Gustav

[W2R]

Governor Jindal and our Parish Presidents seem to have the situation much better in hand than was the case for Katrina. We shall see, if/when Gustav affects us.

At work, we updated our emergency locator information yesterday, and were asked if we could be emergency volunteers. Today we were told that ALL the shades have to come down over ALL the windows in our building until Gustav is no longer a threat. Like cloth over the windows, and not looking out of them towards the south, is really going to protect us somehow.

I don't think I have ever seen this much preparation for a storm that isn't even in the Gulf of Mexico yet. I have been puttering around the house doing a few things in advance, as well. It wouldn't hurt for me to get an oil change and gas for my car, and so on.

I might have jinxed things - - I bought a new desktop computer and wireless router today, since my previous (ancient) ones got fried. I suppose this wasn't the most sensible timing for buying electronics.

I went to the New Orleans area a few days after Katrina and helped out some hard-pressed police.

Thank you! What can I say. We are so grateful for those like you who bravely helped us after the storm.

 

[bssc]

WQhen I hear Gustav, I think:

TOM LEHRER - ALMA LYRICS

Gustav and Walter and Franz

Classic tune. Go Tom.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You could pick up a couple of these...one for your phone and cable modem and one for the computer. It wont run a computer for very long (8-10 minutes), but it'll run a phone and a cable modem for a while, maybe 1-2 hours. At least it'd let you check out a couple of sites or send off a couple of emails and shut the machine off rather than have the power just knock it down.

Buy the APC UPS/Surge Protector and other Surge protectors & UPS at circuitcity.com

Not bad for $20.

Way better than a power strip. Surge protection and noise filtering. I'm ordering a couple for our phone and our spare DVR. We get a lot of 2-5 second power "blinks" that flip the computer off and reboot the dvr...usually right in the middle of a good show.

Sams Club also has a bigger one with a longer run time for $29.

 

[W2R]

Thanks - - I'll check those out.

I wasn't too worried about my old equipment getting fried, since they probably weren't worth the $20 to protect them. But today I got one of those nice $499 Dells from Best Buy (not on sale or unusually cheap, but I have it in hand which is nice). Wouldn't be happy if that fried.

In a worst case scenario, which of course is highly unlikely, I would be more worried about water than power spikes. We've all seen the 2005 footage.

 

[W2R]

Like Lazy, I do not fear so much for the first place it is forecast at 5 days, but the place that is forecast at 2-3 days.

Exactly!

Things are getting a bit somber around here, but I keep telling people that we can't be too certain about what Gustav will do until he at least enters the Gulf.

You could cut the tension with a knife! After Katrina, NOBODY seems to be especially jolly in our office when hurricanes approach (not that federal scientists and regulators are a particularly devil-may-care bunch to begin with).

 

[REWahoo]

Exactly!
...(not that federal scientists and regulators are a particularly devil-may-care bunch to begin with).

What? And here I was imagining whoopiee cushions and fake doggie do-do were office staples.

 

[Dawg52]

Well just back from a round of golf. Yup, finally got to play again. Soggy as heck though. Looks like next week might get a little soggier. 180 mile from the gulf coast, but I don't look forward to hurricanes either. Power out for a week when Katrina came through. I'll probably stop by the store tomorrow and pick up some bottle water, snacks, batteries, etc... just in case. Oh yes, fill up the Trailblazer as gas was a headache to get last time too.

 

[W2R]

What? And here I was imagining whoopiee cushions and fake doggie do-do were office staples.

You guessed it! Wait till I pull out my clown nose and green wig! Working here is just a barrel of laughs.

 

[W2R]

Well just back from a round of golf. Yup, finally got to play again. Soggy as heck though. Looks like next week might get a little soggier. 180 mile from the gulf coast, but I don't look forward to hurricanes either. Power out for a week when Katrina came through. I'll probably stop by the store tomorrow and pick up some bottle water, snacks, batteries, etc... just in case. Oh yes, fill up the Trailblazer as gas was a headache to get last time too.

We drove through your area on our way back on September 4, 2005, and saw what Katrina did even way up there. So, I know what you mean. We got gas at a Pilot truck stop in Jackson but we searched for quite a while in order to find it - - most gas stations were closed, probably due to no power. It sounds like a good idea for you to get water, snacks, batteries, gas, cash, and all that good stuff, obviously.

Frank is already talking about making reservations in Springfield. I told him he should hold off, since we don't know if/when we might need them. Besides, I don't think we'll have any problem finding a room that far north.

 

[unclemick]

Frank is already talking about making reservations in Springfield. I told him he should hold off, since we don't know if/when we might need them. Besides, I don't think we'll have any problem finding a room that far north.

Friend of ours out seeing his 94 yr old Mom in Hood River, OR called his daughter to start stocking the RV( they live south of Baton Rouge) - he'll be back Sunday.

My friend's Grandson on his second job as a security guard got a call/offer for 24hrs work inside the levee(aka New Orleans) should Gustav head that way. He lives in Chalmette.

So it's getting attention early.

heh heh heh -

 

[Dawg52]

Gas prices jumped 20 cents a gallon this afternoon. I found one on the way home at the lower rate so I filled upped. If the hurricane keeps it's current path and does come up our way, you can bet they will jack up the prices even more next week. Sucks.

 

[W2R]

So it's getting attention early.

Sure is. They have extended local TV news into what is usually prime time shows, and are breaking in for updates every few minutes when other shows are on. At the moment, I am watching the entire Orleans Parish council announcing that people should prepare. Oh, now the Corps of Engineers is telling us how safe we are.

But like one radio talk show host said to someone from the Corps, on the air this afternoon, "When the Corps has lied to us so many times, why should we believe anything you say?" Nobody believes those guys any more.

 

[W2R]

Gas prices jumped 20 cents a gallon this afternoon. I found one on the way home at the lower rate so I filled upped. If the hurricane keeps it's current path and does come up our way, you can bet they will jack up the prices even more next week. Sucks.

Oh, shoot. I was going to get gas on the way home from work, but decided to buy it on the way to work in the morning. Hope it doesn't rise 20 cents over night. I only have to drive to work and back once (3 mile round trip) before I either evacuate or not. They are saying that Friday will be the day when we should evacuate, if need be. But like with Katrina, the storm won't even be in the Gulf on Friday.

 

[Dawg52]

Hey, latest tracking shows this thing moving a little west of New Orleans. Still not good for our N.O. friends but maybe it will continue moving west. Still way too early to know what it will do.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

ya, also they are now predicting a cat 2 instead of cat 3.

but just in case anxiety levels weren't high enough, here comes t.d. 8. check out the track. this one's gonna be fun. i think maybe we'll send it up to new york for a change.

named after gustav, i guess it starts with an "h". here's your opportunity to help name a hurricane. i'm voting for harry the hurricane because i like alliterations.

 

[Leonidas]

Here's a good example of how unpredictable these things are. It looks like it turned south after hitting Haiti, and is going to go on the south side of Jamaica rather than between Jamaica and Cuba. Radical change in 8 hours.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

that's cause it was moving so slowly. predictions are more accurate given more momentum in forward speed.

 

[HFWR]

named after gustav, i guess it starts with an "h". here's your opportunity to help name a hurricane. i'm voting for harry the hurricane because i like alliterations.

HFWR

 

[Purron]

The next one will be named Hanna. You can see all the planned storm names here: Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Names

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - just got off the phone - invited to a Hurricane party in Covington(across the causeway bridge from N.O.). We declined.

Checked on one of my old fav.'s the Spaghetti Model at BoatU.S.com - looks like a shotgun grouping on N.O. - but what do those silly computer models know?

heh heh heh - Will be watching as we know so many still in the area.

 

[poboy]

Hmmm - just got off the phone - invited to a Hurricane party in Covington(across the causeway bridge from N.O.). We declined.

Question: Has the Looters Association set a time and place for their training session?

 

[Buckeye]

DH just hit the road to Detroit Metro to catch a flight to New Orleans as a Red Cross Volunteer for up to 2 weeks.

 

[REWahoo]

Just saw a report on the local (San Antonio) news showing the local staging area for evacuation buses headed to the coast. So far over 1,000 buses have been dispatched and at least 500 more are expected to head out tonight and tomorrow.

 

[W2R]

Frank and I plan to evacuate at 3 AM, in about 8 hours, when the traffic has died down. I really doubt that Gustav will head to New Orleans, much less cause Katrina-like damage. I am thinking it might be headed to Texas instead. But, we don't care for the "Sword of Damocles" stress and worry, and we will be happier elsewhere.

This storm isn't even in the Gulf, and when we leave it will still be several days from its potential landfall. My car is stuffed so full of my things that I feel like a hillbilly (somewhat appropriate, given our Ozarks destination).

In 2005 we stayed for Hurricane Cindy, evacuated just for an afternoon for Hurricane Dennis (came back from Jackson when we heard Mayor Nagin call our parish's mandatory evacuation a "premature evacuation"), evacuated for Hurricane Katrina, came back and evacuated again for Hurricane Rita. In comparison, 2008 has not been too bad at all.

We are both looking forward to retiring next year and moving north.

 

[mews]

I hope that you have an uneventful time evacuating, and that it proves to be an unneeded precaution -

be well -

ta,
mews