JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

When reviewing some of the events of this past weekend, one can’t help but be reminded of the ‘60s. The anti-war demonstration in Washington and a news story on the San Francisco Loveparade, help remind me of how great it is to have the freedom of expression. But in all reality it’s not the ‘60s and situations are different.

Do I know whether or not we should be in Iraq, no I don’t. I do know that I wish there could be a less violent manner in which to solve international disputes. I do know that this is a time of an all volunteer armed forces. I do know we are losing lives. And I do know that this is not the time for “free love”, remember something called AIDS. I also know life for everyone could be better if everyone in the world would just learn to stop the hate. Is anti-hate realistic? I doubt it given the history of humankind, but it is a nice thought!

The internet is such a fascinating place, so full of information and creativity. In keeping up with the latest news on hurricanes I found the value of online hurricane trackers. Although there are several variations on the theme, I found the most informative to be the tracker on MSN. Not only is in-depth information on the current hurricane provided, but also included on the site is information from past hurricanes that can be used for comparison. This tracker has a straight line design that allows you to see the sometimes unrealistic patterns that hurricanes take. Well done.

I’ve been trying to keep up with current info on Rita. I’m glad people are being more cautious this time. I was in Texas when Camille came through and Guam when it was hit by Pamela. These size storms are never much fun for anyone. Please take care everyone in the areas forecast to be affected, our thoughts are with you.

We just had a nice little rumbling jolt to wake us up this morning! Nothing like the ’64 shake I got when my family lived in Alaska, but even the little jolts still send my heart a racing.

Okay, this Japanese cell phone and blog image thing (I’m using Flickr) is getting to be a real challenge. Why is it only the images of the sun, moon, or rainbows show-up on my phone? I’ve tried various formats and file sizes, to no avail. Maybe, that’s all that the provider will allow to be viewed on this particular service. It’s almost as if “sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t” is the theme for this situation. Anyway, since I’m new to this I guess I’ll just have to keep pluggin’ away until I find a solution to this nonsense.

If you are over forty or remember cooking in the “stoneage” (pre-microwave) I ran across this hack on popcorn that left both Taki and me in stitches. If you want further entertainment read the feedback on the “this is stupid” trackbacks!

One suggestion to improve your hack Kottke, instead of stirring the popcorn try placing a lid over the pot and lightly shaking the pot back and forth over the burner to prevent burning and UFOs. This particular method also works well over campfires!!! LOL

Here is another local critter that can be seen around the backyard of our home.

(Click on image to view large size)

I’m trying to keep up with what is going on in New Orleans via CNN on satellite. All of a sudden a report of another airliner crash! What does that make, 4 0r 5 in less then 2 months?

Happy Labor Day. Here on the rock we are in TC-1C. It looks like we are going to luck out on this one. So far not much damage, just a few knocked-over plants and rearranged bushes. Because this is such a large system, we’ll probably end up spending the day indoors. But for those people who are not going to let this blowhard ruin the holiday, it means Typhoon Party. So have a good one!