Balance

Spring has dislodged Winter, breaking her grasp over the city. The warm wind comes again, and once more I realise that I don't weigh enough to avoid being flung about by the northerly gusts. I should start wearing heavier boots again, lest I get blown into the bay.

The weekend was well balanced. Food was eaten in great quantities, fresh food was brought home from the market. I went wandering outside and caught up with futurelegend (and briefly kikilon and grey_enigma), I stayed inside and painted until my fingers went numb. I practised my Tai Chi, climbed on play equipment, and also found time to sit still reading my new book. Balance doesn't imply moderation - I chose everything, and followed all options equally. To date, I have seen no convincing explanation for limiting yourself to any single choice...

UniCon preparations continue apace. New flyers are on their way to SciNut and Mind Games. Canteen supplies rapidly fill our spare room. Registrations keep growing on the website and new games are being written. I'm really happy with the mix of players so far - familiar faces coming over from interstate; new people coming to their first convention and the usual suspects from Melbourne.

VNV Nation play the HiFi Bar on Saturday night. Even if you can't make it to the concert, it'd be great to see you at the afterparty. It's been too long since I saw a decent crowd of friendly faces at a club!

General health and fitness is improving, largely thanks to the weather. I now actually feel like doing things outdoors, and Tai Chi in the park no longer means that I'll find new and interesting leaks in my shoes. I still need to do a lot of work strengthening my ankle, but it has a normal range of movement again. If I can find company for firetwirling this summer, I might actually do something about my matchstick arms as well. With jilavre, virtual_munkee and futurelegend all out of town, I need more people to twirl with. Who are the other firestaff/poi people reading this?

Lessons learned on Saturday: do not gleefully misuse playground equipment in view of small children, especially when they run over wanting to know how to hang from their ankles off the crossbar of the swings. I am now officially a Bad Influence, as the two girls in question were promptly taken home by their mother, berating them loudly in Chinese...

A change in the weather...

For those who don't listen to the news...


http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/interstate/map/70130?from=LAPmaps&name=index_large_animated&day=1

New Orleans is a bit of an oddity. One side is bounded by a large, shallow lake; another side opens out to the ocean. On average, most of the city is six feet below sea level, and a system of pumps is required to move water out once it gets into the city. At the moment, it's a few hours out from a Category 4-5 hurricane, expected to have extremely heavy rain and with current wind speeds of over 280kph.

For many people, initial reactions to the Mayor's Mandatory Evacuation Order were "it's a hoax" - you just don't see something worded in such a melodramatic fashion these days. There are ten "refuges of last resort" set up in the city, for those who can't leave town. Most people are heading for the hills, but those staying put are in for a hell of a ride.

I can't find the original page the warning was posted on, as it's been superseded by dozens of others since it appeared. This is only marginally more dramatic than the current ones, however... ( Hurricane warning text )