Weather vs. Climate

When you wake up in the morning, perhaps one of the first things you do is  turn on the radio or TV and check the weather report. “It’s going to be cold and blustery today,” the weatherman says. “You better take  your heavy coat.”

But why is there no climate report?

It turns out there is a great difference between weather and climate, although they are related. The difference is time. Weather is measured in short periods of time. It is happening now, tomorrow, this week. Climate is measured in long periods of time. Most climatologists (scientists who study the climate) look at weather data for an area for 30 years before they have a good sense of the area’s climate. In other words, climate is the big picture, and weather is all the little details.

CLIMATE

Officially, climate is defined as "the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years".  Climatologists record and study the weather every day over a period of 30 years or more to determine the climate of a region. 

Let’s take New England for example. Today, the climate in this part of the country, simply put, is cold and snowy in the winter, warming and rain in the spring, hot in the summer, cooling in the fall.  In colonial times, this climate actually helped the colonists because it stopped the spread of disease, although it did make it difficult to have crops planted year round and did cause much death in the winter.

Many researchers believe that the climate is changing for the worse because of human activity. This has not been proven though. It could just be a natural cycle of the Earth.

WEATHER

On the other hand, weather is “the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure”.  The important part here is “a given time and place”. It is what is happening here and now.

Staying with our New England example, while the climate is the same in all parts of the region, the weather differs from one part to another. This is why all local TV stations have their own weather reports. For instance in Skowhegan, Maine it may be sunny with a high of 28 degrees and winds at 13 mph, but in Hartford, Connecticut it’s partly cloudy and a high of 36 (almost 10 degrees warmer) on the same day.

While climate is a long term view, weather is immediate. So when the weather forecast is given, you should pay attention. 

My Favorite Restaurants In Fiction

Everyone has their favorite restaurants—it might be Friendly’s, Olive Garden, or some little-known hole-in-the-wall. Just as real people have their favorites, characters from TV, movies, music, and books also have their own preferred eateries. Here are some of the most notable.

When discussing this topic, one has to start with The Restaurant At The End of the Universe (The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe).  As the title and location of the second Hitchhikers's Guide To The Galaxy book, this restaurant is literally located at the end of the universe—which is very far away indeed. Here, the food is still alive when you order it. In fact, the food actually makes a sales pitch as to why you should choose it for your meal. The Restaurant also features great music and drink.

Sticking with the space theme for a moment, there is Quark’s Bar and Grill (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Owned and operated by the Ferengi Quark and his brother Rom, and located on the Space Station Deep Space Nine, this is a full service establishment with food, drink, a gambling hall, and a set of holosuites—rooms equipped to fulfill any fantasy or desire through the use of holograms. Also, if you are of a mind, Quark can help you get a hold of…well, not so legal items.

Coming back to Earth, in Milwaukee, WI we find Arnold’s (Happy Days), a nice little place with a jukebox and dance floor. Over the course of time, this eatery was owned and operated by two different Arnolds with greatly different backgrounds. You will also find cool guy Fonzie in his office, which was really the men’s room, and if you go on the right night, you may find Potsie, Rich, and the band doing a little number.

Heading off to New York—Manhattan, specifically—there is Central Perk (Friends). This little coffee house, downstairs from Chandler, Joey, Rachel, and Monica’s apartments, and where Phoebe plays guitar, is a place where you can just sit and hang with friends and have a cup o’ Joe and a muffin. With Gunther at the counter and Rachel as your waitress, you just can’t go wrong there. 

While in Manhattan, you could also visit Monk's Diner (Seinfeld.) A favorite hangout for Jerry and the gang, many of their adventures start and end here. 

Another diner can be found in the small town of Star's Hollow, CT. Owned and operated by Luke Danes at the location of his father's old hardware store, Luke's Diner (Gilmore Girls) is one of the town's favorite joints--along with the never seen but much maligned Al's Pancake World. 

If you find yourself in WWII Africa, you can head over to Rick’s Café American (Casablanca). Owned by Rick Blaine, an American expatriate, there is food, drink, gambling, and dancing. Sam plays the piano, usually a song Rick needs to hear after reuniting with his lost love. “You know the one”, he will say.

Before we end this tour of my favorite restaurants in fiction, there are three notable honorable mentions. They are fictionalized versions of real places, but  are deeply woven into modern pop culture.

First, Alice’s Restaurant (Arlo Guthrie), where we are told “you can get anything you want--'cepting Alice.”   This 18 ½ minute song is based on a place in Stockbridge, MA called the Back Room Rest, owned by Alice M Brock and her husband Ray Brock. The Thanksgiving dinners Guthrie writes about actually took place in the Brock’s home, a former church.

Second, Cheers (Cheers). While not technically a restaurant, but a bar, it was a great watering hole based on Boston’s Bull and Fitch Pub (which has formally changed its name to Cheers). This is where “everybody knows your name”. Sam and Coach—later Woody—tended bar and Carla was your server.

Finally, there is the Cheesecake Factory (The Big Bang Theory). This is where Penny worked, and became a favorite spot for Raj, Wolowitz, Sheldon, and Leonard.

As you can see, just as us real people have our favorite places to eat, fictional characters have their own----even in space.