Weather Wars

A reader of this blog wanted to know what I thought about the conpsiracy theories that Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina were a result of some sort of climate control by those who wanted to ruin the US economy. A mailing list my wife is on has been discussing this and she sent me a link to this blog that talks about the possibility that the Hurricanes were weather warfare.

So here is my take on things. It is certainly a possibility. Science continues to advance at a staggering rate and it is certainly within the realm of possibility that these storms were an attack on our country. It is also possible that a group of people used witchcraft or voodoo to create these storms or that they are a result of God's wrath or that nature produced these hurricanes with no help from man. Anything is possible.

The problem with conspiracies is that there is just no way to prove them. Once they have been proven they are no long cospiracy theories they are facts. My guess is that somewhere between 1 in 10 to 1 in 1000000 conspiracy theories are actually factual.

My personal opinion is that unless you plan on doing something about a particular theory, like help prove or disprove it, then your time is better spent doing other things (like reading my blog). Conspiracy theories can be interesting to read, but most conspiracy theories I have come across focus on using fear to hook you into wanting to learn more. I don't think that focusing on this fear is a good thing and therefore don't believe people should spend much time reading about conspiracy theories. Unless you plan on researching them and finding sound evidence to prove or disprove them, they mostly just waste your time.

I used to read lots of conspiracy theories and eventually I realized how much of a time waster they were. For the most part they only benefited those selling books about the theories and either entertained or spread fear in those reading the books.

BTW - You might have noticed this post was spawned by the fact I have a regular reader. Yes you read that right, I couldn't believe it. I thought my only audience was myself and maybe a few ants who are planning ways to keep me from becoming President.

Later...

Funny News

To get back to lightening things up, I wanted to share some funny news with you.

This story about the Danish government paying Santa Claus is pretty amusing. And I really thought this sign was funny.

Lastly, this is pretty funny even if there was a good reason for it...

Hurricane Rita Close Call at the Airport

Being involved in some big groups here in Houston, I have heard tons of stories, but I thought I would just quickly share one other personal story about the Hurricane, this one is about my Father. My Dad lives in Tampa Bay, Fl, but he was away on business in San Diego. He flew into Houston on Wednesday on his way home to Tampa. When he got there the airport had 2/3 of their employees call in sick Wednesday. So it was really hard to get a flight out. His flight out was canceled and he almost got stuck. However, he managed to get on standby for a flight to Huntsville, Alabama. He actually managed to get on the flight and make it to Huntsville, before being stranded at the airport.

My Dad had a similar experience during 9/11. He was in DC on business during 9/11 and was supposed to fly out that day. After the attacks, the airports in DC were closed indefinitely, but he managed to get a rental car before they were all sold out and drove back home to Tampa that day/night.

Back from Rita Evacuation

We went to my wife Jill's Aunt's house in Austin to weather out Hurricane Rita. It turned out to be ok here. It's nice to come back to an intact house.

You have probably seen or heard about the mess on the roads getting out of Houston and the roads were definitely horrendous to drive on. We took a look at two of the major ways out of here and then decided to go down some backroads we knew about. Taking the backroads to Austin it took us about 4 and 1/2 hours, which is only 1 and 1/2 hours longer than normal. For some people the drive was taking 8-15 hours.

Our trip back home wasn't too bad either, it took about the normal time. Apparently, most people went home yesterday and the roads were terrible yesterday. The biggest problem for us was finding places that had gas. Most places ran out. We had a lot of people praying for us, and apparently it helped. Now that we are back, we can't find anywhere to get gas. Another problem is that the stores are running out of food and other supplies. Fortunately, we have stocked up on food. We should be good for a while. Hopefully, they will get gas and supplies here soon. I am sure there are some people here who really need gas and food.

It was amazing how many cars we saw abandoned on US 290 on the drive home. Lot's of people had to abandon their cars on their trips in town and out of town, due to car problems and running out of gas. We are very blessed the way things worked out for us.

I REALLY hope this is the LAST hurricane to hit the US this year. We don't need any more of these. More stories to follow...

My Family Hurricane Evacuation Plan

It looks like the Hurricane is coming to hit us. Hurricane Rita could cause us problems here in Houston, so my family is evacuating tomorrow. We will probably go to my wife's Aunt's house in Austin, although visiting Family and friends in Dallas is another possibility.

Even though we are north of Houston, I just don't want to be here. Growing up in South Florida, I have been through too many hurricanes to have any desire to stay. It will be nice to go on a trip anyway. Hurricanes are NOT FUN to sit through. Once the power goes out, it gets pretty boring and if it's a fairly strong storm it can be scary.

Anyway, this means I probably won't be posting to any of my blogs until next week.

Later...

Hurricane Rita Time

Well, it looks like it may be time for me and my family to take cover. Hurricane Rita is heading our way or so they say...

Hopefully, it will miss us and hit somewhere else. You hate to wish for a Hurricane to hit anyone, but when it comes down to it Hurricane Rita is going to hit someone and I would rather that it not hit us.

I just added comments to the blog

Now that you can have the added security of using word verification for comments, I decided to allow comments for registered users. Hopefully, I don't get any SPAM.

If you do decide to SPAM this blog you need to keep in mind that when I become President, some of the ants that we will be teleporting to terrorist hangouts will be diverted to YOUR house. In other words, DON'T SPAM THIS BLOG!

Later...

Red Cross Red Tape

Last night, my wife got a call from someone we know who is working at a Red Cross certified shelter near us helping with the Hurrican relief effort. She was calling to tell us that she had "saved" food that they were going to throw out that night and wanted to know if my wife Jill knew of any shelters that needed the food.

It was an interesting coincidence since just an hour earlier we got a call from Jill's mom telling us about a non-Red Cross shelter north of us that was in desperate need of food. So Jill went down to get the food and her brother Paul (who was coincidently visiting us) was able to take the food down to the shelter that was in desperate need of food.

Now you may be wondering why were they going to throw out the food at the Red Cross shelter?

It's because after they cook the food, they can not store it and use it again according to the Red Cross regulations. They have to throw it away! What a ridiculous waste of food that could be helping others.

If I were President I would try to influence the Red Cross to get rid of the Red Tape. I don't want to go into all the hoops you have to jump through to be a Red Cross shelter, but it's really ridiculous.

IMPORTANT - Giving to shelters

My wife Jill created a new blog last night called Alternative Giving.

Living in Houston one of the things we discovered is that many of the shelters here are not supported by the Red Cross for various reasons including all of the red tape you have to go through to become a certified Red Cross shelter. Most of the people we know here in Houston are spending a lot of their free time helping out at the shelters. The people in this city (and probably the other cities helping out) are experiencing strain of their time and money resources.

So my wife Jill decided there needed to be a way for people outside of Texas to support these shelters that aren't well-advertised. Jill is posting contact information about these non-Red Cross shelters so people can contact them and help them out. Check out her site at http://alternativegiving.blogspot.com/.

Later...

Find Missing People - Katrina

Yahoo has come up with a great tool for finding missing people who were displaced from the hurricane. Yahoo has combined all of the missing databases into the people finder. Check it out if you are looking for loved ones affected by Katrina.

Proud to be a Texan

Even though I have only lived here since 1996, I am proud to call myself a Texan. Taking a look at how everyone around here is giving their time, money, and possesions to help those who were affected by the Hurricane makes me proud to be a Texan. It is just amazing to live here in Houston and see the way we are giving and giving as much as we can to help.

The people here in Houston and all through Texas are such friendly people. I have always been impressed with how friendly everyone in Texas is, but now I am overwhelmed by their generosity and compassion.

I am proud to call Texas my home. May God bless this great State and this great Country.

May God Bless the USA

I am very thankful for the great people in this nation that ban together and help those in need. For those who say the US is evil and bad, look at all of the people in this country who help those in need. Look at all of the people who give money not only to causes in this country, but also to help people in other countries. We are not an evil country. We are the best country in the world to live in.

May God Bless the USA.