From Mother Nature Network:

Ice is known by a wide range of identities in nature, from tiny snowflakes to Chicago-sized icebergs and canyon-covering glaciers. Still, a neatly shaped circle of frozen, rotating river water is strange to see, even in a wintry place like North Dakota.
The video above shows such a circle spinning serenely atop the Sheyenne River, where retired engineer George Loegering was out hunting with relatives on Nov. 23. “At first I thought, ‘No way!’ It was surreal,” Loegering tells the Associated Press, which published the video this week. “You looked at it and you thought, ‘How did it do that?'”
Was this a Thanksgiving miracle? A heavenly reminder to place unwieldy serving dishes on a lazy Susan? Maybe, but the AP got a more down-to-Earth answer from experts at the U.S. National Weather Service. NWS meteorologist Greg Gust says a mix of cold, dense air last weekend started turning the river’s surface to ice, but remaining warmth didn’t let the water freeze evenly. And when floating ice chunks drifted into an eddy, or small whirlpool, they began spinning in a circle and created the illusion of a solid disk.
I think it is a crop circle all frozen up.  Just kidding.  Things like this spinning disk of ice really do pique our curiosity.
According to Discovery.com:
The circle of ice is a “collection of ice cubes,” caught in an eddy, Allen Schlag, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Bismarck told the AP. The cold weather over the weekend froze bits of the river in other areas that then broke apart and drifted with the current until getting caught in the eddy. Snow and frost continue to collect on top of the eddy, which grows larger in a series of concentric rings.
Whatever caused it, it sure is neat.

33 Thoughts to “Open Thread………………………………….Monday, December 2”

  1. Rick Bentley

    It’s God making a comment on global warming hysteria.

  2. Snicker.

    Or ice elves making “crop cirlces of ice.”

  3. For Scout:

    http://www.bing.com/

    Look at it on Monday or use the arrows to get to Monday’s pic.

  4. The BOCS is boring me. I should be more interested in the Hallowed Ground Initiative.

    Bad me.

  5. The tree planting is fabulous. I want to know more about it. My mood is improving on this subject.

    I hope Prince William isn’t too cheap to plant trees for dead Civil War soldiers.

  6. Pete Candland needs to stop campaigning. Gainesville has mostly underground wiring. It is newer.

    It’s easy to start talking tea party talk when you don’t lose power. Mr. Jenkins lives in areas that are still with above ground wiring. He knows and understands.

  7. Lafayette

    Well, at least Mr. Jenkins neighborhoods have STREET LIGHTS!!
    :EVIL:

    1. No kidding. Sudley sure doesn’t. Its dark as a dungeon.

  8. George S. Harris

    @Cargosquid
    Very funny!

    No streetlights in this party of Coles District [redacted by owners] If I am not mistaken, streetlight allocation is controlled by supervisors.

  9. middleman

    I love the dark! Streetlights make it easier for criminals to see their targets. ;-}

  10. Lafayette

    You need your high beams on once you leave WestGate and enter Sudley!
    Excellent point, middleman.

  11. Ray Beverage

    @Moon-howler

    Moon, if you think Dec 3rd was boring, come Tuesday it will be both exciting and boring! I noted not only there is the Audited Year End Balance, but also the BOCS will issue budget guidance. Stand by for the speeches! Pontifications will abound!

    One thing I am concerned for is the presention on Tax Relief for Elderly & Disabled. Since HUD lowered the base income limit and it is going to affect some folks already having the relief, I hope the BOCS do the right thing and not change the PWC Code so those folks can continue to qualify.

    1. The bar is pretty high for tax relief now. It also hurts if you are married. Maybe seniors would be less reluctant about taxes if they got an old age discount.

      Even 10% off would be helpful. Let’s face it, retirees don’t have kids in the school system as a rule. I can almost understand feeling like you have paid your dues. How innovative would it be to have a 10% tax relief package to attract senior citizens?

      Older people generally don’t need as many county services as people with kids who need athletic fields and schools.

      I would also like to see special funds that people could donate to throughout the year. How many library users would give to a library fund? How many people would drop $10 on soccer field upkeep? We might be surprised.

  12. Friar Tuck

    That Sheriff is a damn intellectual. When he doesn’t have a good argument, he just calls his rivals stupid. Guess that seals it.

    The times will sure be a’changing when “he” gets outted and his golden boy shown for the hypocrite he really is.

  13. Lyssa

    The Sheriff is a polemicist. His “discussion” style is akin to the attorney that destroys the character of the victim rather than argue the facts of the case. This can be a useful method in some arenas but certainly not in a local government community task force setting. I guess he and his elected official believe that those living in a home worth less that $425k or so are not to be valued and are a problem to this community.

    Apparently, the Sheriff and his official prefer a certain demographic – and many residents are not included. Pretty blatant stuff.

    And, what an insult to Bob Dylan –

  14. Wolverine

    May King Richard the Lionheart return soon and straighten out PWC from whatever seems to be ailing it.

  15. Wolverine

    But don’t forget that, after Richard died, he was replaced on the throne by King John, his evil brother and the regent for whom the Sheriff works at present. PWC may have troubles. Sudley may never see a streetlight again!

  16. Lyssa

    I say throw off the English. Again.

    The lighting situation in Sudley is long overdue. I say approach Sup Jenkins.

  17. Friar Tuck

    @Lyssa

    He doesn’t seem to think much of beauticians either. I wonder who does his wife’s hair?

    One thing for sure, he wasn’t a Dylan aficionado. Dylan didn’t have “signature hits.”

    The SAT discussion is simply absurd. Departure from all logic. It made me smile. Makes me wonder who really believes all the bull shit shoved there.

    When is the outing going to happen?

  18. Lyssa

    I thought it happened a few months ago and that appearance at the BOS meeting seemed to clinch it.

  19. Lafayette

    @Lyssa
    It will never happen. Sudley is 40+ years old and it has never seen a street light. Well, there’s a couple in the small townhouse subdivision or two. However, that’s a minuscule portion of Sudley’s entirety.
    I will have to continue to put the high beams on as if I were driving through the Rural Crescent. Provided no other car is driving opposite of me.

    1. Lafayette is absolutely correct. It will not happen. After 40 years…it just isn’t going to happen.

  20. Lyssa

    Well, Sudley homes values must be lower than $425k. You are not worthy of services. Y’all should move from your solid brick homes with copper piping into McMansions in Gainesville with pressboard foundations and PVC pipes.

    1. It sure sounds like they are not worthy. Copper pipes! Imagine.

  21. Here I was, complaining about the cold, when I read about the new record in Antarctica…..

    -138 degrees.

    Brrrrrrrr……

  22. Cargo! You have returned! Where did you go?

  23. Was it my imagination or did Pete Candland accuse Melissa Peacor of interrupting him?

    Was anyone else watching? She was responding to his question.

    I hope he apologizes because it sure looked that way.

  24. Lafayette

    This effin’ RIDICULOUS.

    1. I laughed. I had to rewatch because I fell asleep during the first run.

  25. Sean

    JTHG is a boondoggle. The County has offered to assist in planting trees, they refused…they just want cash to underwrite their salaries. Only two localities along the whole JTHG has allocated funds this year and Loudoun being one, only allocated $35,000…A LOT less than what they are asking PWC to pay and remember, PWC only has a small portion of the JTHG in it where Loudoun has a huge section. It is a money pit…they do a great job campaigning, politicing and schmoozing, very little substance from a great idea, just nothing to show for it.

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