Good news from NOLA: Just spoke with a good friend in New Orleans, and was pleased to learn that both his home, his parents' home, and his business/warehouse are basically fine (all three structures are in Metairie, a part of Jefferson Parish that didn't get flooded, at least not much of it). He was able to sleep in his own bed last night for the first time, and is getting the business up and running again (moving and storage, so that will be interesting). Some stores are beginning to reopen and different sections of the city are slowly coming back to life. Uptown residents, for instance, can begin returning next week.

Lakeview, Chalmette, Gentilly, and New Orleans East are out of luck for quite some time, though, obviously. Lower 9th Ward is being bulldozed, mostly, and there are still "cars on top of houses" in Chalmette.

He gladly accepted his $2,000 from FEMA, direct deposited to his bank account, to pay for travel and living expenses for the past few weeks, although his company kept paying his salary. And he spent the rest on a new handgun, so hopefully he'll be safe.