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Day: September 21, 2005

hurricane commentary

Here are a few things comments to make about this hurricane.

  1. Gas prices are going to go up again. There will be some fear on the stock market so the price of gas is going to rise above $70 a barrel. Between Louisana and Texas, this is probably anywhere between 10-20% of oil producation for the US. Losing this amount of production again could be catastrophic for gas prices.
  2. Houston has a HUGE economy in the energy companies. This hurricane is now projected to hit almost dead on target of Houston, but probably just west. This is still, however, going to negatively affect Houston for a while. Just about any energy based technology is going to go up in price, some drastically.
  3. Because the winds have reached over 175 MPH and it’s a category 5 hurricane, it’s very likely that as the hurricane weakens when it hits the shores it won’t weaken below a category 4.
  4. There will be much less human casualities than were in New Orleans. I’ve already talked to so many people today and most of them had already left their homes. The freeway systems, which are much easier to navigate than the LA freeways, were jammed pack going north on almost every road.
  5. This hurricane is quickly on track to become the most powerful hurricane, ever, on record. It’s currently at number 3 as of 10:30 PST. To get expert analysis on what to expect, go here as the hurricane moves closer on land.
  6. You can also visit Houston Chronicle’s Rita coverage page for some great local coverage.
  7. Same with Wikipedia’s frequently updated page.
  8. Feel free to visit my website as well for personal comments.

This thing is likely to hit my home. Where I came from. It has officially become personal.

my weekend plans have changed

Southwest Airlines cancelled my flight. They decided not to allow any flight to or from Hobby past 12 noon on Friday. So, the little glimpse of hope that was there is now gone. In fact, it looks like this hurricane is about to take Houston and crap all over it. Go to the Houston Chronicle for all your local Hurricane Rita information.

Hurricane Rita info on Wikipedia

Houston, we have a BIG problem.

Have you tried making a cell phone call to or from Houston lately? Probably, if you have, you are out of luck. I’ve had an easier time getting ahold of a couple of Sprint Customers (though, I did have a little trouble), but it’s virtually impossible to reach anyone using Verizon, Cingular, or T-Mobile. There is so much calling going on that these systems are overwhelmed.

No only are those systems clogged, but the freeway systems are virtually parking lots. I talked to a friend of mine just a little while ago and they left from approximately the intersection of Beltway 8 and I-45 at about 2pm CST. When I talked to her, she was all the way to the intersection of Beltway 8 and 288, or approximately only 13 miles in 1.25 hours! Average speed? around 8 MPH!! I talked to another friend who was almost to Brehnam and she left at approximately 12pm CST. What a difference in only a couple of hours!!

Even if this hurricane doesn’t hit Houston, one thing is for certain: Houston’s going to take a HUGE financial hit for this. It doesn’t matter if there’s no hurricane anywhere near, all of the businesses in SE Harris county or Galveston county aren’t going to be in operation from today until next Monday. That’s millions, possibly billions of dollars a day!

Looks like now is going to be the appropriate time to give more to your favorite charity.