Kickstart: Keeping an eye on Sally

A lot can change in a few hours, but as it stands now, Hurricane Sally will hit the U.S. Gulf Coast somewhere near the Mississippi/Alabama border late today or early Wednesday. Forecasters were not expecting high winds from the storm, which was a weak Category 1 this morning, but the slow moving system could lead to heavy rains in the region, with 8-16 inches of water.

Consulting firm ICIS says most plastics firms in the region were operating normally as of Monday evening, but keeping an eye on the conditions.

However, ICIS noted, storms can also disrupt travel and infrastructure.

"Norfolk Southern railroad warned that customers should expect delays as a result of the closing of the flood gates," ICIS wrote. The ports of New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and Pascagoula, Miss., closed ahead of the storm.

Sally is one of five named storms currently being tracked in the Atlantic Ocean in this busy storm year.

We'll update here if we hear of any changes to expectations.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing some changes to the 2021 event schedule.

On Sept. 14, the organizers of Plastindia announced they were postponing the 2021 event in New Delhi until Feb. 17-21, 2022.

The Society of Plastics Engineers also said on Sept. 14 that it is accepting papers for inclusion in a recorded and virtual portion of Antec 2021. SPE also is continuing plans for a live portion of Antec in Denver in March, but the new hybrid version also will include opportunities for virtual presentations.

Antec was forced to go to a virtual version in 2020 due to COVID-19, but it was able to draw far more attention by the flexibility available online, with more than 3,300 participants viewing at least part of the proceedings.

SPE will have a separate process to open up submissions to participate in the live portion of Antec.

Also from the list of things the pandemic has altered but not ended, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be transitioning to a "made-for-TV" event. Rather than marching for more than 2 miles through Manhattan, the parade will be staged along a one-block stretch of 34th Street in New York, with both live and previously recorded segments.

But one vital plastics element of the parade will continue. Kind of.

The giant character balloons, made with polyurethane, will still be part of the pared-down parade. Rather than each balloon having up to 100 handlers, however, they will instead be tethered to special vehicles approved by the New York police and fire departments.

Considering the Rose Parade on New Year's Day has been canceled for 2021, it'll be nice to still see at least one holiday tradition continue. Even if it will look different.