Text 6695, 78 rader
Skriven 2006-10-18 19:33:38 av Barbara McNay (1:382/48)
   Kommentar till text 6617 av JOAN MACDIARMID (1:123/140)
Ärende: Shoutout to NYS!!
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 >  homes nearby is still out. So I only had one
 >  BORING evening in the dark, trying to work
 >  crosswords by flashlight, and missing you guys!

It's an eye-opener, isn't it, how much you depend on your computer.  You were
fortunate, indeed.

 >  I kept reaching for the mouse or the power
 >  switch to the computer! Dope! I did have a battery
 >  powered radio, so I knew a little about what
 >  was going on. (My Mom, on the phone, said
 >  something like "Well, if you'd watch the news
 >  on TV...Oh!") Dope! Of course, no heat in
 >  the building, but for some reason, it never
 >  got really cold in my apartment, maybe down
 >  to 54F, which I can tolerate with a couple
 >  of sweaters and a set of leggings under my
 >  trousers. And our water heaters kept going,
 >  since the basement didn't flood badly,

Why do the basements there flood when the power is out? Must they be pumped
continually to prevent flooding?

 >  meaning that if you got badly chilled, a
 >  soak in a hot bath was possible. In the
 >  dark, of course! Some areas in the region are
 >  not expected to get power back until next
 >  weekend, so I do feel blessed! I noted a
 >  lot of suburban homes were running generators
 >  and many were sharing power thus generated
 >  with neighbors, as I biked around yesterday
 >  to see the devastation. Electrical cords were
 >  laid across streets and strung between homes
 >  all over! This way one generator might serve
 >  several households enough to at least keep
 >  freezers froze and activate the sump pumps
 >  periodically so the basements don't flood
 >  (I do live in a swamp, BTW!) It was nice
 >  to see so much neighborly cooperation and
 >  consideration.

 >  DS> Snow before Halloween!  Can ya imagine?!?

 >  No, we couldn't! That's why we got caught
 >  with our pants down! The weathermen are doing
 >  mea culpas now. No one could have stopped
 >  the storm and its devastation and the power
 >  outage but more of us might have been prepared
 >  with enough candles, matches (I almost ran out),

I don't use candles any more.  I've invested in a variety of LED lights:  I
have a flat 4-LED light that I wear around my neck on a breakaway lanyard all
the time; I have several 20-LED lamps located strategically, I have some
fluorescent lights, an HID light--all except one of these use AAA, C, or D
cells.  Some of these are quite bright.  You might want to consider looking
into some of these.  With my inability to walk without support, I've made it a
priority to accumulate good emergency lighting.  When the power goes out after
dark, all I have to do is reach down and turn on the light around my neck, and
go from there.

 >  bottled water (we are advised to boil our water

I wonder if we in the south drink more bottled water than you in the north.  I
buy bottled water and refill from tap the ones I carry around with me, and I've
begun accumulating bottles around the house, under tables or other out-of-the-
way but readily accessible places.  I've noticed that there is a run on all
sizes of bottled water here during certain emergencies, and of course, then
it's too late to buy any, so I've been getting smart there, too, and
accumulating water for permanent rotating storage.

 >  now, the county water authority lost power
 >  as the purification plant), and maybe some
 >  better way to cook without electricity. I
 >  wish I had a little Coleman stove like we
 >  used to take on picnics!

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 * Origin: T E X A S ! (1:382/48)