The hurricane dilemma - Page 2

MADN3SS · 04-24-2006, 11:46 AM

I had bought one of those tornado videos a long time ago. I don't think I have it anymore. I do catch the shows every now and then. That's one of the things I love about cable now. Discovery channel, Weather channel, National Geographic channel and Science channel. I think there are a couple of other ones. But those are my favorite. One of my favorite shows is Modern Marvels and How It's Made.

**Rich Z** · 04-24-2006, 12:31 PM

Have you looked into a camcorder for weather photos? I think this would be ideal. I just got into this recently and I think anything where there is movement would be much better displayed in a video. Of course, it's a hole 'nother ball of wax to learn. I fretted over all kinds of details and crap and I'm still not sure I bought the best one to have. With stuff like this, you normally don't know what it is you really should have bought until after you buy the first one and learn all the stuff you didnt know beforehand.

And then there is the software you need on your computer to massage the videos so you can do something with them. For instance, those before and after videos of my headers, I don't think I have the format right. I used a widescreen format to take the videos, but my car looks squatty as if the program on the PC converted it to a standard format screen. I was mostly interested in the sound, but still, it drives me buggy to LOOK at it.

gsjack · 04-24-2006, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADN3SS

Jack, any idea if regular insurance companies have agreed value? Or is it just collector type companies? I can't see the value of my car going up if I'm putting miles on it. It is my daily driver.

Scott

You have to ask the company your insured with. Mostly, just collector ins. policies write Agreed Value Coverage.

Jack

Z06 Rocket · 04-25-2006, 05:29 AM

I have decided that the vette goes for us. My wife will pack it to the hilt and head north to family out of state. I gotta stay here. If I can get a trailer I'll use the p/u or a Uhaul to pull it, but it goes. In the past I parked it at a major airport (Tampa Int) in the parking garage. I figure their built to withstand the wind, and it's well above flood stage in the 3rd and above floors. If I get a real serious one coming I'll by a ticket for the wife and leave the car in the garage at the airport. Maybe their insurance will cover it if the garage collapses.

**Rich Z** · 04-25-2006, 01:37 PM

You know, you have to wonder about the "global warming" hype. There seems to be two warring camps about this issue. One side saying the sky is falling, and the other side saying it is just a temporary blip in global weather. Is one of those sides, or neither one correct?

There are DEFINITELY signs of change that are visible if you look. When the wife and I first moved to the Tallahassee area back in '91, we would have a few nights every winter where it got down into the high teens. In the last few years, the temps have not gotten below 25 degrees.

I don't know how political the National Geographic magazine may be, but there have been recent stories in that mag that definitely point to a dramatic warming of the earth.

The issues may be profound. A fundamental change taking place that we have no concept of what the final results may be. Who is to say what the absolute upper limit of the size and power of a hurricane can be? Why can't tornados become several miles across and take place in areas that never really had them historically?

Insurance companies are really the ones to watch. They pay people a LOT of money to try to determine their financial risk, so they will probably be on the front line of figuring out what is really going on. They were the ones that clued a bunch of people in on the risk of nuclear reactors. They just flat out refused to insure the things because of the overwhelming risk. With the insurance companies basically pulling out of Florida, I think maybe they know something about the likely future. And it ain't good news.........

**Rich Z** · 04-26-2006, 12:15 PM

Actually I was planning on installing my Shaner throttle body today, but just took a look at the weather map and there are some REALLY nasty storms heading this way. So I guess I don't want to be outside, even under the car port with the hood open if that is going to mean some horizontal rain. Ahh, even hear thunder right now. Sheesh, hope we don't have another close brush with a tornado again! I saw the trees knocked down at the end of my road and it looks like it had to be some right powerful winds to knock over those rather large trees. Saw some minor damage to some buildings as well.

Oh well, the thunder is getting closer so I need to go unplug my home theater stuff. I have surge protectors on most of it, but as one tech pointed out to me once, "do you REALLY think some $3.00 circuit is going to save your equipment from a direct strike by lightning?" Good point......

Z06 Rocket · 04-26-2006, 07:01 PM

Shesh, send some of that rain south. Were gettin pretty dried out in central and south FL.

**Rich Z** · 04-26-2006, 08:23 PM

Ah, Murphy's Law did it to me again. The storms just went around me. Got a little bit of rain but nothing to write home about. So I could have installed that throttle body today after all.

I was just reading an article in the local paper about the drought conditions in the state. Actually this is pretty typical for this time of year around here. Maybe a little bit earlier then normal. May has been the driest month around Tallahassee, but the last two years were unusually wet, comparatively. I remember my wife and I used to take vacations in May and go down to the Englewood area. MANY stretches throughout Florida had ongoing fires and in some cases route 95 would be closed because of the smoke.

We live about 3/4 of a mile from the Apalachicola National Forest, and without fail, the wildfires in this area would be caused by prescribed burns that the forest service did and it got away from them. I remember one year we had smoking embers falling into our yard and I got REAL nervous about that. Fire trucks were driving around and the roads around our place were closed to traffic. Sure didn't give me a real warm and fuzzy feeling, I'll tell you. It would be even worse now, because now I have to worry about my plastic car melting..

Z06 Rocket · 04-27-2006, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Z

Ah, Murphy's Law did it to me again. The storms just went around me. Got a little bit of rain but nothing to write home about. So I could have installed that throttle body today after all.

I was just reading an article in the local paper about the drought conditions in the state. Actually this is pretty typical for this time of year around here. Maybe a little bit earlier then normal. May has been the driest month around Tallahassee, but the last two years were unusually wet, comparatively. I remember my wife and I used to take vacations in May and go down to the Englewood area. MANY stretches throughout Florida had ongoing fires and in some cases route 95 would be closed because of the smoke.

We live about 3/4 of a mile from the Apalachicola National Forest, and without fail, the wildfires in this area would be caused by prescribed burns that the forest service did and it got away from them. I remember one year we had smoking embers falling into our yard and I got REAL nervous about that. Fire trucks were driving around and the roads around our place were closed to traffic. Sure didn't give me a real warm and fuzzy feeling, I'll tell you. It would be even worse now, because now I have to worry about my plastic car melting..

It would be a warm feeling, but not to fuzzy!

**Rich Z** · 04-27-2006, 03:43 PM

Yeah, no doubt!

Living in the middle of the woods is fine and dandy until you start thinking about forest fires. If you have ever taken a couple of deep lung fulls of pine smoke, I think you realize what kind of world of hurt you could be in. Where I live, a couple of fallen trees in the wrong places and we are STUCK. Actually even just one across my driveway and we would have to get out on foot.

Oh well, nobody said that life would be perfect.