What You Don't See

 A local sheriff's department is issuing a warning to boaters about the result of the flooding in the area. Debris, some being huge trees, may be right under the surface, or not seen in the chop caused by the wind. It's a good warning, since many don't realize what can be in the water. 

After Hurricane Rita, the local forests were exposed to winds not seen in many decades. Deadfalls were sometimes almost unimaginable, and when torrential rains caused floods the nest Spring, the waters was high enough to float complete large trees into the waterways. With two large rivers merging into the ship channel, I watched some of these floating hazards pass by when I worked in a local industrial facility adjacent to the channel. Some of the trees looked large enough to damage a ship's propeller. 

The floods clean away the debris in the forests. With the last severe drought last Summer, there is plenty of new deadfall to wash away. This will last for weeks, if not months, and some boaters will find their lack of attention leads to hoping someone will pass by to tow them back to the dock.

Another Week Passes

Mosquitoes were the biggest contributor to the last week. Fogging only allows them to get high, and bite with more vengeance. Mowing was not pleasant, and repellent only exposed the fact mosquitoes can find places you wouldn't imagine. We'll deal with them all season, unless it dries up as much as last summer. 

Rain appeared again, and over a two hour period, we had over three inches, which was bad, but the tremendous straight line winds made it worse. The storm moved slowly, and we were blessed no tornadoes formed in our area, but trees still were uprooted, and low lying areas filled to the brim again. The weather folks called it a derecho, and Houston caught the worst of the large path of straight line winds. It's path, according to experts, was from Austin to Florida. 

The news is still filled with pandering, although it's beginning to look as though even the staunchest of Democrats are realizing they have backed crime that would make a Mafioso blush. So many laws have been broken, and it's looking as though people are going to respond with vengeance in mind.

The prosecutor of Trump's trial is obviously expecting a big payoff by someone. His career is over, and I think even publishers will avoid his story. New York will be exposed to law suits that will be impossible to defend, and those that can leave will do so at the earliest opportunity. May his downfall be a spectacular example of how evil is punished. He deserves nothing better. 

Our road is flooded, so we won't be going anywhere today. It should be down by tomorrow, and we can take a drive to see the damage. I'll avoid the outside as much as possible. I'd rather the mosquitoes feed on something else. 

Inflation Rates and Other Bogus Statistics

From my point of view, statistics, reports, analysis, projections, and other references on inflation are bogus. I use the Walmart bag weight to dollars spent to determine such things. At this point, I've either gained a lot of strength, or my money is buying much less that is being reported by inflation statistics. I'd never notice a 3% to 4% difference in weight, which makes me think the actual difference is somewhere around 25%. To my fixed income, that's unacceptable, and somebody needs to have their ass whipped for this nonsense.  

So, When Do They Do Their Job?

New York State has a commission to regulate the actions of judges, which includes suspension of a judge. Considering their allowing the current court system in New York City to run helter-skelter, and ignore the basic rules of conduct, I can only assume the majority of the commission are part of the problem. This will never change, until the corruption is removed. How this is accomplished is beyond me, but with the fleeing of important businesses, and wealthy people, it's apparent they might think about cleaning up their system.

And The Trees Will Fall

We're blessed (sometimes cursed) with Live Oak trees. One of the largest in Texas is in Columbus and is an amazing tree to behold. The branches, like most old trees of the species, droop over the decades and eventually touch the ground. The canopy of large trees can stretch to dozens of feet, which determines the root structure. The size of the branches alone dwarfs the trunks of many trees. 

Some engineers build roads with these types of trees adjacent to the paving. Over time, the roots either destroy the paving, or the tree root structure (which is shallow) doesn't support the tree. This leads to trees falling over, leaving huge root bundles exposed, and in some situations, leads to the slow death of the trees. 

After last year's drought, and the current abundance of rain, some trees are falling unexpectedly across roads. Luckily, nobody was injured, but the threat will remain. Some things are learned the hard way, and this is one, but considering my past experience with engineers, some are so full of their "knowledge" they have no idea how clueless they really are.