But I meant to. Really, I did.
I could make up excuses, or talk about how work’s gotten busy again now that the new term has started, but that wouldn’t be entirely true.
I just haven’t felt like writing lately.
I know, I know. If you write, you should write something everyday (not just referring to people who blog here). And while I’ve got ideas and stuff to write about (a huge list of them, actually), I just haven’t felt the drive to sit down and type stuff out.
And it’s not that I haven’t been at the computer a lot.
All my usual geeking has been getting done. Slashdot, webcomics, FG, chatting with friends, reading personal ads, browsing (but not buying) stuff on ebay…
and following the New Orleans situation.
Since I don’t have anything other than regular terrestrial TV, I don’t really watch TV, and I’m not much of a newshound. I got into the Iraq coverage for about a day back in 2003 – then turned it off when it was obviously nothing more than flashy propoganda – but not much else going on in the world has captured my attention.
Until this hurricane.
When people ask why I don’t like my government, I now have an easy answer to give them. The fuckups in dealing with the aftermath of Katrina are beyond staggering. I’m pissed off to the extent that if I were in the US right now, I’d go to NOLA to help out. I’ve never felt that way about a situation before. Clearly, the gov’t can’t figure shit out, and it looks like private citizens and even the media (for once) are the only ones asking the right questions and trying to get shit taken care of.A 20 year old guy took an abandoned school bus, loaded it up with refugees (did anybody ever think we’d be using that word in reference to US citizens?) and drove it all the way to Houston. The people on that bus may very well owe him their lives. And the “official response?”
He may be charged with stealing the bus.
Yeah, let’s worry about misappropriating a fucking bus that nobody was using (but sure as hell should’ve been). Never mind that he saved the lives of those people by getting them out of harm’s way and to a location where they can (might) actually get some much-needed assistance.
1. Was taking the bus against the law?
Yes.
2. Was it the right thing to do?
Hell yes!
Here are some of the links I’ve been using for news and info on the situation:
The Interdictor – a blog being written by a guy staying in the city to keep some internet connectivity up and running. The also have a live webcam view from their office.
onegoodmove – a good source of video clips from various media outlets. The Ted Koppel one is great.
Google News – I’ve got a “new orleans” search pre-bookmarked to get a batch of stories with one click.I’ve never actually been to New Orleans. I used to have a friend who lived there (thankfully she doesn’t anymore), that I was going to visit while I was still living in the US, but things never panned out. Now I wish I’d made more of an effort to get down there. Now I’ll never have the chance to see New Orleans. Sure, they will drain the city, fortify the levees and rebuild, but it won’t be the place it used to be.Let’s face it –
New Orleans (as we knew it) is gone forever.