anti-apocalyptic news

[mellowtigger]

The tornado got very close to work and home. One of the guys at work told me about a pontoon that was lifted from one lake and deposited in another lake just 2 blocks from our work site. Much of north Minneapolis is blocked off by police cars and barricades to prevent traffic into the area. After work, I went riding my bicycle, but the police prevented even that traffic. I had to detour twice from my usual bike paths.

I have updated my map from Sunday's blog post to show spots where I saw line-paths or groups of trees that were damaged. The bear icon shows where I usually attend Bear coffee each Wednesday evening, but we cancelled this week because of tornado cleanup in the area. My black line of the estimated path is obviously incorrect. It was a "small" tornado, as such things go, that directly killed only 1 person by sending a tree through a vehicle's windshield. Much less damaging than that Missouri tornado that's made international news.

Harold Camping has adjusted his Rapture prediction. May 21st wasn't the literal judgement day, it was just the figurative judgement day. Actual doom and destruction comes in October, just a few months away. Sweet. It's the comedic gift that keeps on giving. I still get frustrated, though, that 20% of Americans believe that the Second Coming will happen in their lifetime. Such belief means that people have an actual disincentive to spend any significant effort on solving real world problems. They actually hinder sociopolitical advancement because "God will destroy it all soon" anyway. *sigh*

For actual apocalyptic doom predictions, there's only one source that you need: http://www.spaceweather.com/. Just scroll down to the section on "Near Earth Asteroids". You get a nice table of asteroids on approach paths. It measures the approach using a "lunar distance (LD)" multiplier, which is the length between earth and moon. Any multiplier higher than 1 means it travels farther from us than the moon, while any value lower than 1 means it travels closer to us than the moon. You'll notice that there are currently no planet-busting scenarios in our near future.

Meanwhile, in other practical news, my organization participates in the Minnesota Animal Disaster Coalition. We remain prepared to provide emergency assistance for any housepets displaced by catastrophes, whether the tornado in Minneapolis two days ago or the river flooding in Saint Paul a few weeks earlier. I recommend that people check our website if you know of anyone who has been separated from their housepet during the recent emergency: http://www.animalhumanesociety.org/lostandfound.

Comments

[furr_a_bruin]

The destruction is sad, but I'm relieved you weren't hurt.

[mellowtigger]

There's also some damage 10 blocks directly north of here. Once traffic is finally open again, I intend to make a bicycle tour and maybe map a few more spots of its path. The local Star Tribune newspaper had a map published on paper yesterday, but I can't find it online anywhere yet.

The National Weather Service review of the incident is fairly detailed though.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=MPX&product=PNS&issuedby=MPX

[loganbeary]

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/tornado%20exclusion%20zone.jpg

Did you hear that Randy Palmer little cat Buttons got outside last week and hasn't been heard from since? :o(

[mellowtigger]

Ack! No, I hadn't heard. He hasn't been at Bear Coffee in years, so I seldom hear any of the latest news from his world. If you can get some info to him:
1) Check our website: http://www.animalhumanesociety.org/lostandfound
2) Check Minneapolis Animal Care and Control by dialing 311 on phone: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/311/

That's a much nicer map of the tornado path. I have a feeling that by the time it crossed the Mississippi River into Fridley, it was more of a vicious wind shear than an outright tornado. The damaged areas I saw on our side were not nearly as large as on the Minneapolis side of the river. I still want to bicycle around and make a full tour this weekend.

[loganbeary]

Looks like Randy has already listed Buttons as lost on the Animal Humane Society website.

[mellowtigger]

I found the listing here:
http://www.animalhumanesociety.org/services/lostorfoundpets/lost/pet/10562

His "little cat" is 12 years old like my T'Reese. I hope they get reunited.