Today marks the start of the 2007 Hurricane Season, even though we’ve already had a sub-tropical storm in the Atlantic back in mid-May. Predictions from NOAA call for there to be “…13 to 17 named storms, with seven to 10 becoming hurricanes, of which three to five could become major hurricanes of Category 3 (111 - 130 mph) strength or higher,” and Colorado State University hurricane guru William Gray has predicted a 74 percent chance of a major hurricane making landfall in the U.S., with a 50 percent chance of one making landfall on the east coast.

Yet in spite of those predictions, and this country’s experience with hurricanes in the past 3 years, a recent Mason-Dixon poll showed that most coastal residents, from Texas to the Florida Keys in the Gulf of Mexico and from the Florida Keys up to Maine on the Atlantic coast side, still haven’t made hurricane survival plans. 53 percent of the surveyed in 18 Atlantic and Gulf Coast states said they don’t think they’re at risk from hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding, and 52 percent said they had no disaster plan in place.

Darwin was right.

Anyway, hopefully you’re not one of those with your head in the Florida sand. Here at the Blog Cave we’ve been preparing by stocking water, food, batteries and such, as well as testing flashlights, the battery-powered TV/Radio and the new weather alert radio we purchased this year. Important documents will be sealed over the next few days and we’ll add some things like rope and extra ice. We’ll keep cash on hand in case the ATM’s go out and gas in the Blogmobile for the same reason, although this year any gas station within a half-mile of an interstate, turnpike or designated evacuation route must have generators installed to run their pumps if power is lost. I just don’t like the lines and the waiting and the way some people turn into assholes during these things. I’d much rather be prepared and ready to ride something like Charley out on my own with loved ones.

Plus, I’m trying to be sure Blog Girl has everything she needs in case I’m somewhere else in the country when another 100 mph Charley comes roaring through here. I’m going to feel helpless enough by not being here, but at least I can be sure she is prepared, should that happen.

Also remember that, starting today and through June 12th, certain hurricane supplies in designated price and type categories will be Florida Sales Tax Free. That’s especially helpful if you’re purchasing a big ticket item like a generator.

Here are some helpful links to city, county, state, federal government and voluntary agency hurricane and disaster resource sites online:

City of Orlando Office of Emergency Management

City of Orlando Citizens Corps

Orange County Government Emergency Management

Osceola County Emergency Management

Seminole County Emergency Management

Volusia County Emergency Management

Brevard County Office of Emergency Management

Lake County Emergency Management

Florida Division of Emergency Management

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

American Red Cross

Volunteer Florida Disaster Response and Recovery

Personally, I’m looking forward to the day when Blog Girl and I move the Blog Cave to North Carolina.

After kids and grandkids left the BlogCave on Christmas morning, BlogGirl and I proceeded to clean up the living room and kitchen and to check online for movies to go see. BG decided she wasn’t really in the mood for “Rocky Balboa” and we eventually settled on “Eragon” which was showing in the early afternoon.

However, as the time to leave to go to the movie theater draws nearer, the weather worsens and just as we would normally be getting into the BlogMobile, thunderstorms blanket the Orlando and Central Florida area. We decide to forego the movie theater trip and instead stayed in the BlogCave to watch a DVD I had given to BG for Christmas, “The Lake House” starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in a story of love crossing time.

Of course the storm blew through quickly and just as we would have been sitting in a darkened theater to watch “Eragon”, the skies were clear and the sun was peeking through the window. So, later in the afternoon we ventured out to see the movie and then enjoy a meal at Bennigan’s afterward. The movie was “ok”; not great and not horrible, but to be fair I had a headache and (for some reason) was sleepy. Of course, “Eragon” opened at number 6 across the country over the weekend, so maybe “ok” is an accurate review.

Here’s what BlogGirl gave The Masked Blogger for Christmas:

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete First Season. This has been on my Amazon Wishlist for years, lol, waiting for the price to come down. I used to have all 7 seasons on VHS video tape (homemade by me with commercials edited out), but when I put this (and the remaining 6 seasons) on my wishlist, I started taping over the shows because I knew that one day I’d be getting all 7 seasons on DVD. Granted, the first season is not this series’ best (Roddenberry was supplying recycled scripts that he originally planned to use years earlier when he wanted to bring back the original Star Trek series, which never happened), but ya gotta have that first season.

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Second Season. Same comment as above, with the exception that, while the stories improved in this season (but wouldn’t really hit their stride until the third season) I hated the replacement of Dr. Crusher.

Amazing Marvel Universe. This is a cool book because it is more than a printed book, it is also an audio book. The book includes 50 of the top happenings within the Marvel Comics universe over the years, with the added bonus of 45 minutes of commentary by the creator of many of the Marvel Universe characters (as well as being the former editor and publisher), Stan Lee.

A MetroBlog Logo Black Tee Shirt. Since I write for Orlando MetroBlog, I thought it would be neat to have one of these and mentioned it to BG a couple of months ago…then promptly forgot about it, so I was surprised to open a box and find this in it. Even more surprising is that this shirt only has the “MB” logo on it, not the word “MetroBlogging”. That means if I want to I can tell everyone the initials stand for Masked Blogger!

Frommer’s Best RV and Tent Campgrounds in the U.S.A. This is a great addition to my library. It’s a book I can use personally for locating camping locations when I go tent camping and one that I can use as a reference professionally for my other writing job. This is almost 1200 pages of site reviews, amenities, fees, photos, directions and maps of almost 5,000 RV and Tent Campgrounds in the continental United States.

Marvel Heroes 2007 Calendar. Every year BG gives me a calendar to hang in my office next to my desk. They are usually either Star Trek, Comic Book or fantasy artist-themed. Sometimes I point out one I would like in the days before Christmas and sometimes she surprises me. This year she really surprised me because she didn’t give me one! That’s right, I didn’t get this gift until the day after Christmas when we were walking through an office supply store and I saw the calendar display and exclaimed, “Hey! You didn’t get me a calendar this year!” It completely slipped her mind. We laughed and she let me pick this one out.

SanDisk Sansa e250 2GB MP3 Player. My newest toy. This one was really a surprise. BlogGirl said, “I wanted to ask you if you wanted one, but I knew you’d say you wouldn’t use it if I did, so I just got it knowing you would use it if you had it”. That’s why she’s my wife, she knows me so well. I can play audio files, video files, listen to FM radio and use it as a digital voice recorder. This might be fun to listen to when I’m hiking, though I usually prefer to listen to the sounds of nature around me…we’ll see. I know I’ll use it when walking for exercise. At least now I can look like all the kids that work in my office. Ok, I won’t really look like them, but I can have this hanging around my neck with the earbuds stuck in my ears like them.

I think that concludes my list of Christmas gifts this year. Now I just need to carve out enough time to enjoy them.