Top Five Destinations of New Orleans

Global warming exists. I have no doubt about that from what I read, especially from the fingertips of Phil Plait to his keyboard. However, I am not sure about the effects of global warming.

Weather forecasting is a tough job. Good forecasts give an idea of what?s going to happen and give some sort of odds for events to happen and it?s going to be more concrete the closer the timeframe. Is it going to snow in Hollywood tomorrow? I will bet a million dollars no. How about over the next year? Probably not, but I?m sure there are non-zero odds of that happening as I write this in June and January is half a year away, so I may still bet $1,000, but even that has some risk. Once we get to December, a clearer picture of what may happen should be available and by May, the answer will be an obvious ?yes? or ?no.? Will it reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Hollywood? The same caveats and qualifications apply.

So, if we don?t know what?s going to happen in one year, if it?s going to be really hot or really cold, how can we know what will happen in twenty years and that gets to my point. I recently read the book, ?You Are Not So Smart,? and one of the chapters focuses on Normalcy Bias with a subheading reading, ?THE TRUTH: You often become abnormally calm and pretend everything is normal in a crisis.? Thinking about global warming, the only things I assume scientists (and laypeople) base their predictions is what has happened. When I think of New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina and the assumptions made by the Corps of Engineers on the levees there, that kind of scares me. Is there something worse than a level 5 hurricane? Is there a weather system that could occur that hasn?t before? Or can we just pretend that everything that has happened will only be what will happen from now on.

It?s been almost eight years since Katrina. I think it?s time to visit and see how New Orleans has rebuilt, or in the case of the first destinations I have in mind, how it hasn?t.

Explore the ruins of Six Flags New Orleans

A recent post on Boing Boing linked to a blog with pictures of ruined amusement parks. I love ruins and I love amusement parks, so Six Flags New Orleans seems right up my alley. It probably isn?t easy to get inside and it is illegal, but it just is too irresistible to see Looney Tunes characters entwined with vines.

Eat at Cochon Restaurant

Reading Keith Law?s blog where he reviews food, board games and books often gives me new ideas of things to try. Cochon sounds like one of those places with items like smoked pork ribs with watermelon pickle, smothered greens and an oyster and bacon sandwich.

Listen to jazz at Preservation Hall

I love when websites contain a simple statement of existence like Preservation Hall. ?The Preservation Hall is a musical venue in the French Quarter founded in 1961 to protect and honor New Orleans Jazz.? Every night on the calendar features a band, except the July 4th weekend.

Take a walking Spirit Tour

Again, the Spirit Tours New Orleans makes it easy for me to say, yes, I will tour with you. Though I am intrigued by the Cemetery and Voodoo tours, both of those occur during the day, so I?ll probably go with the 8:15 ghost tour.

Visit the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

What is in a name? Would a museum be as sweet as a New Orleans Pharmacy Museum? You might get art, you might get history, but rarely do you get voodoo potions, surgical instruments and questionable medical practices.

Any suggestions for things that I missed? Any additional recommendations for the area? Just let me know in the comments.