As a nice follow up to a post on katrina. I think it's only fair to mention Rita. The category 5 hurricane that's about to slam into the gulf coast of texas. For those of you not aware, this storm is only just shy of the same size and intensity as katrina. As a result, most of the gulf coast is being evacuated. New Orleans itself is not being evacuated, but the edge of the storm will be passing close by... This evacuation order of course affects millions of people as it has been ordered for parts of Houston as well. For those of you who are again unaware, I have family living there. Specifically my dad, and little sister. As a result of the order he will be leaving today. He should be getting on his plane right about now. So naturally he's coming to the one place where he feels the safest, here. This may interfere with my GeekFestabilities a little and I'm sorry that it will, but I'm sure we'll make something work. He'll be up for the weekend, I don't expect Houston to flood as badly as NO, seeing as how houston is 20 feet above sea level versus 10 feet bellow. However in Houston, when it rains, it pours. My sister will be going to Oregon with her stepmom. It's funny how quickly something that feels a world away can become such a large part of your life...

something really interesting...

The above map was based on more than 40,000 postings on Internet "safe lists" by Katrina survivors. ePodunk analyzed messages containing both the person's hometown and the location after fleeing the storm. Black lines indicate paths of migration, not the numbers of people migrating. Safe lists were examined on Sept. 12-13, 2005.
More Mapping Information

The full story here

of all people, my Mom forwarded this to me... it's good for a laugh or two:

Ethics Test

This test only has one question, but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision.

Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.


You are in Florida, Miami to be specific. There is chaos all around you caused by a hurricane with severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions. You are a photojournalist working for a major newspaper, and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless. You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing under the water. Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.

Suddenly you see a man floundering in the water. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris. You move closer . . . somehow the man looks familiar. You suddenly realize who it is. It's George W. Bush! At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to pull him under.

You have two options--you can save the life of G.W. Bush or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the world's most powerful men.

So here's the question, and please give an honest answer:



Would you select high contrast colour film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

So i need some help with my homework. . . . .

NEXT saturday - October 1st - 4:00pm

School across form southgate (Magee School, i think)(i figured this is pretty central)

if you are interested please let me know.

Looks like that genetic algorithms have already been submitted to Dembski as of 10:44 last night. They didn't quote scientific american but it sounds like the same case.

"It was very weird. It would've been so much calmer without" the televisions, Pia Varma of Los Angeles said after the plane skidded to a safe landing Wednesday evening...

Passengers saw landing drama unfold on TV

so according to my insider, a certain MATTHEW LISSACK is going to be performing a standup set at the Comic Strip on Oct 19. sooo 1337
stay posted on that shit
also Fongzie's probably up this weekend. wordness indeed.

Hey, Beck, I need to win $100 from Dembski. Can you remember what issue of Scientific American had the article about evolutionary algorithms developing circuit designs that are better than human-designed circuits?

and yay, safe landing

There's a passenger jet over LAX with it's nose landing gear stuck partially deployed...