Diary of a Network Geek

It’s getting closer. I can feel it.
The wind is really kicking up now, but only in gusts. I took the dog outside, while I still can. She did her “business”, so I’m hoping Hilda won’t need to go again if the storm actually hits tonight. It could still be in the morning, though. The timing is not as exact as anyone would like.
I brushed my teeth one last time tonight, before filling the bathroom sink with water. My biggest thing now is worrying about water. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, to be honest, since we’re probably going to be pounded with water for the rest of the week, even if we get the “soft” side of the hurricane. Still, it was the one thing that everyone in New Orleans was wanting afterward, so I feel like I can’t have enough. I’ve also filled one of the kitchen sinks with water and put a pot on the stove filled with water. If I lose power, I figure I’ll start boiling water. I can hard boil my eggs first, then start on all that broccoli in my big freezer. Then, if I have any water left in that container, I’ll cook up some pasta. Effecient use of water, I think, to cook three things with the same water. The pasta will keep, if I keep it cool and covered, so I’ll set that aside while I cook as much as I can.
I’m not sure how long I’ll have power. A guy from work told me that someone in my general area has already lost power. No one in my block, though. We’re all snug as a bug in a rug, so far. The news was talking about brown-outs. Of course, they were also saying Rita might be a Category 2 or 3 hurricane when she finally hits land. Still, there will no doubt be lots of wind damage. I hope my roof holds. I really need a new one, but I’d rather not have to get one because a tree came through it! I’m also worried about my car port and covered patio. I hope it all holds together. Same thing for the fence. They’re all so old that I’m afraid a lot of the wood is just going to splinter apart and fly away. When I was out smoking my last pipe-full a couple of minutes ago, there were still birds flying and chasing bugs. The dark clouds are rolling in and, as I mentioned at the top of this post, the winds are really starting to kick up. I’m sure it won’t be too long now.
Oddly enough, the only thing I can think about is whether or not to take one last hot shower before I lose power. So tempting….

Hilda and I had a nice walk to 290.
It was really quiet out there, but we heard some folks doing some last minute work boarding up their houses or trimming trees. There were a few cars out, looking for gas, I’d presume. We walked all the way up to the feeder road and the gas station on the corner was closed and had all the pumps marked with “empty” signs. I assume they ran out sometime yesterday. Sadly, the closer we got to the highway, the nastier things got. Garbage everywhere. Food wrapers and empty bottles all over. Apparently, it didn’t occur to anyone to save their bottles for water later. More’s the pity. What got me, though, were the dirty, disposable diapers. I must have seen at least a dozen in the last block or so before the highway. Obviously, lots of people were getting off 290 and just leaving their crap, literally, where it dropped. Not their neighborhood, so they don’t care what a mess they leave it.
At least there didn’t seem to be too many cars that were abandoned. We didn’t go up on the actual highway, which is pretty well raised, but the feeder road was clear. There were some cars parked in the gas station and at the O’Reily’s Autoparts store. I hope whoever was in the one with the handicap plate made it to safety. We did meet one little family on our way back. They were doing about the same thing I was: just looking around. Not much else to do. The laundry is done, but I still have to fold it, and the dishwasher is running.
I stopped at the neighbors across the street, since they were out smoking. I introduced myself and let them know I was staying, in case anyone needed anything. They were pretty well drunk already. The one guy who introduced himself reeked of beer. But, everyone was friendly and they said if I got lonely, or whatever, to come on over. Incidentally, the walk actually seemed to help my back. I’m feeling much better, but I’m still going to keep taking ibuprofin, just in case.

My plan, incidentally, is to start drinking my beer when the storm is at least half over. Not sure how I’ll know that, but every plan has flaws. Then, when we lose power, I’ll start cooking and eating everything as it thaws out. When I can’t eat anymore, I’ll just keep cooking everything and keep it cool, or warm, depending. In between, I figure I’ll take cat naps and as soon as I can, I’ll start eating and drinking again. And, really, I’m only half-kidding about this. I really will start cooking a couple hours after we lose power. If we lose power.
Okay, so that’s damn optimistic, but, still, the way things are going, we could actually not lose electricity. That would be totally sweet! But, I’m not really expecting that. Also, you might be interested to know, I’m backing up my blog every other post now. That way, if the servers go away in the storm, I can restore all these posts and comments.
God, I am such a geek.

Making busy work now.
The laundry is in the dryer now. I’ve filled the tub with water for the dog to drink and for flushing. The sinks upstairs are filled, too. Tonight, I’ll fill at least one of the kitchen sinks and, probably, the bathroom sink, too. The dishwasher is ready to go. I’ll start that when I take the dog out for a walk in a few minutes. I thought I’d wander down towards 290 one last time to see what that looks like today.
I checked in one last time with a couple of friends here in Houston. One tried to talk me into going to the dog park with him, but I don’t want to use the gas until I know how things are going to look next week. I hope we won’t lose power, but I expect we will. No power means that there’s no way to pump gass. They might have it, but all the pumps use electricity, so there wouldn’t be a way to pump it. My other friend was freaking out last night to the point of trying to head to Brenham and Austin, but hit a wall of traffic and decided to come back. I’m a little frightened that I’m calmer than he is. I do believe that it is a sign of the End Times when your Uncle Jim becomes the voice of calm and reason, gentle readers.

If I have time, and power and Internet connection enough, I may post the mental list I’ve been making of survival gear that I would like to have bought for this. And, that I plan on buying after this is all over. Top of the list, a shotgun!
Well, the wind is starting to pick up some, so I better walk the dog if I’m going to do that. More later, if I can!

Well, there’s really not much to do.
Okay, I am doing two last loads of laundry, just so everything is clean, in case we lose power and water and everything. And, when that’s done, I’ll do one last load of dishes, again, just so everything is clean. I’ll check the fence one last time and make sure any loose boards are nailed down tight. Though, honestly, I doubt a lot of my fence will withstand 100 mile-per-hour winds. Still, if I can hold more of it together and keep it from becoming a hazard to me and my neighbors, that would be good.
It’s actually a really nice day, so far. It’s not too hot and the sun is still shining here. There’s a bit of a breeze, which is nice, but that is picking up some ominous speed. Just a few minutes ago, I was out in my backyard and there were all kinds of butterflies and dragonflies out there. And, still, a bumper crop of humming birds. Not sure what’s up with that this year, but I’ve been enjoying them this morning. The dog is just starting to get the hint that something is different. At first, the back patio being cleared of all obstructions was just a novelty to her, but, now, she seems a little curious about what is going on. She slept on the bed with me last night. Her namesake, Hildagard von Bingen, was a prophetess, but I think my Hilda just senses that her daddy is extra tense and on edge.
Or, it may be that I’m hurting a little this morning. I wrenched my back a little yesterday getting one of my ex-wife’s plants into the garage. She had this frangiapani from her grandmother, by way of her mother, I think, that she was always so concerned about. I think she’s either forgotten it or totally abandoned it, but, just in case she changes her mind about it, I’ve put it into the garage for safety’s sake. (And, yes, I’m hoping that she still obsessively reads my blog and sees that I’m taking care of it for her. Maybe that will inspire her to stop telling her daughter lies about me. Probably not, but, I’m an optimist, so hope springs eternal.)
The people I really feel sorry for are the folks that just started moving back to New Orleans. Right now, they’re getting rain dumped on them. The hurricane hasn’t even made landfall yet, though it will in just hours, and NOLA is already getting worse. Those poor people.
I’m glad I stayed, based on what I saw of people trying to get out. I hope my fellow Houston bloggers who did make a run for it got where they were going safely. When the dust settles from all of this, I’m looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible!

Tired of Latin?
At least, are you tired of using that classic “lorem ipsum” Latin text in your demos? Well, why not try Geek Machine next time! You can generate test text in styles including; Hillbilly, Marketing, Matrix, Metropolitan, Pseudo German, and Techno Babble. Some of them are really pretty good, too. Hey, at least it’s a change from the tired, old Latin.
Now, if they’d only add in Lovecraftian or Tekumelani or, even, Nostrodamusian….

Okay, I dare you to use this on your next corporate development project. Just fill in some Techno Babble or Marketing speech and see who notices. Just make sure to do it on a Freaky Fun Friday!