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2022 September — Why Now?
On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog
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Posts from — September 2022

Hurricane Fiona – Day 7

Hurricane FionaPosition: 23.2N 71.8W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: North [350°] near 8 mph [13 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 125 mph [205 kph].
Wind Gusts: 140 mph [220 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 160 miles [260 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 45 miles [ 75 km].
Minimum central pressure: 947 mb ↓.

Currently about 760 miles [1220 km] Southwest of Bermuda.

A Tropical Storm Watch 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.]

September 20, 2022   Comments Off on Hurricane Fiona – Day 7

Hurricane Fiona – Day 6

Hurricane FionaPosition: 20.6N 70.3W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: North-Northwest [330°] near 10 mph [17 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 110 mph [175 kph].
Wind Gusts: 125 mph [200 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 30 miles [ 45 km].
Minimum central pressure: 971 mb ↓.

Currently about 80 miles [ 130 km] Southeast of Grand Turk Island.

Heavy rainfall and flash flooding continues in the eastern Dominican Republic.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Turks & Caicos Islands.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Southeastern Bahamas, including the Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, the Inaguas, Mayaguana, and the Ragged Islands.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo to Puerto Plata.

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.]

September 19, 2022   Comments Off on Hurricane Fiona – Day 6

Avast Ye Lubbers

Pirate

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…

September 19, 2022   Comments Off on Avast Ye Lubbers

Hurricane Fiona – Day 5

Hurricane FionaPosition: 18.0N 68.1W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [300°] near 10 mph [17 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 85 mph [140 kph].
Wind Gusts: 100 mph [160 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 30 miles [ 45 km].
Minimum central pressure: 982 mb ↓.

Currently about 45 miles [ 75 km] South-Southeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Puerto Rico, including Vieques & Culebra; for the coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo Frances Viejo; Turks & Caicos Islands.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in for effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Frances Viejo westward to Puerto Plata; Southeastern Bahamas, including the Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, the Inaguas, Mayaguana, and the Ragged Islands.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Frances Viejo westward to Puerto Plata.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the south coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo westward to Barahona.

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.]

September 18, 2022   Comments Off on Hurricane Fiona – Day 5

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week

September 18 through 24, 2022

Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen.” That is the original German. My English translation would be ‘That is but a prelude, where they burn books, they will in the end burn people.” It is from Heinrich Heine’s 1821 play Almansor.

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird keep making the top ten of banned books. It makes no sense to me why people can’t just not read books they don’t like, and let other people make their own choices. But then again, I live in a county where people have a fit if children dress up as witches, wizards, or devils on Halloween, and have “harvest festivals” instead of Halloween parties… it’s really pathetic.

September 18, 2022   Comments Off on Banned Books Week

Tropical Storm Fiona – Day 4

Tropical Storm FionaPosition: 16.6N 64.9W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [285°] near 8 mph [13 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 75 mph [120 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Minimum central pressure: 997 mb ↓.

Currently about 150 miles [ 240 km] Southeast of Ponce, Puerto Rico.

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Puerto Rico, including Vieques & Culebra; for the coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo Frances Viejo.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in for effect for U.S. Virgin Islands; British Virgin Islands; the north coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Frances Viejo westward to Puerto Plata.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for U.S. Virgin Islands; the north coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Frances Viejo westward to Puerto Plata.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the south coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo westward to Barahona.

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.]

September 17, 2022   Comments Off on Tropical Storm Fiona – Day 4

Tropical Storm Fiona – Day 3

Tropical Storm FionaPosition: 16.6N 62.2W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: West [280°] near 15 mph [24 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 75 mph [120 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb.

Currently about 190 miles [ 300 km] East-Southeast of St. Croix.

At 4PM CDT the Leeward Islands are experiencing tropical storm conditions.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in for Saba & St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Guadeloupe, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, Puerto Rico, including Vieques & Culebra, U.S. Virgin Islands. British Virgin Islands, and Cabo Caucedo, Dominican Republic on the south coast around the eastern portion of the island to Puerto Plata on the north coast.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Dominica, South coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo westward to Barahona.

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.]

September 16, 2022   Comments Off on Tropical Storm Fiona – Day 3

Happy Independence Day

Día de la Independencia
Estados Unidos Mexicanos

Mexico

¡Viva México!

Some background on 16 de Septiembre and El Grito de Dolores.

September 16, 2022   Comments Off on Happy Independence Day

Tropical Storm Fiona – Day 2

Tropical Storm FionaPosition: 16.0N 56.9W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: West [265°] near 15 mph [24 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 75 mph [120 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1005 mb.

Currently about 335 miles [ 535 km] East-Southeast of the Leeward Islands.

A Tropical Storm Warning is in for Saba & St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Guadeloupe, St. Barthelemy, and St. Martin.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Puerto Rico, including Vieques & Culebra, U.S. Virgin Islands, and British Virgin 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.]

September 15, 2022   Comments Off on Tropical Storm Fiona – Day 2

Holy Pasta Week

Flying Spaghetti Monster

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 until the last day when it’s grog for all.

September 15, 2022   Comments Off on Holy Pasta Week

Tropical Storm Fiona

Tropical Storm FionaPosition: 16.7N 52.0W [10:00PM CDT 0300UTC].
Movement: West [285°] near 16 mph [26 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Wind Gusts: 65 mph [100 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1002 mb ↓.

Currently about 650 miles [1045 km] East of the Leeward Islands.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, and Anguilla.

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.]

September 14, 2022   Comments Off on Tropical Storm Fiona

Anatomy of a Scam E-Mail

This is an actual e-mail sent to me and it has all of the warning signs of a scam.

The from “James” with Nina’s gmail account. Legitimate business e-mails use business e-mail addresses.

The subject line list an “Invoice ID from PayPal”. PayPal uses Transaction ID that is a combination of letters and numbers almost 20 characters long and adds their “double P” graphic to everything.

It is Geek Squad from Best Buy not ‘Geek Tech PC support’.

Now the pressure: you are going to have almost $400 taken from your account if you don’t call the telephone number within 24 hours. If you call them they steal more than that from your account.

At the end you have a different name and they almost get Geek Squad correct.

There is a lot of this garbage going on at the moment targeting “Senior Citizens”.

Full test of the e-mail below the fold [Read more →]

September 12, 2022   Comments Off on Anatomy of a Scam E-Mail

In Memoriam

September 11th, 2001

NYC, VA, PA

In the intervening years we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars, trampled on peoples rights, created huge new government bureaucracies, and can’t respond as well as the third world to a natural disaster.

It seems like we are constantly being told that every new group that appears anywhere is capable of another 9/11 attack, so what is the point if we are no safer?

Richard Clarke: “Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard. But that doesn’t matter, because we failed. And for that failure, I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness.

September 11, 2022   Comments Off on In Memoriam

Post-Tropical Cyclone Earl – Day 9

Post-Tropical Cyclone EarlPosition: 43.6N 52.6W [ 4:00PM CDT 2100UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [025°] near 10 mph [17 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 85 mph [140 kph].
Wind Gusts: 100 mph [160 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 485 miles [780 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 90 miles [150 km].
Minimum central pressure: 964 mb ↑.

Currently about 215 miles [ 345 km] South of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

This is the last public advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center on this system.

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.]

September 10, 2022   Comments Off on Post-Tropical Cyclone Earl – Day 9