[Chairman_December_19th_Society]

Post your short news items, issues of interest, links, and so on. All who advance the Cause are welcome.

LET'S ROLL!!!

[Chairman_December_19th_Society]

So far, no signs of any further tropical disturbances.

[Miss Marple]

I am leaving for babysitting, and won't check in until evening. I would appreciate pings to anything important.

Everyone have a great day!

[texianyankee]

Good Tuesday morning to everyone.
Lets keep an eye on Wilma and be prepared just in case.

Cheers to the Iraqis.
The Iraqis appear to have passed overwhelmingly their constitution, yet the media reports on investigations into fraud due to unusually high number of approval votes!
UNBELIEVABLE!

[gulfcoast6]

GOOD A.M. TO ALL FROM THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST, USA, BRUISED BUT NOT BROKEN!!!!

Got to go into town with SIL this morning, things to do, things to pick up.

Question. Can we apply to FEMA for funding to help with feeding and housing our 'guest' from La (all 11 of them)? SIL says no, D says yes, someone with knowledge of FEMA please advise. Only one 'guest' is 'chipping' in, the other 10 are just 'sitting' in. I feel bad about going and getting things like food, etc., from the relief centers. There are folks out there around here who surely need it more that we do.

Can't get the insurance adjuster to come out, things needing fixing bad like two whole walls, got soaking wet, mold growing and it is not a pleasant smell, call them and they say they will be out 'shortly' which their 'shortly' has run 6 weeks now.

Big battle starting in New Orleans about the Saints moving to Texas, Super Dome ruined, can't play games in it, playing in Texas and they like what they see out there. Oh well, move. Bye.

Nagin to evacuate New Orleans as soon as Wilma gets to Cuba.
Ain't gonna take no chances, wouldn't take long, one station wagon and a horse and buggy will vacate the whole town, no one is moving back, estimated as much aw 50% of the residents will not move back.

This cool weather is nice, won't last long, more 90 degree weather starts tomorrow. We need rain as well, dry as a bone.

Here is wishing all have a good and productive day, the kind of day YOU want. Let is hope that Wilma just fades away and leaves all of us along. Toby

[SittinYonder]

Good morning! The Scotsman reports concern from Microsoft that proposals in the UK for an identity card could lead to massive problems of identity theft.

Using the same "identifiers" every time the ID card as presented is a "highly risky technical design" and could inadvertently broadcast personal information to fraudsters or private companies.

My opinion is that America should watch closely what the UK is doing, as it heaps on more government regulation over personal lives, and we should do the opposite. Already, there's too much government regulation in our lives, a National ID card will only add to government regulation, make it easier than it already is for the government to database us, and now the people charged with coming up with a system for a national ID card say it ain't safe.

Just food for thought ...

[Molly Pitcher]

Chairman, some 2 weeks ago, I noticed you posted a picture of an oil refinery...

That brought back lots of memories, as I grew up on the shadow - & smell! - of those s. of Houston.

Here's a pic of the main processing unit of such a refinery: The Cat Cracker...I always laughed at this name when my father mentioned this particular unit...he designed a number of these in various refineries around the country in his career as a chem engineer:

" A catalytic cracker, or "cat cracker," is the basic gasoline-making process in a refinery. The cat cracker uses high temperatures, low pressure, and a catalyst to create a chemical reaction that breaks heavy gas oil into smaller gasoline molecules. With a cat cracker, more of each barrel of oil can be turned into gasoline."

Of course there are other refinery products besides gasoline....

[The Raven]

HURRICANE WILMA TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL 230 AM EDT WED OCT 19 2005

DATA FROM A RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT HURRICANE WILMA HAS BECOME AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE SCALE. THE RECONNAISSANCE PLANE MEASURED 175 MPH WINDS AND ESTIMATED A MINIMUM PRESSURE OF 892 MB. THIS IS THE LOWEST PRESSURE OBSERVED IN 2005 AND IS EQUIVALENT TO THE MINIMUM PRESSURE OF THE 1935 LABOR DAY HURRICANE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS.