bookmark_borderWarning: Rant

If you choose to continue reading, be prepared.

What part of MANDATORY EVACUATION do people not understand?

mandatory: (n) the recipient of a mandate; (adj) Required by rule

evacuation: (n) The act of removing the contents of something; The act of evacuating; leaving a place in an orderly fashion; especially for protection; The bodily process of discharging waste matter

When your city’s mayor says it, when the your state’s govenor says it, and when Shrub ends short his 5 week vacation because of it, don’t you think that people would like, do it??

I’ve watched as people are plucked from rooftops, cars, little patches of dry land. I’ve watched as the news highlights the ‘heroic’ stories of people who chose to disobey the mandatory evacuation. And I just keep getting more and more angry.
Continue reading “Warning: Rant”

bookmark_borderThe Animals

Listing of links, sites, and news concerning the animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

United Animal Nation

Houston SPCA – where the Louisiana SPCA has moved their critters

Noah’s Wish Foundation – an international group that has/is heading for the Gulf coast area

The Humane Society’s Disaster Relief Fund

Planet Ark – global animal news site

bookmark_border“When All Else Fails…”

(See end for update!)

Excerpt from a larger story from ARRL News:

Long-Distance Ham Radio Rescue

A call for help that involved a combination of cell telephone calls and Amateur Radio was instrumental in saving 15 people stranded by floodwaters on the roof of a house in New Orleans. Unable to get through an overloaded 911 system, one of those stranded called a relative in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That individual, in turn, called another relative, Sybil Hayes in Broken Arrow , Oklahoma, whose 81-year-old aunt Helen Lelzx was among those clinging to the roof along with other family members.

Hayes called the American Red Cross chapter, which contacted the Tulsa Repeater Organization. Using the Red Cross chapter’s well-equipped amateur station, TRO member Ben Joplin, WB5VST, was able to relay a request for help on the 20-meter SATERN net via stations in Oregon and Idaho to Louisiana, where the ARES net contacted emergency personnel who rescued the 15 people.

“When all else fails, Amateur Radio works is more than a catchy tag line,” says TRO’s Mark Conklin, N7XYO. “It’s a lifeline.” He said as of late Monday evening, Lelxz and the others on the roof were safe at a Red Cross shelter.

(full story)

As I watched the news, I kept hearing about how the cell phones weren’t working, the power was out, phone lines were clogged… And I kept muttering about amateur radio. The vast majority of hams run their radios from batteries, even the larger radios. We are very portable and like it that way. We have established systems already in place both among ourselves (i.e. Skywarn, VOIPWXnet, Hurricane Watch Net, and regular traffic nets) and in place with Salvation Army, Red Cross and local/regional Emergency Management groups. Our methods of message sending/recieving is still working.

There, I feel better now.

UPDATE: For a feel of how the amateur radio operators are handling the situation and how the system(s) work, check out this online streaming feed of the Gulf Coast Emergency Net

bookmark_borderThought for the Day

From CripHumor:

PWD Dictionary Entries:

    Lymph … To walk with a lisp
    Braille Bible … Tells how bumpy the road to Salvation is
    Earth … The insane asylum of the universe
    Eyedropper: A clumsy ophthalmologist
    Handicap Awareness … Don’t stare, don’t stare!!!

bookmark_borderEmergency Preparation

As I watch the weather hazards in association with what is now Tropical Storm Katrina, I see that south of us is under a tornado warning. So I kicked into gear.

I use distilled water in my CPAP and we keep the emptied jugs for just this situation. For drinking water, I filled up three of them for human use, two more for the dogs, and pitcher of water went into the fridge. We also keep around a collection of relatively clean milk jugs that we fill with water and keep in the bathroom for toilet flushing. We can only flush twice max but hey, that is a lot!

I gathered together a collar for each dog and all the leashes I can find. With all our critters, ain’t no way we can evacuate to an emergency shelter so they only reason we would leave would be if the roof was compromised.

Next I made sure the main flashlight (one of those honkin’ Maglight things) was where it was supposed to be. I checked that the main candle had matches nearby.

I ensured our medications were in their bags. We don’t put them on a shelf, we keep the bottles in two cloth bags with zippers. This makes it easier to grab them in an emergency. With all the meds that I take, they need to know the exact doses and names.

I found the corded phone and put it where I could find it in the dark. In case you didn’t know, cordless phones are useless when the power is out. We keep an old corded phone around for just this purpose.

We have a weather radio around here somewhere, but we’d put it away since one of my amateur radios includes the weather bands. However, that is the radio I can’t find. :rolleyes:

I loaded the dishwasher to see if there was enough to run it. I made sure our ice packs were in the freezers.

There are other smaller things that I made sure was in place or ready. All of this took me less than half an hour. Tomorrow Lorna will go to an ATM and get some cash. (ATMs need electricity ya know) She’ll also fill the truck’s gas tank up when she is finished with the route (due to the unknown weather, she is using My Truck).

The main thing we do not have is food we can eat without power. We don’t keep that around in the summer since we usually are able to get out to get things. In the winter, however, we are often stuck at home with what we have on hand.

I mention all this because as I have watched the news and listened to the radio, I hear of people in the shelter needing assistance because they didn’t bring what they needed or they brought the wrong things. Especially medication. DUH! If you are a crip like me and have lots of meds, keep them in one place so that all you have to do is either grab their container (like what I have) or sweep the shelf clean into a suitcase.

Make sure you have a printed copy of all your phone numbers, even if they are on your cell phone. They can’t be reached if the cell phone battery is dead. And if you are away from home, telling the emergency personnel that your parents’ number is Mem 2 is not exactly what you need to be doing. I keep a print out on the wall of both the numbers in the speed dial, but also any place we call regularly. All I have to do is grab the stapled sheets from their hook. It has come in handy when Lorna was sick or in an accident and I had to call her co-workers later.

Keep cash on hand, especially change. If you evacuate to where electricity is, cash gets you more, especially food from vending machines. If there is not power, cash works when the ATM/credit cards won’t.

If you have special needs and know you will need assistance in emergency evacuations, let your local Emergency Management department know both where you live and what needs you have. If nothing else, make sure your neighbors know. In the winter, I always make sure my meds on hand is no less than 10 days worth.

And for goodness sakes, if the freakin’ gov’nor says to evacuate, do it! If your butt needs rescuing later, you put the lives of those rescuers at risk, a risk they needn’t be taking if you had listened! Think about it, what would you rather do: spend several nights in your hot, itchy attic or spend unknown hours in traffic on your way to several nights in a hotel? Hmm?

Resources:
FEMA Library
NOAA Weather Radio Information
National Weather Service (NWS) brochures
NWS/NOAA Weather Safety web pages
Storm Prediction Center (SPC) publication list

bookmark_borderWriting and Editing

I got a grand total of 227 words yesterday. Not my all-time daily low but it is close. I was horribly distracted by H. Katrina, amateur radio stuff, dinner out with friends we’ve not seen in several years (although we live in the same county!) and some other piddly stuff like Stargate. 😀

I am determined to get more written today. My back is killing me (if it does, can it be charged for murder???) and the dogs are driving me nuts-er. But I am going to get BG2b done by NaNo starts! I will!

Wait, but that’ll mean I’ll have two completed novels at the end of November, both demanding editing. Ack!

Speaking of editing, I am about to send BG1 to Robin Smith for proofing. It is going to cost a lot to have her do it, but in my opinion (and better yet, in Lorna’s opinion), it is going to be well worth it. My hope and goal is to learn a lot from her input to better my writing skills so I can decrease the edit efforts. I will most likely continue to use her services though. FYI, I found Robin via Publishers Marketplace editing services search.

But before I can send it to her, I need to print it out. So now I go all the way across the room to the other computer. Sigh, the work we writers have to do.

bookmark_borderAsheville in the News

A Southern City Rolls Out Its Welcome Mat

Chris Keane for The New York Times
Residents of Asheville, N.C., are typically drawn to the stunning mountain views and vibrant downtown, but the city is also attracting an increasing number of same-sex couples who find the community open and welcoming.

By GAY JERVEY
Published: August 28, 2005
IN 1998, Clayton Byers and his partner, Chris Heppe, who lived in suburban Washington, vacationed in Asheville, N.C. The two had never visited the city before, but they quickly fell in love with it.

Among other things, they were enchanted with Asheville’s mountain air, beautiful views, vibrant art scene and singular karma. “It was like a calling,” Mr. Heppe said. “We knew that eventually we wanted to make Asheville home.”

Mr. Byers added: “It was so beautiful, and everyone was so friendly. It’s just a nice, relaxed, easy going place.”
Continue reading “Asheville in the News”

bookmark_borderHurricane Katrina

The National Hurricane Center has upgraded H. Katrina to an extremely dangerous Category 5, sustained winds at 175 miles per hour. The first image below is from the GOES Full Disk satellite. (note: it also shows two other storms the NHC is keeping an eye on) The second is from the GOES-East Gulf Hurricane Sector satellite.

I keep relatively up-t0-date images and information over at my amateur radio site.