Poll for the rain fans (or haters) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: booscrawl
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 02:08:51 am
content: See the poll. If you feel like it, please share your general location

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 02:47:02 am
content: Waiting for the rains as I sit here typing.Only downside is that the thunderstorms also start wildfires 'round 'heah.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 03:03:23 am
content: Where is the "it rains about the right amount" choice?On average July is the wettest here with 130mm (and coldest with on average hi 14 and lo 9) and November the driest with 46mm and a linear progression between them (93, 77, 59), and then December to June are all in the 74mm to 86mm range. On average. Feb is the hottest with on average hi 23 and lo 16.Lat 35.52 S in Far North NZ.

author: BradC
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 03:06:46 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on July 23, 2025, 03:03:23 amYeah, this.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 03:11:40 am
content: Quote from: BradC on July 23, 2025, 03:06:46 amSo you need three more choices:It rains about the right amount here, and I am happy with thatIt rains about the right amount here, but I wish it would rain lessIt rains about the right amount here, but I wish it would rain more

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 03:56:49 am
content: The other choice should be:WTF this poll is about

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 04:20:24 am
content: People keep making polls with missing questions.Mine: I live in Southern California. What is "rain"?

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 04:37:12 am
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on July 23, 2025, 04:20:24 amThink of it as a kind of automatic sprinkler system.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 05:34:07 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on July 23, 2025, 04:37:12 amOne that's programmed to come on once a year?

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 07:27:32 am
content: Here we have randomized strategy selection.Some summers, it rains pretty much all the time (but never a lot at once) for the whole summer. People complain.Some summers, it doesn't rain at all for two months, and then at the end of it we get heavy thunderstorms and a lot of rain. People complain.But most of the summers, it's balanced: maybe a week or two without rain at all, then a few quite rainy (but not extreme) days or maybe a week of rain. People complain.Also, if it's hot, people complain. If it's cold, people complain. Even if it's steady +22degC, people complain.Complaining about weather is an excellent hobby: because complaining hasn't any effect, you are guaranteed to have a steady hobby.Weather here (southern Finland) is never extreme, which is probably why people get so sensitive about it. If it's -25 degrees in winter, we brag about living in some extreme arctic conditions. Which it is not, there are places where -50degC is normal, or heavy winds that make it feel like -9000degC.Or, if we accumulate 1 meter of snow, we think that's very extreme since there is no 1 meter of snow in California; then we brag about our "snow-how" and at the same time panic about the snow. Yet there are places on this planet where 5-10 meters of snow accumulation is possible.Or, if it's +32degC in the summer we are, like, wow how extreme.Or storm. International "official" definition wind speed over 24.5 m/s. Official Finnish definition 21 m/s. Yellow media definition 6 m/s. And people here, me included, start talking about a storm with serious face when there is a slight breeze, causing massive "storm damages" like a tree falling in a forest, or a loose object like an empty plasic trash can getting tipped.

author: booscrawl
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 07:45:34 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on July 23, 2025, 03:03:23 amOups, that would be the second option. Should be "Yes, it rains here regularly / Current amount is okay."

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 07:49:10 am
content: Around here, it can be a nice warm day, blue sky and not a cloud to see. Then 1 hour later the sky is grey and it's raining hard.Typical Auckland weather.I do wish we got snow here though. It's only snowed twice in last 100 years and the last time was pathetic.

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 08:50:13 am
content: Reported to mods. General Technical is the wrong place for this.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 09:30:41 am
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on July 23, 2025, 08:50:13 am"Occasional off-topic stuff is ok, but generally we like to keep it electronics related"Moderators here start acting only if the stuff is controversial (e.g. political, religious etc.).Occasional harmless OT has passed before and will probably keep passing. Most people don't mind it; it's only about the volume.This section used to be just "General chat", but "technical" was added a few years ago when there was significant amount of OT on various controversial subjects at the same time, to underline the fact that OT should be the exception, not the rule, but occasional OT was never really totally forbidden as you can read from the section description.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 10:31:39 am
content: Quote from: Siwastaja on July 23, 2025, 07:27:32 amHere in Far North NZ it's only ~80 km from e.g. Helena Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the coast near Kai Iwi Lakes near the Tasman Sea (this passes almost right over me). And north of Awanui there is 80 km of land where it's more like 10 km wide. So things are very much moderated by the sea. Getting to 0 C on winter nights is basically unheard-of, 3 or 4 is about the limit, and summer days top out at 30.On the other hand there are more inland places further south that can hit +35 in summer and -20 in winter. E.g. famous gliding site, Omarama.QuoteCalifornia, you say?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_PartyTruckee and Tahoe are popular places nearby in California.QuoteI was amazed when I lived in Moscow how anything approaching 15 m/s caused alerts on my phone and actually did bring down trees.Here in NZ 30 m/s doesn't do much harm. On average Auckland airport has 40 days a year with wind gusts over 17 m/s.https://figure.nz/chart/XmnFr75b01puVbeoI looked up the requirements for the area I currently live in, if I want to build something as simple as a ground-mounted solar panel array it has to be signed off by an engineer as capable of resisting a 55 m/s wind.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 10:35:46 am
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on July 23, 2025, 08:50:13 amDuring COVID it became apparent that the problem with Australia was not that half the population was descended from transported criminals, but that the other half was descended from jailers.The unexpected result here was that (based on the news) the UK seemed to be the same.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 11:01:50 am
content: Rains good but no quarter is the best track on the album

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 11:06:10 am
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on July 23, 2025, 08:50:13 amDon't rain on our parade

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 11:06:53 am
content: Quote from: themadhippy on July 23, 2025, 11:01:50 amD'yer Mak'er

author: eutectique
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 11:12:14 am
content: I've been waiting for the sun to come upWaiting for the showers to stopWaiting for the penny to drop, one time

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 12:12:31 pm
content: QuoteIm more of a moonchild than a sun king.

author: Grandchuck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 01:41:16 pm
content: Southwest Florida, USA:1/ rainy season: rains too much2/ dry season: rains too little3/ hurricanes: OMG

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 03:27:46 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on July 23, 2025, 04:20:24 amNot everyone is a born programmer.....

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 04:52:32 pm
content: It's all relative.Rain is good, because it's impossible to grow food without it.Too much is bad because it damages crops and causes flooding. What is too much, depends on the average for the area and whether it occurs in a short space of time, in the form of heavy showers or is spread out. This can affect the perception of the weather. A location might have a relatively high rainfall, but few rain days, because rain normally comes in the form of storms, which drop a lot of water, but pass quickly, so it's percieved to be less wet than another place, which has far more rain days, but generally much less in terms of mm per year.I prefer it to rain at night.More rain in spring and early summer is better, because it's when plants need it to grow, followed by a drier late summer to early autumn which is required for seeds to dry and fruit to ripen. Unfortunately where I live, in Bedford, southern-eastern England, wthe driest weather occurs through early spring and early summer (March to June) with an increasing trend in precipitation from July till the peak in October.This year it's been warm and drier than average from February until the middle of July, resulting in drought in some areas. Fortunately, it's been a little cooler and much wetter over the last week, with storms.

author: booscrawl
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 07:00:59 pm
content: Quote from: Siwastaja on July 23, 2025, 07:27:32 amFor now

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 07:32:31 pm
content: Quote from: booscrawl on July 23, 2025, 07:00:59 pmThis is not the result of complaining, but of a lot of cash being injected in that.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 10:58:12 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on July 23, 2025, 04:52:32 pmRain is like oxygen.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 23, 2025, 11:23:09 pm
content: Quote from: brucehoult on July 23, 2025, 10:58:12 pmYes, except that oxygen is actually a toxic chemical.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 12:15:09 am
content: The interesting part is to understand how some once pretty green land turned into an arid desert. Typically, the Sahara, some 10,000 years ago.

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 01:17:32 am
content: Don't eat yellow media.

author: booscrawl
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 02:23:48 am
content: Wow, we got a desert voter. Impressive!

author: Anthocyanina
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 03:28:10 am
content: i love the rain. i have a vision thing which makes bright lights painful, so sunny days suck for me because they physically hurt, a lovely rainy grey would be great the whole year round, plus, it gets very hot here when it doesn't rain, like one day without rain after a rainy month will bring temperatures up to 30°C, and it only gets hotter the longer it's been since the last day of rain, so yes, bring all the rain all the time

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 09:58:24 am
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on July 23, 2025, 11:23:09 pmI think it's a reference to the song Love Is Like Oxygen, by British band Sweet."Love is like oxygen. You get too much, you get too high. Not enough and you're gonna die."

author: Sorama
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 10:08:17 am
content: I used to dislike bad weather or rain, but now it means we will get a lot of calls for interventions.So rain means money.Needless to say I like rain.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 04:24:50 pm
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on July 23, 2025, 11:23:09 pmWater is just as toxic if not more so.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 05:06:13 pm
content: QuoteNearly as bad as dihydrogen monoxide

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 24, 2025, 06:52:30 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on July 24, 2025, 04:24:50 pmNo, not really: one can die from ingesting an excess of water, but not because of toxicity.Oxygen is actually toxic. Corrosive.(And yeah, I know it was, it was a, it was just a joke, son.)

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 03:48:19 am
content: No, really.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537231/

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 04:54:05 am
content: OMG It does RAIN in OCEAN VIEW, HAWAII !!!To say "everyday" wouldn't be fair. The clouds get dark and threatening EVERY day, due to being tropical climate, on the ocean.RAIN, perhaps once every THREE days, or so. Other residents relate that they live the rain, here on the big island ! But for myself, it ruins the workday schedules (and ambitions to get painting done, etc.)The WIND GUSTS are what is special, living here near Kona, HI;The powerful GUSTS can do amazing damage, including doing a 'Mary Poppins', with our table umbrella...(found down on the next road, after flying 300 yards or so).

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 04:57:03 am
content: Quote from: RJSV on July 25, 2025, 04:54:05 amSo you're in Hawai'i, eh?Then you have no reason to complain. About anything.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 05:06:32 am
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on July 25, 2025, 04:57:03 amPearl Harbour?

author: booscrawl
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 05:51:13 am
content: Quote from: RJSV on July 25, 2025, 04:54:05 amCongratulations on getting out of the east bay.

author: RJSV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 06:46:57 am
content: Rain, conventionally, everybody knows, and we put up with it.Located here, (Hawai'i) I notice my rental house has green, algae or something like green mold, on the north side (outside) walls, PLUS we get a bonus substance; SUPHUR content...eats up your tools !

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 07:16:35 am
content: Quote from: RJSV on July 25, 2025, 06:46:57 amWhen I visited Hawai'i and stayed in a rental house in Kealia (Kauai), the house came with a gecko, which was like a cherry on top.Have you been to Kauai? I highly recommend it, although there probably aren't many places among the islands that aren't beautiful.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 08:37:07 am
content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Popeye

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 09:04:34 am
content: Quote from: coppercone2 on July 25, 2025, 08:37:07 am... aaaand we're back in chemtrail territory here ...

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 05:24:02 pm
content: Quote from: brucehoult on July 23, 2025, 10:31:39 amQuote from: brucehoult on July 23, 2025, 03:03:23 amInterestingly those winter temperatures are pretty typical for a maritime location at that latitude in the Northern Hemisphere, but your summers are much, much cooler, except perhaps for parts of California where fog is common although it's much drier there.Take a look at Crete's climate.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crete?useskin=vector#ClimateIt's interesting the way the sea has a net cooling effect in most of the Southern Hemisphere, whist the opposite is true the the Northern Hemisphere.

author: harerod
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2025, 05:57:07 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on 2025-07-23, 05:20:24

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2025, 12:28:48 am
content: Quote from: Zero999 on July 25, 2025, 05:24:02 pmYes, Crete, Malta, Cyprus are good comparisons with here for winter temperatures and insolation. But the mediterranean is much much warmer than the Pacific Ocean. And the European Atlantic coast benefits from the Gulf Stream.San Francisco is very similar to here with 8-15 averages in December and January, and 13-22 in September (actually cooler than our summer in the city itself, though San Jose and Silicon Valley are considerably warmer than us in summer).I find it amusing that the ocean temperature at San Francisco is lower at the end of summer than our ocean temperature at the end of winter! The hardy swim year-round here.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2025, 09:49:53 am
content: Quote from: brucehoult on July 26, 2025, 12:28:48 amThe Gulf stream doesn't warm the Mediterranean though. It actually misses much of Europe, including the southern UK. Most of the warmth goes further north. It's why Southampton has similar temperatures to Vancouver, yet Scotland is warmer coastal Alaska.QuoteYes, I mentioned coastal California, which is an exception. It's a heck of a lot drier than NZ, especially in the summer. The sea is cold thanks to the California current coming from the north.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2025, 10:00:33 am
content: Quote from: Zero999 on July 26, 2025, 09:49:53 amI didn't say it does. The Mediterranean is warm because it is small and shallow (compared to the Atlantic or Pacific) and enclosed with little mixing with the Atlantic.QuoteSan Francisco is dryer in summer but I was actually shocked how rainy it was November to January in at least where I lived for a time in Fremont. I don't know if it is reflected in mm of rain but I found it significantly more miserable to live in than NZ where even in winter sunny weather is about as common as (maybe more than) rainy in July and August.

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2025, 12:01:46 pm
content: (northernmost Germany)We have an average rain probability of about a third (one in three days is a day with more than 1mm). And Petrus makes plenty out of it. Combine that with constant wind and mediocre temperatures, cloudy sky and very high moisture levels, this is not the weather I prefer.Now (end of July) should be perfect summer weather - but the sky is 100% clouded with dark gray clouds, very likely to rain soon - again. Like yesterday. Or like the day before, which flooded half of the town.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2025, 01:47:58 pm
content: Quote from: brucehoult on July 26, 2025, 10:00:33 amMy point was that it's interesting how in some areas the sea reduces the annual average temperature, whilst in others it increases it.If you want miserable, come to Northwestern Europe. Winters have highs of 7°C and lows just above freezing, but a north-easterly can cause them to plunge to -16°C. Summers barely make 22°C in July and August, but can surge to 40°C, when air comes from North Africa, as we've had over some recent summers. We only get around a third of the possible sunshine and it rains on one in three days.

author: brucehoult
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2025, 02:15:04 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on July 26, 2025, 01:47:58 pmI lived in Moscow for three years.Although temperatures below zero were new to me (when not on top of a mountain) I didn't mind the actual weather much, as long as it stayed above about -18. That one week a year when it was -25 was not fun.But the main thing that was annoying was just how LONG the winter was -- I moved to Moscow on April 19 and it was snowing as I landed at Domodedovo and for several days afterwards. And then it was snowing again on October 8th, just 5 1/2 months later. Spring and autumn were each about two weeks long, not three months.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 27, 2025, 12:04:27 am
content: Rain is both a godsend and a curse.Here 20 km from downtown Auckland we get 1400mm/yr whereas the city has ~1200mm.A similar distance from downtown but further south from us is where the wife grew up and they had 1800mm/yr.It's not about the rain but when you get it and the spread over any year is never the same yet annual totals normally vary very little so we carefully watch the 'year to date' and 'month to date' totals and averages to get some idea of where we're tracking and what to expect over the coming months.