Last update: 23 August 1997
It is our privilege, as members of NOAA, to receive our own personal copies of the NOAA Report, an "inhouse" newsletter (that can't be made to work in the "outhouse" because it's printed on slick paper!). This document recently has joined the rest of the information age by becoming accessible on the Web. One of the joys of receiving this is the opportunity for me to put my own "spin" (cyclonic, of course!) on the stories it contains. I will be adding to these, so stay tuned ... I begin with the August 1997 issue:
My first story concerns the exploration of an icy mountain
wilderness by a team of NOAA scientists. The scientists are shown
here,
heavily burdened with the gear for their studies. The native
laborers employed to assist the scientists are also shown attending
to the scientists. These particular NOAA scientists are famous among
their peers for their stubborn efforts to wring scientific value from
their resources, and are more than willing to carry their share of
the burden for science.
The second story is nicely illustrated 
here, showing among others,
NOAA Administrator Dr. James Baker and National Weather Service
Director Dr. Elbert W. "Joe" Friday, just before the immensely
popular Dr. Friday was to walk the plank into the waters of Boulder
Reservoir (specially stocked with piranhas and sharks for the
occasion), from a lake barge. The barge was named (coincidentally)
for Ron Brown, a reknowned NOAA scientist from ERL in Boulder, who
drowned in the lake two years ago (no relation to the late Commerce
Secretary, Ron Brown) during a scientific experiment. Dr. Baker had
ordered the departure of Dr. Friday as a cost-saving measure. Note
that Dr. Friday is a respectful two meters behind and to the left of
Dr. Baker, showing his acquiescence to this plan. Dr. Friday vanished
into the murky waters shortly after this photograph was taken, right
on schedule. His body was found later by divers using a net dragged
along the bottom of the lake.
Finally, as the headline for this story suggests, the captain of
the NOAA ship "Rude" is shown forcing little children to
swab the
decks of the ship with toothbrushes prior to their being given
their customary guided tours. Captain Bligh, renowned within NOAA for
his severe discipline, is pointing out where the diminutive laborers
have missed a spot on the deck, while their parents look on. "Make
the little beggars work for their tour!" was his response when
questioned about the reason for this request. Upon leaving New York,
the U.S.S. Rude is scheduled to do an oceanographic study of the
South Pacific, near Tahiti. The crew is looking forward to the trip,
we are told.