Miscellaneous

As everyone knows, we?re expecting Hurricane Gustav to hit the Louisiana gulf coast sometime Monday. People have always been a bit anxious around here when a hurricane is threatening. But this time it?s been a little different. I?ve notice a lot of people who seemed emotionally on edge, myself included at times. This is undoubtedly due to memory of the Katrina ordeal.

Our plan is to stay put. Our house survived Katrina, and 100 years? worth of hurricanes before Katrina. I don?t think this one will be another Katrina, but if it is, we?re ready for an extended camp-out. We have around 25 gallons of bottled water, several days? supply of nonperishable food, flashlights, electric lanterns, plenty of batteries, a hand-crank radio, and a camp stove. And if for some reason we must bug out, the gas tanks of our cars are topped off.

Every indication is that the storm will probably pass southwest of New Orleans. That is now the consensus of the computer models (image at left downloaded at 1:54 p.m. today). Of course there?s a margin of error, but the predictions have been fairly consistent the last 48 hours or so, and they generally tend to stabilize as landfall approaches. So right now New Orleans looks to get some nasty weather, while our neighbors in Houma, Morgan City, and New Iberia are bracing for the worst.

Despite the computer models, we?re told that the mayor will probably declare a ?mandatory? evacuation later today, meaning anyone who stays is under 24-hour curfew. The curfew is probably a good idea for safety and security reasons.

We will probably lose electricity around here sometime Monday, when tropical-storm winds arrive. So if I?m incommunicado, that will be the reason. If my Blackberry can pick up a signal (not a given after a hurricane), and if its battery power holds up, I may use it to post something here.