Project Warn

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation

It is ironic that Sir Arthur C. Clarke through his foundation has been involved in Project Warn for some time. The Project was planning a simulation test of a warning and disaster response system relating to a major Tsunami in 2005. Clearly, Sir Arthur Clarke is using his intellect and the wealth he has acquired through his books to approach major humanitarian issues using technology.

Tsunami news from Sir Arthur C. Clarke

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation

Tsunami Help Site

The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

Tsunami Blog

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here

Tsunami blogs

Sumankumar's yak pad

Tsunami Blogs

Extra Extra

Plasma TVs on the way out?

News The subject line says it all. Read this article about Sony's plans to withdraw from plasma tv manufacturing.

Neat technology combination

This is pretty neat. A digital recorder that you can speak into and then hook to your computer where your recorded lectures or stories are converted to text files. Very neat.

RIT SUN GUARD

RIT SUN GUARD

Just heard about this product from a neighbor who was told about it by his dermatologist. For those of us here in Florida this sounds like a great way to get extra protection from the sun. The manufacturer, Rit Dye, says, "Just add one package to your regular wash cycle to give clothing a UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) of 30 that will last for up to 20 launderings." Sounds pretty good to me. We are going to give it a try.

WirelessTrips.com

WirelessTrips.com

This is an excellent summary of the different options for staying connected on the road. These guys also have a really nicely formatted and written Blog about life on the road. Hope they don't mind this plug in Musings.

This is a post from my laptop using my GPRS cell phone as a modem. I have finally gotten this connection working as it should. With my unlimited T-Zones internet on my cell phone this will be the method of choice for email and internet while on the road. I know I am a slow learner but it took me a long time to get this figured out. The solution was two fold. The first was to pair the phone with the laptop as a Bluetooth device. After Microsoft released Windows XP Service Pack 2 the Bluetooth pairing capability was simplified and improved. Once the laptop and the Nokia 3650 were "paired" the connection was assured anytime the phone is within range of the laptop. The second part of the solution was when I finally abandoned the Nokia modem software and setup a dialup connection using the Standard Modem over Bluetooth device rather than the Nokia Bluetooth modem. Now the dialup connection has been working flawlessly. The connection is not too bad in terms of speed either. I connect consistently at about 33 kbps. This Blog post is being done using my Nokia 3650 cell phone modem wirelessly using Bluetooth radio. Looks like many of our "on the road" connectivity problems have been solved.

Home Once More

We are back home once more. It was an interesting trip. Interesting because as we got closer and closer to the center of the storm track the visible damage increased noticeably. Once we got onto secondary roads the going was kind of tricky since many of the traffic lights were still out or were at crazy angles so you could not see them. Fortunately in a "Who goes first?" situation, the Mothership is big enough that no one argues with you. Our neighborhood has a strange surreal appearance since none of the trees have very many leaves on them. Another thing we noticed is the smell of decaying vegetation everywhere. We did indeed feel like tiny little carbon life forms when looking at all of the forces of nature that were at work here. I will take some pictures to share with you. We lost a couple of more fence sections and one screen panel on our patio but that seems to be it. It feels good to be back on my home keyboard and Internet connection instead of jury rigging campground phone lines and cell phone connections.

Our choice of Naples for a storm refuge was a good one. Based on our calculations to be ninety degrees to the left of the track this location was the farthest and easiest to reach in the motorhome. We are at Rock Creek RV Resort. We picked a campsite free of trees. We are glad that we did as we were buffeted by gusty winds all night long and are still being hit by gusts as I type this. The wind does seem to be coming in gusts now instead of being a constant force. TV reports show gusts to 50 mph in the Naples area. Watching all of the TV reports we seem to be on the edge of the heaviest rain and winds which is what we had hoped for. The wind direction has shifted from the North yesterday to West and Southwest today. Since the motorhome is parked in a North South orientation we are rocked slightly as the big gusts come through. Even with 40 to 50 mph gusts the movement of the motorhome is not alarming.

During the approach of the storm yesterday we watched the Weather Channel for forecast track reports. After landfall ocurred we switched to the local TV stations for more detailed coverage. We maintained email contact using Bob's Nokia 3650 cell phone when the winds were too high to go outside. We also have access to a modem line in the campground office where we can use the laptop to access email and weather reports. The modem line is also needed to transmit this long entry to the Blog. The problem with the cell phone is having to type using the keys on the phone. This dictates that those emails are short. It is really nice having email access with the cell phone though as we can send updates and status reports to our friends and family in the worst of conditions.

We left yesterday in the Mothership to get out of the path of Hurricane Jeane. As we drove out of the local area we saw long lines backed up at local gas stations. Lines extended up to half a mile on one road. Barbara suggested that we go west and take the Florida Turnpike which turned out to be a good suggestion. We were headed to Naples, Florida where we are now encamped. I looked at the forecast path for the storm and took a ninety degree angle to the left of the track and the farthest point we could get was Naples. This location puts us 150 miles from the path. We hope this will get us out of the destructive part of the storm. Our house is strong with metal shutters on all windows but the Mothership would not take hundred mile an hour winds. In addition, we are trying to avoide the long power outages and lack of gasoline and food that follow these events.

We are tired of running from storms and tired of being constantly on the run. This year has been very stressful for all Floridians. We count ourselves among the lucky since we are retired and have the mobility to get out of harms way. We have not endured the trauma and stress of our friends and family who must remain the storms path. We worry about them constantly. We are constantly in touch with our cell phones but there is little we can do to help them except bring needed items when we return.

The biggest worry with Hurricane Jeane is the debris that still remains from Hurricane Frances. Streets in West Palm Beach are lined with piles of tree branches and other debris. An astonishing amount of work has been accomplished in collecting this debris but the amount to pick up is so huge that a lot remains. The worry is that all of this will become flying missiles that will do more damage. I put as much of it in my garage before we left so I have a garage full of vegetation that smells bad. My friend and neighbor will go over and take it out after the storm passes.

A drive by one of the local debris collection locations, John Prince Park, provides some perspective on the amount of tree damage inflicted by Frances. There are lines of trucks bringing tree debris to this location where it is being chipped and ground up. There are literally hills of wood chips in the park where there used to be green grass areas where people played. The park, one of the largest local parks, is closed to the public since it is a central debris collection point.

We now wait and watch as Jeane moves through the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas. We may get some wind and rain from it here in Naples beginning this afternoon and tonight.

Hurricane Jeane

Hard to believe but a FOURTH hurricane is threatening Florida. Jeane has been circling around in the Atlantic as if waiting for clearance from some higher authority to launch another attack on our state. Each forecast from the National Hurricane Center moves the northward turn a little farther west. There is a turn to the north in the forecast but when that occurs is the question. If it follows the latest forecast track it will slowly turn and follow the coastline north towards the Carolinas. Debris from Frances still lines our streets and the piles at the central collection points are huge. Yesterday, we watched the Lake Worth Drainage District remove trees from a nearby canal. They are in a huge pile beside one of the roads we travel each day. I spent some time this morning doing some tree trimming on the orchid tree nearest the house. The general consensus of people after the storm is you are fine as long as you live in a concrete block house with a concrete tile roof and no trees near the house. Oh, and of course, strong hurricane shutters on all windows and doors.

Home

We are back home. Driving down the first thing we noticed that was odd was the way the signs were all bent and broken off and sitting at odd angles. Some pretty hefty highway signs on I-95 were broken off and they were mounted on large metal beams. Billboards were just skeletons since the signage had long departed for areas unknown. We have power and our fence has been blown down. My neighbor and good friend stacked it neatly by the house. My garage door looked like a first grade art project with leaves flattened all over it in a strangely attractive pattern. I erased the art work with my hose. We removed the shutters from two doors and one window to let some light in. There are huge piles of dead vegetation and debris still waiting for pickup on all of the streets.

Escape

Yesterday morning, Thursday, we both awoke at 3 am. After checking the latest forecasts and watching the weather channel we made the decision to evacuate. The Mothership was loaded and ready to go so at 4 am we departed the Mothership Base. Driving through Brevard County we listened to talk radio shows and heard people calling in reporting traffic conditions on I-95. At that point things were not too bad and traffic was moving right along. As we approached Daytona the picture changed drasticly and we encountered bumper to bumper traffic. It must have taken us two or three hours to get from Daytona past Jacksonville. Once we were out of Florida things opened up pretty nicely. After eleven hours of driving we are parked in my mom and dad's yard but are still watching the storm.



We now have our friends and family who stayed in Florida in our thoughts and prayers. Our son, daughter-in-law and granddaugher are still in West Palm Beach. Mavis will be working around the clock in the hospital where she is a nurse and Rob and Kailtyn will be in a concrete office building owned by a friend. It is a very secure building. We feel that they are safe. Our friends in our neighborhood, like us, have done all they could do to prepare their houses by putting up storm shutters and moving everything outside into the garage or the house.



My friend Rick went to Home Depot last night and said it was crazy there. He said that there were at least one hundred people in line for any kind of wood to cover their windows and doors.



We have done all we can do at this point and can only hope the storm will weaken so that the damage will be lessened. The latest report says the storm has slowed down to 9 knots and even though it has weakened slightly is likely to restrengthen. The slow speed and possible strengthening is not good. That means the hurricane force winds will last much longer wherever the storm passes.



We are still watching Frances since it could still effect us here in SC as it travels inland. We are prepared to move the Mothership away from the tall trees here if we have to. We would move it to the local Wal-Mart parking lot and lock it up if the weather turns bad here.

Day 2 Frances Prep

Some good news at the 5pm update from the hurricane center. The track has shifted a bit to the north. I am really tired after two days of moving stuff and putting up shutters some of which don't fit very well. There must be some basic law of the universe that says the last component of any system you are installing will give the most problems. The one door I left until last was the hardest one of all to put shutters on. I also went to the grocery store and stocked up on some food items. The motorhome is ready to go if we have to escape. Since the 5pm report was slightly encouraging I am going to hold off until possibly early morning if we leave. That way I can view the 11pm advisory. Maybe the track will shift a bit more to the north. That would take some of the worst part of the storm a tiny bit further away from us but my mom and dad live in South Carolina and that might be the next target. We had considered going there to escape the storm but it does not seem to be a good idea at this time. This time of the year down here is pretty intense and we are constantly watching the weather. A good sign is that people are taking the threats very seriously now. I can remember when they just brushed them off as not a serious threat. I think hurricanes Charley, Andrew, and Hugo within living memory has made an impression on the public.

Watching Frances

I have spent the last day and a half putting up metal hurricane shutters over our windows and bringing loose objects inside the garage. Our garage door has beams that are put in place to reinforce it against the wind. I have done all I can do to get the house ready. We are now watching the forecasts by the hurricane center at each update, 8am, 11am, 5pm, and 11pm local time. The latest advisory has the storm going inland somewhere north of us. Hurricane force winds extend outward from the center for 60 miles and the tropical storm force winds out 200 miles. The subtropical ridge that is holding the storm to the south may weaken a bit in the next 24 hours. We are going to get our camper loaded up and be ready to move it if the storm looks like it is going to head our way. We would go all the way up to South Carolina or further to avoid the storm. If the subtropical ridge weakens a tiny bit and allows the storm to go further northward we will stay put and ride out the tropical storm force winds here at home.

Frances

Spent the day installing shutters. I have 16 of our 19 windows covered with our relatively new hurricane shutters. If we evacuate it will be early Thursday morning as I still have a fair amount of work to do in preparing the house. We still have a dilemna as to where to go but it is clear that we do not want to go up the east coast if we decide to leave. All of the forecast tracks show the storm traveling generally up the east coast of Florida but any slight wobble one way or the other could make a huge difference in the impact of the storm on us. One should never take the NHC forecast track as an absolute. That is why they forecast a wide cone of error. We saw what happened with Charley on the west coast when it took a sharp turn to the right at the last minute. That turn was well within the cone of error in the forecast. We are praying to the steering current and Coriolis gods to make it turn to the right soon. South Florida should start feeling some winds from the storm on Friday afternoon.

Local Preparations plus Hurricane Charley Relief Fund

The model forecast tracks for Frances show a slight turn to the right. We are continuing to prepare the house by putting up shutters and planning what we will do. The direction of the forecasted tracks is a dilemna for us. If we evacuate and move the motorhome out of harms way we will have to go quite far to escape the projected track. Moving to Tampa is not necessarily a good thing since they are so vulnerable and with the track crossing diagonally across the state from SE to NW we would still be in harms way in a motorhome instead of in a strong and secure house. If the right turn tendency continues we will consider staying put. We have new and very strong storm shutters and also have a strong concrete roof.







Here is the link for the

Hurricane Charley Relief Fund coordinated by the state. Please help the victims of Charley by going to this site and donating what you can.

Hurricane Frances

It is a fact of life. We are nearing the height of hurricane season here in South Florida. We are presently watching Hurricane Frances and all indications are that we are in the danger zone. This storm is reminiscent of Hurricane Floyd that headed right for us here in West Palm Beach but turned at the last moment. The sun is rising now with a beautiful red and orange hue but that only brings to mind an old saying my dad used to tell me. Red in the morning, sailors take warning. We are watching the forecasts very carefully to decide when to activate our escape plan. We decided long ago that if a Cat 3 or higher storm threatened us we would evacuate. We have a motorhome that would not survive such a storm and more importantly we do not want to go through a storm like that since we have the option to escape. We must allow time to shutter all of our windows and take all steps to prepare our home and yard for a possible hit. I will begin those preparations today and work towards being ready for a move before the end of the week. Most of the National Hurricane Center models are showing a turning trend. Hurricane Floyd was the same scenario and we felt like we were standing in the middle of the interstate highway with an eighteen wheeler bearing down on us having been told that it would probably turn at the last minute. Floyd made that turn and we are praying that Frances does too but we will take no chances.

Storm 2004 Hurricane Season: Charley

Storm 2004 Hurricane Season: Charley This is a local link with a comprehensive list of phone numbers and other ways to help the victims of Hurricane Charley.

Volunteer Florida Home

Here is a link with a phone number and information on how to help Hurricane Charley victims. The top priority seems to be donation of funds rather than goods. Please help if you can.



Volunteer Florida Home

Disaster Donations

donationlink1

This is the link to a list of the various organizations that are coordinating donations to the Hurrican Charley victims.

Charley

Charley missed us completely here in West Palm Beach but the news from the west coast is grim. Much loss of life and property. The scenes on TV, CNN and Weather Channel, are truly frightning. The devastation is extensive. We got lucky this time but there is already another tropical depression brewing south of us. It is a bright and sunny day as I post this thinking of our fellow Floridians in Punta Gorda and Fort Myers who have lost their homes. I hope they are taken care of quickly and effectively. The governor is visiting the area and I hope they take action to help those folks.

International Trade Centre

Now the International Trade Centre is giving my name to people so they can give me money. I didn't know there were so many kind and generous people in Africa.





FROM:MRS.VICTORIA NDLOVU

ATTN:

You may be surprised to receive this letter from me

since you don't know me personally,but for the

introduction,I am MRS. VICTORIA NDLOVU,the wife of

Late DR.ONOMUA ANDREW NDLOVU who was recently murdered

in the land dispute inzimbabwe.

I got your contact from the INTERNATIONAL TRADE

CENTRE here in Johhanesburg and decided to write

you.My Husband was among the few black Zimbabwe rich

famers murdered in the cold blood by the agents of the

ruling governmentof President Robert MUGABE for his

alleged support and sympathy for the Zimbabwean

opposition party,controlled by the white minority.

Before his death,he had taken me to to deposite the

sum ofFive Million Dollars US$ 5M.with a security and

finance company as if he knew the looming danger in

Zimbabwe. The money was deposited in a box as

gemstones to avoid much demurrage from the security

company.

This money was earmarked for the purchase of new farm

machinery and chemicals for the establishment of our

new farm in lesotho and Swaziland.This land problem

arose when president Robert MUGABE introduced a new

land act,which wholly affected the rich white famers

and some blacks vehemently condemned the

modusoperand"adopted by the government. This resulted

to rampant killings and mob actions by the war

veterans and some political thugs presently,more than

SIX-HUNDRED[600]people have so far been killed.Heads

of government from the west,especially The Great

Britain and The United states of America have voice

their condemnation of MUGABE'S plan.

The South Africa development community (SADEC)has

continuously supported MUGABE'S new land reform Act.It

is against this background that I and my Children who

are currently staying as REFUGEE in a SOUTH AFRICAN

REPUBLIC but currently seeking An ASSYLUM in any of

THE THE WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES have decided to

transfer my late Husband's money into a foreign

account.

As the only and LEGITIMATE -WIFE of my late husband I

am saddled with the responsibility of seeking a

genuine foreign account where this money could be

transfer without theknowledge of my country's

government who are tatically freezing our

familieswealthback home in ZIMBABWE and The South

Africa government seems to be playing along with them.

I am faced with the delimma of investing this amount

of money in The South Africa Republic for the fear of

encountering the same experience in future since both

countries have almost the same political

history.Moreso ,the South Africa Financial foreign

exchange policy does not allow such investment hence I

am seeking for Assistance.As a business person whom I

must entrust my future and that of my family on his

hands,I must let you know that this transfer is 100%

RISK FREE .

Therefore if you accept to assist my family,we are

willing to offer you 20% of the total sum for your

assitance,70% for me and my family,while 10% will be

mapped out for all expenses.I would wish to invest in

your country on REAL- ESTATE based on your advice and

I would also receive assurance that you would'nt sit

on this money when transfered into your personal or

company account. If this PLEA is acceptable by you

please do send me your personaldetails,Name and

Address,telephone and fax numbers .You should know

that this business is highly confidential and shall be

kept within you alone.I hope to hear from you soon on

the above email address.

Thanks,

Best Regards,

MRS VICTORIA NDLOVU.

REPLY TO :hod_20042003@yahoo.com

Split

Hey, another guy wants to split $28.6 million with me.



TO: THE PRESIDENT/CEO REQUEST FOR YOUR KIND ASSISTANCE

Dear Sir,

This latter may come to you as a surprise but I am writing it with hope that you will accept my request as I have no international connections and I believe this is going to be a beginning of a sound and long lasting relationship if you accept my offer. My name is Usman Belo, I was born August 16th 1964 in the northern side of Nigeria and I work with Shell Petroleum Company as an engineer. My father is one of NNPC Oil marketer, and he died during a fire explosion in NNPC house Lagos Island in December last year. There is something I want to disclose to you, which no body knows about. This needed immediate attention and I hope you will be of great help and you will also benefit from it. Dr. Smith Paul Clemens an Oil merchant who is late now as a result of an explosion which burnt down NNPC house in Lagos Island deposited the sum US$28.6 Million with a Security and finance company in Europe. He intended to use the money for a payment of Crude Oil with the Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) which some document I recovered stated that my late father is the intended person to receive this fund (US$28.6 Million) for NNPC. Based on the recommendation given to me by a friend who made your contact available to me, I develop the confidence that you have the caliber to stand as Dr. Smith, so that you ask the Finance Company to resent the money back to you and we share fifty - fifty. I would forward to you via DHL the original copy of Certificate used to deposit the money and also give you their contact for you to reach them and verify. Please do not expose this confidence I am reposing on you as this is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime and I do not want anything to jeopardize it. If you want to collaborate with me for this transaction send to me your private telephone and fax number so that I can communicate you to give you the modus oprandi or you can email me with my private mailing address above for more briefing as I wait to hearing from you as soon as possible,

Best regards, Usman Belo Date: 23/11/2003

My Dear

I have lost track of my potential wealth at this point. When it all comes in I will probably have to adapt a completely different life style. It might be hard to adjust to having so much money.



MY Dear



This mail may come to you as a surprise but is borne out of my genuie need

urgent assistance . I prayed over it and selected your name among

other names due to its esteeming nature and the recommendations given to me

as a reputable and trust worthy person that I can do business with

and by the recommendation , I must not hesitate to confide in you for this

simple and sincere business .



I am FLORA COULIBALY the only daugther of late Mr.and Mrs. JOHNSON

COULIBALY . My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant in Abidjan , the

economic capital of Ivory coast, my father was poisoned to dearth by his

business associates on one of their outings on a business trip .



My mother died when I was a baby and since then my father took me so

special. Before the death of my father on february 2003 in a private

hospital here in Abidjan he secretly called me on his bed side and told me

that he has the sum of Ten million , United State Dollars. USD

($ 10.00,000) left in fixed / suspense account in one of the prime bank here

in Abidjan ,that he used my name as his only daugther for the next of Kin in

depositing of the fund. He also explained to me that it was because of his

wealth that he was poisoned by his business associates.





That I should seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where i

will transfer this money and use it for investment purpose such as

real estate management or hotel management .



I am honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways:



(1) To provide a bank account into which this money would be transferred to

.



(2) To serve as a guardian of this fund since I am only 22years.



(3) To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my

education and to secure a resident permit in your country.



Moreover, i am willing to offer you 20% of the total sum as compensation

for your effort/ input after the successful transfer of this fund into your

nominated account overseas.



Furthermore, you indicate your options towards assisting me by replying to

me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within

fourteen (14) days you signify interest to assist me. Anticipating to hear

from you soon.



Thanks and God bless.



Best regard



MISS FLORA COULIBALY

More Money

The offers keep pouring in. Soon I will be wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. Everyone in Africa loves me and wants to give me money. Here is the latest:



Dear Friend

I am Barrister Ibrahim Bello a Solicitor and also the Personal Attorney

to Enginer Kaith Howard, who used to work with shell development company

in Nigeria.



On the 4th of March 2002, my client were involved in a plain crash accident

along Sagbama Express Road that claims the lives of all, This was sad news

to the hearing of any human being and Since then I have made several enquiries

to embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives this has proved

unsuccessfull . After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to

trace his relatives over the Internet, to locate any member of his family

but of no avail, hence I contacted you.



I have contacted you on trust to assist me in receiving the money left behind

by my client before the bank he has an account with gets the money confisicated

or decleared his money as unclaim fund following the the bank's policy.

Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an account valued at about

$7.5 million dollars has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin of

my client or have the account confisicated the next ten working days.Since

I have been unable to locate the relatives for precisely three years now

I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since

you are bearing the same surname with my late client so that the proceedings

of the transfer of the money valued at $7.5m can be remitted to you as the

next of kin for our mutual benefit The sharing percentage is as follow if

only you will be faithfull and honest to assist me, 30% for your assistance

as next of kin 60% for me and the remaining 10% shall be for expences or

taxes as your government may require.All necessary legal document that will

back up your claim of this money will be secured by an attorney on your

behalf.



All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see that this deal

comes through. I guarantee you that this business will be executed under

a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law

Please get in touch with me by my ib_be32@yahoo.com to enable us discuss

further step to follow.

Regards



BARRISTER.IBRAHIM BELLO

Business Relationship

I just did not know so many people in Africa care so deeply about me and trust me so much. According to this latest one The South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry referred me to Mr. Eric. Wow! This is amazing. Still no money though. Some day soon it will start pouring in from all my friends in Africa. Here is the latest offer:



Mr.Peter Eric

NO 47 Nelson Av,

Partown Johannesburg

South Africa

BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP.

Dear sir,

I am Director of finance with Eskom South Africa and a

member of the Contract Tenders

Board (CTB) of the above corporation.

Your esteemed address was reliably introduced to me at the

South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry in my search

for a reliable individual company who can handle a strictly

confidential transaction, which involves the transfer of a

reasonable sum of money to a foreign account The amount is

US$15,500,000.00 (Fifteen Million Five Hundred Thousand

United States Dollars), which was extracted

from various contracts awarded by my corporation. This was

made possible through over-invoicing

of the various contracts ,which were been drafted to

represent final payment for a various contracts that

were executed to the corporation some years back.

The money is now floating in the suspense account of

Federal Reserve Bank of South Africa awaiting claim by

Foreign Partner which status we now want you to

assume,following the presidential directive to pay all

contract debt to personal/company 's account.

In my last meeting with the officials involved, it was

unanimously agreed that you shall be compensated dully and

on your indication to assist us, we shall agree on what

will be given to you.

I assure you the transaction is 100 risk free as we have

concluded every arrangement to protect the interest of

every one involved. Likewise, all modalities for the

successful transfer of this money have been worked out with

the Finance Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of

South Africa to facilitate the remittance of

this money to your designated account.

However. I would want to believe that you are honest enough

and will protect our interest in

all aspect of the transaction, more importantly,you will

keep this transaction very confidential so as not

to tarnish the confidence reposed on these official by the

Government of South Africa.

Your immediate response will be highly appreciated.

Best regard.

PETER ERIC

More Money

This is fantastic. I am receiving these offers to give me money faster than I can deposit it in my bank account. Of course, I am only receiving the offers. I am still waiting for the first dollar to roll in but when it comes I am surely going to be as wealthy as Bill Gates. Here is the latest generous offer to give me money. Isn't it great how all these people are so kind and generous?



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



DEAR.SIR

I am Mrs.Mariam Abacha, the widow of Sani Abacha the Late Nigerian Head

of State.The government has frozen all the family account and auctioned

all our properties.



To save the family from total bankruptcy I have managed to ship out through

a shipping company, the sum of US20,500,000.00 Kept by my late husband.The

money was disguised to beat the Nigerian security and it is currently deposited

in a credit commission.



I want you to receive the money and pay it into your account for the family

safely.I am offering you 30% for assisting me secure this money fast before

it is located by the Nigerian Government Agents.



Contact me immediately through this mariam2001@usinmail.com so that I can

forward to you all the necessary details.



Kindly send your phone and fax numbers for easy communications.



Best regards.



Mrs.Mariam Abacha

Renumeration

I am so excited. I must be the luckiest guy in the world. I continue to get emails from people wanting to give me money. This is the latest one. I just cannot believe that all of these people want to give ME money. I think I am going to start sharing all of these emails with the world on my Blog just to show how lucky I am. This is the latest email that I received: (Thanks Dr. Williams. You are great!)





5,Parkway crescent,



off upper Ridge way,



cape Town,



Republic of South Africa



30th june,2004.



Dear sir,



I am Administrative Staff of the South africa Mining



Corporation,currently on a course in England and I represent a group that is interested in engaging your service as Manager for investment purpose, of a interested in engaging your service as Manager for investment purpose, of a large volume of fund.



If this proposal is acceptable to you, please get back to me, so that I can work out a remuneration for your participation in this transactions, and also let you know how I came to select you for this purpose.







Please contact me through the above my email address:



emailaddressdeleted



THANKS.



Dr charles Williams

Secrets

I get an endless stream of emails that provide me with entertainment far superior to any soap operas one could watch. Many of them are the personal assistants of powerful people wanting to give me their confidential numbers and email so that they can give me hundreds of thousands of dollars. I know you all get those and at first I found them annoying. Now I am beginning to read them for entertainment. I must tell you that I download none of these to my PC since I use a software package called Mailwasher that previews the messages on my internet service provider's server. I use Mailwasher to delete, bounce, or approve for download prior to letting these emails touch my personal machine.



Anyway, it seems that every personal assistant to every powerful person in African and other countries wants to include me in their high finances. I am so honored and feel privileged to be a part of such major transactions. However, I would prefer that they just send it to me as cash in plain, unmarked envelopes without all of the email ceremony in between. I am still waiting for my first hundred thousand to arrive.

Death (almost) by Garage Door

Good advice on this site. I just went out into our garage to take the car over for an oil change. When I hit the button for the garage door to open it the spring broke and it came crashing down. A garage door weighs 300 - 400 pounds so if I had been under it I would have been killed. A small child would certainly be killed. Just letting you know this happened so you can be careful. The thing was just a few feet away from me and believe me it scared the you-know-what out of me.



The link below has some really good tips about garage door safety.



State Farm Insurance Garage Door Safety

ABCNEWS.com : Florida Town to Use Surveillance Cameras

ABCNEWS.com : Florida Town to Use Surveillance Cameras

I am different

OK, I have decided to come out and admit it. I am different. I have decided to stop hiding it and come clean. The thing is, being different does not bother me at all. The fact that I have no tattoos, no body piercings, and use no drugs, don't drink lattes, wear my baseball hats with the bill facing forward, and call anyone with grey hair sir does make me different from the rest of the population but hey, we should celebrate our differences. Right? For a long time I thought this was something to hide but have decided to come out and tell the world. So there, I feel a lot better now.

Yesterday, we attended the Chihuly Across Florida Exhibit in Tampa. Some photos I took at the exhibit may be seen by clicking here. When we went to the museum I did not realize that cameras were allowed in the museum so I used my cell phone to capture these images. After we got in the museum we found that cameras were allowed but you had to turn off the flash. Anyway, these did not turn out too badly considering I was using my Nokia 3650 cell phone.



To quote the Sun Sentinal article which can be found by clicking here. "South Floridians may know Chihuly's work from the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. At the Norton, one of the most memorable features of the new wing is a semicircular room containing a suspended ceiling with an elaborate arrangement of 693 glass pieces, many in the shapes and colors of marine life.Chihuly made it specifically for that space at the Norton."

Aerial shot of driveway

Finally got an aerial shot of the new driveway. The fickle winds have prevented me from getting this shot for quite a while but here it is at last. Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

New Driveway

Our big project of installing a new driveway has been completed. The old asphalt driveway was poorly designed and did not connect to the camper pad on the side of our house. We used a local company called All-Out Concrete Enterprises, Inc. and they were outstanding. They showed up on time, took pride in their work, and did an excellent job. I would highly recommend them for any concrete work as they are very good. You can see the pictures of the project by clicking here.

Updates

Just some routine updates. The site has been stagnant for too long. It is 5:30 am. I am up early because the workers are supposed to be here soon to begin pouring our new concrete driveway. The "mud" as they call it is supposed to arrive at 7 am. These guys, All Out Concrete, are the best we have seen in the county. Barbara heard about them while at the dentist office from one of the office staff. Interestingly the excavators they used to remove the old asphalt drive were a married couple who worked together like a ballet team. They came in with big equipment and had the old driveway out in an hour and a half. The old material is being recycled. I thought that was really cool being from the Rachel Carson, Save the Earth, generation. Photos will be posted soon.



Speaking of photos. I added a couple of links on the left. One is for the most recently posted photo in all of my albums and the other is for the most popular. That way you can get a quick view of the latest pics without searching for them. The little photo on the left was added too. It is a link to the most recent cell phone photo that I posted over at TextAmerica.com a mobile camera blog. A thumbnail of the latest photo will be there.



Lastly, I am working on an electric powered radio controlled helicopter. It is called a Corona by a company called Lite Machines Helicopters. It has been fun building it. It is an very impressive assemblage of hi tech radio components and state of the art motor. Let's hope this old pilot is not too rusty to control those whirling blades in the air. I have been practicing on an RC simulator on the PC. I hope that helps some.

CBS News | ID Day For Telemarketers | January 29, 2004 07:01:42

CBS News | ID Day For Telemarketers | January 29, 2004 07:01:42 It is about time! Getting a handle on the reins of the telemarketers has been a long, slow, and painful process. This will certainly help. We signed up for the national do-not-call list when it first came out and also sent out a LOT of letters to the major telemarketing firms as suggested at Junkbusters.com. Following the steps on this web page to the letter eliminated our junk calls. We get one or two renegade calls a month now where we used to get half a dozen a day right at dinner time.

Google Search: south carolina ice storm

Google Search: south carolina ice storm Power is rapidly being restored after the ice storm swept through the Carolinas and Virginia. Here is the result of a Google News search on the topic. Google News and its search capability is a very powerful tool for finding the latest news on a topic. Just go to http://news.google.com/ and enter your search in the usual place. Very cool!

The Sun News | 01/27/2004 | Frozen Carolinas

The Sun News | 01/27/2004 | Frozen CarolinasThis is the latest on the serious ice storm that hit South Carolina hard. Ironic that the news item was found in a Kansas online newspaper, The Sun News. To quote the article, "In South Carolina, the frozen precipitation marked one of the worst weather events so far this winter.."

It is 80F here today and when I was taking the picture the tree over my
head was filled with parrots. Now, I said to myself, "How cool is
this?" "Parrots in the trees, a warm day, the wind blowing the palm
trees." ....but best of all, having paid my dues over the last 40 years,
I did not have to go to work today either.

Heal thyself: Patients' bone marrow cells restore failing hearts

Heal thyself: Patients' bone marrow cells restore failing hearts

Bob Keeshan, Who Played Captain Kangaroo on TV, Is Dead at 76



Bob Keeshan gently entertained and educated generations of children as television's Captain Kangaroo.

Satellite Images

Satellite ImagesNeat site that displays new satellite images for the earth. It even has an RSS feed so you can see when new ones appear.

MOA_SEARCH

MOA_SEARCHThis is just too neat. Search the Cornell University Making of American online library of journals and books from around 1815 to 1926. You can narrow the time period and select books, journals or both. Very cool.

Metal Star

Metal star in gift shop, Lake Worth, Florida.

Breakfast in Lake Worth. A funky bar/breakfast spot. Lots of interesting people. Why? Well, a long line at John G's, that's why.

Jeremy Zawodny's blog: Cleaning LCD Screens?

Ok, finally found a definitive answer on how to clean those LCD screens. This is a a link to Jeremy Zawodny's blog: Cleaning LCD Screens?

Computer Repairs

Well, me old trusty computer bit the dust while we were away. Odd,

because I left it powered down and unplugged from everything. I tried

everything, reseating all of the cards, new power supply, but none of

those brought it to life. My fans would come on but it would not

boot. I could not even get into the BIOS so I suspected the mobo which

was confirmed at my local computer shop. I bought a new motherboard and

in the process upgraded my CPU to an AMD XP2700. Everything seems to be

running just fine. Windows XP did not hickup at all putting in the new

hardware but we made sure to use another Gigabyte motherboard with a Via

chip on since that is what the old one used.



"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing

your enthusiasm."

Winston Churchill

Outer Banks Art Horses

Our collection of photos of the Outer Banks Art Horses can be found at OBX Horses

Home again.

The mothership has landed at home base. Total miles for the Kitty Hawk trip going and coming was right at 2,000. It is good to be home but I am in the process of fixing things that have felt neglected while we were gone and decided to play sick. The only one I have not been able to fix yet is my main computer. I think the power supply may be partially bad on it but we will figure it out and fix it eventually.


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