Irene.  That's that one legged lady as pronounced by an oriental, isn't it?  Well, whether it's really Ilene or Irene, I have several friends who were in the path of the storm.

One of my friends in PA was upset because his Internet went out during the storm.  (duh)  One of them lives near Troy, NY where three buildings collapsed and more were damaged.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/3-buildings-wrecked-in-Troy-mudslide-2145095.php

It seems the hurricane caused a mudslide there.  She said she could see the buildings were gone as she was about a 5 minute walk from them.  They started to evacuate the building she was in, but ended up sending them back to their rooms after a brief stay on the 1st floor.

One of my friends who lives an hour South of Troy said all he got was rain.  He's almost in the clear now.  Another friend lives somewhere in the path of the hurricane, but I'm not sure of his location.

The one who is in the most danger is the one near Troy.  She's in a building right next to the river, so she's concerned that her building might be next.  The part of the storm past the eye is still only about half over and since she's on the West side of the storm, she's on the worst side.  I seem to have lost contact with her now, so the cell phone system may be down there. 

It looks as if the storm may be a threat to the Eastern side of Canada.  I hope none of you are in Irene's path.  Here's a good weather map for tracking the hurricane.

http://www.stormpulse.com/hurricane-irene-2011

If I hear anything new, I'll try to keep you updated.