Need you ask?

Yes, Red, I know what an Extreme High Power Electrical Lineman has to face, and that fatigue and Extreme High Power don't mix at all. It was just the insensitive way that you put it that pissed me off. These men are far from home working their butts off to restore electrical power for hundreds of thousands of people that they have never and will never meet. The last thing that a Father of one of these guys wants to hear is that statement that you posted.

Have a Nice Day
Bill, AMA 4720

Bill, AMA 4720

Ike certainly went a long way inland. We had winds and gusts up to about 80 mph here in Columbus and Cincinnati. One of my employees had their garage door seriously warped from the winds. Schools have been closed all week. I was only without power for two days but we still have about 200,000 here without power since the storm hit on Sunday. We are obviously not dealing with anything like they are dealing with down in Texas but the impact from this storm was large. It was weirdest storm I have ever seen. No lightning, thunder, or one drop of rain. Just a bunch of wind here from about 1pm to 9pm last Sunday. I couldn't even keep my grill lighted when I was cooking dinner that night. I lived in Missisippi for over six years and I don't miss the hurricane threat. I wish everbody the best in their recovery down in TX and LA. Some of the pictures remind of what we saw on the coast of MS after Katrina. Everything was gone about 1/2 mile in from the shore except for a few casinos from the surge. A lot of the country doesn't know how many small town fill our southern coasts and how many have been washed away the last few years by Katrina, Ike, and other storms.

I am sure he did not want to piss you off! At the same time i can understand how it would bother you! So lets all just take a chill pill and understand it was all in good intent

Red S., the linemen on the Entergy grid I've talked to *want* to put more hours in... They'd prefer to be assigned to the Centerpoint grid where they could make more money.

I certainly did not mean that anybody should be pushed to work more hours or compromise their safety! I do however believe that Entergy is trying to be as cheap as possible here. Centerpoint service is being restored *much* faster than Entergy is. [&o]

Still on generator tonight with transformers planted in the ground all around my neighborhood, a full 7 days after the storm and counting...

Bomber Field is on for this weekend... Horrace, Karl and I are headed out there 1st thing Saturday morning. Hope to see some of ya'll out there! [8D]

- Michael

Propnuts is OK. The only damage we had was our entrance sign was blown down. We were very fortunate this time.

Allan Smith

Ike was the strongest most destructive Cat 2 hurricane I've ever experienced. I've lived here all my life and remember Alecia in 1983 and I swear she wasn't nearly as destructive even though she was a strong Cat 3. Makes me wonder what would have happened if Ike had strengthened into a Cat 4 as had been forecast as it was passing over Cuba![]

I heard from Mary Ruth today and their neighborhood has no power either (Entergy of course) and their neighbor's house lost most of it's roof and collapsed! Howard our club secratary is in the dark tonight too. Pretty sure the club president is in the dark tonight as well.... Karl's the only member I've talked to who has power (he's on Centerpoint!).

I think Galveston will probably have full power back before I do! LOL! [:-]

ps. I spoke with Mark from Houston Sport Flyers today and they lost 2 of their shelters; the new heli specific shelter is slightly damaged but he said they can fix it. They've already ordered replacements for the 2 they lost.

- Michael

fyi: Several people have died already due to carbon monoxide poisening (and a dozen or more people have been hospitalized from it)... trying to use generators either inside of or too close to their homes. Tonight Fox 26 said that a little girl was severely burned from holding a candle while her father was trying to refuel their generator a few feet away.... she burst into flames spontaneosly due to the gas fumes drifting her way apparently!

People are dying and getting severely injured due to the duration of the power outtage due to Ike. The longer we're in the dark, the worse it's gonna get with generator salesmen all over the place now selling generators to desperate families who don't have a clue how to use one safely!

- Michael

red, you really have a way with words. My next-door neighbor on the east side works for Centerpoint. He is a step or two above a regular Lineman however he loves the chance to get away on one of these deals. He earns up to $1,000.00 a day with overtime on a 7 day workweek. Those linemen that come for a long distance to work in this dangerous trade should be allowed to at least work an 80+ hour work week, and then get the kids some new toys.
As one who worked the pipelines with 7 12s, and as a military pilot, sometimes many 20 hour days with short rest periods between days, I think the linemen are very professional and know how to handle their situations. That's why they come, or go as the needs warrant. God bless them everyone. BTW, my power got turned on this PM even though scheduled for 10-05.
Maybe someone booted Entergy in the backside and they saw the light, so now I have light.

Guyz, I just want everybody to understand that we who are in the dark and those who were in the dark ALL appreciate the hard work that these linemen from all over are doing! Nobody but NOBODY has anything but praise for these guyz who know how to safely handle high-voltage transmission lines and are working to put the grids back together!!!

I'm amazed at how fast they can fix a spot....I drive by in the morning and the poles are broken off with downed trees atop everything, lines across the road with transformers planted in the ground.... drive back by same spot in the afternoon and magically there are new poles, no downed trees, lines and transformers back up and pristine looking!

Wish I could just sit and watch how they do this from start to finish sometime!

- Michael

Horrace,

Welcome back. We've obviously locked horns, but please know that I'm glad your damage was no worse than it was and that you and your family remained safe. All of the people of Galveston and Houston have been in our thoughts and prayers. Having lived on the gulf coast for 25+ years I have have first hand experience of your circumstances and understand what Texans have been going through the past days.

Bob

Damn Horrace.... I'm scootin over to your house tonight then! These ice cold showers at my place bite! LOL! [&:]

- Michael

Bob, Horrace....group hug now guyz!

- Michael

Smart*ss.

Hehehehe! Yup I have my moments, Bob. That one was just too easy though. [:-]

Course, I may end up walking back from Bomber Field tomorrow....oops! [X(]

Goodnight ya'll!

- Michael

No gas lines today. About 1/2 of the traffic lights are operating on my way to work. Power seems to be restored to about half of my co-workers. Things seem fairly normal now. I haven't seen the grocery store in a few days, I don't know if its running a normal operation. No debri in the streets, but its piled up everywhere along the streets. All the hotels are full, several of my co-workers are in hotels. Some of the schools are starting back this week. My best guess is that Houston will be back to normal for most residents at the end of this week. Its really incredible . This is a big city and its spread out over a very large area. The power restoration has been amazing. Of course, thats easy for me to say, I have power. I don't know how the clean up downtown is going, I'm way north in the burbs. Galveston and Bolivar are another story. Its going to be a very long time for them, probably years. If this storm had been a 4 or a 5 and that large, it would have been a huge disaster.

Glad to hear things are slowly starting to get back to normal -as normal as can be expected after something like that that is.

Frank

My power came on late Saturday night.... Oh how wonderful it is to take a hot shower and have a fresh pot of coffee in the morning!!!

I heard on the news tonight that they have cadaver dogs working thru Chambers County looking for bodies... seems alot of Bolivar and Crystal Beach stuff was washed fairly far inland into Chambers County and they're thinking some of the missing people might have ended up there. Lotta dead livestock there too that drowned in the storm... not a fun task to be sure. []

I went to Walmart in Porter TX yesterday and the grocery section looks like the videos of Russian grocery stores right after the collapse of the Soviet Union... alot of bare shelves. The deli was completely closed down and empty. Rats!

While gasoline is alot easier to find I see that stations are still running out from time to time.... the station closest to me had fuel ealier today, but when I went back by at 6:30pm they had baggies on all their pumps again. [:@]

It's only a matter of time before a storm far worse than Ike comes into this area... and look at all the apartments and "planned communities" going up left and right! The next time it's going to be far far worse as more and more people are packing into this area. I don't think Bolivar nor Crystal Beach should be rebuilt; they're death traps when the next big storm comes in. Basically, the more people you put in harms way, the bigger the disaster that will result... storms are getting worse and more frequent IMO.

PilotFighter, which club do you belong to up here? I'm north of Houston also.

Regards!

- Michael

Jetero is my club. We got flattened from the pictures I've seen. And we are in debt up to our eyeballs. Fortunately its going be getting cooler soon and the shade isn't as important as it is in the summer months. We might have to go topless for a little while. Iv'e been researching some of the light wieght canvas covered sturctures on the internet. They are typically used in commercial properties like parking garages and such. But I was thinking we might be able to mimic one and have a structure which the canvas cover could be stowed away when a hurricane approaches and would offer little resistance for the wind to damage it. I've found some nice concepts, but really can't tell how feasible it would be to mimic one. The last structure we had was a metal structure with the emphasis on function and little regard for the aesthetic. Turns out it wasn't that structural either. Hopefully we won't make that mistake again.

We lived in Mobile, AL when Ivan came ashore in 2004. It's the only time we evacuated during our 25 years there. Luckily (for us, anyway) it jogged a bit east in the last few hours and the worst damage was in the Florida panhandle and Alabama east of the mouth of the bay. In Gulf Shores, AL on the beach the west end of an 8 story concrete condo building collapsed due to undermining of the foundation. It was about 10 units wide, parallel to the beach. The east side looked OK, but from the middle to the west end the roof angled down at a bout a 45 degree angle. Most of the mom and pop stores on the north side of beach road were either totally gone or consisted of a roof and two sides. The surge pushed through the front and back walls and just wiped everything clean.

In reality, the debt is less than $150,00.oo on the mortgage. 50 acres of land appraised, at worst, $5000.oo per acre leaves an equity of $100,000.00, after mort. pay-off.
My advisors have informed me that once the FM 1960 4 lane project starts, and the 8500 homes planned for the 1960 area between Huffman and Dayton get started, the land such as Jetero's even off the 1960, will go to at least $15,000.oo per acre. Land along 1960 will really be big time.
Remember that Jetero has 1500 ft frontage on FM 686. That makes that 50 acres really prime land. 6 acres on the other side of 686 sold, a couple years ago, for $10,000.oo per acre.

Jetero owns 5 surveyed 10 acre plots, each having 300 ft. +/- highway frontage At $10,000.oo per acre equity, that makes a nice leveraging equity of $350,000.oo. Not too shabby. [8D]

The mistake Jetero members should damand never to be allowed to again happen is not having a rebuild inurance coverage for windstorm, etc. That failed because for 10 years your club management has tried to run a "Po' Boy" operation and refused to spend the money for coverage, which would have been some $3-400 per year.
With a $25-30,000.oo rebuild facing them, 10 years at $400 per year would have been a small price to pay.

How many here do not carry such insurance on their own properties? Darn few I bet.

Jetero can and should be like Bomber Field. First Class, with no economy-coach seating. [>:] That WAS the initial plan.

Not sure how many members Jetero has, but there might be enough for folks to chip in with labor and supplies to rebuild. Better than ever I imagine. Of course I'm sure this will have to be many months from now since this has got to be on the bottom of many people's priority list.

Maybe have a few fundraisers at the upcoming fun flys in the area? Another thought. There must be someplace people are taking scrap wood and metal? Maybe that stuff can be recycled?

I hope things get better and better as each day passes for those in the effected areas.

Frank

[/quote]

Jetero owns 5 surveyed 10 acre plots, each having 300 ft. +/- highway frontage At $10,000.oo per acre equity, that makes a nice leveraging equity of $350,000.oo. Not too shabby. [8D]



Jetero can and should be like Bomber Field. First Class, with no economy-coach seating. [>:] That WAS the initial plan.

[/quote]

Second mortgage? We can barely pay the note we have. Are the dues set too low ? I would pay more. But the club must stop turning away sponsership and equipment. Its difficult to understand. Its not that the club has acted cheap. Its that the club just keeps spending. Now we have spent ourselfs into a corner. Upgrades won't be in our lifetimes, if the club even lasts that long. Urban sprawl and high land values are a threat, not an asset.

The night we voted to move to the new site, the president of the club at that time told several of us that the new site would have a paved runway. A deal had been worked out. And we pulled the trigger and voted for the purchase. It was sold to us that it would be another bomber field. It was more of a sales pitch than a plan. Most of those people are gone now. Walked away for various reasons. And of course the runway fund was a half hearted attempt at best, and at worst was a diversion. Comprised entirely of donations, wasn't it ? And nobody wanted a cold roll, it had to be a hot pour and it had to be everything at once. 50X600 and the pits. Geeze, that would have cost nearly 40k back then and Lord only knows how much now. I found a guy that would do a cold roll for about 12k, but when polled via telephone, most members didn't even want pavement. Said it was hard on airplanes. Jet rallies ? Electric rallies ? Scale rallies ? Blank , cold stares from under those Massey Furguson hats. Us host ? It was the wrong time and the wrong audience.

The window of opportunity will be open for just so long. When people sense the urban sprawl approaching, they will know the club's days are numbered. Each year that passes, the likelyhood of Jetero being developed beyond its present status diminish more. And while that window has been open, Jetero has been finacially stretched to the limit and incapable of expansion.

I would love to see our club developed to its potential. But I think we might need to restructure the club's debt. And I think the core of lifetime flyers might need to pony up a couple large and just do this thing. Do it right. And do it soon.

so, you are under the threat of your $100k Equity land turning into $300k to $500k land?
Oh, the horror of it.

This is almost as bad as the threat of California killing Prop13 and putting little old ladies on the streets... because they cant afford the taxes if their homes no longer are taxed as $60k but at the market value of $1.3mil. Yeah, we should feel bad for the homeless Newport Beach grannys that have to sell and have a check for $1.3mil in their sad poor homeless pockets.

2nd Mortgage? Heck no, RE-FINANCE to pull equity rather than borrow against it.
Same or lower payments, extended term, with tens of thousands $ in your poket.
Need $20k-$40k of shelters rebuilt, but only have $100k of equity?


I cant believe there is a club upset that Urban Sprawl
might thrust a half million unwanted dollars into their hands in the next few years.
I would suggest buying a Lotto Ticket, but it appears you have already won.

I cannot understan that some of you are crying about a flying field. I know some modelers in Orange , County Texas have lost every thing they had. My club's field was hard hit. We will get it up again when every we can take care of more important things. I was lucky this time my house was not damaged. When Rita hit we had $20,000 to our Home. My home town is Galveston. They have something to cry about. BOB MOORE age 76