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Good morning and welcome, to the third week of September (already!) It’s been a brutally hot summer and not just here. July of 2012 was the hottest month on record…EVER – but there are signs of a cool down in our futures!
I was wondering what to write about because I didn’t have a good idea for this morning. I kinda wanted to do something sciency but I was at a loss as to how to be able to fairly engage all readers. I happened to be idly perusing the news, pondering what to write when I ran across a story about 33,000 people in Guatemala being evacuated from the area around the Fuego volcano.
“Fuego” means “fire” in Spanish and in this case it’s appropriate because its decided to stop its daily smoking habit and start belching some more dangerous ejecta. Cinders have been half an inch thick in places and hot gases have been rolling down its sides. Fuego is a stratovolcano so there is little danger of a caldera-collapsing explosion, and the geology seems to make the chances of a Mt. St. Helen’s type of landslide/explosion pretty small. But there is always the danger of a vertical eruption column collapsing under its own weight creating a powerful pyroclastic flow of super hot material roaring down its steep sides. Other dangers include groundhugging toxic gases which can kill silently without warning, massive amounts of ash, destroying crops and homes, lahars, and of course the big enchilada, a river of molten rock flowing down into a village or town. I hope you’ll all join me in my best wishes and fervent hopes for the people and wildlife in the area.
It got me to thinking though, we all live in diverse areas with our own possibilities of disaster-forced evacuation. Some of us live in quake prone areas, some are susceptible to storms, some are at risk from wildfires, etc. My own area is both geologically stable and far enough inland to blunt the force of any tropical storms but I still have a disaster bag. It contains some (slightly out of fashion) clothing, a three day supply of my prescriptions and vitamins, some basic toiletries and first aid supplies and $500 cash; along with a small radio, a knife and a flashlight. The box in which I take Kuroneko to the dreaded vet also contains two small bowls and some dry and canned catfood. I regularly rotate the prescriptions and medical supplies (the catfood too!), so they don’t wind up spoiling or losing efficacy. I also keep a five gallon container of water on hand which I rotate as well. I know I’ll probably never need my disaster bag but it’s one of those things that is needed rarely but when it is, nothing else will do.
So what about you guys? Have you made your own disaster preparations or do you think I’m being silly and paranoid for preparing for one? While you’re typing your responses, please enjoy a little Jimmy Buffett and some cool volcanic scenes.
182 Comments
Good morning pups o’ fire!
Good Morning, Hot Stuff Peg
Nicely written post, Margaret. In between comments, I want to check out the links. I’m not familiar with aspects of the volcano except for the Big Enchilada, so looking forward to learning more.
You’re not silly at all for having an emergency bag. A couple of weeks ago, Dakine wrote a Pantry diary and that inspired me to restock my pantry so if an emergency happens, at least we’ll have lots of beans and soup. I also put an envelope with $$$ in there.
But, you have inspired me to put together a bag with first aid stuff.
I keep a flashlight on my desk and also on my night stand.
Being prepared is important.
Thanks for the good reminders.
Good morning Margaret and thanks for the post and host.
Good morning to all the yet to arrive PUACers.
Ruth returned to Texas this week and we got cooler temps and rain. Coincidence? I think not. The magic drought-busting power of Ruth Calvo!
On a more serious note, as with most of Texas we are exposed to flooding. Flood control was a major part of infrastructure when I was growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. It seems to be ignored here in Texas.
Hi demi, glad you enjoyed it. I prepared my own bag on December 31, 2007 because it had been so dry and people are always ignoring the fireworks ban and shooting them off over a grassy field by my building. I wanted be able to get myself and my cat out in a hurry if it caught fire!
Happy Cool Morning to you, Oldnslow.
Great wordage about Ruth. You’re usually kind of on the quiet side, but when you do speak, We Listen.
Here we have earthquakes and fire, but I’m not too worried about flooding. We don’t get enough precipitation for that.
Good morning oldnslow! Yep, flood control has largely been ignored in the Austin area since the construction of the Mansfield dam but the Colorado isn’t the only river and/or stream in that area that can flood. On the other hand, a LOT of money and effort is spent in and around Houstopolis to prevent flooding but there is only so much you can do when you’re in a flat area, less than 40 feet above sea level!
Oh and I woke up to a temperature of 66 degrees this morning. Even Neko is enjoying the break From the heat I think.
Good Morning Margaret.
I think a couple of pups were evacuated because of fire this year. If my survival depended on changing place, considering that there would be a loss of normal means of monetary exchange, I’d be stuck with my skills and knowledge.
There are only so many possible natural disasters where I live, being snowed in being one. Immediate fire after prolonged drought, would be another. Tornadoes would be the third.
I have a small emergency stash, mostly in the form of stuff I keep in the camper to make a getaway more efficient. My brother, however, has a basement room dedicated to emergency stores. Living in the rural Northeast, neither of us are concerned about natural disasters. Short of an astroid strike, there are not many ways our natural world will create a crisis here. What we have are societal catastrophic risks. I get a taste of this with the annual summer arrival of thousands of young urban underclass recreationists on the river where I make my home. Mostly, this takes place in a way that offers little or no police presence, which seems likely to be part of the attraction for gangs of young men convinced they can do anything they are strong and violent enough to make happen. It gives a new meaning to the words “tourist season.” It is also a reminder of how fragile the social contract is.
Morning nonquixote! I have friends from Michigan who have described being snowed in to me. Sounds nightmarish.
Good morning Salmo. Thanks for sharing and welcome to PUAC. :)
Good morning ms demi!
For you mud slides are a threat, no? There periodically are very wet winters, no?
My parents live at about 2800 ft elevation in the Sierra Nevada foothills southeast of Sacramento. We do worry about their exposure to fire. They have been there since the late ’90s and no real problems yet though.
I’ll add my welcome, Salmo, as well.
It is also a reminder of how fragile the social contract is.
What a great line. That’s a whole post in itself.
Dora-cat and Mike have moved back to the bed. This tells me fall is here. (they haven’t slept on the bed since April)
Actually, not so much. After our wild fires several years ago, I asked the fire fighters about mud slides and he said not to worry. Most of the mountain above us is Rock with only a shallow layer of dirt. That’s what they said, anyway.
We’ve been in this house only 8 1/2 years and we experienced only one winter with a moderate amount of rainfall.
It’s the fire threat that I worry about. Always. Any time of year.
Kuroneko is back on the bed but not yet under the covers, predictable kitteh.
Good morning and thanks for an interesting topic, Peg. Here in NW Indiana our biggest natural disasters would be either tornados or huge snow blizzards, neither of which is quite like a volcano!
I did get something very useful, thanks to seeing it at my sister’s a few months back:
Durofix RL435 Li-Ion 4V Plug-in Power Outage LED Light
The link is to Amazon, where they’re out of stock at the moment, but I think you can find them elsewhere, or something similar. It plugs into any power outlet and has a little green light to show it’s charged, but when the power goes out a very bright array of LED lights comes on. No more hunting for candles or flashlights! I have two, one in the kitchen and one in my bedroom, plugged into rarely-needed outlets.
That looks like a handy idea Molly. I have a battery operated lantern that folds down into itself. My emergency supplies and equipment largely dovetails with my camping supplies and equipment so it’s easy to keep fresh food and batteries rotating through. The medical supplies are different though. I have to remind myself to rotate the prescription drugs through every three months or so.
Sorry for just a drive-by this morning. I was “gifted” with my neighbor’s CSA basket again, and I have to run to the Farmer’s Market, then to the farm to get the basket, and then maybe back to the market to fill in what I need that wasn’t in the basket.
Chilly here this morning — about 48º — I’m a little sorry to see fall come, because winter’s not far behind.
Have a great day, everyone.
LMAO! I wrote almost 400 words on that very thought before I discarded everything but the first paragraph and went in a different direction. But the break from the heat is just too wonderful to lament it’s loss yet.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!
{{{msmolly}}} just because
Peg – yes, my emergency food is also my camping stock. And, we found some cool LED lights, about 4 inches round with a magnet on the back. Worked really well on our last camping trip. We have a metal framed canopy, so we just stick those light on that. Hell of alot easier than those old coleman lanterns with the little bags that always fell apart. Those lights are also real handy for working on the cars.
I suspect I suffer from seasonal depression. I am not thrilled at this time of year. Plus, my ttruck is sitting in the driveway un-started since December and needs a lot of attention and $ before it can used as my daily commuter for the rainy days. Bleeeaaahk.
A little musical interlude…
Johnny Cash.
I know we’re not talking about love, but the title of the song fits the post. :)
Yeah and less of a fire hazard too! The first time I ever saw anybody change out one of those things was when I was around five. My dad’s friend replaced both elements and lit them during one of our camping trips. One of them immediately disintegrated and set his pants on fire! I was fascinated with the cause and affect at the time but on reflection, the fire burned a lot of his pants in just a few seconds so he came close to serious injury.
Oh, noes. Someone better start making more cakes.
Guess what? My mister bought himself a new to him car this week. he’s been driving the worst kind of pos clunker. He bought the same kind of car, but with half the mileage and half the years. Whoo Hoo!
So, I went and bought some high powered degreaser to work on the oil stains in the driveway.
Yikes! Nine months of sitting! Maybe you should try to start your truck once a week for fifteen minutes or so when it’s motorcycle weather to make it’s winter rehabilitation easier?
Depends on if you have a means of generating heat to stay warm and prepare food. Was stuck in for five full days with another family years ago. Woodstove and heat, “alladin” kerosene lamps, stew and soup simmering the whole time along with bread baking, card playing, music making, endless relishes and other preserves, and generous samplings of home brew from the cellar. Cherry bounce has become a winter must have, snowed in or not.
This is not my recipe, family secret and all, but this brew is open to wide interpretation.
Excellent point.
And, for all of you lucky ones who have cooler weather, I’m sticking my tongue out at you. It’s still hellish here. When we were camping last week, it was almost too hot to have a camp fire. At the beach? That’s crazy.
Woohoo! So much fun getting oil stains off the driveway. Degreaser + pressure washer some times does the trick.
With regard to emergency preparation, in 1998 I came home during the ice storm to find my mother, with her recent cancer diagnosis, huddled next to our wood stove for warmth because she didn’t have one. I immediately began a search for a generator to power her furnace and a few lights. Eventually I found what I am sure was the last generator in the county that was for sale, and I paid about 4 times its normal retail cost. What it was worth, however, at that time and to me, was another story entirely. I now keep two generators in my basement. It’s WAY cheaper.
Kinda wierd past year. The engine in my truck expired about this time last year. We swapped out the engine. In the middle of that excercise we found an inexpensive used car for the youngest to drive. He promptly failed his driving test. I drove the car through the rainy season and ignored my truck. Not smart but …
Yep, pretty much what the Michiganders told me, (wow! Spell check actually likes that word!), but it sounds nightmarish to me. Not being able to get away from other people. I’d never make a good astronaut on anything smaller than the Enterprise.
Maybe not exactly smart but entirely understandable.
At some point, we put down those drip pans, but the damage was already done. I’ll have to check and see if I can rent a pressure washer. That’s probably not cheap. Eek. It’s always something isn’t it? Nice to have a snazzy car, though. Acura Integra.
The problem is with porous concrete of course and the capillary action of oil, (which is what makes it useful as a lubricant). Sometimes you have to hit the area several times over weeks with a pressure washer to even significantly lessen the stains.
I don’t know about that, nonquixote. Sounds like it might taste like cough syrup. But, if I was in an emergency situation, I might be pursuaded. Go, ahead, twist my arm.
As a young teen I was visiting my grandparents, alone, in LA when hurricane Camille hit. You may recall it was severe with 200 mph wind gusts recorded in NO. We were huddled up for what seemed like a week but was only a few days. Lots of fun because it was not their first rodeo. I told them that I would take an earthquake any day.
Pressure washers aren’t as expensive as you might imagine. See if you can find some turquo. I’m not sure about the spelling but it’s better than acid for the environment and it’s what we used on stains on the flight line when I was in the service.
We did one scrubbing yesterday, which made a dent, but there will be more cleanings.
Nothing like oil stains to ramp up the trashometer in Trailer Trash.
An emergency generator is something that every homeowner should have. It’s important to use it and keep it maintained though. Don’t let them sit idle like oldnslow’s truck! ;)
Ranks just below an old sofa on the porch!
Acura Integra. Cool car. The CBL had a first year Acura Integra when we met and it was an excellent car. Good on yoooz guys.
(or an ’82 Fork truck sittin since December)
Gah! My porch isn’t even large enough for a couch.
We were talking trailer trash once, maybe a year ago, and OmAli had a couple good descriptive lines. Can’t remember what they were though.
I used to have an Acura Integra. Got a lot of miles out of it before it croaked.
(or the big muddy hole the youngest made in the lawn backing out of the driveway yesterday)
LMAO! Multicolored? With a bent, rusty rear bumper?
When looking out of the upstairs window and having to squint to try to see the top two inches of the radio antennae on a vehicle in the yard, your view of being stuck with people isn’t necessarily going to be the same.
As there were shared chores and things like tunneling to the barn to feed the animals, it was quite an adventure. There were not snow-blowers in every garage back then. Opening the garage door, the only option, to not see daylight yet, was pretty awesome…
Sounds like your youngest needs a bit more practice!
Pops, Margaret, and demi holdin’ it down!
Good morning firedogs. Happy Saturday. Thank you Margaret for the post and host.
I have a ‘go bag’ in the house, for any disaster. We put it together last year after our first tornado warning here in Texas. It lives in the closet. Iodine tabs, small first aid kit, some clothes, important documents, etc. Pantry is on the way out the garage door, and there are always a few gallons of water and canned goods in there. Enough to last our little troop about 5-7 days.
Long story short, between food/water and go bag, and a couple other things, we could be out of the house in about 3-5 minutes with only 30 lbs of gear between the 4 of us.
No more than three cherries per hand in a card game or you can’t see what suit is in your hand.
Our porch is big enough but all we have on it is a 3′ high concrete Blessed Virgin Mary statue. She wears a black leather vest and a black bandana. She is Our Lady of the V-Twin. (yes, I know I’m going to hell if there is one)
Yep, I agree. It would be sorta cool at first but I just think it would wear awfully thin very quickly.
Yes.
He’s been working such long hours, he really deserves it. And, the clutch on the old car was so weird, I didn’t like driving it. I imagine this weekend we’ll go out and I’ll practice with the new one because it gets such better mileage than the panel van I’ve been driving. Chris usually works from his home office, but occasionally goes out in the field, so I should learn to drive the new one. It’s pretty cute, too. Silver, with black leather seats and upgraded wheels.
I’d likely be crying in either of those situations, very foreign to my experience.
Good morning!
Yep. Depending on how it takes to catch the cat and stuff her into her box, I could get out the door inside two minutes but it’s just me and she so I don’t have to round others up!
Welcome and good morning Kris!
My Chris is really good with fixing cars. He had a toyota that he put 500 miles on.
OMG! How fabulous! Gonna hafta come look at that someday!
In this case the ECM went out and they wanted a thousand dollars for parts alone and that wasn’t counting the programming it would need. The car wasn’t worth that.
Snort.
Gonna make a further guess: Black and primer?
Earthquakes are pretty easy. Instant on, last only a few seconds and the vast majority are low-level. Hurricans on the other hand are downright frightening.
Hello, other Kris. I haven’t emailed you yet, but, I’ve got your addy on a post-it on my desk. Just letting you know.
Got a game today?
You guys are too cool for school. (Does anyone even say that anymore?)
No. You and yours have a Get Out Of Hell Free card. Most definitely. Well, if I have any say about it.
Hey! It is blue and white and not at all in that bad-a-shape. The bonus PWT element is the old engine just visible in th bed.
Okay. What’s an ECM. (Oh boy. I’m gonna get some learnin’.)
Having experienced both, the earthquakes to me were more frightening initially because I’d never felt one before but those are the easiest to get used to. By the time I left San Diego, I was like the rest of southern California in issuing a “m’eh” when a four or five pointer hit. Hurricanes though, are always scary!
Engine Control Module. The computer brain for the fuel and ignition systems.
buenos sabado margaret!
was having a conversation with a friend of mine about how similar the human brain behaves compared to a computer, for instance, I made the point that we can only keep in attention (ram) a finite amount of information, (this is why you often wonder what started a conversation, your brain ran out of “ram” and had to close some folders)
then he made an important distinction;
when you get information from a computers “hard drive” the original information is left in tact, when you end your use the original information is maintained.
however when you access information on the “hardrive” of your brain, the information is wiped and “re-written”…this is why your memory changes over time
Jesus had a twin brother? Virginal birth? How did I miss that?
(Ruth, missing your wacky humor here, HELP!).
I can see that I need to get back to the garden. Harvesting grain for the emergency larder, for a bit, and then I am actually going to be test driving a used car for the teen. Passat turbo desiel wagon, 110K. 42 mpg. Safety stuff, too.
Be good and enjoy the week. Thanks so much Margaret for inviting us in this morning.
NonnyNon – Do not listen to oldnslow, at least not regarding earthquakes.
1994 Northridge earthquake.
Felt like a freaking jackhammer and 20 seconds seems like forever. Maybe I was more upset than I normally would have been, just having had sweet baby James three weeks earlier. Freaked me out.
Negative. White and blue.
Thank you!
(Do I look smarter now?)
OMG! I drove a 1970 – 1971 Chevrolet truck for almost four months with an engine rolling around in the back of it because it’s owner didn’t want it and was avoiding me. One day when he wasn’t home, I pulled up to his house and let down the tail gate. I then backed into the driveway fast and slammed on the brakes. Unloaded that thing in about half a second.
(“1970 – 1971″ refers to the fact that it had a 1970 1/2 ton chassis with a 1971 engine and 3/4 ton rear axle.)
Two games today. And the girlies got to cheer at the high school game last night. Hutto put an ass-whooping on a school from Austin, 35-0.
Today we’ve got Charlotte’s squad in Georgetown at 10 (about 15 miles away), then Alexia’s squad here at home at 3:00.
Then poker tonight. Is that a 4th game?
Thanks for coming by non!
Thanks! I missed that question. Sorry Deb!
Good morning and welcome perris. Interesting theory. :)
Good morning Perris. Long time since we’ve been on the same thread at the same time. Nice to see your fonts.
OK all, off to start my day. Thanks again Margaret. Have a wonderfull weekend all.
(missed you Ruth and Om)
My younger brother had just 30 seconds prior, gotten off, the Bay Bridge in SF when it collapsed behind him.
S’alright. Isn’t it amazing how busy it gets here?
Thanks for coming by oldnslow. Hug the fabulous cbl’s neck for all of us!
I’m out of here as well folks. Time to roll out to Georgetown. Have a great weekend everyone. Thank you again Margaret for the post and host.
Yes.
I’m so happy that you are so happy.
It seems to come in spurts.
I’ve done earthquakes in Hawai’i, hurricanes in Florida, tornadoes in various places, blizzards in the northeast
Hurricanes you sit there and watch them move inexorably towards you, get ready and evacuate without knowing if you are going to lose all you own.
Tornadoes you MIGHT get some level of advanced warning of a few minutes these days but not by much.
Demi, I have a friend who still has PTSD from Northridge quake
You just have to pick the environmental/natural poison you are most wiling to deal with
Thanks for stopping by Kris. Come by again when you can’t stay so long. ;)
The scariest part for me is not knowing when it hits how big and long it’s going to be. If I knew ahead of time, I’d just roll with it.
I believe it, Dakine.
I still have a mild ptsd from the fires from three years ago. It was like being in a disaster movie. If I go outside and smell smoke, there’s an instantaneous rush of adrenalin and fear.
And, right now we have a warm breeze blowing. Heebie Jeebies.
Welcome dakine. The thing about hurricanes is that they spawn tornadoes so it’s always a crap shoot. The most recent tropical storm I experienced was Charlie, in 1998 Houston. I worked that night, just behind Hobby Airport and they were landing airplanes in that mess! I kept expecting to hear one the many wave offs begin with the usual throttling way up but ending with an enormous ka-boom!
I’m afeared as long as the athletic season lasts, we won’t see too much of Kris. Like his kids are more important than us. Ha!
I’ll bet! Demi, those fires would scare the shit out of me!
Right? WTF? ;)
Well it’s after 9:00 am which means that the wonderful Phoenix Woman has a new post up. I’m going to still be around of course throughout the morning but I’d like to thank everybody for coming by and enjoying this pleasant conversation and especially our newcomer. Hope everybody has an incredibly wonderful weekend.
Snort. Again.
People are cracking me up today.
What a swell way to start the day.
I’ve been on a Neil Young kick the last couple of days. Been listening to Four Strong Winds over and over and decided to learn it on my guitar. Haven’t had it out of the case in years, and I don’t really know how to play, so I’m gonna do some practicing.
You can teach an old firedog new tricks. I’m pretty sure.
Peggy! You are the best. Thank you so much for hosting today.
Are you going to do Pull Your Cat’s Tail tomorrow?
Good Saturday.
I don’t think basic preparations for a disaster are evidence of paranoia.
I have been remiss myself. I’ve been meaning forever to get combination solar and hand cranked flashlights and a similarly powered radio.
Then again, there is just so much you can do, especially if your living space is not large.
Moreover, if people can’t flush their toilets for a few days, things are going to get ugly, no matter how many jugs of spring water they have on hand.
That might be over the top. Further, if they are correct, they may regret having shown their
Margaret,
You have got me waxing philosophical and I’m pondering if some relationships are, “human made,” or simply, “natural,” disasters. Survival gear needed??? New topic for a new day.
Off for sure this time, coffee pot is empty. Dew is almost dried up.
Definitely!
Oops. sorry. That last line is a stray that I should have deleted.
Ummm, I’m not doing the cat post tomorrow. I think tejanarusa may be though.
Peg, on a completely different topic, James mailed his voter registration this week. Isn’t that great?
Yes. Having been through many floods, flushing is something that is foolish and impossible until the water recedes. Thanks for looking in! Don’t make yourself a stranger. :)
WooHoo!
Very good. I wish she could join us on Saturday mornings, she’s such a neat person. But, I imagine she’s resting up from the week.
They work her far too hard. I’ll write later and ask but both she a bgrothus have been playing with flikr so I think one of them might be wanting to try out their new posting photos abilities. That’s the impression I got last week anyway.
I thought you’d enjoy hearing that. Plus, he’s probably more informed than 99% of those who will vote.
Also, I have a question for anyone who hangs out at Late Late Night.
I haven’t seen newtonusr for quite a while. Is he okay?
Echoing Peg, yes, stop in again. We have a great time on Saturday mornings, and we almost always learn new and interesting things.
Of that, there can be no doubt.
Hunny Bunny, it’s already over 80 here, so I’d better get the sneakers on and get down to the park to walk.
Much fondness for ya, dear.
Have a cool one Deb! Thanks for coming by and being the life of the party again. And back atcha! :)
Well, I’m back with the basket. Yikes, how do I cook turnips? Three kinds of squash, a zuchhini, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, 6 ears of corn, two eggplants, mesclun, a huge bunch of rainbow chard, and something green I cannot identify (should have asked at the farm).
I’m sharing with a friend, and I sure hope she knows what to do with some of these things!
Try recipes.com cause I have no idea… WB Molly!
To begin with, I live under a dam built by the corp. I live in earthquake country but not a really bad area that we know of. I live on the American River that could flood. We have had five or six fires right behind our house on the green belt that follows the river.
I grew up in hurricane country. My motto is “Always Be Prepared”. Sometimes it drives me crazy.
Oh and the week before I moved to CA from Memphis, TN there was an earthquake. Mother Nature was getting me prepared.
Hi Mary and welcome! Wow! Sounds like you have a lot of disaster experience.
Hey, MaryintheMorning.
Yikes, you’re a woman for all disasters, seems like.
Do you know anything about newtonusr? Maybe I missed something.
Hey, Peg. I brought home some bacon. Wanna?
I’m thinking that maybe nonquioxte might be able to help you. Worth a question to him.
Just had my sammich. Thanks though.
Hey, I heard my name!
Was just remembering that I said I ‘d do The Cat Show post tomorrow. Don ‘t see why not. ;)
Had to call the doc and get another corse of meds this week and finally feel more like myself.!
Gotta start the Saturday runnin around, but tomorrow ‘s good. Will prolly be thunderstorming.
which should lead into an on topic comment….I ‘ve been snowed in…I thought, til I read nonq ‘s post.
I was in a few heavy snows as a kid, but we could always get oout the door. I recall them as fun : no school, and ihloos to build, and tunnels, snow forts, dnowball fights to start, walking s l o w l y to friends ‘ houses, etxc.
fires would terrify me.
I think it’s Shoto who says there’s only 2 food groups. Bacon and chocolate.
Wonder where he’s been lately.
Yes, I’m taking roll. There’s just some people I’m missing.
Oh, just gotts say HOW COOL the voolcano video is on my KindleFirr.. sharp and vivid color. Perfect song for it, too. Thanks, Peg.
Oh, I must say SA has done lots of flood control projects since early 90′s difference. It has made a big difference. I personally was caught in my car a couple times in scary rising water yhst made me very nervous. Nothing recent. More to do but much better here.
Hey tejana! Great to see your fonts. Can’t wait for the post!
Hmmm…You’re right. I haven’t seen Shoto around either.
Hey back. Is there anything technical I need to know? Just use the diary instructions, or is there more?
Guess I better move my buns to get the basicchorres outa thway.
Uuh oh. Pushy wantsattention. Climbing back n forth o lapl and pushingup under kindle. And purring.
better go!
Hello Margaret. This is a good topic. Years ago, I made fun of my then-boyfriend’s “earthquake back pack.” Oh, yes. I made all kinds of jokes and fun about it…until the ’94 LA quake hit…and I was crawling through glass and gas at four thirty in the morning in mad search of the thing. First thing I pulled out and used was the radio. (Coldwater Canyon and Moorpark, for reference here. Yeah. Uh huh.)
The moral: We sure do have a disaster kit today, because of tornadoes, but also because of our New Madrid Seismic Zone location. Our kit has a radio with fresh batteries, extra batteries, a CPR mask, hydrogen peroxide, a vast array of medical gauze and tape of all sizes and shapes…Advil…I guess you could call it a super first aid kit. Every month or so, I check the radio and the kit contents.
Also: Shoes. I always keep shoes close to the bed.
Heh. When young, we do learn the hard way, don’t we?
Just post your pics on flikr, then select the one(s) you want to post and copy the url(s) and paste it into the post. Easy peasy.
Oeven ones from the intertoobz, like cheezebuger or vids?
(And, I promise not to use the Kindle.)
The New Madrid zone is especially dangerous as the Reelfoot Rift isn’t an ordinary fault but a failed rifting event that occurred over 750 million years ago when the supercontinent Rodinia was breaking up. It formed an aulacogen which is a weakness in the rock deep underground. That makes it’s quakes even more unpredictable than normal, which is not usually very accurate anyway. And though the chances of a severe earthquake there on any given day are almost infinitely remote, the potential cost in lives and property damage in a serious event is enormous.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Not the vids if there is a youtube link but the others, yep.
Gosh. Too bad (for me) you’re not still at Moorpark and Coldwater.
20 minutes from my house, and when I lived in North Hollywood, maybe 7.
Glad to see you and your mister back on the diaries.
((Crane-Station))
We could have some face to face fun and helping.
If Ruth comes alookin’, am hoping you are well. Maybe busy getting up and running at the old homestead.
It’s still too hot to do outside stuff right now. Inside, I only have a few choices. Clean (Gawd forbid), online, read, sleep, movies.
Oh, and practice guitar.
Almost done cleaning here. Only Neko’s favorite part left to do.
Id’nt that it! You got that right, LOL!
Got your gloves on?
Here, it’s de-ticking the dog. One at a time, with tweezers. Not me. It creeps me out. Ewwww.
But, I enjoy brushing Picky. He actually enjoys it.
Did you see Nonquixote’s video of him vacuming he’s M Cat?
And, did you see the photo of Picky I posted last week? He’s kinda little like Neko.
I saw and commented on both your picture of Picky and Nonquixote’s vacuuming of Dan’l. They were great. Thanks!
Sigh, well, I do love and miss LA. I feel like an alien where I live currently, to massively understate the situation!
Well, and thank you for the additional information on New Madrid. To be quite honest, we had never heard of it before we moved here, which is amazing, given the potential it has for being so dangerous.
Sorry to hear that. Where are you? I forgot.
And, what took you from here to there?
She must be in southeastern Missouri, western Tennessee, northeastern Arkansas, western Kentucky or even southern Illinois to be in the New Madrid seismic zone. Can’t get ya any closer than that I’m afraid. :)
I can’t figure out whether you’re smarter than everyone else, or cuter than everyone else.
Just got back from a time at the pool. There was only one other person besides James and I, and it was a woman I met at curves who lives on the same street as I and we did side to side laps and chatted like fools in the sun. It was real nice.
Nice Saturday so far.
Okay. Don’t be silly, Deborah. Smarter AND Cuter.
Oh aren’t you sweet. I have a high opinion of you too. :)
No place in the world is immune to a big meteor strike.
Sure, that’s wildly improbable, but the point is that it makes sense to be generally prepared. Some disasters can be expected, but no place is immune to the occurrence of some unlikely event that puts you in danger. I live in Houston and I have always been proud of my wife (from Michigan) who takes my hurricane preparations seriously – and did even before she had experienced one. I prepare every year, even though most years, it’s a completely wasted effort.
The one piece of advice I would give you all is that If you have common sense, trust your judgment over that of the idiot “authorities” – particularly in regard to evacuations.
I’ll explain: In Houston, we have some magnificent freeways. One of them, the Katy (I 10) expands to 28 lanes! Let me tell you, we can really move some people at rush hour. The problem is, that every single one of them bottlenecks into four lane highway right at the city limits!
Right after Katrina devastated New Orleans, another big hurricane was headed our way (Rita, I think). And Rita was on course to make a direct hit on Houston. In the aftermath of Katrina, when the authorities advised evacuation of Houston and areas south and east, it was taken very seriously. 5 million or more people jumped into their cars – and immediately turned those magnificent freeways into the world’s largest parking lots. It was hot, and the choice was to run the air conditioner or suffocate in the stifling heat. Every gas station within miles of the freeway ran out within hours. Even if you had been prudent enough to husband your gas, or had an extra can in your SUV, you can’t go anywhere when you are surrounded by gas guzzlers that have guzzled their last drop – unless you can levitate a SUV.
I forget what the eventual toll was, but people died.
There were actions our criminally stupid Governor could have taken to ameliorate the situation (like opening up South and Eastbound lanes to North and Westbound traffic) but he just made excuses and did nothing. fortunately (for us), Rita made a turn to the north and missed us entirely. Had that storm actually hit all those trapped people, the death toll would have been unbelievable.
My family, BTW, along with everyone who would listen to reason and a few other individuals with common sense, was just fine. We had stayed put. After 9/11, the subject of evacuation had come up fairly frequently here, and every time it did, I raved about the impossibility of any such thing. There were six lanes total out of this town when Rita approached. Few listened.
So, I beg you to consider your own evacuation route and whether an evacuation would even be possible before you follow the other lemmings into disaster.
Oh goodness, glad I came back and saw this. Margaret, who replied just below you is correct: We live in far Western Kentucky, in Paducah. Paducah is a river town: the Ohio River divides us from Southern Illinois. Downtown Paducah is at the confluence of the Ohio and the Tennessee Rivers. The biggest nearby cities are St. Louis to the north and Nashville to the south. Paducah is in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, according to USGS.
Cat litter. The old kind, just baked dirt. Pour a pile on the oil spot and let it sit. Seriously, leave it alone. Capillary action. Come back in a few days or a week. If it ain’t gone, just push to litter back over the spot and wait another week. Works. Easy!
Put two drops of Clorox per gallon of water in your water jug. If it’s got an airtight cap, you never need change the water again.
If your plan is evacuation, credit cards are just as good as money. If not, money may be worthless as well.
Clothes for three days? The mother of my childern couldn’t go three hours without her makeup kit, and her hair brushes, but even she could go three days without clean clothes.
My mother grew up in Moline, which is South and near Davenport. Mom took us on a train trip there when I was 12. A great experience for a sub teen. The water at my aunt’s house smelled like sulfer, so that makes sense. Seismic activity and sulfer? Or, Hell? Kidding.
Did you see my mention of Neil Young earlier? I bet you’re a fan too.
I’ll look for you, if I pass this way again….
Catfood is good. Canned cat food is a luxury. Canned tuna or Kippers are better, and the cat will not object. Make sure you choose a brand of dry food you like too. Purina Cat Chow is OK. I don’t know of any dog food that actually tastes good, but I expect that’s a function of how hungry you are.
Old hippies don’t wear too much makeup, but your wife’s mileage may vary.
Sorry about that. :)
I always say isn’t it great that we are all so different.
Tuna in oil. Don’t throw away the oil. It’s loaded with calories, which you may need. Get Tuna in Olive Oil if you’re worried about colesterol or transfats or somesuch.
High maintenance. Actually she was a hippie, but she worried about her eye makeup. So did I.
Toilet paper in Ziploc freezer bags. OK, I know it’s crass to use brand names, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.
All my meds go with me, where ever I go. Three day’s supply! You got a gift? Once you run, you have completely lost control over the course of events. Prepare for the worst.
I didn’t say “clothes for three days”. I said clothes AND a three day supply of my prescriptions. I have two pairs of pants in there, two tops, socks and underwear.
Paducah is definitely in the New Madrid seismic zone.
If I stopped and cleaned out the medicine cabinet on the way out the door, that would sort of defeat the purpose of a disaster bag, which was, after all prepared in order to get out in a hurry if I need to. If I have days or hours then I’ll be taking more than just the one bag. I think you’re missing the point.
The catfood is for the cat, who despises seafood. I have some canned goods in the bag, which I rotate.
Axiom: If you ever need a gun, you will need it very, very badly; and you will need it right fucking NOW!
Not if you don’t use or own any credit cards. I have a debit card which stays in my wallet. Seriously, did you come here just to criticize me? Cause I can get that anywhere.
I don’t own a firearm but I know how to use and maintain one of needs be. And my plan is to head to my brother’s home, which is jut swimming in firearms.
There are a lot of scenarios in which credit cards could be useless and cash acceptable. Failure of the power grid in a given location, for example.
Can’t read your mind, Sweetheart. @167: No, I think your are the coolest, honest. But you do need a credit card. @164: I keep my meds all in a bag. I visit my kids fairly regularly, and I grab them on the way out the door. @162: Touche! You did. Still don’t see why that wasn’t a reasonable extrapolation, and two changes of clothes should last a rufugee a couple weeks. @165: Just seems narrow. Cats and people usually like the same stuff. Cat might feed you too if you’d learn to cook rat. Rats are not as good as rabbits, but better than squirrels.
Jesus, Margaret! I thought I was making a contribution. Sorry if I struck a sore spot.
Apparently a good point, ever tried to check out of Walmart when the power is out? I have some Pakistani neighbors who run a convenience store up the block. They would probably get it. They would also know that a six-pack had just gone from %6.00 to $60.00, so you would want to take that into consideration.
I never leave the house without $100.00. My Daddy never left the house without a $100.00, a bottle of whisky and a 0.38 cal. revolver. My Grandaddy never left the house without $1,000.00 (and that was a lot of money back then) a bottle and a gun. Just a relative thing, I guess.
TSA wants all your meds in their original pharmacy bottles. I put my weekly dispensers in the bag with the bottles, and plan to challenge. Say, “Good luck, RaggMopp, see you in frog marchville.”
Not at all. Of course you are contributing but it seemed that you made some assumptions and made some poor extrapolations and a fair number of both. My bag was originally prepared in case some revelers set the field near my home on fire in the night. My greatest risk of natural disaster is of a tornado or lightning and in either case, I won’t have the time to be better prepared. I’m limited to what I can grab and physically carry down two flights of stairs in about 30 seconds. Some of your comments seemed to suggest that I am foolishly unprepared. That’s all. Sorry if I seemed brusque.
In the case of a zombie apocalypse, I’m much better prepared, with lots of canned goods, a steel covered front door and no ground floor windows. Would be nice to have a firearm during one of those though.
Zombie pepper spray. Don’t leave home without it!
Funniest photo in my mind: When we evacuated from the fire, I was in the van, both boys in the passenger seat, the dog between us and Sarah, the turtle in a box on James’ lap. He (Was named Sarah before we figured out he’s a guy, but the name had already stuck)spent two days in gramma’s bathtub. Ya gotta love it. Sara’s the red tongued Slider turle. He lives in a Huge tank in Sonny’s room.
I was calm, focussed, and all that. Not until I pulled into mom’s driveway, put the van into Park, did I break down with a few tears. Boo Hoo, Boo Hoo, then Back to Business. Funny, when I packed, I neglected to take a bra. Ha. I missed just the one day of work and had to borrow lingerie from my mom. Too Funny.
PS – one of those cotton, pointy ones.
I know, I know. Too Much Information.
I apologize.
Yikes!
Isn’t it funny that that’s what I remember?
Title for a novel. The Turtle and the Bra.
I have a strange brain. (Thank goodness.)
You know I was lying there don’t you? Contribution? Shit! I was on a trip jerkin’ you around and enjoying it way too much.
OTOH, I know you were lying there too. You were pissed, and rightly so. I apologize.
“…zombie apocalypse…” (?) Woof! I tend to spend little time worrying about foolishness; the real stuff is nasty enough.
Nice is not my strong suit, but I can appreciate it when I see it. You are a real lady.
Thanks,
“…cotton pointy ones…” As opposed to a round plastic one? Or maybe a brass pointy one a la Madonna?
Never mind, never mind. TMI, TMI!
Mom just turned 85. Not exactically Lady Gaga.
Have a good evening.