Monday, September 15, 2008
Ikeonography's NY Sun Op-Ed on Ike
Read it here. The headline should have been "Recovery We Can Believe In."
Buffalo Bayou Video
I biked into downtown yesterday and took some pictures and video. The video posted here is near University of Houston - Downtown just below Main Street on the Girard St. ramp to (what I think is) staff parking. In the ~4 years we've been here I've never seen Buffalo Bayou anything like this.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Status (Spaghetti Western Edition)
The good: We have electricity
The bad: We have very low water pressure
The ugly: We just ran out of coffee
Oh, and the downright mean: Rain
The bad: We have very low water pressure
The ugly: We just ran out of coffee
Oh, and the downright mean: Rain
Saturday, September 13, 2008
We Want the Money, Lebowski
Having stolen the Mega Millions, Ike reveals itself as a looter. Does the remaining Dollar sign mean Ike has converted to a better performing foreign currency?
(Actually, somebody took down the sign the day before Ike blew in.)
Blowing Off Some Steam
I'm not sure this is how I want to use this page, but the following pissed me off.
The Chronicle posted this editorial earlier. For the most part, it's fine. The last line though is a load of shit.
Echoing (well, not quite) Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, the Chronicle says "The Chronicle shares that hope. But that hope comes, too, with more than a touch of frustration and annoyance at the shocking self-absorption of people who thought nothing of putting their own lives and those of potential rescuers at risk to avoid the inconvenience of heading for safety."
That is, simply, snide. "Shocking self-absorption." That is a shameful thing to say and, if they have any decency, they will retract it.
Really, the Chronicle should know better, given the history. In 2004, nearly 100 percent of Galveston residents evacuated from Rita. And they found themselves trapped on highways for as much as 30 hours, in part because the State of Texas had, essentially, no plan for the evacuation of the Gulf Coast region. That is not a small point: sitting on a Gulf Coast Texas highway with nothing but Governor Good Hair assuring you that gas tanker trucks are on their way (and, for the record, they were not) in September with thousands of others is an extremely dangerous situation.
Add to that the following:
Galveston residents had no reason to expect better performance from the state compared to 2004 or a more predictable landfall.
I'm sure some people made irresponsible decisions in choosing to stay. But I'm also sure that 40 percent of Galveston did not make decisions based simply on "shocking self-absorption." That phrase really turns up my blood pressure.
Further, the Chronicle doesn't know why these Galveston residents stayed. Had they interviewed even one resident when they published their editorial (notice the byline, showing a publication date of 7:40 a.m. on September 13)? They certainly don't quote any, other than Mayor Thomas.
Finally, the title of the editorial asks a simple and just question: "Why did thousands stay in Galveston?" And without a shred of evidence they criticize 20,000 people as being "shockingly self-absorbed"?
My main point is that we can all reserve judgment until later, when the facts are in. Is that the way journalism is still done?
Correction: Rita was in 2005, not 2004. Sorry.
The Chronicle posted this editorial earlier. For the most part, it's fine. The last line though is a load of shit.
Echoing (well, not quite) Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, the Chronicle says "The Chronicle shares that hope. But that hope comes, too, with more than a touch of frustration and annoyance at the shocking self-absorption of people who thought nothing of putting their own lives and those of potential rescuers at risk to avoid the inconvenience of heading for safety."
That is, simply, snide. "Shocking self-absorption." That is a shameful thing to say and, if they have any decency, they will retract it.
Really, the Chronicle should know better, given the history. In 2004, nearly 100 percent of Galveston residents evacuated from Rita. And they found themselves trapped on highways for as much as 30 hours, in part because the State of Texas had, essentially, no plan for the evacuation of the Gulf Coast region. That is not a small point: sitting on a Gulf Coast Texas highway with nothing but Governor Good Hair assuring you that gas tanker trucks are on their way (and, for the record, they were not) in September with thousands of others is an extremely dangerous situation.
Add to that the following:
- Rita hit well east, over the Texas-Louisiana border, adding insult to the injury of the evacuation process
- Ike's unpredictability
Galveston residents had no reason to expect better performance from the state compared to 2004 or a more predictable landfall.
I'm sure some people made irresponsible decisions in choosing to stay. But I'm also sure that 40 percent of Galveston did not make decisions based simply on "shocking self-absorption." That phrase really turns up my blood pressure.
Further, the Chronicle doesn't know why these Galveston residents stayed. Had they interviewed even one resident when they published their editorial (notice the byline, showing a publication date of 7:40 a.m. on September 13)? They certainly don't quote any, other than Mayor Thomas.
Finally, the title of the editorial asks a simple and just question: "Why did thousands stay in Galveston?" And without a shred of evidence they criticize 20,000 people as being "shockingly self-absorbed"?
My main point is that we can all reserve judgment until later, when the facts are in. Is that the way journalism is still done?
Correction: Rita was in 2005, not 2004. Sorry.
Power Outage Reports
The Chronicle is currently showing 2.1 million.
Bloomberg has 4.5 million.
Not sure why the discrepancy. The Chronicle is citing a Centerpoint spokesperson; Bloomberg has Centerpoint as well. I assume they are comparing different geographic areas. The Chronicle story looks to be about 2 hours older than the Bloomberg story.
One million people fled.
Update: The Chronicle has updated their story and the breakdown is now clearer. Centerpoint has 2.1 million customers without power, which translates to 4.5 million people. 395,000 Entergy customers are without power, and 113,000 Texas-New Mexico Power customers are without power. The Chronicle report says 5 million total are without power, but carrying out their conversion from Centerpoint customers to people, it looks like it could be closer to 6 million.
Another interesting factoid in the story: Ike damaged 30 percent of Centerpoint's system (the story makes it sound like this is the minimum estimate of damage).
Bloomberg has 4.5 million.
Not sure why the discrepancy. The Chronicle is citing a Centerpoint spokesperson; Bloomberg has Centerpoint as well. I assume they are comparing different geographic areas. The Chronicle story looks to be about 2 hours older than the Bloomberg story.
One million people fled.
Update: The Chronicle has updated their story and the breakdown is now clearer. Centerpoint has 2.1 million customers without power, which translates to 4.5 million people. 395,000 Entergy customers are without power, and 113,000 Texas-New Mexico Power customers are without power. The Chronicle report says 5 million total are without power, but carrying out their conversion from Centerpoint customers to people, it looks like it could be closer to 6 million.
Another interesting factoid in the story: Ike damaged 30 percent of Centerpoint's system (the story makes it sound like this is the minimum estimate of damage).
10:00 a.m. Press Conference
"We have no evidence that the water supply is contaminated." -- Mayor Bill White
However, Mayor White is repeating that residents need to conserve water and drink bottled water.
A pump at one of the water stations has gone down.
Judge Emmett is asking that residents verify with local officials that it is safe to re-enter evacuation zones.
Going to the courtyard now to take some pictures.
However, Mayor White is repeating that residents need to conserve water and drink bottled water.
A pump at one of the water stations has gone down.
Judge Emmett is asking that residents verify with local officials that it is safe to re-enter evacuation zones.
Going to the courtyard now to take some pictures.
"Misery is the River of the World"
Forty percent of Galveston residents stayed in place. Many began calling for help. Media is being asked not to photograph "certain things."
The story--from last night, so it has some dated information--is here.
"Everybody row." -- Tom Waits
The story--from last night, so it has some dated information--is here.
"Everybody row." -- Tom Waits
All is Well
Just woke up. We slept through a good portion of Ike and are doing well.
Utilities:
The news right now is showing a construction crane in downtown still standing, though it is twisting in the wind (did Nixon get a hold of it?).
We still have fairly heavy rain and wind.
Once I've had a chance to look over the news, I'll post some more links.
Utilities:
- Power shut off a couple of times last night, but never for longer than a few seconds.
- Water pressure has dropped considerably here, but we can still turn on the tap and flush the toilets. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on drinking water.
The news right now is showing a construction crane in downtown still standing, though it is twisting in the wind (did Nixon get a hold of it?).
We still have fairly heavy rain and wind.
Once I've had a chance to look over the news, I'll post some more links.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Weather No. 2
We're doing fine. The wind has started to pick up and lightning has started. No new pictures as it has gotten too dark. Buffalo Bayou looks like it is up from even a few hours ago and we haven't had any rain.
We can hear the creaking of the parking garage and in our building when gusts hit.
Right now we're enjoying what will likely be our last hot meal for a while. We chose...oatmeal. Needed to get our fiber in right before we can't flush the toilets anymore.
All things being equal, we're fine. We'll start filling the tub in a little while and may go to the game room when it comes in hard. Most posts will be through the Twitter page, but we'll try to synch that to the blogger page.
We can hear the creaking of the parking garage and in our building when gusts hit.
Right now we're enjoying what will likely be our last hot meal for a while. We chose...oatmeal. Needed to get our fiber in right before we can't flush the toilets anymore.
All things being equal, we're fine. We'll start filling the tub in a little while and may go to the game room when it comes in hard. Most posts will be through the Twitter page, but we'll try to synch that to the blogger page.
A Quick Thought
A few things I've noticed while out snapping pictures today:
- Police patrols (is that good or bad?)
- Humidity (then again, it is Houston)
- Quiet
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