On our own local level, we had a wildfire yesterday here in north San Antonio. Burned about 200 acres and one house, but no one was injured thankfully. Firefighters gained complete control by late evening, though their effort was impeded by high winds which is what the Bastrop people had to contend with.
Posts from Jay J. Foraker in thread „Random Observations“
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Just wanted to express my sincere sympathy to our friend Popol Vuh of Norway for the terrible tragedy that has struck your homeland. That's awful.
I offer my sympathy also. Such a horrible, horrible event. It seems more and more crazies are showing up as the world's population increases. -
Today is the 67th anniversary of D-Day, when the forces of good invaded Europe to oust the forces of evil.
I don't even want to try to think of what our civilization would be like if the Nazis had defeated the Allies. -
Hi Jim. Glad to hear you're enjoying Connelly. Another author I might recommend is Nelson DeMille, admittedly an author I've just encountered and just now am reading the first book of his I am currently reading. But his story has grabbed my interest so far. BTW - I notice Lee Child's bio says he is a Brit transplanted to N.Y.C..
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Damn, damn, damn - just when I was thinking "The Poet" was one of the very best mysteries I've ever read in my 73 years, Connelly goes off on a tangent in the last 34 of 435 pages that renders the whole shebang implausible as hell. Talk about disappointed.
That's the problem with writing a mystery (or any story for that matter) - is bringing all the loose ends together in a logical way. I know I couldn't do it. The fun is in the trip getting there! -
Jay, just wanted to thank you again for recommending these two authors. Our library has probably 18-20 titles from both and I've begun reading them. Right now, I'm reading one of Connelly's called "The Poet" that's about a serial murderer of police detectives and IMO, this book is probably the best mystery story I've ever read. Highly recommended for those readers who like the genre.
I've also ordered from Amazon all the titles that our local library doesn't have.
Jim - You are most welcome. BTW - "The Poet" I haven't run across yet! I have just finished two of Connelly's books from the library; "Lost Light" and "9 Dragons". In the latter, things get very personal for Bosch. -
I'm a long-time reader too and have a fairly extensive personal library. Just wondering, Gorch, what kind of books you like? I like history (especially military and Western history), biographies and action stories told by the likes of Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsyth, Vince Flynn and a guy my son suggested not long ago. His name is Stephen Hunter and his books about the Swagger father and son (both Marine snipers but in different wars) and their adventures in civilian life after the wars are page-turning books. If you like action, those stories are hard to beat.
I also like the John Kellerman stories about the L.A. psychologist and his gay detective friend. (The psychologist is NOT gay).
I have two additional authors to suggest: Michael Connelly and his character Harry Bosch, a LAPD police detective who has to track down crimes and deal with administrative politics at the same time; and Lee Child with his invention Jack Reacher, a man who lives on the street and by his wits, a former Army MP who manages to get imbroiled in various escapades and uses his unconformed approach and manner to solve those problems. -
Allegiances tend to get blurred in the politics of the Middle East!
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I'm echoing Carl's thoughts, Taka. I'm hoping you're not in the dangerous areas. Keep your chin up!
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Taka - I'm so glad to hear you are OK! I'm sure there are many concerns by the people there until all the threats are resolved. The reports say some of the radioactivity has reached California but is negligible. Experts say Hawaii, Alaska and the West Coast should have no fears about being radiated.
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Jay, I will bet you that they wiil not only survive this diaster, but they will rebuild and have things back to normal before ground zero in New York is done, and the all the rebuilding from Katrina in New Orleans. You wanna bet?
Cheers
Hondo
NO BET!!! I don't give my money away that easily!
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This is such an overwhelming disaster for the Japanese nation - it just boggles the mind.
Our West Coast is the most susceptable in this country and this event will stir a major effort to improve the infrastructure of the area. Unfortunately, I fear, as months and even years pass, the human consciousness will blunt the intensity in these efforts and slack off the activity in this direction!
The images from the area simply are beyond belief. My heart goes out to all the disenfranchised there. I can't see how the Japanese will rise out of this disaster but they did it after WWII so it is possible. I wish them strength and perserverance through their ordeal. -
A belated HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY to all our friends in the great state of TEXAS.
A belated thank you, Bill. The city is gearing up for its annual Alamo reinactment on Sunday. -
I paid 29 cents a gallon in '69, and then it got bumped all the way up to 49 cents around '74 and I thought THAT was outragious!
That was like cigarettes for me. I smoked a pack a day until 1971 when smokes cost 35 cents a pack. That's when I stopped smoking (cold turkey) to save $30 a month. I never figured that cigarettes would cost what they do today! -
What makes me mad is that when a barrel of oil goes up the price at the pump goes up immediately. That oil purchased at the higher price will not reach the refineries at the earliest over several weeks and more likely a few months. But the oil companies hike the price as if the higher-priced oil is here now!
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Our cousins across the big pond already pay that, and more, for their fuel, Jay. Can you imagine what they'll pay if we're paying what you mentioned?
Speculation from various financial gurus included the thought that if gas reaches $5 here, it will cause a massive recession. -
What I don't understand is why did the SpecOps forces wait so long to board the pirated vessel? I've been reading for almost a week that a US warship (which I'm sure was carrying the SEALS) had been trailing the yacht.
Possibly they could have saved the hostages if they had assaulted the yacht earlier.
The word on the news today was that they had to wait until Obama gave the OK! -
The discussion on Glenn Beck today was concerned with costs of gasoline - going up to $4, $5 and even $6 and beyond. And all that extra money will go right back to the pockets in the Middle East!
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One thing that really makes me feel good and sorta lessens my bitterness nowadays is that most Americans seem as if they're really proud of the job our boys and girls are doing. During the past ten years, I've been in air terminals and on flights where the civilians did nothing but extol troops who were returning and/or going to Iraq and Afghanistan. Made me get really misty-eyed at times.
When I see anyone in the military, I try to make it a point to tell them, "Thank you for your service." Of course, living in Military City, U.S.A., I get to do that a lot! -
Forty years after Vietnam (I served two tours in that fiasco), I still harbor a soul-searing bitterness that has transformed me from a person who used to be extremely patriotic to someone who hates Washington, DC, its' politicians and everything they stand for. I even feel bitter toward the American people, who allowed the politicians to get away with it.
More than 58,000 Americans and countless thousands of others died in Vietnam, all for nothing. Not only that but the U.S. government got the people of South Vietnam way out on a limb and then sawed it off. I will never forgive Washington for that.
One of the major debacles of the Vietnam war was the way our troops were treated. Those liberal idiots of the day completely reviled, demonized and excoriated Vietnam veterans to the point they literally had to resort to hiding or at least not admit that they had fought in that war.
