Friday, August 31, 2007

Snappy answers to stupid questions, Part the First

I frequently make the mistake of reading the comments on newspaper articles featuring New Orleans. They never fail to get me unbelievably pissed off. So, I endeavor to compile a list of the stupid statements and the concomitant rational responses. I know, I know, spitting in the wind.

1) New Orleans is a bowl below sea level, thus it is "stupid" to rebuild in such a location.

First, New Orleans is not a bowl, but as I've seen described recently, is instead a cafeteria tray with different compartments.

The neighborhood in which we leave, Broadmoor, was created in the late 1910's by the draining of "Redfish Pond." People building houses in this new development knew this, and thus they built their homes fairly well elevated, or as raised basements with the living space on the second story. Our house, built in 1925, had never flooded, even during the previous benchmark 1995 flood.
Further, there is often a conflation of "flood plain" and "sea level" by the dipshits who are fond of conclusory statements. The White House is built on a flood plain. Much of the midwest lies in flood plains. The only difference is the amount of time the water stays in the house once it floods, not if it will flood. The residents of Coffeyville, KS, found this out the hard way.

Moreover, Manhattan is an island, much of which is not far above sea level and thus not out of danger of severe storm surge should that COASTAL city be hit by a hurricane. Just search here for "11 Wall Street." Why would anyone build the NYSE there?!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Still not OK

It seems to be the fashion amongst New Orleans bloggers to put this image on their updates for today. I am nothing if not trendy, so here it is.

Not much else to contribute today, really. While it is somewhat interesting to see all the "coverage" on the national networks, I know it's all fleeting, and will increasingly become more so. Hell, the Today show didn't get to us until 17 minutes in, after the daily Republican-senator-anonymous-gay-sex story.

Kayla wanted me to thank everyone who has helped us out in some way over the last two years. Really, if not for the kindness of friends, family, and strangers (and The Beeb), I'm not sure how we would have made it this "far." We certainly have it better than many in that we didn't lose anyone close to us and don't HAVE to live in the FEMA trailer (yet).

I fully intend to start writing some episodes of the last two years, perhaps even soon. I still haven't seen any books or articles about the daily experiences of "regular" people. All I've seen are books by experts and insiders about their take on big official things. I haven't seen anything about having to rush from work to grab some Popeyes with all the contractors, FEMA employees, and national guard before 6pm because that's all there is, and how when the cable goes out in your unintentionally extended stay hotel you're stuck watching the hotel/tourist channel that blathers on about fancy hats because that's the only thing you can pick up with the rabbit ears you bought for your hotel TV and the guy Kayla met at the ice machine who has a totally vacant look in his eyes as he, sua sponte, tells you about his 14 year old son that drowned in the flood because his mother didn't want him evacuating with his father, and then the shame when you realize you automaticaly assumed he was telling you this because he wanted something, but then realize that no, it really happened, and he was just telling you just to tell you because otherwise he's drinking alone in his hotel room. I can tell you I feel a closer bond to the poorer, (as Wolf Blitzer would say) Blacker, flooded, residents of this city than those whiny white bitches uptown.

Perhaps this is why I get homicidal when people start talking shit about those of us who still live here. It's an odd feeling. On the one hand, we're greatful to people like the PT department at Creighton in Nebraska (Go Huskers!) who gave K $500 and a Creighton sweatshirt. On the other, FUCK YOU AMERICA. Perhaps that why I was screaming (to the point of making a scene) at the typical religious nuts who came down for Mardi Gras 2006 holding the sign that intimated the flood was our fault. I guess Katrina just exposed the extremes of humanity...the altruistic good of the Houston-based lawyer who donated our demand water heater to us, and the abject inhuman evil of contractors and insurance companies. I can honestly say that I have positively no respect for anyone who works in insurance, and little for a contractor (Charlie and David excluded... to a degree. :) ).

Wow, this went on a bit longer than I thought it would. Back to work!

I am SO glad the Tigers play tomorrow.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Pilot

You can see the K-ville pilot here.

My dad's in there somewhere as an extra.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Good reads.

Check this out...it's a good read for those who don't fully understand why we (among tens of thousands of others) are still out of our homes.

Also, I've a newfound respect for Chris Rose.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Hurricane Dean

Track it here.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Bitch, bitch, bitch....

I am so sick of these Katrina people whining. It's never enough for them. GET OVER IT!!! IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS!!!!111oneeleventy!!

"Before it was, 'I'm just happy to be alive.' … Now they not only want to be alive, they want a house to live in."

Oh, and drywall is pretty much done on the second floor. Hooray.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Approval.

Today is foam day. Months ago at the old apartment, the maintenance guy from the hotel across the street told us he is a licensed electrician and that he'd love to help us out when we could use it. Last week we asked him to come check out my work on the second floor to make sure it was ok to put in foam and walls.

Well, he came out yesterday afternoon, and was well impressed. He even said that he has a lot of work and could use some help. I'm not sure if that was hyperbole, but I'll pretend it wasn't. I may have him help me (or I help him) with the 1st floor work that remains. He also has a friend who has an HVAC license who can help get our 2nd floor AC going again. One that happens, it's almost like we'll have a livable house.

Minor setback with the upstairs bathroom floor. For some reason, Charlie's guy decided to put a mortar bed of over 1" down. As a result, the finished product was super wavy and uneven. Charlie had to rip it all up and do it over (at his suggestion, admittedly). Fortunately (?) he told me to get 160 sq ft of tile, when we only needed 80. As a result, we had twice as much as we needed, and thus had material on hand for him to redo the floor. It should be done today, and we can then put the newly refinished tub in, and hook it up to our mostly-fuctioning water heater. Walls, toilets, hot water, oh my!

Walls up tuesday. I can't believe it. We'll see if it actually happens.

Friday, August 3, 2007

Weekend Update

Article coming out this weekend. Keep an eye out.

Also, I love me some Suspect Device.