--Yesterday's Gainesville Sun carried the headline that the sudden emergence of the La Niña effect in parts of the Pacific, with its cooling of the waters there, may bring on an upsurge in the current Atlantic hurricane season, which is at its halfway point. And to emphasize this point, the meteorologists on The Weather Channel keep pointing to a spot (on the weather map) in the mid-Atlantic that looks to me like almost nothing, acting as if they expect it to erupt into a Class-Five hurricane now that their La Niña has "kicked in". Sometimes I get the feeling that they are disappointed when a tropical storm fails to develop (as if they feel that they owe the viewers an apology). Frankly, my take on it is that it won't hurt my feelings one bit if we don't get another tropical storm or hurricane the rest of the season! Unfortunately, this latest system has just been named as Subtropical Storm Gabrielle and may hit the Carolina coast.
--The same edition of the Sun estimates the death toll in Central America from Hurricane Felix at 98 so far. On page five. After an article comparing how toddlers and apes learn (the apes were better than the humans in math). And after more crucial Paris Hilton and Britney Spears news.
--Television actor, former Tennessee Senator and pro-Nixon Watergate hearings counsel Fred Thompson has just announced he is running for President. The fanfare surrounding his "proclamation" reminds me of Aladdin's alter ego "Prince Ali" as he made his grand entrance (with a little help from "Genie"). Although I don't believe that Mr. Thompson would make a very good President, he looks like the instant top challenger to leader Rudy Giuliani's bid to capture the Republican nomination (are all of the others going to start running for "Running Mate" soon?). The new entrant in the race has, in my opinion, a caustic, arrogant know-it-all air about him that makes me want to completely tune him out. But let's just see how far "Prince Fred" gets before he says something asinine that derails his campaign (I hope)!
--Speaking of the Presidential campaign, there seem to be two candidates, one for each major party, that are using the campaign primarily as a forum to espouse their strongly-held views, with little or no hope at actually winning. Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich is waving the progressive-left banner in the Democratic campaign, raising the Iraq War and social welfare issues while putting rival Democratic candidates on the defensive for straying from his "line" too much. On the Republican side, Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo is performing the mirror function, raising conservative issues (especially illegal immigration) that tend to put some of his rivals on the spot in their debates. As I believe that the campaign shouldn't even be going on yet, at least some of the important issues are being forced open for discussion by "candidates" like these. Which is constructive, regardless of what one thinks of them and their positions on different issues.
--The professional football season (NFL, that is) begins in full this weekend, with my Dolphins playing against the Washington Redskins. Unlike many others, I have high hopes for Miami this season. They may or may not win the division, but they at least should be in the thick of the running for a wild-card playoff spot.
--I was disappointed that the Florida State Seminole football team failed to beat Clemson this past Monday. But the season is very young, and they did show some promise in the second half of that game. The Florida Gators will try to get a full game in against Troy State this evening (last week's game was called due to lightning with eight minutes to go in the game). The most interesting game, as I see it, is going to be Louisiana State against Virginia Tech. Unlike probably most Gator fans, I'm pulling for the LSU Tigers in this one. Another interesting matchup will be the University of Miami Hurricanes vs. the Oklahoma Sooners.
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