The Michigan Daily, Saturday, October 8, 1983 - Page 3
Local office keeps an eye
_ _ _ _ e ~u
. S ..
k ,
.:<
4 1'4
r
on the state's blue sky
Pi
-
,
. By TONI SHEARS
Before reading any further in this
story, turn back to the front page and
check the uppermost right-hand corner.
Got that?
Okay, now look out the window.
IF THE WORDS on the page don't
quite match the color of the sky, don't
blame us; turn to the people in an office
in downtown Ann Arbor.
The city is home to one of the
National Weather Service's 52 zone of-
fices across the country. The office is
responsible for coordinating all
Michigan weather reports and
forecasts and warning the public of ap-
proaching storms. It also records the
observations of nine wmaller weather
service bureaus across the state.
"Temperature, humidity, wind
speed, water tempeature, just about
everything having to do with the
weather comes in here," said C.R.
Snyder, head meteorologist at the Ann
Arbor office. From Ann Arbor, the in-
formation is sent via computer to the
main office in Washington D.C., where
the weather forecasts are formed.
"Washington does a general analysis
of the whole globe," said Snyder. "We
take their forecast and make it a lettle
more specific for Michigan."
RESPONSIBILITY FOR accurate
predictions of the weather largely has
been taken away from the
meteorologists and handed to the com-
puter in recent years. The
meteorologists may still pore over
maps, but they are computer-drawn
maps.
"Meteorologists sometimes add
something to a computer analysis, but
they don't have to," Snyder said.
"They do what they feel is necessary to
make the most accurate forecast."
And although everybody might com-
plain when the forecast says sun but the
clouds say rain, Snyder said the ac-
curacy of the Weather Service depends
on the rules of accuracy one chooses to
apply.
"IS IT OKAY to say that it is going to
rain, or do you need to know if it will W
an inch of rain? If we say an inch an4
we get nine-tenths of an inch of rain, is
that accurate?"
The bulk of information distributed
by the office is intended for the general,
public and sent to newspapers an
radio stations for distribution. Despite
all the fancy sets that television studios
have come up with in recent years, the
TV forecasters still are getting their t
formation from the Weather Servic;
too.
The Weather Service also produces
marine, aviation, and agricultural
reports. Marine and aviation news is
sent on by computer. Currently, thw
service is working on a cmputer systeml
to exchange agricultural weather
reports directly with farmers.
"Eventually, each farmer will have6A
touchtone pad by his telephone. He will
be able to just punch buttons and phofie
in weather conditions," Snyder said.
AP Photo
Hello, auto club?
A Grand Traverse County sheriff's patrol boat tows a disabled Coast Guard helicopter in Grand Traverse Bay after the
aircraft developed engine problems and had to ditch in the water. The crew was uninjured.
Nobel member breaks tradition of silence
From AP AND UPI
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A dissenting member of
the Nobel Academy of Letters broke 82 years of
traditional silence with his public opposition to*
William Golding as winner of the 1983 prize and
shocked the Swedish literary community.
Writer Artur Lundkvist, winner of the Soviet
Union's Lenin Prize for his work, is known in Sweden
as a radical and a man who speaks his mind. But this
latest outburst caused a sensation.
AFTER THE academy announed Thursday that
Golding had won this year's prize, Lundkvist told
reporters that the British writer was good but not of
Nobel caliber, and he accused his colleagues at the
academy of carrying out a "coup" against him by
holding their vote when he was not in attendance.
Nobel Prize officials expressed shock and dismay
over Lundkvist's outburst, a violation of unofficial
regulations requiring judges to remain silent about
nominees and winners.
"He has broken our rules," said Lars Gyllensten,
chairman of the 18-member Nobel Literature. "We
are not allowed to texpress our personal opinions."
GYLLENSTEN said Lundkvist would be asked to
"explain himself'' at next Thursday's weekly
meeting of the Academy.
In London, Matthew Evans, Golding's publisher,
termed Lundkvist's comments "preposterous. The
guy is an idiot."
Golding said he was disappointed a Nobel Prize
judge criticized his selection for the literature award.
"I HAD BEEN picked by the panel and for one man
to come out screaming in a rage is rather subjec-
tive," Golding said in an interview with the Standard
newspaper.
"The majority chose me and I am very happy and
still very dazed," he said, although he admitted he
was disappointed at the unprecedented remarks.
Nobel officials, Swedish newspapers and members
of the country's literary community suggested Lun-
dkvist acted out of pique that his candidate, French
novelist Claude Simon, did not win the prize.
LUNDKVIST, a specialist in French and Latin
American literature, was the main sponsor of last
year's winner, Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia
Marquez, author of "One Hundred Years of Solitut-
The will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of
dynamite whose legacy finances the Nobel Award
series, specifies that Swedish Academy members
must not publicly discuss its deliberations. The
provision has been upheld in Swedish courts.
LUNDKVIST. skipped the academy's traditional
dinner Thursday, after the announcement that
Golding had won.
Yesterday, his wife, the poet Maria Wine, refused
to call her husband to the telephone. "He's not
saying anything more," she said. "It's enough what's
already in the papers."
But Lars Gyullensten, permanent secretary of the
academy, said Lundkvist had retreated,
acknowledging that Golding is worthy of the Nobel
Prize and conceding to Gyllensten that no "coup" had
occurred.
Gyllensten denied that a preliminary vote was
taken at the meeting Lundkvist did not attend.
"Arthur apparently had been contacted by repor-
ters because he is a famous person, often asked for
comments," Gyllensten said. "I think he might have
been provoked to make these statements."
Fishermen survive 11 days drifting at sea
HOUSTON (AP) - Three sports fisher
men who survived 11 days drifting in a
small boat in the Gulf of Mexico said
they felt "punished" as ships
repeatedly passed them by, but they
were "too angry to cry."
The three, Roger Ulrich, 38, an ap-
pliance repairman; his stepson,
Thomas Beasley, 25, a pipeline con-
struction foreman, and Donald Balsley,
42, an appliance repairman, were
picked up by the freighter Leslie Lykes
on Wednesday and they arrived at the
Port of Houston yesterday.
Correction
The environmental Protection Agen-
cy has targeted 17,000 sites across the
country for cleanup of toxic wastes. The
Michigan Daily incorrectly reported
the figure in yesterday's edition.
THE COAST GUARD in Florida had
spent a week looking for the trio, but
had given up.
The three, all from Fort Myers, Fla.,
were sunburned and had lost about 10
pounds each, but were otherwise in
good condition after their ordeal in an
18-foot open boat with a 65-horsepower
outboard motor that had conked out.
They said about 30 ships passed close
to their small boat but never offered
help or indicated that theyhad been
seen. It made them mad, Ulrich said,
but inspired them to try to find ways to
attract attention.
"EVERY time a boat went by we felt
punished," Ulrich said. "We saw boats
that almost ran us down and others
went around us. Everytime that hap-
pened, we got depressed. We prayed,
but we were too angry to cry."
Their adventure started as a simple
day fishing trip in Redfish Pass near
Captiva Island, a barrier island off the
west coast of Florida.
Ulrich said winds whipped up to 30
mph and waves started running at
about 5 feet. When they started toward
land at mid-afternoon, waves washed
into the boat and drowned the engine.
Attempts to restart the engine ran down
the battery and the powerless boat star-
ted drifting. Ulrich said they tossed out
the anchor, but the line parted. They
improvised sea anchors, but all failed.
AS NIGHT FELL, the boat drifted out
of sight of land. Ulrich said they could
see the glow of lights from Fort Myers,
but soon even that receded. They were
alone on a dark sea.
"We knew we were in trouble,"
Ulrich said.
Their provisions were limited to two
corned beef sandwiches, some peanut
butter crackers, 17 cans of beer and two
10-pound blocks of ice.
"WE FIGURED the wives wouldn't
start worrying about us until about nine
that night," Ulich said. "We expected
to be picked up within three days by the
Coast Guard, but we were worried."
On the afternoon of the third day, he
said, a Coast Guard jet flew overhead
and the men were sure they had been
spotted and would be rescued.
They celebrated by eating the two
sandwiches and drinking some beer.
BUT NO rescue showed up and
darkness fell.
In the days that followed, some boats
and ships passed nearby, but none of-
fered help. Ulrich said one shrimp boat
came directly at them, then appeared
to maneuver to avoid them and didn't
stop. "I'd like to think they didn't see
us," he said.
They washed the boat down, hoping to
make it more visible. They had on
board a police whistle, road flares that
wouldn't work, and clothing that was
international orange in color.
WHEN THE prepared food was gone,
they ate raw fish, but found it un-
palatable. Ulrich said they fashioned a
cook stove out of a metal locker and
used gasoline and slivers of wood for
fuel. They cooked the fish a top the
heated locker.
Water was rationed to sips in the
morning and night. When it rained
briefly, they sopped up some water with
a seat cushion.
"We even licked the deck," said
Balsley, the owner of the boat.
Hot stuff AP Photo
Ilawaii's Kilauea Volcano erupted yesterday shooting lava 600 feet into the
air, and sending two rivers of lava down the mountain.
Quake hits Northeast,
-HAPPEN NGS-
Highlight
The Western Opera Theater, touring company of the San Francisco Opera
Center, will present Puccini's Madame Butterfly tonight at 8 p.m. at the
Power Center.
Films
Mediatrics - On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 9 a.m.; Diamonds are
Forever, 11:30 a.m.; Live & Let Die, 1:40 p.m.; Man With the Golden Gun,
3:50 p.m.; The Spy Who Loved Me, 6:05 p.m.; Moonraker, 8:15 p.m.; For
Your Eyes Only, 10:35 p.m., Michigan.
Alt Act - Repulsion, 7 p.m.; Tess, 9 p.m., MLB 4.
AAFC - Quadrophenia, 7 & 9:15 p.m., Lorch.
Cinema 2 - American Gigolo, 7 & 9:15 p.m., MLB 3.
Cinema Guild -2001: A Space Odyssey, 7 & 9:30 p.m., Aud A Angell.
Hill St. - M*A*S*H1, 8:30, 10:30 p.m., Hill St.
Performance Network - Poletown Lives, 8 p.m., 408 Washington St.
Performances
Ark - Madcat Ruth, blues harmonica, 8 p.m., 1421 Hill St.
PTP - Rivals, 8 p.m., Mendelssohn Theater.
Residential College - A Man's a Man, 8 p.m., RC Auditorium.
Second Chance - York Road, 9 p.m.
Speakers -
WesternEuropean Studies - International Conference on Socialist Fran-
ce, 9 a.m., Rackham.
Meetings
Ann Arbor Go Club -2 p.m., 1433 Mason.
Tae Kwon Do - 9 a.m., CCRB.
Micnaln r-n,,c
From United Press International
A rare widespread earthquake rat-
tled the northeastern U.S. and Canada
yesterday, shattering windows at the
upstate New York epicenter and
rocking slumbering people in their beds
from northern Maryland to Ontario. No
one was hurt and no major damage was
reported.
Furniture careened across rooms,
dishes bounced from cupboards, pain-
tings crashed to the floor and oneman
awoke in his waterbed to "tidal waves
in his bedroom."
The U.S. Geological Survey In
Golden, Colo. pegged the tremor at 5.2-
A reading of 5 above on the scale can
cause considerable damage.
The tremor at 6:20 a.m.-lasting 30
seconds in some areas- was followed
by a second meashring 3.8 on the
Richter scale, and a third of 3.0 at 6:59
a.m., said Nafi Tiksoz, director of the
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology's Geophysical Observatory
in Boston.
.r
SPELL #7
by Ntozake Shange
October 19-23
CRv A MCI
DE BERGERAC
by Edmond Rosta
November 23-27
THE HOSTAGE
by Brendan Beha
February 8-12
LONDON
ASSURANCE
fl d
SUBSCRI BE!
University
Pla'yers'
Powe r
Series
mmmoppp-