Another victim of the Skeleton Coast

I don’t know whether many of my readers are familiar with the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. It’s a wonderfully desolate place, which I’ve visited three times, and of which I have very fond (and awed) memories. The Skeleton Coast is famous (or, rather, notorious) among seafarers for its shallow patches, which undulate back and forth… Continue reading Another victim of the Skeleton Coast

An amazing escape!

Sometimes one’s at a loss to explain how people can survive a tragedy. A helicopter crash in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this morning is one such incident. A helicopter crashed into the roof of a house early Sunday, killing two people in the aircraft, but five people in the house were uninjured, police reported. The helicopter crashed… Continue reading An amazing escape!

Lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005

In a comment to my previous post, Pappy asked: Peter, how about a post about what you do to prepare for a hurricane, and also for the influx of “visitors” running from the storm. Funny thing you should ask that, Pappy. In 2005, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I posted a number of “lessons learned”… Continue reading Lessons learned from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005

Post-fire progress report #4

Slowly, slowly, things begin to get organized. I’ve got ServiceMaster and a painting contractor coming in on Monday to do a wall-to-floor-to-ceiling inspection, working out detailed quotes for the clean-up and remediation work. It’s going to be a big job – there’s soot traces everywhere! I can hardly believe how ash and soot get from… Continue reading Post-fire progress report #4