Posts from — May 2015

The world needs to know the vital information that the balls in some game weren’t fully inflated.

George Zimmerman was involved in another shooting in central Florida, but wasn’t seriously injured. Other than being classified as a road rage incident, no one really knows what happened.

As winter arrives in Australia the latest budget was revealed and people aren’t really sure how much is smoke and how much is mirrors, but no one actually believes it’s real. “Deloitte Access Economics report likened the 2015-16 deficit figure to the work of horror writer Stephen King and Norwegian artist Edvard Munch” – that would be a scary graphic novel. [Aside: Why can’t US think tanks write reports like that?]

Position: 34.4N 78.6W [ 4PM CDT 2100 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [030°] near 8 mph [13 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 45 mph [ 70 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1007 mb ↑.

Currently about 30 miles [ 45 km] North-Northeast of Whiteville, North Carolina.

The storm is weakening due to cooler water and interaction with the land. All Watches and Warnings are discontinued and this is the final advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

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: 33.2N 78.3W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northwest [330°] near 5 mph [ 7 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 125 miles [205 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1000 mb ↓.

Currently about 50 miles [ 80 km] Southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for South Santee River, South Carolina to Cape Lookout, North Carolina.

The storm has transitioned to a pure tropical storm.

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.]

Introducing PJ

Where am I?

[Editor: PJ is outside while his ‘house’ is being de-fleaed.]

The Friday Ark for lots of animal pictures.

Position: 32.1N 77.4W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [350°] near 2 mph [ 4 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Minimum central pressure: 998 mb ↓.

Currently about 140 miles [ 225 km] Southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for South Santee River, South Carolina to Cape Lookout, North Carolina.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Edisto Beach to South Santee River, South Carolina.

It finally gained enough organization to become the first storm of the season.

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.]

The National Hurricane Center is watching Invest 90L, a low-pressure area in the Atlantic off the coast of South Carolina with the potential of becoming a subtropical or tropical storm.

A Hurricane Hunter mission found winds of 50 mph, but the system lacks a closed circulation, which is required for promotion to the first storm of the season.

The conditions for development are forecast to improve in the next few days as the low stalls off the coast.

The Conservative Party has been the government in the Canadian province of Alberta for 44 years. When the election was called for yesterday, the Conservatives held 70 of the seats in the 87 seat parliament.

The polls kept indicating that the Conservatives were in trouble and the New Democratic Party might take power. None of the pundits accepted the polls, because it was unthinkable that the Conservatives wouldn’t win.

Today the Conservatives have 10 seats in the new parliament and the NDP have 53, the Conservatives were crushed.

This is not good news for Stephen Harper who is getting ready for the national elections in Canada.

Meanwhile, the UK is voting tomorrow, and there will certainly be another coalition government because no party can command a majority of voters. There is a lot of ink being wasted on speculation that the Scottish National Party may be the party that decides who will be the next the Prime Minister.

The BBC alerted me that the new baby’s great grandmother and great grandfather dropped by for a visit. With a two-year-old as well as the new baby, I get a feeling that her mom and dad would probably just as soon take a nap as deal with the visitors.

The death toll keeps climbing as they reach the more remote areas of Nepal. It is currently above 7,500.

In the provincial elections in Canada, the Liberals have maintained their hold on the government on Prince Edward Island, but the Conservative hold on Alberta is looking very shaky.

The UK is having national elections, but the real question appears to be will anyone bother to vote? That’s the reason the BBC has spent so much space on Princess Charlotte – no one is reading their election coverage, because voters apparently are ready for a “none of the above” election.

So a brain surgeon who has never held elected office, a woman with the same experience in public office but who trashed HP, and a current version of Elmer Gantry have joined the Republican Presidential comedy revue. “None of the above” is currently leading this race as well.

Wikipedia usually has to “lock” its Cinco de Mayo page. I suspect it may be related to the sudden appearance of sites opposing the celebration of this semi-holiday and others who have a hissy fit about any Mexican holiday being celebrated in the US.

In Mexico Cinco de Mayo or Batalla de Puebla, is only a really big celebration in the state of Puebla, where the battle took place.

The Mexican army won the Batalla de Puebla on May the 5^th, 1862, but the French went on to Mexico City in 1863 after receiving reinforcements and installed Emperor Maximilian.

It has the status of St. Patrick’s Day in the US, an excuse to eat different food, and drink different booze, and be obnoxious show an interest in other cultures.

Margaritas, tacos, and the destruction of piñatas, that’s what it is really about.

The BBC has been alerting me for the last few days to ensure I knew that Will & Kate had a little girl on Saturday, and named the child Charlotte Elizabeth Diana today. This vital information was echoed on the CBC and the ABC.

In the waiting room today they had Faux News on the TV and they were broadcasting a ‘live report’ from one of their reporters on the scene in Baltimore who said a police officer shot a black man. A bit later Faux News had to issue an ‘Emily Litella’, i.e. ‘Never mind’, as that wasn’t in the same space-time continuum as the truth and the Baltimore police were very unhappy.

Two haters died after a attacking an event staged by a different group of haters in Texas. If the security officer hadn’t been shot in the leg, it would have been a wash. The haters who organized the event claimed it was about ‘free speech’, but anyone who has been aware of them knows that they believe that speech is only free if it agrees with them. Essentially you are free to slander Muslims, but if say any negative about the government in Israel, you are a Nazi. You reap what you sow.

While a 101-year-old-man was pulled out of the rubble that had been his house a week after the earthquake, any other survivors are unlikely.

The current death toll is above 7,000 with more than twice as many people injured. There are still about 100 foreigners listed as missing by their embassies, and there have been an average of 10 aftershocks per day.

The airport at Kathmandu has had to close its single runway to big jet aircraft because it wasn’t designed to handle the weight of the fully-loaded military transports that have been landing there to off load supplies and is being damaged.

US Marines supported by CV-22 Osprey aircraft have arrived in Nepal which should provide more cargo capacity to supply remote areas.

Update: The police notified the media that the old man was found in his garden, not the rubble of his house.

Alone

Where is everyone?

[Editor: Ninja is the only cat I’ve seen outside in a week. Apparently the others are around in the early morning.]

The Friday Ark for lots of animal pictures.

I was as surprised as most people when the BBC sent me the alert on this – Freddie Gray: Baltimore police to face criminal charges. Then I read the charges and understood why it didn’t take long for the prosecutor to file the charges.

The root of the charges is the lack of probable cause to arrest Mr. Gray. He was charged with having a switchblade, but he was carrying a perfectly legal pocketknife. Given that the arrest wasn’t legal, he shouldn’t have been in the van, and wouldn’t have died. The prosecutor probably had charges outlined some time ago, but she had to wait on the formal declaration of the medical examiner before announcing them. When the medical examiner ruled the death homicide, she charged criminally negligent homicide.

The lack of a valid arrest would usually result in the police officers being denied the special protections of their job in the use of violence.

The May Day association with labor is all American, and just as controversial as everything of any consequence in history. The day is tied to a strike for the eight-hour day and the so-called “Haymarket Riot” of 1886. When it comes to “riots” and the Chicago police are involved, you are not going to find a single truth.

The dynamic duo that mucked up the Pledge of Allegiance, Dwight Eisenhower and his Republican Congress, made May 1^st both Law Day and Loyalty Day so those Commie working people wouldn’t get any ideas about having rights.