Hurricane Ivan, well at least the western edge of it, passed through this afternoon. All in all we had very lttle trouble. The power went out this afternoon for about an hour, but the power seems to go out everytime it rains. Yes, all that really needs to be done is for he lines to be kept clear but that calls for trimming trees and 4 County Power Association is afraid to trim them too much.

Yesterday we cleared off the front porch and the house now looks like no one lives here. We had a small storm a few years ago that blew stuff off the porch and broke a few things so we took extra precautions this time. The only problem is that when we got everything off the porch, it occurred to us that this would be the opportune time to paint the porch again. So I guess we will have teh paint in the next few days and get a coat of paint on the porch before witner.

My parents live further south and they’ve had a little more trouble. The winds were greater and they’ve been without power longer. They also live in the middle of nowhere so it may be a while before they get power turned on again. They are also serving as the storm shelter for the relatives who live on the coast. Everyone is safe though, and given the death and destruction elsewhere, that is a lot.

Schools were closed today in the area. At first look it did not appear to be that bad but then I heard there was concern for the school buses being out on the roads in the wind. Given how most people in Mississippi drive in good weather, keeping the buses off the roads in bad weather was a good idea.

Classes at Mississippi State were not, however, cancelled. The word was that classes would be held but students should use their own judgment about attending. As if they do not use their judgment any other time!? As I worked in my office I noticed very few students walking to class so I suspect attendance was low. My class did meet and we had pretty much a full complement. I suspected attendance would be low becasue so many people come from out of town to attend. This afternoon, after the storm had passed, night classes were cancelled. I don’t understand why they did that and, if they were going to cancel classes, why wait so late. Many students come from out town and may have been on the road already.

A few years ago I was taking Naval War College classes in Memphis and driving up there every week. There were several times when I did not go because of weather, either severe storms or snow, and I did wait to be told to “use my own judgment”. I guess when you are given a commission they expect you to use your God-given common sense all of the time!

My most frequently read blog, Thomas P. M. Barnett, was oof the net earlier this week which put a wrinkle in my ritual. He is back on now. It seems as though his book, and specifically his C-SPAN appearance have resulted in many visits to his site resulted in his allocated being exceeded. He got more bandwidth and is back up and running. Lesson learned: the price of fame is more bandwidth requirement.