Advice needed for preparing for a hurricane

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BobL43

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Oh trust me..you CAN afford it right now. Getting a JOB, that's a different story. As for the cost of living...yes gas is a little high. Last time I bought a winter coat or boots? 1962. Last time I had a 3 digit bill for heat in the winter? NEVER

Last electric bill for the Summer: 800 bucks for 2 months usage. The KWhr rate plus the taxes and surcharges and other crazy fees bring the actual cost per KWhr to a super high rate. Gasoline price today: average $3.83/gal. Price up a little today, maybe because of hurricane coming this way

Me being semi-retired, I really don't need a job anymore:p. The company I retired from asked me to come back part time, which I did. the money does come in handy. Mortgage paid off years ago. What I meant was with the real estate market the way it is right now, my house is worth 30% less than it was several years ago. I don't know if San Diego real estate depreciated as much to make a home purchase affordable. Anyway, as long as my kids live here on Long Island, I'm sure me and my wife will remain here. :)
 

Pipehacker

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BobL and Ian, I wish you the best over the weekend. I predict that you will get some heavy rains and wind, but no real damage. Be safe.
 

Terry

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Hurricane Irene could be a major problem for the Eastern Seaboard

Hurricane Irene could be a major problem for the Eastern Seaboard

This is a large, this is a deadly, this is a slow-moving hurricane that is bearing down on the state of Maryland,†said O’Malley, who has declared a state of emergency. “There will no doubt be a lot of flooding. Citizens should anticipate long periods of electrical outages.â€

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...th-to-urgency/2011/08/26/gIQAZh2vfJ_blog.html

Washington Examiner: “‘It will be some of the worst weather that I can remember,’ Accuweather’s Brian Edwards told the Examiner. ‘We’re anticipating high winds, widespread power outages, trees coming down and rapidly rising streams and creeks.’â€


WJLA-Channel 7: “Weather Channel anchor says this has the possibililty to become ‘the hurricane of our lifetime.’â€

Ian,
This sounds like exiting stuff coming your way.
 

BobL43

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Hurricane Irene could be a major problem for the Eastern Seaboard


WJLA-Channel 7: “Weather Channel anchor says this has the possibililty to become ‘the hurricane of our lifetime.’â€

Ian,
This sounds like exiting stuff coming your way.


Part of living in the good ole USA.:) Yee HA!

Ian gets it, then me.
 

BobL43

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Good thing Georgia isn't going to get hit.
I just read in a magazine that people who worry more live longer than extreme optimists. I guess you've proved that wrong Cookie. You are a SURVIVOR extrordinaire. Me, I'm a worrier sometimes, so I guess that article will work for me. My daughter went through Hodgkins and later breast cancer. She is a survivor too, and also has a very positive outlook on life, and not easily alarmed anymore, if she ever was.
 

Cookie

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Ah, Bob, so sorry about your daughter having to go through this with Mr. Hodgkins. I bet she and I was on the same drugs. I spent 16 months on ABVD for HD, then, a range of other drugs for the other 4 years for NHL. Actually, I do worry, just not about me. Your kids absorb all the worry a body can take. My youngest son is heading to Georgia, now that will make me crazy right now. :) I would like to be behind him in my car, trailing him down there, just like I did, when he first walked to school. I was always the one behind the bush moving.

Bob, I know I have been through more than most, but, I have never and nor, will I ever consider myself a survivior; don't underestimate insanity, it works. ;)
 

Cookie

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Bob sorry to hear, too, she had to suffer through breast cancer. That was not kind to her. It is heritary, my mom had it. But, if I had my choice on these matters, I would rather have Mr. Hodgkins. Don't know why. I remember telling my boys when I was first diagnosed ( they were pretty young, 12 &13) to make sure they feel for lumps & bumps down there. They just sat there as still as could be, like statutes. I asked my husband when alone, why they were just sitting there like that? He then, told me, that they came to him, saying, " dad, are these normal to have?" LOL.... Soooooo, if you get what I am saying here, and laughing, then, you know, that sometimes, even the big c, can be funny.
 

Ian Gills

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I now have enough beer to see me through. It was that or baby formula but you can't drink baby formula for breakfast.

Just two things left to do. Charge the spare battery for the battery backup sump pump.

And check the sump pit.

Thank God I am relying on an American-made sump pump and not an American-made car.
 
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Ballvalve

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My future will probably rely on a Zoeller 507 battery backup sump pump and two deep discharge marine batteries (and my car battery if the forecast gets any worse).

Hard rain and a power cut and my basement is a gonna after the batteries run out. This might be a good test of the 507. It's never been used before.

If the power goes, I won't be sleeping at all. I'll be hunched over the sump pit with a torch!

And a warm beer.

I'll get the inverter out to keep the Corner going, assuming the network is still up.

Memoirs from the sump pit...

Better plan to RUN the car with some monster cable to the pump if you get 20+ inches of rain.

But in that case the main drains will be flooded and your basement toilet will be a geyser.

And most education in the USA is free for those with a molecule of drive.

Hurricane? piece of cake compared to the fireball 800' high of forest burning that is moving my way right now. Gotta go gas up the generator and get the roof sprinklers on. Do what I did Ian, tunnel 100' into the mountain and fill it with wine, booze and food.
 
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Ian Gills

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You should do what I did Ballvalve and cut that forest down.

It's not European growth after all.
 

Cookie

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So you are now a proud papa Ian? That is such good news. Boy or girl or one of each? Nothing better than kids. I am thinking about adopting a kid here, one just like me, with same health problems. If I will be allowed, if not, I will continue with the Miracle League.

I have been reading that Georgia will be spared with this Hurricane. I guess I can rest easy with him leaving tomorrow night.
 

Ballvalve

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You should do what I did Ballvalve and cut that forest down.

It's not European growth after all.

I did, most of it, and built the house with it. Sugar and Ponderosa pine, but the part that burns and is the "ladder" fuel is Manzanita and buckbrush. Its all 2nd and 3rd growth anyway as your genius Cornish miners packed our forests deep into the gold mines many generations ago. [ not a cut, these Cornish miners were the BEST on earth]

Loaded about 40,000 pounds of pine onto the trailer destined for my sawmill just today, even with a forest fire burning our way.

And its so amazing in that there is another billion pounds of pine that I have no time to cut and the mills are too far away to be interested.

[B]
That's called "investing in people", which America does not do. China does though. You need to understand the big picture to get it. To care about your community, not just your family. To care about people you do not know and will never meet, because if they do good then so will you
.
[/B]

China invests in people? Yes, as slaves, backhoes, loaders, and beasts of burden to move their homes from the path of the rising waters of that absolute disaster of a dam that will eventually send them entirely to coal and nuclear. Lesser and mildly slower disasters.

China needs the ONE BABY plan continued, or our next BIG ugly war will be much sooner.
 
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wmills

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Hope any who have to face Irene do it with no problem. I know its late but a few things to do, Make sure all yard items are tied down or stored in a safe place. If you have an inground pool the best thing to do with yard furniture is to drop it into the pool. It will prevent anything from being blown like a bullet. Even a category one is nothing to fool with. Looks like this one is going to be relatively slow which means as long as it sits over the ocean it will suck up water and lay it down on land. I always prefer a fast moving one. Ian I hope by the time it gets to you it has run aground so it will start to starve itself down. My oldest son is right in an area that will probably be well soaked but he is at least on high enough ground that flooding should not be a problem.

Good Luck to all
 

Ian Gills

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Thanks wmills. I'm nearly ready. I'll move the furniture in now.

The real fight will be between the storm, my two Zoeller sump pumps and my two Optima blue top marine batteries.

Will the flimsy 507 do it or be a let down? I think she'll hold up.

Then it's Bob's problem.
 

Cookie

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Ian, you might want to look into dry ice, if you can still. It was useful for us when we lived in Tornado alley with 2 small babies, to keep their stuff cold. Back then, in the 80's meds for diabetics had to be refrigerated, dry ice works well. People forget when a big storm hits, pharmacies are closed, and it doesn't hurt to have in an extra 30 day supply of much needed meds. After the storm passes, most roads will be closed except for Emergency vehicles, so if you needs meds like for diabetes, etc, now is the time to still do it.

Good luck, stay safe and have some fun! Especially if you got kids of any age, put their minds to ease they will be fine. I made a backsake which was waterproof for my boys, with things like coloring books, ect for them. And, little snack items, apples, little drink boxes. And, I also packed them a headphone set with their little tapes in it, so, they couldn't hear the racket as well.

http://www.dryiceinfo.com/
 
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LLigetfa

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The real fight will be between the storm, my two Zoeller sump pumps and my two Optima blue top marine batteries.
You should be able to take turns recharging those batteries with your car alternator if you don't have a generator.

Once, 13 years ago, I needed to rent a generator to run my sump pump. The house was just being built and the power had not yet been hooked up. I have a generator now but have not had a need to use it.
 
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