BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 16 Aug 03 - 09:19 AM

Ron, to give you the benefit of the doubt you must simply not be seeing the hysterical coverage of this largely non-event. Anyone living in a remotely rural area is used to power outages as a matter of course.

The media showed that people are surviors....people ... who were living through this
Your own hyperbole makes my point. SURVIVORS??
what the hell is this? The Black Death? Nuke-U-Lar
annhilation? The goddamn lights went out for a few hours. Or even a few days. So what? Shit happens. All the time.

Jaysus, walk it off, already, and get back in the game.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: InOBU
Date: 16 Aug 03 - 10:20 AM

Hot and such, but had a blast. Played the pipes on a darkened St. Marks place, by candle light, then vidio taped a huge bon fire in Thomkins Sq, park, where folks danced around and through the fire, just like belthane without the human sacrifices, almost, one fellow walked into the fire instead of jumping through, and is not feeling overly well - but I believe he will not be completely sacrificed, and has I hope, learned a bit of wisdom, don't do drugs before you fire walk, well lights and computer back on, and back to work. Cheers all,\
Larry
PS McGrath, you are dead on right, one fellow in Bagdad has it right, I hope they sit in the dark for 20 years. Anyone who does not see the irony of the US getting blacked out, well, a short period of silence to think is not a bad idea. Cheers again, Larry

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 16 Aug 03 - 05:31 PM

Well, we woke up here in DC to no power (Mom still barfy...) and wondered if it was a general thing or not... turned out to be just local, everything back on in a few hours, whew.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Mark Clark
Date: 16 Aug 03 - 07:29 PM

According to this ABC story the blackout was caused by 3 transmission line problems near Cleveland, Ohio.

Did Spaw have something to do with this???

The story doesn't directly say the transmission line problems were due to methane overload in the general vicinity but I think it's clear that suspicions are aroused.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 16 Aug 03 - 08:04 PM

I had the very same tyhought Mark -- where are the Reg brothers about tnow? Are they trying to automate their portapotties?

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 12:45 AM

I have it on good authority that the Reg Bros. et alia are busy trying to re-interface their Dixie cups and string with a certain PC which had had enough of being *tied up*...far, far away from Cleveland. Though...it is cornseason in Ah-hie-ah.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 01:53 AM

GregF, you are right, I am not seeing "hysterical" coverage in the media. I'm curious what news you are listening to or watching.

Based on your posts and over-reaction to the media, I guess you have shown me how to use hyperbole and I slipped whe I used the word "surivor". Please forgive me. I did not expect that you would jump on such a word and declare that the sky was falling. Talk about over reaction!

I assume that you live in a rural area or another country, because you fail to grasp what happened. Walking down 50+ story buildings is a lot different than going out to the barn to check on how the cow is doing. There were deaths reported as a direct result. As for my mention of Cleveland and the water problems, the media told people what the problems were and how to cope. It doesn't take a genius to realize the potential for disease if not dealt with properly. In a city like NYC where you had MILLIONS of people trying to get to their homes.

As you pointed out we did "walk it off" and we are back in the game. I'm sorry if this news interupted your livestock reports, but there were about 50 million people who found it interesting.

Relax and try that decaf. It isn't the big deal you are trying to make it out to be. We know that. I hope you will see that too.

Ron

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 03:20 AM

My nephew who's working in NY at the moment said he walked home OK and groped his way up 12 floors to his apartment in the dark, hoping he'd counted the floors right! Fortunately his wife had lots of candles in, but his 2-year old objected to being deprived of something called the Wiggles on daytime tv!

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 10:38 AM

Hey, Ron, you rough-and-tough rugged survivor, you! Be careful with assumptions.

I know that being without instant messaging for a matter of hours was a near-death experience for you but:

I assume that you live in a rural area or another country
Not.

because you fail to grasp what happened.
Not only grasped it, personally experienced it.

Walking down 50+ story buildings...
Been there, done that. And SURVIVED!!

a lot different than going out to the barn to check on how the cow is doing.
I see you're possessed of the typical snide, yuppie prejudice and disdain for anyone not living in a city of several millions. Is this intended to be "cute" or "funny"? How about telling a few "ignorant shit-kicker" jokes while you're at it?

It doesn't take a genius to realize the potential for disease if not dealt with properly.
WHOA! lucky typhoid and cholera didn't spontaneously erupt in the few hours the water was off! (brush up on basic epidemiology before you make an ass of yourself- again)

I'm sorry if this news interupted your livestock reports,
This bigotry wasn't amusing the first time around either.

did not expect that you would... declare that the sky was falling.
Where, exactly??

Did you read the posts by Larry & Roger & others? Perhaps you're the one that's a bit over the top on this? Maybe take your own advice?

Cheers- Greg

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 11:13 AM

Chill Greg - that hair can be removed, don't worry!

Talk about over-reacting and making assumptions!

You accuse me of making "shit kicker" jokes but it was okay for you to start the ball rolling and spew yuppie jokes about those who live in the metro area. Work on fixing your own bigotry. BEFORE I posted my reaction to your statements, you posted - "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." You also posted - "Hell, they might not even be able to get latté! A WHOLE DAY (24 hours- Count 'em!) without air conditioning!!" So it is okay to make a joke about people who live in cities but if someone makes a similar joke about you jump all over it. Talk about hypocritcal double standards! You prove you are no different from the rest.

When did I ever say I was inconvenienced by this? Pay attention please. I never lost power in my town. If you really, really read my posts you would have noticed that I said this wasn't a big deal and MOST people handled it as a party.   However, the media played it's roll by giving INFORMATION to people when they needed it. The immediate question in people's minds were "is this a terror attack"? It was important to calm people and INFORM them of what was happening.

I'm sure if the media ignored this you would have jumped all over them for failing their responsibility. If they did not pursue answers as to why this occured I would bet that you would say they glossed it over.

Again Greg, try to relax today. Calm yourself buddy, the sky isn't falling.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Mark Clark
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 01:02 PM

R. Bukminster Fuller understood the degree to which modern civilization is dependent on power when he said (approximately):

If the sources of power [energy] were to fail, millions of people living in urban centers would soon starve to death since the means to provide food and water depend on power. On the other hand, providing that the sources of power were maintained, all the earth's politicians could be placed in a rocket and sent into the sun and no human condition would be worsened.

We've seen a hint of the first choice, now I'd like to see an experiment with the second. <g>

      - Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 01:16 PM

Now, Now, Ron, calm down.

Lets be accurate: I didn't ACCUSE you, you DID make disparaging comments intended to be jokes about me personally and livestock. You sure seem to have the clichéd bourgeois contempt for & condescension toward those engaged in agricultural pursuits.

I didn't single out yuppies for ridicule (touchy, touchy, Ron!) I made general comments about morons- of whatever persuasion: yuppie, newscaster, president, whatever - who blow inconveniences up out of all proportion into major tradgedies and then pat themselves on the back for "surviving" them. Do you perhaps number yourself among this group?

You ignorantly disparage what a power outage can mean to people engaged in agriculture, particularly dairying or stock raising, where loss of mains power really can be a disaster- with effects far more serious than any of the situations you describe. I know there are rural 'Catters who can speak to the details of this better than I can. The prudent dairy farmer or stock raiser makes provision for these inevitable outages and carries on. Oh, sure, there are a FEW that don't, then whine for government assistance and bailouts - all the while whining about people on welfare- which provides some comic relief to an otherwise grim situation.

If this whole business truly has no effect on you, it would seem your replies would be less overwrought. Would you care to respond to any of the substantive points I raised about your ridiculous assumptions or do you prefer to continue calling names, pointing fingers, and avoiding the issue?


I'm sure if the media ignored this you would have jumped all over them for failing their responsibility. If they did not pursue answers as to why this occured ... you would say they glossed it over.

Wow! You've got the gift of second sight, too!

Chill, yerself! :)

Greg

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 01:42 PM

What a spin doctor in our midst! You make me laugh with your ignorant spins that you are trying to play. You remind me so much of Rush Limbaugh, turning others comments into something they did not say.

You want me to talk to your points, okay -

1) "I'm sure if the media ignored this you would have jumped all over them for failing their responsibility. If they did not pursue answers as to why this occured ... you would say they glossed it over. Wow! You've got the gift of second sight, too!"

That wasn't even my quote. Nice editing Greg! I appreciate you proving my point how you twist things around. I said "If they did not pursue answers as to why this occured I WOULD BET THAT that you would say they glossed it over. "   Those four words changed the whole tone of what I was saying from an assumption to a suggestion of a possiblity. Plus, I would still make that bet.

2) "I didn't single out yuppies for ridicule (touchy, touchy, Ron!)

Actually, you did. See your own quote.

You did take offense to my joke, which was made in response to the several comments you made.

3) "I made general comments about morons- of whatever persuasion: yuppie, newscaster, president, whatever - who blow inconveniences up out of all proportion into major tradgedies and then pat themselves on the back for "surviving" them. Do you perhaps number yourself among this group?"

Again, you did not read what I said. I never claimed to have suffered.

I actually agree with your statment about morons of whatever persuasion.   Our discussion only started when I disagreed with you that people were patting themselves on the back for "surving" them. Sure there were stories of "hardship" that some went through, and there were stories of what might have been, but the overall tone was that "hey, it wasn't so bad and it could have been worse. Time to turn back to the ballgame." We still want answers.

4) "You ignorantly disparage what a power outage can mean to people engaged in agriculture, particularly dairying or stock raising, where loss of mains power really can be a disaster- with effects far more serious than any of the situations you describe."

No, I did not. Now you are the one making assumptions. (Spin doctor again) Of course this would be a tragedy in a rural area. I never claimed otherwise. You simply failed to recognize the possible danger in having 50 million people without power, the large majority living or stranded in urban areas.

Most of us have sympathy for those that were affected and we are grateful that it wasn't worse. We are sorry for the handful of deaths that occured because of this.

We are also grateful that it did not affect farmers and those who had a tougher time.

Believe it or not, I do agree with you on a couple of things.   I do think those in rural areas would have been more prepared. However it is apples and oranges. Completely different circumstances and potential problems. Again, I'm thankful that it wasn't worse.

I also agree with you that it really wasn't a huge problem.

The one item that I disagree with you with (from the beginning) was the role of the media.   From the coverage I saw, they were being pre-emptive and not over reactionary.   I've worked in network newsrooms and the data the flows through is often is mind boggling. There is often a rush to report, simply to get the "bragging rights" that they reported it first. This leads to wrong information being transmitted. That can be dangerous.

I've never claimed the media is holy. They make huge mistakes. In this ONE instance, I felt that they did not over react, nor do I think that the people in the areas over reacted as you claimed.   I felt that the media handled its responsiblity wisely in this ONE case.

Sorry this has turned into a grudge match. (I have no clue who you are).   I have always been calm, even if my notes may not read that way. I've never claimed to be a author or master of letters.   I simply respect common sense and I don't care for the Chicken Little response these events produce.

I've said enough. Greg, it is obvious that we have different opinions and we will never get the other to agree, even though we probably agree on more items than either of us would care to admit publicly. Maybe it is the heat. (I rarely use air conditioning, even when we have power). I'm sorry for bothering the rest of the Mudcatters with what has become a silly war of words. This is not in the spirit of what these forums are about.

I agree to disagree. Let's get back to the ballgame.

Ron

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 01:53 PM

FIrst time I ever saw two intelligent human beings co-produce a cowpie. Impressive, when viewed from a distance.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 03:02 PM

Talk about thread digression! So where the fuck was everyone else when the lights went out? Can we expect any Mudcat babies in nine months?

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Hillheader
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 03:37 PM

Here is a link to the Hamish Imlach song mentioned previously

It's still appropriate

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 03:39 PM

Amos & others - you are absolutely correct. I apolgize for letting myself lose control and drifting so much.   It was BS on my part.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 04:14 PM

'S alright Ron -- anyonbe can get sucked into a firefight once in a while.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 06:24 PM

FIrst time I ever saw two intelligent human beings co-produce a cowpie

Amos! I love it. Maybe it isthe heat.

Lets get back to the ballgame.

Best, Greg

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 07:25 PM

And we're back to the ballgame folks, looking for a pitcher to provide straight deliveries on the ole topic and no funny business. The umps are breathing fire tonight, folks so keep the spit off the ball if ya know what's food for ya! The fans are screaming for answers!    Yogi's sending the signal -- he says Casey wants to know where wuz ya when the lights went out?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 07:34 PM

Umps are breathing fire????

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: bbc
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 08:30 PM

I was driving home from shopping in my former hometown when it happened. When we walked through the door at home, we noticed we had had a brief power glitch, as only the most sensitive of our electronic devices were blinking. A half hour later, we left to drive to Albany. Tried to stop for food when we arrived, but found stores & restaurants closed--no power. In nearby Troy, at my son's apartment, the power was on, but we had our problems, anyway! My sons were supposed to be flying out of Albany Airport on a very early flight the next day, w/ David's girlfriend from Long Island. He waited at the train station for her for more than 2 hours. Then, he came home & tried to call her parents. That took several tries, but he was finally able to discover that she had, indeed, gotten on a train. Eventually, she called & told him that she was stranded in Penn Station & couldn't get back to Long Island or to him in Troy. Ironically, the only place she *could* go was Newark, the origination point of their 2nd of 3 flights! She was up all night & had to get to Newark on her own, but it worked out ok. We spent longer than usual at Albany Airport in the morning, since their phones & systems were down & they were ticketing by hand! I was just able to find out that they did, indeed, arrive safe & sound, along w/ their luggage! I spent 2 days w/ a friend in Fishkill, NY. Her power was off from 4 pm to approx. 2 am. When I got home, I didn't have Internet access, but was able to figure out, today, that I just needed to reset my system. Duh.

Not bad, really.

best to all,

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 10:54 PM

BBC,

Glad it wasn't any worse, duckie!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: bbc
Date: 17 Aug 03 - 11:35 PM

Yup, Amos; thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 01:15 AM

Hate to burst anybody's bubble, but according to Snopes the "baby boom" nine months after the 1965 New York blackout is strictly an urban legend - click here. And if the '65 blackout, which occurred in November when snuggling is fun, didn't put a spike in the birth rate there's no way that the recent one that occurred during a record heat wave will.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Metchosin
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 02:27 AM

Just came back to so called civilization after spending a week in the bush; no hydro, no phone, no newspaper, no internet.

Think I would gladly return for a few more weeks after reading this thread.

Thread drift alert....We didn't know the lights were out somewhere, but one thing of which we were well aware, was the smoke and drifting ash. The fires here are said to be discharging the equivalent energy of one small nuclear bomb per hour. Saw two new ones getting a foothold on the drive home from Alberta yesterday.

Oh for a bit of rain.......hydro or no hydro.

Subject: Lyr Add: IT'S BETTER IN THE DARK (Gordon McCulloch
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 04:10 AM

IT'S BETTER IN THE DARK (Gordon McCulloch / traditional)

(Chorus:)
From Alaska down to Panama, Hawaii to New York
Ten people out of nine agree it's better in the dark

Come people pay attention, listen to my song
There's only ninety verses, I'll not detain you long
How Uncle Sam he blew a fuse which caused the lights to fail
And plunged the nation into gloom, come listen to my tale

John Citizen came home from work like any other night
Found his house in semi-darkness, his wife all in a fright
John, John, the power's gone, the TV's up the spout
But John just pulled his trousers down and blew the candle out

When things go wrong, this proves to all the world - if proof were wanted
Mankind reverts to type, carries on undaunted
As they lay there struggling and breathless on the floor
She murmured, John, how come we never thought of this before

But nine long months have passed and gone and there's a bill to pay
Doctor Kildare and all his men are working night and day
Love, they say, is a costly game and must be properly planned
But a packet of three is hard to see when darkness rules the land

John Citizen has changed his ways, he's joining in the fight
For longer darker power cuts, he wants them every night
He won't go off to war, he has a better plan instead
For out of darkness comes the light, he'd rather go back to bed



High time this fine song was brought to light (so to speak) again!

Steve

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 09:16 AM

Ron, Ron -- where's your imagination? Fire-breathing umps is a nach'al!!!

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST,Strollin' Johnny
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 09:27 AM

Somebody might have already made this point (if so I apologise for not noticing) but here in the UK the lights went out every night for six years between 1939 and 1945, but we didn't have Mudcat to whinge about it like bunch of Jessies, so we just got on with our lives.

Oh, and by the way, while the lights were out every night, a load of German Nazi loonies flew over and dropped thousands upon thousands of tons of high explosive on us, but they only managed to kill a couple of million of us.

Welcome to the Real World.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 10:06 AM

But did we have a baby boom when it ended...

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 10:27 AM

It was THE baby boom over here.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 10:45 AM

Don't look at me -- I wasn't born till 1951!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 12:00 PM

For some, a $25 billion loss of productivity is bigger than the loss of 20,000 lives.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: NicoleC
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 07:35 PM

Now that the news has stopped screaming hysterically about "BLACKOUT 2003!!! (three... three...three...)" a little perspective is probably in order. The only folks, in fact, who seemed to have a grip on the situation are the ones who were actually in it. If you've ever been in an extended blackout -- even one as short as two days -- you rapidly discover that despite the annoyance of having all the food go bad in the fridge, it really isn't that big of a deal. Even the worst case scenarios like being trapped in an elevator are pretty tame after you calm down and realize that not only are you not going to get there on time, but at the moment it doesn't matter if you are on time anyway.

Here, we had "special reports" from the news every 10 minutes to report that, yes, the lights were still out and, no, they still didn't know why. Apparently, even though the authorities admitted they didn't know why there was a blackout, we were still supposed to take their word for it that they knew it wasn't terrorism. I guess they really do think we are all stupid.

NYC got ALL the coverage, as if it was the only place that mattered. I guess that's understandable given the vast amount of New Yorker natives in California who constantly whine about how much better NYC is, but nonetheless never get around to moving back there.

There were bleeding heart stories about the poor people in NYC who had to walk to get home or, heaven forbid, didn't make it home that night to their suburban homes in Connecticut. Meanwhile, not a single mention about the thousands of New Yorkers who don't get home every night because they don't have one.

Then there were the horror stories of having 90 degree weather with *no air conditioning.* Of course, the millions in America (let alone around the world) that never have air conditioning are presumably surviving somehow.

The real story is the fragility of the modern American lifestyle that crumbles under the slightest technical bobble. Our windows don't open and we've forgotten how to walk and living 50 miles away from work is just slightly above normal. But don't expect the evening news to ask the hard questions. Instead, it'll be all about the SHOCK!!! of discovering your cell phone doesn't work.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: LadyJean
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 08:00 PM

I was camping out with Twelve Thousand of my dearest friends at the Society For Creative Anachronism's annual Pensic War, in Slippery Rock, PA. One of the lovely things about Pensic is how far away we are from the real world.
We had news of the blackout, but everyone handled it well. People called home to see if they had power. We talked about it. I camped with three people from the Detroit area, and they were all very blase' about it. We're merchants, and we were more concerned with slow sales than a blackout.
Pensic is a camping event. Electricity is scarce. But it is not what I miss most. I love Pensic, but I long for plumbing! I HATE PORT O JOHNS!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Peg
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 11:06 PM

Pensic!! I was at Brushwood this weekend and many of our regular seasonal campers were still   at Pensic...

I was en route to Albany by bus when it happened. Heard nothing until I got off t eh bus at about 4:30. The first announcement over the loudspeakers: "Attention: all service to New York City has been cancelled."

huh?

Then they repeated it with the phrase "due to the power outgae."

I started talking to people and my friend was late picking me up (some problems at his workplace due to the situation) so we all rapped about it. I was shocked to hear power was out all over the Northeast. Why not Boston (where I came from?)
Although all the national news reports (which we watched on TV) said Albany was affected, the city proper was not; but most of the surrounding towns were.We "foraged" in his freezer for dinner to stay in the spirit of things.

Called Elmira that evening (where my friend and I were headed the next day) and talked to Mom. Power okay but she said the city was turning off the juice voluntarily in a bit to prevent any problems. All was well when we arrived.

Eventually got to Brushwood Saturday and heard tales of how the ownewrs rushed to fill up the water reserve barrels so they could flush the campsite's toilets just in case. They lost power for about eight hours (they are between Erie, PA and Chatauqua NY). We got a hellacious storm Saturday night (hailstones the size of marbles) which certainly might have affected power but blissfully   did not.

Even though I was in the midst of it I did not directly experience the outage. I found the media coverage fascinating   (Fox   was blaming everyone it could think of, funny as hell); those who could not watch TV because of the outage might have liked to see it, those who could probably were not interested...

EVERYONE needs to be prepared for such an emergency. Extra food, water, blankets, flashlights, radio, medicines, etc. Mother nature is a hideous bitch goddess and we must respect what she is capable of. Although this particular event seems entirely man-made. Any answers yet on exactly what casued it????

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 18 Aug 03 - 11:57 PM

Mother nature is a hideous bitch goddess and we must respect what she is capable of.

Funny, Peg -- that's a lesson I would have expected to hear only from a fellow mariner!! A real true point and one easily forgotten in the day to day comfort of our veneer of organization.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 12:01 AM

I am betting the cause will be the usual one - a squirrel. They always find a crispy little squirrel whenever a transformer blows, I am sure this will be the same.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 09:28 AM

Oh, Sure! Blame it on the squirrels!!



RODENTS OF THE WORLD UNITE!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: PeteBoom
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 09:50 AM

Glasgow, Scotland. At band practice - then the Todd Bar at Strathclyde Uni, where we were staying. Read the first reports in the Evening Times and the Herald and said - "Right, lightning, sure..." Then had another pint of Belhaven... ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 10:00 AM

More likely a CHinese Gerbil. Send in the Eagles!


A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 10:45 AM

All these squirrel huggers!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST,CarolC
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 05:05 PM

In Ypsilanti Michigan. I was on my way to the library to log on to the Mudcat and found it closed due to a power outage. The rest is history. It wasn't too bad for us though because living in a travel trailer as we are, we're pretty self contained. We have a backup battery for lights and things like that, our stoves and grill use gas, and our fridge automatically switches to gas if the electricity goes off. We couldn't use the AC, but it's not as hot here in the shaded campground as in many other places. And we couldn't do laundry.

We were headed for Toronto for the weekend on Friday, and we were very lucky that the power was restored to our hotel shortly before we got there. We didn't have any problems while in Toronto (other than avoiding the parts of the city that didn't have power, and walking instead of using the somewhat crippled public transportation system), and we were able to get our laundry done there.

We're seriously thinking about getting a solar panel to charge our battery so we won't have to run the van to do it if we ever find ourselves without power again.

Considering the state of the power grids in this country (and around the world), this power outage would seem to be a very strong signal to people who can afford it, to try to become as energy self-sufficient as possible.

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Bill D
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 05:53 PM

I probably shouldn't post this , but

I just read this thread beyond my own early post for the first time....as I read, I reacted much like Ron did to Greg F's posts. I'm glad I waited. My thoughts go somewhat along the lines of:

"Why make light of real problems, just because there are worse problems elsewhere?"
Some people(especially elderly folks) DID suffer from lack of AC, water, transportation..etc...and the fact (and it is a fact) that others in the world have it worse, should not trivialize the matter. In Iraq and Afghanistan, people died when deprived of water & health care...but do we have to have lots of deaths before we recognize it as a problem?

There are problems, serious problems, VERY serious problems...etc...and the fact that we lucked out and only had isolated instances of 'serious' should serve to give us some perspective about what VERY serious could be, and help us plan better and appreciate how lucky we are...but should not be greeted with the condescending ridicule Greg resorted to.

(sat and re-read this for several minutes trying to decide whether to poosha da 'submit' button)....maybe it just helped ME to get it off my chest, 'cause I'm sure it won't change any minds.

*Now, back to your regularly scheduled thread*

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Amos
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 06:29 PM

Well, it is a fact of life that there all degrees of ability to face tings in the world. Some people feel their life is full of risk if they handle one mouse in a week, and others can fight off a tornado, six terrorists and an aluminum-siding salesman before breakfast and still wonder why things are so dull. Same with seriousness -- some people may have felt having the whole city go black was terrifying, and others may have had a cooler perspective. It is a purely subjective thing, a matter of the makeup of the individual how much they can comfortably face.

In a forum which has mutual acceptance and tolerance as a guideline, which this one does explicitly or no, it is prolly a good thing to remember that and not throw stones at people for getting stirred up, just because you don't think the reaction is warranted. It's kinda rude, which is why some folks got annoyed with Greg upstairs a bit. It is perfectly true that objectively the degree of risk and harm was pretty low during the blackout. But ya know, emotions are not objective, are they?


A

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 06:32 PM

Hmmm...power flickered for maybe 30 seconds out here in the woods of north central Pennsylvania. I thought perhaps too much power was being used about the house. I turned off most everything that was on and settled into playing some fiddle tunes while our 11 year old read a book. About 20 minutes after the power blip, I got a phone call from my Mom asking if we had power and then if I had seen the news. I hadn't and she explained. We hustled around a bit to gather extra drinking water for the animals and ourselves (just in case there was a problem)....then returned to fiddling and a night of peace and quiet. Didn't lose power here.....but gave us all an excellent excuse to turn off what we did have and to enjoy the night. :)

Lily =^..^=

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: katlaughing
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 07:42 PM

Our power has gone out twice in the past three weeks. Once due to a bad transformer; not sure why the second time. This could have very serious implications for someone who relies on an oxygen concentrator which is run by electricty. Fortunately, I have a stand-by tank of O2 which I can hook up using a pulse dose thingie which runs on double A batteries. Failing that, Rog has my concentrator fixed up so that he can run it off the car battery if need be. I wouldn't even want to think how scary it must have been for anyone caught out with a limited supply of O2. I could make do, just wouldn't be able to move very quickly (or at all in the heat:-), but people who have lung problems would really be in serious trouble. And, I am not talking about people in institutions which may have had back-up generators. I mean those of us who are active and out in society in general.

Anyone heard from Tinker?

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: InOBU
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 08:48 PM

Sorry folks... I videoed folks dancing around a bon fire in Thomkins Sq. Park untill about 1:30 or 2, nice video, but a friend tells me that about 2:30 every threw their clothes into the fire, sorry folks, I don't have that on tape. I was home abed. Cheers Larry

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: Greg F.
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 09:00 PM

IN RE: Bill, et.al.- and this is positively my last comment.

Yes, indeed there are real and serious problems that it would behoove America to address- homelessness, people without adequate health care, unwanted pregnancies, old folks in such economic straits they're reduce do eating dog food, large numbers of unemployed and underemployed, inadequately funded education, .... the list goes on and on- not to mention REAL natural disasters; tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, etc.   

Having to sit in the dark for a matter of hours somehow pales in comparison, and it behooves no one to exagerate temporary inconvenience to the status of major trauma.

This is not "making light" of things- its keeping them in rational perspective.

Over & out-

Greg

Subject: RE: BS: Where Were You/Lights Went Out?
From: NicoleC
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 09:01 PM

Ah... and a new excuse has entered the American lexicon! Today, Fedex told me they lost my original, signed loan docs because they had a "blackout" last night.

Uh huh. Very believable. Especially since they insist they are delivering the "lost" docs tomorrow. Meanwhile, my seller is hearing "the check's in the mail -- er, Fedex" from my escrow company!