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Riding Out the Storm in FL


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First, I'm wishing for the safety of everyone living in the path of hurricane Milton as it barrels through parts of Florida. 

 

Cue up The Doors...

 

The news has interviewed a few folks who've chose to stay put in their homes as 9'-13' foot storm surges were threatening to make landfall.

 

Looks like hurricane Milton has gone down to category 2. Winds at 105 mph can still do plenty damage.

 

Stay safe. Things can be replaced. Life not so easily. No need to collect a Darwin.😎

 

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PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I'm hoping Notes Norton is okay. He lives in Fort Pierce, and I heard a tornado went through there that killed a couple people.

 

As they say, hide from the wind but run from the water. People were relieved Milton made landfall as a Cat 3, but then again, Katrina was a Cat 3 when it made landfall. Having all that devastation piled on top of the devastation from Helene will be too much for some people to handle. 

 

I hope there's a minimal amount of suffering and that people can take care of each other. Disasters bring out the best and the worst in people. I hope the best side wins.

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I cross my fingers for Notes, his family and prized saxes. I've been through two hurricanes and its very daunting. Flooding in particular can feel crushing to Life As We Knew It. I'm increasingly cringing at how the elements seem to be ramping up a certain seeming, um, hostility. I came across this and wished I could protect my gear from an EMF pulse by laying on it:

 

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rare G4, or severe, geomagnetic storm watch for October 10th and 11th, with the storm predicted to hit as early as Thursday morning. The coronal mass ejection (CME) is the result of a class X solar flare that occurred on October 8th. Class X indicates a very powerful flare."

 

Scary. If we get one of those that knocks out cell phones and traffic lights for a while, be prepared, because here comes "The Purge." Not to be a doomcryer, but simply to say that I cannot run for squat anymore, so I'll be among the first to be eaten.

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 "Sometimes not giving up is the most heroic thing you can do."
      ~ "Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom"

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3 hours ago, David Emm said:

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a rare G4, or severe, geomagnetic storm watch for October 10th and 11th, with the storm predicted to hit as early as Thursday morning. The coronal mass ejection (CME) is the result of a class X solar flare that occurred on October 8th. Class X indicates a very powerful flare."

 

The grid's transformers could be protected for $200 million and the grid could be hardened for $2 billion (although those figures are 7 years old, the cost has probably gone up).

 

 

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I'm going to assume Notes is just one of the millions of people without power. Hopefully he'll be able to check in soon. When I lived in Florida around where he does, the power was out of 12 days after one of the hurricanes. So it's not unexpected that he wouldn't be going online right now.

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Well, my aunt and uncle live in Palm Coast, FL, which is sorta between Daytona Beach and Orlando. They weren't too affected by the weather there, though a lot of their neighbors lost a lot of power. It won't last forever, though!

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On 10/11/2024 at 2:15 AM, Anderton said:

 

The grid's transformers could be protected for $200 million and the grid could be hardened for $2 billion (although those figures are 7 years old, the cost has probably gone up).

 

 

 

That's a great song from an excellent album!

 

Some songs I've written - https://www.soundclick.com/randomguymarkl

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24 minutes ago, Anderton said:

 

Thanks! I just did a song called Inside the Eye of the Hurricane. I didn't expect it to be timely. 

 

I like it! Great production as always. Wasn't expecting that note at 2.14. That really threw me. But having listened to that bit again a few more times, I get it. Sweet!

 

Some songs I've written - https://www.soundclick.com/randomguymarkl

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I'm back. That you for your concerns. 

We got lucky. We dropped the storm awnings, put up the shutters, saved water in glass bottles, checked the generator, bought gas (which will now go in our vehicles), got out the emergency radio, and rode out the storm.

When it was over, we had tree branches and palm fronds all over the yard, a PITA to clean up. We lost our landline phone and Internet, and our cell phone was next to worthless. Our worst financial loss was this week's gigs.

Like I said, we got lucky.

I've ridden out every hurricane since the 1960, and I've never seen one with "real" tornadoes, jut little twisters that rip off roof tiles. This was very unusual. 

Our neighborhood is back to normal, we all pitched in to help each other, now it's time for me to go out and help some who weren't so lucky. I'll also be donating blood next week, I'm sure they need some.

Our landline/Internet got back late last night, so today is catching up with everyone day, and I'm counting our blessings.

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Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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1 hour ago, Notes_Norton said:

I'm back. That you for your concerns. 

We got lucky. We dropped the storm awnings, put up the shutters, saved water in glass bottles, checked the generator, bought gas (which will now go in our vehicles), got out the emergency radio, and rode out the storm.

When it was over, we had tree branches and palm fronds all over the yard, a PITA to clean up. We lost our landline phone and Internet, and our cell phone was next to worthless. Our worst financial loss was this week's gigs.

Like I said, we got lucky.

I've ridden out every hurricane since the 1960, and I've never seen one with "real" tornadoes, jut little twisters that rip off roof tiles. This was very unusual. 

Our neighborhood is back to normal, we all pitched in to help each other, now it's time for me to go out and help some who weren't so lucky. I'll also be donating blood next week, I'm sure they need some.

Our landline/Internet got back late last night, so today is catching up with everyone day, and I'm counting our blessings.

 

Yeah this hurricane was a rough ride, glad you survived unscathed with just a mess to clean up.

Recovery of utilities varies.  I was without power for 24 hours, without internet for two days, without full cell service for three days.  Other communities lost utilities over a longer time.

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Those tornadoes were scary.   I was tuned in to a couple live streamer channels on youtube and the vids looked like something out of the great plains....not something you expect to see in FL.  I've personally seen a number of tornadoes and waterspouts and they normally are relatively minor in strength).

Not that I really needed more incentive to leave this  state after 55 years---granted, I'll miss my band if I left, but that is it--but damn this last week has sucked.

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18 hours ago, Stokely said:

Not that I really needed more incentive to leave this  state after 55 years---granted, I'll miss my band if I left, but that is it--but damn this last week has sucked.

Hopefully, you will be able to find another musical situation wherever you decide to land.😎

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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It's not going to happen any time soon most likely.  My wife's realty/property management business is a big reason.  It was just a rude shock to have great weather in Duluth (Lake Superior, wow) and then come home to breathing a swamp and have a week of dread and evacuees from Tampa staying with us (glad to help out family and friends, but it was a zoo, literally, as we had two extra cats from two different people.)

Other than a couple close family members and a couple friends, my band would be one of the only things I'd miss from here.  it's not perfect--what is?--but it's been together 12 years and still going pretty strong.   It would be hard to replace for sure.

I can do at-home music anywhere of course, but I still like playing live without a net while I still can!

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I've been in a lot of hurricanes, and they usually spawn tornadoes, but they are more like little twisters that simply take roof tiles off. But this hurricane had at least one EF3 — a real Dorothy and Toto type storm. Friends had their roof taken off, but when they heard the noise, they got into a closet and survived.

I spent a lot of time yesterday helping people not as lucky as we were. It was a good experience, and I'll do it again today or tomorrow. More hands make less work.

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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Yes, I was watching one of the big weather live streamers (who was cutting between traffic cams and various chasers) and a couple vids showed one of the big tornadoes.

As I said that looked like something from Oklahoma.  Wide wedge shape and lots of big debris spinning around it.  It looked huge.

We lucked out as those two or three bands that were creating all the tornadoes moved offshore by the time they got north enough to get us.   It was a pretty near thing.  The tech is amazing--they can "see" tornadoes on radar.  Two or three big waterspouts were especially visible and one of these came onshore in Cocoa Beach and caused some damage.  I've been out on a fishing boat where we've seen multiple waterspouts but as you say they tend to be smaller thin twisters (still not something you want hitting you).

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Yes, most of the water spouts I see are smaller. I saw one big one on the overseas highway on the way to Key West decades ago (before they ruined it, IMO). 

I have a lot of trees in my yard, and that's my biggest concern.

It's a 1950s, flat roof house with those drop down awnings. It's low in profile, and we are a 32' ancient sand dune hill, just west of the intracoastal waterway (Indian River, though it's really a lagoon). I don't think it's tornado friendly, as most seem to like flat, open spaces. So the trees are the threat. But they are in a grove, I planted quite a few in 1990 when I bought the house. Groves are better than single trees, as they hold each other up. Growing up here, I know that is the best place for a home.

I know how to prep for a storm, and the rest is a matter of luck. 99% of the people get through the storm with no major problems. 

The folks living on barrier islands should never live there. Those in mobile or manufactured homes should never ride out a storm in them. Those in reclaimed swamp land should have never bought there. These are the folks that make the news and weather pages. 

For the rest of us, there is no guarantee, but we have reduced the odds.

Old-fashioned, drop down awnings are the best. They shade the windows in the summertime, take about 5 minutes max each to drop, and there is no storage problem. Sure they are no longer in fashion, but they work much better than the newer solutions.

awnings south 2 small.jpg

awnings southdmxll.jpg

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Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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1 hour ago, Notes_Norton said:

Old-fashioned, drop down awnings are the best. They shade the windows in the summertime, take about 5 minutes max each to drop, and there is no storage problem. Sure they are no longer in fashion, but they work much better than the newer solutions.

 

I had hurricane shutters and they worked well. They sit on the side of the window when there's no hurricane, and hinge over the windows when you need to prepare. They were super-strong, too - you could have a tree blow against them. But they didn't have the advantage of shading the windows the same way your awnings do.

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2 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

The folks living on barrier islands should never live there. Those in mobile or manufactured homes should never ride out a storm in them. Those in reclaimed swamp land should have never bought there. These are the folks that make the news and weather pages. 

It is interesting that folks choose to build and/or buy properties in locations that are subject to natural disasters. 

 

Even worse that certain homes are allowed to be sold:

image.thumb.png.fdf0827b1c81156da80025e9f849dcb8.png 

 

I'm not judging where folks choose to live and/or how they spend money.

 

There's a reason when homeowners insurance is either hard to obtain or higher than giraffe snatch.🤣😎

image.png

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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Between this level of storms and axing Tesla cybertrucks from coverage, I'm curious to see how the general contraction of insurance terms will affect attempts at rebuilding and new business starts. Premiums are going to become astronomical. There's a lot of rock-and-hard-place to come. Mickey will need Iron Man and Yoda to fly Disneyland a few miles inland, PDQ. 

 

Then there are the more severe winters slated for Europe. We'll be doing some major food exporting over that. Scarcity of food and water have always been great primers for fascism. Some of that has been creeping up around the edges. How thrilling! As Ogden Nash said, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if pollution don't get you, strontium must." 🤨  

 "Sometimes not giving up is the most heroic thing you can do."
      ~ "Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom"

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I definitely think that the people who build on barrier islands or former swamps here in FL (don't know about the rest of the country) should not receive any government aid (my tax money). I'm all for helping those in need, but for example, this is the fifth time the barrier island, Fort Pierce Beach has been washed over since I've lived in Florida. And yet, they get gov't aid and rebuild.

When I was young, I saw a quarter of a mile of barrier island disappear during a hurricane. They tried pumping sand back to replace it, but the sand washed away almost as fast as they replaced it. The ocean bottom changed, the currents changed and they never got their island part back.

And when the sand washes out from under their homes, my tax money should not go into putting the sand back. If you look at maps from the 1800's on, you can clearly see that that barrier islands move. They drift as the sand washes from one area and deposits itself somewhere else. If we weren't allowed to build on them, we could just let nature take its course, and in the meantime, everyone who wants to could enjoy the seashore.

 

It's wonderful to live in Florida, but unwise to live on a barrier island or on what once was swampland. Sadly, the housing developers don't tell the throngs of northerners that decide to move here that their home will revert to swampland during a wet hurricane or an unusually wet rainy season.

 

I've always lived on the Eastern sand ridge. The lowest elevation was 26' and the highest, now, is 32'. Water is usually worse than the wind, and I've never been flooded. 

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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1 hour ago, Notes_Norton said:

It's wonderful to live in Florida, but unwise to live on a barrier island or on what once was swampland. Sadly, the housing developers don't tell the throngs of northerners that decide to move here that their home will revert to swampland during a wet hurricane or an unusually wet rainy season.

The question remains *why* are people allowed to build homes in swamp land, flood plains and other areas subject to natural disasters. 

 

Again, a telltale sign that one is building in the *wrong* place is when the insurance company either won't touch it or charges an astronomical premium.😁

 

Of course, there are people who feel entitled to live wherever they choose.  Apparently, they are willing to pay for their choice even if it is the ultimate price.😎

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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7 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

When I was young, I saw a quarter of a mile of barrier island disappear during a hurricane. They tried pumping sand back to replace it, but the sand washed away almost as fast as they replaced it. The ocean bottom changed, the currents changed and they never got their island part back.

 

Any body of water with current does not like their course artificially changed.

 

I suffered a flood back in NY - not anxious to go through that again.  When I was house hunting in FL, I was very conscious of flood prone areas.  The house I bought is inland about an hour from the coast in north central FL, on an elevated lot.  Rainwater flows away easily.  If the lake across the street ever gets that high, it's time to build an ark.

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There's a lot of water here in Tennessee, just ask about the Nashville flood of 2010...13.5 inches of rain in a day and a half. When I bought a place here, you can damn well bet I looked at all the NGS maps re: flood plains. I'm safe where I am, but if there's a really, really serious flood, the ways to get in and out of where I live are going to be dicey for a few days.

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22 hours ago, ProfD said:

The question remains *why* are people allowed to build homes in swamp land, flood plains and other areas subject to natural disasters.

Same reason why in Florida, the building codes get weaker and weaker through time.

Property developers pour millions of dollars in the campaign funds of political candidates (read campaign funds as tacit bribes). 

Developer: Here is a few million for your campaign. One year later. I just bought this swampland for $1 per acre and would love to fill it in and build expensive homes on it. Can you change the zoning, it'll mean jobs for the people.

 

Or.

 

Developer: You know the building code here that requires all new homes to be cement brick and steel (CBS) construction and have either slate tile, metal, Bermuda, or tar and gravel roofs makes it very expensive for me to build. Remember that million I put into your campaign. Commissioner: OK, 2x4 houses and asphalt tile roofs are good enough.

 

Because as long as unlimited funds are allowed to go to candidates for election, it will not be government by the people and for the people. It will be government by the people but for the special interest groups.

 

My second solution would be:

  1. Only registered voters should be allowed to make a campaign contribution.
  2. That contribution should be limited at $50 per registered voter for any candidate

My first solution would be:

  • Publicly funded elections. Anyone with enough signatures is accepted, and equal media time for each accepted candisate

But that will never happen. So we have the best representatives that money *CAN* buy.

 

So come election day, I simply cast my ballot for who I think is the lesser of the two evils running.

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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@Notes_Norton, I should have prefaced that my question above  was rhetorical.

 

I know the answers but as a regular on the KC side of the forums, I'm conditioned to avoid politics and religion.🤣

 

Money definitely has a lot of power in countries built on human greed, er, capitalism. 😁😎

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I apologize if my post was too political and if it offended someone.

There aren't many, if any, places that are safe from natural disasters. There are avalanches, tornadoes, tsunamis, blizzards, wildfires, dust storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and so on.

 

Probably because I grew up with hurricanes, I prefer them to the other types of disaster. Why? You know they are coming, so you have time to prepare. Plus, I know where to live, what kind of house to live in, and how to prepare. That minimizes my risks, though it doesn't guarantee safety.

 

Most of the pictures you see in the news are from people living in the wrong place, in the wrong kind of house, and not prepared. Probably >99% of the people and houses here got through the storm, with nothing but a big PITA cleanup afterward. Some lost power, Internet, cable TV, and/or phone for a while, maybe even days. But we are safe and that's what counts.

 

I live on a little dead-end street with a dozen houses on it. In 2004 we had 2 hurricanes and a tropical storm. We got the eye of both hurricanes. We were out of electricity for 10 days each. Since we have well water, we can't have water without power, but we all have generators. Of course, we had stored drinking water and flushing water, but none for bathing.

Some folks lost prime on their wells, some had generator problems, and as a result, the street and yards were crisscrossed with water hoses and extension cords. The generators run only a few times per day, enough to keep the food in the fridge safe, and that's when we took our showers. 

 

The widow on the block couldn't put up her storm panels, so a few of us men made quick work of installing and removing them for all 3 storms. After it was over, she took us out to dinner. She didn't have to do that, but it was appreciated.

We live in a friendly neighborhood, and it was a matter of people helping people.

Tragedy like this can bring out the best and worst of human behavior, but mostly, it brings out the best.

This year, we didn't lose power (amazingly) and everybody was OK. We pitched together to help clean up everyone's mess, and hauled all the broken branches and palm fronds to a huge pile to make it easy for the county to clean up when they get around to our neighborhood.

I hope that's it for this year.

 

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Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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