Friday, January 5, 2007

Michigan Radio and probability

I walk my dogs twice a day. The dogs are not known to be the best conversational partners, and they usually forgive lack of intellectual stimulation from me, so I almost always listen to Michigan radio (local NPR station) as we walk. Half way through our walk there was a weather blurb that, among other things, said: "And there is 70% chance of rain this evening in southeast Michigan including Ann Arbor and Detroit". I look around me and think: It is 5:20 pm, which during this season I believe qualifies as evening since it is pretty dark out here. I am in Ann Arbor. True, it's not pouring rain, but something is falling, and trust me it's not cats and dogs. Last time I checked they called it rain. Now, what needs to happen before they say that the chances of rain are 100%? Or even better, why can't they say "It's raining, and it doesn't look like it's going to quit any time soon"?

Oh, and one more thing: Ann Arbor and Detroit are in southeast Michigan. No need to include them just for the weather report.

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