0800, 27 August Isaac Stalls

In Pensacola this morning, there is some wind, there are some half-hearted showers. So far, so good.

We continued our preparations yesterday, bringing in the plants, bird feeders, and assorted watering cans and my potting bench. I boiled water for our large Qatar coffee thermos, and filled the freezer with more water containers. I took some of the heavier things off the walls and cleared my desk of anything which could fly around, then, in a flurry of compulsive activity, polished the desktop, since it’s been a while since I have seen it empty.

Now . . . we wait.

Last week, I was telling a friend that we’ve been in Pensacola two years now, and I am starting to get edgy. We’ve moved so often, that at the two year point, I feel the need to start packing up. I find myself looking at houses online. At the very least, I think about moving the furniture around. (AdventureMan hates it when I move the furniture. He takes it personally. He thinks I am mad at him, LOL! No! I am just restless.)

We have been asking God’s mercy on the Gulf communities, and now New Orleans. If you have the eyes to see, the Weather Channel has been talking about the dry winds that have been disrupting Isaac’s efforts to organize into a full fledged hurricane. The storm in huge, but the center is disperse. They are saying that it will mean a lot of wind, a lot of rain and a surge in the water level. None of this is new to Pensacola, nor to most communities on the Gulf. God is merciful. We can weather this slow storm, God willing.

Here are some photos from last night, as clouds and rain move in. So far, no where near as threatening as the normal Pensacola heavy rains and thunderstorms.

A Little TSA Humor

Thank you, KitKat

Seattle-like Sunrise

Good morning, Kuwait!

(How many different blues can you count in this photo? This is a RICH photo in the blue-grey spectrum, one of my favorites.)

When I saw the skies this morning, all cloudy and gloomy, I thought for a minute I was back in Seattle. If I were in Seattle, the temperatures would be much much lower – it is already getting hot in Kuwait, and this Friday we will hit a huge high:

But something is goofy with Zanzibar, on my WeatherUnderground favorites:

How can that be right? Highs almost in the 90′s, lows almost freezing?

It just might rain a little out there, my Kuwait friends. Be careful on the roads and remember:

Don’t Call Until You Reach Your Destination!

Kuwait Celebrates Women with Massive FlyBy

Be still my little heart! This morning, I was, by the grace of God, in the right place at the right time. Did not have the right camera, but I did have a camera as Kuwait honored International Women’s Day with a massive fly-by. At one point, twenty jet planes roared over the Gulf in a humungous group. I’ve seen a lot of air shows, but I cannot remember ever having seen twenty jets flyby in one movement.

WOOO HOOO Kuwait! You really know how to honor women!

They even had three cargo planes fly over the Gulf as a unit . . .

Wooo HOOOO! My heart is still fluttering! Adrenelin high! I am guessing the cost of aviation fuel is so much less in Kuwait that the Air Force can go out and have a little fun occasionally. You made my day.

(It MIGHT not have been in honor of International Women’s Day. If anyone knows why this enormous display took place, please sign in now!)

Uncle Jay Explains the News (US) from 2008

Tongue-in-cheek funny . . . This came out mid-December, or I am sure there would also be a shot at more recent events . . .

“Generation of Spoiled Idiots”

I have a dear friend who sends me the most amazing things. This started my day with a howl of laughter:

I am embarrassed to tell you – I remember rotary phones. I even remember party lines, where you had to wait for your neighbor to finish his call before you could make your own, and you never knew who might be listening to your conversation. I remember planes that had large, beautiful lady’s lounges, with a seating area for nursing mothers. I remember when living in Germany was a huge problem to many young people who ran up huge phone bills, calling their families when they were lonely – no internet, no VOIP. I remember transistor radios, and Walkmen! LLLOOOLLLL!

Happy Halloween

This is from the New Yorker

We love their cartoons. This one, unfortunately, is more true than funny.

Vanity Fair Spoofs Obama Cover

Vanity Fair Spoofs New Yorker Cover

From AOL News

(July 23) – Call it the battle, albeit friendly, of political cartoon satire. A little more than a week after The New Yorker magazine caused a commotion with its controversial magazine cover of Barack Obama and his wife, Vanity Fair decided it wouldn’t be outdone.

This week, the magazine published a spoof cover — published only on the Vanity Fair Web site — of John McCain and his wife in a similar pose and in the same Oval Office setting.
But this image may create some of its own controversy. It shows the 71-year-old McCain, often the butt of age jokes, using a walker, and his wife Cindy — who once had a drug problem — cradling an armful of prescription pill bottles. A portrait of President Bush hangs above a fireplace where the Constitution is burning.

Not New News

Just as the Qatteri Cat monitors traffic in front of our place, I monitor my blog traffic – a lot like Qatteri Cat, sort of lazily, desultory.

Yesterday, I got the most hits – a lot – on MOC bans Porno Film Sites, a post I wrote almost a year ago.

80 hits. That’s a lot for a post almost a year old. Why so much interest? Are there new movements afoot in the Ministry of Communication to ban undesirable content? Are there new technologies available that make that possible?

I knew exactly the kind of photo I wanted to include here, so I googled “saudi censorship image” and found this wonderful blog: Your World Today. I really like his blog.

Ahmadi Singers, Orchestra and Pirates of Penzance

Woooo Hooooooooo Al Ahmadi Singers and Orchestra! I love Gilbert and Sullivan so much, I might have to buy tickets for all three nights! The Gala includes a dinner, and the following two nights do not, but the singing will be great all three evenings, I have been promised.

The last time I saw Pirates of Penzance was at the Qatar Academy, and the Emir’s son was the hero. He did it with a lot of panache.

Pirates of Penzance! See you there!