watching waiting here i go again

??? Did I miss something?

Garrett

There is another storm coming for Florida, I assume the name to be frances.

Did you get hit by Charlie?

im on the east coast ft laud probaly miss but big enough to affect

Oh, she's beautiful isn't she?

Hurricane Frances Approaches

Well, from this side anyway

Oh, the reason I ask is that I was pretty close to Charlie (15 miles from the eye at the closest), and didn't think you were on this coast.

Looks like you're still gonna get nailed pretty badly. Things I missed after a while without power: (This might help you or others that are reading and getting ready at the last minute. It's pretty much too late to do too much anyways though)

Television, to actually see what's happening. (I've got radio's galore, but no batt powered tv)
Ice, lots of ice. I bought over 100lbs the day of the storm. Was down to one small cooler by day 4. Keep one cooler of just ice and never open it till you need it.
Ice, lots more ice. I froze about 4 gallon jugs of water. Should've froze another 4 to keep the stocks in the extra freezer nice and cold.
If you smoke, grab extra smokes. If you're like me and like a cold beer while doing endless hours of cleanup, buy extras. (They usually ban the sale of alcohol for days after the storm)
I had tons of bug spray, it wasn't needed until I was out helping clean up damage.
Make sure you're chainsaws are gassed, lubed, and sharp.
Make sure you've got lots of contractor grade trash bags.
Keep a BOB and case of water ready in case you need to GTFOD at the last minute. (Don't forget the earplugs if you have to sleep in a shelter, and expecially if you're part of ARES at a shelter)
Tarps, BIG tarps 50ft+. The more the better.
Make sure drills, etc are charged up.
If you think you might have to leave for whatever reason; storm surge, etc, plan on being gone for a week. That means make sure food will stay in the fridge. Disable things that could be damaged by power surges. Some people kick off the main breaker. Put frozen water jugs in the freezer and fridge so food doesn't rot by the time you get home.

Good luck, stay safe.

Oh yeah, don't forget to keep at least 4 cans of fix-a-flat in your car. I know 2, count em, 2 people who had all four tires go flat while helping after the storm. Noone had common tires.

Or if you drink something with caffiene in it, get that. I drink entirely too much Mt. Dew. Forgot to put ANY in the 'fridge for Charley. The first 2-3 days were spent with a really bad headache.

Not this time. :-)

For those of you playing along at home, I now have a generator, extra gas and a window A/C. Fridge is fully stocked (with an adequate 'Dew supply).

Why does my window air conditioner need a digital display and a remote control? I kid you not... it came with a remote control. You can start, stop, change fan speed, set the sleep timer (!), etc. with the remote.

Groo, I drink way too much diet Coke (instead of your Mountain Dew), but I think that *warm* diet Coke is really foul -- so I've got a bottle of No-Doz (for emergency caffeine replacement) in my BOB. Worked like a charm to ward off withdrawal headaches during last August's blackout here.