Well, what can I say.
WHO DAT! SAINTS ARE IN THE SUPER BOWL!!!
************************
In 2007, New Orleans composer Jep Epstein wrote and recorded a song titled Heaven's 'Bout To Make The News. The song referenced a promise Buddy D made to his radio listeners that if the New Orleans Saints ever played in the Super Bowl, he would put on a dress and parade down Bourbon Street. The song gained a wider audience among Saint's fans in 2009, which marked the team's best start in a season in its franchise history. His successor at WWL, former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert, has promised to fulfill Buddy D's vow.
January 25, 2010, the New Orleans Times-Picayune with his family's blessing ran an altered photograph of Buddy D in a dress to celebrate the New Orleans Saints first NFC Championship.
On Sunday, January 31 2010, Buddy D will be honored with a parade led by Bobby Hebert in a dress from the Superdome to the French Quarter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_"Buddy"_Diliberto
UPDATE - Bourbon Street filled with men in dresses.
UPDATE 2- Must see video from WWL:
Sunday, January 31, 2010
KdV 2010
Froze my butt off last night. Got a few photos of the first half of the parade before I put the camera up (being careful not to put the camera in the same pocket as the Boudreaux's Butt Paste I caught).
Roast Nagin
Treme Brass Band. Always a highlight of the parade.
Voodoo Doll
Pencil-dicked Jindal Fucks Louisiana up the Ass. My favorite float
Video w/Brass Band Playing. Note the articulated Crime Cameras on the float.
Roast Nagin
Treme Brass Band. Always a highlight of the parade.
Voodoo Doll
Pencil-dicked Jindal Fucks Louisiana up the Ass. My favorite float
Video w/Brass Band Playing. Note the articulated Crime Cameras on the float.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Dirty Politics and the Campaign for the Next Assessor
You know what, you've got to hand it to them. For the longest time, New Orleans' 7 Assessors had it made. Cushy job with a big paycheck and full benies. They never had to work to raise campaign funds. All they had to do was send out a few suspiciously low property assessments and campaign funds would roll right in.
The assessors sat back and relaxed. The assessor seats would even be passed down from generation to generation, because nobody bothered to challenged a sitting assessor and they would just pull out of the reelection campaign hours before the deadline, so the next generation would have it without any competition. Claude Mauberret's family has controlled the 2nd District for 100 years!!!
And then the voters had to go and fuck the whole thing up for them! How could they do that! Who do these 1 Citizen and I.Q. People think they are, ruining the gravy train?!?!
The race for the next assessor is critical for the future of New Orleans. It's a battle between old nepotistic assessors that flout the law and back the vampires of the city and a new system that will actually treat everyone fairly, regardless of political connections. A shocking revolution, I know. Oyster has been beating on this particular issue for quite a while, actually.
Anyone looking for who to vote for should read these two fantastic articles:
N.O. Property List Prices, City Values Often Far Apart. From Thursday's Picayune.
Janis Lemle for Assessor.
Janis Lemle is the best hope to reform the system. The race is getting nasty. I recently got this libelous flier:
Click to Enlarge
Looks like someone is getting nervous they'll lose their cushy position. Anyone want to bet that "Citizens for Fair Assessments", with their scare-tactic (OMG! DREADLOCKS! THE JEFFERSON DRAGONS!) "tax woman" ad is really Mauberrey?
The only ones getting their taxes raised are the ones who've bribed assessors into illegally low assessments. Nobody's taxes are getting raised that don't deserve it. Also, thanks in no small part to Nancy Marshall's work in Uptown, property taxes were rolled-back and, with the exclusion of the old-money vampires, taxes went DOWN!
The best thing you can do a week from today is put Claude Mauberret and all the other crooked assessors in the unemployment line.
UPDATE- Eli has more background. "Most Consequential Race Flying Under The Radar"
UPDATE 2- More tantalizing details here: "Mystery of the Shadow Unsolved". Nagin and Riley go hilariously conspiratorial on WBOK. At the end, though, it's noted that the Lemle ad is by an unregistered Political Action Committee and strongly hinted that Mauberret is behind it. Crooked bastard.
UPDATE 3- Janis Lemle's latest ad:
(H/T Chris K)
UPDATE 4- Keep the ad on the air:
Click here to donate
The assessors sat back and relaxed. The assessor seats would even be passed down from generation to generation, because nobody bothered to challenged a sitting assessor and they would just pull out of the reelection campaign hours before the deadline, so the next generation would have it without any competition. Claude Mauberret's family has controlled the 2nd District for 100 years!!!
And then the voters had to go and fuck the whole thing up for them! How could they do that! Who do these 1 Citizen and I.Q. People think they are, ruining the gravy train?!?!
The race for the next assessor is critical for the future of New Orleans. It's a battle between old nepotistic assessors that flout the law and back the vampires of the city and a new system that will actually treat everyone fairly, regardless of political connections. A shocking revolution, I know. Oyster has been beating on this particular issue for quite a while, actually.
Anyone looking for who to vote for should read these two fantastic articles:
N.O. Property List Prices, City Values Often Far Apart. From Thursday's Picayune.
Janis Lemle for Assessor.
Janis Lemle is the best hope to reform the system. The race is getting nasty. I recently got this libelous flier:
Click to Enlarge
Looks like someone is getting nervous they'll lose their cushy position. Anyone want to bet that "Citizens for Fair Assessments", with their scare-tactic (OMG! DREADLOCKS! THE JEFFERSON DRAGONS!) "tax woman" ad is really Mauberrey?
The only ones getting their taxes raised are the ones who've bribed assessors into illegally low assessments. Nobody's taxes are getting raised that don't deserve it. Also, thanks in no small part to Nancy Marshall's work in Uptown, property taxes were rolled-back and, with the exclusion of the old-money vampires, taxes went DOWN!
The best thing you can do a week from today is put Claude Mauberret and all the other crooked assessors in the unemployment line.
UPDATE- Eli has more background. "Most Consequential Race Flying Under The Radar"
UPDATE 2- More tantalizing details here: "Mystery of the Shadow Unsolved". Nagin and Riley go hilariously conspiratorial on WBOK. At the end, though, it's noted that the Lemle ad is by an unregistered Political Action Committee and strongly hinted that Mauberret is behind it. Crooked bastard.
UPDATE 3- Janis Lemle's latest ad:
(H/T Chris K)
UPDATE 4- Keep the ad on the air:
Click here to donate
White House Gives Up on the Gulf Coast
So, P.E. makes a remark about Janet Woodka. Harry Shearer has been all over the story.
In summary, Obama appointed a well-qualified person to a position that he never really got behind. I'm sure she's had some sort of an accomplishment, but I can't name any and the Obama administration quickly forgot she even existed. They eventually remembered enough to kill the office off nice and quiet like.
So, how is Obama doing on the "Litmus Test?"
As Jeffery puts it, Clinton II is looking more and more like a mediocre president. I'll end with a quote from Churchill:
_________________________
*(Context for original quote was in relation to the U-Boat campaign)
In summary, Obama appointed a well-qualified person to a position that he never really got behind. I'm sure she's had some sort of an accomplishment, but I can't name any and the Obama administration quickly forgot she even existed. They eventually remembered enough to kill the office off nice and quiet like.
So, how is Obama doing on the "Litmus Test?"
Last week on Bill Moyers' Journal, Princeton professor, Melissa Harris-Lacewell offered the following statement in regard to expectations for the nascent Obama Administration.
...I have a couple things I think are the most important. I think the recovery of New Orleans continues to be the central democratic litmus test of our time, that what does and does not happen in the context of recovery for the Gulf Coast tells us whether or not we value community, what we're going to do about environmental injustice, whether or not we're going to provide affordable, quality housing, and whether or not we truly believe that we are a racial democracy, one in which people of all races get to contribute.
As Jeffery puts it, Clinton II is looking more and more like a mediocre president. I'll end with a quote from Churchill:
The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.*
_________________________
*(Context for original quote was in relation to the U-Boat campaign)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"BuddyD is Ironing His Dress"
Saw this on the streetcar today. This guy has done stuff like this before. Snapped a quick photo. The text reads:
HELL IS FREEZING OVER
THE NUNS ARE WORKING THE BEADS
AND
BUDDY D IS IN HEAVEN
IRONING HIS DRESS
-----------------------------
GO SAINTS
Seriously every single New Orleans conversation is revolving around the Saints right now. I've actually sort of tried to switch the conversation to politics sometimes (after all, we're about to choose a new mayor), and that's been met with very, very little success.
HELL IS FREEZING OVER
THE NUNS ARE WORKING THE BEADS
AND
BUDDY D IS IN HEAVEN
IRONING HIS DRESS
-----------------------------
GO SAINTS
Seriously every single New Orleans conversation is revolving around the Saints right now. I've actually sort of tried to switch the conversation to politics sometimes (after all, we're about to choose a new mayor), and that's been met with very, very little success.
"The Soul of New Orleans"
Video here. (Embed disabled). Nice mention about the Steve Gleason 2006 blocked punt. Chris Rose even makes an appearance.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Who Dat!
This weekend is Krewe Du Vieux, after that is first weekend of big parades, mayor's race, and the Superbowl. Next weekend after that is the weekend before Mardi Gras, with Drew Brees riding in Baccus. Wonder if he'll have a Lombardi Trophy with him.
Oh yeah, and in addition to the usual craziness, we've got a wedding coming up.
Before you know it, it will be Jazz Fest and football season again! God I love this town!
Oh yeah, and in addition to the usual craziness, we've got a wedding coming up.
Before you know it, it will be Jazz Fest and football season again! God I love this town!
Saints Reaction Roundup
My hangover is not as bad as this guys is going to be
Up early. Had so much to drink I woke up early and couldn't go back to bed.
Times-Pic headline:
SUPER SAINTS
Drew Brees sort of looks like he's crying on the cover photo.
Saints, New Orleans share success
Maitri notes that a single football fan in the middle of cornfields DOES make a sound. Scare the horseys much?
This is the way we live
Who Dat in the Superbowl.
HOLY FUCKING SHIT!
There are going to be lots of ugly babies around town in 9 months.
Brett Favre has a job after retirement: inspecting the roof of the Superdome while on his back.
StephGraceTP
Heard "Stand Up and Get Crunk" blasting from the Hermes bar at Antoine's. It's a whole new world.
A few hangover-clouded thoughts from me:
* Both teams really hated each other. They were knocking the crap out of each other on every play. Both Brees and Favre took some blows, but Favre took an epic beatdown during the game and came back for more each time (but not without showing the wear and tear).
* This win is for Ashley Morris, Bora, and all the other long-suffering Saints local fans that we want to reach out and hug, but can't.
* Two consecutive years in a row, Farve has blown an NFC championship game with an INT, in fact, that's the last play in both years. He (appropriately) hold the All-Time record for INT's. Maybe the media could remember that little fact when they slober all over Favre.
* Big fuck yous to Fox and company. Instead of giving us a good NOLA musician, you incestuously cross promote us some talentless fuck from your crappy show. You inflict Joe Buck on us. Ugh. Stick to sucking during baseball season.
* The biggest fuck you you fucking fucks of all to all those souless pricks who shat on the city when we were down. FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING FUCKS!
What about you fucks that don’t want to rebuild NOLA because we’re below sea level. Well, fuckheads, then we shouldn’t have rebuilt that cesspool Chicago after the fire, that Sodom San Francisco after the earthquakes, Miami after endless hurricanes, or New York because it’s a magnet for terrorists.
And fuck Kansas, Iowa, and your fucking tornados.
Fuck you, San Antonio. You aren’t getting our Saints. When I get to the Alamo, I’m taking a piss on it. You probably go to funerals and hit on the widow. Classless fucks.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
In Honor of Bora and the Saints, The Perfect "Pain Perdu"
This is a photo of Bora. She's been a part of the family ever since I was born. My grandfather first hired as a sitter to help take care of his wife as she was going downhill fast from Alzheimer's. I was born just a few months before my grandmother died.
Paw-Paw liked her a lot and since he was getting up in years, wanted to keep her around. At first, his excuse was to help take care of me (and later my little brother). She taught us Creole French. She took us on the streetcar all over town. She was like a second mother to me and my little brother. As we got older, she took care of my grandfather more and us less.
When Katrina hit, her house in New Orleans East was ruined. She had insurance and Road Home money, but to this day, it's not rebuilt because she can't quite come up with the last chunk of money to finish it. I also think one of her contractors screwed her over and took the money and ran. She misses New Orleans every single day.
She still lives in Houston, where she evacuated to shortly before Katrina. She's in her eighties now, but still going strong. She's coming to our wedding in March if I have to drive there and pick her up myself. And she still watches the Saints.
Dear Saints, please win this one for Bora.
******************************
The Recipe: Bora's Perfect Pain Perdu
2 eggs (beat)
1/2-cup sugar {can be cut in half if you wuss out}
1/2-cup milk
1-2 tablespoons vanilla
Cinnamon (eye it; enough to form a slight crust on the mixture)
Stale Bread {3 day old French bread sliced 3/4" thick is about perfect}
It took me a while to really get this recipe down. I asked Bora for a recipe, but being an old Creole woman, she knows nothing of recipes or measurements. I actually had to talk her through it while holding up measuring cups to try and nail it down.
Beat the eggs and add the sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Once it's all nice and mixed up, start soaking the bread.
Get out a big cast iron pan and get it real, real hot. Melt some butter in the pan and take the thoroughly-soaked bread and plop it in the pan. It should be really noisy when you drop it in.
Don't worry if it smokes a little. If it isn't smoking, you're doing it wrong. It doesn't take very long per side. Only a minute or two (depending on size of bread, how much you crowd the pan, etc.). If you run low on sauce, don't be afraid to stretch it with a little milk. The recipe was designed to be poor-people food.
Pile up your Lost Bread and take to the table. You can coat it with cinnamon-sugar, maple syrup (if you're a Yankee), or good 'ole powdered sugar.
Paw-Paw liked her a lot and since he was getting up in years, wanted to keep her around. At first, his excuse was to help take care of me (and later my little brother). She taught us Creole French. She took us on the streetcar all over town. She was like a second mother to me and my little brother. As we got older, she took care of my grandfather more and us less.
When Katrina hit, her house in New Orleans East was ruined. She had insurance and Road Home money, but to this day, it's not rebuilt because she can't quite come up with the last chunk of money to finish it. I also think one of her contractors screwed her over and took the money and ran. She misses New Orleans every single day.
She still lives in Houston, where she evacuated to shortly before Katrina. She's in her eighties now, but still going strong. She's coming to our wedding in March if I have to drive there and pick her up myself. And she still watches the Saints.
Dear Saints, please win this one for Bora.
******************************
The Recipe: Bora's Perfect Pain Perdu
2 eggs (beat)
1/2-cup sugar {can be cut in half if you wuss out}
1/2-cup milk
1-2 tablespoons vanilla
Cinnamon (eye it; enough to form a slight crust on the mixture)
Stale Bread {3 day old French bread sliced 3/4" thick is about perfect}
It took me a while to really get this recipe down. I asked Bora for a recipe, but being an old Creole woman, she knows nothing of recipes or measurements. I actually had to talk her through it while holding up measuring cups to try and nail it down.
Beat the eggs and add the sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Once it's all nice and mixed up, start soaking the bread.
Get out a big cast iron pan and get it real, real hot. Melt some butter in the pan and take the thoroughly-soaked bread and plop it in the pan. It should be really noisy when you drop it in.
Don't worry if it smokes a little. If it isn't smoking, you're doing it wrong. It doesn't take very long per side. Only a minute or two (depending on size of bread, how much you crowd the pan, etc.). If you run low on sauce, don't be afraid to stretch it with a little milk. The recipe was designed to be poor-people food.
Pile up your Lost Bread and take to the table. You can coat it with cinnamon-sugar, maple syrup (if you're a Yankee), or good 'ole powdered sugar.
Voting begins for Mayor 2010
Collection of political pamphlets.
Today is the first day of early voting for the mayor's race (along with Assessor, City Council, etc.). One big piece of news: The Times-Picayune Editorial Board has endorsed Mitch Landrieu for Mayor. Wow, I'll bet that must have been painful for some of them to do. Also, if you'll look through the pamphlets at the top, one of them notes that Leslie Jacobs has endorsed Mitch. He's got the Mitch-mentum.
One other observation I have about the election:
Assessor sign on abandoned building
There are a bunch of political signs on abandoned buildings. I don't like this. Especially the ginormous 5' x 10' signs. I ESPECIALLY don't like this for assessors. It says to me, "I'll keep the property taxes so low, these properties will NEVER be put back into commerce." I haven't seen a single Janis Lemle or Mitch Landrieu sign on an abandoned building.
Here's my Flickr set of some of the NOLA Election signs around town. There are some areas of town much more represented than others, because if I'm driving, I don't want to be taking photos at the same time. For example, I've got lots of Uptown (sliver-by-the-river) Jay Batt signs, but no other signs in his district. The Mid-City part of District A is covered in anti-Jay Batt signs. Half of the Jay Batt signs Uptown are actually not in his district.
Troy Henry Robocall
I'm playing around with this and I have no idea if it will work. Let me know if it does.
I got a Troy Henry robocall and I thought it was interesting how he's exaggerating his resume. It's also got really crappy 70's music, too.
News and Notes, Sports Edition - 24 Jan 2010
A few things to read while waiting for Brett Favre's retirement party:
N'awlins Mawlins. Horrible nickname. Not an entirely bad idea.
UNO deals with budget cuts by dropping sports, conference. UNO pulls out of Sun Belt. LSU is happy, especially with their new jock-only $15 million tutoring center. UNO poached a lot of their prime baseball recruits under the Smoke Laval-era. UNO has even beat Tulane quite a few times the last few years. UNO was just starting up a football program...
Bushrod will have Brees' back. We'll see. Here's to pulling a TE to help out. OTOH, Jared Allen is a world-class fuckup. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he gets shitfaced drunk the night before the game, shows up hungover and pukes on the Mardi Grass before passing out from "dehydration" in the middle of the game.
Here's to lots of New Orleans marching band-inspired Crunked-ness:
N'awlins Mawlins. Horrible nickname. Not an entirely bad idea.
UNO deals with budget cuts by dropping sports, conference. UNO pulls out of Sun Belt. LSU is happy, especially with their new jock-only $15 million tutoring center. UNO poached a lot of their prime baseball recruits under the Smoke Laval-era. UNO has even beat Tulane quite a few times the last few years. UNO was just starting up a football program...
Bushrod will have Brees' back. We'll see. Here's to pulling a TE to help out. OTOH, Jared Allen is a world-class fuckup. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he gets shitfaced drunk the night before the game, shows up hungover and pukes on the Mardi Grass before passing out from "dehydration" in the middle of the game.
Here's to lots of New Orleans marching band-inspired Crunked-ness:
Monday, January 18, 2010
Let's go to Baton Rouge for Mardi Gras!
No, seriously! We can also eat at this great restaurant I've heard of. It's called Chili's!
The photo with the Tribune article is classic.
The photo with the Tribune article is classic.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Best Saints Article of the Season
The Mind of the Saints Fan.
As the Cowboys continued to ram their Texas sized genitals into the bowls of Eagle nation, the conversation turned from that game, to the impending Saints game the next week. At that point, we still didn’t know who we played, and my friend made a remark that basically went something like “Shit man, another season with no Super Bowl ring for Donovan. I guess that’s the good thing about being a Saints Fan, no expectation, you guys are as happy going 9-7 as you are going 13-3.”
...
To me, his remark was basically saying that a starving person with a diet of shit, should just be happy to find a little corn in it from time to time. To all of you who think this about us Saints fans, I would like to extend to you a very enthusiastic, hardy, loving, calculated, pure, genuine, thoughtful, hopeful, exuberant, life affirming, sensual and meaningful...
FUCK YOU!
It's better than this article and the rest is well worth a read. It's Drew's birthday, we've got Deuce back, let's not blow this.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
News and Notes - 9 Jan 2010
It's damned cold outside. The thermometer on top the local charter school is still reading in the mid-20's. Here's some reading material for you as you sit around your house clutching your hot beverage of choice trying to stay warm.
College Football Coaches Face the Summer of '69. Fantastic article going through some college football history. About how coaches lost their dictatorial power and the racial struggles at the end of the 60's.
Very long David Simon interview. Worth a read. Can't wait until Treme.
China's Energy Solution: Ignore the Cost. China plans massive buildout of alternative energy, whatever the cost. China is forcing public utilities to buy renewable power at cost + fee basis. While "communist"-sounding, might actually be quite capitalistic by breaking the biggest logjam in financing and construction of new wind, etc. projects. Alternative Energy companies have a hard time securing financing due to the massive fluctuation in energy prices. Almost all alternative energy projects (wind, solar {very useful for peak power}) are economical at least SOME of the time. The trick is when energy prices collapse, they're left trying to pay off a massive initial capital cost. Cost overruns probably won't be that bad because the energy companies still have to front the money.
What's driving up oil prices (now above $80 on all indexes {WTI, Brent, Tapis, etc.})? Well, according to this article, it's the LACK of speculators.
Aldous Huxley vs. George Orwell.
The Nightmare Life Without Fuel. Essay from 1977 by Isaac Asimov. I've been getting into a lot of classic science fiction writing recently and Asimov's stuff is really good and holds up well over time. I got more of the Foundation series for Christmas.
Drew Brees: Pro-Bowl Quarterback, New Orleans-lover, Philanthropist, and Washington Post Op-Ed writer.
And here's the best articles for last:
Village will not be moved. Isle De Jean, like many other small Cajun towns south of New Orleans, is slipping into the Gulf, but residents refuse to leave. Great read.
Recession fuels shift to public schools.
Profile: Hussain al-Shahristani - Times Online The most important man in the Middle East that you've never heard of. Tortured for 10 years at Abu Gharib, he's now the incorruptable man in charge of Iraq's oil. Reminds me of reading about Zaki Yamani in Saudi Arabia. Related: Oil Drum discussion of potential Iraq oil production capacity. Lots of caveats, but there's potential for a Russia-like situation to develop (poorly managed large fields turned over to IOC's with Superstraws resulting in a "new Saudi Arabia" almost overnight, thanks to lots of hard work. The photo near the end will bring a smirk to your face, too.
And ending with something fun: Looking for a way to stay warm? Try this:
College Football Coaches Face the Summer of '69. Fantastic article going through some college football history. About how coaches lost their dictatorial power and the racial struggles at the end of the 60's.
Very long David Simon interview. Worth a read. Can't wait until Treme.
China's Energy Solution: Ignore the Cost. China plans massive buildout of alternative energy, whatever the cost. China is forcing public utilities to buy renewable power at cost + fee basis. While "communist"-sounding, might actually be quite capitalistic by breaking the biggest logjam in financing and construction of new wind, etc. projects. Alternative Energy companies have a hard time securing financing due to the massive fluctuation in energy prices. Almost all alternative energy projects (wind, solar {very useful for peak power}) are economical at least SOME of the time. The trick is when energy prices collapse, they're left trying to pay off a massive initial capital cost. Cost overruns probably won't be that bad because the energy companies still have to front the money.
What's driving up oil prices (now above $80 on all indexes {WTI, Brent, Tapis, etc.})? Well, according to this article, it's the LACK of speculators.
Aldous Huxley vs. George Orwell.
The Nightmare Life Without Fuel. Essay from 1977 by Isaac Asimov. I've been getting into a lot of classic science fiction writing recently and Asimov's stuff is really good and holds up well over time. I got more of the Foundation series for Christmas.
Drew Brees: Pro-Bowl Quarterback, New Orleans-lover, Philanthropist, and Washington Post Op-Ed writer.
And here's the best articles for last:
Village will not be moved. Isle De Jean, like many other small Cajun towns south of New Orleans, is slipping into the Gulf, but residents refuse to leave. Great read.
Recession fuels shift to public schools.
"Public schools play such an important role for our democracy as the only institution that serves all children," he says. "If you lose the people who have the power of choice because they have the resources and the information and the time to make a difference, it becomes a system that only serves people who have no other option. And that's a problem."
Profile: Hussain al-Shahristani - Times Online The most important man in the Middle East that you've never heard of. Tortured for 10 years at Abu Gharib, he's now the incorruptable man in charge of Iraq's oil. Reminds me of reading about Zaki Yamani in Saudi Arabia. Related: Oil Drum discussion of potential Iraq oil production capacity. Lots of caveats, but there's potential for a Russia-like situation to develop (poorly managed large fields turned over to IOC's with Superstraws resulting in a "new Saudi Arabia" almost overnight, thanks to lots of hard work. The photo near the end will bring a smirk to your face, too.
And ending with something fun: Looking for a way to stay warm? Try this:
Georges Pulls A Howard Dean
Via WCBF:
For comparison:
For Georges, it's especially interesting to see him 'pandering to power brokers still hoping get rid of Jim Letten' (as BSJD puts it). I thought it was most interesting that he talked about how much money he raised for the state Democratic party. John Georges: there's no political obstacle that can't be overcome with application of large wads of cash!
John Georges goes rabid at OPDEC endoresement forum from Eli Ackerman on Vimeo.
For comparison:
For Georges, it's especially interesting to see him 'pandering to power brokers still hoping get rid of Jim Letten' (as BSJD puts it). I thought it was most interesting that he talked about how much money he raised for the state Democratic party. John Georges: there's no political obstacle that can't be overcome with application of large wads of cash!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
News and Notes, Engineering Edition - 2 Jan 2010
Boh Brothers turns 100 years old. It's incredibly rare for a construction firm to last this long. Boh Brothers has done amazing work over the years, very often coming in under budget and ahead of schedule. They got one span of the I-10 Twin Spans repaired within weeks of Katrina, despite their headquarters being underwater. Most of the key repair work for the 17th Street Canal was done by Boh Brothers. I know one of their project managers that threatened to shoot down the next 3,000 lb. sandbag-toting helicopter. The helo's looked good on TV, but they couldn't carry nearly as much as a team of dump trucks and bulldozers working in close coordination. The sandbags were a big worksite hazard and could have gotten someone killed for very, very little gain. Occasionally, you hear some complaints about all the work, including No-Bid work, Boh gets, but they've done such a good job over the years, I'd discount most of it as jealousy.
Terrorist Engineers. Even accounting for enrollment, terrorists are more likely to be engineers than any other major, including Islamic Studies. Lots of Arab engineers who thought they had the ticket for a well paying and respected profession get shut out due to economic stagnation in their home country. Very complicated, but it's a good article to read and noodle for a while.
Wanted: Green Engineers. I don't necessarily agree with everything the Economist says on this one. Most of the dedicated "Green Engineers" I've dealt with have been less than impressed with. I'm not the only one. Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer stay the same, whether its liquid hydrocarbon or algal biodiesel.
Speaking of Algal Biodiesel: Algal Biodiesel's Lost Decade. Huge, promising energy research program started by Carter gets axed by successors and now we're trying to pick up the pieces. Good read.
Young Engineer saves Slovakia from Freezing. While the politicians argued, a young engineer implemented a workaround to allow for gas compression stations to work in reverse, allowing a gas pipeline to operate from Western European gas stores and keep Slovakia from freezing.
Four images of a worksite in Dubai. 1 2 3 4. Whoops. There goes some awfully expensive construction equipment. From Zero Hedge.
The Return of Tinkering. I've posted it before, but I really like it.
And a video of our coming robot overlords:
The music at the 2 minute mark makes the video.
Terrorist Engineers. Even accounting for enrollment, terrorists are more likely to be engineers than any other major, including Islamic Studies. Lots of Arab engineers who thought they had the ticket for a well paying and respected profession get shut out due to economic stagnation in their home country. Very complicated, but it's a good article to read and noodle for a while.
Wanted: Green Engineers. I don't necessarily agree with everything the Economist says on this one. Most of the dedicated "Green Engineers" I've dealt with have been less than impressed with. I'm not the only one. Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer stay the same, whether its liquid hydrocarbon or algal biodiesel.
Speaking of Algal Biodiesel: Algal Biodiesel's Lost Decade. Huge, promising energy research program started by Carter gets axed by successors and now we're trying to pick up the pieces. Good read.
Young Engineer saves Slovakia from Freezing. While the politicians argued, a young engineer implemented a workaround to allow for gas compression stations to work in reverse, allowing a gas pipeline to operate from Western European gas stores and keep Slovakia from freezing.
Four images of a worksite in Dubai. 1 2 3 4. Whoops. There goes some awfully expensive construction equipment. From Zero Hedge.
The Return of Tinkering. I've posted it before, but I really like it.
And a video of our coming robot overlords:
The music at the 2 minute mark makes the video.
Engineering Discipline Overview
There are a lot of different types of engineers. Here’s a brief overview of some of the main types.
Electrical Engineering- Never trust a sparky. Because they deal with fairly ephemeral concepts, tend to be a bit aloof. Seem to make more mistakes than other disciplines. It seems to me like their work involves a lot of engineering masturbation (‘no, that should be 460 volts, not 480’ [despite being the same thing in reality, just game to take voltage drop into consideration when they could easily do the calculation themselves]). One sub-type of EE is Instrumentation Engineering. IE’s that at can debug automation systems quickly get lots of work and lots of travel opportunities. It’s a good thing to be, at least if you’re younger and you like to travel.
Computer Science - Sometimes lumped into math departments, mostly in engineering schools nowadays. Surprisingly, have one of the highest washout rates of anyone. Candice says it can be traced back to their first class where some can’t get the idea of substitution, much less pointers, etc. Dropping enrolment due to “get-rich-quick” schemers realizing they won’t be the next .com billionaires, which leaves the core of competent individuals. Good for the discipline.
Chemical Engineering- “The engineers that engineers make fun of.” Very, very difficult curricula (including organic chemistry) leaves only very, very technically competent graduates. Supriya Jindal is a ChemE. While I won’t make any claims about their practicality or project management skills, all ChemE’s I’ve ever known have been among the brightest engineers. Have, more than any other discipline, the best understanding of the pure science.
Civil Engineering- Some Civils are trustworthy. In school, Civil was generally considered to be the “easiest” engineering degree ('one step away from b-school'), but that’s absolutely not the case with Structural Engineers. Structural tend to be very good, although tend to baby their designs along. Environmental engineering became big, so I’m told, back in the 80’s, but almost all Environmentals I know seem to do nothing but fill out paperwork for the government. I know at least one Environmental Engineer I respect, though.
Mechanical Engineering – Defies categorization. Very broad. MechE’s have bits and pieces of all the coursework of EE’s, Civils, and ChemE’s. Lots of project managers are MechE’s due to ability to understand other disciplines. Lots and lots of subdisciplines (Industrial, Nuclear, etc.).
Dual-discipline engineers- Probably the ones I most admire. They’ve always been incredibly rare and they’re only getting rarer, with higher required courseloads (120+ hourse for a B.S. in Engineering, of which more than 80 is required) and (overly?) strict accreditation standards. With so many projects extremely dependant on discipline interfaces, the engineering profession could really use a few more good cross-discipline engineers, meanwhile it looks like engineering schools and state boards seem to be doing everything they can to kill them off. I work for a great firm that was founded by a dual Civil/ME P.E. who later also got his P.E. in EE.
Electrical Engineering- Never trust a sparky. Because they deal with fairly ephemeral concepts, tend to be a bit aloof. Seem to make more mistakes than other disciplines. It seems to me like their work involves a lot of engineering masturbation (‘no, that should be 460 volts, not 480’ [despite being the same thing in reality, just game to take voltage drop into consideration when they could easily do the calculation themselves]). One sub-type of EE is Instrumentation Engineering. IE’s that at can debug automation systems quickly get lots of work and lots of travel opportunities. It’s a good thing to be, at least if you’re younger and you like to travel.
Computer Science - Sometimes lumped into math departments, mostly in engineering schools nowadays. Surprisingly, have one of the highest washout rates of anyone. Candice says it can be traced back to their first class where some can’t get the idea of substitution, much less pointers, etc. Dropping enrolment due to “get-rich-quick” schemers realizing they won’t be the next .com billionaires, which leaves the core of competent individuals. Good for the discipline.
Chemical Engineering- “The engineers that engineers make fun of.” Very, very difficult curricula (including organic chemistry) leaves only very, very technically competent graduates. Supriya Jindal is a ChemE. While I won’t make any claims about their practicality or project management skills, all ChemE’s I’ve ever known have been among the brightest engineers. Have, more than any other discipline, the best understanding of the pure science.
Civil Engineering- Some Civils are trustworthy. In school, Civil was generally considered to be the “easiest” engineering degree ('one step away from b-school'), but that’s absolutely not the case with Structural Engineers. Structural tend to be very good, although tend to baby their designs along. Environmental engineering became big, so I’m told, back in the 80’s, but almost all Environmentals I know seem to do nothing but fill out paperwork for the government. I know at least one Environmental Engineer I respect, though.
Mechanical Engineering – Defies categorization. Very broad. MechE’s have bits and pieces of all the coursework of EE’s, Civils, and ChemE’s. Lots of project managers are MechE’s due to ability to understand other disciplines. Lots and lots of subdisciplines (Industrial, Nuclear, etc.).
Dual-discipline engineers- Probably the ones I most admire. They’ve always been incredibly rare and they’re only getting rarer, with higher required courseloads (120+ hourse for a B.S. in Engineering, of which more than 80 is required) and (overly?) strict accreditation standards. With so many projects extremely dependant on discipline interfaces, the engineering profession could really use a few more good cross-discipline engineers, meanwhile it looks like engineering schools and state boards seem to be doing everything they can to kill them off. I work for a great firm that was founded by a dual Civil/ME P.E. who later also got his P.E. in EE.
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