Natural selection at it's finest...

Darwinism:

NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. -- A Louisiana man who decided to ride out a severe thunderstorm while on this Panhandle beach died when hit by lightning, sheriff's officials said Wednesday.

The 64-year-old man's identity was not immediately released. He was from Gretna, La., deputies said.

And this is on a beach I've visited every year since I was 2. Wow people are dumb.

7.0+ Earthquake Off Cali Coast

Quake Map

Shake Map

News Wire

Preliminary Report

A major earthquake occurred at 7:50:54 PM (PDT) on Tuesday, June 14, 2005.

The magnitude 7.0 event occurred 146 km (91 miles) WSW of Crescent City, CA.

The hypocentral depth is 10km (6 miles).

A tsunami warning was in effect from the California-Mexico border north to Vancouver but was later called off.

Stanford Seismograph

Largest Wave EVER

Largest wave ever occurred during Hurricane Ivan.

When seafarers described them in tones of awe, sceptical landlubbers dismissed them as fantasy. Now scientists believe that they have evidence of the largest wave yet recorded.

It happened on September 16 last year when Hurricane Ivan stormed across the Gulf of Mexico and tore into the coast of Alabama, accompanied by 130mph winds and storm surges 8ft high.

While still out at sea, oceanographers report, the hurricane also produced a series of giant waves, one of which stood 91ft (27m) from crest to trough, the height of a ten-storey building and a new world record for a wave recorded by instruments.

It's hot and I'm cheap

This has been posted on Slashdot and Fark but I think it's awesome: Do It Yourself Air Conditioning for under $25!

Landfall - 5:00 PM CDT

The rain and wind is starting to move into the Mobile and Pensacola areas this morning. We're waiting on the 11AM advisory which should sort out if Arlene will become a hurricane or not but it's looking like it'll stay a tropical storm.

BRYAN UPDATE: I can't big to explain how let down I am here...

BRYAN UPDATE: You will notice that Arlene developed an eye at landfall. At the same time she became much more organized. Given 12 more hours over the ocean, and we would have been dealing with a MUCH more powerful storm. It is a shame that Arlene got her act together just a little too late.

Arlene and Ivan... a twin killing?

Check out the similar tracks of Hurricane Ivan (September of 2004) and (soon-to-be) Hurricane Arlene:

TS Arlene Update 2AM EDT

The 2AM EDT Public Advisory for Tropical Storm Arlene notes:

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED THIS MORNING FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTH CENTRAL U.S. GULF COAST FROM SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA EASTWARD TO THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE.

With sustained winds of 40mph and tropical storm force winds extending up to 115 miles to the north and east of the storm center this storm is certainly not the worst we'll see this year but it is not something to ignore. Expect 3-5 inches of rain in the Florida Keys over the next 24 hours.