Dear friends,

The glorious US corporate media did it again.  Even though Hurricane Irma is still a week away from any possible landfall in the USA, the media leeches did what they always did: the created a panic.  As a result, things are slowly but surely going crazy in Florida.  The problem with my much beloved Florida Peninsula is just that, a peninsula with basically only 3 evacuation highways to chose from.  That, in turn, means that if you evacuate, you want to do that early.  That also means that by now most hotels are already fully booked.  To be fair, Irma is a CAT5 monster (sustained winds now at 175 MPH and a pressure down to 929mb) which can potentially present a major threat to the entire state.  The governor has already declared a state of emergency for the entire state.

Since I came to Florida in 2002 I have already lived through Charley (eyewall), Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis and Wilma and I know that from now on things are just going to get uglier and crazier, with potential food and gas shortages next.  What is most irritating is that is all an entirely man-made panic because while things right now do look bad for the Keys and South Florida, there is a pretty decent change that Irma will somewhat weaken over Hispaniola, then curve around and over the Peninsula and further weaken overland.  I am not saying that all will be well, only that as of right now caution is warranted, but not panic (there will always be enough time for that later).

Anyway, to make a long story short, I might have to evacuate with my family.  At some point in time, I am likely to lose power no matter where I am.  And keeping my family safe might turn out into a rather exhausting exercise.  So please accept my apologies if I don’t reply to email or don’t write much for the next 10-12 days or so. I will do my best, but with a CAT5 hurricane creeping closer, I will have to spend a lot of time looking over my shoulder and deal with all the headaches which come with any mass hysteria.

Wish me well, keep me in your prayers, and hopefully nothing too terrible will happen.

Hugs and cheers,

The Saker