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Now you see it, now you don’t. Looks like Google Maps had a challenge blending post-katrina and pre-katrina shots.

Hope the incoming traffic stops in time…

Count on the oil platforms shutting down soon. Do you have your gas tank filled?

Has anyone blamed Bush yet? May as well get that out of the way.

Will Landrieu actually punch Bush this time?

Will Nagin get off HIS ass this time?

Will the Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool be put to good use this time?

Will the City of New Orleans actually follow its own Office of Emergency Preparedness Mission Statement this time?:

The Office of Emergency Preparedness is responsible for the response and coordination of those actions needed to protect the lives and property of its citizens from natural or man-made disasters as well as emergency planning for the City of New Orleans.

Our primary responsibility is to advise the Mayor, the City Council and Chief Administrative Officer regarding emergency preparedness activities and operations. We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies which respond to city-wide disasters and emergencies through the development and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan.

Have there been any actual lessons learned?

UPDATE: Looks like its coming my way now. That’s okay, I’ll make that sacrifice to keep it away from NOLA, the Mississippi coast and, most importantly, the oil rigs.

Ever gone to the theatre and watched a film so powerful that your grip on the armrest left your fingerprints and embedded such a strong image in your mind that hours later you couldn’t stop thinking about it? If so, you’ll understand my state of mind after I took a trip over to Biloxi/Gulfport to see what Katrina left in her wake. You’ve seen it in the newspaper, you’ve seen it on the internet and you’ve seen it on the television, but you could never understand the extent of this event until you’ve seen it in person. Just last summer, I was in the area and was awed by the beauty and serenity of the beachfront and the Victorian and plantation-style homes. Now, the drive from Biloxi to where the road is closed (before reaching Long Beach?) is like taking a tour of Hiroshima in the late 40s.

I was able to shake free of the trance to take a few pictures, but like I said, seeing it here is nothing compared to being there in person. So, why aren’t there any pictures other than some landscape-type shots? Well, although there may not be much more than foundations left to many of the homes, I felt it to almost be a violation of a resident’s privacy to display a picture of what used to be their living room, bedroom, etc. Time permitting, I would like to return for an extended visit. It is somewhat awkward though. I do feel guilty of “gawking/rubber-necking”, but it seems that New Orleans has received most of the spotlight here and the Mississippi gulf coast has gone mostly forgotten. I do admire the residents for their resolution and strong chin.

…and I only *thought* I was shellshocked when Ivan hit here (Pensacola.)

Oddity: I noticed that many of the Hwy 90 road signs were upside down. Then it hit me: This is the residents’ way of saying “06 will be a better year”.

BTW, the buffet at the Palace is still kick-butt.

Did Mozilla know it was my birthday today? They released Firefox 1.5 just for me? Actually, I think I’ll hold off upgrading for a few days to give the extension updates a chance to get caught up.

Another important event happened today. This is the last day of hurricane season. After the season we’ve been through, I think this day should be made a new holiday – National Snoopy Dance Day.

Josef Goebbels would have been happy with much of the mainstream media in the past few weeks since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Goebbels, for those of you too young to know, was Hitler’s propaganda minister. He is credited with creating the concept of The Big Lie. The idea was that if you tell a lie big enough often enough, people will believe it.

A Big Lie Put To Rest

First Ivan, then Dennis, then Katrina. This is what my backyard looks like.

OTOH, perhaps there’s a market here for filming a "Blair Witch" type movie.

Even those on the left have a lucid thought here and there:
The fetid aroma of hindsight – Los Angeles Times

Obviously — obviously in hindsight, that is — we should have spent the money to strengthen the New Orleans levees. President Clinton should have done it. Presidents Bush the Elder and Reagan should have done it. As Tim Noah notes in Slate, warnings about the perilous New Orleans levees go back at least to Fanny Trollope in 1832. In fact, the one president who is pretty much in the clear on this is our current Bush – not because he did anything about the levees but because even if he had started something, it probably wouldn’t have been finished yet.

No shame

Journalists who are long on opinions and short on knowledge have no idea what is involved in moving hundreds of tons of relief supplies into an area the size of England in which power lines are down, telecommunications are out, no gasoline is available, bridges are damaged, roads and airports are covered with debris, and apparently have little interest in finding out.

A short, but powerful piece about history, unity and what could’ve been…

Disasters, says the cliche, usually bring out the best in people. But the cliche doesn’t take into account the current generation, our current understanding of how government works, our current understanding of our place in the world or even our current understanding of right and wrong.