west side of houston is just fine. i unplugged everything last night as it was rolling in, but we never lost power (!), and i don't think i got even 1" of rain. wind gusts can be heard, but slept like a baby. as did my brother (10mi east) and parents (20mi north). took a look around this AM outside; not even 1 tree branch down on my block.
these houstonians should be ashamed of themselves: first they rush to evacuate unnecessarily, and now the news is showing cars backing up on INBOUND traffic (i.e. returning home), when the mayor is on every local TV / Radio station begging people to stay away a few days so as to give EMT room / resources to work unobstructed (there's still winds up to 75mph in select areas of town, with obvious attendant risk to motorists). but no, houstonians got to rush back now that their own personal asses are not in danger, to hell w/ those poor folks on the LA/TX border who need the real help.
raquel, you really should get a grip. not all people share the same risk in a hurricane. for those with a marginal risk, such as myself, i and my fellow low-risk citizens are a menace to those who are at risk. i'm not making light of a hurricane; i am trying to clarify that there is a stratification of risk that people face with natural disasters, and for most in houston, ESPECIALLY those on the NW / W side, it was marginal. coastal residents anywhere in LA/TX suffer a much greater risk than i, and rightly should evacuate, and not be interrupted or obstructed by pansy-assed sheeple that evacuate unnecessarily. once you grasp that point, you'll understand my position, and why my wife & i had every intention to ride the storm out, and make the best of it (steaks on the grille tonight, windows unboarded tomorrow).
(fwiw, we had planned to evacuate at 3am Fri if the storm turned towards us, but with the day's data under analysis, it became a 3 sigma event)
live led zeppelin (how the west was won) up soon. great live set. once my wife gets up (she barely slept, but that's routine) i may put on Sgt Peppers & see how she takes "lovely rita" & SRV "texas flood"----almost a palpable sense of relief on the block / local TV at this point. the bitch rita finally came in, but really, she sputtered out quite a bit and did everyone in her path a great favor by losing a LOT of steam over the gulf coastal area and turning east (though i have a hard time in taking comfort in her turn, as my benefit is someone else's loss).
this could've been a lot worse; what i fear most now is not for rita fallout, but for rita to deflect attention from those poor people in NO who lost everything, and still have nothing---not even time on the evening news any longer.
rhyno
