Squall Line

California’s coast is being hit hard by storms blamed on the “El Niño” ocean current. Locals can hardly hear a weather report without being told El Niño is at work. The phone rings a lot at Al Nino’s house. Nino, 74, who is listed in the Nipomo, Calif., telephone directory, says people call at all hours. “It’s always something like, Why are you doing this?’,” Nino says. While the retired Navy man doesn’t enjoy being awakened in the middle of the night, “I usually joke around with them a bit,” he says, telling callers he controls the weather because “I didn’t really have nothing else to do.” (AP) ...There are no dumb questions, just dumb people asking questions.