Hurricane Irene

[Luke]

Will do.

My power has been going in and out the past few hours, and the there are several branches (over 20' in length) dropping like crazy. The trees are swaying at an alarming rate, and I think the worst is about to come in around an hour or two.

The town in which I work is already flooded, and everyone left work yesterday at about 2pm, and everything was unplugged and covered. I took my degrees off the wall just in case. That in mind I can throw a rock into the ocean from my office, that is if I had a window.

I'm surprised that my neighbors parked their cars under some very tall trees. Maybe they're trying to collect on insurance, as it seems pretty common sense to move you cars away from imminent threats.

Most of my friends went to Raleigh, or at least somewhere further West, but I love storms and feel very safe in saying we'll weather this one out.

But I'm enjoying seeing mother nature in action. Not sure how many people here remember the old records of spooky sounds people used to play on Halloween, but there was always a track of rushing whistling wind. That's exactly the sound you hear throughout my house. You can almost feel the wind from inside the house.

...our power is back on... I'm going to try and grab a shower why I still have hot water. I'll take pictures and keep ya posted. Stay safe guys!

[D.D.D.]

Yeah first-hand pics would be cool, when you have electricity.

[Ivo]

I'm not in there getting hammered by the wind, but I'm still getting hammered.

I'm up to over 3 hours (and counting) waiting for phone calls to get answered (all the while being "forced" to listen to music - it's not all bad but I could use some silence by now).

As it stands right now my flight got re-routed so that I arrive in the same place at the same time and it seems there will be little hope for a better option. I have to leave 5 hours earlier, meaning I have to leave my house before 04:00 and I'm taking one extra flight for 4 total.

I used to think the original flight was going to be rough, with 3 flights and total of around 15 hours travel...

I'm feeling rather stressed and I haven't even started the trip yet

Ivo.

[Erik_Twice]

I find this amazing that there are 100+ year old pumps secondhand from the construction of the Panama Canal that are still used to keep the subway clear on a daily basis.

http://jalopnik.com/5834522/new-yorks-s ... cole-irene

You find it amazing? No offense intended, but the New York subway is barely at the same level as cans on wheels on the metro evolution scale.

Hope everyone does ok

[D.D.D.]

I find this amazing that there are 100+ year old pumps secondhand from the construction of the Panama Canal that are still used to keep the subway clear on a daily basis.

http://jalopnik.com/5834522/new-yorks-s ... cole-irene

You find it amazing? No offense intended, but the New York subway is barely at the same level as cans on wheels on the metro evolution scale.

Hope everyone does ok

Perhaps amazing in the sense that he can't believe it. Even if he's impressed, which pumps working well for about 100 years is, to each their own Señor.
But yeah, overall IMO, NY subways aren't great. Especially when you're used to Tokyo.

[fvgazi]

Yeah, I'm North of the LIE as well, I'm pretty close to the North Shore actually.

That reminds me, gotta make sure the batteries in my PSP and DS are charged!

Well, good luck to us all!

I'm fully anticipating losing power. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. I'll try and check in on a mobile phone if need be.

I'm also north of the LIE, but still at least 3 or 4 miles from the north shore. On a huge hill as well and my first floor apartment is actually about 10 feet over the ground.

[D.D.D.]

What's LIE stand for?

[Luke]

For anybody who loses electricity - make sure to have your bathtubs filled with water. Toilets need water to flush..

Yeah. Especially if you own one of those fancy electric toilets

[Erik_Twice]

Perhaps amazing in the sense that he can't believe it.

Yeah, tha's what I mean. I would be more surprised if NY's metro wasn't using century-old pumps

[Luke]

Yeah first-hand pics would be cool, when you have electricity.

Already took a few, will have more once it starts to die down here.