Rita Goes Skiing

[ALLSKIING]

Just a quick comment that there's some potential that Hurricane Rita could affect AlpineZone.com directly. You see, our Web host, JaguarPC is located in Houston. The risk apparently is small, but you never know. I received this Email from them today:

Tuesday 20th of September 2005
Jaguar Technologies LLC
Houston, TX
http://www.jaguarpc.com
============================

Hello Gregory Blasko,
Hello,

This is a special newsletter to address certain concerns
that many of you have regarding Hurricane Rita that may be
heading towards the Houston Greater Area. We would like to
address some of these concerns and go over what each client
can do to be prepared.

There was actually a thread in aftermath of the recent
Katrina hurricane in our forums that discusses this issue as
well.

http://jaguarpc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12784

Our preparedness/recovery plan includes instructions and
procedures for our people and internal systems. As we are
out of all flood plains and we are 60 miles north of a
direct hit, we have been advised that the reinforced roof
fasteners rated at 90 miles per hour would be sufficient.

We did a study and in the past 33 years (including a level 5
hurricane) the maximum wind speed in our zip code was
reported at 69 miles per hour. We feel that we have done a
good job at mitigating risk but that's not to say we don't
plan on just not ever experiencing a disaster.

Depending on the scenario we would take different measures,
at different locations. Should something unpredictable or
uncontrollable occur clients could find your sites served
out of Dallas rather quickly.

While we do maintain daily current backups we insist that
every client maintain their own copy of an updated version
of your sites, databases, and anything you deem as critical
to your site or business.

Some statistical information:
JaguarPC is over on the west side of town, near Bellaire.
That makes JaguarPC about an hour from Galveston.

In Houston, what we call a "direct hit" would be where it
makes land fall right on Galveston. JaguarPC is quite far
from that location so we wouldn't be affected too badly. In
June 2001 flooding from Tropical Storm Allison put every
major roadway in the city underwater. This data center was
used a refuge for other businesses to get back up and
running since it was not affected. JaguarPc is outside of
the 500yr flood plain here in Houston.

This is not say that nothing will happen, so it's best to be
prepared, but we do not expect much of a problem at this time.

JaguarPC has successfully implemented a full-scale emergency
management plan for hurricane Rita. The company is
monitoring all severe weather threats and taking the
potential storm very seriously. JaguarPC's Emergency
Management Team is ensuring all areas in the Emergency

Management Plan (DR/BC plan) are being addressed including,
but not limited to:

Facilities: The facility is outside evacuation areas. All
generator tanks have been "topped off" and additional fuel
will be delivered on Thursday and Friday to our location.
Contact with Centerpoint has been made to establish ongoing
communications with their staff. And overflow parking
requirements have also been established with neighboring
parking lots at 4151 and 4211 Southwest Freeway to address
any potential parking requirements for our data center
customers.

Remote Systems: JaguarPC is monitoring and managing the
center 24x7 and will continue to do so throughout the storm.
All DR/BC plans have been reviewed across our monitoring and
management platform. Both remote and onsite customer systems
will be actively monitored, on "high alert" and available.

Internet Network: The JaguarPC network is secure. Three of
the four JaguarPC redundant backbone providers are accessing
the data center underground.

Backup Customer Communications: JaguarPC is deploying an
emergency email communication platform and should not have
issues with our ability to communicate via email.

Supplies: Customers who send employees to the data center
are responsible for their own provisions.

JaguarPC and its data center are committed to ensuring the
availability, security and integrity of critical data and
applications 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This commitment
doesn't waiver in the event of hurricane or other natural
disaster.

============================

Regards,
sales@jaguarpc.com - Customer Service
Jaguar Techonologies, LLc - JaguarPC.com

I will pull down some backups of the databases locally as the storm gets closer....just in case. Kudos to JagPC for sending this.

Looks bad for Houston . Hope the site stays up.

 

[loafer89]

There is NO doubt that the Earth is experiencing a climate change in the form of global warming. Between 1896 -2000 the earth as an average warmed about 1.0F - 1.3F.

Mechanical readings of tempearature change only go back about 150 years, but ice core samples, sea floor sediment samples and tree rings, all can tell us about our climates past for 100,000 years or more.

I am not a big believer that we are causing global warming, as there have been MANY cycles of warm and cold periods in earths past.

The amazing part is how quickly these changes have occured, some ice ages/warm periods came about in just a few years and ended just as quickly.

The little ice age, actually a cool period, from 1450-1850, ended in just 6 years, the vikings had to abandon Greenland about 1450 as the climate cooled and ice advanced. Now in the same areas in Greenland, farmers are out with tractors and the land is (relatively) free of ice.

The estimates that I have seen for 2000-2100 call for a global temperature increase of perhaps 5F and a North Pole free of summer ice by 2050.

I have also seen models that call for a breakdown of the Gulf Stream and a cooling period starting in Europe by 2100-2150.

Regarding Hurricanes, they seem to come in intense cycles, the reasons for which are not entirely understood, but we are entering an active cycle again.

 

[ChileMass]

I'm not a scientist, and neither am I a tree-hugger, but as someone said earlier it's hard to imagine that having tons and tons and tons of CO2 and other nasty stuff going up into the atmosphere doesn't have some impact. I'm all for empirical evidence (don't believe in the Santa or the Easter Bunny), but it sure seems like we have more BIG MONSTROUS hurricanes than before.....

And yup - we're getting mighty close to a political discussion here, folks.......so let's keep it civil and scientific - OK??? 8)

 

[loafer89]

A good book to reading about the subject of climate change is:

"A Change In The Weather" by William K. Stevens.

Rita is now down to 150mph sustained winds, and may strike as a category 3.

According to the above mentioned book, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the current time is the highest of the last 420,000 years according to analysis of atmospheric gases trapped in Antarctic ice. It is also 20% higher than at any previous interglacial period, and double the typical concentration during an ice age.

The carbon dioxide level in the upper atmosphere has also increased 15% between 1959-1999.

Another interesting fact is that the June 16, 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo released enough sulfur dioxide to reduce the solar radiation hitting Earth by 3%, causing a 1F global cooling.

 

[Brettski]

don't believe in the Santa or the Easter Bunny

What...what are you saying?

 

[Marc]

don't believe in the Santa or the Easter Bunny

What...what are you saying?

Don't listen to him... that's just crazy talk!

 

[Greg]

Looks like a levee in NO has already been breached from Rita's rains...

 

[ctenidae]

No no, it's not a "breach" according to the Corps of Engineers. At least, not yet. At the moment, water is just pouring over the top. If it keeps going, it will probably breach it.

One report said water was rising about 3 inches an hour already.

 

[Greg]

No no, it's not a "breach" according to the Corps of Engineers. At least, not yet. At the moment, water is just pouring over the top. If it keeps going, it will probably breach it.

One report said water was rising about 3 inches an hour already.

Thanks for clarifying. Call me rumor mill...

 

[loafer89]

The levee did not suffer from a washover, the levee failed. I just saw pictures of it on tv, it is in bad shape and water is pouring into New Orleans.

The Army Corp did an admiral job, but they did not have enough time to prepare for another hurricane. Thank goodness Rita will not hit the city directly.

 

[ALLSKIING]

I was watching a show, (can't remember what channel)And they were talking about the gel that they put in diapers to aborb moisture. Scientists are going to drop it into hurricanes to see how the hurricane reacts to the amount of moisture the gel can aborb.