Storm Warning

000
WTFZ25 WNSSC290700
SHITSTORM TOMMY FORECAST/ADVISORY 2A
NATIONAL POLITICAL WEATHER CENTER WASHINGTON DC
TPS FORM 20001
0700Z THU SEP 29 2005

TOPICAL STORM TOMMY CENTER LOCATED AT AUSTIN TEXAS 30.3N 97.8W AT 29/0300Z
HAS JUST BEEN UPGRADED TO A CATEGORY 1 SHITSTORM
FOLLOWING FORMAL INDICTMENT OF REP. TOM DELAY…

A POLITICAL FALLOUT WARNING HAS BEEN DECLARED FOR AN AREA
WITHIN 50 REPRESENTATIVES TO EITHER SIDE OF TOMMY WHICH COULD
MAKE LANDFALL IN HUNTSVILLE TX IN THE NEXT 24 TO 48 WEEKS. SHITSTORM TOMMY
HAS A WELL-DEFINED BROWN EYE MAKING FURTHER STRENGTHENING VERY LIKELY.

A CATEGORY 1 SHITSTORM IS A MINIMAL SHITSTORM BUT IS CONSIDERED
DANGEROUS TO RESIDENTS OF LOW-LYING AREAS SUCH AS CAPITOL HILL
AND THE WHITE HOUSE…REPUBLICAN INTERESTS ARE ADVISED TO SEEK
SHELTER ON THE MORAL HIGH GROUND IF THEY CAN FIND ANY.

AS WITH MOST SHITSTORMS IN THE 2001-2005 CYCLE, TOMMY MAY BE SHORT-LIVED
DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF SUSTAINED DEMOCRATIC PRESSURE…ALREADY CATEGORY 3
SHITSTORM KATRINA AND CATEGORY 2 SHITSTORM RITA REORGANIZED FROM REMNANTS
OF HURRICANES WITH THE SAME NAMES…MAY BE DOWNGRADED.

REPUBLICANS IN THE AFFECTED AREAS SHOULD TAKE PRECAUTIONS…RIGHT-WING
MEDIA SPIN TO PREVENT THE STRENGTHENING OF TOPICAL STORMS CINDY, KARL
AND THE MINIMAL TOPICAL STORM GAY.

$$

The morning after

We finally went to sleep around midnight.
The power stayed on and we got very little rain.
It looks like we dodged a bullet. Even the hummingbirds have returned and are fighting over the feeders we decided to leave up. A quick tour of the neighborhood reveals downed branches and odd debris here and there.

Sadness that Yaga’s Cafe in Galveston was destroyed.
There’s a picture at www.chron.com

Thanks for all the e-mail wishing us well, it looks like we will be just fine.

The calm before

We all deal with stress differently, My wife Cynthia deals with it by baking cookies and we were running desperately low on flour and brown sugar. It suited me to go have a look around as I am going a tad bit stir crazy. I was also hoping to find some gas while I was out as I would like to top off the tank. I found none but I now know that the universal sign for NO GAS is a plastic bag wrapped around the fuel nozzle. If you see that you know to keep driving.

I thought I had hit pay-dirt when I saw short lines at the gas station in front of the HEB grocery store. Turns out it was for employees only. I suppose that’s very sporting of HEB after working their staff all day while everyone else is either stocking up or fleeing the city.

I moved on to Kroger. For those that have e-mailed me asking how many people I thought were sticking around the west side rather than fleeing the city have a look at the nearly full parking lot

I could not park anywhere close the front.

As I was taking pictures of the parking lot a number of people asked me why I was doing this. I explained I was just documenting this experience. Several people asked if I thought it would get bad, as if looking for reassurance that their decision to stay was ok. It kind of made me uncomfortable. I just said that you should prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

Inside it was a madhouse. I needed a nine volt battery to replace the one in the garage door opener. I literally got the last one.

Plenty of camera batteries and a few AAA’s if you are looking.

No dairy products to speak of

Canned meats mostly gone, same for the peanut butter

Interestingly enough, plenty of baking supplies. I got the flour and the brown sugar. There’s plenty more at Kroger if you need some.

Cookies are in the oven.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, cookies

Hurricane Rita – Early warnings

Broke out the propane camp stove and sorted out the existing supplies like canned soup and so forth.

I went to the HEB to lay in some extra supplies. They are sold out of bottled water, most soups are gone, crunchy and fat free peanut butter is all the graces the shelves. People are still mostly calm but it’s jammed in the dry good isles. No one’s stealing from other people carts (yet). Topped of the gas tank in the Honda. Lines at the gas station are 2-3 cars deep.

It’s only Tuesday. If you are going to ride it out you should think about shopping soon.

We also took pictures of the house and our valuables as documentation for insurance purposes should the need arise.