Hurricane Irene: French toast with cabbage

We've all heard about the French Toast alert level - the urgency with which people buy eggs, bread, and milk when a storm's coming. Added to the French Toast has been the advice to stock up on cabbage - cash, in the case that ATMs are down because of power or because so many people have taken out so much cash.
Usually, the French Toast system is used for winter storms, so an August alert is something new. We've had credible information for a week now, indicating that Irene is a serious storm. Not epic, but serious. The folks along U.S. 20 don't need any of this, those who are rebuilding after the June 1st tornado.
We're going about our business, removing loose objects from the back desk  With 5-10"  of rain the forecast,

some of our neighbors might want to make sure that their gutters are ready for the deluge.