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Swish
09-10-2004, 03:13 PM
You knew this was bound to happen.

Swish

skewiff
09-10-2004, 03:49 PM
Glad it's not me.

Hang in there Chip B.

Tony

Chip_B
09-11-2004, 09:01 PM
You knew this was bound to happen.

Swish After two major hurricanes and an even bigger, badder one threatening, you wouldn't believe how jittery people are 'round here. Empty supermarket and home improvement store shelves, gas shortages, unprecedented evacuations, lengthy power outages, serious flooding, downed trees, full shelters that have to turn people away, thousands of people who've lost everything they owned, traffic snarls that extend all the way to Atlanta, no flights out, no hotel rooms, no place to go, and simple fear have had quite an affect on my fellow Floridians. Personally, I'm just damned sick of unplugging and bagging my computer equipment every other Friday before leaving work and wondering if I'm going to still have a job the following Monday (if MacDill AFB gets wiped out, the gov't can terminate our contract, no questions asked). As an added bonus, we'll be enjoying massive increases in our homeowner's insurance rates soon and Tampa Electric, which already charges the highest rates for electricity anywhere in the state, is seeking to 'substantially' raise its rates as well.

Obviously, the threat from hurricanes goes with living in this state, just as people in California live with earthquakes, people in the Midwest live with tornados (though we get those too), and people up north live with blizzards; but <i>three</i> major storms in just a little over a month?

But what the hell...life's a bee-atch and then you retire to Florida.

Nothing personal aimed at you, Swisher...just 'venting' my frustration at circumstances I have little control over. Besides, I thing the picture is pretty funny, especially since the arrow points to my house. There's even an upside to this insanity: Florida was just voted 'Most Awesome Disaster State' by the Weather Channel.

Swish
09-12-2004, 06:02 AM
After two major hurricanes and an even bigger, badder one threatening, you wouldn't believe how jittery people are 'round here. Empty supermarket and home improvement store shelves, gas shortages, unprecedented evacuations, lengthy power outages, serious flooding, downed trees, full shelters that have to turn people away, thousands of people who've lost everything they owned, traffic snarls that extend all the way to Atlanta, no flights out, no hotel rooms, no place to go, and simple fear have had quite an affect on my fellow Floridians. Personally, I'm just damned sick of unplugging and bagging my computer equipment every other Friday before leaving work and wondering if I'm going to still have a job the following Monday (if MacDill AFB gets wiped out, the gov't can terminate our contract, no questions asked). As an added bonus, we'll be enjoying massive increases in our homeowner's insurance rates soon and Tampa Electric, which already charges the highest rates for electricity anywhere in the state, is seeking to 'substantially' raise its rates as well.

Obviously, the threat from hurricanes goes with living in this state, just as people in California live with earthquakes, people in the Midwest live with tornados (though we get those too), and people up north live with blizzards; but <i>three</i> major storms in just a little over a month?

But what the hell...life's a bee-atch and then you retire to Florida.

Nothing personal aimed at you, Swisher...just 'venting' my frustration at circumstances I have little control over. Besides, I thing the picture is pretty funny, especially since the arrow points to my house. There's even an upside to this insanity: Florida was just voted 'Most Awesome Disaster State' by the Weather Channel.

and I had no doubt that you were not aiming your hostility my way. The postcard cracked me up though, but not because I think the storms are funnny obviously. I've seen firsthand the devastation of a recent tornado that wiped out a housing development in my area, (yes, we got a couple nasty tornadoes right here in South Central PA this summer if you can believe it), and the flooding from Hurricane Hazel way back in 1972 that destoyed many homes and businesses in my town as well as many surrounding towns. I wouldn't wish this kind of disaster upon anyone short of Osama Bin Laden, and I wish you, your family, friends, neighbors, all Floridians and residents of nearby states that have been hit hard (North Carolina has been declared a national disaster area) by all of these storms, a fast recovery. I'm sure our president and your governor will be working overtime to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Please keep us informed so we know what's happening down there.

Stay well Chip!
Swish

Chip_B
09-12-2004, 10:56 AM
and I had no doubt that you were not aiming your hostility my way. The postcard cracked me up though, but not because I think the storms are funnny obviously. I've seen firsthand the devastation of a recent tornado that wiped out a housing development in my area, (yes, we got a couple nasty tornadoes right here in South Central PA this summer if you can believe it), and the flooding from Hurricane Hazel way back in 1972 that destoyed many homes and businesses in my town as well as many surrounding towns. I wouldn't wish this kind of disaster upon anyone short of Osama Bin Laden, and I wish you, your family, friends, neighbors, all Floridians and residents of nearby states that have been hit hard (North Carolina has been declared a national disaster area) by all of these storms, a fast recovery. I'm sure our president and your governor will be working overtime to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Please keep us informed so we know what's happening down there.

Stay well Chip!
Swish Thanks Paul--I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from. It looks like our area may catch a break as the storm is pushing farther to the west than was anticipated earlier. There's still no way to tell what will happen for sure though.

If you're interested in seeing just how truly unpredictable a hurricane's track can be, go to http://b.www.orlandoweather.com/index.html and click on 'storm tracker'. When the tracking screen pops up, go to 'historical storms' on the top pull down menu and then click on 'Betsy (1965)' in the pull down menu directly below it. The track that storm took defies all logic. Also, run Charley's track after Ivan's (Ivan's track will run as soon as the screen pops up). The tracks are nearly identical.

-Chip