The good news is that Lehigh Acres at least has power. I, however, still do not. I'm back at the library. From the window of my house, I could see the branch on the power line that is preventing my power from being restored. It's such a simple thing. If that branch hadn't caught on the power line, my power would have been back from Tuesday afternoon on. Unfortunately, the blasted thing is still there.
After I left the library yesterday, I went to Wendy's for lunch. Yup, hot food is right down the road, just not available at home. Water is the real problem, however. I no longer have anything coming out of the tap, so all I have to wash with is the bottled water now. Both of my toilets have full cisterns, and I have about 5 gallons of tap water in a big jug to refill one more time. After that, I'll have to go to the neighbors who have a generator and beg some water from them.
I also may have to go back to my workplace while I'm still on vacation, just to make use of the shower in the men's locker room. It's closer than going to my dad's place, and easier to access. I'm also going to have to get a loud windup alarm clock so that I'll be ready to go to work on Sunday night if the power isn't back on before then.
Laundry also will be becoming problematic. I washed everything I normally wear before the storm hit, so everything was clean. It'll only be a couple more days until I have to look for a laundromat in Lehigh or else go visit my dad so I can wash clothes. Dad's farther away but it wouldn't cost me anything. Tradeoffs to consider.
I spent this morning dismembering tree branches from my back yard and placing the chopped up bits beside the street. I worked to the point of sweating, which I didn't really want to do until I had the power back on and could shower, but I had to get those branches ready for pickup because I have no earthly idea of when they'll be coming by to get them. Better to have them there drying by the side of the road and there to pick up than to miss the opportunity.
When I got home yesterday with my Wendy's burger and fries, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my phone was working. I managed to call my insurance agent and start the claims process. Unfortunately, when I checked the phone this morning, it was dead again.
This officially is the Worst. Vacation. Ever.
10.27.2005
10.26.2005
Blogging From the Library
I hope you all weren't too worried about me. I am fine. The north side of my roof lost a lot of shingles, my power is still out and so is my telephone. But other than that, I'm okay.
Here's what happened: On Monday, I called my dad around 8 a.m. and while I was talking with him, my power went out. About 15 minutes later, the winds really started howling in from the north. The back side of the storm was hitting our area, and it was interacting with a cold front coming down from the north which intensified the winds. I estimate that we were seeing gusts of 80-90 mph or more. It was a bit scary, and it shredded the shingles from the north side of my roof. From all the ones I picked up in the back yard after the storm, I'm surprised that there were any left. Apparently, however, there was a double-layer of shingles. I don't see any plywood showing from the front of the house.
Anyway, the storm shrieked out its fury for about three hours, and we were still getting strong gusts in the early afternoon. I called my dad back around 1 p.m. to let him know that I was okay, other than losing power. Then, I went outside to see the damage. I spent the next hour or so picking up shingles and branches from trees across the street and in my neighbor's yard. Oh, and lots and lots of fronds from my palm tree, at least fifteen or more, which were on the side of the house and out back. When I checked the phone again, it was dead.
The power remained out overnight Monday and all day Tuesday. Then, yesterday afternoon at 5:10, it came back on... for 15 minutes. Hooray! Then it went out again. Loud curses. I heard fire trucks coming, and it turned out that a branch had been on one of the power lines down the street and started a fire. Most of the surrounding area now has power again, but we don't in my neighborhood. I'm just hoping that it's something that they can fix relatively easily, and that we haven't been pushed to the end of the line.
The good news is that the weather has been very pleasant, with lows in the 50s and highs only in the 70s. Usually, we suffer in the heat and humidity after a hurricane, but this one is unique in that regard. I've never seen a strong cold front push in behind a Category 3 hurricane before. The temperature gradient of the air was something like 77 in Fort Myers and 57 in Tampa when the strongest winds came through, and that difference accounts for the wind damage. Lots of street signs and even whole trees were blown down in my area, and we weren't the most severely damaged.
Also, because I'm still on vacation, I don't have to worry about going in to work until Sunday night. I'd better have electricity back before then or I won't have a trustworthy alarm clock to wake me up.
The bad news is that I have a 2% hurricane deductible on my homeowner's insurance, which means that most of the cost of fixing my roof is probably going to come out of my own pocket. Also, because I don't have electricity, my well isn't working. I've got plenty of bottled water to drink (more on that in a second), but water for washing and flushing the toilet is more problematic. I have two large containers filled with water to flush the toilet, and there is still water in the hot water heater, although it's cold. I found that out when I took a spit-bath out of a couple of bowls with a wash cloth, then used a couple more bowlfuls to wash my hair. The cold water was most unpleasantly bracing, but I'm clean again to some extent; I'll be glad when the power comes back on and I can take a hot shower, after the hot water heater warms up.
I had about six or seven gallons of bottled water available for myself, plus another couple of gallons of tap water that I'd run into bottles for the animals. This morning, I read that FEMA and the National Guard were handing out water, ice and other stuff in Lehigh Acres, so I swung by there. They gave me two 24-packs of bottled water (1/2 liter each) and a bag of ice. They didn't have any MRE's, which is too bad. I've got stuff to eat, so I won't starve, but I could have used more. Best of all, there was no line at all. I was in and out in less than a minute. I didn't even have to get out of my car! I just popped the trunk lid and the soldiers put the water in my trunk, and then the Lehigh Acres Fire Department fireman put the ice in afterward and closed it up. I won't go thirsty.
The temperatures are supposed to start creeping up, though, with low 80s expected over the next three days or so. Please, PLEASE let my power come back soon.
Also, one more observation: You have NO idea how long a night actually is until you don't have electricity. I've woken up around 1 or 2 a.m. both of the last two nights. Last night, I woke up in time to listen to the last couple of innings of the World Series game. Then, I listened to the radio for the rest of the night. It really sucks not being able to play on my computer. I've done a lot of reading the last couple of days. Right now, I'm working on Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Fun, fun, fun, until sunset. Then, I'm in the dark again, unless I want to read by flashlight.
Here's what happened: On Monday, I called my dad around 8 a.m. and while I was talking with him, my power went out. About 15 minutes later, the winds really started howling in from the north. The back side of the storm was hitting our area, and it was interacting with a cold front coming down from the north which intensified the winds. I estimate that we were seeing gusts of 80-90 mph or more. It was a bit scary, and it shredded the shingles from the north side of my roof. From all the ones I picked up in the back yard after the storm, I'm surprised that there were any left. Apparently, however, there was a double-layer of shingles. I don't see any plywood showing from the front of the house.
Anyway, the storm shrieked out its fury for about three hours, and we were still getting strong gusts in the early afternoon. I called my dad back around 1 p.m. to let him know that I was okay, other than losing power. Then, I went outside to see the damage. I spent the next hour or so picking up shingles and branches from trees across the street and in my neighbor's yard. Oh, and lots and lots of fronds from my palm tree, at least fifteen or more, which were on the side of the house and out back. When I checked the phone again, it was dead.
The power remained out overnight Monday and all day Tuesday. Then, yesterday afternoon at 5:10, it came back on... for 15 minutes. Hooray! Then it went out again. Loud curses. I heard fire trucks coming, and it turned out that a branch had been on one of the power lines down the street and started a fire. Most of the surrounding area now has power again, but we don't in my neighborhood. I'm just hoping that it's something that they can fix relatively easily, and that we haven't been pushed to the end of the line.
The good news is that the weather has been very pleasant, with lows in the 50s and highs only in the 70s. Usually, we suffer in the heat and humidity after a hurricane, but this one is unique in that regard. I've never seen a strong cold front push in behind a Category 3 hurricane before. The temperature gradient of the air was something like 77 in Fort Myers and 57 in Tampa when the strongest winds came through, and that difference accounts for the wind damage. Lots of street signs and even whole trees were blown down in my area, and we weren't the most severely damaged.
Also, because I'm still on vacation, I don't have to worry about going in to work until Sunday night. I'd better have electricity back before then or I won't have a trustworthy alarm clock to wake me up.
The bad news is that I have a 2% hurricane deductible on my homeowner's insurance, which means that most of the cost of fixing my roof is probably going to come out of my own pocket. Also, because I don't have electricity, my well isn't working. I've got plenty of bottled water to drink (more on that in a second), but water for washing and flushing the toilet is more problematic. I have two large containers filled with water to flush the toilet, and there is still water in the hot water heater, although it's cold. I found that out when I took a spit-bath out of a couple of bowls with a wash cloth, then used a couple more bowlfuls to wash my hair. The cold water was most unpleasantly bracing, but I'm clean again to some extent; I'll be glad when the power comes back on and I can take a hot shower, after the hot water heater warms up.
I had about six or seven gallons of bottled water available for myself, plus another couple of gallons of tap water that I'd run into bottles for the animals. This morning, I read that FEMA and the National Guard were handing out water, ice and other stuff in Lehigh Acres, so I swung by there. They gave me two 24-packs of bottled water (1/2 liter each) and a bag of ice. They didn't have any MRE's, which is too bad. I've got stuff to eat, so I won't starve, but I could have used more. Best of all, there was no line at all. I was in and out in less than a minute. I didn't even have to get out of my car! I just popped the trunk lid and the soldiers put the water in my trunk, and then the Lehigh Acres Fire Department fireman put the ice in afterward and closed it up. I won't go thirsty.
The temperatures are supposed to start creeping up, though, with low 80s expected over the next three days or so. Please, PLEASE let my power come back soon.
Also, one more observation: You have NO idea how long a night actually is until you don't have electricity. I've woken up around 1 or 2 a.m. both of the last two nights. Last night, I woke up in time to listen to the last couple of innings of the World Series game. Then, I listened to the radio for the rest of the night. It really sucks not being able to play on my computer. I've done a lot of reading the last couple of days. Right now, I'm working on Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Fun, fun, fun, until sunset. Then, I'm in the dark again, unless I want to read by flashlight.
10.24.2005
7:30 Update
The electricity went out for a second around 6:50 and then came right back on. I barely had time to reach for my flashlight. Had another flicker about five minutes ago, but again, it came back on. Don't know how much longer my luck will hold.
I heard a thump on the roof about 15 minutes ago. Probably a frond coming off the palm tree in front of my house; they're fairly heavy. Still getting lots of northerly winds and rain. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed at this point.
I'll give my dad a call around 8 a.m. to see how he's doing.
I heard a thump on the roof about 15 minutes ago. Probably a frond coming off the palm tree in front of my house; they're fairly heavy. Still getting lots of northerly winds and rain. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed at this point.
I'll give my dad a call around 8 a.m. to see how he's doing.
Winds Picking Up
Just had a pretty good gust, probably around 60 mph or more, but it's subsided now. Power continues to go out around the region. They just showed Fort Myers Beach, where the power is now out, and the NBC affiliate mentioned earlier that power is out in parts of Estero. All of that is southwest of me.
6 a.m.
Well, I'm living on borrowed time now for power. I figured that it would already be out by now. As I'm sure you've already deduced, the presence or lack of electricity becomes an obsession for anyone who's lost power for any length of time in the past. My power was out for less than 24 hours after Charley, but that was bad enough. I still fully expect it to go out sometime this morning.
The winds are starting to pick up outside. As of 5:45, winds were 38 mph gusting to 50. However, it tends to come and go.
The winds are starting to pick up outside. As of 5:45, winds were 38 mph gusting to 50. However, it tends to come and go.
Latest Forecast Update
The weather.com site's forecast numbers are looking worse:
6 a.m.: ENE 59 mph
7 a.m.: NE 62 mph
8 a.m.: N 65 mph
9 a.m.: N 65 mph
10 a.m.: NNW 65 mph
11 a.m.: NW 65 mph
12 p.m.: NW 53 mph
1 p.m.: NW 42 mph
2 p.m.: NW 30 mph
3 p.m.: NW 27 mph
4 p.m.: NW 23 mph
5 p.m.: NW 20 mph
Squalls all morning, mostly sunny by late afternoon, temperatures falling into the 50s overnight.
If that's the worst I get, I'll be happy. That's not even Category 1.
6 a.m.: ENE 59 mph
7 a.m.: NE 62 mph
8 a.m.: N 65 mph
9 a.m.: N 65 mph
10 a.m.: NNW 65 mph
11 a.m.: NW 65 mph
12 p.m.: NW 53 mph
1 p.m.: NW 42 mph
2 p.m.: NW 30 mph
3 p.m.: NW 27 mph
4 p.m.: NW 23 mph
5 p.m.: NW 20 mph
Squalls all morning, mostly sunny by late afternoon, temperatures falling into the 50s overnight.
If that's the worst I get, I'll be happy. That's not even Category 1.
Still Here, For the Moment
The eyewall is coming ashore in Collier County. Fox News Channel has some crazy guy still hanging out in Everglades City where they're expecting a huge storm surge. I never have understood why the networks insist on sticking reporters out in the streets in howling wind and pouring rain to report on hurricanes. Hey, we get it, guys. It's very windy and wet. You may think we're impressed by your bravery, but all we really see is someone who doesn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain.
We're also supposed to get 4-8 inches of rain today, maybe more in some spots, and most of Florida is under a tornado watch. There have been several reported already in various parts of the state. A couple of hours ago, the weather guy on Fox News Channel said that if a hurricane warning was issued, people should go to an interior room of their homes, or even better, to a basement. I laughed at that last part; we don't HAVE basements in Florida, because the water tables are usually too high. This ain't Kansas, that's for sure.
We're also supposed to get 4-8 inches of rain today, maybe more in some spots, and most of Florida is under a tornado watch. There have been several reported already in various parts of the state. A couple of hours ago, the weather guy on Fox News Channel said that if a hurricane warning was issued, people should go to an interior room of their homes, or even better, to a basement. I laughed at that last part; we don't HAVE basements in Florida, because the water tables are usually too high. This ain't Kansas, that's for sure.
Weatherman Sez
Just watched the weather guy on the local station who drew a couple of parallel lines showing the path that the eyewall is going to take. It's very, very wide and it covers all of Collier County (to my south), as well as most of Lee County (where I live) south of the Caloosahatchee River, all of Hendry County (to my east) and much of coastal Monroe County south of Collier. It looks like I'll be hit by the far northern edge of the eyewall. Of course, the windspeeds aren't uniform throughout the hurricane; most of the really nasty weather is in the southeast quadrant of the storm, the part that's been battering Key West already, but I still could see 100-mph winds here for a while. Yuck.
Fox News reports power outages in the Keys and parts of southwest Florida. I don't know how much longer my electricity will be on. If (when) it goes out, I'll take some notes and then write about it here when the power comes back on.
Meanwhile, since the power IS still on, it's time for a hot meal. Might not see another one for a while.
Fox News reports power outages in the Keys and parts of southwest Florida. I don't know how much longer my electricity will be on. If (when) it goes out, I'll take some notes and then write about it here when the power comes back on.
Meanwhile, since the power IS still on, it's time for a hot meal. Might not see another one for a while.
Wilma Getting Stronger
Winds are now up to 120 mph. Not good. The local TV reporters continue their message of hurricane force winds coming for the entire area, but the 3:00 a.m. hour-by-hour forecast from weather.com still shows winds in the mid-50 mph range for a few hours starting around 5 a.m. I'm wondering if that's just their prediction for sustained winds. That seems a little more likely, with occasional hurricane gusts from storms cells as the hurricane passes to the southeast.
I suspect that I won't know what the top winds actually were until well after the storm. I fully expect power to go out once the wind starts really blowing, and at that point, I'll have to rely on the radio and the newspaper for news until the power comes back on. I'm fairly certain that there won't be a newspaper today, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one on Tuesday. When Hurricane Charley hit last year, they actually had a paper in my driveway the next morning, which surprised me.
Right now, I have light wind and rain. I've lost DirecTV's satellite signal three times for short quick bursts of rain, but it came back each time.
I suspect that I won't know what the top winds actually were until well after the storm. I fully expect power to go out once the wind starts really blowing, and at that point, I'll have to rely on the radio and the newspaper for news until the power comes back on. I'm fairly certain that there won't be a newspaper today, but I wouldn't be surprised to see one on Tuesday. When Hurricane Charley hit last year, they actually had a paper in my driveway the next morning, which surprised me.
Right now, I have light wind and rain. I've lost DirecTV's satellite signal three times for short quick bursts of rain, but it came back each time.
Who to Believe?
The weather.com site's hour-by-hour list for this morning shows several hours of 50+ mph winds, but not hurricane force winds. That data came from a 1:00 a.m. run. On the other hand, the guys on TV are saying that Wilma's windfield is so wide that all of Lee County can count on 85-90 mph winds. I hope they're the ones who are wrong.
I'm not going to get the worst of it here, though, either way. Looks like that will be southern Collier county will bear the brunt of it, especially the storm surge. And whoever is in the path of it as it crosses the state is going to feel it as well, especially in the heavily-populated East Coast.
Looks like some heavy rains coming in now, because I just lost the satellite connection for DirecTV. Guess I'll flip it over to the local channels now.
I'm not going to get the worst of it here, though, either way. Looks like that will be southern Collier county will bear the brunt of it, especially the storm surge. And whoever is in the path of it as it crosses the state is going to feel it as well, especially in the heavily-populated East Coast.
Looks like some heavy rains coming in now, because I just lost the satellite connection for DirecTV. Guess I'll flip it over to the local channels now.
10.23.2005
Hurricane Warning
Well, here we go. The forecast has improved for where I live, with weather.com's hour-by-hour predictions for the wind speed now maxing out at 62 mph at 11 a.m. tomorrow. The timeline seems to have slowed down a bit, since earlier in the day the prediction was a peak of 76 mph at 8 a.m. At this point, the radar images show the storm moving on a northeasterly track with Naples square in the bullseye. I've read on a couple of different websites that because the storm is picking up speed (now moving at 15 mph and still accelerating), there will be a significant difference in the strength of the winds on the north side of the track and the south side. The north side subtracts the forward wind speed and the south side adds it on, so it obviously makes quite a difference.
Even if we don't get sustained hurricane force winds here, we'll still probably lose power for a while. I'm prepared for that. I've got all my supplies laid in and I don't have to go anywhere any time soon, so I'll just sit tight after the storm passes until the power comes back on.
The forecast for the next few days is for much cooler weather than normal, since the storm will be sucking cold air down from the north. We're talking about highs in the low 70s and lows in the 50s. Ironically, the problem may not be a lack of air conditiong but a lack of heat, if the power stays off. I'll just bundle up in the long-sleeve shirts and sweaters I don't normally get to wear.
Even if we don't get sustained hurricane force winds here, we'll still probably lose power for a while. I'm prepared for that. I've got all my supplies laid in and I don't have to go anywhere any time soon, so I'll just sit tight after the storm passes until the power comes back on.
The forecast for the next few days is for much cooler weather than normal, since the storm will be sucking cold air down from the north. We're talking about highs in the low 70s and lows in the 50s. Ironically, the problem may not be a lack of air conditiong but a lack of heat, if the power stays off. I'll just bundle up in the long-sleeve shirts and sweaters I don't normally get to wear.
10.21.2005
Not Looking Good
While Wilma does the Mexican hat dance on Cozumel and Cancun, those of us in Florida are watching and waiting. It doesn't look good. Monday looks like it's going to be rather unpleasant. If the latest forecast models are correct, it will hit somewhere around Naples and then cut diagonally northeast across the state toward Lake Okeechobee. The intensity and exact landfall part are the crucial factors. I'm far enough inland that I don't have to worry about storm surge, although some wind damage seems quite possible. The north side of the storm's track should be the weak side, with wind speeds 25-30 mph less than on the south side. The only good news is that the storm probably won't be more than a Category 2 (and more likely a 1) when it hits Florida, and that it should be moving across the state at a pretty good clip, so we won't get the kind of rainfall that the Yucatan peninsula is going to get of the next couple of days. I'm guessing that the power will probably go out over much of the area. Hopefully it won't be out for too long. At least the temperatures are supposed to be cool in the days after the storm hits, so we won't be suffering in the 90-degree heat as happened after Hurricane Charley last year.
I've got my supplies laid in, I have a flashlight and a portable radio with extra batteries for both. I'll use up my frozen stuff over the next couple of days and clear out the freezer. If the storm misses us, then I'll go shopping on Tuesday. If not, well I've got non-perishables and bottled water, and I'll get in line for the MREs and ice with everyone else if I have to.
I've got my supplies laid in, I have a flashlight and a portable radio with extra batteries for both. I'll use up my frozen stuff over the next couple of days and clear out the freezer. If the storm misses us, then I'll go shopping on Tuesday. If not, well I've got non-perishables and bottled water, and I'll get in line for the MREs and ice with everyone else if I have to.
10.19.2005
Plans Changed
Given that Hurricane Wilma is now a Category 5 hurricane packing 175 mile per hour winds and the lowest pressure ever recorded for an Atlantic basin hurricane, and that the projected track brings it over the Florida peninsula uncomfortably close to where I live on Saturday night, my mom and I decided that discretion is the better part of valor and she won't be flying in tomorrow. She's going to try to reschedule for flight plans to come down on Monday, assuming that we don't get a direct hit on Saturday night. So either my mom and I will be having a nice time next week, or I'll be surviving in the ruins. I sure as hell hope it's not the latter.
I'm getting really, REALLY tired of hurricane season.
I'm getting really, REALLY tired of hurricane season.
10.17.2005
Vacation
I'm feeling lazy, which explains the lack of recent blogging. My mom's coming down from Michigan later in the week for a few days. We're going to do the touristy stuff here in Florida. I've got a few things in mind, but I'll see what she'd like to do while she is down here. Hopefully the latest tropical storm (Wilma) will stay far away from Florida.
The weather is beautiful this morning; the temperatures actually fell into the upper 60s overnight. Delightfully cool, compared to the lows in the mid-to-upper 70s that we had last week. It was too darned muggy. This actually feels like fall, at least as close as it gets to fall here in the southern part of the Sunshine State.
I'm a couple of hours away from playoff baseball in my computer baseball league. My team dropped the first two games of the best-of-seven series at home, which means we've dug a deep hole for ourselves. Hopefully we'll have better luck on the road. We'd better, or the series may not make it back to my park. So far, it's been very disappointing.
The weather is beautiful this morning; the temperatures actually fell into the upper 60s overnight. Delightfully cool, compared to the lows in the mid-to-upper 70s that we had last week. It was too darned muggy. This actually feels like fall, at least as close as it gets to fall here in the southern part of the Sunshine State.
I'm a couple of hours away from playoff baseball in my computer baseball league. My team dropped the first two games of the best-of-seven series at home, which means we've dug a deep hole for ourselves. Hopefully we'll have better luck on the road. We'd better, or the series may not make it back to my park. So far, it's been very disappointing.
10.06.2005
Random Thoughts
Yeah, slacking again.
There was a front page article this morning in my local newspaper about how the entangled bodies of a 13-foot-long Burmese python and a 6-foot-long alligator were found in the Everglades the other day. The python had tried to eat the alligator, but its stomach exploded. The tail and hind legs of the alligator were protruding from the snake's stomach. Yes, there was a picture. No, you probably don't want to see it, especially if you've eaten anything recently.
One more night and then it's time for a three-day weekend. We all like three-day weekends. They're a good thing.
Did you hear that Piglet (of Winnie the Pooh fame) has been banned in Britain?
Muslims win toy pigs ban
So the Muslims are promulgating intolerance in the name of "tolerance." Charming.
My reaction: "If you don't like toy pigs, there are boats and planes leaving for Muslim countries every day. Don't let the door hit you where Allah split you on the way out."
There was a front page article this morning in my local newspaper about how the entangled bodies of a 13-foot-long Burmese python and a 6-foot-long alligator were found in the Everglades the other day. The python had tried to eat the alligator, but its stomach exploded. The tail and hind legs of the alligator were protruding from the snake's stomach. Yes, there was a picture. No, you probably don't want to see it, especially if you've eaten anything recently.
One more night and then it's time for a three-day weekend. We all like three-day weekends. They're a good thing.
Did you hear that Piglet (of Winnie the Pooh fame) has been banned in Britain?
Muslims win toy pigs ban
NOVELTY pig calendars and toys have been banned from a council office — in case they offend Muslim staff.
Workers in the benefits department at Dudley Council, West Midlands, were told to remove or cover up all pig-related items, including toys, porcelain figures, calendars and even a tissue box featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.
Bosses acted after a Muslim complained about pig-shaped stress relievers delivered to the council in the run-up to the Islamic festival of Ramadan.
Muslims are barred from eating pork in the Koran and consider pigs unclean.
Councillor Mahbubur Rahman, a practising Muslim, backed the ban. He said: “It’s a tolerance of people’s beliefs.”
So the Muslims are promulgating intolerance in the name of "tolerance." Charming.
My reaction: "If you don't like toy pigs, there are boats and planes leaving for Muslim countries every day. Don't let the door hit you where Allah split you on the way out."
9.27.2005
Hats
I saw in yesterday's news that Don Adams died at age 82. If you're of a certain age, you remember him as Maxwell Smart from the TV comedy "Get Smart," or perhaps as the voice of the cartoon character Tennessee Tuxedo.
I was thinking about this last night while getting ready for work, about how quaint "Get Smart" and other TV shows from the early-to-mid 1960s seem in retrospect. There was a cultural sea change that happened during that time, and the way that people dressed and behaved changed radically some time around 1967 or so. The Summer of Love marked the end of the reign of the fedora-wearing man in the gray flannel suit almost as surely as the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs.
Even into the early 1960s, all men wore hats everywhere they went. A man wasn't completely dressed without one. If you look at archival film footage from the 1930s or 1940s or 1950s, you notice it: They were all wearing hats. And then you look at film from the 1970s, and you notice that very few men were wearing them any longer. The ones who did still have hats from then on were wearing them as part of a uniform: Military, law enforcement, culinary, sports. But for John Doe, the hat was no longer required or even desired.
I think that the man who single-handedly killed the haberdashery industry was President John F. Kennedy. Sure, he died in 1963, a few years before hats almost completely disappeared, but he was the one who set the hatless trend by appearing bareheaded at his inauguration. The die was cast; hats were no longer fashionable. The dinosaurs didn't all die off at once, either; it took a little time. It's always been my pet theory that the haberdashers were the ones who had Kennedy assassinated. Do you know what Harry Truman did before he entered politics? He was a haberdasher in Kansas City. Really.
I was thinking about this last night while getting ready for work, about how quaint "Get Smart" and other TV shows from the early-to-mid 1960s seem in retrospect. There was a cultural sea change that happened during that time, and the way that people dressed and behaved changed radically some time around 1967 or so. The Summer of Love marked the end of the reign of the fedora-wearing man in the gray flannel suit almost as surely as the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs.
Even into the early 1960s, all men wore hats everywhere they went. A man wasn't completely dressed without one. If you look at archival film footage from the 1930s or 1940s or 1950s, you notice it: They were all wearing hats. And then you look at film from the 1970s, and you notice that very few men were wearing them any longer. The ones who did still have hats from then on were wearing them as part of a uniform: Military, law enforcement, culinary, sports. But for John Doe, the hat was no longer required or even desired.
I think that the man who single-handedly killed the haberdashery industry was President John F. Kennedy. Sure, he died in 1963, a few years before hats almost completely disappeared, but he was the one who set the hatless trend by appearing bareheaded at his inauguration. The die was cast; hats were no longer fashionable. The dinosaurs didn't all die off at once, either; it took a little time. It's always been my pet theory that the haberdashers were the ones who had Kennedy assassinated. Do you know what Harry Truman did before he entered politics? He was a haberdasher in Kansas City. Really.
9.24.2005
"...Why Must You Live Out Those Songs That You Wrote?"
Nine years ago, it seemed like a "local girl makes good" story. 20-year-old country singer Mindy McCready went from southwest Florida to Nashville to seek fame and fortune and had a #1 hit in 1996 with "Guys Do It All the Time."
But now she's pushing thirty and the news lately has been all bad. Her life has been like a bad country song. She's been arrested for drunk driving, for possession of OxyContin, and for some kind of involvement with a con man in Arizona. She attempted suicide last year, and then just yesterday, she was hospitalized after overdosing on antidepressants after an argument with her boyfriend. She's also pregnant. And unlike Hank, Jr., she doesn't have "Family Tradition" as an excuse, as far as I know.
Sometimes fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. It seems to have brought poor Mindy more heartache than happiness.
But now she's pushing thirty and the news lately has been all bad. Her life has been like a bad country song. She's been arrested for drunk driving, for possession of OxyContin, and for some kind of involvement with a con man in Arizona. She attempted suicide last year, and then just yesterday, she was hospitalized after overdosing on antidepressants after an argument with her boyfriend. She's also pregnant. And unlike Hank, Jr., she doesn't have "Family Tradition" as an excuse, as far as I know.
Sometimes fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. It seems to have brought poor Mindy more heartache than happiness.
9.23.2005
Wonderfalls
I really have to compliment the USPS for their quick delivery of my DVDs. I placed the order on Monday with Amazon.com, and it shipped on Tuesday via USPS with an expected delivery of 3-5 business days. The projected delivery date according to Amazon.com was September 26th. Well, they arrived yesterday, in just two days.
"Wonderfalls" is a three-disc set which includes all thirteen episodes, including nine which were shot but never aired on Fox. There are also documentaries as well as commentary tracks on some of the episodes. I watched Disc 1 yesterday afternoon, which was the first four episodes, the ones that actually aired before the show was cancelled. After watching them, I had to wonder: What was the network thinking? If they'd put this show in a decent time slot and left it there, they could have had a hit on their hands. Instead, it was off to Canadian TV and then to DVD and the Logo Channel.
Would you like it? Perhaps. If you liked "Twin Peaks" or "Northern Exposure," which were a couple of my favorite television shows, then you probably would. "Wonderfalls" has a delightfully quirky cast as well as an interesting premise: Jaye, an Ivy Leaguer with a philosophy degree, is a slacker who works in a kitschy gift shop in Niagara Falls and lives in a trailer park. One day, a wax lion figurine in the gift shop starts talking to her, and soon other similarly inanimate creatures start doing the same. They tell her to do various outrageous things, but in the end, her actions change people's lives for the better.
Jaye is a very complicated woman, if not always a likeable person(much like Joel Fleischmann was in "Northern Exposure"). The show is cleverly written, and there have been some lines that had me howling with laughter. There's also the sexual tension of Jaye's growing relationship with Eric, the bartender at "The Barrel," a local bar, who came to Niagara Falls with his wife on his honeymoon a few days earlier, then found her fooling around with the bellboy in their hotel room. Heartbroken, he left her and started drinking and crying at the bar until they hired him. Jaye's best friend, Mahandra, waits tables at the bar as well.
I haven't watched the whole series yet, but so far, so good. And so, I'll finish this post and pop the next disc into the DVD player.
"Wonderfalls" is a three-disc set which includes all thirteen episodes, including nine which were shot but never aired on Fox. There are also documentaries as well as commentary tracks on some of the episodes. I watched Disc 1 yesterday afternoon, which was the first four episodes, the ones that actually aired before the show was cancelled. After watching them, I had to wonder: What was the network thinking? If they'd put this show in a decent time slot and left it there, they could have had a hit on their hands. Instead, it was off to Canadian TV and then to DVD and the Logo Channel.
Would you like it? Perhaps. If you liked "Twin Peaks" or "Northern Exposure," which were a couple of my favorite television shows, then you probably would. "Wonderfalls" has a delightfully quirky cast as well as an interesting premise: Jaye, an Ivy Leaguer with a philosophy degree, is a slacker who works in a kitschy gift shop in Niagara Falls and lives in a trailer park. One day, a wax lion figurine in the gift shop starts talking to her, and soon other similarly inanimate creatures start doing the same. They tell her to do various outrageous things, but in the end, her actions change people's lives for the better.
Jaye is a very complicated woman, if not always a likeable person(much like Joel Fleischmann was in "Northern Exposure"). The show is cleverly written, and there have been some lines that had me howling with laughter. There's also the sexual tension of Jaye's growing relationship with Eric, the bartender at "The Barrel," a local bar, who came to Niagara Falls with his wife on his honeymoon a few days earlier, then found her fooling around with the bellboy in their hotel room. Heartbroken, he left her and started drinking and crying at the bar until they hired him. Jaye's best friend, Mahandra, waits tables at the bar as well.
I haven't watched the whole series yet, but so far, so good. And so, I'll finish this post and pop the next disc into the DVD player.
9.21.2005
Sending a 1974 AMC Pacer to the Moon
Over the weekend, I read an article about NASA's plans to put Americans back on the moon in 2018. I was underwhelmed. First, why should it take so long to do it? John F. Kennedy set a goal back in the early '60s of putting a man on the man by the end of the decade, which was successfully accomplished. Less than ten years then, but now it takes us thirteen years? Why?
Even worse, NASA's plan is to cobble together a lunar mission using leftover parts from the Apollo and Shuttle programs. My reaction: You've got to be kidding me! That technology is 30+ years old now, so it will be almost 50-year-old technology by the time of the 2018 moon mission. I just do not believe that there haven't been advances in design, materials, technology, etc., that couldn't be implemented in a new and improved spacecraft design. Scavenging old parts to try to make a new spacecraft is hardly the hallmark of a vibrant space program. It sounds like something that a second-rate nation would do.
I'm not talking about the computer and communications technology, of course, which will certainly be state of the art. I'm talking about the bus they'll be driving. It's the equivalent of putting fancy chrome and a state-of-the-art sound system into a 1974 AMC Pacer and thinking you have a pimped-out ride. The proposed hybrid Apollo-Shuttle spacecraft would be the equivalent of a 1974 AMC Pacer, the Mirthmobile from "Wayne's World." Sometimes making something new look retro is a successful marketing tool. Look at the most recent incarnation of the Corvette, which looks much like the 1953 version, or the retro-inspired PT Cruiser. These are, however, new cars with all the bells and whistles. A hybrid Apollo-Shuttle moon mission would not be retro, though; it would just be old.
Back in the 1960s, the space program had a major "wow factor." It was glamorous. It was cool. And we thought it had a vision, although it turned out that the vision was far too limited, since all we really cared about was getting to the moon before the Russians did. Once we got there, we jumped up and down a few times and planted our flag, but then we left and we didn't go back. The mid-1970s were a bad time, with Vietnam ending badly, Watergate turning us into a nation of cynics, and then the trials and tribulations of the Carter administration. The whimpering end of the Apollo program was just another symptom of a nation that appeared to be in decline. The coolness of the space program, the wow factor, was gone.
NASA had an opportunity here to show some vision, to come up with something bold and new. Something cool. Something with flair. And they instead have decided to try to do it on the cheap, sending a 1974 AMC Pacer to boldly go where we've already been before. How disappointing.
Even worse, NASA's plan is to cobble together a lunar mission using leftover parts from the Apollo and Shuttle programs. My reaction: You've got to be kidding me! That technology is 30+ years old now, so it will be almost 50-year-old technology by the time of the 2018 moon mission. I just do not believe that there haven't been advances in design, materials, technology, etc., that couldn't be implemented in a new and improved spacecraft design. Scavenging old parts to try to make a new spacecraft is hardly the hallmark of a vibrant space program. It sounds like something that a second-rate nation would do.
I'm not talking about the computer and communications technology, of course, which will certainly be state of the art. I'm talking about the bus they'll be driving. It's the equivalent of putting fancy chrome and a state-of-the-art sound system into a 1974 AMC Pacer and thinking you have a pimped-out ride. The proposed hybrid Apollo-Shuttle spacecraft would be the equivalent of a 1974 AMC Pacer, the Mirthmobile from "Wayne's World." Sometimes making something new look retro is a successful marketing tool. Look at the most recent incarnation of the Corvette, which looks much like the 1953 version, or the retro-inspired PT Cruiser. These are, however, new cars with all the bells and whistles. A hybrid Apollo-Shuttle moon mission would not be retro, though; it would just be old.
Back in the 1960s, the space program had a major "wow factor." It was glamorous. It was cool. And we thought it had a vision, although it turned out that the vision was far too limited, since all we really cared about was getting to the moon before the Russians did. Once we got there, we jumped up and down a few times and planted our flag, but then we left and we didn't go back. The mid-1970s were a bad time, with Vietnam ending badly, Watergate turning us into a nation of cynics, and then the trials and tribulations of the Carter administration. The whimpering end of the Apollo program was just another symptom of a nation that appeared to be in decline. The coolness of the space program, the wow factor, was gone.
NASA had an opportunity here to show some vision, to come up with something bold and new. Something cool. Something with flair. And they instead have decided to try to do it on the cheap, sending a 1974 AMC Pacer to boldly go where we've already been before. How disappointing.
9.20.2005
No Meter Maid
No, lovely Rita is a tropical storm, soon to be a hurricane. We won't see much of it here, just a bit of wind and rain as we catch the edges of it as it passes to our south. I'm really ready for hurricane season to be over and done with.
This paragraph from an AP news story that I read over the weekend made me laugh:
I guess a Palestinian shootout involves all of them firing their guns into the air while yelling "Allahu akbar!" and then dodging the other side's bullets as they fall to earth. Apparently they think "aiming" is some kind of Zionist plot.
I was watching television yesterday and just kind of aimlessly looking through the DirecTV guide when I happened across a show called "Wonderfalls," which was about to start. The description said that the episode was about a Russian mail-order bride who comes to town and finds her groom is someone she did not expect. Well, I was curious, so I watched it. It was actually a funny show, so I did a little googling and found out that "Wonderfalls" was one of those "best shows you never saw." It was on Fox in the spring of 2004 but was cancelled after just four episodes due to poor ratings, even though the critics seemed to like it. A total of 13 episodes had been filmed, however, and the show later found other venues, including a DVD set. It's now being shown on the Logo channel, even though the "gay factor" of the show seems to be limited to the main character's lesbian sister. The show I watched yesterday was the eighth episode. Rather than try to catch them all on television, though, I decided to just go to Amazon and order the DVD set.
This paragraph from an AP news story that I read over the weekend made me laugh:
Also, about 60 members of rival Palestinian security units engaged in a shootout in the center of the West Bank town of Ramallah after two officers feuded over a parking space, security officials said. No one was hurt.
I guess a Palestinian shootout involves all of them firing their guns into the air while yelling "Allahu akbar!" and then dodging the other side's bullets as they fall to earth. Apparently they think "aiming" is some kind of Zionist plot.
I was watching television yesterday and just kind of aimlessly looking through the DirecTV guide when I happened across a show called "Wonderfalls," which was about to start. The description said that the episode was about a Russian mail-order bride who comes to town and finds her groom is someone she did not expect. Well, I was curious, so I watched it. It was actually a funny show, so I did a little googling and found out that "Wonderfalls" was one of those "best shows you never saw." It was on Fox in the spring of 2004 but was cancelled after just four episodes due to poor ratings, even though the critics seemed to like it. A total of 13 episodes had been filmed, however, and the show later found other venues, including a DVD set. It's now being shown on the Logo channel, even though the "gay factor" of the show seems to be limited to the main character's lesbian sister. The show I watched yesterday was the eighth episode. Rather than try to catch them all on television, though, I decided to just go to Amazon and order the DVD set.
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