From Snoods to Hijabs

Earlier this month, FIFA banned the Iranian woman's soccer team from competing in the 2012 Olympics due to the fact that they were wearing Islamic headscarves. Apparently the decision was made right before the kickoff of their qualifying game against Jordan. Jordan was granted the 3-0 victory and Iran is out of the Olympics. The devastation that this moment caused for the team is difficult to look at it in the photo below.

One of my daily feeds, Co.Design posted a potential solution that has been developed by Elham Seyed Javad, an Iranian-born French-Canadian designer. This "sports hijab" is for female Muslim athletes who need/want to take the field in full head-and-neck cover. Personally, on top of its potential to fix FIFA's perspective, I think this actually looks pretty cool. The skeptics are probably out in full force though since FIFA is such a mess when it comes to sounds decision making and other topics such as women in sport.

One can't help but wonder if a Snood replacement might be next in the designer's queue.

Sediment Plume

Just subscribed to the NASA Earth Observatory feed. If they have images like these all of the time, it is going to be one of my regular reads. Check out this astronaut photo from 5/17 of the sediment plume entering Lake Pontchartrain after the Bonnet Carré Spillway was opened. High res version with no labels here.

The 1927 Mississippi River Flood Mapped

Found this impressive map of the 1927 Mississippi River flood online tonight over at the NASA blog, Elegant Figures. The map is available from the National Archives. For those of you from Lafayette, be sure to go to the high res version here and check out how close it was to Lafayette. Interesting.

via @gravelbar

Vintage Mississippi River

I spent a little bit of the evening doing a little searching for vintage Mississippi River material because of the interest it seemed to spark in this forum over the last day or so. The basic gist in most materials that you dig into is that while times and technology have changed, the perception and cold hard facts don't change. Not rocket science for sure, but still interesting to root through some history and see some older depictions that are so relevant this week.

Here are a few interesting items that I stumbled on while poking around and doing some reading. Click on each of the images below to see higher resolution versions.

The following image is from an 1882 Harper's cartoon.

In it, King Neptune releases his ruthless force through the deluge of the Mississippi River, engulfing tiny villages along its unrestrained path. In the background, the female personification of the South seeks the protection of Columbia (representing the federal government).

Strange, when I look at Neptune, he definitely looks like he is at the mercy of the force he has unleashed. Very apropos, but not mentioned in the formal explanation of the cartoon. Am I reading too much into it?

The following cartoon is called Old Man River, and I found it on the History of Geology. This cartoon is from 1927 and was published in a paper called the Ledger. That's Herbert Hoover in the background proposing higher levees.

Less cartoon-ish but interesting nonetheless is this image below from Popular Science Monthly, dated June of 1928 (you just have to love Google books sometimes). This is a map of the Mississippi River that exaggerates the height of the Mississippi in comparison to the surrounding land.

The article goes on to describe the theory as to why this is the case...and how it is this height which is the systemic problem causing continual flooding.

Finally, in a true piece of randomness, as I paged through this same 1928 publication, I stumbled across the article below. Now I am not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination but I could swear that this might be the hint of microwave dinners galore. Pretty neat.

The Nature of Control

You’ve heard of Murphy—‘What can happen will happen’? This is where Murphy lives.

Southern Louisiana exists in its present form because the Mississippi River has jumped here and there within an arc about two hundred miles wide, like a pianist playing with one hand — frequently and radically changing course, surging over the left or the right bank to go off in utterly new directions.

- New Yorker article about the Atchafalaya by John McPhee called The Control of Nature.

I'm still wading my way through the article that the above quotes are from but as soon as I found this image, I felt like the two had to be paired together and the map was just too incredible not to share right away. The Control of Nature article was written in 1987 (published in The New Yorker) by John McPhee and explores the nature of controlling the Mississippi river in Cajun country.

The map was drawn by Harold N. Fisk in his Geological Investigation of the Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River from 1944 and it shows the historical paths of the Mississippi river. For locals, the original path to the Gulf is now known as Bayou Teche about 2,800 to 4,500 years ago. Looking at the history of the Mississippi, I think one realizes the power of nature that we have attempted to bottle. I am not educated enough on the subject to say we are doing the right or wrong thing or to say that we are doing it the right way or not. I am just in awe of the forces we attempt to control and the science that we attempt to control them with. Truly amazing.

Filling the Superdome in 14 minutes...

Well, the Morganza Spillway was opened today in order to help avoid flooding metropolitan areas in the state of Louisiana. This is the first time since 1973 that the spillway has been opened (photo from 1973 below taken from here).


The expectation is that the spillway will be opened to operate at 25% capacity and may stay open for 3 weeks. Our local paper ran some numbers to figure out how much water is running through the spillway. Check this out:

According to the Tulane University athletics' website, the Superdome in New Orleans encompasses 125 million cubic feet of space...And if, as the Corps anticipates, 25 percent of the Morganza's 600,000 cubic feet of water per second capacity is used — 150,000 cubic feet of water per second — the water would fill the Superdome in just under 14 minutes.

That is crazy. And it may be open for 3 weeks....

Here is a map I found today on Nola.com that shows the river system and the control structures around the Baton Rouge area. You can see where Lafayette is (where we live) on the map as well. We are out of the danger area but 25,000 people are not

First dogobie, next jumping from Chinooks

Update: Added link (oops) and fixed typo.

The Big Picture has a really cool set of photos that highlights "dogs in the news" that they put out on the heels of the news that a dog was used in the raid on bin Laden's compound. The photo above is of a dog with the 10th Special Forces Group jumping off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico on March 1.

The photo below is of Jozy. Not quite ready for military operations but if one day I can get her to jump from a helicopter into the ocean, I might give her a treat for that.

Worst Case Scenario

Update: Forgot to mention the source of this comic: xkcd - go here and go often. Also, the xkcd blog had a cool post about the Mississippi River Commission plan and the use of spillways to control/manage the flooding of the Mississippi river. The post is called Michael Bay's Scenario and can be found here.

Go here to see the official Inundation Scenarios released by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Clarity Through Coors

Calais said he had planned to wait until the floodwaters rose high enough to float his homemade boat, so he could patrol the neighborhood and protect his property."I made up my mind I wasn't going to leave," he said. "After I sat down and drank about 10 or 12 Coors, I said, 'Well, it's time.'"

There is nothing like a case of Coors to help bring clarity to a life changing event. I got a big kick out of this quote from a Cajun man who lives in Butte LaRose, which will probably be under water before the weekend is over. If forced to pick a drink of choice to bring clarity, I'd go with my old faithful, Chateau Ste Michelle Harvest Select Riesling.

My intent is definitely not to make light of this situation. I cannot imagine the hardship that these families will be going through as the flooding hits Louisiana and my prayers are with them. The quote is still pretty funny in the end so I felt it was worth sharing here. It is taken from this article in the Lafayette Daily Advertiser.

The photo above is from Moreauville, Louisiana after the 1927 flood. The one below is taken in Lafayette. See more 1927 and 1973 flood photos here.

A strong brown god...

"I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river is a strong brown god - sullen, untamed and intractable, patient to some degree, at first recognized as a frontier; Useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce; Then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges. The problem once solved, the brown god is almost forgotten by the dwellers in cities - ever, however, implacable. Keeping his seasons, and rages, destroyer, reminder of what men choose to forget. Unhonoured, unpropitiated by worshippers of the machine, but waiting, watching and waiting."

-- T.S. Eliot, The Dry Salvages

Good short article about the scene along the river near Baton Rouge in NOLA.com found here. It leads with the quote above by T.S. Eliot.

"Keeping his seasons, and rages, destroyer, reminder of what men choose to forget."

Powerful words.

Light and Heavy Reading

Staying up real late tonight and doing lots of reading of local newspapers about the flooding that is headed our way. I am woefully ignorant on Louisiana geography and what parts of our state are in or out of the flood zone. Found one map over at Nola.com that is tough to read on my phone but will be one that I explore for sure tomorrow morning. I can't create hyperlink text via this email post but if you are interested, you can find it here.

I'm betting that the Corps of Engineers has even better information. Will be checking that out soon as well.

I am starting to read Rising Tide this evening as well. This is a book by John M. Barry that tells the story of the great Mississippi River flood of 1927. My wife has read this book and raves about it.

On the lighter side, I just started A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. If you have HBO, you're probably watching the series - most people I know who are watching it are loving it. Not an HBO subscriber myself, and I figure the books are going to be better anyways. The first few pages have already sucked me in and hooked me hard. Lots of my coworkers have read these books and have nothing but positive reviews.

Anyway, lots of light and heavy reading these days...good escapism from some of the difficult news we have in the family. If you are the praying type, or even if you are not, please keep my wife's father and whole family in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks.

Team

"It’s hard to do, easy to talk about."

- Brad Stevens

What better place to look for inspiration than a team like Butler, an underdog who consistently beats the odds and points to defining principles as a reason for success. Coach a team on the field? At work? You might find this short description of the Butler team a worthy place to find inspiration for your next team meeting. The "Butler Way" is rooted in five principles: humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness.

Save the Snood!

If you have ever watched a game in the EPL, you've probably seen one. And if you are from Argentina and play in the EPL, you probably wear one.


And if you are part of the world's governing soccer body, corrupt and wonderful, you are interested in spending your time banning them rather than rooting out the corruption and ethical mess that has led to such controversies as this.

So what is a snood? According to wikipedia, it is "...historically a type of European female headgear, or in modern times a tubular neck scarf. In the most common form the headgear resembles a close-fitting hood worn over the back of the head." That doesn't quite describe what you see Tevez wearing in the photo above, but I think it is pretty darn close. A quick image search for snoods backs up the cross between women and footballers and brings a third use to light:

Go to Posh Pawz to support the snood for man's best friend.

Our canine and Argentinian friends might want to unite, as FIFA is now considering banning snoods from football. The manager of Manchester United (Sir Alex) has already done so for his team, stating "real men don’t wear things like that." FIFA, usually not style conscious unless referring to the public's interest in women playing soccer, is apparently more interested in player safety. They are supposedly considering the ban because they are concerned that someone may tug on your snood so to speak, and cause risk to players.

One cannot help but wonder if Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, is somewhat motivated by a similar sentiment to Sir Alex. After all, he has weighed in on fashion in football in the past. For example, here he is pontificating on how to make woman's soccer more popular:

They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men - such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?

Tighter shorts on women, ok; warm weather gear, not ok. Gotta love it.

I've started searching to see if I can get one of these with an EPL crest online, but so far to no avail. However, I did find this simple black one on SportsDirect.com, made by a company called Golddigga. I think I'll keep looking. Save the Snood!

Zach Wahls

This video has gone viral and it has done so for good reason. This 19 year old speaks from the heart and speaking personally, I find it extremely compelling. Listen to the end. It's worth hearing the perspective even if you have a different viewpoint on the issue of same sex marriage.

Found this on LOM - go there.

Egypt Internet Traffic

"Just a second ago, about 10 contacts of mine all disappeared off instant messaging in unison. That cannot be a coincidence."
Mohamed Abdel Dayem, via CPJ

Check out these graphs of internet traffic into and out of Egypt between Thursday and Friday when the government shut down access. When I read the headline Egypt Cuts Most Internet and Cell Service I get it, but when I see the graph, I really "get it". Also, notice the rising peak of traffic right before the kill switch is hit.

Click on each image to be taken to the source article, from the CPJ or NYT respectively.

It's not space we need...it's balance.

Not sure where I stumbled upon this ad for National Geographic's upcoming focus on global population and the need for balance but I think the video is well done. It shifts focus about 1 minute and 50 seconds in with the conclusion that space is not the issue, balance (and I would use the term sustainability) is. Makes me think about subscribing...

Widen the circle of our concern...

"The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives – to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let's remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations. "

- Barack Obama, 1/12/2011

Extremist Makeover

Thought provoking, funny and incisive all at the same time. Great work over at The Daily Show.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Extremist Makeover - Homeland Edition
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Kudos to Berial for posting the video. I had missed this piece and it was just too well done to not share in this forum.

Cajun Signs: Lift the Moratorium

These signs are not strictly Cajun but they illustrate a concern that is at the heart of Lafayette at the moment, the economic effect of the drilling moratorium in the gulf. No doubt, the disaster in the gulf is catastrophic to the ecosystem, fishing industry and tourism in our area. Couple that with the moratorium that is impacting 33 rigs within the gulf and the economic impact to our area is potentially devastating (between 29,000-46,000 jobs according to some sources that may or may not be biased for all I know).

I am far from an expert on this and am not going to comment one way or the other if the current scope of the moratorium is appropriate. What I know is that the ripple affect in the community has been substantial. This past week there was a rally in our city and these signs were seen all over town. The top one greeted you at the airport as you flew in. The crane was one that I saw today on the morning drive for coffee and donuts.

• Here is a link to a Wall Street Journal article that discusses the rally held this past week.
• According to this article, the parish I live in boasts Louisiana's highest concentration of workers who are dependent on oil- and gas-related businesses. In addition, oil and related industries account for 40% of the parish's economy and about a third of its jobs. That should give you an understanding of why this is such a big deal here.

Deepwater Horizon/Louisiana Coast Photos

The Big Picture has some incredible photos of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on the coast that are sure to make you frustrated and depressed. I don't think I can even comprehend the extent of this tragedy...and it has yet to stop.