Thursday, September 11, 2008

I Don't Like Ike

Too bad Storm Boy could only create weather (albeit artificially) and not control it. We could use some help with Hurricane Ike, ready to barrel down on Houston with 100 mph winds. I was planning to ride the storm out but some models are predicting 20 foot storm surges, which is about the limit of what my house can stand before flooding. I'll have to balance evacuating with how bad it looks like it's going to be, and when to leave without getting stuck in traffic.

I'll be liveblogging the storm at my other (rarely-used) site and on Twitter (@mgrabois). The Houston Chronicle and Weather Underground have good coverage.

Dr. Mayavale may like Ike, but I don't right now. Probably not going to be posting much here this weekend as I'll be in shop/board/hunker/recovery mode.

11 comments:

David Akers said...

Stay safe!

Garth Ranzz said...

Stay safe Michael! Just remember to leave everything but your Legion collection behind. ;)

Anonymous said...

godspeed, sir!

Anonymous said...

Yikes! I hope all is well, Micheal. Best of luck.

Dr. Michael J. MacArthur said...

Our prayers are with you and all of your neighbors.

Craigopher said...

Living in Fort Lauderdale, I've had to prepare for many a hurricane, and as a matter of fact I was out buying supplies for Ike a week ago, when it looked like it might be heading my way. My best wishes and prayers go out to you and your loved ones.

Its probably a bit late for this at this point, but I'll throw it out for anyone else who needs this information in the future. A fairly decent way of protecting a large number of comics from inclement weather - came in handy during at least one hurricane:

Assuming you have your comics bagged and boarded within a short or long comic box, place the entire box within one of those large green or black outdoor garbage bags. Gather all the corners and tie them together. Wrap tape around the entire tied section to make sure no water can get in. Place the bagged box within another bag and repeat, with the open at the opposite end from the first. Generally if one bag gets ripped the second will still provide protection, and if the second gets ripped, the comics are still inside individual bags inside the box. Won't protect against complete submersion in water, but will stave off rain, wind and puddles.

Anonymous said...

Get out if you have to, Mike. Don't wait till the last minute.

I have to report in for work tomorrow at the hospital. I'm on the ride out team. I live further inland than you though, so I'm not worried about my house, my family, or my comics:)

Michael said...

As of now, it's tracking east and moving away from me, but even if it stays I'll get high winds but the storm surge won't reach me.

But don't worry, I'll leave if I think I need to.

Scott Koblish said...

Good luck! just make sure you're safe-

(as an aside, and a response to your question - I ink on the original boards that George sends me. I hate inking using a lightbox - I've done it before and there's something deeply unpleasant for me about it. i do a few touchups in photoshop.)

I'll check into the annotations - i know that there is a shot of The Unknown Soldier Superman on page 6 that I think everybody missed- you did a yoeman's work. issue 2's got a lot more of the same, I love the way George draws out the personalities of the three sets of Legionnaires, he's really just one of the best artists in the history of comics.

PenaltyKillah said...

My prayers are with you and everyone affected by the hurricane season. But you better hurry...

"All neighbourhoods and possibly entire coastal communities will be inundated during the period of peak storm tide," the National Hurricane centre said late on Thursday, referring to land along the Galveston Bay.

"Persons not heeding evacuation orders in single family one- or two-story homes will face certain death," it said.

Michael said...

I have evacuated (follow my Twitter account for the details).

PK - first, it's the US, we spell it "neighborhoods". :)

Second, they are specifically referring to Galveston Island, currently getting surged. They're predicting anywhere from 15-25 ft surge, and the Seawall protecting it is only about 17 ft. Anything higher and the island goes underwater completely. My house is a few miles inland and sits at 23 ft elevation.

Ike is coming in around a Cat2 but with a Cat3 or Cat4 surge.