Gulf Coasters, Be Safe!

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, mjzee said:

To all those who asked: we are OK.  The waters have receded on our street, and our house remained dry.  

Good to know.

[Dan Gould]

And if it wasn't bad enough, how'd you like to be walking/swimming and waded into this?

 

https://twitter.com/HoustoniaMag/status/901825982667116544/photo/1

Fire ant colonies, also just looking for a dry space.

[Scott Dolan]

Ugh... Fire Ants are spawned from the depths of hell. Probably the second most thing I do NOT miss about living in Florida...

[Hardbopjazz]

Are these really a threat as it is being reported on the internet? If it is on the internet it has to be true, right? Fire ants.

 

[JSngry]

Oh, make no mistake - fire ans can and will fuck you up. Whether or not that's going on in Houston, I can't say. But - fire ants can and will fuck you yup in a most serious way.

[catesta]

On 8/27/2017 at 2:45 PM, rostasi said:

Not only stop, but backtrack!

La Vita Bella nursing home in Dickinson Texas
(they eventually were evacuated, but whoa...):

Holy shit!

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, Hardbopjazz said:

Are these really a threat as it is being reported on the internet? If it is on the internet it has to be true, right? Fire ants.

 

Its 100% true, they don't drown and they are all over the place anyway so it stands to reason there are these floating ant mounds all around. Is it as huge a threat, I don't know but as Jim says they will fuck you up.

[JSngry]

Really heartening to see the number of civilians with boats who have independently stepped up and in to rescue people. Folks come "down here" and see so many people with bass boats and such and think wtf does all these people gots all these BOATS for, and, you know, people live around lakes and gulfs and stuff, they like to go fishing. Fishing is fun, great exercise (in patience! HAHAHA) But that doesn't mean that just because you got a boat that you're going to be a good person willing to step up when your community needs you. I know plenty self-absorbed assholes who got boats that wouldn't even think of doing such a thing. Fortunately for everybody, none of them live down around Houston.

BTW - LTB knew a trolling motor when she saw one. One more reason I LOVE me some LTB!

[Scott Dolan]

Based on what I saw after Andrew ('92) and Charley ('04), the most heartening stuff has yet to begin. Once the storm has finally passed, and the cleanup/rebuilding begins, THAT'S when you'll see the really good stuff that people are made of. 

Quick story: after Charley I loaded up our SUV with water/batteries/food/whathaveyou, and headed home. After checking around the Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda area on friends and family, I hunkered down in my old neighborhood to help with cleanup. A pair of brothers I knew from down the street showed up one afternoon with a stranger by the name of Jesse in tow. 

Super nice cat that I struck up a conversation with. Come to find out he had no relatives or friends in the area. But he'd lost his home in a tornado a few years before (in Pennsylvania, IIRC) and when he saw the destruction Charley had wrought, he threw his chainsaw in the trunk of his car, and headed straight into ground zero. Randomly ended up in our neighborhood, and was taken in by the brothers, and their equally awesome mother. Had been there a couple of days before me, and was there when I left a few days later. Still no power, still no running water. 

Saw a lot of things there, good and bad. But Jesse, wherever he may currently roam, restored a little bit of my faith in humanity. 

I have faith you'll meet a Jesse there, too. 

[JSngry]

The world is full (sorta) of Jesses, they just often need to be emboldened to bring it.. But bless all of them.

On a lighter (sic) note, check out the video posted at 4:45 PM here: http://www.kplctv.com/story/36220435/live-blog-continuing-coverage-of-tropical-storm-harvey

Between Sheriff Tony Mancuso & the unnamed sign-er (who is more animated than sign-er I've ever seen!), it's a slice of local flavor that you can't get anywhere else. Basically saying we're not going to make you leave, but if you want to leave, let us know, we'll come and get you, and oh, yeah - now's the time to do it. Now.

 

 

[bluenoter]

Here Are Ways You Can Help People During Hurricane Harvey

[animals too, and of course during the aftermath of the windstorm too]

Then if you wish, you can check out suggested charities here (I always do):

  CharityNavigator.org

Edited August 29, 2017 by bluenoter

[Scott Dolan]

Also, don't be opposed to donating to any religious-based charities just because you aren't. They tend to do some of the very best work in situations like this. We're actually donating to one. 

[CJ Shearn]

On 8/27/2017 at 2:45 PM, rostasi said:

Not only stop, but backtrack!

La Vita Bella nursing home in Dickinson Texas
(they eventually were evacuated, but whoa...):

Oh man......................................... 

[alankin]

9 hours ago, CJ Shearn said:

Oh man......................................... 

Happily, they made it out safely.

[mjzee]

Kenny & Ziggy's is open!

[uli]

[bluenoter]

Re the photo in the previous post: It's gotta be Photoshopped, only it's not!  At least Marie Antoinette didn't wear cfm heels* to leave the palace during a rainfall and go tour a calamitously flooded region.

*Please Google "cfm heels" if you don't know what they are.

Edited August 29, 2017 by bluenoter

[JSngry]

Save it for when it counts, people.

Lord knows, I'm not even remotely fond/fondish of Donald Trump, person or president, but if his wife wants to wear those type of shoes in this type of situation, more power to her. And if she can pull it off, I mean, actually walking in them, hey, even more power to her. Frankly, how anybody walks in any kind of heels escapes me, I have a hard time walking barefoot. If you do the work to make that work, hey, cfm or not, you got my respect, for that at least.

Pretty sure that there will be more than enough to shame this administration with as time goes by. Shoe-shaming the First Lady - ANY First Lady, is just reflexively anti-progressive (in the broader sense), wrong.

As for the President himself, hey, he came in a timely and appropriate manner, and he brought his wife with him. Whatever "X"s he gets against him in the future, this will not be among them.

 

[Scott Dolan]

2 hours ago, bluenoter said:

Re the photo in the previous post: It's gotta be Photoshopped, only it's not!  At least Marie Antoinette didn't wear cfm heels* to leave the palace during a rainfall and go tour a calamitously flooded region.

*Please Google "cfm heels" if you don't know what they are.

Rita, considering the relative feminist that you are, it strikes me as absurdly hypocritical that you would participate in such objectification/shaming. 

I agree with what Jim posted above. What the First lady wears is of no consequence. Never is. Our previous First Lady also suffered a lot of unjustified criticism. That doesn't make it right. 

The policies and actions of the President are all that matters. Incredibly, he's now on a one in a row hot streak for proceeding correctly. We should probably just appreciate that for what it is, especially since odds are that it won't last.  

Edited August 29, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[Aggie87]

The dickhead President was in Corpus Christi this morning, for two hours, tops.  Air Force One landed here in Corpus, and he and Melania came out in their baseball caps (his:  "USA" and hers: "Flotus" - get 'em while they're hot on Trump's website, just $40 each!).  

They drove to the nearest fire station to the airport, spent 30 minutes getting briefed by a coast guard representative and a FEMA rep, and then hopped back in the motorcade, went back to the airport, and flew off.  

They didn't drive around and thank any first responders, nor did they do what I think would've been the most helpful and impactful thing to do, take a helicopter flight over the Rockport area, to see the actual devastation first hand.  

I see no reason he actually came here to Corpus Christi.

PS - just got back yesterday, my family and house are all ok.  My kids' grandmother lives in Rockport, and I still haven't heard whether her house is intact.  I hope so.

Keeping my sister in Houston in my thoughts, and mjzee and other boardmembers as well.  And anyone else in the path of this awful storm.  

Edited August 29, 2017 by Aggie87

[JSngry]

although I'll not disagree even in the least about our current president being a "dickhead", criticizing hem for NOT doing a flyover after Shrub got TOTALLY reamed for doing just that seems a little...uneven, perhaps?

the failure to communicate even a little with first-responders, yeah, that's classless, and dare I say it, totally in character.

otoh...this is all going to be a test of how well "local government" handles things like this. I'm no fan of Greg Abbot either, he makes Rick Perry look like freakin' George McGovern, but the basic/baseline test of any governing official/system is can you provide adequate defense for/to your citizenry in times of calamity. Forget about social agenda and such, if you can't provide for your people when a fucking hurricane from hell hits, then you shouldn't even to be able to get in the door. So far, as best I see, all involved in local/state government have been passing that test. People wonder why not a forced evacuation, and seriously? What, 4-6 million people out of there in, what, 24-48 hours? No, that would be insane.

So far, "local control" has been doing about as good as could be expected, imo. At some point, "local control" won't be enough, so let's see how it goes then. But I've not yet seen anybody seriously fucking up, so no criticism here, although hey, take it while you can, because my leash about this type of thing is a pretty short one!

Kudos, though, to all the determined individuals, just plain citizens, who have stepped up. I still hate the way Houston drives, smells, sweats, all that, but dammit these people got heart out the ass when it counts, so...MUCH love!

[ghost of miles]

More photos of Houston, including a couple of crazy "before-and-after" side-by-side pics:

Houston in the flood

[JSngry]

Ah, the debate about the effectiveness/efficiency of "local control" begins, even before the event itself passes:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/houston-told-people-to-stay-for-harvey-now-they-cant-get-out

I guess I'm asking...when there are no good answers, what is the best bad one? Time will tell.

[mjzee]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

 

This photo was taken around 2 miles from my house.  This area (involving 610 and Brays Bayou) floods regularly, and was hit hard in the last two tropical storms.  Some of it may be due to design problems, and I know engineers have been working to widen the Brays, but this was a storm of historic proportions.

And I am so tired of this shit talk against Trump, Abbott and Republicans in general.  I like Trump and I like Abbott, just as I like Sylvester Turner, the Democrat mayor of Houston.  I've lobbied long and hard here for a ban against political talk.  Does a thread about a hurricane have to devolve into shit talk about the First Lady's shoes?  

[JSngry]

Truthfully, I think she's rocking those shoes, and seriously, I applaud her for her ongoing efforts to look good for the camera. Optics DO matter, especially in times of crisis.

 

Is the Astrodome in any kind of condition to be used as a shelter, even temporarily?