Yesterday evening was our last soccer practice before our first set of games on Saturday. It could have gone better, but I think we will do OK on Saturday. We lost a lot of key players from our offence and our goalie to college and such. Most of the players on the team are young and could form a solid core for the next couple years. We'll see.

Not much else, just went home after practice and collapsed in my chair until I went to bed.

In New Orleans, the Constitution has been suspended, apparently. "I'm from the government and I am here to help you."

FEMA seems to be using a Southern Baptist retreat as a detention center of some sort. The owners of the property have been told it is no longer theirs; it now belongs to the government. "I'm from the government and I am here to help you."

At the Astrodome, volunteers trying to set up a low-power FM station to broadcast information have been shut down. "I'm from the government and I am here to help you."

Jerry Pournelle has a lot of e-mail about the good, the bad, and the ugly of hurricane relief. Many people are doing extraordinary things to help others, while the petty bureaucrats try to botch things up just to prove they are in control. Is anyone surprised by this? In all of human history, has it ever been otherwise? So please explain why we keep giving these people more power and more control over every aspect of our lives?

Some of the pumps are running in New Orleans. Only about 10% of them at this point, but at least water is moving out of the city. The time estimate remains firm at five to six months before anyone gets back. The dollar "estimate" is between $150 billion and half a trillion. I'd guess the latter is closer to the mark.

And that is all I have for today.