Ship Island

Hop on a ferry in Gulfport, and less than an hour later, 12 miles offshore, you'll see a sand strip so sugary white it looks like frosting on a cake.  That's what I planned to do today!  Had it all worked out too: what to pack, what time to catch the ferry, and what book to read while I lounge leisurely on the beach . . . BUT NOW . . . we're under a strict heat advisory.  Not fun!  My area hasn't been getting much rain lately and now each day gets closer and closer to breaking heat records. 

TEMPERATURES WILL CLIMB INTO THE MID TO UPPER 90S ON SATURDAY AS AN UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS CENTERED ACROSS THE REGION. THESE HOT TEMPERATURES... COMBINED WITH HIGH HUMIDITY LEVELS... WILL ALLOW FOR HEAT INDEX VALUES TO RANGE BETWEEN 105 AND 110 DEGREES. THE GREATEST THREAT FOR HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES WILL BE DURING THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE WARM AND MOIST AIRMASS WILL REMAIN ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND... WITH TEMPERATURES TOPPING OUT IN THE UPPER 90S ON SUNDAY AS WELL.

So what does all the news stations reccommend to do during this heat advisory . . .

 DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY OUT OF THE SUN... AND CHECK ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

  

Guess that means I'm staying cool at home and won't be basking on a sunny beach afterall.  Another time!
Maybe I'll go see a movie instead . . .

Red Devil (So Deliciously Evil!) Tee

Redheads have long been referred to as the Devil's favorite cohorts. During the Spanish Inquisition, flame-colored hair was evidence that its owner had stolen the fire of hell. Ancient Egyptians buried redheads alive to get rid of the "evil taint". And in Germany between 1483-1784, thousands of redheads were tortured, drowned and burned alive because of the belief that redheads were witches. 

Payback's a bitch, isn't it?!

 Strawberry blondes are often forgotten redheads, bouncing around between not really blonde and not fiery red, either. The Redhead Store hasn't forgotten our more fair-haired counterparts, however— strawberry blondes are DEFINITELY redheads!

 Poke a little fun at yet another one of our favorite stereotypes with this tee depicting a sexy redheaded devil above the words "Red Devil" in a positively wicked font, and "So Deliciously Evil!" underneath.

カレー

Curry  (カレー,) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan and I was craving some like crazy over the weekend.  Yes, JAPANESE CURRY too, which is a sweeter milder version of Indian curry!  Made mine with chicken, onions, and sweet potatoes.  Opted for Nann instead of rice (which really wasn't Japanese) to mix it up a little as well! 

Yummy!

Blue Dog

The baleful, blue-tinged terrier, with beseeching yellow eyes, became Rodrigue’s signature symbol.  It led him to become Louisiana’s best-known visual artist.

Veterans Memorial Boulevard drivers waiting for the light to change at Severn Avenue craned their necks as an enormous sculpture of a well-known canine swayed in the breeze above the median earlier this January. The crane operator gently lowered the 800-pound aluminum creation, valued at $750,000, onto a waiting post, and with some tugging by the man in the bucket lift, a 16-foot-tall version of George Rodrigue’s loup-garou, better known as the Blue Dog, clanked into place. 

Since its instillation, the Blue Dog has donned black and gold during the Saint's football rise and now "Save The Gulf" symbolism.  Gotta love Rogrique's creativity!

Does Japan still need 23-yr-old exchange program?

TOKYO — Every year for the past two decades, legions of young Americans have descended upon Japan to teach English. This government-sponsored charm offensive was launched to counter anti-Japan sentiment in the United States and has since grown into one of the country's most successful displays of soft power. But faced with stagnant growth and a massive public debt, lawmakers are aggressively looking for ways to rein in spending.

One of their targets is the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, or JET.

Read More . . .

"The JET Program is, simply put, very smart foreign policy."

James Gannon, executive director for the nonprofit Japan Center for International Exchange in New York, describes JET as a pillar of the U.S.-Japan relationship and the "best public diplomacy program that any country has run" in recent decades.

Gen Y: Grim Future

Scary Stuff!

Millennials' delay in starting their careers could wallop long-term finances

They are perhaps the best-educated generation ever, but they can’t find jobs. Many face staggering college loans and have moved back in with their parents. Even worse, their difficulty in getting careers launched could set them back financially for years. The Millennials, broadly defined as those born in the 1980s and '90s, are the first generation of American workers since World War II who have cloudier prospects than the generations that preceded them.

 (Read More Here!)

Millennials are generally well-educated, but they have have been cast as everything from tech savants who will work cheap to entitled narcissists. The recession has pitted these younger workers against baby boomers trying to save for retirement and Gen Xers with homes and families.

TS Bonnie

As of 5:15 p.m., Tropical Storm Bonnie was centered at 22.9 degrees north latittude and 75.4 degrees west longitude, about 200 miles southeast of Nassau and about 415 miles east-southeast of Key West, Fla. It was moving to the northwest at 14 mph, with a minimum central pressure of 1,005 millibars or 29.68 inches. Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency in order to get response mechanisms going, and said that some parishes may have to call for evacuations in areas outside of levees on Friday. Morgan City (approximately 70 miles west of New Orleans) is predicted landfall at 2 pm Sunday.

Moon Cactus

Our Vice Pres at work is a flower show judge as well as our personal florist during exhibition time. She went on an orange color theme this last round and got a moon cactus for my desk.

Since the auctions finished, I adopted the cactus to my home, since my work desk wouldn't exactly be people friendly with this prickly thing being among that ciaos.

But I came home today and found it blooming this adorable pink flower.Pretty, huh?

Dad & Nolan

Beginning of the Parade Mom & I

Shiner Royalty

Meet Cinca, the newest addition to the Darilek family

Linds and I getting ready for the fireworks . . .

No oil flowing into Gulf of Mexico for first time in months

There was no oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon after BP crews managed to shut in the leaking Macondo well. The company is now conducting a "well integrity test" to determine if the well can remain closed until it can be permanently shut with cement next month. The test will last anywhere from 6 to 48 hours, during which time scientists will measure pressure inside the well. If pressure rises and holds at 8,000 to 9,000 pounds per square inch, the well could remain closed. If it is lower than that level, however, if will be reopened and oil will be sucked, again, to vessels on the surface.

In honor of Independence . . .

Thought this would be funny to post close to the 4th of July!

Enjoy!