Not Making This Up

On the FEMA "POD" hiccups:

While they declined to say what caused the problem, Houston Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said they had to take control today of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency was delivering supplies to sites all over Houston for them to be distributed to those in need.

Thousands were turned away empty-handed from several locations after waiting all day to receive food, water, ice and tarps to cover damaged rooftops and both elected officials vowed that would not be repeated.

They established 26 distribution sites, eliminating and consolidating others to ensure that supplies would make it well before they are open to waiting people.

"One job we have is to fight for the people we work for and we never forget that," White said. "There's a bunch of ice in the parking lot over in Reliant, and there's places to distribute it, and there's people in lines, then somebody screwed up. And we sorted it out."

White said he knew there was a problem when he passed a site and saw people waiting with no supplies at 10:30 a.m. He then asked Emmett, who has experience in logisitics and moving supplies, to see what was wrong. Emmett went to Reliant Stadium, where the trucks were being staged, and saw 200 trucks full of supplies in the parking lot.

Some did not arrive until about 1 p.m., meaning thousands waited for at least three hours before anything arrived.

"The effort to get emergency supplies out to the community has been streamlined," he said, pledging to work through the night to make sure the supplies make it on time. "We're going to continue that tonight."

It sounds to me like, and stop me if I am hearing this wrong, but... but... did a COMMUNITY ORGANIZER just swoop in and save the day? In a RED STATE?

...

I'm just sayin'.

Look and Leave

Thanks to the Mayor of Galveston, "look and leave" is my new favorite phrase.

As in:

"Are you going to the high school reunion?"
"I'll probably do a look and leave."

Maybe because it reminds me of the "kiss and ride" area at the DC Metro -- an oddly named lane for passenger drop-off.

In exchange for this new addition to my lexicon, I am giving up "hunker down" and I never want to hear it again. Maybe next time we all do a "sit and stay."

Getting to Know You, Neighbors

Because 75 percent of Houston is still without power there is a city-wide curfew, which is fitting as my high school reunion is this weekend and I just dyed my hair Angela Chase red and Jason is inexplicably jamming out to music from the mid-90s -- music that I might have listened too had I been a cooler kid, but instead I was listening to Enya. Mayor White says we should all stay home and talk amongst ourselves.

Earlier today, someone behind me in line at the convenience store asked the cashier, "Can you all cash lottery tickets? Yes? Sweet."

I turned around, incredulous, and asked: "You won the lottery this weekend?"

He won $50 from a scratch-off ticket. And was buying more scratch-off tickets. To scratch. In the dark. Because what else are you going to do?

Astounding.

Before and After

I made a small attempt at documentation...

Before:


After:


Where Did That Branch Go?


Oh, there it is.

Electricity is a beautiful thing

Since the power came back on I have been turning on every light in the house and then turning them all off, and then turning them back on again. When I am not basking in the glorious, incandescent glow, I am kissing the air conditioner on the mouth.

Running water is pretty great, too.

I did not get out today to take pictures because I have been too busy with my head in the freezer but these other people did.

Take a look.

In comparison, we were remarkably lucky.

So was this frog!


(via Vetteman98)

Looks like he found shelter under a cracked sunroof.

Thanks for all of your well-wishes. It is going to be a long time before things return to "normal" around here -- and even then, it will be a different breed of normal.

I Am Fine

No rain yet.

Here are some fun pictures (not mine) from my hood.

I am expecting scary winds and power outages. Will update soon.

Hurricane Ike Q&A

2:37 [Comment From cww]
Do you have any recommendations for pets? Our dog is an outside dog, and I don't want him to leave a brownie on my carpet. Can I tie him to a tree? We are in the Woodlands if this helps...

2:37 Eric Berger: I'd try to at least bring him in the garage if you can. Would you want to be tied to a tree during a hurricane?