Hurricane Milton Approaches

I do a bit of hurricane weather forecasting for friends north of Tampa. Things are looking grim right now regarding Hurricane Milton. 

“The forecasts don’t look good. On Wednesday evening, October 10th, you will suffer a direct hit by a hurricane traveling east-northeast on areas north of Tampa - the eye of the storm, basically. There will be plenty of rain in advance, so there will be nowhere for the hurricane floodwaters to go. Strength looks like a Category 3 storm - strong enough to cause serious damage. The track looks like it’ll head towards areas south of Jacksonville.”

There are also suggestions that a follow-up hurricane might occur, but no indication at this time where it might hit - Tampa, Ft. Myers, Cuba, Miami, and the Bahamas are all possibilities.

Disaster Rant

I love this rant about the federal response to natural disasters:

@myrandapolisci Replying to @user4298964766744 #whatisfema #fema #noaa #hurrican #naturaldiaster #helene #northcarolina #florida #georgia #mattgaetz #kamalaharris #harriswalz #timwalz #fyp ♬ original sound - Myranda Kazos

Budgeting a Deportation

What it would cost to do a mass deportation of illegals in this country.

 

@jamellebouie

short answer, this would be an expensive disaster.

♬ original sound - b-boy boo-eebaisse👻

Overheard in Target

“If you want a place where people have no concept of spatial awareness, go to Costco.”

Ding Dong - Normal Pree

Infectious Dancehall song.

 

Jimmy Carter Memory

In 1976, 48 years ago, I was living in Englewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. In the evenings I would go to downtown Denver and do phone-banking for the “Jimmy Carter for President” campaign. Although I did some campaign work in 1972, 1976 was the first presidential election year I was eligible to vote. Although I voted for Congressman Mo Udall from Arizona in the primaries, I thought evangelical Georgia Governor Carter was the perfect candidate to bridge the differences between the North and South following the difficult Watergate and Civil Rights years. 

Phone-banking was strange – cold-calling people, some of them hostile. My fellow callers were kind of unknowable people – professionals mostly; mainly lawyers. When I referred to the woman companion of the phone-bank leader as his wife, I was swiftly corrected by one of the other volunteers, who warned me that we didn’t want any “faux pas.” Oh, now we speak French! Life in the big city has so many levels of complexity. 

On October 4, 1976, Jimmy Carter came to Denver for a downtown rally. I arrived at the rally to help out. As I recall, Carter was speaking from the steps of the Federal building, but it was difficult for anyone to see him, because the national media had set up tables and placed big television cameras directly in front of him. I got angry, and along with others, started yelling at the national media. That felt good. I was pleased that in newcasts that evening you could hear our inarticulate shouts in the background. The hostile local media (after all, in 1976, Colorado was a Republican state) reported that the audience was only 4,000 people. I’m sure that the crowd was bigger than that (although, to be truthful, the downtown buildings did hem in the audience and prevent it from being even bigger). 

After the rally, I returned late to the phone bank headquarters. The leader was closing up shop. “Do you want to come with me to the airport?” he asked. I thought, “Sure, why not?” Only later did I think to ask why we were going to the airport. “We’re going to say farewell to Jimmy Carter,” he replied. Oh boy! 

We barely arrived in time at the foot of the stairs out on the tarmac at Stapleton International Airport. The limousine arrived, Jimmy Carter stepped out, shook hands all around (including mine) and posed for a few photos with the lady volunteers. Given the “lust in his heart” controversy at the time, I thought it notable that he placed his arm around their waists while posing for photos. Then the entire traveling entourage climbed up the steps into the jet aircraft and they headed out for another city. 

Happy 100th birthday to Jimmy Carter!:

As a candidate, Carter’s faith had endeared him to many fellow white evangelicals and cultural conservatives. That made him a difficult foil for Republicans, who wanted to cast Democrats as out-of-step with most of America. The flip side, Scheer noted, was the many young voters and urban liberals — key Democratic constituencies — who “wondered if he was this Southern square.”

“Hamilton Jordan (Carter’s campaign manager) had always called Carter’s faith ‘the weirdo factor,’” said media historian Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor who has written extensively on Carter. “Talking to Playboy was their way to prove he wasn’t some kind of prude.”

Scheer, who was with Carter as part of his traveling press corps, said Playboy’s early text release sparked a frenzy. 

“Reporters were scrambling, asking me, ‘Bob, what is this?” he recalled.

Open House at "The Ballet Studio" - September 29, 2024

Celebrating graduation of the “First Position” class at “The Ballet Studio,” plus an Open House, with conversation, food, and memories.

Founder Bobbi Bader (left) taught all the classes back in the day.  Memories were a bit hazy about when the studio started.  The studio was in full bloom at this location when I first arrived in August, 1990.  There was a prior, triangular studio located somewhere near Folsom and La Riviera Drives.  The best anyone could come up with was "The Ballet Studio" started sometime in the Eighties.

Bobbi Bader as "The Doll" in Sacramento Ballet's 1973 Nutcracker.

Bobbi Bader in "Clown Alley."

Celebrating Barbie last year.

Maricar.

Sunday class.

Bobbi Bader.

Wednesday class celebrating Barbie, plus my Mojo Dojo Casa House.

Flowers!

The studio has been in a quiet succession crisis for much of the year.  Eighteen years after Bobbi's untimely death, the collective leadership that has since guided the studio would have to pass on to others.  At the gathering, Katie Rogers announced that, with Patrice's and Maricar's help, she would henceforth lead the studio.  This is the best resolution!  

Listening to Katie, and telling our own stories of how we came to The Ballet Studio.

Second Viewing of "Titanic, The Musical" - Lincoln Theatre Company - September 27, 2024

Sacramento Signs

My Nephew and His Young Daughter

Sixth Anniversary of Getting Jasper

Jasper joined me six years ago, today, October 1st. Jasper was so brave, riding in my lap as I drove him down from Placerville, in order to become a city dog.

"Titanic, The Musical" Cast Party - Lincoln Theatre Company - September 22, 2024

Handing out little "golden tissue box" prizes to the actors for evoking an emotional response from the audience.

My Yard Sign Arrived!

And my T-Shirt arrived too!

I Recognize These Turkeys

Last week, they were on Vallejo Way, nearly 3/4 mile away, across the railroad in Land Park. One of them (the one facing downwards here) has a severe limp, presumably from some accident. It’s hard to be a crippled wild animal. The best you can do is gather your mates around for company, support, and protection, and soldier on.

"Dan Da Dan"

I decided to try something different, and watched this movie on September 20th at the Tower Theater. I know nothing about Japanese manga and figured I needed to know something. The premise looked fun: a girl who believes in ghosts and a boy who believes in aliens each trying to persuade the other of the existence of their passion. And, of course, both are right: both exist! 

The movie was fun, and very odd. I particularly liked the puzzling Americanisms that would suddenly present themselves. For example, when a giant sumo-wrestling alien appeared, they explained, in a parenthetical aside, that the monster was first noted in an American place called Flatwoods. I thought that was a brilliant name - it sounded American but didn't actually exist as a real place. I was surprised to learn later that the Flatwoods Monster is a known entity in West Virginia (but not as a sumo wrestler). I was amused by the sumo-wrestler alien's defeat by a technicality.  It happens, even to aliens.

I was also surprised when the boy, possessed by a ghost, began ending every sentence by saying "yo." It was as if the boy was suddenly possessed by the spirit of Jesse Pinkman. 

This is a fun movie, and includes a documentary about the filmmakers. Japanese culture is one strange thing.

 

Time For Bird Seed!

Where are the pigeons? Oh…

Cultural Touchstones of the American Heartland

@creativelyflailing I am an influential member of early 21st century society. #archeology #history #historytok #fordf100 ♬ original sound - Hedge Bette

Stock Market At All-Time Highs

With the fed rate cut today, the stock markets are now at all-time highs, and heading higher. Good economic management by Biden-Harris! 

I remember talking to my financial advisor in April, and she said, “Yup, big rate cut coming, before the election. Position yourself!” (Which I didn’t do).

The Purpose of AI

The Trains of Bernalillo

I'm feeling nostalgic. My grandmother lived next to the train tracks in Bernalillo, NM, where this video was taken. Some of my first solid memories were of watching trains right here, up to 65 years ago: the anticipation as they approached, feeling the power of the Diesel engine, hearing the horn and the metallic scream of the wheels, then sudden, abrupt silence. 

I would dream about trains too. One dream had me standing in my grandmother's kitchen, in the center of a Stonehenge-like ring of Coldspot refrigerators, as a malevolent Santa Fe Chief passenger train circled around in the kitchen, trying to find a way to get to me inside the ring. Sometimes the dream trains were friendlier, and would pluck me up, drop me into the engine, and take me for rides. My father was in his Freudian phase at this time and he carefully explained that the dream meant I wanted to go back to the womb. Even then, I thought this interpretation was strange. My father offered this interpretation at other times too. No matter what happened in my dream life, my dad heard the siren song of the womb. 

My dad also told various stories about the rails. His dad had been a section chief on the Santa Fe railroad and had been awarded a fancy watch for spotting a locked bearing and stopping a train before disaster ensued. My dad told about how cars and trucks would sometimes stall on the tracks and get clobbered. Crossing the rails in a vehicle made me anxious, certain as I was that the vehicle would stall. 

I wasn't allowed to leave my grandmother's yard, but the kid next door was allowed to. I wanted to test out something my dad said about a strong wind right at wheel level as the train passed. I asked the kid to place a piece of paper right next to the rail and place a rock on top, in order to see if the wind would rip out the piece of paper. The kid instead put the paper and the rock right on top of the rail. I panicked and fled to the opposite side of the house as the train approached, certain as I was that the train would derail. But a simple rock is no match for a locomotive. I presume it was instantly pulverized. 

Anyway, the video shows that little has changed in the intervening 65 years in Bernalillo, at least concerning trains. The power remains awesome!

 

The Planters Just Didn't Have The Cash

Excellent short video about the empire of lies that buttressed the planters of the Old South, and made it impossible to avoid war. Key was the scarcity of money….

@jonstertruck #history #teachertok #historytok #ushistory #civilwar #americanhistory #historyteachers ♬ original sound - jonstertruck

Canada Has A Large Faucet?

@thatguyyu Canada has a faucet? #2024president #trump #chathelp #ineedanadult ♬ original sound - Z7duckx_Music

"Titanic - The Musical" - Lincoln Theatre Company - Opening Night, September 13, 2024

Excellent show up in Lincoln!

Bows.

Loud and Proud Democrat!

Because of this recent "concept" of an assassination attempt Republicans are now asserting that if Democrats say ANYTHING AT ALL about ANYTHING, it's incendiary, dangerous rhetoric. 

What a bunch of whiny, triggered snowflakes! Join me in being a loud and proud Democrat!:

The idea here seems to be that Republicans can say anything they want, about anyone they want, and it’s fine. “They’re destroying our country,” Trump charged during last week’s debate, falsely accusing Harris of—among other things—being a communist and supporting the murder of babies. But if Democrats object, they’re being divisive.

Big Harvest Moon Coming Up!

In this year of maximum lunar standstill, the moon is almost as far south as it ever gets. Several months ago that would have occurred at full moon, but it looks like it’s shifted now to first quarter. In two weeks, at last quarter, the moon will be nearly as far north as it ever gets. This year, 2024/25, the moon will wander like crazy across the sky.

Watching The Tropics

I'm keeping an eye on the moisture from Tropical Storm Ileana, as it crosses southern Arizona and plunges into New Mexico. Maybe some rain! 

Potential Tropical Storm Eight is about to transition into Tropical Storm Helene off the coast of the Carolinas. Heavy rain. 

Tropical Storm Gordon is weakening far out in the Atlantic, and poses no threat to anyone. 

There is a suggestion of storminess traveling from the Caribbean across Cuba and up Florida's east coast in about a week, but it's too early to say whether any of it reaches tropical storm status.

"The Critic"

This is an excellent movie! Saw it over at the Tower Theater.

 

Time For Laura Loomer's Fifteen Minutes

I've been trying to understand Laura Loomer a bit better. She was born in Tucson in 1993; daughter of a doctor, with a mentally-ill brother, and part of the Jewish community. I was in Tucson from 1980-88, and had some contact with the Jewish community there. Maybe just having been part of the milieu I might have gained some special insight on her upraising. 

But no. There's that extra element. For example, just by having been in Los Angeles in the late 60s doesn't mean you understand the Manson family. With Laura Loomer, that element seems to have come from childhood neglect, and that most-toxic of babysitters, being plopped in front of a TV tuned to FOX News. Everything else follows.

 

@mermaidmamamaggie #lauraloomer #trump #politicalhumor #politicalsatire #politicalcomedy #parody #forentertainmentpurposesonly #rumors ♬ Theyre eating the dogs Theyre eating the cats - CasaDi

Cats and Dogs

And that's we have a Stable Genius!

The Fat Guy eats first.

Eating Cats

The apparent cat-eating frenzy in Ohio (of apparently zero cats) is obviously racist, directed as it is against Haitian immigrants, but it's also misogynist, as it suggests that Childless Cat Ladies are too weak to protect their furbabies. They need big, strong, and hopefully-silent men to flex their muscles in defense. This faux issue is like catnip to MAGA and the GOP, who want to ride to the rescue of the cats after all the battering they've received lately. 

 It's absurd. Who can't see through it? Taylor Swift sees right through it. Vote Democratic.

A Well-Deserved Rest

I was on Folsom Blvd. westbound, waiting for the traffic light to turn green at Power Inn Blvd. during the afternoon rush hour, when the left-turn arrow turned green. Vehicles in the far left-turn lane started turning, but not in the near lane. What was wrong? Apparently the driver had fallen asleep. 

It's been a long day, O Driver! Sleep well. I suspect your rest won't last long.

The Fuckin' New York Times Again

Every day that goes by serves as a reminder about how unfit the New York Times is as a newspaper. On July 11th they issued a denunciation of Trump, but only after denouncing Biden immediately following his June debate performance (the spineless ones realized very, very late that they needed to balance their denunciations in order not to look too biased). 

"The board questioned Trump's morals, character, principles, honesty and fidelity to the law and found him lacking in each category...." 

Despite all these supposedly disqualifying points they still strongly support Trump for the presidency. 

"The case against Mr. Trump is extensive, and this board urges Americans to perform a simple act of civic duty in an election year: Listen to what Mr. Trump is saying, pay attention to what he did as president and allow yourself to truly inhabit what he has promised to do if returned to office." 

What does that statement even mean? Why do we need to "truly inhabit" anything? The New York Times says we should perform every civic duty EXCEPT the ONLY civic duty that will make any difference at all - vote for Kamala Harris! 

Spineless cowards. Abject MAGA slaves. The New York Times makes me ill.

I’m a Grand Uncle!

Atreya was born Saturday afternoon to Aaron and Tiffany in Albuquerque. The little girl was born at 5 lbs., 14 oz.

Connecting the Dots

Connecting the dots between QAnon, the Tenet Media influencers, Michael Flynn, Jill Stein, and Vladimir Putin.

@drhueyli #timpool #jillstein ♬ original sound - Huey Li

Monsoon Rain is Falling in the Sahara

The Atlantic hurricane season this year has so far been rather anemic. The article at the link blames warm waters in the North Atlantic for the situation. The warm waters have shifted the annual monsoon season in Africa farther north. They are receiving rain throughout the Sahara Desert, which happens only rarely. So, the proto-hurricanes that spin off westward from the African coast are passing offshore too far north, and not encountering the warm waters that would get them going.

In normal years the subtropical high pressure area, a heat dome, sits relentlessly over the Sahara. The sands are so reflective, the air so dry and the ground is so hot that heat is actually lost to space over the Sahara under normal conditions. That leads to hot days and cool nights with huge temperature swings especially near the equinoxes. This September’s equinox period will be very abnormal with cooler days, warmer nights and intrusions of tropical air from the African monsoon.

The Sahara wasn’t always a desert. From the beginning of the interglacial period up to 6000 years ago, there were lakes in the Sahara. Megalake Chad and the other Saharan lakes were so large that they kept the climate moist even after the orbital parameters that brought maximum insolation to the Arctic in late spring and early summer ending the last glacial period became less favorable. However, 6000 years ago the solar heating patterns caused by earth’s orbital variations brought more ocean warming to the southern hemisphere and less to the northern hemisphere and the north Atlantic cooled. The cooling of the north Atlantic waters brought on the drying of the Sahara and the desert conditions that have predominated the region for the past 5000 years.

But this summer something is different. The waters of the north Atlantic are relatively hot while the waters of the south Atlantic are relatively cool. And the waters of the Indian ocean on the east coast of Africa are very warm. And the Mediterranean sea is hot. 

The high heat content of the north Atlantic and the Mediterranean sea has affected the atmospheric circulation patterns bringing exceptional heat to far northern Europe and allowing the heat dome over western north Africa to break down, bringing monsoon moisture north into the Sahara desert.

This Tenet/RT Scandal Has Legs

I don’t think the U.S. influencers were duped. They were knowing participants. People don’t hand out money just ‘cause.

@lisaremillard

Dept of Justice says Russians were using US based influencers to unknowingly spread misinformation agead of the 2024 election. The Attorney General released internal documents that describe how the information was supposed to get out.

♬ original sound - 📺The News Girl 📰

"Titanic: The Musical" at the Lincoln Theatre Company

Rachel is here.

 

Closing a Cardiac Chapter

Today's visit to Dr. Xu, my cardiologist (and the busiest man in Sacramento), felt like the closing of a 6.5-year chapter in my life. 

The cardiac chapter opened around Valentine's Day, 2018, on a visit to Albuquerque, NM. I felt unusually tired; just dog-tired. Albuquerque's cold February wind just blew right through me. I blamed a cold virus and the altitude for the fatigue. I returned to Sacramento and had trouble with Zumba and theater rehearsal.

It took several days before dizziness finally brought me to the doctor. I was quickly directed to Sutter Medical Center, where they diagnosed a heart attack, apparently brought on by asymptomatic atrial fibrillation (Afib) - a condition that can also easily cause strokes. It was hard to square something dangerous with the lack of pain.

Not everyone was sure about the diagnosis, however. One of the ER doctors said, "This looks just like a cocaine heart attack." "Really?," I replied. "Yes," he said. He pondered a bit and said, "So, just how much cocaine did you have?" (Even heart attacks are the grist for the humor mill, sometimes.) 

Since 2018, I've been using drugs to (imperfectly) control the Afib. In May of this year, it became evident the drugs weren't working well-enough anymore, so on July 26th I had a catheter ablation procedure to fix the Afib. 

The ablation procedure has a pretty-high failure rate, but so far it seems to be working well. I have worries about various possible failures, but there's apparently little reason to be worried. I mentioned Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) to Dr. Xu, which, according to my advanced medical research on the Internet, is associated with severe dilation of the right atrium, a condition I was diagnosed with. The nurse-practitioner tried to reassure me: "It's not just your right atrium; your left atrium is dilated too." Great!  Dr. Xu said that SCD comes from a dilated ventricle, not a dilated atrium (which puts him at odds with the nether regions of the Internet, but oh well, he's the expert, as well as being the busiest man in Sacramento). 

This visit felt like a definite end, for now anyway. Time to get myself out of here.  I'm normal now.  I'm now feeling nostalgic for this very-poorly but very-aptly-named place, Sutter Medical Center's Invasive Cardiology Clinic. Time to close this door. Maybe later I can tell war stories about all the cocaine I (never) had. Like the song says: "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

My Neighborhood's Bias

In Republican years, my neighborhood precinct goes 88-12 for the Democrat. In Democratic years, my neighborhood precinct goes 90-10 for the Democrat. This feels like a 90-10 year.

 

Tunnels at Jack's Birthday Party

I Find Your Driving Highly Illogical

I've been watching lots of police chases on Facebook Reels. Talk about illogical driving!

 

Jamba Juice Mural

(Near Greenback and Sunrise)