RIP Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut has died at the age of 84. One of my favorite authors, creator
of Kilgore Trout.

Rest in peace.

Outside of NOLA

A little over 50 miles south of New Orleans is Thibodaux, Louisiana. My daughter attends Nicholls State University there. A few weeks ago, as I was driving to pick her up, I spotted this little beauty
click on images for full-sized versions




Thirty miles north of New Orleans is my postage-stamp sized backyard. It hasn't really been lovingly touched since the storm. This year I will resume "playing" in my yard. The first thing to do is to give this little angel his wing back


A mile away from my home is Bayou Liberty. There is a new bridge under construction, to replace the old, hand cranked bridge



Katrina swamped St. Genevieve Church which stood on the banks of the Bayou.


Here is the Church in 2003


Here is where the new Church will be built.



The Church was ruined, but the oaks survived and look beautiful this year.

Twenty miles from here is the tiny fishing community of Irish Bayou. Katrina slammed this area. Although it's coming back, several houses still look like this, 18+ months PostK.

"The drugs got boys dropping like flies."

TP story about the runaway-train crime spree happening in New Orleans
Some quotes from the story:

I'm just praying it's not me next time the bullets fly
I ain't never seen anything like it……….The drugs got boys dropping like flies.
People buy their drugs on this side, run back to their side. But we get all the problems that come with it.

A wooden sign hanging from the service station roofs warns: "No Loitering, No Crack Selling, No Cat Selling," a reference to prostitution, said proprietor Joe Peters

Here's another story in today's paper about the killing of a 14 year old kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time:

Jazman had to see something he wasn't supposed to see…..That's the only thing that makes sense


What is it going to take to stop this craziness?

From Metroblogging
a resident in the Quarter talks of trying to help a homeless derelict in his neighborhood and how difficult it is to get
any kind of help .

We're living in an asylum.

A message for Mr. Blakely

Once again Ashley oh-so-eloquently-in-his-own-way responds to Ed "czar" Blakely's comments regarding New Orleans.



Thanks, Ashley.

USS Hurricane Camile

Seawitch has a post about the fate of the USS Hurricane Camille, the 72-foot tugboat East Point that was pushed ashore in August 1969 with its bow facing west on property owned by the Moody family. The boat survived two of the worst storms in U.S. history. It survived the casino invasion of the 1990s and it even outlasted some of the largest gambling barges on the Coast; but today its days seem numbered.
The owner of the property is in her 60s and has no plans of reviving the iconic vessel or the gift shopthat used to operate from the boat..

Still Not Okay

19+ months after Katrina, the Gulf Coast is
still
NOT
even close
to being okay

But some folks don't worry about that. They're too busy
driving fast and wanting to get away with it or
trying to do anything to avoid taking the blame for NOLA's slow recovery.

Nope, not okay by a long shot.

Thistles and stuff

Tim, over at the Namelessblog discusses springtime in Post K New Orleans and muses about life here in Hurricane Land...
Hurricanes are part of the natural environment of the Gulf of Mexico. And our insatiable appetite to build and shape the human environment is perfectly natural, too. Heck, even the most ardent environmentalists will draw you a picture of what they want the coast to look like--as if nature needs their help to make her vision a reality!

Sloshing out of the flood

Just found this link
by Jon Donley of NOLA dot com

A 10 minute video with still shots showing the evacuation of the T.P. on August 29th, 2005 and Katrina aftermath photos. Well done.

Note: not for the faint hearted.

Thanks, Jon.

Good News for the 9th Ward

from BP News dot net

Vernon Worley had a simple idea designed to meet a real need in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. A New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary alumnus and current seminary employee, Worley is designing and installing temporary, cardboard street signs throughout the neighborhood during his free time. Not only do the signs help recovery volunteers find their way, they also are providing hope in the Upper Ninth Ward.

2007 Hurricane Season

Background:
Each year Philip J. Klotzbach and William M. Gray (Professor Emeritus of Atmospheric Science) make their initial predictions in December for the upcoming Hurricane Season. This prediction is updated in April, May, August, September and October of the following year, based on new information. Their predictions include data such as Named Storms, Named Storm Days, Hurricanes, Hurricane Days,
Intense Hurricanes, Intense Hurricane Days and Net Tropical Cyclone Acitivity.
Dr. Gray is taking a step back this year. In his words…
After 22 years (since 1984) of making these forecasts, it is appropriate that I step back and have Phil Klotzbach assume the primary responsibility for our project’s seasonal, monthly and landfall probability forecasts. Phil has been a member of my research project for the last six years and has been second author on these forecasts for the last five years. I have greatly profited and enjoyed our close personal and working relationships.
"
For the predictions released today, here's some background
This early April forecast is based on a newly devised extended range statistical forecast procedure...... We have increased our forecast from our early December prediction (7 hurricanes) due largely to the rapid dissipation of El Niño which has occurred over the past couple of months. Currently, neutral ENSO conditions are observed. We expect either neutral or weak-to-moderate La Niña conditions to be present during the upcoming hurricane season. Tropical and North Atlantic sea surface temperatures remain well above their long-period averages.


Colorado State University's hurricane predictions have a pretty good track record as far as I can see. Take a look at this data, gleaned from their website at
http://typhoon.atmos.colostate.edu/forecasts/

This chart is based on their April predictions of hurricanes

2000 Forecast: 7
2000 Actual: 8

2001 Forecast: 6
2001 Actual: 9

2002 Forecast: 7
2002 Actual: 4

2003 Forecast: 8
2003 Actual: 7

2004 Forecast: 8
2004 Actual: 9

2005 Forecast: 7
2005 Actual: 14

2006 Forecast: 9
2006 Actual: 5

2007 Forecast: 9

Gulf of Mexico Marine Debris Maps

Just released marine maps of the north Gulf of Mexico by NOAA
provides users with maps of debris-laden areas in the waters of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.
The maps indicate nautical position and other physical properties of each piece of submerged debris found during the NOAA Office of Coast Survey and Office of Response and Restoration's surveying effort, which began in September.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita inflicted severe damage on the Gulf Coast.
Even though the surface looks calm, underwater marine debris poses a hazard to vessel traffic and commercial fishing gear. The maps can help fishermen avoid debris and keep them updated on the status of debris removal in fishing grounds.

OTHER RELATED COASTAL RESTORATION WEB SITES:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - New Orleans District

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Louisiana

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

EPA Region 6

US Fish & Wildlife Service

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources

Louisiana Governor's Office of Coastal Activities

U.S.G.S. National Wetlands Research Center

National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program

Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program

Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Study

Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service

Louisiana Seagrant

Coast 2050

America's WETLAND

Minerals Management Service Sand and Gravel Program

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana