~~~~~~~NMMR TOSAT~~~~~~~

[DonJuanDucati]

I had to put the top up on my car, it was horrible!

[Duck-Stew]

I had to put the top up on my car, it was horrible!

OH THE HUMANITY! 

[nicrosato]

Report from the Hurricane Sandy zone (Long Post Alert):

First of all, Barb and I thank all of you who contacted us to express your concerns. We are well, our house undamaged. Main issue is that we've been without electricity since Monday afternoon, which means no heat, no hot water, besides no lights. We do have a fireplace and on Thursday, a friend brought over a small generator so we have enough power for a space heater, to make coffee and to charge our cells, laptops & mobile hot spot. We are inconvenienced and slightly uncomfortable, but safe and adapting to camping out in our own house.

The storm itself was not atypical for us because we have had intense, windy storms in the past: We live on a hill and are probably 6 or 7 miles from Long Island Sound, so no storm surge worries. There wasn't much rain, but the winds were intense with high gusts (reported as 90 mph at  nearby Islip MacArthur Airport). This was problematic because we live in a highly-wooded area; our house itself is surrounded by 60-79 foot high trees. As I said, we were lucky and nothing came down on us. Lots of branches & leaves on the ground, but that's it.

The impact on the neighborhood was quite different: Trees down everywhere, many taking the power lines with them. Huge, mature trees simply uprooted as if they were twigs. Some streets- including ours- were impassible because of hanging power lines or lines on the ground. With such a wide area affected, it is taking the utility companies days to restore service. This morning was the first time we even saw crews on our street and they were gone in the afternoon. It is impressive, btw, that many of the crews we've seen around in our travels come from out of state.

The other issue is the gasoline shortage. Barb waited on line for an hour on Friday to fill some containers for the generator. We saw lines extending for easily a quarter mile at many gas stations today. Man now have separate lines for people just filling containers. I hear the waits are easily two hours of more.

Now the highlight of this strange and interesting week: Due to prior arrangement, Duck-Stew and Rosemary visited us, arriving Friday and leaving today. Besides the fact that we genuinely love them both, it was uplifting for us- and a welcome distraction- to share our mini-adventure with them. We went our for a fine dinner last evening and this morning took a mini-tour along the North Shore to Oyster Bay for breakfast and a visit to 20th Century Cycle, Billy Joel's shop where he keep much of his motorcycle collection.

The coda to this little story is that next Saturday we fly to Albuquerque. Maybe our electricity will come back on before then. Otherwise, it will a long way to go to take a shower.

[nicrosato]

10th day without electricity, heat or hot water. Nor 'easter hits us today.

[Cloner]

Hope it's a gentle NorEaster, Nic.  That area has had enough abuse for one season.  See you this weekend.  Looks like you're bringing the cold weather in with you.

[DonJuanDucati]

My brother back in Jersey says a tree got knocked down in their yard today, so probably not a terribly gentle nor'easter. Hope you stay safe and warm.

[nicrosato]

Not very windy here, but a few inches of wet snow. Still no power and no clear answers from power company. But, it's been an interesting 11 days so far. Highlights:

- We live almost solely in our bedroom. Run the small generator enough to warm up room with space heater.

- No TV. We nave net access via mobile hot spot and so can see news, etc. Since we can charge our laptops, Barb went to the public library and got some DVD's to watch. And there's always NetFlix.

- The in-and-out visit from Rosemary & Duck-Stew.

- Drove to a friend's place on Tues to take showers.

We are so looking forward to coming to Albuquerque.

Thanks for the good wishes. Bar & I will post some photos.

[JJ]

Nic, wishing you well!  Hopefully, you will be soon outta NY and bathing in NM sun!

[Duck-Stew]

I snuck out of work around 3 yesterday and hit the Crest a couple times before 5...

NOBODY on the road...  No cops, but did see 5 mule deer on the side of the road just below the ski basin.  They stayed cool & I did too...

Despite the chill in the air, it was a couple of good runs. 

[nicrosato]

LIPA, the local power company, is being attacked in the media, by the politicians and very much by the public. Because I am an amateur student of management, I also fascinated by mis-management, and this has been a prime example. You can check this out:http://www.newsday.com/long-island/why-lipa-failed-utility-ignored-warnings-it-wasn-t-ready-for-major-storm-1.4203976?qr=1

We have no power and the small generator won't start, so we decamped and moved in with by brother and sister-in-law 35 miles away. We're thinking no power until Monday. I postponed my flight to ABQ until Tues; Barb's still flying Sat.

[Duck-Stew]

LIPA, the local power company, is being attacked in the media, by the politicians and very much by the public. Because I am an amateur student of management, I also fascinated by mis-management, and this has been a prime example. You can check this out:http://www.newsday.com/long-island/why-lipa-failed-utility-ignored-warnings-it-wasn-t-ready-for-major-storm-1.4203976?qr=1

We have no power and the small generator won't start, so we decamped and moved in with by brother and sister-in-law 35 miles away. We're thinking no power until Monday. I postponed my flight to ABQ until Tues; Barb's still flying Sat.

Sorry to hear Nic...  Glad you guys de-camped and moved somewhere warm.  Safe travel wishes from NM...  Hope to hoist a glass w/you soon! 

[Duck-Stew]

Ok.  Seems to be official.  The winter time has arrived.   DAMN-IT!

But, that doesn't mean we can't get together and socialize!!!!

DucMouse & I have been discussing some winter fun events and have come up with a small list thus far:

-Brew our own beer @ Kelly's on central

-A screening of 'On Any Sunday' @ The Guild Cinema

-Indoor Go Karting

-Cheesy Movie Nights

Please feel free to post up here, or start a new thread for any of these...

BTW:  I'm laying the ground work already for 'On Any Sunday' as a Friday night movie event in January...

[nicrosato]

Or, come to Cape Coral, FL in January & visit Barbara & nicasaurus.

[DucMouse the Mighty]

Ok.  Seems to be official.  The winter time has arrived.   DAMN-IT!

But, that doesn't mean we can't get together and socialize!!!!

DucMouse & I have been discussing some winter fun events and have come up with a small list thus far:

-Brew our own beer @ Kelly's on central

-A screening of 'On Any Sunday' @ The Guild Cinema

-Indoor Go Karting

-Cheesy Movie Nights

Please feel free to post up here, or start a new thread for any of these...

BTW:  I'm laying the ground work already for 'On Any Sunday' as a Friday night movie event in January...

OH YEAH!!

this all sounds wonderful! my schedule will be much better when this whole wedding and honeymoon thing out of the way...which will be in jan 27 

Or, come to Cape Coral, FL in January & visit Barbara & nicasaurus.

Oh you know we will be there  

[DonJuanDucati]

Look what I found on my computer.