Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 16.0

Hurricane Gustav
Gustav came onshore and didn't pack as much of a punch as expected...and I don't know of anyone who is complaining. As expected, the eye went west of New Orleans and made landfall at Cocodrie, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana.

There has been flooding, high winds and power outages in south Louisiana. Brettcajun posted a few items from Baton Rouge.

I will say that I was holding my breath today watching the water lap over the Industrial Canal. I wondered if the levees had been reinforced and could they really withstand a Category 2 storm? There was quite a bit television coverage here in the Houston area and I was beginning to wonder when it would stop. And then I thought, "If had left Louisiana, I'd want as much information as possible to know when I could return home."

source: Reuters

I know there are naysayers who will say, "What was the big deal?" With hurricanes you never know if they pick up strength or dissipate. I subscribe to the theory of better safe than sorry.

However, the people in Houma, Lafayette, New Iberia and Lake Charles, Louisiana bore the brunt of the storm.

For those who evacuated, it was a good drill. From what I have heard, this is how an evacuation should occur. As someone who openly criticized, Mayor Ray Nagin, FEMA, former Governor Blanco and George Bush during Katrina I will say job well done this time around to the team in place for Gustav.

Overheard yesterday
He looks good from the neck up.

Overheard this morning (no. 1)
Customer: I'm dehydrated. I need something to drink.
Barista: Party too much last night?
Customer: I don't party and get drunk.
Barista: Oh that's right. You go and have a nice dinner and get overserved on wine and liquor.
St8 Up With A Twist: LOL

Overheard this morning (no. 2)
Person at a table next to Str8 Up With A Twist: I think they should just pack up the city and relocate it (referring to New Orleans). There's nothing left but a bunch of shacks.
Str8 Up With A Twist thought: When was the last time you were in New Orleans? And why don't you suggest that they do the same thing to San Francisco that is build on a fault. Or better yet, how about Cedar Rapids that flooded earlier this year? DUH!

John McCain
I'm NOT even going to comment on his pick for his running mate (Sarah Palin). There is just TOO much to say. Is it just me or is there some correlation between Juno and Juneau? Just askin'.

And So It Goes
I'm still trying to get the computer back to normal. Today's chore was getting it to recognize the printer. This was followed by loading more software for other programs. Good thing I'm a patient person. UGH!

Warning
I start a new job on tomorrow. So...not sure how often I'll be posting. I haven't told the people at the office that my hours will be changing. They'll figure it out when I show up early and not in shorts and sandals. Will also have to make some adjustments to my time spent at LeFittes.

Save A Prayer For The Morning After

Folks. Here's the deal. This is serious. I'm not talking about serious for us Houstonians and this about me playing the role of Chicken Little or buying into media hype. I'm talking about this being serious for the people of New Orleans, southwest Louisiana and east Texas.

If you look at these pics and you see the projected path and you don't know anything about hurricanes, you may think there is nothing to worry about. However, here's the deal.

The worst place to be during a hurricane is on the east side of the storm aka the dirty side of the storm. During Katrina, New Orleans was on the clean side of the storm and you saw the damage that was created.

The last thing that I heard is that this storm is 400 miles wide. If it continues on it's path, New Orleans may see worse damage than it did during Katrina.

And it's just not about New Orleans. Southwestern Louisiana is going to take the brunt of this storm. This includes New Iberia and Lafayette. While this area is not as populous as New Orleans, there are people who will suffer a great loss.

If you believe in prayer, keep the people of Louisiana and East Texas in your prayers. If you're not a praying person, please send positive thoughts to these people to give them strength to deal with whatever lies ahead for them.

Cone Of Uncertainty

I've noticed that I've been eating quite a bit more over the past few days. Kenny In Montrose (KIM) said he never knew I was such a muncher. I think it's all of this talk about cones

On a more serious note, Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, told people to get their butts out of town. Going overboard? He said he would rather tell America that he was wrong.

He has said that communication up and down the line between government agencies is not what it was during Hurricane Katrina and that supplies and militia are in place.

By the way, where is Brownie (UGH! another food reference) these days? You remember Michael Brown from FEMA don't you?

And what if you planned a party and there's a party pooper by the name of Gustav knocking on your door? The Republican Party starts its convention tomorrow and the shadow of Katrina is hanging over them. I will say that blame for the poor response to Katrina can be spread from Mayor Nagin to former Governor Blanco to President Bush. Two disasters in one week? Gustav and the Republican convention. I'm just sayin'.

OY!

Yes. I've been a bit quiet on here. You see...

My computer crashed on Friday morning! First it was the iPod nano and now the computer! OY!
Fortunately or unfortunately I hadn't backed everything up but I had backed up quite a bit. I lost some photos, music and documents but I actually have more than I thought.

I spent a big ass chunk of Friday restoring it. I still need to load some programs. If only I could get the nano to work.

Here's another big OY! I'm not meaning to add to the media hype but have you looked at the satellite photo of Gustav? I just looked at it.

I think we will be OK here in Houston but it looks like southwest Louisiana is going to get hit hard. Stay safe everybody.

New Orleans

There have been two catastrophic events in my lifetime that have definitely made an impact on me. It's almost as if there are two bookmarks within a matter of years.

The first is September 11, 2001. I had been in New York City celebrating my 40th birthday and left on the evening of September 10 to return to Houston. I remember waking up on the morning of September 11 and watching the Today Show only to have it interrupted with live coverage of what was happening. Not only was I stunned because I had just been there but also because two of my friends were still there and were due to return that evening. They were safe and eventually made it back to Houston.

The second event is Hurricane Katrina in 2005. On the 2nd Anniversary, I put down some thoughts. I have always felt like New Orleans was a place I could call home. It isn't all about the French Quarter and the debauchery of Mardi Gras. It's about the history, the people, the food and the unique charm of the city.

Right now residents along the Gulf Coast are keeping an eye on Hurricane Gustav. It is too early to tell what it will do but it is a bit odd that a watch is being held on the 3rd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Rather than dwell on this yesterday I picked up the phone and called a long time friend of mine who I had not spoken to in many, many months. She and her family are natives of New Orleans and returned to rebuild their lives.

I spent an hour on the phone with her taking a few trips down memory lane, sharing many laughs, and sharing a few hurricane preparedness tips. I actually offered one to her that she had not even thought of! Pretty good for a guy who has only lived on the Gulf Coast for 16 years, eh?

I also got in contact with some former clients of mine who also returned to New Orleans to rebuild their lives. They're in a watch mode and still a bit numb from what happened three years ago.

The tenacity, resilience, Southern charm and love of life is what all of these people have in common. I'm glad that I took the time to get in contact with them because they reminded me of what makes New Orleans so special: the people.

Waiting For Gustav(o)

Once again, I find myself sitting here wondering if I should be waiting for Godot Gustav. After Edouard pissed barely rained on us I started eating my hurricane supplies. I should know better. You see...

As you can see, all is quiet on the western front (right now).

September 10 is my birthday the height of hurricane season so we are creeping toward that date. Not that we will be out of the woods after September 10. Afterall, Hurricane Rita came ashore later in the month in 2005.

It is still a bit too early to tell if Gustav will come to Houston, New Orleans, Biloxi or Pensacola. It is not very Christian to wish that a hurricane hits some other town but geez, I really don't want to deal with high winds, flooding and power outages. Besides, I start my new job on Tuesday and evacuating town on your first day of work isn't a good way to start at a new place of employment.


This is Gustavo. Not sure where I found this picture. I'm sure many people would welcome him to their town and would be happy to wait for him.