America's "grandfather of news" has passed. His voice was what a newscaster's voice should be.
RIP, old friend.
Friday, July 17, 2009
RIP Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite passed away at 92 today.
America's "grandfather of news" has passed. His voice was what a newscaster's voice should be.
RIP, old friend.
America's "grandfather of news" has passed. His voice was what a newscaster's voice should be.
RIP, old friend.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
At Long Last
Liftoff of STS127 from KSC was successful this evening. After six attempts, Endeavour is headed for the Space Station to deliver the Japanese Kibo module which will give the Station additional space for conducting science experiments.
I realize there are a lot of nay-sayers out there regarding space travel, including the people who think the moonlanding 40 years ago was false. I'm not one of them. Space travel excites me, not just due to the fact that I work at a spaceship factory, but the benefits that we've reaped in the 50 plus years of Space travel are too many to mention here. That and it's an awesome sight to watch a launch, either live or on TV.
From a website called The Space Place dot com, where there is a complete list of spinoffs from space travel:
Some of the most frequently asked questions about the U.S. space program are "Why go into space when we have so many problems here on Earth?" and "What does the space program do for me?" These are legitimate questions and unfortunately not enough people have been made aware of the vast benefits the space program provides that increase the quality of our daily lives. Applications on Earth of technology needed for space flight have produced thousands of "spinoffs" that contribute to improving national security, the economy, productivity and lifestyle. It is almost impossible to find an area of everyday life that has not been improved by these spinoffs. Collectively, these secondary applications represent a substantial return on the national investment in aerospace research.
Friday, July 10, 2009
New Twin Spans
The new I10 Twin Spans, which connect the northshore with the southshore, partially reopened on July 9th.
Beginning on Thursday, cars traveling east will get on the new eastbound span entrance ramp on the south shore. From there, they will be directed to cross over to the new westbound span, cross the lake and then cross over again to a second new eastbound ramp on the Northshore and then back onto I-10 east. In a week, after traffic signs and ramps have been re-configured, Slidell-to-New Orleans traffic will use the old eastbound span until the new Twin Span is totally finished.
As soon as the old eastbound span has changed to westbound, crews will begin to dismantle the old westbound span permanently. The old eastbound lane will also be dismantled after the new Twin Span is completed in 2011. St. Tammany Parish has already signed agreements to use part of the old eastbound span as a fishing pier.
Taking down the old westbound span will be a relief to motorists. Parts of it have been cobbled together for the past four years with special sections that tend to shake and move.
To those who use the bridges every day, this milestone has been a long time coming.
Beginning on Thursday, cars traveling east will get on the new eastbound span entrance ramp on the south shore. From there, they will be directed to cross over to the new westbound span, cross the lake and then cross over again to a second new eastbound ramp on the Northshore and then back onto I-10 east. In a week, after traffic signs and ramps have been re-configured, Slidell-to-New Orleans traffic will use the old eastbound span until the new Twin Span is totally finished.
As soon as the old eastbound span has changed to westbound, crews will begin to dismantle the old westbound span permanently. The old eastbound lane will also be dismantled after the new Twin Span is completed in 2011. St. Tammany Parish has already signed agreements to use part of the old eastbound span as a fishing pier.
Taking down the old westbound span will be a relief to motorists. Parts of it have been cobbled together for the past four years with special sections that tend to shake and move.
To those who use the bridges every day, this milestone has been a long time coming.
| VIDEO: New I-10 bridge over Lake Pontchatrain opens to eastbound traffic |
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Kudos to Karen Gadbois
New Orleans blogger Karen Gadbois has been selected as one of the "Top Ten Female Achievers" by New Orleans magazine.
Congratulations to Karen for this well deserved honor!
Congratulations to Karen for this well deserved honor!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Our Esteemed Legislature
This is probably the stupidest thing to be allowed during a Legislative session.
The State wanted to honor 'Hurricane Chris' for all of his recent success by giving him the floor of the state House of Representatives for a few minutes. Hurricane Chris is the godson of Shreveport Representative Barbara Norton.
Representative Austin Badon said when Chris Dooley, Jr., known by the stage name "Hurricane Chris," performed his song "Halle Berry (She's Fine)" Wednesday, he really couldn't understand what he was singing. But when Badon came across the song while scanning the radio dial later that day, what he heard made him angry.
"The words they were using in the song were just extremely derogatory, they were foul," Badon told WWL First News. "They were curse words, using the 'N' word. It was just a derogatory song."
The lyrics can be found at this site.
Here is the video, entitled "loony looziana legislature reaches a new low". I find it embarassing. Don't know who allowed this, but they should be shot.
Here's a link to an editorial citing Representative Norton's ignorant decision to allow this.
The State wanted to honor 'Hurricane Chris' for all of his recent success by giving him the floor of the state House of Representatives for a few minutes. Hurricane Chris is the godson of Shreveport Representative Barbara Norton.
Representative Austin Badon said when Chris Dooley, Jr., known by the stage name "Hurricane Chris," performed his song "Halle Berry (She's Fine)" Wednesday, he really couldn't understand what he was singing. But when Badon came across the song while scanning the radio dial later that day, what he heard made him angry.
"The words they were using in the song were just extremely derogatory, they were foul," Badon told WWL First News. "They were curse words, using the 'N' word. It was just a derogatory song."
The lyrics can be found at this site.
Here is the video, entitled "loony looziana legislature reaches a new low". I find it embarassing. Don't know who allowed this, but they should be shot.
Here's a link to an editorial citing Representative Norton's ignorant decision to allow this.
Yelling Pitchman Dead
Tampa police say Billy Mays, the television pitchman known for his boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean, has died. He was 50.
The New York Times has more here
Friday, June 26, 2009
Screwing the Victims
Good Ole Boy Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is misusing Katrina Recovery funds meant for housing to rebuild the port of Gulfport. Or, as he puts it, he's "redirecting" the funds meant to provide permanent housing for those who lost their homes to the storm .
Mississippi civil rights and housing groups sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development yesterday to stop the distribution of nearly $600 million in Hurricane Katrina relief aid to expand the Port of Gulfport, as sought by Gov. Haley Barbour (R).
Filed in federal court in the District, the lawsuit alleges that the money is part of $5.5 billion approved by Congress for Mississippi after the August 2005 storm — emergency relief that was supposed to pay largely for affordable housing. But HUD granted waivers allowing the state to use 21 percent of the money for low-income housing, instead of 50 percent as required for Katrina aid channeled through the Community Development Block Grant program, plaintiffs charged.
In a January letter to Barbour, then-HUD Secretary Alphonso R. Jackson wrote that he shared concerns that the port expansion “does indeed divert emergency federal funding from other more pressing recovery needs, most notably affordable housing.”
Congress, however, “allows me little discretion,” Jackson wrote. He approved the funding shift before resigning in April.
Barbour’s office released a statement saying the port project is part of the state’s recovery program that was vetted by Congress. “It’s always been in the plan,” Barbour said. “Restoration of the Port of Gulfport is critical to recovery of the Gulf Coast from the worst natural disaster in American history.”
Found at New Orleans News Ladder.
Mississippi civil rights and housing groups sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development yesterday to stop the distribution of nearly $600 million in Hurricane Katrina relief aid to expand the Port of Gulfport, as sought by Gov. Haley Barbour (R).
Filed in federal court in the District, the lawsuit alleges that the money is part of $5.5 billion approved by Congress for Mississippi after the August 2005 storm — emergency relief that was supposed to pay largely for affordable housing. But HUD granted waivers allowing the state to use 21 percent of the money for low-income housing, instead of 50 percent as required for Katrina aid channeled through the Community Development Block Grant program, plaintiffs charged.
In a January letter to Barbour, then-HUD Secretary Alphonso R. Jackson wrote that he shared concerns that the port expansion “does indeed divert emergency federal funding from other more pressing recovery needs, most notably affordable housing.”
Congress, however, “allows me little discretion,” Jackson wrote. He approved the funding shift before resigning in April.
Barbour’s office released a statement saying the port project is part of the state’s recovery program that was vetted by Congress. “It’s always been in the plan,” Barbour said. “Restoration of the Port of Gulfport is critical to recovery of the Gulf Coast from the worst natural disaster in American history.”
Found at New Orleans News Ladder.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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