2996

I was watching the one in the link (Two Friends Rooftop) at around 8:35 PM and this dude on a bicycle rides down the street…

2997

This is the kind of shit I hate. So I’m down the block at a party and a neighbor joins us. We’re drinking and I hear her say something. It’s loud with the music and all. So I ask what she said. She said, a five nigger boat.

I asked her what she meant by that.

She said it was how she figured the number of niggers it took to take care of the boat.

I left right then. I will no longer be spending any time with that ignorant bitch. Fuck those people and fuck them again.

2998

That article is spot on, Tampa really isn’t ready. As a part-time resident for several weeks each year, I’ve seen first hand the mess even a decent sized thunderstorm with a couple of inches of rain can make of the coastal roads and towns. Drainage in those areas is awful, and in many places the roads, homes and businesses are literally just a few feet above the tide line. A 6-foot storm surge is going to wreck a good portion of the roads and businesses along the coast, and while many of the newer bigger homes and condo complexes have a good 15+ feet of clearance (they’re built with the “ground floor” being parking/storage/pool/patio area, so the actual living spaces are at least one story above ground) the vast majority of the homes on the coastal barrier stretch are not, so 6 feet of surge will put them in roughly 2-5 feet of water depending on their location.

It actually gets worse on the inland side. Downtown Tampa is practically built right at water level with the bay, meaning any significant storm surge is going to leave downtown streets under water, and again, drainage there is poor to mediocre at best. Pretty much none of the houses on the inland side are built with flooding in mind, so whole neighborhoods will be inundated, much like Houston this year or New Orleans during Katrina.

When I saw the news earlier today that Tampa is now in the path of Irma, my heart sank. I love the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area dearly, and the people there that I know are all amazing and fantastic people, most of whom are from somewhere else in the U.S. and settled in the area because they too loved it so much. I am very scared for them and their families, and everyone else in the area, and while I don’t really “pray”, I am desperately hoping that Irma weakens or turns, dealing Tampa/St. Pete a glancing blow rather than a head-on hit.

If we have any QT3 folks in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater areas, please stay safe.

2999

I have no idea who they are nor why you are so angrily bringing them up. The only reason I posted the tweet was it was the first available link to the radar image, which clearly shows a lot of weather activity along the bridge between Key West and the tip of Florida, moreso than is in Key West. So escape is pretty difficult. The tweet text itself was pretty clearly irrelevant to the discussion at hand (quoted and my addition).

3000

I am not angry at you. However, even today there has been this common drivel on national news about Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and much of the Florida east coast when quite clearly Irma is headed to SW FL. Ft. Lauderdale is going to get some lousy weather. We are going to get truly catastrophic deadly weather. We watch the hour-by-hour wind estimates and all of SW FL is looking at multiple hours of wind in excess of 100 MPH. Tornadoes are already forming. I am probably just a bit over-sensitive that much of the media seems to have been focused on the wrong coast.

3001

Thanks, man.

I’m just a ball of anxiety right now. Almost pulled the trigger on just taking off for greener pastures a half dozen times today. But we’re shored up and ready so if the trees stay up or at least fall away from the house then we should be ok.

That being said, if the forecast says cat 5 direct on Tampa, I’ll probably exit state right.

3002

Dude. You are one of my favorite people. I wish I could help you more than saying be safe, buddy.

3003

I can’t even imagine. All my thoughts and well wishes will be with you and your family these next 48 hours. Check in here as often as you can and let us know how it’s going. Stay safe and take care.

Same goes for you too @RichVR. Let us know how things go in the land of the Mouse, and stay safe my friend.

3004

I appreciate it, I really do.

3005

Provided there is internet I’ll try to let everyone know I’m fine. I have no idea what connectivity/power is going to be like. Most likely power will be gone for a long time, but I’ll find a way to keep the cell phones charged.

3006

I stuck around for a couple weeks after Sandy without power, and I dearly regretted that decision. Don’t make the same mistake I did; once it’s all over if they don’t give a relatively quick ETA on power returning, hop in your car and stay with family/friends or in a hotel.

Living without electricity is SO BORING.

3007

I finally have four people for board gaming. A lantern and food. What a way to go.

3008

Don’t even want to know what your neighbor’s term for that group might be!

Hope all you FL folks stay safe!

3009
3010

Yeah, once everything is cleaned up if there’s no AC and no plans for it for a while I’m going to head out.

I actually have a rental nearby that the tenants just moved out of. It’s right next to a water treatment plant so the power tends to come back on relatively quickly after outages. So I might end up holed up just there (with occasional internet via phone hotspot). Otherwise I’ll hang out with my brother in Atlanta and the wife and kids will take another trip to New Mexico to see her family.

You know, provided we all survive under the mattress or whatever.

I meant that as levity, honest!

3011

Good luck, Floridians. I’ll be thinking of you and sending positive thoughts your way. I was initially pretty happy when Irma started to shift west, because I have friends and family in various places in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties (as well as my in-laws’ condo at which we often spend Christmas vacation in Hallandale Beach). Knowing that the shift to the west coast means that many of you will be more directly and severely affected saddens me, though. Damn this storm to hell.

3012

Yeah, the article is really interesting.

But Tampa is pretty lucky, I think. port Charlotte is supposed to get much more of a storm surge. If the storm had tracked a bit further west, I’m not sure that would have been the case.

3013

Here’s hoping that it keeps heading out into the Gulf until the predicted shear weakens it more. The models haven’t been super accurate on Irma (spot on on Jose and Katia, though).

3014

Is there still time to get a picture at the southernmost point?

3015

The Live Cams are showing very strong winds now …
edit: damn, power was cut off! I just saw it with my own eyes!