Nuclear bomb Dropped on Hiroshima

Today marks the 54th year since the first time that human beings used a nuclear bomb on other people. On August 6, 1945, A lone B-29 bomber flew to Japan and dropped one bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The Japanese were not afraid of one lone aircraft, but when that one bomb exploded, it killed thousands of people. Read the description of the effects of the blast:

Those closest to the explosion died instantly, their bodies turned to black char. Nearby birds burst into flames in mid-air, and dry, combustible materials such as paper instantly ignited as far away as 6,400 feet from ground zero. The white light acted as a giant flashbulb, burning the dark patterns of clothing onto skin (right) and the shadows of bodies onto walls. Survivors outdoors close to the blast generally describe a literally blinding light combined with a sudden and overwhelming wave of heat. (The effects of radiation are usually not immediately apparent.) The blast wave followed almost instantly for those close-in, often knocking them from their feet. Those that were indoors were usually spared the flash burns, but flying glass from broken windows filled most rooms, and all but the very strongest structures collapsed. One boy was blown through the windows of his house and across the street as the house collapsed behind him. Within minutes 9 out of 10 people half a mile or less from ground zero were dead.

People farther from the point of detonation experienced first the flash and heat, followed seconds later by a deafening boom and the blast wave. Nearly every structure within one mile of ground zero was destroyed, and almost every building within three miles was damaged. Less than 10 percent of the buildings in the city survived without any damage, and the blast wave shattered glass in suburbs twelve miles away. The most common first reaction of those that were indoors even miles from ground zero was that their building had just suffered a direct hit by a bomb. Small ad hoc rescue parties soon began to operate, but roughly half of the city's population was dead or injured. In those areas most seriously affected virtually no one escaped serious injury. The numerous small fires that erupted simultaneously all around the city soon merged into one large firestorm, creating extremely strong winds that blew towards the center of the fire. The firestorm eventually engulfed 4.4 square miles of the city, killing anyone who had not escaped in the first minutes after the attack. One postwar study of the victims of Hiroshima found that less than 4.5 percent of survivors suffered leg fractures. Such injuries were not uncommon; it was just that most who could not walk were engulfed by the firestorm.

Read more at the following website: http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm

The Top 100 Books Ever Written

Newsweek Magazine published a list of the top 100 books ever written. Whenever someone does things like this, there is always spirited debate about the ones included and left out. You may agree or disagree, but the list was made up of books that have been on other lists, such as the New York Public Library, and Oprah.

The link to the list follows: http://www.newsweek.com/id/204478

Government websites: Weather and Drought

The National Weather Service web site at http://www.weather.gov/ has 8 tabs on top of the web page above the U.S. map. The home page defaults to the first tab, which is Warnings & Forecasts. There are several ways to navigate this site. By clicking on a specific area on the U.S. map, you would be linked to a different National Weather Service Forecast Office. Using the drop down menu below the Warnings & Forecasts tab, you can find warnings for a specific state. You can also find the weather forecast to a specific location on the left hand side of the page in the search box that says Local forecast by “City, St.” You can use the search box by typing the zip code rather than the city and state.

The second tab is the Graphical Forecasts tab. This tab will show graphical forecasts for the current weather, temperature, wind speed and direction, precipitation amount and chance of precipitation. This information comes from the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD).

The National Maps tab is where you can find the old fashion maps seen on TV. You can click on the Legend link, which is located right below the map, for information on the different fronts and other symbols that can be found on a map.

Next is the Radar tab which defaults to the continental U.S. You can choose a specific part of the nation as well as Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and Puerto Rico and by clicking on Loop of this image you can see the radar in action.

The Water tab contains information about rivers with an emphasis on flooding. This is a joint initiative from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The Air Quality tab gives information about ozone. By using the Satellite tab, you will find infrared, visible, and water vapor satellite images.


The drought.gov web site at http://www.drought.gov/ is a clearinghouse of information gathered by several agencies. Some of these agencies include the Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, Interior and Transportation departments. The emphasis for this web site is the scarcity of water. This site has several tabs on top of the web page. After the What is NIDIS tab, which stands for the National Integrated Drought Information System, is the Current Drought tab. This tab has links to the U.S. Drought Monitor and the North American Drought Monitor.

By using the Forecasting tab, it shows the latest U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook. The Impacts tab defaults to the National Drought Mitigation Center’s Drought Impact Reporter, which gives an opportunity for citizens to report actual drought impacts. This section also has a gallery of photos related to drought.

The Planning tab has a section called Drought Planning Processes and it provides links on how to plan for a drought. The Education tab has links to educational materials and it’s organized by General Audiences and K-12 and Above.

The 100th Anniversary of the start of classes

Monday, June 14, 1909, was the first day of classes for the new institution that would one day be called Southeastern Oklahoma State University, or just Southeastern. At that time it was one of several state normal schools that had been established to help train teachers. Around 500 teachers registered for this, the first summer semester of the institution. According to David Norris, classes conviened each day at 8:00 AM. Since the first building built at Southeastern was not completed until 1911, classes were held at either the high school or the Presbyterian College. There was a break for lunch and then classes continued for four more hours in the afternoon. At 8 PM there were chapel exercises held at the Methodist Church.

This Sunday, marks 100 years from the start of classes at SOSU. Thus, this is the marks 100 years of Southeastern as an institution. This is the day that all activities that have been done this year in commeration of 100 years have been pointing to. Congraulations to Southeastern for 100 years of building futures!


Source:

David Norris. A History of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Durant, OK: Mesa Publishing Co, 1986.

D-Day 65 Years Ago

This Saturday marks the 65th anniversary of when the combined Allied forces landed on the shores of Normandy, France in an attempt start a second front to bring down Hitler's Nazi Germany. Wikipedia states that D-Day "was the largest single-day amphibious invasion of all time, with 160,000 troops landing on June 6, 1944."

Each year, more and more of those who survived the invasion and passing on, making fewer to remember. But we as Americans should always remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice on that day and the days after to bring the war to its end. We should also remember all those who fought bravely on this day.

The Great Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919

The news media have been comparing this current swine flu epidemic to the great flu pandemic of 1918. Here is a government website from the Department of Health and Human Services that contains information about this great pandemic. http://1918.pandemicflu.gov/index.htm. There is information about what life was like in 1918, facts about the pandemic, the pandemic in every state, documents and media, and books about the pandemic.

Buy Indie Day

May 1st has been declared Buy Indie Day. The idea: buy one book—paperback, hardcover, audiobook, whatever you want!—at an independent bookstore near you. See more information at: Indebound