We close on the new house this Tuesday. I'll be glad to get out of mold central. Yes, mold. Ick.
The new house is in an interesting neighborhood. Prior to the 60's and 70's it was the nicest neighborhood in town, lots of huge house built by wealthy white attorneys and doctors. Then in the late 60'sand early 70's the city thoght it would easy racial tension by taking the houses and giving them to poor minorities at a great loss to the city.
It eventually turned into the most dangerous place in the city. Then around 2002-03 a couple of very wealthy Atlanta attorneys adn a couple of "alternative lifestyle" couples thought that it was a shame these great old houses were going to hell. They started buying them to live in and slowly turned the neighborhood around (well, it's a work in progress).
Our street is pretty safe. I won't be walking around late at night alone though, and hey, I'm well armed, heavily tattooed (well moderately--I'm working on it), frequently drinking, and almost always angry so I don't really think I need to worry to much ;)
Plus the house has a Harry Potter closet!! And a huge attic and a see through fireplace.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Saturday, September 03, 2005
A note on disease
I'm sure everyone knows about the risks of disease from corpses, and animal waste (yes, I include people in that term). I feel like pointing out though that the diseases being created on the Gulf will not stay on the Gulf.
Even with what's left of my limited microbiology and parasitology knowledge from my BS, I expect huge vicious disease to come out of the stew brewing in those streets right now. It takes very little for an everyday bacteria, virus, or protozoan to mutate into a disease causing form. Everyday flora can become lethal with very little mutation.
People, they won't be confined. Think about how many people are going to come and go in that area over the next months, and even years.
Not that it will help much but please people wash your hands and be careful until we see what is going to come out of the Gulf in the next few years.
Ebola may look like the flu before this is over.
Just a note to get you thinking people.
Even with what's left of my limited microbiology and parasitology knowledge from my BS, I expect huge vicious disease to come out of the stew brewing in those streets right now. It takes very little for an everyday bacteria, virus, or protozoan to mutate into a disease causing form. Everyday flora can become lethal with very little mutation.
People, they won't be confined. Think about how many people are going to come and go in that area over the next months, and even years.
Not that it will help much but please people wash your hands and be careful until we see what is going to come out of the Gulf in the next few years.
Ebola may look like the flu before this is over.
Just a note to get you thinking people.
New Orleans
I find it necessary to blog about this. I'm very upset so I appologize for the inevitable typos.
While no where near physically effected by the tragedy there, I have been very emotionally affected by it. I have been watching the footage and began seeing the places I spent 10 weeks last summer.
I saw the streets I walked to work on underwater and have been unable to contact the people I worked with there at NOLA. I can't watch anymore. All I do is cry--it is so wrong. This was one of our major cities and with more history than most.
I'm very grateful I did not move there as we talked about, but I still feel a profound sense of loss. The whole city is for all intents and purposes gone. Aside from the death and water, roving bands of hoodlums and criminals are running the streets now. Does anyone else grasp what this means?
There are people praying on people who have just lost everything, and our government is as usual more than a dollar short and day late. People are being robbed, raped, and killed.
A 10 year old girl ( a child people) was raped (they also managed to break both her ankles!) by a gang of men IN the Superdome! The place she was supposed to be safe!!!!
Why did it take a week to get down there, did they get lost on the way? Maybe they took a wrong turn and ended up in Las Vegas? Did they not have maps? Maybe they took a wrong turn and ended up in---oh I don't know another country , continent, maybe -----Iraq?
Should we point out that Cuba was faster to offer a response than our own government? That's a country we have embargos against people. Castro has no reason to offer us help.
We are now the one of the least respected countries in the world. I can't imagine why. We are so quick to help those in other countries that don't need or want our help that we can't take care of our own!
I can't stand listening to Bush "explain". He gave no answer to the questions, just random non-sense. He babbled about Iraq people!!!!!!!!! Why is he talking about that still when thousands of people in his own country (a country he is incharge of) are dying of starvation, disease, and anarchy? Doesn't he understand this just makes him look like he just doesn't care, or maybe he just can't grasp that he has to explain his actions for once.
We are no longer willing (well, some of us never were--but we were out voted) to accept irrelevant drivel as a reasoning for everything from wars to his watching people die when he could easily have had help there the next day.
I heard someone say Bush doesn't care about black people. I think that person is incorrect---Bush just doesn't care about people in general. If they aren't rich enough to contribute to his wealth and position, he doesn't care. I tried thinking of him as an incompetent and not knowing any better, but that just doesn't work. This has just gone too far.
These were and are good people, poor yes (in some cases smelly on a good probably), but they don't deserve to be left to die.
I have to side with the Mayor, the government needs to GET OFF ITS ASS and get down there! What they sent yesterday is not going to be enough.
While no where near physically effected by the tragedy there, I have been very emotionally affected by it. I have been watching the footage and began seeing the places I spent 10 weeks last summer.
I saw the streets I walked to work on underwater and have been unable to contact the people I worked with there at NOLA. I can't watch anymore. All I do is cry--it is so wrong. This was one of our major cities and with more history than most.
I'm very grateful I did not move there as we talked about, but I still feel a profound sense of loss. The whole city is for all intents and purposes gone. Aside from the death and water, roving bands of hoodlums and criminals are running the streets now. Does anyone else grasp what this means?
There are people praying on people who have just lost everything, and our government is as usual more than a dollar short and day late. People are being robbed, raped, and killed.
A 10 year old girl ( a child people) was raped (they also managed to break both her ankles!) by a gang of men IN the Superdome! The place she was supposed to be safe!!!!
Why did it take a week to get down there, did they get lost on the way? Maybe they took a wrong turn and ended up in Las Vegas? Did they not have maps? Maybe they took a wrong turn and ended up in---oh I don't know another country , continent, maybe -----Iraq?
Should we point out that Cuba was faster to offer a response than our own government? That's a country we have embargos against people. Castro has no reason to offer us help.
We are now the one of the least respected countries in the world. I can't imagine why. We are so quick to help those in other countries that don't need or want our help that we can't take care of our own!
I can't stand listening to Bush "explain". He gave no answer to the questions, just random non-sense. He babbled about Iraq people!!!!!!!!! Why is he talking about that still when thousands of people in his own country (a country he is incharge of) are dying of starvation, disease, and anarchy? Doesn't he understand this just makes him look like he just doesn't care, or maybe he just can't grasp that he has to explain his actions for once.
We are no longer willing (well, some of us never were--but we were out voted) to accept irrelevant drivel as a reasoning for everything from wars to his watching people die when he could easily have had help there the next day.
I heard someone say Bush doesn't care about black people. I think that person is incorrect---Bush just doesn't care about people in general. If they aren't rich enough to contribute to his wealth and position, he doesn't care. I tried thinking of him as an incompetent and not knowing any better, but that just doesn't work. This has just gone too far.
These were and are good people, poor yes (in some cases smelly on a good probably), but they don't deserve to be left to die.
I have to side with the Mayor, the government needs to GET OFF ITS ASS and get down there! What they sent yesterday is not going to be enough.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)