A generous soul

NBA star Chris Duhon continues to help in the aftermath in Katrina through a personal donation of $100,000 in his plans to construct basketball courts in New Orleans and his hometown of Slidell, La. A graduate of Salmen High in south Slidell, Duhon continues to look for ways to help the area recover.



From the above link
Through Duhon’s Stand Tall Foundation, he launched “Operation 21,” a project to refurbish 21 outside basketball courts in New Orleans and Slidell. The project will include five courts in Slidell and the remaining 16 courts in New Orleans, beginning in East New Orleans where Duhon participated in recreational programs such as basketball, football, track and baseball at an early age.

Duhon established a hurricane relief fund in 2005 shortly after Katrina. His efforts have raised more than $450,000 for the victims of Katrina and aided in the reconstruction of Slidell.

Diversion

I like to keep my posts in this blog related to Katrina recovery, but once in a while I feel like posting about things of personal interest. Music is one of
my favorite things in life.......especially blues.

I think in another life I was a resident of the Mississippi Delta area. It's in my blood. I can just feel it. There's something about the sound of Delta Blues that I love.

A few months ago, my husband purchased a CD/DVD Combo from Kenny Wayne Shepherd entitled 10 Days Out - Blues from the Backroads

You can see a trailer from the DVD here
(I can't for the life of me embed the youtube clip)


A well-written synopsis provided by Amazon-dot-com
This "back-to-the-roots" road-trip documentary CD/DVD from blues-rocking guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd can be viewed in two ways--it's either the culmination of a long-held desire to promote and play with some unheralded blues veterans before they pass away (as six had already done since the recording was made, 2½ years before its early 2007 release) or a way to regain the blues audience Shepherd all but alienated on his artistically and commercially disappointing 2004 hard-rock release, The Place You're In. Ultimately, it succeeds on both accounts. Regardless of the project's inspiration, the results by and large justify whatever the means might have been to get this show on the road--literally and figuratively. Shepherd hit the highway for a week and a half along with producer Jerry Harrison (ex-Talking Heads), a portable studio, and backup musicians including the rhythm section from Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble. He searched out blues artists both obscure (the late guitarist Etta Baker, who plays in her kitchen, is a highlight) and better known (Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and B.B. King) for a series of acoustic and electric jams, all of which feature Shepherd--who, to his credit, generally keeps his hot-dogging tendencies in check. A closing concert featuring members of Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters' bands never quite generates the heat it should, but country bluesmen Cootie Stark, Neil Pattman, and harmonica ace Jerry "Boogie" McCain provide plenty of sparks. Shepherd seems sincere enough, but the real stars are the ageing musicians who have maintained their chops and intensity through a lifetime of performing music that clearly comes from the soul. --Hal Horowitz

In January of '09, Hubby & I are planning to take our first cruise in the Carribbean that is all about the blues. I can hardly wait!!!

Getting it

I am not a resident of New Orleans, but I love the city as if it were my home town.

Chris Rose , in his latest column explains one of the thousand reasons that the city is so loved by its inhabitants:


A place where the glass is neither half full nor half empty and, in fact, is not even a glass but a plastic cup, a trinket most likely made in China and of no monetary value whatsoever but it's got some words or a drawing on the side that remind you of something good, some perfect time and place, something vivid and specific, a night with strangers and friends, and that cup sits on your desk or your mantle alongside your most cherished possessions.

Craig Giesecke, over at Metroblogging explains the simple pleasures of New Orleans

My daughter's in town. During last night's light rain, we went for coffee at the Cafe du Monde and then for a sazerac over at Tujague's. In between, we walked around (deserted) Jackson Square and stuck our heads into the Cafe Pontalba. A rainy night is my favorite time in the French Quarter, for some reason, and we just walked around tallking and laughing and window-shopping. We did, basically, nothing. Our total expenses were less than $12. It was delightful.


Yeah, you right.

Sweet Return

The Mississippi Clarion Ledger has published an article
on resurrgence of satsuma crops in Plaquemines Parish.

Hurricane Katrina wiped out about half the satsuma trees in Plaquemines Parish, La., the tonguelike parish on the tip of southeast Louisiana where most of the Gulf Coast's satsuma crop originates.

Jimmy Boudreaux, a commercial vegetable specialist at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in Baton Rouge, said it has been a hard road back for satsuma growers.

Katrina ripped up the small citrus trees, and some acreage flooded with deadly salt water.

They were just beat up so bad, he said. "Of course, the crop was beat up the storm year, and the next year the trees had to recover."

Some growers devastated by the 2005 storm still have not gotten back into the business, he said.

They lost everything, so the orchard is the last thing on their minds, he said. "They lost their homes; they lost everything."

But for those satsuma farmers who managed to save a portion of their trees, this year is looking pretty good.

Immediately following the storm, growers rushed their surviving product to market, harvesting as much as possible from an early crop.

That year, the Louisiana satsuma crop was valued at $2.6 million in farm income, down only slightly from the 2004's crop value of $2.7 million.

Last year's harvest, hampered by dying trees and fewer growers, brought just $1.6 million.

We think we could maybe do one and a half or two times that this year, Boudreaux said.

Even if this year's crop is wildly larger than expected, it's still small by any standard.

By comparison, last year's Florida orange crop was valued at $1.5 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Through the entire state, Boudreaux said Louisiana only has 164 satsuma producers tending 316 acres of trees.


I haven't tasted the Plaquemines Parish satsumas yet, but had some Slidell version about a month
ago and they are wonderfully fresh and sweet!!!

Progress and Stagnation

On the Friday after turkey day, hubby & I travelled AWAY from the malls and took a drive down Hwy. 11 towards New Orleans to check out any progress that had taken place since our last trip in September. It was a picture perfect day and the traffic was light which made it an excellent time to "go lookin" around.

click on pictures to view full-size versions

We took a slow ride down Rats Nest Road, along Lake Pontchartrain.
>
Almost completely obliterated by the storm, this area is finally showing signs of progress,


but what really hits you is the shoreline


It contains the remains of what once were miles of docks jutting out into the lake.

From here you can see the progress on the new twinspans


From there we drove out to far eastern Slidell, towards one of my favorite places to drive, Lake Catherine . I always loved this ride because it is so beautifully serene out there, moreso since the storm because they too were completely razed by Katrina.

This area is seeing a long awaited building boom, but there is still debris pickup going on, as evidenced by these two pictures






This home has been in progress for about a year now and it looks almost complete. Quite a difference from the old, thrown together camps that used to be along Hwy. 90.



This place went up quite quickly.

I'm sure all of the raised houses are being constructed intelligently, as this one is being built



Sites like this burned out camp are becoming more and more rare in the Lake Catherine area.

As we passed Fort Pike we noticed to chartered busses from Germantown, Maryland full of what appeared to be students. They were cleaning up the Fort and cutting grass. Many thanks to them. I'm looking forward to the Fort's reopening.

As another sign of progress, we noticed that the work on the new Rigolets bridge is progressing.


It's heartening to see more progress than stagnation, but the area has a long way to go to get back to normal, whatever that is.

I DO know that it'll be a very long time before we don't see all of the dead trees along Hwy 90 in the East (look BEHIND the beautiful oak tree)

Need a laugh?

Get yourself over to The New Orleans Levee

an excerpt:

Instead of buying new bulletproof vests for police, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin is ordering that officers must instead wear the scandal-plagued “bombproof” city trash cans the administration quietly had been planning to throw away.

“This is leadership, man,” Nagin said during a news conference to announce his “gift” of what he dubbed “vest-cans” to the city’s police. “This is called wastin’ two birds with one idea. Now all the cops are safe, everybody can leave me alone, and we’re gonna save $450,000. C’mon, man. Am I good, or am I good? C’mon.”

Scuzzbucket of the week

Former New Orleans Councilman Oliver Thomas

For renegging on his plea agreement, choosing not to be a "rat". Mr. Thomas, you are lower than a rat.

I'm not a citizen of NOLA, but I was hurt when I learned last August that Oliver was a part of a network of corruption occurring well before Katrina. New Orleans needs positive, honest leadership and learning that Oliver was a crook was a slap in the face. Kids don't need to see a "leader" refusing to "snitch". And now that he's backing out of his agreement, I'm just pissed off.

I'm hearing that judge Vance sentenced him to 37 months in federal prison. Not sure that this is enough.

More from NOLA bloggers' reactions:

Ashley Morris

Celcus

Varg

Degenerate Matter

Schroeder

Good Eats

For my birthday this year, I asked my husband to take me out to eat at La Provence Restaurant in Lacombe, Louisiana


Purchased by Slidell area native John Besh after the death of his mentor chef Chris Kerageorgiou, La Provence provided us with one of the most delicious meals of our lives.

The kitchen is run by Master French Chef Rene Bajeux.
From the above link,
Bajeux’s culinary philosophy of terroir cooking is classically French. Meaning “of the earth,” it describes dishes that reflect the area in which their ingredients are produced. Bajeux believes strongly that a chef should be connected to the foods he serves by using strictly local ingredients – very local, if not actually raised by the chef himself... In this, he is a kindred spirit of Chef John Besh, a longtime friend and colleague who shares a fierce devotion to the terroir approach.


That devotion is apparent in the new "farm" created in the back of the restaurant. Check out this spot at Youtube, where Besh explains how this biodynamic farm is run.



Our salads were served after we experienced the absolutely delicious pate with crusty bread. My daughter's salad was beets and greens with a hazelnut vinaigrette. My husband and I opted for the heirloom tomato salad with fresh Pontchartrain crabmeat. Next all three of us enjoyed the ricotta gnocchi in a crab sauce. Our main courses consisted of bouillabaisse for hubby, speckled trout with crabmeat for me (can you tell I love crab?> and a leg of lamb for my daughter. I have never tasted lamb so tender and lacking in that "wild" flavor.

I recommend this restaurant if you are looking for comfort food served meticulously in a very warm atmosphere. The waitstaff is friendly and extremely attentive, though not to the point of being annoying (like at Emerils).

The history of La Provence 2007 was written up in the epicurious blog of Bon Apetit magazine last spring

Post K Houses

For the past year or so we've seen a rebirth in the Bayou Liberty area and Northshore sections of Slidell. It's interesting to see the different structures growing out of land that was covered by downed pine trees and muck from the bottom of the lake and points beyond. Here are a few examples (click picture for full sized versions)


Bayou Liberty Road



Bayou Liberty Road


Bayou Liberty Road


A Round House on Lakeview (Rat's Nest) Road


Another Round House next to the first one!


Highway 11 (Northshore), Slidell


Highway 11 (Northshore), Slidell


Carr Drive, Slidell


Amid the new buildings stand gutted homes, seemingly begging for residents. Kinda sad

New Orleans Nightscapes

I love photography. So much so that I usually always have my digital camera with me, hoping for a shot. That's how I came across this one:


So last week, hubby & I were at the Covington Three Rivers Arts Festival (a glorified street fair) and we spotted a photographer who takes pictures of
New Orleans houses at night using the floodlight structures used in filming
movies. His pictures are incredible!!! He's been doing in since 2004 and has
pictures from after the storm that are beautifully tragic. He is an artist.

His gallery is here
If I could afford his work, I'd have it in a minute.

So if you are interested in New Orleans architecture, visit his website.

Levees.org video

The perpetually resourceful Greg Peters has taken the Levees dot org
video and saved it down to flash player. It may not be available in
Youtube anymore due to the COE's threat of a lawsuit, but it's still alive.

Thanks, Greg!

Mark Folse
oh-so-eloquently details the background story better than I ever could

Scuzzbucket of the Week

A Redneck from Lincoln Parish was cited on Oct. 28 for several deer hunting violations on Owens Road in Ouachita Parish.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Division agents cited Jason E. Flowers, 33, of Ruston, after they observed him allegedly stop his vehicle at approximately 6:20 p.m. and shoot from the roadway at deer that were standing on a pipeline.As agents approached, they noticed what appeared to be a rifle barrel sticking out of the driver's side window. Flowers admitted to shooting from the roadway at one of the deer. Agents looked for the deer but determined the two shots missed.

Flowers was cited for hunting deer from a public road, hunting deer from a moving vehicle and discharging a firearm from a public road.
The penalty for hunting deer from a public road is a fine between $100 and $350 or jail for 60 days or both, plus court costs. Hunting from a moving vehicle carries a fine between $250 and $500 or jail for 90 days or both, plus court costs. Discharging a firearm from a public road is punishable by a fine of $50 or jail for 30 days or both, plus court costs.

VoTech Recovery

Slidell VoTech has been dormant since Katrina hit over two years ago.
(click on pictures for full-sized version)


Heck, the sign hasn't been changed since before the storm.
Curious as to what will happen with the building, I did some googling and found a few things.

From
New Orleans City Business dot com Louisiana Technical College Provost Kim Rugon said job training facilities were the hardest to replace since expensive equipment is needed to teach welding and machine shop skills.

“You go to rebuild your house and you have to wait eight months for an electrician and why is that? Because we can’t train them because we don’t have the facilities,” Rugon said.

If the $11 million in bonds to rebuild LTC campuses in the Ninth Ward and Slidell doesn’t arrive soon, Rugon said the future looks as dark.

“It is going to be like Katrina hit again,” she said.•

Then I ran across this at the St. Tammany Parish School Board website .....plans are to build a consolidated college and high school campus on 25 acres near Lacombe. The space allocated to each institution has not yet been finalized.
...The learning park, referred to as “University Square,” would include facilities for Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of New Orleans, and Delgado Community College and would be the first complex in the state where colleges share the same site. The high school would teach advanced courses in science, technology, and the arts..... Officials hope to make vocational-technical training also a part of the concept, since the Slidell Technical College was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina two years ago and has not been rebuilt. Vo-tech students from St. Tammany have had to travel to out-of-parish campuses in Bogalusa and Hammond to complete their programs. Parish President Davis said the Parish would not wait for the vo-tech school in Slidell to be rebuilt by the state. “We want to move on this,” he stated.


View Larger Map

The site lies east of Louisiana 434 and north of Interstate 12. Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Development Co., part of one of the largest timber producing companies in the nation, donated the land, which is part of 885 acres set aside for a town center development surrounded by 1,400 homes.

The high school component would accommodate about 300 students. Students from all public high schools would have the opportunity to take advanced studies in science, technology, and the arts in a university-like setting. St. Tammany Parish Public School System Superintendent Gayle Sloan said that the students would still be based at their home high schools and attend the basic academic classes and extracurricular activities there, then travel to the centrally-located high school for special studies. Students would be expected to be self-motivated, focused in their studies, and well-disciplined.

“This is going to be a fantastic opportunity for us,” Mrs. Sloan stated. 'We see this learning park having tremendous potential for all of our students. The park is intended to meet the diverse needs of our entire Parish community.”

Farewell

Published in April of 2007 , the initial 2007 Hurricane Season predictions looked ominous

Now that the season is just about over, let's see how well they've done:
From the weather geek at Pajamas media dot com:
Thus far, 2007 has seen 14 named storms, five hurricanes and two major hurricanes — one of which, Hurricane Dean, was the third-most intense major hurricane ever recorded at landfall in the Atlantic basin. This season also set several records for rapid intensification, and was just the fourth season ever to witness two Category Five hurricanes (Dean and Felix), as well as the first ever in which two hurricanes made landfall while at Cat. 5 status.


Ryan N. Maue Meteorology PhD Candidate at FSU
The Center for Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) looks at the 2007 Hurricane Season in the Northern Hemisphere:

During past 30 years, only 1977 has had less activity to date Jan 1-Nov 7. For the period of June 1 - Oct 31, only 1977 has experienced LESS tropical cyclone activity than 2007.

So this weekend I'll unpack my "evacuation boxes" of food and assorted things one would need when leaving home because of an approaching maelstrom in the Gulf.

Farewell 2007 Hurricane Season. For six months we don't have to worry about checking in at the Weather Channel or Weather Underground's tropical webpage on a daily basis.

Native Son Returns

New Orleans will soon be welcoming home a New Orleans native and his wife.

Jeff St. Romain is leaving his post as president of Volunteers of America in Salt Lake City to return to his native New Orleans.
From A Utah news article
St. Romain said he and his wife, Kathy, have felt called to return to their hometown since Hurricane Katrina, which displaced thousands of people, including dozens of their relatives.
"Ever since Katrina hit, both my wife and I have really been pulled by what our family has gone through . . . and what the community went through," he said. "We had feeling we wanted to do something."
St. Romain will become vice president of administration and planning at the VOA office covering greater New Orleans.
Kathy St. Romain, now an operating room nurse at University Hospital, plans to seek a similar position amidst what St. Romain describes as a "desperate" need for nurses in New Orleans.

Good news for New Orleans!

He has all the answers

Ray Nagin was in Pensacola this week acting as if he were a successful leader . Perhaps Ray should practice what he preaches.

Thanks to Forgotston dot com for the heads up.

Veterans Day

To all who've served or are serving, my sincere thanks for you unselfishness and patriotism.

Katrina Art Show

Folsom resident and New Orleans native
Rolland Golden's work, KATRINA: DAYS OF TERROR, MONTHS OF ANGUISH
will show at NOMA beginning this weekend.


From the Times Picayune
One hundred trees crashed down around Golden's home in Folsom when Katrina struck. He protected his trove of art from the leaking roof, then fled to Jackson, Miss., to wait for power and other services to be restored. It was Sept. 27 when he first toured New Orleans, where he was born and had lived most of his adult life.
Working from his own photographs, television images and memory, Golden began rendering grim but oddly magnetic visions of the damaged city. Unexpectedly, his usually upbeat artistic gamesmanship blended perfectly with the bitter circumstance. A flood victim's plaid shirt symbolically merges with the ruined roof line in the background, as if he literally were covered with the disaster. A row of ghostly hands reaches from the water to form a secondary flood line, leaving the indelible mark of those who perished. Around a swamped school bus, chalkboard letters mix eerily with other floating debris, implying, perhaps, that innocence is still another casualty of the flood. The black and orange stripes of police barricades become Halloween decorations, blending the frightful date with the frightful situation.


These incredibly sad paintings are so sharp, so well done.
They capture the ravaged landscape caused by the federal flood in stinging detail.

Mr. Golden's body of work encompasses themes such as
Landscapes
Musicians
French Scenes
Cows
Games & Borderline Sur-realism
Sunsets
Southern Scenes
Roads & Highways
Snow Scenes


Here are the details of the show:
KATRINA: DAYS OF TERROR, MONTHS OF ANGUISH BY ROLLAND GOLDEN
What:Career-topping exhibit of subtly surrealistic paintings with post-Katrina subjects, by the well-known regional artist.
Where: New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park, (504) 658-4100.
When: Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum will be closed Saturday to prepare for the annual Odyssey Ball. The exhibit opens to the public Sunday, through Feb. 17.
Admission: Louisiana residents free. Nonresident admission: Adults $7, seniors $6, children (3 to 17) $3, younger than 3 free.

Diversion

From Busters Route blog an enjoyable day in the life of a carriage driver in New Orleans. It'll make you laugh.

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Katayna Duhe
From WWL TV:

Seventh District officers were called to the Chevron gas station in the 7000 block of Crowder Blvd. Tuesday afternoon after the owner reported seeing the toddler wearing only shorts and socks standing alone inside the store. The owner notified police after he could not locate the boy’s parents.

Duhe had called police in hopes of reuniting with the boy Tuesday night, but a detective with the NOPD Juvenile Bureau said she never showed up to pick up her son, identified as Kindall Sanders Jr. A social worker with the Office of Community Services told Eyewitness News that Duhe never called that evening after the boy was placed in foster care.

Duhe turned herself over to authorities around 10 a.m. Wednesday and was charged with child neglect, cruelty to a juvenile and a separate fugitive attachment

She has two other children who have been placed in the care of others.

God help the judge that gives these children back to this bitch.

Cliff's anger mirrors a lot of people in this matter

H.C. Jr's Lincoln commercial

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from the Dave Walker's
column in the Times Picayune
Originally aired during the Saints' Sunday night football game on October 14th,
the spot, which puts Harry Connick Jr. behind the wheel of an MKX-propelled tour of town that eventually winds its way to the Musicians Village in the 9th Ward, made its national debut early in the Oct. 14 "Sunday Night Football" broadcast featuring the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks.
The ad begins on the Crescent City Connection, with Connick explaining that was his route back into the city in the darkest days after the storm.

A spin to Bourbon Street allows the musician to explain that's where he played his first gig.

St. Louis Cathedral, he then says, is where he was married.

From there, it's on to Lakeview and the now-vacant lot that once held the home in which Connick grew up.

Noting that before that moment, he hadn't seen the lot without the flood-ruined house still on it, a resigned Connick says, "That's that part of my life."

The commercial concludes with Connick's arrival at the Musicians Village (a Habitat for Humanity project conceived by Connick and fellow musician Branford Marsalis), delivering tubs of crawfish for a party from the back of his cool ride.

My dream is to get the good times rolling again in my hometown, he says.

The commercial is the latest installment in a series of Lincoln commercials the car company calls "Dreams."

The Future

From WWL TV's website:

NASA's Michoud facility was back up and running shortly after the storm making sure the shuttle program did not miss a beat.

The giant external fuel tank has been manufactured here, and as important as this project is, the future here is even more amazing.

For the first time the manned orbiter will be built at the New Orleans East facility for the Ares I spacecraft along with most of the Ares V, which will be an unmanned cargo ship. All of this is for NASA’s Constellation program.

I've been part of the Shuttle program for 25 years. Whether I'm part of Constellation remains to be seen, but I find the prospect of going to the moon again exciting. I guess the space program is a "love it or hate it" proposition and that's what America's all about. I know, I know...... how many homeless people could we feed with that money???.....there isn't human life in space so why not spend money on the lives we have here on earth......We have already been to the places we can go in outer space, and nothing is left but repeat performances. Our priority should be the people on Earth who are stuck here living in poverty and in harsh conditions and with disease that has no cure!!!
When we fix ourselves, we can "fix" the rest of the universe!!!
We have very powerful telescopes on earth and out in space to watch for any new developements...... Human beings with souls are dying needlessly and they are suffering HERE and NOW..... yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know what? If there weren't a space program, there'd STILL be homeless, hungry people.

Spinoffs from our almost 50 years in space include things that are used every day by millions. Even things that can benefit sick people. Imagine that!! Here's the short list:


The most accurate topographical map of the Earth.

Ultraviolet protection suits for people with rare intolerance to UV light, known xeroderma pigmentosum.

Heart pump based on technology of space shuttle's fuel pumps. It's two inches long, one inch in diameter, and weighs less than four ounces.

Efficient autos and planes benefiting from NASA wind tunnel and aerodynamic expertise.

New metal alloys based on research for the space station program.

Thermal protection blankets used in everything from fire fighters suits to survival gear for cold environments.

Robots and robotic software with wide-ranging uses that include auto-assembly plants, hazardous material handling, monitoring in dangerous environments, distribution and packaging facilities, etc.

Lightweight composite materials that benefit cars, airplanes, camping gear, etc.

Perfect protein crystals grown in zero gravity; used for more pure pharmaceutical drugs, foods and an assortment of other crystalline-based products including insulin for diabetes patients.

Better understanding of the Earth and its environmental response to natural and human-induced variations such as air quality, climate, land use, food production as well as monitoring quality of our oceans and fresh water.

Improvements in energy use efficiency.

More responsible use of air and water in private and commercial buildings.

Automated maintenance functions for buildings and new lower-cost building construction techniques.

Smoke detectors for homes and commercial buildings.

Air purification systems used to by hospitals to provide pure oxygen for patients.
High-bandwidth and optical communications systems.

Technology for cordless tools such as drills, shrub trimmers and rechargeable flashlights.

Growth of zeolite crystals that have the potential to reduce the cost of petroleum and to store new types of fuels like hydrogen, which is abundant and pollution-free. This technology could be used in hydrogen-powered cars.

Fire-fighting systems that battle blazes with a fine mist, rather than environmentally harmful chemicals.

Sunglasses that block certain types of light - blue, violet, and ultraviolet - that could hurt the eyes. These sunglasses block the hazardous light, while allowing light that is good for vision to pass through the lens.

Solar power collection.

Air filtration systems that can kill all types of harmful bacteria - even anthrax -- and remove allergens from the air with better than 90 percent efficiency.

Ultralight solar concentrators that gather power from the Sun and efficiently convert it into electrical power. Applications for this technology on Earth are limitless.

Water purification methods using ions (an atom or group of atoms carrying a positive or negative electrical charge). Used in water filtering systems to remove lead, chlorine, bad taste and odor. Newer purification systems also remove contaminants such as perchlorate and nitrate.

"Power Pads" to cushion a horse's hooves, protecting against injuries and helping ease discomfort associated with brittle hooves or arthritis.

Disposable diapers.

Devices for collection and real-time analysis of blood, and other bodily fluids, without the need for centrifugation. Huge potential for hospitals and for remote units to monitor individuals with health problems.

Lighter artificial limbs that are virtually indestructible; based on foam insulation used to protect the Shuttle's external fuel tank. (courtesy of Michoud)

Computer-aided tomography (CATScan) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for imaging the body and its organs.

Light-emitting diodes used in photodynamic therapy. These diodes are used in a form of chemotherapy that kills cancerous tumors.

Infrared sensors used in hand-held optical sensor thermometers. These devices can measure temperature in the ear canal in two seconds or less.

Devices used to diagnose and treat patients suffering head injury, stroke, chronic dizziness and disorders of the central nervous system.

Compact laboratory instruments for hospitals and doctor offices that analyze blood in 30 seconds what once took 20 minutes.

Land mine removal using flare device and leftover fuel donated from NASA.

Technology which allows vehicles to transmit a signal back to a home base. Used to track and reassign emergency and public works vehicles; also track vehicle operations such as taxis, armored cars and vehicles carrying hazardous cargo. Now used to recover stolen vehicles.

Cutters using small explosive charges used by emergency rescue personnel to quickly extract accident victims.

Image-processing technology used remove defects due to image jitter, image rotation and image zoom in video sequences. Used by law enforcement agencies to improve crime-solving videos; doctors in medical imaging; scientific applications and even home video cameras.

Gas leak-detection system used by Ford in natural gas-powered car.

Method of labeling products with invisible and virtually indestructible markings - used on electronic parts, pharmaceuticals and livestock -- in fact it could be used on just about anything.

Fire resistant foam used as thermal and acoustical insulation in aerospace, marine and industrial products. Also used as for fire barriers, packaging and other applications requiring either high-temperature or very low-temperature insulation. Used by Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and Airbus for for major weight savings in aircraft.

Hand-held camera which firefighters use to pinpoint the hotspots of wildfires.

Safer soldering base for jewelers using torches in jewelry assembly. Based on heat-shield tiles of shuttle instead of hazardous asbestos bases previously used.

Quick-connect fasteners used by firefighters and nuclear power-plant repair technicians.

Game-controlling joystick for computers and entertainment systems.

Spray lube used for rust prevention; loosening corroded nuts; cleaning and lubricating guns and fishing reels; and lubricating and reducing engine friction.
World-wide television broadcasts.

Home insulation system which provides significant savings in home heating and cooling costs - uses technology of aluminum heat shield developed for Apollo spacecraft.

Laser technology used in artery catheters to spot areas of blockage and fire short bursts of laser beams to vaporize them - a "cool" laser providing thousands of patients with an alternative to heart bypass surgery.

New charged coupled devices (CCDs) used in breast examinations (mammographies) which images breast tissue more clearly than conventional x-rays. Doctors then use a specially designed needle to extract a tiny sample (instead of a scalpel) saving time, money and pain.

"Smart" forceps made of composite material, with embedded fiber optics. These obstetrical forceps allow doctors to measure the amount of pressure being applied to an infant's head during delivery.

Small pill-shaped transmitters Used to monitor intestinal activity; blood pressure and temperature of infants still inside the womb; body functions of athletes and high-stress professionals such as firefighters and soldiers.

Technology to quickly arrange and analyze human chromosomes and detect genetic abnormalities that could lead to disease in infants.

Image processing software used in dermatology analysis to "decode" the shadow patterns and provided accurate heights and depths.

Roofs based on moonsuits that look stiff, but are flexible and expand in heat and contract in cold. Used as covering of malls, stadiums and new airports like Denver International.

Padding in helmets, shin guards, chest protectors and aircraft seating.

Golf balls with greater accuracy and distance.

Lightning protection systems for aircraft.

Windshear detection and warning system for aircraft.

Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TACS) now used by virtually all passenger aircraft.

Monitoring system which scans important documents at certain times and compares the differences between the images. The system detects changes in contrast, shape and other features. Used by museums and the National Archives to monitor historic documents and plan a way to stop any damage.

Landsat imagery to discover unknown archeology sites; reveal ancient coastlines; manage the harvesting of fish in the world’s oceans; calculate how well crops are doing, etc.

Robotic mother pigs which keep piglet formula (milk) cool until it is needed then heats and delivers the right amount at feeding time.

Improved spray nozzles for crop dusters.

New breathing system for firefighters made up of a face mask, frame and harness, warning device, and air bottle. Weighs one-third less than old gear.

Virtual reality simulators for medical operations, flight training, truck driving, etc.

Hydroponics used by vegetable farmers to grow crops without soil.

Fluorometer instrument used to monitor plankton in the world's oceans. Instrument measures amount of glow given off by plankton and other marine life that consume sunlight in their photosynthesis process. Much of the world’s oxygen comes from plankton.

Oil spill cleanup using beeswax microcapsules. The beeswax balls absorb oil and keep water out. Absorbed oil is digested by microorganism enzymes inside the ball. When the balls get full of digested oil, they explode and release environmentally safe enzymes, carbon dioxide and water.

Software to match and track whales.

DirectTV.

Satellite radio.

Fire-Resistant Aircraft Seats.

"Cool suit" which helps to improve the quality of life of multiple sclerosis patients.

Pacemaker that can be programmed from outside the body.

Instruments to measure bone loss and bone density, without penetrating the skin.

Implant for delivering insulin to diabetics that provides more precise control of blood sugar levels and frees diabetics from the burden of daily insulin injections.
Device for growing ovarian tumors so that tumors can be studied outside the body, without harm to the patient.

THE LIST GOES ON AND ON! Want to read about more benefits?Go to Google and enter a search for "Benefits of the Space Program". You will be overwhelmed with information.

A 30 Foot Tall Thanks

A project conceived by a resident of Diamondhead, Mississippi, The Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Memorial is currently underway. From the October issue of New Orleans Magazine

Expressions of gratitude to the many thousands of volunteers who flocked to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have ranged from teary embraces to thank you dinners and official presentations. .....the project is planned for the highway welcome center on the Louisiana-Mississippi border....The Mississippi legislature has authorized the use of a portion of the I-10 Welcome Center in Hancock County.

Plans for the memorial come as the region has begun assessing just how valuable the goodwill of volunteers has been to the long recovery.

The Corporation for National and Community Service reports that more than 550,000 Americans participated in the volunteer effort in the first year after Katrina and that approximately 600,000 came during the second year. Together these 1.1 million people have performed some 14 million hours of volunteer work.

What an awesome idea. If you're interested in making a donation as a way of thanking the thousands - no MILLIONS - of volunteers, go to Katrina Volunteers Memorial Fountain website .
Their motto:
When we were down, They were there for Us.
Help us say Thank You

The fountain sounds interesting



the focal point of the memorial fountain will be a wave shaped obelisk standing 30 feet tall to symbolize the towering storm surge that hit parts of the Gulf Coast. A long granite wall in front of the fountain will mount bronze plaques describing the disaster and the dedication of volunteers and listing of the donors who contribute to funding the project, as well as the names of all the communities across the Gulf Coast affected by Katrina

World Class New Orleans talks about the much talked about attempts by the media to compare Katrina to the California wildfires . The post also shows contains a link to John Stewart's thoughts. It's worth the look.