Yup… gonna snow locally again this weekend. The weather models have been predicting this for about a week now; pretty much indicating a sure thing in the weather prediction business.

Here’s what the National Weather Service says about this weekend from this afternoon’s “area forecast discussion”:1 for the Bay Area.

bq.. NO DOUBT THE BIG STORY HERE WILL ONCE AGAIN BE VERY LOW SNOW LEVELS ESPECIALLY FOR MID MARCH. BY 18Z FRIDAY THE GFS HAS 700MB TEMPS OF -15 WITH 1000-500MB THICKNESS VALUES AROUND 525 DM. THIS TRANSLATES TO A SNOW LEVEL OF AT LEAST 2000 FEET…POSSIBLY LOWER. BY SATURDAY MORNING ANOTHER REINFORCING SHOT OF COLD AIR DROPS DOWN WITH 700 MB TEMPS TO -16 (VERY COLD) AND 1000-500MB THICKNESS TO AROUND 523 DM. IN CONVECTIVE SHOWERS AT NIGHT OR EARLY MORNING THIS COULD BRING SNOW LEVELS TO NEAR SEA LEVEL.

p. Again, Z is Greenwich Mean Time, MB is millibars, DM is decameters and temperatures are in degrees Celsius. The 1000-500MB thickness is a good proxy for how cold the air will be from the surface up to 500MB of pressure. Cold air is denser than warm air, so cold air will have a lower 1000-500MB heights. 525MB height is pretty low… especially for March.

What is driving the potential for snow this weekend? Well, it’s artic air being driven down from Alaska. Here’s an animated image of the 850MB temperatures (which correlate strongly to surface temperatures) from Wednesday to late on Friday.

[1(Bay Area AFD)]http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/productviewnation.php?pil=MTRAFDMTR&version=0

Check this out. Sanyo’s got a cool, new flash-memory (SD card) “Xacti VPC-HD1″:1 camcorder that shoots in 720p (1280×720 high definition) for $799. The camcorder also shots stills at 5.1 MP and has a relatively small formfactor.

Here’s some of the stats and info on the VPC-HD1 from “Amazon”:2.

* Compact, measuring only 3.1 x 4.7 x 1.4 inches (W x H x D)
* Digital media camera takes combines the functionality of a digital camera with a digital camcorder
* Records 720-pixel high-definition digital video and high-quality 5.1-megapixel digital still images simultaneously
* Clear 2.2-inch, OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display with 210,000 total pixels
* Highly efficient 10x optical zoom lens and 10x digital zoom

bq.. As with all of Sanyo’s previous digital media cameras, the HD1 can record still images in addition to video. A newly developed CCD captures beautiful 5.1-megapixel still images which are stored directly onto any standard SD memory card. The camera also features rapid continuous still shooting, red eye reduction, and an anti-shake digital image stabilizer. While conventional digital camcorders can often snap stills, they are usually low quality. And while conventional digital cameras can record short video, they are frequently grainy with a slow response speed. The Xacti HD1 can do it all, recording both 5.1-megapixel still images and high-definition (1280 x 720-pixel) digital video on the same unit. You can even snap a still image while recording digital video with the simple press of the shutter button.

The HD1 can record over 21 minutes of 720-pixel HD video on a single 1 GB SD card, or over 42 minutes on a 2 GB card. Alternately, the camera allows you to record in Standard Definition (640 x 480-pixels at 30 frames per second progressive) for up to two hours on a 2 GB SD card. If you’re looking to shoot home videos of the kids carving pumpkins or a dance recital, you can easily store hours of video footage using the standard definition setting. If high quality is your goal, then change the settings and get crystal clear high definition video. Switching between recording modes is a breeze; you simply press the “HD/Norm” button located on the display side of the camera body. Last, but not least, the Xacti HD1 is ergonomically designed with a comfortable, one-handed grip and convenient, thumb-operated controls that make it exceptionally easy to use whenever opportunity strikes.

p. Steve’s Digicams has a great review you can find “here”:3 (hint, they really like it). At the end of the review Steve has some sample shots and videos.

8 hundo is a bit much for a splurge, but if you’re gonna buy a camcorder or even a point-and-shoot digicam, this is one to seriously consider.

*_Update: 2006-03-07
Reader Jeff says that this “review”:4 might just be a good read before buying… the title is “Sanyo HD1 Camcorder’s Video Quality Called ‘Disastrous’”.

[4(Gizmodo on the Xacti)]http://us.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/sanyo-hd1-camcorders-video-quality-called-disastrous-157656.php

[3(Steves review page)]http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/hd1.html

[2(Amazon page for the HD1)]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E0E6YC/103-5447449-7347004?v=glance&n=502394

[1(Sanyo homepage for the HD1)]http://www.sanyodigital.com/HD1/

I stumbled across this graph on Macromedia’s “site”:1 (aka, Adobe) today.

And “this”:2…

bq.. In September 2005, NPD Research conducted a study to determine what percentage of Web browsers have Macromedia Flash pre-installed. The results show that 97.3% of Web users can experience Macromedia Flash content without having to download and install a player.

p. I never knew that Flash was that ubiquitous. Amazing.

[2(Information about the NPD study)]http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/survey/

[1(Flash install base)]http://www.macromedia.com/software/player_census/flashplayer/