Daily Weather Observations for Sun., Nov. 3, 2013

Temp: Not measured.

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.00 inches

Humidity: Not measured.

Conditions: Not recorded.

Wind: Not measured.

Barometric Pressure: Not recorded.

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.60 inches

Month to Date Rainfall: 0.60 inches

Fall to Date Rainfall: 2.60 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 44.85 inches

NOTES: Today is the 307th day of 2013 and the 43rd day of Fall. There are 58 days left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hrs Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.

Was the HBO police drama 'The Wire' the greatest TV show of all time?

Earlier this year, a lawyer friend of mine, Michael Tonder of Mobile, recommended that I check out “The Wire,” a police TV series that aired on HBO from June 2002 through March 2008. I’d heard of the show before, but not being an HBO subscriber, I’d never watched a single episode of the show. He said he thought I’d like it.

In early April, thanks to NetFlix, I began watching the entire series, all 60 episodes, in order from start to finish, and I finished watching them all last week. Having seen them all, I’m now of the opinion that “The Wire” is arguably the greatest TV show ever. If it’s not the greatest, it’s certainly way up there.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, which ran for five seasons, it’s about the illicit drug trade in Baltimore, Maryland. Each season focused on a different aspect of the drug trade. For example, the second season dealt almost entirely with the local port’s effect on the drug trade, and the fourth season dealt with the local school system. The final season focused on the media’s impact on the drug trade and crime.

The show included a fascinating (and long) list of characters, but the main character was arguably Detective Jimmy McNulty, who was played by Dominic West. McNulty was a drunk and womanizer, but he was also a highly skilled investigator. He always seemed to be the smartest guy in the room, and didn’t mind bending the rules if he thought he had a good reason.

This show was also very gritty and realistic, and as you might have imagined about a show about the drug trade, major characters got killed off from time to time. One of the show’s more popular characters was Omar Little, a stick-up artist who made his living by robbing drug dealers. Feared on the streets by all who knew his reputation, he met his end in a surprising (and, for me, unsatisfying) manner late in the show’s run.

If you’ve never seen “The Wire,” I highly recommend that you check it out. And I’m not talking about an episode here and there, I’m talking about the whole run, from start to finish. It will take some time, but it’s worth it, and you will not be disappointed. (For those of you have NetFlix, the complete run of the series is available on DVD.)

Having seen the entire run of the series, I’m of the opinion that “The Wire” is arguably the greatest TV show ever. The characters were great. The shows were well-written, intriguing and addictive. The show also seemed highly realistic, and the more I watched, the more I felt like I was learning something about the way the real world works.

In the end, how many of you are fans of “The Wire”? What did you think of the show? Where would you rank it among the greatest TV shows ever? Which of the show’s characters was your personal favorite? Which episode was your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.

Alabama prep football statewide scores from games on Fri., Nov. 1, 2013

Alabama high school football statewide scores from games played on Fri., Nov. 1, 2013:

AHSAA Interclass Games:
Addison 38, Winston County 12
Akron 42, R.C. Hatch 20
Aliceville 61, Greene County 14
American Christian 7, Central-Tuscaloosa 0
Appalachian 24, Holly Pond 22
Athens 42, Sparkman 0
Auburn 56, East Limestone 28
Baker 28, LeFlore 0
Bayside Academy 55, Satsuma 28
Beauregard 42, Loachapoka 14
Bessemer City 34, Midfield 6
Beulah 33, Wadley 20
Brewer 55, Priceville 28
Brindlee Mountain 22, DAR 16
Brookwood 52, Holt 0
Calera 29, Chilton County 28
Carver-Birmingham 10, Wenonah 6
Carver-Montgomery 41, Anniston 14
Central-Coosa 20, Horseshoe Bend 7
Central-Florence 54, Colbert Heights 13
Charles Henderson 59, Eufaula 42
Chelsea 64, Shelby County 28
Cherokee 41, Waterloo 0
Childersburg 46, Winterboro 7
Choctaw County 20, Keith 6
Colbert County 28, Brooks 3
Cold Springs 60, Carbon Hill 7
Corner 49, Sumiton Christian 7
Curry 42, Cordova 41
Dadeville 21, Russell County 18
Davidson 24, Navarre (Fla.) 21
Demopolis 60, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 59 (OT)
Deshler 49, North Jackson 20
East Lawrence 24, Hatton 14
Elba 26, Brantley 19
Escambia County 29, Baldwin County 20
Excel 33, Marengo 32
Fairhope 33, Andalusia 25
Falkville 42, Danville 28
Fayette County 35, Russellville 7
Fort Payne 37, James Clemens 34
Fyffe 32, Plainview 7
G.W. Long 26, Barbour County 6
Gaylesville 24, Ohatchee 20
Geraldine 63, Crossville 27
Glencoe 31, Etowah 24
Good Hope 28, West End-Walnut Grove 18
Greensboro 33, West Blocton 30
Guntersville 25, Albertville 22
Hackleburg 40, Phil Campbell 6
Hale County 32, Sipsey Valley 15
Haleyville 28, Hamilton 26
Hartselle 38, Austin 31
Headland 34, Abbeville 12
Highland Home 69, Georgiana 14
Hokes Bluff 21, Westbrook Christian 7
Isabella 43, Thorsby 6
J.O. Johnson 58, Columbia 14
Jackson 39, Thomasville 17
LaFayette 54, Bullock County 26
Lamar County 35, Winfield 10
Lauderdale County 38, Lexington 0
Lawrence County 28, R.A. Hubbard 12
Lee-Huntsville 33, Butler 6
Lee-Montgomery 23, B.T. Washington 6
Leeds 44, Alexandria 17
Leroy 14, Clarke County 12
Locust Fork 29, Cleveland 24
Madison Academy 14, Central-Clay County 7
Madison County 35, Scottsboro 21
Mary G. Montgomery 28, B.C. Rain 19
Minor 26, Fairfield 0
Monroe County 1, John Essex 0
Montgomery Academy 20, Trinity Presbyterian 10
Mountain Brook 41, Parker 13
Munford 33, Talladega 14
New Brockton 38, Kinston 27
New Hope 47, Douglas 14
North Sand Mountain 31, Pisgah 12
Northridge 41, Paul Bryant 7
Northside 55, Oak Grove 34
Oakman 32, Berry 20
Oneonta 38, Mortimer Jordan 6
Pickens County 33, Gordo 22
Piedmont 42, Lincoln 7
Pleasant Grove 48, Bibb County 12
Pope John Paul II Catholic 6, Clements 0
Ragland 59, Victory Christian 0
Ramsay 28, Tarrant 6
Ranburne 35, Ashville 12
Randolph 39, Vinemont 20
Red Bay 48, Marion County 38
Robertsdale 50, Faith Academy 43
Rogers 41, Sheffield 18
Saks 48, Jacksonville 15
Sand Rock 44, Cedar Bluff 7
Saraland 21, Luverne 13
Sardis 17, Boaz 14
Section 52, Valley Head 6
Selma 54, Ellwood Christian 14
Smiths Station 45, Valley 13
Southern Choctaw 19, Linden 16
Southside-Selma 20, Dallas County 18
Springville 26, St. Clair County 24
St. James 48, Montgomery Catholic 10
St. Luke's 17, Cottage Hill Christian 14
St. Paul's 28, UMS-Wright 0
Sulligent 29, South Lamar 21
Sylacauga 29, B.B. Comer 14
Sylvania 13, Ider 12
T.R. Miller 27, Sweet Water 6
Thompson 52, John Carroll Catholic 17
Vigor 35, Murphy 28
W.S. Neal 42, Millry 12
Walker 9, Hueytown 3
Walter Wellborn 21, Weaver 14
West Point 41, Fairview 14
Westminster Christian 38, Shoals Christian 6
Wetumpka 42, Marbury 8
White Plains 36, Collinsville 0
Wilson 28, Elkmont 0
Woodland 21, Cleburne County 14

Class 6A
Buckhorn 31, Gardendale 21
Central-Phenix City 66, Stanhope Elmore 40
Clay-Chalkville 50, Oak Mountain 22
Daphne 38, Alma Bryant 12
Decatur 42, Grissom 0
Enterprise 41, Jeff Davis 6
Hewitt-Trussville 17, Gadsden City 14
Huffman 29, Jackson-Olin 21
Huntsville 23, Hazel Green 14
Oxford 56, Spain Park 49
Pell City 38, Tuscaloosa County 28
Prattville 42, Northview 21
Shades Valley 55, Pelham 20
Theodore 27, Foley 26
Vestavia Hills 21, Florence 7

Class 5A
Arab 34, Hayden 20
Benjamin Russell 28, Homewood 7
Briarwood Christian 23, Pinson Valley 13
Center Point 26, Cullman 7
Gulf Shores 42, Citronelle 13
Southside-Gadsden 34, Moody 28

Class 4A
Handley 56, Dora 28
Holtville 61, Alabama Christian 33
Tallassee 36, Elmore County 14
West Limestone 54, Ardmore 16

Class 3A
Hanceville 40, West Morgan 21
Pike County 19, Opp 8
Susan Moore 30, J.B. Pennington 27

Class 2A
Ariton 60, Zion Chapel 20
Flomaton 50, Central-Hayneville 16
Francis Marion 14, Calhoun 8
Gaston 50, Pleasant Valley 39

Class 1A
Billingsley 50, Verbena 18
Brilliant 38, Phillips 14
Coosa Christian 62, Southeastern 40
Decatur Heritage 31, Woodville 20
Fayetteville 47, Holy Spirit 6
Florala 24, Fruitdale 14
Hubbertville 35, Vina 19
Lynn 44, Meek 26
Pleasant Home 45, J.U. Blacksher 12
Shades Mountain Christian 31, Jacksonville Christian 28
St. Jude 34, Autaugaville 14
Talladega County Central 30, Spring Garden 10
Tharptown 64, Alabama School for the Deaf 34

Alabama Independent School Association
Abbeville Christian 35, Sparta Academy 30
Autauga Academy 35, Jackson Academy 13
Bessemer Academy 27, Patrician Academy 6
Clarke Prep 59, Pickens Academy 19
Coosa Valley Academy 49, Chambers Academy 22
East Memorial Christian 42, Cornerstone Christian 20
Edgewood Academy 57, Lyman Ward 0
Escambia Academy 55, Macon-East 6
Evangel Christian-Montgomery 16, Eastwood Christian 6
Glenwood 49, Crenshaw Christian 34
Lakeside Academy 38, Springwood 22
Marengo Academy 40, Southern Academy 0
Pike Liberal Arts 34, Ashford Academy 6
Restoration Academy 51, Kingwood Christian 6
South Choctaw Academy 40, Sumter Academy 15
Wilcox Academy 42, Fort Dale Academy 14

Daily Weather Observations for Sat., Nov. 2, 2013

Temp: 52.3 degrees F

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.00 inches

Humidity: 80 percent (Humid)

Conditions: Partly Cloudy skies; security light still on in the yard; dogs and birds audible, including rooster; standing water in yard from recent rain; dew on the ground.

Wind: Not measured.

Barometric Pressure: 29.44 inHg

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.60 inches

Month to Date Rainfall: 0.60 inches

Fall to Date Rainfall: 2.60 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 44.85 inches

NOTES: Today is the 306th day of 2013 and the 42nd day of Fall. There are 59 days left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hrs Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.

Was Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' the greatest comic book series ever?

“The Sandman” comic books series began 24 years ago, way back in 1989, and many of you will remember when that series first hit the shelves of your favorite store. The series continued for seven years, ending in 1996. While that was 17 years ago, it really wasn’t so long ago that you could pick up the most recent issue in your local bookstore.

Back in the heyday of the series, I was a teenager, and I can vividly remember seeing issues of this comic for sale in the Walden Books store in Mobile. Eventually the series (and Walden Books) came to an end, but what hasn’t ended is my long-running desire to read the complete “Sandman” series, which is considered one of the greatest comic book series of all time.

My interest in this classic series received a much-needed jumpstart a year ago, in November 2012, when the Web site, “The Writers Almanac” (writersalmanac.publicradio.org) mentioned “The Sandman” series in one of its daily articles. They made the series sound so great that I even put “Read the complete Neil Gaiman ‘Sandman’ graphic novel series” on my “bucket list.” If you’re not familiar with the series, here’s a little background.

In the late 1980s, Gaiman, a British writer, was selected by DC Comics to revive “The Sandman” comic book series. Before he was done with it, he’d turned it into an award-winning series that was 75 issues long and ran from January 1989 through March 1996. Since then, the complete series has been collected and republished in a 10-volume series of graphic novels called “The Sandman Library.”

In March, I took the first step toward reading the entire series when I finished reading the first volume, “Preludes and Nocturnes.” In May, read the second volume, “The Doll’s House," and in July I read the third volume in the series, “Dream Country.” In September, I finished reading the fourth volume in the series, “Season of Mists” and last week, I finished the fifth volume in the series, “A Game of You.”

Originally published as a trade paperback collection in 1993, “A Game of You” contains issues No. 32-37 in the series, which were published in 1991 and 1992. Of the five volumes that I’ve read so far, I’d say that “A Game of You” was unusual and somewhat bizarre, but that’s not to say that I didn’t like it. I read somewhere that this volume is actually considered the least favorite by most Gaiman fans, but Gaiman considers it his favorite.

With that said, I’ve got five more volumes left to read before I can say that I’ve read the entire run of the series. The other editions of “The Sandman Library” are as follows:

- The Sandman, Vol. 6: Fables and Reflections

- The Sandman, Vol. 7: Brief Lives

- The Sandman, Vol. 8: World’s End

- The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones

- The Sandman, Vo. 10: The Wake

In the end, how many of you out there are fans of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” comic book series? How many of you have read the complete series? What did you think about it? Have you read anything else that measures up to it? Let us know in the comments section below.

Alabama statewide prep football scores from Thurs., Oct. 31, 2013

Alabama high school football statewide scores for games played on Thurs., Oct. 31, 2013:

AHSAA interclass games:
Ashford 49, Houston County 14
Bainbridge (Ga.) 27, Dothan 24
Blount 34, Williamson 6
Bob Jones 24, Muscle Shoals 23
Dale County 42, Carroll 0
Daleville 32, Samson 17
Fultondale 54, Parrish 8
Geneva 34, Wicksburg 30
Geneva County 34, Slocomb 32
Goshen 24, McKenzie 14
Hillcrest-Evergreen 52, Sidney Lanier 20
Maplesville 49, Jemison 7
McAdory 41, Woodlawn 14
McGill-Toolen 65, Sumter Central 20
Prattville Christian 28, Red Level 0
Reeltown 39, Notasulga 12
Rehobeth 23, Cottonwood 14
Spanish Fort 40, Mobile Christian 3
Vincent 48, Montevallo 7
Washington County 43, McIntosh 6
Greenville 29, Wilcox Central 0

Class 6A
Hoover 29, Opelika 7

Class 5A
None played.

Class 4A
None played.

Class 3A
None played.

Class 2A
None played.

Class 1A
None played.

Alabama Independent School Association
Lee-Scott Academy 40, Hooper Academy 13
Monroe Academy 34, Tuscaloosa Academy 0
Morgan Academy 41, Lowndes Academy 24
South Montgomery County Academy 49, Meadowview Christian 33

Daily Weather Observations for Fri., Nov. 1, 2013

Temp: 67.1 degrees F

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.60 inches

Humidity: 84 percent (Humid)

Conditions: Mostly Cloudy skies; security light still on in the yard; birds audible, including rooster; standing water in yard from last night's rain.

Wind: Not measured.

Barometric Pressure: 29.35 inHg

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.60 inches

Month to Date Rainfall: 0.60 inches

Fall to Date Rainfall: 2.60 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 44.85 inches

NOTES: Today is the 305th day of 2013 and the 41st day of Fall. There are 60 days left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hrs Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.