Bright morning, with variable amounts of clouds. Here in Lewis, we have the ridiculous situation that there is no ferry on a Sunday, but you can fly out on a plane. So if you're in the money, you can travel, but the penurious cannot. Also, Lewis is part of the Western Isles, and the island of North Uist does have a ferry service to Skye, which is linked to the Scottish mainland by bridge. So one part of the Western Isles can travel to the mainland on a Sunday by ferry, whilst another cannot. If anyone can make sense of that, please let me know. I can't.
Monday, 22 September 2008
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Hurricane update - 21 September
Tropical disturbance 93L is moving north towards Puerto Rico, and the NHC is expecting it to develop into a tropical depression within the next day or so. Further updates as they come; at the moment, the Lesser Antilles, US/UK Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola should keep a sharp look-out for this system.
Sunday 21 September
Quite a decent day in the islands, with increasing amounts of sunshine as the afternoon progresses. Temperatures have gone down on recent values, just 12 degrees right now.
South Africa's president, Mr Mbeki, is to announce he will stand down. Can't say I'm sorry to see him go, actually. I'm not a avid follower of SA politics, but a head of state that denies there is an AIDS problem, whereas about one-third of his people have the virus and/or the disease, should really consider his position. Also his tacit approval of Robert Mugabe's regime didn't do him any favours, although Mugabe has sawn the legs from under his own chairs through a disastrous economic policy. The formal reason for Mr Mbeki to step down lies under allegations of interference with a political rival.
South Africa's president, Mr Mbeki, is to announce he will stand down. Can't say I'm sorry to see him go, actually. I'm not a avid follower of SA politics, but a head of state that denies there is an AIDS problem, whereas about one-third of his people have the virus and/or the disease, should really consider his position. Also his tacit approval of Robert Mugabe's regime didn't do him any favours, although Mugabe has sawn the legs from under his own chairs through a disastrous economic policy. The formal reason for Mr Mbeki to step down lies under allegations of interference with a political rival.
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Saturday 20 September
Very windy today, with white riders on the water of the basin across the road. Autumn is here, and here to stay. The equinox is nigh, and the weather is there to match it.
If you're in the Caribbean, keep an eye on disturbance 93L, which is currently across the Lesser Antilles. It could turn into something unpleasant.
It is reported that using paracetamol in babies could expose them to an increased risk of asthma. Whether it's the paracetamol (acetaminophen) that's to blame, or another factor, allied to the use of the drug (in high temperatures) is being investigated. The BBC have published an extensive article on the subject.
If you're in the Caribbean, keep an eye on disturbance 93L, which is currently across the Lesser Antilles. It could turn into something unpleasant.
It is reported that using paracetamol in babies could expose them to an increased risk of asthma. Whether it's the paracetamol (acetaminophen) that's to blame, or another factor, allied to the use of the drug (in high temperatures) is being investigated. The BBC have published an extensive article on the subject.
Friday, 19 September 2008
Alerts
Please forgive me for being lax about alerts these days - got a lot on my mind. I'll get round when I do.
Friday 19 September
Bright day with good sunny intervals, making it feel quite warm. Went back to the Eye cemetery this afternoon to complete my trawl of said graveyard for wargraves. Got another dozen or so pictures there.
The Caribbean island state of Haiti was pommeled by four tropical cyclones in recent weeks. Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike all dumped vast quantities of rain, nearly destroying the city of Gonaives in the process. Normal aid procedures are deemed to be insufficient, so a call for further help has gone out.
Over the past week, I have received several indications that the commemoration of 9/11 has been seized upon to highlight Muslim extremism. Photographs and video footage was shown of mobs in England, calling for the murder of infidels and deranged clerics in the Middle East wanting the destruction of everything the Western world stands for - in their eyes. I have to stress most forcefully that this information is out of date, as the world has changed a lot since 2005/6. It is unhelpful in the extreme that this footage has been dug out of the archives, particularly around 9/11 - or perhaps precisely because of it. Should this sort of material come your way, please consign it to the circular archive, otherwise known as the dustbin or garbage can.
The Caribbean island state of Haiti was pommeled by four tropical cyclones in recent weeks. Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike all dumped vast quantities of rain, nearly destroying the city of Gonaives in the process. Normal aid procedures are deemed to be insufficient, so a call for further help has gone out.
Over the past week, I have received several indications that the commemoration of 9/11 has been seized upon to highlight Muslim extremism. Photographs and video footage was shown of mobs in England, calling for the murder of infidels and deranged clerics in the Middle East wanting the destruction of everything the Western world stands for - in their eyes. I have to stress most forcefully that this information is out of date, as the world has changed a lot since 2005/6. It is unhelpful in the extreme that this footage has been dug out of the archives, particularly around 9/11 - or perhaps precisely because of it. Should this sort of material come your way, please consign it to the circular archive, otherwise known as the dustbin or garbage can.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Olympic size gaffes
Here
are the top nine comments made by sports commentators during
the Summer Olympics that they would like to take back:
1.
Weightlifting commentator:
'This is Gregorieva from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during
her warm up and it was amazing.'
2.
Dressage commentator:
'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since
I once mounted her mother.'
3.
Paul Hamm, Gymnast: 'I
owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'
4.
Boxing Analyst: 'Sure there
have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them
really that serious.'
5.
Softball announcer: 'If
history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing
again.'
6.
Basketball analyst: 'He
dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it
all over their faces.'
7.
At the rowing medal ceremony:
'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of
the British crew.'
8.
Soccer commentator: 'Julian
Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field.'
9.
Tennis commentator: 'One of
the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his
wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just
said?'
Relayed
Barbara [bhbner2him] has let us know that she should be back to work on Friday, and back on-line as soon as the power returns. They are all fine and have what they need. She misses us all, and is grateful for our prayers. Please pass the word round (with thanks to Carolyn / lifesabench6).
SS Empire Light
SS Empire Light was sunk in 1941 in the Indian Ocean by the armed German raider Pinguin. Survivors of the encounter were picked up by the German vessel, which itself was then attacked by HMS Cornwall. The Pinguin was sunk, taking the survivors from the Empire Light to the bottom with her. Twenty-six of the Empire Light's crew perished on 8 May 1941, six of whom came from Lewis.
Their names are:
Norman MacIver, 37 Vatisker
Murdo MacDonald, 32 Gress
Donald Graham, Garrabost
Murdo Campbell, 5 Sheshader (also quoted at 42 Inaclete Road, Stornoway)
Norman Malcolm Montgomery, 17 Sheshader
George Campbell, 5 Portnaguran
A visit to the Eye cemetery reveals that this was not just an island tragedy, it was a family tragedy as well. Norman Malcolm Montgomery of 17 Sheshader was related to Murdo Campbell of 5 Sheshader. Norman's mother, Isabella Montgomery née Macleod, died 6 months after the sinking of the Empire Light. Her husband Norman was lost in the sinking of HMY Iolaire on 1 January 1919, one of the 205 drowned in that disaster.
Thursday 18 September
Wet and windy in Stornoway today. Hurricane Ike (or what's left of it) is passing through the Denmark Strait, and its trailing fronts give us some much-needed rain. Summer has been rather dry in the islands.
As the Halifax / Bank of Scotland is about to merge with Lloyds TSB Bank, the Scottish First Minister is crying blue murder over the loss of "Scotland's bank". Thought this was the United Kingdom. Mr Salmond even aborted a trip to the USA to deal with this emergency. Methinks if the take-over had NOT taken place, there really would have been a serious situation.
Another man in power with a warped sense of reality is Robert Mugabe, down in Zimbabwe. He reckons his deal with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is a humiliation for him. In the proposed cabinet, Mugabe's ZANU-PF will have 15 ministers, and the MDC 16.
Mugabe will want to remember that his country's inflation is running at 11,000,000% (could be as high as 100,000,000%), unemployment is 80% and food-aid will be required for half the population by the end of this year. Some achievement, Bob.
As the Halifax / Bank of Scotland is about to merge with Lloyds TSB Bank, the Scottish First Minister is crying blue murder over the loss of "Scotland's bank". Thought this was the United Kingdom. Mr Salmond even aborted a trip to the USA to deal with this emergency. Methinks if the take-over had NOT taken place, there really would have been a serious situation.
Another man in power with a warped sense of reality is Robert Mugabe, down in Zimbabwe. He reckons his deal with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change is a humiliation for him. In the proposed cabinet, Mugabe's ZANU-PF will have 15 ministers, and the MDC 16.
Mugabe will want to remember that his country's inflation is running at 11,000,000% (could be as high as 100,000,000%), unemployment is 80% and food-aid will be required for half the population by the end of this year. Some achievement, Bob.
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
What your name says about you
with thanks to Lori (Dusty Pages)
What Your Name Says About You
Your name says that you are mostly:Worth a read
Stumbled across the blog Vagabond Journeys by DB (screenname dbdacoba). Absolutely worth having a look at, with an unusual slant on language.
Aignish
Paid another visit to the graveyard at the above village, 4 miles east of Stornoway. It was a breezy afternoon, which made it feel quite chilly. The cemetery at Aignish is very exposed, situated between the Minch to the south and Broad Bay to the north - with the cemetery fully taking up the width between both bodies of water.
Cross of Remembrance
Shiant Isles
View northwest across Broad Bay
Aignish
Cross of Remembrance
Shiant Isles
View northwest across Broad Bay
Aignish
Ike update - 17 September
Spotted this on a blog on hurricanes. The town of Gilchrist, near Galveston, was virtually completely destroyed, as in no trace of it left. Apart from being subjected to a 14-20 feet storm surge, it then got swept clean by the reverse backwash. Five of the 200 structures in the town are left standing - to an extent. Whether anyone stayed behind to ride out the storm is not known, and neither is it known if they survived. The lagoon behind the town is being looked over for them.
Wednesday 17 September
A bright morning, with the sun peeping between the blanket of thin clouds. Am getting bored now with all the talk of money, banks, hedge funds and the credit crunch. Quite agree with the commenters on my previous post: greed is the root of a lot of evil.
A new television channel starts on satellite and cable TV in the UK on Friday evening: BBC Alba. It is a Gaelic language service (Alba = Scotland), which has been running old programs in Gaelic for a few weeks now. Local news sources say BBC Alba will be fronted by a lady from Lewis. The channel can be seen across the UK - again, only on satellite and cable.
A new television channel starts on satellite and cable TV in the UK on Friday evening: BBC Alba. It is a Gaelic language service (Alba = Scotland), which has been running old programs in Gaelic for a few weeks now. Local news sources say BBC Alba will be fronted by a lady from Lewis. The channel can be seen across the UK - again, only on satellite and cable.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Tuesday 16 September
A pretty non-descript day on all accounts, grey weather and all that.
The money world is in melt-down and things are only going to get worse. Inflation in the UK is rising towards 5%, for the first time in 16 years, and banks are beginning to fall over like dominoes. That's what you get when you lend money against no collateral. Or a collateral that, on the point of paying off the debt, does not match the extent of the debt. Negative equity in other words. Filling in one hole by plugging it with another, selling it to someone else - didn't know you could sell holes, but there you go. Here in Lewis, your average house now costs close to £140,000 - a huge increase over the past decade or so, I'm led to believe.
Don't think that a dip in the stockmarket does not affect you in this case. We all use banks, whether we like it or not, we all have our bitty bits of pensions lying about, invested in things - that are worth less and less. And you try to get a loan or a mortgage in the near future, well, you may find it rather more difficult, even if you've got a perfect credit rating. As an individual, that's an inconvenience. For business, it could be lethal.
No improvement in sight.
The money world is in melt-down and things are only going to get worse. Inflation in the UK is rising towards 5%, for the first time in 16 years, and banks are beginning to fall over like dominoes. That's what you get when you lend money against no collateral. Or a collateral that, on the point of paying off the debt, does not match the extent of the debt. Negative equity in other words. Filling in one hole by plugging it with another, selling it to someone else - didn't know you could sell holes, but there you go. Here in Lewis, your average house now costs close to £140,000 - a huge increase over the past decade or so, I'm led to believe.
Don't think that a dip in the stockmarket does not affect you in this case. We all use banks, whether we like it or not, we all have our bitty bits of pensions lying about, invested in things - that are worth less and less. And you try to get a loan or a mortgage in the near future, well, you may find it rather more difficult, even if you've got a perfect credit rating. As an individual, that's an inconvenience. For business, it could be lethal.
No improvement in sight.
Monday, 15 September 2008
It was bad
The brown platforms is all that is left of seafront buildings on Bolivar Island, Galveston. Destroyed by a storm surge of 15 feet or more as Ike roared past early on Saturday. The island is unaccessible, as the hurricane has redrawn the map. More on the aftermath of Ike in Texas here.
Oh, the windstorm that lashed the USA yesterday were the result of the remnants of TWO tropical cyclones: Ike and Lowell. Lowell was a tropical storm off the Baja California peninsula last week.
Monday 15 September
Grey and wet today. A mild rain has been falling all day, otherwise it's not too bad temperaturewise. I gather the mid west of the USA got a lashing from the combined remnants of tropical storm Lowell (from the East Pacific) and hurricane Ike. Louisville KY reported a gust of 75 mph, that's actually hurricane force. The weather charts now show the depression, all that remains of Ike, over eastern Canada. It will then deepen substantially and move into the Denmark Strait, east of Greenland.
I was surprised to note that Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe has accepted his rival Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister. However, with the dire state that their country is in, there was not really an alternative. We shall see how this works out.
If you have an emergency in the UK, you dial 999. Like when your life is in danger. Not when your bunny doesn't have the floppy ears that were promised in the news paper advert you bought the creature from.
I was surprised to note that Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe has accepted his rival Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister. However, with the dire state that their country is in, there was not really an alternative. We shall see how this works out.
If you have an emergency in the UK, you dial 999. Like when your life is in danger. Not when your bunny doesn't have the floppy ears that were promised in the news paper advert you bought the creature from.
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Ike update - 14 September
Ike is no longer a tropical cyclone, but is by all accounts a nasty piece of work nonetheless. According to the last advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the storm is moving northeast up the Tennessee and Ohio valleys, with gusts up to 60 mph. A high wind advisory is in force across Ohio.
Points northeast should watch out tonight and tomorrow; the UK will get a swipe on Thursday in the shape of winds in northern Scotland. Yep, that's me.
Points northeast should watch out tonight and tomorrow; the UK will get a swipe on Thursday in the shape of winds in northern Scotland. Yep, that's me.
Pylons, whales and aboriginals
A boy of 14 has died in Rotherham, near Sheffield in South Yorkshire, after he climbed an electricity pylon. It is thought he may have touched one of the cables, which carried 66,000 volts. Circumstances are being looked into by police. No comment from this blogger.
There is currently a complicated wrangle on-going surrounding the catching of whales by the people of Greenland. A request for an increase in their quota has been declined twice, and the Greenlanders are now thinking of going it alone. It is quite a convoluted issue, which is explained further here. One of the gripes expressed is that the native population feels it has had western values imposed, restricting the expression of its culture.
A similar thing, to the point of asphyxiation, has taken place in Australia until the late 1970s. Was watching a program on BBC tonight about a Scots doctor who goes on secondment to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. She also tends to Aboriginals, whose life-expectancy is not much beyond 40, are prone to diabetes and receive insufficient healthcare. Until 1967, Aboriginals were not even classified as human being, they were categorised alongside Australian flora and fauna. Earlier this year, Australian PM Kevin Rudd apologised for previous wrong-doings towards his native countrymen.
There is currently a complicated wrangle on-going surrounding the catching of whales by the people of Greenland. A request for an increase in their quota has been declined twice, and the Greenlanders are now thinking of going it alone. It is quite a convoluted issue, which is explained further here. One of the gripes expressed is that the native population feels it has had western values imposed, restricting the expression of its culture.
A similar thing, to the point of asphyxiation, has taken place in Australia until the late 1970s. Was watching a program on BBC tonight about a Scots doctor who goes on secondment to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. She also tends to Aboriginals, whose life-expectancy is not much beyond 40, are prone to diabetes and receive insufficient healthcare. Until 1967, Aboriginals were not even classified as human being, they were categorised alongside Australian flora and fauna. Earlier this year, Australian PM Kevin Rudd apologised for previous wrong-doings towards his native countrymen.
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