From: mwmg~te.net (Scott Gold) Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 07:27:29 -0800 Subject: life in apres-du-Pakaville
i'd like to thank all the concerned harp-l-ers who tried to contact me and check in to make sure that i was okay after super-typhoon paka. it comes much appreciated.
since a few had asked, i'll just give a quick report on the conditions here, at the radio station, and try to get some harp content in by the end of the message. . . .
on 16 DEC 1997, Paka visited Guam with sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts to 236 mph (this is a new world record, the previous one was set in 1934 on mount washington, NH, with 231 mph winds).
after 3 weeks of sunny california's decaffe frappacinos, the rolling magestic hills of Virginia, and the swinging neon lights of NYC, a tremendous jimmy smith concert in oakland, my life has once again come to a screeching halt upon arrival to the invisible land: apres-du-pakaville, the island we affectionately refer to as the land of thieves, the little rock in the pacific which lies perfectly square in "typhoon alley", guam.
ahhhh, it's good to be back!
the island is a bit scruffy at the moment. at least half the vegetation was deleted.
power is about 65 - 70% back.
my apartment is fairly dried out, computers, tho' somewhat musty work, the fax, the modem are all back in business.
forsight dictated that my harps, amp and associated rig material by placed high over the low flood plains of my apartment, which preserved them rather nicely.
my vehicle is cleansed of the green jungle mache which was osterized by paka spewed out and adhered itself to my car.
our band will be in full force at jungle java next weekend, (you're all invited to sit in!) so things are getting back to normal.
the hotels all sustained damage (guam is primarily a resort island these days) one hotel that i am trying to repair was completely devastated. of course, i am using my knowledge gleaned from harp-l to help me determine the cause of some of the more bizarre effects of the wind. short example: most of the 300 guest rooms in the 18F hotel were destoyed. but upon examination, i found a pattern of balcony glass breakage at every other room (every other room had broken glass, the other was fine - these rooms are known as back-to-back rooms, sharing a common demising wall). it seems that the wind provided equal pressure to these back-to-back window systems, one finally gave in, and since these rooms shared some plenun space above the ceiling, pressure to the other room was relieved; in other words, the windows panes were like two reeds in a single cell-- when god went for that wicked bend, all hell broke loose!
the radio station (KPRG 89.3 fm) where i sit in for the blue monday micronesia show, there was damage, but the station was airing quickly (albeit at reduced wattage). but we are back at full force now. this monday, i'll be doing the show, and as usual try to slip in some harp-l-er work for the fans.
from the inter-tropical convergence zone,
- -sg tumon bay, guam
ps--if any of you have sent me material to air on the show and haven't heard from me, it means that i didn't get your cd, tape, whatever. i repsond to everyone. the mail system has been slowed by paka. if you've sent something to me recently, send me an email privately, and i'll try to ascertain the situation at the post office.....
