The “she” referenced above? That would be me. About a week and a half ago, maybe two weeks, I noticed that I was getting these odd floaters in the vision in my left eye. Every so often a random black shape would pass through the vision, usually in the center, of my left eye. I thought it odd, but usually I’d shake my head and it would pass.
Tag: scary
As if I needed another reason to hate flying
The TSA, an organization rapidly on its way to becoming both a punchline and the most-hated Federal agency in the country, has committed yet another mind-bogglingly stupid act. This time, they have forced an elderly cancer patient to all sorts of humiliating search procedures, including forcing her to remove her adult diaper. How does this make anyone safer? It certainly does not make anyone’s travel experience more fun. This sort of thing is why I have decided I will not fly domestically anymore. It’s either driving or the train. And it is positively infuriating to see this sort of thing being condoned by so many people who should know better. This is security theater, in the truest sense of the term. it is an utter waste of time and resources, and it makes ordinary people mistrust the people entrusted to protect them. It does not make flying more safe, it makes airports more unbearable.
The answer is, and always has been, better intelligence. Have we made the creation of more interpreters in Arabic, Farsi, Pashtun, and other relevant languages a priority? Not really, no. In fact, until recently the policy of the government was to be more afraid of interpreters that might be gay than they were of the terrorists. And we continue to collect huge piles of raw data that sit sometimes for weeks or months with no one looking at it because there is simply too much for the overworked analysts to do. The data is useless unless someone can actually examine it. Most of the time, that sort of data can be used to show trends and patterns. It rarely if ever has everything all wrapped up in a neat little package like TV or the movies. Just grabbing all the e-mails and tapping all the cell phones the way was done with AT&T is such a colossal waste of time it makes my head hurt. It’s not like by grabbing all the Tweets in the country the government is suddenly going to find the one that says “Terrorists Abdul Johannsen and Ali Ibn Humperdink are going to bring a suitcase bomb onto U.S.A. Airways Flight 2112 on December 25th. Merry Christmas infidels!” And profiling of the most completely asinine sort has been policy, rather than behavior profiling, which is not only what is done in places like Ben Gurion airport in Israel, but is what we already do in the FBI and other crime analysis units around the country. And it works, people. IT WORKS. So stop trying to reinvent the wheel, and stop trying to insist for political expediency that the square wheel you invented really is better.
-Geoff
Necklace or Weapon?
You decide.
This landed in my inbox today via my daily Etsy email. I have NO idea what the, um, artist? was thinking. Porcupine quills are dangerous even after they have been shed. Why on earth anyone would want to wear this around their neck is beyond me. Also, any guesses as to whether or not the TSA would let you get it on a plane?
From the Etsy page: A fringe of natural African porcupine quills radiates from a half circle of Australian peanutwood stone rondelles for this urban-gypsy, warrior-princess-with-a-little-bit-of-glam thrown in, statement necklace.
Each naturally-shed quill is approximately 4″ long. Their tips have been carefully filed down and are no longer sharp, but some care should still be taken when wearing this piece (i.e., remove prior to all amorous activity).
What? “Amorous activity?” Yep, this is why Regretsy exists.
~Kelly
Boston Area Weather *right now*
For those of you not playing along at home or who are, realistically, following your own weather patterns, Boston is currently under a Tornado Watch and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning till 8:00pm. There is already a possibility of a Tornado touchdown in one place in Western MA and one place in NH.
There is a LOT of Tornadic Activity, and some seriously huge super cell storms. I know for a lot of you in Tornado Alley this probably sounds silly, but for New England, this is a big deal. Golf Ball sized hail is highly unusual here. It just doesn’t happen, though today it already has.
Geoff has his police meeting tonight and I have my rehearsal. Both places have basements, though getting to the actual buildings may be dicey depending on when the storms actually land on us. Right now the storms are wreaking havoc on the western and central parts of the state. Straight line winds up to 100mph have already caused problems.
I did pop my head out of the house to be kind and warn the roofers and got covered in gravel and asphalt for my troubles. Thanks, guys. I hope you get struck by lightening. But not till after you clean up my deck. Sheesh. Jerks.
Anyway, everyone, stay safe, stay away from your windows, and if you get any good hail pics let us know.
~Kelly
ETA: 5:17 pm- 2 tornadoes have touched down and both have spent a long time on the ground. One is on the ground right now in Brimfield. That’s right folks, where we just went for vacation. It’s moving east at 40 mph. The far edge of the super cell is moving into Boston right now. That’s just rain, thunder, and a nice light show. The real business of this storm is still at least an hour out.
To put it into radar perspective, we’re in green now, the hot pink and purple where the real action is, that’s an hour and a half drive away. The tornado has internal speeds of 100+ mph. Woo?
ETA: 5:32 pm- Middlesex County now has a Tornado Warning and Boston has ordered all city parks cleared and all baseball games and other outdoor activities canceled. All Boston restaurants with outdoor seating have been ordered to bring their seating and tables indoors. I have never seen this happen in all the years I’ve lived here, and that’s been a long time. 16 years.
You know you live in New England when…
It may seem impossible, but there is still a huge snow mound at least one-story tall in Framingham.
Images: Monster Snowbank Refuses To Melt – Photos – WCVB Boston.
I almost, almost, want to drive out to see this and get a photo of Geoff standing next to it. Almost.
~Kelly
Some Alabama Photos
Our friends in Limestone County have provided us with a Flickr feed that includes some maps and photos of the storm devastation in their area. There are some before and after pictures, ground scarring, uprooted trees, etc. Essentially you’ll get to see up close what happens when a huge F5 comes through. Make sure you read the captions.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22006172@N08/sets/72157626485034463/with/5669959671/
The people who provided this are OK. Their home was spared and all of their possessions and their animals are OK. Some of their neighbors were not so lucky.
~Kelly
Storm update for North Alabama area
I talked with both my sister Maddie and her husband Mark in the last couple of days and they filled me in on a lot of things. They have no power, and most of North Alabama has no power. Their phones are working, and most of the time I have been able to get through to them. There are problems with landline phone lines in a lot of places, though. Most cell towers are no longer working due to the power loss. Internet connections seem to still be up, at least depending on who the ISP is and how long they can run their generators. One of the tornadoes (probably this one – http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=HUN&issuedby=HUN&product=PNS&format=CI&version=8&glossary=1) knocked down the main transmission lines from the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, which knocked out power for a LOT of people. There are now something like a million people in central and northern Alabama with no power, and power will likely not be restored for much of them for 5 to 7 more days, although parts of Huntsville should have power restored by Monday. The church near their house in Madison has lost its steeple, and there is a lot of visible damage in their area. There is now a dusk-to-dawn curfew for all of Madison and Limestone Counties, and for other areas of Alabama as well. Several thousand National Guard have been called up, since many small towns are overwhelmed and there are already problems with looting. There has already been at least one incident in Huntsville of someone shooting and killing a looter who broke into a gas station. Most people are unable to get gas for their cars or generators because so many gas stations have no power to work the pumps. Most schools are closed until at least Monday, and some may be closed longer. UAH is closed. All non-essential personnel from Redstone Arsenal have been told to stay home. Most businesses are closed, although some (like Publix) are open with reduced hours as they manage to keep their generator running.
This site shows you before and after of some of the damage, as seen from the air. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/04/alabama_tornadoes_close-up_sat.html
The total casualties for this are still unknown, but the official count for the state is now up to 254 dead (remember, that is just Alabama) and the number of injured is almost certainly into the thousands, as I have seen reports of hospitals in the Tuscaloosa area alone taking in 900-1,000 injured.
So yes, although it is quite a mess and I have not spoken with all of the people we know, at least immediate family and friends are ok.
Reports from Alabama
Just posting quickly to let everyone know that we’ve heard from just about everyone and so far the news is good. Minor damage to homes, people without power, but everyone is alive and has a roof over their heads. People who were without water have it more or less back.
Our friends who were close to the F4 wedge in Limestone county were REALLY close. It is only because of a miracle that they still have a home. There is storm damage, visible tornado tracks, dead animals, and wiped out subdivisions within 6 blocks and less of their home.
Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and prayers.
~Kelly
Alabama devastation
Hi folks,
I just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who have called, commented, emailed, etc. Geoff and I really appreciate it. So far all family members are safe and accounted for. For that we are truly blessed.
We can’t say the same for our friends. Many of them don’t have land lines and cell towers and power lines are literally gone. Some of them live in the hardest hit areas of AL. We’ll let you know when we know what’s going on. We’re keeping calm and making calls and hoping that they, too, have been spared, but we just don’t know yet. Please keep them and everyone who is suffering in your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks.
~Kelly
The Royal Wedding
All sorts of stuff has been popping up about the Royal Wedding. This has included the Guy’s Guide to the Royal Wedding on the Today Show. Geoff was totally unimpressed when I told him about it and wondered if such a guide would tell him why he should actually care about the Royal Wedding.
Anyway, I find I don’t particularly care about the whole thing too much. I am mildly interested in what the bride is wearing if only because I’m also getting married this year. If she’s following in her late MIL’s footsteps, it will be high fashion, woefully out of date, and laughably tacky in 10 years. I will also, in all likelihood, be totally horrified at how much it costs. I am rather proud of the fact that my dress cost $250.
I find the insane memorabilia craze surrounding the wedding absolutely hysterical. Some of the stuff that has popped up on Etsy and Regretsy is absolutely wild. I think my favorite piece of ridiculous memorabilia so far is this. Can you imagine waking up every morning and wandering into your kitchen to see that? Of course, you could sit in your kitchen and sip your morning coffee out of this as you wake up. Unless of course you like your memorabilia accurate and all…
Of course, I was browsing Boston.com tonight and I came across the following headline: BrewDog releases beer with Viagra. Naturally, morbid curiosity caused me to click. And, yes, folks, this would be THE weirdest Royal Wedding related thing I’ve run across so far. To wit, a quote from the article:
“With this beer we want to take the wheels off the royal wedding bandwagon being jumped on by dozens of breweries,” BrewDog says on its website. “The Royal Virility Performance is the perfect antidote to all the hype.”
Antidote to the hype? Hmm.
Alas, don’t go looking for this one at your local liquor store. It won’t likely make its way to our shores. BrewDog is selling Royal Virility Performance only in the United Kingdom and only via its website, BrewDog.com.
Um, wow. When you put it that way I think that’s about all there is to say. Needless to say, I’ll be asleep at 4:00am on Friday.
~Kelly
ETA: I stand corrected. It can get weirder.
The Books are Taking Over... 