Greetings from "snowy" Houston, TX!

So, what did you do during Hurricane Ike?

Yeah... I was shooting live shots all night, including a couple during the extended period when the eyewall came through. Not the eye, mind you, the eyewall... the part of the hurricane with the really, really heavy rain and really, really high winds. Note that I am not wearing any rain gear... that never changed during the course of the evening. Come to find out, my favorite Nike sweatshirt weighs about 35 pounds when completely soaked. Of course, I should be honored I was selected for such an important role in our broadcast... this was not, however, because of my superior skills as a photographer, but instead because of the fact that, with my considerable girth, I had what you might call a significantly higher "wind rating" than the rest of our available, qualified employees... an honor, nonetheless!

F*@& YOU, IKE!!!

That sucked, and still sucks, major ass! Living without power and water... that gets really old, really quickly. I think I lost 15 pounds last night just from sweating... that's a lot of fun when trying to sleep for the first time in three days. But hey, A/C or not, it was great to be home after 31 straight hours at work. However, it was not great to have to almost immediately turn around and come back to work... but at least I only have to work 12 hours days every day for what's likely to be close to two weeks. I shouldn't complain too much... we have power and A/C at work... and they are feeding us with some measure of regularity. My car now won't start, but hopefully some dry conditions and the passage of time will remedy that. My almost brand new half-gallon of Pecan Pralines 'n Cream Blue Bell is a complete loss, but I still have a roof over my head and family and friends are safe... and for that, I am very thankful.

By the way, if any of you are offered the opportunity to shoot several live shots outside in the teeth of a hurricane eyewall passing through your part of town, I'd advise taking a pass. Trust me.