"We never conversate"

A while back, my eldest daughter complained that her mother, she, and I never conversated. The situation (conversation) was important enough that I didn't pursue the entomology of the word with her then. Truth is though, it gnawed at me.

Susan felt the same way(to a degree) as I did. We even conversed about it a few times with a wink and a nudge.

So . . . off to the internets!

From Langmaker:

Word: conversate
Part of Speech: v.
Other Forms: conversating
Etymology: [Backformation: The -ion suffix is removed from standard English conversation.]
Definition: To converse with another: We conversated about our plan, then decided to take the steamroller anyway.
Submitted By: Gracie
Date Submitted: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

So I guess this falls into the same category as irregardles and literally. Misused words that will migrate into use and become "real." No extreme harm. Communication remains possible. We just have one more instance of English being one crazy language.

Choose your own Adventure: Hamlet edition

There is a guy names Robin Johnson who has written a text adventure a la' Zork for Hamlet.

I have started it a few time and will someday finish. {Something I also said about Zork in 1981 or so . . . but this time I mean it.}.

From the game's opening:

It's so unfair! You're in trouble again, just because you called your uncle
- or rather, your new stepfather, Claudius - a usurping git. It's true, though.
Your real dad was SO much better than that guy. Too bad he was found
mysteriously dead in the orchard a couple of weeks back. Anyway, your mother
(who was, incidentally, looking quite something today in a sparse leather
number, er...) sent you to your room, and here you are. [game]

I used to really like the "Choose your own adventure" books. Although after playing one path I would usually read them cover to cover and try to guess the paths to and from each page. I had a few that you had to roll die for. They were like D&D for readers with no friends. That was me. :-)

I played D&D as a young teen but never had a good enough dungeon master to make me stick. I was too intellectual for them anyway . . . The guys I played with wanted to fight ogres, I was more interested in being a character different from myself. It never worked out.

A few months ago I ran into the designer of Adventure, Scott Adams online via chat. We were both trying to get an application called Multiplicity to work. He was looking to use it with EverQuest2 and I wanted it for my tablet PC . It was very cool just talking to a guy who had killed hours of my life reading and thinking and playing; all at the same time.

Who knew the levee would break?

I have a correction and some updates to the audio blog. Blame the mistakes on hearing the story in the car with Houston traffic distracting me. [should I admit that? Should it be reversed?].

The point of the blog is the same and I'm leaving it as it was originally recorded. It's not the federal government's job to fix problems at the state level. And before we talk about what the feds didn't do, let's look at the pork in Louisiana.

Correction: The person testifying was not the governor of LA, it was the Senior senator of same, Mary L. Landrieu (D).

Testimony: (mp3); text (I need to state here that the audio feed provided by the senator is significantly different from the Senate transcript. Take it for what it is worth.)
Mr. Bill skit referred to by Sen. Landrieu

WSJ: Blame Amid the Tragedy

My mother passed this opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal on to me. While it specifically discusses the failures of local government during Katrina and the flooding that followed, it also speaks to the role of the federal government in situations like this.

Blame Amid the Tragedy by Bob Williams

As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?

As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property.

Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible--local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.

The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency operations center. The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved. [more]

I'm a federalist at heart weighted towards the local levels. In fact, I think the feds should be as far away from my life as possible. It's job is to

". . . establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity. . ."

Government should work from the bottom up. It should start from my community association (rat bastards!), to mayor and city council, to Governor and state legislators, an THEN to the Federal government.
In fact, government should start at he family level . . . but then we'd have to define more than I want to define. (A co-dictatorship with my wife and I?)

Could FEMA have done better? Yes.
Should it have? Yes.
Do I have any faith that the Department of Homeland Security? No.
Is there enough blame to go around? Yes.
Will anything really change? That depends on how people vote at the local level and up from there.

Odawg on Orleans

My friend Owen lives in Noew Orleans with his wife Lucie. The following is an email he sent out. Permission to post was requested and granted

Last night, I began writing a very angry email about all
the things I'm upset with regarding this disaster. Fortunately, Lucie advised me
that it would be best to sleep on it. I'm glad I did. I'll get to the things I'm
upset about, but first, here's a list of things I'm grateful for right
now.

1. We're safe, our friends we have spoken to are safe, nobody we know
is unaccounted for as far as we know, and our pets are with us.

2. By all accounts, our uptown neighborhood is still high and
dry.

3. I'm grateful for all of the police, fire, USCG, medical, national guard,
volunteers, and civil servants who stayed behind to try to deal with this mess.
Their efforts have been heroic in many cases.

4. We're very grateful for the warm welcome we have received from family,
friends, and strangers here in Houston. We've been moved beyond words by the
hospitality and aid we've received.

5. We're most grateful for all of the prayers, emails, and phone calls of
concern we've received. It means a lot to us.

6. We're grateful I have a job. I'll get started again this
afternoon.

So keep in mind, while you're reading my negative stuff below, that Lucie
and I are in good spirits and we're optimistic about our future. We're in better
shape than a lot of people, probably most actually, and we should be
fine.

Now, for the things that are upsetting me.

1. The people who chose to stay behind.

Tens of thousands of people in New Orleans don't own cars. We know several
in our neighborhood. Others have cars, but can't afford to drive far or stay in
a hotel. And as in any city, there are plenty of elderly, infirm, and home bound
people who simply can't evacuate without a lot of help.

The city's
hurricane plan accounted for these people. Long before the evacuation order was
given, the city began issuing instructions for those who could not leave New
Orleans. Buses were to be sent around the city to designated pick up points to
take people to the Superdome. Those who could leave but could not afford hotel
rooms were advised of a number of shelters around the state.

Anyone who could get to a bus stop could get to the dome. The stops were
well publicized through TV, radio, newspaper, and church/community
organizations. It's unfathomable to me that anyone could not know how to get
there. Anyone unable to get to a stop could call a well publicized phone number
for assistance. The city has a van system that goes door-to-door for the
handicapped. In short, everyone, regardless of health or means, had the
opportunity to get to a shelter.

And yet, despite all of that, thousands - tens of thousands, perhaps -
chose to stay in their homes and ride out the storm, despite a mandatory
evacuation order. Many of these people had to be rescued from their homes
earlier this week. These people had small children with them, pregnant women,
the elderly, and the sick. They risked their own lives, the lives of their
families, and the lives of those sent to save them.

Furthermore, resources that could have been devoted to other purposes were
diverted to save these people. I'll go into further detail below, but hospital
personnel have been robbed at gunpoint, stores looted of non-survival goods,
prison riots have occured, and worst of all, levee breashes have remained
unrepaired. Many of these problems would not have been as severe had so many
resources not been dedicated to rescuing people who would not have needed rescue
had they done what they were obliged to do under the evacuation order. I am glad
so many have been rescued, and I pray for those who haven't. But this incident
should be a lesson and a warning: your actions have consequences not only for
yourself, but for others. Heed the authorities when they tell you to
leave.

What are you going to do if you stay behind? You can't stop the wind. You
can't stop the water. You can shoot looters dead I suppose, but really, is it
worth it? We pondered this question last year before Ivan, and we concluded that
we should leave. I've never regretted evacuating.

2. Failure to repair the levees.

This is frustrating. I can accept the notion that the city may be destroyed
by a hurricane. That's why I have insurance. It's a risk you run living in New
Orleans, and we pay for it in higher rates. What is somewhat more troubling is
that the scenario that's playing out has been aniticipated for years, and yet it
seems that the Army Corps of Engineers did not have a plan for repairing a levee
breach without overland access to said breach. The interviews I've heard with
ACE personnel so far have left me with the distinct impression that they had not
thought much about this, nor planned or prepared to deal with what's happening
right now.

Even worse, Mayor Nagin was assured that ACE would send helicopters with
sandbags to the levee breaches Tuesday afternoon. The National Guard was in
position ready to place the bags. You must understand - without repair of these
levees, the city is essentially in open communication with the Gulf of Mexico
via Lake Ponchartrain. Without repair, the city cannot be pumped out and
recovery cannot begin. The helicopters, however, did not show up. They were
apparently diverted for search and rescue. Nagin called it a case of "too many
chiefs". Whoever gave the order to divert those aircraft I'm sure did so in good
faith, obviously trying to save lives. However, at a high level, someone has to
have their eye on what's best for the city overall and allocate resources
according to priority and immediacy of need. But this balancing didn't happen.
The disaster plan and chain of command need tweaking in this respect. I'll note
here that I believe the evacuation effort was far improved this time around, and
that the efforts of everyone from the Mayor on down have been commendable, and
even heroic in many cases.

3. Looting.

Referring back to item 1 for a moment, let's keep in mind that every effort
was made to encourage people to either leave or avail themselves of the shelters
provided by the city and state. It's a free country and you can't send people to
the Superdome at gunpoint (at least before the storm; now may be different). But
I believe that if you choose to stay in your home in these situations despite
all advice and caution to the contrary, you are obligated to provide for
yourself in the event that you lose power and water for the amount of time that
you are warned that you may be without them.

Of course, if you run out, I don't mind much if you simply take what you
find someplace. If somebody breaks into our house tonight, I hope they partake
of anything edible they find. They need it more than we do. Keep in mind,
however, that MRE's and other supplies are provided at the Superdome. This was
publicized.

And yes, Winn Dixie and Wal Mart have insurance. Guess who pays for
it.

Thing is, most of the looting that I've seen is a lot more than food.
There's people taking TVs, tennis shoes, whatever. And they look happy to do it.
First hand reports of rampant, wanton looting of non-essenetial items are all
over the news, the web, and word of mouth. Worse, gunmen are carjacking and
robbing innocent people, rescue workers, and hospital personnel. Nurses are
being robbed at gunpoint while attempting to evacuate hospital patients. The
people doing these things are not "desperate victims" just trying to survive.
They are criminals, and they are mistreating people who would happily help them
if given the chance. They are taking advantage of the fact that the police and
National Guard are too busy rescuing people (who should not need rescue, see
item 1) to maintain law and order. I'm really angry that so many people around
the nation and the world are seeing that what New Orleans does in a hurricane is
rob and mob. These looters disgust me, and a full accounting needs to be done
some day. Justice must be done. People must be held accountable for their
actions.

Anyway, that's my take today. We still don't know when we can go home. But
as I said above, we have a lot to be thankful for. God is merciful and we have
faith that we'll find a way forward.

CheersOwen

I asked a few questions and pointed him to cnsnews.com where they had a story on the "class warfare" aspect of the looting. His response:

Dude, I hear you about the "class warfare" stuff and the management
nightmare vs amazing rescues story lines. The real story is that so many who
could have died didn't because the city and state got the evacuation plan going
and made it work better than it had before. The problems we're having, while
preventable, are just the understandable result of fallible human beings dealing
with an unprecedented distaster. It's nobody's "fault", and mistakes happen. I'm
just upset and want an explanation as to how some of these mistakes came
about.

Really, I don't have a problem with somebody who's house is under water
breaking into my house because they need food, clothes, water, whatever. Please,
help yourself and survive. I'm angry that you chose to stay, but I want you to
live. Once you cross the line from necessities to jewelry or something like
that, now you're a looter and a criminal.

I'll go into it more in some other email, but the national correspondents
covering this story most likely don't live next to public housing the way Lucie
and I do. I don't think most of my neighbors would wantonly steal from us, but I
know some would. So yes, there are some people in New Orleans right now looking
to get theirs from some rich white guy's house. Race and New Orleans is
something we could talk about endlessly.

The billion dollar question: will there be a next time? I dunno. What I'm seeing tonight is really disheartening. Thousands keep showing up expecting to be rescued from the some and now the convention center. They're angry. This is looking bad.

Florida Gov. Blanco: "We need a higher power right now.''

In a morning gathering in Baton Rouge, Gov. Blanco, flanked by a number of religious leaders, asked for peoples' prayers to help Gulf Coast residents cope with the magnitude of the disaster.

"We need a higher power right now,'' Blanco said.

"There are a lot of people to pray for,'' she added.

Archbishop Alfred Hughes was one of the religious leaders at Blanco's side and he offered scripture and prayer.

"We are so overwhelmed, we do not know how to respond,'' Hughes said.

So, he said, we turn to prayer.

Hughes read from a letter from St. Paul to the Romans: "We know that all things work for the good of God . . ." . . . if God is for us, who can be against us?''

Katrina refugees: Setting priorities

Flickr has a group for Katrina photos that are amazing, sad and amazing both. And then there is this one. It's good to know that people find a way to get by.

There are also a few overlays being uploaded to GoogleEarthHacks where photographs of the destruction can be laid on top of the existing satellite maps.

The local YMCA is looking for people to host employees that have had to evacuate the NOLA YMCA's. We've opened our house since Sarah is off in Dallas

I wish we could do more.

Kingwood Gangstas

Gwendolyn and Miriam look like they are being sucked into one of those Kingwood sisterhood gangs. I say sisterhood because it appears that their sister Michelle is the root of this particular evil.

And Miri, sweet Miri. {sigh}

Maestro, a little music please?

More than ten years ago, I got a harmonica. It was the same time I started juggling I think. And I think my first harp was in a Klutz kit. I don't know where I lost that first one. The second got stolen. I've been blowing on my current one for more than six years now. It was a gift from Susan.

It passes time in traffic these days. Gwen and Miriam blow on it once in a while.

Today I was listening to Green Day's Wake Me Up When September Ends [video] for the and thought to myself how good a harp would fit in between the notes. And let me tell you, IT WAILED!

So after the song I blew this and that. Mostly sad-ish stuff as I thought about the destruction in the south and how those folks know the blues.

So why not make a recording? Enter audioblog.

For the record, I know I stink. And I know the audio quality of the media stinks. But it was fun. That counts for something.

A Tangled Relationship

I got to thinking about my best friend because her brother Owen and his wife Lucie are coming over for dinner. I hadn't seen her in a few years, since her brother's wedding in fact. But her family seems like my family and our lives have become fairly intertwined over years and miles.

{As a side note, Gwendolyn still wonders why she wasn't in that wedding. All the previous weddings she had attended she had had a formal position.}

So I drop Treloar an email. It was one of those, "Hey how are you? How have you been?"

She replies back with a general overview followed by the following:

I saw your sister in May at Ben's wedding. It was bizarre explaining to the connection. You to Owen through me, Owen to Michelle through you, Michelle to Ben through Owen. Kind of like this: Michelle's younger brother's best friend in high school is the best man's older sister, and the younger brother introduced the best man to his sister, and then the best man introduced the groom to the sister's best high school friend's older sister.

I laughed my butt off and my co-workers looked at me funny (again).

It never ceases to amaze me how lucky I am to have a friend that I relate with so well. After knowing her for 15 or 16 years, most of which were spent apart with years of no interaction, she still brings me joy.

I can't wait to see how our families intertwine as time goes by.

If you are in the Chicago area, stop on by the Notebaert Nature Museum and ask for Treloar. Tell her Aaron says "Hi!" And tell her that he misses her.

Some good does come

Hurricane Katrina has driven strangers, friends, friends of friends, and family from their homes (picture).
They left in droves this past weekend and have no idea what they'll return to.

I saw this quote about those residents that decided t stay behind:

"I'm expecting that some people who are die-hards will die hard," parish council President Aaron Broussard said.

Reports this morning say that the "second worst storm in US history" is weakening quickly but that doesn't mean a whole lot. We spent last week looking at the destruction in South Florida when Katrina was a category one storm. The same storm hitting New Orleans is a category 4. It can't be good. We are still talking 140 mph winds over 120 miles. That's a lot of wind, rain, tide surge, tornados.

There's a flickr slideshow available.

If you stayed behind in the Big Easy, why don't you head over to Molly's at the Market? I hear they are going to be open.

Two very good friends live out that way and came to Houston to wait out the storm with a friend. We haven't seen them since their wedding.

The bright side of the storm (from our point of view) is that while they are in town we'll get to see them. They are more than friends, they are family; and it's been too long.

The misuse of the word "Literally" kills me. Literally.

Twice on talk radio yesterday I heard the host misuse the word literally incorrectly. And it [literally] twists my insides up the way the use of irregardless [literally] kills my sister when she hears it's use (even though it is a real word).

In case you are not aware, "literally" does not mean that the metaphor to follow is a literary bit of prose. According to Common errors in English,

It should be used to distinguish between a figurative and a literal meaning of
a phrase. It should not be used as a synonym for "actually" or "really."

I have found that almost every use of the word is the exact opposite of it's literal meaning, literally.

Thankfully, I don't have to make eradicationtion of this misuse of language the goal of this blog. Someone has beaten me to it. Literally, A Web log has done an excellent job of collecting samples of use with commentary.

I'm going to literally add it to my news feeds.

(Wait, that wasn't witty or smart. Nuts.)

Something different tonight. Something orange.

Today's drawing

Some meetings require me to be very involved.

Give me data before hand; give me opposing views in the room or on the phone; let's make some decisions. Recap a status report that I could have read at my desk . . . . you get today's picture.

SUCCESSES THIS WEEK IN IRAQ (12-18 AUGUST 2005)

The mainstream press doesn't cover the good things that are being accomplished by our troops in Iraq; I don't think that it fits the message that they want to get out.

The fact is that our soldiers are doing good work every day. Work that needs to be done and work that won't get done if we pull out any earlier than necessary.

So in case you didn't know it, HQ United States Central Command puts out a news release weekly. This weeks lists the construction of schools, hospitals, and courthouses. It lists public work projects. It covers the increasing activity on the Iraqi Army soldiers stepping up to the plate.

If you want to read previous releases, you can do so here.

This I Believe on NPR

"Beginning in 1951, radio pioneer Edward R. Murrow asked Americans from all walks of life to write essays about their most fundamental and closely held beliefs. Half a century later, NPR, Atlantic Public Media and This I Believe, Inc. are partnering to recreate 'This I Believe' on the air and online."

I recomposed my "Today is a Good Day" essay for this series put on by NPR. I perused some of the other submissions and it's good to know that there are people out there that believe in things. That's what makes America great.

I wish that the StoryCorps booth was traveling to Houston. It's neat to see inside other's people's family. I'd like to imagine that the rest of the interview, the part that doesn't make it on the air, is just as poignant to the families involved. I'd like to interview my family about our past. Maybe that's a new project for me in my 33rd year.

It's my birthday!

Thirty-three years ago today, Deborah Klenke had a baby boy, yours truly. And the people rejoiced.

We didn't have much time to celebrate because we took Sarah to Denton, TX (just north of Dallas) to start her sophomore year at University of North Texas.


Move in went well. The dorms are nice. The menu had lots of vegetarian options and there were lots of activities for the next week or so.

After talking to a bunch of students, parents, and other people helping other people move in, this may be a great fit for Sarah. I hope so, I want her to happy and successful.

Susan says that we may celebrate my birthday in a few weeks. I am kinda ok with it but it sure would be nice to have some crazy birthday surprise today. Last year my father had his wedding on my birthday and today we moved in Sarah. It's a conspiracy I tell you!

In any case, today was a good day.

Evening doodle on the Tablet

Google Earth the Weather!

I love when cool things happen. Even more so when they deal with maps. Even MORE so when technology is involed!

Slashdot reports that the National Weather Service Forecast Office is offering XML/RSS feeds for alerts, observations, and forecasts.

And they further report that the Tulsa, OK office is offering a Google Earth layer for temperature (today up to 5 days out).



Very, very cool.

A visit to the Emergency Room

A few weeks ago I had to go to the Emergency Room. A mildly sore throat at lunch was an incredible pain at 11:30 that night. I was unable to speak and unable to swallow. I was just short of freaking out. So off to the ER I go with Susan and there I meet people. Or, to be more precise, I meet them.

I can't help but listen to things around me. I regularly invade the privacy of people talking amongst themselves. I have friends that have practiced NOT listening to conversations in restaurants and elevators but I don't have (and don't want) that skill. I listen, I hear.

So we are at the ER for three hours or so and other patients come in and out of our sphere.

There was a very poor family that had avoided going to the doctor when one of the kids had an abscess. They looked like they had been living on fast food and hope; poor, but overweight. I heard them whispering to each other how they were going to answer any questions that the admin people might ask, mostly to avoid saying that they didn't have the money to pay for the visit.
The family included a boy about six or seven. He was tired and hungry and dirty and his mother was frustrated with him when he complained about being tired and hungry.

There was a teen girl in the room next to us. She was with her mother and having female related problems. It turned out that they were the kind of problems that she got from her male partner though. She and her mom were having to make some radical adjustments to what they thought of themselves and each other. I think that they left knowing the other loved them more than they knew. But their lives and views of each other were changed forever.

A guy came in with his girlfriend. She was in a wheelchair (secured) and obviously well beyond wasted. He appeared to know the doctor, they had the repartee' of regulars. She had OD's again and was going back to rehab in the morning. He was already making arrangements and spoke like he had done it before. He looked extraordinarily tired but looked at her with love.

As we were doing our exit paperwork another family came in. An older woman, her middle aged daughter, and the daughter's husband. They met the doctor around the corner near the ambulance bay. The older woman's husband and the younger daughter's father hadn't made it to the hospital alive. The family started to talk to the doctor about a DNR but it was too late. A nurse brought the older woman a chair. No one seemed very surprised, there weren't many tears. I'm guessing they had been shed for a while in the recent past. The family sat in quiet sadness and maybe some guilty relief.

Then we were done and went home. As we were leaving we saw the little boy was hanging out in the lobby with a bunch of teens that had come in with a skateboard snapped in half. His mom wasn't around.


Me, I got a steroid shot and some painkiller. The doctor thought it might be viral but there was nothing to be done about it. I was better two days later.

I wrote a while back what makes a good day. Here's another example of how good my life is even when things seem to be going poorly. I can provide for my family. They are all healthy. My parents are around and my kids get to see them often. My older girls were home watching the younger ones and worrying about me. Susan was by my side in case I needed anything.

Sometimes people forget what a good day is. Sometimes the bad days turn out not to be so bad when put into a different perspective.