Fire ants are capable of quickly connecting onto each other to create their own ship that carries their queens and eggs. Fire ants also secrete an oil that is very effective in repelling water. Here is an in-vitro test: “a floating fire ant raft is pushed down on the surface of water” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bdry7_5qck).
Here are real world examples of fire ants’ floating functions:
* “Fire Ants Make Living Raft | World's Weirdest” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2ZysgGAABw)
* “Fire Ants Form Raft To Survive Flood” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_0P6UkpaQ)
* Fire ants create elaborate underground colonies: “Casting a Fire Ant Colony with Molten Aluminum (Cast #043)” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGJ2jMZ-gaI).
A hawk was injured by Hurricane Harvey, and the hawk sought refuge in a guy’s taxicab: “A Hawk is seeking refuge in my taxi from Hurricane Harvey” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6MjdV_8E6Q). The taxicab driver took care of the hawk until the hawk was taken in by the TWRC Wildlife Center: “Harvey the Hurricane Hawk” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVe5ynGQRMk). The hawk is injured, but it is being recuperated by wildlife experts: “Harvey the Hurricane Hawk and TWRC Wildlife Center Status Update!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P7qp_Zi_NA).
Some Texas state officials stated Hurricane Harvey did NOT create a gas shortage, but local professional news and local social media said the powerful hurricane did create gas shortages in at least many locations: “Gas stations running out of fuel as state says supply is ‘plentiful’” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zMxp20Vbzw).
* A few Hispanics argued over gas at a gas station: “HURRICANE HARVEY Gas drama in San Antonio ! Line cutter!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRrlB1eCw74).
* A few black people physically fought for gas: “PEOPLE IN TEXAS FIGHT OVER GAS DESPITE MAJOR LOSES DURING HURRICANE HARVEY ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkLSFy_KUxo).
* A black guy and a white guy got into a brief fight over gas, and then the white guy poured gas into the black guy’s car: “Battle at Gas Station” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbQ6AF4cdwQ).
* A black guy repeatedly shoved a white guy who was trying to fuel up his car: “GAS FIGHT! Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Dallas! (Explicit)” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5qMToJunbM).
There are lots of professional reports and amateur reports of gas shortages in various parts of Texas. These reports are backed up by pictures and videos. At least some people are hoarding gas by constantly refueling their cars and gas cans. However, hoarding gas worsens the gas shortage for everyone else. More desperation creates more social disputes and fights. Gas prices increased, but the price increases should not be excessive. Price gouging is illegal during disasters, but at least some businesses are trying to maximize profits off of desperate customers: “How to report price gouging from Hurricane Harvey” (http://www.khou.com/news/local/how-to-report-price-gouging-from-hurricane-harvey/467383960).
At Houston, Texas, Joel Osteen is an extremely popular Christian preacher who has around 52,000 followers. Thus, he is very wealthy and operates a mega-church that used to be a professional basketball stadium with a seating capacity of 16,800 adults. His super-sized church is called Lakewood Church. Initially, the church authorities did NOT open the enormous church to people who were devastated by massive floods from Hurricane Harvey, even though many other churches, mosques, synagogues, schools, businesses, and other facilities accepted displaced persons and pets. Thus, Lakewood Church was criticized by various people on the Internet and by professional news companies: “People are criticizing and defending Joel Osteen amid Houston deluge” (http://buzz.blog.ajc.com/2017/08/28/people-are-criticizing-and-defending-joel-osteen-amid-houston-deluge/).
Lakewood Church authorities responded by stating the church was flooded, and they provided pictures of the flood. However, other people posted pictures of the enormous church, and these pictures showed zero floods inside and outside the church. Some people claimed the pictures of the flooded church were from previous years’ natural disasters. Other people said the lowest level of the church’s parking garage was flooded, but the rest of the church is totally fine: “Christians Are Calling Out Joel Osteen For His Hesitancy To Open His Megachurch For Tropical Storm Victims” (https://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/joel-osteen-hurricane-harvey-backlash?bfsource=bbf_enus&utm_term=.vg8dLxznp#.kn50v3Rze). According to the church’s own website and other websites, the nearby and multiple parking buildings are NOT connected to the church. Fred Blaylock works as a parking attendant for the office park that contains Lakewood Church, and he said the church’s exterior grounds and nearby areas were not flooded.
Then the Lakewood Church authorities said the city never asked the church for emergency assistance, thus, the church did not immediately shelter displaced persons. Then the church authorities declared the church was open for victims of Hurricane Harvey, and the church has always been available for the needy. After this debate, the Lakewood Church provided lots of emergency supplies and temporary shelters to the victims.
The world has an endless supply of con-artists who target lots of superstitious customers/followers. We’re suppose to believe Donald Trump is the greatest billionaire who has the best public support. Allegedly billionaire Trump donated $1 million to the victims of Hurricane Harvey, but Trump refuses to provide factual details about his donation. In fact, Trump, his children, and his business partners have a history of being involved with fraudulent charities. There are lots of reports about the Trump administration exploiting very costly flights from Air Force One and misusing the presidency to obtain various business deals for themselves.
As expected, President Trump delivered his sales hype to the deeply flooded regions of Texas:
* “We saw a lot of happiness [from Hurricane Harvey’s catastrophic flooding of Texas],” Trump told reporters traveling with him. “It’s been really nice. It’s been a wonderful thing. As tough as this was, it’s been a wonderful thing, I think even for the country to watch it, for the world to watch. It’s been beautiful.” (“At Harvey Victims Shelter, Trump: ‘Have a good time, everybody, I'm going to be doing a little help,’” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aNL3FO63SU)
According to alternative facts, Trump is the greatest builder who has won bigger and more often than anyone else. This totally explains why Trump canceled better construction standards for flood management that was established by the Obama presidency: “Right Before [Hurricane] Harvey [flooded various parts of Texas], Trump Nixed a Rule Designed to Protect Cities From Flood Risks” (http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/08/28/right_before_harvey_trump_nixed_a_rule_designed_to_protect_cities_from_flood.html). Trump insisted the Obama presidency’s new flood-management standard was excessive and unrealistic. Trump boasted he was a great builder who knew how to properly handle floods. The Obama presidency created this higher standard mostly in response to Hurricane Katrina’s damages to New Orleans, Louisiana and other parts America’s southern coast (plus Caribbean islands).
The super smart and mega-rich Trump could learn a lot about flood preparation from fire ants. Trump should graduate from a university for ants: “Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good - Zoolander (4/10) Movie CLIP (2001) HD” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ-8IuUkJJc).
Houston, Texas and many regions around the world need better solutions to prevent floods and solve floods. Houston city has a history of suffering floods, because the area naturally receives lots of rain, but the expanding infrastructure lacks the technology to properly manage the plentiful rainfall. Here is an article from last year about Houston’s flooding problems: “How to fix the Houston floods” (http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/How-to-fix-the-Houston-floods-10826834.php). Houston uses state and federal resources to upgrade its infrastructure, but the upgrade has been a slow process for the large city. At the current rate, Houston could require decades to hundreds of years for the installation of proper flood management. Flood management basically involves 2 solutions: (1) move the excess water to the desert and other unoccupied regions plus aquifers and the sea, and (2) store the excess water in man-made structures for future usage. The cost of flood-resistant infrastructure is extremely expensive, but the cost of calamitous floods is also extremely expensive. You either invest lots of resources and labor to properly prevent or minimize the flood, or you greatly and repeatedly suffer the destructive floods.
To make things worse, the insurance companies and government insurance programs refuse to provide adequate aid to many victims of various natural disasters. Will the Trump presidency and the rest of the US government learn from their mistakes? Stay tuned . . .
I hope southern California has a good plan to deal with an epic earthquake.
Update on toilet tank repair:
I tried to buy solid brass bolts and washers from the Ferguson plumbing website, but it only sells to retailers. The Amazon website sells solid brass bolts and washers, but the size is a bit too big for one of the holes at the bottom of my toilet tank. Thus, I need to find another Internet store or a brick-and-mortar store. I think these 2 businesses are my best options for acquiring solid brass bolts and washers that connect the toilet tank to the toilet seat:
* LASCO (Larsen Supply Company) (http://www.lasco.net/)
* ProFlo (http://www.proflo.com/proflo/home.do)
The problem is that both businesses do NOT directly sell to end users. Both businesses sell to retailers or stores that sell to end users. I need to call up various stores throughout San Diego to find the solid brass bolts and washers.
I think this search is ridiculous. San Diego is a large and modern city. Every plumbing store should sell solid brass bolts and washers for the toilet, because brass is typically more resistant to water-based corrosion than stainless steel. However, stainless steel is usually less costly than brass (or bronze). Steel is typically harder and stiffer than brass. The exact details depend on the specific composition of the copper alloy (e.g., brass and bronze) and iron alloy (i.e., steel).