7:00p

Al Roker is here?  What the...? I thought this was a weather event, not a PR stunt.  Ugh.  Yeah no real respect for the man, he isn't really a weather man yet he works for The Weather Channel (What happened at the Today show? Did he out grow Wilard Scott's Ronald McDonald shadow?) and he is here in The Crescent City.  Maybe that's why Issac is taking aim at New Orleans...

I spent about 15 minutes in the lobby watching The Weather Channel and, oy vey, are they a bunch of drama princesses.  You'd think there was a black hole forming at the mouth of the Mississippi the way they play the dramatic music, quick cuts, and sweeping studio camera angles.  Somewhere, Micheal Bay is rubbing his hands greedily looking for slow motion explosion. 

In Texas, they seem to find the trailer park resident to interview after bad storm damage, here in Louisiana, the local news grabs a "Swamp People" reject.  Watching the local news trying to communicate with this guy right now is probably the funniest thing I've watched all day.  He is doing his best but watching the news anchors trying to talk on his level is hilarious because they are tripping all over themselves.

The wind is still a beast here in the hotel.  Every few minutes there is a gust that sounds like a thunder clap in the distance but when I look out the window the palm trees on street level are nearly still.  I can see one of the bends in the river from my room and it's gone from mirror like to full of white caps and swells. 

I have to say, the updates done to this city's pumping stations and levees is impressive.  About 15 minutes ago they closed the last of the three major canals in the city and started the pumps.  One thing to keep note is they want water in the canals to help them maintain structural integrity.  Never thought about that but it makes total sense when you think about the physics of it.

 The camera on the North shore of Lake Pontchartrain is a blast to watch with a certain weather guy.  (Yes, he is the same one who was obsessed with eye of the storm earlier).  There is one lone soul out there watching the lake come ashore.  Our intrepid weather man railed on the green screen earlier trying to tell the guy that he is playing with his life; I guess he got a talkin' to since then because they just showed the same shot and that guy was still there and our weather man was visibly upset by it but said nothing.  

Per the radar, the big yellow red dot on the TITAN radar is showing right on the doorstep of New Orleans.  This might be the one that knocks out the power but we will wait and see.