Whew!  Hurricane Gustav is now a tropical storm and we believe we got lucky.
We are receiving rain and winds that are gusting no more than 30 mph.
And to top that, Gustav has decided to take a more northerly route through
Louisiana before getting to Texas.

We may get heavier rain throughout the day as movement of the storm continues.
The storm is now covering the length of the Texas and Louisiana border. (more…)

Greensburg is in repeats right now so there are no new updates for you
today. Planet Green is taking a holiday along with the rest of us!

Hurricane Gustav is projected in a beeline right for me. So, forgive me
if this is too short and sweet as I need to prepare for the onslaught of
10 inches of rain and high winds starting late tonight and running through
Thursday.

Battening down the hatches, mates, we are in for a big blow but not as bad
as the Gulf Coast, mainly Louisiana, is fixin to feel.

Lessons were learned from Katrina. I will tell you this much, there have
been massive evacuation efforts going on over the weekend. Nursing homes
here in East Texas have gained anywhere from 60 to 100 extra patients.
Hospitals here are wall to wall gurneys. Prisons are being evacuated as well.
Let’s just say that all roads out of major cities have become one way and
folks are taking heed to leave. All Hotels/Motels are booked solid, We are
all hunkerin down cause there is no where else to go.

I will keep you updated as the week continues with hopes of keeping electricity
throughout. LOL, LOL, LOL…. I crack me up!

March 2008

What’s left of Greensburg State Bank built in 1989 is getting demolished.
Dee Corns, employee and wife of the Bank President tells of rebuilding the
bank in the same location.  They will build green using eco-block (icf).
There was a lot of material reclaimed from the bank before the demo
started.

Robert Mitchum, city council member, discusses who might be mayor. (more…)

(This is a long one kids, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy)

January 2008

Two architect students from the University of Kansas’ Studio 804, drive
4 1/2 hours to determine if Greensburg would be a viable candidate for
their annual project to build a house using architecture as a way of turning
around neighborhoods. They are concerned about committing here because of the
distance and time. Studio 804 is composed of 22 graduate students, all
graduating in May. The students go out and seek funding for the project, but
it seems they seek from the effected community itself, (gee, thanks). Back
at the University a Studio 804 meeting is held with the 22 students and their
professor discussing if Greensburg can really go that green, can the town
pull it off, the project’s not a charity, it needs funding, can the town (more…)

On a typical summer day most cities in the world are several degrees warmer than the
adjacent countryside.  It is known as the heat island effect.  Our cities have become
hot and harsh environments and require a vast amount of energy to make life
comfortable. The strain on power lines is enormous, and electric companies must
scramble to meet peak demand. In fact, heat waves kill more Americans than all other (more…)

I am sure that you have heard or seen these before, but I feel the need to share them
with you to help out in your everyday living.

- Peel a banana from the bottom and you won’t have to pick the little “stringy
things” off of it. That’s how the primates do it. Take your bananas apart when you
get  home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

- Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much
longer and not mold!

- Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
- Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. (more…)

Well, the last 20 hours have been just as fun as it can be! Lost power last night due
to a tremendous spring storm. Lots of wind (60 mph), lots of rain, a little downburst
about 100 feet from us and lots of trees going down.

So, out comes the generator, heavy with a tank of gas, hook it up and got power to the
RV so life was aok after it got going. Got to sleep around 1:30 a.m.

Got up at 7 a.m. to see what kind of damage was done. Well, this little acre was
completely covered with limbs, leaves (more…)