The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Friday, October 26, 2012

A `cane by any other name...


I scan the news each day with an eye out for items that would lend themselves to a rant blog post.

Not finding much. There's a hurricane named "Sandy" heading for the east coast. I am not sure a name like "Sandy" is appropriate for a massive storm that can cause billions in damage and kill people. I have known a couple of people named Sandy; only one was her real name, the other (a guy) a nickname. Neither struck me as dangerous.  Perhaps, whoever it is who think up these storm names should have something more ominous sounding... Like... well, I don't know, female names are, by design, non-threatening.

I went looking here, hoping to find something more fitting or at least more threatening, but came up empty.

The first hurricane name I ever heard was "Hazel" in 1954. That name reminded me of something called "Witch Hazel", an astringent, that my mother would put on my cuts and scrapes. It stung, it hurt, it smelled. That was fitting for a big storm.




How about Satana?

2 comments:

Kathy said...

Satana would be a better name!
Sandy is kind of unappropriate for a storm that is going to tear up the beaches. I wonder who thought of that one?

Douglas said...

I believe they select the names years in advance. Here:http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

This may explain why they seem inappropriate from time to time.