Showing posts with label BBC finally gets it. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC finally gets it. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A WONDERFUL DAY WITH IT AND BP


Grandpère, moi, BP, and IT (Photo courtesy of IT)

On Monday, Grandpère and I headed to New Orleans to have lunch with IT and BP who were in town for a microbiology conference. Yes, IT is an award-winning microbiologist with quite an impressive curriculum vitae. If I thought about her awesomeness too much, I'd probably be intimidated from having a conversation with her, but we've had online conversations for some years now, and I think of her as my good friend and favorite atheist. When I was in Anaheim, CA, for General Convention 09 of the Episcopal Church, I had the very great pleasure of meeting IT and BP for the first time in real life, and they are both delightful women and great company. I'm pleased that IT and BP got to meet GP, as most of my blog friends don't have the pleasure, unless they visit down our way, because he is not the traveler that I am, and he minds the home front while I journey here, there, and not quite everywhere.

In the photo above, you see the four of us outside Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant, on St Charles Street, one of my favorites of my many favorite restaurants in New Orleans. I can't think of one way that the combination of the company at lunch and the food served us could be improved. What an enjoyable two hours! Good company, good food, good wine, good conversation, good laughs - as we say in Cajun land, what better way to pass a good time?


Moi, BP, IT, and the matron of honor at their wedding

Yes, the gentleman on the right, a colleague of IT, insisted that he be called the matron of honor, so I said, "Please, I must have your picture with IT and BP!" So. There he is - the lovely matron of honor.

The picture was taken at the reception in honor of IT and her award, which was for her service in promoting the status of women in the field of microbiology. Of course, there was more food and drink at the reception, but I was still full from lunch, so I ate only a few pieces of fruit. Later that evening, when we were in our room at the B&B, I regretted my decision not to have more, because, once we were showered and dressed for the night, I discovered that I was very hungry. Neither GP nor I was willing to get dressed again to go for late night take-out, so I stayed hungry.


Above is the chocolate fountain at the reception. I was told by the others that the chocolate was not hot, so I'm not sure how the fountain of chocolate was kept flowing. I have a hilarious picture of Grandpère with chocolate lips, but he will not allow me to publish the photo. He says it makes him look silly. Of course! That's the idea of posting the picture - for a laugh. But I am a submissive wife, and I never go against GP's wishes.

After we left the reception, we went for a walk along the Mississippi River (It was high.) and sat for a while to watch the tricky maneuvering by the ferry pilot as the ferry crossed from New Orleans to Algiers and back again. The strong currents in the river make guiding and docking the boat quite a challenge. Watching the river flow, along with the obvious movements of the water due to the currents, was quite restful and nearly hypnotic for me. The Mississippi is a mighty body of water, and one comes away from a close-up view with great respect for its power.

Then, BP, IT, and a new friend, also a microbiologist, walked us to catch the St Charles streetcar back to our B&B. I love riding the streetcar with the windows open, the breeze blowing in, and the rocking back and forth, as the car rides the tracks. I once rode the streetcar to school and to work every day, so there's a bit of nostalgia associated with rides.

Our rather effusive good-byes, before and after we had boarded the streetcar, our waving, blowing kisses, and taking photos, provided amusement for our fellow passengers on the streetcar. No doubt, they thought we were a little crazy, which may not be all that far from the truth.


Above is the Sully Mansion B&B in the Garden District in New Orleans where we stayed the night.

What a lovely afternoon and evening with our friends. I hope it will not be too long before we see IT and BP again.

PS: I forgot to tell the story of our invitation to the reception in honor of IT. BP sent us an invitation without IT's knowledge, and we were supposed to be surprise guests if we attended. But BP neglected to tell me the invitation was a surprise, so I responded to IT, and the surprise element was ruined. However, all worked to the good, because, had we kept the surprise, we would not have lunched and spent the afternoon together.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

THE BBC FINALLY GETS IT


Still from BP's live feed video from The Huffington Post, May 21, 2010.
Two Republican governors, in California and Florida, have withdrawn their support for the idea of expanded offshore drilling and a number of Democrats in Congress have warned that they can no longer support energy reform legislation if it includes such provisions.

President Barack Obama recently announced that he was willing to lift a decades-long moratorium on drilling in new areas of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coastline.
At the time, he said any new exploration would "balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America's natural resources".
....

But with the true consequences of the spill yet to be determined, this is perhaps a little premature. What is more clear is that making history seems less of a priority right now than establishing blame.

Last week, it was Wall Street "fat cats" who were being roasted by members of Congress.
Yeah, poor babies. My heart bleeds for the executives.
But while venting anger and debating when and how to reintroduce a moratorium might make people feel good, what does it actually achieve?
....

Of course all of this depends on a disaster which hasn't quite materialised yet.
And yes, Bill, who would ever have expected that a disaster would materialize after 17 days of thousands upon thousands of barrels of oil gushing from a well in the Gulf of Mexico?
As of yesterday, the BBC appears to have caught up with the reality of the disaster in the Gulf. Watch the video on the right of the BBC website of Rep. Ed Markey's (D-MA) commentary. It's short and to the point.
BP said it had siphoned 2,200 barrels in the 24-hour period to midnight on Thursday, down from an estimate of 5,000 barrels earlier in the day.

The US government has formed a team to develop a more precise estimate of the amount of oil gushing from the well.

BP will attempt to stem the oil flow next week, instead of Sunday as hoped.

The oil leak began more than a month ago, when a rig leased by BP exploded.

The spill has reached Louisiana and is threatening Florida and Cuba.

Thick, sticky oil is washing on to miles of fragile Louisiana wetlands, with brown, foul-smelling globs coating reeds and grasses.
For playing down the extent of the disaster 17 days after the explosion, I'd like to ship Bill Adams an oiled, dead pelican to hang around his neck for - let me think - perhaps 17 days?

Thanks in great part to the efforts of Rep. Ed Markey, a live video feed of the oil leak is available at BP's website.

UPDATE: My post at Wounded Bird on May 6, 2010. Who would ever have expected...?