60 years ago: the Texas City Disaster

This is surely covered in Texas History class, but since I ain't from here, I hadda readabout it online:

On 16 April 1947, America's worst harbor explosion occurred in Texas City, Texas, when the French ship Grandcamp, carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer, caught fire and blew up, devastating the town.

There's a lengthy citation on Wikipedia .. but, who knows how much of that is true, and how much is conjecture?

Lesson learned? When fertilizer catches fire, do NOT "steam the hold".

historical rewrite

It's not often that I blog about one blogger blogging about another blogger, but .. today I'm making an exception.

A spot on read may be found on Geoff Arnold's blog:
Pharyngula on the impossibility of honest pandering

I wonder what kind of a world we'd live in today if President Morass Debacle Quagmire and His ilk were correct about this being a [White] Christian [Republican] nation? Since their world is only 6100 years old, the museums would first have to be purged of anything suggesting an older age. We could start with most anthropology including ancient Chinese relics; anything inferring the age of The Grand Canyon; various dinosaur exhibits, and work from there.

Rewriting history reminds me of the premise behind George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).

Aside: I have added Swastika Night (1937) to my wish list, for the next (inevitable) purchase-o-books. It's said this was the basis for Orwell's epic.

We'd also presumably be living in an Amish Paradise, sans 98.6% of the stuff surrounding me at this moment, including these pieces of shaped plastic that my fingers are touching.

Deep thought: I wonder how Karl Rove would do without his "surgically attached Blackberry"?

Look out, Tulsa

A story in today's Dallas Managed News says:

"The Dallas-Fort Worth area is No. 2 on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s latest list of the 100 most challenging places for allergy sufferers to live.

Tulsa leads the list."

I'm guessing our local politicians are working on a plan to make Dallas #1 .. so the Tulsans (Tulsians? Tulsicans?) had better watch their back. Meanwhile, will someone pass me another tissue? And some eye drops? And some sinus meds? And ...

Recommended: Countdown with Keith Olbermann

I can't believe it myself. After test-driving Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MS-NBC for the past month, I've decided to add it permanently to my TiVo Season Pass™. This is all the more noteworthy because I'd normally ignore this network altogether -- because it is the creation of The Evilest Empire In The World: Microsoft.

Alas, Countdown is definitely Good Stuff, Highly Recommended, Yadda^3.

More info's on wikipedia if you're so inclined.

---

For those of you who like to read Both Sides, here are a couple pro-Keith and anti-Keith sites.

all shopped out

Jill was in own this week, to visit her dentist and take in a Stars game, and .. to shop. We started off at Kampai (sushi), then moseyed to Northpark Center (Eddie Bauer and the Apple store), then onto West Elm (furniture); Trinity Hall (nourishment); Pokey O's (dessert) and Half-Price Books (to buy vs. sell). No idea when she leaves or gets home.

Today it was Judy's turn: we fed at the Waffle House, then onto Saigon-Taipei (grocery); Hiep-Thai (grocery); Gateway Travel; watch a DVD (A Good Year); and Half-Price Books (to sell vs. buy).

I now think I'm All Retailed Out for awhile. Tomorrow, most stores will probably be closed (Easter Sunday in The Bible Belt) and it's a bit chilly (1°C tonight) so I'll probably be able to kick back and Read A Good Book tomorrow.

---

Unrelated: today's Texas Idiot Of the Day is Dan Patrick, who walked out on a different (than His own) religion's prayer. Patrick is a Texas state senator from Houston, and fulltime White Christian Republican radio talkshow host. I'm guessing he'd like better ratings, which is why he pulled this stunt.

hide the children!

I found a rabbit gnawing on one of my Cat6 cables today. Turns out it wasn't a problem. It was just (drum roll please) ...

... The Ether Bunny.

The Mathematics of Revelation

Well, isn't that special?

Not only are Texas legislators considering gutting the public school system, so that Rich White Christians can channel their money to School Vouchers (and private, White Christian Schools) but now they want to mandate an elective course in the Christian Bible in Texas schools.

House Bill 1287 would mandate that every high school in the state offer an elective Bible course. Unbelievable. I guess they must think that their own White Christian education every Sunday isn't enough, so they now must encroach on the public school system (or whatever is left after James Leininger and his School Voucher Nazis take every last dime).

When was the last time you heard a realtor say "your property values will increase because this neighborhood has a great private school system? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Wouldn't it be easier to mandate a law where English and Trigonometry are taught by the White Christian schools? Certainly Real Texans don't want Liberal Readin' Rightin' and Rithmetic (the Texas 3 Rs) to be tot in non-Christian schools? Oy, vey.

I'm guessing that these new White Christian classes will not teach how to add 666 and 666 together?