My Evacuation and Return From Gustav Pt. 2
First thing is first, my thoughts and prayers go out to those in Texas dealing with Hurricane Ike right now. I know well what you are going through and it is not someone I wish on anyone. I wish those in the Houston/Galveston area all of the best and I hope the storm passes quickly and that the recovery is swift.
I know that if there is anything that I or the city of New Orleans can do to help, we will gladly do so.
My Evacuation and Return From Gustav Pt. 1
Here is an understatement: Last week was a very long week for me.
However, now that I have had a few days back home, in relatively normal conditions, to reflect about what happened, I wanted to take a few moments to talk about the experience, what happened to me and why I found it so hard to get back to the city and back online.
So, if you’ve got the time and are interested, I’m going to tell my tale the best that I can. This is going to be a pair of long posts, for that I apologize, and they probably won’t be up to my usual writing standard. Still, I want to get this out and down on paper as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, I fear I might forget about what happened and may never really learn from it. Read more
Update on Gustav
I’m really not sure what I am going to write here. I just got done updating Plagiarism Today with my plans regarding the storm, setting up the linkroll and doing the show notes for the Copyright 2.0 Show.
I’m preparing to leave my office in an hour or two to head home. There, we plan on boarding up the house (the previous owners were kind enough to provide us with the needed wood, pre-cut) and then, most likely, head out.
This storm has me very worried. It’s track takes it west of us, which puts the city on the strong side and puts the West Bank side of the river, where I live, in the greatest danger.
There are a lot of things that favor my wife and I personally, the location of our house, the nature of my closest levees, etc. but with my side of the river being more at risk, I am finding it difficult to consider staying. Read more
Hurricane Season in New Orleans
Hurricane season is a very strange time in New Orleans. Before Hurricane Katrina, we were an almost arrogant people, ones who defied the hurricane Gods to blow our way. In just the year before Katrina, we watched as Hurricane Ivan turned at the gates and headed toward Mississippi.
Now, we are a panicky people. Every strong gust of wind that blows in the ocean is greeted with a watchful eye. For six months out of the year, we go from being firemen, lawyers and accountants to padding our resumes with “amateur meteorologist”. A trip to Burget King is more likely to yield advice on high pressure systems and prevailing currents than it is ketchup packets.
It’s a strange ritual in the “New” New Orleans. We sit around, anxiously waiting for updates from the National Hurricane Center, making note of even the slightest shift in tracking or forecasting. If the forecast doesn’t reach land, we trace the line with our finger, trying to see by hand what billion-dollar computers can’t, the future.
It is an exercise in futility and we know it. For one, the hurricanes never stay on their track. Katrina, for example, overshot its original estimations by at least a time zone. Second, even if the storm did follow its “predestined” track, there would be nothing we could do about it. Read more
