another update.

1) Katrina - A friend of mine, through Hillary, is from the New Orleans area. While most of her family evacuated in hurricane Katrina, we recently found out that her grandparents, who did not evacuate, both died as a result of the flooding. Lori recently got married in New Orleans, and I saw both of them there for the first (and last) time. Her grandmother was one of the most lively people at the wedding. But regardless, their deaths are among the many. It even further personalizes this tragedy for me. While FEMA was by no means responsible for their deaths, our federal government, along with the state and local governments, screwed up badly. The cronyism is fine for under secretary of commerce (who was Bush's former driver in the race for Texas governor), but disaster preparation, including the appointee who is in charge of the federal response to avian flu or the current appointee to the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, is another story.

2) Rita - My family fared much better in Rita than we expected. But there were a few items of note. First, I attempted to evacuate, getting about a mile an hour. My car eventually overheated, badly damaging the transmission (it still runs, but I'm not sure how much longer it will be). I ended up staying with my parents for the hurricane, and spent most of the time on the phone trying to figure out our customers' responses to the hurricane. However, I did have some time to help stable my mom's horse in the garage.

3) Work - Work has been extremely hectic (I think I've mentioned this in every single one of my posts of the last month or more). Still is. Basically, when things go smoothly, people don't realize I'm here. People have been realizing I'm here lately.

4) Astros - HOT DAMN. Astros in the playoffs again. I'm terribly excited. I'm going to the Astros vs. Braves game here in Houston this Saturday. I don't know how else to say this, so let me be clear: I hate the Braves. Maybe loathe even. Every time the Astros got in the playoffs, except for last year, in the last fifteen years, it has been the Braves that beat them. Not any other team. The Braves. Just. The. Braves. They do this horrible chop thing with these Styrofoam tomahawks (I know in that picture it looks like they're Heiling Hitler. But not all Braves fan are nazis). Well, anyway, last year, WE beat THEM. OH SWEET JUSTICE. I'm hoping to repeat this year. Hillary, liking Atlanta more than Houston, but liking the Astros more than the Braves, feels conflicted about who to cheer for. She's going to the game in Atlanta today, so yesterday, I overnighted her an Astros t-shirt to wear to the game.

5) Atlanta - speaking of Atlanta, I'm going later this month to see her and to go to this.

6) Plato, theology, & meteorology, Nicaragua - What I've been reading or intending to read. I finished Plato's five dialogues about Socrates, but got a little thrown off by the Theory of Forms, so I want to read up a bit more on that, then tackle Republic, then try to get into Florentine and Renaissance interpretation of Plato, then get to Platonic influences on early Christian thought. Why? To partially resolve my outstanding spiritual issues. I want to basically attempt to step through the creation of Christianity, and "do over" the theology to try (and mostly fail, probably) to get to an approach that makes sense to me. I count myself as protestant, but only in the sense of rejecting most of the doctrine of the Church. I haven't even begun to try to deal with Calvin or Luther, or any of those guys yet. All I know is the Baptist Faith I grew up with doesn't ring true with my current understanding of Jesus. However, I don't have a completely coherent view of the subject yet in order to form a view. But I DO reject apostolic suggestion. Fuck you, Eusebius.

7) Cats - My housemate (and landlord) has two cats. One of them, Koola, likes me. Pokie does not.