Dark Sky
Dark star, I see you in the morning
Dark star, a’ sleeping next to me
No, not “Dark Star,” DARK SKY!
I love this guy Slava Rubin, he’s the Founder and CEO of Indiegogo. You know how some people rub you the wrong way at first and then you become best friends? That’s Slava.
We were at the Summit Series, in Utah, at the top of Powder Mountain, debating crowdfunding, the music business and the world in general. It started out as a heated debate, and then Slava and I entertained questions for hours and when all was said and done there were smiles all around.
And the very next morning we were in the van to the lake, pondering when it was going to stop raining, and Slava said…DON’T YOU HAVE DARK SKY?
I hate to feel inadequate, especially in front of techies, I like to know what’s going on, and then Slava pulled up the app which said it was going to stop raining in two minutes…and THEN IT DID!
Like magic. I had to have it.
I know, I know, no one likes to pay for apps, including myself.
I know, I know, it’s a failed business model.
But I will tell you, for my $3.99 I’ve gotten endless entertainment. It’s a parlor trick. I was at Amy and Leo’s in Pacific Palisades and it was clear and I pulled up Dark Sky and it said it was going to start raining in 25 minutes, and it did, even though every weather forecast said it would not!
There’s no human element in Dark Sky. It triangulates radar and algorithms to come up with an up to the minute forecast for exactly where you are, or want to be, you can plug in alternative locations.
Like right now it says it’s 13 degrees and falling, and it feels like 2 degrees.
For the next hour there’s no precipitation.
The nearest precipitation is 45 miles to the northeast.
Meanwhile, there’s a Winter Storm Warning for Eagle County, that’s where I am, where it’s been blowing and snowing all day long, it was a veritable winter wonderland, there’s nothing I like more than being out in the elements, riding the chairlift, banging the bumps in the quietude of a snowstorm.
Dark Sky says there’s a 56% chance of snow until 8 PM.
Tomorrow, the high will be 10, the low -7, BRRR! It always gets cold after a storm.
Sunday, there’s a 72% chance of snow. Dark Sky is predicting 2-4 inches in the morning and afternoon.
Is Dark Sky always right?
No.
But I will say yesterday it was pukin’ snow and I pulled up Dark Sky and it said it was gonna stop in 25 minutes. No one believed it, including me, I mean it was coming down as heavy as it does in Vail.
And then, right on time, it STOPPED!
Whew!
Slide backward from the homepage and you get the radar.
Click on the temp and you get the wind speed and direction, humidity, pressure and visibility.
It’s absolutely incredible. And since I’ve been in Colorado, more accurate than the National Weather Service, more accurate than all of the weather prognosticators, and let me tell you, here in snow country, people take the weather VERY seriously.
So I know you’re not gonna buy it. Because you don’t want to spend $3.99.
And you weather acolytes are gonna tell me you’ve got an app as good.
But then I’m gonna whip out Dark Sky and convert you.
I promise.
Thanks Slava!
