Forum Members and Hurricane Sandy!

[ajkula66]

Well, I'm posting from a Dunkin' Donuts right now (Yes, via the trusty T61), and I regret not taking George up on his offer!

I have no electricity at home, and have to throw out almost the entire contents of my fridge. Plus, I'm living by flashlight at night. Oh, and don't forget the ice cold showers...in the dark.

I don't know what I'd do without the T61, though. It's a tried and true friend through hardship.

In which area of Brooklyn are you?

My in-laws are in Bensonhurst, pretty close to the water, and apart from wind pulling out/blowing away a 30-year old Serbian spruce from their yard (good luck replacing that one) they haven't lost the power for a split second, or suffered anything apart from wind noise...

[twistero]

Congratulations to everyone who survived the hurricane! Wish everything goes back to normal soon.

I should probably consider myself lucky for never encountering a tropical storm strong enough to knock out any utilities, despite having lived on tropical coast lines for my entire life.

[Radioguy]

In which area of Brooklyn are you?

My in-laws are in Bensonhurst, pretty close to the water, and apart from wind pulling out/blowing away a 30-year old Serbian spruce from their yard (good luck replacing that one) they haven't lost the power for a split second, or suffered anything apart from wind noise...

Sheepshead Bay aka the Atlantic Ocean.

Areas are coming back now, though. Maybe I can finally get a hot cuppa in me soon. 37 dead, though.

[Radioguy]

No gas, so no heat, but my place survived unscathed short of some peeling paint. Down near the corner two trees came down, one on a power line, and another the next block over. Statistically, that must be a lot of trees in the area.

Looters swarmed like locusts in Coney Island. Some bringing power tools to break through security gates, and even silently returning to at least one crime scene, now under police protection, via a roof. When you consider that some are armed, and that you can't ask cops to risk their lives in mandatory evac areas, there's really no way to have prevented it. Shame, though.

[goofyGAguy]

Looters swarmed like locusts in Coney Island.

A few of those leeches getting shot down would put a stop to that.

[Radioguy]

Unfortunately, any store owner who felt the same would probably receive a life sentence.

[DaKKS]

Unfortunately, any store owner who felt the same would probably receive a life sentence.

You'd be surprised how lenient the legal system is for people who shoot other people in the ar$e with a .22.

[Radioguy]

You don't know much about NYC, or its mayor.

[killer]

@ajukla66:
Dear George,

I do hope everything gets switched on again soon. I saw RBS's note and was concerned for him but, I am ashamed to say, I forgot about you.

You are correct that you aren't newsworthy. If anything happens in PA outside of Philadelphia then it is of little interest to the major news feeds like Reuters.

@everyone else about looters:

Looting is theft. It is against the law in every country. It happens after disasters. That is no excuse. The police will deal with it. Sentences will be handed out. Looters will be gaoled. They will have more than a .22 up their ar$e when they are in prison. That's their reward.

Now smile and go to sleep in peace. Enjoy being alive.

[ajkula66]

You don't know much about NYC, or its mayor.

+ 1 and then some.

Bloomberg has been nothing but an unmitigated disaster IMO.

Communist regimes of Eastern Block had more respect for their citizens than he does for people of NY in so many aspects it's not even funny.

[Radioguy]

Well, it can be. For some reason I decided to watch Red Heat today. Cheesy as it is (premise was ok), that came across about the Soviets.

[BillMorrow]

i am happy to note that no one has been washed away in the storm surge and high tide..
that storm was perfect for pushing water in LI sound and up from sandy hook..

i recall my father always had kerosene lamps for power failures and gas heat which would survive a long time in a general power failure..

you guys keep your feet dry and stay warm..

[TuuS]

On the subject of using guns or other lethal force to protect your property, it varies greatly from state to state. In New Jersey the law states you can only use lethal force to protect your life, and then only if you have no "avenue of escape", meaning the law requires you to run in fear from a criminal... and I'm sure you can imagine criminals love that law. In delaware (and pensylvania), you can use deadly force to protect your self or others, and your property, as long as you have good reason to be in fear for your life, so if somone broke into my home, they would probably leave in a bag, but it's no surprise that "home invasion" type of crimes are almost non-existent in my state. I don't personally know much about the laws in NY, but I've heard they tend to consider a law abiding citizen to be a criminal if he/she defends themself with lethal force. Although I'm not in favor of killing someone for stealing a TV, I do think the laws here prevent a lot of this type of crime, and few subject will open as much heated debate as gun control, but the fact is that until they figure out how to get the guns out of the hands of criminals (which will never happen), I'm going to keep mine handy to protect my home and family.

[goofyGAguy]

^^^^ Well said.

[BillMorrow]

when in the course of human events a tyrant seeks to take absolute power the usual first thing is to ban guns in the hands of the general population.. cuba, venezuela (i think) and nazi germany come to mind..
the next usual thing is..... well, enough of the tyrant thing..

stats show that in states where the castle doctrine is in force, burglaries go down and where concealed carry is in force, other crimes go down..
usually leaving the usual perpretrators to shoot one another over turf or other percieved wrongs..

fortunalely the second amendment still holds and while i think there is some sort of UN thing going on which would attempt to take precedence over the US Constitution by a small arms treaty i doubt it will be ratified by the US senate even if the senate is controlled, as it is now, by harry reid and the democrat party..

only my 2 cents at 4 am..
i await killers comeback..

[killer]

only my 2 cents at 4 am..
i await killers comeback..

I'm still here, Bill, just keeping my opinions to myself. Nevertheless, I have my fingers crossed that nobody is daft enough to elect a US President with a name that rhymes with twit.

[DaKKS]

Nevertheless, I have my fingers crossed that nobody is daft enough to elect a US President with a name that rhymes with twit.

Bloody hilarious, mate! You summed it up quite wall.

PS: Thank god for water proof keyboards. Spewed a mouthful of coke on my toughbook ...

[Radioguy]

Sad, that the thread turned to politics.

Anyhow, we're getting round two right now with another major storm. This time, it's not just rain and high winds, but snow as well. My power went off four times today.

[ajkula66]

Anyhow, we're getting round two right now with another major storm. This time, it's not just rain and high winds, but snow as well. My power went off four times today.

As much as we enjoyed Randazzo's and a couple of other spots - and yes, the movie theater - that grace your neck of the woods while we lived in Marine Park, I always felt that SB was a pinch too close to the water...

I'm staying with my in-laws in Bensonhurst for the next few days ( ) and all that I can feel here is wind...some snow, of course...

[Radioguy]

Well, if the lines are buried in that neighborhood, you're in a better position there. I'm assuming more above ground lines weakened by the storm finally gave up the ghost over here today, and there's some rerouting going on. The power has gone off a couple more times since my last post, and there are areas just a couple blocks away that have still not had power since Sandy hit.