The Laughing Wolf

Hurricane Katrina: Flood Aid - A Day To Help

Hugh Hewitt gave the call, Instapundit set the date, and N. Z. Bear is tracking.

Taking my cue from the offer Val is making, I will be offering some signed, numbered photographic prints. Send me some form of receipt and a mail address and I will send you:

I will do this for as long as the prints last.

There are lots of lists, but one of the first and best is done by Lee Ann, and Baldilocks has a great one too.

Tomorrow is the day. Do what you can, both to give and to help spread the word.

LW

Dealing With Looters

This post over at Eric's ended up reminding me of one of the best pieces of politics I have ever witnessed.

Growing up in Macon, Georgia meant knowing one of the more colorful mayors in America: Ronnie Thompson. This is the person who stopped a train carrying nerve gas for disposal as it came through town, armed with a Thompson, in a display of grandstanding. Listening to the police scanner in those days was far more entertaining than network television given that you never knew what Ronnie would say (or what else would happen, such as engines dropping out of police cars). Thing was, Ronnie knew and really didn't seem to care -- at least until the riots.

The late 60s saw riots break out nationwide, and Macon was getting ready to have one itself. Things were bleak downtown, downright grim even, when Ronnie took to the police radio. The talk went something like:

"This is Ronnie Thompson, your mayor. I will personally give an all expense paid vacation to the Bahamas to the first officer who shoots and kills a looter."

It actually went a little longer than that, but that is the gist. The streets cleared almost immediately.

The areas hit by Katrina should be lucky enough to have a Ronnie Thompson right now... And, yes, I do feel looters should be shot.

LW

The Weekend

Given the news this morning, I thought I would share something that I found funny from this weekend. My friend and I had a good visit, which included time out at Wolf Park. Now, my friend is what might be termed vertically challenged, but usually is full enough of energy and attitude so that you forget. Doesn't work on wolves, as it turns out.

At Howl Night, she left the grandstand to go run an errand just before things got started, and I got to watch Erin and one other wolf exhibit some wonderful predatory behavior. It was enjoyable, to me, to watch them lock on and track her as she moved away. Glad she is not interesting in volunteering with the wolves, though they seemed most interested in having her...

LW

Hurricane Katrina: New Orleans Flooding

According to reports by both Brendan Loy and Josh Britton one of the worst-case scenarios is taking place: a major levee has given way. According to reports, a 200-foot section of Lake Pontchartrain levee has given way, at 17th and Canal. Go to them for the latest, though Brendan has not updated since about 0130 hours and Josh since 0348. MINI-UPDATE: Both are taking breaks for now.

Fox is now reporting multiple levee breaks/overflows, apparently three breeches and multiple overflows. They are also reporting deaths in the SuperDome, and bodies seen floating in canals. Unsure if those are bodies from recent burials (NO has above ground burial) or people who stayed behind. One report of 50 people killed at one building in Mississippi. MINI-UPDATE: Figure is now given as 30 (or so).

Add this to the hammering given Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and things are bad. It may well be weeks before we know the full extent of damage and deaths.

As bad as they are, however, it could have been much worse. Had the storm not dropped in strength as much and as fast as it did, had it not jogged in course...

More later...

Hurricane Katrina: Good News For The Morning

At least from a relative point-of-view... The storm has dropped to a Category IV, and there are other bits of good news. Not sure I completely believe the reports on Fox that 80 percent of the population of New Orleans evacuated, but it does sound as if they got a good chunk out. Now we can only hope the surrounding communities did as well. The track may shift, and the results of that wait to be seen. Keep all the people affected in your thoughts and prayers, as the next few hours will tell the tale. I won't be able to blog, but see this previous post for some good links.

LW

Hurricane Katrina: Keeping Up

Well, keeping up as much as possible at any rate...

Kathy Kinsley has a very good list...

Boudicca does too, go down the left side...

Both of them recommend this gentleman, and that is impressive, and good enough for me.

Anyone have a good list of New Orleans/LA bloggers?

LW

Hurricane Katrina: Preparing For The Aftermath

There is no way that this is going to be good, and there is nothing any of us can do (other than thoughts and prayers) to make it otherwise. That is a given. We can sit around, pontificate, moan, bitch, and generally do nothing constructive what-so-ever.

Or, we can do something constructive to help in the aftermath.

Go check right now with your local Red Cross, to find out their plans and what supplies they want to be able to send down there. Check with religious organizations that send teams down to help rebuild homes, provide medical help, and more, and find out what they need. Check with the group of your choice, and go buy some of those supplies right now and drop them off today.

Give blood today if you can, it is always needed locally as well as when disaster strikes. If you don't like how the Red Cross does things, there are other blood banks and organizations out there.

Volunteer some labor to help load trucks or containers so that they can roll as soon as possible after this strikes.

No, we can't do a damned thing to prevent what is to come. We bloody well can do something now, however, to provide something constructive afterwards. Go now and do so.

LW

Hurricane Katrina: Some Thoughts On Preparedness

Following up on some e-mail and phone calls, some thoughts to throw out to the wind:

1. They waited way too late to order the evacuation of New Orleans. Yesterday probably would have been too late. Even with converting most inbound lanes into outbound; surging all available rolling rail stock (passenger cars and freight cars, as you can get a LOT of people out as freight); using river craft; and, surging all possible aircraft, there is no way to move even what I consider a reasonable fraction of the population out. At a minimum, if you want to get anywhere near half out, they should have started yesterday if not the day before. If the evacuation is any indication of the rest of their plans, they have indeed squandered the year...

2. Politicians rarely do realistic or effective disaster preparedness planning, unless their feet are held to the fire. In areas where things are once very ten years or so, there are far more pressing needs, like funding things that will keep them in power rather than things that might keep those same constituents alive in an emergency. Far better to fund something frivolous and expensive that provides some feel-good now, than to pour money into something that might or might not be useful during any given term in office. Feh. Not saying that is the case here, just noting a fact of life that you might want to keep in mind and discuss (forcefully even) with your local politicians/civil-master-wannabes...

3. Yes, the Dome was built to withstand Cat 5: around 1970. The plans were drawn up then, ground breaking was on Aug. 11, 1971, and it formally opened on August 3, 1975. At the best, 30 years ago, but more likely the design was done to codes and knowledge 35-plus years ago. We know a lot more now about the forces in a storm, materials have changed, and more importantly methods have changed. Given those changes, and the wear and tear on the structure, I agree with a friend who said that if they were in NO right now, they might just go home rather than into the Dome as they would rather die there than trapped in what remains of the Dome. I would be concerned, but feel a lot better, if this were a category IV instead of a V. It is also something of a bowl within a bowl, which could make flooding really interesting. At this point, any reasonably significant breach in the structure that provides an opening for wind and water could have catastrophic results.

4. The best-case scenario I can see right now is for a direct hit by the eye. It will keep the worst of the winds off the city, and give at least some opportunity to deal with things. The super-best-case is for the storm to weaken significantly before landfall, and hit at low tide, and then have the eye go directly over.

5. The worst case is for things to go as anticipated and to have a near miss, with the absolute worst case is to have the eye pass just to one side so that the city and the lake get that worst quadrant fun. Worst and strongest winds, no respite, massive rain -- the recipe for disaster on a scale not seen in the U.S. in modern times.

6. As previously stated in a comment, I will be very happy if things remain as currently projected and we get out with less than 20,000 dead. If we get towards 1,000 dead, I will do a happy dance at so few being killed. Again, if all remains as projected and there is no significant weakening, extreme rough-order-calculations give me a range of 20,000 to 100,000 casualties, with a plus or minus in excess of 50 percent. Fact is, I have insufficient data and too much depends on fate. If the Dome goes, high-end is a given. Water over the dike is bad, but not nearly as bad as if one or more dikes go -- and the order in which things go, and where they go first, is going to be a critical factor. Extra pumps, emergency dikes, emergency diversions, and more could make a difference in the totals. Right now, the odds are that the totals will be high no matter what, but when something like this happens you take whatever silver linings and breaks come your way, and even as you mourn your losses you count your blessings that it was not worse, for it can always be worse.

7. All the stay-and-survive preparations you could possibly make are useless in these circumstances. This is the time to use the emergency bug-out plans and preparations; actually, yesterday was the better time for that.

8. Pray, meditate, think, cast spells, whatever you do -- just do it. Let that which is right be, and please oh please let it be so much better than things look to be now.

LW

Blog Sabbath

Today, I ask that if you live in or near New Orleans or along the northern Gulf Coast, get out. Why? How about this?, or this? Yeah, What She Said. I've been involved in disaster preparedness for natural and un-natural disasters since high school, and I fear two things here more than I can say: I fear the storm that is Hurricane Katrina, and I fear that politicians, being politicians instead of statesmen, have squandered the year they had and that the citizens they are supposed to serve will pay the price. Then again, the citizens have a responsibility as well, and a year to prepare. Ant and grasshopper folks... ant and grasshopper, but this time the ant better have been preparing to move its rear out from under the base of the dam and to higher ground...

Too late if you are in the path, but if you are not and are finally getting the idea that such things can and will hit you no matter where you live, start here. Go go here, heck, read this entire category. Follow all the trackback links, for some of them are really, really good.

Meantime, a small moment of serenity from the gardens at the lair for those that need it:

Keep those affected in your thoughts, open your doors and heart as needed.

LW

Welcome To Food For Thought Saturday

Saturday at the Laughing Wolf is a day for good news and food for thought. This got started because of my Blogfather, Joe Katzman, and his good-news-only posts on Saturday. While we will post other news if it is needed, our hope is to keep Saturday’s a fun day, a philosophical day as much as we can. So, enjoy the food for thought, and while you are at it, go check out Sufi Wisdom and more at Winds of Change, food for thought at Who Tends The Fires (Ironbear apparently still in Snowbear's freezer, hiding from the heat smart man that he is), and the Saturday question of the day at Tammi's World. Enjoy your day.

Food For Friend

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a friend whom I have not seen in several years. We agreed that too long was too long, and that opportunities were meant to be seized less they be impossible later. So, the result is -- despite getting an e-mail entitled "Help, I'm Lost" before they ever left home -- a nice visit. I know how I am spending my day, how about you? How about taking some time, making some time, for friends old and new? Think about it, but don't take too long, just go and do.

LW
off to practice what he preaches...

DC/Baltimore In September?

I have found out that I will be in Baltimore and DC the end of September. Are there any bloggers in that area who would care for a get-together? Say around the 27th?

LW

Friday Wolf Blogging

The eyes have it. Looking a wolf in the eyes is not something you should do, for it can be seen as a challenge. There are times, however, when it happens and is not a challenge, but something else. A moment of message, of understanding (even if it is understanding that you are about to be kissed or pounced upon). The eyes have it.

I also continue my bleg for the Freezer fund. Please spread the word, and to all who have donated, my thanks. To all who have carried the story and spread the word, my thanks. Here is the story of the freezer. It is not a small thing, since it has to hold dozens upon dozens of deer and other contributions, most of the year's supply coming in the fall. Please help by spreading the word of the need, and doing what you can. Contributions can be made via mail, phone, or online. Thanks.

Also, don't forget to visit Wolf Park Photos of the Day every day, and to check out the wonderful work of (and upcoming photo seminars by) Monty Sloan

LW

The Real

Years back, there was a huge ad campaign for a soft drink that used the catch-phrase "The Real Thing." It worked for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it built off a popular saying and belief that for every item there was a real thing, that thing being the best, the leader, etc. All else were but pitiful imitations, a poor reflection in the best tradition of Plato.

Today, I want you to go visit two real things.

First, I want you to go read Gates of Fire by the incomparable Michael Yon. To my mind, there have only been two real reporters in Iraq: the late Steven Vincent and Michael Yon. Both have lived up to, and beyond, what I was taught a real reporter, a real journalist, should be.

This post shows why, so go read it. Know also that Micheal is going to be castigated by the pitiful poseurs that fill the ranks of MSM for one action he took. By living up to his duties as a Man (not male, a Man), he commits the sin of becoming a participant rather than a dilettante pretending to be a chronicler. Growing up, I saw a noted local news photographer be attacked by more than a few of his colleagues for something similar. This photographer came across a worker at the newspaper threatening to commit suicide, gun to head. He faced a decision, and put down his camera to try and prevent the tragedy. He was roundly, soundly, and loudly castigated for so doing. His job, according to them, was to chronicle with Olympian detachment, not to do something so plebeian as to save a life. Michael Yon will be dismissed and vilified for the decision he made. For whatever it may be worth, I think both he and that long-ago photographer made the right decision, and in so doing show themselves to be the real thing.

I also hope you note the truly blood-boiling part of the story. An accounting must be demanded.

The other end of what happens can be intense as well. In looking at and thinking about what happens to those in combat, we can easily forget those that also serve by sitting and waiting. This story tells the real tale of what comes from the call. Read it. Think. Never forget.

There is a reason that Soldier's Angels is a permanent part of my sidebar. Go there, make a donation, either to support efforts such as those read above, or to Project Valour-IT.

The real thing. Michael Yon is. Soldier's Mom is. What a pity that so many in the MSM are not.

LW

To The Bad Example Family

and all others in the Mu Nu verse, leave any backup sites in the comments and I will post them here as links. Miss you guys, even you, Eric... *G*

LW

BEF:
Postcards From NYC (Thanks Michele!)
Letters From New York City

Others:
My Pet Jawa

Basil's Blog is also keeping a listing, though every time I go there I keep expecting to see the author show as a white fox with a craving for cherry twizzlers...

Thought And Prayer Time

Reading Army Wife Toddler Mom this morning, I found that Soldier's Mom's son received a serious spinal injury in a VBIED attack. The update is that waging "spiritual warfare" as Blackfive phrased it has paid off. There is still a long ways to go, so keep SPC Noah Pincusoff and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

LW

That's More Like It

The drought still be with us, but the last two nights have been wonderful. Last night, it was cool enough that I cut off the AC and opened windows, with the result that the lair is quite nice this morning. Hope it stays this way for a while...

LW

Instead Of The Usual

There is not a lot grabbing my attention this morning, just more of the same idiots being the same idiots. As for me, I could bay at them as usual, or I could share some other things -- guess what I decided to do?

Yesterday saw more than a dozen boxes dealt with, an antique dresser finally put all back together, organizing, and food. In fact, a lot more food than planned as some tomatoes ripened faster than anticipated.

Nearly a dozen good sized tomatoes to go with purple and regular basil. A quick trip into boiling water and the tomatoes were packaged and frozen. Need to remember to get lettuce so I can make a BLT...

A good bunch of purple basil, washed and ready to be made into pesto...

The start of a good batch of pesto, did this one and a double batch with green basil. I also made up a bottle of balsamic syrup so that I can do a favorite summer salad of fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil leaves, and balsamic syrup... On the grill were some veggies, flank steak Cubano, and a chunk of meat that did so so.

Enjoy the day.

LW

Blog Sabbath

Since the garden is coming in, sort of, I thought I would share a small bit of the bounty with you today. Yesterday saw 7 pints of homemade tomato sauce canned, almost another full pint frozen, 3 pints of pepper sauce started, hot and bell pepper frozen, jalapeno and habanero peppers smoked on the grill, and about sixteen ears of corn smoked on the grill as well. The only thing not grown here was the corn, and it was grown nearby. Today should see lots of pesto made if all goes well.

Go enjoy the day.

LW

Welcome To Food For Thought Saturday

Saturday at the Laughing Wolf is a day for good news and food for thought. This got started because of my Blogfather, Joe Katzman, and his good-news-only posts on Saturday. While we will post other news if it is needed, our hope is to keep Saturday’s a fun day, a philosophical day as much as we can. So, enjoy the food for thought, and while you are at it, go check out Sufi Wisdom and more at Winds of Change, food for thought at Who Tends The Fires (Ironbear apparently still in Snowbear's freezer, hiding from the heat smart man that he is), and the Saturday question of the day at Tammi's World. Enjoy your day.

Thank You Joe Katzman

It seems like it has been forever. It seems like it was just yesterday.

Online news sources and communities were different then, and the rise of the Blog was just beginning. To be honest, while I knew the term and perused a couple, blogs and blogging really didn't register with me that much. The rough and ready forum of Baen's Bar was a favorite stop for news, discussion, and debate. And the occasional cyber bar fight.

All that changed one morning when a story broke on about some teachers behaving very badly towards children of soldiers. My first response was to call "Bull!" I figured it would take very little to show the story was bogus, so I set out to do some real journalism. What I found is something much worse than is accepted as conventional wisdom today. Among other things I found, thankfully, that I could never qualify as a "Real Journalist" again as when the families asked that the story be dropped (they had to live there with those people, and continuing could have made things bad and put the kids in a worse position), I dropped it.

I followed the story on my own, and didn't have client. I went to the Bar and started reporting what I was finding, and John Ringo told me there was someone I should meet. A sort time later, I was e-mailing with Joe Katzman, founder and original writer for Winds of Change. Almost immediately, I found myself a proud Citizen Journalist -- living up to what I had been taught journalism ought to be -- and posting at Winds.

Joe encouraged me, taught me about this brave new world that was starting to change the face of information and information warfare, and gave the occasional good swift kick when needed. I knew of his goals for Winds, and was and am proud to have been a part. I also knew that Winds was not the place for some of what I wrote, the little stuff, the day-to-day, the humor. So, with Joe's help, I started Laughing Wolf.

It was a lot of help. My last formal programming class was Fortran IV on punch cards, and it showed. Joe helped with coding, templates, anti-spam, and continued to encourage, kick, and do. I thought it only proper to do a couple of things as a result. First, Winds of Change went to a special place at the top of my blogroll. Second, I decided to do my own take on special Saturday posts. Joe had started doing "Good News Saturdays" as a way of helping promote thought and coverage of good news. It was a day of rest, of respite of the overwhelming and relentless onslaught of negative coverage in the Old Media and even the bad news covered in the blogs. My own take was "Food For Thought" so that I could cover a complementary but different range of topics.

All things, however, must come to an end. Change blows constantly around the world, even within the world of blogs. Most especially within a site devoted to covering and encouraging those winds. I have known what was coming, but a certain sense of denial has been there too. Yet, last Saturday, Joe told the world, and pulled the plug of Good News Saturdays and his current participation in Winds.

The changes in Joe's life are good, wonderful, and right and I want to wish him and his bride-to-be all the good things in life. May the light shine on them, on the new path they walk together, and fill their new life with health, happiness, joy, love, and prosperity.

Winds will grow, change, and continue. That is the way of things, and the way Joe envisioned and worked to make happen with what I will continue to think of as his blog. So will the blogosphere, as I am but one of many for whom Joe provided assistance and encouragement. Each one of us apparently decided to emulate that, so the ranks grow and become legion. Joe's legions.

Thank you so very much, my Blogfather. This does not begin to cover it all, but it is a start. Thank you, thank you for all you have done.

The cue here should be for a sunset, but that is not right. For what you ride off into right now is not a sunset, but the sunrise of a bright new day. A new road, the right road for the two of you. May our respective roads continue to meet and parallel.

LW

Friday Wolf Blogging

Things are hectic, but when I saw this I had to smile and relax a bit. Hard to do otherwise in the face of such an example.

Please don't forget to help spread the word about the Freezer Fund. To answer a question, such a large one is needed because fall (mating season) is when deer love to jump in front of cars, so we get the majority of the year's supply then. Please help.

My thanks to Jan Bussey, Ith, and Mickey for their generosity and help! Go check them out.

LW

Democratic Revolt In The Maldives

You sure won't hear it in the Old Media, and very few blogs are covering this either. As always, you can depend on freedom blog Publius Pundit to get you the news. You can scroll down through the catalog of posts on this and get caught up. If you are interested in freedom, democracy, and more, this site needs to be a daily read for you.

LW

Dashing To The Grave

Army Wife Toddler Mom is a regular read for me. Their family recently suffered a loss, and I extended my condolences at the time. Today, I find the story of going to the funeral and I simply can't quit laughing. What a send-off! You just know that they were looking down and laughing, and what excellent blackmail for later...

LW

Yes, I Am A Prevert

No, not yet a full pervert (who knew there was a written exam?) but on the way, as I visit Bou several times a day to see what her weather pixie is up to. The pixie changes clothes more times than the jiggle-du-jour in a typical television show and has some very, very interesting clothing choices. Yep, find myself quite taken with that cute thing, to the point that I could see coming up behind her and going "Isn't that a buffalo nickle down there? Yes, go ahead, bend over, and pick it up. I'll steady you..." Yep, when you have fantasies of the pixie, there is no doubt as to prevert status...

LW

The Future Of Blogging

The wonderful Michele at Letters From New York City is posting on the mobile future of blogging and also has part 1A here. Keep an eye out as this is stuff every blogger needs to think about. Check out her new co-blogger too.

LW

A Link To Harvey

Okay. I realized I had not thrown a link Harvey's way in some time, so wander over -- and discover this strange post. Again, okay, almost all of Harvey's posts are strange (there is a reason I check him every day), but stranger than normal. Like maybe his better half is slipping the powder in his drink earlier than scheduled. Ooops, wasn't supposed to mention that... Then it gets stranger, and stranger, uglier, and uglier, and just plain sick. Just what I expect from Harvey.

LW

National Airborne Day

Okay, I am a day late, but that does not mean you should not check out the wonderful posts at Blackfive. Start with the proclamation, then check out the various airborne posts he has done, then peruse the great list of Airborne bloggers he has up, then the the original Blackfive photo, and finally one of my favorite photos as it combines Airborne with appropriate Old Media commentary. Check it out.

LW

Are You Reading Mudville Gazette?

If not, why not? For good reasons you should be! Go here, here, and here. If you are looking for the best rundown on what is going on in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the world, you should look for all that at this site every morning. This is especially true if you are Old Media and need story ideas...

LW

A Public Service

Eric is up to something delightfully different: he is taking requests and posting audio files of him reading the poetry of Robert Service here and here. Go listen to one of the best storytellers I know and broaden your horizons with some excellent poetry.

LW

The Collective Vs. The Individual

Go read Blackfive's "Stealing Their Honor" He and Vox nail it on the head. Read it and think.

LW

Casey Sheehan

I wish to take exception to some posts I've read around the blogosphere that claim his reputation is being tarnished. Casey Sheehan volunteered to serve in the military, from all accounts thought that serving and fighting for his country and the cause of freedom a worthy thing, and died trying to save his mates.

The rather sad and pathetic spectacle of his mother trying to use him, his service, and his death to in a calculating bid to feed the voracious needs of her own ego can do nothing to tarnish it. No matter how much contempt and disrespect she shows him, his reputation remains unsullied and untouched. No matter how much excrement she attempts to pour forth over him in a greedy need for attention and validation, it will never rise to a measurable level around the base that is the example of his life. That base, and the shining legacy atop it, will forever tower over her and shine as a beacon no matter what is flung at it.

LW

UPDATE: Welcome LGF Readers. Please also read Blackfive's Casey Sheehan - Someone You Should (Have) Know(n).

Wolf Park Freezer Fund Needs You!

To those who have already donated, my thanks. To everyone else, please help. Here is the story of the freezer. It is not a small thing, since it has to hold dozens upon dozens of deer and other contributions. Please help by spreading the word of the need, and doing what you can. Contributions can be made via mail, phone, or online. Thanks.

LW

Project Valor IT: Helping The Wounded

Imagine for a moment that you are somehow injured and not able to able to write, answer e-mail, and more. Your ability to let friends and family far away know how you are doing, how things are going, is extremely limited. A voice-operated computer would be ideal, wouldn't it?

That is precisely what Soldiers' Angels is doing. They are working to get computers with voice software to our wounded soldiers so they can stay in touch, answer mail, and do more.

Go help this effort. Every bit helps. If you claim to support the troops, now is the time to prove it.

LW

Bomb At Mayflower Hotel?

BREAKING

The Mayflower Hotel in DC has been evacuated because of what appears to be a bomb in the basement. The object in question has, according to news reports, been examined and they are treating it as a credible bomb.

The Mayflower is located just a few blocks from the White House, DuPont Circle, and a large number of organizational headquarters and embassies. I've stayed there (mixed review) because of the location.

UPDATE: Fox is now reporting it is a hoax bomb, something made to look like a bomb. Bad joke, trying to flush a target, or a test of responses???

LW

Blog Sabbath

Go enjoy the day.

LW

Welcome To Food For Thought Saturday

Saturday at the Laughing Wolf is a day for good news and food for thought. This got started because of my Blogfather, Joe Katzman, and his good-news-only posts on Saturday. While we will post other news if it is needed, our hope is to keep Saturday’s a fun day, a philosophical day as much as we can. So, enjoy the food for thought, and while you are at it, go check out Sufi Wisdom and more at Winds of Change, food for thought at Who Tends The Fires (Ironbear apparently still in Snowbear's freezer pigging out on frozen custard), and the Saturday question of the day at Tammi's World. Enjoy your day.

The Gift: My Stalker

The Gift: My Stalker

Earlier, I wrote about giving gifts and touched on the greatest gift of all: love. It is the best gift to give or to get, but it can be uncomfortable. A stalker I have acquired have brought it home to me.

Ginger, a local barn/feral cat, has decided I am wonderful. She twines about my feet and legs, hides in my bushes and greets me when I go out, and has even taken to waiting out on my back deck for me. I come home smelling of wolves, and still she loves me. It is an offering of love that makes me uncomfortable, and not just because I am allergic to cats.

When someone offers love like this, it makes us all the more aware of our own shortcomings. Let's face it, we know we don't deserve it. We are not worthy of it.

No one is. That's the beauty of the gift, we get it not by earning, but simply by being. We get it not because we deserve it, but because another feels we merit it. It is the ultimate gift, and when it comes into our lives, we are very much the richer for accepting that gift.

Set aside your problems and hang-ups, and take the gift freely given. For true love is given without conditions or demands.

LW

Operation Valour IT

Do you support the troops? Really? Want to do something very good for the wounded? Then go read Blackfive and help a very interesting and good project. Spread the word.

LW

Help Fight Cancer: Clik4Cathy

You DID make a difference! Go to Day By Day to hear the good news.

All the best to you Cathy in your fight, and good work Chris.

LW

Friday Wolf Blogging

It has been a lot of fun watching the puppies grow, and almost scary some days at watching how fast they learn. So, today I thought I would share this picture:

They love to explore, and I will say that curiosity is not the sole provence of cats.

Meantime, growing puppies need lots of food and the adults can put it away too. Road-kill deer is perfect for them, and is collected and frozen for later use. Alas, the current freezer is dying, and replacing it means that $12,000.00 is needed for a new one. Go here for details and here to make a tax-deductible donation using PayPal. Please help spread the word, and do what you can to help.

LW

What Is A Kludge, Pappa?

If I ever have a child, and they ask me what a kludge is, I will not attempt to verbalize it. Instead, I will simply show them this:

Ten pieces of pipe in less than two feet. That is what is between my well-head and my now pretty much defunct water pump. This was on my list of things to do as a year two or three project, but since the pump has got to be replaced tomorrow anyway...

LW

Condolences To A Friend

My friend G has lost a four-legged member of her family. This is never easy, and has to hurt even more as they had been apart for a while. My thoughts go out to G on her loss.

LW

Wolf Park Needs A Freezer

And not just any freezer. It needs to be able to hold many dozen whole deer. The current freezer is dying, and replacing it means that $12,000.00 is needed. Go here for details and here to make a tax-deductible donation using PayPal. Please help spread the word, and do what you can to help.

LW

Clik4Cathy

You can make a difference, and you are: go to Day By Day and hit that button even more. Why? Look and see.

LW

Help Chris Muir's Sister Fight Cancer

Get over to Day By Day and start clicking that link. Chris's sister is fighting cancer, and this is a way to help the place that is keeping her alive. Take the time, click the link, and spread the word.

LW

Shuttle Safe

Old news, but I am glad the orbiter and most especially the crew made it back safe and sound. Now, can we retire that system and get one that is truly effective, efficient, reliable, and commercial?

LW

Spotty For A While

Very busy at work and with life, so things may be spotty for a bit. At least most of it is fun, even though I am not sure if mowing both lawns in half the time (1.5 hours) qualifies or not.

LW

The Condensed Harry Potter

If you have not yet read the new book, serious spoilers; but, if you want a side splitting quick readgo here. It helps if you know a bit about fan fiction, but even if you don't, you can still pull in quite a bit through context. Thanks go to the delightful Ith for sharing this.

LW

Into The Light: Peter Jennings

Peter Jennings has lost his brief fight against lung cancer. I may not have liked him or what he did to journalism, but no one should die that way. Keep his family in your thoughts and prayers, and may the light welcome him home, and shine on those left behind.

LW

Deadlines, Deadlines

More later perhaps...

LW

Blog Sabbath

Go enjoy the day.

LW

Food For Thought: Black Dogs And Storms

BloodSpite has a great post up on racing storms and fighting the Black Dog. It hit a nerve with me on several levels, as the Black Dog has also been with me this last week. By rights, it should not have been, for I have a new home and many good things personal and professional. Yet, I am not satisfied and even a bit disappointed with some things. One in particular is being denied enlistment in the Guard because of age. If anyone has any pull, I have appealed. Yes, I know that joining could cost me the house and even some of my possessions, as well as my career. I am willing to do that. Another cause for the Dog is some fear in regards an old enemy who may be trying to out maneuver me. I need to suck it up and deal with it, and think I am set to do so. Thanks, BloodSpite, for the push, and the most excellent post that everyone should read, images and all.

LW

Russian Sub: News On A Saturday

Okay, semi-breaking the rule for Saturdays for a public service announcement. For a number of reasons I will not be commenting much on this story, but will say that I agree with Chap and that I think Instapundit got it flat wrong. If you want to know what is going on, go to the experts.

The single best source is Ultraquiet No More, a milblog for submariners.

Other milblogs covering include Chapomatic and Indepundit/Citizen Smash.

The best Old Media coverage appears to be Interfax. Itar-Tass also has regular updates.

Good thoughts go out to the crew of the sub, their families, and for all involved in this rescue effort. Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.

LW

UPDATE: Instapundit steals, shoots, SCORES! And I add a belated link to the good coverage at Gateway Pundit.

UPDATE II: Baldilocks is covering this as well.

UPDATE III: MosNews is reporting the sub has been ordered to surface, but there is still a good bit of confusion. Let us all hope for the best.

Welcome To Food For Thought Saturday

Saturday at the Laughing Wolf is a day for good news and food for thought. This got started because of my Blogfather, Joe Katzman, and his good-news-only posts on Saturday. While we will post other news if it is needed, our hope is to keep Saturday’s a fun day, a philosophical day as much as we can. So, enjoy the food for thought, and while you are at it, go check out Sufi Wisdom and more at Winds of Change, food for thought at Who Tends The Fires (Ironbear apparently still in Snowbear's freezer pigging out on frozen custard), and the Saturday question of the day at Tammi's World. Enjoy your day.

Food For Thought: A Personal Story Of Hiroshima

My Dad's family was large, very large. It took my grandfather two wives (the family joke is that the first one died of exhaustion/self-defense), but by the time he blew his brains out at the start of the Great Depression (a story well worth telling one day), there were eight boys and seven girls. Of the males, at least one served in WWI, and at least four served in WWII, including Dad and my uncle Foster.

Foster was the baby of the family, and by many accounts a bit spoiled. I can't really speak to that, for I did not know him then and mostly know that Dad (and others) were a bit protective of him. Even after he was grown. I do know that Foster and I both had a thing for Chinese food and flight. WWII saw Foster follow that dream, and become a pilot in the U.S. Navy flying attack planes.

As regular readers may remember, Dad was a Marine, having served a hitch in the 30s well before war loomed. Back in, he got out of a suicide assignment by becoming the bodyguard and orderly to Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. As a "Buck Sgt." he also led the Admiral's marine detail though only in real rank a corporal. Didn't matter, as when the Admiral said jump they all jumped, and all loved him enough to work hard to take care of him. In turn, the Admiral was known a time or two to take care of them.

Towards the end of the war, Dad was home in Macon, Georgia, on a very rare leave. The leave had some time to run, but that changed with the arrival of a telegram ordering Dad to report to the U.S.S. Indianapolis (oft used by the Admiral as his flagship because of its speed) in three days time. It seems the Admiral was up to something and wanted Dad there. I rather doubt the Admiral specified the three days, because unlike Rear Echelon Mother F.... (REMFs) and other such life forms, he was both intelligent and had sense.

Three days in a nation without interstates, without the massive air transport network we have today, without high-speed and dedicated rail links. Even with the priorities that came with the telegram, it was impossible even though Dad left not long after getting the telegram. It took longer than three days, but was as fast as could be done in that day and age. Never mind, Dad was arrested and threatened with court martial by a REMF for not doing the impossible. Fortunately, Dad got word to Admiral Spruance of what was going on, and the situation was resolved (possibly with one or more REMFs being awarded new orifices, do wish I could have watched) and Dad released.

The Admiral had some very specific orders for Dad, though he could not say why he wanted Dad (and no one else) doing them. There was a large crate in one of the seaplane hangars on the Indianapolis, very securely chained down to the deck. There was a red line ten feet around it. Dad was introduced to an Army officer, who was authorized to cross the line. Dad, and his team, were then introduced to the very few people other than the Army officer allowed to cross the line. Anyone else crossing the line by so much as an inch was to be shot and killed on the spot. No exceptions. No explanations. Just a clear and unambiguous order.

Like all good Marines, Dad said "Yes Sir!" and set up the watches. The Indianapolis left port once, and came back because of a submarine sighting. They left again, the throttles were tied down, and they set a transit record reaching Hawai'i. They then did the same thing going to Tinian.

In those days, creature comfort was not a priority for warships, or any ships for that matter. According to Dad, Marine Country was well below water line and hot as hell. To his dying day, he would claim that his sleeping on top of the crate with a .45 had all to do with it being cooler, not the special cargo and the words of his Admiral. It was for his comfort that he slept there, being awakened when the duty guard needed to hit the head, got sleepy, or just wanted company. Yep, creature comfort on top of a hard crate with loads of chains. Yeah. Right.

When they arrived at Tinian, the bustle around the crate was quite something, with lots of brass involved. In short, normal procedures and such went away in the rush and confusion, with the result that Dad and the Admiral's Marines were still onboard as the Indianapolis began departing. Fortunately, the Admiral once again caught the detail (not clear if Dad may have somehow gotten word to him despite ongoing radio blackout) and had his Detail returned to him. They went over the side down cargo nets to a special (Admiral's?) barge that came alongside as the ship cleared the harbor. They rejoined their Admiral, and the Indianapolis had its rendezvous with destiny but a few handful of hours later.

A while later, Dad was engaged in the time honored tradition of all bodyguards and orderlies and looking semi-discretely over Admiral Spruance's shoulder. He saw the pictures of the cloud and the results, and he admitted to me later that despite all efforts he made his face must have been a sight. The Admiral put down the pictures, laughed, and turned to Dad to say "Now you know what you were sleeping on."

From a small aside Dad made to me one time, I have the impression that Admiral Spruance sort of thanked Dad for his reaction, for giving him something to laugh about, for laughter is oft the best way to deal with something so overwhelming. For the atomic bomb did indeed overwhelm, not just targets but political and military thinking as well. It still does, and needs must we continue to think about the unthinkable given the war we are in today.

Uncle Foster is why I have no problem with dropping that bomb, the one my Dad slept on and guarded during those interesting times. Foster had long joked that if he and his crew died, it would be because of him. The joke was that it would be because he screwed up navigation (you try finding a postage stamp in the middle of an ocean). The truth was that his plane was hit by the fierce anti-aircraft fire that responded to one of the last conventional naval aviation attacks against Japan. We don't know, we will never know, exactly what happened. His crew could have been wounded, they could have been dead, or, they could have been alive and unable to do anything. The one thing we do know from witnesses is that his plane was hit, and it crashed in a manner indicating a pilot dead or unconscious thrown forward onto the controls. There is no record of the Japanese finding any bodies or taking any prisoners, and Foster's mates indicated to Dad that if any were still alive when they hit that they did not survive the crash.

I will never know if we shared more than a ready grin, a love of Chinese food (and more), and a delight in flight. Was he the spoiled and arrogant brat some describe, or was he much more than that? Did he change and how did he change from being a boy into a man? No one, not I, will ever know. Nor will the families and friends of his crew know their loved ones as well.

Despite revisionism, the intel of the day suggested a very strong defense of the home islands, with a million or more casualties to take them. From things that have come out later, portions of that defense were even more fanatical than originally estimated. Some portions may have fallen easily, but others most certainly would not have.

A million or so Fosters, each affecting a much larger number of others: wives, children, parents, uncles, aunts, friends, and co-workers. No, we made no mistake dropping the bomb, for it spared millions. If the revisionists were correct in all their claims, then surrender would have come immediately, not after a second bomb. The only mistake we made was not in rubbing the collected noses of Japan into their excesses as we did that of the Germans. For that misguided "kindness" has allowed a much worse revisionism to flourish, and the truth of medical experiments to make Mengele blush, the rape of Nanking, and so much more to be buried and denied.

Yes, many died when The Bomb fell, yet how many more would have died and suffered had it not? Hindsight is always 20-20, and no matter the public face when you make a decision like that questions will find you in the night. I speak not for those who made the decision to drop, for that belongs to them. I have engaged in debates, discussions, and more, and simply offer up the idea that had they not done so, might worse things have come later because no one saw the reality of what happened when they were used? Ignorance of consequences rarely leads to bliss.

Ultimately, though, it all comes down to Foster. I would have loved to have known this man, even were he a complete and utter cad. Because of the bomb, a million plus Fosters got to come home. Though part of me is sad at what happened to make it so, I am also so very glad that they got to do so, and for those that got to know them.

This day, remember all.

LW

Friday Wolf Blogging

Not a bad puppy shot for today, though I do have to wonder if some Jimmy Durante genes got into the wolf pool...

Come on out to Wolf Park on the 13th to watch puppies be returned to the main pack, and a special Wolf Park After Dark program too.

Enjoy!

LW

Say It Ain't So!

The Mudville Gazette passes on bad news: Arthur Chrenkoff is signing off. I understand how a new job can impact blogging, and I am glad for his new opportunity. I am also sad, for his work has been magnificent and something much needed. I hope he does not see this as an insult, but his work has been in the highest traditions of real journalism, and provided a much needed balance.

May your new journey take you to new and wonderful places, and may the light shine on your path. Your torch goes not down, but is handed off to those who come behind.

Thank you for all you have done.

LW

Ya No Mas!

A new meme for Cuba from George Moneo. Take the time, and let's help spread the meme.

LW

A Lucky Man Indeed!

Go wish the Prieto's Happy Anniversary. May the best be yet to come, and may the light continue to shine on them and the path they walk together.

LW

Belated Happy Birthday VW

A belated Happy Birthday to VW! May your new year be filled with health, happiness, joy, and no foot cramps. Be sure to check out her nekkid photos.

LW

Air Accidents

This post at Bou's raises some good points and some food for thought. Flying truly is one of the safest forms of transport we currently have available. As a pilot, however, I am also well aware of the many things that can go wrong.

When I trained, a lot of the training had to do with handling those "wrong" things.

What do you do if your engine(s) quit? Well, that depends on when they quit. As you start to take off? Coast and get onto a taxiway. Once you are in flight? Coast to the nearest airport if high enough, if not find a good road, field, or other such delight and head in. I have always wondered if those people about 50 miles from the airport, with a backyard, that was a perfect grass runway, ever figured out why all the planes kept descending towards them... As you are landing? Make the landing. It may be hard, it may be rough, but it can be done. There is one phase during takeoff where you are pretty much just screwed if it happens, but other than that, you have options and can get it down. Good pilot training has the instructor kill the engines and get you to make it. Mom witnessed one such practice landing, and asked why I had come in sideways at the end. I told her that the instructor had killed the engine a mile or two out, and told me to make it. I did, on a straight-in, but had to crab the last part in order to stay on glide slope. Kicked back straight over the outer marker and made a smooth touchdown just past the end/start of the overrun. Perfect in my book. Mom, who hated heights anyway, never flew with me...

Electrical or other problem take out the instruments? You have mechanicals in most planes to give bare basics, and smart pilots (IMO) wear a Breitling and have a flight rule as well. Especially in smaller planes. With those you can navigate your way to safety, or at least to a point where you can FBR (Fly By Road, a more common practice than many pilots care to admit).

The list goes on. In short, the things you really worry about and can't do much about are engine(s) out at critical portion of liftoff, and catastrophic failure of some sort, from landing gear failure at landing to loss of key pieces of the airframe. That and weather/anything that mucks with airflow.

Weather has almost gotten me twice. First time was finding a line of thunderstorms where none were supposed to be. I almost put down in a pasture, but was able to find a way through/around that met the minimums. Had a couple of words with the Met officer over that one... Second, I was not supposed to be right seat (was supposed to be cargo as had attended a funeral and wake), but was made to fly it anyway and the dip in the left seat flew us into a major thunderstorm despite assurances he would not do so. One of the hardest things I have ever done was not take the controls as we went up on our side and down a thousand or few feet in a matter of a few seconds. Had we done that maneuver any other way, the wings would have departed the plane. As it was, with us over mountains, it made the trade of altitude for control extremely interesting. Have never flown, and never intend to fly, with that person again.

I've been on passenger jets when I knew we were in trouble. First time of an significance was in Atlanta, when we had to change planes because of mechanical troubles, and then found the second one had them as well. We were declared good to go, but on the runway... Well, let's just say that we passed the abort point for that plane still on the ground, no V0 or V1, and I just quietly got ready to put my head between my legs and brace. We finally got off the ground at the overrun and did not have a normal climb out. We were not amused... Second time was in Russia, and I remember looking out the window and picking out where we were going to hit. We didn't, thankfully, but I bloody well kissed the asphalt when we landed. Not sure someone not a pilot would have even realized what was going on, but there were some apparent control issues there...

I don't like Air Chance,er, France, but the worst I will say for them is that we made a carrier landing one day at Atlanta. That is, we stopped in about the length available on a carrier. The undercarriage of the plane made interesting loud noises as we did so. It made even more interesting noises when we finally taxied to the terminal. My bet is that the maintenance staff (and the Comptroller) just loooved that pilot... I am extremely thankful, and amazed, that there was no loss of life the other day. That there were none moves towards miracle in my book.

Laughing Wolf's Quick Guide To Passenger Air Safety: Wear natural fiber clothing as much as possible, as it will not melt into you; if something does happen, stay low but not low enough to get trampled; your shirt/undershirt can make a decent filter/mask for smoke: not perfect, but it can buy you time; count the seats to the nearest exits fore and aft of you; and, be prepared.

All in all, I will still take flying over about anything else. Just as Bou says, however, it really does bite to be that 4-6 percent.

LW

Some Quick Observations

1. Summer colds/whatever really bite.

2. Amnesty International further erodes its moral imprimatur by pushing a very thin story. No proof, no apparent research, just a claim. Back in the day when they pursued real torture (not fraternity/sorority-level hazing) against real despots, they were a beacon to the world. Once they by their own admission became cowards (and more) and quit going after such, but went after "safe" things like the U.S. for bogus claims, they lost any credibility they had. This story only chips away deeper into the hole. With only shrill rhetoric and no evidence, how can anyone take them seriously?

3. The story here isn't that the U.K. sold heavy water to Israel. The real story here is how little it takes to surprise Robert McNamara. I have the feeling that a marching band in full cry could sneak up on the clueless creature that was one of the worst SecDefs the nation has ever seen.

4. If this Drudge Report is true and the New York Times is investigating the adoption of Judge Roberts' children to dig dirt (why else do it?), then it has to be one of the most unprofessional, disgusting, despicable, and cowardly things ever done by the newspaper with a record. Not quite up there with continuing to back Duranty and mass murder, but up there close. Oh, so you aren't still backing him? Then return the Pulitzer...

5. Zawahiri? I would yawn, but wonder at the timing and what messages have been passed by this message. One would expect more than standard verbiage right now...

6. Many thanks to Ith for helping get out the good word on the benefits of wolf re-introduction.

LW

A Toast

A nice 16-year-old single malt seems right.

To Absent Friends
To Lance Corporal Eric Freeman
To Smokey
To The 21
To Steven Vincent

To The Living
Happy First Birthday Pinkfive. May your long life be filled with light, joy, health, happiness, and prosperity.

The glass is raised, and goodnight to Chesty, wherever you are

LW

ABC: Just Deserts

While in a slightly cranky humor, let me go on record as saying that I can't get worked up about ABC getting itself bounced out of Russia. For me personally, I would rather work as a fluffer in a porn film than to work on a fluff piece for one of the key people responsible for Beslan.

Don't remember Beslan? Then go here, here, here, here, here, and here. Follow the frelling links. Would that ABC could be bothered to emulate Steven Vincent and practice real journalism, instead of simply engaging in high-handed bullshit like this and like their willing interference with the London bombing investigations.

Baldilocks puts it much nicer, but then she is a Lady in all the ways that count.

LW
who notes the title is spelled correctly, look it up...

Must See Pictures

Go check out the theft of my "Driving Miss Deneb" idea by Gale and Pat as well as the return of the "Doggles" at Wolf Park Photos of the Day.

Then go check out The Wayback Machine at Cascade Exposures here, here, and here. FWIIW, I think the "Pippi" look would have been great at the wedding, but am saving the picture of what was for future use.

LW
who notes that Snoopy was always his favorite, too...

All The Best!

Go over and congratulate two wonderful people as they start a new life together. Take two weeks Doc, we understand and approve. May the light shine on you both, light the path you walk together, and add to the warmth of the love you share.

LW

Spacewalk

The spacewalk is interesting to watch, and I hope you take the time to see some of it. My only kvetch this morning is that I miss NASAselect TV right now, so I could watch it without all the morning show hosts breaking gales of wind over the images...

LW

Steven Vincent Murdered

Author, blogger, and journalist Steven Vincent has been murdered in Iraq. I don't have time to do this justice, but it is clear that there are a couple of cesspits that need cleaning.

May the light shine on you and those you leave behind.

LW

Indiana DMV: Why Am I Not Surprised?

A while back, Catfish sent me a link that I loved and lost. The video showed a car taking some S-loops on a road (apparently Europe). Nice, peaceful, then a living-dead type fills the screen and screams at you, and it ends with the message to get back to work. I've been looking for it.

Why does it not surprise me that when you type in "video car driving zombie surprise" into Dogpile, the number four result is the Indiana DMV? Given my experiences there, I'm left to wonder if the zombies are the ones on the road, or behind the counter...

LW

Quiz Tuesday

Busy with work right now, so here are some quiz results.

I think I resent the implications of this one:

I am 26% Hippie.

I need to step away from the tie-dye. I smell too good to be a hippie and my dad is probably a cop. Being a hippie is not a fashion craze, man. It was a way of life, in the 60’s, man.

Take the
Hippie Test
@ FualiDotCom

This one is not too far off I think:

the Ham (39% dark, 43% spontaneous, 38% vulgar)

your humor style: CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | LIGHT Your style's mostly goofy, innocent and feel-good. Perfect for parties and for the dads who chaperone them. You can actually get away with corny jokes, and I bet your sense of humor is a guilty pleasure for your friends. People of your type are often the most approachable and popular people in their circle. Your simple & silly good-naturedness is immediately recognizable, and it sets you apart in this sarcastic world. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Will Ferrell - Will Smith

I can live with this one:

Der Resistance Achtung! You are 38% brainwashworthy, 31% antitolerant, and 61% blindly patriotic

Welcome to the Resistance (Der Widerstand)! You believe in freedom, justice, equality, and your country, and you can't be converted to the the dark side. Breakdown: Your Blind Patriotism levels are borderline unhealthy, but you show such a love of people from everywhere and a natural resistance to brainwashing, you would probably focus your energy to fight Fuehrer with furor, so to speak. Conclusion: Born and raised in Germany in the early 1930's, you would have taken up ARMS against the oppressors. Or even your friends' oppressors. Congratulations! Less than 5% of all test takers earn a spot in Der Resistance!

This one is spot on:

LW

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes public and private. They are all much appreciated!

More soon.

LW