Wife and Kids are safe

It's been an interesting 24 hours. Yesterday Dema and the kids left the house, drove 7 hours, and found themselves only 25 miles away. With the van's gas dropping below half a tank, she opted to come home.

This morning we heard the roads to Austin were relatively open, however, and with many hours before the storm makes landfall, we chose to try again. I packed Dema and the kids into my Prius (which had almost a full tank of gas) and they took off around 9AM. I just heard that they arrived in Austin, so they're safe and away.

Whew! now I'm hearing the first rains are hitting Galveston. Buckle up.

Yarr Weather

The first band of winds has hit Houston. There's no rain yet and the skies aren't even grey -- when you look up, all you see is a solid mass of fast-moving white clouds. It's still hot as hell out, too. The only thing that's noticeably different from any other day is the 20-mph steady wind that smacks you in the face when you go outside.

This is Yarr Weather, because it is now entirely appropriate to put your face into the wind, grin insanely, and shout "YARRR!"

Later on, when the winds are at 40 mph and projectiles are flying, it will no longer be Yarr Weather. It will be Time to Get Your Ass Inside Weather. I, however, am going to enjoy the Yarr Weather while it lasts.

Yarr Weather also marks the point where one should start drinking. Which I shall.

Dear America

At this very moment, I am kicking Hurricane Rita's ass. She is trying to crawl up your butt, and I am stopping her. Specifically, I am hitting her with a stick and shouting a lot.

You should all be highly appreciative of this vital service I am performing for you. Without people like me keeping macroscopic weather effects at bay, we would all be overrun by waterspouts, sandstorms and hot hail.

Hurricane Rita will likely intersect the coastline of America, and a certain amount of wind and rain will be experienced. However, when she comes ashore, she shall have been cowed. The edge of her aggression will have been blunted. Her will to wreak havoc will have been sapped. And that's because of me. You will all sleep comfortably in your beds tonight because I am beating Rita down. By the time she gets to you, she'll be a quivering wreck.

You can thank me later. I hear the wind howling. It's time to open some serious whoopass.

Vaya Con Dios,

Andrew J. Solberg
Storm-Beatin' Guy

(no subject)

Via omarius, a hugely appropriate quote from _Tempest_:

Here's neither bush nor shrub, to bear off
any weather at all, and another storm brewing