The best discussion of why Katrina wasn't handled better aired on
C-Span 8/22/06. With PJ Crowley, Director, Center for American
Progress, National Defense and Homeland Security; Robert Block,
Correspondent, [Wall Street Journal], Homeland Security; Chris
Cooper, Correspondent, [Wall Street Journal], White House; Oliver
ThomasJr., President, New Orleans, LA, City Council.

Watch it here:
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/hur/hur082206_katrinabook.rm

Info here:
http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/cspan.csp?command=dprogram&record=196946286

An equally good show, pretty much a rehash of what Robert Block said
before, interviewed by James Lee WItt, aired tonight on C-Span.

Info here:
http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/cspan.csp?command=dprogram&record=196892632

--
***********************************************
renew orleans
the new orleans musicians hurricane relief fund
http://reneworleans.net/

At breakfast I see a mom deer then a baby/fawn, then another smaller
fawn, then another fawn (the same size as the first) walk in a line
through the side of the yard. I've seen mom and two fawns all spring
and summer but not three. I wonder what the smaller fawn's chances
are for survival.

Well. My computer is back from Apple. Keyboard had been replaced.
Let's see if that fixes the problem with it typing numbers instead of
letters or not typing at all.

Some pics;

Back when it was hot, a baby grasshopper on the front door screen?

A pretty red flower in the butterfly garden.

Comfrey?

This may be familiar to me but I am drawing a blank. Purple ajuga?

I've seen the deer lately. Got pretty close this time. Talked to it.
I'm wondering why it's eyes look blue rather than red. Blue-eyed deer?

Some interesting mold on a plant by the birdbath.

Finally. I noticed this pile of crap in the grass. Poking at it I
noticed it had bones in it. What kind of animal would make scat like
this? Awfully small bones. Too small for mice? Birds?

I don't eat much beef that isn't already processed. When I eat some hamburger I've cooked or better yet, steak, I sometimes notice that I feel like I am having the same reaction I'd have if I was taking medicine when having a cold. I suspect I am reacting to the antibiotics they feed beef. Does anyone else have this happen to them?

Thanks.

The Rockland County Times came today. Front page article, no press release, unsigned, from Sen Morahan about school tax rebate. Great. The schools don't have enough money and he is proud of giving some of it that was meant for schools back to the taxpayers. Good job.

Page 6: Free screening for vascular diseases. There will be free screening May 13 through 20 of this year. This is the August 23 paper. I guess not even the editors read it.

Miele's Musings: It's time to clean up Medicare fraud. In lieu of any any real progress on having health care be more affordable/available to everyone, Republicans/Miele are/is proud of their campaign to check Medicare fraud. Miele has these gems to offer: "We have the beaters of our government system doing drugs, hedonistic lives, aids, criminals, welfare cheats and so many more beaters of a good system meant to help people." Is that a sentence?

"They are the ones being taken to support the beaters of a great system that is meant to help their fellow person."

These people are idiots.

I really look forward to my subscription lapsing. This is one awful newspaper.

First signs of fall: football on tv and when it's 70 degrees out but
it feels cool/cold. Going down to the mid 50s tonight.

Saw a pretty yellow flower in the front today, yesterday. Took a pic
of it today but it was raining so I couldn't stay out to get better
pics. I wonder what it is.

Here is a pathetic pic of the stalk. The rain had knocked the flower off.

The flower lying on the ground, upside down.

There is at least one buttercup-like flower to the left, out of the
pic, like there were last year which I transplanted and which didn't
take in their new location.

Saw the mom deer and a fawn as I went out to get the mail. On the
other side of them were the lawn crew buzzing around with their
seated lawnmowers and leaf blowers creating the usual din. The deer
were gone when I came back. Where did they go? Further into the
corner where there are some trees and bushes or into the woods or
over by the bushes between my house and the neighbor's where I bet they've nested before?

Mom deer (pic to come). Talked to her today. I think she realizes I am not someone to fear.

I've been thinking that it's been a long time since I've seen an ant
in the kitchen, so long that it must surely be ok now to put
ant-accessible food back out on the shelves rather than keeping it in
the refregerator, when lo and behold I see a little black ant
crawling around the sink edge. I mop it up and wash it down the drain
(my soul will burn in hell) and smirk that of course it isn't time to
leave food out. (Have found a larger black ant in the bathroom
recently but other than these two haven't seen any to speak of.

I have lunch outside on this beautiful day. A fly lands on the pork
fat I scraped off of my sandwich. I moosh it around with my fork,
gently. It stopped moving altogether. I lift it out with my napkin,
using surface tension. It is lifeless on the table. Did the pork fat
kill it? What does that say about Hormel pork roast? I laugh. It is
probable that my mooshing it caused it to drown in the fat juices but
I I like the other explanation better.

(And yes, I have felt chest pains after eating this pork (not today
but a few days ago) but my doctor says I'm ok so if I die, it's his
fault.)

I think it is safe to try life without air conditioning but we'll see.

First thing today I see the mom deer eating near the bird bath.
Probably eat at least one geranium flower, the rest are ok. I didn't
have to reprimand it as it moved on around the corner. I then watched
from the kitchen window. Fawn #1 was eating dead weeds in the
"garden" and as mom walked by, bounded out, tail wagging and attacked
her belly for some milk. Fawn #2 bounded over as well and the two
were stuck to her, tails wagging. Mom didn't stay still very long and
soon after I lost track of them. But, it's nice to see them so
regularly.

Hmm. It's only 71 out now, at about 11:30 pm. Very few bugs inside the window.

So, this is a function of heat? The more heat there is, the more bugs? Weird.

I watch the mom deer eat to her heart's content in the "garden", the
area where a fence remains but other than the raspberries and the
mint I've planted, there isn't anything I care about. I took some
pics, saw the hummingbird but don't know if the pics of it came out,
probably not. Then when I check back on the deer, I see it eating my
raspberries. I bang on the window and it looks at me. I talk to it.
It goes back to eating the raspberries. I open the window and talk to
the deer again. Say hello to it. I don't know if it recognized me. It
went back to eating the raspberries. I clap my hands. It stops but
begins again. I clap my hands again. It finally bounds away. I see a
fawn head in the other direction further back. Nice to see the
fawn(s) still.

Awhile later, they are still camping out a little further back, like
they have for years.

Thunderstorm dropped the temperature 20 degrees but it is still quite humid.

I've had the windows closed for two nights now, with the a/c on cuz
it's so hot and humid. As soon as it gets dark the inside of the
window gets swarmed with all kinds of little bugs that are getting in
through the screen or whatever edges I haven't sealed. It's
disgusting. These guys must get in when the window is open too. That
many little bugs get in? Jeez. And most of them will die when they
can't get out the next day, cooking inbetween the window and the
screen. That many every night? And those that get in when the window
is open end up, I guess, flitting around the bright lights inside. I
hardly ever see them the next day or their bodies. Makes you want to
keep the window closed from now on.

I'd tried taking pictures but none of them show the bugs at all. It
really is disgusting.

One encouraging thing though is that they all disappear the next day. Maybe one or two moths can't get out but I don't see any small bugs. I'm guessing they see the sun rise and fly off towards it. Or do they hang around for the next night? (If so, most die cuz it is so hot out and they don't get any water or food.)

I don't look forward to opening the windows...

A cicada? seen on the screen last night. Is this a June bug?



The temp yesterday. The readings are NOT reliable...

Today, ~110 in the shade!

No butterflies at the butterfly garden O&R gave people seeds for.
Little flies, yes. Butterflies? No. Not yet at least. Some nice
pretty flowers, all miniature but nice. Might take more time for it
to appeal to the butterflies.

Wow, Senator Morahan really wants to be re-elected. He's sent out an
e-mail warning us to be careful about the heat. Funny how politicians
advertise how they pretend to care about the general public when they
need to be re-elected, when they are threatened with losing!

Sorry. I'm not impressed.

Gazillions of little bugs against the window last night. It was too
hot to have it open and I had the a/c on but you could see them light
up the outside of the window as they reflected in the light. Hundreds
of them. All of these little guys get through the screen, that's
discouraging. I don't know how I can do any better at trying to keep
them out.

You might be able to see some of them here:
http://us.f13.yahoofs.com/bc/43e90c12m3cb1ecef/bc/movies/P8010002.MOV?BCiiO0EBvzFtdHVS

Got up to 95, 105 on the thermometer in the shade by the kitchen window.

A hummingbird chirped twice nearby as I was taking pictures of the
agastache (aka anise hyssop) and all the white butterflies twittering
about it. I couldn't get a good shot of the hummingbird but I am glad
I was able to get close to one. All the others fly away as soon as I
appear.

Pic of the white butterflies (potato moths?) that are going nuts at the agastache
despite the heat.

Also, saw this milkweed like seed coming out of what I think is comfrey. Cool.

Will possibly upload some white butterflies-at-the-agastache movie(s)
to my Yahoo briefcase. (Search elsewhere on my blog for the URL.)

First daddy long legs seen in the house today since I sealed all the
screen edges (in May/June). I'm glad that has worked so well.
Usually, I get a bug a day that I escort out and see something large,
a moth usually, flying around inside at night. Haven't seen anything
to speak of since I sealed things off. Hallelujah. Sealing off the
spaces where the pipes come out of the wall in the bathroom helped as
well. I usually get spiders in the bathtub. Haven't seen ANY this
year. Ok, one small one the other day but it's MUCH better than it
ever has been.

Of course as soon as I said that, I find an ant in the kitchen
checking out the one piece of cat food that isn't in the bowl, so I
escort him outside. As I do that I noticed a nice brown wolf spider
so I decide to relocate him too. Might as well relocate the little
black spider I saw in the bathroom too.

Done. He rolled up into a little ball once I shook him into the cup I
use to relocate insects found in the house. Cute. Playing dead.

About 4 pm, I see a deer walk into my back yard. I watch as it heads
to the side yard. As it approaches the plants on my table I bang on
the glass and off it sprints into the bushes and then looks around.
It then walks over to my landlady's back yard. It looks into the
bushes there, looking for/at something. A second or two later out
bounds a little fawn and it begins to suckle her mother. Aww. I take
a movie and might post it but it is pretty far away so isn't very
sharp. So, the older deer I've seen with the fawns is Mom. I think
the fawns were staying in the thicket of bushes between my landlady's
house and our next door neighbor's. Cool.

I posted some good pics of that big orange bug seen a few days ago.
Much better pictures than the earlier ones. Apparently, this bug
didn't like having his picture taken. As soon as the first flash went
off, he roused himself and started to amble off of the door pane.

third try to post this

(Blogger wouldn't post my e-mailed posts for two days. Now it works. Good)

Sunday 7/30
I see the two fawns as I drive in. One is kinda curious so I try to appraoch it after I've parked. It gets bored I guess and goes back to eating. (What's that called in human psychology. Avoidance?) Anyway, it is nice to see them on a regular basis. I hope I can approach one of them at some point. It'd be nice to gain their trust considering their probable fate of being hit by a car at some point.

Saturday 7/29

First daddy long legs seen in the house today since I sealed all the
screen edges (in May/June). I'm glad that has worked so well.
Usually, I get a bug a day that I escort out and see something large,
a moth usually, flying around inside at night. Haven't seen anything
to speak of since I sealed things off. Hallelujah. Sealing off the
spaces where the pipes come out of the wall in the bathroom helped as
well. I usually get spiders in the bathtub. Haven't seen ANY this
year. Ok, one small one the other day but it's MUCH better than it
ever has been.

Of course as soon as I said that, I find an ant in the kitchen
checking out the one piece of cat food that isn't in the bowl, so I
escort him outside. As I do that I noticed a nice brown wolf spider
so I decide to relocate him too. Might as well relocate the little
black spider I saw in the bathroom too.

Done. He rolled up into a little ball once I shook him into the cup I
use to relocate insects found in the house. Cute. Playing dead.

About 4 pm, I see a deer walk into my back yard. I watch as it heads
to the side yard. As it approaches the plants on my table I bang on
the glass and off it sprints into the bushes and then looks around.
It then walks over to my landlady's back yard. It looks into the
bushes there, looking for/at something. A second or two later out
bounds a little fawn and it begins to suckle her mother. Aww. I take
a movie and might post it but it is pretty far away so isn't very
sharp. So, the older deer I've seen with the fawns is Mom. I think
the fawns were staying in the thicket of bushes between my landlady's
house and our next door neighbor's. Cool.

I posted some good pics of that big orange bug seen a few days ago.
Much better pictures than the earlier ones. Apparently, this bug
didn't like having his picture taken. As soon as the first flash went
off, he roused himself and started to amble off of the door pane.

Agastache is peaking, not that that is much to look at. It looks good
close up and smells nice but isn't very impressive further away. Except for the butterfly activity. It is atwitter with white moths (or butterflies). (The one up at Museum Village appeals to bees. Mine doesn't. Haven't seen any any at least. I do have a movie of the moths enjoying it but it is pretty hard to see them. Might post it on my Yahoo Briefcase.)

I saw a stunning black butterfly just now (about 7pm). What's its name?

Also went downstairs to try to take pics of the hummingbird seen by
the monarda twice and each time I'd get in view of it, it'd take off.
Very shy. I might have to settle for a shot taken from the kitchen
window, too far away.

I see (the) two fawns again. Probably the same ones I've seen before.
Glad to see they are still around. It's likely they are nesting
around here somewhere. I've seen them by the front hedge but they
could be in the mess of bushes on the side of the house.

I saw an older deer yesterday and a fawn. Probably one of the fawns
seen today. I've seen the older deer a few times as well. Relatives?
Not a parent. I've seen much older deer that might have been the
parents before.

Sunday, 7/23
Saw the two fawns and the slightly older deer as I drove in today.
They looked at me and weren't too concerned. I talked to them, said
hello, soothingly. When I turned the car off and got out they'd
disappeared. Could have been the noise from my automatic car antenna
(which is broken and doesn't move the antenna up or down, just makes
the noise as if it was, for longer than it would run normally. That
might scare deer.

Is anyone else having trouble with Yahoo?

About a month ago, they forget all the settings for my bulk mail so
good mail started going in there from people I KNOW I've received
plenty of mail from in my Inbox for a long time. And now it is
taking a LONG time for Yahoo to learn what my good mail is... It's
even rejected mail from me, to me and not delivered some test mails
like that at all!

In the past few days they are hard to connect to. Yahoo IM was down
most of yesterday evening so I wouldn't be surprised if they are
having problems otherwise. (Now I am getting a cannot connect
message, trying to access the Yahoo TV guide with Firefox (1.5.0.4
for Mac) Worked a second a ago. Saw an earlier time on the
schedule...)

Cablevision, the ISP I actually connect with*, has also been acting
up, every since my landlady got cable internet months ago. Lots of
can't connect to server messages and slow connects. When she is not
home all is well, for the most part, it does happen when she is not
using it too but it happens much more when she is home. I don't know
if she is also using at the times I have noticed it is slow but I bet
she is.

There is a separate connection, a separate cable running from the
pole to her house for each of our connections so there SHOULDN'T be a
problem unless they screwed up something at the pole.

*I also have at least one other one I pay $20 /month for so I can
keep my old e-mail addresses.