Low fog with a rain mix this Monday morning here on California’s north coast as the first-so-far winter storm has completed its cycle. We’re forecast for another wet system by the middle of the week, which is supposed to bring more rain for the parch-droughty countryside.
And like a lot of other shit nowadays, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Developed some kind of stomach thingy overnight. Right now feeling like a worthless dog. Odd how biological stuff can seem so surreal, like you see yourself going through the routine, but the brain creates a sense that it’s not real, that all the body malfunctions are part of some crazy dream, like it’s happening to somebody else who just happens to be sitting on the toilet with you.
Yeah right, hallucination virus — it’s going around.
(Illustration found here).
Past participle of hallucination is delusion — as in the case of Atlanta, Ga., getting set for another blasting winter snowfall, a similar situation as two weeks ago when the whole region went duck under a few inches of snow. Supposedly, this time is different, and, once again, we’ll see.
Via CNN:
Snow, sleet and rain are in the forecast from Monday night through Wednesday morning as temperatures plunge to the 30s, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
The city’s northern suburbs could get 1-3 inches of snow, with up to 6 inches blanketing the northeast Georgia mountains.
A winter storm watch is in effect Monday through Wednesday morning for Atlanta, but also stretching west to Birmingham, Memphis and Little Rock.
This storm will be the first test for a 32-member severe weather task force created after last month’s debacle when 2.6 inches of snow shutdown Atlanta’s metropolitan area.
The governor apologized to the public — “I’m the governor, the buck stops with me” — and promised to handle things differently next time.
Well, it’s next time.
…
Atlanta City Hall spokesman Carlos Campos said priority roads and bridges will be treated Monday night with a combination of sand and salt, and more supplies are being ordered.
The city will open a joint operations center and coordinate with the state government.
The city urged people to take precautions such as filling cars with gas and stocking up on food.
Officials have their fingers crossed that the more coordinated effort will produce better results.
…
But is the talk just that, talk?
Not everyone is optimistic that Georgia has learned its lesson.
“We don’t learn,” said one shopper.
“It happened before in 2011 and nothing happened.
So, 2014, the same thing. 2017, it’s going to happen again and we’re going to be stuck at home.”
Official finger-crossing is not FEMA approved.
And speaking of being stuck at home, or stuck at work, or just stuck, period — which apparently is the current US economy.
From NBC News:
Two straight weak job reports have raised doubts about economists’ predictions of breakout growth in 2014.
The global economy is showing signs of slowing—again. Manufacturing has slumped.
Fewer people are signing contracts to buy homes.
Global stock markets have sunk as anxiety has gripped developing nations.
Some long-term trends are equally dispiriting.
The Congressional Budget Office foresees growth picking up through 2016, only to weaken starting in 2017.
By the CBO’s reckoning, the economy will soon slam into a demographic wall: The vast baby boom generation will retire.
Their exodus will shrink the share of Americans who are working, which will hamper the economy’s ability to accelerate.
…
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman have suggested that the economy might be in a semi-permanent funk.
In November, Summers warned in a speech that the economy is trapped by “secular stagnation.”
By that, he meant a prolonged period of weak demand and slow growth.
…
“Financial crises do not last forever,” Reinhart said. “A decade is a long time. But a long time is not the same as forever.”
Wanna bet?
And the blame is on us boomers.
And boom — I did half-ass complete a post, which a short while ago was up for grabs. But it being a Monday, there is no delusion about time and place.
Oh, stomach, unclench thy bond!