January 11, 2015.  Fun times this weekend!  Lots of football, went and saw Birdman at the theater last night, the Golden Globes are tonight, and the best of all was being live on KUSI receiving a check presentation donation from our friends at Barona for The Solar Alliance Foundation.

A big Thank You to Barona for their donation!

The Foundation (here is the link:  http://solaralliancefoundation.org) is starting its third year of helping injured and disabled soldiers and veterans who because of their injuries can no longer earn an adequate income and need financial assistance.  Unlike some foundations which provide 'one-time' donations, the Solar Alliance Foundation gives them a completely free solar electric system, which in turn eliminates their electric bill each and every month for decades to come. Now that's making a difference!

Unfortunately, it can't be done without donations, and that's what was happening in Tierrasanta yesterday morning when Dana from Barona stopped by and presented a check for $5,000.

On hand were also Dave Stahl, the car guy who does live shots with the station and one of our veteran recipients, Mr. Greg Roderick who was celebrating the one year anniversary of the installation of his free system from the foundation.

So while watching the Packers beat the Cowboys was fun - it was really the fact that we will be installing another system for a veteran in a couple of weeks due to the Barona donation.

Thanks!!

Joe Lizura

Joe Lizura's Welcome To The New Year!

It's the New Year!  I absolutely can not believe how fast the last 12 months have flown by.  It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in January saying that "I definitely would blog every couple of days this year."  Yet before I knew it, the year was almost over and I hadn't taken the time to write, which is really a sad thing, because I love to write.

So here goes again ... If all goes well, I'll actually write on a regular basis this year!

You know, with the start of every new year, I think about the months ahead wondering they hold in store, yet it always amazes me that no matter how hard you think about what's ahead that there are so many things that will happen that there is just know way of knowing or even fathoming in advance. This past year was no exception - for example, who would have even thought that we would lose someone like Robin Williams, or that an entire airplane would completely disappear without a trace and with absolutely no explanation - or that we would land a spacecraft on a comet? Or that oil prices would get chopped in half.

What also amazes me is how many great things happen.  In 2014, Tamie and I became 'empty-nesters' which was always some "in the distance" event that would never really happen, kinda like when you're 21 years old and people are telling you "Just wait until you get old!"  These are just things that never really seem like they are real until they actually happy - definitely strange. Our kids are such great people that it was very sad on my end when the reality hit me that they were both out in the real world.

It was great to see our youngest daughter graduate high school, I have never been prouder of both our girls who made it through high school and got into college.  When they were babies, I remember holding them in the late hours when they would wake up crying and it never bothered me in the least - I told myself that I would enjoy every bit of what came our way with the kids and when they both became great young adults, Tamie and I sat down and talked about all of the work, time, and effort (most of it on Tamie's end) it took to guide them into adulthood and how proud we were of them.

So now it's on to a new year, one that will see our older daughter Taylor become a college senior in the Fall (another one of the things that you know is coming but it doesn't ever seem like it's really ever going to happen), and our Madison will get through her freshman year, which is usually the toughest year at school.

I have some lofty resolutions this year, and hopefully I'll have the energy and drive to make them happen.  I'd also love to connect with some of the very close friends I've had in my life who I don't ever hear from anymore (which I always find to be a sad thing).

I plan on moving the Solar Alliance Foundation (http://solaralliancefoundation.org) into high gear - it's a wonderful foundation that was formed in 2012 and I've had the pleasure of directing.

I don't know if there will be a family reunion in the works this year - last year we all got to enjoy one in Myrtle Beach and it was so great to be with the whole family!  I do miss my sisters, brother, and father so very much, so when I get to see them it's always a special time.  Last year I had the extra bonus of seeing everyone in Chicago at my sister's house in May and that was nice as well.

Hopefully they'll be lots of golf in 2015 and lots of time with friends - even though most of the people we know are very busy, I hope that we can meet up with them.

At finally, just a few thoughts about all of those things that await in the year ahead - I hope the tragic events a far and few between, I hope the new scientific discoveries are very exciting, I hope that medical discoveries happen that save lives, and I hope that my family and friends (those I see often and those I think about often) are safe, healthy and that everyone gets what they are hoping for.

Welcome to the New Year!

Joe Lizura

2014 worst blockbuster movie list

Anyone who knows the Lizura family knows that we love going to the movies, and this year was no exception with our family visiting the theaters no less than 30 times.  During the course of the past 52 weeks however, I am glad to say that we did not see any of the movies that made the 2014 worst blockbuster list!  

Among the surprise movies we did see this year, were such outstanding ones as "Grand Budapest Hotel," "Boyhood," "The 100 Foot Journey," and even "The Interview."  Surprisingly, all of those movies were ones that I literally did not have any preconceived notions about whether they would be good or not.

Luckily, we managed to miss the movies on the worst list, that included the following:  "Million Dollar Arm," which I did want to see, but didn't get the chance to catch it when it came out.  Apparently the movie only cost $25 million dollars to make, yet still could not produce a profit.

Also on the list was "Pompeii," which I must admit had 'dud' written all over it, plus who wants to see a movie where we know how it ends?  

On the list was also the movie "Transcendence" which cost $100 million dollars to make, yet only made $25 million in the U.S..

Another movie that we didn't get to see was "The Legend of Hercules," which I guess was a lucky miss for us considering that Rotten Tomato only gave it a 3% on the Tomatometer!

Rounding out the list for worst movies of the year were "Sabotage," Winter's Tale," and "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return," which judging by the fact that this was the first time I even saw the name of the movie would explain, in large part, why it was a box office bomb!

Movies are always a matter of preference, but I think every year there is a "sleeper" movie that wins people over and stays hot for months at the box office - with little promotion.  Last year it would arguably be "The Lego Movie" and I think this year it would have to be "Guardians of the Galaxy."

That's about it for my thoughts on the movies of 2014 - I'm definitely looking forward to a great slate of movies for 2015 - including the newest Star Wars movie in the series (due out next fall.)

Have a Happy New Year!

Joe Lizura

  

The Answer To The Drought - Lake Tahoe! by Joe Lizura

Lake Tahoe, California

I found it!  The answer to the drought is Lake Tahoe!  Check out these fun facts I found about lake tahoe:

*  Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S. with a depth of 1,645 feet.
*  At its longest and widest, Lake Tahoe measures 22 miles by 12 miles
*  The Shoreline of the lake is 72 miles long
*  The elevation of the lake is 6,225 feet above sea level
*  There are 63 tributaries draining into the lake and only one outlet at the Truckee River in Tahoe City
*  Average snowfall at lake level is 125 feet
*  If you were to empty the lake over the entire state of California, it would be enough water to cover the state to a depth of 14 inches
*  The amount of water in Lake Tahoe is enough for every single American to use 50 gallons per day for 5 straight years.
*  The amount of evaporated water every single day is enough to supply a city the size of Los Angeles for 5 years.

So clearly, the answer to the drought must be to drain Lake Tahoe!  Unfortunately if we did that, it is estimated that it would take over 700 years to re-fill the lake with normal rainfall and snow fall.  So, on second thought, maybe we should look to building desalination plants first?

Joe Lizura

The California Drought - is there a way to break it?

November 28, 2014.  Joe Lizura Blog.  Not to be sarcastic, but have you heard that California is in a drought?  It's a big one for sure with major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and San Diego facing shortages that may require even more water restrictions.

Folsom Lake during a normal year of rainfall

Around the state, there are farmlands and dairylands that have been abandoned, and mile after mile in the central valley normally very fertile lush farms are nothing more than dirt.

Up and down the state, reservoirs are nearly empty, and in some smaller towns where well water dried up months ago, daily water truck deliveries are now the norm.

A dried up Folsom Lake in January

So after three years of drought conditions, and lots of media coverage saying that it will take years to end the drought,  the question is how long "really"will it take for the drought to end?  Is it possible to end the drought in one year or will it take two or three years of heavy rains to finally restore our reservoirs to their normal levels?

The answer to that question is somewhat surprising because the answer really doesn't have much to do with how much rain falls as it has to do with how quickly storms come back-to-back, and here's why.

Having spent 25 years in California as a meteorologist, one thing I can tell you for certain is that our reservoirs fill up not by rainfall, but by run-off.  So equally as important, if not more so, is how quickly storms come in a row.  In order to maximize the impact of storms, they have to come one after another, because the first storm in a series soaks into the ground, which allows subsequent storms to be "run-off" which fills reservoirs.

So for example, let say the Sacramento area normally gets 25 inches of rain a year (that's actually how much they average annually), and the rain falls evenly from October thru April with a storm every other week. The run-off would be quite low because there would be too much time for the ground to dry out between storms - meaning a large part of each storm would be needed just to get the ground soaked again before the run-off begins.

Whereas, if you were to get all 25 inches of rain in just 8 weeks, the run-off would be huge and the reservoirs would be the recipients of more than enough rainfall to end the drought.

Now with that said, there are two other issues - one helps end the drought and one hurts it.  The first issue is how cold the storms are - the colder the better because the snow pack that builds up in the mountains will melt continuously over the spring with run-off over soaked ground.  The other issue is where the storms enter the state - if the storms soak northern California where the reservoirs are located, then clearly that would mean run-off going into reservoirs because that is where the water storage reservoirs are located.  If the storms come into Southern California, that would be the worst case because there are relatively no storage reservoirs in the southern part of the state, and all of that run-off would directly into the ocean.

So, the summary of all of this is that yes you can end a multi-year drought in one year, but it will take several key things happening in our favor - so let's keep the fingers crossed!

Joe Lizura
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Free Money - By Joe Lizura - The Spectacular Benefit Of Lower Oil Prices

November 18, 2014.  "Free Money" by Joe Lizura.  Look around you everyone - there is free money pouring down on all of us!  And for once, I'm not being overly dramatic.  Thanks to the once "unthinkable" drop in oil prices and the resultant free fall of gas prices, there is free money literally pouring in to families on a nationwide level unseen in any modern economic time.

Remember back at the height of the great recession, when the government let it rain money - in the form of the $300 government checks that were mailed out to Americans?  Well that stimulus program absolutely dulls in comparison to the amount of money Americans are saving with gas prices down between $1 dollar and $1.50 per gallon.

There are people literally saving a hundred dollars a month (or more) on gasoline each month right now - and in some cases even more than that!  I just read a story yesterday morning (which is already outdated because oil fell another $1.50 a barrel again today) which said that Americans were receiving the benefit of $285,000,000 (285 million dollars) a day!  The number they gave was between $70 and $100 per family per month - and in California where people drive twice as far as the national average each week, the number was closer to double that!

How does that stack up?  Basically it's a raise - but it's better than a raise, because you don't pay income tax on it! (unlike that government check we got, which if memory serves me correctly, we had to pay taxes on the following April).

Read about the price of oil ahead from CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102189040#.

It's also better than handing out a government check, because when the government prints out free money - an increase in inflation is a real danger.  On the other hand, when gas prices are spiraling downward, the net results are lower prices, because transportation costs drop dramatically on everything that is shipped - utility costs drop, food harvesting costs drop, material costs for plastics drop, construction material costs drop - in theory, even the expensive ink for our printers should drop.

As I said, this really is an unprecedented economic stimulus that will have economists studying the effects for years to come.

Written by Joe Lizura.  Join Joe on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joelizura
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Tonight's Leonid Meteor Shower, by Joe Lizura

November 17, 2014 - Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I sat down to write a blog post - yikes!  Well a meteor shower is as good a reason as any and tonight's meteor shower should be a good one.

As far as ideal weather conditions go, tonight should be nearly perfect for the Leonid meteor shower, with Santa Ana conditions bringing crisp, clear skies with virtually no humidity and not a cloud in sight for miles.

Now as far as meteor showers go, tonight's Leonid meteor show should be a fairly good one with 10 to 15 meteors an hour.  Now bear in mind that you could see a dozen of them in a fifteen minute period and then wait an hour to see the next ones, so you'll need to be patient.

The key to seeing most of the meteors will be to stay up late, which means between midnight and 5 am, California time.  Also, to maximize your viewing, try to find a wide open area away from city lights if you can.  The best spots in Southern California are usually in the desert or on the tops of the many hills or even in the mountains.

Which way should you look?  If you know the night sky, you would want to face the constellation Leo as that is the direction the meteors will be coming from - it's also why it's named the Leonid meteor show (meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors seem to originate).

The last time I went on a meteor show viewing, about 30 of us had a party at the house until midnight and then we all packed in cars and drove to a nearby park area with lawn chairs and blankets - it was a fun 'meteor shower party'.

If you want to learn more about meteor showers, here is link to Leonid Shower-http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/leonids.html


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