Gawker: Weather

Global Warming Increases Intensity Of Hurricane Coverage

Dashiell Bennett — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Why do we anthropomorphize the weather? The standard convention of naming large tropical storms began as way to simply keep track of multiple simultaneous events, but it also has the unusual side effect of allowing people to believe that the storm is literally out to get them. Hurricane Ike is currently "ravaging" South Texas with his "ferocious" winds and "roaring" floodwaters and will soon spread his "wrath" across the whole Gulf Coast. This time it's personal!

Now we obviously don't want to make light of the situation the individual residents find themselves in, because it is personal for someone with a basement that is now underwater. But if you want to tell the human drama of natural disaster, is it really necessary to turn the low pressure system into a sentient being with a grudge? Hurricane Katrina Changed Everything, of course, but a little perspective on "catastrophic" storms might be in order. The death toll currently stands at three (one was a nursing home patient and an other a 10-year-old struck by a tree branch) but, sad as that is, it's still less than the death toll from that California train crash—another disaster that the cable news networks have all but ignored.

Oh, and the big Galveston Hurricane of 1900? 8,000 dead and the town was nearly erased from the map. That rain cloud must have been pissed.

[Check the local coverage from the Houston Chronicle.]

Doomsday

Nick Denton — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:10:07 EDT

A summer rainstorm just enveloped Manhattan. In this 2006 photo, the clouds reach so low that Midtown looks to be on fire.

Happy June Heat Wave!

Pareene — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:20:48 EDT

Guess what? It's brown-out season! Power outages are expected across the Upper East Side tonight. DisasterReadyNYC—the scariest site on the Internet?—recommends filling your bathtub with water. Ha ha ha that won't protect you from the looters and Cloverfield monsters! NOTHING CAN. An Upper East Side hospital sent the following warning to its staff today, in case you need to hear it from Con Ed themselves:

Con Edison has notified us of a strain to its electrical grid and has asked us to curtail our power consumption where ever possible. Plant Operations is currently reducing power consumption where it is feasible but we need your help.

Please:
Turn off lights when not in use.
Close shades, blinds or drapery.
Raise thermostats to 75 degree set point where possible.
Turn off PC terminals, computer monitors, and PACs monitors that are not in use.

These simple actions will go a long way to reduce electrical consumption and the high heat load Plant Operations is contending with during this heat wave.

Thank you for your cooperation.

A city-wide outage would be great, sure, but it's not like we can sleep in this weather so why not continue rising and blogging each morning, sigh.

How are you coping with the heat? Send your tips and tricks to Gothamist and LEAVE US ALONE WE JUST WANT TO DIE.

God Smites Dirty Hippie For Reading 1984, Fox Reporter Believes

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:31:40 EDT

The blow-dried, plastic smile-bearing Fox 5 reporter asks Jared Crystal what happened. Jared, the very cultural opposite of the reporter in his ponytail and "Republicans For Voldemort" T-shirt, explains that he was simply sitting in his car, reading 1984—an ordinary night—when a tree limb came crashing down! A scary situation! The reporter grimaces at the disheveled man with the disastrous car. "Reading 1984, and look what it got you!" the reporter says. "Next time read something more easy and calm!" Jared graciously blames Arbor Day, rather than punching the reporter in the face. Click to watch the underlying tension of the media's culture war in action.

Deadly Spring's First Victims Make Fox Anchor Positively Giddy

Pareene — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:38:59 EDT

Fox News morning anchoress Gretchen Carlson is so thrilled about the arrival of Spring that she can't stop smiling, even when delivering the news of 13 deaths from severe weather. "Guess what—it's the first day of Spring! Whoo-hoo!" she exclaims over an aerial shot of a flooded house. She almost regains her composure: "But it's not so great for some people in the country." Amazing clip, after the jump.

Snow!

Pareene — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:22:18 EST

It's snowing! We are vaguely aware that this is an inconvenience to people who need to go to the airport and such, but we don't care, we love it. Winter days without snow feel a hundred times more miserable. Celebrate New York's proverbial white blanket before it all turns into a mess of disgusting slush with this atmospheric clip of the gentleness that falls from the heavens. Suggested listening material: "Taking Tiger Mountain" by Brian Eno, Vince Guaraldi's "Skating" song from A Charlie Brown Christmas, Sinatra's "Sleep Warm" if you are feeling emo, or that easy-listening classic "Steal Softly Thru Snow" by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band.

'Times' Building Shock: It's Cold!

Pareene — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:40:36 EST

The gorgeous new New York Times building is not just a rat-infested danger to pedestrians—it's also freezing cold! Exec editor Bill Keller emailed the troops earlier on this freezing, snowy Tuesday: "We raised this with the building services people Sunday when the temperature dropped, and they are on the case. Basically, cold air is leaking into the podium side of the building through the open loading dock and elevator shafts." UPDATE: We hear... that Page Six and the New York Post library were also freezing cold yesterday, with the temperature eventually measured at 39 degrees. Which is a real problem, considering how many staffers there are cold-blooded reptiles (zing!). Please send in any and all additional tales of newsroom frostbite. [Radar]

Killer Tornadoes Attack Only Clinton Country

Pareene — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:42:34 EST

Gawker video guru Richard Blakeley MASHED-UP two of the New York Times' interactive newsmaps: one showing the deadly path of Tuesday's tornadoes, the other showing which Democratic candidates won which states on Super Tuesday. The results: does God hate Hillary? (And note: Obama won Alabama, but Hillary won each county in that state with a recorded death from Tuesday's storms.) Click to enlarge map. [NYT, NYT]

High Wind Advisory! Approach 'NYT' Building With Care!

Maggie — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:11:35 EST

Uh oh...there's a high wind advisory in New York today! Gusts up to 50 mph! Use extra caution! Especially if you find yourself in the vicinity of the New York Times building in Midtown. Seriously, watch your head, that skyscraper sheds parts like no tomorrow. Send us reports of any injuries please! After seeking medical attention, of course. Ahem.

A January Without Snow

Nick Denton — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:41:20 EST

This month will be the first January in 75 years without measurable snow in New York, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists say one can't jump to conclusions based on one season's data, but snowfall in New York City has declined in the last one hundred years, as global temperatures have increased. (Upstate, near the Great Lakes, seems to be an exception.) After the jump, a gallery, a photographic reminder of the snowbound city. Piles of slush are so much more romantic in faded black and white.

Fifth Avenue, after a snowstorm

The Flatiron Building, from Madison Square Park

After the blizzard

Coasting in Central park

Snowballing on the Lower East Side

WHAT ABOUT MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL???

Pareene — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:19:38 EST

It may have ice-snowed yesterday but Jennifer Garner escaped unscathed. [NYP]

BREAKING! IT IS HAILING IN BROOKLYN. UPDATE: ...

Choire — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:14:58 EST

BREAKING! IT IS HAILING IN BROOKLYN. UPDATE: OMG HAIL IN THE EAST VILLAGE!

SNOW DAY SNOW DAY SNOW DAY

Pareene — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:22:47 EST

Hey everyone it's snowing! In, like, the Bronx. And Jersey maybe? Anyway, some schools are delayed! And if you haven't left for work yet you might as well skip it. Because snow!! Somewhere or other. Not really out where we are, but still.

You No Longer Need Rely On The Trick Knees Of Old Men To Figure Out The Weather

Pareene — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:22:51 EST

Tired of know-it-all meteorologists telling you what the weather might be like today? Sick of their uppity "scientific forecasts" and "Doppler maps"? Why not let the internet predict the weather! Thanks to a new World Wide Web site called "Cumul.us" (see what they did there?), now you can! The wisdom of crowds will tell you if you need a jacket! Or "the wisdom of clouds"! (DO YOU SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE?)

The site just launched today, so it's a little rusty (trying to change your location from default Seattle to "New York, NY" causes the site to tell you "no results found" and suggest that you maybe "select a larger metropolitan area"). But the idea is that it combines aggregated data from the lame "professionals" with the predictions of regular folk like you and me and blogger and young father Jason Kottke. Then, brilliantly, it asks what you're wearing today, just like a Perverted Justice chat room mole.

And with two aggregated "real" weather feeds and eight user predictions, we learned that it is apparently "sweatshirt or sweater weather." And you'll want to wear pants!

New York [cumul.us via Kottke.org]
The Wisdom of Clouds [Magnetbox]

Apparently Bay Ridge is the new Ninth Ward! ...

Choire — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:11:17 EDT

Apparently Bay Ridge is the new Ninth Ward! "Two months after a tornado ripped through southwestern Brooklyn, a sign with 'Vacate' in red letters still hung from the front door last week, keeping Ashraf Eshra and his family from moving back in.... 'The mayor's office came, FEMA came, and nothing happened,' Mr. Eshra said. 'FEMA said we can do nothing until you get settlement from insurance.'" [NYT]

Which New York Newspaper Has The Most Accurate Weather Forecasts?

abalk — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:57:14 EDT

Each morning we wake up, open the front door, grab the newspaper, look at the forecast for the day's high temperature, and dress based on that forecast. (Occasionally we also shower.) And every day, around noon, we find ourselves complaining that we're too hot because the paper was completely wrong. So we asked Intern Mary to track the weekday results of the city's three major papers and the New York Sun against the actual high temperatures over a two-week period. She also looked at the online predictions, for those of you who get your news that way. Her findings may surprise you!

Online
The Daily News was the worst offender here, deviating an average 6.78 degrees from the day's high. The Post and the Times, both of which use AccuWeather for their online predictions, were the closest, with only a two degree deviation. Overall, the online temperature matched the actual high a pathetic 10.25 percent of the time, giving a ninety percent chance that forecasts are off by at least one degree. Special mention goes to the Sun, which was 23 degrees off on Aug 21st and 21 degrees off on Aug 22nd.

Average Variation By Paper
1) Daily News: 6.78 degrees
2) Sun: 6.53 degrees
3) Times and Post 2 degrees

Print
The Post takes the title here, being off an average of almost four degrees from the day's high. The Times is the most accurate, with an average 1.54 degree difference between forecast and reality. Overall, the print temperature matched the actual high only 17.3 percent of the time. So print temperatures are more accurate than online temperatures, but are still wrong more than 80 percent of the time.

Average Variation By Paper
1) Post: 3.77 degrees
2) Daily News: 2.62 degrees
3) Sun: 2.61 degrees
4) Times: 1.54 degrees

What's the lesson here? Watch T.V. NY1's "Weather On The Ones" is usually right, right? But if you can't stand to do that, maybe you actually have to buy a newspaper!

Bill Evans Fortells Our Watery Doom

abalk — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:50:37 EDT

Last week's deluge could not have come at a better time for WABC's avuncular weather hottie Bill Evans. As you'll recall, Bill's new novel, Category 7, imagines the effects that a hurricane might have if it hit New York City. And make no mistake: A hurricane WILL hit New York City! And soon! Probably right after Labor Day! Last week was just foreshadowing. But how will it play out? Evans put together a promotional video that is so adorably amateur—and frightening—that we had to share it with you. Batten down the hatches, people: It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

We Need Another 8/8

abalk — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:00:54 EDT

Yesterday, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky wrote an absolutely atrocious column that suggested the country needed another terrorist attack like 9/11 to better unite those of us who survived it. But is Bykofsky missing the point? Of course he is. There's a greater threat that those of us who live here in New York are faced with. It's a threat that we've become apathetic and complacent about. Now we must say: "No More. Here We Stand."

TWO DAYS from The Event, I'm thinking another 8/8 would help New York.

What kind of a sick bastard would write such a thing?

A bastard so sick of how splintered we are politically - thanks mainly to our ineptitude at commuting - that we have forgotten who the enemy is.

It is not Bloomberg and it is not the MTA and it is not Con Ed or Eliot Spitzer or Giuliani or Sam Champion. It is rain.

Rain has fractured New York into jigsaw pieces of competing interests that encourage precipitation. We are deeply divided and division is weakness.

Most New Yorkers today believe 8/8 was a mistake. Why?

Not because New Yorkers are "pro-weather."

New Yorkers have turned their backs because the whole thing happened, like, two days ago. We've been got other stuff going on. In contrast, Britain is still talking about rainy weekends that happened 40 years ago.

That's not the New York way.

Because 8/8 was a couple of days ago, New Yorkers are attacking one another, when they aren't attacking themselves. The dialog of discord echoes across the city

Turn back to 8/8.

Remember the community of outrage and civic resolve? How we bitched and moaned as we huddled together on sweltering subway platforms? How many of us decided, "Fuck it, I'm not going into work today"?

We knew who the enemy was then.

New York's fabric is pulling apart like a $5 pashmina.

What would sew us back together?

Another 8/8 event.

The Brooklyn Bridge. Grand Central Terminal. Yankee Stadium. The subway system. New York is a target-rich environment for the rain.

Is there any doubt it is planning to hit us again?

If it is to be, then let it be. It will take another couple inches of water on the ground to quell the chattering of chipmunks and to restore New York's righteous rage and singular purpose to prevail.

The unity brought by such an attack sadly won't last forever.

We'll have to wait for snow. That really pisses people off.

"With weather forecasters predicting flash ...

abalk — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:00:11 EDT

"With weather forecasters predicting flash flooding and heavy thunderstorms in New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority faces the possibility of additional service shutdowns Friday as it struggles to clear tracks of debris left from Tuesday's flood and readies the system to handle more rain." Our commute seemed fine this morning, but we get up pretty early. And guess what? It's STILL SLIGHTLY RAINING. [NYS]

Local Storm Victims React

abalk — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:00:30 EDT

You know how everytime there's a tornado or a hurricane in some godforsaken flyover state you sit there and chuckle as the newscasters venture into the trailer parks to interview their toothless inhabitants for pithy insights such as, "We was just sittin' there when the wind started to howlin' something fierce. I says to little Mayetag, Honey, you best get inside before that mean ol' storm grab aholt of you and carry you away!" Well, stop feeling so goddamn smug: We are all Red America now.

Severe storm hits Brooklyn [AMNY]

It's sunny and a little muggy out there. ...

abalk — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:31:03 EDT

It's sunny and a little muggy out there. My train seemed fine early this morning, but apparently the E, F, and R lines are running slow. Also, there's some bus re-routing, but who the hell takes the bus? As for bridge and tunnel crossings, um, I don't know. Check the radio or something.

That Really Was A Tornado In Brooklyn

Choire — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:00:53 EDT

Dear Brooklyn: Like a sugared-up 11-year-old, you're always claiming things. Sometimes it's "That dirty Pole touched me in a bad place." Sometimes it's "We invented electroclash and it's good!" A lot of the time your outrageous claims have to do with babies and how great life is and the joys of microbrewing beer. You know: Lies. Over the years we've started to ignore you—which meant when you came to us yodeling about a tornado yesterday, we smiled, nodded and backed away. I guess it's just hard for all of us to tell your "personal" truth, the James Frey kind of truth, from the actual truth sometimes. Maybe you should go back to your "great apartment" and think about that?

National Weather Service Confirms Tornado Touched Down In Brooklyn [NY1]
Photo: Rebecca]

Here's how our three metropolitan tabloids ...

abalk — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 08:50:43 EDT

Here's how our three metropolitan tabloids covered yesterday's weather events. (Click to enlarge.) Oh, Newsday, you're so cute! You're almost like a real newspaper!

Damn, it's like a Turkish sauna in here! ...

Choire — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:11:27 EDT

Damn, it's like a Turkish sauna in here! Not in the hot gay way either. Just swampy, right? Can you feel the humidity? Still sunny though.

There was a cloud out there for a minute! ...

Choire — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:01:58 EDT

There was a cloud out there for a minute! Got a little hazy for a second! Real sunny again right now though.

There's an angry-looking homeless guy out ...

abalk — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:41:46 EDT

There's an angry-looking homeless guy out there. But, hey, at least his clothes are dry. Because it's so sunny and warm outside!

Just went outside for a smoke. Man, is it ...

abalk — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:31:28 EDT

Just went outside for a smoke. Man, is it hot out there. My Balls are sweating. Anyway, still sunny.

Yep, still sunny. ...

abalk — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:21:37 EDT

Yep, still sunny.

We're looking out the window right now and ...

abalk — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 15:11:07 EDT

We're looking out the window right now and it seems kinda sunny and hot, FYI.

BREAKING: THERE WAS WIND IN BROOKLYN. "The ...

Choire — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:58:41 EDT

BREAKING: THERE WAS WIND IN BROOKLYN. "The thunder was not normal. It was like a different thunder you never hear, like a real loud thunder, like 'boom,' real loud, and lightning, very loud explosions. The lightning was crazy." [NY1]

OMG IT RAINED A LITTLE! 8/8/07 NEVER FORGET!!!!

Choire — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:30:01 EDT

Giuliani Attacked By Vengeful God

abalk — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:47:35 EDT

As presidential aspirant Rudy Giuliani attempted to explain his extremely nuanced position on abortion at a Republican debate in New Hampshire last night, lightning struck the sound-system, leading some easily credulous observers to ascribe the not uncommon act of nature to the whims of an angry God. Good, now we've got it narrowed down: Doing your cousin and marrying three times? God's cool with that. Saying that you're personally opposed to abortion but you believe in a woman's right to choose? Big Guy gets a little irate. Keep that in mind, blasphemers.

Snow! It's Coming! Buy Milk and Hunker Down!

Doree Shafrir — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:41:19 EST

The weather bunnies have been so sad this year, what with the utter lack of snowfall to get people all riled up and freaked out. But, ho! Here comes the first real storm of the year, and the necessary accompanying breathless coverage. The Times warns, "Cities in the Northeast braced today for a lashing of sleet, snow, winds and rain as a major winter storm moved across the Midwest and was expected to arrive in the New York area late this afternoon." The Post implores, "Ladies and gentlemen, grab your shovels. A snowstorm could dump up to six inches on the metropolitan area tonight." Uh, wait. Six inches? That's never really excited us.

Remainders: Too Hot to Fuck

Jessica — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 19:00:48 EDT

• The people have spoken. [Animal]
• Are Madonna and Guy Ritchie headed towards a divorce? And is floating such rumors part of new Observer owner Jared Kushner's hip-and-cool mandate? [Daily Transom]
• Speaking of J-Kush, homeboy was definitely not a team player last night when he missed the Observer's very first softball game, which they won over the alpha-males at Trader Monthly. Too bad three interns died from dehydration before the fifth inning. [Daily Transom]
• Today's Post, summed up in a single sentence: "Mel, Mel, Mel, do you mind if we call you sugar lips, Mel?" [NYP]
• We suspect former Sun columnist Pranay Gupte lives for little more than a soapbox; here's why he got fired from that other job. At least it doesn't involve signing your co-workers up for a dating service. [Pranay Gupte]
• And back to Madonna again, whose next reinvention will be in the form of Angelina Jolie. [Time]
• OMG CRISIS HEAT CLOSES TRADER JOE'S NO THAI LIME & CHILI PEANUTS FUUUUUCK! [Curbed]
• Mel Gibson provides the perfect opportunity to get wasted on company time as a part of an "investigation." A round of tequila shots in the name of journalism, please! [TVNewser]
• Just another tea party bay-by, two doped-out preppies going cray-zy. [You Tube]

Blackout New York: Let The Paranoia Begin

abalk2 — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 15:45:19 EDT

More than a few versions of the following e-mail have made their way to our inbox:

My friend's dad works for ConEd - he just called and told her not to ride the subways any more today, as we will likely have a blackout. ConEd is sending all non-essential employees home right now so they can shut down power to their building. From yesterday's heat, Manhattan has 4 feeders out, putting a big strain on the system. He said in his 30 years working there, he's never seen ConEd act like this, especially at 10:30 in the morning. He said not to panic, but not to take a chance if it can be helped - avoid riding the subway if at all possible.

Also, when the friend rode a cab on home? A kindly Arab driver took a liking to her and totally told her not to be near the Empire State Building next Wednesday, because "bad things will happen."

Heat Wave Fails to Satisfy New Yorkers' Need to Suffer the Most

Jessica — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 14:40:00 EDT

It's day 3 of Mother Nature's attempt to destroy the ungrateful human race; on Tuesday, the temperature in Central Park hit 95 degrees and yesterday it hit 97 degrees. The heat index — what it actually feels like — yesterday was around 107 degrees, and that's in the leafy green splendor of the park. Anyone who has had the misfortune of spending more than 2 minutes outside knows that the heat index on concrete is more like 500 degrees. And yet, despite all this torture, the temperature has yet to break the official Central Park record of 100 degrees in 1933.

Honestly, that's bullshit. If we're going to have our asses kicked by a ridiculous heat wave, it should at least count for something. We don't know what was so freaking special about 1933, but it sure as hell didn't involve the agony of Con Ed or cab drivers who keep the a/c off so as to simulate their native climate. No, we most certainly know pain more than anyone ever could back then.

So c'mon, gang, and let's refuse to settle for second best. Rally for 101 degrees in the park, and then we can all feel like we really accomplished something. We know it can be done, and we don't care who dies of heat stroke in the process. Sacrifice, people!

Breaking: Annoying Murray Hills Kids Might Be Hot Under Popped Collars

abalk2 — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 13:37:56 EDT

If you're on the East Side between 14th and 30th Streets, there's a chance that you might not be reading this right now. According to a bulletin from ConEd, "Four of 24 feeders are out of service in the Madison Square network, which serves approximately 29,400 customers between 14th Street and 30th Street, from Fifth Avenue to the East River.Crews are working on three of 12 feeders in the Kips Bay network, which supplies electricity to approximately 23,700 customers between 30th Street and 40th Street, from Madison Avenue to the East River."

But don't panic, there's an upside: "Con Edison headquarters on Irving Place is on its own generation."

Thank God for that. We'd hate to see Kevin Burke sweat during the press conference where he tells us everything's all right.

UPDATE: Con Edison Urges Customers on East Side of Manhattan to Reduce Their Use of Electricity [ConEd]

Remainders: Meredith Vieira Will Never Take Away Your Lifeline

Jessica — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 19:00:38 EDT

• Meredith Vieira preps for her forthcoming role as Today show co-host by visiting the newsroom and, um, taping Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The contrast of morning show queen to cheesy game-show host may be funny now, but just wait until she's doing a tough AM interview with a heavy hitter and asks them, "Is that your final answer?" [NYDN]
• Be mesmerized as you watch the downfall of Mel Gibson. [Us Weekly]
• And then do a little fist-pump, as he's been charged with a DUI. [TMZ]
• 9/11: The answer to Nic Cage's prayers. [Defamer]
• It may be hot as fried balls out there, but at least it's not Europe. [Logged Hours]
• Rather than slappping a vile breastfeeding image on a magazine cover, why not stick to the traditional, Christian methods of breast coverage? [Zulkey]
• Apparently, we're the reason you're not investing in your 401(K). [TAP]
• Misty water-colored memories of the Ford Administration. [Yahoo ]
• City Councilman John Liu talks about loser pedophile radio stooges. And it has nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. [Daily Politics]
• The Chinese goverment has ordered that 50,000 dogs be killed, if only so that you may better enjoy your delicious Lo Mein Special. [AP]
• Christopher Hitchens' obit: would that it were so. [The State That I Am In]
• Best headline of the day: Naked, Combative Man Leads Police to Marijuana Farm. [AP]

Bloomberg Making Us Hot Just Looking At Him, And Not In The Good Way

abalk2 — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:10:10 EDT

You know that douchebag businessman code of honor that requires anyone affiliated with the financial services industry to wear a suit on the subway no matter how incredibly hot it is?

Well, the Mayor's one of those guys. Sewell Chan reports that Bloomberg puts his suit-wearing down to "64 years of training," and believes that he has "a responsibility to conduct myself in a ways I think the public wants to have its mayor."

On the other hand, it could be worse.

A Mayor Cool Under the Collar [NYT]

Everybody Writes About the Weather, But Nobody Does Anything About It

abalk2 — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 12:00:10 EDT

City Dims Lights as Heat Strains the Power Grid [NYT]