Standard Mischief

I walked into a supermarket to get myself a toll booth RFID tag yesterday and was bowled over by the crowds. Who knew that grocery shopping was the thing to do on Friday night?

While I’ve been busy with my life, Hanna made ready for her trip up the coast. I’ve kept myself pre-prepared since Katrina so I’m OK, but I did run out and fill my car’s gas tank and a few other low-effort preparedness efforts that I’ve previously detailed here. I wrote that post almost two years ago, and I got some great feedback in the comments. Suggestions like keeping paper plates and plastic flatware around so you don’t need to boil water to do dishes and making sure you’ve refilled your prescriptions are good tips too.

Since we always seem to get stuck with a “boil water” order after a big storm, I went and filled the big pot with water. Since there’s plenty of space in the fridge, I stored it inside there. The water itself will store more “cold” than the air that it displaced. The freezer above is packed with frozen plastic water bottles, same idea.

I’ve just finished filling the tub with water. I’m going to shut off the main valve in a bit trapping several gallons of potable water in my pipes. Any needed water for flushing will be dipped out of the tub. I can live with that for the next 12 hours or so. by that time Hanna will have moved on up the coast and we’ll have clear skies.

I also got a Magic Amulet of Mainline Power. If power stays on long enough, I’ll upload a photo or two.

Remembering Isabel, a tropical storm from 2003, I lost power for four days. That storm ran inland and slowed over the area. We got a lot of lighting with that storm. I remember staying awake all night watching the lighting strikes take out the power distribution transformers with gigantic purple flashes. Hanna is predicted to keep moving and stay together. Looking at the Nexrad on the tubes of web, I’m not seeing the lighting we had last time. The winds are higher this time around, but with a little luck the juice may stay on.