It turns out that the law in Texas is the same as the law in Florida – The land between the average low tide mark and average high tide mark is public land, and no one can build on it or block it. The storm surge moved those marks inland.

The story is at MSNBC: Some Ike victims may not be allowed to rebuild

The reason: a 1959 law known as the Texas Open Beaches Act. Under the law, the strip of beach between the average high-tide line and the average low-tide line is considered public property, and it is illegal to build anything there.
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LadyMin offers Mezze Penne with Pesto from her Garden.

Kryten presents an entire meal for you and your friends.

Appetizer
Gamberetti alla Salvia
(Shrimps in Sage)

Entree
Carciofi e Pisellini alla Romana
(Roman Artichokes with Peas)

Pasta
Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino
(Spaghetti in Garlic and Oil with Peperoncini)

Dessert
Dolce di Ricotta
(Roman Cheese and Cream Tart)

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The Day of His Noodly Appendage

The holiest of holidays for Pastafarians, is of course the birthday of His Most Holy Prophet, Marco Polo (b. Sept 15, 1254), who brought the word of his Noodly Appendage back from the East. As Talk Like A Pirate Day falls on September 19th, this five-day period constitutes Holy Pasta Week, during which spaghetti is consumed liberally. With a nice Chianti, of course.

[Hurricane Ike distracted me from the celebration]

After noticing one of the gazillion ads at a news site about finding out your “credit score” [I suspect a con to gather more personal information, as well as sell you some program to “improve” it] I considered writing a post about needing to find out your bank’s “credit score” before you put any more money in it.

As the fates would have it Susie Madrak provided a source for that information: Safe & Sound® ratings.

When you see the ratings for your bank or credit union you want low numbers [1 or 2] and lots of stars [4 or 5].