August 2008
Classified Gustav Info From Your Local...
As soon as I arrived in Alabama this morning, I participated in a secure video link up conference call thingy with state and Federal officials. Here are the important parts:
[Redacted Agency] Southeast LA Secure Conference Call 0700:
National Weather Service: Gustav sustained winds - 135mph Moving Northwest @ 16mph Track has shifted slightly more towards the city of New Orleans Projected to...
“Looking for a transcript of Nagin’s latest speech. Serious. Did you see it? Not...”
– (via defendneworleans)
http://www.wwltv.com…
This is about as close as you’re going to get. Give me a call after the storm passes/during the storm so I know you and the family are okay. I’m heading for Birmingham at midnight - supposedly it’s an 8 hour drive to...
HOLY FUCKING SHIT: Mayor Nagin's 7:45 Briefing
Highlights:
- Evacuation buses will continue to operate until midnight tonight; will resume at 6am until noon tomorrow at the 17 specified locations.
- Nagin: “This is The Mother of All Storms”
- The National Weather Service has never seen anything like it
- Storm footprint went from 300 miles to 900 miles overnight. Katrina’s footprint was only 400 miles.
- Nagin:...
i am a dead MacBook →
spread the word.
Au revoir mes enfants.
The latest projections I have show that the area in which I live will receive a storm surge of over 20 feet. This will put my house under 10 or more feet of water with 80+ mph winds, worse than during Katrina. As we speak, I’m packing up my SUV with the bare essentials (MacBook, cameras, clothes, etc) and will be leaving for Alabama around 2am. The Times-Picayune is expecting for a...
Gustav, the Coda
(Not really a coda, I know. But it sounds better.)
I’ll post more tomorrow after I get more information. I’m tired and want to go to sleep and the Ambien/Guinness is kicking in. That, and I’m packing up to leave for Alabama to avoid all of this junk.
But, most importantly, unless the two main stationary high pressure ridges over the northeast and mid-Atlantic move, the storm...
“October is inventory time, so right now Stafford Toyota is making the best deals...”
– Back to the motherfucking Future
To Everyone Thinking This System Is Kind Of Meh...
The latest yet to be unclassified prediction reports, courtesy of your Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security:
- Will be a Category 4 hurricane - 16 to 20 foot storm surge (will affect NOLA area and Northshore) - Major hurricane force wind speeds in New Orleans; gusts to 150 mph - Strongest part of storm will affect New Orleans metro area - System will intensify greatly in the...
BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE/RUH ROH!: Mandatory Evacuations
Governor Bobby Jindal will declare mandatory evacuations for the coastal and low-lying parishes and southeastern Louisiana tomorrow, Saturday afternoon/evening, military and civilian sources in Baton Rouge have confirmed to me.
Dual contraflow procedures will go into effect very early Sunday morning (6am), presumably at the same time these mandatory evacuations will be announced. Supplies of...
IT'LL BE FINE
defendneworleans:
Hey, I’m sure its a hectic time for yall (w./ Gustav looming) but thats why I felt now was the perfect moment to buy a little piece of the city I miss. I was hoping you could tell me whether the t-shirt distributor is located in NOLA bc if that is the case then you probably won’t be able to process my order before the hurricane makes land-fall (in which case I’ll cancel my...
Contraflow to begin by early Sunday morning
The contraflow plan to open all lanes of traffic away from coastal areas to speed evacuation from Hurricane Gustav could begin Saturday night and no later than Sunday morning, state officials said this afternoon.
The state will for the first time use “dual contraflow,” activating plans at the same time for Southwest and Southeast Louisiana.
(clicking through will give you a much...
New, 24-hour phone number for 311
The city of New Orleans says that anyone having trouble reaching the 311 phone system can dial 1-866-205-6485 for assistance 24 hours a day.
Sources inside New Orleans City Hall inform me that evacuations (possibly mandatory) for Orleans Parish will begin immediately following Saturday’s LSU game. (Not a joke.)
The New Orleans metro area is expected to receive the worst part of the storm,...
If needed, Orleans will call for an evacuation...
As of Friday morning, New Orleans officials say that if it calls for an evacuation, it would come sometime on Saturday.
If a mandatory evacuation is called for, residents who need help getting out will be asked to head to the city’s 17 designated pick-up points. Once there, buses will take them to shelters outside the metro area.
Click for the city’s 17 pick-up points. (in PDF...
From WWL-TV
St. Bernard anticipates Saturday mandatory evacuation
St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro Jr. said Thursday night he anticipates calling a mandatory, parish-wide evacuation for all residents some time Saturday, Aug. 30, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Gustav.
Evacuation for residents with special and medical needs, who have registered with the parish, will begin Friday, Aug. 29 by...
From the Times-Picayune
State of emergency declared in St. Tammany
A State of Emergency allows the parish president to take actions in support of public safety, such as obtaining supplies, ordering evacuations or opening shelters.
Meanwhile, parish officials have activated a storm information telephone line where residents can obtain information. The number is 985.809.2300
Information on sand bags, shelters,...
Gustav: This Is From Yesterday Afternoon (Don't...
This information was copied from my work email inbox yesterday. We pay a small fortune to a private meteorological intelligence company to work in concert with our own billions of dollars of weather equipment to come up with these forecasts. Below is a legal disclaimer. Despite what you may be hearing on the Weather Channel, your local news or the National Weather Service website, this is the...
“Relief” by Denali from their...
Gustav Update: Operation Clusterfuck
Multi-level agencies (local, parish, state and Federal) will have conference calls every twelve hours at 8am and 8pm to discuss hurricane updates and to finally decide on a time to begin contraflow in southern Louisiana.
It is tentatively scheduled for Saturday mid-day.
A slight turn to the northeast is expected before landfall. St. Tammany and St. Bernard Parishes could become the new...
Classified Storm Track Predictions
I’m so not supposed to reveal this, but I love my blogger fans.
The link to the full sized photo is here on my Flickr.
Do not ask how I came across this. I could very well get a free vacation to Cuba for this.
Breaking Gustav News: Louisiana Has Shifted Their...
Timeline: H-96 = August 29th at midnight H-72 = August 30th at midnight H-50 = Evacuations begin H-48 = August 31st at midnight H-30 = Sunday at 6pm, Contraflow begins H-24 or H-hour = September 1st at midnight H-hour = tropical storm force winds making landfall on Louisiana coast
Notes: The governor has already requested a Pre-landfall declaration. 700 buses are being contracted now. Ambulances...
Harbinger (edited)
The military’s “Save Haven” has been moved from NAS Meridian (Mississippi) to Saint Louis. Intel/Counterintel people like me are still headed for Birmingham and/or Saint Louis. Families are being moved to Memphis (lucky!).
MacBook is still broken, so I guess I’m going to be lugging around this desktop of mine with a clunky wi-fi adapter connected to it for a few days.
...
Gustav Update, From Your Local Fed
Contraflow begins at 6 on Sunday.
Gustav should make landfall to the west of the New Orleans metro area on Tuesday morning, at or around Category 3 strength. (This is not to say that the storm could veer slightly to the east which means we are fucked.)
Officials are still planning for voluntary evacuations and due to variations in the storms intensity and path, may call for immediate, mandatory...
5am Advisory: GUSTAV REFORMS TO THE SOUTH AND IS A...
AT 500 AM EDT…0900Z…THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM GUSTAV WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 17.8 NORTH…LONGITUDE 75.6 WEST OR ABOUT 80 MILES…130 KM…EAST OF KINGSTON JAMAICA AND ABOUT 170 MILES…270 KM…SOUTH OF GUANTANAMO CUBA. GUSTAV IS MOVING TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH…13 KM/HR. A TURN TOWARD THE WEST IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY AND TO THE WEST- NORTHWEST...
Unsubstantiated Rumours
From my sources at FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, NOAA and the military, Gustav could strike anywhere from central costal Louisiana to Mobile, Alabama. However it is looking more likely that it will be a direct hit on the New Orleans metro area.
I am specifically banned from making any comments on the state of the levee protection system. I know what’s up, but can’t say...
In Case You Were Wondering What I Do At Work...
Here’s some selected photos I took when the pukes at security weren’t looking.
FBI Terrorism Quick Reference Card
Analyst’s Style Manual - The AP Style Guide for Intelligence Analysts
Yes, I work in HUMINT. And not in the cool Jason Bourne way.
“Appeals for Insertion” by The White...
A Tip For You Guys...
Unless you’re like me and work in a secure environment with billions of dollars of technical equipment and dedicated satellites at your disposal, I would suggest taking whatever NOAA says as gospel.
National Hurricane Center National Weather Service mobile.weather.gov
NWS New Orleans New Orleans/Baton Rouge NWS Radar
Mobile NWS Radar Lake Charles NWS Radar Houston NWS Radar
These are the...
Evacuation?
According to the government agency I work for, we get much, much better reports than every single news/weather outlet in the country. And so far they’re predicting a direct hit on New Orleans as a major hurricane.
Due to the extreme sensitivity of my job, the government is paying for me to temporarily relocate to Alabama until the storm passes. Which means my MacBook will probably be...
Chase = :(
They are holding my last two paychecks hostage, won’t let me withdraw them, cancelled my VISA check card and won’t reissue another replacement one.
WHAT THE MOTHERFUCKING FUCK.
After I get this straightened out, I’m going to try to get some money back as some compensation for my troubles and transfer that shit into my Bank of America or Citibank accounts. I’m so lividly...
Uh, hurricane?
I may be the only person happy about this shit, but a motherfucking hurricane is headed for New Orleans. I’m sooooo stoked.
What I’m not stoked about is it taking TWO WEEKS for my MacBook to be fixed, at a cost of $700.
But I am into the new digital camera and Flip camcorder I bought today.
Really, two weeks on WINDOWS? I’m going to fucking kill myself.
Took my MacBook into for repair (should be done WITHIN TWO WEEKS, WTF) and then I ended up buying a new digital camera to go along with my new Flip video camera. An average, so-so kind of a day.
I play to update my Flickr and my Vimeo more often these days.
Now I Know Why People Hate Windows
Since my dog attacked my MacBook, I’m being forced to use this dinosaur of a windows box. And, ewwwww.
Was on the phone with Charter trying to renegotiate my cable/internet bill to no avail. Apparently I already have it down to the absolute max. I’d get rid of Showtime, but the new season of Californication is coming up, sooooo ehhhhhh.
Tomorrow, since I’m off, that means a...
Two Things
1. Finally bought a Flip mini-camcorder. Watch for drunken hijinks at vimeo.com/defeatism.
2. My dog stepped on my MacBook and the screen is totally fucked up. Sounds like I see a $500+ bill from Apple in my future. Oh, joy.
DEAR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT...
If I can’t get my prescription medication coverage fixed by TONIGHT, I’m going to flip the motherfucking out. This is shit I shouldn’t have to deal with today, although the free Klonopin and Flexeril is helping.
Here’s two choices you have…
1. Continue being douchebags, I have a massive seizure from sleep deprivation, and the government gets a bill in the low six...
Join the club
skeetonmischa:
I might lose some points on the being a dude front, but I’m going to be completely honest with you. I could care less about the upcoming football season. You know, I just can’t see myself getting excited about seventeen weeks of dudes falling over until say January of next year or whenever the playoffs start because you know, victories will actually mean something. I’m more excited...
Into It!
If it weren’t 75 degrees outside, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to say that New Orleans today looks likes Vancouver in November. So into it.
And I have strep throat, I think.
# defeatism has started following you
bowlingalleylawyer:
ok this is the second person that has started following me that I can’t figure out how to “follow back”.
They don’t have a “Follow+” little thingie on their page… and it makes me all up tight… I don’t want them to “Unfollow” me, but again, it makes me all agitated that I just can’t figure it out.
erggggum.
Yeah, weird, I totally agree. But I’m not going to unfollow...
The 3AM text message
cajunboy:
If I were a strategist for the John McCain I would pounce all over the titanic ineptitude exhibited by the Obama campaign with this whole “texting the supporters with the VP choice” thing. Seriously, what the fuck was that? I get a text from the Obama folk at 3AM on a Saturday fucking morning, hours after the press has already trumped them on the VP scoop, at the cost of a rumored...
Though Obama Had to Leave to Find Himself, It Is... →
Kind of a long read, but David Maraniss gives lots of great insight into what makes Barry tick. I didn’t know much about his mother before I read this, and now I think she would’ve made the best First Mother ever.
Also - dare I say it - his mother was pretty easy on the eye.