Now, add to that a wildfire that started as a controlled burn that got away from the Florida Division of Forestry.
Sometime after 4am is when it all hit at the same time... and the horrendous collisions began.
I guess it wasn't just one crash, but rather 10 crashes involving 70 vehicles. 38 injured. 5 died. In a 2˝ mile stretch of road.
Responding fire crews had to walk in front of the engines to guide them through the smoke & fog because the drivers just couldn't see.
There were reports of people hearing erie sounds of crashes, screams, people calling for help all around them... popping of tires from the vehicles engulfed in flames... and not being able to see any of it.
]]>w00t!!!!
"for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change"
Now... people... all those people that are trying to get Al to run for president when he doesn't want to, remember this:
this country is screwed... it won't REALLY matter who occupies the white House because of the significance of the damage that has been done with relations between the United States and just about the entire rest of the world.
That being said... Gore is in a position to MAKE A DIFFERENCE not to the U.S., but GLOBALLY... and that is SO MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT... and, let's face it, fulfilling...
SAVE THE PLANET
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007]]>The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared, in two equal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.
Indications of changes in the earth's future climate must be treated with the utmost seriousness, and with the precautionary principle uppermost in our minds. Extensive climate changes may alter and threaten the living conditions of much of mankind. They may induce large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the earth's resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the world's most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states.
Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming. Whereas in the 1980s global warming seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more apparent.
Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world's leading environmentalist politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic challenges the world is facing. His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change. He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted.
By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind. Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control.
Oslo, 12 October 2007
it's not supposed to be 87 degrees outside.
That's why the Chicago Marathon is scheduled at this time of year.
The race started today at 8am. At 11:30, for any runners that didn't make the half-way point, they were diverted to the Finish Line.
The organizers shutdown the marathon.
It was already too late. A 35-year-old guy from Michigan died after 19 miles.
24,931 of the 35,867 that started actually completed the race (about 4,000 finishing under 3˝ hours) - when the officials stopped the race. And about 10,000 registered runners took the heat warnings to heart and didn't even start the race.
Still, over 300 were hospitalized.
On top of that, there were many reports of the water stations were depleted... many runners not getting any water until mile 8... or mile 13, depending on the reports I was hearing.
]]>...is it wrong to think that somewhere... someone... has started a Dead Pool... for Lindsay Lohan?
I mean, in my opinion, she's gone through all of this "alleged" rehab... and she has no one ... and I mean NO ONE... that is stepping-up to help this girl...
so...it's just a MATTER OF TIME... when she is going to KILL someone with her vehicle... perhaps even HERSELF...
No rehab will help her if she has no support in her life (yeah, like her own family are good role models)... it's obvious that she doesn't get "it"...
... and I don't believe I was actually compelled to even blog about this...
]]>I rolled around in bed for a bit, scanning through the satellite guide... and stumbled on to the Sundance Channel and saw that they were covering the Live Earth concert, apparently since it started this morning in Australia (it's running 24 hours with concert venues on all 7 continents, in the cities of New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, and Hamburg ... and the British Antarctic Research Station in Antarctica where Nunatak, the band of the British Scientific Team played, just to make sure all the continents were covered)... I'll have to watch some of this... maybe grab some audio so that I can listen to it when I want ... the other interesting aspect of this event, even though it's all about saving the planet, saving the future, reducing our carbon footprints... was watching the acts at these venues... many are local to the region, so I have no clue on what I am watching...
UPDATE: Would you believe MSN has clips of every single act at every single venue? You can pull up any of them and watch... even if you never got the chance to watch them broadcast on the feed in your country... even if you don't have a clue who they are ... Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis
The Live Earth Pledge]]>I Pledge:
To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become “carbon neutral;”
To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;
To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
The editors at AP actually put an experimental weeklong embargo on any stories about Paris Hilton
What happened?
None of the thousands of media outlets that depend on AP called in asking for a Paris Hilton story.]]>
But, I really liked this guy. He healed a nation, in a way... something, that "The Uniter" or "The Decider"... or whatever the hell Bush is calling himself... the only tag that seems so appropriate for that idiot is "The Divider". The nation is so friggin' polarized... I wish we had a guy like Ford to heal it again...
Update: I knew I liked this guy... Ford was interviewed by Bob Woodward in 2004, his comments embargoed until his death. (I always liked that press term - "embargo".) It turns out, that in that interview he said "[Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld and [Vice President Dick] Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq." "They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction. And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."
Here's another tidbit: Cheney was Ford's chief of staff, and Rumsfeld also was defense secretary in the Ford administration.
"I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."
It's Election Day in the United States.
Campaign Advertising has just gone downhill over the years... I can't tell you what the hell any candidate stands for because it feels like all I hear & see is what is wrong with the other candidate... attack, attack, attack... and it's not just radio ads... or TV ads... our mailbox has been stuffed with material for the last week or so... and what about the damn pre-recorded telemarketing??? (I have to admit, Carol was ecstatic that Bill Clinton called and left a message... just for her...)
I strongly believe that there should be some kind of legislation passed to limit the length of time that candidates can run ads... like maybe 4-6 weeks, and that's it...
Update: I went to vote.. what a mess and it was because of our poling place, a grammar school a few blocks away. First.. the kids have the day off (and that's a great idea... you just don't want adults roaming the halls of a grade school). For some reason, they setup the voting stations in a back hallway of the school, which made it almost impossible to move around, between the voting stations, tables, judges, voters...
It was a choice of a paper ballot (connecting two halves of an arrow with a special pen, with the whole ballot being scanned when you're done) or electronic (touchscreen). Issues? They're were down to just 4 pens to mark the ballots if you used paper, causing long lines), and down to 5 smartcards for the touchscreens (again, causing lines).
I chose to use the touchscreen.. I had to - I'm a geek and wanted to experience this. I loved it... it's a very easy experience, easy to read and follow. The slowest part?... OH! BEFORE I FORGET!!! THERE HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY TO HANDLE THE ELECTION AND RETENTION OF JUDGES! How many were there? It went on for pages and pages and pages on the touchscreen... anyway... The slowest part? Verifying your votes. When you use paper, well... by default, you are verifying what you're doing. On a touchscreen, it'll show you all of your votes, and if you under/over voted for anything highlighted in red. Your votes are stored on the smartcard that you use to activate the machine. But, as a backup and a physical record, there's a paper tape that is printed, and you must review it as it's printed after you have verified your on-screen vote. When you're done, the smartcard is ejected from the machine. You bring the card to a judge, who copies the data, erases the card, and hands it to the next person waiting in line. I enjoyed using the machine.. now I wish they had more cards/machines/pens.. and why the hell weren't we in the gum like the last time???
]]>Initially I had heard about a plane that crashed into a high-rise apartment building in New York. 5 years 1 month away from the Day That Changed America. Your mind starts to wander... terror again? A General Aviation aircraft? Nothing organized... perhaps a radical wanting to make a point, at the most... maybe just a suicide... what are they doing in Manhattan?
Flew around the Statue of Liberty? Flying up the river? This is allowed? Naw...
And then... a strange little piece of information comes out...
The pilot of the plane? Yankee's Pitcher Cory Lidle.
And America suddenly seems such a strange place... or perhaps just stranger...
]]>Slate magazine ran an article - The Unspeakable - Buried alive in your own skull - about a UK woman, who had a car accident, is non-responsive, and is diagnosed as PVS. There is no response to verbal questions. Or is there?
]]>and, oh my god... what a shocking, sad story all over the news.
'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin dead
Now, I have always had a feeling - one that I bet you shared as well - that Steve's life wouldn't be long... and that he would die, doing something he loved.
NEVER thought he would be killed by a stingray. As of 1996, only seventeen worldwide fatalities had been recorded due to stingrays - ever.
May he rest in peace, may Terri find comfort, and may his legacy live on.
]]>I hate hate hate the feeling of dread when - reading the crawl at the bottom of the screen - something major has happened in the world.
Welcome to our morning.
]]>They used new voting machines yesterday (to get around the damn punch-card paper ballot "hanging chad" thing that we have been part of until this election) and they warned that - for some reason - that voting will take longer. Nobody expected this though. I Board of Elections stopped counting somewhere around 3am and "took a break" until 1 this afternoon.
Great. Now there's calls about the "integrity" of the ballots and election process because people don't "know" where some of the ballots were (or are?) and who may have had them.
i don't understand this - they're calling this a technology breakdown. I hope we'll find out more later today.
]]>Can't stand the guy, can't stand his public speaking persona, can't get past the fact that I don't believe him anymore (not that I did before, but now it's just worse).
Sorry. Just can't do it. Rebuttal? No way - just more politics I can't stand right now.
Now... what to watch instead? TiVo is always good. We've always got something there.
I guess there's always Dog The Bounty Hunter on A&E... (I could make some crack here about going after bad guys and actually catching them and bringing them to justice, but I won't)
We'll find something to watch...