Thermal Cajun Bouillabaisse

If you back up and think about it, this is the result of living on a watery planet close to the sun. Most disasters - with the exception of earthquakes - are ultimately the end result of an avalanche of electrons interacting with a highly excitable water molecules. In the case of a hurricane, the summer sun beats down and warms the ocean and convection currents begin to weave themselves into a thermodynamic knot with tremendous power.

And the end result, from the standpoint of TV viewers, is a pixelated satellite feed of some B-team journalist trying to hold down his toupee in a raging gale of wind and rain. It seems to be a rite of passage for ambitious members of the media, who risk getting impaled by debris to deliver johnny-on-the-spot coverage. (This famous footage of Brian Williams comes to mind.)

Despite the hyperbole (Chris Matthews kept using the word 'biblical' last night) it sounds like New Orleans might avoid the worst of it. Oil and natural gas prices, however, won't be spared.