Saturday, August 23, 2008

HeraldNet: FEMA bunker in Bothell ready for disaster


HeraldNet: FEMA bunker in Bothell ready for disaster: "It was built to withstand a nuclear bomb.

The walls are up to 18 inches thick. More than 450 tons of reinforced steel and 4,000 cubic yards of concrete protect the underground building.

Today, the former Cold War fallout shelter in Bothell is used to manage the federal government's emergency response to natural disasters in the Pacific Northwest.

When major disasters strike in Washington, Alaska, Oregon or Idaho, the Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates its response from the building off 228th Street that is a concrete bunker surrounded by a chain-link fence and dotted with antennas."

Real or not, 'four-eared cat' basks in Internet fame | L.A. Unleashed | Los Angeles Times


Real or not, 'four-eared cat' basks in Internet fame | L.A. Unleashed | Los Angeles Times: "It is the Internet, so Yoda the cat's four ears could easily be an optical illusion or a camera trick along the lines of those semi-animated, talking cats whose mouths move on kitty litter commercials. Or perhaps the 2-year-old feline is just a remarkable showcase of genetic mutation."

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Poll

Our Poll on the Automatic dialer has run its course. Here are the results:
  • YES 82% 14 votes
  • NO 17% 3 votes
This is a good sample of the park but not enough to reach a conclusion.. Perhaps because not enough of the park read the website or the idea is just not compelling enough. I don't know for sure.

We need $375 to start (per year). $300 to maintain (each successive year).

To give the idea more exposure I will make a poster for the bulletin board and put an article in the newsletter. Beyond that we need a committee to work on getting this idea going...

I am willing to advise that committee but I have become stretched to thin in volunteering activities and must back down from spearheading this cause.

So, the real test of the value of producing a neighborhood Watch based on a dialer system will be if some people step forward and say, "I can do that." I'm listening?

teckron@gmail.com

Eco-architecture Could Produce 'Grow Your Own' Homes


Eco-architecture Could Produce 'Grow Your Own' Homes: "“Eco-architecture” may sound like a Buck Rogers vision of an ecologically-sustainable future, but that future is now thanks to the guidance of Tel Aviv University Professors Yoav Waisel and Amram Eshel. The concept of shaping living trees into useful objects ���� known as tree shaping, arborsculpture, living art or pooktre isn’t new. But scientists are now ready to use this concept as the foundation of a new company that will roll out these structures worldwide."

Is Your Gas Pump Ripping You Off?, CBS News Investigation: Pump Inspection Standards Vary Widely State To State - CBS News

Is Your Gas Pump Ripping You Off?, CBS News Investigation: Pump Inspection Standards Vary Widely State To State - CBS News: "So a high-volume station that routinely sells a little less than a gallon could rake in around $50,000 a year extra - for gas you never get."

NewsGator Online

"I am a Marxist--of the Groucho tendency."

Health warning issued for serveral Oregon Coast parks | StatesmanJournal.com | Statesman Journal

Health warning issued for serveral Oregon Coast parks | StatesmanJournal.com | Statesman Journal: "Public health advisories because of high bacteria levels have been issued for several Oregon Coast parks, officials said.
Advertisement

Affected parks include D River State Park Beach in Lincoln County and Sunset Bay State Park Beach in Coos County, Oregon Department of Human Services said.

A health advisory was issued Thursday for Nye Beach at Newport.

Visitors should not wade in nearby creeks and avoid water runoff into the ocean while the advisories are in effect. Other recreational activity on the beach is safe, and neighboring beaches are not affected.

For information, go to www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/beaches/index.shtml or call (877) 290-6767."

Thursday, August 21, 2008

A Trained Eye Finally Solved the Anthrax Puzzle - NYTimes.com

So, you like a good mystery? Read how the FBI solved the Anthrax case...

A Trained Eye Finally Solved the Anthrax Puzzle - NYTimes.com: "When the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced it had cracked the long-unsolved anthrax case, the turning point cited by the bureau was its identification of a laboratory flask as the source of the anthrax."

Sub seeker - News - The Engineer


Sub seeker - News - The Engineer: "The work made it possible to finalise locations for the two critical sites. One is near an area 50 miles off Newport, Oregon, where scientists would like to learn more about the icy methane that collects on or below the seafloor where the Juan de Fuca plate dives beneath North America.

'Our plan is to build the infrastructure that will allow entire generations of scientists to study these deposits firsthand,' said Delaney.

The other site is about 300 miles west of Cannon Beach, Oregon, and in a decidedly different environment. That one is on top of Axial Seamount, the largest active submarine volcano east of Hawaii and north of Baja California, Mexico."

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

NewsGator Online

"Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future."

Lost In Time - Photography

Lost In Time - Photography

Follow this link to the past..... Slideshows of abandon things. Pretty neat...

Siuslaw News Online

ron says... Please pay attention to the size the author mentions is the size of a normal neighborhood... Your neighborhood is 180 homes and 265 people! The LVH emergency Response team is no bigger than 10 people. They need help. attend a meeting or two find out how you can help.

Siuslaw News Online: "When a disaster strikes, the immediate response is panic. This is magnified by the fact that a single disaster causes many individual emergencies at one time.

Unfortunately, the police or fire department may not be able to respond to your call for help in a timely manner. Professional emergency response to your situation may be delayed for hours, even days. Of necessity you and your neighbors become the first responders to your emergencies. Preparing your neighborhood is vital.

Neighbors that are prepared are more effective in their response to a disaster and are able to be self-sufficient in the first 72 hours after a disaster."

South Lincoln County News Online


South Lincoln County News Online: "Arlene Kennedy of Tidewater is in serious condition at Portland Legacy Emanuel Hospital after her vehicle was crushed by a load of logs falling off a tractor trailer driven by Daniel Hill, Newport, on Highway 34 west of Tidewater on Monday afternoon, Aug. 11."

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Oregon Coast Braces for Second Weather Attack

Oregon Coast Braces for Second Weather Attack: "Major lightning storms battered the coast on Sunday night, which included rumblings of thunder all day prior to the big display. Now, another weather system is making its way into the coastline, carrying gusts up to 50 mph in some areas."

Editorial - The Corporate Free Ride - Editorial - NYTimes.com

Editorial - The Corporate Free Ride - Editorial - NYTimes.com: "An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that almost two-thirds of companies in the United States usually pay no corporate income taxes. Big companies, those with more than $50 million in sales or $250 million in assets, are less likely to avoid Uncle Sam altogether. Still, about a quarter of them report no tax liability either.

The G.A.O., which looked at tax returns from 1998 through 2005, does not tell us exactly how so many corporations managed to avoid the taxman. It simply notes that they were able to record sufficient expenses — salaries, interest and “other deductions” — to cancel out their taxable income."

Monday, August 18, 2008

Information Statement

Information Statement: M 3.9 035 NW ANCHORAGE, AK. 0045Z AUG 19: Tsunami NOT expected

Sunday, August 17, 2008