Brett Passmore Rants and Raves on Politics, Technology, Religion, and Life.

Here are a few things that I learned while dealing with Hurricane Ike:

1. Coffee and frozen pizzas can be made on a BBQ grill.
2. Hot pockets taste pretty good deep fried on the outdoor cooker!
3. My car gets 23.21675 miles per gallon, EXACTLY (you can ask the people in line who helped me push it).
4. He who has the biggest generator wins. 
5. A new method of non-lethal torture — showers without hot water.
6. TV is an addiction and the withdrawal symptoms are painful.
7. Flood plain drawings on some mortgage documents were seriously wrong.
8. People will get into a line that has already formed without having any idea what the line is for.
9. Cell phones work when land lines are down, but only as long as the battery remains charged.
10. Hampers were not made to contain such a volume.
11. If I had a store that sold only ice, chainsaws, gas and generators… I’d be rich.
12. Waterfront property can quickly become someone else’s fishing hole.
13. Tree service companies are underappreciated.
14. MATH 101: 30 days in month, minus 6 days without power equals 30% higher electric bill??
15. I can walk a lot farther than I thought.
16. A MUST for all blackouts with kids… GLOWSTICKS!
17. It is a great time to teach the children the fine art of gambling (penny ante poker) card playing.
18. You can never have too many gas cans!
19. 7 dogs that do not normally live together still do not get along during a hurricane.they have no comprehension of sharing.
20. 5 gallons of sweetened iced tea a day is not enough for 9 teenagers.
21. Suddenly you realize you DO have neighbors!
22. Neighbors are much more sociable when your trees are being removed from their houses.
23. That neighbor who knows how to use a chainsaw is your new best friend.
24. What looks acceptable by candlelight in your bathroom will scare you when you look at yourself in the mirror at the office.
25. Coffee is NOT a luxury – it’s a staple! And withdrawal is hell!
26. Rather than campfires, you find families huddled about tiny battery-operated televisions to watch The Simpsons.
27. Peanut butter and jelly is a perfectly acceptable meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the same day.
28. Ice is a form of currency.
29. Coming home from work with a pizza and a charged-up laptop so the kids can watch a DVD makes you a hero.
30. You run out of things to barbecue after Day 3.
31. Hair can dry without a blow dryer, but it may not look the way you planned.
32. Baseball caps go with any post-hurricane ensemble.
33. You can’t train yourself not to flip on light switches when entering a room.
34. Lukewarm is the new cold.
35. It’s easier to ignore a dirty house when you can’t see it.
36. A new opening phrase when seeing someone: ‘Got lights yet?’
37. Daydreaming consists of thinking about what you will do when the freak’n power comes back on!

A special thank to Dave Miller at SNC-Lavalin for sending me these.

Posted under Personal