I don't know about you all, but DC is panicking. I don't think the storm will be any worse then some of the bad thunderstorms we have had, minus the lighting.

A few neighbors of mine have wheeled their bbq grills off the deck into their houses along with their wood/metal furniture. It's one thing if we lived on the NC coast, I don't think the heavy grils are going anywhere.

Now the subway is closing at 11:00 am.:pat:

 

Sounds from clear across the coutry here that you are in for quite a ride. Be careful & stay safe!

 

No kidding. We went to the store last night to pick up a loaf of bread, some baby formula, and a pack of C batteries (all things I would need even without the storm). No C batteries, very little bread, and limited formula. You'd think this was going to last a month.

Of course, I've had extra water, food, batteries (except for C), and the like stashed for years.

Chris

 

People act like humanity can't exist without electricity or TV. To be honest, I hope the power DOES go out, I think it would be really fun to rough it pull out the camp stove, if needed go help out somehow. I pulled 3 car out of the snow during last winters blizzard, am happy to face off with Isabel.
YEEEEEHAAAA!!

 

lol. If the power goes out, I might get some reading done, some reloading done, and maybe even a nap. I hope it goes out too.

Chris

 

loosing power is fine until you need gas for the truck - speaking from experience on this one.

Good luck central east costers.

 

I remember the power went out on a daily basis when I was backpacking around India, in the middle of a monsoon and I started looking forward to it. Nothing we can do to stop catastrophes from happening, but I really believe in hardship bringing out the best in people and true character emerging.
Sorry I have no sympathy for panicky people, they worry so much about things getting bad that they do just that, they become one more person who needs help, and remove one person from helping elsewhere. Sure I'll help them out, but hey, nothing actually happend other than fear. Everybody has that. It a matter of staying alert, then reaction and prioritizing.
One thing about DC, all the lawmakers and preventative attitude make it a pain to deal with people when things happen. Around here people act as though someone is to blame for everything, when the truth is that ˟˟˟˟ happens and you can't stop it. Not looking forward to all the crap over the weekend about "Who is to blame" "What could have ben done" "So this never happens again" and such commentaries.

Tonight I'm gonna get out the board games, make some black and tans, serenade my honey, stay up all night and shout into the wind. As a matter of fact I might go out there and pull some Gene Kelly.... Siiiiiiiiiiingin in the raaaaaaaain....

 

More people need that attitude, they need to stop being sheep.

Chris

 

I agree. Panicky people usually make things worse for themselves and the people around them. Get prepared, then deal with it, it's all you can do. But don't get all hysterical.

 

Ya know, I went in a shut down all my servers, good move cuz the power has blinked on enough times that they'd be fried. However, (and I admit I may have to retract this statement) I have not yet seen any sign that this hurricane is a big deal.

Hey Isabel sweetie, you just bring out the bitch already OK? Getting bored here...

 

That was funny!

 

Power has been out for 3 hours now. Gusts picking up to an admirable burst from time to time. Went out when the rain was really pouring and it soaked me in 2 minutes. Spent a good 15 minutes out there, I suppose paying my respects. Whatever the reason, it was INVIGORATING. This is my second hurricane, and though there's no electricity, I almost wish there were no phone, not like anyone is going to call, or like I'm not sitting here in the dark typing, but there is definitely an energy going on that people are tying to escape. I almost feel like we should be going out of our way to feel it. It's the difference that brings you out.

 

The office is closed again on Friday, it's nice having a 4-day weekend. I drove around a bit of the western portion of Fairfax County, nothing much to report other then down tree limbs. Didn't lose power, but our water pressure is low due the the county plant having a power failure. They are recommending boiling any tap water until further notice.

Now my wife is glad I keep 4 cases of bottled water in the garage for emergencies.

 

Isn't it funny how friends and family come to understand the importance of disaster preparedness only when the disaster comes? Not that this qualifies as a disaster though...

Chris

 

Went over to the office to start the servers, the building had no water so no one was in. Got the network back up, and grabbed a 5 gallon bottle of drinking water since Fairfax county is under a boil order and we have an electric stove and no power. Phone seems to be fine, but it looks like we will be dry and dark for a week or so. Took the opportunity just now to install my power inverter in the truck, will charge up the 3 laptop batteries while driving around. All in all it has been lots more fun than difficulty, good to get back to basics from time to time...

How are you all doing?

 

We're doing fine out here in Manassas. Except for a few downed trees around the 'hood, you almost couldn't tell anything happened. Our power only flickered once before we went to bed (not enough to screw with the clocks either). I didn't have to go into the office because power was out there. We have generator power and UPS for the NOC and server farm, but the offices were dark. I telecommuted for a couple hours, then Shell and I hit the road and did some shopping.

Not that a power outage would've affected us much. We have a gas stove and plenty of bottled water. If anything, I would've caught up on my reading.

Chris

 

I purchased a front diff drop spacer kit following my lift, but hadn't had it installed. I called High Tech Auto & Truck this morning and they said they could install it while I waited, done in 30 minutes. A number of their reservations had cancelled due to the storm.

 

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