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• Android 2.2 Rolling Out To the Nexus One Right Now
  
  TechCrunch is reporting that Android 2.2, codenamed “Froyo”,  is going live for the Nexus One.  That’s right folks, it appears to already be on the way!  Get ready Nexus One owners!   If I were you,…

From NY Fed President William Dudley’s commencement speech at New College of Florida:

[T]he recovery is not likely to be as robust as we would like for several reasons…

Keep reading at Calculated Risk >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Good News! Stocks Are Now Only 20% Overvalued!
• Seth Klarman: Stocks Will Have Zero Return For A Decade

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz says she had a bad week, but that did not stop her from addressing state Democrats Saturday.

Bysiewicz said she appreciated the warm welcome she received when she walked on stage at the Connecticut Expo Center, appearing with her husband and her three children. 

“I guess I can take the Supreme Court justices off my Christmas card list,” she joked.

Until this past Tuesday, Bysiewicz was a candidate for attorney general. The state Supreme Court, however, ruled that she was not qualified to run only days before the convention, abruptly ended her candidacy.

She is not running for office this year, but said she will fight hard to get those on the Democratic ticket elected.

“I am going to fight for the Democratic principles we all share,” she said.  

Ford, like most modern manufacturing companies, is utilizing virtual reality tools at all levels of development. Gone are the days of designers and engineers hunching over drafting tables in a smoke-filled room, working on blueprints for what will next be molded out of clay.

These days development is done on 20-foot ultra-high resolution displays with real world testing done in a virtual world. Designers can experience nearly every aspect of a future vehicle before any physical piece is constructed. Ford even employs virtual tools for the manufacturing phase to maximize efficiency there as well.

I recently got a close look at a bunch of these tools and processes. I was granted access to everything from Ford’s gigantic full vehicle motion simulator to the gigantic video wall. These are some impressive toys.

Powerwall

Imagine a large room with a single computer workstation and a 20-foot screen as its display. That basically Ford’s Powerwall. It’s a place where designers to executives to auto dealers can gather and get a high-res look at Ford’s current and future lineup.

It’s a simple concept with Sony 4k projector connected to just a single high-end workstation, but the results are spectacular. Designers are no longer tied down to their cubicles and can explore their work in larger-than-life dimensions using AutoDesk & AutoStudio CAD programs to creating spectacular animations in Maya.

The Powerwall rooms are also equipped for worldwide collaboration and any one of them can host virtual meetings with the other seven Ford Powerwall studios found across the globe.

(Sorry for the pics. It’s nearly impossible to show the sheer scale of this screen. Use your imagination and picture those images 20-feet wide and you’ll get the idea.)

Programmable Vehicle Models

Much of a vehicle’s testing is now done virtually, a processes that helps streamline development while keeping cost down. Ford utilizes numerous tools for virtual testing with the PVM at the heart of the process. It immerses the tester in a virtual world assisted by the physical presence of a configurable vehicle sled.

This testing sled is a complex platform that’s able to match the physical dimensions of nearly any vehicle. Once the physical properties are set, a tester sits in the sled wearing a head-mounted virtual reality display equipped with reflective spheres to enable 1-1 movement mapping. A pair of gloves with the same IR-visible balls helps complete the illusion.

The goal here is to allow designers and engineers the ability to test out their designs without building a full-scale working model. Nearly everything from seating position to steering wheel position to blind spots can be evaluated and worked out.

The same lab also houses the so-called CAVE — Cave Automated Virtual Environment. This 3D environment is designed not so much for the ergonomics like in the PVM, but rather for style and craftsmanship. Four rear projectors generate 3D images on three sides and above the tester. The 3D glasses are equipped with motion-tracking sensors to further complete the environment.

It really has a WOW-factor. Once you don the glasses and sit in the single elevated seat, it really gives the feeling of being in the vehicle.

VIRTTEX

Ride testing is key to any vehicle’s development. It can be expensive constructing prototypes that do not function right or are simply wrong. This is where the VIRTETEX simulator comes in.

A 24-ft dome houses a full-size vehicle — in this case a Taurus X crossover — that’s connected to a series of computers. Hydraulics, five projectors, and a bunch screens then immerses drivers in a virtual world.

The benefits are nearly endless. No more expensive and potentially dangerous test vehicles as the system can simulate most of the driving dynamics of a compact car or full-size truck. Testing and polling can be done in a controlled environment without any variables. And it’s just so cool. Imagine playing Burnout Paradise or Grand Turismo in this thing. The Ford engineers said they’ve never broke out the games but you know the six blade servers with high-end Nvidia graphic cards that powers the displays are just screaming for a bit of downtime.

Virtual Manufacturing

Ford’s virtual tools even extends to the manufacturing arm of the company. Motion-capturing technology allows a team of developers to test-build vehicles early on. This allows the company to ensure that manufacturing line workers will not run into any issues.

Full-body motion capture suits are used to generator baseline manufacturing tolerances. The end result is that many manufacturing tasks are now designed so both a 6-foot male and a 5.2-foot female will be able to do preform the same task. If the man’s big hands can install a tiny plug deep in an engine compartment than so can the female’s smaller hands.

This drives down the high-cost of manufacturing later on. The company can plan out a line workers exact tasks before the vehicle ever hits the assembly line.

On Ford’s openness

The more interesting story, at least to me, is Ford’s open access to all these tools. Our access wasn’t something I sought out. We were invited along with other outlets to view all these tools. That’s something many companies would never do and when some actually open their doors, everything but the specific subject matter is covered by a conveniently-placed white sheet.

Of course we had to sign a confidentiality agreement just in case we saw any unannounced vehicles, but that’s normal and fine by me. Ford basically opened their door and said to a bunch of curious journalists, “Come on in, take a bunch of pictures of our design tools, and ask our engineers any questions you have.” Apple could learn a thing or two from this type of access and transparency. It’s refreshing.

An astute reader pointed out the irony of Torrington mayor Ryan Bingham dissing “career politicians.”

Bingham was first elected at 22, fresh out of Marist College, and, like most newly minted college grads, had very little work experience under his belt.

Moreover, he comes from a long line of folks who have made a career out of politics. His grandfather, Joe Ruwet, was a longtime state representative and his mother, Ann Ruwet, was serving in the legistaure when Bingham made his political debut.

But in his speech yesterday seconding Linda McMahon’s senate nomination, Bingham praised McMahon as someone who “has not spent her life in politics.”

 

  

Democrats unanimously endorsed incumbent Denise Nappier for state treasurer Saturday.

Nappier, of Hartford, is seeking her fourth term as treasurer. She was first elected in 1998 and is the first woman treasurer in Connecticut. She is also the first African American woman to be elected state treasurer in U.S. history.

In her endorsement acceptance speech, Nappier stressed that Connecticut needs a sound fiscal policy built on a foundation that allows everyone access to healthcare, quality education and affordable housing.

“I am fired up and ready to go,” Nappier told the crowd at the Connecticut Expo Center.

IPS and partners are celebrating International Biodiversity Day, May 22nd, with the launch in Rome of biodiversity reporting guidelines for journalists covering this vital but complex topic. The guidelines are part of a wider communication initiative for 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. IPS worked with partners Bioversity International and the International Federation of Environment Journalists (IFEJ) on the guidelines, within the COM+ sustainable development communication alliance.

The 30-page publication was authored by Pankaj Sekhsaria and is available in English and Spanish. The main section provides context, definition, linkages and story ideas for journalists, supplemented by a calendar of biodiversity-related events and a list of international conventions and agreements. Mario Lubetkin, the Director General of IPS launched the guidelines during the “Settimana della Biodiversita”, a week-long celebration of agriculture, food and biodiversity organised in Rome by Bioversity International.

Throughout 2010 IPS is giving special emphasis to reporting on biodiversity and you can see all the coverage at One Planet – 1.4 million species. Recent popular stories include Ecosystem in Peril after Gulf Oil Spill, a series of stories from Namibia about the efforts of the San people to keep their land and harvest wild produce sustainably, and a story from Tokyo Prized Bluefin Tuna Adrift in a Sea of Conflicting Interests.

As part of this coverage, IPS will have a small team of reporters reporting from Nagoya, Japan in October 2010 for the tenth meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the major international agreement to protect biodiversity, that came out of the 1992 Earth Summit.

Download available:

Putting life on the front page – Bioversity Reporting Guidelines (English)

La vida en la portada – Guia Para Reportear Sobre Biodiversidad (Spanish)

Read more:

Bioversity – Culture Integral to Agriculture

Oceanlinx; named one of the world’s Top Ten Renewable Energy Investments by the UN, needs to go back to the drawing board to iron out some kinks in the design of its 2.5 MW wave energy power station.

A massive swell at the Port Kembla site, 93 miles off the coast of Australia was able to sink the continent’s first wave power device to feed power to the Australian grid. The $5 million pre-commercial pilot project had just begun supplying power to the shore in February 2010.

The wave energy industry is in its infancy. Other than this, only half a dozen pilots are actually are delivering electricity to grids, (most in Europe) and which designs will prevail remains to be seen. The US has tremendous potential off the Northwest coast from Oregon to Alaska.

Because it is a completely new industry, wave power entrepreneurs are trying out many different engineering designs to capture the power of the ocean. Some are sited on the sea floor, some float, and some are moored to the sea floor.

The Oceanlinx design was modeled on an off-shore oil rig – and moored to the sea floor (more…)

Geithner’s going to Germany to beg Angela Merkel to save Europe and stop saying stupid things that freak the markets out.

Join the conversation about this story »

Google pays a special tribute and celebration in their logo.

This 2010 two important events take place for fans of technology and cinema: the 30th anniversary of “Pac-Man” and the same number of years the premiere of “The Empire Strikes Back.”

To celebrate the game, Google wanted to pay tribute to transforming its famous logo in the “arcade” with the browser that users can remember how they were the first interactive games.

In Hollywood, thousands of fans from “The Empire Strikes Back” put up a week of activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of the arrival in the big-screen story by George Lucas.

Related posts:

1. PacMan 30th anniversary: Google PacMan game
2. Pac Man 30th Anniversary: ‘Insert coin’ for two player pacman free online game
3. Google celebrates the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man with free on-line Pac-Man game

Tablet lovers have been crying for a good inking solution for the iPad since its release. The capacitive digitizer isn’t designed for writing on the screen, but that doesn’t stop those who prefer to use ink for note-taking. There are already apps that provide inking, and third party pens that make it easier to do than by using the fingertip to write. What has been missing from the mix until now is the ability for inking apps to ignore the hand resting on the screen while writing. The palm (or wrist) sitting on the big iPad screen interferes with the writing process, as it is interpreted as a desire to write when the hand hits the screen. Ink note-taking app Penultimate was updated with a “wrist protection” setting, and it works pretty darn well. I believe this is the first app on the iPad with palm rejection.

Penultimate uses a notebook metaphor for handling the taking of notes, and is designed to be used totally by writing on the page. I have used it for weeks, and while it works pretty well the vectoring caused by resting my hand on the screen rendered it pretty useless. I don’t have a pen that works on a capacitive digitizer, either, and that has restricted my use of the app. I’ll have to look at getting one though, as this new setting is working well in my initial tests.

Once the “wrist protection” setting is turned on, the app totally ignores everything but the actual writing taking place. I have yet to trigger an unwanted vector, and that is pretty impressive. As always with inking apps, YMMV.

Thanks to my Twitter peeps for pointing me to the update.

Related content on GigaOM Pro (sub. req’d): Can Anyone Compete With the iPad?

---

Schedule for Week of May 24, 2010

On Monday, the President will meet with Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon at the White House. This will be the Prime Minister’s first official visit to Washington during his premiership and the President looks forward to consulting with Prime Minister Hariri on a broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, and regional peace and security. Also on Monday, the President will host a reception to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

On Tuesday, as part of National Small Business Week, the President will host award-winning small business owners from around the country for an event at the White House where he will discuss the important role that American small businesses play in our economy. The President will also address the Senate Republican Caucus about his legislative agenda at the Capitol.

Also on Tuesday, President Obama will welcome President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy to the White House on Tuesday, May 25. The United States and Italy, a leading NATO ally, have strong bilateral relations. The President appreciates Italy’s robust contributions to peace efforts around the world and looks forward to continuing his consultations with President Napolitano, following up on their July 8 meeting last year in Rome.

Later on Tuesday, the President will travel to San Francisco, California to headline events on behalf of Senator Barbara Boxer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

On Wednesday, the President will visit the Solyndra, Inc. solar facility in Fremont, CA where he will tour their high-tech facilities and then make remarks to workers on jobs and the economy. Following his remarks, the President will return to Washington, DC.

On Thursday, President Obama will welcome the NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion Duke Blue Devils to the White House to honor their 2009-2010 season. The President and the First Lady will also host the first ever White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month.

###

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2010

WEEKEND GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
SATURDAY, MAY 22 AND SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2010

On Saturday, the President will deliver the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point in West Point, New York. The President’s remarks are open to pre-credentialed media, but the deadline to request media credentials has passed.

The President has no scheduled public events on Sunday.

Beginning tomorrow, Saturday, May 22nd , a major multi-year infrastructure project will begin on the north side of the White House. The purpose of this project is to improve the condition of critical utilities supplying the West and East Wings of the White House. Please note that press that wish to access the briefing room will need to follow the walkway along the North Portico Driveway then proceed down the steps leading to the North Doors of the Palm Room. ADA access to the briefing room will be available on the driveway along Pebble Beach.

Saturday’s In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: CBS
Print: Politico
Radio: FOX

Saturday’s Out-of-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: CBS
Print: NY Times
Radio: NBC

Sunday’s In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: CNN
Print: Politics Daily/Sun Times
Radio: NPR

Saturday, May 22, 2010

7:00AM In-Town Travel Pool Call Time

7:40AM THE PRESIDENT departs the White House en route Andrews Air Force Base
In-Town Travel Pool Coverage (Gather Time 7:20AM – North Doors of the Palm Room)

8:10AM THE PRESIDENT departs Andrews Air Force Base en route Newburgh, New York
Out-of-Town Travel Pool (Call Time 6:45AM – Virginia Gate, Andrews Air Force Base)

9:25AM THE PRESIDENT arrives in Newburgh, New York
Stewart Air National Guard Base
Open Press

10:00AM THE PRESIDENT delivers the commencement address at United States Military Academy at West Point
West Point, Michie Stadium
Open Press

12:20PM THE PRESIDENT departs Newburgh, New York en route Andrews Air Force Base
Stewart Air National Guard Base
Open Press

1:15PM THE PRESIDENT arrives at Andrews Air Force Base
Out-of-Town Travel Pool Coverage

1:45PM THE PRESIDENT arrives at the White House
In-Town Travel Pool Coverage (Gather Time 11:30AM – Stakeout Location)

Sunday, May 23, 2010

9:30AM Pool Call Time

Schedule for Week of May 24, 2010

On Monday, the President will meet with Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon at the White House. This will be the Prime Minister’s first official visit to Washington during his premiership and the President looks forward to consulting with Prime Minister Hariri on a broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, and regional peace and security. Also on Monday, the President will host a reception to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

On Tuesday, as part of National Small Business Week, the President will host award-winning small business owners from around the country for an event at the White House where he will discuss the important role that American small businesses play in our economy. The President will also address the Senate Republican Caucus about his legislative agenda at the Capitol.

Also on Tuesday, President Obama will welcome President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy to the White House on Tuesday, May 25. The United States and Italy, a leading NATO ally, have strong bilateral relations. The President appreciates Italy’s robust contributions to peace efforts around the world and looks forward to continuing his consultations with President Napolitano, following up on their July 8 meeting last year in Rome.

Later on Tuesday, the President will travel to San Francisco, California to headline events on behalf of Senator Barbara Boxer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

On Wednesday, the President will visit the Solyndra, Inc. solar facility in Fremont, CA where he will tour their high-tech facilities and then make remarks to workers on jobs and the economy. Following his remarks, the President will return to Washington, DC.

On Thursday, President Obama will welcome the NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion Duke Blue Devils to the White House to honor their 2009-2010 season. The President and the First Lady will also host the first ever White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month.

###

Three companies that made claims that they could help consumers reduce their credit card interest rates — and then charged fees of up to $1,590 — have been shut down by the Federal Trade Commission. “The last thing debt-ridden consumers need is to be deluged by illegal robocalls – especially when all the calls are offering is a scam,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz.

The three companies are Advanced Management Services NW LLC, doing business as AMS Financial; Rapid Reduction System’s [sic] LLC; and PDM International, Inc., doing business as Priority Direct Marketing International, Inc.Among other things, the FTC says the companies would boast that they could help consumers reduce their credit card interest rates, but would really just send out information about how to pay down your balance early and save on interest.

According to the FTC’s complaint, over the past two years, the defendants made or authorized calls to consumers nationwide, claiming that they could negotiate with credit card issuers to substantially lower the interest rates on the consumers’ credit cards. They also allegedly delivered prerecorded “robocalls” that consisted of urgent-sounding messages from “Card Services” or “Financial Services,” stating that consumers needed to “press one” to speak to a representative about their credit card interest rates. Many consumers believed the calls were from their credit card issuers.

Consumers who signed up for the defendants’ services were charged from $499 to $1,590 up-front and promised their money back if the callers failed to deliver at least $2,500 in interest rate savings, the FTC alleged. Instead of arranging reduced interest rates, the complaint states, the defendants sent consumers instructions to pay down their credit card debts early, thus saving money on interest. Consumers who complained and demanded refunds allegedly were denied outright, got the run-around, or had a $199 “nonrefundable fee” deducted from their refund.

At the FTC’s request, a federal judge has shut down the three companies and frozen their assets.

At FTC’s Request, Court Stops Deceptive Telemarketing Calls [FTC.gov]

[JURIST] The US House Armed Services Committee [official website] has approved a bill prohibiting the Obama administration from modifying or building a facility in the US to hold detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 [text, PDF] provides the Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] with $567 billion, but requires [summary, PDF] that any plan to construct or modify US facilities to accommodate Guantanamo transfers be “accompanied by a thorough and comprehensive plan that outlines the merits, costs, and risks associated with utilizing such a facility.” As the Obama administration has not presented such a plan to Congress, the bill prohibits the use of any funds for the purpose of preparing a US facility for Guantanamo transfers. The bill also requires that the President submit a “comprehensive disposition plan and risk assessment” prior to transferring any detainees to the US, which Congress would have 120 days to review, and that the Secretary of Defense certifies to Congress that countries accepting Guantanamo transfers meet “strict security criteria.” In response to the Wednesday vote, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn [official website] said that his state still plans to sell [AP report] the Thomson Correctional Center (TCC) [DOC backgrounder] to the federal government, despite a conflict between the provisions of the pending authorization act and a plan to use the facility to house Guantanamo detainees [JURIST report].

In November the US Senate [official website] defeated a measure which would have placed similar restrictions [JURIST report] into the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act [text, PDF; HR 3082 materials]. In June 2009, the US House denied [JURIST report] an Obama administration request for $60 million to fund the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and required the president to submit a detailed plan to Congress documenting the costs and risks of transferring a detainee to the US for trial or detention at least two months before the detainee is to be transferred. In October, US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] announced that the Obama administration may miss its January deadline for closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, echoing prior statements [JURIST reports] by top administration officials. US President Barack Obama originally issued the executive order to close Guantanamo within a year [JURIST report] on January 22, 2009, two days after taking office.

What a pleasant surprise. While Google initially suggested it’d be a few weeks before the Nexus One was graced with Android 2.2, TechCrunch’s MG Siegler went to plug in his handset last night and, lo and behold, he found an unexpected Froyo treat waiting for him. Not all Nexus One users are seeing the bump yet, but it does seem that Google’s starting to roll out the Android 2.2 update on its own phone first. Figures. More »










Google – Nexus One – Android – MG Siegler – Handhelds

The American singer, Bret Michaels, was been reported that the hole in his heart has been there since birth. His cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg stated at FoxNews.com that a PFO or the Patent Foramen Ovale is not something that cardiologists just come across; it is something that needs to be specifically tested for.

But what is Patent Foramen Ovale? A patent foramen ovale (PFO), according to Clevelandclinic.com, is a defect in the septum (wall) between the two upper (atrial) chambers of the heart. Specifically, the defect is an incomplete closure of the atrial septum that results in the creation of a flap or a valve-like opening in the atrial septal wall. A PFO is present in everyone before birth but seals shut in about 80% of people.

However, the case of Michaels was not medically supervised since doctors believe that the hole should have closed before his birth. As stated by Dr. Goldberg, “We see this in children, but the hole in the heart is supposed to close up before they come out of the womb. But it is common for adults where the hole has never closed up. It is congenital,” Michaels’ PFO caused his left sided numbness which was symptom of a transient ischemic attack, or a warning stroke.

It is unlucky for Michaels that he is one of the 20 % that remains to have PFO. First was the report on his brain, and now, his heart. It is sad for Michaels that his vital organs are being affected, but it is a good thing that he is recovering fast with his brain hemorrhage. For his, heart, it is an advantage for him that there is an open heart surgery. There are options for Michaels about his surgery, whereby he is either to choose from procedures that can close the hole in the heart, or he could have a clamshell surgery. Clamshells are sealing devices that cover the hole in the hopes that the heart will mend itself.

Related posts:

1. Back to the Hospital: Bret Michaels’ Stroke or Warning?
2. Bret Michaels With a Hole in His Heart
3. Bret Michaels Re-Hospitalized Because Of Possible Stroke

One of the epic extreme weather events in U.S. recorded history devastated one of America’s great cities this month.   But the status quo media has barely told the story of Nashville’s Katrina (let alone its link to human-caused climate change).

Since the great Tennessee deluge of 2010 foreshadows the shape of things to come for many of the world’s great cities if we stay anywhere near our current emissions path, I’m going to begin a multipart series on it.  Uber-meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters and I have already touched on the link to warming already (see AP: Calling deadly Tennessee superstorm an “unprecedented rain event” did “not capture the magnitude”), and I’ll have more scientific analysis on that next week.  What follows is some straightforward — but stunning — reporting on the disaster by guest blogger Eric Normand, a Tennessee-based writer and musician.

The rain began falling on the morning of Saturday, May 1st, 2010, and by the time it finished, approximately 36 hours later; it had dumped a record rainfall of between 12 and 20 inches across Middle and Western Tennessee, devastating 52 of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Rivers that normally spanned 100 feet across swelled to a half-mile or more, flooding cities, towns, and roadways, washing away homes and bridges, destroying businesses and infrastructure, and leaving thousands homeless. At least 33 people died across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky; some while trapped in cars on flooding interstates, others who were swept away from flooding homes by the raging waters, while thousands more were left stranded in remote communities without power or communication for days. Water plants were decimated, the Grand Ole’ Opry and many other historic buildings and icons damaged or destroyed, and more than $1.9 billion of damage has been sustained to the private sector in Nashville alone.

And where was our national media in all of this? During the flood, and in the days that followed, mainstream news media like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox, provided minimal coverage of this disaster, a disaster that is likely to be the costliest non-hurricane water related disaster in American history. Our plight was dwarfed by the Gulf oil spill and the New York City car bomber which, while being important stories, we’re not the only stories. In spite of the American press corps residing under a blanket of ineptitude, all levels of government, combined with an army of volunteers, quickly began to mobilize.

“The President was on the phone to me before the sun came up practically on Monday morning” stated Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, along with Bredesen and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, toured flooded areas later in the day. By Tuesday, several counties had been declared federal disaster areas which began to allocate funding for the relief effort (the number of counties declared federal disaster areas would eventually reach 42). By Wednesday, almost 300 members of the Tennessee National Guard were assisting in rescue and relief efforts and the Red Cross was present early on as well.

In the center of this disaster were the people of Tennessee who showed great strength and unity from the onset, when thousands of volunteers showed up at multiple locations; filling sandbags, assisting with boat rescues, and helping with other relief efforts. Community centers and churches across the state became havens for families who lost homes. Schools became water distribution centers. Some citizens even took it upon themselves to rent excavation equipment to clear roads, as the county road crews were overwhelmed. When officials announced the need to conserve water, water usage almost immediately decreased.

While all this was going on, the minimal media depiction was that of a flood that primarily affected Nashville. And while a small percentage of America was hearing about a flood in Music City; 20,000 people in Hickman County, some 50 miles south of the capital, were completely cut off and isolated and without power or communication for almost a week. Much of their community was devastated and many roads and bridges were washed out, with months of repairs still ahead. On Highway 7 in Maury County, an area the size of three football fields collapsed. The city of Clarksville, some 80 miles to the northwest of the capital, was also particularly hard hit, with dozens of small businesses on Riverside Drive under 4 to 5 feet of water. An AT&T call center was flooded, rendering 1400 people out of work indefinitely, and 2 weeks after the disaster, one neighborhood of homes was still under water. In fact this storm system also killed four in Arkansas, and flooded many parts of Mississippi and Kentucky, where it caused statewide damage estimated at more than $30 million. All of this was accompanied by, essentially, no national media coverage to speak of.

This is the worst disaster to hit the state of Tennessee since the Civil War, and all these statistics and facts don’t even begin to paint the picture of the loss and suffering had by many. For some, the disaster will remain a part of their lives for a long time to come. Thousands of damaged or destroyed homes and businesses were not in flood zones, leaving many with mortgages on structures that no longer exist, and without insurance money to rebuild. Thousands have also lost their jobs and livelihoods. Communities and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed over an area that spans thousands of square miles, with the totality of destruction still yet unknown.

So while the people of Tennessee are rebuilding, most of the nation remains unaware, and most will unlikely ever know the whole story. Tennesseans will survive, rebuild, and emerge from this wreckage, but for many, life will never be the same. Natural disasters affect everybody as we are all interconnected. After Katrina, thousands of hurricane refugees relocated to neighboring states to restart their lives, Tennessee among them, and this catastrophe will inevitably have its own unique set of social and economic impacts that will be far-reaching as well.

Even though I didn’t lose any loved ones or personal property in this flood, what I have lost, is piece of mind. Three weeks after this epic storm, a rainstorm fell in middle Tennessee, causing flood warnings in five counties. While it didn’t cause widespread flooding, it put us all on edge. I used to like rainy days, their once mellow mood almost comforting. Now I fear them. As a nation, we must get our collective heads out of the sand and better understand this world we live in. The absence of this monumental event from our MSM was irresponsible and reckless, leaving us all vulnerable to the next extreme precipitation event. We may not be able to change the weather patterns, but we can at least prepare for what they can do. And if our media could begin to cover all of the pertinent stories in this new dawn of the superflood, we just might stand a chance.

I have put up a slide show that  shows some of the damage in my community. Most of these pictures were taken within 10 miles of my home in Pegram, TN. You can also read more about the flood at my blog.

Guest Blogger Eric Normand is a Tennessee-based writer and musician. Originally from New England, where he attended the Berklee College of Music, he is currently authoring his first book “The Nashville Musician’s Survival Guide.”

Related Posts:

• Global warming means local (super) storming
• Must re-read statement from UK’s Royal Society and Met Office on the connection between global warming and extreme weathern
• Northeast hit by record global-warming-type deluge
• Weather Channel expert Stu Ostro’s discussion of Georgia’s record-smashing global-warming-type deluge
• Australian Scientists: Contrary to media reports, “our paper does not discount climate change as playing a role in this most recent drought, the ‘Big Dry’. In fact, there are indications that climate change has worsened this recent drought.”
• Preparing For Frankenstorms: “The most powerful low pressure system in 140 years of record keeping” slams the Southwest.
• In other UK news: “Rain like this happens once every 1,000 years”
• Global boiling: Freak storms on every continent
• Why the “never seen before” Fargo flooding is just what you’d expect from global warming, as Obama warns
• Massive moisture-driven extreme precipitation during warmest winter in the satellite record — and the deniers say it disproves (!) climate science
• MSNBC’s Ratigan: “These ‘snowpocalypses’ that have been going through DC and other extreme weather events are precisely what climate scientists have been predicting, fearing and anticipating because of global warming.”
• The non-blizzard of 2009 and why the anti-science disinformers try to shout down any talk of a link between climate change and extreme weather