Hurricanes

Posted on 29 August 2012 by Erik Hare | 11 Comments

The scene is New Orleans, right about now. 20 inches of rain is falling in alternating torrents as Hurricane Isaac spins out over the mouth of the Mississippi. A huge hole in the atmosphere sucks the Gulf of Mexico up and sprays it over the city, spinning out condensed vapor high above where the atmosphere is cold and barren.

The scene is near Port St Lucie, Florida, in 1979. Hurricane David, a strong killer in the Lesser Antilles, is scraping the Florida coast and unloading what little is left of its once mighty strength. Below, a few cars on the Florida turnpike struggle to inch ahead under blinding torrents of rain.

The scene is a classroom at FC Martin Elementary in Richmond Heights, south of Miami. Ray Gunderson is going over hurricane preparedness with the sixth grade class as they plot out the latest storm. Many of the kids come from Yankee families, so the curriculum includes heavy doses of how families should prepare for the storms that will come one day. The lessons teach three things good for kids – some atmospheric science, a little Caribbean geography, and a fair dose of plain scaring the bejaysus out of them.

These scenes define at least one life of hurricane obsession.

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The Slow Journey

Posted on 24 August 2012 by Erik Hare | 4 Comments

The journey starts at the funeral for my Grandmother, Arletta. I was a punk kid from Miami not at all used to the damp cold of a Pennsylvania January and all the relatives who drunk junk cars and spoke with a deep accent. Truth be told, as much as I loved my Grandma I was worried about missing the upcoming Superbowl, Dan Marino’s first appearance with the Dolphins. There was a lot going through my mind as I had to sit quietly waiting for the service to start.

My Mom broke the whirl of contemplation in her usual quiet way. “You see those people over there, in the plain dresses and hats and prayer caps?” I nodded, they were damned hard for me to miss. “They’re your second cousins.” What? I have relatives in the 17th Century?

I’d like to say what direction my thoughts went from there, but I can’t tell you. Suddenly, a whole lot of things made sense. This was the first time it sunk in that my Grandfather had left the faith, Santified Bretheren but Amish as a decent shorthand for us Englischers. I was one of … them.

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Ayn Rand

Posted on 20 August 2012 by Erik Hare | 14 Comments

Ayn Rand is one of the most influential authors of American thought in the late twentieth century. It’s hard to find any college educated person under 40 years old who hasn’t had at least a brush with her works and the philosophy of Objectivism. This is fascinating given how little serious critical attention has been paid to her work and how largely unknown it is in other nations. She is the leader of a strong but underground movement, highly cultural and generational.

Rand finally bubbled into parts of the mainstream with the arrival of Paul Ryan, a one-time advocate of her work who advised staffers to read up on their Rand when he was a young congressman. His later disavowal of Rand’s philosophy smelled like a rat to some, who wanted to make an issue out of it. Bad move. Rand and Objectivism do not lend themselves to sound bites or anything remotely simple. The enticement of this mind candy is strong and deep. But what is it?

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Tesla

Posted on 17 August 2012 by Erik Hare | 7 Comments

Chances are if you’re over about 30 you’ve never heard of Nikola Tesla. That’s a shame because both electric motors and the way we distribute electricity are among the many contributions this man made in his incredible career as one of the most brilliant scientists who ever lived. That’s why Mathew Inman, the artist behind The Oatmeal, is raising money to turn the brilliant if somewhat tortured genius’ lab into a museum.

The story of Tesla is far bigger than the campaign to create the museum, however. It’s a story of how business trumps science and invention, at least in the minds of American popular culture – and why the two are often horribly at odds with each other. Yet, the way the story progresses far beyond Tesla’s life it shows that there is an eventual redemption, because if you are under 30 years old there’s a good chance you have heard of Tesla – and have a pretty low opinion of his onetime mentor and later rival, Thomas Edison.

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PowerPoint Goes Boom

Posted on 10 August 2012 by Erik Hare | 8 Comments

This summer re-run is a favorite of mine from over 3 years ago. It’s a fun story with a great moral – nothing is as new as we’d like to think. Enjoy!

You find yourself in a dark room, dazzled by charts and graphs and pictures that go by just fast enough to lose you. The speaker at the front is well intentioned and trying desperately to make you as enthusiastic as they are, but it’s no use. Your mind wanders, desperately trying to find something to daydream about that will keep you from nodding off, drooling on yourself, or both.

Here’s something to think about before you drift off into an embarrassing situation: Franz von Uchatius, General in the Austrian Artillery – and Grandfather of PowerPoint.