Forecasters warn of winds, high surf and rough seas

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• High winds, rough seas expected for San Luis Obispo County

  High winds, rough seas expected for San Luis Obispo County

  The National Weather Service on Sunday evening has issued three warnings to take effect along the Central Coast into Monday and Tuesday.

  In a wind advisory in effect from 1 to 10 p.m. Monday, forecasters warn of increasing winds on Monday thanks to a quick-hitting cold storm system expected to move along the coast.

  That storm is expected to bring strong gusty winds along the coast and in coastal valleys, west to northwest and 15-25 mph, with gusts to 25 mph.

• His standards are service and readiness

  His standards are service and readiness

  George Brown, a retired emergency service coordinator for San Luis Obispo County, has always believed in a culture of service for others. As a young man, he recorded weather observations for the National Weather Service on his family’s farm in Santa Clara County. These weather observations warned others downstream of possible floods. He worked as a ski patrolman in the Sierra Nevadas looking for signs of possible avalanches.

  He served in the U.S. Navy, (he was once was honored as the Seabee of the quarter), and worked as a firefighter before going to work for the county. He told me that one of his most important tools as an emergency coordinator was a coffee mug. He made a point of meeting other first responders for coffee, which allowed them to share information and get to know one another before an emergency occurred. As a Boy Scout leader, he lives by the motto “Be Prepared.”

  Ron Alsop, Emergency Services manager with the county Office of Emergency Services, stated, “George Brown has unquestionably

• You should try experiencing real doldrums

  You should try experiencing real doldrums

  For more than 120 days, the USS Estocin, the frigate I was stationed on in the early 1980s, was haze gray and underway, sailing back and forth between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea without a port of call.

  Ninety days into this arduous sea duty, the captain decided to give us a break and throw a picnic on the ship’s small steel flight deck, which we called the steel beach. We ate barbecue and everyone received one can of Budweiser beer.

  At around 100 days, I noticed that some of the ship’s crewmembers, especially those with children, were beginning to feel depressed. The ship’s master chief warned us about the doldrums. Being new to the Navy, I wasn’t sure what the doldrums were. I imagined some sort of flying fish coming out of the water and randomly hitting crewmembers on watch in the dead of night.

• High winds topple 50 power poles in Southern Calif

  High winds topple 50 power poles in Southern Calif

  Damaging winds ripped through parts of California on Wednesday, making highway travel dangerous and raising fire danger.

• The greater the wind speed, the higher the wave will be

  The greater the wind speed, the higher the wave will be

  The earliest writings from ancient civilizations have told stories of huge waves damaging or sinking ships. Not even modern technology is immune from Neptune’s wrath.

  During World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered President Franklin Roosevelt the use of the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth ocean liners to transport large numbers of U.S. troops to the British Isles. At the time, the Queen Mary was the fastest ocean liner in the world and could outrun any German U-boat.

  In late 1942, the Queen Mary with her thousands of cabins stuffed with soldiers set sail to Britain. Like sailors on submarines, soldiers were required to “hot rack,” or share beds on eight to 12-hour shifts to accommodate as many troops as possible.