h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi MoG

If it looks like Frances will come our way...we should know by Wednesday...and you need a hand with shutters, let me know, and i'll give you a hand.

Meanwhile, hoping and praying that it doesn't

alec.

Thank you, Alec! I've been immersed in other things, this was the first I'd heard of it! I just checked google to look at the projection, looks as if we might be in for a wet weekend. *sigh* My best friend is getting married on Saturday and I truly *hope* it fizzles before then. It would not be a good omen for her, as her last marriage was a direct result of the chaos hurricane Andrew wrought on our lives (we lived in Cutler Ridge, where everything was totaled).

I live in an apartment complex and can't put up shutters, so my preparation is gas, supplies, vodka, and moving the plants. Thanks for your kind offer! Fortunately this place was built back when they made things to last and not the current spit-and-cardboard construction, so I feel reasonably secure. If you and your family need a hand with anything let me know. At the moment it looks as if I'm not booked on Thursday. Meanwhile, I'll join you in praying that Frances stays well off the coast. I really hope it doesn't slip up the west side and slap that area again.

phew...shutters are all up at home, now i just have to do the duplex on 16th Ave.
Bought the plywood on sunday thankfully so don't have to join the throngs at Home Desperado.

Had to take Mrs Trician to the E.R. late on Monday night,with severe stomach pain poor love. Turns out she has ovarian cysts and one of them had burst. So she needs an op sometime after the hurricane.

Looks like we're in for a serious pounding sometime between late Friday and early Saturday, even if we don't take a direct hit.

I hope that all is well with you and you managed to get enough supplies of vodka in preparation. Keep in touch.

alec.

I'm off tomorrow (Thurs) if you need a hand. I'll get up early and move the plants, etc. but should be free after noon. If you could use some help with the shutters or anything else get in touch. 532-9123. I'm on 18th Ave and have a truck with topper.

Hope Mrs. Trician is feeling better and is resting! I've heard that that's excruciatingly painful. Best wishes to her. The timing must be especially worrisome for y'all, but how fortunate it happened when it did rather than wait a few days.

I'm off to chant with some friends that Frances'll head east. Not that I'm entirely convinced that the chanting will change its course, but it'll certainly keep us more relaxed about it.

Take care, Alec, and don't hesitate to call if you need brute labor. I'm built for use.

Hi MoG
thankyou for the offer of help...we should be alright though.
the gay guys we're renting the place to are very handy, and school is cancelled tomorrow so one of the little tricians will be assisting.
I was there this afternoon harvesting the coconuts before they become lethal missiles on Friday.

What will you be chanting? Been to a few Tibetan Buddhist chants in my time too,Poojah after Poojah at one time, really. Does 'Dzog Chen' or 'Norbu' mean anything to you?
Personally, the only thing that kept me going for the three hours of chanting before the thin monk struck that one special cymbal, was the thought of those organic peanut butter sandwiches on homemade wholewheat that they served during the break...Ah well.

My mobile is 401 1290, er...call me, or i'll call you. you'll know me by my complete lack of an american accent.

ciao
alec.

We chant Nam myoho renge kyo, practice Nichiren Buddhism. I'd describe it as a form of focused meditation, rather than attempting to empty the mind. I find it to be a helpful tool towards self-motivation and it also helps me to expand the way I think about things so I have a more complete understanding of whatever I'm working on improving, and what I need to *do* to get the results I'm after.

My friend had to cancel the wedding; even if it Frances doesn't make landfall in our vicinity it wouldn't be reasonable to expect people to drive through the mess to be there. Now it's looking as it'll be another kind of weekend entirely. I'm thinking of inviting a few of my older lady friends to come for a slumber party Friday night. They all live in condos near the beach and probably wouldn't manage too well if a window broke. With enough vodka and maybe a prozac I think it could be a good time.

I'll call you tomorrow after everything's battened down and I have some time to settle down. How odd, to think of actually *speaking* to you

Britta

Now, that is exactly one thing that i could never really come to terms with : emptying the mind. I didn't like the idea of some gurooo placing something in my emptied mind as happened with a bunch of my friends and contemporaries. Focussed meditation sounds great, practical.

This hurricane is enormous, it is the size of Florida itself, some 500 miles from one side to t'other. Even if we're lucky and it makes landfall up north in Cape Canaveral, we will still have 70-90mph SUSTAINED winds here in ftlaudldldl. I was listening to St.Brian of Norcross earlier this evening, and he emphasised the sheer size of this thing, and that, like Andrew, it could still go anywhere.

Your friends were right to postpone the wedding...wrong weekend to make anyone travel here.
Your slumber party sounds like the right idea for such a hurricane.
Won't your ladies be evacuated anyway? I had heard that Brwd were considering following suite with WPB in ordering everyone off the other side of the intracoastal, but have not yet heard if it's official.

Well what more can i say, except that i'm looking forward to your call.

alec.

Today was busier than I'd expected, but everything is about as prepared as it's going to get. Hope all went well on your end, too.

I left a message on your mobile before I went for dinner. You definitely don't have an American accent.

Take care and get in touch when the moment strikes, ok?

Shall we do that collaborative Guide entry on How to Handle a Hurricane while the process is fresh in our minds? I made some brief notes the other night by candlelight.

Candlelight??
candles are supposed to be bad things in a hurricane, they have the tendency to fall over all by themselves, set your house on fire and you can't escape through the boarded over windows.

Er...yes, let's do this while we have the impetus.

We need to cover interior preparations and exterior preparations.

Interior : Food, Water, Candles, Cooking, Hygiene, Important documents, how to shelter if yer roof goes etc. Communications,Medications, cooking, lighting...how to boil water

Exterior : Different types of shutters, how to fasten plywood, What to do if your landlord doesn't care/ doesn't show up. Clear the yard/ patio. What to do with animals.

Also an 'Everything you will need' list from Altoids to Stolichnaya

The PLAN...everyone was saying 'you must have a plan' Other than deciding to stay here and survive, we didn't have much of one.

What to do if you're in a mobile home/ on the 12th floor overlooking the beach/ under a mushroom-shaped giant ficus tree/ if you're a surfer...

Just stuff off the top of my head, probably needs a bit of work.

alec.

I know nothing about shutters and correctly fastening plywood. During Andrew I had burglar bars on all my windows and about 150 bungee cords, so I bungeed the hell out of the plywood sheets I attached. My neighbors were all laughing at me as they anchored their plywood. Mine was the *only* plywood that stayed on through the hurricane, though it didn't save the windows. I gathered the plywood that had blown off the other houses and used it to patch the roof.

Can you do a section about generators and how to use them, the dangers of hooking it into the house power and of using them indoors.

I used candles in glass jars *very* carefully to save batteries, just in case power was out for an extended period.

THE PLAN. Yeah. Mine was about the same as yours. I parked my truck in the closest, most protected place I could find, drank just enough beer to stay relaxed and alert (but not enough to start getting sloppy) and was well organized for damage control inside the house in case of flooding or a broken window.

We should mention that it's not a good idea to park (or sit) under trees for a while, even after the hurricane has passed. Sometimes weakened branches let go days afterwards.

I take photos of everything before the hurricane in case I need a record for insurance purposes.

During the day before I do all the laundry and clean the house, just in case there's no power afterwards.

I've a number of little, practical tips from experience that I've never heard mentioned during broadcasts.

Shall we get together and brainstorm or do it here? Also, how's Mrs. T?

*sigh*

They started evacuating the Keys last night. Time to buy more beer and wine, again.

yes, and if it still looks like it's on track, they will evacuate Keys residents too, starting tomorrow morning. Everybody! Police and Emergency services included. Imagine that, nobody left south of Card Sound Road!

I have heard that Grenada is devastated, and Ivan is about to do the same to Jamaica from Friday onward.

I think it's coming directly for us, but Mrs Trician says it will miss us completely.

Perhaps this one will take out the new Hustler building on Sunrise?That is probably what God is cross about.

alec.

On a personal level I feel better about today's projection than I did yesterday morning. But now it looks as if it might take another shot at the west coast. Those poor people! They must be in a frenzy. Talk about triggering PTSD!

Do you really think God is cross about the Hustler store? I haven't gone in there yet, though I'm curious as to just what they have in there. Looks like a clean, well-lighted place to me.

Hope all is well with you and your family!

Though Ivan passed us by I *still* got to worry about it, as my brother had to join the mass exodus. He lives in Biloxi, fortunately sustained no damage. I hope these things are done for a while.

I started some notes for a hurricane preparedness article on my last day off. Probably won't have time to focus on it again til next week when I'll be working in Mississippi. It's here http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A2999712 if you'd still like to co-author it with me.

Take care!