Worked a cross country event on Friday and again on Saturday.
And then, the REAL race began…

She had already gone directly from work/school to the airport on Friday while I was at the event and was therefore a day ahead of me. 

The last race on Saturday was scheduled for an 1155 start and I had made an 1810 (6:10 p.m. and from here on out do the math) airline reservation to New Orleans.  Shouldn’t be a problem at all — plenty of time to go home, shower, and make a leisurely drive to the airport.  Wasn’t sure what to expect on a three-day weekend, but I’d think most folks would be in place by Saturday evening.

from an old Air Force guy

Friday, October 13, 1775

Philadelphia — a meeting of the Continental Congress

This resolution:

 

http://www.cato.org/raidmap/

Some folks don’t have the resources to evacuate before a storm barrels down their throats, so they stay in place and grit it out — they have few choices.  Evacuation isn’t cheap no matter how you accomplish it.  Some have no means of leaving in the first place.

Others get out of Dodge and come home later to find anything from no damage at all to total devastation.

Well, it’s 451 pages long (pdf).  Did you read it?

Did those politicians in Washington did before they voted on it?

How does THIS grab you in a no-earmarks-no-pork-we’ve-got-to-do-this-NOW bill?

What are we going to do about this out of control government and when do we do it?

[Update item added at #10 below]

For the first time in a week, yesterday I didn’t run the pressure washer. 

It all began over a week ago with her comment that the patio (full width of the back of the house, covered and screened) was stained.

Well, yes.

A few years ago I had built tables across the entire rear edge and installed drip irrigation for more pots than could fit, so she could put potted plants anywhere she wanted to back there.  Partial sunlight, reasonable wind protection, easy frost prevention, and total water control. 

So the bailout plan has passed.

And as of a few minutes ago, a CNN online Quick Poll showed:

The $700 billion bailout plan is:

A needed fix for the economy	28%	46880
A political payout to Wall Street	72%	119191
Total Votes: 166071

The politicians represent whom?

They simply don’t care what the citizens think.  The politicians know better what’s good for us.

Bullshit.

With all the hoopla about Governor Palin, I still am not seeing coverage of an angle that I’ve been considering even before anyone was announced as John McCain’s running mate.

I seriously doubt that who his Vice Presidential running mate is really makes much difference.  Not in the long run, anyway.  A difference in McCain’s electability?  Oh yes, but a difference in how the government will run if McCain is in the Presidential chair?  I doubt it.

Look at McCain’s history.

We enjoyed an evening at the opera Monday night and already have tickets for the next one.  There we were, casual dress (well, I dressed up — I put socks on — that’s how she can tell), in comfortable theater seating, large Coke in the cup holder and large popcorn in the lap.

Actually, I had a polo shirt on rather than my usual T-shirt, so I was far more dressy than I realized.  I suppose, though I’ have to shave a point or two off because it was an Ironman 70.2 polo shirt from the event a couple of years ago. 

At http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/17/clinton-blindsided-palin/ the best comment is:

“Her [Pailin’s] attendance was news to us, and this was never billed to us as a partisan political event,” said Hillary’s spokesman.

Let me see. If Hillary goes alone, it’s a bipartisan or non-partisan non-political event. If Sarah Palin goes, too, it is now a partisan event. I thought the definition of bipartisan was that both sides views could be represented. But that’s just me. I’m not sure I even understand what the meaning of the word “is” is anymore.

The tulips opened quite nicely and the Irises were gorgeous.  They still are.

The edibles were excellent and I’ll admit to having more than my share of the chocolate dipped strawberries.  I’d estimate at this point there is maybe one fifth of the arrangement left.  It will be gone by the end of the day tomorrow, guaranteed.

____________________

From a reporter whose identity I’ll protect by not naming same:

Meanwhile in Iberia Parish, the high water caused a barge to break loose and collide with a bridge on Weeks Island Road.

The barge apparently pushed through and knocked out the entire middle section of the bridge. As you can imagine, that section of LA 83 is now closed.

It is the only way drivers can get to Weeks Island so anyone trying to get in or out of there will have to take a detour route.

No word on when the bridge will get fixed.

http://www.nola.com/hurricane-ike/index.ssf/2008/09/lack_of_cooperation_vexes_resc.html

Lack of cooperation vexes rescuer in Terrebonne
by David Hammer, The Times-Picayune
Saturday September 13, 2008, 10:48 PM

DULAC — Gunning his rescue boat down the inundated main drag in the fishing village of Grand Caillou, state Wildlife and Fisheries agent Joe Arnaud can overcome anything Hurricane Ike throws his way.

But there’s one thing he says he can’t get over: people who aren’t willing to be saved or to cooperate with rescuers.

On Friday night and Saturday morning, Arnaud and his boat saved 33 people from Ike, which caused more destruction in lower Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes than 2005’s Hurricane Rita, the last major hurricane to pass to the west and bring devastation to the two parishes.

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl091308mlrita.73080431.html

Two dead, thousands of homes flooded in Terrebonne
08:24 AM CDT on Sunday, September 14, 2008
John DeSantis / Houma Courier

HOUMA – Hurricane Ike so far has flooded more than 13,000 buildings and 200 miles of road in southern Terrebonne, affecting roughly 20,000 residents, parish officials said today.
 
Two days of strong south winds coupled with Hurricane Ike’s storm surge turned Terrebonne Parish roads into lakes, flooded homes in bayou communities and city neighborhoods and claimed two lives authorities said were storm related.

If you thought New Orleans police stopped illegally confiscating guns after they were told it was illegal by the courts, and even after further legislation was passed, think again.

And if you think they will do it only in an emergency, think again.

And if you think they have to come to your house to do it, think again.

Are there honest cops in New Orleans?  Well, probably, but they all wear the same uniform, so how do you tell them apart?  And for every crooked one, how many do you think there are who KNOW of the crooked ones and do nothing about it because they are all brothers and sisters in blue?  Maybe telling the good from the corrupt really isn’t all that important.

So, I made reservations for supper Sunday night at a restaurant we normally wouldn’t even consider going to because of the cost, and we may regret having done so by Monday morning, but what the hell, it’s a special occasion.

And today I was in the garage when a refrigerated van pulled up in front of the house.  Ah Hah!  I recognize that logo — it’s the Edible Arrangements folks.  Oh, yes!! 

Europe, led by the nincompoops in Brussels, has been sliding off the logic shelf faster than California.

England has shown ample evidence of following the same path, and this latest piece would seem to be a giant step in that direction.  The precedent this sets is, well, I’m not sure what word to use.

Cleared: Jury decides that threat of global warming justifies breaking the law

By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor
Thursday, 11 September 2008 

Flood tubes vandalized in Des Allemands

by The Times-Picayune

Thursday September 11, 2008, 10:35 PM

Flood tubes along Bayou Des Allemands that St. Charles Parish officials hoped would stave off potentially rising water swept in by Hurricane Ike were vandalized Thursday, according to St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne.

The tubes, valued at $20,000 appeared to have been slashed with knives, Champagne said in an e-mail to residents. The parish is renting the tubes from a vendor.

“It is most unfortunate that these senseless acts of vandalism now jeopardize the property of the residents in Des Allemands,” Champagne wrote.

From the August issue of Airliner World:

Boeing 727 ‘Abandoned’ at Hanoi

  A Cambodian-registered Boeing 727 –XU-RKJ — is under threat of being scrapped at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport in Vietnam after amassing more than six monthsworth of parking charges.  It arrived from Siem Riep in Cambodia in November 2007 requiring maintenance but this has never been carried out and the authorities have tried to trace its owners.

Registration of the aircraft, which carries ‘Air Dream’ titles, was officially cancelled last year.  The airframe’s owner — Royal Khmer of Cambodia — eventually contacted the airport and negotiations are under way to fly it away, though bu mid-June maintenance had still not been carried out.

“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven. To just have it … planned at the same time, that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for Day One of the Republican convention, up in the Twin Cities, at the top of the Mississippi River.”—-Michael Moore

Subtitle:  “How safe is your always-ready shredder?”

We have been fortunate to have never suffered a major damage event anywhere we have lived.  Bayou Renaissance Man has not been so blessed.

He is now experiencing “the system” of how things work after a fire.

I highly encourage you to read, despite the fact that it will never happen to you.  It wouldn’t ever happen to him, either.

But it did.

than here.

Here

Urine Bottles on Highway May Be Due to Drivers Too Concerned With Gas Prices to Pull Off
Saturday, August 09, 2008

ONTARIO, Ore. —  Police say there’s been an alarming rise in urine-filled plastic containers found along a three-mile stretch of Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon.

A litter crew for the Oregon Department of Transportation picked up an estimated 200-300 urine filled plastic bottles, along the highway, about half of which were found in a short stretch dubbed “Three Mile Hill.”

Police say that drivers — particularly commercial trucks — are typically driving very slowly through the area.

 June 2001 on the occasion of the first meeting between Bush and Putin:

Bush:

“I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue.

“I was able to get a sense of his soul.

“He’s a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country and I appreciate very much the frank dialogue and that’s the beginning of a very constructive relationship,” Mr Bush said.

August 2008:

RUSSIAN PLANES ATTACK GEORGIA

The following is from Airliner World magazine, May 2008 edition, page 76:

“In March, the crew of an Alitalia flight made an emergency landing at Boston Logan International Airport in the USA after being overcome by noxious fumes.  The cargo flight had been inbound to Miami from Milan when the crew were forced to don oxygen masks and declare an emergency.  After a safe landing, the cause of the odour was investigated and found to be the aircraft’s cargo of five tons of minced onions.  It was then added to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) ‘No Fly List’ and sent from Boston to Miami by road.”

I’ve grown less and less fond of the Olympics over the years due to many factors.

The Black Power Salute of Mexico’s 1968 games, for which the guilty ones still state no regrets even now in 2008; the 1972 Munich terrorism and massacre of Israeli athletes; the advent of professional players competing; so many doping scandals in so many levels of competition that finding such at the Olympic level isn’t really a scandal anymore; and better results through equipment design rather than human endeavor; well, the cleanliness, purity, and honesty of the games was lost for me a long time ago.