real-world driving. The EPA's new procedure will take into account data from vehicle tests designed to more accurately assess high-speed driving, rapid acceleration, the use of air conditioning and driving in cold temperatures, the story said. Highly fuel-efficient vehicles are...

Dig it: The 1970's are calling...pick up the phone and groove on the memories. When was the last time the Democrats ran the House and the Senate? When was the last time the Conservatives wondered what became of the GOP? When was the last time people craved an "energy policy"? When was the last time the word TAXATION was used in the same sentence as inevitable? When was the last time people considered Ford and Carter as Presidents? When was the last time Iran seriously threatened the USA? When was the last time AM radio ruled the airwaves? When was...

A 67-year-old Spanish woman is reported to have given birth to twins according to hospital officials in Barcelona, becoming the world's oldest mother. The woman, whose name has not been revealed, became pregnant after fertility treatment in Latin America. She gave birth to the twins, who have been placed in an incubator, by caesarean section early on Saturday. It was the woman's first birth and she is expected to spend a few days in the Sant Pau hospital recovering. A spokesman for the hospital, which specialises in high-risk births, said that both the mother and her babies were doing well....

CASTELBUONO, SICILY — Warning! Do not read on if: 1) Your right foot is heavier than your left foot, and 2) Your driver's license is one ticket away from being revoked. Okay, you made it this far, which means you are probably at least sane enough to consider the following: Forget the 660-bhp Ferrari Enzo, the 605-bhp Porsche Carrera GT, the 617-bhp Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, or even the mighty 627-bhp McLaren F1. These supercars are simply slugs compared with the new 2006 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 (16.4 for 16 cylinders, 4 turbochargers). This $1.2 million "hyper-exotic" boasts 987 bhp (1001 metric...

HAPPY FRIDAYandHAPPY NEW YEAR!!! New Years Myth: KRONOS (or Cronus) was the Titan god of time and the ages, especially time where regarded as destructive and all-devouring. He ruled the cosmos during the so-called Golden Age, after castrating and deposing his own father Ouranos (the Sky) from the throne. In fear of a prophecy that he would be in turn be overthrown by his own son, Kronos swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born. Rhea managed to save the youngest, Zeus, by hiding him away on the island of Krete, and fed Kronos a stone wrapped...

OH YEAH--IT'S ANOTHER FRIDAY YOU ALL ROCK!

2006 Callaway C16 The look may be familiar, but the Callaway C16 is anything but just another Corvette. The latest in a long line of products from the well-regarded "tuner," the C16 makes some significant changes to Chevrolet's two-seater, including a complete redesign of its body by Canadian stylist Paul Deutschman. Under the sleek new skin, Callaway supercharges the base, 6.0-liter LS2 V-8 - the first time the tuner has used a blower, incidentally, rather than a turbocharger. The result is an engine making an impressive 616 horsepower and 582 lb-ft of torque, more than enough to launch the C16...

I browsed through my middle and high school yearbooks recently, while drinking cold, depreciating mugs of Pigs Eye beer. Taking care not to drip the dying slags of falling frost upon the aged pages, I wrestled with an obvious truth concerning yearbook nostalgia: We look silly. We act silly. We have silly sayings we believe are cool. We rely upon certain people to be the "in crowd" while others more substantial fade into the background. We have silly hair styles and clothing. We spent money on toys, games, and music that quickly goes out of style. We even made David...

Yesterday, Tulsa saw temperatures drop from 70 degrees F to 45 degrees F within one minute's time. Tornado watches were issued ahead of the front with spotty reports of hail. As the storm progressed through Tulsa, thunderstorms pummeled the region with heavy rain and dangerous lightning (one strike hit a Catoosa home and burned it to the ground). The rain continued unabated throughout the evening giving some parts of drought-striken Oklahoma three to four inches of rain with the remaining counties receiving at least two inches of precipitation. Temperatures continued to drop in the overnight. The rain became ice and...

NOSTALGIA (Noun) Nostalgia a longing for something past; homesickness (a longing to return home) (Adjective) Nostalgic [Related to: nostalgia] unhappy at being away and longing for familiar things or person.

Now that the Paris show is over, here's the rundown of what showed up and what didn't. As expected, the Chevrolet WTCC Ultra concept kicked things off with its take on what a European muscle car would look like. It was followed by the Opel Antara, which is almost identical to the 2008 Saturn Vue out next year. Volvo finally showed off its long-awaited C30 hatchback; not surprisingly, it looked just like the concept. On the more exotic side, Porsche rolled out the 911 Targa alongside the track-ready 911 GT3 RS. Both wore odd shades of orange, yet they both...