Video- The Forgotten Disaster: Tennessee Floods

Very well done and a stern reminder that there are other people suffering. Via.

Arecibo Asteroid no threat for at least 100 years

Whew. I'll be gone and you guys will be on your own. Couldn't take the stress.

PASADENA, Calif., May 3 (UPI) -- NASA says a near-Earth asteroid was imaged by the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico and scientists ruled out an Earth impact for at least 100 years.

The space agency said data involving asteroid 2005 YU55 were obtained April 19-21 and allowed the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to refine the space rock's orbit, ruling out any possibility of an Earth impact for a century.

The asteroid, approximately 1,300 feet in size, was about 1.5 million miles from Earth when the image was generated.

Steve Chesley of JPL's Near-Earth Object Program Office said prior to the Arecibo data, scientists had eliminated nearly all upcoming Earth flybys as possibilities of impact. "But there were a few that had a low remaining probability of impact," Chesley said. "After incorporating the data from Arecibo, we were able to rule impacts out entirely for the next 100 years."

Cartoons of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Video- Clinton Bush Haiti Fund PSA

What is the deal with GWB always looking like he's smirking? I mean, even he wouldn't be all hapslappy over this situation. Is it the shape of his mouth or what?

Disastrous fires. KBR contract. Coincidence?

By GottaLaff

Well, well. Look what the Santa Ana winds blew in:

KBR Awarded Disaster Relief Contract by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Under Initiative for Emergency Power 11 Nov 2008 KBR today announced it has been awarded a disaster relief contract, valued at up to $75 million over a five-year period by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Pittsburgh District, for its advance contract initiative for emergency power for the Western region of the United States. The disaster relief contract was created by the USACE to respond immediately to power emergencies resulting from a natural or manmade disaster. KBR will provide all labor, transportation, equipment, materials, supervision and required internal logistics support to perform generator set activities in the Western Region, Geographic Area 3. KBR services will mobilize immediately upon activation by USACE to the "disaster" area. The company will work to quickly provide emergency power to the critical public facilities designated by the State and FEMA as directed by the USACE.

Timing is everything.

Los Angeles fears blackouts as wildfire burns --"The fire is threatening the power of the city of Los Angeles. We may have to move to rolling blackouts." 15 Nov 2008 A wildfire whipped up by hurricane-force gusts raged through northwestern Los Angeles foothills on Saturday, burning some 165 homes and threatening the power supply of California's largest city. More than 10,000 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders as the fire, which has burned more than 2,600 acres, spread westward fanned by dry winds. A separate fire burned a second day in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, where 111 homes have been destroyed. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the fire in the foothills at the edge of San Fernando Valley near Sylmar had destroyed more than any other in the past decade and that flames could take down power lines.

Ike moves inland in Texas bringing massive flooding

Big prayers and good thoughts for all out friends in the path. This thing is very scary.

GALVESTON, Texas (AFP) - Gigantic hurricane Ike barreled into Texas early Saturday, bringing a monster ocean surge and flooding coastal areas where tens of thousands remained holed up in their homes.

The center of Ike, which made landfall at Galveston Island at about 0710 GMT, was just 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Houston's international airport, lashing the fourth largest US city and a major oil hub with rain and gale-force wind.

Massive damage and flooding was reported throughout the region and more than a million people fled inland.

But officials said more than 100,000 residents of low-lying areas decided to ride out the storm despite warnings from the national weather service that a wall of water up to 20 feet (6.0 meters) high could spell "certain death."