Is a survey post better than no post at all?

As seen in a MySpace bulletin from Erin...

1. You have 10 bucks & need to buy snacks at a gas station. What do you get?
Some orange Hostess cupcakes and a Sprite Zero.

2. If you had to be reincarnated as a sea-dwelling creature, what would you be?
A shark, maybe?

3. Who’s your favorite redhead?
To list one would be to anger the others... and we know about redheads, don't we?

4. What do you order at The Waffle House?
Three eggs over easy with white toast and a side of bacon.

5. Last book you read?
I don't guess this week's Newsweek counts, eh?

6. Have you made out with any of your MySpace friends?
Indeed I have.

7. What's your lucky number?
I haven't needed one in a while... It used to be 76.

8. Describe the last time you were injured?
Last week when the dentist yanked out all four of my wisdom teeth.

9. Of all your friends, with whom would you want to be stuck in the jungle?
Maybe Bull because I think he would run down and kill with his bare hands any animal that we wanted to eat... and then he'd cook it.

10. Are there any odd things that make you feel uncomfortable?
I don't like pain in places that I can see... like anywhere on my head.

12. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone?
A biohazard sign.

13. Soda?
Sprite Zero -- exclusively.

14. Flavor of pudding?
Banana, if it's authetic with real nanners & wafers.

15. What type of shirt are you wearing?
Blue MEMS t-shirt.

16. Prescription medication?
At the moment, I'm finishing up some amoxicillin for the teeth.

17. Name two things you did last night?
MedFlighted a kid who rolled his car and was ejected and I provided a taxi ride for someone who refused to realize that he was (a) drunk and (b) not in need of an ambulance.

19. How many people on your list do you know in real life?
All but about 7. What's that? Nearly 85%.

20. What are you listening to right now?
Bubbly by Colbie Caillat on Erin's profile, which I've never heard before.

21. Most recent movie you've watched in a theater?
Happy Feet in November on Navy Pier in ChiTown.

22. If you could invent one thing, what would it be?
Invisible pills. (Pills that would make you invisible, not pills that were themselves invisible.)

23. Name a boss you had the hots for...
I've been at the FD with a man chief for almost five years... None.

24. What's your favorite town?
Places with character... DC, Chicago, New Orleans

25. Favorite kind of cake?
Moist Deluxe Yellow.

26. What are the first words that come to mind right now?
My head itches.

27. When was the last time you saw your mom in person?
Last week when we passed through Monticello.

28. Who got you to join MySpace?
Those would-be school assassins that were on here -- not directly, of course.

29. What did you have for dinner last night?
The Mrs. brought spaghetti to Station 9 for me.

30. How long have you been at your current job?
Four years, eight months, four days, six hours, 11 minutes and 57 seconds.

31. Is Tom on your friends list?
He's there.

32. What's the last thing you said out loud?
Probably "whatcha doing?" to the cat since I'm home alone.

33. Look to your left, what do you see?
The window.

34. Who is the last person who spent $100 on you?
Well, Terri wrote the check at the oral surgeon... So, I'm guessing her.

35. Who's your least-favorite tennis player?
I don't have a favorite. How can I have a least favorite?

36. Favorite sport?
College football.

37. What's the last piece of clothing you bought?
I have no idea. Some dark socks, maybe.

Tornado Warning

Someone give KATV a pat on the back.

I don't usually involve myself in the television wars, but I'm proud of the folks at Channel 7. Although I know that 60 or 65 of the state's 75 counties couldn't care less about the severe weather in southeast Arkansas Saturday, KATV knew their priorities. Even if it was just so they could make sweeps-week promos to say that "Seven is News," they did the right thing by interrupting a silly Big East basketball game to track every mesocyclone and hook echo that popped up on radar.

Honorable mention goes to KTHV who broke into programming occasionally. Unfortunately, KARK & KLRT have identified their intended market and it must not include southeast Arkansas as their craptastic Saturday afternoon programming was more important than live weather coverage.

Central Arkansas dodged the bullet. The storms swept through quickly and even though we heard a bit of thunder, life wasn't too bad up here on Park Hill. So, the afternoon was spent watching storms pop up and sweep around everyone Terri & I know back home... Crossett. Monticello. Lacey. Dumas. McGehee. Dermott.

Fortunately, as of now, everyone we know fared pretty well. Of course, that's tempered by knowing that the good folks of Dumas took a direct hit yesterday... and if the reports of no fatalities hold up through the coming days, it will truly be a miracle.

Watching the news coverage of the damage in Dumas brought back some memories. I spent the first 10 years of my life there and I know some of the places along the tornado's path well. Judging by the video I've scene, ground zero seems to be shared by a Fred's and a Mad Butcher grocery store. The Fred's store was once a Wal-Mart, which we know is the center of living in any small town. And although the Cossey family tended to be Piggly Wiggly supporters, I remember at least one Halloween haunted house at the Mad Butcher. In the apartments across the street from the Mad Butcher lived my first elementary school love, a blond-haired girl named Samantha Williams.

Dumas hasn't exactly blossomed since the Cossey family packed up and headed west in 1987. According to city-data.com, they've lost more than 7% of their population since the last census. There's a core group of folks over there that have fought to save their city. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that their fight got quite a bit tougher after yesterday afternoon.