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Thursday, September 8th, 2005
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8:32 pm - Wow.
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This National Geographic article was written almost exactly one year ago. A sampling of the first part:
It was a broiling August afternoon in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Big Easy, the City That Care Forgot. Those who ventured outside moved as if they were swimming in tupelo honey. Those inside paid silent homage to the man who invented air-conditioning as they watched TV "storm teams" warn of a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing surprising there: Hurricanes in August are as much a part of life in this town as hangovers on Ash Wednesday.
But the next day the storm gathered steam and drew a bead on the city. As the whirling maelstrom approached the coast, more than a million people evacuated to higher ground. Some 200,000 remained, however—the car-less, the homeless, the aged and infirm, and those die-hard New Orleanians who look for any excuse to throw a party.
The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain. The water crept to the top of the massive berm that holds back the lake and then spilled over. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans lies below sea level—more than eight feet below in places—so the water poured in. A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, over the white-columned porches of the Garden District, until it raced through the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street like the pale rider of the Apocalypse. As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it.
Thousands drowned in the murky brew that was soon contaminated by sewage and industrial waste. Thousands more who survived the flood later perished from dehydration and disease as they waited to be rescued. It took two months to pump the city dry, and by then the Big Easy was buried under a blanket of putrid sediment, a million people were homeless, and 50,000 were dead. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.
When did this calamity happen? It hasn't—yet. But the doomsday scenario is not far-fetched. The Federal Emergency Management Agency lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City. Even the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in the city, claiming the risk to its workers is too great.
"The killer for Louisiana is a Category Three storm at 72 hours before landfall that becomes a Category Four at 48 hours and a Category Five at 24 hours—coming from the worst direction," says Joe Suhayda, a retired coastal engineer at Louisiana State University who has spent 30 years studying the coast. Suhayda is sitting in a lakefront restaurant on an actual August afternoon sipping lemonade and talking about the chinks in the city's hurricane armor. "I don't think people realize how precarious we are,"
Suhayda says, watching sailboats glide by. "Our technology is great when it works. But when it fails, it's going to make things much worse."
The chances of such a storm hitting New Orleans in any given year are slight, but the danger is growing. Climatologists predict that powerful storms may occur more frequently this century, while rising sea level from global warming is putting low-lying coasts at greater risk. "It's not if it will happen," says University of New Orleans geologist Shea Penland. "It's when."
http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/
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(6 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Friday, July 29th, 2005
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8:17 am
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| Wednesday, May 11th, 2005
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9:19 am
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It's hard to come off a long haitus of not writing much because I feel like everything will have to be summary and not substance.
.Marisa and I have been broken up for almost 5 months.
.She's been dating someone else for almost 4.
.It's very serious.
.I decided to invest my money and put in an offer on the house I'm currently living in.
.I was able to receive a mortgage at 5% which means the rent from the other two apartments will fully cover all mortgage and tax and insurance costs.
.The closing date is suppsed to be May 31st, if we can negoiate about the roof, which will cost $14,500 to replace.
.Work has been going well and I'm getting very close with a few people there.
.Abbey and I are best friends, and we actually act like it.
.I spent last week down in New Orleans with a bunch of my friends, and Marisa. It was the first time we hung out for more than 2 hours since we broke up.
I discovered that I have huge issues with intimacy and being physical now. Much more so than ever before in my life.
Once I resolve / accept this whole Marisa thing, I think my life will be at a very good point. That, unfortunately, is going to take quite awhile.
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(1 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Friday, April 22nd, 2005
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1:25 pm - What I did, and did not, do on 4/20
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I did not smoke pot.
I did buy a house. I also partially cut off the tip of my finger while cutting a loaf of bread.
But more importantly, I bought a house.
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(16 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Tuesday, April 5th, 2005
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11:26 am
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So let's say, hypothetically, that you were going to meet with a real estate agent tomorrow to discuss possibly buying the house you're currently renting in.
What hypothetical questions would you be sure to ask this real estate agent?
(And for the hypothetical record, I'm aware much more research needs to be done - this is the very first step, and I was hoping some people with experience could give me some hypothetical help)
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(1 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Wednesday, February 16th, 2005
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12:03 pm - Oh wait, it gets better:
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And THEN someone breaks into my car last night and steals all my crap. Including all of my favorite CDs which I was listening to yesterday because I was upset. Motherfuckers.
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(10 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Monday, February 14th, 2005
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11:56 pm
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| Monday, February 7th, 2005
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11:46 pm
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| Friday, January 28th, 2005
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8:37 pm
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| Monday, December 27th, 2004
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11:40 pm
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I know it's been awhile since I posted. I don't know if I'll start posting more or if this is it, I need to talk to someone right now and you're it.
Marisa and I just broke up. Well, she broke up with me. It came out of no where, I wasn't expecting it at all. But it's done, and it probably be an understatement to say that I'm utterly destroyed.
It's funny, I honestly thought that we were going to be together forever. I mean, I really thought she was it. How could I have been so completely wrong? There goes a trust I probably won't get back for awhile.
If you respond, chances are I won't write back. Not because I didn't read it or because I didn't appreciate it. Because I don't know what to say anymore
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(17 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Sunday, October 17th, 2004
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10:27 am
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| Sunday, August 29th, 2004
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10:16 pm
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I had a dream about you last night. And now I can't get the taste of you out of my mouth.
You rang my doorbell, out of the blue, and stood there next to Scott. You both looked awkward, although for different reasons. I couldn't understand what you were possibly doing in my doorway, but I didn't question it either. It was a mixture of fear and relief.
I invited you in, but tried as hard as I could to avoid eye contact. I saw you brush Scott's hand in the way people display affection, however subtle, and I understood you were together. I also understood that you weren't flaunting it in front of me; it was for his benefit, not mine.
You told me that you didn't know why you were stopping by, but it seemed like you had to. I explained how I've spent the last eight years avoiding you, not going to places you might be, crossing the street when I see you coming. Which is funny, considering you're in California and I'm in New York, but in my dream-head, the avoidance has been completely intentional.
And then you told me the one thing I've been waiting to hear for eight years, which seems so minimal to speak out loud, but meant so much at the time. You've been avoiding me too - purposely staying on the other side of the street when I'm walking, casting your eyes down to ensure ours don't meet. I didn't take your comment as an insult, but instead I celebrated it. It meant recognition, that you still thought about me. That there were still feelings involved, regardless of how we display them. That's all I've ever wanted from you, all I've wanted still in my waking life: aknowledgement. Of us, of our relationship, of my feelings.
When I woke up, I was sad. It was that heartbreak feeling all over again, only the kind that you can cause. It's amazing how it can lay dormant for so long, only to be awoken by a dream where I live in a house I've never seen, on a street I've never walked down, behind trees I've never smelled. Regardless of how imaginary the scenery might have been, that feeling has stayed with me all day today, and that's real. It reminds me of you, and how badly I need to know if you will ever remember me. And it reminds me how I'll never know.
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(8 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Monday, May 17th, 2004
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1:05 am
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| Wednesday, March 3rd, 2004
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12:59 pm
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So it looks like it'll be Kerry vs Bush. Right now, I have absolutely no idea who will come out on top; all I know is that I want anyone but Bush in the White House come January.
This morning I donated $25 to Kerry's campaign. I've never donated to a presidential race before, but I feel like this one is worth it. If you believe in Kerry, then please consider donating some money to his campaign to beat Bush:
https://contribute3.johnkerry.com/contribute.html?team=338
Even $5 will help if we get enough people. Pass it along.
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(3 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Wednesday, February 11th, 2004
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2:16 pm
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Rumor has it that Bush is going to kick off his presidential campaign by saying that he'll fully support a Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage.
Call him. 202-456-1111. Tell him you don't think that the Constitution should be used to discriminate against a group. It'll cost you about 20 cents and take 3 minutes, but the more people call the stronger the message.
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(4 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Friday, October 31st, 2003
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4:46 pm - Two good things about today.
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I found out that, instead of the expected 50 cent raise, I'm actually getting $1.50. Not too bad.
We got our copies of Stephen King's Dark Tower V book in, that's going to be released Tuesday, and I started reading it. He recently re-released his first book in that series with some additions, and I read it in preparation for Wolves of Calla... if you're a fan and haven't reread the first one, I'd suggest going back because it seems he's added something in DT 1 that plays a large role in DT 5.
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(2 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Friday, December 13th, 2002
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2:32 pm
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| Monday, October 14th, 2002
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5:35 pm - A welcomed addition.
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I just got a kitten!!
She's all black with a little white patch on her neck and chest. Very very cute.
I just need to figure out a name...
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(15 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Tuesday, August 20th, 2002
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7:01 am
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Why is everyone outraged that Al Queda is running tests on live animals? We do this every day in the US. Is this because we're actually seeing pictures of the dogs they're killing?
I suppose half of the answer is that Americans don't care about the animals' lives but are, of course, worried about the implications of a chemical attack. But still, I've heard quite a few people outraged at the use of dogs as test subjects. I wonder what kind of billboards PETA will get out of this.
Edit: I was just watching CNN Headline news (my bad habit) when one of the headlines mentioned that a government official is recommending alternatives to certain types of US animal testing. Compassion for the animals? Or do we not want to allign ourselves with terrorist practices?
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(11 people find this boring | do you?)
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| Monday, July 15th, 2002
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9:57 am
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For a variety of reasons, I'm going to start making my posts friends only. I think I'll still leave my political rants open to the public for comment, but anything that even remotely pertains to my personal life are going to be available only for those I know to read.
So if you've been reading this for awhile but I don't have you listed as a friend, let me know.
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(43 people find this boring | do you?)
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