Dr. Norene Moskalski
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Storm Surges

11/16/2012

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Sea Foam, Surf, and Surges

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Why does Dr. Kate Connors worry about beach water quality in Nocturne, Opus 1: Sea Foam? First of all, she is the mother of a precocious three-year-old daughter and she loves her dearly. Which parent among us wouldn't pay attention to our child's surroundings, especially in new places like on vacation at the beach?  But how many of us also see this standard beach scene through the microscopic and macroscopic eyes of a scientist? 

Kate Connors is a scientist, a medical researcher studying the effects of bacteria on the human body. Specifically, she studies Bacillus nocturne, a normally passive, estuary bacteria that floats harmlessly in rivers, bays and oceans. Why does she study this bacteria? Because the organization that hired her, the Institute for Public Policy and Safety, knows that someone has genetically altered Bacillus nocturne. Kate sees danger where we see children laughing and tumbling in the surf. 



But after Hurricane Sandy and the Nor'easter that followed it, we may also see danger in sea foam, surf, and surges. Knowing that bacteria do exist in our coastal waters, it is important to think about where all that surge water that entered people's homes came from. Whether back bay surges, ocean surges, or river surges, that water was filled with waste water, chemical and biological residue, and decaying matter. People wading through it to help others and to secure their possessions may have come in contact with materials hazardous to their health. Any one with cuts and abrasions that were exposed to the surge water could be very vulnerable to an infection. In the Delaware area, television stations were reminding people caught in the flooding or clean-up to review their tetanus injection records to see if a booster injection might be prudent. Furthermore, the television stations announced that anything porous which had come in contact with the flood waters, although dry now, should be disposed of, rather than cleaned and kept. 


Safety first . . . material possessions last.  


We are reminded through events like storm surges that life is what is important, because we can replace water-logged things, but we cannot replace a life. 
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I LOVE TO WRITE DAY IS NOVEMBER 15

11/10/2012

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A BIG SHOUT-OUT TO JOHN RIDDLE, FOUNDER OF I LOVE TO WRITE DAY, FROM EVERYONE WHO LOVES TO WRITE BUT CAN'T FIND THE TIME: NOVEMBER 15 IS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL EVENT

John Riddle, a freelance writer and author of 34 books, has written for over 50 magazines and trade journals, including Delaware Today, Travel & Leisure, Home Life, Charisma & Christian Life, and over 100 websites. To say that he is a prolific writer is an understatement. But John knows how difficult it can be to carve out enough time from one's day in order to find a conducive setting where the words can just flow.

To encourage everyone to find the time to write, John initiated the first national day to be set aside for people to pursue their interest in writing. Named simply and appropriately I Love to Write Day, this 10th anniversary of the beginnings of the event marks its recognition throughout the United States and the world. 

“My goal for I Love To Write Day is to have people of all ages spend time writing," John says. "They can write a poem, a love letter, a greeting card, an essay, a short story, start a novel, finish a novel…the possibilities are endless. But I want people to take the time to put their thoughts down on paper. They will be amazed at the results. Writing can be fun, but also challenging. People need to be challenged, and writing is but one of many creative ways to express yourself. I am very excited because I Love To Write Day activities are already being planned all across the United States. For many people, that will be the beginning of their writing career. I Love To Write Day has the potential to launch the career of the next John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, Stephen King or Toni Morrison.”

Interested in participating? Just register by sending John an email letting him know how you will be spending your day:
                                           johnriddle@sprintmail.com        








 

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Nor'easter

11/8/2012

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YET ANOTHER NORTHEASTER STRIKES THE DELAWARE AND MID-ATLANTIC COASTLINES

For those of you who are new to the Mid-Atlantic Coast, you may have wondered what all the discussions of Nor'easters were about the last few days. They are one of the more serious and dangerous storms that strike the Mid-Atlantic Coast, and they strew damage in every direction along the path of their landfall.  


Nor'easters usually originate as a low pressure area with a center of rotation off the East Coast. The winds from the storm in the left forward quadrant rotate onto land from the northeast, thus the name Northeaster. 


The storms can cause excessive amounts of rain, leading to coastal flooding, dune breaks, and very damaging erosion of the beaches and inland water banks. Hurricane force winds can whip snowfalls in the winter into blizzards with heavy icing of roads. They can occur at any time of year, but are devastating during the winter season when they often pull very cold air down from the Arctic air mass. 


The convergence of Arctic cold air and warmer ocean air over the Gulf Stream can set up a very nasty storm. Last week's Hurricane Sandy, for example, became a superstorm when it united with a cold air mass stalled over the Northeast and a warm air mass just off the Atlantic Coast. 


What makes this Nor'easter so devastating is that few residents have had time to recover from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and now they will be inundated with either more rain or snow, and certainly more coastal flooding. Let us all keep our recovering coastal friends and neighbors in our prayers.


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    Author

    Dr. Norene Moskalski can often be found walking the beaches of the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, collecting sea glass, weathered minerals, unusual shells, and artifacts from colonial shipwrecks. A naturalist and environmentalist by nature, and a medical diagnostician by avocation, she has a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration and has held administrative and teaching positions at Penn State University and Temple University. She has spent most of her life preparing administrators and teachers to lead and teach ethically with love and respect for everyone. The settings for her novels are authentic vignettes from university campuses and places around the world she has visited. Each novel presents a variation on a theme, using literary techniques and musical innuendos to move the action forward. Her plots revolve around the unexpected: What if the most beautiful things in the world are the most dangerous?

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Photos used under Creative Commons from Allie_Caulfield, dno1967b, lincoln-log, Anna Oates, spisharam, Mr.TinDC, kanegen, Podknox, faungg's photo, lincoln-log, mayastone, Ajith (അജിത്ത്), bixentro, { pranav }, { pranav }, faungg, Allie_Caulfield, seeveeaar, razvan.orendovici, milesgehm, mnapoleon, corsi photo, faungg's photo