Trixology

WeatherCat => WeatherCat Web Templates => Topic started by: xairbusdriver on October 20, 2016, 12:17:46 AM

Title: Too much time on my hands?
Post by: xairbusdriver on October 20, 2016, 12:17:46 AM

I really enjoy beating my head against some walls. [banghead] It sometimes keeps me from tackling certain 'honey-do' lists! [blush] Since "programming" is really nothing but typing (just ask Stu), I enjoy using up to three fingers (never more than two per hand, of course!) seeing what I can accomplish with raw electrons and simple, mostly scripting "languages". [computer]

WC has more info than I need but I wanted to 'live in the past' a bit and display some 'aviation' weather the way we used to read it on old teletype machines. Thus my voyage into gathering METAR files from NOAA/NWS. There are already many scripts around that can be used to display the basic METAR data. The real fun comes in displaying the info after the usual "RMK" element. It's a 'work in progress' and throughly brute-force, beginner-level code. Output on my site is at this page: METAR for KATL, KDFW, KEWR, KLAX, KMEM & KORD (http://mid-southweather.com/METAR.php)

So far, I'm handling:

total precipitation received during the last hour
6 hour maximum temps
6 hour minimum temps
3 hour pressure trend (with graphic code)
3 & 6 hour precipitation amounts
24 hour total precip
snow depth on the ground
liquid water equivalent of the snow on the ground
at least one use of "variable" (usually combining two different cloud coverage amounts)
rain/snow/TS began/ended
conversion of several comments reporting types of weather at various cardinal directions

Perhaps I'll offer a viewer the option to select their own list of airports in the future. That would give me a chance to do some database work, also. (http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u666/xAirbusDriver/Thinking_zps6auyy8fj.gif) (http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/u666/xAirbusDriver/cheer2_zpsuajiabdd.gif)

Title: Re: Too much time on my hands?
Post by: xairbusdriver on October 20, 2016, 02:43:02 PM

Oops! Partial success. Recent report: "...A3007 RMK AO2 SLP175 ACC ALQDS"
Got the "Altocumulus clouds All Quadrants" fine but not the altimeter! That became "LQ.DS in/Hg". Not easily set on any altimeter I ever used! I think I can just check for an absolute value greater than zero... [banghead] [computer] Jachym, I'm not! cmu:-)

Title: If you need things to do . . . (Re: Too much time on my hands?)
Post by: elagache on October 20, 2016, 11:48:02 PM

Dear X-Air and WeatherCat . . . "ya' mean some people actually have free time" types?

Well now, if you really don't have that much to do, why don't you come over here because I could surely use an extra pair of hands doing . . . .

Trimming the hedge against the street
Mowing the lawn
Cleaning the brushes needed to wash the cars
Washing and waxing the two cars that still haven't gotten their winter treatment
Cleaning out some of the junk in the garage before the fall pickup this week
Checking that all the gutters are sufficiently clear that they can withstand the winter
Installing the daytime running lights in my sister's car
Repairing the outdoor outlet in front of the car port
Installing the led shop lights in the garage

. . . . . .

And that doesn't include the usual cooking, cleaning, and in general keeping the house going . . . . .

Any surprise that some of my postings are . . . . a little off the mark? . . . [banghead]

Grumble, grumble, grumble . . . . . Edouard (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/D'oh.gif)