Spring Fever Imminent

Headlines

* Latest sloppy southern storm passes well south of Minnesota, brushing us with patchy clouds.
* Slushy snow possible as close as Quad Cities, Iowa overnight.
* More sun Tuesday, shot at 60 degrees midweek, 70 not out of the question by Thursday and Friday.
* Shower risk increases Thursday (slight chance of thunder). Showery rains linger into Saturday and Sunday.
* Cooling off noticeably early next week as jacket weather returns to Minnesota. Cold enough for flurries by the middle of next week?


Paul's Column

Here I sit (at the Northwest/Delta gate at La Guardia airport in New York) giving thanks for a quiet spell of weather back home. The funny thing about New York - you can't really tell what the weather is doing until you're out IN IT! Staring out my window this morning I couldn't even see the sky, amidst the thicket of towering office buildings. I always feel claustrophobic in this town - I need my SPACE! That's why I love Minnesota, room to spread out, and you can almost see tomorrow's weather forming on the western horizon.

For what it's worth I'm here for my second company, Singular Logic. With a bright young man by the name of Todd Frostad, and some very accomplished patent lawyers, we're developing technology and patents so that - someday soon - you won't have to watch another Cialis ad ever again. No more shrill political ads, no more inappropriate ads when you're watching TV with the family. Our goal: let consumers choose the categories of ads they're willing to watch to keep content free, on-line and on-air. If I could only get ads for snowmobiles, laptops, weather gadgets, cell phones, favorite destination, cars, ski equipment - I'd pay a LOT more attention when the commercials came on. That's our technological jihad: make the ads more relevant. Everyone watches something different, because all of us have different likes, dislikes, hobbies and interests. No more on-size-fits-all in the advertising world. It's a B.H.A.G., a "big, hairy, audacious goal" (to quote author Jim Collins in his seminal book, "Good to Great") but we have the developers, engineers and partners to pull it off. Leave it to me to launch 2 companies in the worst downturn since the Depression, but I think the timing is right. Advertisers need new tools to reach the consumers they're trying to reach, and content aggregators/web sites are looking for effective ways to generate new revenue, squeeze more $$ from those ads, if we're going to continue having quality, updated content on-line. Consumers are in charge of the content they watch, why not give them some skin in the game with the commercials they have to wade through?

Sorry for the rant, I fear I'm a bit sleep-deprived, but at least the weather isn't keeping me up at night. Another big storm slid off to our south today, and a weak ridge of high pressure reestablishes itself over the Northern Plains Tuesday, promising more sun and a good chance of breaking 60. Some mid and upper 60s are expected later this week - 70 is not out of the question by Friday as winds increase from the south. With the warmth will come a growing shower risk Thursday, heavier rains possible Friday and Saturday. The upcoming weekend will not be as spectacular as last, but we may squeeze out a little clearing later in the day Sunday. Right now Sunday appears to be the better day for outdoor plans, especially after lunch, but don't count on anything as nice as last weekend, when the cities appeared to be posing for a postcard.

We warm up again behind the weekend storm, to near 60 next Monday before a vigorous cold front barrels south of the border the middle of next week. By next Wednesday highs may be stuck in teh 40s, even some 30s just to our north, with wind chill and a risk of snow flurries. The sun is too high in the sky for any slush to stick around for long, so take deep breaths, try not to panic, but there is a good chance we haven't seen the last of the snow flurries just yet.

Strap yourself in for a wild temperature roller coaster ride over the next 10 days. A chance of 70 lukewarm degrees here Thursday and Friday, then cold enough for flakes next week. Ah, spring in Minnesota, definitely not for the faint of heart!