BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?

Subject: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 07:11 PM

For once, the Mudcat did NOT go down at the slightest bobble in the power grid. But many of our Northeastern contributors are silenced for the duration. When the power comes back, and you log on to visit the 'Cat, tell us how you managed? Anyone stuck in subways or elevators or gridlock?

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Bobert
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 08:36 PM

I'll just take this opportunity to say: I DIDN'T DO IT!.... There... That feels good... I mean, like maybe I had too many things plugged into the power strip but, I didn't do it! That's my story...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: SINSULL
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 09:34 PM

Not only am I not in NYC sweltering without light or air conditioning, but I also am comfortably situated in a well lit, adaquately cooled house with its own spare generator.

Here I wait breathlessly for the inevitable tall tale from InObu. How goes it guy?

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: MMario
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 10:17 PM

Went home from work early because of a water main break - power flickered when in grocery store - power fine at home - hotter then blazes though.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Bill D
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 10:20 PM

I guess I could loan 'em my gerbils...haven't needed them to run the old PC lately.........

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: maire-aine
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 10:58 PM

I'm in SE Michigan, and we left the office early when the power went out at 4pm. Got home OK but it was slow. I've been listening to my battery operated radio and reading by the light of my oil lamp. My computer is a laptop, so I've got some power in reserve. I won't be online long tonight. Things are pretty quiet. Everybody's taking it in stride so far.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Alice
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 11:06 PM

Hey, one bright note, if you are in a city, now you can see Mars in the dark sky.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 12:47 AM

Ha! That reminds me of an episode of The Simpsons. Lisa shorts out the whole town so they can see a meteor display. There is something that comes along about now, isn't there, in addition to Mars?

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 03:51 AM

From the Office of the President:
Hold that candle still, Condaleeza, I can't see the paper:
My Fellow Amerindians,
It has come to my notice that a Mr Homer Simpson of Springfield Ohio, Ohio's second most notiforarious citizen, has spilt a can of Duff beer into the control console of the Montgomery Burns Power Plant and caused a serious power outage. The Department of Homeland Security will leave no tern unstoned to root out these beers of mass destruction and if necessary we will invade Canada (wherever that is) to prevent the notorized Reg brothers from copy cat behaviour in Toronto.
Borther Jed assures me he's lined up some good ole boys, Cletus and Rufus, to utilize a unique source of methane to get Ohio up and running again, I'm told there are enough old farts on something called the Mudcat, to power the whole of the United States.
As soon as we can get the power back on, I'll broadcast to tell you how to get the power back on. Damn, that hot wax hurts, Condy, hold the candle higher...
Brrrrrpttt, flash, bang.
Message ends abruptly.

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 03:52 AM

Windsor was actually kinda fun with the lights out... I'll come back and post more when I'm not quite this drunk!

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 04:22 AM

LOL, Clinton!

RtS! Classic and BRILL!!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 06:36 AM

I imagine the people of Baghdad and the other cities in Iraq that have been without power and services now for months will be gettig some wry satisfaction from hearing about this.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Beccy
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 07:54 AM

Stuff it, McGrath (and I mean that as nicely as possible- I have nothing against you.) This is a big news story whether or not it has something to do with the suffering of people who are not in our immediate geographic vicinity. This had the potential to become a tragedy but thankfully rested at the inconvenience stage and that is why it warrants discussion. No one is saying that this was a great burden to bear- it's just fun to compare stories... Besides- you know the inevitable baby boom and its inevitable news stories will be coming down the pike in a few months time.

That out of the way, the hubby was at work when the power went out. He is, thankfully, situated right near the expressway system on the Southeastern side of Rochester and was able to make a quick getaway and get home within an hour. I feel really bad for the folks who were trying to muddle through traffic near the PGA event happening at Oak Hill. Pittsford/Brighton/Penfield is hard enough to get through quickly even in the best traffic and I'm sure the streetlight outages didn't help!
We had power out here in the boonies and only had a momentary outage of about 45 seconds. All was well after that and the worst that happened was waiting in line for gas at the local station for about 1/2 an hour to fill the spare tanks.

Beccy

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: bflat
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 08:35 AM

Sitting in my kitchen teaching a sweet nine year old the open B string, in northern New Jersey. We finished the lesson in ambient light. I thought it was my house only at first because I had three room air-conditioners humming and some work being done with the use of power tools. I had been warned by a contractor that my circuit breaker box needed to be replaced as the Feds band the further installation of it's kind. Naturally, I thought the problem began there and regretted not replaceing it.

My son called just about then from Manhattan to inquire if we had power. He did not. He lives in New York state north and west of the city but drove three co-workers home to Connecticut who otherwise would have had a difficult commute to their homes. He later remarked that there were so many cars with only one passanger leaving the city and that surely there must have been someone these drivers could have helped out.

Anyway, we do need a national response to the bigger issues that this has exposed. First rate nation; 21st century trying to run on antiquated technology....got to wonder why a crisis is the only way things get addressed.

Ellen

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 08:42 AM

I wasn't saying it shouldn't be a big story, because obviously it should be.

But I hope it might help people in America have more understanding of what it means to have to get by when all the services are cut off - and maybe to imagine what that must do to people when it lasts for months, and how it likely to make them regard the people who are in charge.

And where I live people in Iraq are not that much further away geographically than people in America.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Peter T.
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 09:21 AM

Toronto - Toast city, except the toasters weren't working.

Right in the middle of a report due this morning was where I was, on a university server. Did it get done? No. Chaos, but polite chaos.

To paraphrase an earlier remark: Toronto is like Switzerland, run by the Liberians.


yours,
Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Beccy
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 09:40 AM

McGrath- If you think that it takes a power outage of mass proportions to make Americans think of people less fortunate than themselves then you have less faith in humanity than I do.

Beccy

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Peter T.
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 09:44 AM

Where do we sign up for less faith lessons? yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:01 AM

McGrath's point is well made. Appreciating the substance of a situation is often a step or three removed from thinking about those poor guys over there.

And as Nicole pointed out, those who were laughing about California being too stupid to keep the lights on...well...never mind.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:28 AM

Safe in Maine where the regional circuit breakers actually worked.

You really got to wonder whose toaster oven finally did it?

Best wishes to those south, west and north of us.

How did Mudcat survive?

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:41 AM

DC kept power, luckily, I was with my quite old and suffering from the heat already Mom, don't know what we'd have done, cold showers I guess, but she's also really sick and barfy and we were glad to have the lights available, and the AC.

If anyone gets news like this in Iraq I hope they all have a good laugh at us.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:58 AM

So the lights went out for a few hours, some people were late getting home from work and the yuppies' cell phones didn't work.

ARMAGEDDON!!!!

Dear God, I hope Americans are never faced with any sort of REAL problems to deal with. This is really pitiful.

Great to see President Geirge W. Dumbf$$k smirking on the TV assuring people it wasn't a towelhead attack, too. Even MORE pitiful.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 11:13 AM

hey greg - how about the people that were stuck in elevators for four hours or so; the hundreds of thousands who had to walk down forty or fifty flights of stairs to get into the open air? The thousands on subways and trains? The thousands of businesses that lost an entire evening revenue? And that is JUST in NYC - not to mention the people on ventilators, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Peter T.
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 11:24 AM

I thought people handled it pretty well.

The one thing that did alarm me, about which I did not know (I worked in emergency planning for three years) is that the city of Toronto only has 24 hours worth of water in its reservoir, and without electricity that is it. It also supplies communities much further north in the sprawl zone. Apartments of course ran out of water without upper floor pumping in just the 3-4 hours things were off. 3 days without electricity would stop being fun at all.

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Willie-O
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 12:09 PM

Our power was out for 19 hours, just came on at 11 a.m. We had minimal backup suplies of drinking water, just plain careless of us since our water is from a deep well.

A few things that I know happened in Ottawa.

2 fatalities: a disabled teenager in a fire, and a man who was (details sketchy) trying to intervene in a problem situation and got hit by a car.

My brother who had a quadruple bypass a few years ago, and who has suffered from a severe infection in his leg that had him off work the past couple of weeks, walked up 17 floors to his apartment.   

Reportedly 22 incidents of looting, and 3 armed robberies. (In peaceful Ottawa!!!)

It was a big deal and is not yet over. About 90% of Ontario's population was affected, I estimate. (Everywhere except the northwest; Thunder Bay was the only major city untouched). They are now running rolling blackouts and of course we're coming up to peak heat time. They say they will have about 70% of normal generating capacity by the end of the day, which is definitely not enough on such a hot summer day.

It's not the end of the world, but neither is it trivial.

W-O

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 12:29 PM

As I said, Guest, temporary inconveniences. Skinned knees. Hangnails.
What tragedy! Hell, they might not even be able to get latté! A WHOLE DAY (24 hours- Count 'em!) without air conditioning!!

UNTHINKABLE!!

A Nation of spoiled, whining Wimps.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: The O'Meara
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 12:35 PM

I was in an elevator between the 25th and 26th floor of a downtown office building with the prospect of being trapped for several days without food, water, or ventilation, and then having to walk 20 miles home in the sweltering heat. Fortunately, this was in Denver where the power was not interrupted at all and everything worked fine.

O'Meara

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: The O'Meara
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 12:38 PM

Stilly;
You're probably thinking of the Perseid meteor shower due about now. Please keep in mind that the meteor shower and the blackout are attempts to soften us up for the Martian attack due on the 27th.

O'Meara

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 12:58 PM

A Nation of spoiled, whining Wimps.

Greg:

This sort of carping invective is typically born in the hot cauldron of projection. Ya been doing some whining lately???


A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: akenaton
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 01:24 PM

Back in the 70s when Britain suffered from a series of power strikes, nine months later it was found the birth rate had rocketed....I remember a folk song about it "Its better in the dark"...I think it was big Hamish Imlach who sung it....You lucky Yanks...Ake

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Burke
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 01:36 PM

For some strange reason I did not check any news reports yesterday. I'm in central New York State. So here I am right in the middle of the Niagara Mohawk service area that was supposed to be to blame & I knew nothing about it until I heard on the news this morning.

At work, a little after four everything in the building flickered like we sometimes get with lighting strikes. The computer restarted & the surge protectors set off their low voltage alarms. The alarms lasted 10 mins. max. We thought it was something local. Apart from the air staying off, we didn't think much of it.

When I got home later I had no problems & none of the usual things (clocks, microwave) flashed a need to be reset. I seem to have been in an especially luck pocket as power was apparently out nearby. Locally fellow workers have reported 2-8 hour outages, nothing worse than can happen from a bad storm for us.

There are advantages to living out in the sticks instead of the big cities. I won't expect a baby boomlet in 9 months around here.

It was not terribly hot yesterday, so you have to wonder. Unfortunately it is hot today, I hope everyone gets their power & water back soon. I'm glad it was not worse & hope people can enjoy their bonus 3 day weekend.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 01:39 PM

it was pretty dang hot in my neck o' the woods, Burke! And humid. (breathing was like trying to inhale beef consome!)

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Deda
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 01:40 PM

Yeah, what Amos said -- and furthermore, where is it written that we are not supposed to have complaints until or unless our vital organs are being ripped out? Or that we are silly to express compassion for people who are not undergoing torture and mayhem? When my daughter gets tired or my son gets lonely or my friend gets anxious or my husband has aches, I'd like to offer them some compassion and interest and help, not just tell them that their suffering doesn't measure up.

Similarly, offering compassion to people in some near or distant place who have gone through an unsettling and inconvenient disruption is no crime. The world needs more of that, not less.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Ron Olesko
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 01:48 PM

Where did Greg learn to read? I don't think I saw any whining posted here on in news stories.   Stop being such a pessimist Greg. You look at the glass and not only do you say it is half empty but you also complain it was dirty too! Sure there was some tragedy and hardship, but we took it in stride. Life goes on. For many in NYC it was a party.   I am sure, as was the case in the two previous blackouts, we will be hearing about a population explosion nine months from now.

I was at work and our building has an emergency generator. The lights flickered, or pulsated, for about 10 seconds before the generator kicked on. It reminded me of the old gangster movie where the lights dim when someone gets the electric chair.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 01:59 PM

I'm sorry - I think having over 20 million people (a conservitive guess) without electricity is reason for a bit of hoo-rah

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Ron Olesko
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 02:06 PM

50 million over an area 9300 square miles. It hasn't been mentioned, but in some parts of that area people are also without water.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 04:17 PM

I wouldn't bet money on a mini-baby-boom--when it is as hot as this, and this many folks felt it necessary to sleep outside on sidewalks and in parks, I doubt lack of privacy and the muggy heat were an invitation to initmacy.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Ron Olesko
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 04:36 PM

It made it all that much more fun!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Guy Wolff
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 08:07 PM

Well Guess who was in the air about to land at LaGurdia. When we landed( THank you god! ) I found : Lots of people without water. All sold before we got there. Cars everywhere out of gas. (No pumps) . I saw two crashes because of no signal lights. THousands of people unable to move ( just around me).After 4 hours I found someone with a Ct licence plate and got up to Stanford and then to Trumble . 4 Hours at the curbside at the air port and 4 hours getting home and I was very very lucky. Lots of those panpered Americans sleeping in the streets. No one dead yet so I guess we are having fun . Lots to learn all around. I would love every American and Brit to have a few days in a third world envirnment to get a feel for what we all have but hopefully we can do it without being in a life threatening situation. !! A little slack gang !    All the best to all here of good will ! Guy

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 08:23 PM

Amos: Sorry, no whining here lately. But thanks for asking, doc. Hows 'bout you, as long as we're discussing projection?

Ron: I read just fine, thanks. "tragedy and hardship"? Please. Tell that to the Iraquis, or the Israelis, or the Palestinians, or the Afghanis, or most of the rest of the world. You must be watching different news programs than those I've seen- you'd think it was the effing Blitz, or the siege of Stalingrad.

Mario: " 20 million people (a conservitive guess) without electricity..." check the second & third worlds some time.

Bleat, bleat, bleat. Mommy! I Skinned my KNEEEEE!!!! MOMM-MEEEE!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: annamill
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 08:29 PM

Toronto and Switzerland are run by the Librarians???

Love. Annamill (??could be worse I guess??)

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 08:34 PM

One good thing about living in a hut is you don't get stuck in a lift or a subway train in a power cut.

It's not a joke having this kind of thing happening, and in no way should it be something to sneer at. But it can be a wake-up call to us living in the energy rich parts of the world.

It'd be good if this led to the occupying forces (or rather the politicians giving them their orders) pulling their fingers out when it comes to getting essential services restored in Iraq, as a top priority. And not just because the likely consequences of failing to do that are potentially disastrous for the occupiers, but more because the Iraqis are our brothers and sisters.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: jaze
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 09:58 PM

I'd like to say how proud I am of all the people who took it all in stride. What could have turned into a nasty situation, didn't. My respect for New Yorkers( and all of you) is immense. Hang in there!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:05 PM

Greg:

Well, I am sure you know best what your own reasons are for being so hypercritical of others.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:11 PM

The media coverage of this was hysterical, and way overblown. But that's what happens when the lights go out in the media center of the world. There are a number of important stories that need to be told about the largest blackout in the history of North America (as they kept saying on all the news programs tonight). But it sure as shit ain't the stories being told by the mainstream media. Oh no. The big news there were all those human interest stories about those special New Yorkers...

And the "9/11 flashback stories"...

Yawn. Spare the rest of us the self-absorbed, narcissistic New York stories, please.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:16 PM

Thanks, Amos, I really appreciate your smarmy condescension.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:23 PM

Actually Greg F, I am with you too. And it is nice to know that the American media whores decided to make a story out of the Iraqis who enjoyed the poetic justice of The Mother of All East Coast Blackouts:

Iraqis 10 tips to beat the blackout heat

There is still a whole lot of taboo around Iraq, Afghanistan, etc in the US. All those gung ho "kill Saddam" types are still deeply in denial about how fucked up the entertainment war is that we are waging on the Iraqi people.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 10:37 PM

I WAS RIGHT HERE TAKING THIS PICTURE

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/customviolins/blackout.jpg

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 15 Aug 03 - 11:30 PM

Gee, Don, I never would have thought you'd look quite like that!! Wodda surprise!

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 16 Aug 03 - 01:50 AM

Give it a rest GregF and guest! I would love to see what newscasts you are watching. I have not seen a single newscast that compare this to the Blitz or Stalingrad. Stopping being so dramatic. You are a real spin doctor!

The media did not ignore the fact that our grid is an antique. The media is questioning why we can't get a simple answer on why this happened. The media showed that people are surviors. The media also gave information to people in the are who were living through this. Information on where to find help, how to get home, and how to survive. There was no whining like you are trying to portray. Don't be such an opportunist and try to turn this into something it isn't.

NYC is pretty lucky. Think about Detroit where it appears they will be without power for the weekend and Cleveland where finding water is an issue. These people are showing they are survivors too.

Of course it doesn't compare with the hardships that is taking place in Iraq, Afganistan and other parts of the world. The war is fucked up without a doubt.   But for you to compare the coverage of the blackout to that doesn't cut it. Cheap shots and really beneath you.