I'm watching CNN this morning, and there is some good news about evacuating refugees from New Orleans.
The 25,000 people who are currently at the Superdome will be moved by 500 busses to the Houston Astrodome since the Astrodome has things like electricity, food, water, bathrooms, air conditioning, cell phone reception. All the staples of life. I reassured Lair that there will probably won't be any Palestinians. Lots of Catholics, the occasional Methodist, maybe a few Vodun practioners (Voodoo), but I doubt any Palestinians. I don't think any vampires will be showing up, either, since their hiding places are under water, and it's nice and sunny. Poof. No more vampire problem in New Orleans.
The New Orleans International Airport has 2 runways open, for humanitarian relief only. There will be a large MASH unit put up there also, to help those in need of medical attention.
Also, the Navy deployed 4 ships out of Norfolk to the Gulf for humanitarian aid, one of which is a floating hospital, and all can dock as close to the places needed as possible. They have heliocopter landing pads on at least one ship, from what I saw on CNN, and, fittingly, one of the ships is the USS Shreveport.
To help out, go to the Red Cross Website for information on how to donate to help the people in the disaster area.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
thank you, everyone
Thanks for the well wishes for the kitties and everyone else who lives in the Oubliette. We are 300 miles (or 482 km, whichever you prefer) from the coast here in Huntsville, AL, so what we had to endure was Tropical Storm Katrina, not Hurricane Katrina. We didn't even loose power for more than a minute at a time, unlike the other half of the county.
~~~
Also, for those who have been concerned with my personal health, my Remicade infusion went well on Thursday, and my joints are feeling oh, so much better. I'm pretty exhausted, but I was also 8 weeks overdue for an infusion, and I'm supposed to get the infusions every 8 weeks. You do the math. My infusions always leave me feeling exhausted, and/or kinda crappy for 24-48 hours afterwards. This time it's taking a little longer for the exhaustion to wear off, but the joint pain had gone away within 36 hours of the infusion. Ah, relief.
The vertigo spells are less frequent since I started on Neurontin, a drug which I have been on before for migraines, which is primairly for seizures. My balance is still not the best in the world - I think I've become over-confident about moving around inside the house. In the house I have walls, furniture, etc. to grab if I start to loose my balance. So, I've fallen a few times, mostly harmless, but the one that scares me the most is the near miss I had with loosing my balance at the top of the stairs to the basement. There's no door since half of the basement is completely finished, and is a rec room/guest room. Head first down the stairs would have been very bad. Outside the house I'm more careful, and use a cane.
I still have short-term memory problems, ringing in my ears almost constantly, and a loss of coordination, especially fine dexterity. Also, the heat and/or humidity slays me, so I don't go out much in the day time, and have become mostly nocturnal. Horaay for DVRs! I can watch my favorite shows whenever I want.
An unforseen side effect of raising the dosages of some of my medications (like the ones that keep me sane) is that they supress my appetite. I simply don't really feel like eating. Which can cause some problems. So, I've been drinking Boost High Protein supplement shakes in lieu of a meal. 4 shakes is enough to sustain a person, at the 1000 calorie level. More than enough protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, etc. Boost is simply a more palatable version of what goes into a feeding tube. Yep, it was originally developed to be total liquid nutrition, and still is, with a whole lot better taste. The chocolate is downright yummy.
Once again, thank you to everyone who has expressed their concern, both over the past couple of days, and the past few months. If you want to help out while I'm out of work, there is an Amazon.com Click-to-Give box on the right side of this site. That's the closest thing to an ad you will ever see on my site. Without your support, and just someone to chat with, I don't think I would have taken everything as well as I have. Thanks again.
(HUGS)
Mira
~~~
Also, for those who have been concerned with my personal health, my Remicade infusion went well on Thursday, and my joints are feeling oh, so much better. I'm pretty exhausted, but I was also 8 weeks overdue for an infusion, and I'm supposed to get the infusions every 8 weeks. You do the math. My infusions always leave me feeling exhausted, and/or kinda crappy for 24-48 hours afterwards. This time it's taking a little longer for the exhaustion to wear off, but the joint pain had gone away within 36 hours of the infusion. Ah, relief.
The vertigo spells are less frequent since I started on Neurontin, a drug which I have been on before for migraines, which is primairly for seizures. My balance is still not the best in the world - I think I've become over-confident about moving around inside the house. In the house I have walls, furniture, etc. to grab if I start to loose my balance. So, I've fallen a few times, mostly harmless, but the one that scares me the most is the near miss I had with loosing my balance at the top of the stairs to the basement. There's no door since half of the basement is completely finished, and is a rec room/guest room. Head first down the stairs would have been very bad. Outside the house I'm more careful, and use a cane.
I still have short-term memory problems, ringing in my ears almost constantly, and a loss of coordination, especially fine dexterity. Also, the heat and/or humidity slays me, so I don't go out much in the day time, and have become mostly nocturnal. Horaay for DVRs! I can watch my favorite shows whenever I want.
An unforseen side effect of raising the dosages of some of my medications (like the ones that keep me sane) is that they supress my appetite. I simply don't really feel like eating. Which can cause some problems. So, I've been drinking Boost High Protein supplement shakes in lieu of a meal. 4 shakes is enough to sustain a person, at the 1000 calorie level. More than enough protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, etc. Boost is simply a more palatable version of what goes into a feeding tube. Yep, it was originally developed to be total liquid nutrition, and still is, with a whole lot better taste. The chocolate is downright yummy.
Once again, thank you to everyone who has expressed their concern, both over the past couple of days, and the past few months. If you want to help out while I'm out of work, there is an Amazon.com Click-to-Give box on the right side of this site. That's the closest thing to an ad you will ever see on my site. Without your support, and just someone to chat with, I don't think I would have taken everything as well as I have. Thanks again.
(HUGS)
Mira
no pics tonight
Once I was able to fall asleep, I slept through the rest of the day. I pretty much just woke up. Hopefully I can get out tomorrow and survey some of the local damage.
Ok, fine, you can have a picture.
I'm just going to go back to sleep now that the worst is over, but I'm not leaving my towel.
Happy now?
Ok, fine, you can have a picture.
I'm just going to go back to sleep now that the worst is over, but I'm not leaving my towel.
Happy now?
time for a break
It's daylight, and the winds have died down considerably from what they were about 6 to 7 hours ago. Preliminary survey of my property shows a few small limbs in the yard, the flower trellis blown over (again), some of the tomato plants blown over, a few limbs snapped in the pear trees along with a lot of pears blown out of the trees (are wind blown pears covered under homeowner's or comprehensive car insurance?) and lots of leaves and general crap on the ground.
So, I leave you now and end the live blogging, to get some sleep. I should brave the weather later to get some pics of the neighborhood.
So, I leave you now and end the live blogging, to get some sleep. I should brave the weather later to get some pics of the neighborhood.
katrina - the worst is over
The winds are calming down, and the rain bands are less intense now. I think the worst of it was 1 - 3 am, when the winds where howling the worst and the rain was blowing sideways. Shortly after 1 is when I felt the front (east) side of the house bow almost from the wind gust. And we live in a brick house. We made it, no long term power loss, just annoying flickers every so often. And the cats now?
Why are you flashing that thing in my face. Time for sleep.
MMMM, chair back....I can be nice and droopy on it, if someone cuts it out with the flashy thing.
The cats are ready for a nap.
Why are you flashing that thing in my face. Time for sleep.
MMMM, chair back....I can be nice and droopy on it, if someone cuts it out with the flashy thing.
The cats are ready for a nap.
old habits die hard
I had been watching the local CBS outlet, because the local meterologist is one of the best in the area, even if he is a little over protective of his new home, and has issued storm and tornado warnings on his own, much to the ire of the local EMA, until we had our own local National Weather Service back in operation, and Birmingham wasn't having to cover the entire northern 2/3 of the state.
So, CBS news is starting to bore me, and Dan Satterfield hasn't had to cut in for a while, so I was about to switch to ABC, to hear the voice of Peter Jennings, so calm with it's smooth tone, only to realize I would never hear that voice again on a live broadcast. I think Peter would have loved to cover this event.
So, CBS news is starting to bore me, and Dan Satterfield hasn't had to cut in for a while, so I was about to switch to ABC, to hear the voice of Peter Jennings, so calm with it's smooth tone, only to realize I would never hear that voice again on a live broadcast. I think Peter would have loved to cover this event.
the cat's react
I don't have any pics, but now that the worst is on us, with the winds just below genuine Tropical Storm force, the cats have started acting a little more squirrelly (is that even a word?), running around the house, playing chase-you-chase-me, etc.
I guess I'm officially liveblogging this until I go to sleep or we loose power. If we loose power and I'm awake, I'll make one more post letting all know that we've lost power, because I don't know how long backups and batteries will keep me online.
I guess I'm officially liveblogging this until I go to sleep or we loose power. If we loose power and I'm awake, I'll make one more post letting all know that we've lost power, because I don't know how long backups and batteries will keep me online.
wow
We just experienceda wind gust that I could feel shake the east wall of the house (our house is a ranch-style house, oriented N-S), and the front of the house faces east. Our house is frame construction with brick sheathing. It was a shock to feel the entire living room wall shake. We do have storm windows, so if we loose one pane of glass, we still have a second pane, with screens in-between. After the second pane of glass, we have large pieces of plywood (1/2 sheets) in the basement. Some of it may be primed and ready to go as for painting, but I'll get over it.
I'll keep you all posted on how things are. Katrina's center still is 100+ miles away still.
I'll keep you all posted on how things are. Katrina's center still is 100+ miles away still.
and an update on the kitties
They are just oh, so concerned.
Terribly concerned. Nevermind the Tropical Storm force winds outside, and the sporadic power outages. They could give a shit.
Terribly concerned. Nevermind the Tropical Storm force winds outside, and the sporadic power outages. They could give a shit.
Monday, August 29, 2005
still holding out in huntsville
Things have really started to pick up here, now. North Alabama is currently under an Inland Tropical Storm Warning, a Tornado Watch, and a Flood Watch. Whee! Right now we are experiencng sporadic power outages, which will not stop the blogging, since the laptop is running off the wall outlet right now, so the battery is fully charged. The cable modem and router/wi-fi access point are on a UPS, so I can keep blogging until all the batteries are down. Hell, we'll keep going until the tornado is actually on our street. Our radars tell us within a 100 yards where the tornado is, so even with power out, we will keep going until the tornado is knocking on our back door. Mwa-ha-ha!
Did I ever mention that Huntsville reigns supreme of the geeks in the Southeast? Challenged only by the geeks of California, who look down upon us because "How can anyone from Alabama (imagine snide voice) know anything about computers?" Well, we do, and the Tennessee Valley in Alabama is the "Silicon Valley of the South". Take that, California.
Did I ever mention that Huntsville reigns supreme of the geeks in the Southeast? Challenged only by the geeks of California, who look down upon us because "How can anyone from Alabama (imagine snide voice) know anything about computers?" Well, we do, and the Tennessee Valley in Alabama is the "Silicon Valley of the South". Take that, California.
help from houston
According to what I just heard reported on The Weather Channel, anyone with a Louisiana license place can park for free anywhere in Houston today. The City is doing what it can help the refugees from Louisiana. Horray for Houston!
woo-hoo!
North Alabama is now under an Inland Tropical Storm Warning. Yippee! Just a few counties to the south and west of where I am, the National Weather Service has issued Inland Hurricane Warnings. C'mon, baby, let me fly my hurricane flag!
introducing the oubliette's alcove
Since I recently came out of my broom closet, I decided to create a second blog, a little niché I carved out of one side of the Oubliette, The Oubliette's Alcove. I'm still decorating, and posting will be sporadic at best. The only rule is that no one be hatful on my site. You may disagree, so long as you do so politely and respectfully.
If people get hateful, I WILL turn off anonymous commenting. If someone is determined to be a hateful commenter, then that person will, once banned, have to go through the process of getting another email address, re-signing on as a commenter, etc. Hopefully that will be more of a pain in the ass than harassing me. :)
If people get hateful, I WILL turn off anonymous commenting. If someone is determined to be a hateful commenter, then that person will, once banned, have to go through the process of getting another email address, re-signing on as a commenter, etc. Hopefully that will be more of a pain in the ass than harassing me. :)
Sunday, August 28, 2005
the tropical storm flag flies again
For the second time this season, I've hoisted the Tropical Storm flag over Huntsville. Later on Monday, we may have to switch to the Hurricane Flag for Huntsville, depending on how long it keeps it's strength as it moves inland.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If any bloggers closer to the coast want to borrow my TS or Hurricane icons, you need to have access to Flickr. Here are the links to the pages for each
Tropical Storm
Hurricane Flags - Small
Hurricane Flags
You will have to have a Flickr account (it's free, and you don't have to give your real name) to get access to the smaller sized images, instead of just looking at the page. I have a Creative Commons License on these images, which basically says attribute the image to me, you can change it, and cannot use it for commercial use. Simple enough? Yes, I gave up my copyright, so others may use these images. Oh, and please let me know which site you've used them on. I'd like to see my own work elsewhere. :) Thanks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If any bloggers closer to the coast want to borrow my TS or Hurricane icons, you need to have access to Flickr. Here are the links to the pages for each
Tropical Storm
Hurricane Flags - Small
Hurricane Flags
You will have to have a Flickr account (it's free, and you don't have to give your real name) to get access to the smaller sized images, instead of just looking at the page. I have a Creative Commons License on these images, which basically says attribute the image to me, you can change it, and cannot use it for commercial use. Simple enough? Yes, I gave up my copyright, so others may use these images. Oh, and please let me know which site you've used them on. I'd like to see my own work elsewhere. :) Thanks.
katrina
Katrina just made it up to 175 MPH. The Gulf Coast Coast is royally screwed. It may even be a Category 1 Hurricane by the time it make it's way up to the Huntsville area. We don't get many hurricanes up here in North Alabama. So, what do the cat's of the Oubliette think?
They decide it's time for a nap.
They decide it's time for a nap.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
hurricane katrina
New Orleans is soooo fucked.
Katrina is forecast by the NHC to make landfall as a Category 4, possibly even a Category 5 storm. New Orleans is below sea level for the most part, if it rains hard for too long, they are royally screwed.
Why am I so concerned about Katrina? My best friend, Eunomia, or the Voodoo Queen, is from right where the hurricane is supposed to make landfall. Her family would be so screwed if they rode it out. She trying to convince them to drive up here, NOW, and stay up here, where at worst we'll have to deal with Tropical Storm Katrina. If there's not enough room at her house, we have a basement with no tenants right now, and lots of couches. Between the two of us, we can put her family up here, if they will come up.
Everyone, please pray to your chosen deity that the loss of life will be minimal. Material things can be replaced. A human life cannot.
Katrina is forecast by the NHC to make landfall as a Category 4, possibly even a Category 5 storm. New Orleans is below sea level for the most part, if it rains hard for too long, they are royally screwed.
Why am I so concerned about Katrina? My best friend, Eunomia, or the Voodoo Queen, is from right where the hurricane is supposed to make landfall. Her family would be so screwed if they rode it out. She trying to convince them to drive up here, NOW, and stay up here, where at worst we'll have to deal with Tropical Storm Katrina. If there's not enough room at her house, we have a basement with no tenants right now, and lots of couches. Between the two of us, we can put her family up here, if they will come up.
Everyone, please pray to your chosen deity that the loss of life will be minimal. Material things can be replaced. A human life cannot.
Friday, August 26, 2005
some good news
Yesterday, Thursday, I had my first Remicade infusion in 16 weeks, which is 8 weeks overdue. Now that the joint pain from the AS will be under control in a few days, so we can get back to the business of figuring out what the real neurological problem is. Yeah, I'll be feeling like crap (like having the flu) for about the next 24-36 hours, which is normal, and I'll probably be sleeping off and on most of this period. I'll stay logged on, so go ahead and IM me if you want, if I don't respond, I'm either away from my comfy spot for some necessary beverage retrevial or other mission, or asleep. Feel free to send messages, I have nothing better to do.
For more info on my Remicade infusions, this post is photos of the actual infusion, and this one is a play by play of the infusion process with no photos.
For more info on my Remicade infusions, this post is photos of the actual infusion, and this one is a play by play of the infusion process with no photos.
very early morning catblogging
The kitties need some help.
Serious help. They're spending way too much time watching the kitty fountain bubble.
Waaaaay too much time.
Serious help. They're spending way too much time watching the kitty fountain bubble.
Waaaaay too much time.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
what is the cure?
Well, since I disallowed my husband from playing, I had only 1 player. So I will announce the results.
The DVD is - The Phantom of the Opera
Congratulations to my sister, Eirene, for guessing correctly, and being the only player. As your prize, I won't tell any embarassing childhood stories here. You see, my beloved sister and cousins, the tales I could tell here...
The DVD is - The Phantom of the Opera
Congratulations to my sister, Eirene, for guessing correctly, and being the only player. As your prize, I won't tell any embarassing childhood stories here. You see, my beloved sister and cousins, the tales I could tell here...
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
the cure for insomnia
I have finally discovered a cure for insomnia, that is pleasant. All it requires is for you to have a DVD player that, if allowed to run completely to the end, it will re-start the movie. What was the DVD? Hmm...should I tell you or give you a day to try to figure it out?
I'll make it a contest, and members of the Oubliette household are excluded from this contest. You will get approximately 24 hours to guess what DVD it was that lulled me to sleep after being awake for 18 hours without any caffine assistance, a massive insomnia attaack. After about 24 hours, I'll announce the name of the winner, or if no one guesses correctly, I'll announce title of the DVD.
So, guess away, what DVD, when played in a continuous loop, would cure my insomnia?
I'll make it a contest, and members of the Oubliette household are excluded from this contest. You will get approximately 24 hours to guess what DVD it was that lulled me to sleep after being awake for 18 hours without any caffine assistance, a massive insomnia attaack. After about 24 hours, I'll announce the name of the winner, or if no one guesses correctly, I'll announce title of the DVD.
So, guess away, what DVD, when played in a continuous loop, would cure my insomnia?
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