5W-H : Archives
 Go Back
|
| 5W-H : Editorial Archives |
|---|
Blog Home
Adiós Sydney. The pleasure has been all mine getting to know you. In the past ~3 weeks I have been able to indulge in:
* Viewing the Opera house from all angles
* Harbor bridge climb
* Market shopping at Paddy's
* Manly beach
* Bondi beach
* Shopping on Pitt St., George St., etc.
* Spending time on the water (ferries to and from all over)
* Trekking to and all over the Blue Mountains including seeing the Three Sisters
* Walking all over CBD and North Sydney
* Enjoying the great staff and facilities at the Sheraton/Westin Sydney
* Relaxing in the Sydney Botanic Gardens
* Taking in my first "footy" match - and watching a South Sydney upset!
* Traveling over to the Taronga Zoo
* Experiencing the Maritime Museum
* Eating fresh mussels and great dining on the wharfs and harbor fronts
* Meeting great people at the client and Guidewire Australia
I think that is it :) This has been a great three weeks and I look forward to my AU return.
As many of you know, I officiate college baseball in the USA. My travels have taken me to Sydney, AU where I read a local story about a home-town official, who, couldn't make either side happy! Blasting the official happens worldwide.
Henry blows whistle on local ref
"CANBERRA coach Neil Henry last night claimed Raiders fans would be concerned about local referee Ben Cummins being appointed to crucial end-of-season games involving the Green Machine."
Keep reading for the full story...
Continue reading "Blasting the official happens around the world!" »
One of my RU colleagues passed along this (very funny) "Boston Consulting Group" (BCG) presentation called "Romance: A BCG Analysis". It is very funny, and maybe a little true, too.
Download the presentation
Newsweek published an article in their International edition about Italy recently. Entitled "Agony and the Ecstasy", the article describes a barely functioning society that is separated from the governments woes. Yet its people are happy.
I just was in Rome, Italy not too long ago and found this article interesting. The full article is included herein or you can view the article at Newsweek.
Continue reading "Reflections on Italy -- Agony and the Ecstasy (Newsweek)" »
The world economic forum is going on right now in Davos. This is the "sleepy" ski town we just stayed in and skied!
Read More about the World Economic Forum at CNN
Just days remain until 2008. This Christmas and Holiday season reflect back on your year. What lives have you changed? How have you impacted the world? Have you improved your life or lives around you? 2008 is here, what will we do with it?
Make this holiday season the best ever. Remember why Christmas is celebrated then let that knowledge propel you into a great 2008.
To you and to yours may I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
After 5+ years I have decided to leave Perot Systems. Guidewire Software, San Mateo, CA is my new home! I am heading to San Francisco for training.
Tonight I did a ride-a-long with Officer 523 of Clwr PD. The evening is clear but cold.
Continue reading "Ride-A-Long with Officer 523" »
Jarhead, a movie based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting in Kuwait, opens Nov 4th, 2005.
More details are at www.jarheadmovie.com. HD movie trailer at http://movies.apple.com/movies/universal/jarhead/jarhead-tlr_480p.mov
Was talking with my grandfather last evening and he is going to write a book about his life.
Continue reading "Book publishing" »
Perot Systems held the consulting group's first all-hands meeting in Dallas Friday and Saturday.
Justin stands beside a photo of Ross Sr. while touring the Plano campus. An associate snapped this photo with a camera phone. See any resemblance?
Continue reading "Dallas All-Hands Meeting" »
 This labor day weekend was spent at the Sertoma Youth Ranch. Their twice annual bluegrass festival was held Fri-Mon.
Continue reading "Camping at Sertoma - Bluegrass festival" »
The mayor of New Orleans believes that there may be 10,000 dead in the city!
Seven point creed - practical advice for life.
1) Be true to yourself.
2) Make each day your masterpiece.
3) Help others.
4) Drink deeply from the Good Book.
5) Make friendship a fine art.
6) Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7) Pray for guidance, and give thanks for your blessings every day.
[Cameron was a cancer patient at All Children's/St. Pete. I visited him a few times while visiting AM @ All Children's.] Cameron Mitchell Cox, 12, died June 2, 2005. Cameron was a lifetime resident of Bradenton, Fla. He attended Abel Elementary and Lee Middle School. He is survived by father, Allan Cox; mother, Jennifer Edwards; stepfather, Darin Edwards; brother, Justin; sister, Kimber; grandparents, Kerry Pulizzi of Bradenton; Jim Kenney of Kirkland, Wash.; Peter Shea of Bradenton; Barbara and Norman Edwards of Pinellas County; great-grandparents, Shirley and Robert Shea of West Palm Beach; godmother, Kimberly Reisinger of Cleveland, Ohio. Visitation will be Wednesday, June 8, 2005, 6-8p.m. at Covell Cremation & Funeral Center, 4232 26th Street West, Bradenton. Celebration of Life service will be at Palma Sola Bay Baptist Church, 4000 75th Street West, Bradenton, Thursday, June 9, 2005, at 6p.m. We want to acknowledge the love and support of our extended family and friends. We love you dearly, Cameron. You have touched many lives and are safe in the arms of Jesus. We will miss you until the day we join you in Heaven. Ride your bicycle, my son. Memorial contributions may be donated to Cameron Cox Memorial Fund C/O Palma Sola Baptist Church, 4000 75th Street West, Bradenton, Fla., 34207.
Published in The Herald on 6/6/2005.
Big Ben in London mysteriously stopped ticking for 90 minutes today. Here is some history on the landmark clock:
Big Ben, which is operated by the Palace of Westminster, survived attacks by German Luftwaffe bombers during World War II, continuing to mark the time to within 1 1/2 seconds of Greenwich Mean Time. However, the clock has experienced occasional problems. In 1962, snow caused the clock to ring in the New Year 10 minutes late. In 1976, the clock stopped when a piece of its machinery broke. Big Ben also stopped on April 30, 1997, and once more three weeks later. Big Ben is actually the clock's 13-ton bell, which was named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the British commissioner of works at the time the clock was built. The official name for the Gothic tower holding Big Ben is St. Stephen's Tower. Standing 315 feet tall, it was completed in 1858 after an 1834 fire destroyed most of the Palace of Westminster.
I've been working in Panama City, Florida for SallieMae. My return trip has me flying direct from PFN to MCO. I rent a car in Orlando and drive to TIA. This week's drive was everything but ordinary.
Just outside of Tampa I witnessed - meaning happened right in front of me - a major accident. The local news stories present it this way:
Woman, baby killed in fiery head-on I-4 collision
MANGO - A mother and her baby were killed in a fiery multi-car crash on Interstate 4 Thursday night.
Just after 8 p.m., Sandray Green's small car crossed the median from the eastbound lanes into the westbound lanes of the interstate near Thonotosassa Road. The vehicle hit a pickup truck head-on, then went airborne before striking at least two more cars. "When I seen the car coming across, it spun around right there into that spot, and within a few minutes, it was in flames," Jimmy Simpson recalled. According to the Highway Patrol, witnesses told them that Green, 38, was unresponsive in the moments before her car caught fire, but other witnesses told Action News that she was crying out for help. "Looked like the driver, the lady, was actually still alive. But we couldn't get to her. All of the sudden it burst into flames. No one could get to her," Art Luther said "She was just yelling and screaming for help and nobody could do it. They all tried to do the best they could do; nobody could get to them," Martin Simon added. Green and her 1-year-old son died in the fiery crash, which left debris strewn across the highway and Green's vehicle completely unrecognizable. Two people from California were in one of the other cars involved, and a woman from Michigan was in a third. All three were injured badly enough to require hospitalization. I-4 was shut down for several hours as a result of the accident. Two men who tried to sneak around the detour were arrested for drug possession after being pulled over. -----
-------------
-------------
--------------
PLANT CITY - Two people died in a two-vehicle crash that closed all eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 near Plant City for several hours Thursday night. The accident, which happened shortly before 7:50 p.m. near Thonotosassa Road, forced traffic to be diverted through Plant City, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Identities of the victims and any other information were not available Thursday night. Troopers were investigating.
-----
-------------
-------------
--------------
A mother and one-year-old child are dead after a horrible accident on Interstate 4.
The fiery accident happened just before 8:00 pm, near Plant City. The road was shut down for several hours, and was re-opened just before 1:00 am.
Authorities say a vehicle crossed the median into on-coming traffic. The car was hit, overturned and caught on fire.
A 38-year-old woman from the UK died. Her one-year-old passenger also died in the crash. Six other people in three other cars were involved in the accident, but survived. The lady was later named as Sandra Yvette Green. Her 1 year child, Darius Edward Green was also killed.
-----
------------
Here is perspective from one of the victums and a discussion about guard-rails to prevent future accidents...
PLANT CITY - Tracy Palmer remembers looking up to see ``a little car'' careening toward her across the median. She vividly recalls the silver ring on her outstretched hand, bracing for the impact. ``The things that go through your mind are incredible,'' Palmer said of surviving a May 19 smashup on Interstate 4 near State Road 39. The collision killed a young Plant City area mother and her 1-year-old son, the occupants of the ``little car,'' a 2002 Nissan. As Palmer, 40, lay on the road, her ankle shattered, her lip impaled on her teeth, she was aware of tires rolling inches from her head: motorists so eager to be on their way, they weavedthrough the victims of the four-car wreck. ``People were actually driving between us. I was terrified,'' she said. ``And that little car was burning the whole time.'' As the news helicopters and medevacs circled above, Palmer wondered how the motorists could show so little respect for an accident scene. Mostly, though, she wondered why there were no guardrails in the median. That's all it would have taken, she said. A slender metal barrier that could have meant the difference between dining in Clermont - her destination - and lying in the middle of I-4 with a compound fracture. There used to be guardrails along this stretch of I-4, the main link through Central Florida between the east and west coasts. That was back when the treacherous four-lane highway was known as ``the slab'' - a reference to its reputation as a road to the morgue for too many who traveled it. Rails Removed The guardrails disappeared when I-4 was widened to six lanes in the late 1990s. Conventional wisdom - and federal guidelines - suggested they were not needed where the median is at least 64 feet wide. The green ribbon of grass dividing I-4 between Interstate 75 and the Polk County line was expanded to as wide as 88 feet - more than adequate for a driver to correct a vehicle after losingcontrol, according to national standards. ``As opposed to spending money that we weren't sure was in the best interest of the public, we followed federal guidelines,'' said Dwayne Kile, district design engineer for the FloridaDepartment of Transportation. The vast median, however, did not prevent cars from crossing over into opposing traffic. People were dying in head-on collisions, not only on I-4, but throughout the state. The state transportation agency commissioned a study that showed more than 80 percent of median crossover accidents happen within a mile of an interchange. Guardrails, it concluded, could make a difference, especially where drivers are jockeying for position before and after interstate exits. ``We believe most of the issue is that you have that merging and weaving of traffic,'' Kile said. Add to that a ringing cell phone, blaring stereo, bickering children and other distractions. ``All of that together doesn't necessarily make for a good recipe,'' he said. Rails To Return The state plans to install 22 miles of guardrail, at a cost of $7 million, along I-4 from 50th Street in Tampa to the Polk County line. ``The exits near Plant City are so close together, we're just putting them the entire length,'' DOT spokeswoman Kris Carson said. The DOT will ask for bids on the project in December. Construction generally begins three to five months after the bidding process is over, she said. Work crews are already in the process of installing 15 miles of guardrail in the median of the Veterans Expressway, part of a statewide initiative that is expected to cost more than $50million. The barriers are not a cure-all, Kile said. ``It helps eliminate our most severe accident - head-on collisions at high rates of speed,'' he said. The driver who loses control of a vehicle still will collide with the guardrail. That vehicle even might bounce back into the roadway, hitting other cars. But the effect should not be as severe as crossing over the median into oncoming traffic, such as the Nissan that slammed into the Dodge truck Palmer was riding in. It collided with two more vehicles before it flipped and caught fire. The final toll: two dead, four hospitalized. The Florida Highway Patrol still is investigating the cause of the crash, which killed driver Sandra Green and her infant son, Daruis Tubor. Palmer, a visitor to the area who returned last week to her ranch in Alpine, Calif., expects the accident will leave her with a permanent limp. It could have been worse, she said. ``I'm so grateful it wasn't my wrist because I'm a graphic designer.'' She's also grateful for the nameless good Samaritans - an off-duty paramedic and a passing physician - who braved the relentless wave of traffic that flowed through the accident scene tostabilize her and take her out of harm's way before emergency rescue units arrived. ``Those people's faces you remember glimpsing, you'll remember them for a lifetime,'' Palmer said. ``These people didn't have to endanger their lives, too. But they did.'' Reporter Jan Hollingsworth can be reached at (813) 865-4436. -----
------------
--> More to come in a future post...
The lifts start running at 8:30 am. We're up, dressing and ready to move out. Today we are skiing Blackcomb mtn.
Today we saw Qwest and Safeco field. Seattle is a large port city and huge fishing town. Dinner was seafood, of course. We drove/walked along the waterway and piers. Seeing Seattle from atop the Needle was impressive. The IMAX was showing Fighter Pilot which we watched. Note: Qwest is ranked as #1 by Sporting News for football stadiums in the US!
Arrived in Seattle; met up with Caleb. We are spending today seeing Seattle. First things first was to check-in to the hotel (Sheraton Towers downtown). Conceige points us to the hot spots and we head out.
A friend recommended I check out the Apache DB project. See http://db.apache.org/ojb/links.html
It has been a long time since posting, eigh!
They caught him. David Vice of 520 Cypress View Drive was captured last night. Read these articles about the Oldsmar terror and his arrest.
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/24/Tampabay/Wife_grappled_with_wi.shtml
Lisa Vice neatly packed her husband's black suit, shaving kit, sweat shirt and socks in a suitcase Thursday night knowing full well this may be the last time she would see him alive. "I think he thought, "If I do all these things, they'll shoot me for sure,"' she said Sunday in the living room of her home in Oldsmar. Instead of going to Atlanta to make a presentation for Cingular Wireless, as he told his wife he would, David P. Vice terrorized the city of Oldsmar on Friday by planting letters with white powder in neighbors' mailboxes, placing a fake hand grenade at a post office and placing a suspicious package at a nearby rental car company, authorities say. The 41-year-old was captured Saturday night in the back yard of his home at 520 Cypress View Drive. He's charged with knowingly manufacturing a hoax weapon of mass destruction, and was held without bail.
-----
--------
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=11671
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/23/Northpinellas/Arrest_brings_Oldsmar.shtml
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/22/Northpinellas/Powder__packages_frig.shtml
OLDSMAR - First a neighborhood was terrorized. Then the whole town. It began with a letter in the homeowner association president's mailbox about 8:15 a.m. "BOOM. Wait until Sunday. You haven't seen anything yet," said the letter, in an envelope filled with white powder. Then came a series of alarming calls that sent authorities scrambling across Oldsmar all day: a suspicious package at a nearby car rental company, a possible explosive device in a room at the Holiday Inn Express, a reported hand grenade attached to a mailbox at an Oldsmar post office. "It was total chaos," said Oldsmar Mayor Jerry Beverland.
Today was an interesting day in Oldsmar, Fl. Some nut, whom lives just up the street from me, decided he would terrorize the city. He began by inserting a letter with white powder in his neighbor's mailbox. Then he hit the Enterprise rental car facility, Holiday Inn Express, and post office with fake grenades and suspicious packages. You can read all about it in the next blog posting... when they catch this guy.
-----
---------
Sheriff's deputies identified the man they think is responsible as David Vice, a 41-year-old married father of four. He is wanted on at least two felony charges, but deputies had not found him by late Friday. "I want him out of circulation," Beverland said. "He's dangerous, not only to himself, but his family." Residents say Vice has spread fear in their Oldsmar neighborhood, the Preserve at Cypress Lakes, for several years. And Vice is no stranger to authorities. On Sept. 11, 2004, he rammed his car into a gate at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, authorities said. He was charged with fleeing and eluding a police officer and later received probation, according to Hillsborough court records. "I've been saying for months that something was wrong with him and everybody laughed at me," said homeowner association president Derrick Cain. "Now I guess they know to take him seriously."
Found how to unlock Nokia 3120 phones -- see Nokiafree unlock codes calculator
HSN.com - Terry Lewis: I sat beside Terry Lewis on a Continental flight IAH-TPA. She has her own clothing line that's sold on HSN.
Northpinellas: Teen hit by truck dies at hospital: "ST. PETERSBURG - A 16-year-old hit by a truck while crossing the street Friday died Sunday, said a family spokeswoman.Doctors at Bayfront Medical Center pronounced Rebecca McKinney brain dead Sunday morning, said friend and family spokeswoman Debbie Hembrey. Family members elected to turn off life support later in the day.
McKinney suffered serious internal injuries when she was hit by a 1991 Chevrolet S-10 pickup Friday as she was crossing McMullen-Booth Road, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Janice L. Dotter, 57, of Palm Harbor was driving the pickup. She was not charged.
McKinney, known to friends and family as Becca, was on the swim team at Clearwater High and sang in the chorus there.
She had just gotten off a school bus with other students near San Bernardino Street, south of Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, the FHP said.
FHP spokesman Trooper Larry Coggins said Sunday that detectives were still investigating. He said earlier the girl ran in front of the truck and Dotter could not avoid her."
Northpinellas: Storm deals damaging hit to Clearwater Beach: "CLEARWATER BEACH - Winds and rain from Hurricane Jeanne battered the beach all day Sunday, tearing off roofs and uprooting trees in a storm that everyone said was worse than France"
Hurricane Jeanne hit Tampa Bay probably the hardest out of all the storms. All day Sunday the winds blew and the rain pelted the region.
The Lamsons from IN were in town and were staying at my place. We made it through Sunday without any power, water, cable or Internet loss!
The St. Pete Times sums up our feelings with this lead story: Enough already. "FOLLOWING FRANCES' PATH: Surprising forecasters, fast-moving Jeanne leaves six dead and $4-billion in insured damage. TURN ON THE LIGHTS: Nearly a half-million people in the bay area are left without power, and traffic signals are out of service.
VERO BEACH - The toll on Florida this time: six dead, 1.1-million homes and businesses without power, at least $4-billion in insured damages and a punch-drunk state wondering how much more it can take.
Hurricane Jeanne made landfall at Hutchinson Island, about 35 miles north of West Palm Beach, right where Hurricane Frances came ashore three weeks ago - a rare deja vu that amazed experts at the National Hurricane Center.
Carrying Category 3 winds of 120 mph, Jeanne zipped across the state as if Frances had left a road map, never deviating from the earlier storm's track by more than 10 or 15 miles until Jeanne approached the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday evening.
The Tampa Bay area, which has largely dodged Florida's Year of Storms, got its first brush with a hurricane in 36 years when Jeanne's weakening center sliced into northeast Hillsborough County before turning north as a tropical storm."
It's early afternoon Sunday. The hurricane is pounding -- there are trees down in the neighborhood; I am seeing some shingles flying in the back yard. Power, water, cable are all still on! Local forecasts have the storm tracking just a little north of my home. The worst is still to come but should be over by 7 PM.
Guess what! Hurricane Jeanne is bearing down on Florida this will be the 4th major storm to hit our region this season. Right now Jeanne is off the east coast.
Here's a recap of the storms so far:
Aug 13, Cat 4 Charley hits Charlotte county then moved northward
Sept 5, Cat 2 Frances hit the southern eastern tip and moved north hitting the bay area
Setp 16, Cat 3 Ivan churned through the Gulf of Mexico then hit the Panhandle region
Jeanne is supposed to hit Sunday. We'll see!
The Apprentice last week had this quote: A leader has the right to be defeated but not to be surprised.
Hurricane Ivan (the fourth major storm to threaten Florida this season) has been lurking in the tropics. It has already devasted Grenada, blasted Jamaica and is today heading for Cuba. The track 2-3 days ago had it heading, once again, to Tampa Bay. Today the track has it much further west in the Gulf. We shouldn't be affected at all by Ivan. The panhandle of Florida, however, is in for a direct hit.
This Hurricane humor came my way in an email.
Subject: Hurricane Season
We're about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any
day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing
to some radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic
meteorological points:
(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed.
Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for
the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one." Based on our
experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness
plan:
STEP 1: Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at
least three days.
STEP 2: Put these supplies into your car.
STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.
Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this
sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in Florida.
We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:
HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE:
If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this
insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic
requirements:
(1) It is reasonably well-built, and
(2) It is located in Nebraska.
Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida, or any other area that
might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer
not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to
pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place. So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the
replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like
used dental floss. Since Hurricane George, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my
premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.
SHUTTERS:
Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the
doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are several
types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:
Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself,
they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they
will fall off.
Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get
them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands
will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.
Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and
will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have
to sell your house to pay for them.
Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane
protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane
winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in
Nebraska.
Hurricane Proofing your property: As the hurricane approaches, check your
yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture,
visiting relatives, etc... You should, as a precaution, throw these items into
your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool, you should have one
built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects
into deadly missiles.
EVACUATION ROUTE:
If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route
planned out. (To determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your
driver's license; if it says "Florida," you live in a low-lying area). The
purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in your home
when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic
jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other
evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.
HURRICANE SUPPLIES:
If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them
now! Florida tradition requires that you wait until the last possible
minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over
who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will
need the following supplies:
1. 23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that turn
out, when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.
2. Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY
knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, so get some!)
3. 55 gallon drum of underarm deodorant.
4. A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be
useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)
5. A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators.
(Ask anybody who went through Andrew; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate
alligators.)
6. $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane
passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.
Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near,
it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on
your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand right next
to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for
everybody to stay away from the ocean.
Good luck, and remember: It's great living in Paradise.
Saw this domain hosting company today: Lunarpages - taking your site higher
They are top rated and have good support... cheap too!
Hurricane Frances has just passed. Finally. Frances came on-shore around Vero Beach yesterday as a Cat 2 hurricane. It slowly moved northwest across the state. Sunday night we thought the storm was over; that was far from the truth. Winds overnight Sunday into Monday AM were the strongest of the weekend.
We endured Frances without any damage to the house.
The storm is heading north to the panhandle. And brewing in the tropics is Hurricane Ivan. Stay tuned!
Well, its been a while since I published to the blog. I'm going to try and recreate some previous events.
Today I'm in Philadelphia. This is my last week working on-site for the Conseco account.
Today I'm taking the LBC youth group down to Port Charlotte. Pictures are posted online.
Vinnie, his crew, and myself traveled down to Port Charlotte today. We spent the day trimming trees, replacing windows, picking up debris, etc. Pictures are posted online.
The first news reports and pictures are coming from Punta Gorda.
Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Charlotte county Florida have taken a direct hit from Cat 4 (almost a cat 5) Hurricane Charley. There is no power, no water and many many buildings have sustained major damage.
The storm is now heading up through central Flordia. Polk and Hardy counties are getting hit hard.
Hurricane Charley has just turned!
Tampa/St. Pete and Clearwater have been in Hurricane Charley's eye for about 3 days. Just now the storm has changed directions and its heading to Port Charlotte.
The latest report still has Hurricane Charley heading north east right into the Clearwater/Tampa Bay.
Evacuating my house is the best option. I have secured everything here and am leaving. Who knows what I'll come back to. I'm heading south to my grandparents in Bradenton.
Charley is approaching fast. The storm track has it coming right into Old Tampa Bay. They are saying Pinellas county may be an island...
My house is in a level 3 evacuation zone. With storm surges of 16 feet expected I need to evacuate.
Oh where to go... Orlando with friends or south to my grandparents?
I'm at the grocery store. There are no canned goods left; there is no water left; there is no bread left. I grab what I can and head to my house.
Friends and colleagues back in TPA say its time to get home! Hurricane Charley is approaching fast. I'm heading to the airport and catching the next flight home.
Christmas Day at the Gparent Bishops. Gifts opened in the morning. Smyths came over later for gifts round 2. Ham and all the trimmings were served. Played tennis with Kimberly/Ed/Crystal in the evening.
Went to the gparents this afternoon. Tis Christmas Eve.
Jail ordered for man who attacked umpire at White Sox game
From Yahoo! Sports
December 4, 2003
CHICAGO (AP) -- A man who attacked an umpire at a Chicago White Sox game this year ple
| | |
