Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
2.00 Monday afternoon and all is still sorta ok
The wind has picked up within the last half hour, and now it's really raining kind of hard. Sort of horizontal, though, so I expect the rain might go right into the river, instead of landing on us here (that is an attempt at a joke). Power and internet obviously still on, sump pump is working. I hear the other side of the bridge is bad, trees down and road flooding, so it looks like we're going to stay put.
Making more tea. Need lots of tea, and doggie treats. Pablo is still relatively calm, but very clingy. Can't say I blame him.
Just watched Il Tabarro from San Francisco Opera. Pat Racette, Brandon Jovanovich, and Paolo Gavanelli. Wow! Nice distraction, hope the power and internet stay on so I can watch some more opera. It's kinda cozy with the dog curled up in my lap. Strength in numbers, I guess.
Making more tea. Need lots of tea, and doggie treats. Pablo is still relatively calm, but very clingy. Can't say I blame him.
Just watched Il Tabarro from San Francisco Opera. Pat Racette, Brandon Jovanovich, and Paolo Gavanelli. Wow! Nice distraction, hope the power and internet stay on so I can watch some more opera. It's kinda cozy with the dog curled up in my lap. Strength in numbers, I guess.
News from outside
A neighbor just walked in from Highlands, where he was checking on his new house that is under construction. He said the road coming in over the bridge is barricaded, but you can still get out. He also said the flood on Ocean Ave was only about two blocks' worth, the rest of it was clear. At the moment, the whole thing is clear, the water has gone down on my corner, too.
He told me that Highlands (the low part of it) is under water. And there are lots of people on the bridge, taking pictures. In 50 mph winds, with rain (or sea spray, hard to tell which), on a 65 foot high bridge span. I think I'll stay indoors.
He told me that Highlands (the low part of it) is under water. And there are lots of people on the bridge, taking pictures. In 50 mph winds, with rain (or sea spray, hard to tell which), on a 65 foot high bridge span. I think I'll stay indoors.
Morning on Monday
It started raining during the night. Not a lot of rain, but enough. Power and internet are still on, obviously, for the moment. The sump pump is working, as long as the power stays on.
First high tide this morning, the river came up to the corner of Southway, which runs behind my house. Ocean Ave is running about a foot and a half deep in water. It's receding now, next high tide on the ocean is 9.37 tonite.
Here's the river:
The fence is the back of my backyard.
And here's Ocean Ave:
The water covered the sidewalk. It's receding now, the river is down to the white house, and I can see the double yellow stripe in the middle of Ocean Ave again. Low tide on the ocean is at 3.35. If Ocean Ave looks passable, I'm probably going to leave. Because this was just the first of the high tides, we've got two more to go (at least) that are under the influence of the storm. I expect they'll get worse rather than better.
The good thing is, my car is here. The bad thing is, my car is here. Cuts both ways. The house is probably high enough to withstand the water level. Unfortunately, I can't get the car to climb the back steps and come inside.
Weather Undergound now has the storm center making landfall around Cape May sometime tonight. So they moved it farther south, but I'm not sure that helps us here, they are saying the storm surge is worse on our side of the center than south of it.
Will keep updating as long as I have power and internet.
First high tide this morning, the river came up to the corner of Southway, which runs behind my house. Ocean Ave is running about a foot and a half deep in water. It's receding now, next high tide on the ocean is 9.37 tonite.
Here's the river:
The fence is the back of my backyard.
And here's Ocean Ave:
The water covered the sidewalk. It's receding now, the river is down to the white house, and I can see the double yellow stripe in the middle of Ocean Ave again. Low tide on the ocean is at 3.35. If Ocean Ave looks passable, I'm probably going to leave. Because this was just the first of the high tides, we've got two more to go (at least) that are under the influence of the storm. I expect they'll get worse rather than better.
The good thing is, my car is here. The bad thing is, my car is here. Cuts both ways. The house is probably high enough to withstand the water level. Unfortunately, I can't get the car to climb the back steps and come inside.
Weather Undergound now has the storm center making landfall around Cape May sometime tonight. So they moved it farther south, but I'm not sure that helps us here, they are saying the storm surge is worse on our side of the center than south of it.
Will keep updating as long as I have power and internet.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Observations after dark
It's 6.30-ish now. There is still traffic on Ocean Ave, and we still are having tourists coming to see the ocean (in the dark???). So one might conclude the MANDATORY evacuation is not being quite so MANDATORY, they have not put the trash compactors out to block the bridge (yet?), like they did last year for Irene.
The four o'clock siren to remind us to leave didn't sound till 4.11. Pablo barked his head off at it, as usual.
Noone has banged on my door to tell me to leave, and it's been quite some time since Code Red has called with any news.
Pablo is at ease, relatively - he wolfed down two and a half bowls of food for dinner. One was dog food (Caesars), the other one and a half were hamburger meat cooked in Ragu Sweet Basil & Tomato sauce, his new favorite. I decided to forgo the chili for now, in favor of cooking something the dog could eat.
There are lights on in a few windows in houses where I would have assumed the residents would flee.
Big Mike called. He always calls when we're having a disaster or other weather emergency. It's kind of a "wish I could be there with you" thing, which devolves into a pledge to somehow devote his life to paying back all the money he owes all of us around here. Long, not so pretty story, which we'll skip, for now.
I opened the huge bottle of cheap wine I bought for the storm. Goes pretty good with beefy tomato sauce over jasmine rice. I try to get a little gourmet once in a while, this not being particularly one of those occasions.
Low pressure systems apparently make Pablo's blue squeezy toy fly less well than usual. I just can't get any distance on it. That could also be the wine, however. Also perhaps the fact that he has spoiled what little aerodynamics it had by chewing off its nose.
The wind is still blowing, and I can hear the ocean pounding on the beach (but not feel it, which is significant). But jets are still coming into NYC Metro airports, so it can't be too bad out there. No rain here yet, either, tho my son in Virginia said it started to rain there late afternoon.
They're evacuating lower Manhattan, apparently. Now that's a mental image I can't quite manage. 375,000 people. The transit system is shut down effective 7.00. So where are they going to go, and just how might they get there? Taxi!!!
The four o'clock siren to remind us to leave didn't sound till 4.11. Pablo barked his head off at it, as usual.
Noone has banged on my door to tell me to leave, and it's been quite some time since Code Red has called with any news.
Pablo is at ease, relatively - he wolfed down two and a half bowls of food for dinner. One was dog food (Caesars), the other one and a half were hamburger meat cooked in Ragu Sweet Basil & Tomato sauce, his new favorite. I decided to forgo the chili for now, in favor of cooking something the dog could eat.
There are lights on in a few windows in houses where I would have assumed the residents would flee.
Big Mike called. He always calls when we're having a disaster or other weather emergency. It's kind of a "wish I could be there with you" thing, which devolves into a pledge to somehow devote his life to paying back all the money he owes all of us around here. Long, not so pretty story, which we'll skip, for now.
I opened the huge bottle of cheap wine I bought for the storm. Goes pretty good with beefy tomato sauce over jasmine rice. I try to get a little gourmet once in a while, this not being particularly one of those occasions.
Low pressure systems apparently make Pablo's blue squeezy toy fly less well than usual. I just can't get any distance on it. That could also be the wine, however. Also perhaps the fact that he has spoiled what little aerodynamics it had by chewing off its nose.
The wind is still blowing, and I can hear the ocean pounding on the beach (but not feel it, which is significant). But jets are still coming into NYC Metro airports, so it can't be too bad out there. No rain here yet, either, tho my son in Virginia said it started to rain there late afternoon.
They're evacuating lower Manhattan, apparently. Now that's a mental image I can't quite manage. 375,000 people. The transit system is shut down effective 7.00. So where are they going to go, and just how might they get there? Taxi!!!
A comedic interval
The suspense is making me crazy. So here's a way to spend a few minutes being entertained, instead of worried:
Quite an interesting conglomeration of Wagner, in no particular order. This is where I learned my first opera music. Haven't stopped learning yet. Thanks, Buggs!
Quite an interesting conglomeration of Wagner, in no particular order. This is where I learned my first opera music. Haven't stopped learning yet. Thanks, Buggs!
Sunday afternoon - tourists & kitesurfers
Well, I didn't take pictures of the tourists, they look just like Bennies but with clothes on (it's not real warm out today). But I did get a good shot of one of the kitesurfers:
Doesn't look like much fun to me, but that's just me.
Everything is uniformly grey now, and the wind is doing its thing, but still nothing spectacular. Not raining yet, either.
More kitesurfers, with the kites on the ground. I imagine they talk about their game like a bunch of golfers. Lots of dogs out, too. The dogs talk among themselves. Pablo had a nice walk, but he got cold, so we came in.
Doesn't look like much fun to me, but that's just me.
Everything is uniformly grey now, and the wind is doing its thing, but still nothing spectacular. Not raining yet, either.
More kitesurfers, with the kites on the ground. I imagine they talk about their game like a bunch of golfers. Lots of dogs out, too. The dogs talk among themselves. Pablo had a nice walk, but he got cold, so we came in.
High tide Sunday morning
Wind is kicking up (started around 2.00 am), but no more so than usual, we get this kind of wind pretty often (maybe 10-15 mph), especially as winter approaches. Lots of clouds, no rain. Blue sky on the horizon.
They've put off the storm's arrival till early morning Tuesday. That doesn't help much, if I go to work on Monday, I can't come home again until someone arbitrarily decides it's ok. Some politician who lives in a mansion somewhere, where the hurricane won't reach him, and there's a butler to hold his umbrella. Some fat asshole who doesn't understand that if some of us don't get to go to work, we don't get paid, and then we have to stay close to a week in some hotel somewhere (which probably doesn't let dogs stay there), which will cost more than the week's pay we're going to lose by not being able to go to work. And meanwhile nobody is watching the house except some thief who is a friend of the po-lice and can help himself once he figures out everyone is gone.
To make a long story longer, I don't think I'm going anywhere. I've loaned out the cinderblocks that have stood in a pile in my yard for years now, to people down the block who are also not going anywhere, to hold down their whatevers, or block something closed, or what use they can make of cinderblocks in this situation. Better than them just sitting there in my yard, I guess.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Surf's up - moderately
5.30 pm, surf's up a bit, nothing to write home about, not enough for the surfers, but there are fisher-people out there. Maybe the fish want to be "rescued" from the storm?
Baby cops in bright yellow golf shirts came around a while ago to tell everyone there's a MANDATORY evacuation at 4.00 tomorrow afternoon. I hate that word. It makes me want to do anything other than what someone is trying to get me to do. I prefer to use my own judgment, and stay out from under trees in a hurricane or tropical storm. There are no trees here. There are plenty of trees in the area where I would have to go if MANDATORILY evacuated.
So far I and most of the neighbors plan to stay put. And we told the baby cops in bright yellow golf shirts as much. The one who came to my door seemed afraid of me, he almost fell off the front porch when I told him I'm not planning on going anywhere.
I was rude, I'm afraid. I didn't open the door so the baby cop could give me his MANDATORY printed notice. Oh well. I wished I'd still had the big dog, so he could snarl threateningly through the screen. He used to make people turn white as the proverbial sheet and jump backwards the four steps down off the porch. I don't snarl quite as effectively.
Baby cops in bright yellow golf shirts came around a while ago to tell everyone there's a MANDATORY evacuation at 4.00 tomorrow afternoon. I hate that word. It makes me want to do anything other than what someone is trying to get me to do. I prefer to use my own judgment, and stay out from under trees in a hurricane or tropical storm. There are no trees here. There are plenty of trees in the area where I would have to go if MANDATORILY evacuated.
So far I and most of the neighbors plan to stay put. And we told the baby cops in bright yellow golf shirts as much. The one who came to my door seemed afraid of me, he almost fell off the front porch when I told him I'm not planning on going anywhere.
I was rude, I'm afraid. I didn't open the door so the baby cop could give me his MANDATORY printed notice. Oh well. I wished I'd still had the big dog, so he could snarl threateningly through the screen. He used to make people turn white as the proverbial sheet and jump backwards the four steps down off the porch. I don't snarl quite as effectively.
Waiting for Sandy
Nothing happening here yet. In fact, it's sunny and warm-ish now, tho you can almost hear the threatening movie-music playing faintly in the background.
So far, the gawkers have not come to the beach to see the hurricane, but some surfers have been around, and went away disappointed. Here's a shot I took with the phone this morning on my Pablo walk:
So far, the gawkers have not come to the beach to see the hurricane, but some surfers have been around, and went away disappointed. Here's a shot I took with the phone this morning on my Pablo walk:
Nice god-rays, assorted boats in the area tho not in the picture, and no surf to speak of. The cloud bank cleared away around 10.00. It went west, in case that has any significance. Maybe it's that left turn thing.
Friday, October 26, 2012
NO LEFT TURN
Tonight I'm trying to figure out what the forecasters are seeing that is going to cause this storm, Sandy, to come up the coast, get to NJ, and suddenly make a left turn and come ashore. Doesn't it know that this is New Jersey, land of the jug handle? You can't make a left turn in New Jersey. It's simply not possible. Not to mention it's highly illegal.
Impending doom - or something
Here we go again, waiting for a storm to show up and do whatever it might do. This time it's Sandy, which is still in the Bahamas as I write this, but has been having a gloom and doom effect here since maybe Weds evening. Skies are cloudy and heavy with wetness, none of which is coming down quite yet. Weather presenters are going all manic, warning of the end of the world, or something close to it, which is supposed to (maybe) happen Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday next week. The panic-mongering is intense and disturbing. My mother is packed and ready to leave.
No doubt if something actually does come this way, we will be told to evacuate to the inland portions of the county. You can go back to my posts from last August/September and see how that worked out last time, when Irene came for a visit. Considering the inland areas had far more damage than we did here at the beach, I'm kind of hesitant to take that route again.
Then there are the weather savants who think this is going to be not just a hurricane, but a blizzard at the same time. That would be interesting to see. I'm getting all my cameras set to go in case that happens. Then I can have pictures to go with the story when I tell somebody else's grandkids about The Big One (TM).
Sigh. I'm thinking earthquakes are better to have. Those kind of just happen, then you clean up and go on with life. With hurricanes and their relatives, you wait a week or more while you watch the thing approach, lay bets on what track it's going to take, sit through hours or days of mess, and then clean up and go on with life. Seems to me earthquakes are far more efficient.
Meanwhile, I think I'll stock up on water. That seems to be the weakest link in the infrastructure around here. Tomorrow, though. Have to go to work today. Life goes on in the meantime.
No doubt if something actually does come this way, we will be told to evacuate to the inland portions of the county. You can go back to my posts from last August/September and see how that worked out last time, when Irene came for a visit. Considering the inland areas had far more damage than we did here at the beach, I'm kind of hesitant to take that route again.
Then there are the weather savants who think this is going to be not just a hurricane, but a blizzard at the same time. That would be interesting to see. I'm getting all my cameras set to go in case that happens. Then I can have pictures to go with the story when I tell somebody else's grandkids about The Big One (TM).
Sigh. I'm thinking earthquakes are better to have. Those kind of just happen, then you clean up and go on with life. With hurricanes and their relatives, you wait a week or more while you watch the thing approach, lay bets on what track it's going to take, sit through hours or days of mess, and then clean up and go on with life. Seems to me earthquakes are far more efficient.
Meanwhile, I think I'll stock up on water. That seems to be the weakest link in the infrastructure around here. Tomorrow, though. Have to go to work today. Life goes on in the meantime.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Something familiar about this
I suspect that many people will enjoy a book (or a film, for that matter) more if they know the locations where the action takes place, and can relate to what they are seeing or reading in a more personal way. I felt that way watching the space shuttle making its way from LAX towards downtown LA.
I intentionally did not go to see it on its route, since I find the downing of all those magnificent trees (particularly the ones in Inglewood, with shaped crowns, that used to march proudly down the middle of Manchester) to be painful on a visceral level. I'm also not a huge fan of crowds and traffic, whatever the occasion.
But one photo kind of summed up the entire event for me, bringing it home to a place which, while I haven't ever eaten there (I don't do donuts), I always welcome as a landmark as I drive by on my way in from the airport.
Welcome home, Endeavour. When you're ready for guests, I'll be there to see you in your new place!
I intentionally did not go to see it on its route, since I find the downing of all those magnificent trees (particularly the ones in Inglewood, with shaped crowns, that used to march proudly down the middle of Manchester) to be painful on a visceral level. I'm also not a huge fan of crowds and traffic, whatever the occasion.
But one photo kind of summed up the entire event for me, bringing it home to a place which, while I haven't ever eaten there (I don't do donuts), I always welcome as a landmark as I drive by on my way in from the airport.
Welcome home, Endeavour. When you're ready for guests, I'll be there to see you in your new place!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Epic commute tonite
NJ Transit and Amtrak combined to create an epic commute this evening. I just missed the 5.32 train, and got on the 6.01, which finally arrived in Long Branch at 10.10. Yes, you read that right. Door to door, from walking out of the office to walking into my house, it was a five hour trek.
The problem was first a stop signal not allowing us to leave Penn Station NY. That morphed into single tracking in the Hudson River tunnel. Which changed to signal problems between Secaucus and Newark. Which migrated into total signal failure between Newark and New Brunswick.
I find it difficult to understand how one stated issue turned into the next, then the next, then total system failure. So I have to assume that someone was lying at the outset, and changed the lie to cover something, then changed it again. And again.
At least the crew stopped apologizing after we were stuck just past Newark for almost a half hour (after taking two hours to get that far, ordinarily a 17 minute jaunt). Because honestly, apologies don't make it right, and don't make it feel better, and really don't make the folk who are trapped in the tin can we call a train feel warm and fuzzy about our lousy commuter service.
The good things were: 1. it was not 98 degrees outside, 2. the power stayed on the whole time, and 3. noone bothered to collect tickets (which only benefits those of us who buy tickets every day - if you get a monthly pass, you're screwed anyhow). I suspect the crew was hesitant to show their faces and thereby draw the ire of the trapped commuters. Small consolation for a lost evening and a lot of discomfort (I will NEVER use a train bathroom, they are filthy and generally don't work - and lose my seat in the process..).
The bad thing was, noone came around with the beverage cart. They ought to offer that as a regular service on commuter trains, since we get so very little service for the exorbitant fees we pay to ride NJ Transit.
Naturally, NJ Transit blames Amtrak for the entire debacle. But what is lacking on both sides is some basic knowledge and skill at logistics, in order to make the best (rather than the worst, which is what they routinely do) of a bad situation.
And perhaps a bit of routine preventive maintenance would be a nice touch. But no, we have to pay the big bucks to the executives, rather than keeping the system in working order. So ticket prices go up and up, executive salaries go up and up, and service goes to hell in a handbasket. Welcome to NJ, folks. Suck it up and deal with it.
The problem was first a stop signal not allowing us to leave Penn Station NY. That morphed into single tracking in the Hudson River tunnel. Which changed to signal problems between Secaucus and Newark. Which migrated into total signal failure between Newark and New Brunswick.
I find it difficult to understand how one stated issue turned into the next, then the next, then total system failure. So I have to assume that someone was lying at the outset, and changed the lie to cover something, then changed it again. And again.
At least the crew stopped apologizing after we were stuck just past Newark for almost a half hour (after taking two hours to get that far, ordinarily a 17 minute jaunt). Because honestly, apologies don't make it right, and don't make it feel better, and really don't make the folk who are trapped in the tin can we call a train feel warm and fuzzy about our lousy commuter service.
The good things were: 1. it was not 98 degrees outside, 2. the power stayed on the whole time, and 3. noone bothered to collect tickets (which only benefits those of us who buy tickets every day - if you get a monthly pass, you're screwed anyhow). I suspect the crew was hesitant to show their faces and thereby draw the ire of the trapped commuters. Small consolation for a lost evening and a lot of discomfort (I will NEVER use a train bathroom, they are filthy and generally don't work - and lose my seat in the process..).
The bad thing was, noone came around with the beverage cart. They ought to offer that as a regular service on commuter trains, since we get so very little service for the exorbitant fees we pay to ride NJ Transit.
Naturally, NJ Transit blames Amtrak for the entire debacle. But what is lacking on both sides is some basic knowledge and skill at logistics, in order to make the best (rather than the worst, which is what they routinely do) of a bad situation.
And perhaps a bit of routine preventive maintenance would be a nice touch. But no, we have to pay the big bucks to the executives, rather than keeping the system in working order. So ticket prices go up and up, executive salaries go up and up, and service goes to hell in a handbasket. Welcome to NJ, folks. Suck it up and deal with it.
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