GUSTAV - and NASA's Garbage Bag Defense

Just when I thought we might be getting lucky and getting through the middle of hurricane season without much threat, GUSTAV sprang up. it's been rolling down the "slot" -- just south of Cuba -- a track that usually puts a storm into the opening of the Gulf of Mexico.

If it slips into the Gulf of Mexico "bowling alley" the next few days, then Texas and Louisiana are sitting ducks as the "pins" for it to roll up against and punch us HARD like Rita and/or Katrina did in 2005. It could be a major blow whose track will take a lot of Gulf oil platforms off-line, which will cause a spike in gas prices at the minimum.

I recently found out (from a NASA friend who is still working there) that the NASA Procedure for dealing with a hurricane. It is to "put a garbage bag over the computer in any office that has a window."

No kidding. It's not exactly 21st Century technology or preparedness, but I've been working on ways to get them to think about protecting their people and hard assets on the ground from earthly threats, not just those encountered while flying in space.
Meanwhile, too many houses on the Texas coast are sitting ducks without real protection. Stay tuned as GUSTAV draw near to see what happens.

This could be ugly, and another wake-up call to get our building codes upgraded and buildings protected with Armor Glass Miami-Dade certified security film!