Diary of a Network Geek

One last update before bed.
If you’ve been reading my blog and not watching the news, there have been some important developments. First, the mayor has cancelled the forced evacuation of Houston and asked that anyone who has virtually any reason to not leave turn back. The grid-lock has gotten quite dangerous and folks are running out of gas and water out on the road. So far, I haven’t seen any reports of violence in all that insanity, but I’m just waiting.
Second, and perhaps more important, the hurricane has taken a bit of a turn. Now, it looks like we’ll be getting the Western side of the storm, which is the softer side. Unfortunately, it looks like Louisiana is already getting some of the dirty side, which means a lot more water for them. Still not sure where landfall will be, but it looks like it will be closer to Beaumont or the border than dead on in Houston. It’s good news for us, but bad news for poor souls that have already been tested beyond belief.
At this point, I’m not even sure I’ll loose power Saturday, but maybe I’m being overly optimistic. And, with that news, I’m headed for bed.

Okay, I’ve checked in with everyone I can reach.
I made contact with everyone in my family that I could reach today and let them know my plans. I also talked to a lot of friends here in Houston about who was going and staying and what not. Several have left the city, but quite a few are here, somewhere, riding out the storm. I have one friend, Steve, who works at the zoo and he’s either headed for Huntsville, or he’ll stay at the zoo with the brave folks who are staying behind there to deal with the animals in the hurricane.
One friend of mine who works out by me, Tom, stopped by on his way home. This was a couple of hours ago and 290 was a giant parking lot. I walked with him back to his car and, on the way, we got stopped twice by people trying to take side-streets to 45. I had to explain to them that they were miles from 45 and the best way to get there was Beltway 8. Not a great solution, to be sure, but it was still the best way. I also sent Tom home with a good-sized bag of semi-frozen soy beans. I had some things start to thaw on me in my back freezer because I overloaded it a bit, so I decided to start cooking some of those vegetables and eating them. I started with the soy beans because they’re the tastiest and, after cooking them, can be kept cold for a snack.
I also tied down my grill and my wrought-iron-and-wood bench. I have a covered patio and several of the supports are sunk into concrete. I tied them both off to two of those supports and I think we’ll be okay. The garbage cans went into the garage already, just in case we start getting high winds tonight. I wish I could do something with that fountain, but it’s really just too heavy. I’ll probably double check the fence in the morning, to make sure nothing’s loose. I’m really worried about my roof, though. I’m sure I’ll lose some shingles, at least. I hope I don’t have more damage than that. I’m also concerned about losing sections of the roof on my car port and my covered patio. Nothing I can do about either one, but I still worry about it.

Honestly, at this point, there’s not much else to do, but watch the news and wait. And, try not to worry too much. At this point, it’s pretty well in God’s hands. All I can do is pray. If you’re the praying kind, I’d appreciate you praying for everyone here in the Houston area. I know I will be. I may not post more tonight, but I will definately post more tomorrow. Oh, and I do have a Friday Fun post queued for tomorrow morning. Hurricane or not, the fun goes on!

Well, I’ve cleaned most of the porch of potential projectiles.
I got the plants and little things and the cheap plastic chairs all cleaned off the back patio. I still have to get the garbage cans inside and tie down the grill and bench. Everything else is either light enough to forget about, like leaves and small twigs, or is too heavy to move, like the fountain. The working car is in the garage and there’s no room for the other one. I found a whole bunch of old kitty liter containers that I’ll fill with water for flushing the toilet, before I throw that last hose into the garage. After that, it’s just time to hunker down and wait.
I’ve had several people call to check in with me today. My sister-in-law, who can’t understand why I haven’t left yet, up in Palatine. My former in-laws (ie. my wife’s family), called to say that they were bugging out, then decided to stay because of the impassable traffic. I’ve checked in with a couple of friends from church. I had two guys who thought they might come stay with me, but they ended up heading somewhere else.

Well, I’m staying.
As long as I have an Internet connection and power, I’ll keep posting. I’m out in Jersey Village, which is 80 miles from the coast, roughly. Now, if you’re not familiar with Jersey Village, it has a reputation for flooding, but, not to worry, I’m on the highest point in JV. In fact, four years ago, after Tropical Storm Allison, we chose this house because it was one of the few that was high and dry. And, they’ve spent the past four years improving the way JV handles water runoff and such, so I’m pretty sure that I’ll be okay. I imagine that it will be a little crazy around here, but, I hope, the worst case scenario is that we’ll lose power for a couple of days. I hope.
Anyway, I’m staying. I’ll be tying down anything I’m afraid might fly away and dragging stuff into the garage tomorrow. Tomorrow night, I’m going to go have dinner with someone who’s also staying out in this area. My company shut down today, so that people could evacuate tomorrow, if need be, which means I’ll be home most of the day doing nothing. I guess I’ll read, watch the news, play with the dog and blog. After I get the other work done. Oh, and I’ll probably be praying, too.
Don’t worry about me, though. I have quite a bit of food and water. And, I have a natural gas stove and a wood-burner for backup. (All of which, I think I’ve already mentioned.) I’ve called my parents and my one sister who worries more than I do. I’m not sure what she thinks she can do for me up in Northern Illinois when the hurricane hits, but, well, I guess I’ll have to be sure to call her when it passes through and I’m okay. Oh, I also have batteries and candles and lots of frozen water, too, to try and keep the freezer and refridgerator cool if the power goes out. As for the rest, well, I guess I’ll just have to ride it out.
This is NOT why I wanted to live in Houston. Far too much excitement for this old man. Far too much!