Diary of a Network Geek

Hilda and I had a nice walk to 290.
It was really quiet out there, but we heard some folks doing some last minute work boarding up their houses or trimming trees. There were a few cars out, looking for gas, I’d presume. We walked all the way up to the feeder road and the gas station on the corner was closed and had all the pumps marked with “empty” signs. I assume they ran out sometime yesterday. Sadly, the closer we got to the highway, the nastier things got. Garbage everywhere. Food wrapers and empty bottles all over. Apparently, it didn’t occur to anyone to save their bottles for water later. More’s the pity. What got me, though, were the dirty, disposable diapers. I must have seen at least a dozen in the last block or so before the highway. Obviously, lots of people were getting off 290 and just leaving their crap, literally, where it dropped. Not their neighborhood, so they don’t care what a mess they leave it.
At least there didn’t seem to be too many cars that were abandoned. We didn’t go up on the actual highway, which is pretty well raised, but the feeder road was clear. There were some cars parked in the gas station and at the O’Reily’s Autoparts store. I hope whoever was in the one with the handicap plate made it to safety. We did meet one little family on our way back. They were doing about the same thing I was: just looking around. Not much else to do. The laundry is done, but I still have to fold it, and the dishwasher is running.
I stopped at the neighbors across the street, since they were out smoking. I introduced myself and let them know I was staying, in case anyone needed anything. They were pretty well drunk already. The one guy who introduced himself reeked of beer. But, everyone was friendly and they said if I got lonely, or whatever, to come on over. Incidentally, the walk actually seemed to help my back. I’m feeling much better, but I’m still going to keep taking ibuprofin, just in case.

My plan, incidentally, is to start drinking my beer when the storm is at least half over. Not sure how I’ll know that, but every plan has flaws. Then, when we lose power, I’ll start cooking and eating everything as it thaws out. When I can’t eat anymore, I’ll just keep cooking everything and keep it cool, or warm, depending. In between, I figure I’ll take cat naps and as soon as I can, I’ll start eating and drinking again. And, really, I’m only half-kidding about this. I really will start cooking a couple hours after we lose power. If we lose power.
Okay, so that’s damn optimistic, but, still, the way things are going, we could actually not lose electricity. That would be totally sweet! But, I’m not really expecting that. Also, you might be interested to know, I’m backing up my blog every other post now. That way, if the servers go away in the storm, I can restore all these posts and comments.
God, I am such a geek.

Making busy work now.
The laundry is in the dryer now. I’ve filled the tub with water for the dog to drink and for flushing. The sinks upstairs are filled, too. Tonight, I’ll fill at least one of the kitchen sinks and, probably, the bathroom sink, too. The dishwasher is ready to go. I’ll start that when I take the dog out for a walk in a few minutes. I thought I’d wander down towards 290 one last time to see what that looks like today.
I checked in one last time with a couple of friends here in Houston. One tried to talk me into going to the dog park with him, but I don’t want to use the gas until I know how things are going to look next week. I hope we won’t lose power, but I expect we will. No power means that there’s no way to pump gass. They might have it, but all the pumps use electricity, so there wouldn’t be a way to pump it. My other friend was freaking out last night to the point of trying to head to Brenham and Austin, but hit a wall of traffic and decided to come back. I’m a little frightened that I’m calmer than he is. I do believe that it is a sign of the End Times when your Uncle Jim becomes the voice of calm and reason, gentle readers.

If I have time, and power and Internet connection enough, I may post the mental list I’ve been making of survival gear that I would like to have bought for this. And, that I plan on buying after this is all over. Top of the list, a shotgun!
Well, the wind is starting to pick up some, so I better walk the dog if I’m going to do that. More later, if I can!

Well, there’s really not much to do.
Okay, I am doing two last loads of laundry, just so everything is clean, in case we lose power and water and everything. And, when that’s done, I’ll do one last load of dishes, again, just so everything is clean. I’ll check the fence one last time and make sure any loose boards are nailed down tight. Though, honestly, I doubt a lot of my fence will withstand 100 mile-per-hour winds. Still, if I can hold more of it together and keep it from becoming a hazard to me and my neighbors, that would be good.
It’s actually a really nice day, so far. It’s not too hot and the sun is still shining here. There’s a bit of a breeze, which is nice, but that is picking up some ominous speed. Just a few minutes ago, I was out in my backyard and there were all kinds of butterflies and dragonflies out there. And, still, a bumper crop of humming birds. Not sure what’s up with that this year, but I’ve been enjoying them this morning. The dog is just starting to get the hint that something is different. At first, the back patio being cleared of all obstructions was just a novelty to her, but, now, she seems a little curious about what is going on. She slept on the bed with me last night. Her namesake, Hildagard von Bingen, was a prophetess, but I think my Hilda just senses that her daddy is extra tense and on edge.
Or, it may be that I’m hurting a little this morning. I wrenched my back a little yesterday getting one of my ex-wife’s plants into the garage. She had this frangiapani from her grandmother, by way of her mother, I think, that she was always so concerned about. I think she’s either forgotten it or totally abandoned it, but, just in case she changes her mind about it, I’ve put it into the garage for safety’s sake. (And, yes, I’m hoping that she still obsessively reads my blog and sees that I’m taking care of it for her. Maybe that will inspire her to stop telling her daughter lies about me. Probably not, but, I’m an optimist, so hope springs eternal.)
The people I really feel sorry for are the folks that just started moving back to New Orleans. Right now, they’re getting rain dumped on them. The hurricane hasn’t even made landfall yet, though it will in just hours, and NOLA is already getting worse. Those poor people.
I’m glad I stayed, based on what I saw of people trying to get out. I hope my fellow Houston bloggers who did make a run for it got where they were going safely. When the dust settles from all of this, I’m looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible!

Tired of Latin?
At least, are you tired of using that classic “lorem ipsum” Latin text in your demos? Well, why not try Geek Machine next time! You can generate test text in styles including; Hillbilly, Marketing, Matrix, Metropolitan, Pseudo German, and Techno Babble. Some of them are really pretty good, too. Hey, at least it’s a change from the tired, old Latin.
Now, if they’d only add in Lovecraftian or Tekumelani or, even, Nostrodamusian….

Okay, I dare you to use this on your next corporate development project. Just fill in some Techno Babble or Marketing speech and see who notices. Just make sure to do it on a Freaky Fun Friday!

One last update before bed.
If you’ve been reading my blog and not watching the news, there have been some important developments. First, the mayor has cancelled the forced evacuation of Houston and asked that anyone who has virtually any reason to not leave turn back. The grid-lock has gotten quite dangerous and folks are running out of gas and water out on the road. So far, I haven’t seen any reports of violence in all that insanity, but I’m just waiting.
Second, and perhaps more important, the hurricane has taken a bit of a turn. Now, it looks like we’ll be getting the Western side of the storm, which is the softer side. Unfortunately, it looks like Louisiana is already getting some of the dirty side, which means a lot more water for them. Still not sure where landfall will be, but it looks like it will be closer to Beaumont or the border than dead on in Houston. It’s good news for us, but bad news for poor souls that have already been tested beyond belief.
At this point, I’m not even sure I’ll loose power Saturday, but maybe I’m being overly optimistic. And, with that news, I’m headed for bed.

Okay, I’ve checked in with everyone I can reach.
I made contact with everyone in my family that I could reach today and let them know my plans. I also talked to a lot of friends here in Houston about who was going and staying and what not. Several have left the city, but quite a few are here, somewhere, riding out the storm. I have one friend, Steve, who works at the zoo and he’s either headed for Huntsville, or he’ll stay at the zoo with the brave folks who are staying behind there to deal with the animals in the hurricane.
One friend of mine who works out by me, Tom, stopped by on his way home. This was a couple of hours ago and 290 was a giant parking lot. I walked with him back to his car and, on the way, we got stopped twice by people trying to take side-streets to 45. I had to explain to them that they were miles from 45 and the best way to get there was Beltway 8. Not a great solution, to be sure, but it was still the best way. I also sent Tom home with a good-sized bag of semi-frozen soy beans. I had some things start to thaw on me in my back freezer because I overloaded it a bit, so I decided to start cooking some of those vegetables and eating them. I started with the soy beans because they’re the tastiest and, after cooking them, can be kept cold for a snack.
I also tied down my grill and my wrought-iron-and-wood bench. I have a covered patio and several of the supports are sunk into concrete. I tied them both off to two of those supports and I think we’ll be okay. The garbage cans went into the garage already, just in case we start getting high winds tonight. I wish I could do something with that fountain, but it’s really just too heavy. I’ll probably double check the fence in the morning, to make sure nothing’s loose. I’m really worried about my roof, though. I’m sure I’ll lose some shingles, at least. I hope I don’t have more damage than that. I’m also concerned about losing sections of the roof on my car port and my covered patio. Nothing I can do about either one, but I still worry about it.

Honestly, at this point, there’s not much else to do, but watch the news and wait. And, try not to worry too much. At this point, it’s pretty well in God’s hands. All I can do is pray. If you’re the praying kind, I’d appreciate you praying for everyone here in the Houston area. I know I will be. I may not post more tonight, but I will definately post more tomorrow. Oh, and I do have a Friday Fun post queued for tomorrow morning. Hurricane or not, the fun goes on!

Well, I’ve cleaned most of the porch of potential projectiles.
I got the plants and little things and the cheap plastic chairs all cleaned off the back patio. I still have to get the garbage cans inside and tie down the grill and bench. Everything else is either light enough to forget about, like leaves and small twigs, or is too heavy to move, like the fountain. The working car is in the garage and there’s no room for the other one. I found a whole bunch of old kitty liter containers that I’ll fill with water for flushing the toilet, before I throw that last hose into the garage. After that, it’s just time to hunker down and wait.
I’ve had several people call to check in with me today. My sister-in-law, who can’t understand why I haven’t left yet, up in Palatine. My former in-laws (ie. my wife’s family), called to say that they were bugging out, then decided to stay because of the impassable traffic. I’ve checked in with a couple of friends from church. I had two guys who thought they might come stay with me, but they ended up heading somewhere else.

Well, I’m staying.
As long as I have an Internet connection and power, I’ll keep posting. I’m out in Jersey Village, which is 80 miles from the coast, roughly. Now, if you’re not familiar with Jersey Village, it has a reputation for flooding, but, not to worry, I’m on the highest point in JV. In fact, four years ago, after Tropical Storm Allison, we chose this house because it was one of the few that was high and dry. And, they’ve spent the past four years improving the way JV handles water runoff and such, so I’m pretty sure that I’ll be okay. I imagine that it will be a little crazy around here, but, I hope, the worst case scenario is that we’ll lose power for a couple of days. I hope.
Anyway, I’m staying. I’ll be tying down anything I’m afraid might fly away and dragging stuff into the garage tomorrow. Tomorrow night, I’m going to go have dinner with someone who’s also staying out in this area. My company shut down today, so that people could evacuate tomorrow, if need be, which means I’ll be home most of the day doing nothing. I guess I’ll read, watch the news, play with the dog and blog. After I get the other work done. Oh, and I’ll probably be praying, too.
Don’t worry about me, though. I have quite a bit of food and water. And, I have a natural gas stove and a wood-burner for backup. (All of which, I think I’ve already mentioned.) I’ve called my parents and my one sister who worries more than I do. I’m not sure what she thinks she can do for me up in Northern Illinois when the hurricane hits, but, well, I guess I’ll have to be sure to call her when it passes through and I’m okay. Oh, I also have batteries and candles and lots of frozen water, too, to try and keep the freezer and refridgerator cool if the power goes out. As for the rest, well, I guess I’ll just have to ride it out.
This is NOT why I wanted to live in Houston. Far too much excitement for this old man. Far too much!

Yeah, I’m sure this has been a lot of people’s minds lately.
I know that I’ve been more worried about this than I have been in a long time. So many things to go wrong that could stop a business. Luckily, the folks over at InformIT have a couple of guides to help us deal with this. First, there’s the general Disaster Recovery, Part I article. This implies that there will be a Part II, but, so far, Part I is all we have. It’s a good overview of all the things you’ll need to worry about when setting up a disaster recovery plan. And, it has lots of links to other sites that give more in depth information about particular flavors of disaster.
The other article over at InformIT that caught my attention on this topic was on developing a Business Continuity Emergency Communications Plan. Trust me, after all the finagling that I’ve been doing with the satellite phones and adding people to our antique phone switch in the Houston office, this is a really big deal. And, I haven’t even mentioned all the issues with cell phones from New Orleans, either. For the better part of a week, all the cells over there were down, so no one could get through via a NOLA area code, even via cell phone. Luckily, we could just add a bunch of cell phones to our account with Houston phone numbers, but that would have gone smoother if we’d had a plan.
Really, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having all this work done ahead of time. I should have made it a priority as soon as I started here, but, what with the divorce and all, it just didn’t seem like the most important thing. Luckily we’ve adapted and done well. Next time, though, next time… And, trust me, there’s always a “next time”. So, take a little advice from your Uncle Jim and start working on your Disaster Recovery Plan NOW.

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"That old law 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind."
   --Martin Luther King

I don’t like hurricanes.
Or tropical storms. Honestly, if I didn’t know that every generation since the crucifixion has thought so, I’d say the end times were nigh! Look at it from a Yankee’s perspective. You already have giant, flying bugs. Up North, we made a pact with God that such things were not to happen. We’d stop the human sacrifice, if He’d stop making bugs over six inches that fly. Then, there’s the weather… Sure, up North we have to deal with the odd blizzard, but that’s a walk in the park compared to this hurricane/tropical storm business.
I mean, my life was hard enough when Katrina hit one state over, so I can’t hardly imagine what it’s going to be like when this Rita bitch makes landfall. Have you ever noticed that they always name these things after women? As a recently divorced man, I felt the obligation to point that out.
Anyway, here I am, still exhausted from the last two weeks of horrendous work as a result of “adapting” to Katrina fallout and now, I have to worry about Rita. Oh, and someone told me today that our building tends to flood. I have five comuters on the floor of my cube alone. Oh, I think this is going to be messy. And, yesterday, when I went to the store, there was hardly any water left. People are already starting to panic. Not good. Very not good. Suddenly, sunny Houston seems dark, dismal and dangerous. Very, very not good.

And, what if I have to make a run for it? Where will I go? How will I cope with that and my precious, little dog, too? I know I should be doing “stuff” to prepare, but, honestly, in the face of something this big, what can I do? Hoard water, canned food and batteries. Pray. But, really, that’s about it.
Wow, winter in Chicago sure seems nice right about now.

On a lighter note, I was invited to an opening today. Friday, a friend of mine, Mark Flood (Warning! This site may contain adult images!), is showing his art at the Glassell School on Montrose. This is, I believe, his first exhibit as a full-time artist, though he’s been selling art for more than a decade. Gosh, I’ll have to wear black and go buy some clove cigarettes!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Man is the only kind of varmint that sets his own trap, baits it, and steps in it."
   --John Steinbeck