Guest Stephen Turner Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Well I ran into a very nice fellow from Norwich, England who arrived last Wednesday and defied the mandatory evacuation order and will be here to observe the hurricane (if it comes our way).Brings to mind the poem about only mad dogs and Englishmen going out in the heat of the noonday sun. We'll have to adapt the poem to make it about hurricanes! Tim, Norwich is where I was born, I moved to Cambridge in the early eighties. On a scale of one to ten, how laid back was this fellow? Noridgians are famed for their easy going take on life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Wilma will be the third hurricane to hit Key West in three months (if in fact it does hit or "near miss" us). It's getting a little old! But it is still too early to tell which way it will go when it leaves Mexico. (All of the tourists were evacuated several days ago.) The World Meteorological Organisation has run out of its allocation of names for hurricanes this year. With more than a month to go for the hurricane season, there have been 21 named storms in the Atlantic, equalling the 1933 record. Research shows that hurricanes of the intensity of Katerina has become twice as common over the last 35 years. Global warming is the main factor. Over the last 35 years the ocean surface temperatures, the source of the energy, have risen by an average of 0.5C over the same period. Is God sending George Bush and the United States a message. Maybe it is no coincidence that Katerina appeared to target the oil industry in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Gratz Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Glad to see that John now believes in God! A first step, anyway. And an interesting question he raises. Can't post much now. Key West is a mess mostly due to the storm surge. I haven't even been back home yet but my house had three feet of water in it. I had moved a lot of stuff up but I am sure I still have lost a lot of personal possessions. More later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Gratz Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 From what I understand 60 per cent (!) of the houses in Key West were flooded. Many people lost vehicles (cars. motorcycles and scooters). It is estimated the damage to Key West is in excess of $100 million. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen Turner Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Tim, I hope your plight is not as bad as you fear. Please except my best wishes at this trying time. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Gratz Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Thanks much, Stephen. I dread going home to see what I've lost but my thoughts go out to many in Key West who have lost even more (one of my co-workers lost a motorcycle which was his pride and joy and his car!). Key West (or the Keys for that matter) had never experienced a storm surge like this before. Of course, it pales in comparison to what happened in New Orleans with Katrina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Gratz Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Interested in how Andy fared in Miami. I understand much of Miami is still without electrical power. In Key West an estimated seven thousand (!) vehicles were destroyed by the storm surge (flood). It destroyed my stove, refrigerator and dishwasher. Guess I don't need a stove or refrigerator if I can't wash the dishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Interested in how Andy fared in Miami. I understand much of Miami is still without electrical power.In Key West an estimated seven thousand (!) vehicles were destroyed by the storm surge (flood). It destroyed my stove, refrigerator and dishwasher. Guess I don't need a stove or refrigerator if I can't wash the dishes! Andy said he was staying with a relative in Miami with access to the internet. He said he would be able to post on the Forum from there. The fact that he hasn't suggests he probably does not have electricity. Do you think there is a link between these hurricanes and global warming? Or is George Bush right to dismiss these suggestions? Have you put your application in yet to become chief justice? It seems that Harriet Miers no longer fancies the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Gratz Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 (edited) Yes, he is probably without electricity. I heard it could be up to two weeks for some areas in Miami etc. Say what you will about Miers, she was clearly more qualified than me. So seriously I would support another of the Forum members, Professor Blakey. Good Democrat credentials; strong crime-fighter; distinguished legal career. P/S. to John: if you are correct about God directing hurricanes probably no cities in the US were more well known for drinking, carnalness and hedonism than New Orleans and Key West. (But all the bars have already re-opened, so there goes that theory!) Edited October 27, 2005 by Tim Gratz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 I hope Andy is OK. I haven't met him, but he sounds like a survivor. Tim, I guess, is used to this sort of thing. Nature (or God) is pretty indiscriminate and, as the Tsunami in the Far East and the recent earthquake in Pakistan/India show, it's not only the USA that is getting hit by disasters. I survived a tornado in Iesolo, Italy, in the 1980s. Birmingham (UK) has also recently been hit by a tornado, and my favourite Austrian ski resort in the Tyrol was hit by a spectacular snowstorm towards the end of the skiing season this year, leaving it under two metres of snow and completely cut off for a couple of days, but this meant we had some great late season skiing in March as the snow base didn't even start to disappear before the end of April - which was unusual for a low (700 metre) resort. I'm not sure who's to blame for all this, but insurance companies seem to be pretty confident about the culprit. Have you noticed that "acts of God" always figure in their exclusion clauses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Gratz Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 (edited) Graham, you see all these natural disasters are God's way of punishing mankind for blaming natural disasters on Him. Edited October 27, 2005 by Tim Gratz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Tim writes: "Graham, you see all these natural disasters are God's way of punishing mankind for blaming natural disasters on Him." So, I guess we won't be seeing many insurance agents passing through the Pearly Gates either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen Turner Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Tim writes:"Graham, you see all these natural disasters are God's way of punishing mankind for blaming natural disasters on Him." So, I guess we won't be seeing many insurance agents passing through the Pearly Gates either. Graham, they have there own special place in the seventh circle of Hell, along with politicians, Advertising execs, and Daytime TV celebrities. See if you can guess what unites these rogues. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Steve, You missed one important set of people. Shakespeare got it right: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Henry VI Part II, Act IV, Scene II? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stephen Turner Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 (edited) Steve, You missed one important set of people. Shakespeare got it right:"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." Henry VI Part II, Act IV, Scene II? Graham, how true. I also like VI lenin's quote. "I shant be happy until the last Lawyer is strangled with the entrails of the last landlord." BTW, what unites the "people" in my last post?a total lack of any discernable talent or use, as my saintly Grandma was given to saying "Your neither use nor ornament" Steve. ps, could the Bard have been prosecuted under the anti terror laws for that sentiment. Edited October 28, 2005 by Stephen Turner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now