Archive through August 17, 2003
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TV ClubHouse: Archives: Black outs reported for all the Eastern States and Canada: Archive through August 17, 2003

Twinkie

Friday, August 15, 2003 - 06:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I'm so glad you are all up and running again!

Admin

Friday, August 15, 2003 - 07:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
The whole city was out (I live in Ottawa). It was weird. We could see the stars really well. We sat on our rooftop deck and chatted across the houses with some neighbours on their deck. The only lights were candles burning everywhere and cars going by, or people walking with flashlights. It was like the whole city was camping.

Crossfire

Friday, August 15, 2003 - 08:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
It was interesting in my neighbourhood(Scarborough/Toronto) as well. The sky was spectacular until that amazingly bright moon made its appearance on the scene, but what I really appreciate is the humanity of it all.

I've lived in this house for about eight years now, and have barely ever seen most of my neighbours. Over the last couple of days/nights, there have actually been people hanging around outside their house, kids playing in the streets, all in all, not completely a bad thing if you try to work at it.

I do feel bad for those who live in highrise apartment buildings though, it is no easy task for them to just slip outside when it means they later have to hike it up seventeen flights of stairs in the dark to return to an apartment with no electricity, or running water. Compared to them, I had it quite easy, and tried to behave appropriately.

Melfie1222

Friday, August 15, 2003 - 08:57 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
good to hear everyone seems to be doing okay...

lol about the Solitaire, Crossfire... the last time I played with real cards I got really impatient. I kept thinking, this isn't very efficient, to have to keep moving these messy stacks of cards around... there has to be a better way...

Admin

Friday, August 15, 2003 - 09:04 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
FYI: The news I watched said a couple of GE plants in Cleveland are the source of the outtage. Not sure how, but something there blew and they didn't cut themselves off from the grid like they were supposed to so it spread.

It was not a Canuck conspiracy!

Melfie1222

Friday, August 15, 2003 - 09:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
The last I heard was also that it had originated somewhere in northern Ohio near Lake Erie...

Maybe the Canadians among us should come up with a song a la South Park... "Blame Ohio"

Juju2bigdog

Friday, August 15, 2003 - 10:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah, right, Admin. We all know you are covering for Adven, who is curiously missing right at the moment.

Bastable

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 12:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I live in NYC and I had a nightmarish time during the blackout. See, last weekend, I had my appendix out and I'm still recovering from the abdominal surgery, so I was unable to go outside or to cool down by taking a walk. I could only lie around my apartment, which was around 100 degrees, begging for it to end. I'm pretty much confined to bed, and my sheets were soaked. The worst of it was that this went on for 29 hours. My neighborhood was one of the last in Manhattan to be put back online. It was horrible. I was pretty much delusional most of the time.

If I'd been healthy, I would have taken a walk, slept on the roof, whatever. But this happened at the absolute worst time for me. I was helpless and sweltering. The power has been back on for seven hours, but I'm still exhausted. And I missed TAR!

Crossfire

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 04:28 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yeah, that is horrible Bastable, you are just the kind of person I was worried about. I also live in one of the last areas to get a squirt of power...though I am certain there are going to be people in worse situations, my ordeal was 29h:37m.

Did anyone check up on you, or make a cold water delivery? Being caught by sudden surgery as in your case, people might not have known you even needed some checking up upon. Had I been closer, I'd have fanned you with a right wing newspaper. Hehehe.

TAR is supposedly being re-run tonight after BB, so that is something, I am just hoping I don't get caught in a rolling blackout during that timeframe.

Ocean_Islands

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 04:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
The weird thing is that none of the phones were working for NYC calls, even analog phones at home. Nobody's cellphone worked, or rarely worked. I could call out to Europe but not next door.

When the power came back on a burglar alarm was going off. It's still going off, behind my apartment building and it's been 14 hours.

Ocean_Islands

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 04:43 am EditMoveDeleteIP
New Yorkers and other, Here is the CBS schedule this evening:

2pm - 7pm PGA Championship

7pm - 8pm Entertainment Tonight Weekend

8pm - 11pm Jets Pre-Season Football

11pm - 11:30pm CBS2 at 11pm

11:30pm - 12am Sports Rap

Sunday - 2003/08/17
12:00 am - 1:00 am Big Brother

1:00 AM - 2:00 AM Amazing Race

3:00 am - 3:30 am Urban Latino

Make sure to set your VCRs to record "Urban Latino".

Melgal

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 05:09 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Wow Bastable. "That sucks" doesn't even begin to cut it. I now have a new appreciation for many things I once took for granted.

I'm just east of Toronto, and I was out of power and phone for about 26 hours. (There are also 'ordered rolled blackouts', but I haven't been affected yet).

After the first hour or so, when we realized that this wasn't another terrorist attack, the power outage became merely just an inconvenience for me..... I too, was hot as heck; a concert and hotel stay that I was going to last night was cancelled - after I drove an hour to get there! (I DID call ahead and was told it was on); Lost about $50 worth of food in my fridge/freezer, and I'm still looking forward to going to the grocery store (along with everyone else) to resupply, while pondering over the 'freshness' of the milk/meat etc. that I'm buying.

But, for me, there was a silver lining... First of all, it could have been so much worse. Because I'm relatively healthy, this was more of an 'adventure' for me. I marvelled at how much the moon lights up the night sky, while enjoying mars, and the stars; my empty fridge is sparkling; I got a long weekend out of this; I didn't have to feel guilty about not mowing my lawn with my electric lawn mower; Had a great family barbeque; I was able to fill my car up with gas - and didn't have to wait in line... lucked out there; Discovered I could withstand no TV, Internet or phone for a relatively short period of time (barely!).

Thankfully the majority of people affected had experiences similar to mine (inconvenienced). But I know there are others who were/are affected in much worse ways because of health/age considerations. I really feel for those people, and hope that they are all able to bounce back after this.

Twinkie

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 05:28 am EditMoveDeleteIP
OMG, Bastable! If I'd known I would have made my way to NYC to take care of you! You poor thing! I hope your recovery gets better now. The blackout couldn't have happened at a worst time for you. I'm so sorry you had to suffer thru it. I hope you at least have A/C and you are cooling down now. I also hope you had plenty of fluids to drink so you didn't get dehydrated. Good Grief! Please keep us posted on how you are doing.

Crossfire

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 05:33 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Great...A vigours thunderstorm in progress. As if the electrical system did not need just half a reason to drop to its knees.

Gina8642

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 10:42 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I live near Detroit and have to say that the US national media completely exaggerated the effects of the black out on the state of Michigan. On Friday's ABC's national evening news they said only a handful of gas stations in the ENTIRE state were open. Huh??!!?? Only SE Michigan was even affected by the black out. I'm sure that THOUSANDS of gas station outside of the affected area were open for normal business within the STATE of Michigan.

Even in my town, which was affected blackout had more than a handful of gas stations open. I went looking for ice Friday morning between 9 and 11am. I saw at least 4 or 5 stations open. Yes, there were lines, but it wasn't that bad. Ice was in much shorter supply than gasoline. Most of the grocery stores were also open. No cold stuff was available, but everything else was. The only things they were out of: Charcoal, D batteries, Butane tanks, and ice.

I guess it was bad in Detroit proper, but Detroit isn't the entire state!! Even Detroit was reported to have all its electricity back by this morning.

Anyway, I had power back by 1pm on Friday. My sister by 10am on Friday. A friend outside of Ypsilanti had to wait the longest of anyone I know and just got his power back Saturday morning.

Ocean_Islands

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 10:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
The media had their heads up their butts with this whole thing.

First off it's their fault, partly, for not hitting hard on the electric grid issue in the 1980s.

Second, I was sitting at home with no power when they came onto the radio to say my neighborhood had its power restored.

Third they didn't report on Manhattan outages at all, once Times Square was lit up again. There was no info.

So often the media acts like it knows what it is talking about when it doesn't at all.

Bastable

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 01:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree, O_I. I was writhing around in my bed, glued to a battery-powered radio for some sort of inkling on how quickly different neighborhoods were coming back online, so that I'd know how much longer I'd have to endure. But the "news" on the radio spent all its time telling New Yorkers how "nice" they were being to each other, telling useless stories about people who had to walk an hour to get home, whatever. There was no information that could help me know how to take care of myself and when I could expect relief. Just lots of patting on the back. That, frankly, was nearly as awful as being trapped in my bed--a news media that refused to tell me anything.

And the media should have been uncovering the grid problems already. We shouldn't have to wait for problems to appear before we hear things like, "Scientists were warning about this for years." If they were, why didn't our "news" people pick up on it? I get told all about Scott Peterson and Kobe Bryant, though.

Maris

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 02:12 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Bastable, sorry you had such a bad time of it. This was my second NY blackout so I didnt expect the power to come back so quickly nor did I expect them to even figure out what the problem was. Given that it occurred over so many states I think that everything came back remarkably well.

As far as the media talking about how good everyone was being I was grateful for those little gems if only to help promote calm among the populace. In the last blackout it was truly terrifying with gangs roaming the streets and smashing windows as they went. Much of that feel good stuff I thought was to encourage civility and calm. We didnt have any looting unlike what occurred in Ottowa so we were lucky.

There was no way they could tell us when the power was coming back since they didnt know it themselves. I cant imagine what it must have been like being trapped alone in a bed with nobody to come and help you. I was fortunate because I had family and also because I have many elderly neighbors who kept me busy making sure they were ok. It was also a good lesson in civic responsibility for my son. I gave him lobby duty and he and his friends walked people who had no flashlights up the stairs to their apartments.

Another reason I didnt get too upset over this was I just kept imagining the Iraqi people living without power since March and in 120 degree heat and nobody telling them when they can get lights back. I figured I could live with 24 hours of inconvenience.

Of course I wasnt laying in bed in pain alone. Hope you are feeling better.

Sbw

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 02:22 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Maris, what a great thing for your son to do. I am sure a lot of people appreciated his efforts.

Bastable, I am so sorry it was so rough for you. I hope you are feeling a lot better in the next couple of days. I know the heat had to be draining on your body so soon after the surgery.

Ocean_Islands

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 02:43 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
There were weird things, like on Thursday night, which in my neighborhood (which is already like a campus town) was like a St Patrick's day party, people started getting rowdy. There were guys roaming the streets who would just start shouting for no reason, to hear their voices echo in the quiet darkness. There was no one around the streets except about 300 people waiting at the bus stop in the dark.

A few blocks away from that, where I am, the bars were basically taking over the sidewalk. I stayed in after 10 pm but from my window I heard people yelling and shouting and it seemed like gangs of drunks were in control of the street for a period of time until the police came down from the subway station and a helicopter came by.

The next morning there were hundreds of beer bottles lying around on the street in piles.

Maris

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 03:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well sbw, I am sure left to his own devices it probably wouldnt have occurred to him. At first I got that Do I have to look, then he found he really enjoyed himself and wouldnt quit. He started keeping count of how many people he took to their apartments. Only a kid could go up and down those many flights all night long. lol. I think it was the highlight of his summer, an evening he will remember for a long time.

Sbw

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 03:34 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Maris - He should be proud of himself and I hope he doesn't forget it. If I had to climb stairs all night, it wouldn't have been the highlight of my summer! :)

Twiggyish

Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 08:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes, I think it was a very responsible thing for him to do. I know you are proud of him. Plus,the neighbors won't forget his considerate behavior, either.

Crossfire

Sunday, August 17, 2003 - 12:19 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I've been thinking more about what has happened and I wonder if we are not overreacting.

I've seen any number of claims that we should do this, or should do that, and that we should have done it a long time ago. I see calls for various leaders heads on a stick in both Canada and the US all the way up to the top. All seem like good thoughts to release some frustration while in anger, or if they are based on reasoned thought.

But...

It occurs to me that rebuilding the entire transmission network or whatever other extravagant plan that may come forward might not be in our best interest, and quite frankly from an engineering point of view, it might not even be possible to build anything like as good as what we already have.

The last time this happened was an amazing 38 years ago. How much should we be willing to spend to correct a problem that costs us maybe a couple of billion dollars once every four decades?

Halfunit

Sunday, August 17, 2003 - 06:43 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Well, it looks like they have pinpointed the source to the coal plant in Eastlake, OH.

This is the plant that my father retired from after working there for 30 years. It's odd to see the smokestacks that were always 'Dad's work' on television.