I had a little chat with my tomato plants yesterday. It went along these lines:
Author: cdwan
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Blame game…is nothing beneath these people?
This guy hits it on the head:
On Saturday, August 27, 2005 — two days before Hurricane Katrina made landfall — President George W. Bush assumed responsibility for the coordination of “all disaster relief efforts” in the State of Louisiana.
Here’s the State of Emergency Announcement on the white house web page.
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Phone wars
I don’t deal well with phone support people. Take that back, it’s the broader category of “moron” with which I have problems. Narrowing it back down, it’s “morons who are in my way, and have a little recipe that I have to dance through before they’ll let me pass” that really bug the crap out of me.
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8 miles…
Did the 8 mile run again. It’s getting easier.
I had this wacky idea that most people approach running wrong. It’s just not a great starting point for physical training. It’s brutal on your whole body. Knees, ankles, muscles, lungs, heart … running sucks if you’re not in shape. I see tons of people on the bike path who are clearly out for the first exercise they’ve gotten in years, and they won’t stick to it. They’ll hurt way too much the next day. However, once you’ve got a decent starting level of fitness, running is awesome. Instead, maybe people should start with something low impact, gradually add the cardeo, and eventually move to high impact. Only at the end do you start abusing all the systems at once.
Watched The Interview with Hugo Weaving again this evening. Brilliant. The man is just brilliant. And he’s always had it in for humans … he’s just been honing that role his whole career.
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Survival kit
I’ve been meaning to put together a couple of survival kits for a long time now. Given New Orleans, and the painfully obvious fact that nobody is going to come help (at least for a couple of days) when a city floods, it seems like a fine time to put together some realistic kits.
* Emergency medical supplies and other “first responder” stuff in a small backpack near the door. This would fit the needs of situations like the kid across the street falling out of a tree, or a car crashing into my telephone pole. I should probably have one of these in each car as well. Probably includes gauze, exam gloves, shears, … that sort of thing. My dad and redmed can include surgical tools and tracheotomy kits … I have no idea how to use these items, so they don’t need to be with me.
* “Get the hell out of dodge” kit in a crate that fits in the trunk of either car. This is intended for the situation where the air raid sirens go off, and it’s time to leave for an indeterminate amount of time (days to weeks). This one probably includes an emergency blanket, a couple tins of preserved food, a couple of powerbars, flashlight, enough cash for a couple of nights in a hotel, or a pair of bus tickets, etc.
* “Ride it out” supplies for when the lights go out for weeks to months. This includes gallons of clean water, pounds of food, fuel, camp stove, etc.
Does anyone have a good reference / literature pointers for what a smart person would put in each of these kits? I’ve got my old boy scout handbook (an awesome reference, by the way, it’s all in there) but I seek more.
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Kick ass
This guy. at least, has his shit together.
Here’s the recording of the mayor of New Orleans flipping out: right here. We need to elevate this guy to national office. Sure, he lost his cool in the clutch, but he’s speaking truth to power.
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Badgers
Excellent day, but I’m far too tired to write about it. Suffice to say that the extreme fitness challenge (EFC) has been combined with a trip to the island and EXTREME birdwatching.
In the meantime, here are some baby badgers. I’m going to bed.
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New Orleans
At my current events discussion group / karate class today, we were trying to figure out what we can learn from the disaster in New Orleans. Here’s what we came up with:
* In the event of all Hell breaking loose, you are fundamentally on your own. The government will not be there today, and it will not be there tomorrow. The police are people just like you and me, and some of them will bug out. Others will try their best, but will be overwhelmed. You must take care of yourself. Have supplies ready, just like the red cross has been saying since I can remember them saying anything at all.
* When they say “mandatory evacuation,” get the hell out of town if at all possible. Have a plan for such events. If there are things that you cannot bear to lose (wedding pictures, cats, …) have the means to pack them fast.
* Horrible, but true throughout history: The rich live and the poor die. This is because the rich have cars, connections, insurance, and power. If power and property divides along racial lines, it will be abundantly clear in the pictures of dying people.
* Civilization is between three and six meals away from anarchy. The breakdown happens *fast*.
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Assorted badness
I can’t help it. Here are the funniest things I’ve read about the NOLA disaster:
