11:45 am

I've moved!  Well, it's not really that exciting, but I have moved rooms.  The reason is leakage.  No not me, the room.  Apparently my old room was the only room that did not have a room above it, just a gravel roof that started to leak during the night.  Now, luckily the water didn't start coming into the room till early this morning.  Photos below of the multipule water sources.

All these, besides the window, were right over or right behind the bed.  Oh what a wake up call that would have been.  Lucky for me I've been up since 2 am thanks to 95 mph gusts.

Plaquemines Parish is under mandatory evacuation now.  Levees are failing in multipule locations and it's time to get those people out, no reason to risk their lives nor the emergency workers who would have to rescue them.

Is it just me or is there something reassuringly funny to hear the Mayor of New Orleans call people knuckle-heads?  And they say politicians are dull.

My new room has a better view of downtown and I can see a good portion of Poydras, one the major roads that goes through downtown, and passes right in-front of the Superdome, City Hall and all the of the skyscrapers in the city.  I see minimal traffic on the road, mainly National Guard Humvees and police cars running code 1 (lights only, no siren). 

This morning I've watched the winds shift twice with such ease, it is frightening.  It's almost as if someone adjusted the fan to a different direction and a few hours later, switched it back. 

Now that there is daylight, I can see some minor damage downtown.  Mainly debris blown in from who knows where litters the curbs of the street and the air.  There is this weird ash like substance that is circulating around the hotel I'm in.  It looks a lot like snow and behaves like it as well; I can't figure out what it's origin is but must be something near by, perhaps the old Hibernia Bank building that is under construction next door. 

The eye of the storm is moving towards New Orleans as of this time.  Don't set that in stone though, this storm is acting so oddly that it is hard to say what move is next. 

A few reports that have been confirmed that there are several different homes that have collapsed in New Orleans.  Also reports of trees in the Uptown area are uprooted and laying across the road and taking out power lines.  Some of these trees are nearly 100 year old oaks that are a large tourist attractions.  No reports of homes beng hit. 

http://www.fox8live.com/story/19368931/despite-warnings-house-collapses-on-another-in-gentilly?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7651928