laleo

What does this mean? I don't get it.

I didn't vote in the poll, but, so far, I like the time limits. When I go back to a thread, it says the same thing it said when I first read it, so if there is something in the thread that I was mulling over, or thinking about responding to, it's still there. If I post, my words mean something, and will be understood, in the context of the discussion. satori: You said, "I'm sure there's a small, puritanical contingent of forum fascists lurking in the shadows . . . " And to that I would say that there is a small contingent of forum anarchists hiding in the shadows, or hiding behind someone else's shadow, who take pleasure in subversion for subversion's sake, not because there is a greater good to serve, or a higher principle, but just for the fun of it. Unfortunately, having no time limits seems to invite passive-aggressive behavior. Long ago, we had a similar discussion, and the poll (which was a simple "yes" or "no") was split almost 50/50 with a slight majority in favor of time limits. I think having time-limits will help with the continuity of the threads, and the flow of the forum. Addendums and clarifications can be added as the discussion moves along, where they make sense right where written.

They didn't want anything to break the plywood after spending $250 on it. I can hardly blame them. I can't laugh too hard, though. I'd have likely done the same thing.

Did you just watch Nightline? I was flipping through channels and heard them talking about it. Sobering, for sure, especially since I (re)read Camus' The Plague not too long ago. Hard to imagine it spreading here. From the few minutes I listened, they said they have enough of whatever it is they have (anti-viral medication, or maybe a vaccine) to treat a few thousand, but not nearly enough for as many as might be infected. Somebody ought to be doing something to prepare, but who? And what?

Cowgirl: Set your oven to about 300 - 325 degrees, and put the nuts on a cookie sheet. You'll hear them pop when they're done.

Just curious, what mainstream sources are you referring to? I just quickly checked through some sources, and was going to post a bunch of links, but it was taking too much time. I only made it (beyond the headlines) through two: Time and the CS Monitor. Both had what I thought were extensive and detailed enough reports on how things were set up to work, and why, and how it actually played out. I would guess that many other periodicals published the same. I also read what I thought was a prescient (if wry) article in the New Yorker about the birth of urban legends in New Orleans, and how those rumors thrived, grew, and spread during previous catastrophes, in much the same way they took over the Superdome. And, so far as I know, it was written before the final crime statistics from the Superdome were publicized. The writer conducted his interviews about a week after the flood, when the Ninth Ward was being patrolled by (to name a few) the New Orleans Police, New Orleans SWAT teams, the NYC Police Department, the Sacramento Fire Department, the Greenbelt, Maryland, police, Blackwater Security contractors, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the 82nd Airborne, National Guardsmen, San Diego lifeguards, SurfZone Relief Operations, and the Scientology Disaster Response teams (who, among other things, set up a tent to offer massages to the police). For one neighborhood. I think it was the television media that failed this time, not the print media. They're the ones who spread the hysteria.

Yeah, definitely flogged, if not worse. Beyond disgraceful, the way they overreacted to this, and got the entire country, and the world, in an uproar. I seldom watch television news, and after spending way too much time watching the Katrina coverage, I remember why. Instead of reporting what they see, the networks write sensationalized fiction to make their footage more interesting, if not startling. The coverage of this entire storm bugged me from the beginning. Now I know why. Rhino, you get the Greasespotlitzer Prize for your reporting on this one. Glad you took the time to post what you saw rather than what the networks said you were seeing.

Now, come on. The guy just spent twenty (20) hours in a car, in bumper to bumper traffic, which had my nerves on edge just seeing the television footage, never mind being in the middle of that traffic jam. Cut him some slack. Really, it was an oversight on someone's part not to have more fuel available. FEMA? I doubt the environmentalists or the number of refineries operating in the U.S. had anything to do with it. I tend to think it was more bureaucratic snafus, than a corporate conspiracy, but, still, there should have been more gasoline for that many evacuees. From what I saw on the news they had two (2) gasoline trucks helping stranded motorists, even though the governor requested much more. I'd be ticked off, too. Wouldn't you?

Long Gone, I AM relaxed. Today was a beautiful fall day, with just a hint of a breeze, and an even better forecast for the weekend. No reason for me to be un-relaxed. Actually, with all the preparations and general anxiety surrounding this storm, it probably will blow uneventfully through. Hope you're staying dry, though. P-Mosh, your description made me laugh. I have a lot of empathy for those who spent sixteen-plus hours stuck in traffic. If it were me, I'm not so sure I'd have been able to evacuate with my husband, or maybe we would just take two cars, because I can't imagine us surviving intact otherwise. I don't like traffic, and I don't like heat. He likes both even less. Stuck in a car with him for that length of time under those conditions would likely spell the end of a long, and occasionally harmonious, marriage. I think I'd blow out the stereo speakers with the Spinners singing, "This is our fork in the road, Love's last episode, There's nowhere to go . . . " Probably a moot point, though, because he'd likely stay behind anyway to help evacuate. Now I think I understand the mad desperation of those angry looters converging on hospitals and nursing homes, probably trying to find the last shipment of tranquilizers in a final attempt to salvage what was left of their sanity and their marriages, stuck as they were together in the attic or in traffic. Either would be unbearable. Glad you made it safely through the weather, and all the annoyances of the evacuation. Has anyone heard from ex10? I hope she made it to wherever she was heading.

Well, watching Houston evacuate has convinced me of two things. First, maybe Nagin and Blanco aren't as inept as I thought. Emptying a city is a major undertaking, and it doesn't much matter how organized you are as you go about it. It just can't be done in a short period of time. Second, I have no hope of surviving a disaster here. We've had all sorts of elaborate evacuation plans in place, and it's going to make little difference if the time comes to use them. I doubt there is a way around the gridlock. The thing I don't understand is the airport. Why not lift the restrictions, and anyone who wants to abandon his luggage and his shoes can board immediately? I mean, here they are shortstaffed, and they won't relax their procedures at all. Some of those people have been in line for twelve or more hours. Linda, now I know why you were yelling about those canceled flights. There are, oh, about five million people standing in line at the Houston airport, and airlines are already canceling flights. I would think they would bring in extra planes, not fewer. All this emergency planning means little in an emergency. God help those in Rita's path. Fill your tub, Long Gone. And make sure your back-up generator has enough fuel so that you can get on-line this weekend. Long Gone: I've been through two hurricanes, and the remants of a few others. One was in Baltimore, the other in Philadelphia. Both brought lots of flooding. I have to agree, there is something peaceful, and maybe even exhilarating about it. Sort of the same feeling you get after a major snowstorm. Maybe a glimpse into the essence of life, or something.

I don't know, Long Gone. After Ivan (was that two years ago? Or maybe I have it confused with another one), we had flooding, enough to call out the National Guard, not to mention the howling winds. I've never heard anything like it. Eerie and humbling at the same time. Every tree in my yard lost its leaves. Electricity was out for three days. Then we had a couple of small tornadoes with Katrina, which was enough to lift a few houses off of their foundations. We weren't even in the path of either of those hurricanes, just the outer edges of the remnants. And that's 1,000+ miles inland from where those storms came ashore. I know what you're saying, though. Just make sure you have extra supplies around, which I'm sure you already do. Can't blame you for staying put. That traffic heading north and west looks daunting. Even if people want to leave, they won't be able to.

Oldiesman: Is a workman worthy of his reward or is he not? Rhetorical question. No need to answer it, I'm just wondering if you recognize that you made the claim, then curiously changed the rules when it comes to Wierwille. If the Bible says a workman is worthy of his reward, and Wierwille believed the Bible, then I don't think it would have been asking too much for him to have the integrity to apply that to his own sources of income, and, like you said, give the workman his reward. He didn't. No program offered by The Way ever cost them money; in fact, all the ones I know about operated at a profit. Classes and seminars. Weekend "advances." Heartbeat festivals. The Rock of Ages. Corps. WOW. Even Twigs. All at a profit. All of it, with the exception of some of the Headquarters staff. What was the cost of "moving the Word"? And who paid it? Can it even be measured by money?

You bet he was selfish. And that was the least of his shortcomings. Pretty minor compared to the other sins he was capable of. According to your own reasoning, yes, Wierwille should have split it up twenty ways, or forty ways, or however many ways, from the people whose work he freely "borrowed." You did just say a workman is worthy of his reward, did you not? Those men whose work Wierwille stole also put time and effort and money into their own projects and ministries. So why the sarcasm? --> Give credit (and money) where it is due.

Just a reminder to those who live in East Texas: Stay safe, evacuate if you can, and please remember, here at GreaseSpot, we will be thinking, wondering, praying, and worrying about you, so check in as soon as you can.

Lots of happiness to you both.

Belle, That's how I felt after 9/11. Part of it was the devastation of it all, and part of it was the timing. I had other losses I was sorting through at the time, and the chaos and sadness of 9/11 only intensified it all. For me, it came to the point that I had to turn it all off. No more newscasts, no more newspapers, no more obituaries, no more of the sounds of grief and suffering. One thing that often helps me is to attach myself to the rhythms of the outside world, meaning that I pay attention to the changes in the sunlight, the patterns of nature, the sounds of birds, all that stuff. Another is to simplify my schedule. Just do what needs to be done and no more. When I'm feeling the way you describe, I don't take on any additional tasks or responsibilities; in fact, I get rid of a few. The world doesn't need me to help it turn, and others will pick up the slack. I also read a lot of poetry. I don't have any advice, other than to tell you to do what you need to do to preserve your own happiness, but you know that already. Happiness might be a foreign concept right now, so stay aware of how things are affecting you, and just settle for the things that make you less sad. For now.

Oh, Psalmie, what a relief. And, yes, you most definitely have my permission to yell at her, and tell her it was damn selfish of her (well, it was) to try to ride out the storm, when there's people all over the country who care about her. Wonderful news.

Actually, I have reconsidered and I do have something more to say. The tagline: "It's better to have something to remember than nothing to regret." Wouldn't it make more sense, or at least be more poignant, to say: "It's better to have something to regret than nothing to remember?" I mean, the point is that even if it means having some regrets, it's better to have lived your life, rather than do nothing at all for fear of regret, and end up not having lived, right? You can have something to remember without having something to regret, and still have lived, but if you have nothing to remember, hence, nothing to regret, you haven't lived. See my point? :P--> Oh, wait, the movie. That's right. Well, I couldn't figure out what they were trying to invent in the first place, and it took me a long time to figure out what they invented in the second place, so when they started going back in time and having doubles, I was a little lost. I guess the conflict came in when they realized the implications -- that they could change history to their own advantage, and they became addicted to that knowledge, trying not to abuse it, but barely holding temptation at bay. So that's where the moral dilemma came in, as I saw it. Different genre, different movie, but I liked The Constant Gardener (or at least I liked it better than some of the other movies I've recently seen), based on a John LeCarre (if that's the author) novel about a woman who tries to take on the pharmaceutical industry's exploitation of patients in Africa.

Hold on about that flooding, though. Now I'm reading stuff that says it's underwater, although it was one of the last areas to flood, and one of the first to drain, now that the pumps are operating. I'll try to find a link. Okay, I don't know my geography, but Old Metairie's million dollar homes got a lot of flooding. Don't know where that is in relation to Metairie. And, Evan, I'm very glad to hear that you and your family are all safe. Anyone have an update on the situation in Metairie? I'm too unfamiliar with the area and am not having a lot of success finding out what the situation is there. We have a GS poster down there who no one has yet heard from.

Psalmie, I don't know how up-to-the-minute this news source is, but I just did a google search and Metairie is still without electricity, which might explain why JesseJoe hasn't been online. It escaped the worst of the flooding, and many residents have left. Let's hope she'll be back online soon.

I didn't get it either. But, then again, I think my neurons must have melted over the hot summer, because the past three movies I've seen were all head-scratchers, even though they came highly recommended. My daughter and I watched Primer, subtitles and all, and every ten minutes or so, one would look at the other and ask, "What's this movie about?" and the other would shrug. We made it through to the end, though. But then I gave it to my husband and he thought it was Deep and Meaningful and full of Ambiguity and Moral Uncertainty. So maybe it was just me.

Here's another site called Katrina Refugees United which is specifically set up to reunite people. http://www.refugeesunited.org/

Psalmie: While "selfish" may not have been the best word choice to describe someone who cares about and is looking for a missing friend, the tone is matter-of-fact. For what it's worth, it reads to me as if he's trying to be informative and helpful, not condemning.

Psalm: Have you heard from your friend? Here's another idea courtesy of the local paper. They recommmend phoning the Red Cross at (877)741-1444. They say that the Red Cross has volunteers to take down information about whomever you're looking for and the Red Cross will match that information to their lists of those staying at Red Cross shelters. Worth a try, if you haven't heard from her. Let's hope she's among the 78,000 who are safe in the shelters.

Psalmie, My local paper recommended the website of the The Times-Picayune for anyone seeking information. The website has all the local New Orleans coverage, plus discussion forums. I don't know if they have a list of names or not, but the forums might help if you ask for information about the neighborhood she lives in. I hope you soon hear news of your friend.