From http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at200104_strike.html

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

Answers

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

Looks like our neighbor may lose his shed whether he wants to or not. LOL

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2001

Note to the weather mongers: I am going to Tampa next week. During that time period, there will be no hurricanes or shark attacks in that area. The spy cameras in Ybor City will malfunction, and planes will not spew chemtrails overhead. There will be no more than one thunderstorm per day, and said event will occur between 3:00 and 3:10 pm, EDT. So There!

Yeah, right. (;

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

You forgot about the white trucks.

Hey--you will have access to the net, won't you? If not I hear an Etch-a-Sketch and a bottle of good booze will help in the withdrawal.

Watch out for Chantal--she's traveling faster than usual.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

LOL, OG! Nope I'm afraid I'll be going through withdraw, if I'm not too tired to think about it. A major impetus for this trip is all the renovation work that's not getting done on the trailers of several elderly relatives. I will attempt to determine whether this situation is truly caused by a lack of semi-skilled tradesmen in the area or if it's an "I-don't-want-their-type working on my home" problem. If it's the latter, they are just going to have to deal with it, but if it really is the former, I'll get some supplies and at least get 'em buckled in for hurricane season.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Is there a Home Depot or Lowe's--must be, it's Tampa. They often have lists of referrals for small and large jobs.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Libraries have internet access...

[And that's a big bottle of booze, not a bottle of good booze]

Take care, and thanks for planning the thunderstorms for me.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Dottie [from Inner Connections] is in Tampa, or near it. Maybe you can hook up with her and get online...

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Barefoot, I suspect Dottie isn't in the best shape to receive visitors. She knows I'm coming and has already been helpful.

OG, I know there are lists around, and I have recent hard copy of the Tampa area Yellow Pages on my desk. Since two of these relatives are recent Northern Michigan transplants, I think it's more of a problem of "who" is doing the work, but I've been asked by their children to access the situation.

Ultimately, I suspect one of the relatives will have to have some type of assisted living situation, and then one of the children will need to decide if it's worth it for her to relocate in order to keep an eye on things. I went through this with my mother, as well, but she passed away before I had to move. I'm sorry she's gone, but I'm thankful that I didn't have to leave Ohio. Barefoot has a pleasant state, but I'm sure he's thankful that yet another Yankee just visits long enough to spend some money and then leaves! (;

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Actually we'd love to have you move down here. Just bring your own water...

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

LOL, Barefoot! I have an image of me getting a 24' UHaul and towing a vat of Lake Erie water behind it.

And in all seriousness, water availability was among the reasons I chose this area (I had several job offers at one point). I knew ten years ago that sections of FL were going to have water/population pressures by 2001. Still, it is a pleasant state! You're fortunate that you and your wife have been able to make a living there. And I think your skills at designing would net you a nice second income if you wanted to pursue that pastime more seriously.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

That is a cool sat map! I'm watching it update while I'm waiting for meetings to start. That's what some temp supervisors do when the backbone of the department is on vacation: hold meetings. That makes the sups look like they're "doing something" without really doing anything.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Smart of you re the water, Meems. It's one of the reasons we moved to Durham. We wouldn't have minded the west (Austin was a strong contender), but there was the water problem and the MOL problem, too.

Good luck on assisting those folks.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

OG, your area is on my list for retirement (anywhere in the triangle, actually), and I will be visiting again (I was there three years ago or so) when I'm free to travel for more pleasant purposes. I had looked into moving there before, but the job offer at U of CH fell through (no funding).

The weather, people, culture, and cost of living impress me! The one aspect I'm not sure about is the medical services. I suspect there will be more doctors there by the time I get ready to move. Columbus has excellent hospitals, but our winters aren't the best for old bones.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

I meant UNC - CH. May I go home, now? It's not too late for coffee, is it?

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

One of the reasons I'm relieved to be in Durham is because of the medical problems that have come with age. Durham is called the City of Medicine--the Saudi Royal Family comes to Duke for medical treatment! The Hungarian, who's an RN, intends to stay close by when she retires because of the excellent medical care she knows is available. Duke has taken over Regional, which should mean another improvement. Last I heard, Duke was rated 5th best medical center in the country. Lots of new buildings have gone up and there are more under construction, more on the drawing board.

There's a DMC newspaper online, accessed via www.duke.edu which might give you some interesting information. Available jobs are also listed at that site. Things are a little tight right now due to the lay-offs (Midway just laid off 700), but I have no doubt that this area will be one of the first to recover from what appears to be a recession.

Let me know when you're planning to be here again, won't you? Least I can do is take you to the diner for a blue cheese burger or something.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2001

Or we can have organic burgers at the natural food restaurant you wrote about some time ago! (:

I know that Duke is a top institution, but the ratio of cancer specialists, as well as GPs, to patients was rather unfavorable the last time I looked at the figures. I'm sure that's changing because the Triangle is becoming a popular place as taxes/punks/rotten-stuff- in-general have begun to make some of the coastal areas less than desirable for those who aren't in the upper 15% income bracket. I know that if I were an RN who could only afford a tiny apartment in NY or NJ and could transfer to NC, I'd do it in a minute.

Well, NC was going to be my August trip, but there are other factors at work right now, as you know. If I can avoid hurricanes, at least I should miss the worst of tourist season in Tampa. I am going to work in at least one trip to the large aquarium and hopefully an hour or so to sketch on the beach during a cool time of the day. I know that I won't have time to paint any seascapes, but I will take my pencils and a few sheets of medium drawing paper.

Chantal, go elsewhere!!

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

...during a cool time of the day.

Tampa Florida in August?

ROTFLMAO

Good Luck!

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

Now, Barefoot. I have been in Tampa during August before. There is about twenty minutes after sunrise, and about ten minutes right before sunset (depending on the thunderstorm activity), that are usually quite tolerable for sitting on the beach. That is, the temp drops below 100 for a brief time. (;

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

Close--the Hungarian was at Boston General before moving here.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

Those are the times that the misquitoes feed. You know, those buzzing things about the size of 747's? Well, when they get close to your eyes, anyway...

Be sure to face southeast at some point in your stay and wave. LOL

If people around you think you are nuts, then you'll fit right in.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

Barefoot, if you were closer to that area, I'd say bring the partner and let's break bread, but I know that would be quite a haul for you. If this were a sight-seeing trip, I'd make it over and down your way.

Anyway, I'm coming down on Tuesday, so I have fingers and toes crossed that I'll have a little window between storms. It doesn't seem like Tampa gets the brunt of the wind, mostly the rain. Is that sorta correct, Barefoot?

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

Yeah, except when it's the other way around.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2001

Glad it went thataway!

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001

It's your job to keep hurricanes away from FL for a week, Barefoot!

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001

Don't write her off yet, y'all! You know how they can twist and turn.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001

there is a new wave off Africa that we get to watch, too.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001

Well, y'all watch it for me. I'm going to focus on what needs to get done. I'm sure I'll hear about it if there's reason to batten down the hatches.

I'm flying, rather than driving, so I'm sure it could get interesting. Onward! I'll see y'all in about a week or so.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001

BBC

Mexico on storm warning Chantal passes south of Jamaica en route to Mexico

Mexico is on hurricane watch as Tropical Storm Chantal bears down, fresh from the Caribbean islands.

The storm, the Caribbean's first of the year, is set to make landfall on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula within 24 hours.

Mexico's National Water Agency is advising residents along the peninsula to take special precautions.

Belize has also mounted a hurricane watch along its coastline north from Belize City towards Mexico.

At 0900 GMT on Monday, the centre of the storm was about 320 km east-southeast of Chetumal, Mexico, and moving west-northwest at 24km/h, said the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Resorts on alert

The Mexican state of Quintana Roo has erected about 1,200 shelters to accommodate tourists holidaying at its resorts.

The NHC forecast that Chantal could blow for three days or more and warned that it could develop unpredictably.

It is currently expected to become a Category One hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures storm intensity.

Category Five is the highest on the scale.

But Chantal could grow in intensity as it moves along some of the Caribbean's warmest waters, said NHC forecaster Hugh Cobb.

Jamaica got off lightly when Chantal skimmed its southern edge early on Sunday.

But two people were killed in Trinidad three days earlier when they were struck by lightning.

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001