Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Paco Command Center battens down the hatches

Hurricane Sandy looks like it'll be blowing into our area sometime Monday. There could be significant power outages, so, if I'm offline for awhile, you'll know why.

St. George, Utah, is looking better and better.

Update: Yeeeeehaw! The yankee gummint's closed tomorrow!

30 comments:

Randy-g said...

St. George is paradise. Stay safe troops.

mojo said...

New Mexico, compadre.

Marica said...

What? No generator at the Command Center?

missred said...

Best of Luck on the power, Paco. Come what may, I would leave town ;)

JeffS said...

Good luck to you and Mrs. Paco!

And Mabel, of course.

Stay safe!

Paco said...

Mojo: New Mexico is one of the places we're considering. Why, particularly, do you recommend it?

Gregoryno6 said...

Stay safe - and as for St George, I've heard that Yeti grab unsuspecting citizens off the street and devour them.

SwampWoman said...

Great! What kinda hurricane supplies are we drinking?

Zardoz said...

We wound up retiring in the geographical center of New Mexico after investigating Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota. Yeah, it's a blue state but we have a Repub for Governor who is trying her best to downsize government and discourage the illegals from settling in—send 'em up to Denver which is much more friendly to “un-documented” visitors.

Our little town has a population of ~1000 and is a mix of folks born and raised here and retirees from both coasts. You have to be willing to adjust to driving for 90 minutes to go to Costco and Trader Joe's—an hour to Lowe's or Home Depot. All the necessities are available in town (except for hooch) but the selection and prices are not what you would be used to in the city.

It's quiet (except for the coyotes and freight trains) and you will rediscover what the Milky Way looks like at night. It's a welcome change from the hell that Colorado has become.

Paco said...

Swampy: Well, the adult beverages are kinda limited. I've got a bottle of Chianti and some tawny port and a bottle of white wine. But plenty of soda pop, including that fine North Carolina specialty, Cheerwine.

Paco said...

Zardoz: Sounds beautiful!

SwampWoman said...

Secure things that can blow around, and you'll be okay as long as you're not in a flood area. If you have something to cover the windows do so, and, if you don't have a wind-rated garage door, park your vehicles in front of the doors to serve as a wind baffle. If you're not going to get hurricane force winds, fuggedaboutit.

The largest inconvenience for us during our prolonged hurricane or storm-caused power outages was the lack of A/C, but that shouldn't be much of a problem for y'all at this time of year. We froze big ol' buckets full of water for ice beforehand so that wasn't a problem. (In fact, at the beginning of hurricane season, we routinely fill in the nooks and crannies in the freezer with buckets of water that become big ol' ice blocks.) Cooking is no problem with the grills (gas and charcoal).

If you have a freezer or large refrigerator, move stuff that you're going to use in a few days to an ice chest to keep from opening the doors. (Milk, butter, meat for a few days, etc.)

Fill up the tub or a clean trash can with water for cleaning, and food-safe receptacles for drinking and cooking.

We always bake a lot of stuff that can be snacked on while we read our books in the Lazy Chairs during the storm and afterwards, when we're out picking up tree pieces.

Paco said...

Sound advice, Swampy!

Larry Sheldon said...

Be Safe.

Yojimbo said...


In addition to the tub you can also use the washing machine and don't forget the water heater.

Las Cruces, in New Mexico, isn't bad either. And don't forget Silver City in the western part of the state. Plenty of fishing in that whole corridor.

Anonymous said...

Deborah Leigh said... We know y'all are safe and prepared at the Command Center, being good Right wingers, but we'll still pray.

Utah is nice, and so is New Mexico. But we are Texas bound. The Hill Country will be home. Probably near Hondo, which is about 40 miles west of San Antonio.

Yojimbo said...


Hondo eh. What a great name for a movie! Somebody should try it!:)

JeffS said...

You might consider picking up a missile silo, Paco.

Then you would have a REAL command post!

Paco said...

Jeff: I like it!

bruce said...

Hang in there man, here in India there have been power outages every day, they say because the wind farms output was down this year - who could have foreseen that? Anyway they're putting a new nuclear power station on line this month, unfortunately it's a Russian one. (Kudankulam).

Gregoryno6 said...

Any opinions on whether Sandy's visit will affect the vote?
And if so, how?

Steve Skubinna said...

I'm reading this from East Windsor, NJ, having flown in from San Diego Sunday.

What sort of idiot flies to the East Coast ahead of a hurricane? The kind that works for the Feddle Gubmint, of course. And of course the training course I was supposed to attend is on hiatus as the training center is closed for at least two days. So Wednesday morning I'll find out if they can compress the course to three days so I can fly back West Saturday (which should be do-able, judging from the last time I took this course).

At least the hotel has power. So far. Plus, the parking lot is full of emergency vehicles from Western PA and WV.

Stupid government tricks.

mojo said...

Why, particularly, do you recommend it?

Wonderful place, my aunt and uncle lived there for years, and I used to visit. They were in Albuquerque, which is near the Lincoln Nat. Forest. Roswell is about the same distance on the other side.

Keep to the mountains, if you can - much cooler, lots of trees, lakes and streams full of fish.

The Chiricaua Apache used to live there. Still do, some of them.

Anonymous said...

Deborah Leigh said...StoveS, that's our tax dollars at work. Do you feel like the poor reporter on the beach getting direction from the safe, cozy control booth? Well, remember to ration the stock in the fridge. Take care!

RebeccaH said...

I love New Mexico. It's a beautiful state, but very blue (hopefully that may be changing). I agree with mojo, though, since you're coming from the East Coast, you'll want to stay near the mountains. I was raised in the deserty areas of the country, so I love them, but for people transplanted from greener climes, the desert can become oppressive after a while (rainless months, constant wind and dust, the bare rocks and dirt...).

But there's lots and lots of Indian, Mexican, and cowboy culture and art, if that's your thing, and you're closer to the wild west, including Las Vegas. Albuquerque is a fascinating place, but you probably don't want to live there (very high crime rate).

Be safe, don't wash away before you get a chance to choose.

Anonymous said...

Deborah Leigh said...Mojo, the Apache have a large beautiful reservation at Mescalero in the mountains near Ruidoso. If you think you've seen the Milky Way, go to Mescalero. It is amazing!

Anonymous said...

Just line up all the politicians, face them in the right direction and have them blow the storm back out to sea.

Anonymous said...

Yep. Stay safe and all that. BTW, was wondering what No6 was wondering, too. Your take? I fear, being the incumbent, it's advantage Obi.

bingbing

Boy on a bike said...

Hey - which one is you?

http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=16810

Paco said...

B on a B: A couple of years before my time; but I love the photo. All those fedoras.

Bing: Don't bet on it.