Welcome to FR today.
Being a part time skeptic - you are not related to those people who always happen to live next door to the person to whom some story/event happened to, are you?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1446433/replies?c=69
Fair question. I am from Mississippi. My brother in law is a priest in New Orleans, and just got evacuated to Houston, after he stayed behind and helped refugees at his parish in central NO. My cousin just reported in from driving through areas she could get to in the Pascagoula/Moss Point area. I have studied weather in general, and hurricanes in particular, for many years as a lay person.
That said, I have an uncanny knack for finding people I know, or relationships to things in many places. I have travelled around the world a lot for work, and I have worked in several very different industries. I pay attention to what is going on, and read critically. I have interests in a lot of diverse areas and try to read up or keep up on them.