Archives for August 2004

A story is on the local news that the residents of a trailer park in Punta Gorda, FL did not evacuate their homes (even though they were ordered to do so, 24 hours in advance.) The report is that 60 body bags were brought out, and that it wasn’t going to be enough. 🙁

Preliminary damage estimates are saying that Charley has caused more damage than Andrew did in 1992.

Good news for Cox Cable subscribers. The basic high speed internet tier ($39.95, bundled) will be boosted to 4.0 Mbps downstream and 512 Kbps upstream. The Premier tier ($54.95, bundled) will be 5.0 Mbps downstream and 768 Kbps upstream. Wow.

I’ve been begging them for this for quite a while. Mostly, it was the slow (256 Kbps) upload that irked me.

The only bad news is that while most Cox-served areas have already been upgraded, Gainesville, FL will not see the upgrade until sometime later this year, because of a difference in underlying systems. Regardless, it’s coming, and I’m excited.

Cox also offers a value level of 256 Kbps upstream and downstream for $24.95 a month (no need to have cable TV service).

Update: A local Cox representative told me he thinks the speed upgrade would be complete in six weeks for the Gainesville area.

I guess that’s it. Charley passed a few miles to the east, and things didn’t really get any worse. Mercifully, we were mostly spared.

I’m interested to see how badly Charlotte harbor got hit. I’m getting reports that a shelter caved in somewhere down that way, but I’ll bet that’s not the half of it.

Right in the middle of a NOAA weather radio broadcast warning about tornadoes, the channel went to static. That was about half an hour ago, and it hasn’t yet returned to the air.

I’m getting some nasty feeder bands right now… It’ll get real calm, and then the wind will pick up suddenly and gust with an awful howling noise (a lot like the noise a tornado makes). It’ll last for 30 to 120 seconds and then die back down.

The wind has been gradually intensifying, with an occasional gust. The lights have flickered a few times, but power remains on so far. Every time the wind picks up, I think “this is it…” But still, it remains relatively tame. Shouldn’t be more than a few hours before it really hits the fan, though.

Winds are picking up… Ft Myers is getting hammered as we speak, so there are going to be tornadoes in this area faily soon. So I’m turning off the computer and moving to a more secure location within the house. Cellular data signal is still good, so I’ll update as long as I can via my SideKick.

Joy! Charley is now a category 4 hurricane, with gusts of up to 160 MPH, and sustained winds of 125 MPH. It’s looking like Charlotte Harbor is going to get hit worst of all, but it’ll still probably feel like a category 3 hurricane up here, (not even 25 miles north).

Hurricane Charley is now a category 3 hurricane, with winds near the center of 125 MPH. Hurricane force winds are extending 30 miles from the center, which right now looks like it is going to hit a little bit south of where it was expected, likely the Port Charlotte/Ft. Myers area. It is raining very lightly up here.

This sounds promising.

As we head closer to dinner time, Charley will be approaching the southwest Florida coast with winds forecast to be near 120 mph which would make Charley a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. The brunt of the storm is still forecast to be between the cities of Tampa and Ft. Myers although latest indications pinpoint landfall just south of Tampa closer to the Sarasota and Venice areas. Charley will definitely have a large (possibly deadly) storm surge factor, dangerous winds, and more heavy tropical rains.

Just in case you didn’t know… I live exactly inbetween Sarasota and Venice. 😀

Some time around 3am, the wind picked up, and the area was given a good drenching. I’ve completed my storm preparations, including getting the three cats (my cat Gavin, and the family’s cats Joey and Jessie) into the house. They’re currently sharing a bathroom. Joey and Gavin have become friends, and have been enjoying a spirited game of hide-and-go-seek in the bathtub and on the toilet. Jessie has been sitting in the sink growling, hissing, and scratching at me and the both of them. It’s because she’s a girl, and she feels unwelcome in our “boys only” club.

The wind has died back down… I expect it to pick up as the morning progresses.

Updates forthcoming as long as electricity or cellular data signal allow it.

So as of right now, Venice, Florida is in the path of a rather vigorous hurricane, codename “Stupid.” Actually, it is hurricane, codename “Charley,” but everone here is pretty sure that spelling “Charley” as such is majorly stupid.

Regardless, it is coming. I live about 30 feet from an intercoastal waterway, and my first floor is about 6 feet above sea level, so the 10-12 foot storm surge should be fun. I’m also looking forward to the 105+ MPH winds with gusts of 145+ MPH. Surprisingly, evacuation isn’t mandatory for my area, so I’m going to stick it out. A major hurricane hasn’t hit here since the 1960’s, so this is a new experience for me.

Maybe it will miss Florida...

I might not be able to post for a few days, as the power will likely be out, but if my SideKick device works, I’ll try to post updates with that.