Monthly Archives: September 2005

The Rita Blog has some info on how the rebuilding is going in East Texas. It also has information about Red Cross and Salvation Army relief efforts. I haven’t seen a whole lot about benefits for Rita victims; if you’re … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You know, if shamelessness were a virtue, Smokey Joe Barton would have been assumed directly into Heaven by now. First, he is one of only eleven Congressmen to vote against the emergency relief package for Katrina victims. Next, he signs … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Continuing with the theme of risk aversion and how it impacted people’s stay-or-flee decisions as Rita loomed in the Gulf, here’s another data point to consider. Water service to more than half a million Houston-area residents and several key industrial … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Previously, I asked what might happen to cars which were abandoned on evacuation routes by drivers who ran out of gas; in particular, would they be stuck for sizable towing fees, as the friend of a correspondant said he was. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So why did people run from Hurricane Rita? Having seen the handiwork of Rita’s vicious cousin, Katrina, all of Houston’s coastal suburbs and a good percentage of everybody else in the area decided that discretion was the better part of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Shorter Houston Chronicle front-page story: FEMA Screws Up Again. Frustration and anger mounted in Southeast Texas on Monday over the response to Hurricane Rita by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. With homes smashed, trees and power lines downed and a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’re home. It was highway speed all the way, making for a much more pleasant journey. Thanks very much once again for all the kind words and good thoughts. I plan to return to more normal blogging in the morning. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The following came to me in email. I have not heard of anything similar to this, and I haven’t had a chance to do any news searching to see if there are other reports. I’m printing this to see if … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Our goal is to head back to Houston today, most likely leaving Dallas in the evening, a bit after the normal rush hour. Scanning the Road Home Blog, it seems like I-45 wasn’t too awful yesterday, but we ought to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Did you know that Dallas has a system of levees that help keep it dry, and that those levees could overflow and cause major flooding in the event of a big storm? Like, say, Hurricane Rita, had it not gone … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There will be many questions asked over the next few weeks in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. One that’s being asked now is whether the inbound highway lanes could have been opened in a more timely manner that they were … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Now that Rita has proven to be a non-menace to Houston, evacuees from the area are starting to return home despite pleas to stay put a little longer. Houston-bound traffic was at a standstill by noon on I-10 just outside … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Since we’ll be soon talking about rebuilding efforts again, I thought I’d post an update on the attempt by President Bush to allow federally-funded contractors to pay wages beneath the prevailing rate. The number of Democrats who have not signed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So far, all reports are that Houston has evaded major damage. I’ve spoken to my in-laws, my next-door neighbor, and my friend Andrea, who lives about a mile away from us. All are fine, all have power, and our neighbor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There’s a debate going on at SciGuy over whether or not the dangers of Hurricane Rita were overhyped (by the media and/or local politicians), and if that contributed to the extreme freeway gridlock yesterday. At least one local official is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And now, the full story… Yesterday, I learned of a new way to measure gasoline consumption. We left the house at 10:30 AM with a full tank. Six hours of mostly idling while the AC ran later, we were in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone for the kind words and offers of hospitality. I’m truly humbled by the outpouring of generosity so many of you have shown. Thank you all very, very much. I am cautiously … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We have arrived in Murphy. Our earlier estimate of 1 AM was optimistic by about three hours. Olivia’s awake, Harry’s a little freaked, and we’re all a bit frazzled, but we’re here and we’re safe. Thank you all very very … Continue reading → Continue reading →