And we don’t get the typhoon designation either. That’s the Southern Pacific. We just have “big wind” storms…with 100mph sustained winds.

These origins are quoted from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com.

Typhoon

Late 16th century: partly via Portuguese from Arabic “??f?n” (perhaps from Greek “tuph?n — whirlwind”); reinforced by Chinese dialect “tai fung ???? — big wind.”

Hurricane

Mid 16th century: from Spanish “huracán,” probably from Taino “hurakán” ‘god of the storm.’

It seems the east uses the Hispanic form and the west uses the Asian. Interesting. And completely off-topic.

You’re welcome, Deborah.

Thanks, Randy. Interesting and sadly fascinating. Excellent point about flexibility.

While the beaches along the coast are/were indeed pristine and the water clear as the Caribbean, there have always been other things to do along the shore. Business owners are now marketing to the locals to explore their own backyards, while restaurant owners realize there are new customers in town who aren’t going away; hordes of media people, government officials, oil company crews and the occasional influx of secret service agents. All of whom have to eat dinner like everyone else.

The other day a restaurant owner gave everyone in our satellite truck free appetizer coupons. Other restaurants and hotels on the beach have offered access for us to do our live shots. In turn, we’re patronizing their establishments.

This is an interesting example of having your target audience change in a heartbeat… and being resourceful enough to deal with it.

My constant interest in the bleaker, most depressing elements of the world shows up all the time. It’s one of my most continuing inspirations. But when everything’s all ground to hell, there’s that much more work to do.

I’m glad you mentioned the longer perspective on New Orleans – it still hasn’t fully recovered from Katrina. Like Haiti, it’ll be a long time before the place is back on its feet, and I want to be there and help. It’s hard to imagine what they’re going through, but I really want to know.

I suppose I have a save-the-world complex. Sure, I can’t, but I can try. 🙂

Good point, Scott. The fear of everything, including the unknown, does weigh you down. Thanks!