For those who are wondering, I talked briefly to Patricia last night, when she managed to get her cell phone to work momentarily. She and the house both weathered the storm well, but the yard is a mess, and we have no power and for now no phone service. I think the problem with the phones may just be that we need a phone that doesn’t need power (also, the business line is running outside, and it may have been blown out of the box, so she’ll check that tomorrow).

I talked longer to her tonight, and she’s just getting ready to live in the nineteenth century for a few days, or weeks, until power is restored. I was planning to fly back on Friday, but Fort Lauderdale Airport is still closed, with no word on when it will be open. Miami’s open, but that’s not where my ticket is, so it would be more costly. Also, if I go back, I won’t be able to work there without power or communications, so not only will my client not get my services, but I won’t get paid, so I’ll probably be extending my stay in California, as much as I miss home and her, and want to get back and help her.

Anyway, no flooding, no injuries, no damage to the house. We are inconvenienced, but blessed, and will contribute to those less fortunate.

Just a note to say that I’m waiting for my plane to LA, and that Fort Lauderdale airport has wireless capability throughout the terminal. They also have power outlets next to the seats so I don’t have to run down my battery, and can save it for the plane trip. Once they have wireless in the airplanes, I’ll never get away from the blogging ball and chain…

But just for a day or so. I got back yesterday, but I’m on a flight for California this afternoon, where I’ll be working, attending a workshop on DoD responsive launch initiatives, and going to the Space Frontier Conference this weekend (which you should attend as well, if you’re interested in this stuff). Blogging may be light.

I’m also keeping the house buttoned up in case Wilma pays a visit while I’m gone (though Patricia will be here). I had hoped that I could take down the shutters, and take down the ugly steel front door, and put on the pretty one, but I guess it will have to wait until the end of October now. This has been a long hurricane season.

I’m going on vacation to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I’ll have a laptop, so I can do some writing, but networking may be problematic. I’ll certainly be back by the seventeenth. Meanwhile, lots of good stuff in the blogroll to the left.

I expect that we’ll be seeing Greek alphabet names within a couple weeks–there are only four names left.

All of the computer models show Rita heading through the Florida Straights, which means just some wind and rain for Palm Beach County, but we’ll keep an eye out and be ready to shutter anyway. I haven’t seen anything to indicate that this thing has much chance of hitting New Orleans, though–all of the tracks show it heading farther south, down near the Mexico/Texas border. It might hit Texas, or even western Louisiana, but eastern Louisiana looks pretty unlikely to me.

I’ll sure be glad when this hurricane season is over.

[Update at noon eastern]

Just got our first heavy shower from the outer bands.

I’m supporting a deliverable to NASA, and will be tied up all day (and much of the evening) on it, after which I’ll be taking a red-eye flight back to Florida tonight. Probably not much posting until late tomorrow, Eastern time. There is a lot to blog about when I get time, though, if you check out the usual suspects over at The Space Review, Space Politics, Space Transport News, and Mars Blog most of which will have links to other interesting stuff.

And dodging a hurricane on the way from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas.

No posting until tonight.

For some reason, whatever was wrong with the server that caused it to act so flaky is fixed now. I may regret this, but comments are reenabled.

For some reason, whatever was wrong with the server that caused it to act so flaky is fixed now. I may regret this, but comments are reenabled.

For some reason, whatever was wrong with the server that caused it to act so flaky is fixed now. I may regret this, but comments are reenabled.