It’s rare that agree with James Lileks, but I agree with him here. Describing a news story (available here) which lets you listen to the screams of the children on the bus in the Minneapolis bridge collapse (one of the children called her Mom and left a voice mail immediately after it happened), Lileks writes: You know what? I don’t … Read More
Vox Populi (and Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Updates)
James Hafner of Coon Rapids, MN wrote a letter to the editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, complaining about the new Minnesota Twins stadium (the groundbreaking ceremony, now postponed, was to take place today). In his letter, Hafner wrote: It sure looks like Carl Pohlad and the Twins could have paid for the entire stadium project and had enough leftover to … Read More
Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
Cheryl doesn’t like driving over bridges. I could never understand that. But okay. Now I can a little. Think back a few weeks ago to the exploding steam pipe in the middle of Manhattan, and perhaps you’ll recognize that one of the big issues to face this country in the next decade or two is our aging infrastructure. Things are, … Read More
About That Hurricane Season
Forecasters predicted a bad 2007 hurricane season, but it’s seemed pretty mild so far, yes? Well, don’t un-duct-tape your windows yet, cowboy: Worst of Atlantic hurricane season still to come MIAMI (Reuters) – Nearly eight weeks have passed since the last tropical storm in the Atlantic-Caribbean region faded away, but banish any notion the 2007 hurricane season has been unusually … Read More
No Charges Against Katrina Doctor
I’m pretty sure I blogged about this a couple of years ago — the physician in New Orleans who was investigated for giving four terminally ill patients a "lethal cocktail" of morphine and midazolam hydrochloride as Hurricane Katrina bore down on them. A mercy killing, if you will. The grand jury refused to indict her, so she is in the … Read More
Gas Price Watch
Think gas prices are bad now? Well, look what’s bearing down on the Middle East: That’s a category five, and its heading for Oman and Iran — two oil-producing countries. These places haven’t been hit with a storm like this in 60 years, so they’re not even close to being prepared. From an oil blog: Considering the region has never … Read More
There They Are!!
I’ve been worried about the much-reported absence of honeybees and its effects on the food supply. Apparently, they’re all here.
Hello, Andrea!
The first hurricane (okay, it’s just a tropical storm right now, and probably will stay that way) of the season has arrived. Earlier than expected. More to come, I’m sure. As a matter of fact: Two national hurricane experts say they expect an especially active storm season in the Atlantic this year, with one predicting 17 tropical storms and hurricanes. … Read More
Disaster Preparedness Is A Disaster
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was complaining about the lack of Kansas National Guard people at home long before her state was struck by an F5 tornado last week: "The Guard cannot train on equipment they do not have," Sebelius continued. "The more resources that are left behind, the less able our guardsmen are to prepare here at home. And in … Read More
Where Are The Bulldozers And The National Guard?
A category F5 tornado virtually destroyed the town of Greenburg, Kansas this weekend. Now the rebuilding begins. Except, not so much: The rebuilding effort in tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kansas, likely will be hampered because some much-needed equipment is in Iraq, said that state’s governor. Governor Kathleen Sebelius said much of the National Guard equipment usually positioned around the state to respond … Read More
What’s Where’s The Buzz?
I’m kinda getting worried about this bee thing: Honeybee die-off threatens food supply Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation’s honeybees could have a devastating effect on America’s dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet. Honeybees don’t just make honey; they pollinate more than 90 … Read More
Attack Of The Cicadas
A breed of insects — cicadas — spend 17 years living underground. Then they emerge en masse, breed a new generation, and those babies live underground for 17 years. It’s the emerging part that’s interesting, because once every seventeen years, certain parts of the midwest get covered with millions of these bugs (often mistakenly referred to as locusts) who eat … Read More
What The Hell?
Looking at my "live webcams" on the right just now, I noticed this "live" picture from the webcam at the Nevada Seismological Lab. I don’t know much about earthquakes or seismographs, but that looks like one biiiiig and preposterously looooooooog earthquake. I think the machine is broken. Can someone call them please?
I Felt The Aftershock
Told you, Cheryl. After calls to the National Weather Service and a report from the Geological Survey, police quickly confirmed that there had been an earthquake. The calls heated up again last night, when many people in town heard and felt aftershocks. More than 30 people called Winston-Salem police communications between 7:45 and 8:45 p.m. The geological survey reported a … Read More