I am sick as a dog. Sore throat, headache, and that over-all body ache that makes it hurt to move.
Blech.
Letterman
SpaceShipOne captain Brian Binnie will be on Letterman tonight, 11:30 EST, CBS.
Hurricane Aftermath
I am not sure how many of you are aware of he devestating effect that Hurricane Ivan had over the weekend to the interior of the nation, but here are some pictures to give you an idea. My hometown of Bethany, WV, received 9.5 inches of rain in ONE DAY, and we experienced the worst flooding in the memory of our oldest citizens. This was a once a century flood:
These previous three pictures are of the town park. It is hard to tell, but, but the source of the water is from a small creek that snakes through the valley from left to right. The creek, at normal size, is about 1-2 feet deep, and 10-15 feet wide, and if you look closely, it follows the countour of the tree line in the far left all the way around the valley, and in normal times, the park is a grassy area bowl shaped area about 1000 meters by 100 meters with the creek on three sides. The town building (the olf Fire Department), is displayed prominently in the first picture on the right, and this is the fourth side of thepark, which is a gentle incline into a hill.
At any rate, as you can see, the water is about 6 feet tall by the Fire Department, which means the creek had to raise at least 20 feet.
Here is a view of the parking lot to the old Fire Department (shown in picture 1) after the waters have receded. Behind the viewer in this picture would be the hill to the town, to the left is be the creek (about 300 yards to the left) in normal times.
Here is a picture showing the ‘upper’ shelter during and after the flood. As you look at the two pictures, two things should stand out- how high the water was to submerge the shelter, and in the second picture, you should be able to detect the sloping nature of the park as it heads towards where the creek normally resides.
If you want more, I’ve got plenty, but this should give you an idea how bad the flooding was because of the Hurricane after effects. BTW- these photos were taken by the town Mayor with a Pentax Optio.
*** Update ***
Here are some more pictures posted by a Bethany student, (via Rob Bernard who has two brothers attending Bethany College).
Goldberg’s CBS Prediction
Bernard Goldberg,m on the Hannity show, predicted the CBS response to memogate:
“They will grudgingly admit that the documents are fake, and that they foudn out about it on their own, rather than through anyone else. But, and here comes the but, they won’t retract any part of the story.”
Hannity refused to believe they would do that, and Goldberg responded:
“Oh yes they will. That is why my first book was called Bias and my second book was called Arrogance.”
HDTV
I have noticed a few things since I got High Definition television, chiefly that most television/moviestars aren’t that beautiful. HEre is a short list for your convenience.
People or Things that Look As Good or Better in High Definition:
1.) Natalie Portman
2.) Heather Locklear
3.) Jennifer Garner
4.) Beyonce Knowles
5.) All female cast members of NBC’s Las Vegas
6.) Nature, in particular oceanography
7.) All sports
People or things that look worse on HDTV:
All people who are not Natalie Portman, Heather Locklear, Jennifer Garner, or Beyonce Knowles.
Sports, however, are just unbelievable. You can see the holes in the jersey’s on football players. When athetes run, you can see the sand coming up from the turf. NASCAR, which I have never been a fan of, is amazing looking.
Another thing that is great are live concerts with the digital surround.
If you don’t have HDTV, get it.
The End of The Debate
This animated GIF I lifted from Charles Johnson (he made it) should end all the debate about the memos.
Really folks. Here it is full size.
The Usual Suspects
What would an organization like Iraq Veterans against the War be like without a character like the ubiquitious Jimmy Massey. Thank goodness he is there.