Marathon Cancelled :-)

The buzz around the office, for those that could make it there was about gasoline.  Everyone on Long Island knows that there is a shortage, and the scant few deliveries making it to stations, are drained within hours.  Long lines form in an instant.

Most of us have suspended or cancelled any plans that involve driving.  Those fortunate to have power and internet in my line of work (information technology) can work from home.  One of the guys in the office goes out to grab lunch and spots a station on Motor Parkway and LIE service road about to open.  Within seconds, he is 15th on line.

An argument between some folks behind him ensues as cars converge and bumpers touch.  Some pushing and shoving.  We get an email from our co-worker that there is gas and a short line.  A few leave work to get there...arriving 5 minutes later, most turn around as the line is hours long.

This day in history "On November 2, 1986, Norwegian distance runner Grete Waitz wins her eighth New York City marathon. She finished the 26-mile, 385-yard course in 2:28.6, more than a mile ahead of the second- and third-place women in the race. Waitz had won her first marathon in New York in 1978—setting a world record--and she won the NYC marathon again in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985. In 1988, she won it for the ninth time—something no runner had ever done in any marathon."

There is another buzz as social media erupts with the news that the NY Marathon which was planned for this weekend will still happen.  How can that be when there are so many homeless, without power, and an already overburdened infrastructure.  How can we think of closing bridges and roads in and around the city when most of us have already had a marathon of holding things together in the aftermath of Sandy.

Pressure builds, and finally common sense prevails...the NYC Marathon is cancelled for this weekend.

As school districts scramble to get back on track, and bring students back to classrooms, HS soccer practice resumes.  In a way, this is good and bad as the athletes all need rides to the HS which is miles away...it does however represent a step back to the 'normal routine'.   Car pools form and the boys get together...they have playoff game this week.

I was not able to get an MRI, as the radiology office, even though reopen needs a couple of days to seed the MRI machines.  I guess they are not like our household appliances or computers that need a simple reboot.  I will try a short run again tomorrow.  No marathon for me.  Just trying to get a short run in without coming back limping.

Another piece of good news, is that gasoline shipments to stations that have power should resume this weekend or early next week.  I think priority should be given to those with gas cans for their generators, and a 10 gallon limit imposed to help speed up the lines and fill the needs of more people.  Half a tank in both cars, so we continue to conserve.

Photo of the day "Marathon Cancelled"

Staying ahead

Up early and out on the road to get to work before the traffic or crazy drivers.  With lights out all over the place, every intersection is a scary sight.  When I get to the LIE, I see that it is blocked at my entrance.  I am forced east and after a few miles, I am able to turn around and start heading west.  LIPA got to my intersection before me today...Are they staying ahead.

Once at work , the fun begins.  A constant barrage of calls, and meetings to get things repaired and working after the storm knocked out services all over NYC.  I accommodate visitors and welcome back folks who have not made it to the office until today.  We are staying ahead of the issues, at least I want to think I am staying ahead.

This day in history " The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo's finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese in 1475. The son of a government administrator, he grew up in Florence, a center of the early Renaissance movement, and became an artist's apprentice at age 13. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. After demonstrating his mastery of sculpture in such works as the Pieta (1498) and David (1504), he was called to Rome in 1508 to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—the chief consecrated space in the Vatican."

Away from work, I make some fish and chips for dinner.  I have some work tonight setup for St Louis to re-engineer a service.  I check in and find that it is not working out.  We are just trying to stay ahead.  It is now 10pm, and I have to keep trying to help get a service restored.  We are falling behind.

I did take a quick ride on the exercise bike to see if my leg would tolerate it.  7 miles in 30 minutes and no issue.  My doctors office called today and I got my pre-certification for MRI.  I sure hope they find something because I really want to run.

If I run, a I am sure I will be "Staying ahead"

Does my Magic Number Drop if I biked instead of running ?  Hey, I am just trying to Stay Ahead...

Trick or Treat

With Halloween coming only days after the Hurricane Sandy wrecked the east coast, we thought there would be a scant few trick or treaters.

Most pumpkins, hay, corn stalks, and other suitable Halloween decorations are no where in sight.

All schools are closed, 90% of Long Island has no power.  Trees and power lines down.

Sue ventures out to find candy, just in case.


This day in history "On this day, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle, is published. The book was the first collection of Holmes stories, which Conan Doyle had been publishing in magazines since 1887.
Conan Doyle was born in Scotland and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, where he met Dr. Joseph Bell, a teacher with extraordinary deductive power. Bell partly inspired Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes years later."

Sue scores some candy at handy pantry and then scopes out the local streets for a safe place to trick or treat.  It's not like the old days when we had a cart and a big group of youngins in tow.  Luke for the first time in several years, pre-bought a morph suit so he and his teenage friends could go trick or treating.

Not to be disappointed, his friends came over to our house from afar....They went out and collected candy and had some fun.  If even for a few hours, they forgot about the devastation and horror that has been in the media.  We are one of the lucky families that still has power and has been watching the storm and it's aftermath.

We get a pretty good flow of trick or treaters.  The little ones coming up the walk and ringing the bell are so cute.

I make some Kale chips as a snack....kale chips=trick, candy=treat

Let's hope next year is even better.  I tried to jog a little the other day.  Less than 2 miles completed and the right hamstring muscles started to hurt...some more ice and alleve.  I called the Ortho, Aetna, and Carecore...they dropped the ball last week as there is no record my pre-certification for MRI.

Magic Number 234 (with only 2 months left, and a bum leg, I may not make it)

Photo of the day "Trick or Treat"

Unbelievable

First, I have to say how lucky we are to have gotten thru the storm virtually unscathed.  A shed and storm door damaged is nothing.  Most of our friends and neighbors came out of it ok too.

The images on television and internet for those who have seen it are unbelievable.

A storm like Sandy, has never been recorded in modern times.  Being deemed as a 'perfect storm' in some respects with Moon, Wind, Tide, all aligning to wreak havoc up and down the coastal areas and inland.

This day in history "On this day in 1991, the so-called "perfect storm" hits the North Atlantic producing remarkably large waves along the New England and Canadian coasts. Over the next several days, the storm spread its fury over the ocean off the coast of Canada. The fishing boat Andrea Gail and its six-member crew were lost in the storm. The disaster spawned the best-selling book The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and a blockbuster Hollywood movie of the same name."

There was nothing perfect about Sandy except her ability to do damage.


Gov. Cuomo made the remarks during an interview earlier today with an Albany talk radio station, and the governor said that not only has extreme weather been the new norm in New York, but that State and City residents should brace for more of the same as super storms like Sandy seem to occur ever more frequently.
Cuomo spoke to how these events, once counted as unique and shocking, are occurring with alarming frequency, and said:

“There has been a series of extreme weather incidents. That is not a political statement, that is a factual statement. Anyone who says there’s not a dramatic change in weather patterns, I think is denying reality.”

This is the worst storm any of us has experienced and I sure hope this is not a sign of the new weather patterns and systems setting up.

Stay Safe

Photo of the day "Unbelievable"

A colleague at work (Frank) is going to Breezy Point to see if his father in laws house is still standing, and if so, what condition it is in.   Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this storm.

Hurricane Sandy has arrived

Hurricane is chugging up the east coast wreaking havoc as we have breakfast.  I have a busy day working from home making disaster recovery arrangements.

Baked ziti is cooked for lunch as a comfort food.  While we still have power it was a good distraction and I eat when I am nervous.

By 3pm, we start to really see and hear the wind picking up.  Sandy is getting closer.  Leaves all over the place.  My suncast shed has it's roof ripped off.  The sound of it hitting the house was a little unsettling.  No damage to the house.  I tuck the two pieces behind our main shed to keep them from becoming projectiles again.

This day in history "Nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, Senator John Hershel Glenn, Jr., is launched into space again as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery. At 77 years of age, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging."

Since food makes me happy, I make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  Pasta reheats easily in aluminum trays with some sterno.  The leftovers may come in handy should we lose power.

We lose power on and off between 5-7 pm.  We are lucky to get power back and hope the worst has passed.  We will not be affected by the tidal surge or flooding from bay, river, ocean, or sound.  With very little rain so far, we are hoping that our basement doesn't flood.

Stay safe.

This is an historical storm of epic proportions.

Photo of the day "Hurricane Sandy has arrived"

P.S.  A shot of tequila to calm the nerves as the wind sounds like a freight train going through our yard.

Hurricane Comfort Food

As we prepared for the storm, one thing always comes to mind...food.  Since I had an early meeting Sunday morning to discuss hurricane preparedness for our News Systems, I decided to setup a pot roast in the crock pot.

Sue drops Kyle off at work, which in his case is at the soccer fields.  I go to get him at noon, and there are long lines at the gas stations, and full parking lots at the convenience stores.  Everyone is heeding the warning, and filling up on fuel and milk....

I stop at a Handy Pantry and get some bread and soda.  A few glazed donuts and a bag of BBQ potato chips from 7-11, and some pricey gasoline from the local station who ran out of regular....

This day in history "On this day in 1999, a powerful cyclone in the Indian Ocean suddenly intensifies to the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. The next day it struck India, killing more than 10,000 people. It was the deadliest storm in the Indian Ocean since a 1991 storm that killed more than 130,000 people.

Cyclone 05B, as it was designated by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, began as a tropical disturbance in the South China Sea. When it reached the Andaman Sea on October 24 it became a tropical depression and struck the Malay Peninsula the following day. The storm attained cyclone status on October 27 in the Bay of Bengal and then continued to strengthen as it bore down on the northeast coast of India."

While Sandy is only a category 1 hurricane, it is an unprecedented storm in that it is supposed to for the first time in weather history make a left turn to the West and come straight into the mainland.  It is being dubbed as Frankenstorm, with tropical and Northeaster qualities.  We are supposed to have astronomical tides and flooding as a result.

By dinner time, the school district has already announced that school will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.  We take comfort in knowing that all of us will be able to stay inside as we wait out the storm.  

A hearty beef pot roast with dumplings, comfort food.  

Photo of the day "Hurricane Comfort Food"

P.S. Will start cooking baked ziti and meatballs Monday morning.  There are people who eat to live, and others that live to eat.  YOLO

Hurricane SANDY - Preparations

Sue gets up really early today so she can see Gavin run XC at Saratoga State Park.  She gets there really early and has a great day.  After lunch in the crowded town with her sister, she makes her way home.  A long day for sure.  Gavin does pretty well with his run after returnig from an ankle injury, placing 3rd for his XC team.

I take Kyle to church where he is volunteering in the PBJ gang.  Community service for national honor society.  I do some grocery shopping and start preparing for the storm.  Hurricane Sandy is coming to town.

After picking up Kyle, he helps me flip the patio tables.  The back, front, and side yards are clear.  The pool has a pump ready should we get the 4-6 inches of rain expected.  An extra tank of propane is picked up, and I start charging some batteries.

This day in history "At 2:35 on the afternoon of October 27, 1904, New York City Mayor George McClellan takes the controls on the inaugural run of the city's innovative new rapid transit system: the subway.

While London boasts the world's oldest underground train network (opened in 1863) and Boston built the first subway in the United States in 1897, the New York City subway soon became the largest American system. The first line, operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), traveled 9.1 miles through 28 stations. Running from City Hall in lower Manhattan to Grand Central Terminal in midtown, and then heading west along 42nd Street to Times Square, the line finished by zipping north, all the way to 145th Street and Broadway in Harlem. On opening day, Mayor McClellan so enjoyed his stint as engineer that he stayed at the controls all the way from City Hall to 103rd Street.
"

The impending storm may close the subways if they flood.  There is a high likelihood of cancelled LIRR trains, and the airports will be a mess if open at all on Monday and Tuesday.  We re hearing for potential loss of power to 10's of Millions of customers from Virginia to Maine.

We have made sure we have candles, coolers, ice, flashlights, lighters, propane, and some food.  I will be cooking a pot roast tomorrow morning, and hope and pray we don't lose power with this storm.  I couldn't buy a generator now even if I wanted to.

Kyle has a scrimmage today against a U18 team in Commack.  They spank them, and Kyle scores a hat trick.  When we get home I cook two dinners.  Steak for Sue, Kyle, and I.  And chicken for Luke.  Leftovers will be in the menu tomorrow for Luke who hates pot roast.

Sue gets home at around 830, and eats her leftover steak.  I see that there are some meetings tomorrow for work to discuss our data centers and services running in the Northeast...this includes NYC, NJ, Long Island, etc.  It's going to be a long weekend.

So, I bring in the outdoor solar powered lanterns, and make sure we are as prepared as possible.  Will 3 cases of water be enough ?  We have lots of soup, and other canned goods so we won't starve if we lose power.  Why do people run out to get milk, eggs, and bread ?  I got steak, chicken, and pot roast.  That's just me.  Guess we have peanut butter and jelly too.

Stay safe.

Photo of the day "Hurricane Sandy - Preparations"

P.S. The Tequila is optional.  Oh yeah, a battery and crank operated AM/FM/TV/Weather band radio.  

Don't forget to charge your phones, get some cash, fill the gas tanks, and batten down the hatches !