Posts from — October 2018

Position: 39.3N 49.6W [ 4PM CDT 2100 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [030°] near 35 mph [56 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 90 mph [145 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 320 miles [520 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 80 miles [130 km].
Minimum central pressure: 976 mb ↓.

Currently about 540 miles [ 870 km] South-Southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

Oscar has transformed into a post-tropical cyclone. This is the final NHC 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.]

Whether you celebrate Celtic New Year’s Eve [Samhain], the evening before All Saints Day [Halloween], or the anniversary of the posting of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 [Reformation Day], have a happy one.

Wikipedia does its normally thorough job of covering all of the bases on the holidays that share October 31^st.

These are my remembrances of a traditional American Halloween.

Locally we are having preemptive lawn drowning to prevent people at the ‘Autumn Festival’ from parking on our grass.

Position: 32.8N 55.2W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [035°] near 22 mph [35 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 80 mph [130 kph].
Wind Gusts: 95 mph [155 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 150 miles [240 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 30 miles [ 45 km].
Minimum central pressure: 979 mb.

Currently about 560 miles [ 900 km] East of 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.]

Position: 27.4N 58.3W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [010°] near 9 mph [15 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 105 mph [165 kph].
Wind Gusts: 120 mph [195 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 70 miles [110 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 15 miles [ 30 km].
Minimum central pressure: 970 mb ↓.

Currently about 515 miles [ 830 km] Southeast of 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.]

Position: 25.6N 57.0W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [270°] near 16 mph [26 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 75 mph [120 kph].
Wind Gusts: 85 mph [135 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 70 miles [110 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 15 miles [ 30 km].
Minimum central pressure: 989 mb.

Currently about 645 miles [1035 km] Northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands.

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: 25.7N 51.4W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Southwest [240°] near 20 mph [31 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 65 mph [100 kph].
Wind Gusts: 75 mph [120 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 115 miles [185 km].
Minimum central pressure: 994 mb ↓.

Currently about 910 miles [1465 km] Northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands.

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.]

More bombs located: Senator Cory Booker and former DNI James Clapper were ‘gifted’ before Senator Kamala Harris, but the ‘treat’ was the arrest of 56-year-old Cesar Sayoc, Jr. in Florida.

Mr. Sayoc has a criminal record, ties to New York, and a white van covered with Trump stickers. Rumor has it that he was identified with DNA evidence, which may mean he licked the envelops or stamps.

The current list of MAGA Bomber targets: George Soros, the Clintons, the Obamas, Eric Holder, John Brennan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maxine Waters, Joe Biden, and Robert DeNiro. Since he/she shorted the Post Office 75¢ per bomb, the Postal Inspectors are probably on the case.

Given that this is probably domestic terrorism we are hampered by early Trump budget decisions: “In fact, in one of their first budget requests to Congress they requested that $300 million be stripped from primarily the DHS budget dealing with this issue of domestic terrorism.”

The BBC is reporting that Mail bomb investigators are checking Florida leads, say US media. Apparently the Postal facility in Opa-locka, Florida processed some of the bombs. Opa-locka is a bit strange, even by Florida standards according to Bing maps: “The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a One Thousand and One Nights theme, Opa-locka has the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western hemisphere, and streets with such names as Sabur Lane, Sultan Avenue, Ali Baba Avenue, Perviz Avenue, and Sesame Street.” [I guess they will have to check on the whereabouts of Oscar the Grouch…]

With so many examples to work with, the probability of identifying the MAGA Bomber is nearly 1 [1 is a sure thing].

The BBC notes that Fake news follows migrant caravan’s journey north. At Crooks & Liars, former Republican Congresscritter from Florida, David Jolly, is a bit more direct: Trump Is Just Lying.

My Congresscritter, Matt Gaetz, lied about George Soros paying people to join the Caravan, and a member of Trump’s Sturmabteilung decided to send Mr. Soros a letter bomb. If you actually look at the facts, Islamic terrorists are bit players when compared to right-wing extremists in the US.

The Caravans are a regularly occurring event that have a lot in common with the wagon trains of the Old West – people traveling together for safety. The one big difference is that the people who make up the Caravans tend to be Native Americans, not immigrants, as were found in the Old West version, or in the White House. The indigenous peoples of Central America tend to be held down to the bottom rungs of society.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi claims that the fact that people brought their children with them proves they are up to no good. Pam Bondi’s claim to fame when running for Attorney General was the prosecution of … puppy mills. That was her big accomplishment … I’m not kidding.

The tropics are calm and I have been finishing little jobs around the apartments that I have wanted to take care of for an extended time. I have been dragged back to the keyboard by the media. Before writing commentary on something one should ‘read for comprehension’ the basis for the commentary.

1. Dr. Professor Senator Elizabeth Warren was elected to the Senate in 2012. A Senator serves for 6 years. She is not running for President, she is running for Senator in an election that takes place in a little over two weeks.

2. Trump was not the first politician to attack DPS Warren over the issue of her ancestry, it was Scott Brown in the 2012 Senatorial race. The issue of her race keeps being brought up by Republicans, and she used the route that Trump indicated was most authoritative to resolve it for her current election. She didn’t actually believe that Trump would make good on his bet, or that what she did would actually put the issue to rest. The Republicans don’t believe that reality, truth, or the facts matter, but maybe a majority of voters do. It would help if the media did. 😈

3. As was clearly stated in the announcement of the DNA results, the test can only show if someone has a Native American ancestor and only provides a range of possibilities for how long ago that ancestor lived. DNA cannot show membership in any particular tribe, as it only deals with with large groups. DPS Warren has not claimed membership in any tribe, and stated that individual tribes have the right to determine their own rules for membership.

4. As a former member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Board at a public college in New York State, I understand why colleges and universities track minority representation among staff and faculty. Many of these institutions are under court mandated hiring policies based on a history of discrimination. In Senator Warren’s case, she would have received a bigger hiring advantage for being a woman than a Native American as a law school professor. That advantage would not translate into tenure, and certainly not into an endowed chair, things she achieved. She had the publication credentials and citations to be among the top of her field. The entire ‘Native American’ listing was done by the EEOB at those institutions to make their stats look better, and yes, they would have done it based on nothing more that ‘my mother used to tell us that one of her great grandparents was a Native American.’

A weird looking 747 landed at Eglin AFB today and dumped an orange mess on the tarmac which was met by the current governor of Florida, Batboy. Then the sky was filled with various and sundry helicopters to make it seem like Trump and Scott gave a crap about the people from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast who got creamed by Michael. They congratulated themselves on what a great job they are doing while people are still waiting for food, water, or some one who gives a crap.

Meanwhile, the guy from the gas company who was turning on service at one of the apartments said he and some friends are taking the supplies they bought for Michael, along with some chain saws up to the smaller towns in the more rural counties inland. Like all locals, they know that the little places like Wing, Baker, Holt will get ignored like always.

In other news, Trump hung a new painting in the White House. I prefer the earlier versions of the genre.

Professor/Senator Warren had her DNA tested. It showed what I knew it probably would – she has one or more Native American ancestors. Anyone whose family has lived in Oklahoma for several generations is almost guaranteed to have a connection to one or more Native American tribes. Naturally the Toddler in Chief denies his million dollar bet regarding the DNA. He’s a schmuck and a welsher.

Leslie finished a three week run beating up Portugal and the only thing stirring is an ‘area of interest’ in the Caribbean with a 20% chance of becoming a contender. I am mostly done with major work on the apartments and trying to get my house in order, so I Just Dropped In to see what has been going on.

I have been told by talking heads that Trump doesn’t want to seem like he’s ignoring the problems created by Hurricane Michael. Yeah, right, that’s why he is holding campaign rallies and playing golf while search teams and cadaver dogs are scrambling through debris on a corridor of destruction from the Gulf to the Atlantic. Ms Streisand has it right: Don’t Lie To Me.

When I was out shopping on Thursday and Friday I saw people loading up bottled water, 5 gallon gas cans, generators, and canned food in major quantities. Some were ‘church ladies’; others were deputies from Bay and Gulf counties. It was Friday afternoon that an alert went out that a center for food and distribution had opened at a middle school in Panama City. The Gulf Coast State College radio station (WKGC) is the only broadcast media facility still on the air in Panama City.

Where is FEMA? Where is the plan? These are Republican voters who just got smashed. When we got nailed by Ivan in 2004, the Shrubbery sent everything the government had to help out just before the election. WTF?!

SNAFU – which is why: I’m Not Ready To Make Nice… 😈

Position: 40.5N 9.5W [ 4PM CDT 2100 UTC].
Movement: Northeast [050°] near 35 mph [56 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 70 mph [110 kph].
Wind Gusts: 80 mph [130 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 160 miles [260 km].
Minimum central pressure: 984 mb ↑.

Currently about 125 miles [ 200 km] North of Lisbon, Portugal

This is the final NHC 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: 38.0N 73.1W [ 4AM CDT 0900 UTC].
Movement: East-Northeast [065°] near 29 mph [46 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 65 mph [100 kph].
Wind Gusts: 75 mph [120 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 275 miles [445 km].
Minimum central pressure: 983 mb ↓.

Currently about 185 miles [ 300 km] East-Northeast of Norfolk, Virginia.

Michael has transitioned to a powerful post-tropical storm. All of the warnings and watches have been cancelled and this is the final NHC 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.]