I have always heard Gulf of Mexico, but googling the topic it looks like both might be the right answer.

I make it rain.

There is a TON of info on the monsoon and all weather on noaa's NWS site.

Here's the answer to the Gulf question:

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/monsoon/..._gulfsurge.php

Ahh

I think I should modify my statement to include both gulfs:

Upper level moisture is also transported into the region, mainly from the Gulf of Mexico by easterly winds aloft.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/twc/monsoon/monsoon_NA.php

--don

Don,
My undergrad was in meteorology and I would say that's a pretty good summary. I would agree with what phx31 said about late june and the heat. A strong monsoon flow will definitely keep temps down. This would be why the hottest day was in late June vs. early July because you would need very low moisture levels to get super hot days. It's an ebb and flow though, there's plenty of days in July with dewpoints in the 40's which doesn't do much to effect the temps. A weak monsoon year like last summer gives you a lot of days like that. In terms of the debate over where the moisture comes from, I would include both gulfs, but when you see a classic monsoon flow you get the strong flow off of the GOM from the high pressure sitting on the four corners. In terms of the freezing in the winter, it can really vary from place to place. I regularly have to scrape ice off my car in the winter and I live right by the fairgrounds. Because temps can drop so quickly due to the low moisture, a little microclimate can develop where it is several degrees cooler than most places. Not that you would include all this in what you have written, but that's my 2 cents. Let me know if I can be of any more help.

http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/...n-phoenix.html

http://www.azcentral.com/community/t...#reply19367065

Not being a fishing fan I think this would be about as exciting as watching paint dry, but it's still nice exposure for Tempe and Phoenix.

since you think this isn't your cup of tea but nice exposure for the city, why turn your nose up at the WWE?

fishing + WWE = trailer park woodstock

:haha: :haha: :haha:

So I'm going to see "The Toasters" on Monday at Martini Ranch in Scottsdale and local 2 tone ska band "The Two Tone Lizard Kings" is opening up for them. I had seen the Lizard Kings once before but wanted to refresh my memory so I searched them on YouTube and found a cool (if cheaply made) music video of theirs with lots of nice urban shots of DT Phx & Tempe. Its a cover of the old Temptations song 'Aint too Proud to Beg"

For some reason I feel like it may have been posted before, but anyhow here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inxqHL1F260

I have 2 questions, my questions are 2, number 1:

1. Driving down the I-17 tonight around Metro Center there are a TON of hotels/motels. Who the hell is staying in those? I imagine they were built at one point to capitalize on Metro Center/Castles and Coasters but now that areas pretty rough and its not like there's even a Spring Training site right near by. Can someone smarter than me explain to me what their customer base is or how they stay in business out of curiosity?

2. There used to be a bar downtown across from Hotel San Carlos/Seamus McCaffreys called Monroes. Its been closed for probably 2 years now, does anyone know anything about why it ever closed? That basement room it had would be a perfect place to do a small local comedy show about 5 or 6 nights a week if that bar was ever up and running.

I'm gonna take a stab at this one. I've driven cross-country 4 times now and the area along I-17 could be in any medium to large sized city in the US. It actually reminds me a lot of Oklahoma City on I-40. When driving and looking for a place to stay I'd look in these areas because they are directly off the interstate, on the outer-fringe of a city, with cheap room rates (Ex: Motel 6 $39.99). I think they were built at a time when many cities were building this model that catered to truckers and road travelers. The only thing that doesn't make sense is that I-17 is a short route that is used to connect 40 to 10.

FWIW, the Sheraton by MetroCentre has a convention center that a lot of people use. Plus it is a good location for people (as Leo said) to stop and rest for the night. I used to work at one of the hotels there, maybe around 1999, and it was pretty much meth heads and skeevy hooker types. It was one of those weekly hotels so i dont if that really compares to the rest. I do know that during MLS Spring Training the Kansas City Wizards were staying at the sheraton and the Columbus Crew were staying at the one closer to Metro.

Hey, any of you know an Optometrist? I've noticed that the highway signs at night are a lot blurrier than they used to be and I might need glasses or something. It's probably been about 10 years since I've had my eyes checked.

I've seen a guy at Southwestern Eye Center in Tempe a few times named Arlen Roper. Really cool young white guy who was able to remove a seed pod out of my eye once without scratching anything and also gave me a prescription for glasses and then said I don't need them and save my money. He said he was only giving the prescription to make his office happy and I could throw it away.

Nice talented honest guy.

I usually just go wherever my insurance is accepted.. I think most places are pretty good.. it's ultimately up to you whether you get the right prescription or not.. you just tell them what you can see/can't see while looking through different lenses.

Check out this building thats the UKs pavilion for the Shanghai Worlds Fair:

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/4797/e0222287287.jpg

Its made up of tubes that sway in the wind. Its pretty neat, it kind of reminds me of a barrel cactus if it was a different color. A building like that would be really cool here in AZ if behind the tubes it was glass so you could see out, the tubes would provide plenty of a shade/sun screen for the building inside.

So I recently bought PBS' "Arizona Memories" series, its quite terrific. Specifically the "Az Memories from the 60s" briefly talks about the death of downtown and the movement to malls/the 'burbs. But beyond specifically downtown the series has lots of old footage and photos from Phoenix gone by. Its interesting, though quite depressing, seems like something special slipped away...maybe we'll get it back someday.

Anyway, if anyone wants to borrow the DVDs from me, shoot me a PM, I know theyre expensive to buy and not exactly rentable at a Blockbuster or whatever. I have the 50s, 60s, and 70s DVDs as well as the first 'Arizona Memories" which is only about half an hour and talks about the 40s/WW2.