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Satellite Image of Los Angles on fire |
As I walked the underground route to the other building where the cafe` is located in my independent living facility I was thinking, What am I going to blog about this week? It's about a half a block walk in between the elevators to building one and building two and along the way, every so often, are red letters stenciled on the walls proclaiming, "two hour fire barrier." I've often wondered exactly what that means. Can we safely hide in the underground parking area for two hours before a fire would get to us, or does it mean a fire would have to be out of control in the area two hours before it would burn through to the apartments above? As I got off the elevator my line of sight set me on a course toward the lobby's fireplace to warm up before heading to the cafe`. The underground route is kept at 50 degrees but I was still cold. I'm always cold.
While I was warming up I decided I should write about the terrible wildfires in California but it's such an over-whelming disaster that I didn't know where I'd begin. It's heartbreaking and sad to see so many people's lives torn apart with years of hardships ahead of them to rebuild what they've lost. Not just homes but entire neighborhoods, business districts, churches, schools and jobs. Just finding temporary shelter would be over-whelming. Then comes dealing with insurance companies---if half those people even have fire insurance. A lot of companies quit selling and even revoked existing polices in California that cover fires. And there's sure to be studies, meetings and endless fights over new zoning and building regulations and new land use restrictions. Many people won't be able to afford to rebuild and will end up selling their ash-filled property to developers.
And while the fires are still out of control and raging we have the president-elect not offering words of support or comfort, not pledging disaster relief help but rather he's playing the blame game to renew an old feud with California's Democrat governor who he blames for everything. 45/47 could be asking his de facto V-P, the richest man on earth, to pledge some his "pocket change" to help rebuild the infrastructure in the effected areas. But he won't and I'm guessing Elon wouldn't do it anyway. Neither one of these man-boys have a philanthropic bone in their bodies. Elon Musk is too busy blaming the fires not on hurricane force winds in an area that hasn't seen rain since last May nor on climate changes. He's blaming the fire departments for, "prioritizing DEI over saving lives and homes." In other words he thinks having women and people of color working in the fire departments are the cause of not getting the fires under control. Both these man-boys are masters at spreading disinformation.
And I don't know who started the bitching about having over 900 incarcerated prisoners working among the 7,500 California firefighters, but it wouldn't surprise me if these two clowns had a hand in that as well. Granted, the 30 inmate fire camps in the state to train prisoners to fight fires have been controversial since their inception a few years ago but still, I don't get the timing of the critics bringing the controversy back up now, while those inmates are actively putting their lives on the line. On one side of the issue is Kim Kardashian who is advocating to pay the prisoners more than the $1 an hour they are paid now and on the other side of the issue are the people who think the prisoners are taking jobs away from other people and/or are putting the communities in danger while they are not behind bars "where they belong."
I think maybe Kim K should make a donation to the firefighters.
ReplyDeleteA lot of celebrities have stepped up with million dollar donations. I haven't heard her name. Yet.
DeleteWell minus 45 and now minus 47 doesn't have any empathy at all, he belongs in Dante's ninth level of hell with the devil continuously gnawing on his frozen body. And why is hell cold?
ReplyDeleteThe following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now enjoy it as well.
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving.
I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions existing in the world today.
Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions, and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.(this assumption here that souls have mass, has never been proven ) > This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over. So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year, that, "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then Number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over.
Very interesting, Dean. Sounds like the perfect place for 45/47 to live in eternity no matter which theory is true.
DeleteUnique and fascinating answer. This student sounds brilliant. Mary
DeleteI love this. LOLOL
DeleteThat student deserved an A for sure.
DeleteLOL. Triple A to that student. I’m going to copy and save that until I find a suitable friend to share it with. Thanks.
DeleteThis is wonderful; the sort of answer that keeps a teacher with a big pile of exams to grade going.
DeleteJean, tell us how you really feel as your words speak volumes for how many of us are feeling. I dread January 20th and I will not be in attendance and my television will not be following the beginning of the end for some of us. To say I have lost confidence in my fellow man is putting it mildly. When they have to question if one of the incoming presidents pals will show up drunk or question his morals he should not get the job, period. I can only imagine what other countries think about us have a convicted felon as our leader. God bless the USA and may she forever reign. I guess you know how I really feel. JJ
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a long four years, isn't it! I have mixed feelings about watching on 1/20. I don't want to help drive his ratings up because that's important to him. But at the same time I'd rather see for myself what the important take-aways are rather than have a newscaster tell me afterwards what they they think is.
DeleteI don't get why so many people think he's the answer to our problems. I just see him spending us deeper in debt and turning the entire world against us.
He’s trying to make an enemy of Canada too! All of these lies and posturing to distract people from realizing he can’t make good on many of his promises.
ReplyDeleteDeb
I know! Canada has been our friend for such a long time and to suggest the your country becomes another American state is too arrogant and stupid for words.
DeleteYes to everything you said! The other piece none of them are mentioning is that the “forest” that burned is mostly low lying scrub plants and grasses that hold the soil in place and prevent mudslides in hilly and mountainous areas. Most of the trees are in the built areas.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about that but you're right. Soil management is just as important as forest management. 45/47 runs his mouth with no attempt to understand the complexities of any topic he speaks on.
DeleteYou're exactly right that there's been a surfeit of fingerpointing in recent days. It always makes me think of the old saying: if you point a finger at someone, three fingers are pointing back to you. A good example is the attempt to make the insurance companies villains in all this. Granted, the refusal to honor legitimate claims (which happens) needs to be condemned. On the other hand, insurance companies have been cancelling policies and leaving California partly because of legislation passed in 1988, making it necessary for rate hikes to be approved by the state: a process which often takes more than a year. That, as well as increasing fire risk because of a lack of reasonable mitigation, not only has affected the availability and cost of insurance, it's also affected the housing industry because of the need for insurance for mortgage approval. And around and around we go.
ReplyDeleteAs for the raking or burning argument, there's a reality there that intrigued me when I learned about it. Some of the areas burning, especially at the northern and western boundaries of the Palisades fire, haven't burned naturally in decades. The fuel load was so heavy it allowed the fire to move into unexpected places. Precision burning can be done, even in urban areas; we do it here from time to time, and brush cutting under our powerline easements is common here. I hope that, as the area rebuilds, they consider more fire-resistant landscaping, especially when it comes to ground covers and trees, and I hope they get serious about making the power companies maintain their properties in a reasonable way.
I'm guessing the power companies will bury their line as they rebuild. It will just happen at a faster rate than it's been happening as they do/did routine upgrading of neighborhoods. And restrictions about landscaping and building materials will change before anyone is allowed to rebuild their houses. Just like in areas where you live and get flooded or destroyed in a hurricane, building code need to change after disasters and for any new construction. Still can't help feeling bad for those who won't be able to afford the rebuild through no fault of their own.
DeleteLA will never be the same.
It's a tragedy in California and of course, Frump will make it worse.
ReplyDeleteHopefully most of us understand the tragedy in California. I saw some interviews of obvious MAGA people who were saying things like, "Who gives a damn about those millionaires out there" and "Let that woke state burn. We don't need them." I'm honestly shocked at how 45/47 has given society the 'balls' to say their darkest thoughts out loud. He's normalizing immorality and lack of empathy. How can they be good for the world? We grew up thinking our presidents as role models and now our "role model" is modeling our destruction .
DeleteCouple of thoughts... i worked for a very large company for almost 30 years. When a problem arose... and they did... the first impulse of management and particularly upper management was to point fingers. In many many meetings, I would say "Let's focus on fixing the problem first. Then we'll have time to assign blame... if warranted." It almost never happened. Sigh. 45/47 comes from a large company background... this is how he learned to deal with problems.
ReplyDeleteAbout Greenland. 45/47 isn't the first president to seek to acquire that island. It happens to be in a strategic location and recently China has taking an interest in it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_the_United_States_to_purchase_Greenland . So while many of his proposals are wack-a-do, this one has been considered seriously (with offers) before. Also... the US has acquired territory by purchases... Louisiana, Alaska and the American Virgin Islands come to mind. Nobody ever bothered asking residents for their opinion. Perhaps they should have but they didn't.
Acquiring Greenland might be something other countries want to take place but it sure isn't something 45/57 ran on. Strategic location or not we can't afford to "buy" another country and taking it by force sure isn't something he ran on. We found wars that led to the Louisiana purchase, don't know my history well enough to know how we got Alaska and the American Virgin Islands but I dare say the world has changes a lot since then.
DeleteI was born and grew up in Southern California. Those Santa Ana winds are horrible and I always hated them. This time there were 100 mile an hour winds that carried burning embers miles away to start new fires. How can firefighters possibly stop something like that? My son and his family live there and we're keeping our fingers crossed that the winds will finally die down.
ReplyDeleteI find it laughable that Speaker Mike Johnson says there needs to be "conditions met" before approving aid to California. He's from Louisiana, the perennial target of hurricanes and the recipient of non-conditional aid.
It's different when a Red State needs emergency help---at least that's what the MAGA people would like us to believe. Never known the building codes not change after natural disasters. Johnson just wants to make it look like the Republicans are responsible for any changes made after these fires.
DeleteI have seen on the news those tantrum throwing toddlers in the bodies of full grown men blame this or that for the fires and not offer any genuine braise for the brave fire fighters who are doing the best job the can to control things. This isn't time to play the blame game it's the time to show support and compassion to others. Of course those tantrum throwing toddlers have such deep pockets that they are unable to find any money, as it is sitting at the bottom of said pockets and held firm with a safety pin.
ReplyDelete💩 IS too stupid for words. We will all just have to learn to work around him. And I'm also going to buy stock in blood pressure medicine producing companies! Ah ha ha ha. Every day I still wonder how so many humans voted for this arrogant and dictator-like government. Sad.
ReplyDeleteLove you pile of poop icon to use for 45/47.
DeleteI just did a Post that had some of this in there too Jean. One of The Daughter's Friends just left to fight the fires. They are offering a lot of non violent Offenders a Two Year Sentence reduction on any Time Served if they go fight the fires and here they pay them Two Bucks an Hour. The fact Felons have more balls and Heart to help with this Natural disaster and put their Lives on the line for fellow Americans than the ReTrumplican Politicians and the incoming Administration is just more disgraceful than all the other disgraceful things piling up for that 3 Ring Circus and their Clown Cars filled with incompetent chaos driven Cult. It's becoz Cali is a Blue State that they are being threatened and extorted by an incoming administration that is just intent on a revenge and retribution Tour, not on representing ALL Americans, they never intended to. As for him destroying relationships abroad, every other Country and their Citizens seems to know what and who he is and has always been, it's only his Supporters who seem deaf, dumb and blind to it... or truly believe being a POS Human is preferable and admirable.
ReplyDeletePeople abroad must think half of all Americans are stupid and/or as self-centered as our soon-to-president.
DeleteThese wildfires are so depressing, I can't watch for a long time. And the disaster coming at us in DC is just adding to the angst. To think the GOP is now politicizing disaster aid is just too much. Thank god the sun came out today for a bit. January is endless without all this insanity.
ReplyDeleteI'm worried about politicizing disaster aid and we had a preview of how 45/47 feels about doing that. I hate what I saw going on in the senate today but loved Biden's final speech, though his warning was ominous.
DeleteThings are never so bad that Trump can't make it worse. (A twist on a Randy Pausch quote.)
ReplyDeleteThat made me laugh and it's true.
DeleteAgree agree agree. The voters are sleepwalking us to an autocracy.
ReplyDeleteThe most sickening part to me is how 47 tops off his ill informed insults with the nickname “Newscum.” What the hell is wrong with him? The governor is a fellow American, duly elected to office, hurting and struggling alongside his citizen victims. And out here are parents cautioning their children that “character matters,” and making fun of people, especially when they’re down, is the quickest way to be labeled a boorish oaf….but millions more don’t see a problem with any of it.
ReplyDelete45/47 loves demeaning nicknames which so grade school. I'm coming to terms that half of our fellow Americans aren't as moral or caring as I used to believe. And if that's not true then they are stupid and have their heads in the sand that they can look the other way and make excuses for the man-child.
Deleteloved the title of this post. Crazy ass men - are there another kind? I'm ignoring the orange ass at all costs. no more news. No inauguration. My God it's on MLK Day, a racists gets into office on MLK day. We are now in hel.
ReplyDeleteRather than ignoring the inauguration coverage, some groups are recommending that you have your TV on but set to a channel that doesn't show any coverage of it. That way it lowers the TV ratings of the event and you know how much that means to him.
DeleteI'm loving the weather forecast for DC on Monday. Real men don't wear coats, do they? I hope they all get frostbite. LOL.
DeleteJust heard he moved the whole thing to inside. But I share your joy that the cold might still keep a lot of people away. He did say that it will be a "huge Television event" with all the same entertainers there plus all the big tech giants where the family would normally sit.
DeleteI’m concerned that Monday, January 20th, 2025 will be the last inauguration ever. MAGATerrorists have taken over the government of the United States of America. The presence of oligarchs says it all. We have been playing nice and following the rules while an insane bag of 💩has taken over our country.
ReplyDeletePart of me fears the same thing. But I'm starting to get involved in all the action groups that are forming to keep him in line using the laws and lawyers. So I'm more hopeful that we can hold out for two years then change the numbers in the house and senate to keep him in line. Of course by then he might take our military to Greenland and the Panama Canal and start a few wars there and our southern and northern borders. God help us!
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