Posts from — September 2010

Position: 17.7N 29.6W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: East [090°] near 5 mph [ 7 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 80 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 50 miles [ 80 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1005 mb ↑.

Currently about 390 miles [625 km] West-Northwest of the Cape Verde Islands

Lisa is still trapped in the same area. If the storm doesn’t move it will fade due to the upwelling of cooler water caused by its presence.

You know there’s a problem when forecasters make comments like this: “Lisa meandering over the eastern Atlantic”.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

An excerpt from the text of Pope Benedict’s Westminster speech:

If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident – herein lies the real challenge for democracy.

The inadequacy of pragmatic, short-term solutions to complex social and ethical problems has been illustrated all too clearly by the recent global financial crisis.

There is widespread agreement that the lack of a solid ethical foundation for economic activity has contributed to the grave difficulties now being experienced by millions of people throughout the world.

On the BBC site today: Vatican Bank ‘investigated over money-laundering’. The good news for the Institute for Religious Works, the official name of the bank, is that so far no one has been murdered.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Over at Rick Outzen’s place, Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones cuts to the heart of the problem: We need jobs.

Mr. Jones was speaking about a number of issues centered around property taxes in Escambia County, and the reduced revenue that should be expected because of foreclosures, and depreciation cause by the collapse of the housing bubble and BP’s Gulf Gusher.

His main point was that there isn’t going to be a recovery until there are jobs.

Liz at Blonde Sense talks about the same issue, in regards to her son.

He graduated from college three years ago and hasn’t been able to land a decent job. Now he’s back in school working towards a degree in Nursing, hoping that it will give him a future of some kind.

The first rule of history is that it is written by people who can write. While most people can write these days, for a very long time the ability was limited to a special class. That is something people forget when they study ancient history.

Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald is a little put out by people attempting to edit history: Beck, Barbour and the art of rewriting history.

I would make a small refinement to one of Mr. Pitts main points – the Civil War was really about the expansion of slavery, not merely its existence. The real conflict was the destruction of the fertility of the soil by the wasteful agricultural practices of 19th century agribusinesses, the plantation owners. They needed new land, and the small farmers who had been immigrating to the United States also needed land.

If you look at the points of major regional conflict in Congress that finally led to the Civil War, you will notice that they are all about the expansion of slavery to new territories, not over attacks on the practice in existing states. You will also notice that it is the South that intruded on “states rights” by insisting on Federal laws like the Fugitive Slave Act.

Like Mr. Pitts, I am truly offended by these people attempting to rewrite my personal history. I was there and I know what was going on in the South and it was a long, ugly struggle to get to where we are today. A lot of people died in the process, and their sacrifices need to be remembered, not distorted.

Position: 18.2N 31.3W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [040°] near 2 mph [ 4 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Wind Gusts: 55 mph [ 90 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 45 miles [ 70 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb.

Currently about 505 miles [815 km] West-Northwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

Lisa is drifting while organizing itself into a “proper” storm. The modeling on Lisa is all over the chart. There doesn’t appear to be a steering feature in the immediate vicinity of the storm to give it a real course. Some models are pointing towards the Caribbean and others towards Ireland.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 49.3N 51.7W [ 4 PM CDT 2100 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [025°] near 39 mph [63 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 80 mph [130 kph].
Wind Gusts: 105 mph [170 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 520 miles [835 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 85 miles [140 km].
Minimum central pressure: 950 mb.

Currently about 125 miles [200 km] North-Northeast of St. Johns, Newfoundland.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the coast of Newfoundland from Stones Cove northward and eastward to Fogo Island

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of Newfoundland from Burgeo northward and eastward to Triton, and the islands of St-Pierre and Miquelon

Igor has completed its transition to an extratropical storm. This is the final advisory.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 17.1N 31.9W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [000°] near 6 mph [ 9 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1006 mb.

Currently about 530 miles [850 km] West of the Cape Verde Islands

It just formed off the coast of Africa and will probably become Tropical Storm Lisa tomorrow.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Attaturk doesn’t really understand what the latest reports on fixing cricket matches really involves.

I have already reported on the sort of people who are attracted to the game, so it is probably time for Newbiscuit’s explanation of cricket.

I think one of the features that I enjoy most about cricket is that hearing the current score doesn’t actually tell you who is winning. There’s also the expansive number of terms that have been created to convince you it’s real.

Position: 39.9N 59.3W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [045°] near 29 mph [46 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 90 mph [145 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 380 miles [610 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 85 miles [140 km].
Minimum central pressure: 968 mb ↑.

Currently about 565 miles [905 km] Southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

Igor is transitioning into an extratropical cyclone, which is not going to make much difference to anything in its path… other than weather geeks.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the coast of Newfoundland from Stones Cove northward and westward to Jones Harbour. from Jones Harbour northward to Charlottetown, and the islands of St-Pierre and Miquelon

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

That is the new Democratic Party logo – a light blue block “D” surrounded by a dark blue “O”. They may claim it is a circle, but it’s an “O”. The Democratic National Committee site features this new logo, and the Obama campaign logo, which is unprecedented. It is rather obvious that one is the subsidiary of the other, and the logo makes it plain who’s in charge.

We now know that what Robert Gibbs, the President’s press secretary, said in an interview in early August reflects the President’s attitude towards the base of the Democratic Party.

I originally saw the charming quote at the Agonist in Sean Paul’s post, Obama To Liberals: Don’t Blame Me, Blame Yourself.

But most people, like Steve Bates, Digby, Susie Madrak, and Randall Kohn at Corrente are working off of Glenn Greenwald’s post at Salon.

Barack Obama is under the delusion that the entire Democratic Party works like the Chicago party, i.e. once you have been selected everyone closes ranks and supports whatever stupid thing you do. If he thinks that the base of the party will vote in November after the way they have been marginalized and berated by the first two years of this administration, he is in for a shock. While individual members of Congress have fought for their supporters, the majorities in Congress have been wasted by the White House.

People are hurting and this administration hasn’t helped them. They found the will to help Wall Street, but Main Street has been characterized has a bunch of whiners because nothing has been done that would help them.

The Leak Meter is no longer at the top of the front page because there has been official confirmation that the bottom of the well has filled with a cement plug and the plug has passed pressure testing: Gulf well permanently plugged, U.S. says

(CNN) — U.S. officials formally declared an end to the worst oil spill in U.S. history Sunday, a milestone that followed nearly five months of dashed hopes and blistering criticism of nearly everyone involved.

Well owner BP began final cementing operations to permanently plug the blowout on Friday. Pressure tests conducted early Sunday confirmed the cement was holding, and the Interior Department agency that regulates offshore drilling pronounced the well dead at 5:54 a.m. (6:54 a.m. ET), former Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said in a statement issued Sunday morning.

If it turns out that Mr. Allen has again “misspoken”, the Meter will be back.

It’ll be double rations of grog all around in the galley as ye throw the pasta and pesto down your gullet for the final day of Pasta Week, on Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Arr…
Belay that! ‘T’would be better done by swilling lambrusco directly from the flask!
Arr…

Position: 32.4N 65.5W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [015°] near 14 mph [22 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 95 mph [155 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 345 miles [555 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 90 miles [145 km].
Minimum central pressure: 955 mb ↑.

Currently about 40 miles [65 km] West of Bermuda.

Bermuda has been experiencing Tropical Storm conditions for several hours. Currently [10PM CDT] they have light rain and 74 mph [119 kph] sustained winds from the South with 93 mph [150 kph] gusts. This should be the closest approach to the atoll.

Igor is going through another eyewall replacement, which is very good news for Bermuda, as it has dropped the top winds by 20 mph.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Bermuda.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

First and foremost, when someone is on the technical assistance line for your Internet service, talking about your technical support web site just makes them angry. Here’s a hint: If I could get to your damn web site I wouldn’t be on the freaking telephone!!!

Second, it is extremely annoying to remind people that they are on hold every 30 seconds. They know they are hold and the reminders don’t improve their mood.

Three, as there is a menu to work through for every other step along the way, why not give people a choice of audio on hold. Classical music fans could listen to the Ring cycle. Oldies fans could listen to the entire Beatles collection. Fantasy fans could listen to the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, without fear of interruption.

Just trying to improve your customer service with a little feedback…