Bush's fault

Yeah, I thought Home-land Security was supposed to guard against things like this! What's up? Damn Government! Can't do with 'em, can't do without 'em!

No big deal, been there and done that.

Good,now I dont have to rake leaves,and can just get drunk early.Just love that Florida Lifestyle!

Hurricane season is starting. Batten down the hatches.
Raise the homeowners' hurricane insurance premiums.

My rig started evacuation of non-essential personnel today. I will probably be on the last helicopter off tomorrow since I am one of the ones who has to 'turn off the lights'.

Since I'm at the beginning of my hitch, I won't get to go home. But being put up in a New Orleans hotel and partying there for a few days until the storm passes won't be too bad.

Hurricane Fay might even get up to a category 2.
I heard it might hit Florida's west coast area.
Have a cousin in Florida (who doesn't) who lives on the eastern Florida coast whose home got damaged a couple years ago when a hurricane's wind did damage to their roof and back yard shubbery. Well, every state has their weather problems and other calamaties. California has fires and earthquakes, the Midwest has tornadoes, Florida has hurricanes, the East coast has blizzards -- so where ya going to go. Just deal with it.

GOATMAN

If a place called "Mothers" survived Katrina, try their "Debris Sandwich". Made from juicy beef that falls off during slow roasting.

Another fun thing is taking the trolley down St. Charles past really neat old homes to the Camillia Grill

Average age of the waitresses at the Camillia Grill is about 80. They have bad attitudes which make it rather fun.

Goatman--

My rig started evacuation of non-essential personnel today. I will probably be on the last helicopter off tomorrow since I am one of the ones who has to 'turn off the lights'.

Since I'm at the beginning of my hitch, I won't get to go home. But being put up in a New Orleans hotel and partying there for a few days until the storm passes won't be too bad.

Gee, I guess this hurricane might be rather dangerous then, huh? Glad to see your company isn't taking any chances. And, yes, partying in New Orleans with all the other hurricane refugees is not a bad way at all to have to pass your hitch time. Have fun.

Goat

Can you feel the seas getting rougher out there on your rig as the storm builds up?

Debris Sandwich". Made from juicy beef that falls off during slow roasting.

As long as it's not made of meat found in post-Katrina freezers!

Gee, I guess this hurricane might be rather dangerous then, huh?

Not based on evacuations. They generally evacuate if a storm is in the GoM, no matter the path. Company policy. It may be based on insurance requisites too -- I don't know.

They generally evacuate if a storm is in the GoM, no matter the path...

better safe than sorry

Here you go, Goat, the place AU told you about --

CC

I am SO glad to hear it survived Katrina!!

The 'Debris Sandwiches' are to DIE for !!

Juiciest beef I've ever tasted.

GOAT

The slow roasting beef is in plain sight at Mother's.

Do take the trolley to the Camillia Grille if you can.

It takes about 15 minutes. Fun place, but more a fun ride past some of the oldest and architecturally beautiful homes in New Orleans.

Again, the trolley goes down St. Charles to the Camillia Grille.

Not in the French Quarter, but fun to do during the day while they mop up the puke in the French Quarter.

There's a House of Blues too on the way from downtown to the French Quarter. Monday and Tuesday nights you never know who'll be there. Last time I popped in Tower of Power was there on a Monday night.

I've been to New Orleans many times (I stay overnight once every four weeks AAMOF), but I have never been to Camillia Grille. I'll check that one out.

Been to the House of Blues a couple of times. You are right -- that is a fun place. Never saw any nationally known bands, though

EATME

I was with an old friend in Michigan when Charlie hit. We were watching it on TV because he has a condo in Punta Gorda he lives in in the winter. Watched Charile take a right hand turn and go right up Charlotte Harbor.

The condo on one side of his had a 30' palm tree blow all the way through, and the condo on the other side had the roof blown off.

He had a window screen blow off the back porch.

Weird how those things are so random like a tornado.

Leveled the whole town including the mall and city offices. Only thing left standing downtown PG was an old brick strip of stores.

You see, regardless of bullshit that Mr. Goat blows up your ass,

???

Bullshit? Did I say anything about waves? What an asshole.

CC: Yes, when storms approach we can see and feel the strengthening waves, regardless what eatme, who has never lived at sea tells you. After 6 years sailing in the Navy and 4 years living on an offshore rig, I can say with certainty we know when storms approach.

Remember last August when I was reporting on Felix as we were being towed through the Yucatan straits?

I live on the coast of west central fla and it's pretty calm.

duh. Since there are currently no storms in the GoM, is this a big surprise? Thank you for stating the obvious me eatme. BTW, on which horizon does the sun rise there in Western Florida? We need someone with your knife-sharp acumen for the obvious to tell us.

Things are calm in Ft. Lauderdale, too, and I haven't heard anything about all of the Keys being evacuated.

Since there's only one two-lane road out of the Keys, they always start leaving a couple days ahead of a hurricane if it's going to be bad. So far it's only visitors and tourists in Key West who are being asked to move inland.

EATME ~ if you're on the west central coast, you're probably going to need your galoshes. This looks like a wet one.

Remember last August when I was reporting on Felix as we were being towed through the Yucatan straits?

btw -- in case anyone was wondering, the photo of the sinking rig I linked in my post
above was just an attempt at "humor" -- it wasn't Goatman's rig. I don't know which off-shore rig it was or why it was sinking. Probably from some storm somewhere.

Now I made myself curious and went back and looked up which off-shore rig was in my linked photo. If anyone is interested here's the info about it --

Photos of the sinking of the AD19 rig off the coast of Saudi Arabia in 2002.

One leg buckled and the upper part of the rig fell onto the lower part which, like a losing play in jenga, caused a chain reaction leading to the rig going down to the bottom.

Official documents from the owner of the rig, Aramco, say no fatalities but other reports mention three workers killed. From the excellent website www.oilrigdisasters.co.uk where a record is kept of the surprising number of oil rigs that sink (either in transit or on-site), catch fire, explode or have something very bad happen to them.

I can see from the photos on this website why the oil companies evacuate their
off-shore rigs and don't want to take any chances during a hurricane.

EATME

...I live on the coast of west central fla and it's pretty calm.

This storm will be nothing.

Better run for cover, wiseguy. This storm is headed straight at you!

I think when EATME says "This storm will be nothing," he means relatively speaking. Of course, all storms are something but those of us who have been through storms like Andrew, Wilma and Katrina don't board up and head for a shelter over a tropical storm or even a Cat 1 or a Cat 2.

Fay will probably get a little more organized once it gets over the Straits but it's likely to start to fizzle somewhat when it has to contend with both land and water if it travels up the western coastline of Florida like the computer models predict. Of course, that story could change if it stays further out in the Gulf.

Right now, nobody is overly alarmed. Miami International announced this morning that it has no plans to shut down operations. Same with Ft. Lauderdale.

So EATME is probably correct. I don't look for this to be much of a storm either. Wet and windy, yes. Take in the patio furniture, yes. Short term power outage, probably. But not anything to panic over.

We just went through Fay, before she was Fay, she was just a strong tropical wave. Lots of rain and lightening. Good luck Florida.

Thanks KAREN

Where do you live?

Actually, South Florida sort of welcomes these kinds of storms. I was hoping it would make a pit stop over Lake Okeechobee and deposit a few inches. Without storms like this South Florida usually has to go on water rations during the dry winter months.

I just want everybody to be OK and please don't do anything foolish.

During Wilma a lady decided to take her dog for a walk when the eye passed over. Power lines were down. The dog went into a water puddle. The lady ran in to rescue him. Both of them got fried.

That's what I mean by don't do anything foolish.

Fay should pass right over us here in Naples. As long as she doesn't get too big or windy, we could use the water.

CORKY

I didn't know you lived in Naples.

Yea Tin City! I love that place.

We moved to St Croix a few months ago. It was just alot of rain, which was welcome here also.

Another failure by FEMA. Why have they allowed Fay to attack Florida? Why was it not diverted?

THe federal government sucks!

Twin

FREDDY

"Why was it not diverted?"

I know you're just joking but your comment reminded me of something.

Not long ago one of our Drudgies (two cylinders down and a couple quarts low) suggested that the Federal government should lob a nuke into a hurricane to stop it.

He got the Einstein Award and the Darwin Award both at the same time.

Good nostalgia, CORKY

I've dropped anchor there a few times for a quick 3-lunch.

It's absolutely beautiful. No one is in a hurry to do anything. The only thing is the price of food. When I go to the grocery store that's closest to me, I have to pay $5.69 for a half gallon of milk and almost $4 for a loaf of bread. Cereal is about $8 a box. I usually go to the bigger store in town and it's alittle cheaper there. It's kinda like a mini Sam's. With 3 kids, my grocery bill is unbelievable, but I guess that's part of living on a small island. Liquor and cigarette's are dirt cheap. You can get a carton of cig's here for $17.99. All and all it's really nice and we're here for atleast a year. I think I'll relax and enjoy it while we're here.

OK, so feed the kids liquor and cigs instead of cereal. It may be healthier!

But seriously, relaxing and enjoying sounds like the way to go.

"He got the Einstein Award and the Darwin Award both at the same time."

Posted by Twinpac

That's funny!

Have you ever been here? I have some pictures of the island, but some of them have me and the kids. I guess it would be ok to post the link if you would like to see them.

Sure, but only if the link has no way to identify you. Still some crazies out there.

I think I edited it enough

Great pics, Karen!

A real tropical paradise that you should enjoy while you are there. Bet most of the folks here on the Ol' DR would trade locations with you.

You'd probably have to keep the kids, though.....

Maybe I should post it on the nooner so they can daydream that they were here :0)