Ok so I know there are a lot of SMD members that are in the path of this monster of a storm. I hope everyone is safe and comes through ok both themselves and their families. My shop is located in Salisbury, MD and we are in the direct path of Irene and it's expected to be a cat 2 or 3 by the time it hits us... the thing is, we haven't had a hurricane really do anything to us in over 40 years so this is not good. They have already ordered MANDATORY evactuations for Ocean City, MD (very close to me about 20 minutes) by 5pm today NOBODY can be on the island, as well as just about every county around us, and they have even started evacuations in Salisbury... so yea. This is very new to us.
I can only say that I hope everyone in the Carolinas, VA, MD, DE, NJ, NY, PA, and points northward do the right thing to protect themselves and families... forget the material things as they can be replaced, but you cannot replace your own life.
BE SAFE!