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TexasEd

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by TexasEd

  1. there is no reaction for this post.
  2. Just an observation but we're back to an ineffective warning system. With the knowledge [some] people had and lack of a warning system I'm left wondering if a helicopter flying down the flood plane with a loud speaker was a viable option. But who orders that when the behavior of the town officials made it seem like they had no idea it was coming.
  3. I don't know much about search, rescue and recovery except that it is only one of the early stages of disaster recovery. It seems to be well covered right now by people who know that space. In 7-14 days when the recovery is done those groups will leave and the survivors will be left trying to figure out what needs to be done next and trying to figure out how to move forward. One of the main next steps is cleanup. There are others like health and welfare (medical and counseling) and rebuilding but the one that seems to be the hardest in the midst of the grief is cleanup. We can help organize the manpower for targeted cleanup of properties impacted. That is the light demolition, debris removal, initial stabilization, cleaning, sorting of household effects, and providing cleaning materials for property owners affected by disasters. One of the goals is to minimize out of pocket expenses for cleanup so they can focus funds on rebuilding. To be effective we need to be organized. I've done the work before and you can end up wasting a lot of time if you're not organized. There are several aspects/things we need: Coordinator on the ground. @InkaUtexas says we have some contacts in Kerr County. Other places are affected too like Georgetown and Sandy Creek, we could help there if we get contacts. When to go. If they are still doing recovery you'll get in the way. Some areas are not ready for cleanup yet but others are. Where to go. We want to know the addresses and property owners we will work with ahead of time. I've done the show up and drive down the streets to find people that need help. Sometimes that is great and they get used to it after you've been there a while but they are probably a little overwhelmed and suspicious at the same time so if you can get that coordinator to tell you an address and the people that will be there it will help a lot. I've also done the drive up and check in at a table and they give you a job that a 10 year old could do like pick up trash or sorting used clothes donations while you have all your gear in your truck. If you have a site prearranged you'll be more effective. What to bring. Depending on the site you might need chainsaws, generators, water pumps or even heavy equipment. There are standard lists of PPE and tools for demo work. We will also need cleaning equipment, mops, bleach, trash bags, etc. Who is going. You can overwhelm a small job with too many people. We need effective teams of a few people each that can work independently on small jobs or swarm on a larger job. Scaling people to what the job needs is important. The more people we have the more teams we can deploy and tackle different kinds of jobs. What am I looking for: Points of contact to coordinate cleanup crews on site or people that know the area can put us in contact with people that need help so we can plan the jobs On site Volunteers. Those with experience can be a crew lead and newcomers can bring their muscle, sturdy gloves and surly attitude Organizers to help match teams with jobs, make sure they have the right gear, don't have any FEMA restrictions, etc. Logistics support - organizing the collection supplies and being able to move them where they are needed. A lockable enclosed trailer would be a huge help. @BurntEyes knows more about this. So if you're done bitching about what's wrong let's turn that into actually doing something productive. If we can get this done right then we can build the muscle memory to respond to other things in the future in a more effective way. @immamac for awareness
  4. Surly Response. Look for a new thread soon.
  5. Ok, after talking to a couple of people I'm looking in to organizing a Surly Response team. I'm writing up more details and may create a separate post on it because we will need to crowdsource people with different talents to do it. First stage may just be a volunteer cleanup group but we can expand to other areas to.
  6. I think it refers to the old video game on Atari called Adventure. It was also referred to in the movie Ready Player 1
  7. So the stories don't line up. Abbott said the state had “assets, resources and personnel” in place two days before a flood tore through the Hill Country. In place for what, the flood that they didn't know was coming? (Insert MTG joke here) If they knew a flood was coming two days ahead of time you would think that they would have raised the alarm but we still have hundreds of dead. So either the Governor pre-positioned disaster recovery “assets, resources and personnel” ahead of time in a prescient act of preparedness for something the Mayor was not aware of or Abbott is bullshitting. Insert the comic of the two red buttons with "Abbott knew the flood was coming but kept it on the DL" and "Abbott is lying"
  8. Yeah I get it. If there are areas that are not working recovery cleanup can start there. I think there were some houses in Travis County affected, I'll look into that too. I don't have any desire to get in the way of recovery but not all locations are facing the same challenges. Edit: Also Georgetown
  9. @InkaUtexas I'm in the experienced and capable of physically helping group. I worked in La Grange in 2017? and to a lesser extent in Wimberly. I Have the tools, gear and knowledge I know how to be self-sufficient and not create issues My company will even pay me for a day of volunteer work I just need to know when is the right time So please keep people like me informed because it does take planning on packing, getting others to go with you and making sure you have the PPE and other supplies you need. If there is another thread or group for work parties let me know. Edit: I can get off half of Friday and work through the weekend. Edit 2: I'm not in the recovery group but the debris removal/cleanup group. When it's time to get the houses cleaned out, remove debris, etc. Sometimes you have to wait for insurance green light and other times you just need the pictures to document before you start cleanup.
  10. No free speech because Grok can't restrain from reflecting Elon's racism.
  11. Same day meeting:
  12. Wait was this on the same day? We have time in the cabinet meeting to talk about Gold Leaf but not about a major child sex trafficking ring that was one of your campaign platforms?
  13. Have you told that story before? If not I think I heard it or one just like it. It also reminds me of the movie Fandango as a more limited version of doing Mexico or S America.
  14. I never thought much about it and figured it was no big deal until Trump made a big deal about releasing the files. He made campaign promises to release them. They released Part 1 heavily redacted and then claim there is no part 2. Seems very suspicious like Trump may have realized that he is in the files but doesn't want it to get out so no has to claim "nothing to see here". Sure seems like a cover up to me.
  15. Fuck, I was looking at the headlines on CNBC and one read "Green resigns from Congress" As I click through I realized it was missing the vestigial "e" and it was Mark Green, at least it was another R.
  16. Barclays has a card that for $99 I get 50,000 AA miles sign up bonus with no spending required. Citi has 50,000 miles with no annual fee first year but a small spend. Between my wife and me we can get 150,000 miles for $198 plus some spending that’s easy to hit. I missed out on the 70k bonuses but this seems good. I can use the miles on AA codeshare flights with BA.
  17. Me too, only 1 year since in HS I was a military brat moving around to a different HS every year.
  18. Wasn't cutting back on H1B visas in Trump's platform until the Elon/Besos/Zuck group started complaining?
  19. The bill even raises work requirements to 65 years old to get Medicaid so look for more competition for those Walmart greeter spots. Well they won't be able to afford their insulin. "Diabeetus" [/Wilfred Brimley]
  20. Conmen like the stupid and gullible equally.
  21. I got to see that museum and church as a teenager on my Junior class trip. I lived in Scotland and a classmate had a house in Stavanger, we did a couple days in Oslo too.
  22. My goal is to get my family (5 or 6 of us) to Europe and save money or improve the travel conditions for the parents. Kids can fly coach. So maybe this doesn't work the way I think it does anymore. I used to travel a lot. I'm close to a million miler on American and could have made it if my travel was more consistent with them over the years. I have not been in a heavy travel role for about 15 years. 20 years ago I used my points on American for 2 first round trip class seats to Kona and my hotel points for a week free at a Hilton resort (This is what my wife expects). So if no amount of Chase "miles" or points is going to get me a good deal then so I just find the best cash back card. I have an American Citi-Advantage card and about 38,000 miles in my account now which is good for one coach round trip in May 2026. Am I better off trying to build up enough miles for a couple tickets (5 or 6 people traveling) or to get enough to upgrade my wife and I to better seats? I have some time and plenty of credit card expenses to earn points but just need to figure it out. We could get my wife another AAdvantage card which comes with 50,000 points, no annual fee the first year.
  23. I think I will go with the Chase Sapphire Preferred (not Reserve). The bonus is 75,000 miles and fee is $95. If my wife gets one too that’s 150,000 miles for $180. Thoughts?
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