Out Of Control

Check out this video; it's truly terrifying. I'm glad this man made it out. His adrenaline must have been through the roof, and you can hear the fear in his voice when he utters his only three words.

 

There are more pics of the inferno at Zero Hedge. Really scary stuff.

Friday Night Amateur Photography

I've been playing around with my camera over the last week, fiddling with different settings and light. Here are some of my favorites:

Petunia-mania

Our patio lemon. It's so fragrant!

Lily blossoms. Aren't they lovely?

Flowers and more flowers!

Happy Friday everyone!

Friday Night Feast

A feast for the eyes and spirit; courtesy of our old friend RIP Ford.
Enjoy the beauty of Arizona and Utah; best watched full-screen with the sound on.

Devastation In The Ozarks

Last night, everyone who lives in the beautiful Ozarks was riveted to their televisions as tragedy unfolded in Joplin. A massive tornado tore through the city of Joplin, Missouri, launching a debris field into the sky so large that it was visible on radar. The twister hit St. Johns Hospital, destroyed fire houses, obliterated entire neighborhoods, and tossed tractor-trailers from Interstate 44 as if they were made of toothpicks. This morning, the sun rose on a grisly and otherworldly scene.

Authorities say at least 89 have died in the massive tornado that struck the southwest Missouri city of Joplin.

City manager Mark Rohr announced the number at a pre-dawn news conference outside the wreckage of a hospital that took a direct hit from Sunday's storm.

Rohr said the twister cut a path nearly six miles long and more than a half-mile wide through the center of town.

Much of the city's south side was leveled, with businesses, homes and restaurants reduced to ruins.

Missouri's governor Jay Nixon expects to find more survivors in the rubble, and undoubtedly more bodies as well. He also said that over 2,000 buildings were "wiped out".

 Reminiscent of Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago.  Utter devastation.

St. Johns Hospital had five minutes warning to try to protect patients.  The roof was torn off, walls crumbled, and windows blew out.

The townspeople used pickup trucks to transport patients from St. Johns to Freeman in the aftermath.

I have no words.  The photograph speaks for itself.

Joplin will be cleaned up, the dead buried, the injured healed.  Life will go on in the Ozarks.  People here are self-reliant, strong, and conduct their lives with a quiet determination and a firm belief in God.  Everyone in the region has dug deep to help with the Tuscaloosa disaster, and with the floods that have drowned entire communities up and down the Mississippi.  Now they will dig even deeper.

As a sidenote:  Mike Bettes of The Weather Channel was chasing this tornado when it slammed into Joplin.  He was first person on the scene, and did a remarkable job reporting and helping to search for survivors.  He was so overwhelmed by the death and destruction that he was reduced to tears on camera.  I think he's left a little bit of his heart in Joplin, and I know he's won the hearts of all who call the Ozarks home.

UPDATE:  more photographs here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: God in Heaven. Warning: this video is VERY intense. VERY.

THIRD UPDATE: View from a chopper:

Tuscaloosa Devastated By Massive Twister

It was only a matter of time before a well-populated city got hit. Here's one video. There are more.



The governor of Alabama has called out 1,400 National Guard troops to help with search and rescue operations. The death toll climbs every time I check; at least 159 173 are dead across the South, most of them in Tuscaloosa.

"Gaia hypothesis" originator makes total sense.

Yes, this is April Fools day... but no, this is not a joke.

Check out James Lovelock on the BBC where he shares some opinions I for one agree with: that predicting climate is hard and likely beyond our current skills, that the climate "scientists" have lost the plot, and that "renewable energy" is a scam.

Personally, I'm willing to cut the man some slack. He has a theory, he has a view on climate and nature, and as someone who has about .00001% of his experience, I cannot for sure say he's wrong. If there is something that the recent climate science scandal has driven home in my mind, it's how little we really know with any certainty. There is a chance we've heated the planet, and that the climate will change. Or not.

Where he and I share some common ground is observations on technology, "big science", politics, and economics... and I find I'm pretty much in agreement on those areas.

Baby Antelope: It's What's Not for Dinner

Three cheetahs spare tiny antelope's life... and play with him instead

"Lovely Eyes"

I can't say it better than David Thompson. A gentleman who is a master at deciphering the madness that comes from the Guardian newspaper, et al. Though as noted in the picture enjoys a healthy diversion from the purely political. He would make a nice international addition to the side bar, I think.