The floods in Tabasco have left countless people homeless. Nobody knows how many yet.

We do know that at least half a million people are affected, their homes cut off by the water, flooded, partially destroyed, or simply washed away entirely.

There may be 20,000 people still trapped on their roofs.

Up to eighty percent of the entire state has been inundated.

Obviously it’s one of the worst natural disasters in Mexico’s history. And it’s nowhere near over.

People are running out of food and water. Electricity is down. Waterborne illness now becomes a major risk.

Some of the Televisa photo gallery is simply hard to believe. If you don’t speak any Spanish, just assume each caption says something "yes, it’s hard to believe life can suddenly suck this much." Take a look.

If you’d like to help, you can donate to the Red Cross, UNICEF, Save the Children, or any other charity you prefer in a matter of seconds. The Mexican Embassy has also posted direct transfer bank information for relief-specific accounts accessible in the U.S. and Canada.

Si hablan español, el gobierno del estado de Tabsaco tiene todos sus últimos avisos de la emergencia aqui, y Televisa pone sus noticias actualizadas con frequencia y muchos videos aqui.

CNN has an English language video report here.

Serious Katrina memories. I hope you’ll want to toss in a few bucks yourself.

The WGA strike started at midnight Sunday. I’ve never been on strike before. This will be new.

In case you’re curious and the news reports don’t make the issues clear, the deal is extremely simple. Advancing technology is constantly changing the means through which the stuff we write is sold and delivered. Our deal doesn’t cover those changes properly, and until it does, we’ll get paid less and less fairly as time goes on.

As you know from your own experience, an ever-increasing percentage of the audience is seeing our work through DVDs, downloads, streaming media, and so on. Our last agreement dates to before YouTube and its ilk even existed.

Heck, nobody even knows how the audience will see stuff five or ten or fifty years from now. It might all be delivered wirelessly through the Internet, or to our phones, or to giant glowing mandatory probes inserted in the backs of our necks and jacked directly into our brain stems. (I only pray these will be designed by Apple. I mean, who wants a giant glowing mandatory neck probe made by Microsoft? Not me.)

One thing we do know, though: new media will be a large, growing, and possibly dominant part of the future. So WGA has to demand fair payment, or face literally signing away the writers’ share of that future.

And while the studios will make money no matter how the work is distributed, our current deal simply doesn’t extend properly into new media yet. So we’re asking to get paid our fair share (and really nothing more than that, honest) for our work, no matter where it’s shown.

That’s it. That’s the heart of the issue.

Basically, when they get paid for our work, we should get paid for our work — whether it’s in DVDs, downloads, or giant glowing mandatory neck probes.

Until then, sadly — nobody wanted this — pickets.

And hopefully some fairly creative slogans. Because, well, writers. Damn well better be.

PS: If you’d like more specifics, an excellent and clear issue-by-issue breakdown, along with the basic outlines of a possible agreement, are here.

The WGA strike started at midnight Sunday. I’ve never been on strike before. This will be new.

In case you’re curious and the news reports don’t make the issues clear, the deal is extremely simple. Advancing technology is constantly changing the means through which the stuff we write is sold and delivered. Our deal doesn’t cover those changes properly, and until it does, we’ll get paid less and less fairly as time goes on.

As you know from your own experience, an ever-increasing percentage of the audience is seeing our work through DVDs, downloads, streaming media, and so on. Our last agreement dates to before YouTube and its ilk even existed.

Heck, nobody even knows how the audience will see stuff five or ten or fifty years from now. It might all be delivered wirelessly through the Internet, or to our phones, or to giant glowing mandatory probes inserted in the backs of our necks and jacked directly into our brain stems. (I only pray these will be designed by Apple. I mean, who wants a giant glowing mandatory neck probe made by Microsoft? Not me.)

One thing we do know, though: new media will be a large, growing, and possibly dominant part of the future. So WGA has to demand fair payment, or face literally signing away the writers’ share of that future.

And while the studios will make money no matter how the work is distributed, our current deal simply doesn’t extend properly into new media yet. So we’re asking to get paid our fair share (and really nothing more than that, honest) for our work, no matter where it’s shown.

That’s it. That’s the heart of the issue.

Basically, when they get paid for our work, we should get paid for our work — whether it’s in DVDs, downloads, or giant glowing mandatory neck probes.

Until then, sadly — nobody wanted this — pickets.

And hopefully some fairly creative slogans. Because, well, writers. Damn well better be.

PS: If you’d like more specifics, an excellent and clear issue-by-issue breakdown, along with the basic outlines of a possible agreement, are here.

The WGA strike started at midnight Sunday. I’ve never been on strike before. This will be new.

In case you’re curious and the news reports don’t make the issues clear, the deal is extremely simple. Advancing technology is constantly changing the means through which the stuff we write is sold and delivered. Our deal doesn’t cover those changes properly, and until it does, we’ll get paid less and less fairly as time goes on.

As you know from your own experience, an ever-increasing percentage of the audience is seeing our work through DVDs, downloads, streaming media, and so on. Our last agreement dates to before YouTube and its ilk even existed.

Heck, nobody even knows how the audience will see stuff five or ten or fifty years from now. It might all be delivered wirelessly through the Internet, or to our phones, or to giant glowing mandatory probes inserted in the backs of our necks and jacked directly into our brain stems. (I only pray these will be designed by Apple. I mean, who wants a giant glowing mandatory neck probe made by Microsoft? Not me.)

One thing we do know, though: new media will be a large, growing, and possibly dominant part of the future. So WGA has to demand fair payment, or face literally signing away the writers’ share of that future.

And while the studios will make money no matter how the work is distributed, our current deal simply doesn’t extend properly into new media yet. So we’re asking to get paid our fair share (and really nothing more than that, honest) for our work, no matter where it’s shown.

That’s it. That’s the heart of the issue.

Basically, when they get paid for our work, we should get paid for our work — whether it’s in DVDs, downloads, or giant glowing mandatory neck probes.

Until then, sadly — nobody wanted this — pickets.

And hopefully some fairly creative slogans. Because, well, writers. Damn well better be.

PS: If you’d like more specifics, an excellent and clear issue-by-issue breakdown, along with the basic outlines of a possible agreement, are here.

We get a lot of questions about pudu maintenance. For example, some people’s pudus wobble through corners at high speed.

So how often should a pudu’s legs be rotated?  Is it better to switch out the front pair with the back, or to rotate them four ways, like with a car?

Generally, you can just switch the front legs with the back legs and get improved mileage and stability.  (Above, a pudu in mid-repair.)

With proper care, your pudu should be reliably tiny for many years to come.

Photo by an Argentine named Ricardo Cenzano, whose work I love looking at and who probably has a wonderful life.