More Extreme Weather Our Way?

Update: 9/6/08
We're having the first storm of the season as Hanna is soaking & blowing against the Atlantic states. It's the weekend, so lots of people will stay indoors and the inadvertent local flooding should be gone by Monday.
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Gustav may not be as powerful as Katrina (category 5) three years ago, but it just made landing in Louisiana as a hurricane category 2, still with sustained winds of 110 or more mph. Many places have flooded but it's too early to assess the damage. Fortunately, it doesn't appear that there are any casualties, even though it's still early.

Of course, it helps that Gustav isn't following the same path as Katrina. The low lying New Orleans was flooded when Lake Pontchartrain was pushed into the city by the hurricane in 2005.

President Bush flew to Austin Texas to be closer to the action and coordinate the response, we're told. It appears that the emergency response and the preparations for this storm have been much better than those 3 years ago. [here's my take back then]

The LA Guard was missing then (was fighting "them over there"), but today other states have sent personnel to cover and add more support. I hope that when another category 5 storm hits, we won't see the human toll due to the incompetence of those in government entrusted with protecting the public good.

I don't see what Bush or McCain can do other than photo-op. The president is responsible for making sure FEMA and all the other federal agencies are efficient and ready--not a place to distribute political patronage. When disaster strikes the system should not depend on the president to make decisions or "c0-ordinate" the efforts!

Scientists are warning us that the frequency and the severity of hurricanes and other natural phenomena will increase due to climate change. I don't see a problem with that. The Earth goes through cycles. It so happens that for the first time a species--us, humans--have been contributing to the pendulum effect. I'm not an expert, but wouldya think pouring lots of CO2 in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution may have had some effect?

Over 90% of all the species that have appeared on this planet have been extinct. The dinosaurs was a more successful species since it survived for 60 or more millions of years. We're just toddlers in evolutionary terms--just a few hundred thousands years.

Winter

It's been cold lately, but it's hard to convey temperature unless the element that sustains life--water--is present in the form of ice or snow. I was walking around my work place today, and it was so pretty. I regretted not having my camera with me. Here are some pictures I've taken over the years in my extended neighborhood.

Clicking on the pictures, makes them larger!

Work Environment

Often, work is what you can get and do whatever you have to do in order to make a living, to pay the bills. In some cultures work is often referred as servitude not as a creative and self-fulfilling activity. Obviously, humans have to satisfy their basic needs first--food, shelter, security--before we grapple with aesthetics.

I've been there, have done many jobs, from the most mundane--you know, when only a warm body with no brain is needed--to a very creative and elegant. I've worn many different professional caps over the years, but I want to focus on the immediate environment of the workplace.

A few years ago, I got a part-time job which now has turned into full-time, but one of its attractions was the working environment. I have no complaints about the work atmosphere [no job is ideal, but no major problems there for me], but the physical environment is a charm. I've taken a few pictures that I'd like to share here. I'll probably add a few more later.