I got my power back around 12:00 a.m. But, every TV channel on local broadcast is down. This has been just an addition to the week long Ice Storm we had up here in upstate NY back in April.
German news sites estimate the losses due to the power failure to reach "several billion $" and put the blame on the deregulation of the power grid which has slowed investments in backup power lines.
Cleveland, Ohio was one of the cities that experienced the blackout...pretty much the entire city and a lot of Northeast Ohio (Toledo, Sandusky). I believe the main cities were NYC, Connecticut, Syracuse, Albany, Toronto, Cleveland, and Detroit. Just came back online here about a half hour ago.
Within minutes of the blackouts hitting, we were getting words of assurance that this is NOT terrorism. In the same sentence, we were being told by the very same people that we have NO CLUE what caused this.
What have I missed here? Does "terrorism" only comprise setting off bombs, hijacking/flying planes into buildings, and similar?
well, i'm now going to rant. ignore if you wish. i havent read much of this thread, but i just feel like letting out my story.
this was the crazy day, or day and a half, i've ever had. i work in brooklyn. and perchance at 4 i was on the third floor in a fvcking meeting. of course, i dont work on the third floor, so when it went out i went upstairs to the eleventh floor to get my ipod (got my priorities in order; 8 flights v. ipod: ipod wins). then i started up my long harrowing sojourn across the manhattan bridge. some unlucky fvckers were on the trains on the bridge. older people were afraid to get out, because there isn't much ground below the trains (basically just tracks), and theres a huge fence between the walkway and the tracks. some braver people jumped the fence and helped others across. from lower manhattan to my house wasn't too bad. 2h journey all in all (normally a half hour subway ride). arrive at my building, of course there's no power (duh?). any of you who weren't hit probably don't realize just how much shit is on power. like the flourescents lighting the lobby, and the stairwells. so i walked up 12 flights, in pitch black (it later occurred to me that i'm a smoker, and have a lighter). lucky for me, god turned off my water as well as the power (damned electric pumps). it was still very light out, so the lights weren't an issue when i got in. i collected the candles around the house (being modern manhattanites, we dont keep anti-amish devices like flashlights around). i ventured out later to get food. met my sisters, who were sitting on a park bench with candles. WE'RE FVCKING NEW YORKERS WALKING THE STREETS IN 2003 WITH CANDLES!! stores were sporadically closed, some even raised prices (the greedy bastards), some bars were out of beer, but no chaos. people were calm, a little ticked off, but they managed. i just got back power about 15-30 minutes ago. still no water (the toilet is lookin funky). glad its almost over though.
also, i've heard like 3-4 different reasons as to how/why this happened. one story (from canada apparently), was there was a lightning strike at a strategic place in a niagara power plant. another story was there was a fire/trouble at a coned station in the city. i also heard that it was something in michigan that caused the whole thing. basically people had no clue and were just pointing fingers. i want to see some fvcking heads roll though. after 77 this wasn't supposed to happen ever again (or so i heard). i really dont like the idea of all the fvcking state plus other states and canada all being fvcking attached. i don't like the idea that some problem really far away could hurt us. the idea that its possible that shit in canada could hurt us is fvcking beyond me. i smell like ass and sweat. arg. AAAAAAAAAAAH. ok. i'm done now. AAAAAAAH. AAAAAAAAAAAH.
well... that was an interesting 24 hours.... not as bad as thuh freak's day.... but interesting nonetheless...
I have been working at my family's supermarkets for the whole summer (I have been for the past 5 years) and just this summer I started to travel to different stores rather then just staying at the one I was familiar with. I have been going to one store each week to learn the ropes...
when the power went out I was on my way (driving) to one of the stores after dropping off something at home... and all of a sudden the streetlights went out... I was listening to my iPod... so I had no idea that the power was out in most of the northeast... soon after my mother called me franticly to come home and she explained what happened... realizing the magnitude I went to the closest store and helped as they distributed essentials to whoever needed...
we had to ring up everything by hand and shop for people as we only had three flashlights and we didn't want them walking around the store... it was fun... but people started getting a bit impatient and nuts... we didn't want it to turn into a riot... so when the ice ran out we shut the doors...
I felt bad turning people away... but what could we do?
going home was fun tho... no stoplights meant anarchy on the roads... you could get away with anything
the next day I went back to the store and they got power really early so they were REALLY busy (people came from a lot of places to get supplies)
at the end of the day we had no meat, no ice and very little water... too bad the rest of the stores didn't get power back as fast...
oh and about raising prices... im pretty sure it is illegal to do that... you could probably take that store to court... and you really should...
I mean... thats just wrong...
i didn buy anything marked up (atleast not more than nyc "standard of living" markup). i only really heard about that shit as i walked up bowery from the bridge to houston (that walk is a lot shorter when you aren't dragging yourself up it, drenched in your own salty water). people would walk outta stores sayin like '5 bucks for a water, thats outrageous' and whatever. the sweet smell of mari kept me going though. potheads walked the streets with impunity since pigs had to deal with directing traffic and helping actual victims. some places were nice enough to give stuff away (not just water). i heard about restaurants that were giving food away, or at reduced prices, since it was gonna go bad anyway, on thursday night. in my area, they were siphoning water from hydrants, putting it through some kind of big brita, and into a poland spring cooler for passersby.
glad its almost over. still no water in my apt (so i wont admit that its ended). other apts in the building have it, but its dirty apparently. i think one of the most annoying parts (aside from the stink, and lack of shower abilities) was a few hours ago, before i got power, when people next to the other river had it on the same street. i mean, we're connected to fvcking canada and detroit, but we can't connect the east river and the hudson. unbe-fvcking-lievable. i'm sure theres some technical electrical answer, but in my ignorance all i can do is scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAH. AAAAAH. ah. text-screaming doesn't seem to ease the payn. maybe some heroin...
I heard that the water quality has to be approved by the EPA first before people are given the go ahead to use it. So it's possible that you technically do have running water in your area, but maybe it has been shut-off to you anyways as a safety measure until the EPA issue is satisfied? I don't have anything to explain how some apts in a building have it and some don't, though. Maybe somebody just hates you?
Sorry to hear you are w/o water, just the same. I know from personal experience how much that can suck when you really, really want to/need to take a shower. Maybe break out the WetWipes for a "dry shower", in the meantime?
Anybody ever wonder why WetWipes make your hands have a "stickiness" to them. It's supposed to be cleaning off dirt, right? So why is the end result stickiness?...
Woo-Hoo! That kicked ass. Power went out at work and they were going to make us stay and wait for the power to come back on (management was unaware of the severity) when the building management closed the building. So I walked home. It took an hour and a half.
Didn't do much last night, we just lit some candles and made some babies.
No work today, the subway won't be running again until Monday at the earliest and there is no way in hell I'm taking a shuttle bus down Yonge Street.
Officials have warned that rolling blackouts could last weeks!! What fun.
We didn't get hydro until 3 this afternoon and I expect our hydro will be cut again soon and diverted. Some parts of Toronto still haven't had hydro restored at all.
I was flying out of San Diego when this happened. Luckily my flight to chicago was not affected. My coworkers were heading back to Detroit and I got a message they were back at the Hotel. Still don't know what happened to them.
My hospital was without power. It can be bad for our treatment machines but they'll survive. I thought the campus had it's own power? I'm glad I wasn't there. Nothing for me to do there anyway but talk to dumb ass hospital admins.
The price gouging is very illegal, but all I heard about on the news was a store in NYC selling a case of bottled water for $175.
All the Wegmans weren't closed, about half were open. I know that there was one in Greece open.
Yes, they were. Depends on what time it was, because at one time they were, and where the blackout had affected at that time. We throughly check that out.
Comments
Heh, we just moved in, and i couldn't find any flashlights, so pee pee and showering was carried out to the light of a powerbook.
:-)
Fun stuff
Originally posted by Panther
Works fine in Ohio.
Cleveland, Ohio was one of the cities that experienced the blackout...pretty much the entire city and a lot of Northeast Ohio (Toledo, Sandusky). I believe the main cities were NYC, Connecticut, Syracuse, Albany, Toronto, Cleveland, and Detroit. Just came back online here about a half hour ago.
That was fun.
Originally posted by piwozniak
It was fun, we sat outside and watched stars, how often can you do it in the city?
Heh, we just moved in, and i couldn't find any flashlights, so pee pee and showering was carried out to the light of a powerbook.
:-)
Fun stuff
ewww! no one go near his powerbook! its got pee and dirty water on it!
Originally posted by The General
ewww! no one go near his powerbook! its got pee and dirty water on it!
Oh no no....sir
It was strategically placed on few banker boxes on the countertop.
:-) It's all safe.
Within minutes of the blackouts hitting, we were getting words of assurance that this is NOT terrorism. In the same sentence, we were being told by the very same people that we have NO CLUE what caused this.
What have I missed here? Does "terrorism" only comprise setting off bombs, hijacking/flying planes into buildings, and similar?
this was the crazy day, or day and a half, i've ever had. i work in brooklyn. and perchance at 4 i was on the third floor in a fvcking meeting. of course, i dont work on the third floor, so when it went out i went upstairs to the eleventh floor to get my ipod (got my priorities in order; 8 flights v. ipod: ipod wins). then i started up my long harrowing sojourn across the manhattan bridge. some unlucky fvckers were on the trains on the bridge. older people were afraid to get out, because there isn't much ground below the trains (basically just tracks), and theres a huge fence between the walkway and the tracks. some braver people jumped the fence and helped others across. from lower manhattan to my house wasn't too bad. 2h journey all in all (normally a half hour subway ride). arrive at my building, of course there's no power (duh?). any of you who weren't hit probably don't realize just how much shit is on power. like the flourescents lighting the lobby, and the stairwells. so i walked up 12 flights, in pitch black (it later occurred to me that i'm a smoker, and have a lighter). lucky for me, god turned off my water as well as the power (damned electric pumps). it was still very light out, so the lights weren't an issue when i got in. i collected the candles around the house (being modern manhattanites, we dont keep anti-amish devices like flashlights around). i ventured out later to get food. met my sisters, who were sitting on a park bench with candles. WE'RE FVCKING NEW YORKERS WALKING THE STREETS IN 2003 WITH CANDLES!! stores were sporadically closed, some even raised prices (the greedy bastards), some bars were out of beer, but no chaos. people were calm, a little ticked off, but they managed. i just got back power about 15-30 minutes ago. still no water (the toilet is lookin funky). glad its almost over though.
also, i've heard like 3-4 different reasons as to how/why this happened. one story (from canada apparently), was there was a lightning strike at a strategic place in a niagara power plant. another story was there was a fire/trouble at a coned station in the city. i also heard that it was something in michigan that caused the whole thing. basically people had no clue and were just pointing fingers. i want to see some fvcking heads roll though. after 77 this wasn't supposed to happen ever again (or so i heard). i really dont like the idea of all the fvcking state plus other states and canada all being fvcking attached. i don't like the idea that some problem really far away could hurt us. the idea that its possible that shit in canada could hurt us is fvcking beyond me. i smell like ass and sweat. arg. AAAAAAAAAAAH. ok. i'm done now. AAAAAAAH. AAAAAAAAAAAH.
Originally posted by thuh Freak
stores were sporadically closed
All stores were closed in my area too. You know that the situation must bad when all the Wegmans are closed. Wegmans is usually opened no matter what.
I have been working at my family's supermarkets for the whole summer (I have been for the past 5 years) and just this summer I started to travel to different stores rather then just staying at the one I was familiar with. I have been going to one store each week to learn the ropes...
when the power went out I was on my way (driving) to one of the stores after dropping off something at home... and all of a sudden the streetlights went out... I was listening to my iPod... so I had no idea that the power was out in most of the northeast... soon after my mother called me franticly to come home and she explained what happened... realizing the magnitude I went to the closest store and helped as they distributed essentials to whoever needed...
we had to ring up everything by hand and shop for people as we only had three flashlights and we didn't want them walking around the store... it was fun... but people started getting a bit impatient and nuts... we didn't want it to turn into a riot... so when the ice ran out we shut the doors...
I felt bad turning people away... but what could we do?
going home was fun tho... no stoplights meant anarchy on the roads... you could get away with anything
the next day I went back to the store and they got power really early so they were REALLY busy (people came from a lot of places to get supplies)
at the end of the day we had no meat, no ice and very little water... too bad the rest of the stores didn't get power back as fast...
it was a crazy day...
I mean... thats just wrong...
All the Wegmans weren't closed, about half were open. I know that there was one in Greece open.
Originally posted by Paul
oh and about raising prices... im pretty sure it is illegal to do that... you could probably take that store to court... and you really should...
I mean... thats just wrong...
i didn buy anything marked up (atleast not more than nyc "standard of living" markup). i only really heard about that shit as i walked up bowery from the bridge to houston (that walk is a lot shorter when you aren't dragging yourself up it, drenched in your own salty water). people would walk outta stores sayin like '5 bucks for a water, thats outrageous' and whatever. the sweet smell of mari kept me going though. potheads walked the streets with impunity since pigs had to deal with directing traffic and helping actual victims. some places were nice enough to give stuff away (not just water). i heard about restaurants that were giving food away, or at reduced prices, since it was gonna go bad anyway, on thursday night. in my area, they were siphoning water from hydrants, putting it through some kind of big brita, and into a poland spring cooler for passersby.
glad its almost over. still no water in my apt (so i wont admit that its ended). other apts in the building have it, but its dirty apparently. i think one of the most annoying parts (aside from the stink, and lack of shower abilities) was a few hours ago, before i got power, when people next to the other river had it on the same street. i mean, we're connected to fvcking canada and detroit, but we can't connect the east river and the hudson. unbe-fvcking-lievable. i'm sure theres some technical electrical answer, but in my ignorance all i can do is scream. AAAAAAAAAAAAH. AAAAAH. ah. text-screaming doesn't seem to ease the payn. maybe some heroin...
Sorry to hear you are w/o water, just the same. I know from personal experience how much that can suck when you really, really want to/need to take a shower. Maybe break out the WetWipes for a "dry shower", in the meantime?
Anybody ever wonder why WetWipes make your hands have a "stickiness" to them. It's supposed to be cleaning off dirt, right? So why is the end result stickiness?...
Didn't do much last night, we just lit some candles and made some babies.
No work today, the subway won't be running again until Monday at the earliest and there is no way in hell I'm taking a shuttle bus down Yonge Street.
Officials have warned that rolling blackouts could last weeks!! What fun.
We didn't get hydro until 3 this afternoon and I expect our hydro will be cut again soon and diverted. Some parts of Toronto still haven't had hydro restored at all.
All in all, a fabulous long-weekend.
My hospital was without power. It can be bad for our treatment machines but they'll survive. I thought the campus had it's own power? I'm glad I wasn't there. Nothing for me to do there anyway but talk to dumb ass hospital admins.
Originally posted by iBrowse
The price gouging is very illegal, but all I heard about on the news was a store in NYC selling a case of bottled water for $175.
All the Wegmans weren't closed, about half were open. I know that there was one in Greece open.
Yes, they were. Depends on what time it was, because at one time they were, and where the blackout had affected at that time. We throughly check that out.