Arkansas Tops The List (For a bad reason. Again)

The United States Army Corp of Engineers has recently released a list of 114 levees in 16 states that have received a ranking of 'unacceptable'. I was expecting California or Louisiana to take the first place spot, but both were surpassed by the State of Arkansas. Arkansas has 30 levees with such a rating. Most of the levees were turned over to local governments and fell into the current status due to other spending priorities.

The Corp is warning state and local governments that their deficiencies are so severe that it can be "reasonably foreseen" that they will not perform properly in a major flood. People who rely on the levees should "be aware that there is reason for concern," says Tammy Conforti, head of the corps' levee safety program.

The corps' levee inspections were revamped under a public safety initiative started after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A round of 63 levees with unacceptable maintenance lost eligibility for federal rehabilitation aid last year after they were not fixed within a one-time, one-year grace period.

Now, the addition of 114 levees to that list leaves a total of 177 nationwide that are so poorly maintained that they don't qualify for federal rehabilitation. That's 9% of the nearly 2,000 levees the corps inspects.

There are thousands of levees nationwide — the government has no precise number — that aren't subject to federal oversight, often because they were built by local or private sponsors. And many big levees, including some on the Mississippi River and around New Orleans, are federal projects where the corps handles major maintenance itself.

The corps will alert the Federal Emergency Management Agency to poorly maintained levees. If states and communities cannot certify to FEMA that those levees will handle a 100-year flood — one that has a 1% chance of hitting each year — owners of property behind them may have to buy flood insurance.

"Many of the levee boards don't have the funds to maintain them and really haven't … for years," says Michael Borengasser, National Flood Insurance Program coordinator for the state of Arkansas.

Federal taxpayers already have paid to rebuild many levees that failed in floods because of poor maintenance, says Larry Larson, director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. "For years, the corps has been threatening to kick them out of the (rehabilitation) program, but never really did," he adds. "Now, the corps is doing the right thing."



You can view the list of unacceptable levees here.

Eric Holder calls for weapons ban

Obamatron Eric Holder has called for a renewed assault weapons ban.  I'm calling for a ban on Eric Holder. I'll dissect his statements later....

Daily Roundup

Missible Defense and F-22 on the Chopping Block? 

-According to Fox, the Pentagon is looking to cut a few project to free up some money. The Obama administration may be looking to cut the F-22 Raptor and missile defense projects. Both are large project intended to counter enemies with standing armies. 

Al-Qaeda doesn't qualify. Although I certainly agree with the necessity to review our national defense strategy, I don't want to take tools off the table. You never know when we'll have to face the Communists again. 

Thanks Oregon. Really, You Shouldn't Have! 

It was this day in 1913 that Oregon implemented the gas tax. Thanks. 

Bass Pro Fishing Classic 

Feb 27-March 15 is Bass Pro's Fishing Classic. 

Mexican Cartel Bust - Operation Xcellerator

Kudos to the men and women of the Drug Enforcement Agency who have been working for the past 21 months on Operation Xcellator. 

To date, Operation Xcellerator has led to the arrest of 755 individuals and the seizure of approximately $59.1 million in U.S. currency, more than 12,000 kilograms of cocaine, more than 16,000 pounds of marijuana, more than 1,200 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 8 kilograms of heroin, approximately 1.3 million pills of Ecstasy, more than $6.5 million in other assets, 149 vehicles, 3 aircraft, 3 maritime vessels and 169 weapons.

Obama's Joint Congress Address

President Barack Obama delievered his first address to the full congress and to the American public tonight. You can read the text of his address here. 

 I can't say I disagree with much of what he said. I disagree with some of his priorities and his methods, but I don't disagree with his desire to return America to a country that can pull its own boots on. 

But I'm withholding a verdict until I see exactly how he wants to do it....I can almost guarantee I won't like the methods. 

Chicago Tea Party

Friday, February 27, 2009

11:00am - 12:00pm

Location:Daley Plaza Civic Center

Street:50 W Washington St., Chicago, IL

Facebook page

h/t - BackYard Conservative

Mammatus Clouds

In this image, you can see a collection of mammatus clouds directly above the treeline. The whole sky consisted of that sort of cloud on Sunday morning when I ended my shift. It was rather amazing. 

I tried to beat the wind home to take a picture before they disappeared, but by the time I got my camera, this lone section was all that remained. 

Severe Weather Awareness Week

February 23-27 is Severe Weather Week in Arkansas....

The Little Rock Office has compiled a brochure about Severe Weather in Arkansas

Read the first half here....and the second half here. 

Lonoke County is StormReady

According to the National Weather Service, Lonoke County has achieved StormReady status: 

To become eligible for StormReady recognition, the following was provided: (1) a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, (2) multiple ways of receiving severe weather information, (3) a means to monitor weather conditions, (4) the capability to inform citizens of severe weather, (5) community preparedness/safety talks and (6) written plans for dealing with severe weather. 

It's amazing how few counties in Arkansas have achieved this status. I  have no knowledge as to whether White County is working towards this status, but I already know that steps 4 and 5 are weaknesses in this area. Lonoke County received it's recognition for its accreditation during Thursday's Quorum court meeting. There are 1400 communities nationwide that share the StormReady accreditation. 

The StormReady program is an initiative of the National Weather Service that aims to make communities better prepared for severe weather events and other disasters. 

Death and Taxes

WallStats has a good graphic on Death and Taxes

Inauguration Photo

Have some fun with this one.... Inauguration Photo

Out on Patrol....

I'm out on patrol for the weekend. While I'm gone, tell me about your favorite book.

California's Messy Water Works

I can't say that I didn't see this coming: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials have decided to shut down the water tap to millions of acres of California farmland. This announcement came after months of record low water levels in many of the reservoirs that constitute the federal water system in California. Patchy rain hasn't either.

Water in California is simply liquid gold. It always has been and it will always be the case. Mark Twain once said that "Whiskey is for drinkin', water is for fighting over." Fighting indeed. The Army Corp and the Bureau of Reclamation competed at break neck speed to build as many dams, canals or waterways as they could, regardless of necessity. There were no considerations for environmental costs. The only consideration was distribution: get as much water as one could, to go as far as one could make it go, not matter what the cost. Indeed, California is also the place where water is said to flow uphill: Uphill to money.

The bulk of California's water supply, about 80%, originates in the upper 1/3 of the state, north of Sacramento.

The bulk of the demand, about 80% originates in the lower 2/3 of the state with competing demands between farming and the booming SoCal metropolis commonly referred to as Los Angeles. Needless to say, the competing interests are intense and often have far reaching consequences. During the early 1900s, the Governor of Arizona went so far as to call up the state militia to protect the Colorado river from California's unquenchable thirst. The states continue to struggle with use of the Colorado river.

In any case, the impending federal regulations will negatively affect millions of acres of California farmland during a time when the economy already sucks. It is expected that the drought conditions will cause some $1.15 billion dollars in economy losses and put 40,000 people out of work.

Cities will likely begin mandatory water rationing by the summer. Like many things in California, water politics are complex.

You can read a brief primer of California's water history here. Read about sharing the Colorado River with Arizona here.

Two Jeffersonville Police Officers Shot

The following comes from the Courier Journal: 

Authorities are searching for two men tonight accused in an ambush and shooting of two Jeffersonville, Ind., police officers as they responded to a report of suspicious activity at a Motel 6 off Eastern Boulevard.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin said authorities were looking for Vincent D. Windell Jr., 22, who was considered armed and dangerous. He said Windell could still be in Southern Indiana or in the Louisville area.

Late tonight, Jeffersonville police Detective Todd Hollis identified the second suspect as Robert Datillo, 37, who he said had lived recent in Jeffersonville but also had numerous other addresses. He said Datillo was wanted on warrants in Jefferson and Hart counties in Kentucky.

Hollis said both suspects are believed to have been involved in the shootings, and police aren’t sure if one or both shot the officers. He said Datillo also is believed to be armed and dangerous. 

Jeffersonville police Detective Charlie Thompson described Windell as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds.

Hollis described Datillo as a white male, 5-feet-9 inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds.

A spokesman for University Hospital in Louisville, where the officers were taken, identified them as Corporal Dan Lawhorn, 39, and Patrolman Keith Broady, 32. 

Jeffersonville police Detective Todd Hollis said Broady was shot in the upper body, where his bullet-proof vest did not protect him, and Lawhorn was shot in the leg.

Both were in stable condition and were in surgery about 10 p.m. tonight. University Hospital spokesman David McArthur said both had arrived by ambulance and were conscious at the time.

He said Lawhorn had been on the force for 11 years and Broady had been on the force for 4½ years.

Goodin said Jeffersonville police were called to the hotel, at 2016 Old U.S. 31 East just north of Eastern Boulevard exit off Interstate 65, about 6:35 p.m. to investigate suspicious activity. When officers arrived, he said they were ambushed.

Hollis said a hotel clerk called police after seeing something in a bag that made her suspect drug activity in Room 204. Hollis said police were shot as they were approaching the room. Hollis said police did find drugs in the room.

Goodin said Windell is believed to be a resident of New Albany, Ind., but was staying at the Motel 6 last night. 

Beginning about 8:30 p.m., an eight-member SWAT team began going room to room at the hotel. They were still searching the hotel a half-hour later.

When asked why the SWAT team was there, Goodin said it was to ensure the hotel was secure.

Goodin said that Windell is believed to have recently had a 2004 green, two-door Ford ZXR, but that a tan minivan left the scene shortly after the shootings. 

He said other people were believed to have been with Windell earlier in the evening, and anyone with information about him is asked to contact police. 

Goodin said Windell was familiar to police, but would not give any details of a prior record. He showed a photo of Windell that he said was from Harrison County and about three days old, but did not give further details. The photo appeared to be a jail mug shot.

Goodin said if Windell were to show up at a home, he should not be let in and police should immediately be called.

About 7:15 p.m., officers from the Clarksville and Jeffersonville police departments swarmed Old U.S. 31 near the hotel. 

At the time, a Clarksville police dispatcher from Clarksville police described the situation as “hectic.” A Jeffersonville police dispatcher said the scene was not yet secure. 

A person who answered the phone at the Motel 6 referred a reporter to the company’s corporate communications office. 

Laura Rojo-Eddy, a spokeswoman for Motel 6, said, “We’re cooperating as much as we can with police but we don’t know the details.”

She said she did not know whether the shooting took place inside or outside the hotel. 

“This is obviously a very shocking situation,” Rojo-Eddy said.

Eric Johnson, director of the group Supporting Heroes, was at University Hospital after the shootings tonight along with widows of slain officers to lend support to the two Jeffersonville officers’ families. Supporting Heroes provides support to families of police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services workers killed in the line of duty. 

Among those at the hospital were Tara Denzinger, widow of Floyd County (Ind.) sheriff’s Deputy Frank Denzinger, who was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute on June 18, 2007. His partner also was shot, but survived.

Also there was Rebecca Grignon, widow of Louisville Metro Police Officer Peter Grignon, who was shot and killed by a teenager on March 23, 2005.

Reporter Ben Hershberg can be reached at (812) 949-4032. Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at (812) 949-4040. Reporter Harold Adams can be reached at (812) 949-4028. Reporter Emily Udell can be reached at (502) 582-4199.

Rick Santelli...like the Energizer Bunny!

I've already posted about about Rick Santelli earlier in the day. There's a group planning an event for May 15 in Chicago. Read about it at chicagoteaparty.blogspot.com

h/t Anne @ BackyardConservative

I'll post more when I get it.

UPDATE: 9:58 PM 2/20/09 

Santelli's still going strong after a White House rebuke: 

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1155201977?bctid=13786525001

Rick Santelli Calls for Chicago Tea Party!

It's only the 19th. But I'm declaring Rick Santelli the hero of the month. Maybe the hero of American capitalism. You can see him in this CNBC video on the trading floor of the Chicago market. On live TV he says what I've been waiting since October for someone to say. "The government is promoting bad behavior...do you really want to subsidize your neighbors mortage? This is America!" 

Details on the Chicago Tea Party to follow.....

IBM withdraws body armor patent

On February 13, IBM submitted a patent

(US 7484451) for what they called Bionic Body Armor. The armor would scan areas for incoming projectiles and when one is detected the system would deliver a shock to the muscles causing a swift reflexive action away from the projectile, much like Neo wore in The Matrix.

The patent describes the following:

A method of protecting a target from a projectile propelled from a firearm comprises detecting an approaching projectile, continuously monitoring the projectile and transmitting an actual position of the projectile to a controller, computing an estimated projectile trajectory based upon the actual position of the projectile, determining an actual position of a target with a plurality of position sensors and a plurality of attitude sensors, determining whether the estimated projectile trajectory coincides with the actual position of the target, and triggering a plurality of muscle stimulators operably coupled to the controller and to the target when the estimated projectile trajectory coincides with the actual position of the target, wherein the muscle stimulators stimulate the target to move in a predefined manner, and wherein the target moves by an amount sufficient to avoid any contact with the approaching projectile. The projectile may be detected in the detecting step by emitting an electromagnetic wave from a projectile detector and receiving the electromagnetic wave after the electromagnetic wave has been reflected back toward the projectile detector by the projectile.

Historically, certain individuals have been exposed to the threat of assassination because of their status in society. Examples of these individuals include, but are not limited to, high ranking politicians, clerics, successful industrial entrepreneurs, and military personnel. These individuals tend to be most vulnerable during those times when they are publicly addressing large crowds, making them easy targets for snipers.
In the past, the only effective protection against "sniper fire" has been to wear bullet proof body armor. Numerous types of bullet proof body armor are available, many of which are constructed of multiple layers of ballistic fabric or other ballistic-resistant materials assembled into a ballistic panel. However, bullet proof body armor is typically heavy, clumsy, and uncomfortable to wear, and generally leaves the head of the individual wearing the body armor completely unprotected and exposed. Furthermore using armor-piercing ammunition renders body-armors even less effective and desirable.

When a marksman (such as a sniper) is attempting to fire a projectile from a firearm, the marksman typically prefers to be as far away from the target as possible, thus giving him or her a head start for the escape after the firing. As an example, the longest reported sniper hit was from a distance of about 2500 meters, resulting in a time of flight of about 4 seconds for the projectile/bullet. Had the target been aware of the inbound projectile, avoiding it by simply walking away would have been possible. As almost everyone can appreciate, the best protection against the damage caused by an impacting projectile is to avoid being hit in the first place.

Based on the foregoing, there exists a need for an improved system and method for protecting an individual against the potential damage caused by being impacted by a projectile propelled from a firearm.

IBM did not explain the decison to withdraw it's patent. You can read the withdraw patent in full here.

MIT and the US Army have been developing a form of body armor called Shear Thickening Fluid. The fluid, called colloid, is made of tiny particles which are suspended in a liquid. They float around without clumping together and are always "active" to be "reactive." As an outside force impacts, the energy overwhelms the particles causing them to stick together into masses, called hydroclusters. As the energy dissipates, the particles begin to break a part and float freely again causing the solid substance to become liquidated again.

Staffing at LRFD cause controversy

An article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette yesterday indicated that the staffing levels of the Little Rock airport fire department are not sufficient to meet the potential demands of an emergency. According to the article, staffing has been reduced from six to four since January 1. The president of the Little Rock Fire Fighters, Local 34, told the members of the Little Rock Airport Commission on Tuesday that their decision in December to reduce staffing in an effort to save $350,000 annually was  jeopardizing safety at the airport. 

The union president, Robert Morehead claims that due to vacation and sick days, there may only be one firefighter able to respond to an aircraft incident. He also claims the same situation exists when fire personnel respond to medical emergencies on the airport grounds. 

The fire station at Adams Field is part of the Little Rock Fire Department. Even if the staff at Adams Field is occupied, other LR Fire department personnel can respond from elsewhere in the city. The department says that they can have additional response crews there within 4-5 minutes. 

The interim Chief of the Little Rock Fire Department, Greg Summers,  said in a followup  interview  today that the staff level remains safe. "I wish we had 10 firefighters. But from an economic standpoint, it's not feasible and its not required." The staff remains in line with federal expectations, and in some cases, exceeds federal guidelines. 

Generally, aircraft fire suppression can be handled with one firefighter from the seat of a Striker truck equipped with specialized foam and a joystick operated cannon. The City of College Station, Texas operates in a similar manner. 

Little Rock Emergency Services Frequency Change

The City of Little Rock is having to change the frequency programmed into each of it's hundreds of radios used by the city's communication emergency net. This includes not only police, fire, and hospitals, but any agency that has radios tied into that network. The reason? A transition from one analog signal to a narrow band analog signal. They have four years to get it done, but they do have to comply with a federal mandate similar to TV stations having to comply with the analog to digital transition. 

Over the course of the four years, every first response agency in the country is supposed to make this transition. The idea is to free up space on the existing spectrum- a wide analog band- and move to a narrow analog band to allow more agencies to use a smaller chunk of the radio band. 

In White County, it will cost between $7,000 and $9,000 to make the transition for each of the dozen repeaters located throughout the county. 

The city of Searcy is nearly done with it's effort, as it has purchased new radio equipment for each new vehicle over the past two years. 

Several volunteer fire departments still need to make the transition. They have until 2013 to get it done, but have stated intentions to complete the project by the end of 2009. 

AFGC rescue Bald Eagle

Arkansas Fish & Game Commission workers rescued a bald eagle last week. According to the Arkansas Outdoors Newsletter produced by AFGC, an Arkansas Highway department road crew spotted the eagle hanging upside down and (appearing dead) from a tree in Brookings. AFGC was contacted and a solution was devised: they would shoot the tree limb. As soon as they did that, the eagle started flapping it's wings. The eagle had been tangled by jesses, the leather straps often used by people who hunt with birds of prey or those in charge of captive eagles for use in educational programs. It's felony to hunt with the bald eagle and no one reported a captive eagle missing. 

The eagle is being cared for by an experienced vet and is expected to recover. 

Unique Air traffic in Searcy

Did anyone else see the AH-64 Apache fly into Searcy Airport today? If could fly a helicopter, this would be my choice! I've had love affair with this one since I first saw it on the Discovery Channel. 

Texting and Crypotography

This is from one of the many, many blogs that I follow, but never have time to visit. It's a video using text messaging to tell a story. I've never had a text conversation like that. Nor am I sure I know anyone who has had a similar experience. But it got me wondering? Is this generation the one that will solve a great many cryptographical codes? 

Facebook Changes Terms of Service-Goes Big Brother

It seems that Facebook has recently changed its terms of service to allow the company: 

an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or ... (ii) enable a user to Post."

Obama Shoots the Bull

President Obama signed the "American Recovery and Investment Act" today. The bill, at nearly 1200 pages is the largest bill in American history both in size and economic cost. The bill is nearly all Democrat pork and has nothing to do with recovery or investment. 

Democrat Senator Jeopardizes National Security- Idiot of the Day

Senator Diane Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee let it slip last week that the CIA launches Predator drones from a secret base in Pakistan. Although she claims that she was simply stating what had already been reported in  the Washington Post, her defense is weak, given her position and access to sensitive information. She said "As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base." Her comments came during  a televised hearing. It has already been established long ago that Democrats cannot be trusted with matters of national security. Or for that matter, the economy. This is just one more slip up in what has been an otherwise unimpressive start to the Obama administration. 

According to the London Times, the base is located in Shamsi, about 190 miles southwest of Quetta, a possible staging area for Al -Qaeda senior leadership. 

The Death of Common Sense: An Obituary

The following has been widely circulated for years, but a reminder never hurts. It is often attributed to The London Times, but I could not find an original source there. 

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: 
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain; 
- Why the early bird gets the worm; 
- Life isn't always fair; 
- and maybe it was my fault. 
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. 
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. 
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. 
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. 
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. 
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. 
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. 
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; 
I Know My Rights 
I Want It Now 
Someone Else Is To Blame 
I'm A Victim 
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Arkansas House Bill 1237

HB 1237 currently  sits in the Senate Judiciary Committee, scheduled for debate on the 18th. 

Raking Muck in Washington D.C.

Muckety is a blog that explores various aspects of wealth, power and influence in Washington D.C. and elsewhere. A new social web visualizes the connections between various 2009 power players in DC. Take a look at it.

Muckety's typical product is generally a spider web between relationships. Muckety departed from their normal work to develop a map displaying the 1170 locations and 13500 accounts affected by the Madoff scheme. Almost looks as big as Walmart's growth.

It's Official....America is done.

Today, Friday,  Febuary 13 will go down in history as the day that sounded the official death knell for America. The biggest spending bill -1,073 pages in history passed today. Let the record reflect that there was not a single member of the Republican party who supported this bill. I think they finally figured it out. The Democrats, the official representatives of the stupid and socialist in this country will be forever to blame for driving our great grandchildren into slavery. 

I am outraged...and so is GOP House Leader John Boenher. 

Think a little people. Think. Read!

John Boenher's staff put together this video short detailing the process.

I saw another video that detailed the behind the scenes of the House Study Committee. I suspect Fox News will show it at 9pm Central on Saturday on Bret's show called "How to Spent a trillion"

Federal Trial Date Set in Harding Case

Judge William R Wilson will hear the case June 30 in Little Rock.

Dennis Gilliam, a Searcy citizen originally filed suit against Harding University and the White County Medical Center in October of 2006 alledging that tax free bonds were illegally issued on behalf of both entities. The suit also named several members of both organizations. Another man ,Billy Pruitt joined that lawsuit and the City of Searcy was added as a defendant.

In March, the suit was split between state and federal courts. The federal suit named Harding and the City of Searcy and the White County suit against the hospital and the country, according an article in The Daily Citizen.

According to David Crouch, Director of Public Relations at Harding, the University has received $34.3 million dollars in bonds since 1991. The American Heritage Center was remodeled with $8 million dollars in private donations.

Gilliam's lawyers toured the campus on Monday this week in search of religious icons on school buildings. Nearly every building on campus has Biblical scriptures in it, but it is debatable as to whether or not a scripture is an icon.

Marty Bowen, a lawyer from a Little Rock firm is representing Gilliam. Bowen had the following to say about his clients: "Mr. Gillam and Mr. Pruitt are not against religious freedom at all. We're not picking on Harding because they're Church of Christ. We cherish and would die for their right to worship as they see fit. It's just that when the city provides them financing through a facilities board for Harding specifically, the city is financing a religious-based university. We have no problem with religion whatsoever. We think religion can benefit greatly if government stays out of its business and vice versa. I told the people at Harding that. This is not about religious freedom. We don't want to seem like were here to attack religions."

The early stages of the suit caused Harding to reconsider plans for a Health Science program. Originally, Harding intended to house the program in the vacant south campus of the White County Medical Center. Instead, the program was delayed for a year while the construction of a facility on Harding's Searcy campus was completed.

Weather Warnings & Truckers

The National Weather Service has recently launched a beta test of a weather notification program called iNWS. This NWS program is a national program and very similar to the USGS mobile warning program. I've been a subscriber to the USGS program for a few months and have found the information useful and interesting. 

NWS Alerts allows users to configure and receive text message alerts and e-mail message alerts when the National Weather Service issues a watch, warning, or advisory that affects them.

Users can configure their alert preferences geographically and by weather phenomena. Weather phenomena categories include:

• Severe Weather
• Winter Weather
• Hydrology
• Fire Weather
• Marine Weather
• Coastal Hazards
• Tropical Weather
• Aviation
• Non-Precipitation
• Civil Emergency 

You can find sign up here. 

Having access to a weather radio is beneficial for people like me who have a fun time in severe weather. I have often wondered how truckers receive their information. Most weather radio utilize SAME technology, allowing users to customize warnings based on their location. However, truckers are always on the move. How do they receive their info? 

Most truckers utilize CB radios with NOAA channels programmed. Others are amateur radio operators. Still others rely on dispatchers, friends and family to keep them informed. Now, they an additional tool. Trucker Weather Watch is an attempt to integrate the transportation industry into the Skywarn Weather Network. It will be interesting to see how the TWW is utilized over time in the Skywarn Nets. 

iCWSU

iCWSU provides a NWS MobileWeb interface to weather data for the aviation community. Available products include:

To get started, point your mobile web browser at:
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/zoa/MOBILE/ZOA2.htm

• Hub Forecasts
• Forecast Discussions
• TAFs and METARs
• Storm Summaries
• Convective and Tropical Outlooks
• Weather Forecasts
• Aviation Hazard Graphics
• Radar and Satellite Imagery

Currently, iCWSU is designed for the San Francisco area. Work is being done to expand coverage to the rest of the United States.

iNWS Mobile

iNWS Mobile is aimed at community decision makers, government officials and news media.

iNWS Mobile is an application that will install and run on Java enabled mobile devices. It allows you to browse the following weather data using a map interface:

• National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories
• Radar and satellite imagery
• Observations
• Forecasts

iNWS Mobile also allows you to remotely configure your iNWS Alerts profile.

We have developed and tested iNWS Mobile on Blackberry devices, but we do provide an untested non-Blackberry version as well. Please let us know if it works on your phone.

An experimental version of iNWS Mobile (formerly the Mobile Warning Alert Messaging Application) is available for download by pointing your cell phone's web browser at http://inws.wrh.noaa.gov and following the appropriate download link.

NWS MobileWeb

To get started, point your mobile web browser at:
http://mobile.wrh.noaa.gov/

There, you can search for information by zip code or city, state.

The weather information displayed includes

• Current watches, warnings, and advisories
• Current conditions at nearby observation sites
• Radar imagery
• Satellite imagery
• Forecast information

Breaking News: Flight 3407

A Continental Airlines commuter flight crashed into a home located in Buffalo, New York, roughly five miles from Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The crashed killed 44 passengers and a crew of four. Foggy & icy weather may be factors contributing to the crash. 

You can listen to flight audio here, see video here.

Legislative Update

Arkansas House Bill 1237 passed the House vote 57-42 on Wednesday. It's been introduced in the Senate, where it current waits for a reading in the Senate Judiciary Committee. At this time, it is unknown when the next meeting will occur. 

Idiot of the Day

....Dr. Michael Kamrava for facilitating the in-vitro fertilization of Nadya Suleman, an unemployed woman living in her parents house with six children. She gave birth to an additional 8 children on January 26Th. 

Mr. Kamrava should have his license permanently revoked and Miss Suleman needs to get her head checked. Medical ethicists will likely be discussing this case for decades. It appears that taxpayers will be footing the bill for this one as she is unemployed. Miss Suleman has publicly stated that she hopes  to begin studying for her masters degree in psychology in the fall. With 8 newly born children, she recognizes the importance of personal attention to each of her new children and  has stated that she wants to hold each of her children for a minimum of 45 minutes each day. That alone will take 6 hours, just for the eight newly born children. 

Existing in-vitro fertilization guidelines specify that no more than two embryos should be utilized  at any time. I'm calling for jail time for the both of them.

Traffic Accident in Space

I think we have too much space debris.....

Did you get one of these?

I checked my mail just a few minutes ago and found this inside on a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. I could have printed the announcement myself. Is it official? Where is the contact information? Why did I get one of these?

If you got one of these today in Arkansas, let me know.

Breaking News

Fox News is reporting that Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) has withdrawn his nomination for Commerce Secretary. 

Why? 

1) He was unhappy with stimulus.

2) He was not happy with the current White House plans to control the US Census procedures.  

National Hunthing & Fishing Day

Sept 26, 2009 is National Hunting & Fishing Day. Mark your calendars now.

Idiot of the Day

The Idiot of the Day is Stewart Parnell, the owner of the Peanut Corporation of America. Today he appeared in front the of US House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee and invoked his right to not incarcerate himself. Instead of being a man and a responsible citizen, he played the part of the wuss and denied having any responsibility for the nations largest food recall. About 500 people have been sickened, 9 have died and 1900 items have been recalled. 

Quote of the Day

"Democracy will soon degenerate into an anarchy, such an anarchy that every man will do what is right in his own eyes and no man's life or property or reputation or liberty will be secure, and every one of these will soon mould itself into a system of subordination of all the moral virtues and intellectual abilities, all of the powers of wealth, beauty, wit and science, to the wanton pleasures, the capricious will, and the execrable crulty of one or a very few." 

John Adams, An Essay on a Man's Lust for Power, August 29, 1763. 

White County 911 Communications Alert

The White County 911/OES Board is alerting citizens that 'due to equipment problems the tornado warning sirens in the following cities are not working: 

 Bradford, Russell, Rosebud, Georgetown, Garner, Griffithville, Higginson, Judsonia, Kensett,West Point, McRae, Pangburn, Letona." 

OES hopes to have the situation resolved by the end of business today. Please stay tuned to local TV or radio for further information. 

C.S. Lewis Book Announcement

 Professor Gary Tandy, a teacher at Cascade College, has announced the release of his new book: 

I'm pleased to announce the publication of my book, The Rhetoric of Certitude: C. S. Lewis's Nonfiction Prose, by The Kent State University Press. This book is the culmination of a project begun 25 years ago when I was a grad student. Perhaps the most satisfying part to write was the dedication. Since I doubted that I would be dedicating any more books, I wanted to get this one right. There were lots of likely candidates: my teachers, who inspired me to study writing and literature as a career; my friends and church communities in Knoxville, Abilene, Tulsa, and Gresham, who helped shape me spiritually; my students at Cascade and OC, with whom I have discussed Lewis's works over the last 15 years, and more. I settled on the most significant "others" in my life and the woman who would have been the most proud to see the book in print. The dedication reads "To Janet, Julia, Jackson, and John Garrison, and for Mom, who waits to greet us in Aslan's Country."

If you would like to purchase a copy of the book at a 40% discount off the retail price ($39.95), email me at Gary.Tandy@cascade.oc.edu, and I will give you the details.

Quote of the Day

From the "We are All Socialists Now" edition of Newsweek (Feb 16):

"If you spent a million dollars every day since Jesus was born, you still wouldn't have spent a trillion dollars." Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, criticizing the president's stimulus package, which is nearing a price tag of $1 trillion . 

A Moral Duty to Mud?

Last night I had the opportunity to go to an American Studies Institute lecture by actor,author and economist Ben Stein. Harding University's Benson Auditorium was standing room only.

In addition to discussing his Arkansas connection (his wife has family in Arkansas) he discussed his recently released documentary, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed which covered the history of evolution and intelligent design. In the documentary, Stein interviews several academic professors or scientists whose works have led them to a conclusion that evolution has serious scientific flaw. These individuals have basically been blacklisted from teaching because of their beliefs in intelligent design or their questioning of Neo- Darwinian evolution. 

According to Stein, the Neo Darwinists believe that life must have been created by a lightening strike hitting a mud puddle. Or through something on a diamond. Or life was created through intervention from beings out of this world. Stein says that despite numerous attempts over the past decades by Darwinists to recreate life in a lab, no such effort has succeeded. 

No Intelligence  was not received warmly by  those supporting Darwinian beliefs. Stein has been the recipient of numerous personal attacks because of the documentary. However, he continues to stand up for his beliefs. 

He says that he felt at home in Searcy because he was among people with common sense, a drastic departure from his home in Malibu and his native Washington, D.C. 

The other part of the night was spent discussing the economy. Stein related a story from the 1949 movie The Third Man in which a character played by Orsen Wells sells diluted penicillin to sick individuals (which makes them worse) for financial profit. When one of his friends finds out, Well's character takes his friend to the top of a tall tower overlooking the city and says something to the effect of "What difference does it make? Do you see people? All I see is black dots?" 

Therefore, Stein said, what one believes about the beginnings of life has a direct correlation to how one ought to treat one's fellow man. He did not believe that we had a moral duty to mud, because did not believe that life began in a mud puddle. We have a moral duty to one another because life began with the hand of God. 

Ben Stein proved himself to be a good man, as I suspected he would be. 

Idiot of the Day

Today's idiot of the day is Mike Papantonio, left wing nut job talk show host. 

Visualizing the Porkulous Bill

The best graphic I have seen to date on the so called stimulous bill can be found here.

Quote of the Day

“This is neither bipartisan nor a compromise. It is generational theft" Senator John McCain on the $831 billion porkulous bill. 

Using Google Latitude

On February 4, 2009, Google introduced a new location tracking application called Latitude. Latitude enables location tracking through the use of GPS enabled phones or triangulation of cell phone towers. The information is displayed on a Google Map. 

As with many GPS devices, there is a trade off between utility and privacy. Although Google's motto is 'don't be evil' many do not trust it to  keep that motto. Google has an enormous and robust capability in a number of different ways, this is just one of them. Like many applications, this software has very strong potential use for good. 

Registration

Currently, Google Latitude will work on mobile devices if your mobile device is operated on the Google Andriod platform, Apple I-phone, or a Windows -based smart phone. Basically, you have to have a smart phone if you want the capability to look at a map on your phone. Alternatively, Latitude will allow one to track a position on a laptop or on a 'non-smart' cell phone because Latitude can also track locations based on triangulation of cell-phone towers. 

Latitude can be loaded to your igoogle page if working from a computer or downloaded straight to your mobile phone at google.com/latitude. You have to enable the software for it to work, and your friends have to enable tracking in order for Latitude to display a position other than your own. Like many GPS applications, it's not without a few quirks. Accuracy can be off a few hundred feet.

Applications

Missing Persons

I can already think of a few times when I've been on the phone at work with a 'dumber than blonde' student who had gotten in the car with someone the night before  and had now had no  idea where she'd been left. Having the capability to ask for a phone number and get a pinpoint  location on a map would have saved everyone a whole lot of trouble. Of course, this only works with a live victim who has a cellphone. Those are two big caveats. 

Fleet/fieldworker tracking

Google Latitute does have the potential to serve as a valid (though bare bones)  fleet tracking mechanism.Other fleet tracking applications generally offer fuel consumption and speed statistics in addition to tracking, but if all you need is positioning software, than Latitude will likely do. 

A Parent's Peace of Mind

Not sure where your daughter is spending time tonight? Track her on Latitude. Just enable the software and add the necessary phone number. 

Emergency Operations

Latitude is new, so the use of the application in emergency management is likely not extensive or fully trusted. I'll be scanning the media for news stories about Latitude's use in emergencies. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other forms of social media have been used in previous emergencies. This may be another tool in the emergency manager's toolbox.