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Monday, August 27, 2007

Last time I posted, I was worried about Tropical Storm Erin; but it turned out to make landfall about 25 miles north of Corpus Christi as a very weak storm, so we felt practically no effects from it. Areas to our north and northwest, however, such as Houston and San Antonio, weren't so lucky and were deluged by rain.

After we're spared the brunt of a storm, I normally give a bigh sigh of relief, yet I couldn't do that this time since we still had Hurrican Dean to watch. Having lived on the coast almost all my life, I'm used to feeling a bit nervous and unsettled during the summer due to the threat of storms; but Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have made me much more skittish about the threat. I'm not alone in that feeling: Everyone on the Gulf coast is on high alert any time there's a storm out there.

When Hurricane Dean made landfall in a rather unpopulated area of Mexico, I could finally breathe easier. Now I'm just hoping the tropics calm down. Can't wait for hurricane season to be over! The official end of the season isn't until November, but we rarely get storms past the end of September. So, only about one more month of nervousness...

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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

After a very quiet hurricane season last year, we here on the Texas coast are bracing for the first tropical storm impact since 2005: Tropical Storm Erin is predicted to make landfall somewhere between Baffin Bay and Brownsville early Thursday morning.

Thankfully, it doesn't look as if the storm will strengthen much before it makes landfall. It's going to dump a lot of rain on the Coastal Bend, however, which is a concern, as we've had so much rainfall this year. The ground is totally saturated and our reservoirs are filled to capacity

I'm not concerned about flooding where I live, but I do worry about high winds and the damage they can cause. If a storm is predicted to have winds higher than gusts of about 80mph, I and my family leave the coast. It's just not worth the risk to stay around in conditions like that! I'm crossing my fingers that we'll not have to evacuate this year.

Song of the moment: "Troubled So Hard," by Paolo Nutini. .

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Saturday, August 11, 2007

Ok, I've been living under a rock. Proof of that: I just discovered that "Stardust," by Neil Gaiman has been adapted into a movie and is in theaters now. I thoroughly enjoyed "Stardust" when I read it years ago, so, of course, I'm thrilled they've made it into a film! Quality fantasy movies are hard to come by, so this is definitely one I'll be going to the theater to "see!"

Check out Neil Gaiman's Journal for all sorts of news about the movie, his life, books, writing and much more. Having been a fan of his books for a long time, it's quite nice to be able to read more of his writing — and for free! I love it when authors keep weblogs since it allows us to keep up with what they are doing in the literary world, as well as learn more about them as people, which I always enjoy.

I especially enjoy reading authors' random observations, such as Neil Gaiman's observation of this fact:

Forwhatever it's worth: audiences, and most of the people-just-posting-about-how-they-saw-a-preview, really like, and make a point of mentioning how much they like, De Niro. They like Michelle Pfeiffer, but they love De Niro. Professional film reviewers, on the other hand, adore Michelle Pfeiffer while most of them seem uncomfortable with De Niro.

Odd, isn't it? Robert De Niro is just plain likeable, apparently. He seems to have that intangible universal appeal that so many covet.

Song of the moment: "Another Saturday Night," by Cat Stevens. I'm a sucker for happy-sounding songs with sad lyrics!

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Saturday, August 04, 2007

Everyone has heard about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis by now, I'm sure; but I must say something about it. Having been born in Minneapolis and spending my first seven years there, the city still holds a special place in my heart. The inexplicableness and awfulness of the incident is heartbreaking.

To be honest, when I first heard about the tragedy, I thought of terrorism. That has been ruled out, which is a relief in a way. However, it's also unsettling: The bridge obviously had structrual problems that hadn't been addressed. The problems were known and yet, nothing was done to rectify the weaknesses. Why not?!

It's really hard to comprehend. You expect things like that to happen in earthquake-prone places, but not in the Midwest! There are so many questions that are begging to be answered. I'm sure authorities will be investigating the scene for months to come.

It's a miracle that more people weren't killed. I'm very relieved that so many were able to make it to safety! As always, the Red Cross was among the first to respond to the tragedy and will be sure to continue providing help and counseling to the survivors. The victims of this accident need all the help they can get!

The incident in Minneapolis has brought the country's infrastructure problems to the forefront and caused U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to call for an assessment of the national bridge inspection program. At this point, it looks as if the program is woefully inadequate. Check out this article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press for more details: Fatal collapse of I-35W span casts doubt on U.S. bridge ratings.

After hearing about what happened in Minneapolis, I automatically thought of all the bridges we have here locally in the Coastal Bend and wondered how sound they are. Turns out, some of them are in rather poor condition, which is very frightening. One of the bridges that I cross regularly has been deemed "structrually deficient" by the Texas Department of Transportation, which is, of course, very upsetting.

Some worrisome facts: The I-35 bridge was built in 1967 and had a rating of 50 at the time of its collapse. The Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge was built in 1959 and currently has a rating of 57. (Bridges are given a rating from 0 to 100 with anything over 70 considered safe.) The Harbor Bridge is scheduled to be replaced in the next ten years or so, but I know I'll probably think about its soundness every time I cross it now, despite officials' insistence that the bridge is sound.

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eclectica archives: 1999 - 2007



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