Question Prayers for Elrod

You guys send some Prayers of whatever you believe in Elrods Way and don't expect to hear from him anytime soon. I just got a text his house is flooded to 4" thanks to Harvey and he and his family are camped out up stairs. They still have power and moved what they could up stairs, but he's in for a suck couple of weeks.

Having been trashed by a few hurricanes myself, beaten up by several crippling snowstorms, and experiencing Flooding from Below after a week of constant heavy rain, Eldrow and Family have my sympathies. I've been there.

Clean up is no fun, but it will get better. You will rebuild. Send on my prayers that they stay safe, take no unnecessary risks, and never be afraid to ask for help.

Damn, that sucks. We thought it was going to miss him.
Hope the worst is done, and you'll be able to sort things out soon

got power, got supplies, but it's supposed to keep raining for 3 or 4 more DAYS. no idea how long we'll have services.
we've never flooded before; this is an extreme event. No wind to speak of - but the storm parked to the west and the anti-clockwise circulation is just dumping band after band of training thunderstorms on us. We got over 20" in the last 24 hours.

That is truly the suck. While I've never been in a Hurricane, I have been snowed in by blizzards, so I can sympathize. I hope everything ends up okay, and insurance doesn't go cheapskate on you.

elrodw wrote: got power, got supplies, but it's supposed to keep raining for 3 or 4 more DAYS. no idea how long we'll have services.
we've never flooded before; this is an extreme event. No wind to speak of - but the storm parked to the west and the anti-clockwise circulation is just dumping band after band of training thunderstorms on us. We got over 20" in the last 24 hours.

Damn... I know you've been semi-prepared for flooding but being prepared and dealing with it are two different things. Glad nobody's hurt or stranded away from the others and you guys have stuff to help you through. I can't offer any words of sage wisdom but if you need anything to help your sanity make it through the next few weeks and we can provide it, let us know.

Stay safe, hunker down, and be careful. Remember 6 inches of moving water can knock a person off their feet, and possibly drown children or people if they some down face first.

Sometimes the "Word of the Day" is a four-letter word.



It doesn't help that Texas is prone to both flash floods and sinkholes (i.e. if you cannot see the pavement in front of you it may not be there anymore) or that the storm somehow ended up connecting with a stationary front. Three cheers for the other rainmaker finally getting back into the Atlantic (possibly becoming TS Irma once it gets past VACAPES)

I got family out that way. Word from them is that so far they are ok. But the Houston area is getting a beating it seems. Elrod, you take care out there. I'll add my prayers and best wishes. Also, if you really need to bug out of there for a bit, I got a guest room if you don't mind parking in Alabama for a bit. Dead serious, if you need it, you can head this way. Though I will confess that my ISP is blow and spotty.

take care Elrod!!!

I wish I could send you my flood ins...as I have no use for the darn thing!

Think of this one for a laugh! I live just outside of LA cali---a desert on a hill and have to have flood ins via my banks regs?? But don't have to have earthquake ins???
Go figure??

You and yours are in my prays, elrod. Just keep safe and I hope things don't get worse for you guys.

Ebola wrote: Stay safe, hunker down up, and be careful. Remember 6 inches of moving water can knock a person off their feet, and possibly drown children or people if they some down face first.

Fixed that.

Damn near had a heart attack when I saw the thread title, as I was expecting some sort of medical emergency...

Stay safe and dry, and watch out for gators.

Like Valentine, when I saw the headline I thought something had sent Elrod or his family to the hospital.

He's got every prayer I can spare and some that I can't.
And Elrod, if you need help don't hesitate to ask.

Well, I lived in the Florida Keys for three years. In 1968, Hurricane Agnes hit during my birthday. Not saying WHICH birthday. I calculate that I've lived through 12 full-gale hurricanes and more tropical storms, and the only advice that I have that's worth the electrons it takes to send it is: GET OUT.

No house, no furniture, no equity is worth your life or health. Or as such health as you've got Elrod.

STAY ALIVE

quick info for Texas area

internet based news feed all local

Situation Update:
We knew that the hurricane was going to hit near Corpus, so we didn't need to evacuate. However, as everyone knows by now, the damned thing stalled and has been dumping rain on us since.

I have 5" of water in the first floor of my house, so we've evacuated to the upper floor. We have electricity and internet, plenty of water, and plenty of food, so we don't have a need to evacuate. Our street is over 30" deep water, so we can't get out, but again, we don't need to.

During the day, we had little rain in our area - it just picked up again - so the water receded by a few inches. Tomorrow, we'll see what happens. If we start getting lots and lots of rain, we can call a boat to evacuate us. If not, we're good to continue staying here. The major rain band which was going to pass us this evening has passed, and the bands in the gulf are thin and weak (compared to last night). There is a huge mass of dry West-Texas air to the west that's starting to get pulled into Harvey, so the storm is weakening. On it's current projected track, we might have more rain or not. It depends on where its rain bands fall and how fast it moves. We shall see.

I'll keep you updated as the situation changes. And all the thoughtful prayers, wishes, etc. are very appreciated.

BTW, on the national news, they've all talked about a small city SE of Houston proper, named Dickinson. That's where we're at. Yes, parts of it are as bad as the news portrays.

to jest a little--??

no more rain-dances for Kayda!

Glad to hear your safe and sound!

I know where Dickinson is... I head out to Kingwood pretty regular myself.

Sounds like you're currently at "for a totally horrible situation in general, we're not bad in very specific and relative terms". Which is sometimes all you can reasonably hope for. Hang in there.

Sounds like you're currently at "for a totally horrible situation in general, we're not bad in very specific and relative terms". Which is sometimes all you can reasonably hope for. Hang in there.

We're in for months of repair work - sorting and cataloging stuff for insurance, deciding what to replaced, tearing out all flooring and drywall and insulation - and possibly the cabinets that have been sitting in water for day. On the plus side, I want to remodel the kitchen cabinets, so this is a good opportunity potentially. Also on the plus side, my wife joked that this is a good opportunity to start downsizing for when we retire - which I have to agree as we have lot of crap.

So the attitudes are pretty good, considering. The big stinker though is that my shoulder is still very sore and rehabbing after rotator cuff repair surgery, and I probably overdid things this morning. Pain meds are my friend, I think.

I went trough a horrible flood just couple years back, got totally wiped out, took over a year to rebuild too.
The single biggest help in dealing with insurance was photos, take pictures of everything!
Concrete took 6 months to completely dry - do not rebuild until water table has dropped , mold is like a mother in law; can't get rid of it and smells funny when it rains.
Hope you have supplies for 72 hours, usual emergency response timeframe.

Stay safe.

Amen Camo. Definately document everything. Can't stress that enough. And before you go through any effort to rebuild make sure it's ok with your local building inspector. It would totally suck to rebuild everything just to have the inspector come by and condemn for potential mold issues. Mold is the biggest reason they condemn houses.

lighttech wrote: to jest a little--??

no more rain-dances for Kayda!

That explains it. You sould have bin nicer to that girl. Hope she doesn't know any plague of locust dances.

elrodw wrote: ... Dickinson. That's where we're at.

Wait, I thought Kayda was at Poe???

Hang in there, Elrod.

I my self am just a Little way from the Northwest Harris County border with Montgomery County. WE are on an island our selves.
Wishing I had a boat right now.

We are Texans we will pull through.

Elrod, hang in there. Please let us know how we can help or send donations to a community collection of your choice.

Who knew there was a storm color worse than red? Purple just looks evil.


Again, prayers and love for your community.

Camospam wrote: Concrete took 6 months to completely dry - do not rebuild until water table has dropped , mold is like a mother in law; can't get rid of it and smells funny when it rains.

Last time our basement got flooded a few inches, I mixed up a spray bottle of 10:1 (or was it 5:1?) water and bleach, sprayed all the studs and drywall as soon as they looked somewhat dry-ish.

Mold/mildew went away and never came back. Elrod might need something bigger than a single spray bottle, but it does work.

Katssun wrote:

Camospam wrote: Concrete took 6 months to completely dry - do not rebuild until water table has dropped , mold is like a mother in law; can't get rid of it and smells funny when it rains.

Last time our basement got flooded a few inches, I mixed up a spray bottle of 10:1 (or was it 5:1?) water and bleach, sprayed all the studs and drywall as soon as they looked somewhat dry-ish.

Mold/mildew went away and never came back. Elrod might need something bigger than a single spray bottle, but it does work.

One thing commonly used in
Houston are large dehumidifiers, and I am not talking the little ones you sit on a desk.
We have one that will pull 5 gallons of moisture out of the air every 4 hours. And that is just a regular size one you can get at Lowes, the companies that do water damage clean uphave ones a lot more powerfull. you need them here or you will be waiting a long time to dry out a home here, humidity is reguraly over 60% and that is on a good day, so you need an extra boost to get things done in a timely maner.

Update:
we had a mandatory evacuation order. Wife and kids were going nuts; my view was that it was a bullshit order. I went to talk to our neighbor, who was equally dubious. His dad is former mayor, and told him the real story - it's mostly PR and image. Fear of not ordering an evac when Dickinson was on national news. Wanting the town to be high up the priority list for state and federal disaster aid. And a little 'see what we did for you poor proles' of self-aggrandizing politicians. And the sewer system is working - barely. Evacuating everyone takes the load off it.

Several neighbors have boats and are staying, so if something comes up, I'm not stuck. Got plenty of supplies. We're riding this out.

I'd stay put if the major part of the storm is over,
Keep safe, because when they do this "evacuation' deal the looters come out while the cops back is turned!!!

elrodw wrote: Update:
we had a mandatory evacuation order. Wife and kids were going nuts; my view was that it was a bullshit order. I went to talk to our neighbor, who was equally dubious. His dad is former mayor, and told him the real story - it's mostly PR and image. Fear of not ordering an evac when Dickinson was on national news. Wanting the town to be high up the priority list for state and federal disaster aid. And a little 'see what we did for you poor proles' of self-aggrandizing politicians. And the sewer system is working - barely. Evacuating everyone takes the load off it.

Several neighbors have boats and are staying, so if something comes up, I'm not stuck. Got plenty of supplies. We're riding this out.

Stay safe.

Valentine wrote:

elrodw wrote: Update:
we had a mandatory evacuation order. Wife and kids were going nuts; my view was that it was a bullshit order. I went to talk to our neighbor, who was equally dubious. His dad is former mayor, and told him the real story - it's mostly PR and image. Fear of not ordering an evac when Dickinson was on national news. Wanting the town to be high up the priority list for state and federal disaster aid. And a little 'see what we did for you poor proles' of self-aggrandizing politicians. And the sewer system is working - barely. Evacuating everyone takes the load off it.

Several neighbors have boats and are staying, so if something comes up, I'm not stuck. Got plenty of supplies. We're riding this out.

Stay safe.

Yep in Texas you run from rabbits! --that was a baby one!

Be extra careful Elrod. Looters have started trying to rob and shoot at rescuers.

Was just reading on the Channel 2 that Dickerson was under mandatory evacuation.
Hang in there, Up here in Montgomery County I am isolated not so much in my house as in all roads to stores and most emergency services are flooded and closed.
Spring Creek is so full right now that the Bridge might as well not exist, and a heavy equipment rental place across the bridge in Harris County that was using the flood plane of Spring Creek to store items in Steel Shipping Containers we know he had a few float away hopefully that bridge is not damaged. and a lot of the work they were doing to build the feeders for the Tollroad has been washed away.

lighttech wrote:

Valentine wrote:

elrodw wrote: Update:
we had a mandatory evacuation order. Wife and kids were going nuts; my view was that it was a bullshit order. I went to talk to our neighbor, who was equally dubious. His dad is former mayor, and told him the real story - it's mostly PR and image. Fear of not ordering an evac when Dickinson was on national news. Wanting the town to be high up the priority list for state and federal disaster aid. And a little 'see what we did for you poor proles' of self-aggrandizing politicians. And the sewer system is working - barely. Evacuating everyone takes the load off it.

Several neighbors have boats and are staying, so if something comes up, I'm not stuck. Got plenty of supplies. We're riding this out.

Stay safe.

Yep in Texas you run from rabbits! --that was a baby one!

Run from that little thing, pfff, you got the right idea Iighttech, either that or make some Rabbit stew, or a nice rabbit roast, the list can go on...

Domoviye wrote: Be extra careful Elrod. Looters have started trying to rob and shoot at rescuers.

Yep the bad guys are out and some are finding out that Texas does support the 2nd amd!

www.caller.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/...southside/604549001/

lighttech wrote:

Domoviye wrote: Be extra careful Elrod. Looters have started trying to rob and shoot at rescuers.

Yep the bad guys are out and some are finding out that Texas does support the 2nd amd!

www.caller.com/story/news/crime/2017/08/...southside/604549001/

Ahh the good old castle law, Ohio while no where near as gun happy has it too, if someone is a danger to yourself, your family and is on your property, you have every right to shoot them.

Update:
Very little rain for us today - like a half inch or so. Dickinson Bayou is not connected to the major waterways (Buffalo Bayou, Brays Bayou, San Bernard river, Brazos River, etc) so the fact that they have huge amounts of water coming downstream yet has zero impact to us. Our bayou is going down steadily.

Spent the day ripping up carpet and such - with a rotator cuff that was repaired surgicially and I'm not supposed to do anything with. But what can you do? Lots of coworkers and friends volunteered to come help us clean up, but you can't get into or out of our neighborhood yet. Got claims started for house and for 2 cars which were flooded (minor) - we got the other two up on ramps and blocks in the garage and they stayed dry. I figure it's going to be around Christmas before we're all put back together - claims, then contractors and lots of work, and so on. And avoiding fly-by-night contractors, who wil swoop in to do work.

Not worried about looters. Between my son and I, we can handle a lot of looters; I keep 3 mags loaded with really nice body-shredding hollow-points (not mentioning brand - we like SOME mystery ) And he has the same. Plus 2 full mags for his semi-auto rifle plus a good box mag for his Saiga shotgun - filled with buckshot. Plus neighbors are similarly armed, and we watch out for each other.

Going to take some pain meds, and then rest a whole bunch. too tired to write.

Rest up, my brother and keep your powder dry!

Stay safe.

I agree with others. You need to relax and stay safe and dry. You don't need to do everything today. Besides a little birdy told me Kayda is running low on Angst. =)

Elrod, you're going about things all wrong.
You have children, make them do the work as you do the extremely difficult task of motivating and directing them.
I've found a good bullwhip works wonders.

Good luck with the clean up.

Yeah, get the kids to do the heavy stuff, don't ruin your shoulder again.
Personally I prefer a cattle prod for encouragement, but...

You can have my heat too! Was 110 in So Cal today with more on the way. You can have all of that sunshine and more.

In Northern Ontario last week, the morning low was 2C, or 35.6 F for those stuck in the past. With highs of about 14C by the afternoon. Or 57.2F.
Who wants it?

MadTechOne wrote:

lighttech wrote:

Valentine wrote:

elrodw wrote: Update:
we had a mandatory evacuation order. Wife and kids were going nuts; my view was that it was a bullshit order. I went to talk to our neighbor, who was equally dubious. His dad is former mayor, and told him the real story - it's mostly PR and image. Fear of not ordering an evac when Dickinson was on national news. Wanting the town to be high up the priority list for state and federal disaster aid. And a little 'see what we did for you poor proles' of self-aggrandizing politicians. And the sewer system is working - barely. Evacuating everyone takes the load off it.

Several neighbors have boats and are staying, so if something comes up, I'm not stuck. Got plenty of supplies. We're riding this out.

Stay safe.

Yep in Texas you run from rabbits! --that was a baby one!

Run from that little thing, pfff, you got the right idea Iighttech, either that or make some Rabbit stew, or a nice rabbit roast, the list can go on...

(Bad cowboy/ mobster accent.) You have two choices kid. Run from the bunny or clean up after it.
Bet you never realized how slimier those accents are.

Domoviye wrote: In Northern Ontario last week, the morning low was 2C, or 35.6 F for those stuck in the past. With highs of about 14C by the afternoon. Or 57.2F.
Who wants it?

A bit warm, but it's better than here. (lows here have been around that high)

Please be careful of the shoulder. My father had to have rotator cuff surgery. The rehab is not a real fast process and skipping rehab or over-exertion can put you back right where you started or even worse.

Also, mention the brand, that is need to know information. I learned long ago that different weapons seem to like different brands. I also do some reloading of my own (30-40 Krag is hard to find). Though it does sound like you made proper preparations, which is always a good thing. You must have been a boy scout or military. I approve.

Domoviye wrote: Elrod, you're going about things all wrong.
You have children, make them do the work as you do the extremely difficult task of motivating and directing them.
I've found a good bullwhip works wonders.

Good luck with the clean up.

I prefer the old UK navy style of motivation---cat of nine-tails or Keel hauling!
But a good steel toe work boot placed 'just-so' !!! does wonders to speed along slackers!

As you age, you learn valuable skills to deal with apprentices in my biz!

I know its hot damn hot! here in LA!

elrodw wrote: Not worried about looters. Between my son and I, we can handle a lot of looters; I keep 3 mags loaded with really nice body-shredding hollow-points (not mentioning brand - we like SOME mystery ) And he has the same. Plus 2 full mags for his semi-auto rifle plus a good box mag for his Saiga shotgun - filled with buckshot. Plus neighbors are similarly armed, and we watch out for each other.

Now that's a Texan for you: other people see a horrible crisis- they see an opportunity for target practice

Status - all the carpet is out, we got several rooms cleaned out, waiting for adjuster so we can begin looking for contractor to demo / start rehabbing. It's probably going to be Christmas before things feel normal again. Oak floor is warped like nobody's business. Going to have to replace about 2' of drywall and insulation at bottom, plus all cabinets. Lost 2 sofas, 2 beds. Murphy bed I made - gone. Dining room table I made - gone. Same for the chairs I made. Some things are meh, some are heartbreaking. Had a copy of an Earth Science book my dad was contributing author to. Gone. And we can't toss a lot of stuff until adjuster is here, but at least it's out of the house. Going to have to replace washing machine and dishwasher; dryer seems okay. Fridge and freezer - maybe. If there's a question, I'll replace it. (insulation is probably sopped, so it'll be a writeoff I fear).

Son had stuff in a gun crate I made - and it was on the floor. Surprise - it stayed dry inside. I make good stuff! AR-15, AK-47, and a Mosin, plus stuff for his 1861 Springfield - all dry and snug. Lost a bunch of ammo (steel-case Russian stuff). Everything is spread out to dry.

Feels like it's been 2 or 3 weeks. Got a work-party coming tomorrow morning to help clean out stuff that I can't deal with (shoulder). I've WAY overdone it the past few days, and I feel it. Hope I haven't retorn the rotator cuff. Haven't felt like writing either, even though I have time. Maybe this afternoon. Got one story that's in work and nearly done - one revision to go. And a couple of in-progress tales - that I'm sure folks will like. But I'm just too damned tired most of the day.

Bek D Corbin wrote:

elrodw wrote: Not worried about looters. Between my son and I, we can handle a lot of looters; I keep 3 mags loaded with really nice body-shredding hollow-points (not mentioning brand - we like SOME mystery ) And he has the same. Plus 2 full mags for his semi-auto rifle plus a good box mag for his Saiga shotgun - filled with buckshot. Plus neighbors are similarly armed, and we watch out for each other.

Now that's a Texan for you: other people see a horrible crisis- they see an opportunity for target practice

Bek! Weren't you aware? The ameture practices until they get it right. The professional practices until they cannot get it wrong...

Dont worry about stuff like the writing, just make sure you're OK.

Depending on how its done, some wood furniture can be dried back out, although some things may need to be disassembled and weighted to prevent warping. Whether any of it's worth the time and effort is up to you. (Mind you, putting books into a bookcase that had soaked up water from a frequently damp carpet was not one of my brighter ideas. Salvaging 60 ft of wooden fence pickets after Katrina knocked it all down, was - not that the wood delivered for the rest of the fence wasn't soaking wet and in need of some drying time.) YMMV, so work safe, yeah?

And you better stay safe...If you get hurt again...Don't make me come down there! I surely will turn this boat around!

You take care of you first. We ravenous hordes or forumites and readers can survive. Get rested, get well, then write...in that order. Don't over do anything, mind the shoulder and relax. Otherwise I'll have to drive out there to visit my cousin and drop by to make sure you are taking it easy...which would cost a fortune, gas is over $2 a gallon again.

MM2ss wrote: You take care of you first. We ravenous hordes or forumites and readers can survive. Get rested, get well, then write...in that order. Don't over do anything, mind the shoulder and relax. Otherwise I'll have to drive out there to visit my cousin and drop by to make sure you are taking it easy...which would cost a fortune, gas is over $2 a gallon again.

I don't think I've seen gas under $2 a gallon in over a decade. That's what I get for living in LA I suppose.

Hmmf. Before complaining of the gas prices, just look up how much it costs in other countries. Other than oil economies that ridiculously subsidize the gas they sell internally, like Venezuela... pretty much everywhere you can expect to pay 50%-100% above the U.S. price. Sometimes more.

I remember paying 79.9 CENTS per gallon... My grandfather, when he was alive recalled selling gad for 28 cents per gallon. The worst part of that? When he retired he was up near the 70 cent range, but still made the same 3 cent profit per gallon. I never went to Venezuela, and don't plan to. Bahrain was about 50 cents per gallon when I was there however, but all I had was a submarine, no car to gas up and they don't sell uranium.

Arcanist Lupus wrote:

MM2ss wrote: You take care of you first. We ravenous hordes or forumites and readers can survive. Get rested, get well, then write...in that order. Don't over do anything, mind the shoulder and relax. Otherwise I'll have to drive out there to visit my cousin and drop by to make sure you are taking it easy...which would cost a fortune, gas is over $2 a gallon again.

I don't think I've seen gas under $2 a gallon in over a decade. That's what I get for living in LA I suppose.

Ohh I know that PAIN well---I remember during the first night of Iraq invading Kuwait....Gas went up 20 cents in HOURS in LA they were caught by jay leno changing the signs at midnight in Burbank!
I have never seen that man MAD but that week he was MAD!

The cheapest I personally could have bought gas was $0.50/gal. In 1991 I had a 1966 Ford Mustang and looked into buying leaded gas for it, as that is what it was designed to run on. And I found that BP (Gulf at the time I think), Shell and Chevron would all sell me leaded gas, on a couple of conditions:

1 I could not retail the gas, it could only be for personal use.
2 I had to store it in an EPA approved tank and lockable pump system
3 The minimum delivery amount was 500 gallons.

If I met all those conditions they would happily come drop the gas into my tank at a cost of $250 dollars.

I wish I could have taken advantage of that. Now, my grandma remembers complaining about gas being $0.25/gal...

Hope things are getting better, Elrod hasn't had the best year so far.

Also, the lowest I've paid for gas was 79 cents.

Sorry about the slightly off topic post.

You can always remake the homemade furniture, wasn't it fun making it the first time? Make sure you remove enough drywall, wood, and everything to take into account wicking.

Speaking of gas prices, the lowest I paid was around $.75/gal. The lowest I remember seeing was $.29/gal. Also I was working at a gas station when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the owner saw that everyone was jacking up prices, and left hers at what it was. She sold out quickly and refilled her tanks. She figured two things, one she already had the profit from what she had paid, and that she would sell it all much quicker. We also sold leaded gas, she added lead to the unleaded she bought after each delivery. She was one of my favorite bosses.

Should I feel ripped off that the cheapest gasoline I remember is $1.21 locally, and $0.92 for New Jersey?

So, the hurricane/blizzard topic came up today at work. One of my coworkers used to work for the state, and they would occasionally do disaster resolution drills. Their conclusions were, at least for our neck of the woods, oil heat (with a generator backup to run the igniter) and firewood were the best solution for individual families. This applies less to hurricanes, since the only limitation there is water, because we're mostly personal wells instead of city water. Natural gas gets limited almost immediately, and the government has specific priorities that families are on the very bottom.

The conclusion was don't rely on the government for help. They're going to focus on total numbers, not locations.

Losing power for days is no fun at all. You either get a hurricane, and lose everything in the fridge, or get a blizzard, and have no heat. Either way, drinkable water is always the limiting factor.

Katssun wrote: Losing power for days is no fun at all. You either get a hurricane, and lose everything in the fridge, or get a blizzard, and have no heat. Either way, drinkable water is always the limiting factor.

(Propane) Gas-powered grills and stoves.

Living in-town, drinking water was never a problem for me. When Fran hit Raleigh, my apartment was less than half a mile from the water tower and a block from the prison, so we were a priority by proxy. The water heater was heated by natural gas, so hot showers by candlelight. After Wilma, there was one advantage living so close to the city's wellfield and water treatment plant.

Looters and other thieves love generators. They'll stay awake all night to hear one kick off while it's quiet out.

Yeah, it helps to be something of a "prepper"...

Propane stove, oil lamps, candles, MRE's, a stash of canned goods and a manual can opener, etc. should be in every single home.

For those of a more serious "prepper" bent, a bug out kit, firearm, ammo etc. is also advised. I do both. I have my "shelter in place" setup for dealing with most natural disasters. Then I have mu "head for the woods and resist the communist invasion" kit as a backup (I doubt I will ever need that level of survival readiness, but I have it just in case). My setup is extensive enough that I even have 150 pounds of coal, a stash of firewood and water purification tabs. I figure that between hunting/fishing, canned goods and all I can get a solid 90 days without resupply (having some woodland helps, I know the game trails out there).

Bek D Corbin wrote:

elrodw wrote: Not worried about looters. Between my son and I, we can handle a lot of looters; I keep 3 mags loaded with really nice body-shredding hollow-points (not mentioning brand - we like SOME mystery ) And he has the same. Plus 2 full mags for his semi-auto rifle plus a good box mag for his Saiga shotgun - filled with buckshot. Plus neighbors are similarly armed, and we watch out for each other.

Now that's a Texan for you: other people see a horrible crisis- they see an opportunity for target practice

Did you never see the the post Hurricane Alison photos!
People took plywood plans in communities and in spray paint wrote "You Loot, We Shoot" on them I never heard bout major looting then.

Way, way back in history, in SD, (1973 I think) Canyon Lake Dam broke in Rapid City due to extraordinarily heavy rainfall. 238 people were killed. The National Guard was mobilized to help with recovery and policing - and the governor gave them "shoot to kill" orders for looters. Needless to say, there was no looting.

Can you imagine any governor these days giving such an order? I can't. Instead, we have to rely on common knowledge that people are armed and WILL shoot to defend themselves and their property. Which means some not-bright people will loot, and eventually a few will be removed from the gene pool.

Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

Astrodragon wrote: Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

They can shoot the looters too

Rose Bunny wrote:

Astrodragon wrote: Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

They can shoot the looters too

Oh, right, I guess they are Texan alligators...

elrodw wrote: Way, way back in history, in SD, (1973 I think) Canyon Lake Dam broke in Rapid City due to extraordinarily heavy rainfall. 238 people were killed. The National Guard was mobilized to help with recovery and policing - and the governor gave them "shoot to kill" orders for looters. Needless to say, there was no looting.

Can you imagine any governor these days giving such an order? I can't. Instead, we have to rely on common knowledge that people are armed and WILL shoot to defend themselves and their property. Which means some not-bright people will loot, and eventually a few will be removed from the gene pool.

The Korean store owners did this during the LA 92 riots
Actually shot at people ALL day! and that stopped the riot+looting COLD at their area!

amazing how a AR 15 changes minds from evil thoughts

Astrodragon wrote: Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

Shoot --then shoes belts, bags, boots ect and BBQ time!

Send those armed Texas gators to defend against any Irmas that show up unexpectedly.

Seriously, I hope the wench doesn't slide your way, but she seems to be gearing up for it. Best of luck to ya. And serve up some looter stew to the gators if need be.

What about Ermas ?

Florida really needs to watch out for irma, it already passed some caribian islands like sint martin and the devastation is massive. since part of sint martin is dutch we get reports about it.
There some pictures about the harbour on the french part off the island and little was recognizeable
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hurricane-i...176fe4b0b5e53102db1d

The founder of the Weather channel just tweeted. "Get out of Florida, or write your SSN on your arm with a sharpie."

Nearly every single projected track has it hitting Florida full on. I think there is only one out of over a dozen that had it scooting up the coast instead.

Anyone in the path of Irma?

reno wrote: Florida really needs to watch out for irma,

NHC is still working on an official angle of approach that doesn't trigger Miami-Dade County evacuations until tropical storm force winds hit and everyone is forced to stay off the roads. Again.

Domoviye wrote: Anyone in the path of Irma?

Edit:

null0trooper wrote:

Domoviye wrote: Anyone in the path of Irma?

Does the eyewall count?

Speaking as someone who lives about 2000 miles inland in the freezing north of Canada, whose idea of a bad storm involves dropping five feet of snow in a day, I have no idea.

It's the windy area closest to the open dot in the center of a cyclone.

Do we have people living in PR or the Leewards? 'casue there's Embracing the suck, then there is this month.... two Majors? Eyouch.

for next time and this darn thing has worked in at least 2 flood I have seen on the net!

under 10k for that peace of mind and rent it out of you own one to the next state over?? I can see money in these!
Aquadam portable 4 foot tall instant set up dams all you need is some time and water hose!

That may work well in most areas where the underlying rock and sand are less porous and less transmissive than the sandbags, or for transient events like storm surge.

null0trooper wrote: That may work well in most areas where the underlying rock and sand are less porous and less transmissive than the sandbags, or for transient events like storm surge.

They used a big one on the Oak Island treasure hunting reality show. It had to be at least ten feet tall.

It was an inflatable cofferdam. they used it to wall of a small cove they wanted to excavate for evidence of pirate infrastructure.

They had a pump going to eliminate the seepage. Does not take a very big one.

what I love about it...is the small no ..LARGE fact that for less than 10 k he saved his home and others did not do this simple thing?

I think rentals for this thing would blow up if done right!

peter wrote:

null0trooper wrote: That may work well in most areas where the underlying rock and sand are less porous and less transmissive than the sandbags, or for transient events like storm surge.

They used a big one on the Oak Island treasure hunting reality show. It had to be at least ten feet tall.

It was an inflatable cofferdam. they used it to wall of a small cove they wanted to excavate for evidence of pirate infrastructure.

They had a pump going to eliminate the seepage. Does not take a very big one.

Height of the cofferdam has no bearing on what I was discussing. As far as pump size goes, yes it would have to have a significant capacity to keep a hole dewatered in this area, no matter what worked elsewhere.

Wait, that glorified water balloon cost $8,300? Better than the alternative, certainly, but that is some pharma-level price gouging!

Since I am a very big non-fan of flooding and also am non-rich, I've always employed the much cheaper and more reliable strategy of living on a hill well inland.

Kettlekorn wrote: Wait, that glorified water balloon cost $8,300? Better than the alternative, certainly, but that is some pharma-level price gouging!

Since I am a very big non-fan of flooding and also am non-rich, I've always employed the much cheaper and more reliable strategy of living on a hill well inland.

This is one situation where you are paying for the patent fee's, the quality of the manufacturing, and the manufacturer's insurance costs, if it doesn't work as advertised.

And hiring rather than buying would be better, as the owner has to keep up the maintenance.

Compare the fee as a percentage of the value of the building, as against the cost and hassle of the repairs/refurbishments after the flooding.

It's a reasonable trade-off.

Though he would have been better using the cash to build a house somewhere else.

Some people just don't understand the concept of sunk costs.

---

Kettlekorn: Being in a place where the boundaries between one physical state, and, another meet, is always a profitable place to exist, as the energy difference between those states gives rise to resources to be extracted.

Tidal, wave, wind power, and geothermal systems are all based upon this.

And, being an engineer from a small Scottish island, makes me look at Irma, and think, "another heavy winter."

Just don't build on flood-plains. Ever.

Kettlekorn wrote:
Since I am a very big non-fan of flooding and also am non-rich, I've always employed the much cheaper and more reliable strategy of living on a hill well inland.

I've got you beat, I live on a hill, on top of a hill, and the street in front of my house goes straight towards a large lake which effectively deals with run off.
If my place ever floods, it's the end of the world so I won't have to worry about clean up.

Mister D wrote:

Kettlekorn wrote: Wait, that glorified water balloon cost $8,300? Better than the alternative, certainly, but that is some pharma-level price gouging!

Since I am a very big non-fan of flooding and also am non-rich, I've always employed the much cheaper and more reliable strategy of living on a hill well inland.

This is one situation where you are paying for the patent fee's, the quality of the manufacturing, and the manufacturer's insurance costs, if it doesn't work as advertised.

And hiring rather than buying would be better, as the owner has to keep up the maintenance.

Compare the fee as a percentage of the value of the building, as against the cost and hassle of the repairs/refurbishments after the flooding.

It's a reasonable trade-off.

Though he would have been better using the cash to build a house somewhere else.

Some people just don't understand the concept of sunk costs.

---

Kettlekorn: Being in a place where the boundaries between one physical state, and, another meet, is always a profitable place to exist, as the energy difference between those states gives rise to resources to be extracted.

Tidal, wave, wind power, and geothermal systems are all based upon this.

And, being an engineer from a small Scottish island, makes me look at Irma, and think, "another heavy winter."

Just don't build on flood-plains. Ever.

And when the whole state of texas is 3x bigger than all of UK---and most of the state is in the same --it rains hard= it floods band wagon

the answer is abandon the whole state---humm???

There's a reason why Gen. Sheridan (who isn't nearly as quotable as many of his contemporaries, sad to say), during his time as military governor of the state during the Reconstruction, said that if he owned both Hell and Texas, he'd rent out Texas and live in Hell.

While I doubt that is anywhere near as true now as it was in 1866, from everything I understand it is a place which is more than a bit demanding to live in even with modern amenities. Of course, given its size there are quite a few different climates and terrains there, some of which presumably are much better than others.

will never knock Texas---any state that has a town called 'Earth' in it--- is too funny!

lighttech wrote: And when the whole state of texas is 3x bigger than all of UK---and most of the state is in the same --it rains hard= it floods band wagon

the answer is abandon the whole state---humm???

Total world power consumption is around 12.5 TW. Dividing the power output by land usage for some of the world's largest solar farms, we mostly get numbers of around 93 MW per square mile. So, to power the entire planet, we'd need 134,410 square miles dedicated to solar power.

Texas has an area of 268,581 square miles.

So no, I don't suggest abandoning the whole state. Only half. Just think, it could be literally the most powerful place on the planet! (Well, until someone gets around to "conquering" the Sahara and wiring it up. Texans like to think they're big, but the Sahara is worth 13.2 Texas, so whatevs.)

I've always been very fond of the phrase: "The difference between America and England is that Americans think 100 years is a long time, while the English think 100 miles is a long way."

It explains pretty much everything about US infrastructure. We don't plan, and everything is really far apart, much farther than you'd think.

My other favorite isn't a famous quote, but still gives the same perspective. "A lot of people who visit here don't realize that Montana is the size of Germany."

Cleanup on a local level might be easy. But its the infrastructure that really takes a beating. Especially when recovery efforts are about to be divided. I sincerely hope that those in Texas aren't suddenly forgotten. But, Texans are pretty self-reliant, so I'm not too worried.

Kettlekorn wrote: So no, I don't suggest abandoning the whole state. Only half. Just think, it could be literally the most powerful place on the planet! (Well, until someone gets around to "conquering" the Sahara and wiring it up. Texans like to think they're big, but the Sahara is worth 13.2 Texas, so whatevs.)

Actually, there was a company from Tunisia in the news. It seems that they have a business plan of generating electricity from solar plants in the desert in order to sell to Europe. So, less far-fetched than you might think.

Kettlekorn wrote:

lighttech wrote: And when the whole state of texas is 3x bigger than all of UK---and most of the state is in the same --it rains hard= it floods band wagon

the answer is abandon the whole state---humm???

Total world power consumption is around 12.5 TW. Dividing the power output by land usage for some of the world's largest solar farms, we mostly get numbers of around 93 MW per square mile. So, to power the entire planet, we'd need 134,410 square miles dedicated to solar power.

Texas has an area of 268,581 square miles.

So no, I don't suggest abandoning the whole state. Only half. Just think, it could be literally the most powerful place on the planet! (Well, until someone gets around to "conquering" the Sahara and wiring it up. Texans like to think they're big, but the Sahara is worth 13.2 Texas, so whatevs.)

We were talking flooding and building somewhere safer??
well since the nearly the whole state is flat land --that would mean abandoning the whole state??

Besides Texas has LOTS of farming going on, so solar in that size would not make sense and the COST or the extra resources needed till solar can make say 5 x more power at least??

I was being silly. Power stations don't like hurricanes any more than houses do, the capital required to build such a thing would be enormous, and actually keeping it running would require increasing the state's population, bringing more chumps into hurricane country.

Kettlekorn wrote: I was being silly. Power stations don't like hurricanes any more than houses do, the capital required to build such a thing would be enormous, and actually keeping it running would require increasing the state's population, bringing more chumps into hurricane country.

ROTFLMAO

I laugh at the one we built in cali dessert, what a mess that "bird cooker' is darn thing cost a mint to build and now they have high paid techs out there with nearly canned air and windex keeping the dust off the mirrors!
Us electricians laughed at the thing, mirrors in a dessert? Sure its gets lots of sun and nothing is near it?
But all the blowing sand and rock on glass mirrors??

Now if someone built a better solar cell and a tesla like battery bank I have seen at a great cost----then the big step! got biz electric providers to pay you back in cash when the meter spun backwards! that under the law THEY wrote in cali is not happening they being BIZ
LOL at it all

Status update:
After 3 days of intense work documenting, photographing, and cross-referencing everything in the house that was damaged (knowing we missed some), the adjuster was here last night. For now, every flood adjuster in the US is in Texas, although half of them will be moving to Florida. The guy said they're working 18-hour days, 7 days a week. So, now we wait for his formal writeup, while we get an advance to start repairs. That will take a bit, but we already have a contractor lined up who did the upstairs expansion a few years ago and we know and trust. Too many fly-by-night operators have swooped like vultures into Houston to get work or scam. We're adjusting (slowly) to living upstairs with a downstairs that is half-gutted. It's stressful. And it's going to take a long time to get it all put back together.

2 of our 3 cars are flooded and totaled. That adjuster was here this morning. Anything that got water inside it, no matter how deep, is being written off - mostly because of contamination in the water and the fear of illness and lawsuits if they don't. So I have to scramble to replace 2 cars. Between deductible for property damage, dedutible for personal property, and deductibles on the 2 cars, we're going take a pretty big hit in the wallet. Plus I'm not buying a used car anywhere near Houston, so replacing the cars is difficult but vital. Might have brother do a little looking in Atlanta, where he lives.

Too tired at the end of the day to write - and sore. I've really been overdoing it with my shoulder - it's hyper-sore, which makes sleep a precious commodity that I never seem to get enough of. So in the middle of the night, after waking with pain and waiting for the next dose to take effect, I've been reading some oldies on FM. If you haven't read Trish's "Rock On", I recommend it. Highly. And the sequel. I did read a couple that were different from the little blurb and random review, and I found them disturbing. Compared to that, what I've done to Kayda is kid gloves. Really. Some of that stuff is nauseatingly sadistic. When I find the first hint of that, I'm done with that story. But I have gotten a few mildly cruel ideas

Anyway, got to get dinner then rest some. Maybe have time to write a bit - assuming I don't fall asleep first.

Kettlekorn wrote:

lighttech wrote: And when the whole state of texas is 3x bigger than all of UK---and most of the state is in the same --it rains hard= it floods band wagon

the answer is abandon the whole state---humm???

Total world power consumption is around 12.5 TW. Dividing the power output by land usage for some of the world's largest solar farms, we mostly get numbers of around 93 MW per square mile. So, to power the entire planet, we'd need 134,410 square miles dedicated to solar power.

Texas has an area of 268,581 square miles.

So no, I don't suggest abandoning the whole state. Only half. Just think, it could be literally the most powerful place on the planet! (Well, until someone gets around to "conquering" the Sahara and wiring it up. Texans like to think they're big, but the Sahara is worth 13.2 Texas, so whatevs.)

This is something that is actually work-in-progress right now!

There's a few companies working on solar farms in Nevada, another EU-based combine working with north African countries on a solar-plant the will cover around a third of the Sahara, when it's fully complete. There's another system being built in the Atacama desert in the South American continent. There's the northern Chinese/Mongolian projects for the Gobi desert, and smaller systems being developed in southern Spain.

All of these will start coming online from 2020 onwards.

The cost of electricity will drop to the cost of distribution & maintenance.

While some of these are based on PV-solar, the Spanish system, is using focused-mirrors to generate steam, which is being used to store heat using a whole mountain as the thermal mass, so it can generate power all day and night.

If you have access to any amount of land, then it's worth setting up your own systems for generating & storing power, but only for your own use. The sort of systems that work on a smaller scale will not be cost-effective compared with the big systems that are coming online, so don't borrow money to build one of these things, with the intention of making a profit.

Just build one to cut your own costs.

But definitely move all of your money out of oil/gas/carbon-based energy investments.

Yes, we will still need liquid fuels, as petro-chemicals have the best energy-density of any of the current technologies, but those can be generated from renewable resources, using solar/wind as the initial energy input, so the petro-chemical forms are just a convenient type of energy-storage, rather than a finite resource to be dug out of the ground.

And there are German and Danish companies that will sell you a system to generate those forms of fuel.

No Unobtanium required! No secret sauce, or technology-that-has-yet-to-be-discovered!

These are all based on existing proven technologies.

For all of the short-term Doom'N'Gloom, that is peddled in the mainstream media, and yes, the world is still fucked up in a lot of ways, Elizabeth Carson's speech to Loophole still stands as extremely true, and it is being implemented as we speak.

elrodw wrote: Status update:
After 3 days of intense work documenting, photographing, and cross-referencing everything in the house that was damaged (knowing we missed some), the adjuster was here last night. For now, every flood adjuster in the US is in Texas, although half of them will be moving to Florida. The guy said they're working 18-hour days, 7 days a week. So, now we wait for his formal writeup, while we get an advance to start repairs. That will take a bit, but we already have a contractor lined up who did the upstairs expansion a few years ago and we know and trust. Too many fly-by-night operators have swooped like vultures into Houston to get work or scam. We're adjusting (slowly) to living upstairs with a downstairs that is half-gutted. It's stressful. And it's going to take a long time to get it all put back together.

2 of our 3 cars are flooded and totaled. That adjuster was here this morning. Anything that got water inside it, no matter how deep, is being written off - mostly because of contamination in the water and the fear of illness and lawsuits if they don't. So I have to scramble to replace 2 cars. Between deductible for property damage, dedutible for personal property, and deductibles on the 2 cars, we're going take a pretty big hit in the wallet. Plus I'm not buying a used car anywhere near Houston, so replacing the cars is difficult but vital. Might have brother do a little looking in Atlanta, where he lives.

Too tired at the end of the day to write - and sore. I've really been overdoing it with my shoulder - it's hyper-sore, which makes sleep a precious commodity that I never seem to get enough of. So in the middle of the night, after waking with pain and waiting for the next dose to take effect, I've been reading some oldies on FM. If you haven't read Trish's "Rock On", I recommend it. Highly. And the sequel. I did read a couple that were different from the little blurb and random review, and I found them disturbing. Compared to that, what I've done to Kayda is kid gloves. Really. Some of that stuff is nauseatingly sadistic. When I find the first hint of that, I'm done with that story. But I have gotten a few mildly cruel ideas

Anyway, got to get dinner then rest some. Maybe have time to write a bit - assuming I don't fall asleep first.

Good to hear that you're ok.

Write more, when your situation is more stable.

Looking forward to your next works.

They insurance companies might actually go bankrupt after this year, a cat-4 to Texas hitting the 4th largest city in the country and many others, and then a cat-5 hitting all of Florida and all those big million dollar homes, they are probably going to pull out of the entire gulf coast after this year for a while they dd it after Katrina and Ike.

They might pull out, but they won't go bankrupt, unless they are incompetently managed.
First, the risks of natural catastrophes are computed into their spreadsheets. So it's bad, but hardly unexpected.
Second, there's this thing called "reinsurance" -- essentially, the insurance companies have themselves an insurance against such a situation.

Sir Lee wrote: They might pull out, but they won't go bankrupt, unless they are incompetently managed.
First, the risks of natural catastrophes are computed into their spreadsheets. So it's bad, but hardly unexpected.
Second, there's this thing called "reinsurance" -- essentially, the insurance companies have themselves an insurance against such a situation.

Plus they've been collecting all those premiums for the last 15 years or so without a major hurricane hitting the US.

Astrodragon wrote: Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

Illegal to kill them without a special permit.

Even if one is gnawing on your leg, in your kitchen, if you kill it, you're going to jail.

Valentine wrote:

Sir Lee wrote: They might pull out, but they won't go bankrupt, unless they are incompetently managed.
First, the risks of natural catastrophes are computed into their spreadsheets. So it's bad, but hardly unexpected.
Second, there's this thing called "reinsurance" -- essentially, the insurance companies have themselves an insurance against such a situation.

Plus they've been collecting all those premiums for the last 15 years or so without a major hurricane hitting the US.

So much this!!^^^^^^^^

and some will be covered by fed flood AKA us taxpayers!
then some there had no coverage, did not buy any and so NO payout unless the feds give it to them???

ME I laugh at this stuff! I live in Los angeles on a hill, in a dessert and have to have flood by the bank rules??but earthquake insurance is my choice not too or to have??

Bookworm wrote:

Astrodragon wrote: Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

Illegal to kill them without a special permit.

Even if one is gnawing on your leg, in your kitchen, if you kill it, you're going to jail.

That's what you get for opening the door before checking out who's pounding on it.

null0trooper wrote:

Bookworm wrote:

Astrodragon wrote: Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

Illegal to kill them without a special permit.

Even if one is gnawing on your leg, in your kitchen, if you kill it, you're going to jail.

That's what you get for opening the door before checking out who's pounding on it.

www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/landshark/2832305?snl=1

SitRep:
Got a crew coming in a few hours to finish tearout - and they won't be able to do anything in the garage because of shelves and sorted stuff. It's a holding pen for all the things we can save. I'll have to do that later, probably myself. Blech. Got to empty a LOT of cabinets to get ready for the tearout crew - I'm hoping that they'll open the drywall and leave my countertop and cooktop in place. Otherwise, I have a helluva mess, and living here during reconstruction will be hellish.

Shoulder still hurts like hell. Haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks, so this is draining. On top of which I have 2 cars out of action (out of 3) and 3 drivers who go different directions every morning. Cars in Houston area are in short supply and very pricey. I may have to fly somewhere else to buy a car. More on that later. Who was it that has a relative who knows somebody who had a college roommate whose nephew is a car dealer?

From page 12;

Kristin Darken wrote: Good to hear from you.

Re: cars - my cousin is a car guy up north, though admittedly he deals more in high performance stuff than regular day to day cars... but I'm happy to put you in touch with him if you like.
And my brother's wife's family runs a big construction company out of Kansas (they did a LOT of rebuilding after that big tornado in Oklahoma City a while back).... if your favorite guy is booked.

Either way, let me know.

elrodw wrote: SitRep:
Got a crew coming in a few hours to finish tearout - and they won't be able to do anything in the garage because of shelves and sorted stuff. It's a holding pen for all the things we can save. I'll have to do that later, probably myself. Blech. Got to empty a LOT of cabinets to get ready for the tearout crew - I'm hoping that they'll open the drywall and leave my countertop and cooktop in place. Otherwise, I have a helluva mess, and living here during reconstruction will be hellish.

Shoulder still hurts like hell. Haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks, so this is draining. On top of which I have 2 cars out of action (out of 3) and 3 drivers who go different directions every morning. Cars in Houston area are in short supply and very pricey. I may have to fly somewhere else to buy a car. More on that later. Who was it that has a relative who knows somebody who had a college roommate whose nephew is a car dealer?

If you need to go as far a LA for a car--I have the room and time for ya and a mechanic that is very good friends that will help with his shop if needed?? (I trust the cat, he is good)

Valentine wrote:

null0trooper wrote:

Bookworm wrote:

Astrodragon wrote: Shooting to kill looters is fine.
But what about the alligators?

Illegal to kill them without a special permit.

Even if one is gnawing on your leg, in your kitchen, if you kill it, you're going to jail.

That's what you get for opening the door before checking out who's pounding on it.

www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/landshark/2832305?snl=1

Ah the days when the whole SNL show hour was funny! not this crud we get now!

I've got 2 leads I'm following up, but if those don't pan out, I'll let you know.

elrodw wrote: SitRep:
Got a crew coming in a few hours to finish tearout - and they won't be able to do anything in the garage because of shelves and sorted stuff. It's a holding pen for all the things we can save. I'll have to do that later, probably myself. Blech. Got to empty a LOT of cabinets to get ready for the tearout crew - I'm hoping that they'll open the drywall and leave my countertop and cooktop in place. Otherwise, I have a helluva mess, and living here during reconstruction will be hellish.

Shoulder still hurts like hell. Haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks, so this is draining. On top of which I have 2 cars out of action (out of 3) and 3 drivers who go different directions every morning. Cars in Houston area are in short supply and very pricey. I may have to fly somewhere else to buy a car. More on that later. Who was it that has a relative who knows somebody who had a college roommate whose nephew is a car dealer?

My nephew used to sell cars, and had planned on getting a job selling cars. Of course he moved to Orlando a few weeks ago...

(Actually a true story).

I'm debating repairing the car in front of my house. it still runs, although it's been sitting a while. It just needs repairs that are more _time_ than difficulty, and I don't have a good space I can put it up on stands to work. (valve cover gasket, tie rod ends, motor mounts, brakes)

Good luck finding a vehicle. Check in the Cypress area, maybe Enterprise Car sales. They had a lot less of the destructive flooding, and the flooded cars haven't hit the sale market yet.

here are all the cars from the area in Texas so far!

WOOF! that's one big parking lot!

blackflag.jalopnik.com/heres-some-incred...-hurrican-1818579633

lighttech wrote: here are all the cars from the area in Texas so far!

WOOF! that's one big parking lot!

blackflag.jalopnik.com/heres-some-incred...-hurrican-1818579633

Two of them are mine. 2 of our 3 vehicles flooded - one so badly that the dashboard warning lights lit up like a christmas tree and nothing worked. Got one replacement vehicle, which is good since in the morning we have 3 drivers going 3 different directions. It was tough for our family logistics, and tougher to find a vehicle that we KNEW wasn't flooded. Church friend who works at local dealership helped out.

Now I have to find a car for me - something to last 3-4 years. I'd LOVE to get a CL - something more fun than a minivan or family sedan (saloon for you Brit types - and I'm highly surprised you didn't shove a "u" or two in that word ). Alas, cash flow is going to be tight, given extra expenses like higher than normal utility bills, deductibles for both cars and structure and household goods. So I'll find something to make do until I get kids off the payroll and can get something decent for myself. Too bad Mazda doesn't make the Mazda6 as a 2-door coupe - we've had very good luck with our Mazdas.

I haven't had more than 3.5 hours of sleep a night for the last 3 weeks, so I'm really running on empty. On the other hand, when I'm awake trying to fall asleep, I've been reading a bit (various TG tales), and I found some gems that I'd overlooked - on FM by Trish. Fabulous stories. Really a pleasure to read. And I got inspired for 2 non-Whateley stories. Normally, I hate forced femme stories, but I was inspired to outline a couple that I think will be really, really good. Different. I hate (as in loathe, despite, detest, abhor, etc) stories where the guy ends up a total loser and his whole life is ruined because he's a linguini-spined total wimp and loser. So naturally I'm not doing that; the endings have promise to be surprises. So in the works, I've got an MAU tale (future, moonbase), a BB tale, 2 new ones, a Shine tale, a Pounce tale, Kayda 12, a Laura tale. Now to find a way to get enough time to write.

lighttech wrote: here are all the cars from the area in Texas so far!

WOOF! that's one big parking lot!

blackflag.jalopnik.com/heres-some-incred...-hurrican-1818579633

Soon to be found in an upper midwest carlot near you.

Elrod, get some sleep, get your house and life back together, then worry about writing.

elrodw wrote:

lighttech wrote: here are all the cars from the area in Texas so far!

WOOF! that's one big parking lot!

blackflag.jalopnik.com/heres-some-incred...-hurrican-1818579633

Two of them are mine. 2 of our 3 vehicles flooded - one so badly that the dashboard warning lights lit up like a christmas tree and nothing worked. Got one replacement vehicle, which is good since in the morning we have 3 drivers going 3 different directions. It was tough for our family logistics, and tougher to find a vehicle that we KNEW wasn't flooded. Church friend who works at local dealership helped out.

Now I have to find a car for me - something to last 3-4 years. I'd LOVE to get a CL - something more fun than a minivan or family sedan (saloon for you Brit types - and I'm highly surprised you didn't shove a "u" or two in that word ). Alas, cash flow is going to be tight, given extra expenses like higher than normal utility bills, deductibles for both cars and structure and household goods. So I'll find something to make do until I get kids off the payroll and can get something decent for myself. Too bad Mazda doesn't make the Mazda6 as a 2-door coupe - we've had very good luck with our Mazdas.

I haven't had more than 3.5 hours of sleep a night for the last 3 weeks, so I'm really running on empty. On the other hand, when I'm awake trying to fall asleep, I've been reading a bit (various TG tales), and I found some gems that I'd overlooked - on FM by Trish. Fabulous stories. Really a pleasure to read. And I got inspired for 2 non-Whateley stories. Normally, I hate forced femme stories, but I was inspired to outline a couple that I think will be really, really good. Different. I hate (as in loathe, despite, detest, abhor, etc) stories where the guy ends up a total loser and his whole life is ruined because he's a linguini-spined total wimp and loser. So naturally I'm not doing that; the endings have promise to be surprises. So in the works, I've got an MAU tale (future, moonbase), a BB tale, 2 new ones, a Shine tale, a Pounce tale, Kayda 12, a Laura tale. Now to find a way to get enough time to write.

IMO if your looking for a small 2 door coup? Subaru makes the BRZ that is real nice and has one of the best engines made in it.

lighttech wrote: IMO if your looking for a small 2 door coup? Subaru makes the BRZ that is real nice and has one of the best engines made in it.

BRZ's aren't really that available used though, are they?

Not as fancy, fun, or fast, but Used Chevy Volts seem to be plentiful, and at least if you can charge it someplace (and even if you can't, they at least have gas backup that operates as efficiently as possible being a series-hybrid) are affordable used hybrids that can stretch fill-ups quite far. If elrod is only looking for a car for the next few years, that could really add up the savings.

Then again, I have a soft spot for all the cute hot hatches. Affordable new and used (except you... delicious Focus RS...) and they have a lot of pep in their step.

The Pontiac Vibe (if you don't mind a 5 door) is a good underdog for a used car. I picked up a 2007 with 130k miles for 4,026 - after TTL. My old car _still_ runs (296k miles), but I decided not to drop the $2k it would take to bring it up to spec. (Needs three motor mounts, tie rods, valve cover gasket. Not really that much _money_ wise, but I don't have two days to dedicate to replacing all the parts.) Interestingly enough, even on the street, neither the old nor new one flooded during Harvey.

I just haven't gotten rid of the old one yet. If someone wanted a project car, I'd happily provide it cheap

Anyway - the Pontiac Vibe is the same as the Toyota Matrix - and both are simply station wagons on a Corolla frame, so they're reliable cars.

Katssun wrote:

lighttech wrote: IMO if your looking for a small 2 door coup? Subaru makes the BRZ that is real nice and has one of the best engines made in it.

BRZ's aren't really that available used though, are they?

Not as fancy, fun, or fast, but Used Chevy Volts seem to be plentiful, and at least if you can charge it someplace (and even if you can't, they at least have gas backup that operates as efficiently as possible being a series-hybrid) are affordable used hybrids that can stretch fill-ups quite far. If elrod is only looking for a car for the next few years, that could really add up the savings.

Then again, I have a soft spot for all the cute hot hatches. Affordable new and used (except you... delicious Focus RS...) and they have a lot of pep in their step.

You can find them? But most subarus have good resale value just because getting one to over 150, 000 miles with no major issues is very normal

But I do like that Ford Kat but the mark up right no on on ei s is some cases over 10k right now and I really need a automatic---the lanncer EVO had that in MR style but they dropped the whole line in 2015! darn it
Right now I drive a 2002 WRX that is modded for tight tracks use.

lighttech wrote: IMO if your looking for a small 2 door coup? Subaru makes the BRZ that is real nice and has one of the best engines made in it.

And if your looking for something a little more sporty and are expecting more flooding, I'm sure that Q-branch is willing to part with that Lotus Roger Moore was driving back during the Cold War.

Actually, that Lotus was in the news a few months ago because someone bought it... and announced that they intended to make it a fully functional submarine car.

As for the BRZ, I understand that it's the same as the Toyota 86? What's it with people suggesting rebadged Toyotas? Also, it's a non-4WD Subaru... I didn't even know that such a creature existed!

Sir Lee wrote: Actually, that Lotus was in the news a few months ago because someone bought it... and announced that they intended to make it a fully functional submarine car.

As for the BRZ, I understand that it's the same as the Toyota 86? What's it with people suggesting rebadged Toyotas? Also, it's a non-4WD Subaru... I didn't even know that such a creature existed!

the engine and guts are fully Subaru based parts the shell is a bit Toyota and remember that all Subarus have NOT been 4 wheel drive??? The late 90's is when the line went full all whell drive for all cars, before that. the customer choose what they wanted on the driveline

But there are mumbilings that STI will make a turbo version that most likely will be all wheel drive soon???

The biggest problem I face is the fact that I'm 6'7" (2 meters) tall and don't fit in most cars. The second biggest problem is that in Houston, with over half a million cars suddenly out of action (including several dealerships who lost ALL their inventory), it's a seller's market and there is absolutely nothing with 'reasonable 2-year-car' pricing. It's going to be interesting for a while.

elrodw wrote: The biggest problem I face is the fact that I'm 6'7" (2 meters) tall and don't fit in most cars. The second biggest problem is that in Houston, with over half a million cars suddenly out of action (including several dealerships who lost ALL their inventory), it's a seller's market and there is absolutely nothing with 'reasonable 2-year-car' pricing. It's going to be interesting for a while.

Big tall?? me too!

I have tried the chargers, not the newest body style? but the square ones are good
the bigger 300M are huge!
the challenger is good too!
If its a cop car, you'll fit is my rule of thumb!!! ---lol

elrodw wrote: The biggest problem I face is the fact that I'm 6'7" (2 meters) tall and don't fit in most cars. The second biggest problem is that in Houston, with over half a million cars suddenly out of action (including several dealerships who lost ALL their inventory), it's a seller's market and there is absolutely nothing with 'reasonable 2-year-car' pricing. It's going to be interesting for a while.

You need one of the old Citroen 2CV's, the one where you can take the canvas roof off.

Astrodragon wrote:

elrodw wrote: The biggest problem I face is the fact that I'm 6'7" (2 meters) tall and don't fit in most cars. The second biggest problem is that in Houston, with over half a million cars suddenly out of action (including several dealerships who lost ALL their inventory), it's a seller's market and there is absolutely nothing with 'reasonable 2-year-car' pricing. It's going to be interesting for a while.

You need one of the old Citroen 2CV's, the one where you can take the canvas roof off.

1 advantage off such a car, in case it gets flooded, it's so simple all you need to do is drain it, and it will run again

This might be a working mod:

lighttech wrote: If its a cop car, you'll fit is my rule of thumb!!! ---lol

As long as... "It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

I can't help you with the car part...but if you are willing to go for a motorcycle I can get you a decent deal on a Harley Fatboy, chromed out and only 1,800 miles. My brother in law wants to sell his to pay for some new flooring in the house he and my sister just bought. Rides real smooth, it is like driving a Lay-z-boy with one of those massage cushions. It is in Alabama however, but if you are interested I will send contact info.

Sir Lee wrote:

lighttech wrote: If its a cop car, you'll fit is my rule of thumb!!! ---lol

As long as... "It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

But the cigarette lighter doesn't work.

elrodw wrote: The biggest problem I face is the fact that I'm 6'7" (2 meters) tall and don't fit in most cars. The second biggest problem is that in Houston, with over half a million cars suddenly out of action (including several dealerships who lost ALL their inventory), it's a seller's market and there is absolutely nothing with 'reasonable 2-year-car' pricing. It's going to be interesting for a while.

I have that problem, even being only 5'10". I have very short legs, and a long torso. My wife has the reverse problem - really long legs, short torso. Both of us can drive my 2007 Pontiac Vibe. (Me all the way forward, her all the way back). I'd suggest that you look at the older car market. You can pick up, pretty cheaply, a Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix/Corolla), or for slightly more, get something with the same frame and the Toyota name, and be reasonably sure you can get 300,000 miles out of it. It's probably not the best, but I looked at the dealer sales on craigslist Houston today, and the prices seemed in-line with what I found last year (for the same age of cars). We're sort of off and on looking for a replacement vehicle for my wife, but I'm looking at just eking out another year with the mini-van and paying off other bills first. If you have a good mechanic, don't hesitate to look at the older cars; unfortunately, Consumer Reports doesn't give reliability information for anything more than, say 7 years old.

elrodw wrote: The biggest problem I face is the fact that I'm 6'7" (2 meters) tall and don't fit in most cars. The second biggest problem is that in Houston, with over half a million cars suddenly out of action (including several dealerships who lost ALL their inventory), it's a seller's market and there is absolutely nothing with 'reasonable 2-year-car' pricing. It's going to be interesting for a while.

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I know exactly how you feel, sadly the only vehicles I know about are a 99 4-door Chevy Tahoe, that needs everything probably done to it, except the interior, its a project junker now alas been siting idol too long after a transmission shop broke the crank shaft and claimed it was broke when it arrived.
2001 F-250 Power Stroke Turbo Diesel with over 350k miles but the engine and power train or golden. but the paint is scratched up it was a work truck.

Yea it is a sellers market and painful if you are looking even for a used vehicle not damaged in the flood. Apartments not hurt by the flood are even raising prices now as well.

Not much comfort, but windstorm-damaged vehicles from Florida should be hitting the market.

If Elrod could fit in an ancient Toyota Corolla, I'd be tempted to call the owner who keeps parking it in front of my house.