You guys on the coast ...

[mitchntx]

Anyone need any plywood?

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=984922

No affiliation, but if you want some, let me know and I'll make contact.

[Alien]

All 300 sheets sold within 50 minutes. :shock:

[Todd Covini]

I wonder if Pedersen got a sheet or two.
I believe he's the southernmost racer in the Houston area....'cept maybe Jay & Shannon, but they're happy in Ohio and living in elsewhere.

Hope everyone is OK south of the city. Call if you need anything.

-=- T

[RichardP]

I wonder if Pedersen got a sheet or two.
I believe he's the southernmost racer in the Houston area.


I believe I am although there are a couple pretty close to me. Looking to be a fun weekend...

Richard P.

[mitchntx]

Good luck to you boys. Be safe and don't be afraid to call for help.

[rpoz27]

I've got floor space here in CS, if needed. Worst case we've got shelters in the city and I can take your animals for the duration.

Porsche Club cancelled their event this weekend. Smart move!

[Fbody383]

I wonder if Pedersen got a sheet or two.
I believe he's the southernmost racer in the Houston area.


I believe I am although there are a couple pretty close to me. Looking to be a fun weekend...

Richard P.

Ross and I are in Pearland, down the street from Friendswood. The whole block is here this time around with pretty good prep. I picked up some CDX plywood yesterday at the ACE hardware when all Lowes had was furniture grade birch left.

The good news is that if we lose power for an extended time, the hunters next door will have to start grilling...

Thanks for thinking of us.

[Todd Covini]

I signed my house in Spring over to the Company last week. If you guys need to get north of Houston, come on by and we'll have an Animal House style hurricane party. Plenty of room here....and the moving trucks are scheduled be in the driveway on Monday or as soon as the storm is over!!! :wink:

Todd

[AllZWay]

I have a 26ft camper anyone that wants to escape this far north can come stay in until it all blows over.

[Fbody383]

Sup, fellas?

Wind was interesting to say the least. House seems to have come through well, had some water blow in around the windows on front. Found some water in the light globe of the wife's closet this am. Power back on for us last night... somehow that puts me in the top 4% of Centerpoint customers.

If anybody talks to Pederson let me know if there's anything I might be able to help with. Looks like Friendswood is still mostly without power and City is telling people not to come back yet.

PM me for a home number.

David

[Rob Liebbe]

We're in Tomball and had lots of wind and a possible tornado during the storm. My neighborhood is the worst that I have seen in the area. Lots of tree debris to clean up, no damage to any of the cars or rv, no power and I suspect we will be in the bottom 4%, plus my line to the pole is down and will require individual attention. Freakin' chainsaw quit halfway through what I need. We have the RV and will move into it when needed. So far it's been cool enough to stay in the house. Overall we're are in a lot better shape than others.

Fun. :roll:

[evarner]

Catastrophic power failure in Montgomer County. We might have power restored in 2-4 weeks. :(

It was bad...very bad in my area. At work now, but hated to leave the family this morning.

Nothing like having surgery and then sitting through Ike. Hope everyone else is doing well.

[RichardP]

Hey guys, I'm here. Family is fine, along with the house. The fence is gone but I think we got off pretty lucky. Extended family around us are also doing alright.

The power went out early and is still out. I'm hoping the trash people can make it today. I've got a refrigerator full of rancid stink that won't keep well until the next trash day...

As expected, I missed all of the action at Nationals. I'm trying to catch up now. Reading about it after the fact just isn't the same...


Richard P.

[Rob Liebbe]

We took or refrigerator trash to a local business dumpster. We are in the county and can burn our storm debris, but I'm going to wait until we have water again.

[ledfoot2]

We got lucky here in Corpus. Everyone boarded up and not a drop.

If any of you guys up in Houston need a hand, let me know. We'll do what we can to help.

[RichardP]

Woo hoo! Electricity at 11:20 Monday night. Still lots of messed up stuff but that really helps. Hope everyone else is doing alright...

Richard P.

[evarner]

Woo hoo! Electricity at 11:20 Monday night. Still lots of messed up stuff but that really helps. Hope everyone else is doing alright...

Richard P.

Nice and glad you have electricity. Directions to you? :D

Current reports in the Conroe area is 2-3 weeks :(

[ShadowBolt]

I have a friend that has a sheet metal shop in Caldwell and he has no power from the storm. Entergy or something like that is a POS company. While in the first two days after the storm Centerpoint power has restored power to almost half a million customers Entergy had not restored power to a single customer. The city of Caldwell buys it's power from Entergy. They can't build parts for their customers. We are loaded with work so we can't help them very much. The news media acts like this is all over. There are a lot of people hurting.


JJ

[Fbody383]

Entergy or something like that is a POS company. While in the first two days after the storm Centerpoint power has restored power to almost half a million customers Entergy had not restored power to a single customer.

I used to work for the old Houston Lighting & Power company of which the transmission and distribution (lineman) company is now Centerpoint. Those men and women are cut out for what they do and do a phenomenal job.

Good news that there's a lot of help coming in from around the company.

[ShadowBolt]

Entergy or something like that is a POS company. While in the first two days after the storm Centerpoint power has restored power to almost half a million customers Entergy had not restored power to a single customer.

I used to work for the old Houston Lighting & Power company of which the transmission and distribution (lineman) company is now Centerpoint. Those men and women are cut out for what they do and do a phenomenal job.

Good news that there's a lot of help coming in from around the company.

I agree that Centerpoint is doing a bang-up job but what is taking Entergy soo long?

JJ

[rpoz27]

The track uses Entergy, so we have no power. They are estimating Thursday for 80% of the customers in our area to have power. Seems like that is the earliest estimate for anyone in TX.

[evarner]

The guys in the field trucks are staying with the 2-4 week timeframe in my area.

Sad when you see 25 trucks no where near power lines with everyone standing around in a parking lot. I'm sure they were waiting on word where to go from corporate. Go Entergy! :roll:

[GlennCMC70]

that it Eric. its easy to get truck on the road. the other hold i'm sure to grid isolation. you have to be sure some dipshit doesnt "fix" an area that puts power to somehting you dont want power on. they surely have lots of "eyes" out inthe field making called about where to start. nothing like get electricity back and putting food int he fridge only to loose power shortly there after for days on end.

i'm still unclear if i'm heading out down that way.

[Fbody383]

Sad when you see 25 trucks no where near power lines with everyone standing around in a parking lot. I'm sure they were waiting on word where to go from corporate.

Only if they don't get into the field.

Crews always start with a safety briefing and description of construction and work order. For example, Centerpoint has 12.4kV and 34.5kV construction - layouts are different. There are cases where a line looks like 34.5kV but is enegized at 12kV. Crews have circuit maps, of course out of town crews need road maps too, to know what is supposed to be there. All "switching," making a line hot or cold is done through central dispatch and switches are tagged and locked. IIRC, the guys that tags it has to untag it.

Think about the process simply to replace a pole. Crew shows up, checks line for voltage, if hot has to switch and tag, establish traffic control, set up and ground truck, drill new hole (probably 16" diameter, 8'-10' deep), pre-build pole top, set pole (hopefully conductor is still up), finish pole installation (tamping, concrete, foam, etc.), finish pole top, take down truck, un-tag, take down traffic control, etc.

Whew... there's one pole. Unfortunately, it just takes time.

Throw in the moron that is running his generator and back feeding the lines and you begin to understand the breadth of issues.

[Rob Liebbe]

Thank goodness for the cool weather! No power at 95 degrees and 90% humidity would suck. I still have no power or water and will likely be near the end of the repair line as my service drop is down. On the good side, I just got an 8000W generator with 110V and 220V. After a bit of wiring, I should be able to run my water well, lights, fan, washer/dryer and tv. We are also using the motorhome for cooking, shower, and some power. Life is relativley good.

If anybody needs anything in the Tomball area, give me a call at 281-413-1948.

Oh - and I received my parts for the poor man's 3-link yesterday. Reassembly starts soon.

[Alien]

I feel guilty... The power flickered, maybe went out for 5 minutes. Worse thing was we lost cable and internet for a while. We got real lucky. Just to the north (Cinco Ranch) and south (Sugar Land) lost power. There were a few fences and a few trees down, but that was it.

[Al Fernandez]

Its certainly been an interesting week. We had no power for a day and a half, but no internet until yesterday. Sounds like Ross came out the worst of us with part of his shop falling over.

[GlennCMC70]

is he interested in having a "car extraction" party? does he need another chassis?

[Fbody383]

Sounds like Ross came out the worst of us with part of his shop falling over.


is he interested in having a "car extraction" party? does he need another chassis?

I talked to him yesterday. Short story: one building at work caught fire Wed. before hurricane, hurricane blew storage building into burnt building, storage building where car is partially collapsed and he didn't have the heart to start digging into it. Since it's a metal pre-fab it may have just twisted and not actually hurt the car.

I may be able to run by there this weekend and see what it looks like and pass on an update.

[Rob Liebbe]

Power came back on last night - 6 complete days almost to the minute.

Clean-up begins again tomorrow. Again, if anybody needs anything, call me. 281-413-1948

[evarner]

Sorry for my horrible tone to the last message. I realize they are doing everything they can to restore power to the millions who lost it.

There was a crew of 9 trucks outside my subdivision, so I stopped to tell them we appreciate everything they are doing (this crew happened to be from Florida). Hospitals, Schools, Nursing homes and other sites are at the top of the list.

We happen to live about a mile from a high school and are on the same grid. Power was restored Wednesday afternoon. Internet 24hrs later. I feel fortunate to have power and have offered those that still don't the use of my generator and gas jugs. Also making ice for those that have requested it.

If anyone needs anything, please let me know.

[mitchntx]

I can never say "I understand what you guys are going through." Because I've never been faced with that kind of crisis.

When there are friends who are faced with the kind of crisis you all are facing, it makes me thankful for what I have aand guilty that I can go to bed at night in my bed.

As many have said, if you need help, please ask. While cyber-dysfunctional, in real life, we are brothers.

[GlennCMC70]

i dont think anyone took you as bashing those guys Eric. but nice responce anyways.

if anyone needs anything, letme know and i'll find a way to make it happen.

[jeffburch]

I get email alerts from Congressman Poe.
If you would like me to fwd it to you let me know.
jb
===============================================
Congressman Ted Poe announces an ice distribution center to serve the constituents of the Spring/Champions area!

Congressman Ted Poe in partnership with Northwest Assistance Ministries will provide ice TODAY, Thursday, September 18. Stop by the NAM location after noon today for ice distribution.


Northwest Assistance Ministries
3645 FM 1960 @ Walters Road
Other Important Announcements

Houston City Councilmember Michael Sullivan has an ice distribution center set up to serve the constituents of Kingwood starting at 10am TODAY, Thursday, September 18, 2008 -Woodridge Baptist Church, 5707 Kingwood Dr.
State Rep. Debbie Riddle has arranged a shipment of ice and water for public distribution Thursday, Sept 18th starting at 8am at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 1612 Meadow Edge Lane, Spring 77388, just south of Louetta, north of Cypresswood, west of I-45 off of Holzwarth Rd.
Ford Park is resource staging area, not a POD, Ford Park is currently being used as a staging area for state and federal resources. Ford Park is not a point of distribution for the public.
Residents are reportedly hindering operations at the site, as they continue to stream in requesting supplies.

FEMA and the Texas Department of Public Safety office are asking people to stay out of Ford Park and only go to designated POD locations for food and water.
There is still a water advisory for Baytown until at least the weekend. Please listen to local news and follow their instructions.


According to a La Porte City Hall official their water is safe is drink.

Please click here for a list of POD locations

Click here for Centerpoint estimates for power restoration in Hurricane affected areas

For Power restoration by zipcode click here

Entergy Power Restoration Update

Peak outages: 392,600
Current outages: 261,635
Customers restored: 130,965
Percent restored: 33%

For a list of FEMA hotels click here
For a list of county highway closures in Southeast Texas click here

For a list of open gas stations click here

For an updated list of Salvation Army food and water distribution sites go to BeaumontEnterprise.com

[David Love AI27]

Mary and I rode the storm out in my mobile home... pretty scary for Mary, I woke up once in the middle of the worst and told her I was going back to sleep and to wake me up if we survived... had to leave her the next day to power up the phones for AT&T in Huntsville - Livingstone area... my power has been out since 4:00am Saturday... had to leave work today to get my ailing father who is bedridden and has been alone for the last week without power... not sure where I stand with my boss... worked 20 hour days last week, very tired now... hope to see you guys at ECR... glad everyone is safe... all the "material" things can be replaced...

[mitchntx]

Good to hear from you David. I think you are the last one unaccounted for.

[David Love AI27]

Thanks Mitch, Rob called the other day but didn't leave a message and I was a little busy at the time... sorry I didn't call back Rob... I am getting my dad settled in today and Mary will be taking care of him when I go back to my job this afternoon... I will continue powering up AT&T facilities to keep the 911 service and cell towers working and will be staying on site for the next few weeks... hopefully I can find some help to cleanup my property so I can focus on my racecar in time for the ERC event... Is there a link to the results at Nationals? Any idea how low the car count was??? I might have made the podium in AIX ROFLMAO!!!!

Congrats to ALL the Texas guys for making the trip to Nationals... IU hope to make it next year, not interested in the finish, just the experience...

[jeffburch]

I just spoke with Ross Smith.
They just got power and water today.
Business was in the process of moving to new bldg when the old one burned. He still has employment.
Falling bldg the car was in didn't get the car.
Some stuff got wet but the car is ok.

jb

[GlennCMC70]

nice update Jeff.

[Adam Ginsberg]

Glad to hear you're ok, David. Thanks for the update on Ross, JB.

Regarding car count at the Nats - I don't have actuals for 2006 and 2007 (although I believe the numbers I quoted were very close), 2008 numbers, after refunds and no shows is 435...very close, if not a tad higher than previous years.

If you include supersizes, it ends up around 540.

[Racebrat]

Hi Guys-

KC and I rode out the storm in Magnolia at our house. We have no structural damage- Thank Goodness. One of our neighbors said he clocked sustained winds at 102MPH. Not sure how he did it or if I believe him but judging by the number of trees down and the damage around us- its quite possible! KC is recovering from the bypass nicely and is getting stronger each day. We are on day 10 without power and will probably be among the last to get it since 2 of my poles are snapped like toothpicks and laying in the front yard along with all the wires that were attached to them. We are on the bottom of the list since we are an individual problem- Hey Rob- did you bribe them to get your poles?

Say a prayer for our sanity- I'm beginning to lose my mind!!!!!

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers-

A

PS- Sorry I missed the Nats- I heard we have a Champion in our midst- Congrats Glenn- wish I could have been there to see it!

[Al Fernandez]

Good to hear from you Adrian...let me know if you need anything!

[Rob Liebbe]

Adrian, no bribe, just lucky I guess. Let me know if you need anything.

[Todd Covini]

I'm back.
Power restored today at noon.
No internet or power for 10 days and like Adrian said...goin' crazy.
We did fine....minor fence damage and the shed on the side of the house disappeared leaving only the contents in the yard.

Movers arrived today and packed most of the house.
Now if I could only get back to Beaumont to see if we have a house to move into...... :roll:

Sure hope the businesses open up there soon so we can purchase our new home. :?

(Glad to see/hear everyone else is doing well, especially KC.)
Congrats, Glenn!

Now I'll get to catch up on my Nats reading!!!

-=- Todd