Notes_Norton

I got lucky on this one. My biggest loss was a Thursday night gig. Plenty of people lost everything, and I feel for them. I've been in every hurricane since Donna in 1960 (or so). I know not to live on the barrier island. I've seen 1/4 mile of one disappear during a hurricane, never to come back. They tried pumping sand to rebuild it, but it washed away almost as soon as they put it down. I've seen Fort Meyers Beach destroyed 4 times in my life. Average elevation is 3 feet, average storm surge is much more than that. Yet they rebuild. It doesn't make sense to me. I know not to live on land that was once a swamp. My house is 32' above sea level. Most people were sold houses in swampland and when the 'cane comes, or even a lot of rain, it reverts to swampland. The water does more damage than the wind. The people inland in GA. NC, TN didn't expect this, and IMO it's our greed for oil, products we want instead of need, and too many people having too many children that set up the conditions for this. When I was young, we rarely had a 90 degree day, and we didn't get them every year. We've had more 90 degree days than anything lower since June, and they are persisting into October. The waters in the gulf are 10 or so degrees higher than they were when I was a kid. That turns a storm into a Helene in one day. Yes, it's hot. Seasonal acclimation is slow. So if you live in AC, you will never acclimate. I'll continue later, someone just came to the door. OK, I'm back. Let me add this. The developers, the same people who build houses on the beach and the swamplands, have used tacit bribes (campaign contributions) to weaken the building codes. Now we can make houses with 2x4s and put asphalt shingle roofs on them, Cat 1 hurricane houses. The problem is our making. I see a future where it gets too hot to grow our crops, and we have the plot of many a movie coming true, until it gets so hot, humans go extinct. We can avoid that, but we won't. Capitalism won't let us. We have people driving 1.5 ton family pickup trucks that never haul anything more than a week's groceries. We have people buying new clothes because the old ones are so last year. We have people buying each new countertop appliance because the folks on TV told them to. We have people buying 50 guitars they never play. We have people buying hundreds of pairs of shoes. The folks down the block remodeled their kitchen again, because the granite countertops they put in a little over a year ago are now out of style. We have rich folks taking joyrides in space, putting more pollution in the air that a dozen families would do in their lifetimes. We have people running their AC's which warm the planet, so they have to use more energy for the AC which warms the planet even more - ad infinitum. We have people buying the newest phone when the old one is working just fine. We have people cutting down trees to plant urban deserts (lawns). We have too many people having more than 2 children. The 3 billion people of 1970 have turned into 9 billion now. A major college said we could buy 10 years if everyone in the US painted their roof white, but nobody is doing that. When I was a kid, before central AC, all the roofs were white, and I do that to this day. It keeps the house cool without AC. We have dug ourselves into this overconsumption lifestyle. All it does is feed corporate greed at the expense of the ecology. We should stop, but we can't because too many people's jobs and lives depend on this. I don't know the solution. We could do it gradually, but we won't. So we are like the algae bloom in a pond that will kill the pond. Our pond, the earth is much bigger, and our reproduction rate is slower, so it's taking more time, but IMO that's where we are headed. Of course, that doesn't lessen the tragedy. I am deeply saddened and disturbed by those who lost everything. I'll be donating blood later this week, because I know they will need it. Today, my outlook on the planet is pretty dismal. I hope we come to our senses and prove me wrong. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Mysterious Traveler — Weather Report

The Boy with the Thorn in His Side — The Smiths

Yumpin Yiminee, I was just Yolking.

They say, "It pays to advertise"

We did fine here in Ft. Pierce. Gale force winds, occasionally hurricane force, and a deluge of rain. I chose to buy a house on the highest point in the county, 32' above sea level. I call it The Florida Alps. It's the top of a huge, ancient, sand dune. To the east a 2 mile wide lagoon, barrier island, and the ocean. To the west a protected wetland. So the water drains fine (I wouldn't buy a house in Florida that wasn't on the Eastern Sand Ridge). I've been in every hurricane to hit S. Florida since Donna in 1960. It's my observation that the water damage is usually much worse than the wind damage. I say 1/4 mile of barrier island disappear when I was a kid. Everything on it gone. They tried to rebuild it, but the new sand washed away almost as quickly as they put it down. I've seen Fort Meyers Beach (average elevation 3 feet) get devastated four times now, and they re-build. Makes no sense to me. The potential danger for me are the trees. We lost a lot of small, lower branches and plenty of palm fronds. These are just the trees pruning themselves. One decent but not huge oak tree limb snapped, but it didn't hit anything that won't grow back. So we did OK. The biggest loss was our Thursday night gig got cancelled, and we're out the money we would have made and the fun we would have had. Comparing that with the folks on the gulf coast and up to S. Carolina, I'd say we got extremely lucky. My heart cries for those who lost everything. I'll be donating blood, as I'm sure there will be a shortage. Notes ♫

How do you make an eggroll? You push it!

Ma Belle Amie — Tee Set

#25 in the series

Hmm. I'm over 29

Vegetarians think eating animals is immoral But eating mushrooms is morel

Ice Cream Konitz — Lee Konitz

I hired a lawyer to sue the airlines for mishandling my luggage. He lost my case.

When I visited Australia, I had some roasted nuts in a ziplock bag in my pocket. The sniffer dog came up, sniffed the pocket and sat down pointing at it. The security guard came and politely asked what was in my pocket, I told him nuts (pun not intended) the gal with him looked at here tablet, and said, “It's OK, he claimed them.” The dog was so cute, I wanted to pet it. It sat there until it got its dog buscuit. Everyone was so friendly and not “the uniform” making it a pleasant experience. We were in OZ 5 weeks in a small camper van. Later... Some illegal 'boat people' immigrants were reported to have come ashore, and we were at a roadblock. The officer asked us if we had anybody in the back, we replied. There was no other traffic, so we ended up having a very nice conversation with the guard for about 15 minutes or so. He wanted to know a lot about the US, and wanted to share a lot about Australia. I wish we were that civilized here in the USA.

Poetry Man — Phoebe Snow

Saint James Infirmary — Bobby 'Blue' Bland

RIP Janet, you will be missed.