Here it is...three days to prepare but it will be mild compared to Rita and definitely to Katrina. My guru, Jeff Masters, is at wwww.wunderground.com, has all the great maps. I hope your local TV station has available hurricane information without having to fill out your personal information first, then confirming it, then...I do understand them requiring that data to get non-emergency information, but I was surprised they would put a banner up for the lastest on Edouard and then require that. One click and I was off their site and onto www.wunderground.com to see the maps you don't even get on the Hurricane Center site.

Anyway, we'll see how the new builder homes along the coast hold up to minimal hurricane winds. In all fairness, this one may spawn a few tornados, so I'll wait till I know for sure what caused the damage before I post about this topic.

Don't leave anything out that might blow away or cause damage. Good luck...hope nobody floods or loses their electricity for too long.

One more quick item...I bought rolling plastic trash cans, then put two trash bags inside them as a double liner. Then put stuff in them, put on the lid, and have another liner ready to cover them just in case we lose the roof. I am not expecting anything like this with this one, but this was a trial run. My apartments did lose a roof during Rita, so it's not always flooding that ruins your personal property. It's easy to do if you have no shelf space to put things up. If your home floods, this is a great option...$15 or so for rolling carts at Home Depot, plus grab a couple of sacks of trash bags. This is definitely overkill for this storm (hopefully) but it was a trial run.

Eduardo turned, so I missed it...but many got a lot of water and some wind damage. But nothing that would test the new builder homes that have sprung up all over the area since Rita.

Today I am looking at Tropical Storm Fay, originally thought to come across Cuba, then turn and go up through Florida. Now it looks like it will be turning later, so it will have more than 90 miles over water before it reaches the Florida panhandle. Of course, the longer it waits to turn, the closer to New Orleans it gets...and Houston. Nobody wants to be in the Cone of Uncertainty when a big storm is predicted..and this one just might turn out to be big. I doubt if New Orleans is ready for another big storm. Visit www.wunderground.com to track all tropical storm computer models.

Invest 94 is heading toward Florida's east coast, but don't know what it will be when it gets there. They may get double punched again this year. Florida has had their share of hurricanes in recent years. We'll watch this one and see how the newer builder homes hold up.

Jeff Masters on www.wunderground.com (weather underground) called Fay "The Joker" and I guess he nailed it. I just saw a lot of unfortunate folks on TV who had no clue their houses could flood. This storm is developing a cruel personality. New home construction did not get tested by Fay...flooding is the problem with this one.

I was surprised to see Gustav's cone of uncertainly move to the right to the extent it did in the last 24 hours. I'm trying to learn a little about these eddys of warm water that are out there waiting for a T/S or Cat 1 hurricane to pass over them and kick off the rapid intensification.

Looks like the most likely target for landfall is the New Orleans area right now--Houston is just slightly out of the cone. I can't enjoy that good news because New Orleans may still be very vulnerable. I don't know what their temporary housing situation is but I feel sure there are still lots of folks living in housing that will not be safe. Plus, lots of people in Mississippi are not ready for another one this big this soon. Not much change in the track since 11 AM today, so this may be a more accurate track, but only time will tell.

Gustav forecast still iffy. New lightweight products and fasteners for window protection are out there, but finding them, then cutting and fitting them--all that takes time. Whatever happens with this storm, people have no excuse not to do whatever they have the means to do. Lack of money, lack of transportation, health issues...those kinds of problems hinder preparation and/or evacuation and can be major obstacles when a hurricane is approaching. Just hope nobody waits till the last minute when they have the ability to prepare ahead of time. I'm waiting on the 5 PM forecast before getting back to packing.

Wherever this hits, there should be lots of feedback on how the new builder homes held up, most importantly the windows and roofs.