Strange Cloud Formations and Yankee Gutter Repair Updates

Well I did get manage to get the roof leak patched on the house, but I got so absorbed with things like getting the tools put away, fixing the roof, etc and I didn’t bother getting finished photos. Due to feeling kind of lousy I just ended up patching the existing ‘gutter’ for now and will be saving to hire someone else to do the major re-work on these Yankee gutters which are in such bad shape. I think the final solution may be to just remove them, though I’m not big on changing the look of the house I don’t want to have continuous problems with them for the duration of owning the house.

I find I’m not comfortable that high up, even on a boom lift. If I’m -high- on a ladder, I think every little wiggle is the ladder about to give way, and apparently if I’m high up in a boom lift, I think every little wiggle is one of the legs of the boom lift about to sink into the ground and tip on me! I’m pretty good on ladders up to about 12 feet or so, perfectly comfortable, as I move higher than that I get more nervous. It’s pretty well known if you’re nervous and panic easily with heights, you don’t want to be in precarious situations because you may respond incorrectly and make a bad situation worse. So, if you panic easily with heights, don’t go up high and find someone else to do it, certainly not worth becoming disabled or dead to save some money.

It’s odd though I do not have a fear of heights when I’m in an airplane, building or other enclosed cabins. If I’m hanging over mid-air, with a couple of spindly posts holding me up then I really have some problems.

At any rate, the Yankee gutter is now patched with a asphalt + fiber + mesh tape roof patch and nails and it’s been raining throughout the day and no water has been coming into the house, so far, which was the primary goal of this whole mess. Hopefully it will stay dry in here and we will be able to paint the wall with the Killz primer/stain blocker and then repaint with the room color.

I have some nice photos to share today. The first is a pretty awesome cloud formation that came through right behind a thunder storm. I had stepped outside the office to go to another building when I saw these, so I grabbed the camera out of my car and shot these photos. These bubble shaped clouds are Mammatus or Mammatocumulus clouds which means ‘bumpy clouds’. Mammatas is in reference to their shape like a breast or udder. I hope you enjoy learning these things with me 😀

Mammatocumulus aka "Bumpy Clouds"

Mammatus Clouds

Mammatus Clouds

Bubble Shaped Clouds

These really 3D looking cloud formations remind me a lot of a photo I took a few years back. This photo is of dense clouds which are shaped like ocean waves across the sky. I was accused of photoshopping the picture by quite a lot of people, but it’s not photoshopped and is an original. I’ve never found an official name for these clouds, they don’t qualify as rolling clouds, and they have different characteristics than most wave clouds. If anyone has identification for this cloud type, please let me know so I can update this page.

In Fact, I liked these clouds so much I decided to turn them into evil clouds. Perhaps something you would see on December 21, 2012, when the world ends. Clouds like these are excellent for Photoshop color adjustment and other things. Try it yourself, they also look good in blues and reds and other colors, just please make sure to attribute the image (give credit, such as a link to this page) if you use it elsewhere.

UPDATE: These type of cloud formations are caused by gravity waves according to what I’ve read about the physics behind this kind of cloud formation. While the name does not seem obvious, the description of it’s effects and how it affects cloud formation and weird cloud shapes makes sense. If you do a search on the term you will find some interesting information. If you feel there is some sort of other mechanism at work I am interested in hearing it.

Weird Wave Clouds

I had to mess with this photo as well, again going for the red doom look.

I’ve found similar clouds on other websites, some even more photoshopped looking than this! The ‘Strange clouds spotted by the Cloud Appreciation Society’ page, Photo #3 from that site is a great example.

This video embedded below is from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet, you’ve definitely gotta hit the play button, very cool! I recommend clicking the link and checking out the source of the video for more information, it opens in a new window and you can come back here to browse more.