Calling Baja Hurricane experts at there...

Thanks very much stanburn!

I re-read my original post after the nasty replies and don't see a reason for them - I did, as well, notice the 'typos' after posting but to me it is not a big deal (I worry about being meticulous when I submit a final project, not when I am spending 10 hours researching and writing...) and I didn't want to post a correction - that may have been annoying to others (extra posts are like extra emails!).

I did try to look at graphs, lists of Baja H. history and it was a huge mixed-bag, hard to put into a general paragraph, thought the above was accurate but figured the more knowledgeable here would be able to verify si or no!

And p.s. -- The Baja Insider had the best info/article of all the things that pulled up on my web searches... they analyzed data extensively for this article: http://www.bajainsider.com/weather/hurricanes/historic_hurri...

Thanks again, BB
www.vivalabaja.com
vivalabaja.blogspot.com

The "hurricane experts" predicted a very active hurricane season for '08, they were wrong. They also predicted '06 and '07 as being very active years. They were wrong. A good story would be "How do they keep their jobs?".

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress The "hurricane experts" predicted a very active hurricane season for '08, they were wrong. They also predicted '06 and '07 as being very active years. They were wrong. A good story would be "How do they keep their jobs?".

Nice suggestion udowinkler - gracias! Do you have time for a nine-page review?

Huh! Some people just have bad days I guess?? Good luck with your story bajabad. Ignore the negatives.

Yikes, "on the block"... are you serious?

Here's what you wrote earlier... "... I'll bet my left nut a tropical cyclone/hurricane has never hit as far north as rosarito beach......."

edit: flipped a coin.

Lets just flip a coin when you read this... quoted from the earlier link posted with listings of Baja hurricanes (also called tropical cyclones):

"In the period 1951 to 2000, Baja California had one hurricane and three tropical storms make landfall. "

Ouch

BajaBad,
I would like to help but you have not given us enough to go on. Your bold-lettered sentence in the subject line, "Calling Baja Hurricane experts at there..." is unclear and also appears to be incorrect. This immediately presents a red flag that questions your credibility as a writer.

"Your chosen location in Baja...." is the first sentence in your rough draft.
Who is your target reader?
Is it a travel advisory?
Is it directed toward potential settlers or investors in Baja?
What is the time period you are including; all of recorded history, or current times?
What (besides Baja storm risks) is the focus of your piece?

So, to answer your query, "tell me if it is 'off' or correct-", I don't know. There is not enough information.

For one thing, if you are writing about recent hurricane/tropical storm activity, there are areas you have not included that have been severely damaged or flooded within the last three years, including this year.

Regarding the BajaNomad site as a resource, it is fraught with risks, as you have already discovered. Most everyone's opinion gets shredded. That is the nature of online forum culture. You have to sort through the knee high BS in order to find the pearl. Then you need to be discerning enough to recognize which is which. The confrontational and the defensive tones, from initiators and responders alike, merely serve as fodder for good entertainment. Furthermore, it is an outlet for negativity. It is therapeutic for some.

Having said that, it is also a great resource of first hand information, which is why I presume you posted here. Do a search on your topic here. There is plenty of information on how hurricanes and tropical storms have affected Baja. To include this website in your research is but one source.

I understand that brevity is desirable, but the rough draft paragraph you have presented has some serious omissions. That is very apparent when you throw in the northern part of Baja, which is negligible. It doesn't even belong in that paragraph, given the omissions regarding Baja Sur that are germane.

You asked for criticism. There you go!

When you have gotten the piece published, let us know. Good luck!

Molly,

I doubt you will consider this advice, as you seem unwilling to do so. You have asked here for advice in regard to your paragraph, in this case about hurricane and storm patterns in order for you to write travel guides that "markets to international investors" as you say.

In response to you I wrote suggesting that its inadvisable for you to do so and gave a number of clearly stated reasons. Such as, short handed weather summaries are potentially misleading, especially in regard to storm and hurricane patterns. That writing about content you are unfamiliar with in terms which promote investment for retirees is in particular not a very good idea since many people have lost their life-savings and their lives following poorly researched advice.

At the time of your writing, many of us were in the process of lamenting the loss of a number of vessels at sea over the previous hurricane period while others are still recovering from the damage done from storms this year. So, with the taste of these disasters still fresh, I suggested that "it might come back to bite you." You objected to this advice too.

Now, it would be one thing if you had been offering advice about a restaurant or a hotel, or perhaps something of low risk and low value, but you are not. In your case, you asked about hurricanes and storms, with the idea of summarizing the patterns over a large region into a sentence or two of a larger document that serves the goal of promoting investment.

In making your pitch as a writer, readers can assume you are willing to do the research to find the correct answer, which presumably would include the advice that predicting storms in a hurricane prone region is like, juggling with bowling balls, not advisable for amateurs. It can be fun until you get hit and then it might be highly risky. As a writer proffering advice about Baja, you have some inherent ethical responsibilities and the incumbent responsibility for research toward an accurate piece. On the other hand to disregard the wealth of information and fail to do your own research is really quite likely guaranteed to bring about incorrect information and possibly dangerous advice.

We made this point to you, politely at first. But you choose to ignore that and further to do so with such abandon that brings to mind the thought that perhaps accurate info is not what you want, perhaps you were looking for a quote? One you could use to make the article's point without consideration for the truth.

Perhaps then you can understand why as a reader of your work and your process I might be in question of your intent? And furthermore, these points are why I might feel obligated to point out these issues in order to temper the potential losses for others who may innocently be misled by your work or perhaps why some readers might be obligated ethically to note your disdain for research and thus the facts which, by ignoring, put people at grave financial and personal risk.

Now, having made these points, you not only choose to ignore the facts, the risks, you choose to ignore your role and the inherent responsibilities of a writer.

Well "this is America" or better yet "this is Mexico" as they say, you are free to do as you choose, but you also accept the burdens of doing so. You accept that as a writer you put yourself up for criticism which we have kindly offered to you. Isn't that what you asked for? So, how is it that you want to be a writer who doesn't do her research, shuns criticism and insults the people who do her work and who she depends upon.

I could have ignored your post as it was obviously heading in a similar direction to others of yours. But having been asked repeatedly by you for corrections research and editing and found that you do not credit others properly, that you do not fact check and that you do not edit well nor correct noted misstatements. So lets just say, I feel that are misusing this forum and the kindness we show here in general toward info-seeking travelers.

Having gotten to know you through your writing and interaction, I feel personally and publicly that its necessary to point out that you have a seeming disdain for facts, such that your writing puts people at risk, financial risk, legal risk and personal health risk.

Well whats so bad about that? Pretty common these days you say? Maybe so, but at some point I and others here have a limit. And you Molly have crossed it. Your disdain for research and fact driven writing is a particular problem. The approach does damage to our communities by encouraging retirees and immigrants to Mexico to make false conclusions about their inherent risk which put them at risk.

So knowing you and your pattern of behavior, I doubt you are about to change, as you seem hell bent in this fashion, writing with little regard for facts or for others well being.

May I encourage you to consider the burden you create by your actions and to consider that today may be the right time to take a turn for the better and get involved in the material, the research and the writing process to the extent that you contribute to the reader, with well researched, pleasantly edited material that serves the needs of readers. I might add, that by doing so you would presumably increase your audience, be less inclined to these fits, and hopefully less inclined to insult the community that you so depend on, for research and for readers.





[Edited on 11-9-2008 by gnukid]

"O" How do I say this, I AGREE WITH GNUKID. Bite my lip, bite my lip.

at least the "new" kid came formulate a sentence, er, paragraph or two....

Barry thanks much and I don't either... do not like having to respond to someone's intended 'nastiness' or insults but when they happen feel it is important to to make it clear that if they need to be 'abusive' or rude, they'll have to pick another target - and what about that peace, love & fish tacos??

BajaBad