Katrina

I had chosen to ignore the media's news coverage of the recent Hurricane Katrina as CNN/FOX/MSNBC/Etc. tend to leave a bad taste in my mouth with their sensationalist journalism. However this morning, I received the following email from an acqaintance regarding his girlfriend who is stationed along the Gulf Coast and got my first taste of the sheer intensity of this disaster:

"The base has suffered extensive damage and its proximity to the Gulf
of Mexico (literally across the street...the street doesn't exist in a
lot of places now though) made it an easy target. Biloxi is actually
situated on a narrow spit/peninsula that extends from the West to the
East so her base is actually surrounded by water...the Bay of Biloxi
is on the North side and the Gulf is on the South and East side.

The homes that did exist across the highway from the base are mostly
non-existent at this point. I'm not trying to scare anyone, the
shelter she was in is a certified hurricane shelter and no one has
ever been injured in one. It's just that she was essentially at
ground zero for the brunt of the hurricane's strength as it came
ashore so the situation there is dire for many people.

A storm surge was anywhere from 20-28 feet along the coast where she
is and that is basically a massive 2-3 story wave that is being pushed
by the extreme winds. This caused a lot of destruction and probably
inundated most of the small peninsula under 10-20 feet of water for a
while.

At this point, the waters have receded a lot but left a lot of debris
behind. It is not safe for people to be moving around so this
explains why her and her classmates will continue to be holed up.
Given the extent of the damage I think they might stay there for a lot
longer.

Luckily she is not in New Orleans where things seem to get worse by
the minute with the flooding, etc.

There are all sorts of speculations as to how long it will take to get
things going again but since the damage there is "unprecedented" I
think the conservative estimates are saying 3-4 weeks before power
will be restored.

Even though you cannot get through to her, I encourage you to call and
leave messages on her phone. Once the cell service is back online she
will be able to access them and I know she's going to be a bit
distraught since her baby--the new car--is most likely totaled because
it was submerged for a day or so in water or it is gone and resting
somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico now. Apparently there are dozens of
cars smashed along the main seawall there too so it could be there.
She'll also be upset at having to stay there longer as she (and I)
can't wait to get up to Tacoma and stay FAR FAR AWAY from Hurricane
Country!

Anyway, I am constantly watching the news and calling her to see if I
can get through. I am sure she is fine but the area she is in was
dismantled by this storm so it's going to be a hectic few weeks."


Please keep the victims of this tragedy in your hearts and in your prayers.

Gears Got Laid

Congratulations, my brother, congratulations.

Update: Gears would like everyone to know that this was not his first time experiencing the sensual touch of a woman, as the previous post may lead you to believe. However, it had been a long, long, long, long, LONG time since Gears had last known the carnal pleasures of the flesh. And I feel compelled to mention that he met this girl online. Only Gears, only Gears...

Oh My Sweet Carolina

So good, it's worth listening to over and over again.

Vegas, Baby

At 6:40pm tonight I will be landing in Las Vegas for what promises to be a very hot weekend. More to come...