That Giant Sucking Sound

First Rita, then Humberto-- two hurricanes bearing down on Galveston and Houston that both turned hard to the northeast and hit around the Texas/Louisiana line. Why?

I thought about it for all of about ten seconds when I came up with a decidedly un-scientific answer:

It's the casinos, stupid.

Casinos, by design, are there to suck vast amounts of cash from the pockets of their hapless patrons. They are very, very good at this, to the point that I'm just going to start handing $20 bills to random casino employees. That would accomplish the same thing as playing the slots and would make more people happy.

The problem is, these cash-sucking vaccuums also seem to affect large weather formations, such as hurricanes. As these storms near the Texas coast, they can't break free from the bankruptcy-inducing vortex and are sucked right into Louisiana.

Karma's a b!t(&, isn't it...

Thar she blows!!! Or not...

For the second time in less than a month, our area has been spared the effects of a hurricane. Back in August, Hurricane Dean had everyone running around like proverbial chickens, only to turn south and slam into Mexico. Same thing happened with Tropical Storm Erin.

Yesterday, Tropical Storm Humberto rapidly spun into existence off the coast of Galveston and, initially at least, headed directly our way. Liberty County was poised to take a direct hit from this storm, with rain projected at between five and fifteen inches. MAJOR flooding was expected.

That was the story when I went to bed around 21:00, fully expecting to be awakened by a pager's tone sometime after midnight. Instead a full bladder awakened me at 3:00. I listened for the sound of heavy rain, but heard nothing. Buford's bladder was apparently full also, so I go to the back door, expecting him to run out and right back in (see previous blog post).

I open the door to find not only no rain, but no hint that it had rained at all. Obviously perplexed, I fire up the laptop to check the situation. Seems Humberto is now a full-fledged hurricane, but he's decided to pull a hard right and visit the Beaumont area instead of Houston.

So we've dodged yet another bullet.

And you thought you were old!!!

Today was very, very interesting. I attended a seminar for teachers at the Houston Museam of Natural Science hosted by the Center for the America Idea. While most of the day was spent listening to interesting lectures by noted historians, the highlight of the seminar was a visit to the "Legacy of Lucy" exhibit.

If you don't know who Lucy is, or was, she is one of the oldest known hominid fossils. It is noted for being the most complete skeleton of a creature known as australopithecus afarensis that lived app. 3.2 million years ago.

That's right-- 3.2 million years ago. There is something awe-inspiring about looking at bones from a creature that lived that long ago.

Makes my 39 years a pittance in comparison...

The First Date

Today, as someone who doesn't have a daughter, I experienced a facsimile of what it must be like for a father to watch his precious girl go out on her first date: I let someone borrow my new vehicle for an extended road trip.

My brother calls this morning, inviting me to tag along with he and the nephew to Lufkin to see the zoo. I politely declined, opting instead to stay home and vegetate. After the first week of school, I need some serious down time to rejuvenate.

He then asks if he can borrow my new Sorento for the trip. I hesitated before I said yes, knowing the various reasons he would want to take it instead of his old truck, namely gas mileage and safety. That and it is new.

An hour or so later, we're swapping keys and I'm watching my baby go down the road with another at the wheel. I'll be waiting patiently at the door, with a shotgun, for her return. If there is so much as a scratch...

Bark, Bark... Bark... Bark

Buford and I have this nightly ritual, consisting of me turning on the back porch light and opening the door, then he runs out and barks at... who knows what.

This happens every night without fail, until tonight. Tonight I turn on the light, open the back door, Buford runs out, and I hear one, "Arrff." That was it.

I listen a little closer and I can hear the pitter-patter of rain.

Ahhh... that explains it. I open the door and Boo comes scurrying back inside.

I guess rituals don't hold up well against getting wet in the eyes of a canine.