Ike

[pksurveyor]

I am glad the new Caterham's delivery was delayed due to missing header primary pipe or it would have to weather through the hurricane. The 4th largest city in the USA has taken a big beating from hurricane Ike. Along the coast, entire city disappeared due to tidal surge and 100 mph wind. 2 million people without power in this humid weather. People has no place to return to. Death toll is unknown because there is nothing to count when the entire city was washed away. I am the lucky one who has power returned after three days. My office appears to be intact with no broken windows but no power yet so we can not go inside to check for water damage. Downtown Houston is closed due to broken glasses from the skyscrapers. Many highrise buildings have no windows at all and the amount of damage is unthinkable.

[slngsht]

I've been out of the states for a couple of weeks, and seems like all hell is breaking loose there. First I got word that a close family friend has terminal cancer (he's strong as an ox, non smoker, 50s, blah blah). Then word of the stock market. I had no idea Ike was this bad. I will turn the TV on and see what's going on. Prayers going out to those affected.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Gas stations around here are starting to run out of fuel. The Sheetz near my job has been out since Saturday. Stations in ATL have been out for a while from what I understand.

[pksurveyor]

Gasoline lines are long . A couple of hours of waiting to get gasoline at the stations that have power and fuel. The lines are just as long to receive emergency food, water, and ice from the help centers. Funny thing is that some people don't have enough sense to turn the engine off while waiting in line and the cars died before they get to the station.

 

I have half a tank left in my Landcruiser. I may have to switch over to the Caterham to save some gas.

[pksurveyor]

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/the_short_but_eventful_life_of.html

 

It is unreal how power the tidal surge and wind can destroy civilization.

[Kitcat]

No way Cincy compares to Houston but 48 hours after the remnants of Ike passed thru, we still have 600,000 homes w/o power and we are being told it will be Sunday before all is restored. It is the largest and longest power outage ever in these parts. 5 people died here because of it, trees are down everywhere, cars crushed, roofs off, signs down, all schools closed, ditto many businesses, etc.

 

Again nothing compared to what Ike did on the Texas coast, but at least noteworthy

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I have half a tank left in my Landcruiser.

 

What kind of Cruiser? Are you a cruiser enthusiast as well? or just a cruiser owner?

 

Cruiser nut here

[solder_guy]

Stations in ATL have been out for a while from what I understand.

 

Yesterday Am I went to one station which was out .. then on to the next one which had gas and cheaper too ..

 

Rob in ATL (wish I had a '70s Landcruiser ..)

 

[pksurveyor]

I have a 2008 Landcruiser. It is my work vehicle (land surveyor). Even though I don't go offroad as much as I used to, the Toyota reliability is unbelievable. I have been a Landcruise owner since 1992 and every one goes 200,000 miles without skipping a beat. I had a Hummer H2 and it was the most troublesome vehicle I have ever owned, almost in the Lotus Esprit league.

[pksurveyor]

I don't understand how the power grid system works. My side of the street has electricity but my neighbors across the street in the same subdivision are still out. We ran extension cords across the street to provide them with power and my other outside outlet is serving as charging station for their cell phones and laptops.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I have a 2008 Landcruiser. It is my work vehicle (land surveyor). Even though I don't go offroad as much as I used to, the Toyota reliability is unbelievable. I have been a Landcruise owner since 1992 and every one goes 200,000 miles without skipping a beat. I had a Hummer H2 and it was the most troublesome vehicle I have ever owned, almost in the Lotus Esprit league.

 

Good stuff. I currently own a '94 w/ 215k miles and my dad has an '04 w/ 85k miles. Also have an '85 Toyota pickup that's my 4-wheeling rig. If you haven't already, you might check out forum.ih8mud.com for your Land Cruiser forum fix

[pksurveyor]

The straight six engine Landcruiser may be a little slow on the road but it has plenty of torque for offroading. My first Cruiser was a 1992 and I replaced it with a V-8 in 1998. The 1992 was a real workhorse. We were doing a lot of surveying in Fort Polk, Louisiana for the U.S. Army. We surveyed moving target track for the M-1 tanks and laid out a a village in the middle of nowhere for urban warfare traiining. The Cruiser worked like a clock. The only problem was the warping of the front brake rotors. The hot brake would warp after water crossing due to the sudden cooling.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I hear ya on the rotor issue. I'm on my 5th set of front rotors in 4 years

 

The straight six was upgraded in '93 to a torquier(sp?) smoother model. They also got rear disc brakes and electronic locking differentials.

 

Good to hear of someone using their Land Cruiser as it was intended instead of just taking it to the mall.

[southwind25]

Well, we burned out our chainsaw cutting up the downed trees here...from Ike..in OHIO!

 

we had to cut our neighbors mini van out from under a big sugar maple tree....

 

and many homes still have no power..in North Canton ohio, from the winds.

[pksurveyor]

Large trees supposed to increase the value of your home except it will do the opposite during a hurricane.