The east coast blackout

[so.cal.fan]

How are all you guys doing?
Anyone got any interesting stories?
Surely some of you New Yorkers are experiencing the lights out?
Hope they get it all back up really soon.
No fun after a few hours.:eek:

[sq764]

I am in Delaware and we got spared..

But the company I work for monitors ATMs across the country. Boy was that a mess this afternoon..

[MikeDee]

I live in the Cleveland Oh area our power went out around 4:00pm and was off for about 14 hours. We got it back around 6:00am.

Things here were not that bad, people behaved well. Our burb must have the major traffic lights on some sort of emergency power system, so even traffic in our burb moved pretty good.

Not all parts of the Cleve metro area have power yet and they say it could be sometime before everyone has power back.

The latest is that we may go to a rolling brown out to give everyone some power. Maybe our CA brethern can give us some pointers on how to cope with rolling brownouts :)

[SandyE]

Remember the '77 black? We had rolling brown outs back then.:cool: I was a kid going into the nineth grade, and don't remember the black out of '65.

[B. Comin']

Watching the sweating teeming masses trudging out of Manhattan and people sleeping in plazas' and Time's Square on TV reminded me of a question posed by Burt Reynold's survivalist character in the movie 'Deliverance': "Watcha gonna do when the machines stop running?"

[sq764]

What scares me is how this exposed what could happen when one location malfunctions.


I think we have some crisis management planning to do when all this is over.

[Tom]

Me, I was in the worst place on earth you could be during a black out....Detroit! Arrrgggggggghhhhh!!!!!
Specifically, Gate 61, Terminal A, waiting for 1478 to Rochester.
It was 4:14pm, and our plane had just pulled into the gate when *poof* the lights went out. They left the people on the incoming flight sitting out there for over an hour before the finally opened the rear exit and off loaded everyone.
By a little after 5, reports of major problems were starting to come in and talk of a terror attack were being argued against those that were certain the computer worm was responsible.

A lady sitting behind me suggested som eof us get together and rent a car and drive home, prabably a 6-7 hour drive. Eventually, four of us ended up renting a car and at 6:30, we drove off the airport with 3/4 of a tank of gas. Couldn't cross into Canada through the tunnel due to no lights, so we opted for the Ambassador Bridge, where we spend about an hour or so sitting on the bridge watching a huge oil fire burning south of Detroit.

By the time we hit Canada, we had a 1/2 tank of gas and no sure place to get more that we knew of. But, I would rather take my chances in the wilds of Canada than Detroit anyday, so off we went. Cell phones were out of order, but our car had satelite radio, so we listened to CNN and Fox News most of the time. We found little convenient store that was selling for cash only, and me with only $7 in my pocket and useless plastic. ended up with a bag of chips and a box of orioes for dinner. Oh yeah, and a warm pepsi.

We tried a truckstop, but no luck on gas. While were parked there deciding what to do, 6 obviouls middle -eastern men in turbans seemed just appear at our car window. One of the older ladies in the backseat gasped out,"Oh my God.....it's happening!"
The largest of the men, and certainly the "meanest" looking rapped rather hard on our window and scolled out"Hey, you!"
I rolled down the window, my foot ready to floor it. As the window opened, he looked at me and asked, in what has to be the highest, bird-like voice I ever heard, "You need gas-o-in? Exit 81-better hurry!" I almost threw up lauging as I drove away, and all of the "terrorists" smiled and waved as we pulled out.
That poor lady in the back was almost hyper-ventilating!
Sure enmough, at exit 81, a guy was running a generator and pumping gas and diesel. We waited an hour in line, but got a full tank and hit the road. Didn't even gouge us-$14 for half a tank.
About an hour later, we hit London, and the lights were on, so we were home free. Power was off in pockets here and there, but after dropping off everyone, and getting my car out of the airport parking lot, I got home about 5am. Slept til noon, then went to work and left early. Going back to sleep after posting this.
Was going to try to go catch a look see at Tiger Woods (PGA at OakHill this week) tomorrow, but the pool and a six pack look more satisfying right now.
I hear today Detroit may be out all weekend. I know Northwest will not lift a hand to help anyone stranded, so I am glad we took the chance. It was a fun adventure, but on the serious side, I think this event has to redefine "homeland security!"

[GameTheory]

What about me? I'm in Detroit all the time! Our power was out nearly 24 hours. Got it back about 2 p.m. today.

[Tom]

Originally posted by GameTheory
What about me? I'm in Detroit all the time! Our power was out nearly 24 hours. Got it back about 2 p.m. today.

That is better than we heard at Metro yesterday...glad to hear you are back up.
Today was the best day at work I ever had...all my automotive customers were down....the phone didn't ring once :D

Are you anywhere near Hazel Park?
I bought a program yesterday to read on the plane. They didn't have the latest issue of Sim Weekly out yet. I usually stop in at Little Professer Books on Rt 12 in Dearborn-it's the only place I know carries a form and other racing stuff, plus it's handy to get on and off 94 without losing too much time. I always try to go through Dearborn so I can "flip off" my corporate headquarters (Hehehe!)

[sq764]

One good thing that could have come out of it if it happened this weekend is we all wouldn't be subjected to the Lions or Tigers on TV :-)

[GameTheory]

Originally posted by sq764
One good thing that could have come out of it if it happened this weekend is we all wouldn't be subjected to the Lions or Tigers on TV :-)

God, they don't show them in *other* cities, do they? (Unless of course your local team is taking its turn to trounce them.)


Tom -- I am in Farmington Hills, much closer to Northville Downs, but I've never been there (or Hazel Park). I know that Little Professor well. They've got newspapers from everywhere...

[Derek2U]

I left work at 4 to get a haircut, in a cab. 4get the cut; went
to my apt & of course totally black & on the 10th floor. My wife
made it home by 6:30 & we went 2 an outdoor cafe & drank
& just had fun. In at 12:30 & suprisingly our apt was comfy even
with the 2,650 candles my wife lit. We took a cool bath, slept
got up bout 6:30 fri morn & as i said 4get friday work. we went
to the jersey shore had a great beach day & ret'd back to NY
at noon. Power was on & the city seems almost like usual.
future buys: a few battery lights & a radio.

[MarylandPaul@HSH]

Originally posted by Tom
By the time we hit Canada, we had a 1/2 tank of gas and no sure place to get more that we knew of.
Did you have 1/2 a pack of cigarettes? Was it dark? Were you wearing sunglasses?
:cool:

[David McKenzie]

We lost power completely, and by "we" I mean the entire town. All the stoplights were dead, everything.

Throughout the night the only thing I could hear was the neighbor's generator (I'm staying at someone else's house while they're in Montauk). The neighbor's house is not visible from this house due to the woods, but the sound of their generator smugly churning away could not be mistaken.

Those private home generators aren't inexpensive, are they? And let's see, our last blackout was in 1977. This blackout lasted for nine hours in Westport. I certainly hope the neighbor enjoyed it as I doubt it's all that cost efficient on an hourly basis. <G>

[Tom]

While Homeland Security still consists mainly of making people taje off their shoes at the airport and frisking old ladies for illegal knitting needles, what measures have been put in place since Thursday to protect us from our two worst enemies-ElQeda and our worn out obsolete infastructure?
It can happen again.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Toronto insults us, W is still on vacation, congress is on vacation, and California threatens to make Florida look like electoral pros.

Send in the clowns! There ought to bne clowns!

One thing fo sure is, Toronto mayor has his own work to do - like the ridiculous traffic system in his own back yard and SARS, which he and others tried to downplay at the health risk of potential tourists. The only reason SARS did not spread faster is that no one can drive in Totonto with their stupid road system.
You don't like our power, make your own, eh?????

[Storm Cadet]

I was on my way up 87 North to go to Saratoga for Friday's racing and visit the barn area and back stretch.

After I picked up my friend in Westchester at 3 PM, the radio went to static and I figured we were just out of range of the station so I turned it off.

Around 4 PM, the guest who we were meeting upstate called us from his home and informed us of the news. Now I'm wondering if our Saratoga hotel had electricity or should I just turn around and go back to Long Island. I figured that Friday traffic on LI was bad enough, not to mention the blackout, so it might be easier just to go to Saratoga.

By the time we hit Albany area by 8 PM (after dinner break) all the juice there was on.

BTW, I've NEVER seen so much chalk come in in one day...8 out of nine favorites came in Friday...what a waste...but we did get to watch the 2 YO's do some gate schooling Fri AM as well as visit some barns (Barclay Taggs, Rich Violettes, Dallas Stewarts, Kieran McLaughlins) after the morning workouts.

If any of you ever get the chance, get to the backstretch in the morning, get next to the outside rail and watch the workouts up close and personal...it's unbelievable to watch the gate crew school young horses and their trainers working horses in tandem along the rail and teaching them to change leads, take the lead, run along the rail under pressure, the little thing that we take for granted that good trainers do for their horses...we were right there when Sky Mesa almost got run down by 2 young colts who were doing gate drills and he came over on the main track and almost hit them!!!

Then head over to the Horseshoe Grill for the BEST breakfast omlettes in Toga land. :)