Techno's hurricane survival tips

[techno-snoreus]

As many of you may know, I live in the Houston, TX area. Hurricane IKE beat my little city like a pimp and I have since learned many things and would like to pass on some of my knowledge to my fellow pappers.

1. You can run a Puritan and Bennett Goodknight 420 off a car battery with a DC/AC converter for ten hours and still start the car in the morning.

2. Living without electricity SUCKS!

3. FEMA is a joke.

4. Yachts were not meant to be parked in the parking lot of the marina.

5. It's hard to shower and get dressed by candlelight, even harder in the dark.

6. Watch out rusty nails, tetanus shots hurt! (Yes, I had to get one I stepped on some damn rusty nails)

7. Be nice to your neighbors, especially if they have a generator. (A generator will be my next major purchase)

8. Buy LOTS AND LOTS of bottled water. LOTS and LOTS of it.

I will post more as I think of them, but for now this will have to suffice. Any questions, post them here.

Thanks,

Techno-snoreus

[amos]

Hi Techno,

Long time, no see. Where have you been my friend?

Thanks for the update on your self and Houston. Do care take. My prayers are with you. Just remember "a country boy can survive."

Amos

[carbonman]

4. Yachts were not meant to be parked in the parking lot of the marina.Techno-snoreus

I'm very curious about this....
why weren't the yachts and boats taken out of the water or
sailed away to a safer place?

Just curious. Thanks!

[techno-snoreus]

4. Yachts were not meant to be parked in the parking lot of the marina.Techno-snoreus

I'm very curious about this....
why weren't the yachts and boats taken out of the water or
sailed away to a safer place?

Just curious. Thanks!

Because rich people are stupid. Here are some photos from the marina http://www.houstonpress.com/slideshow/view/142746

[carbonman]

Because rich people are stupid.

....oh, that is kind'a what I was thinking.

....so does the insc. company ask these folks about due diligence
to mitigate their losses, by possibly moving their toys.....
because they had a weeks notice that this thing was coming?

....just curious.

[techno-snoreus]

Because rich people are stupid.

....oh, that is kind'a what I was thinking.

....so does the insc. company ask these folks about due diligence
to mitigate their losses, by possibly moving their toys.....
because they had a weeks notice that this thing was coming?

....just curious.

I honestly don't know. I worked my ass off boarding up windows and stuff to protect my house and moving everything that could blow away into the garage. I did my due diligence, that's for sure. It may sound mean, but I honestly don't feel sorry for people who lose their yachts, or hummers, or mercedes, etc.

[Babette]

Hey Techno, thanks for the tips! I'm glad you survived, and glad you got that tetanus shot. I'd hate to watch you foam at the mouth or whatever it is tetanus does to you.

I love the line about beating you like a pimp! Stealing that!!!

Huggers,
Babs

[Bearded_One]

You can run a Puritan and Bennett Goodknight 420 directly off of a car battery with no need of a DC/AC converter.

[techno-snoreus]

You can run a Puritan and Bennett Goodknight 420 directly off of a car battery with no need of a DC/AC converter.

True, but I do not have the 12v plug. All I have is the 110 plug.

[MissDozer]

7. Be nice to your neighbors, especially if they have a generator. (A generator will be my next major purchase)

Yep. Gustav helped us make that decision. I think it's kinda like taking an umbrella when there is a threat of rain. Our power hasn't flickered since the generator arrived, not that I want it to, you understand!

[profish]

I am just north of Houston and our area was also very hard hit by Ike. I would have to add, stock up on groceries. I went two nights before the storm hit and bought enough stuff for my family for three weeks. I ended up having 3 extra families for a total of 9 extra people at my house because I did have a propane powered generator big enough to run everything in my house including the air conditioning. Those folks ranged from 4 days old to 78 years old. They ate all my groceries in short order and of course didn't bring anything with them.
I had stocked up on gasoline and diesel and had 20 gallons of gas and 10 gals of diesel stolen, so be ready to defend your stash.
Watch out for snakes, we have killed three rattlers very near the house since the hurricane, one on the porch. I had only seen two before and have lived here for close to 20 years. Something got them moving and we didn't have high water around our place because we sit on a big hill.

[RosemaryB]

Hey Techno, thanks for the tips! I'm glad you survived, and glad you got that tetanus shot. I'd hate to watch you foam at the mouth or whatever it is tetanus does to you.
Babs

One thing I do know is that tetanus will wreak havoc with your AHI. You do stop breathing more frequently when your jaw locks up

[Snoredog]

4. Yachts were not meant to be parked in the parking lot of the marina.Techno-snoreus

I'm very curious about this....
why weren't the yachts and boats taken out of the water or
sailed away to a safer place?

Just curious. Thanks!

My guess:

There is NO faster way to sell your yacht than have it totaled out by insurance, you get full retail price that way. Heck with diesel prices the way they are I would have parked my million dollar motor home next to the yacht

You noticed some of those houses were burning on TV news? Much harder for Insurance to claim it was flood waters that destroyed your house so they can deny the claim especially when TV news shows it burning on TV. After the storm there is nothing left for the arson investigators to sift through. In a depressed Real Estate market? A house 2 streets over from us mysteriously burned, zillow shows they paid $370k for it back in 2005, today it is worth $187K, now that it burned probably about $25k.

But now that you are the proud new owner of AIG....

[birdshell]

I'm only guessing, too:

I would think going out into pre-hurricane waters might not be a good way to preserve life and limb. It might also be difficult to find a safe place for a boat. Some may be too large to even be taken out of the water--IF the owner even has a trailer for it.

I don't know, but as I said--it is just a guess from one who grew up near water and boats.

Karen,
Who wanted Ike out to sea
Enough! We were wet, already!

[Snoredog]

If I lived where Hurricanes are way of life, I'd have an RV and get out of town. I'd also have a couple generators, my pick the Honda EU2000i and I'd have 2 of them (about $869 a piece). They are good on gas, excellent on noise and you can tie 2 of them together and get nearly 4000 watts of power out of them.

Until we have hydrogen generators at home, you are pretty much left with using batteries and inverter power. Use them during the night and recharge during the day. Recharging options are Solar, Wind or driving your vehicle.

I'm installing a 3,000 watt Xantec inverter under the seat of my truck, adding a 2nd battery with a battery isolator so it cannot discharge the truck battery when delivering power. We don't have hurricanes or tornados where I live but we have earthquakes. I'll put a weatherproof outlet in the bed of the truck so if I need power it is always there. The battery will get charged with the trucks alternator automatically with very little driving.