The fires in Northern California continue to burn unabated, There are at least 17 current Northern California fires.

The fires in Northern California continue to burn unabated, the fear is they will gain intensity again tonight. There are at least 17 current Northern California fires as this is being written, it very well may change by the time I get the blog written, the fire is moving rapidly. We do unfortunately expect for there to be fires in Northern California but not with this intensity and the immense area involved, tens of thousands of acres, so large the estimated size is being related in square miles.

The power pole is 1/4 mile away, normally I can see the Diablo Range of Mountains easily.
The closest fire is about75 miles North West of here. 

  I am inside the house today, this morning the air is full of smoke from the fires in Northern California. Visibility is now (4:00 pm Oct. 11, 2017) about 1/4 mile, it is hazy up to that point then the smoke turns into a wall. We will be affected by the smoke at least through the weekend, but this is nothing compared to the situation our friends and neighbors are experiencing to the North of us. One of my grandson's works for the CCC, (California Conservation Corp), we had not heard from him for several days, of course, I started to worry. He will be assigned during these events to help out all of the emergency response situations that are occurring. The last fire he was in a relief camp helping to settle the victims as best as could be done, he was also at the Oroville Dam catastrophe.  We have found out he is working in a campground in the high country, Loon Lake, a fairly isolated lake high in the Sierra's, so he's safe installing fixtures in the camp bathrooms. Current Northern California Wildfires Link.
  My wife belongs to a dance troupe, some of her dance partners live up north, last night she told me a story one of her friends related to her. She (the friend) was staying in a hotel in Santa Rosa when at 2:30 am they awoke to loud pounding on the door, when they opened the door a law enforcement officer hollered to them "Evacuate Now!". She said they had no time to grab anything, the wind was gusting 50-85 mph, according to news reports. They step out of the door and encountered a wall of smoke, sparks, and wind, they escaped with their lives. 21 others were not as fortunate, an estimated 3500 buildings burned to the ground, of the 1,000 people reported missing, 600 have been accounted for. The deaths have risen to 31, the number keeps changing, for the worst.
  That story is the same exact one related on the cable news networks, when my wife got home I was going to relate the same story she told me. One elderly couple I heard about, they had been married for 75 years, he was 100 years old, she was 98, both perished in the fast-moving blaze. Thier son discovered them in their charred home, they could not get out fast enough. There will be many many stories of this type yet to be told, for now, I wish there was something I could do to help, a monetary donation would be best. I want to send a donation to the Mayor of Santa Rosa, or the Fire Chief of one of the crews no matter what they spend the money on it would be for the cause. I believe when people are up to their eyeballs in crocodiles all of their efforts go towards the solution to the problem, that's my reasoning. I feel as if any local agency would be able to use the entire amount, possibly avoiding the scams and money grubbers, there are a lot of them.

Satellite view of the fires in northern California

  The most recent update I have heard stated there were at that time, just before noon today, there were 17 raging fires none were under control and the wind was once again gaining velocity. That's a little strange, the wind, normally where I live in the Delta, they are on the Northern edges of the waterway, the wind normally howls in our area and is relatively calm up there this time of year. The extreme wind, we do not get Hurricanes, but we do get high winds up to 80 mph on occasion, just south of the wind velocity of a Catagory 1 Hurricane. It can rip buildings apart if it is steady, but in a fire, with all of that fuel, it is a bellows in the forge. If you're not familiar with the type of fuel that the fire is consuming, it's a bit a-typical, not for California but as compared to other parts of the country it's unique.
  Manzanita, the large bushes some people use as Christmas trees and outdoor grilling. It has a high creosote content making it highly flammable as well as an extremely hot burning fuel. When it drys out, which it is after 5 years of severe drought) it is like an explosion when it ignites, and it burns terribly hot. It's a good campfire fuel, and it's pretty but boy is it flammable.
  We have Oak trees, California Oaks, they are not the towering trees we see in the Eastern or Midwest States, these are what I call "scrub" Oaks. They too are bone dry, even though we had a lot of rain this past winter, being that day they will also be like an explosion when exposed to the 2,000 degrees (I'm guessing at the heat, but I think that's close) the trees are instantly gobbled up.
  There are a lot of Eucalyptus trees, I don't know if the concentration is really high there, I do know that they line highway 1 and parts of 101 in places, they are not native to the state. These trees are stately, very tall and also have a high creosote level, after drying out they burn rapidly. Like I said I'm not sure how many of these trees are up there, I'm sure there are some. Everything looks to be on fire there. NASA's article on the Current northern California forest fires Link.
  The searching is continuing for the missing people, 180 in Sonoma County alone, there is some good news 57 (the entire fire scene stretches over 5 counties, where 1,000 total missing were reported, 600 have since been accounted for) people who were reported as missing have been found safely, yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. The searchers are optimistic most the residents reported missing will be found safe, let's pray for that. It didn't work out real well for cell phone calls, 77 cell phone towers have been destroyed, there is no electrical power so with no way to charge phones and without towers, calls are limited at best. Most people who evacuated had just enough time to escape with their lives, many did not attempt to grab anything, not even their eyeglasses, that's how fast the fire was moving. One report stated it traveled 20 miles in 4 hours, then went on its rampage in Santa Rosa. 25 evacuation centers are set up, it looks like the people will be there for quite some time.

This photograph is from last year, the fires are more intense than this.

The Wind is forecast to reach 25 miles per hour tonight, and shift to a Southerly direction. The wind (I am not a meteorologist) was caught in a high-pressure area, circulating around it in a clockwise rotation. It whipped north on the west of the cell and south on the east of the high-pressure area, it explains to me how the fire spread so rapidly. A fire official said some of the embers went airborne and landed up to 14 miles from the flames, I was not aware they could stay lit that far. I heard some on-site reporters being asked if they had seen any of the huge firefighting tankers flying overhead, they had not seen any. The Cal State fire Chief was interviewed and asked that same question, his response made sense to me. He replied that the fire is over an area of 5 counties, some of the fires are in extremely remote areas, there are a lot of them in California, the tankers are out of sight, but they are working. They have been sent to the backcountry, to places where it is difficult to get the firefighters to, it sounds to me like the best use of that resource. Then again I am not one to second guess anyone making decisions in such an intense situation, they are doing the absolute best they can do, and I appreciate it.
  There is so much happening now in the world, it's no secret to anyone who has not been living in a cave for the past two years. The human suffering caused by these events is overwhelming in many ways, and it is the most important item to address them all. The Wildfires have been an expected occurrence in California for century's, Hurricane's on the Gulf Coast are the same, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate, the season is not over yet. Earthquakes in Mexico, four major quakes and thousands of aftershocks. Then there are the horrendous murders that occurred in Las Vegas, all life-changing catastrophic events, there is no score keeping. So many disasters, Tornado's have taken a back seat to them, even though they are still occurring, we have to search fairly deep to find a report.
  Let's keep our evacuation kits at the ready, Link our shoes next to our beds, vehicles fueled up and cell phone's charged, we don't know when it will happen to us. Let's all get prepared. The same state of affairs could occur where I live, I am preparing each evening before going to bed. I put my laptop (all of my website stuff is on it) in my carrying case along with the charger and my cell phone. I leave the cell phone plugged in inside my satchel, that way my phone will be charged and the charger will be readily available. My wife has a portable charger, there are many available, it will charge a phone 3-4 times, I don't know what makes them tick but they do work. Being disabled and slow I don't know if I could have made it out safely if these fires were to happen here. I would surely try to get Mother in law (she's 95 years old) My wife (no comment on the age) My grandson and the dog out.
  Thanks for reading, liking and sharing, let's say a few prayers for the fires to be put out, While watching a big barn on TV completely up in flames, I wonder about the livestock, they didn't have a chance. The only "silver lining" if there is one, is I read about an old tortoise that was rescued in the nick of time. My YouTube video shows how clear it is, watch it here Link 

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

Preparation for an emergency disaster event for all of us, if we have not done so yet, needs to begin today.

  Preparation for an emergency disaster event for all of us, if we have not done so yet, needs to begin today. The onslaught of natural disasters experienced globally this year, 2017, serves as an alarm to each of us that we are not immune from them. Disasters cover a wide array of events, as simple as a wound needing medical attention to devastating events such as Hurricanes, now is the time to prepare. It is difficult to know where to begin to construct a plan of action for every type of threat we may encounter, will one plan be enough to cover all incidents or are separate plans needed for each? Alabama suffers from abundant tornadoes and Connecticut experiences snowstorms, each state and region has different and many times unique situations. Look up the most common natural disaster in your state Link.
  The place to start is FEMA, the Federal Emergency Managment Agency, their responsible for disaster response, they also are the agency responsible for administrating flood insurance.
  We should first determine which natural disaster we are most inclined to have visited us, we don't want to prepare for a blizzard in Arizona for instance. Where I was raised in Minnesota blizzards, floods, and Tornadoes are three of the main threats, while in California where I reside now threats including earthquakes, flood, wildfire and Civil unrest. There is one common companion of most disaster's of which we can prepare for first and build from there. So pick your disaster.
  Utility outages are constant companions of unexpected emergencies, we will do well to prepare for them first. Most of us have experienced "power outages", most occurrences begin and end in the span of minutes or a few hours. Some, on the other hand, last for days, weeks and rarely a month or more.

A Power Outage kit typically contains emergency lighting, matches, candles, body warmers, sleeping bags and a first aid kit, available commercially or simply build one yourself. It is a good place to start, but they normally contain no food or water, these are built for survival during short outages and assume access to food and water is possible. The knowledge and means to secure electrical boxes, gas lines and water to our houses are skills every member of the family needs to be familiar with, and able to either perform themselves or have contacts to help them. link to an example of the kits available.
  Kits are also available to support the needs of one or more people for a period of 72 hours, most government agencies suggest supplies for the initial 72 hour period. These assemblies typically have food (energy bars), lighting, water, first aid and hygienic supplies to name a few. Most of a person's needs for survival are included in the commercial kits, personal kits are not difficult to build by most people, however, we have a tendency to load too much into one kit. I am an advocate of each person having a kit made for a 7-day duration, that would be a 2 person 72-hour kit, I believe it's prudent to prepare for a week's event. Link to an example of this kit.
  After determining the type of disaster each of us are most likely to encounter, it's time to come up with a plan, it's not that hard. Templates are available through FEMA to complete a written plan, each person should have a copy available to them at all times. Information such as an out of area contact telephone number, who to call for help, what to do if you are away from home and many other informative entries are included. The advantage of using a pre-written plan template is that professional disaster response people sat down and assembled the list, with years of experience they know what is important and what is not. For instance, one issue I would never have imagined deals with our pets, the plan suggests we have a photograph of the family as a group, including the pet. The genius involved with this idea is the pet is easier to describe with a picture than words, and the animal is more recognizable when associated with a human. People may not remember what the dog or cat looks like, but most will remember a person. Another well thought out idea is to have an out of area contact number, a relative in another state for example. When a disaster occurs the first thing people may do is get on their phones to find out how their loved ones are coping. Unfortunately, the local telephone lines are jammed up with people calling 911, or relatives and friends. When a "busy" signal is received, what do we do? We disconnect and immediately redial the number, adding to the congestion, few calls get through. Not so with out of state calls, normally the lines are clear, all family members can call the number and leave a message, then call every 4 hours or so after the initial contact. In a planning template, many such tactics are listed, and if nothing else it is food for thought. Link to a planning template.
  Self-reliance is the main ingredient of planning for an emergency event, it is a change of lifestyle for many of us, and it can become all-consuming or it may be an addition to the way we live now. Either way, it is a very important part of living in a disaster-prone area, I believe most families have at one time or another had a discussion about certain disasters, I am thinking a house fire, and the question "what would you do if the house started on fire?" Very brief and informal but it is a start. An equally important ingredient making up the planning is to be sure to have everyone in the family involved in the planning, get the kids input. They look to adults for guidance during these events, to make more sense of it be certain to include in the child's own words some of their own planning entries. The child will recognize the suggestion as theirs and be more inclined to accept it when they are faced with a very terrifying situation. Involve the entire family in conversations about the plan, and practice it, even asking "what would you do if" questions during dinner will add to prepare people, making reactions to the event easier and more second nature.

This guy is all set up, he helped in the planning it's easy to tell. 

  I mention this all of the time, it doesn't,t hurt to repeat it often, one case of 24-pint water bottles will supply one person for six days if the daily adult requirements to avoid dehydration are adhered to, 1/2 gallon per day per person. That amount does not include cooking or hygienic uses. It's not out of the question to have 8 cases on hand at all times, however, that's easier said than done.
  Start your planning with FEMA, get a planning template, read a few publications they put out and begin to prepare for your local most common disaster, it's not all that difficult and you will pick up a few new lives skills.
  Thanks for reading and sharing, let the latest disasters be an alert for us to become just a little more self-reliant, and store water. If you are interested in where I live and work, watch my short introductory YouTube video. Link

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

The states that were ignored by Harvey are now in line to receive Nate, how could the people prepare?

    Hurricane Nate made landfall shortly before I began to write this entry, the Southeastern United States is getting slammed again. There are a lot of statements we employ to be optimistic about these disasters, words we use with the intent of lifting spirits during hard times are able to "backfire" on us. When a statement such as "well there is a silver lining behind this dark cloud", we walk a very loose line, to a victim there is no silver lining. I did use that expression in a blog about Puerto Rico during its battle with the Hurricane Maria. I used it in the context of "if there is a silver lining behind this cloud, it's the dam did not burst." I succeeded in using that phrase, because it was a good thing the dam held, not imperiling many more lives. Silver linings are difficult to find after these massive storms inflict their damage on so much property and lives.

Some clouds actually do have a silver lining. 

Now Nate is on a path of destruction, making landfall east of New Orleans, on the shores of Mississippi. A long enough warning was issued for the people to prepare, the mayor of New Orleans personally inspected the pumping stations finding of the 120 of the main drainage pumps, three major and eight minor smaller units were offline Friday night. However, all 24 major pumping stations were equipped with backup generators. After Katrina, a 14 billion dollar investment was made to the federal hurricane protection system, the mayor also declared a state of emergency well in advance of landfall. The memory of Katrina was a very determined taskmaster after the event completed its path of destruction. (Hurricane Nate has been downgraded to a "tropical storm", Link. )
  So now the states that were ignored by Harvey are now in line to receive Nate, making landfall as a category one storm, presenting 80+ mile per hour winds, the intense rainfall and of course flooding. It's reported as a fast-moving storm, we remember Harvey as a slowpoke, adding to the immense destruction of Houston just about a month ago. My experience with hurricanes is limited, I was in the tail end of one in 1969 (yes I'm that old) in Memphis Tennesee, I was in a building when the wind slammed a window and busted glass over a huge area. I was struck with a shard and had to have stitches on my thigh, I suffered no lingering injury.
  I have experienced 80+ mph windstorms, it is a powerful force, one of them I was in was so strong it broke three 12 inch diameter wood pylons on our dock that resides in the slough running past our home. Wind is strong, a good bit of advice is when faced with such an incident, when the insurance company is contacted never mention the word "water", that designates it as a "flooding" event and if the property is not covered by flood insurance, it's tough luck, Lucy.
Homeowners will not cover flooding, blame it on the wind.

High winds and heavy seas, extreme winds, and water create a
very destructive force of nature. 

  This is the fourth hurricane to strike the South East, bringing up the question of "how in the heck can the people prepare with such a short time span between events?" Even though the states hit by Nate were not in the center of Harvey, Irma or Maria, supplies remain in short supply, preparing for another storm may not have been a priority while helping the affected areas start to recover. I'm certain these states sent help by the way of personnel and equipment to the areas that suffered from the previous storms. Now with their resources stressed to the max, the same first responders will respond to Nate. It will take years for the South East to recover, it's a marathon, not a 50-yard dash, FEMA is spread thin, just the backlog in claims is already huge.
  How much preparation could be done in such a short amount of time? Water, the one most important commodity after an event, one 24 case of pint bottles of water will supply one person for a period of one week. Estimating how much water to have on hand in the pantry is an impossible task, 3-1/2 gallons for one person for one week. Link for human daily water requirements. I keep 3 five gallon bottles on hand at all times, we cycle them through our water cooler. I must mention I live in an area (yes 50 miles from San Francisco) that does not have potable water to our sinks inside the house. We have running water, however, it originates from wells that go deep into our small island, to the water table supplied by the river on all sides. That can be seen as an advantage, we have to buy water for consumption, which serves as an emergency stock as well. The main threat we face is an earthquake accompanied with flooding and utility outages, an event that would most likely last weeks. The people in the South East did not have the same luxury, most likely having only time to gather water together and maybe some long shelf life food items.
  I am an advocate of instead of a 72-hour survival kit, we would be safer with a 2 person 72-hour kit, it is also a 6-day survival kit for one person. It is a great suggestion for Christmas presents, everyone in the family needs to have one. Check the kit out Link, (website)
  Hopefully, Nate will be less destructive, but we are not through hurricane season yet, we could still experience more. Disasters happen in every region of our country and the world, now is the time for us in the west to prepare for winter rains and runoff. The North prepare for their blizzards followed with flooding and complicated with long utility outages.
  Thanks for reading and sharing, let's all take these storms as a warning to the rest of us to prepare for the worse while hoping for the best.
jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com

Hurricane Nate is headed for the Gulf Coast, but what happened to Tornadoes, 5 states that suffer the most are:

  There is another Hurricane heading for the Southeastern U.S., the states are preparing for it. "Nate" (Link) is this Hurricanes name if it's any relief he's supposed to be a "fast" moving storm. New Orlean's is preparing by ensuring all of their pumps are in top-notch shape, all of these states sure do get hammered on a regular basis. I was planning on writing this blog about the recovery in Florida, however when researching through the news outlets I had what I thought was a revelation, why haven't we heard anything about the Tornadoes that usually frequent the midsection of the United States. I was raised in an area that experiences Tornadoes, they are (I don't have to say it out loud), extremely dangerous storms.
  I am wondering what happened to the Tornadoes this year? Either 1) I haven't been paying attention. 2) The storms have taken a back seat to the other horrendous events occurring this year, or 3) Something happened to cause a decrease in the number of the storms.
  What has happened? My attention has been primarily on the other events, have you noticed any reports of Tornadoes or is it just me? It's not unusual to focus on the "most" devastating events, that may be human nature, sometimes we get overwhelmed with information, (well I do, speaking only for myself.) I have a natural filter causing me to categorize events in a priority type of sequence, again speaking for myself. I have compared this year 2017 to the last year 2016, I'm not pretending it sets a weather trend or anything of the sort, it merely tells us the number experienced in comparison to each other, (the years). (Link to NOAA)

A huge tornado, well developed and on the move.

 The state with the most occurrences in 2016 was Texas with a total of 1626, the numbers are from NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. This year, 2017 Texas experienced 1682, it really did surprise me. I don't know if these years include the Tornadoes that occur as a result of the Hurricanes, they create their own on the outer edges. OK, so Texas experienced more this year than last.
 I was not surprised by the #2 state's number of occurrences, Kansas was struck by 1207 Tornadoes in 2016, 419 fewer than Texas. It's not a competition, it brings up more questions to me, most likely due to my limited knowledge of weather and all that is involved in its creation. Kansas in 2017 experienced 1107, 100 fewer than occurred in 2016, interesting.
  North Carolina had the third most Tornadoes in 2016, should we be surprised? I'm not sure, however, I certainly am, I assumed the most occurrences are in the Midwest, rare in mountainous regions. during 2016 North Carolina had 871, still a large number. During the year of 2017 the state suffered through 656, 215 less, I will have to do extensive research to find out what made the difference.
  Virginia had 854 of the cyclones in 2016, I must admit this surprises me, because of my assumption of occurrences being overwhelmingly in the Midwest. In 2017 618 have occurred up until October 6 of this year. 236 fewer storms in Virginia in 2017, I am really getting curious now. So whats the #5 state?
  This state is not a surprise, Oklahoma takes the brunt of Tornadoes it seems every year, they experienced 814 storms of this type. Reports of Tornadoes in Oklahoma occupy the front page of many newspapers each year during the "season", with devastating results. In the year of 2017, there were 889 occurrences of Tornadoes, 75 more up until October 6 of this year. I don't see a two-year trend here.

My favorite state, independent, reliable people however to me it's also
the center of Tornadoes in the United States.

  I feel if I continue and list more nothing would be discovered as far as trending, a longer period is needed, as long as 100 years of data for trending, 10 years for hints. I have to ask myself if it is worth the effort just to discover if we have experienced less this year.
  I will continue on to list first the 5 month's having the most Tornadoes in both years:
  It's no surprise that the summer month's top the list, in 2016/2017 August-1924/, July-5642/3403, June-3858/3796, May 3078/4084, and April 1699/2568 (I placed the year's side by side for easier comparison, 2016 on the left, 2017 on the right.) Interestingly May and April of 2017 experienced an increase while June, July, and August decreased, in fact, August is not listed on the top ten list for the year 2017, explaining the absence of a number of occurrences. Does it have to do with the amount of rain we experienced during the 2016-2017 winter? It's open for investigation for sure.
  The most "Active" days for each year:
  2016: June 17, 2016, April 26, 2016, July 6, 2016, July 8, 2016, July 13, 2016
  2017: March 6, 2017, May 27, 2017, Feb. 28, 2017, March 1, 2017 and June 18, 2017.
  The only day to repeat is July 13 of both years, however, it is #6 on the 2017 most active days list. It leads me to speculate the past does not predict the future by the day or the month. May it have to do with the difference in temperature and rainfall during the winter of 2015-2016?
 There is more of a pattern developing after the first 5 days, but not enough of one to write about or even recognize as a trend. In other words, 1) I just haven't been paying attention to the weather reports on Tornadoes. I watched the Weather Channel for Hurricane coverage only, I will wake up and pay closer attention. 2) Yes, the Hurricanes and Earthquakes and Volcano's and floods and Murders have taken a lot of news items room on air and in print, after all, with everything that is taking place something has to be neglected, I suppose, otherwise, the newspapers would be like the Websters Dictionary every morning. 3) No, the occurrences of Tornadoes have not lessened, they have more or less remained the same, so as the old saying goes "Move along folks, there's nothing to see here."
  Thank you all for reading and sharing this blog, if nothing else my little bit of research exposed that one thing has remained relatively stable, unfortunately, it is the regularity of the occurrence of the dreaded Tornado.

jacquesandkate emergencykitsplus.com

I have been looking for news on how the cleanup is progressing in Houston, read this to find out.

  I wrote a blog addressing flood insurance about one month ago, one of the points I made was that this subject would be front page news in very short order. The first lawsuits in Houston are being filed, against the lender. A person who bought a new home was advised by Chase Bank (allegedly as far as I know), that the home he was purchasing did not require flood insurance because it is not in the 100-year floodplain. During Hurricane Harvey his home was flooded with 3 feet of water, he claims the bank's lending officer was not qualified to make insurance recommendations. To make matters worse for the bank, the claimant is a lawyer that really performed his due diligence. Apparently, he had an insurance package and presented it to his lender, after looking at his package the bank employee suggested that because it wasn't in a Federally designated flood zone, the 100-year floodplain, he did not need flood insurance. Wow, this is going to prove interesting for sure, I'm not a lawyer or a bank employee, however, it sure looks like he may have a good case, time will tell. I will try to keep up with this case and write a blog on it in several years when it will most likely be settled. His home suffered $200,000.00 of damage, he is seeking money to repair his home, punitive damages, and actual unspecified damages as well. The home owner's final statement was to the effect of, All was destroyed in my house, people who are not insurance specialist should not be advising people on flood insurance. If this lawsuit is won, we can expect a lot more of them, this homeowner may have a point. Find out if your home is in a flood zone according to FEMA click here.
  I have been looking for news on how the cleanup is progressing in Houston, I read the Houston Chronical, I don't read anything into it, I'm not there the reporters are and I take their word for what it is.

This is an old Google Image photo, however, some areas still await
Debris removal.

  After a month the cleanup continues, more rapidly than I was expecting, there is a lot of debris piled still in some areas, the haulers are getting to all of it. After such an unprecedented storm, they have had several over the past few years, many people are still displaced. More than 1300 people are still in shelters, many lives are on hold while awaiting FEMA to process their applications for assistance to enable them to gain permanent housing. Displaced people are living in motels and hotels paid for by FEMA, they number more than 60,000 hoping they will be able to put their lives back together and return to normal.
  Aransas County, a coastal county, suffered destruction of 35% of its buildings after the Hurricane passed, the people got to work and according to County Judge Burt Mills Jr. "Every day it gets a little bit better". It's hard to beat the American Spirit.
  In Houston many people were rescued during and after the storm, now a month later traffic is moving again and the schools are opened. The piles of debris still line some of the neighborhoods that were in the hardest hit areas, a stark reminder of Harvey's strength and destruction. Some parents are keeping their children away from their homes while being rebuilt, they do not want to let them be disturbed by the sight of everything they own piled up in rubbish heaps. That's understandable, I would do the same if my children were small, but if they are over 12 buddy, grab a shovel. 176,000 homes are estimated to have been destroyed or damaged, with at least 136,000 other homes and structures were damaged. Just in Houston and the surrounding suburbs, the estimate is 200-300 million cubic yards of ruined household furnishings, sheetrock, and everything else from garages, basements, and sheds. It doesn't take very much of this stuff to fill a truck, it's bulky and takes up a massive amount of space, but being hauled off it is. The public authorities estimate it will take several months to remove it all. I guess my idea to burn it in place is not a viable solution, I would bet I'm not the only one to think of that, it's a good decision, I am sure they don't need a shroud of smoke hanging over them. It's truly a task of biblical proportions. Take a look at FEMA's application for assistance link.
  FEMA is processing 834,000 applications for assistance, more than 298,000 have been OK'd so far, what do you think, 300,000 processed in a month, about 10,000 a day, I think that's pretty impressive. This task will take several months as well to complete. Many people who have lost everything are wiped out financially, most waiting for help, many are disabled. It's a slow process, local authorities are stressing patience. In a survey of business, executives said they expect losses from Harvey to continue for the next 6 months or so. Some of the coastal communities rely on tourism, getting hotels, motels, and restaurants up to speed is an important ingredient in recovering, without the tourist the economy is sunk.

Tourism is big and important in Texas.

  The recovery is continuing, in fact, some Cities, Beaumont had 2,000 homes flood, the mayor Becky Ames said recovery is going well and they are now focused on being a "good neighbor" and helping smaller cities hit hard by Harvey, the small cities have fewer resources and need the help.
  The decision makers in Houston are working on plans to build and finance improvements to lessen damage from future storms. Widening of bayous and flood basins are part of the planning, people are wondering if they will be able to rebuild where they are or be relocated due to some of these projects. After the massive flooding suffered in 2005 Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana officials rewrote the building codes. In Beaumont 65 million dollars was spent on a drainage project after Hurricane Ike in 2008, it saved a lot of homes, as stated above 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in that community. The mayor of Houston commented, "The one thing we do know is there will be another storm."
  Yes indeed there will be more storms, not only in Texas, Louisianna, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Florida, the entire world suffers storms, these will not be the last ones to occur in our sphere of influence as a nation. We had better bounce back as rapidly as possible, it appears from the outside that's what's happening in Texas. We know how Puerto Rico's recovery is going, (good grief), my next blog will be on the recover Florida is going through. I will then return to Puerto Rico for as much as I can uncover, then Mexico and their earthquakes. Let's all hope there will not be another disaster for a while at least.
  Thanks for reading and sharing, leave a comment, how do you think the recovery is progressing?
jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com

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I woke up to the massacre in Las Vegas, I am deeply saddened, I am trying to make sense of the senseless

  I woke up to the massacre in Las Vegas, I am deeply saddened as I am sure millions of other people throughout the world, the worst part of it is I feel helpless. I don't know what I can do to make things better, or at the very least a little more OK, today nothing is OK in my mind. I want to blame someone, I want to point to someone and scream at the top of my lungs "It's you! It's your fault!" Who can we blame, is there blame to place, is someone at fault?

The new image of unreasonability, we need to get control of the anger somehow.

  I want to leave the country, I applied to immigrate to Canada (last December) I was rejected because I am disabled and do not have "gainful" employment. I am one of those people who are restless, I have been my entire life, there is something more to see and do always, I want to see what is just over there, I will be right back. I told my mom and dad that in 1969, I left and never went home except for short visits, in hindsight I should never have left probably. The same today, I have to stay and figure out how to be a positive influence and do my part to make things better, somehow.
  I have been critical in the past of people doing just that, refugees fleeing their home countries due to civil war or other events causing them to run for their lives. My criticisms were directed at them in part due to I could not imagine someone running away and not staying to help fight or rebuild, who are these people? Well, today I understand, I just feel like running somewhere and burying my head in a deep dark cave, there is a point when escape feels as if it's the answer to the problems of the world. It is not, we are all in this great big boat together, the answer is to grab an oar and start paddling, we have to get this thing back on the road, or water. Today all of my attention is on the horrible tragedy in Las Vegas, it is a numbing feeling, the words "the worst mass shooting in American history". I hope it does not inspire copy cat's or worse yet to come.
  As I am writing this very little is known of the guy behind the trigger, he was an old white guy, I'm an old white guy, he has a mustache, so do I, I saw his picture this morning and my initial thought was, "we do all look alike". Grey hair, tired looking, facial hair and born in America. We do not know what his motivation was, he appears to have had a good life, better than average, however, there must be some demons hiding somewhere in the attic. I have no idea what to say about this guy, but I do have some insight of what old white guys think about after retirement.
  I have heard my entire life, I am fairly confident it is a widely known saying "your life flashes before your eyes before you die." It does, but it happens over a very long time after I stopped working my mind starting working overtime. During that process I examined every memory I was able to conjure up, forcing guilt feelings about things I did when I was 12 years old for crying out loud. All the questions that I asked, with few answered, after all, anything that happened and are older than 20 years should be locked away, the only stuff we should debate in our own minds is the good times. I am very lucky, I had and continue to have a good life, and man for the past two month's I have been counting my blessings, I am extremely fortunate. As I was eating dinner tonight my thought's went to Florida and Puerto Rico, there are people still without food and limited water. However when an old guy wakes up at 3 in the morning and starts thinking, "I should have done this, or that instead of this or that." Questions such as "what would life have been like if I had not done this or whatever." It is worsened if a person has medical problems and is on medication, it is easy to enter a self-made bubble and examine his entire life. (I'm only talking about old men, I'm smart enough and old enough to admit I can not and do not know how women think, although I suspect it's similar.) The dissection of 65 years of life is not healthy, and it is difficult not to do.

Buddha said we should live moment to moment, yes we should,
it's easier to say than to do

Buddha said we must live for the moment, yes we should, it is easier to say than to do, the past is past. Yes, it is, leave the past alone, until you don't work any longer than open the gate and let the anxiety, guilt, and decade's old activities begin to run amok in your mind. It's not OK to do that, we need to let the past be in the past, we don't, instead, we go on a self-diagnosis that has little grounds in reality. It took me 5 years, luckily I did not get bitter or unmanageable, I had made a promise to my wife and myself I would not become a bitter old man, I have kept my promise except for one encounter, and of course, it was one subject of the review of my life. I was having medical exams for exposure to agent orange during the Vietnam War, (I am affected by it, I'm a "Blue Water Sailor"), a nurse was scheduled to perform an EKG, I always fail them. Well, she was late by 15 minutes, old Jacques didn't like that, I complained to her, then after I apologized she told me I wasn't as bad as I thought I was. That was not the point, I let my self and more than that my wife down, and the good nurse did not deserve a disparaging word from me. My cover as a "not nasty" old white guy was blown, in those few seconds I became one, the incident, as you have guessed, became the subject of a late night examination, because you know that's what I do.
  I'm not sure why I (we I suspect most old guy's do it), do that, perhaps at least part of it has to do with working so hard for so many years then stopping. For my part I have had some of the most dangerous jobs there are, I worked on the flight deck of an Aircraft Carrier, well drilling crew, Ironworker, and Millwright, intense dangerous jobs, and when it stopped so did the adrenaline, and due to the pain, I was on painkillers. (I stopped taking them in short order) I mention all of this because I am around the same age as the homicidal maniac behind the guns, I wonder if going 100 miles per hour for 45 years working, then suddenly stopping has something to do with committing an unimaginable crime like the one in Las Vegas. I may be on to something, I am sure not all old guys go through this, I am willing to bet a good portion of us do, however. I think it did happen to me, but I turned it into a positive versus a negative, I knew I did not want to become bitter and dissatisfied with life, so I made a change. 7 ways to re-invent yourself link.
  It was needed for my self-preservation I felt I was going nuts, especially being ill and stuck in a laid-back chair reading endlessly about European History. I have always been interested in internet commerce, so I taught my self how to create a website, form a business, do SEO (optimization), learned about all of the social media sites and most importantly I began blogging, I really enjoy writing. I started the regiment on October 1, 2016, and I have been grinding along ever since I am sure it has helped my sanity. I did the same thing just before I became disabled, I knew my work life was coming to an end, walking is a big part of the professions I worked in. I took music lessons and learned to play Classical Guitar, I am not musical in any stretch of the word, it took me 5 years to get the beat, here I am 10 years later, I play the guitar, ukulele, and banjo, I'm working on the Mandoline.  (with little success)

Now I know what my dog thinks.

  I wonder if the old white guy at fault for the deaths of 59 good people took a drastically wrong turn while going through the same "life flashes before your eyes" experience I went through. I simply do not know, I do know I am desperately trying to understand how someone could possibly react in that manner. I do believe there is a connection between bitterness and complete moral, and ethical breakdown with crabbiness and general dissatisfaction with the "way things are going."
  I am not attempting to make excuses for this guy in the least, I am trying to understand, what in the world could possibly make a guy react like this? Is it the same thing that convinces men to pick up rattlesnakes causing them to suffer a severe bite if they don't know what they are doing? I don't see older ladies committing mass executions, do you? I see mostly old and young men committing these atrocities on our "civilization", as it is.
  No, I don't pretend to understand, I can't explain it, I can't accept it in any way shape or form, I am sure I stand with many many other people. My emotional bank account is in the overdraft section of the statement now, my compassion is wildly out of control, I woke up off and on last night thinking of the Kids in Puerto Rico, and woke up to this tragedy, just when I thought maybe things were starting to get better in that far off island. Then the next event happened practically in my own backyard, Las Vegas, unfortunately, what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.
  Thanks for reading and sharing, I appreciate all of you people and all of your opinions, you are all part of my second life, unfortunately so are these unbelievable tragedies. I would suggest if you are in a self-examination point in your life, if you feel bitter and angry, re-invent your self, if you want some help which direction to head first just ask me, I made it through, unlike the deplorable gunman and his 59 innocent victims, I hope there is a special place in hell for him.  Murder dozens of people then commit suicide, what a coward.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com