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????