Saturated soils, bank-full rivers render predicted thunderstorms ominous — chicagotribune.com The metro area is waterlogged and only a downpour away from far more serious flooding than anything which has occurred to date. That’s why forecasters are concerned about the introduction of thunderstorm-aggravating heat Wednesday and Thursday. Even Friday is to remain warm enough to foster t-storm development. The atmosphere is about as muggy as it gets here, brimming with 2″ of evaporated water, as evidenced by the humid tropical rain forest-level mid to upper 70(degrees) dew points, which threaten to erupt explosively in several waves of active thunderstorms in coming…
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I heard this on my way to church, and it really… resonated much like the “sounding brass” (bronze vessels that amplified actors’ voices in the ancient theater of Corinth) mentioned in the reference link near the bottom. NPR : The Holy Life of the Intellect I believe that the human intellect is the closest thing we have to the divine. It is the way we can join one another in spirit. … If we can experience another’s mind in our own, we know that love is possible. We understand why the great poet Shelley wrote a poem to what he…
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On my way back home from Holy Moly today, I had my camera with me and stopped to take pictures of the nearby park, which was reclaimed from a wetland area when the subdivision was built 20 years or so ago. Whenever we get a lot of rain, it clearly shows “once a wetland, always a wetland,” because a pond or small lake will appear overnight in the area, and take weeks to drain. The nickname for our area, according to David, was “Hoffman’s Mistake” when he was in high school, and so I dub the body of water in…
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Old rule still holds magic for stranded air travelers — chicagotribune.com It served as a secret handshake, of sorts, between airlines and passengers for decades.Travelers whose flights were delayed, or who simply were running late, would sidle up to ticket counters and whisper, “Rule 240 me.” And the airline workers usually would oblige, putting them on the next flight to their destination, even if it were on a rival carrier. The days of Rule 240 as an official component of the era of regulated air travel are long gone. But in this summer of endless delays, steamed passengers and overcrowded…
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Padre Mickey’s Dance Party: Padre Mickey invites you to Join Us! JOIN US!!!! Dear Bishop or Rector, Are you a Bishop up for presentment by TEC? Are you a Rector accused of some sort of monkey-business with parish funding? Are you a member of a major dissenting organization? Are they oppressing you because of your adherence to the teachings of the orthodox so-called? Are you ready to practice the new Anglican tradition of jumping ship just before charges are presented? Why go to the Southern Cone or Nigeria or even Rwanda, when you and your congregation can join the Real…
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The collapse of Karl Rove | Salon News In Pennsylvania, Judge Jones’ angry repudiation of the Christian majority on the school board was both a portent and part of the dissolution of the union over which Rove presided in 1994 in Fort Worth. Jones, a Tom Ridge protégé, was unequivocal in asserting the primacy of the Separation Clause over the religious interests of local governing bodies. Like this moderate judge, the larger public — and even the Republican Party, if the candidacy of Rudy Giuliani means anything — has grown weary of the Christian right. It was a marriage as…
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I finally got around to viewing the DVD, which I purchased from the Field Museum’s shop – they have an entire section of their very large shop devoted to fair trade items and environmentally-sensitive gifts. In spite of my pre-2000 dismissal of former Vice President Al Gore Jr. as a slightly dorky wonk, I was very moved by his presentation and the lifelong passion he’s had for learning about the environment, and for raising the alarm about climatic change. Yes, it’s annoying that he uses buzzwords and talking points, just like the Republicans, but also it’s incredibly frustrating and sobering…
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Robert L. Borosage: The Utah Mine Disaster: Don’t Call It an Accident – Politics on The Huffington Post At Crandall Canyon, the miners were working at depths that test the limits of safety. Although Murray denies it, federal regulatory officials say that retreat mining was being practiced. Retreat mining is a perilous technique in which pillars of coal hold up portions of the roof, and when the area is mined, the pillars are pulled down, capturing the useful coal and collapsing the roof. Even hard-driving mine owners aren’t allowed to run amok. There are federal and state laws and regulations…
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Romney Wins Iowa Straw Poll by a Sizable Margin – New York Times For all the hoopla and hype — there were news crews here from around the globe — the political significance of this event was questionable. Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, like Mr. McCain, said he would not compete in the poll, citing the early advantage that Mr. Romney had built. In addition, this was not exactly a textbook case of American democracy in action. It cost $35 to cast a vote, and most of the campaigns picked up the cost of the voting tickets. Mr. Romney…
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I had a flashback yesterday on the phones. I was working with a client the day before who needed hotels booked from one end of Utah to the other, because she’d just been transferred to the West and had a long, long, long, skinny district to check out. We were chatting along and kidding around a little while I made with the flying fingers – I’m faster booking things “old skool” although the graphical tool we have is useful for “set it and forget it” bookings. So this woman was laughing about something I’d said to crack her up, and…