Who Invited this Matthew Guy?

[tmaier]

I'm in the path of hurricane Matthew (near Daytona, Florida), so I thought I'm make some posts while I can. I've been through this before, and will give you some amusing observations until the weather cuts me off.

The governor is saying "There is no gas shortage", but some stations are closed. He says they may be closed, but there is gas.

There is a silly ritual that we go through with gas, in that the government issues advice saying "Do not all run down and fill your car gas tanks, because that will cause a gas shortage." People who obey that advice will then be chastised AFTER the hurricane for not having had the foresight to fill their tanks BEFORE the hurricane. They get you coming and going on that one. Best advice... fill your tank and prepare long before the rush. People wait until the governor is on TV, and then they all fly into a panic, the lines get long, and basic essential stuffs like gas and food become scarce in the final hours.

There is a lot of gas theft, so get a locking gas cap and don't let people see your 5 gallon gas can for the mower.

Each projection brings the eye closer over my house. What happened in 2005 is that we had three powerful hurricanes, and I learned that the projects change every hour, and they are not too believable until AFTER the hurricane has pasted. Hindsight is 20/20, especially in hurricane forecasting.

In past hurricanes, my land line continued to work for much longer times than the cell towers. During hurricane Jeane my house became the local phone booth, with strangers lined up outside to use my phone.

More later... going out to help my son remove objects from around the house. The objects get picked up and thrown around, and can break the windows.
 

[Fossildude19]

Good luck, Tmaier.    

I'll keep some good thoughts for you.     

Best wishes as you ride out this storm. 

Stay safe.

 

 

[doushantuo]

stay healthy,and more importantly ,alive

Don't let your sense of humour be blown away.

 

although some people might argue it would be a good thing if it did

[Raggedy Man]

I have two weather phenomenon I wish to experience; a tornado and a hurricane. Am I crazy? Possibly 

Stay safe and look on the bright side. The storm should bring up some nice teeth!

 

Best regards,

Paul

[tmaier]

Propane latern had broken mantles... replaced them and tested it out. Works... Have two full fuel tanks for it. They will be for lighting and cooking. I have two working cigarette lighters.

Have an LED flashlight with big 6V lantern battery. Works.

Found a Coleman rechargable LED lantern. Can't find charger. Can probably rig one up later.

Don't have boards for the windows... have never done boards before anyway and never had problems. Would be a good idea, but too late now.

Going to take a shower, possibly my last one for several days. I use a well, and when we lose AC power, I have no water.

Then.. I'm headed to the Walmart to get

- another LED flashlight
- 6V latern battery (backup)
- aspirins (I've been sick with a cold since Sunday)
- ? Will think of more on the way

Will fill jugs and bottles from the tap to store up water, instead of using bottled water.

Everybody goes nuts looking for ice, but that doesn't seem really important to me. Eat the stuff in the frig and freezer... I don't have much. I have a lot of dry and canned food.

The new forecast is that the eye will pass over my house. It keeps getting worse...

[tmaier]

From reports on the local TV stations, the local Walmart is out of all useful stuff, but will check it out anyway.

My son has a full tank (380 mile range). I have 3/4 tank (425 mile range).

Cat, dog, and bird cages moved from shed to house, in case they have to be under control (due to broken windows).

[Fossildude19]

Tape the windows, and batten down the hatches!  

Oh, and fill the tub with water, and maybe some 5 gallon buckets. 

[Pagurus]

Sounds like it could get ugly where you are, but you've been through it before, and your sense of humor will help. This is a powerful one though. Stay safe. If there's not much in your freezer you might want to add a few bottles of water to keep the food frozen a little longer when power goes out. You can eat the stuff in the frig first. Most of all, protect your fossil collection. 

[JohnJ]

Grew up on the Texas coast...I get it. 

 

To all of our members and their families that could be affected by Hurricane Matthew, please take your precautions and do the best you can.  Let us know how you're doing when you get the chance. 

 

Stay safe.

[FossilDudeCO]

Thanks for the posts Tmaier 

Stay safe!

[Ridgehiker]

2 hours ago, Raggedy Man said:

I have two weather phenomenon I wish to experience; a tornado and a hurricane. Am I crazy? Possibly 

Stay safe and look on the bright side. The storm should bring up some nice teeth!

 

Best regards,

Paul

Yes, crazy (just kidding)

 

I've only experienced the tail end of a Hurricane along the Nova Scotia coast and that cured me of any curiosity...and I dont think it was still even hurricane force winds!.

 

The same with an earthquake in Mexico...'thump'...sounded like someone smashed two bricks together next to my ear.  Spooky.

[tmaier]

Captain's Log, stardate Oct. 6, 2016...

Went to Walmart for batteries, flashlights, and propane. Came back with potatos and cupcakes. Mission was not a total success, but the cupcakes are quite good. Sitting in the dark is OK if you have good cupcakes.

Native lifeforms were not totally friendly. I asked an employee were the batteries and flashlights, and propane was, and he yelled at me "ARE YOU NUTS? WE RAN OUT OF THAT YESTERDAY!". It's hard to find good help these days.

They were also sold out of bread, peanutbutter, and baked beans. I am expecting a lot of constipated people in the area.

It's raining constantly, the outer bands of rain from the hurricane are moving in. There should be on-off rain and rising winds as the hurricane approaches.

It looks like my son is going to stay with me for this storm. He could have stayed at the local university, but thought it looked a bit cramped.

Checked in on the old neighbor lady (72). She lives alone in a big log cabin with a dozen ferral cats. She hadn't heard about all the bru-ha-ha, and thought it was all hype made up by yankees. I told her all the stuff in her yard could be blown into her windows and break them, and she totally dismissed that, but was packing it away when I left.

I have to get all my important paper documents in a water tight container. I have a lot of stuff digitiged and stored on redundant USB sticks, but a lot of it is still on paper and needs to be protected.

My shed is home-made by the former owner, and according to contractors who have looked at it, it is built way beyond code spec and will be the most survivable structure in the neighborhood. The house is 65 years old, and three major hurricanes have not touched it, so it is likely OK too.

It's very quiet outside right now, with a wind of about 2 mph.

[tmaier]

I used to pack a "hurricane bag" every spring, but there hasn't been even the slightest chance of a hurricane for the past 11 years here, so I quit doing that 5 years ago.

The bag was for emergency evacuation and it contained...

- a big wad of cash. During a crisis, nothing solves problems like a big wad of cash. During and after the storm the land lines are down, and credit cards don't work. Cash works.

- cat food

- dog food

- bird food

- Homo sapiens food (they like sardines and Vienna sausages)

- a list of more things that don't fit in the bag

- a procedure list to follow, so you just walk through the procedure instead of thinking

- maps showing desired evac route. When you evacute by car, you have to drive pretty far to get out of the way. Use the back roads, because often the freeways are going 30 mph. EVERYBODY is using the route suggested on the TV, so that is the one to avoid. On the back country roads you clip along at legal speed, and when you pull over for gas there is not a long line to get a fill. It can actually be a pleseant cruise if you pick the right roads. Be prepared to alter your planned route if you find it is jammed.

The radio will not tell you what is jammed up and what is clear. To tell you the truth, all the radio stations are pretty useless for useful information. The government stations are repeating useless data, and the commercial stations have people saying "WOW! IS IT WICKED OUT THERE OR WHAT, PEOPLE! GLAD WE ARE IN HERE!".

Don't expect any phone, lights, or help during the storm. Expect you might be sealed into your neighborhood for 24 hours by storm debris after the storm (trees and powerlines on road). Neighbors walk up and down the road at this time, checking each other out. There is the constant drone of chainsaws.

[doushantuo]

This very tense stuff,Tmaier.

Have you tried approaching a publisher?

[tmaier]

"Have you tried approaching a publisher? "

I've always thought it would be fun to write comedy or light fiction. I have many funny stories from my life, and some of them are almost, but not quite, believable.

Almost any situation can have comedy woven into it, except I've found that at funerals it my not be a good idea. At least not DURING...

[tmaier]

"This very tense stuff,Tmaier. "

Oh, and I believe the phrase you are looking for is "artistically edgy".

[fifbrindacier]

I swear you good luck and to stay alive and healthy Tmaier.God Bless you and be with you.

[doushantuo]

maybe this will bring about a new proverb:

"a good fossil collector in a storm"

[tmaier]

If I log in from an ethereal account on Saturday, you will know the hurricane got me. If not, then I'm still on earth and stuck with a low bandwidth line.

The bandwidth in the afterlife is incredible, according to what I've heard.

[JohnJ]

This is one of those times you really hope the weather forecast is wrong.

 

Storm surge

[sixgill pete]

Great advice tmaier. Having been through more storms than I can count in my life here on the N.C. coast, I can say preparation is the key. After Hurricane Bertha( the eye went over top of me) I was without electricity for 24 days. Floyd left me on an Island for over two weeks due to the historic flooding it brought here. But at least I never lost power in that one. Fran dropped 2 trees on my house. Good luck my friend and I hope he just glances you and takes the expected turn to stay away from me.

[tmaier]

It's a few more hours before the big wind and rain start coming in, and this is the calm before the storm, but the TV crews are assigned to go to sites that are expected to be the landing sites. Right now they have next to nothing to report on, so the reports are pretty funny becvause the reporter is require to send in a report, and they end up saying obvious and uslesss things.

Later on when the wind and rain build up, these reporters will be expected to go stand in the hurricane and give a report. THEN it really gets fun to watch.

At this time, everybody is pretty well "hunkered down" in to the place that they expect to be during the storm. It's the time when you start to have the nagging feeling that you forgot to do something. Later on, five hours from now, you realize you left the car window open a bit.

[tmaier]

"Fran dropped 2 trees on my house. "

I've never had any damage, and hardly any debris. It has been very odd, because a few times my whole neighborhood was hit badly, and I never lost a shingle or a limb. There was a rumor going around that I had made a deal with the devil, but there is very little evidence for that.

.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Take care of you and your family. By reading you, i have the feeling to see an American movie ! With the pleasure of reading you again when the hurricane passes, all of us will be reassured !

 

Coco

 

[JohnJ]

Hope you get electricity on soon, Tom.  Stay safe.