Scoop’s Views

With all the local, state, and federal resources – money and manpower – that were poured into Louisiana, especially New Orleans, it’s hard to think that anything more than prayer saved the city from being ravaged at least as bad, if not worse, than it was a short three years ago.

Despite all the money pumped into coordinating services and evacuations, an estimated 10,000 residents of New Orleans stayed in town despite the mandatory evacuation orders. It’s hard to imagine these people would test their luck and stay.

Tags: best interests, burglaries, contractors, coordinated plans, coordinating services, devastated, evacuations, Federal Emergency Management Agency, federal government, federal resources, FEMA, heartfelt thanks, holidays, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Katrina, hurricanes, looting, Louisiana, luck, maintaining law and order, mandatory evacuation orders, manpower, mayhem, money, New Orleans, prayers, storms, theft, total costs, wasteful spending

Hurricane Gustav is going to hit the United States unless there’s an act of divine intervention. Short of a miracle from Heaven, all computer predictions are showing Hurricane Gustav will hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast, anywhere from Pensacola, Florida on the Eastern side to Houston, Texas on the West.

Unless Hurricane Gustav’s path is suddenly diverted, or unless Hurricane Gustav falls apart and becomes little more than a tropical storm or depression, it’s more than likely at least one of the many oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico will receive some damage, but likely all of the platforms will be closed down in advance of the storm.

Tags: computer predictions, crude oil, divine intervention, Florida, gas prices, gasoline, gasoline prices, Gulf Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Houston, Hurricane Gustav, Louisiana, New Orleans, Northeast Philadelphia, oil, oil barrels, oil companies, oil platforms, oil prices, Pensacola, Philadelphia, price per gallon, shale, Texas, Tropical Storm Hannah

A string of thunder storms, some producing hail two inches in width, blew through the Delaware Valley today, starting around noon or so, at least in the Far Northeast Philadelphia section of town. It was a storm in the evening that made me stand in awe.

Like many people, I am a sucker for rainbows. Maybe it has something to do with some stories I heard many years ago from an elder Cherokee who has since passed. Maybe it’s because a rainbow is simply beautiful and awesome in its own right. No matter what, they are something fascinating.

Tags: Bustleton, Cherokee, Delaware Valley, double rainbows, dual rainbows, elder, evening rain, evening storms, Far Northeast Philadelphia, flooding, hail, lightning, Northeast Philadelphia, Philly, pots of gold, rainbow, second rainbow, storms, thunder, thunderstorms, Weather

Ultra-sensitive technology developed for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), one of several U.S. ultra-secret spy agencies, has been released to the world for all to see.

The NRO, an agency shrouded in secrecy, with less publicly-available information about the organization, its missions, and funding than the National Security Agency (NSA), is often involved in mapping, satellite spying, and other high-tech areas.

Tags: Beijing, Chi-Comms, China, Chinese, Earth, EP-3, fireball, Gen. James Cartwright, hostile government, hydrazine, James Cartwright, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Liu Jianchao, National Reconnaissance Office, National Security Agency, Navy Seals, news conference, NRO, NSA, Pentagon, Red Chinese, Russia, satellites, secrets, SM-3, Software, Special Forces, spy agencies, spy missions, spying, Stanard Missile 3, state secrets, U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. government, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, USS Lake Erie

This was the first snowfall that could be measured, according to local news outlets. The National Weather Service said this is the sixth latest first snowfall of the season in Philadelphia.

Tags: drivers, Philadelphia, Photos, roadways, snow, vehicles, Weather

At 6:53 a.m. on January 17, 2007, it was 17 degrees Fahrenheit in Far Northeast Philadelphia. It was one of the coldest, if not the coldest morning, so far this winter, in Philadelphia. Burrrr. Well, I liked it, but then again, my dog and I both like the cold. Snow is supposedly on its way, too.

Tags: cold January morning, no snow, Philadelphia, Photos, winter

Barely a trace of snow

Tags: cold weather, no snow, snow, winter

I grew up hearing such phrases as, “Don’t eat yellow snow” and “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.” Let’s start with the fist one.

Tags: 4-wheel drive, 4WD, beverages, blizzards, brown, cars, city, coffee, cola, conservation, driving, Explorer XLT, flush, Ford, Ford Explorer, Ford Explorer XLT, Ford Pinto, four-wheel drive, Friends, government liability, housebreak, housebreaking, mellow, Northeast, Northeastern U.S., Pinto, radiators, Random Thoughts, salt, slick roads, slush, snow, snow plows, snowplows, snowstorms, Society, tea, toilet habits, toilet paper, toilets, warm temperatures, water conservation, water treatment, water treatment facility, water treatment plants, well-prepared, white-out conditions, yellow, yellow snow