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Friday, September 09, 2005
Thursday, September 08, 2005
You Have Beautiful Eyes, And Don't Forget To Clean Your Classroom
This was a bright yellow message scrawled on the green board that greeted me at work today. They want me to attend a dinner for all the teachers, so this is some kind of an attempt at suction. I'm leading towards no, but strategic thinking impels me towards yes.
What will our hero decide to do?
What will our hero decide to do?
We Have Been Warned
I know this is a subject people might term 'negative'. But you know, I see this as no different to the people in New Orleans who knew a Hurricane was coming, and had the means to leave (I'm not referring to the poor who couldn't)and yet they decided just to wait and worry, or not worry. If you're aware of an approaching storm, is that awareness negative? It's real. It's smart. It's key to our survival. Turn your back on that level of consciousness at your own peril.
We need to be in the world saying, Look at that. What can we do?
There are actually still people in New Orleans, a place with no sanitary water, no electricity, no food, who think there is no threat from the sickening waters around them. Even after all that has happened, they are still sleepwalking into the future. I'm chagrined to say, this trend is everywhere, and in every country.
I think we live in a time where we never have to look over our shoulder because of the threat of a predator. It's been an ultra convenient, an ultra easy life for those of us who could afford it.
But you know, I've been out on safari in Africa, and it's a strange, exhilarating experience to be out in the wild, and you have to look around, not just out of idle curiosity, or following eye candy or flashing lights. You look around because there could be any one of a number of wild animals out there, that could harm, even kill you. Yes, it's unlikely. But you know, instinctively, you have to be careful. The tracks in the white sand at your feet say that a hyena stood where you stood a few minutes ago. The grunts of a hippo tell you a hippo is not far away. More people die from hippo attacks, in Africa, than are killed by any other animal.
http://www.southafrica-travel.net/Tiere/e_flupf.htm:
Hippos are the most feared animals in southern Africa. Each year more people are killed by them than by all the other animals together.
What is the point of that snippet of information? It's that we are now dumb enough as a society to not really appreciate the risks to our survival any more. We've even forgotten how to eat in a healthy way.
So how can we possibly have any idea of what's coming? First of all, we need to start looking around. Lift our heads from our cellphones, glance away from the TV and ask ourselves, Are We Really In Any Danger?
H5N1 is like a Hurricane, Category 5, headed our way. About the size of Australia. We can't get out of its way, but we can stock up our local hospitals with vaccines. Many countries appear to be wanting to just ride out the storm, but really, they probably aren't even aware that there is a storm.
We have been warned, and what's been done so far is not enough.
Bird flu pandemic a question of when, not if -WHO
07 Sep 2005 14:07:59 GMT
Source: Reuters
COLOMBO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The world is going to face a pandemic of the bird flu strain lethal to humans and Thailand is the only nation in South and Southeast Asia ready to deal with it, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday.
WHO officials said the virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily from one human to another, making it easier for it to spread rapidly across great distances and kill between one million and seven million people worldwide.
"We may be at almost the last stage before the pandemic virus may emerge," Dr. Jai P. Narain, Director of WHO's communicable diseases department told a news conference on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia health summit in the Sri Lankan capital.
We need to be in the world saying, Look at that. What can we do?
There are actually still people in New Orleans, a place with no sanitary water, no electricity, no food, who think there is no threat from the sickening waters around them. Even after all that has happened, they are still sleepwalking into the future. I'm chagrined to say, this trend is everywhere, and in every country.
I think we live in a time where we never have to look over our shoulder because of the threat of a predator. It's been an ultra convenient, an ultra easy life for those of us who could afford it.
But you know, I've been out on safari in Africa, and it's a strange, exhilarating experience to be out in the wild, and you have to look around, not just out of idle curiosity, or following eye candy or flashing lights. You look around because there could be any one of a number of wild animals out there, that could harm, even kill you. Yes, it's unlikely. But you know, instinctively, you have to be careful. The tracks in the white sand at your feet say that a hyena stood where you stood a few minutes ago. The grunts of a hippo tell you a hippo is not far away. More people die from hippo attacks, in Africa, than are killed by any other animal.
http://www.southafrica-travel.net/Tiere/e_flupf.htm:
Hippos are the most feared animals in southern Africa. Each year more people are killed by them than by all the other animals together.
What is the point of that snippet of information? It's that we are now dumb enough as a society to not really appreciate the risks to our survival any more. We've even forgotten how to eat in a healthy way.
So how can we possibly have any idea of what's coming? First of all, we need to start looking around. Lift our heads from our cellphones, glance away from the TV and ask ourselves, Are We Really In Any Danger?
H5N1 is like a Hurricane, Category 5, headed our way. About the size of Australia. We can't get out of its way, but we can stock up our local hospitals with vaccines. Many countries appear to be wanting to just ride out the storm, but really, they probably aren't even aware that there is a storm.
We have been warned, and what's been done so far is not enough.
Bird flu pandemic a question of when, not if -WHO
07 Sep 2005 14:07:59 GMT
Source: Reuters
COLOMBO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The world is going to face a pandemic of the bird flu strain lethal to humans and Thailand is the only nation in South and Southeast Asia ready to deal with it, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday.
WHO officials said the virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily from one human to another, making it easier for it to spread rapidly across great distances and kill between one million and seven million people worldwide.
"We may be at almost the last stage before the pandemic virus may emerge," Dr. Jai P. Narain, Director of WHO's communicable diseases department told a news conference on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia health summit in the Sri Lankan capital.
Buy A Bicycle
Some interesting headlines on Oil, like this one: Oil Prices Tumble. That's a ridiculous headline given the near emergency level they are at. That's like a weather forecaster saying, of a Hurricane going from category 4 to 3, Winds Die Down.
We will see some respite. But probably from sometime in November, once the winter really sets in, let's say Thanksgiving Day, but probably before then, America will find itself paying ludicrous prices for heating their hom,es (they use natural gas), and will begin to find their country is unable to meet demands for basic nationwide electricity demand, and heating.
Since the world has sent oil to America, overall reserves will soon be lower everywhere. Right now a lot of US's own production is still below 50%, and obviously each day that this continues, puts pressure on the market. You see, the oil may not be coming out of the Gulf, but people are still driving around the Gulf. Now they'll want, sorry, demand, their oil (for gas) from somewhere else.
Pretty soon there will be a situation where when a country or community desperately demands oil, those who have will not be willing to share. That time will be socially unstable, and one of the simple bottomline consequences will be one simple reality: food shortages.
So what can you do? I've covered that before. But here's another suggestion. Get ready for less fast food, more local fruit and vegetables and buy a good bicycle.
Nano
Having recently bought an iPod, which is the smallest of all of them, called the shuffle, but also has the least functionality, I was interested to see what Apple was going to do next. They had a big presentation on Wednesday, showcasing not only the new iPhone, but also a brand new iPod. It's called the iPod nano and it is really cool.
It's slim and light, and has a liquid crystal display. It's a marvel really, of design and ingenuity. One can't help looking at it and seeing the word 'blockbuster' dancing over it. The mini has been the most popular MP3 player in the world, and what Apple is doing is very bold. They are allowing a brand leader, their own product, to be overhauled by rolling out another product. The idea is possibly to control leadership of this category, and not allow competitors to dictate better replacements.
1000 songs in your pocket for $249. Or 500 for $199.
Jobs taking calculated risk with 'nano'
By John Shinal
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs, ever the showman, kept his most important product move a secret until Wednesday, when he brought the house down with a little help from Madonna and Harry Potter.
The question now, though, is whether Jobs can pull off his bold plan to shake up the company's fastest-growing and most popular product line.
With Wall Street analysts and the media still digesting the details of Apple's iPod-equipped cell phone, Jobs stunned the crowd at San Francisco's Moscone Center when he revealed that the company planned to replace its most popular iPod with a new product just a fraction of its size.
Slimming effect
The iPod nano, "thinner than a No. 2 pencil," as Jobs described it, is no doubt a marvel of product design that will likely have broad consumer appeal.
Yet because it uses newer, more expensive components than the iPod mini it will replace, the device will be less profitable per unit for Apple.
By rolling out the iPod nano, Jobs is betting that he can simultaneously increase the size of the market for digital music players and grab a larger share of it.
"The marketplace will ultimately decide" the wisdom of Apple's latest moves, said Neil Strother, an analyst with the research firm NPD Group.
For Apple, the stakes couldn't be higher, as the iPod line comprises Apple's fastest-selling products by far and now contributes about a third of the company's revenue.
At least one analyst thinks Apple's dominance of the digital music market-- which will only be helped by new, exclusive content deals with Madonna and the Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling -- will be enough to ensure the Nano's success, he said.
"This is going to be a pretty hot product," said analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, who rates Apple shares outperform. "It could be Apple's next home run."
Marvel vs. margins
The Nano is less than a quarter of the size of the original iPod, first sold in 2001. Apple accomplished that engineering feat by completely eliminating the the hard disk drive that was used to store data on earlier iPods.
Instead, Apple is using what's called flash memory technology from Samsung Electronics.
While that's made the product small enough to fit into the tiny change pocket stitched into the front of a pair of Levi's, it also has boosted Apple's component costs by as much as 50%, according to Munster.
Apple is selling two versions of the iPod nano, one that holds 2 gigabytes of data -- enough room for about 500 songs -- for $199 and a 4-gigabyte model for $249. Given the component costs, "it's hard to see how they make any money on the 4-gigabyte version," said Munster.
Apple is likely betting that component prices will come down and that it can make up the difference on volume.
"This," the analyst said, "is a way to grab market share."
John Shinal is a technology editor for MarketWatch in San Francisco.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
This Is Why I Admire This Guy
He doesn't silence his critics with words, he does it by getting on a bicycle and beating the crap out of everyone.
While I was swimming, and feeling not quite my super-swimming self, I reflected on the Superman movie, where he decides to get rid of his super powers so he can be a geek, and live a geeky life with Lois Lane. I remember what a huge impression that movie made on me as a young boy, and thinking, "I'll never dumb enough to give my powers away over a girl."
Look at Lance. He's the king of the cycling world, at the zenith of his powers. Is he getting fat? Is he just hanging out? He's gotten engaged, and while he's been enjoying time off, the French have laid into him.
How does he respond? The French have been saying they are so happy to hear he's retiring so that at last someone else can win the Tour. Now he says, he might come back again.
If you're on top, why not bow out when you're in the top 10, or top 20, especially if it's been your whole life?
Anyway, I think it will be great if he goes for it again. Once again, we will look at Ullrich and say, Ullrich, do you have it in you, one more time, to take on this guy? How long can one man's luck last?
It's not only about luck. In fact luck is the least of it. It's all, almost all, about preparation. Lance's preparation is just quite a lot better than anybody elses.
Armstrong to Train With Team This Winter
By JEROME PUGMIRE, AP Sports Writer
50 minutes ago
PARIS - Lance Armstrong plans to train with his team this winter, increasing speculation he will end his retirement and attempt an eighth straight Tour de France win.
"It's definitely an open possibility, I know he is on the bike," Discovery Channel team director Johan Bruyneel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"He absolutely wants to be part of the training camp in December and wants to get fit to compete with the guys there," Bruyneel said, adding that Armstrong can decide to return as late as February.
When Armstrong retired in July after his seventh straight Tour win, Bruyneel had to decide whether to recruit a new team leader. He opted not to do so, suggesting the door may have been kept open for the Texan.
"We didn't really look for somebody to replace him," Bruyneel said. "For one there is nobody, not a strong leader like he was. Without him we have a very good team ... but not the favorites."
The Amaury Sport Organization, which organizes the Tour, would not comment on the speculation.
"We will express ourselves only if and when he decides to come out of retirement," spokesman Christophe Marchadier said. "There is nothing to stop him coming back on the Tour as a professional cyclist."
Armstrong, who turns 34 later this month, won this year's Tour by a comfortable margin — 4 minutes, 40 seconds ahead of Italian Ivan Basso and 6:21 ahead of Jan Ullrich of Germany.
"I'm sure he could win (another Tour)," Bruyneel said. "The way he won this year ... everything pretty much under control and he never showed any weakness. He has another Tour in his legs yet."
Armstrong, who announced his engagement Monday to rock singer Sheryl Crow, issued a statement Tuesday confirming that he's considering a comeback in part to rankle French media.
On Aug. 23, sports daily L'Equipe, which is owned by the Tour organizer, reported it had evidence that six of Armstrong's urine samples from the 1999 Tour tested positive last year for the blood booster EPO. The substance was banned in 1999, but there was no reliable test at the time.
"I think he's been very offended," Bruyneel said. "If you know him he doesn't need a lot to find some motivation. I think it woke up the competitive side of him."
Should Armstrong return, the media scrutiny surrounding him would be intense and he would likely receive a hostile reception from the French public.
"He proved in the past that he can deal with that. He is at his maximum under pressure," Bruyneel said. "Physically and mentally he can deal with a lot."
While I was swimming, and feeling not quite my super-swimming self, I reflected on the Superman movie, where he decides to get rid of his super powers so he can be a geek, and live a geeky life with Lois Lane. I remember what a huge impression that movie made on me as a young boy, and thinking, "I'll never dumb enough to give my powers away over a girl."
Look at Lance. He's the king of the cycling world, at the zenith of his powers. Is he getting fat? Is he just hanging out? He's gotten engaged, and while he's been enjoying time off, the French have laid into him.
How does he respond? The French have been saying they are so happy to hear he's retiring so that at last someone else can win the Tour. Now he says, he might come back again.
If you're on top, why not bow out when you're in the top 10, or top 20, especially if it's been your whole life?
Anyway, I think it will be great if he goes for it again. Once again, we will look at Ullrich and say, Ullrich, do you have it in you, one more time, to take on this guy? How long can one man's luck last?
It's not only about luck. In fact luck is the least of it. It's all, almost all, about preparation. Lance's preparation is just quite a lot better than anybody elses.
Armstrong to Train With Team This Winter
By JEROME PUGMIRE, AP Sports Writer
50 minutes ago
PARIS - Lance Armstrong plans to train with his team this winter, increasing speculation he will end his retirement and attempt an eighth straight Tour de France win.
"It's definitely an open possibility, I know he is on the bike," Discovery Channel team director Johan Bruyneel told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"He absolutely wants to be part of the training camp in December and wants to get fit to compete with the guys there," Bruyneel said, adding that Armstrong can decide to return as late as February.
When Armstrong retired in July after his seventh straight Tour win, Bruyneel had to decide whether to recruit a new team leader. He opted not to do so, suggesting the door may have been kept open for the Texan.
"We didn't really look for somebody to replace him," Bruyneel said. "For one there is nobody, not a strong leader like he was. Without him we have a very good team ... but not the favorites."
The Amaury Sport Organization, which organizes the Tour, would not comment on the speculation.
"We will express ourselves only if and when he decides to come out of retirement," spokesman Christophe Marchadier said. "There is nothing to stop him coming back on the Tour as a professional cyclist."
Armstrong, who turns 34 later this month, won this year's Tour by a comfortable margin — 4 minutes, 40 seconds ahead of Italian Ivan Basso and 6:21 ahead of Jan Ullrich of Germany.
"I'm sure he could win (another Tour)," Bruyneel said. "The way he won this year ... everything pretty much under control and he never showed any weakness. He has another Tour in his legs yet."
Armstrong, who announced his engagement Monday to rock singer Sheryl Crow, issued a statement Tuesday confirming that he's considering a comeback in part to rankle French media.
On Aug. 23, sports daily L'Equipe, which is owned by the Tour organizer, reported it had evidence that six of Armstrong's urine samples from the 1999 Tour tested positive last year for the blood booster EPO. The substance was banned in 1999, but there was no reliable test at the time.
"I think he's been very offended," Bruyneel said. "If you know him he doesn't need a lot to find some motivation. I think it woke up the competitive side of him."
Should Armstrong return, the media scrutiny surrounding him would be intense and he would likely receive a hostile reception from the French public.
"He proved in the past that he can deal with that. He is at his maximum under pressure," Bruyneel said. "Physically and mentally he can deal with a lot."
How Happy I am I Right Now?
This is an important question I think we all need to ask ourselves once a month or so, more if we're feeling really miserable.
I have that growing sense of joy associated with a long distance runner starting to smell the finish line. I am coming to the end of the two thirds period (4th month of 6) and from here the weather is likely to improve a great deal.
While I was swimming in the pool, I remember my best ever 100m freestyle time was 1 minute exactly. I'd like to spend a few months pursuing that time. Getting to 59 seconds would make me pretty happy.
Sports achievements, when you set them and reach them they can give tremendous satisfaction and a sense of wellbeing. Life isn't always fair, but sometimes, there's a measure of fairness in training hard and getting results.
I'd really like to find a way towards a long term happiness in a fulfilling work scenario. I have lived for many years now as a free spirit, so maybe the word 'free' needs to figure in my job description. Freelance. Freelance writing, Freelance Marketing, Freelance Sports Coaching, Freelance Teaching. In a flat world, more and more power is shifting to the Freelancers. Put another way, starting one's own one or two or three person business.
Happiness is not just about the circumstances around us, but what's also true is that a change in circumstances can also, potentially, bring about a change in one's fortunes.
Whatever happens, fortune favors the brave. And happiness doesn't favor those who don't, it tends to favor those who do.
I have that growing sense of joy associated with a long distance runner starting to smell the finish line. I am coming to the end of the two thirds period (4th month of 6) and from here the weather is likely to improve a great deal.
While I was swimming in the pool, I remember my best ever 100m freestyle time was 1 minute exactly. I'd like to spend a few months pursuing that time. Getting to 59 seconds would make me pretty happy.
Sports achievements, when you set them and reach them they can give tremendous satisfaction and a sense of wellbeing. Life isn't always fair, but sometimes, there's a measure of fairness in training hard and getting results.
I'd really like to find a way towards a long term happiness in a fulfilling work scenario. I have lived for many years now as a free spirit, so maybe the word 'free' needs to figure in my job description. Freelance. Freelance writing, Freelance Marketing, Freelance Sports Coaching, Freelance Teaching. In a flat world, more and more power is shifting to the Freelancers. Put another way, starting one's own one or two or three person business.
Happiness is not just about the circumstances around us, but what's also true is that a change in circumstances can also, potentially, bring about a change in one's fortunes.
Whatever happens, fortune favors the brave. And happiness doesn't favor those who don't, it tends to favor those who do.
#4 & 5 & 6 (15)
Run: 5km (1 lap)
Time: 32:30
HR: 153 av/171 mx
Kcal: 624
Temperature: 32 C av (33 C mx)
Swim: 1.5km
Time: 1 hour
Best 100m 1:12 (wuth dive) (Could do a 1:00 when I was 17 years old!)
Best 25m: 13 seconds (with dive)
Weight: 83.2kg
Pilates: 5 minutes
Time: 32:30
HR: 153 av/171 mx
Kcal: 624
Temperature: 32 C av (33 C mx)
Swim: 1.5km
Time: 1 hour
Best 100m 1:12 (wuth dive) (Could do a 1:00 when I was 17 years old!)
Best 25m: 13 seconds (with dive)
Weight: 83.2kg
Pilates: 5 minutes
36/3 Smile
Bombs away! Sent away my first package today - a 20kg box full of books, marathon and triathlon medals (quite a heavy collection of metal), small digital video casettes and one movie burnt onto CD. Hope it arrives safety at it's destination. It's going surface mail (that means by ship) so it will take between 1 and 2 months. That's fine. Costs: W58 000. Not too bad. Only one or two of the books are worth that much, and some of those books I'd like to keep until I'm 80.
Today was another stunning day. Absolutely crystal clear skies. That was enough to get me around the park again. Nice little run, and at one point I ran past a group of schoolkids in their uniforms posing for a photo. One guy shouted, "Go running," and then all the girls made a big HOOOOOOOOO noise. Couldn't help waving and smiling.
Would like to do a run like this every Wednesday as a sort of time trial, see if I can bring the time down to close to 25 minutes.
I'm trying to eat nuts every day, and a little orange juice, and eat mostly fruit at school.
I'm trying to cut meats (excluding fish) out of my diet as much as possible. If I meat meat once a week I think that's all right.
It was very sweaty lugging that box to the post office. The first price they quoted was W250 000. If that had been the best possible price I might have hurled that box on the nearest garbage heap, digital video and all.
That box is another reminder why I need a home. I need a place to put the meaningful things in my life. Maybe though, that place doesn't have to be a real place. What's essential to the heart is invisible to the eye. Even so, the heart needs to have a home too, and another person isn't quite enough. I think a home is four walls, in a community that cares, and where the family and the community share in each others wealth and health and happiness.
Communities around the world are about to change. I'm not sure when we will see a stable period again. Possibly when the oil bell curve has run its downhill course and then evened out to almost nothing. I hope it is not too much to ask that this enormous transition will be within my lifetime. I think it will take a little longer than that.
Will our children inherit a better world than this one?
On a day like today, it seems entirely possible.
Today was another stunning day. Absolutely crystal clear skies. That was enough to get me around the park again. Nice little run, and at one point I ran past a group of schoolkids in their uniforms posing for a photo. One guy shouted, "Go running," and then all the girls made a big HOOOOOOOOO noise. Couldn't help waving and smiling.
Would like to do a run like this every Wednesday as a sort of time trial, see if I can bring the time down to close to 25 minutes.
I'm trying to eat nuts every day, and a little orange juice, and eat mostly fruit at school.
I'm trying to cut meats (excluding fish) out of my diet as much as possible. If I meat meat once a week I think that's all right.
It was very sweaty lugging that box to the post office. The first price they quoted was W250 000. If that had been the best possible price I might have hurled that box on the nearest garbage heap, digital video and all.
That box is another reminder why I need a home. I need a place to put the meaningful things in my life. Maybe though, that place doesn't have to be a real place. What's essential to the heart is invisible to the eye. Even so, the heart needs to have a home too, and another person isn't quite enough. I think a home is four walls, in a community that cares, and where the family and the community share in each others wealth and health and happiness.
Communities around the world are about to change. I'm not sure when we will see a stable period again. Possibly when the oil bell curve has run its downhill course and then evened out to almost nothing. I hope it is not too much to ask that this enormous transition will be within my lifetime. I think it will take a little longer than that.
Will our children inherit a better world than this one?
On a day like today, it seems entirely possible.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Kunstler: In The Background
Tuesday, September 6, 2005,
We've entered the blame-o-rama phase of Hurricane Katrina. I actually heard Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff sparring with NPR's Bob Simon on the air last Thursday, and a more weasily performance than Chertoff's would be hard to find in any bureaucratic circle of hell. FEMA chief Michael Brown gave new dimension to the word "clusterfuck" by blocking private charity shipments of food and water into New Orleans and making the armed forces "work around" his agency in order to get anything done. And it was revealed yesterday that a navy hospital ship idled with empty beds off the Louisiana coast without orders while old people died slow deaths on the sidewalks outside the Convention Center.
There has already been one proposal for rebuilding the city, from Daniel Libeskind, whose proposal for turning the World Trade Center site into the set for a German expressionist horror movie won the hearts and minds of the architectural mandarins in New York. Libeskind said that New Orleans should adopt a jazz theme. Wow! Maybe they should think about serving Creole food to go with it.
The actual tendency in practice, is to build back pretty much what was there before, because the insurance companies demand it. If a strip mall was washed away, then the insurer will only finance the rebuilding of a strip mall. This is most unfortunate, particularly for those places further east of New Orleans along the Gulf Coast, and a hundred miles inland, because they were composed primarily of suburban sprawl. If they rebuild along that template, they will do so in the face of strong signals from reality that the age of Easy Motoring is over. The romance of the car may be too great to overcome in Dixie.
We have as yet no word how the cluster of downtown skyscrapers in New Orleans proper fared, but there is a good chance that some of them will not survive the damage to their foundations. It would be a shame to rebuild priapic towers in a new era when the urban norm probably should not exceed seven stories (the walkable limit for buildings with stairs). All our big cities will be contracting in the years ahead, as the electric grid becomes less reliable, and the demographic trend of the past two hundred years reverses, with populations shifting back to small towns and agricultural regions. It was interesting to see, finally, that the driest place in New Orleans was the French Quarter, the original settlement.
The poor neighborhoods were composed largely of shotgun shacks, little post-war brick bunkers, and government-built housing projects. Virtually all of them appear to be ruined. I'd guess that few were insured, and the insurers will probably try to label it "flood damage," which generally exempts them from paying out. The population that inhabited them is now dispersed, and some of those who feel that they lost everything may not return. These neighborhoods will be blank slates. But they will also remain low-lying in relation to a coastline that is losing its wetland buffers against an ocean that is seeing a cycle of more violent storms, probably due to global warming. Anything new built in these wards will not be insurable.
Meanwhile momentous things are swirling in the background. The price of gasoline may retreat sometime in two to six weeks, but I doubt it will fall below the $2.50 range again. In fact, having gone way above the psychological barrier of $3.00, the gasoline retailers may resist falling below that. There have been no new oil refineries built in the US since the late 1970s. There will be no new ones built now, despite the crunch on refined "product." Why? Because the oil companies understand that they are in a twilight industry and refineries represent huge investments in future activity, which the corporations correctly perceive will be shrinking as global oil production passes peak.
The biggest shock to the public lies a couple of months ahead when the cost of natural gas for home heating (50 percent of the dwellings in America) combines with stubbornly higher pump prices to whap them upside the head. Natural gas at around $12.00 is now many times what it cost as recently as 2003 ($3.00). A lot of Americans will be shivering this winter and some of the weak, old, and poor will die as a result.
President Bush has already taken a hit on his appointees' Chinese Fire Drill response to disaster management. But the toll from the energy problems the whole nation faces will be more insidious. Strapped for cash from filling their gas tanks, unable to buy Christmas presents at WalMart, and huddled around space heaters, the public will be wondering why they were so poorly prepared.
We've entered the blame-o-rama phase of Hurricane Katrina. I actually heard Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff sparring with NPR's Bob Simon on the air last Thursday, and a more weasily performance than Chertoff's would be hard to find in any bureaucratic circle of hell. FEMA chief Michael Brown gave new dimension to the word "clusterfuck" by blocking private charity shipments of food and water into New Orleans and making the armed forces "work around" his agency in order to get anything done. And it was revealed yesterday that a navy hospital ship idled with empty beds off the Louisiana coast without orders while old people died slow deaths on the sidewalks outside the Convention Center.
There has already been one proposal for rebuilding the city, from Daniel Libeskind, whose proposal for turning the World Trade Center site into the set for a German expressionist horror movie won the hearts and minds of the architectural mandarins in New York. Libeskind said that New Orleans should adopt a jazz theme. Wow! Maybe they should think about serving Creole food to go with it.
The actual tendency in practice, is to build back pretty much what was there before, because the insurance companies demand it. If a strip mall was washed away, then the insurer will only finance the rebuilding of a strip mall. This is most unfortunate, particularly for those places further east of New Orleans along the Gulf Coast, and a hundred miles inland, because they were composed primarily of suburban sprawl. If they rebuild along that template, they will do so in the face of strong signals from reality that the age of Easy Motoring is over. The romance of the car may be too great to overcome in Dixie.
We have as yet no word how the cluster of downtown skyscrapers in New Orleans proper fared, but there is a good chance that some of them will not survive the damage to their foundations. It would be a shame to rebuild priapic towers in a new era when the urban norm probably should not exceed seven stories (the walkable limit for buildings with stairs). All our big cities will be contracting in the years ahead, as the electric grid becomes less reliable, and the demographic trend of the past two hundred years reverses, with populations shifting back to small towns and agricultural regions. It was interesting to see, finally, that the driest place in New Orleans was the French Quarter, the original settlement.
The poor neighborhoods were composed largely of shotgun shacks, little post-war brick bunkers, and government-built housing projects. Virtually all of them appear to be ruined. I'd guess that few were insured, and the insurers will probably try to label it "flood damage," which generally exempts them from paying out. The population that inhabited them is now dispersed, and some of those who feel that they lost everything may not return. These neighborhoods will be blank slates. But they will also remain low-lying in relation to a coastline that is losing its wetland buffers against an ocean that is seeing a cycle of more violent storms, probably due to global warming. Anything new built in these wards will not be insurable.
Meanwhile momentous things are swirling in the background. The price of gasoline may retreat sometime in two to six weeks, but I doubt it will fall below the $2.50 range again. In fact, having gone way above the psychological barrier of $3.00, the gasoline retailers may resist falling below that. There have been no new oil refineries built in the US since the late 1970s. There will be no new ones built now, despite the crunch on refined "product." Why? Because the oil companies understand that they are in a twilight industry and refineries represent huge investments in future activity, which the corporations correctly perceive will be shrinking as global oil production passes peak.
The biggest shock to the public lies a couple of months ahead when the cost of natural gas for home heating (50 percent of the dwellings in America) combines with stubbornly higher pump prices to whap them upside the head. Natural gas at around $12.00 is now many times what it cost as recently as 2003 ($3.00). A lot of Americans will be shivering this winter and some of the weak, old, and poor will die as a result.
President Bush has already taken a hit on his appointees' Chinese Fire Drill response to disaster management. But the toll from the energy problems the whole nation faces will be more insidious. Strapped for cash from filling their gas tanks, unable to buy Christmas presents at WalMart, and huddled around space heaters, the public will be wondering why they were so poorly prepared.
Winds Of Change
I have some green New Zealand mussels steaming in a pot filled with some garlic and oil.
Today was windy enough to blow a hat off your head.
The air is so clean and the sky and sun so bright it is like being in another country altogether. All the dirty air has been swirling away to be sucked by by Typhoon Nabi, now on Korea's southern doorstep.
This morning I went to start an extra teaching job. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me through the door of my school with my bike. Not quite sure what they expected, but there was no way I was going to leave a W2 million plus bike outside in a country where even second hand bikes get stolen at the drop of a hat. They weren't willing to consider letting me keep the bike inside, so I left.
Went to a place where they stitch clothes and took in a pair of cycling pants and my puma shorts. Felt a bit gloomy, but a few minutes later realised that the last thing I need now is the strain of teaching kindergarten kids.
Lately I have been stressed out by the smallest thing.
Today while standing in line at Newcore, with my groceries, I felt a trolley bang against my ankle. Someone was trying to get between a pillar and me.
In the elevator, once the door opened, a woman behind me just pushed right against me. Once we were out I said to her, not loudly, "Calm down."
One of the realities of living in a very overcrowded country, is that people bump into you, nudge you, push you, walk into you, and in most other countries they'd get whallopped. Here it's normal to jump the queue, to push in, and not necessary to apologise for personal collisions.
I got an email from a communications agency in PE who were looking for a writer. They asked for my CV, and shortly after sending it I got an email back saying, "We regret to inform you..."
I've also gotten the first cardboard boxes and filled them with my books. Will post these, as the first of about 3 or 4 shipments, tomorrow morning.
Today was windy enough to blow a hat off your head.
The air is so clean and the sky and sun so bright it is like being in another country altogether. All the dirty air has been swirling away to be sucked by by Typhoon Nabi, now on Korea's southern doorstep.
This morning I went to start an extra teaching job. Unfortunately they wouldn't let me through the door of my school with my bike. Not quite sure what they expected, but there was no way I was going to leave a W2 million plus bike outside in a country where even second hand bikes get stolen at the drop of a hat. They weren't willing to consider letting me keep the bike inside, so I left.
Went to a place where they stitch clothes and took in a pair of cycling pants and my puma shorts. Felt a bit gloomy, but a few minutes later realised that the last thing I need now is the strain of teaching kindergarten kids.
Lately I have been stressed out by the smallest thing.
Today while standing in line at Newcore, with my groceries, I felt a trolley bang against my ankle. Someone was trying to get between a pillar and me.
In the elevator, once the door opened, a woman behind me just pushed right against me. Once we were out I said to her, not loudly, "Calm down."
One of the realities of living in a very overcrowded country, is that people bump into you, nudge you, push you, walk into you, and in most other countries they'd get whallopped. Here it's normal to jump the queue, to push in, and not necessary to apologise for personal collisions.
I got an email from a communications agency in PE who were looking for a writer. They asked for my CV, and shortly after sending it I got an email back saying, "We regret to inform you..."
I've also gotten the first cardboard boxes and filled them with my books. Will post these, as the first of about 3 or 4 shipments, tomorrow morning.
Yoon's An Ironman
I recently got an email from my friend Yoon (from Ilsan's Triathlon Club). He sent me a few pictures and briefly described his Ironman experience.
I am pleased to inform that I successfuly finished my 1st Ironman course
at Jeju on 28th Aug 2005.
Especially thanks for your advice for GU2O.
I managed to buy some packs,which cost \3,500 per each pack.
I tried it at running exercise and found very helpful to me.
10:59:49 Pi Young-Shik 169 1:10:25 0:03:27 5:38:56 0:02:52 4:10:28 77
13:06:21 Lee CHEEWEON 636 1:26:17 0:05:28 6:52:50 0:05:24 4:47:14 346
13:07:31 Lee su Youn 137 1:13:41 0:06:19 6:58:44 0:03:39 4:55:08 350
13:45:31 Han Sang-yong 249 1:22:22 0:12:20 7:11:49 0:03:43 5:11:21 447
14:48:02 Yoon joo Hwan 886 1:28:05 0:08:22 8:14:52 0:04:37 5:05:06 595
Mr Pi, who went to Hawaii last year, was our first club member in.
Well done Yoon, and all the other guys who finished.
36/1 & 2 Which Rollercoaster Are You On?
I came home to the phone ringing and had a long conversation. It's interesting how different one teacher's experience here can be from the next.
I know at least two teachers who teach 3 or 4 hours a day for more than W2 million (R11 000), and have a neat setup. The guy I spoke to travels somewhere every weekend, and will probably stay in Korea for a few more years (he's already been here for more than 4 years).
I think it makes a big difference if you have a girlfriend here. Someone to share the strange life here with.
And the school you're working at makes a big difference too. There are some Hellholes, and some Slavedrivers, and then every now and then there are Sweet Spots.
Some of it is the luck of the draw, and some of it is taking the time to get lucky.
I personally think my sell by date in Korea expired quite a while ago. I haven't been really happy since I arrived back in the country at the end of March. That may be more the fault of the individual (me) than the country. But it may also be incompatibility.
Korea's strengths are that it is easy to find work, and people are generally friendly. Another one is the internet. It's got possibly the best broadbrand infrastructure in the world. You can also get around without a car very easily.
It's drawbacks are that it is a very very polluted country, and overcrowded. If you're someone like me that needs quiet open spaces for training then these drawbacks become really important. You might think these are easily remedied. Go and work away from the big city? The smoke basically hangs over the whole country. And being the fifth most densely populated country, you're not likely to find too many quiet spots. But sometimes you do.
Probably most people who come here have a brilliant first few months, before the Rollercoaster ride begins. The Rollercoaster is basically a pattern of highs and lows that everyone goes through. Then there is the gnawing alienation that comes from living among a very different culture who will never really understand you, and vice versa. That may sound harsh, but it is a wise expat who can remember that he or she will never be Korean or be fully understood, or integrated into the society. It's more of a contract based on being different, but useful. In some ways it can be a positive feeling (of being special) but it is often the frustration that creeps up on you, especially on expats who have been here beyond 3 years.
So which Rollercoaster are you on? I need to get off this one soon.
I know at least two teachers who teach 3 or 4 hours a day for more than W2 million (R11 000), and have a neat setup. The guy I spoke to travels somewhere every weekend, and will probably stay in Korea for a few more years (he's already been here for more than 4 years).
I think it makes a big difference if you have a girlfriend here. Someone to share the strange life here with.
And the school you're working at makes a big difference too. There are some Hellholes, and some Slavedrivers, and then every now and then there are Sweet Spots.
Some of it is the luck of the draw, and some of it is taking the time to get lucky.
I personally think my sell by date in Korea expired quite a while ago. I haven't been really happy since I arrived back in the country at the end of March. That may be more the fault of the individual (me) than the country. But it may also be incompatibility.
Korea's strengths are that it is easy to find work, and people are generally friendly. Another one is the internet. It's got possibly the best broadbrand infrastructure in the world. You can also get around without a car very easily.
It's drawbacks are that it is a very very polluted country, and overcrowded. If you're someone like me that needs quiet open spaces for training then these drawbacks become really important. You might think these are easily remedied. Go and work away from the big city? The smoke basically hangs over the whole country. And being the fifth most densely populated country, you're not likely to find too many quiet spots. But sometimes you do.
Probably most people who come here have a brilliant first few months, before the Rollercoaster ride begins. The Rollercoaster is basically a pattern of highs and lows that everyone goes through. Then there is the gnawing alienation that comes from living among a very different culture who will never really understand you, and vice versa. That may sound harsh, but it is a wise expat who can remember that he or she will never be Korean or be fully understood, or integrated into the society. It's more of a contract based on being different, but useful. In some ways it can be a positive feeling (of being special) but it is often the frustration that creeps up on you, especially on expats who have been here beyond 3 years.
So which Rollercoaster are you on? I need to get off this one soon.
#3(15) Night Running
Had a very easy run around the park on Monday night. Two laps. Usually feel quite lifted on the run, but had a bad experience at work, so felt a bit down on this run.Run: 1:11
Distance: 10km
Heart Rate: 133 average (144 max)
Kcal 1089
Temperature: 28 average (but it felt much cooler and fresher than that)
Monday, September 05, 2005
#1 & 2(15) Beautiful Day
Today is bright and fresh and beautiful.
Went out late this morning for a 1 lap run of lake park. Legs felt heavy and tired, but arms felt strong when I did the pullups.
Run: 0:36
Distance: 5km
Heart rate: 147 (min) 167 (max)
Kcal: 642
Temperature: 29-31 C
Pullups: 10
Might run again tonight.
Went out late this morning for a 1 lap run of lake park. Legs felt heavy and tired, but arms felt strong when I did the pullups.
Run: 0:36
Distance: 5km
Heart rate: 147 (min) 167 (max)
Kcal: 642
Temperature: 29-31 C
Pullups: 10
Might run again tonight.
Am I Becoming A Loser?
The main difference between those who succeed and those who don't, is that winners set goals and achieve them, and losers don't.
I've been setting goals, but I'm not sure how many of them I'm achieving. And lately, it's gotten worse.
For example, last week I only exercised one time. One run, on Monday, and after that, nothing. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad. Actually, it is.
Weeks ago I wrote: How To Lose 5kg in 10 Weeks. It may have been more appropriate to have written: How To Gain 5kg in 5 Weeks. I have heard though, that it is better not to weigh yourself in the first two months after beginning a change in lifestyle. A large amount of the initial weight gain is the body holding onto water, which it considers an emergency supply as the body isn't sure why it is exerting itself suddenly. That may be true, but if one decidees to lose weight, and find one gains (even as a natural reaction), this should, for a mentally strong person, serve as an added incentive to train even harder, and see results as soon as possible. So that hasn't happened and I am disappointed with that.
I've also set financial targets and have seen these withering away. Recently I received two electricity bills totalling almost W400 000. That's obscene in an attitude of saving. There are some expenses that are clearly my fault, and because of my own laziness and lack of alertness. Others less so. But technically, money flows are pretty much that personals full and total responsibility. So I want to hold myself accountable to that.
My school told me on Friday that my salary is being cut by W200 000 (about R1 100) because I am not teaching the full 6 hours daily quota.
So there's an account of the setbacks.
Here's a projection for a renewed effort firstly, in terms of exercise
The new goals for each week leading to the Terry Fox run at the end of the week, and marathon in November are to:
- Do Pilates (10-20 minutes) 5 x Week (probably not over the weekend)
- Running (including hills and on the track) 4 x Week
- Cycling (Monday, Friday and Saturday/Sunday) 3 x Week
- Swimming (Wednesday and Sunday) 2 x Week
- Pullups (Monday) 1 x Week (increasing to 2-3 sets of 10)
Total: 15 Workouts
Total Time: 10-15 hours
In terms of financial, I won't provide too many details, but the good news is, in mitigation of recent expenses I am starting some extra work this week, starting tomorrow actually, and later in the month am starting something else.
I've also begun preparation for returning to South Africa. I responded to at least 3 jobs posts (looking for a writer) about a week ago and have heard nothing from them. In South Africa, when I job is advertised, they literally get a hundred people responding to them. That can be demoralising over a period of time.
But I have had some success and prospects seem good in terms of the local community where I am from, meaning that I might well get involved in the development of family land and possibly get involved in one or two other projects related to people and areas that are close to me. So that is a good sign.
I believe exercise is a crucial component of what keeps people healthy and in a positive state of mind. I know it keeps me balanced and happy not only in terms of health but in other areas. It refreshes the body and mind, helps one to cope with stress, puts things in perspective. One of the best bebefits is what it does to one's state of consciousness. It lifts the spirit. Running makes me feel happy (as opposed to depressed) and energetic(as opposed to apathetic), so I would like to be stricter and more disciplined in this area. Particularly running. Triathlon is a long way away, but I can actually begin to prepare for doing a marathon which is only 2 months away.
Lately I have not maintained a good pattern (of training) and I believe this lies at the root of my malaise.
When you're exercising the focus, motivation and energy spreads to all the other areas of our daily lives. That balancing is important.
I've been setting goals, but I'm not sure how many of them I'm achieving. And lately, it's gotten worse.
For example, last week I only exercised one time. One run, on Monday, and after that, nothing. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad. Actually, it is.
Weeks ago I wrote: How To Lose 5kg in 10 Weeks. It may have been more appropriate to have written: How To Gain 5kg in 5 Weeks. I have heard though, that it is better not to weigh yourself in the first two months after beginning a change in lifestyle. A large amount of the initial weight gain is the body holding onto water, which it considers an emergency supply as the body isn't sure why it is exerting itself suddenly. That may be true, but if one decidees to lose weight, and find one gains (even as a natural reaction), this should, for a mentally strong person, serve as an added incentive to train even harder, and see results as soon as possible. So that hasn't happened and I am disappointed with that.
I've also set financial targets and have seen these withering away. Recently I received two electricity bills totalling almost W400 000. That's obscene in an attitude of saving. There are some expenses that are clearly my fault, and because of my own laziness and lack of alertness. Others less so. But technically, money flows are pretty much that personals full and total responsibility. So I want to hold myself accountable to that.
My school told me on Friday that my salary is being cut by W200 000 (about R1 100) because I am not teaching the full 6 hours daily quota.
So there's an account of the setbacks.
Here's a projection for a renewed effort firstly, in terms of exercise
The new goals for each week leading to the Terry Fox run at the end of the week, and marathon in November are to:
- Do Pilates (10-20 minutes) 5 x Week (probably not over the weekend)
- Running (including hills and on the track) 4 x Week
- Cycling (Monday, Friday and Saturday/Sunday) 3 x Week
- Swimming (Wednesday and Sunday) 2 x Week
- Pullups (Monday) 1 x Week (increasing to 2-3 sets of 10)
Total: 15 Workouts
Total Time: 10-15 hours
In terms of financial, I won't provide too many details, but the good news is, in mitigation of recent expenses I am starting some extra work this week, starting tomorrow actually, and later in the month am starting something else.
I've also begun preparation for returning to South Africa. I responded to at least 3 jobs posts (looking for a writer) about a week ago and have heard nothing from them. In South Africa, when I job is advertised, they literally get a hundred people responding to them. That can be demoralising over a period of time.
But I have had some success and prospects seem good in terms of the local community where I am from, meaning that I might well get involved in the development of family land and possibly get involved in one or two other projects related to people and areas that are close to me. So that is a good sign.
I believe exercise is a crucial component of what keeps people healthy and in a positive state of mind. I know it keeps me balanced and happy not only in terms of health but in other areas. It refreshes the body and mind, helps one to cope with stress, puts things in perspective. One of the best bebefits is what it does to one's state of consciousness. It lifts the spirit. Running makes me feel happy (as opposed to depressed) and energetic(as opposed to apathetic), so I would like to be stricter and more disciplined in this area. Particularly running. Triathlon is a long way away, but I can actually begin to prepare for doing a marathon which is only 2 months away.
Lately I have not maintained a good pattern (of training) and I believe this lies at the root of my malaise.
When you're exercising the focus, motivation and energy spreads to all the other areas of our daily lives. That balancing is important.
On The Same Day
President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz).
Background picture: Meanwhile, during those same hours, in Mississippi: Volunteers rescue a family from the roof of their Suburban, which became trapped in floodwaters on US 90 in Bay St. Louis, Miss. (Ben Sklar / AP) August 30, 2005.
Why Nero burned Rome, How Bush Will Let the Vultures Descend Upon New Orleans
The famous line is that Nero Fiddled, while Rome burned. But historians believe that Nero wanted Rome to burn. The part that burned was where the poorest of the poor lived. And Nero wanted it to burn so he could expand his palace there.
by Rob Kall
http://www.opednews.com
Did Nero actually fiddle? We’ll never know for sure. But, off course, now, we have that famous photo of Bush playing a guitar, lobbying for the end of social security and estate taxes while thousands drowned. I’m going to say that Bush decided to kill these people and wipe out New Orleans. I am saying he is 100% responsible for the failures that led to the levee break and the failures to rescue the victims of the Levee Flood. I am saying that now that the disaster has occurred, Bush is the Number one Vulture.
New Orleans will be rebuilt, but it won’t be built the same as before. Maybe I’ve watched too much science fiction and read too many apocalyptic books like It Can’t Happen Here and the Librarian. But here’s what I see as New Orlean’s future.
Like the third world place it has become, a handful of wealthy people and a corrupt government will take over the entire New Orleans area. They will hand out contracts to Halliburton and whichever other big companies gave contributions to Bush.
Federal regulations will forbid small homes. The area that was flooded is prime real-estate, next to the French Quarter. It will be paved and covered with high-rise hotels, office buildings, golf courses, perhaps a shopping mall or two and a load of casinos. They’ll probably all be designed with flood resistant parking garages below flood level.
Developers—mostly transnationally owned hotel chains— will get to descend, like vultures, upon the remains of New Orleans. Red state rednecks from the rural sections of Louisiana and adjacent states will pick up the jobs.
Bottom line—the rip-off gas prices nation-wide are just the beginning. Bush cut his eyeteeth making his wealth off of government spending, starting with the sale of a baseball team. Bush will cash in on this disaster, as he’s done with Iraq and 9-11. These whore’s have no bottom, there is no low they cannot go lower than.
Perhaps they will through in some low income high rise instant tenements, like we see in section of NY city. They won’t be given the opportunity or insurance or federal aid to rebuild—unless they had expensive homes. Bush’s base—the upper 5% income people will get special federal aid and funds. They’ll get gorgeous condos or big settlements. The communities that existed will not be rebuilt.
Sadly, this approach will “make sense” at one level, since it will re-build New Orleans to be much more flood-proof, much safer than ever before.
The people who were shipped out of New Orleans to other states will be offered funds and support to stay in those states. Let’s call it disaster gerrymandering, except, in this case, the people, not the borders of the voting precincts have been moved. With tens of thousands of poor blacks, mostly democratic voters out of Louisiana, the balance will shift and the Republicans will steal the vote of another state. Too bad, but not surprising that the “refugees” weren’t moved to Florida or Ohio.
New Orleans: The Guitar Man and the Disgrace
Things are still pretty bleak in New orleans. Now some of the local authorities have committed suicide. Recently 6 people from the army core of engineers were shot dead, by local police, as they walked across a bridge.
What complicates the whole effort is that a small number of residents don't want to leave to become refugees at an unknown destination, but possibly in a crowded stadium somewhere. And some say they don't want to leave now, but might want to leave later.
And all this is made worse by federal people who are doing...what exactly?
It seems the real answer to that is they are organising photo-ops for themselves, and giving press conferences.
On its Internet site, CNN on Friday quoted upbeat assessments of relief efforts by US officials, which contrasted sharply with the grim conditions on the ground.
So was Bush just caught off guard for once. Was it just unlucky that this hurricane hit in his last week of holidays?
Bush has been here before. When the Tsunami hit, guess where he was? Crawford. How many people do you know who need to take 5 week vacations? And this guy is the president. He can spend as much time as he wants there when he is not president.
From News24:
Bush was at his Texas ranch when the tidal wave hit, and although the United States quickly pledged to aid afflicted areas, he did not make public remarks until December 29 (3 days later), when he defended US aid from accusations that Washington was being "stingy."
The US later quieted those charges by mounting a massive relief effort, which included deploying US military ships in the region, and ramping up financial help well beyond its much-mocked original $15m offer.
I watched a clip of Celine Dion on Larry King, who has contributed $1 million. She was livid, and emotionally overwrought, waving her arms and saying yes there may be reasons (from the government), but for God's sake, go there and do something. How hard can it be to bring people water? She was also saying that each night she comes home to her child and then watches another day go by where women with babies are still where they were, still standing and waiting.
Anway, that period is over for most.
I found a picture of Bush holding a guitar on August 30 (a few days after Katrina hit on August 25).
From News24:
Bush was also at his Texas ranch while Katrina churned towards the US coast, where it struck Florida on August 25. He did not make public remarks on the storm until August 28.
Some critics have seized on a news photograph of the president palling around with a country singer and posing with a gift guitar on August 30 - even as officials predicted Katrina's death toll would run in the hundreds - to say that the president was not taking the situation seriously enough.
There was also an interesting report of Australians who later fled the Superdome (and went under to a nearby hotel)because the Australian men felt that they could no longer protect the Australian girls who they were with.
The report below is not available at the moment on any American websites. Not MSNBC, not CNN, not Yahoo. But it's the main headline of a South African newsite called news24 (www.news24.com).
05/09/2005 00:10 - (SA)
New Orleans - Police shot eight people carrying guns on a New Orleans bridge on Sunday, killing five or six, a deputy chief said.
A spokesperson for the army corps of engineers said the victims were contractors on their way to repair a canal.
The contractors were walking across a bridge on their way to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to fix the 17th Street Canal, said John Hall, a spokesperson for the corps.
What complicates the whole effort is that a small number of residents don't want to leave to become refugees at an unknown destination, but possibly in a crowded stadium somewhere. And some say they don't want to leave now, but might want to leave later.
And all this is made worse by federal people who are doing...what exactly?
It seems the real answer to that is they are organising photo-ops for themselves, and giving press conferences.
On its Internet site, CNN on Friday quoted upbeat assessments of relief efforts by US officials, which contrasted sharply with the grim conditions on the ground.
So was Bush just caught off guard for once. Was it just unlucky that this hurricane hit in his last week of holidays?
Bush has been here before. When the Tsunami hit, guess where he was? Crawford. How many people do you know who need to take 5 week vacations? And this guy is the president. He can spend as much time as he wants there when he is not president.
From News24:
Bush was at his Texas ranch when the tidal wave hit, and although the United States quickly pledged to aid afflicted areas, he did not make public remarks until December 29 (3 days later), when he defended US aid from accusations that Washington was being "stingy."
The US later quieted those charges by mounting a massive relief effort, which included deploying US military ships in the region, and ramping up financial help well beyond its much-mocked original $15m offer.
I watched a clip of Celine Dion on Larry King, who has contributed $1 million. She was livid, and emotionally overwrought, waving her arms and saying yes there may be reasons (from the government), but for God's sake, go there and do something. How hard can it be to bring people water? She was also saying that each night she comes home to her child and then watches another day go by where women with babies are still where they were, still standing and waiting.
Anway, that period is over for most.
I found a picture of Bush holding a guitar on August 30 (a few days after Katrina hit on August 25).
From News24:
Bush was also at his Texas ranch while Katrina churned towards the US coast, where it struck Florida on August 25. He did not make public remarks on the storm until August 28.
Some critics have seized on a news photograph of the president palling around with a country singer and posing with a gift guitar on August 30 - even as officials predicted Katrina's death toll would run in the hundreds - to say that the president was not taking the situation seriously enough.
There was also an interesting report of Australians who later fled the Superdome (and went under to a nearby hotel)because the Australian men felt that they could no longer protect the Australian girls who they were with.
The report below is not available at the moment on any American websites. Not MSNBC, not CNN, not Yahoo. But it's the main headline of a South African newsite called news24 (www.news24.com).
05/09/2005 00:10 - (SA)
New Orleans - Police shot eight people carrying guns on a New Orleans bridge on Sunday, killing five or six, a deputy chief said.
A spokesperson for the army corps of engineers said the victims were contractors on their way to repair a canal.
The contractors were walking across a bridge on their way to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to fix the 17th Street Canal, said John Hall, a spokesperson for the corps.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
A Colossal Failure of Leadership
Saving people and maintaining order are the first order of government in any disaster. In New Orleans, neither has been achieved.
By Eleanor Clift
Newsweek
Updated: 12:29 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2005
Sept. 2, 2005 - I didn�t see the movie The Day After, which depicts the desolation and desperation in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. Staring at the images from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast is like watching that disaster movie in real time. People trying to survive, scavenging like wild animals, dead bodies stuffed in corners of the Superdome, the governor of Louisiana fighting to hold back tears.
Where is Rudy Giuliani when we need him? We've had four years since 9/11 to prepare for a crisis with mass casualties, yet we seem totally unprepared. To be sure, there are countless unsung heroes performing tasks of kindness and going out of their way to help their fellow man. But this was a moment for national leadership, and nobody rose to take charge the way Giuliani did in New York.
This has been a colossal failure of government. President Bush spent Tuesday, the day after Katrina struck, at a Medicare event in Arizona and then he made his way to a San Diego naval base for yet another anniversary tribute to the Greatest Generation. His concession to reality was adding a few words of compassion to his prepared remarks. Meanwhile, the greatest natural disaster in a century was unfolding at sickening speed with television cameras capturing footage of looting reminiscent of the days after the invasion of Iraq. Things were so bad �you almost wonder if Donald Rumsfeld is in charge,� said Marshall Wittmann, an analyst with the Democratic Leadership Council.
Saving people and maintaining order are the first order of government in any disaster, and neither was achieved. The much-touted Department of Homeland Security appeared too caught up in its internal bureaucracy to perform, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) called off its rescue missions Thursday because residents trying to board boats were getting violent. The disorder and lawlessness was breathtaking to watch. At one point, the evacuation of patients from a hospital was halted because of gunfire. Bush talks about 'zero tolerance' for looters, but there aren�t enough police to stop them and the jails are under water. One third of the National Guard from the affected states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are in Afghanistan and Iraq, and they're the ones trained to perform the police functions that restore civil order.
Instead of declaring a national emergency and deploying the military from all those nearby Texas bases, Bush deployed his father and President Clinton for a photo op at the White House as a prelude to a fund-raising tour. Callers to cable shows called the unfolding disaster our tsunami and wondered whether other countries would come to our aid the way the American government did when the tsunami hit Asia. We are the richest nation on earth with the resources, as Bush rightly said, 'to take care of our business.' Even so, gestures of support are welcome; NEWSWEEK has learned that the former ambassador from Sri Lanka is rallying medical doctors from his country's expatriate community to go to New Orleans to help. 'I figured this is the least we could do to reciprocate for all the help we got,' Ambassador Devinda Subasinghe says.
We're getting a taste of what poorer parts of the world have experienced along with a glimpse into a frightening future. Scientists say we have entered a cycle of frequent and dangerous storms. September is the peak season for hurricanes, and we're already through the letter K with Katrina.
Bush's comment that nobody thought the levees in New Orleans would break is false, and he will regret those words just as Condoleezza Rice did her comment that nobody could imagine a plane flying into a building like a missile. Local authorities and the Corps of Engineers had war-gamed hurricane scenarios and issued repeated warnings about the vulnerability of the levees. Their pleas were turned down and funding cut instead. Now the money will flow. Congressional leaders rushed back to Washington early to pass legislation to free up $10 billion for hurricane relief, a mere down payment on what it will cost to rebuild the stricken areas.
Congress had been planning to eliminate the estate tax, draining billions from a federal budget already reeling under the costs of a war. Marshall Wittmann, who used to advise John McCain, predicts that Bush's tax-cutting days are over. 'We've been living in la-la land,' he says. 'This is a moment of sobriety when business as usual can't continue.'
� 2005 Newsweek, Inc.
Rodeo in Apgujeong
This is the place to be seen in Seoul. It's a very uppity area, filled with boutique shops, even the MacDonalds here is a shiny glass and steel building that could almost be mistaken (on the outside anyway) for an art gallery.I suppose models come here to shop, and the rich, and the beautiful, and those who want to be rubbing shoulders with them. In the first five minutes after emerging from the subway, we noticed two very tall lithe ladies, long glossy hair flowing, high heels clicking, mini skirts squeezing, giraffing down the street towards their shopping spree or pedicure.
Shannon and I were dressed in thong shoes, and I was wearing beach shorts. At least one girl refused to glance at me because I was just not cool and minty enough (no collared shirt in sight, or shining Rolex).
Everywhere there are actually places to go for laser or plastic surgery. And you walk past gymnasiums full of people panting on running machines.
The area reminded me a lot of Osaka. Clean and hip, and attracting the high heeled and well heeled. It's a nice area.
It's interesting as you enter or exit the subway, there is just a slew of floor to ceiling, illuminated wall posters. There are almost no Korean or Asian people in any of them. You might be forgiven, as a westerner, for thinking that here, like many places in Korea, not being Asian makes you a celebrity. Well, sort of.
If you come here for your pleasure, expect to pay for it. Unless, like me, you're just taking some photos.
Finally, a Wi-Fi camera – but wait
By David Pogue The New York Times
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2005
REVIEW
Every now and then, someone combines two technologies in a single product, and the result is a triumphant new category that changes the industry. Clock plus radio. Cellphone plus camera. Music player plus hard drive.
But of all possible combinations these days, few are more screamingly obvious than wireless plus camera. Already, millions of people snap photos with their cellphones, then gleefully e-mail them or post them on Web sites. But why should you be satisfied with the crummy, low-resolution, bleached-out photos from cellphones? Why shouldn't you be able to have the same kind of fun with really good photographs from really good cameras?
The time has finally come. Kodak announced its wireless EasyShare-One camera way back in January, but its release has been repeatedly delayed. What would have been the second wireless camera to hit the market, then, is now the first: the Nikon P1, expected in stores on Sept. 15. It's an iPod-size, 8-megapixel camera dressed in brushed-metal black, with a list price of $550. (A sister model, the P2, is a silver, 5.1-megapixel version that lists for $400. Online prices will be much lower once the cameras actually arrive in stores.)
The P1 is so small, you would not guess that it contains a Wi-Fi transmitter for wireless networking, also known as AirPort or 802.11; only a small plastic window on one side (which permits the signals to exit the metal case) gives away the secret. Of course, Wi-Fi is useful only when you are within range of a wireless hot spot.
But adding Wi-Fi to a digital camera ought to offer some juicy possibilities anyway. You could shoot pictures without even having a memory card: The camera would shunt them wirelessly to your waiting laptop as you worked. You could post pictures to your own Web site or a photo gallery site like Flickr.com while they're still hot off the sensor. Photojournalists could e-mail their prize-winners to their editors directly from the battlefield (assuming, of course, a wireless Starbucks is near the battlefield).
All this and more awaits the consumers who embrace the first fully functional wireless digital camera.
Unfortunately, the Nikon P1 is not it.
Incredibly, the P1 can't connect to the Internet at all, even when its Wi-Fi signal-strength indicator has more bars than a prison. You can't e-mail your photos or post them to a Web site. You can't send photos from the camera to a cellphone or palmtop, or even to another P1.
So what good is it?
It turns out that the P1's wireless feature is good for a single trick only: sending pictures through the air to a wireless Mac or Windows computer that is fewer than 100 feet, or 30 meters, away and running Nikon's photo management software. (That same setup lets you send photos straight on to the printer. And if you buy Nikon's $50 wireless printer adapter, expected to be in stores by the end of October, you can even send photos directly to the printer without using a computer.)
Now, sending a photo wirelessly to a computer across the room is a neat trick. But is it such an improvement over plugging in the camera's USB cable the traditional way?
In one situation, yes. The P1 offers several wireless transfer modes. One transmits the most recent photos, another sends only photos you haven't already transferred, and so on. But one mode, called Shoot & Transfer, does something truly new: When you take a picture, the camera flings it through the air to your laptop, where it's safely stashed on the hard drive. Depending on the photo quality, this transfer can take from 15 seconds (the most detailed photos) to about one second (1 megapixel or less).
Shoot & Transfer mode can be useful in a number of ways. It bypasses the camera's memory card completely, so it works if your card is full or even missing. In effect, your wireless laptop becomes the memory card, also eliminating the fear of running out of storage space.
The best Shoot & Transfer feature of all is a true parlor trick. At a party, conference or any other social gathering, you can start up a slide show on your Mac or PC, complete with music. You can then walk around the room, snapping pictures of the guests or attendees. These photos join the slide show already in progress, automatically, in real time. It's digital-camera performance art.
As a compact camera, the P1 is loaded; Nikon correctly assumed that the kind of geek who would be interested in a Wi-Fi camera probably would also appreciate manual control over ISO (light sensitivity), aperture size, shutter speed, exposure and other photographic controls. Yet the P1 also offers a lot of consumer-friendly features like scene presets, movies with sound (30 frames a second, the size of a TV screen) and Nikon's celebrated macro mode, which lets you take pictures only 1.6 inches, or 4.1 centimeters, away from the subject. The screen is clear, bright and huge - 2.5 inches diagonally - which Nikon hopes will soften the blow when you realize there is no optical viewfinder.
The photos are very good. You would not mistake them for magazine photos, but for a pocket-size consumer camera, they are above average. (You can see samples at nytimes.com/circuits.)
Still, that quality and the many features also come with several nearly identical Nikon models that lack wireless features but cost about $150 less. And Nikon has a lot of work to do with the wireless element.
The camera cannot connect to a computer or printer until you first install the software on your computer, connect the camera through its USB cable, walk through a series of setup screens, and name your connection (or, as Nikon calls it, your profile; the camera can memorize nine of them). This process is far more technical and jargon-laden than it needs to be; in fact, the whole ritual should be unnecessary. Why can't the P1 auto-detect and auto-join wireless networks the way palmtops and laptops can?
This setup business rules out yet another potential Wi-Fi high: fielding a request for your photos from somebody in an airport waiting lounge or business meeting. Instead of saying, "Heck, yeah, I'll just beam them over to you," you have to say: "Sure, I've got the Nikon CD right here. Let me just install this 230-megabyte software package onto your hard drive, connect the USB cable, create a profile, and - hey, come back!"
Every now and then, someone combines two technologies in a single product, and the result is a triumphant new category that changes the industry. Clock plus radio. Cellphone plus camera. Music player plus hard drive.
But of all possible combinations these days, few are more screamingly obvious than wireless plus camera. Already, millions of people snap photos with their cellphones, then gleefully e-mail them or post them on Web sites. But why should you be satisfied with the crummy, low-resolution, bleached-out photos from cellphones? Why shouldn't you be able to have the same kind of fun with really good photographs from really good cameras?
The time has finally come. Kodak announced its wireless EasyShare-One camera way back in January, but its release has been repeatedly delayed. What would have been the second wireless camera to hit the market, then, is now the first: the Nikon P1, expected in stores on Sept. 15. It's an iPod-size, 8-megapixel camera dressed in brushed-metal black, with a list price of $550. (A sister model, the P2, is a silver, 5.1-megapixel version that lists for $400. Online prices will be much lower once the cameras actually arrive in stores.)
The P1 is so small, you would not guess that it contains a Wi-Fi transmitter for wireless networking, also known as AirPort or 802.11; only a small plastic window on one side (which permits the signals to exit the metal case) gives away the secret. Of course, Wi-Fi is useful only when you are within range of a wireless hot spot.
But adding Wi-Fi to a digital camera ought to offer some juicy possibilities anyway. You could shoot pictures without even having a memory card: The camera would shunt them wirelessly to your waiting laptop as you worked. You could post pictures to your own Web site or a photo gallery site like Flickr.com while they're still hot off the sensor. Photojournalists could e-mail their prize-winners to their editors directly from the battlefield (assuming, of course, a wireless Starbucks is near the battlefield).
All this and more awaits the consumers who embrace the first fully functional wireless digital camera.
Unfortunately, the Nikon P1 is not it.
Incredibly, the P1 can't connect to the Internet at all, even when its Wi-Fi signal-strength indicator has more bars than a prison. You can't e-mail your photos or post them to a Web site. You can't send photos from the camera to a cellphone or palmtop, or even to another P1.
So what good is it?
It turns out that the P1's wireless feature is good for a single trick only: sending pictures through the air to a wireless Mac or Windows computer that is fewer than 100 feet, or 30 meters, away and running Nikon's photo management software. (That same setup lets you send photos straight on to the printer. And if you buy Nikon's $50 wireless printer adapter, expected to be in stores by the end of October, you can even send photos directly to the printer without using a computer.)
Now, sending a photo wirelessly to a computer across the room is a neat trick. But is it such an improvement over plugging in the camera's USB cable the traditional way?
In one situation, yes. The P1 offers several wireless transfer modes. One transmits the most recent photos, another sends only photos you haven't already transferred, and so on. But one mode, called Shoot & Transfer, does something truly new: When you take a picture, the camera flings it through the air to your laptop, where it's safely stashed on the hard drive. Depending on the photo quality, this transfer can take from 15 seconds (the most detailed photos) to about one second (1 megapixel or less).
Shoot & Transfer mode can be useful in a number of ways. It bypasses the camera's memory card completely, so it works if your card is full or even missing. In effect, your wireless laptop becomes the memory card, also eliminating the fear of running out of storage space.
The best Shoot & Transfer feature of all is a true parlor trick. At a party, conference or any other social gathering, you can start up a slide show on your Mac or PC, complete with music. You can then walk around the room, snapping pictures of the guests or attendees. These photos join the slide show already in progress, automatically, in real time. It's digital-camera performance art.
As a compact camera, the P1 is loaded; Nikon correctly assumed that the kind of geek who would be interested in a Wi-Fi camera probably would also appreciate manual control over ISO (light sensitivity), aperture size, shutter speed, exposure and other photographic controls. Yet the P1 also offers a lot of consumer-friendly features like scene presets, movies with sound (30 frames a second, the size of a TV screen) and Nikon's celebrated macro mode, which lets you take pictures only 1.6 inches, or 4.1 centimeters, away from the subject. The screen is clear, bright and huge - 2.5 inches diagonally - which Nikon hopes will soften the blow when you realize there is no optical viewfinder.
The photos are very good. You would not mistake them for magazine photos, but for a pocket-size consumer camera, they are above average. (You can see samples at nytimes.com/circuits.)
Still, that quality and the many features also come with several nearly identical Nikon models that lack wireless features but cost about $150 less. And Nikon has a lot of work to do with the wireless element.
The camera cannot connect to a computer or printer until you first install the software on your computer, connect the camera through its USB cable, walk through a series of setup screens, and name your connection (or, as Nikon calls it, your profile; the camera can memorize nine of them). This process is far more technical and jargon-laden than it needs to be; in fact, the whole ritual should be unnecessary. Why can't the P1 auto-detect and auto-join wireless networks the way palmtops and laptops can?
This setup business rules out yet another potential Wi-Fi high: fielding a request for your photos from somebody in an airport waiting lounge or business meeting. Instead of saying, "Heck, yeah, I'll just beam them over to you," you have to say: "Sure, I've got the Nikon CD right here. Let me just install this 230-megabyte software package onto your hard drive, connect the USB cable, create a profile, and - hey, come back!"
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