Hurricane..

**VOIPoTim** · 09-13-2008 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by chpalmer

Watching the feeds here and I feel for those on the coast...

Been looking for your building on the news and have been re leaved to have not seen it...

Yeah for those watching we're in the NW part of town off Highway 290.

In the map of Houston Freeways, we're basically just NW of the biggest "loop" going around Houston.

The bulk of the hurricane stayed in the Eastern part.

**VOIPoTim** · 09-14-2008 12:49 AM

For anyone wondering, all pending orders were shipped out Saturday.

**usa2k** · 09-14-2008 04:43 AM

How did your restaurant fair? Or is it elsewhere?

**VOIPoTim** · 09-16-2008 06:38 AM

I'm flying back to Texas today (Dallas though) and wanted to post an update.

Current Situation

Like the majority of Houston, our office still has no power and no water. It's not looking good for quick restoration. Current ETA is a few weeks. That is the biggest problem by far.

Gas, ice, etc are also incredibly hard to come by in Houston based on what people I've talked to have said. The vast majority of our employees for both companies have no power or water at home and life is pretty miserable now for many of them.

For these things, there is nothing we can do but wait.

In terms of actual physical damage, it's still minimal and shouldn't take much time to fix once the power is back. We had broken windows during the hurricane and minimal other wind damage, but the day after the hurricane, there was some major flooding and rain going on in Harris county and by the time everything was said and done, we did have some minor water damage. Beyond that, our signs are gone, etc.

We had things assessed quickly without power so it could change, but right now the first estimate was around $100K in damage. Keep in mind that we actually own the office building which encompasses HostGator (floors 3 & 4), VOIPo (2nd floor), and a credit union and other tenants. So this is not $100K in damage to VOIPo...just in general.

Ironically, we have been waiting for weeks for permits to install a new $200K generator which is sitting outside of the office, just not connected.

Overall, we were pretty lucky and fared substantially better than many people. There is major damage all over Houston though.

My neighborhood actually has all utilities and is in good shape now. That whole area is only 2-3 years old so everything was underground, etc. It was also on the west side which wasn't as bad. The big issue is that since we're the side of town with gas, restaurants and stores open everyone is pouring in and I'm told it's a big big big mess with waiting hours for gas, etc.

Our Plan

Right now, it's a waiting game until the public infrastructure is back and everyone has water and power. Many roads are not passable and there are curfews in place. We can't return to normal operations until this is cleared up.

For HostGator, we have 15 people around the clock handling critical issues from a temporary contingency space in the Time Warner NOC in Houston. For VOIPo, we have 2 people working remotely not including me and all monitoring is in place as usual.

I'm flying back in today, but staying in Dallas for at least the next couple days to give things in Houston a little more time to recover.

Our plan is to asses the progress by weekend to see where we stand. Hopefully there will be major progress made this week in the restoration efforts.

I don't forsee any issues for VOIPo at all. Orders are still being processed and shipped. Tickets are being responded too, but slower than usual.

If you have a question or run into a problem, feel free to open a ticket. Just keep in mind the response will be slower than normal if not a critical issue given the current situation.

**fisamo** · 09-16-2008 06:57 AM

After living through Fran here in the Triangle area in 1996, I really feel for you guys. The situation sounds similar, except it sounds like you got it worse than we did. It sounds like the recovery efforts are well underway, albeit definitely to take a while, given the extent of the damage.

I wish all SE Texans the best in getting back to 'normal' following this disaster...

**VOIPoTim** · 09-16-2008 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by fisamo

After living through Fran here in the Triangle area in 1996, I really feel for you guys. The situation sounds similar, except it sounds like you got it worse than we did. It sounds like the recovery efforts are well underway, albeit definitely to take a while, given the extent of the damage.

I wish all SE Texans the best in getting back to 'normal' following this disaster...

Yeah I think part of the issue is that we hadn't had a big hit like this in a very long time. Haven't looked it up, but assuming NC doesn't get hit as often as some others either.

**burris** · 09-16-2008 06:58 AM

And....my service hasn't faltered for one minute...can't get better than that..

**gbh2o** · 09-16-2008 08:03 AM

Originally Posted by VOIPoTim

Ironically, we have been waiting for weeks for permits to install a new $200K generator which is sitting outside of the office, just not connected.

I think that under the emergency conditions, I'd hit the transfer switch and bring that generator on line now so that you can secure and protect your property, properly [if you can get the fuel]. I don't think anyone could object, given the conditions, as long as it's properly wired in. 'Permanent' installation can proceed at the bureaucratic snail's pace, whenever the 'crats get back to work. You might have to provide a chemical toilet for any guards. ;-) I doubt that you could re-occupy the facility at this time though.

**VOIPoTim** · 09-16-2008 06:44 AM

Originally Posted by usa2k

How did your restaurant fair? Or is it elsewhere?

Thanks for asking. I've actually trimmed back commitments some and am not really involved with that project anymore, so I'm really not sure how it turned out. Ironically, Brendan at VT sold his Quiznos about 2 months ago too.

I had so many things going on and while income from so many sources was good, it was getting to a point where it just kind of became more of a hassle than anything. I got out of the real estate investing, dropped most investment projects, cut day-to-day involvement with HostGator down to almost nothing, and I'm just focusing on VOIPo and internet marketing now. I was making so much money with internet marketing and VOIPo has so much long-term potential, the other investment income was kind of irrelevant.

I'm much happier now that life isn't a big ball of chaos

**VOIPoTim** · 09-17-2008 11:48 AM

Good News. We kept calling various contacts Centerpoint and various contacts and now our office should have power by 5PM today. Once this happens, the cleanup can begin. We already have a restoration company scheduled to come in tomorrow and they should the cleanup should take 6 days. Then the contractor will come in and make it look nice once again.