Hurricane Ike In Fort Worth Video

Hurricane Ike has been blowing and dropping rain for hours today. If you didn't know it was a hurricane you would think it was just any old regular rainstorm with a little wind. That goes on all day long.

So, about 5 or so I decided to go over to Miss Puerto Rico's and see if I could get some windy video. That didn't work out so well.

So, I decided to take a short drive. To the Post Office. It's a short distance away. So, the video below starts at my local Post Office and then I head back towards where I am now. On the way I went through the Albertsons parking lot and remarked that as long as I've lived here I've never driven through the Albertsons parking lot and not seen at least one obese Texan.

The video below ends with the windy view from the aforementioned Miss Puerto Rico's.

Saturday Morning Weather Service Hurricane Ike North Texas Update

I wasn't sure in the previous blogging if it was the outskirts of Ike I was seeing and feeling this morning while swimming. but the latest update, below, from the National Weather Service, confirms we are already experiencing Hurricane Ike here in the D/FW Metroplex.

A Hurricane wind warning is in effect along and east of a line from Athens to Hearne. A tropical storm wind warning is in effect along and east of a line from Jacksboro...to Stephenville...to Gatesville. A flash flood watch is in effect east of I-35. At 9 AM...the center of ike was just northeast of Huntsville. Heavy rain has begun to impact Robertson and Leon counties...and the rain will increase in intensity and areal coverage as ike moves north at around 20 mph. Rainfall rates may exceed 3 inches per hour. The center of ike is expected to be near the southeastern corner of Anderson County around noon. Outer rain bands have already reached the I-35 corridor...from Dallas/Fort Worth to Waco. These and additional rain bands will affect much of north Texas throughout the day...with intermittent rain and wind. Residents are urged to be aware of the potential for flooding even in areas outside the flash flood watch. Northerly winds of 20 to 30 mph have enveloped central and east Texas...and will continue to....

Alma Made It To Safe Harbor From Hurricane Ike

I got word from Alma, the Port Aransas songbird, that she made it to safety. She does not have access to a computer, yet. When she does she'll share the details of being an evacuee.

Matt Damon Opines About Sarah Palin

Hurricane Ike Has Arrived In Fort Worth

That's the view from my window this morning. We are not going to get a direct visit from Hurricane Ike here in Fort Worth. But his outskirts are already touching us.

I was swimming this morning about 8 and could see the clouds moving in the direction Ike was rotating. So, I assumed it was the outer edge of the hurricane.

After about 20 minutes of swimming it suddenly got a bit windy. And then with no pre-warning drips, a downpour started. Two hours later the rain has slowed, but the winds have picked up.

I believe it is several hours before the remains of Hurricane Ike get this far north. Watching TV a bit ago, Ike hasn't really totally moved out of Galveston and Houston yet.

It should be an interesting day.

Texas Headache Cure

I used to get headaches all the time. It impacted my ability to enjoy most anything. I was either worried I'd get a headache. Or I'd get a headache.

Going to any family thing was a guaranteed headache.

I recollect going to the Western Washington State Fair, knows as "The Puyallup", only once, without getting a headache.

I remember going to the Vancouver World's Fair back in 1986, twice, both times getting memorably horrible headaches. I remember one of them was so bad my eyes felt like they were bleeding and I got lost heading back to the border. If you've ever tried to find the U.S. border after midnight on the Canadian roads you know it's a living hell and could give you a headache if you didn't already have one.

I took my oldest nephews to Vegas the summer before I moved to Texas. The first 2 days I had a splitting headache.

The first 2 days of any road trip I would always get a splitting painful throbbing headache.

Even Chinese food used to give me a headache. But I think that was MSG caused, before that stuff ceased being used.

And then I moved to Texas. I did not get a headache on the first 2 days of the 6 day move to Texas.

I don't recollect having a headache the entire time I've been in Texas. But then my memory can be a bit faulty.

The only time I do remember a Texas-related headache was in early August of 2001 when I drove myself back to Washington. I had a headache by the time I was out of Texas. That first night, in Pueblo, Colorado, I thought my head was going to explode. When I woke up the next morning, the headache had not gone away. It stayed with me all that next day until the part of Wyoming where you enter Utah and you drop elevation thousands of feet into the Salt Lake basin. Suddenly I was headache free.

Was that headache related somehow to knowing I was heading to an event in Washington that involved the relatives and others? I don't know. I suspect not, because I saw the relatives and others up in Washington in the past month or so. And they provided plenty of headache material, but I did not get one, not a single headache. Painful memories. Yes. Headaches. No.

The only thing I can think of that has cured my chronic headaches is Texas. How Texas cured my chronic headaches, I have no idea. Being able to do stuff outside year around? The extended HOT weather? More BBQ? The water? Less exposure to toxic people? I don't know. But if I had to hazard a guess, I go with the last option. It's the only clear variable that I can discern.

All I know for sure is life is an awful lot nicer knowing I can now do just about anything, be stuck on a plane for 6 hours, be stuck with an annoying person for days, be up in Washington for a month and not get a headache.

It's a miracle. Thank you Texas. I'm forever grateful.

Incoming Goofy George From A Goofy Georgian

The Georgia Magnolia known as Lauri the Chippy sent me an amusing video that made me wonder how anyone can think Sarah Palin isn't qualified to be president if this goober was. For 8 years....

Help Cuba Recover From Hurricane Ike

I was appalled to read this morning that the U.S. offered the Cubans a paltry $100,000 to help with their Ike aftermath. And to send in some damage assessment teams.

The Cubans said no thanks to the money and that they had the damage assessment under control.

But the Cubans politely asked, would you pretty please lift the trade restrictions so that we can buy lumber and other building supplies? And if you could also pretty please sell us some food supplies, on credit, that would also be helpful.

Our benevolent government said no to the Cuban plea.

We've had Cuba under an embargo for decades now. To what purpose? The Soviet Union is gone. Cuba no longer has a communist patron. China is still, supposedly, communist, be we trade with them like maniacs. And China has nukes. And an awful lot of Chinese. Cuba is just a little island that drives around in American cars from the 50s.

Cuba poses no threat to America. America does pose a threat to Cuba.

I think it's time to be good neighbors and even though we don't like our neighbor's way of doing things, they are still our neighbors. And they need help. And if we help our neighbors it is more likely we'll get them to think of us more kindly and be more open to our suggestions as to how they run their house, than if we treat them like the bad neighbors from hell.

Yes, I know the anti-Castro Cuban-Americans in Florida would go all ballistic if the U.S. suddenly adopted a more enlightened policy towards our communist neighbor.

But. It's the right thing to do. Any country that gave us Ricky Ricardo, I want to be friends with.

Below is video of what Cuba just went through with Hurricane Ike. I wonder if Cuba will offer to send in a damage assessment team tomorow to Texas? And $100,000.

Hurricane Ike Hitting Galveston Hard

That's the view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony at about 3 pm here in Fort Worth. While watching the news about Hurricane Ike while I had lunch I heard a Fort Worth weather guy say the clouds we are seeing are Ike related, pushed ahead of the storm.

Twelve hours before Ike is expected to hit Galveston the storm surge is so strong and the waves so big that they are already over the seawall. And I was surprised to see Geraldo Rivera knocked down, so early into the storm, into what he described as very dirty water. Emergency workers helped Geraldo get upright. He assured them he was okay.

I've been to Galveston once. Loved it. But I was surprised to see so many structures built out over the water. I assumed, even though some of them looked a bit rickety, that they were built to withstand a hurricane. As usual, I was wrong.

Even before Hurricane Ike has officially arrived in Galveston damage is already being done. The pier to the fishing pier/beer bar you see in the photo has already been wiped out. Or so it appeared from what I was being shown on FOX NEWS.

I thought the seawall was supposed to protect Galveston from a repeat of the hurricane disaster of 1900. Maybe it will. But it doesn't look good with water already surging over the wall. That's the Galveston seawall on the right.

To see photos from my one and only trip to Galveston and some of the other structures built out over the water and now in danger, go here.

Hurricane Ike 11:22 AM CDT Weather Service North Texas Update

It's 1pm. It's getting a bit cloudy and windy. I've no idea if it is Hurricane Ike related. That map on the left shows the latest National Weather Service prediction of the areas of Texas that Ike will be felt.

The red zone is the Hurricane Advisory zone, the yellow is Non-Participatory zone, whatever that means. Dark green is a Flood Warning zone, light green means a Flood Watch.

Dallas/Fort Worth is in the red Hurricane Advisory zone. I've never been in a Hurricane Advisory zone before, that I know of.

Here's the latest Hurricane Ike warning from the National Weather Service....

TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 1 AM CDT SUNDAY UNTIL 5:45PM CDT

Hurricane Ike Local Statement... Corrected National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 1124 AM CDT Fri Sep 12 2008

Tropical Storm Wind Warning In Effect From 6 AM Saturday To 1 AM CDT Sunday...

... New Information...

Tropical Storm Wind Warning Issued For Areas Along And East Of A Bowie To Gatesville Line.

... Watches/Warnings...

A Flash Flood Watch Is In Effect Along And East Of Interstate 35 For Saturday And Sunday.

... Precautionary/Preparedness Actions...

Due To The Windy Conditions Expected... Light-Weight Objects Such As Trash Cans And Lawn Chairs Should Be Secured... As They Can Easily Become Projectiles In High Winds. Power Outages May Be Possible... So Have Flashlights... Batteries... A Full Tank Of Gas... Cash... Bottled Water And Non-Perishable Foods On Hand Just In Case.

... Winds...

Sustained Winds From 35 To 45 Mph With Gusts To 55 Mph Will Be Possible Saturday. ... Inland Flooding... Storm Total Amounts Will Range From 1 To 2 Inches Outside Of The Watch Area... With 2 To 4 Inches Possible Within The Flash Flood Watch.