Tropical Storm Colin Returns/Federal Building in 2 States/Why I Love Nintendo

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
In the Atlantic, Colin is back! But it is unlikely to affect any land area directly except possibly Bermuda and Newfoundland. And the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is not expecting it to become a hurricane. In the far eastern Atlantic, the NHC is monitoring Invest 93 which they say has a 40% chance of becoming a tropical storm in the next 48 hours. But, the models are indicating it will likely not threaten any land areas, moving through the open waters of the Atlantic (eventually dieing in the northern Atlantic).

In the eastern Pacific is newly formed Tropical Depression 7E. This system should move west-northwest and not threaten any land areas.

Let's start with the coolest areas...west coast California, coastal Washington, northern Great Lakes and norhern New England highs in the 60s and 70s today. 100+ for Dallas and las Vegas. Elsewhere highs in the 80s and 90s. Slight risk for severe storms Montana/South Dakota/North Dakota and the southeastern states.

Houston is under another Heat Advisory this Friday as it is expected to feel like 105 or hotter for much of the afternoon. I wouldn't be surprised if there is another heat advisory for Saturday and possibly Sunday. There is a slight weakness in our high pressure ridge. So, we will probably get some cooling thunderstorms today, Saturday and Sunday. But not everyone will get the rain. Stay cool!

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do service or servicio, pronounced sair-vee-SEE-oh. Find out about some excellent servicio I got in the AND MORE section.

There is a lot of excitement about our soon to be released Volume 3 which will cover the alphabet (with words beginning with those letters), numbers 1 through 20 and colors. We will also have a special music CD release covering all three volumes. In the meantime, you can order my DVDs, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco Volumes 1 and 2 on the shelf (in the education section) at Barnes & Noble stores or you can order them from http://www.frankandpaco.com, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.bn.com, http://www.bestbuy.com, or http://www.ebay.com/. Our ESL (English as a Second Language) version can be found at http://www.frankypaco.com.

AND MORE
New Poll on Lance Berkman
You have probably already moved on, but I was curious about how you felt about Lance Berkman leaving the Astros. I met him once when I was working a special adoption awareness day on the night of an Astros game. Lance met with me and some children who were hoping to be adopted. The little boy in the group gave him his assessment of things and Lance responded in a way that showed he truly cared about what the little boy had to say. I really respected him for that. And, I have to say I was sad when I heard he had left the Astros. I felt like the soul of the team was gone. So, anyway, here's the new poll. More than one answer is allowed (trying to cover all your possible feelings). Thanks in advance for responding.

Federal Building is in Two States
Sarah loves to pick up postcards when we travel. Looking through them, I found one which showed the Texarkana Post Office and Courthouse lies in Texas and Arkansas. Apparently the state border goes right through the middle of it. I found a web site (Texasescapes.com) which has some neat pictures of the building and state line street and one funny comic strip. Enjoy!
http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/TexarkanaTexas/Texarkana-Texas-Arkansas-State-Line.htm

Old Kimberling City Lies Under 150 Feet of Water
When we go to Table Rock Lake (in Southwest Missouri and just outside of Branson) each summer, we often pass under the Kimberling City bridge opened in 1958. The original bridge is close by...about 150 feet under the water. You see the Corp of Engineers decided to flood that valley in the 1950s so that the area could be opened for recreation. Way down in that valley were villages and another bridge...the old Kimberling City bridge. They say if you were to dive down there, we would find the bridge and some old buildings. They weren't torn down...just allowed to stay in place with the water inundating them. It is kind of creepy to float over that area and realize there are structures down there. I found this Photobucket site with photos of the "new" bridge. Notice how high the water is...I think those were taken during some historic floods 2 years ago. I heard you could take your boat under the bridge and actually hang onto it. The water was so high that for a while they had to close the bridge to traffic.
http://photobucket.com/images/Kimberling%20City%20bridge/

Nintendo DS Fix for Free
I don't know what Sarah may have done to her Nintendo DS Lite (she has only had for 3 months) but it just stopped working. So, I contacted Nintendo and they were so kind. I didn't have a serial number because Sarah had pulled off the sticker and I didn't have a receipt because it was a gift. Well, they didn't care. They sent me a link so I could print my own FedEx label and all I have to do is package it up and they are going to send her a brand new one. Who says there isn't customer service anymore? I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo impressed!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman