The Storm That Drowned a City,

Last night we watched an absolutely fascinating documentary by Nova called The Storm That Drowned a City. If you would like to see the video, it is here in six segments. The storm picturewas taken from one of the segments at PBS' Nova. It appears that the much vaunted levées were only built to withstand a category 3 storm, Katrina was Category 5. A year before Katrina the weather scientists had designed a computer model with Hurricane Pam as their subject. They had a seminar to show all the officials who would or should be involved, just what would happen if a Category 5 hit the area. However, it appears the message didn't properly "sink in" because when it happened, they were not prepared. A lot of problem has been caused because so much of the wetlands surrounding the original New Orleans was drained and more is being lost every day due to a number of causes all traceable back to the original draining and the levées along the Mississipi river banks. The river is no longer able to flood annually depositing a silt build up (similar to the Nile in Egypt) which helped protect from storm surges. I remember reports after the tsunami disaster in Asia, they said the places that suffered least were those areas which had not been developed by man and still had natural barriers against storm surges. This picture of the LA Wetlands was taken from PBS. It shows some of the area they were talking about. Some places seem to understand how important wetlands are, others do not. They are a major factory in a healthy eco system. I spent the afternoon at Canadian Diabetes and learned about gastropresis which is a major stomach and digestive problem which diabetics can get. Apparently digestive problems are a big problem with diabetics anyway. As though there wasn't enough to contend with. Apart from that, I did some work on the computer as I now have access to it. Then we discovered it wasn't connected to the printer so we had to get that problem sorted out. Not much of interest to me on the Olympics today, the men's 200 metre race I am waiting for takes place tomorrow apparently when I expect to see Bolt bolt. Sorry. This afternoon I am off to the theatre once again, this time to see Steel Magnolias. I did see the movie, but have totally forgotten what it was about which is a good thing. This is another trip to Drayton. Once again, on the Chinese theme of the Olympics, here is a recipe from my Chinese cookbook which I have on my computer. Beef And Broccoli Serves: 8 Picture from Kiki Rice Source: Plum Blossom 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp salt 2 tbs. plus 2 tsp. cornstarch 1 lb. beef tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2 in cubes 1 bunch broccoli 3/4 cup cooking oil 2/3 cup chicken stock (see wonton soup recipe) 2 tbs. soy sauce 2 dashes tabasco sauce 2 eggs Make a mixture of the garlic powder, salt, 2 tbs cornstarch, and eggs. Stir in the beef, coating thoroughly. Marinate 5 minutes. Separate the broccoli into florets, leaving sections of stalk attached. Cook 3 minutes in lightly salted boiling water. Remove and keep hot. Heat a wok or skillet and add the cooking oil. When oil is hot, cook the beef about 1 minute, or until browned, stirring constantly. Drain off the cooking oil. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, and Tabasco sauce and return to heat. Dissolve the remaining cornstarch in 1 tbs. cold water aqnd stir into the beef mixture to form a sauce. Immediately place the beef in the center of a serving platter and surround with broccoli. Serve hot. Have a great day.