Scotto's Wall Scrawls

Broward PSA

All Broward County Public Schools will remain CLOSED Tuesday, September 7, 2004 as restoration efforts from Hurricane Frances continue. Students, teachers and other school-based instructional staff should NOT report to the schools. Principals and Assistant Principals should report to their respective schools.

District offices and facilities WILL reopen tomorrow. All full-time District employees, including administrative and supervisory, clerical, maintenance and facility service employees should report to their normal work locations. All food service employees should report to their respective work locations as well.

The decision was made to keep the schools and offices closed for another day because of the power outages that persist at several dozen District schools, along with potential hazards to children presented by downed power lines, busy intersections where traffic signals are not operating due to power outages and storm debris that may prompt children to walk in the street to school and bus stops. There is also a concern with the ongoing restoration efforts involving the use of chainsaws and heavy vehicles to cut up and haul away downed trees and branches, as well as the major operation by Florida Power & Light Company to restore electricity to the area.

An additional issue involves scattered sewage and water disruptions throughout the county as the result of power outages. Pumping stations and sewage treatment facilities have been impacted, causing some sewage backups, sporadic water service and boil water orders.

Students, parents and District employees should monitor the District’s Web site at browardschools.com, call the District’s Rumor Control Hotline at 754-321-0321 or monitor local media for updated information regarding the status of the schools.

More Information on District's Status

/PSA

Caught in the middle of Frances.


My noggin was throbbing for about two of the days... I suspect it was the pressure change, and my general cabin fever-ness.
My barely legible script reads "hurricane hurts my brain"


Newt happy to be back at HQ!
I don't know where my arms are.

Still no power at my place tonight, so I spend one more here at Danny's. (Beats going black to a dark, hot shoebox.) There's still a wind advisory and a flood watch, but the worst of Frances is over. Wind and water still whistles and batters the outside.

We all went for a midday wet-walk to the gas station, and around the lake to assess damage, and breathe some open air. It's messy here, with a number of blown over fences and snapped trees, but the houses look ok and everything seems mostly intact.

Cell phones are still kaput here, and the land line is spotty.

The Winn-Dixie was open, and people were in and out... not crowded, but had a lot of movement. I think that we're going to get some Chinese Takeout for supper tonight.

The Gamajin movies were a huge success.. Everybody liked 'em, and power only blinked a little bit while watching them.

I wonder how the TV news is able to have so many reporters on the coast... they must be placed just far enough apart up and down the line so that they can't see one another's show-lights.

I've got about 150% the hits in the first three days of September over the entire month of August, thanks to the hurricane, I'm guessing. (averaging 1813 hits an hour??)

Dear Hurricane Ivan:

Leave me the hell alone. I want to spend next week at my own damn home. Please just shoot North, and harmlessly spin some fishies.

Thanks.

Well, I was hoping to go for a walk this morning... get out of the containment field that is the house. No luck.. the wind outside is at a very strong level, and the rain is coming down in sheets.

Dan's working on grading, and Jan's watching TV evangelists, so I figure I'll feed my own obsessive action by working on the journal a little bit this morn. I prefer to read Real Live Preacher to watching any carnival barker on the tube.

Jan's making cranberry scones for breakfast this morning...they smell really good.

Though the hurricane is moving exceedingly slow, I have high hopes that I'll be home tonight, or at worst tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and having the apartment to myself (and Newtself). Though it's a two-bedroom house, three people tend to bump into one another a lot.

I have a half-gallon of ice cream in the freezer at home...I wonder if power stayed on long enough to keep it ice-creamy.

Latest reports are that there are 2 million people without power, and Frances is now downgraded to Category 1.

( archived article )

Dan snores, and it makes me laugh. He's about 1/3 Doug sound level.

The 2nd movie - Return of Gaimajin was even better than the first. good hurricane karma, I got them by helping with Charley.

Newt's being naughty... hissing at Janet a lot. (A bit at Dan, too. I don't think he's happy sharing space with them.) If I pick Newt up, he quiets down and purrs like a fiend... I'm an anchor of familiarity in this place.

Danny pointed something out to me on the way to his place yesterday... how do new and used car lots empty out so fast? Where do they put 'em? I theorized that there's some hidden underground parking or more likely that they're accordianed in the back. I got a call from Wilt, and he told me that no wood is going on my windows.. just tape. Ugh... I'm glad I was smart and packed up all my important tech and took it with me.

I'm glad I left on Thursday, because I hear that the roads are now mobbed with folks trying to get the heck out of there.

Dan's house is super-prone to little power-flickers at this point I'm glad I had a candle in the bathroom while I took my morning shower.. I'm glad that I've got a surge bar and that lappie is on battery power.

Wind's kicking up pretty good, now... I'll have some nifty movies to upload from the palm after the storm.

Another J factoid - She's never, ever stopped talking when I've been within earshot. Talks back to the TV, and steps on other people talking, too. I wonder if she ever has a quiet time? I think that maybe her own voice is a comfort to herself? I suspect it's a nervous habit, to take her mind off of other things.

Mighty windy and wet at this point. Lots of boil water orders, though not in my region quite yet.

Waffles for late breakfast today - clearing out the freezer in case of a long term power out.


All in all, Still safe and sound. Still mostly have power, a/c and light.

At Dan's, and it's going better than expected. My panic was misplaced.

Tonight, we watched gaimajin, and had quorn nuggets for supper, with new potatoes and brussels sprouts. I abstained from the sprouts... they remind me of my formative years as a podling.

Newt's digging the plants (no pun intended) and is enjoying all of the new places to nose around and check out. Minimal missing person calls tonight, and I'm only on call until tomorrow at 5pm.

Tomorrow, I'm introducing Danny to invader zim.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DCL! thanks again for the CDs!

I haven't used this laptop for quite a span... the windows update and anti-virus both took forever on dialup.

Hitting the sack soon. See you later, Dear journal.

I'm going to stay with Danny and Janet's place if things continue to be bad. Poor Danny's allergic to Newt, but he's willing to sacrifice for me and the little orange guy. Newtie-boy will be banned from the bedrooms, is all. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to spend time in the living room with me. I'll bring some Heroclix with me to play to while away the time in a more analog style.

Janet's rather allergic to me, too, in a different sense. Our beliefs and ideals are fairly different, but she has been nothing but very gracious to me in times of need. I'm thankful for that.

My mother is going to be fine where she is, and if bro needs a place to stay, he can go be with her and Wilt.

To be on the safe side, I'll be unpacking my PC later tonight, so I'll be on and off-line as things happen. Danny's only got dial-up, so I won't have my DSL perma-connect that I do here. I'm tempted to lave my pc covered in plastic, and have the cam pointed inside for a Hurricane-view. I figure I'll point it at the windows without wood on 'em to scan for alien invaders or flying coconuts.

Speaking of the cam, here's the Newt pic of the day:

Current Cam pic - (will change over time)

bubbles3563

Hurricane update -

going into work early to make sure everything is backed up, easily tarped over and stowed for the long weekend. The gang at work, while needy, is very good about pulling together and getting stuff lined up.

( tracking map )

This sort of causal relationship may explain why people are willing to discipline a stranger even when there is no immediate gain in it for them. "Emotions play a proactive as well as reactive role," remarks Brian Knutson of Stanford University who penned an accompanying commentary (to a paper about the study in the journal Science). He notes that "passionate" forces may need to be included in economic models because, as this research shows, “people show systematic deviations from rationality."