By Christian Ochoa - The Daily Cougar, University of Houston
Mothers, lock up your daughters! Believers, repent for your sins! Al Gore, stand on your soapbox again, and warn America of impending doom! And please, someone get these “if it bleeds, it leads” weathermen something to wipe off the drool; it’s only hurricane season.
For those who aren’t glued to the constant coverage on the countdown to hurricane season, you might be surprised that it began last Thursday. Most Houstonians were apathetic when those steamy summer months passed by and didn’t worry about any aquatic disaster coming from the Gulf. This all changed, though, way back in 2001 when Tropical Storm Allison - a storm, not a hurricane - flooded us and caused billions of dollars worth in damage. Things were quiet until the worst natural disaster struck New Orleans, and the rules of disaster relief were changed. Leave your pens and e-mails at home because this column is by no means intended to belittle Hurricane Katrina.
I’d like to thank cable television’s, loud-mouthed commentators and Anderson Cooper, the image of chest high waters and tragic stories in the Superdome for the horrific images that were burned into peoples’ minds. After Katrina and the tsunami disaster in the Pacific Ocean, every member of the media wanted to be the first to report the freshest and latest disaster before anyone else did.
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Even though the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the 2006 season would be “very active,” they said it would not be as active as last year. A range of 13 to 16 named storms, eight to ten hurricanes and four to six major hurricanes would leave anyone near the coast a bit nervous. After last year’s record numbers, there are those who are trying to profit from human tragedy: gambling sites. Yes, there are sites ( www.betcris.com for the rich and heartless) who are taking bets on how active the hurricane season will be.
Don’t be surprised about the overkill coverage on some rain cloud in the Gulf. Be prepared if you want, but don’t let anyone in a bad suit with rolled up sleeves force you to make a decision that you might later regret.
Published: 2006-06-22
Bettor's enjoyed a good week with many favorites winning, especially in baseball. Sunday alone in baseball there were 13 defined favorites which won, so with results like that bookmakers generally have a tough time of it.
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2007-01-03 | permalink
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