Wednesday, September 24, 2008

 

Can They Repeat?


Two weeks from tonight (on October 8) the Boston Celtics will play their first preseason game (against Philadelphia). The Celtics have not won back-to-back championships since the 1968-69 season; it is hard to believe that it has been forty years since the most successful franchise in NBA history has repeated.


The 2008-09 team will be virtually the same one that won last year. James Posey will be hard to replace and the "Big 3" will be a year older; but, the younger players will have another year of experience. And, perhaps, rookies, J. R. Giddens and Bill Walker, can provide a spark off the bench. If Darius Miles is healthy and can return to past levels of performance, we may forget James Posey.


Monday, September 22, 2008

 

Do You Have Any Battery-Powered Fans?

This is the number one question for the past several days at REI where the temperatures have begun to increase again after Hurricane Ike blasted through about ten days ago. About one-third of Houstonians still have no electricity and, thus, no air conditioning. Fans, lanterns, fuel, and batteries have become very popular and very scarce throughout the city in recent days. We have heard reports that some areas will not have power for at least two more weeks.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

 

Returning to Normalcy

We spent Saturday and Sunday cleaning up the yard of tree debris and other trash; there was absolutely nothing else to do since the city was essentially shut down and we had no electricity. Approximately 95% of the nation's fourth largest city had no power. The weather was hot (90+ degrees) and humid...and, of course, there was no air conditioning. Radio reports had potential power outages lasting as long as six weeks.

We took walks through the neighborhood by day and played cards by kerosene lamp in the evenings. Waiting, hoping, waiting, hoping for the power to return. In the meantime, refrigerator/freezer contents were beginning to "lose their cool".

Monday morning a cool front came through and dropped the temperatures and the humidity to tolerable levels. We could open the windows and get some pleasant breezes through the house. However, still no electricity on Monday - the third day with no power. Fortunately, the water and natural gas in our area were uninterrupted...we could take showers and cook.

Tuesday was much the same as Monday...except about 9:30 in the evening, the electricity came back on. Oh, such joy...

Wednesday was spent beginning to restock the refrigerator/freezer since all of the food had to be thrown away because of the lack of cooling. Over half of the city is still without power. The grocery stores that have power do not have a lot of food. Gasoline stations that have power are beginning to run low of fuel and have long lines, reminiscent of the oil embargo in the 70s.

But, things are slowly returning to normal. It's been an exciting week.

 

Ike's Aftermath

"Night of Fury, Days of Misery" screamed the headline in the Houston Chronicle on Sunday morning. And, it was quite true.

We followed Hurricane Ike on TV and the internet as it approached the Galveston coast Friday evening and into early Saturday morning. Around 1:00 AM (Saturday) the wind gusts really picked up and the rain intensified. It evoked past images of fierce tropical storms hitting Caribbean Islands - rain and wind blowing trees sideways. The roar of the wind was something I had never experienced (even during mountain windstorms). About 2:00, my ISP lost power (at least, I presumed that was the reason I lost internet access), and I began watching the TV reports. An hour later, as the eyewall approached downtown Houston, our power went out. I decided to go to bed. I wasn't certain whether I could sleep or not.

There was much noise - things flying about, hitting the house, windblown rain splashing all around, and the never-ending roar of the wind.

I think I dozed off around 4:30 and awakened about four hours later. We got up to assess the damage; and fortunately, aside from a lot of tree debris in the front yard, there was not much.

We took a walk around the neighborhood. It seemed that most of the damage was the result of fallen tree limbs...on vehicles, houses. And, the amount of tree debris was incredible. There were huge oak and pecan trees totally uprooted.

The Houston Chronicle has posted a large collection of pictures of the approach of Ike, the storm itself, and the aftermath. In addition, Jeff has posted a number of excellent pictures he has taken over the last few days on his Flickr page.

Friday, September 12, 2008

 

Ike Approaches Even Closer!

At 10:00 PM we continue to wait for Ike to wreak its havoc on Houston. We've had no rain yet and only an occasional gust of wind. There are a few twigs in the front yard that have been blown from the pecan tree. Landfall on Galveston Island is still about three or four hours away. The worst of the storm is predicted to occur during the midnight to noon hours.

Maya seems to enjoy standing on the front porch and watching the wind blow through the trees.

 

Bracing for Ike

Well, it doesn't look like we can avoid the full force of Hurricane Ike at this late date. There would not appear to be much of a chance that it will change direction. We are anticipating that winds will pick up significantly around 3:00 this afternoon; by nightfall they should be close to 100 miles per hour. The eye is expected to pass through Houston shortly after midnight. (Why do disasters always seem to happen under the veil of darkness?). While 100+ mph winds are not to be scoffed at, because of the immense size of the storm, flooding (and storm surge) may cause even more damage. Stay tuned...

Thursday, September 11, 2008

 

Here Comes Ike!

Hurricane Ike moved to within about 400 miles of the Texas coast (Galveston area) during the day. It turned slightly northward and now is predicted to make landfall on Galveston Island. This will also bring it directly through the city of Houston. It is still a Category 2 storm; but, expected to intensify prior to making landfall. Being more than 500 miles across means a lot of rainfall for the area. Locally, winds are expected to pick up around sunrise in the morning (Friday), and increase throughout the day. Forecasts are for Ike to make landfall very early Saturday morning. A couple of excellent hurricane monitoring and tracking websites can be found here and here. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

 

Ike Concerns

Hurricane Ike is headed for the Texas coast. That's a relief for those in Louisiana and Florida; but, a real concern for those of us living in the Houston area. Right now, the models indicate Ike will make landfall at Matagorda Island about 70 miles southwest of Houston early Saturday morning. There is some concern that the eye could turn a bit more northward which would bring it much closer to Houston. We can use some rain, don't need any wind, and hope there will be no flooding. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

 

Banner No. 17

So, with the addition of Allen and Garnett, there were a lot of hopes riding on the 2007-08 NBA season. Could the new "Big 3" rival the old "Big 3" (Parish, Bird, and McHale)?

Yes, they could! The 07-08 Celts led from the opening bell and will be hanging Banner No. 17 from the rafters on opening night, October 28.

We watched nearly all of the regular season (and playoff) games during the past year; the Celtics provided us with a lot of enjoyment, thrills, and entertainment. As Amanda says, "It is fun to win". (She is a converted Celtics fan...once upon a time she followed the Rockets).

So, watching all of these basketball games made it difficult to do much blogging (that's my excuse).


 

Back!

More than one year later, I'm going to try to "pick up" the habit of blogging again. A year should be enough of a vacation.


A lot (of blogging note) has happened in the past year. After a dismal 2006-07 NBA season (which was where I left off) and an unsuccessful lottery, the Celtics added Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and with Paul Pierce came up with a new "Big 3".

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?