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- Thread starter NorthShoreBuck
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tibor75
Banned
Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao
This Katrina hurricane is a 'warning' by God over President Bush's reactionary behaviour on the Kyoto Protocol. The US government should wake up from this big disaster, truly take up its responsibilities as a great nation, and become the forerunner in protecting the global climate.
What crap. We all know that God is in George Bush's ear and He personally spoke to Bush telling that invading Iraq was the right thing to do.
This Katrina hurricane is a 'warning' by God over President Bush's reactionary behaviour on the Kyoto Protocol. The US government should wake up from this big disaster, truly take up its responsibilities as a great nation, and become the forerunner in protecting the global climate.
What crap. We all know that God is in George Bush's ear and He personally spoke to Bush telling that invading Iraq was the right thing to do.
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Damn straight. How are we ever going to be able to put a Hummer in every garage if we don't get access to ALL the oil.
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Finally, this effort is starting to reflect some coordinatin.
The powers that be are saying NO will be completely evacuated in the next two days.
The National Gurad has arrived in NO and has brought with them 9 million MREs.
I am not making this up.
The powers that be are saying NO will be completely evacuated in the next two days.
The National Gurad has arrived in NO and has brought with them 9 million MREs.
I am not making this up.
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LoKyBuckeye
I give up. This board is too hard to understand.
From coffee to tires, Katrina fallout for consumers to spread
By Adam Geller
The Associated Press
Posted September 2 2005
From gas stations to grocery stores, farms to factories, the force of Hurricane Katrina is rippling through the economy, confronting consumers and businesses with higher prices and logistical dilemmas, even thousands of miles from the Gulf Coast.
Unlike most natural disasters, Katrina is that rare economic event -- sweeping and devastating enough to damage commerce well beyond its region, affecting the price, supply and markets for goods critical to business and counted on in daily life.
The problems start with energy and they are potentially enormous. The virtual shutdown of a region that is a nexus for oil production, refining and importation poses the most serious economic risks. It is already punishing consumers at the gasoline pump, and causing long-term worries for businesses including financially shaky airlines, trucking companies and steel producers.
But the cost of Katrina may soon be felt in numerous other ways.
For consumers, it could mean higher prices for a cup of coffee or a pound of bananas in coming months. For farmers in the Midwest, weeks away from the annual harvests of corn and soybeans, Katrina threatens to create bottlenecks for the huge amount of U.S. grain earmarked for overseas buyers.
And for a host of businesses -- from retailers to tire producers -- it raises troubling questions and creates headache-inducing challenges. Will consumers, paying substantially more for gasoline, rethink other purchases? Will producers be able to get quick access to the raw materials they need to make those goods?
They are economic quandaries never raised by disasters like Florida's Hurricane Andrew, or the San Francisco earthquake.
"Andrew was just really South Florida and it really didn't have the impact" on the nation's commerce, said John Silvia, chief economist with Wachovia Corp. "But this is different. It really is far more significant than that."
So different, in fact, that economists aren't quite sure what to compare it to. Many analysts have already pared forecasts for the rest of the year as a result of Katrina, predicting that growth will slow.
Trying to gauge its consequences is particularly difficult because we still don't know exactly how much damage has been done by Katrina to ports, refineries and other economic keystones, and how long it will take to bring them back.
But Katrina's damage will be magnified every day the problems unleashed by the hurricane go unresolved, experts say.
That is most obvious in energy. The Gulf's fuel industry is such a complicated puzzle that the absence of certain pieces, and the difficulty of reconfiguration could draw out the situation for months.
The interstate pipelines that carry gasoline, jet fuel and heating oil are starting to pump again. But refineries that make those products are still down. The damage to offshore oil rigs in the Gulf appears contained. But the pipes that carry the crude oil back to shore are still off-line and have to be inspected.
About 20 percent of U.S. corn is sold overseas, and almost 40 percent of U.S. soybeans. The vast majority goes moves down the Mississippi River in barges so it can be shipped out of New Orleans.
With that port closed, hundreds of barges are backed up on the river. About a quarter of the entire U.S. stock of unprocessed coffee is stored in New Orleans. More than half of the Folger's and Millstone brand coffees sold by Procter & Gamble Co. are made at two plants in New Orleans.
By Adam Geller
The Associated Press
Posted September 2 2005
From gas stations to grocery stores, farms to factories, the force of Hurricane Katrina is rippling through the economy, confronting consumers and businesses with higher prices and logistical dilemmas, even thousands of miles from the Gulf Coast.
Unlike most natural disasters, Katrina is that rare economic event -- sweeping and devastating enough to damage commerce well beyond its region, affecting the price, supply and markets for goods critical to business and counted on in daily life.
The problems start with energy and they are potentially enormous. The virtual shutdown of a region that is a nexus for oil production, refining and importation poses the most serious economic risks. It is already punishing consumers at the gasoline pump, and causing long-term worries for businesses including financially shaky airlines, trucking companies and steel producers.
But the cost of Katrina may soon be felt in numerous other ways.
For consumers, it could mean higher prices for a cup of coffee or a pound of bananas in coming months. For farmers in the Midwest, weeks away from the annual harvests of corn and soybeans, Katrina threatens to create bottlenecks for the huge amount of U.S. grain earmarked for overseas buyers.
And for a host of businesses -- from retailers to tire producers -- it raises troubling questions and creates headache-inducing challenges. Will consumers, paying substantially more for gasoline, rethink other purchases? Will producers be able to get quick access to the raw materials they need to make those goods?
They are economic quandaries never raised by disasters like Florida's Hurricane Andrew, or the San Francisco earthquake.
"Andrew was just really South Florida and it really didn't have the impact" on the nation's commerce, said John Silvia, chief economist with Wachovia Corp. "But this is different. It really is far more significant than that."
So different, in fact, that economists aren't quite sure what to compare it to. Many analysts have already pared forecasts for the rest of the year as a result of Katrina, predicting that growth will slow.
Trying to gauge its consequences is particularly difficult because we still don't know exactly how much damage has been done by Katrina to ports, refineries and other economic keystones, and how long it will take to bring them back.
But Katrina's damage will be magnified every day the problems unleashed by the hurricane go unresolved, experts say.
That is most obvious in energy. The Gulf's fuel industry is such a complicated puzzle that the absence of certain pieces, and the difficulty of reconfiguration could draw out the situation for months.
The interstate pipelines that carry gasoline, jet fuel and heating oil are starting to pump again. But refineries that make those products are still down. The damage to offshore oil rigs in the Gulf appears contained. But the pipes that carry the crude oil back to shore are still off-line and have to be inspected.
About 20 percent of U.S. corn is sold overseas, and almost 40 percent of U.S. soybeans. The vast majority goes moves down the Mississippi River in barges so it can be shipped out of New Orleans.
With that port closed, hundreds of barges are backed up on the river. About a quarter of the entire U.S. stock of unprocessed coffee is stored in New Orleans. More than half of the Folger's and Millstone brand coffees sold by Procter & Gamble Co. are made at two plants in New Orleans.
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OSUsushichic
Fired up! Ready to go!
This is a good story...
Saints player Joe Horn visits refugees at Astrodome
By KRISTIE RIEKEN, Associated Press Writer
September 3, 2005
HOUSTON (AP) -- Three-year-old Aaron Carter timidly hoisted a small football skyward to Saints receiver Joe Horn, who reached down and gave the boy a hug before signing.
The boy's grandmother, Jeanne Carter, says seeing Aaron happy made her smile for the first time all week. For thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees inside the Astrodome on Saturday, meeting Horn was a much-needed morale boost.
``Anybody can throw money around at these people, but they need love,'' said Horn, who spent three hours signing autographs, holding babies and playing games with children. ``They need to be able to feel me. So when I leave, I hope they feel a little better.''
Horn made good on a promise after the Saints' last preseason game Thursday by driving to Houston to spend time with refugees.
Longtime Saints fan DeShawn Brown could barely contain himself when he saw Horn.
``This is big,'' Brown bellowed. ``Our mail didn't come out here, and Joe Horn came out here. He's the truth.''
Horn worked his way through lines of cots and people lining the Astrodome floor as women shrieked in delight and everyone from small children to the elderly lined up to greet him.
``We're going to bounce back,'' he yelled to the crowd. ``Things will get better.''
People milling on the Astrodome floor and those sitting in the stands alike hollered their thanks to Horn and kids dashed toward him clasping any paper they could find for autographs. Others had him sign miniature Bibles distributed to survivors.
``Joe Horn came to see us when no one else would,'' said one person. ``It's good to see somebody from home,'' yelled another from high above.
Bridget Bailey, who came to the Astrodome with 18 relatives after being rescued by helicopter, showed Horn digital pictures of her flooded home.
``Horn came to show us love, baby,'' she said. ``It means so much to see him here and know that he cares.''
A middle-aged man pushed through the crowd and approached Horn with a picture of his missing wife. He asked Horn to hold the photograph while he snapped a picture of the player and said he was confident he would find her.
One young man came up crying and relayed a story about watching several members of his family die. Horn said he almost broke down but composed himself when he looked around and saw the smiling faces of several children gathered around him.
Horn held babies, kissing them on their cheeks and making them giggle. He sat down on cots and talked to the elderly. He tossed a football to a young boy and played a board game with another.
``Right now money doesn't matter,'' said Horn, who has sent more than $15,000 to friends and associates affected by the flood. ``Who you are or where you're from doesn't matter. Getting to come out here and give a child a hug or give someone a hug who knows that their house and everything that they have is gone is what's important.''
He spoke through an interpreter with Darron Gavrel, 14, who is deaf. He told him to stay positive and shared with the teenager that he has an aunt and uncle who are deaf. Gavrel's eyes grew wide and he smiled, revealing a toothy grin.
It was a softer side to the man who made headlines two years ago when he was fined $30,000 for pulling a cell phone out the goal post padding after a touchdown and making a call in the end zone.
Many people asked him about the future of the Saints and how the season would go. The team has moved its headquarters to San Antonio.
``I don't care about all that,'' he said. ``We're going to be where they want us to be anyway.''
On the drive to the Astrodome, Horn was quiet and upset.
When asked if football mattered right now he answered, ``Hell, no.''
He was different after his visit, smiling and laughing, and had even changed his tune on football.
``I thought football would be irrelevant, but it's not,'' he said. ``They want us to roll. They want us to play, so now I'm more spirited to do that.''
He felt like he got as much of a boost from the visit as he gave to the people.
``At first my spirits was down,'' he said. ``I didn't want to catch any footballs. I didn't want to run any routes. Now, I'm going back full steam ahead telling the fellows, 'Let's go. That's what everybody wants.'''
While he was in California watching the footage of New Orleans, he said he felt helpless and sickened and could barely eat. He knew then that he had to reach out to the people of the city.
``I feel much better now because I see where their heart is,'' he said. ``They're about helping themselves and helping each other. They just appreciate that I came through just to say, 'You're going to be all right.'''
He said preparing for the Saints' opener Sept. 11 at Carolina will be tough, but he'll do it for all the fans he met Saturday.
``I'm going to get a grasp of myself because the fans here, they still want us to win,'' he said. ``That's what they have to hold on to. That's why I came. I wanted to come and feel their heart. Now I can feel more comfortable about taking a flight to Carolina and trying to win a football game for these fans.''
Saints player Joe Horn visits refugees at Astrodome
By KRISTIE RIEKEN, Associated Press Writer
September 3, 2005
HOUSTON (AP) -- Three-year-old Aaron Carter timidly hoisted a small football skyward to Saints receiver Joe Horn, who reached down and gave the boy a hug before signing.
The boy's grandmother, Jeanne Carter, says seeing Aaron happy made her smile for the first time all week. For thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees inside the Astrodome on Saturday, meeting Horn was a much-needed morale boost.
``Anybody can throw money around at these people, but they need love,'' said Horn, who spent three hours signing autographs, holding babies and playing games with children. ``They need to be able to feel me. So when I leave, I hope they feel a little better.''
Horn made good on a promise after the Saints' last preseason game Thursday by driving to Houston to spend time with refugees.
Longtime Saints fan DeShawn Brown could barely contain himself when he saw Horn.
``This is big,'' Brown bellowed. ``Our mail didn't come out here, and Joe Horn came out here. He's the truth.''
Horn worked his way through lines of cots and people lining the Astrodome floor as women shrieked in delight and everyone from small children to the elderly lined up to greet him.
``We're going to bounce back,'' he yelled to the crowd. ``Things will get better.''
People milling on the Astrodome floor and those sitting in the stands alike hollered their thanks to Horn and kids dashed toward him clasping any paper they could find for autographs. Others had him sign miniature Bibles distributed to survivors.
``Joe Horn came to see us when no one else would,'' said one person. ``It's good to see somebody from home,'' yelled another from high above.
Bridget Bailey, who came to the Astrodome with 18 relatives after being rescued by helicopter, showed Horn digital pictures of her flooded home.
``Horn came to show us love, baby,'' she said. ``It means so much to see him here and know that he cares.''
A middle-aged man pushed through the crowd and approached Horn with a picture of his missing wife. He asked Horn to hold the photograph while he snapped a picture of the player and said he was confident he would find her.
One young man came up crying and relayed a story about watching several members of his family die. Horn said he almost broke down but composed himself when he looked around and saw the smiling faces of several children gathered around him.
Horn held babies, kissing them on their cheeks and making them giggle. He sat down on cots and talked to the elderly. He tossed a football to a young boy and played a board game with another.
``Right now money doesn't matter,'' said Horn, who has sent more than $15,000 to friends and associates affected by the flood. ``Who you are or where you're from doesn't matter. Getting to come out here and give a child a hug or give someone a hug who knows that their house and everything that they have is gone is what's important.''
He spoke through an interpreter with Darron Gavrel, 14, who is deaf. He told him to stay positive and shared with the teenager that he has an aunt and uncle who are deaf. Gavrel's eyes grew wide and he smiled, revealing a toothy grin.
It was a softer side to the man who made headlines two years ago when he was fined $30,000 for pulling a cell phone out the goal post padding after a touchdown and making a call in the end zone.
Many people asked him about the future of the Saints and how the season would go. The team has moved its headquarters to San Antonio.
``I don't care about all that,'' he said. ``We're going to be where they want us to be anyway.''
On the drive to the Astrodome, Horn was quiet and upset.
When asked if football mattered right now he answered, ``Hell, no.''
He was different after his visit, smiling and laughing, and had even changed his tune on football.
``I thought football would be irrelevant, but it's not,'' he said. ``They want us to roll. They want us to play, so now I'm more spirited to do that.''
He felt like he got as much of a boost from the visit as he gave to the people.
``At first my spirits was down,'' he said. ``I didn't want to catch any footballs. I didn't want to run any routes. Now, I'm going back full steam ahead telling the fellows, 'Let's go. That's what everybody wants.'''
While he was in California watching the footage of New Orleans, he said he felt helpless and sickened and could barely eat. He knew then that he had to reach out to the people of the city.
``I feel much better now because I see where their heart is,'' he said. ``They're about helping themselves and helping each other. They just appreciate that I came through just to say, 'You're going to be all right.'''
He said preparing for the Saints' opener Sept. 11 at Carolina will be tough, but he'll do it for all the fans he met Saturday.
``I'm going to get a grasp of myself because the fans here, they still want us to win,'' he said. ``That's what they have to hold on to. That's why I came. I wanted to come and feel their heart. Now I can feel more comfortable about taking a flight to Carolina and trying to win a football game for these fans.''
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scarletngrey11
All right, all right, all right.
wow what a great story, joe horn is known as one of the most selfish and self hyped recievers in the game, this shows how good of a guy he really is though.
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Misanthrope
Banned
tibor75 said:
Of course, I'm sure Mr. Kung Pao - and some American leftists *cough*cough* - all remember that the Kyoto Protocol was rejected by the "reactionary behaviour" of the ENTIRE US SENATE by a 95-0 vote in 1998.
Give it a rest, genius...
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LoKyBuckeye
I give up. This board is too hard to understand.
Saw another story about a NO newspaper ran a huge story about three years ago that outlined what would happen if a major hurricane hit the area... apparently everything they wrote about has come true... even the fact of thousands of people seeking shelter in the Super Dome. I can't seem to find anything on it to post but I'll keep looking.
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OSUsushichic
Fired up! Ready to go!
This guy has set up a really cool thing with Google Maps. Check out Scipionus.com.
A Disaster Map 'Wiki' Is Born
By Ryan Singel
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/hurricane/0,2904,68743,00.html
01:35 PM Sep. 02, 2005 PT
Of all of the websites tracking the Katrina disaster, surely one of the most remarkable is Scipionus.com.
Visitors swoop down over a map of the Gulf Coast that's awash in hundreds of red teardrops, each denoting information about specific geographical points in the area. That's pretty amazing in itself, but there's more: All of the information on the map has been provided by ordinary citizens, most of whom presumably have come to the site in search of information on the flood themselves.
Since Scipionus.com launched Wednesday, it has become a giant visual "wiki" page, attracting tens of thousands of visitors who are collaborating in creating a public document of astonishing detail. "Corner of 1077 and Brewster. Had contact with parents. Lots fo trees down, but no water damage. No electrucity and no phone at the monebt 8/31 2:00pm," reads one of hundreds of entries.
The site is the brainchild of Jonathan Mendez, a 24-year-old computer programmer living in Austin, Texas. Mendez says he grew frustrated combing message boards trying to find out if his family home -- the one his parents and brother had just fled from -- had been destroyed.
Mendez turned to his co-worker, Greg Stoll, a 23-year-old software engineer who had experimented with Google Maps' API, and asked him to code a way for people to report and find damage assessments on a Google Map.
Wired News caught up with Mendez and Stoll and spoke with them about their project.
Wired News: How did Scipionus come about?
Greg Stoll: Well, it was my friend Jonathan's idea. He's from New Orleans, but lives in Austin now. He wanted to do something to help, and he found these forums that had lots of information, but most of it was questions like, "Does anyone know about this block or this street?" And so he was going through 50 pages of these and the thought occurred to him that this would be much easier with a map.
He IM'd me Tuesday night, saying this would be a cool thing to have people add information about locations and how high the water was. I spent a little (time) playing with the API, figuring out how to let people add information to it. I finished it for him and went to bed.
About noon on Wednesday, Jonathan posted it to the forums, and that was the end of it as far as I was concerned. Later that afternoon, I was checking it and there were tons of markers and useful information. It really just took off from there.
Jonathan Mendez: I've been reading stories about how journalism is going to the people in cases like this, so I figured this might pick up well from that, but at the same time, I had no idea how big it would get.
WN: Have you heard from people your map has helped?
Mendez: I've seen a lot of feedback. I just put up my e-mail, but before then, I'd seen comments in various forums about how people had found good information. That's a very cool thing. One website said hopefully the government will do this in the future.
Stoll: People found my blog and have left comments saying it's useful. The only thing is, we can't be sure that the information people put in is right. We've already removed some things that are clearly just people messing with us or just playing around.
WN: Are you surprised by Scipionus' popularity?
Stoll: I was surprised. But the map interface is so organized, it's so easy to find what you are looking for. If you are looking for how your home is, you just click on the right place on the map and look at the markers around there.
WN: How long did it take you to code Scipionus?
Stoll: I had some existing code for putting markers on the map from an XML file, so adding the extra functionality took about an hour and a half. I spent another hour or two on Wednesday just making sure it was working.
WN: Doesn't it seem funny that you spent an hour or two of working and now you are serving up better information than FEMA?
Stoll: I trust the information from FEMA and the government a lot more than just the aggregation of information anyone can enter. But it is pretty cool, and it does show the power of the internet, the kind of collaborative effort that can put together a lot of information in a very short time.
WN: Have you found anything about your parent's house?
Mendez: We did find some markings kind of close to (our) house, but just before I got this going, I found a post on the forums talking about my street. That was the very first marker I put on there. It seems to have done OK, at least in terms of flooding.
WN: How did you get the website up so fast?
Mendez: I had a friend I met through a game I play. She has a hosting company, WebGeist, and she helped me get it up within a couple of hours. They are either not charging me or not charging me that much, it's not clear, but they are being very helpful.
WN: How are your parents?
Mendez: They are thankful for having gotten out of there and are relieved in terms of hearing their house seems to have avoided the flooding. They are obviously pretty stressed, but they are holding up pretty well, and are happy I have a house here for them.
A Disaster Map 'Wiki' Is Born
By Ryan Singel
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/hurricane/0,2904,68743,00.html
01:35 PM Sep. 02, 2005 PT
Of all of the websites tracking the Katrina disaster, surely one of the most remarkable is Scipionus.com.
Visitors swoop down over a map of the Gulf Coast that's awash in hundreds of red teardrops, each denoting information about specific geographical points in the area. That's pretty amazing in itself, but there's more: All of the information on the map has been provided by ordinary citizens, most of whom presumably have come to the site in search of information on the flood themselves.
Since Scipionus.com launched Wednesday, it has become a giant visual "wiki" page, attracting tens of thousands of visitors who are collaborating in creating a public document of astonishing detail. "Corner of 1077 and Brewster. Had contact with parents. Lots fo trees down, but no water damage. No electrucity and no phone at the monebt 8/31 2:00pm," reads one of hundreds of entries.
The site is the brainchild of Jonathan Mendez, a 24-year-old computer programmer living in Austin, Texas. Mendez says he grew frustrated combing message boards trying to find out if his family home -- the one his parents and brother had just fled from -- had been destroyed.
Mendez turned to his co-worker, Greg Stoll, a 23-year-old software engineer who had experimented with Google Maps' API, and asked him to code a way for people to report and find damage assessments on a Google Map.
Wired News caught up with Mendez and Stoll and spoke with them about their project.
Wired News: How did Scipionus come about?
Greg Stoll: Well, it was my friend Jonathan's idea. He's from New Orleans, but lives in Austin now. He wanted to do something to help, and he found these forums that had lots of information, but most of it was questions like, "Does anyone know about this block or this street?" And so he was going through 50 pages of these and the thought occurred to him that this would be much easier with a map.
He IM'd me Tuesday night, saying this would be a cool thing to have people add information about locations and how high the water was. I spent a little (time) playing with the API, figuring out how to let people add information to it. I finished it for him and went to bed.
About noon on Wednesday, Jonathan posted it to the forums, and that was the end of it as far as I was concerned. Later that afternoon, I was checking it and there were tons of markers and useful information. It really just took off from there.
Jonathan Mendez: I've been reading stories about how journalism is going to the people in cases like this, so I figured this might pick up well from that, but at the same time, I had no idea how big it would get.
WN: Have you heard from people your map has helped?
Mendez: I've seen a lot of feedback. I just put up my e-mail, but before then, I'd seen comments in various forums about how people had found good information. That's a very cool thing. One website said hopefully the government will do this in the future.
Stoll: People found my blog and have left comments saying it's useful. The only thing is, we can't be sure that the information people put in is right. We've already removed some things that are clearly just people messing with us or just playing around.
WN: Are you surprised by Scipionus' popularity?
Stoll: I was surprised. But the map interface is so organized, it's so easy to find what you are looking for. If you are looking for how your home is, you just click on the right place on the map and look at the markers around there.
WN: How long did it take you to code Scipionus?
Stoll: I had some existing code for putting markers on the map from an XML file, so adding the extra functionality took about an hour and a half. I spent another hour or two on Wednesday just making sure it was working.
WN: Doesn't it seem funny that you spent an hour or two of working and now you are serving up better information than FEMA?
Stoll: I trust the information from FEMA and the government a lot more than just the aggregation of information anyone can enter. But it is pretty cool, and it does show the power of the internet, the kind of collaborative effort that can put together a lot of information in a very short time.
WN: Have you found anything about your parent's house?
Mendez: We did find some markings kind of close to (our) house, but just before I got this going, I found a post on the forums talking about my street. That was the very first marker I put on there. It seems to have done OK, at least in terms of flooding.
WN: How did you get the website up so fast?
Mendez: I had a friend I met through a game I play. She has a hosting company, WebGeist, and she helped me get it up within a couple of hours. They are either not charging me or not charging me that much, it's not clear, but they are being very helpful.
WN: How are your parents?
Mendez: They are thankful for having gotten out of there and are relieved in terms of hearing their house seems to have avoided the flooding. They are obviously pretty stressed, but they are holding up pretty well, and are happy I have a house here for them.
Upvote
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NorthShoreBuck
True Madness Requires Significant Intelligence
Wow
What a long thread, something big must have happened.:)
I just got power back this PM and after checking my finances I figured I venture over here to see what is happening.
Where to start?
For those that do not know, NJ was correct, NOLA stands for New Orleans LouisianA. In my location the Big Easy is New Orleans.
This is all a little confusing as I really live in Mandeville. If you watched the weather channel during the storm there was reporter that was in Mandeville and Covington. He showed a theater that some wind damage. That is a couple of miles from my home. The commercial they kept running showed them drive over a small overpass that had a Fairway drive sign. That leads to the back of my subdivision. I did live downtown NOLA years ago. My first wife and I had an apartment across the street from Emeril's. Mandeville is across Lake Ponchatrain.
If you remember I stayed a day after my family left to trim some trees from my house. It was a very good thing to do. I build my house in 1993 or so and have been planting trees and bushes ever since. My yard is an acre, shaped like a football field that is not square. Just about every tree is now blown over or snapped in half. They all missed my house! This includes some oaks that are probably 75-100 years old.:( Fortunately my next door neighbor had a huge pine tree next to their house fall in my yard. If not it would have completely crushed their home. I cut down every pine tree in my yard years ago for that very reason. We probably saw winds in excess of 100 MPH for about two hours.
I lost quite a few shingles but had no other damage. My pool had half a tree in it. We saw no storm surge or flooding here. We are above sea level with no levies.
I came back Tuesday morning. I think I told you we went to Starkville MS. I will never go back there again and they can rot in hell as far as I am concerned. They threw my wife and kids out of the hotel because Mississippi State had a football game and the rooms were booked before the storm. If I was there it would have been a different story. It ended up for the best as my wife and kids went to Memphis and ended up at a Residence Inn. The local churches have really taken them under their care. They have found some friends from Mandeville and they moved to the Residence Inn also. These events seem to bring and the worst and the best in mankind.
We have not had power, phone, cable TV, cell phone or water for most of the week here. I start early in the AM and work until noon clearing trees. With no shower or A/C you can imagine it has not been a pleasant experience. Even with limited power there is no reason for my family to come back here just yet. Gas is almost unavailable. There are no grocery stores open. School may not start until October if not later. At first I slept on the floor as it is tile and cooler but much harder. On Wednesday I realized that I hadn't eaten anything besides a breakfast bar all day. I was too hot and too wound up to eat anyway.
Some of my neighbors were not as lucky as me. The area we live in is well known for its towering pine trees and huge old oaks. I have seen many homes cut in half due to a fallen pine. Many have hit multiple times. I have not heard of any local deaths.
I am sure you have discussed all the issues. Everyone should have gotten out. They should have shot the first looters. About half of what you hear is rumors. This is the largest natural disaster in our history so everyone has had a chance to screw up and redeem themselves. We weren't ready or fast enough.
As you can imagine there are a lot of strong and mixed emotions on everyone's part. Most of you know me as a person that wants to control his own destiny with a strong contrary and independent thought process. I got out with mixed emotions. I feel sorry for the old and the young that had no chance to leave. I remember seeing an old black lady waiting in line to get into the superdome. I thought to myself that she has seen more misery and prejudice than 100 people should have. I knew the people that were headed to the dome would turn in to an unlivable pit. They do it to everything they inhabit. I did not expect it to leak or for them to be trapped as long as they were.
It is difficult to hear the mayor of New Orleans break down and see the parish president of Jefferson parish cry as he tells of one of his city workers mother who died in a nursing home waiting for FEMA or the Red Cross. I am angry at much of the city for the reactions. The reason I live where I do is because New Orleans became almost uninhabitable for someone that wants to raise their children in a safe environment.The place I live is an upper middle class area where mostly white people with college educations that are not from Louisiana end up. It is the exact polar opposite of what New Orleans has become. That is a sad fact but it is the stark truth.
It is weird to see a military helicopter being refueled in the air above your subdivision. My subdivision established an evening guard duty, put out a trailer for trash and we have one guy running mail back and forth to Baton Rouge. You drive everywhere with a gun and flashlight. Remember the neighbor I pulled out of the ditch. When I got home he was there to cut the trees out of my driveway so I could get into it. I had to drive through a narrow path that had been cut through all the downed trees in all our major streets. Under, over and around trees. It looked like a bomb had been dropped as most of the trees how been blown over or snapped in half.
The crazy stuff. Some people did stay in my neighborhood. The guy I pulled out stayed but thankfully sent his wife and kids away. The people across the street stayed! They had 9 people in their house. Most were women and kids. The wife was the first to greet me and when she told me they stayed I asked her if her husband was dumbass? She said yes.
He co-owns the local Mercedes dealership. Right before the storm he bought one of those large natural gas powered generators that was capable of powering most of his house, including the A/C. They also knew the lady that runs the just opened Fresh Market. She ended up giving them close to $4000 in food as she knew it would spoil. Most of it had just been delivered Friday. The store was open a week before the storm. My neighbors were very gracious and kept inviting me to eat and come over an cool off. With 9 and often more people I did not want to intrude or take a mother's or kid's food and water. Eventually the kids got sent off to relatives. I did join them for a pot luck seafood boil and the use of their A/C one evening. It made you feel guilty knowing what was going on across the lake.
We borrowed a neighbors Direct TV dish and receiver. I am sure they will give it back. I saw the end of the GT-Auburn game and saw that OSU had won.
I got strange calls at night from friends and family in placed like Arizona, Indiana, Georgia and Kansas just to name a few. That was weird because I could not call out and I could not call my neighbor across the street on my cell or land line.
My company was able to relocate our servers and contact our customers. We have accounted for all employees except one and I imagine he is with his church. My customers offered us everything to help. Office space at their facilities, generators, computers whatever we needed. We had two conventions scheduled for New Orleans, our customer conference in Mandeville and another trade show in Biloxi. I am pretty sure I lost a customer that was two blocks off the beach in Biloxi.
This has become a rambling mess, sorry about that.
Two quick things. Thanks for all your thoughts and wishes. Rugby, NJ, AKAK, Nutty, BinMich and others thank for the PM's and messages.
I would like to ask Clarity and or the mods if I can change my screen name, Bucknola like the my adopted city is dead for now. Perhaps it will come back bigger and better. Maybe it can be held for a time when I am ready to use it again. I have considered relocating. In a few weeks or months I imagine my home will draw top dollar. I am not sure I want my family to go through something like this again.
If you need some firewood, I know a place you can get it cheap. It just costs a little sweat equity.
What a long thread, something big must have happened.:)
I just got power back this PM and after checking my finances I figured I venture over here to see what is happening.
Where to start?
For those that do not know, NJ was correct, NOLA stands for New Orleans LouisianA. In my location the Big Easy is New Orleans.
This is all a little confusing as I really live in Mandeville. If you watched the weather channel during the storm there was reporter that was in Mandeville and Covington. He showed a theater that some wind damage. That is a couple of miles from my home. The commercial they kept running showed them drive over a small overpass that had a Fairway drive sign. That leads to the back of my subdivision. I did live downtown NOLA years ago. My first wife and I had an apartment across the street from Emeril's. Mandeville is across Lake Ponchatrain.
If you remember I stayed a day after my family left to trim some trees from my house. It was a very good thing to do. I build my house in 1993 or so and have been planting trees and bushes ever since. My yard is an acre, shaped like a football field that is not square. Just about every tree is now blown over or snapped in half. They all missed my house! This includes some oaks that are probably 75-100 years old.:( Fortunately my next door neighbor had a huge pine tree next to their house fall in my yard. If not it would have completely crushed their home. I cut down every pine tree in my yard years ago for that very reason. We probably saw winds in excess of 100 MPH for about two hours.
I lost quite a few shingles but had no other damage. My pool had half a tree in it. We saw no storm surge or flooding here. We are above sea level with no levies.
I came back Tuesday morning. I think I told you we went to Starkville MS. I will never go back there again and they can rot in hell as far as I am concerned. They threw my wife and kids out of the hotel because Mississippi State had a football game and the rooms were booked before the storm. If I was there it would have been a different story. It ended up for the best as my wife and kids went to Memphis and ended up at a Residence Inn. The local churches have really taken them under their care. They have found some friends from Mandeville and they moved to the Residence Inn also. These events seem to bring and the worst and the best in mankind.
We have not had power, phone, cable TV, cell phone or water for most of the week here. I start early in the AM and work until noon clearing trees. With no shower or A/C you can imagine it has not been a pleasant experience. Even with limited power there is no reason for my family to come back here just yet. Gas is almost unavailable. There are no grocery stores open. School may not start until October if not later. At first I slept on the floor as it is tile and cooler but much harder. On Wednesday I realized that I hadn't eaten anything besides a breakfast bar all day. I was too hot and too wound up to eat anyway.
Some of my neighbors were not as lucky as me. The area we live in is well known for its towering pine trees and huge old oaks. I have seen many homes cut in half due to a fallen pine. Many have hit multiple times. I have not heard of any local deaths.
I am sure you have discussed all the issues. Everyone should have gotten out. They should have shot the first looters. About half of what you hear is rumors. This is the largest natural disaster in our history so everyone has had a chance to screw up and redeem themselves. We weren't ready or fast enough.
As you can imagine there are a lot of strong and mixed emotions on everyone's part. Most of you know me as a person that wants to control his own destiny with a strong contrary and independent thought process. I got out with mixed emotions. I feel sorry for the old and the young that had no chance to leave. I remember seeing an old black lady waiting in line to get into the superdome. I thought to myself that she has seen more misery and prejudice than 100 people should have. I knew the people that were headed to the dome would turn in to an unlivable pit. They do it to everything they inhabit. I did not expect it to leak or for them to be trapped as long as they were.
It is difficult to hear the mayor of New Orleans break down and see the parish president of Jefferson parish cry as he tells of one of his city workers mother who died in a nursing home waiting for FEMA or the Red Cross. I am angry at much of the city for the reactions. The reason I live where I do is because New Orleans became almost uninhabitable for someone that wants to raise their children in a safe environment.The place I live is an upper middle class area where mostly white people with college educations that are not from Louisiana end up. It is the exact polar opposite of what New Orleans has become. That is a sad fact but it is the stark truth.
It is weird to see a military helicopter being refueled in the air above your subdivision. My subdivision established an evening guard duty, put out a trailer for trash and we have one guy running mail back and forth to Baton Rouge. You drive everywhere with a gun and flashlight. Remember the neighbor I pulled out of the ditch. When I got home he was there to cut the trees out of my driveway so I could get into it. I had to drive through a narrow path that had been cut through all the downed trees in all our major streets. Under, over and around trees. It looked like a bomb had been dropped as most of the trees how been blown over or snapped in half.
The crazy stuff. Some people did stay in my neighborhood. The guy I pulled out stayed but thankfully sent his wife and kids away. The people across the street stayed! They had 9 people in their house. Most were women and kids. The wife was the first to greet me and when she told me they stayed I asked her if her husband was dumbass? She said yes.
He co-owns the local Mercedes dealership. Right before the storm he bought one of those large natural gas powered generators that was capable of powering most of his house, including the A/C. They also knew the lady that runs the just opened Fresh Market. She ended up giving them close to $4000 in food as she knew it would spoil. Most of it had just been delivered Friday. The store was open a week before the storm. My neighbors were very gracious and kept inviting me to eat and come over an cool off. With 9 and often more people I did not want to intrude or take a mother's or kid's food and water. Eventually the kids got sent off to relatives. I did join them for a pot luck seafood boil and the use of their A/C one evening. It made you feel guilty knowing what was going on across the lake.
We borrowed a neighbors Direct TV dish and receiver. I am sure they will give it back. I saw the end of the GT-Auburn game and saw that OSU had won.
I got strange calls at night from friends and family in placed like Arizona, Indiana, Georgia and Kansas just to name a few. That was weird because I could not call out and I could not call my neighbor across the street on my cell or land line.
My company was able to relocate our servers and contact our customers. We have accounted for all employees except one and I imagine he is with his church. My customers offered us everything to help. Office space at their facilities, generators, computers whatever we needed. We had two conventions scheduled for New Orleans, our customer conference in Mandeville and another trade show in Biloxi. I am pretty sure I lost a customer that was two blocks off the beach in Biloxi.
This has become a rambling mess, sorry about that.
Two quick things. Thanks for all your thoughts and wishes. Rugby, NJ, AKAK, Nutty, BinMich and others thank for the PM's and messages.
I would like to ask Clarity and or the mods if I can change my screen name, Bucknola like the my adopted city is dead for now. Perhaps it will come back bigger and better. Maybe it can be held for a time when I am ready to use it again. I have considered relocating. In a few weeks or months I imagine my home will draw top dollar. I am not sure I want my family to go through something like this again.
If you need some firewood, I know a place you can get it cheap. It just costs a little sweat equity.
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