Power Outages on East Coast

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Anyone know what's going on with the power on the East Coast. We've lost all power here in my Manhattan office - except for the PCs which are on backup power.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Apparently it's not just the East Coast.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I was wondering about that -- my monitor display keeps jumping briefly to black.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:33 (twenty-two years ago)

CNN says Detroit, Cleveland, and other cities also affected. WTF?

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:34 (twenty-two years ago)

OH NO THE TERRORISTS HAVE WON OH NOOOO!!!!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:35 (twenty-two years ago)

(suddenly feeling lame cuz what if those power outages really are terror related FUCK)

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:35 (twenty-two years ago)

AP says it's in canada too, Ontario/Toronto.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Holy shit I'm actually getting a weird creepy sensation about this...one of my coworkers just came in telling me the lady she was on the phone with in Cleveland just had their power go down and apparently it's happened to most-or-all of the city.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Metro North trains aren't running. (do we have any ilx0r commuters?)

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

we're okay out here
in wisconsin but god damn
what the fuck is this

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

affected areas/buildings: UN, NYSE, NYC City Hall, Kennedy & LaGuardia Airports, Long Island, Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, Toronto. (via AP again)

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, it appears the streets are getting pretty chaotic down there - what with none of the stop lights working.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Toledo, of all places. CNN.com still doesn't have anything, but CNN broadcast does.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:43 (twenty-two years ago)

just realized that nobody with power can read this; I'm a dumbass.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:43 (twenty-two years ago)

We will now open the thread for wild speculations.

― Dale the Titled (cprek), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:44 (twenty-two years ago)

chipmunks?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:45 (twenty-two years ago)

MBlaster worm made it into the powergrid intranet and is infecting the windows nt regulator boxes (can't remember what they're called).

― Dale the Titled (cprek), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:46 (twenty-two years ago)

heat?
transformer fire?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Man, it is so hot in NYC right now; if they don't get things fixed there could be some trouble.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

NY state official says it seems to be "a natural occurrence" (in the "not terrorists" sense) -- the Niagara-Mohawk grid overloaded (and this would somehow affect others, I take it). CNN.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Power went out for a couple seconds here in Chicagoland.
Special report on ABC: they don't know jack dookey.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

where's Gray Davis?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow. Facts. From CNN! Who'd'a thunkit?

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't wait to hear Bill O'Reilly pin this on Dr. Dre.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

"Why do you think they call it a blackout?"

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

A lot of news sites are slow loading right now. Copy/pasting:

-----
Power went out in New York City and across North America just after 4 p.m. today, but the full extent and cause of the problem remains a mystery. The loss of electricity extended into Westchester County, Long Island and New Jersey, and blackouts were also reported in Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto and throughout Ontario. City Hall is running on backup generators, but officials say they do not know what happened. Subways and trains in New York stopped running, and traffic lights also went out. It is not clear whether any trains are struck in the tunnels. All three area airports are reported to be shut down. Officials say 911 should only be called for serious emergencies. Less urgent calls can be directed to the Office of Emergency Management at (212) 477-3574 or (212) 477-3598.
-----

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

From the NY times:

Blackouts were reported north to Toronto, south to Maryland and west to Cleveland, Detroit and Toledo.

Radio reports said that subways and the Long Island Rail Road were among the modes of transportation not operating in New York. With lights off inside city buildings, people are streaming out onto the streets of Manhattan.

― JuliaA (j_bdules), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:55 (twenty-two years ago)

God, it would suck to be stuck on a subway train.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Holy shit I bet NYC is a bloody nasty mess right now. :(

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Is this totally unprecendented?

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Why do I suspect that this is what the rest of the 21st century is going to be like?

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:59 (twenty-two years ago)

It's sort of what Jan 1/00 was supposed to be like. Except it's summer.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:59 (twenty-two years ago)

there was a (famous) five-day blackout in high summer in nyc in 1975

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:59 (twenty-two years ago)

There was the blackout of ... I forget when, but it hit much of the northeast (my parents were living in Boston, so it was sometime in the 60s or 70s). The grids have been redesigned since then. I'm not sure if it was on this scale or not (I'm not sure what scale this is on yet).

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:59 (twenty-two years ago)

1977

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

my news department just asked if I knew anyone in NYC who wanted to be an on-the-scene eyewitness on the air. Think any nycilxors would?

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Toronto's definitely out, I just got a call from my Dad.

(the other one was in '64 I think)

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

blackout or brownout?

― Dale the Titled (cprek), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

http://blackout.gmu.edu/home.html

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

So, NYC counts as the entire east coast now? And all this time i thought that i, being in DC, was on the EC too...damn mid-west taking over. *muttering to self*

― Fecal Jesus (mawill), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Why can't they design power grids like the internet? Can the entire EAST COAST plus TORONTO and DETROIT really go down b/c of a fire at one power center?!?!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:01 (twenty-two years ago)

OTTAWA's out also

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

could this have something to do with the Softwood Lumber dispute?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, how weird is that? (xp_

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Mtl still up?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe it's because they can;t design major rivers like the internet yet?

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Get in, teeny. Yeah, the 1965 one is the one I was talking about. There was a mini-baby-boom in 1966, obviously.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe it's God punishing Ottawa for the whole, y'know, that thing they did to upset God.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:04 (twenty-two years ago)

...it was a joke...

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:04 (twenty-two years ago)

the video of the chaos is incredible

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Mtl is still fine.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

It's The Day the Earth Stood Still! Klatuu, save us!

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Detroit's gonna burn tonight

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

what video?

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

You guys get yr Hydro from up north, right?
Mtl that is.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:05 (twenty-two years ago)

television

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I hope noone I know is stuck in an elevator.... Jesus Christ...

S1utsky: MSNBC.COM

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Hydro-QUebec

(also the name of a popular type of weed in the late '90s)

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Toronto has shortages, not full blackout...

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:07 (twenty-two years ago)

hopefully they'll restore power soon cuz otherwise I fear the casualties

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Ally called me shortly after leaving the office. She's not far from home so she should be safe. All the circuits are completely busy though and now I can't call her back after the signal died!!! Fuck AT&T (then again NY Verizon wasn't getting any signal at all. HELLO TELECOMS AUX BATTERIES ON CELL TOWERS HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS wtf.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah for a brief time I was getting 'circuits are busy' errors and busy signal but now all I get is silence. What the hell is up with this summer, I swear to God.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah I can't get through to any of my nyc peeps on cell either. yay ally! did she give you any details?

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

this is reminding of the ice storm, only bigger

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

"ny plant outage had cascading effect on grid" -reuters

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

nothing specific that hasn't already been said 4 times on CNN by now

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe now someone somewhere will think for a minute about upgrading a little infrastructure now and again.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:13 (twenty-two years ago)

FEMA sez it started in ottawa.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:13 (twenty-two years ago)

all the nooculer plants are ok i presume...?

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:15 (twenty-two years ago)

as a coworker put it, "the people we know in nyc are all busy trying to keep from overheating, get home, and not lose their tempers. and thinking about spouses and pets and babysitters and day care...as much as i hate to admit it, my phone number is at their home and i am not high on the list of priorities for them to call right now. so, another reason that we aren't hearing from them, eh? it's freaky, isn't it? but it seems it will be ok." that's something to keep in mind.

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:15 (twenty-two years ago)

no, four shut down but are otherwise okay.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Started in Ottawa, they're saying?

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

obv. I am tense about this, esp. having just moved away from NYC, but I'll assume everyone's all right for the moment, and try to relax.

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I BLAME HSTENCIL!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh heavens! My cell doesn't work. How am I going to know when to pick up Dakota and Gunner from lacrosse practice???

― Arianna (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:17 (twenty-two years ago)

That's brilliant satire, Oops. Because we all know only yuppies use electricity!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:19 (twenty-two years ago)

MAN THAT WASN'T FAIR
I got two rings and then it tells me all circuits are busy. That was the biggest fucking bait and switch since Iraqi Freedom. Balls.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, that's exactly what I was driving at, am.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:21 (twenty-two years ago)

The CNN headline is at 60pt. This is big, people.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:23 (twenty-two years ago)

not as big as 72!

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:24 (twenty-two years ago)

haha they're seriously checking to see if W32.Blaster had something to do with this!! That'll be completely fucked up

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:25 (twenty-two years ago)

"may you live in interesting times"

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:25 (twenty-two years ago)

That would be too perfect, wouldn't it?

At least they're still STRENUOUSLY reassuring us that's it's not a terrorist hit.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:27 (twenty-two years ago)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3152451.stm

― heather allanton, Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:28 (twenty-two years ago)

This is interesting, watching MSNBC and seeing all of these people walking down the street, probably stranded because of the shut-down subway system. It's like a river of people just walking, walking, walking.

You NYCers, please check in as soon as you can. Ok?

Same goes for people in OH, MI, Toronto, and Ottawa -- if you guys can check in as soon as you can, that would be lovely.

― Just Deanna (Dee the Lurker), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:29 (twenty-two years ago)

OMG TOLEDO IS OUT CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT IS ENDED!!!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:29 (twenty-two years ago)

has toledo ever been in the news before?

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

just walking, walking, walking

Perfect. Beats the hell out of running, screaming, fighting.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha, that's brilliant am, cause we all know Toledo is a backwater full of uncouths.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:30 (twenty-two years ago)

toledo's in the news all the time mark - MUDHENS REPREZENT!

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:31 (twenty-two years ago)

OMG THE TOLEDO ZOO THE ANIMALS MUST HAVE JUMPED THEIR ELECTRICAL FENCES AND TAKEN OVER!!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:31 (twenty-two years ago)

slashdot discussion haha some comments have already been modded up to five!

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:31 (twenty-two years ago)

haha - the Atlanta weatherman just made a joke about you sorry yankess

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

NO WAIT ACTUALLY THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

OMG X-POST!!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Those CNN pictures of people crowding around some bus station make it look like a flashmob gone horribly wrong...

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Power is being restored to Hoboken

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:34 (twenty-two years ago)

amateurist, sit down.

"Take that you stupid chief!"

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:34 (twenty-two years ago)

how can they tell? < / dorothy parker >

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Ira Kaplan can make toast again

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:35 (twenty-two years ago)

"Take that you stupid chief!"

...missing reference...

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Perfect. Beats the hell out of running, screaming, fighting.

True, that. You do have a point. I don't see anyone running, not from what I've seen on the news. That's good.

*muses over list of affected areas*

*glances at MSNBC map of cities undergoing power outage*

OH MY BLOODY GOD, I HAVE LONG-TIME FRIENDS WHO LIVE IN HARTFORD, CT, AND TORONTO.

*goes into own personal panic*

*e-mails, hopes they're doing ok*

― Just Deanna (Dee the Lurker), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Re: BBC article..

"Ottowa"?

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:36 (twenty-two years ago)

The authorities had better hope the power comes back soon. I'm just waiting for the sun to go down. The news channel footage of the cops trying to prevent mass looting will be hilarious.

― James Mitchell (James Mitchell), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:36 (twenty-two years ago)

am, that's Homer yelling at an episode of McGarnickle.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:37 (twenty-two years ago)

so much for new york's economic recovery

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Doesn't this stuff usually happen on a really hot day, when everyone is running air conditioning? Was it that hot in the NE today?

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Hilarious looting? Like, they'll be cutting flips and wearing clown outfits?

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

It's very hot up there. Bloomberg is telling people to drink water.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

OH MY GOD THE NUMBER OF BABIES THAT ARE GONNA BE BORN MAY 14th, 2004

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I wonder if people would be freaking out about this a lot more if it happened prior to 9/11. Everyone in NYC seems so calm.
Am, 'this stuff' doesn't ever 'usually' happen, but it was hot.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Ok seriously though, I really hope all the people who are in hospitals in all the affected areas are at a place that has some form of backup power.. because that would really really suck :(

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

My mother just called from NYC. She's fine. It all seems like a rehash of the 70s outages (there were two big blackouts if I remember history correctly). I don't expect these to last as long as those did.

But I am surprised that this cascading overload problem still seems to exist!

Anyway, I hope the NYC/Toronto/etc. crews are all hanging in there.

― Chris P (Chris P), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Oops: there have been citywide power outages before, several times, and they usually happened on really hot days to my understanding.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:41 (twenty-two years ago)

It was 96 here in Maryland.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:41 (twenty-two years ago)

shit. And it's cool in Austin. We have the windows open. Wanna switch places?

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:42 (twenty-two years ago)

(xpost... although on the flip, that 3000 people in France possibly died due to a heat wave emits shrugs.. granted not all at once.. but sigh)

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:42 (twenty-two years ago)

my god the number of matrix jokes on that slashdot thread is overwhelming.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I wonder how this guy is faring?

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Mars finally attacks?

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

This is a whole grid thing, am, ie it's bigger than just NYC. Started in Ottawa. That's not to say it wasn't weather related.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

air conditioning on full to cool stuff down causes air OUTSIDE immediate conditioned zone to heat up, so that cooling effect is compromised, causing A/C to have to pump harder => postive feedback cycle?

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

DB: Parts of New York have blackouts all the time, so I would be very surprised if hospitals weren't prepared for it.

(I was in Boston a few years ago for work and there was a blackout in the part of town where I was staying. The folks from the East Coast muddled through but the people from other parts of the country seemed so completely baffled by the concept of a blackout... like it was some 19th Century problem that really should have been fixed up by now. It was like learned that someone didn't have indoor plumbing.)

― Chris P (Chris P), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Notice how Erie, PA is mysteriously unaffected. *strokes*

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Erie was affected

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:45 (twenty-two years ago)

further "proof": power outages in london general happen in winter (no one has A/C here)

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:45 (twenty-two years ago)

< emily latella > never mind! < /emily latella >

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Ah, my e-mail server seems to be down. Poop.

― Chris P (Chris P), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:46 (twenty-two years ago)

What it is in Don Cheadle's set off a pinch and now Brad Pitt and George Clooney are replacing all your cash with stripper ads

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:46 (twenty-two years ago)

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030814/capt.1060896799.blackout_ny158.jpg

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Everyone has the same expression. "Well, shit."

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Newsflash to President Bush...ever heard of this little thing called global warming?

― cybele (cybele), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

CP: that's really weird. Blackouts aren't really unknown on the west coast, especially California. in fact, I can't imagine any part of the continent that would be completely lost in a blackout.
(completely FUCKED if circumstances allowed it to be, certainly)

*oh, i'm so bringing on a seattle blackout by saying that right now*

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

DB - most hospitals either have huge backup supply power or in some cases have their own independent generator, so I think hospitals should be doing A-OK.

Now somebody needs to drive a float out into the middle of all that blaring "Shout" out towers of speakers and get all of NYC hoppin' in a big synchronized dance.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Everyone has the same expression. "Well, shit."

That's NYC in the daytime any day

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I've never been in a blackout, and if any heat would do it, Texas heat would. Time to upgrade the power stations to Texas strength.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, and energy crisis? What energy crisis? Let's go drill and hang out with some cute mooses (is that the plural?).

― cybele (cybele), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

at least once during all these types of events where we're trying to figure out everything so fast, I think of the slaves in Texas who didn't find out about the emancipation proclamation two and a half years after the fact. Strange days indeed.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Oops you're being pedantic. I *know* it's much of the NE, I was just wondering whether it was a particularly hot day and if perhaps A/C contributed to the blackout...the closest precedents suggest this is often a factor. That's all.

Contradictory sources say that it did and didn't start at a ConEd 14th St station.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

bloomberg says 'hours not minutes'

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Ira Kaplan can make toast again.

!!!

― David. (Cozen), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Well excuuuse me for not knowing the extent of your knowledge.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

some people are still in the subways

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I think pretty much all hospitals in North America have back-up generators. Certainly anywhere where people are likely to be on life support--artificially-asissted breathing and all that.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

the c.h.u.d. will have their way with them

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Oops: the title of the thread is "power outages on East Coast"! I'm incredulous.

Eh, let's drop it.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

hear hear

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

ConEd reporting that power is being restored in limited areas in the north.

― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:56 (twenty-two years ago)

*oops throws trash can through store window*

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:56 (twenty-two years ago)

You're incredulous?!!

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:57 (twenty-two years ago)

(Not incredulous that the power is actually out; incredulous that you would suspect that I didn't realize that the power outtage was affecting more than just NYC. But again, let's drop it.)

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

incredulous adj. 1. Skeptical; disbelieving: incredulous of stories about flying saucers; 2. Expressive of disbelief: an incredulous stare.

― Slamateurist. (Cozen), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

the sense of scale from these helicopters is really something

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:59 (twenty-two years ago)

here it's a lot of little people HERE IT'S A CLUSTER OF HUGE BUILDINGS little people HUGE BUILDINGS little people BUILDINGS people BUILDINGS

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 20:59 (twenty-two years ago)

It all looks so GREY. Or is that just the low resolution stream?

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:00 (twenty-two years ago)

it is pretty gray but the reflection from the sunset is making pretties on the walls

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:01 (twenty-two years ago)

bah the uk TV news is all full of david kelly suicide enquiry reconstructions (which normally i wd watch avidly)

also i wz expecting deep velvet night puncutated only by distant flames but yo, the sun has not yet gone down: OF COURSE THERE IS ORDER STILL WHILE DAYLIGHT REIGNS!!

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:01 (twenty-two years ago)

just talked to my father again--he's a doctor & he sez ALL hospitals have back-up generators, the only question is how long they're prepared to operate for.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Bloomberg had to have somebody else tell him that the blackout had occured. Bloomberg wins.

(one hospital is reportedly powerless)

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:02 (twenty-two years ago)

are they going to have to start deciding which respirators get shut off first? [/macabre]

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:02 (twenty-two years ago)

(Did you even read your posts, am?)(if i put this in parantheses does that mean i've dropped it?)

I doubt the heat was much of a factor, since it hasn't been as hot for as long as it's been in the past.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:03 (twenty-two years ago)

drop. it.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm rooting for the some punk hacked the SCADAs theory

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:03 (twenty-two years ago)

where is the info about the powerless hospital?

a hospital w/o a backup generator certainly would not have an ICU/critical-care ward

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:04 (twenty-two years ago)

(Yes! If it's in parentheses it means it's being transmitted by empty tin cans and a long rope!)

Now is the time to beat all the NYCers at eBay bids!

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Why are the ferries just sitting there?

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd like to sup with my baby tonight,
Fill the cup with my baby tonight,
But I ain't up to my baby tonight,
'Cause it's too darn hot.

I'd like to coo with my baby tonight,
And pitch the woo with my baby tonight,
But sister you'll fight my baby tonight,
'Cause it's too darn hot.
It's too darn hot.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:05 (twenty-two years ago)

haha mark - drudge has "sunset at 7:55 et in nyc" up top - COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:06 (twenty-two years ago)

It'll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:07 (twenty-two years ago)

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:08 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.dieoff.org/Crash1.GIF

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Call me a hippie, but if NYC could get through the 9/11 aftermath the way it did, i'm sure they'll do fine in a blackout (which is not an unprecedented occurrence, mind you).

< /hands across america >

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Ok, good news galore. First off, I've calmed down considerably. I just launched into panic mode when I realized this was going to reach beyond the NY area and indeed affect people I care about deeply. Still haven't heard from Cheryl (Hartford, CT), but have heard from Nia (Toronto), who tells me everyone there is as calm as the people in NYC. The power is still out there, apparently, but telephone lines are operating normally, so she was e-mailing me on her laptop using dialup access. *breathes normally again*

― Just Deanna (Dee the Lurker), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:13 (twenty-two years ago)

And I'm not used to power outages, period, let alone ones that affect a large area. Last one that happened here was three years ago, and before that nine years ago, but that was only neighborhood-specific and lasted for maybe an hour, each.

― Just Deanna (Dee the Lurker), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean, not to lambast all of us outside the area who were unaffected yet tense, but usually when the power goes out.. as long as there's no harm intended as the cause of the problem, and you're not trapped in an elevator or what have you, usually blackouts are a great way to just forget about your problems and relax. (but i stress "usually"... obviously any appointments that day that people were financially depending upon get fucked, and that's obviously no good)

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to like them when I was a kid cuz it meant it was card playin time

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:18 (twenty-two years ago)

haha - "SUNSET AT 8:35 DETROIT"

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:19 (twenty-two years ago)

should substitute "8 Mile"

― Aaron A., Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:22 (twenty-two years ago)

check it: http://currentenergy.lbl.gov/ny/

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:22 (twenty-two years ago)

brief segment on newsnight:
anchor: "so if they've ruled out terrorism, has anyone any idea what caused this?"
reporter: "CAPITALISM!!"

(actually he didn't say that, but it wd have been k-funny)

― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Pay attention to the graph posted from dieoff.org a few posts up. This is a taste of the future, a preview of things to come.

― fletrejet, Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, since my folks had gone through both the 1965 and 1977 blackouts, blackouts (from blizzards, cause of where I lived) rocked when I was a kid, because it meant we had to eat all the ice cream or it might melt. HAD TO.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

The difference between liberals going on about "things to come" in response to power shortages and conservatives going on about "things to come" when kids shoot each other (cause they weren't reading the Bible enough) is that the conservatives had nothing to lose by annoying me. I wasn't gonna vote for them anyway.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:25 (twenty-two years ago)

It's nice to see that "dieoff.org" is proudly html 4.01 compliant.

― Sam J. (samjeff), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:26 (twenty-two years ago)

haha!

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

The energy crisis is neither liberal nor conservative. It is based on the physical realitiy that there is a limited amount of fossil fuels and no good replacement for them.

― fletrejet, Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

You realize the graph maps almost exactly to tomato consumption, right?

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:29 (twenty-two years ago)

TOMATO CRISIS

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:29 (twenty-two years ago)

And do you realize how insufferably smug it is to use a situation which -- even if it turns out that not a single person is injured -- is causing people a good deal of stress and concern to bring up what essentially amounts to "the dicks should've seen it coming," when we don't even yet know if energy consumption had anything to do with it?

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

And would you believe my shoe is a phone?

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Who the heck said "anybody" had "anything coming"?

Tomato crack OTM except for the fact that tomatoes are a renewable resource. Tep in anti-intellectual shockah.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Not to offend, fletrejet -- and it's not like you haven't made this point already, granted -- but after all, a quick rewrite:

"The coming Rapture is neither liberal nor conservative. It is based on the spiritual certainty that there is a Messiah coming and no stand-in for the Lord."

Which I think is Tep's point on the rhetoric. Given that Marx dressed up apocalyptic imagery in scientific terms, it's not a new approach either.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

But Tep...the graph!

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:33 (twenty-two years ago)

fletrejet's totally right - read Left Behind

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:33 (twenty-two years ago)

or better yet rent it

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Tomatos aren't as renewable a resource as you'd think.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm totally listening to George Noory tonight

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:35 (twenty-two years ago)

How's this for irony: Here in New Orleans, where there are no power outages, I woke up this morning, turned on the light in the main room of my apartment, and it short-circuited -- the wiring in my building is old and tired. So I've been pissed about it all day, wondering if my damn landlord will ever come fix it ... It's like my little apartment foreshadowed this enormous big-news blackout.

Hope all you east-coasters are OK ...

― jewelly (jewelly), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:35 (twenty-two years ago)

AP-Power Outage-Glance

----------------
! GENERAL NEWS !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Areas affected by the Northeast blackout
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Areas affected by the power blackout:

NEW YORK:
Much of New York state was without power, including New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it was likely the blackout started in the Niagara Falls area and quickly spread. Across Manhattan, people poured out of skyscrapers and started trudging home on foot. Traffic lights were out, and subways and buses stopped. New York's three major airports were without power.

NEW JERSEY:
Much of northern New Jersey was affected. Train service was canceled and the state emergency management office was activated. There were no reported power problems in the eight southern New Jersey counties covered by Conectiv, the company said.

OHIO
Power was out across a wide stretch of northern Ohio, from Toledo to Cleveland. Other cities reporting power outages included Akron, Elyria, Mansfield, Sandusky and Tiffin. FirstEnergy spokesman Matt Slagle said the company was getting reports of outages from customers throughout its coverage area in northeast Ohio. The company has 700,000 customers.

MICHIGAN:
Power was out from Detroit to the state capital in Lansing. Detroit Metropolitan Airport remained open with some delays. The outage, closed the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel between the United States and Canada.

CONNECTICUT:
Power flickered across Connecticut and some areas of the state lost electric service completely. Northeast Utilities said nearly 58,000 customers were without power. Fairfield County and Connecticut shoreline towns appeared to be the hardest-hit.

PENNSYLVANIA:
The northwestern corner of the state was without power. Power went out to much or all of Erie, Forest and Venango counties, according to emergency management officials.

VERMONT:
A handful of northern Vermont towns were hit. A portion of the Northeast Kingdom near Sheldon lost power for about an hour, according to the Central Vermont Public Service, which covers about three-fourths of the state. Some customers in Franklin County including in Highgate and Swanton also lost power briefly.

CANADA:
Blackouts were reported in Toronto, in Ottawa in the province's eastern region, Windsor in the west and North Bay in the northern part of Ontario. The blackout had not spread as far as Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario, suggesting power in the north was sporadic.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:35 (twenty-two years ago)

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm starting to fall in love with Kyra Phillips.

Ally's whole office is hanging out in the basement drinking forties and Bacardi Silver and Amstel and eating chips and pizza. This is like better than when we had the gas leak. I hate my job.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Hi everyone.

I just walked home from Midtown and strangely enough my building and block have had power this whole time.

It's not that bad on the street where I walked -- not nearly as bad as Notting Hill Carnival for example. The delis are selling water and beer on the sidewalk. The toughest seems to be people trying to drive home through tunnels to NJ or otherwise fugure how to get out of Manhattan.

I'm going to go turn on the tv.

― felicity (felicity), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Are they selling the beer at a discount?

Does anyone know if New Haven is out?

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:41 (twenty-two years ago)

My grandfather's near New Haven, and he has power, but I'm not sure how much that indicates.

― Tep (ktepi), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:41 (twenty-two years ago)

good to hear it felicity, glad you're safe

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the idea of a beam of benevolent light shining down on Felicity's apartment block, blessing her and her neighbors with electricty (as a reward for good behavior), while the rest of New York wanders around in the gray.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

If academia loses power we're doomed.

(XP)

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

something i learned during the great ~~enron financial~~ california energy crisis: if your block has a police station/fire station/hospital, your power is not affected by blackouts, rolling or otherwise.

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

boring cameraphone snaps: http://blackout.textamerica.com/

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

The Yale English dep't has no power = exegesis is doomed.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the idea of getting off work early and my coworkers buying me beer and pizza and we go hang out in the basement

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

boy is it sick how much I enjoy breaking news or what?

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

MODERN LANGUAGES IS DOWN REPEAT MODERN LANGUAGES IS DOWN

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks Tom!

Water is $1, beer is $1.50 for a domestic pint can, $2 for imported.

Either we have a generator because so many old people live here or we are indie and get our power not from Con Ed, which is likely.

― felicity (felicity), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:46 (twenty-two years ago)

$1.50 for domestic 16oz. WTF. I'm moving. Fuck the train.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:48 (twenty-two years ago)

corny indie fuxx!

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I love how CNN keeps referring to this as a "naturally occuring" event. Kind of espouses a rather forest for the trees perspective of the role of human civilization in the ecological picture doesn't it?

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Millar..OTM. I remember Bob Novak getting all riled up at some poor Sierra Club sap when said sap made the comment that if all cars in America would run at 35 miles/gallon or less there'd be no American reliance on middle eastern oil. Novak's response was something along the lines of the following: "So what you are saying is that I should not be allowed to drive my Corvette? I should have what car I drive dictated by the state? I should have the freedom to drive my Corvette whenever I want. This is America!"

― cybele (cybele), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I love breaking news, too, teeny. Unfortunately, it was boring breaking news. "Massive widespread inconvenience!" Now watching: Buffy.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Plus, I dropped a chef's knife on my foot a few minutes ago, so my capacity for sympathy has been greatly diminished.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:25 (twenty-two years ago)

hahaha.

― RJG (RJG), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I was at the radio staion (in Jersey City) today when the power when out. They have back up power, but it was still a mess. Then we found out there were no PATH trains or Hudson Light Rail, so everyone who needed to go to Manhattan had to take the ferry which had massives lines. (Those who had to go to Hoboken had to figure out the NJ Transit bus system). I walked home, but half the traffic lights were out. I got home at 5:30 to find... all my power on! Then I went to a street festival and a got a gyro.

― rosemary (rosemary), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh man. Talk about a major ice cream crisis in the North East tonight (what with all of it melting in the powerless fridges all this time)

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Ha! Yeah, the first thing I did when coming home was to finish off the ice cream in my freezer.

― rosemary (rosemary), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:55 (twenty-two years ago)

There was a lightning strike on a plant on a plant on the NY side. And then it just got all fucked up.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Man that's such a boring bullshit excuse. I demand hackers and electronic vandalism. Shit.

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:56 (twenty-two years ago)

There was a lightning strike on a plant on a plant on the NY side. And then it just got all fucked up.

I HOPE IT WASN'T THE BONSAI!

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:57 (twenty-two years ago)

MSNBC just denied the lightning strike theory.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 14 August 2003 22:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Well CNN's confirming it

― Millar (Millar), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Or maybe it was...

http://laserbeast.com/photos/bw-lb1.jpg http://laserbeast.com/photos/bw-lb2.jpg

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

My fastmail.ca e-mail is down. IT'S HITTING HOME!!

― Sam J. (samjeff), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Contradictory sources say that it did and didn't start at a ConEd 14th St station.

Bloomberg gave a press conference. He insisted that the smoke seen coming out of that station was a result of shutting it down in response to the blackout.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:06 (twenty-two years ago)

surely db i mentioned on ILM the story of LB blowing out the transformer entire block of sutter/pine/van ness/polk during the summer of the whole "california energy crisis" when they played the kimo's show featured on THE POWER OF SALAD (note: i am featured somewhat prominently in the footage of this show)

― gygax! (gygax!), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:09 (twenty-two years ago)

So maybe it WAS a natural--in the true sense of the word--cause.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:12 (twenty-two years ago)

As opposed to an unnatural, perverted cause.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:13 (twenty-two years ago)

You mean It?

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Fires in midtown, carnage has begun...

― Spinktor the Unmerciful (mawill5), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:25 (twenty-two years ago)

fire in the disco!

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:37 (twenty-two years ago)

This is useful background:

CHRONOLOGY-North American power outages
Reuters, 08.14.03, 7:33 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A sprawling blackout that crippled many cities in the Northeast United States and Canada Thursday could rank as one of the biggest power outages ever to hit the region. Following is a list of big blackouts that have hit cities in the United States. November 1965 Northeastern United States and Ontario Province, Canada Cascading power failure left 30 million people in eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario without electricity July 1977 New York City, New York Lightning knocked out power in New York City, leaving millions without electricity. About 4,500 people were arrested during ensuing riots. September 1989 Alabama, South Carolina Hurricane Hugo, a category 5 hurricane with maximum winds of 160 mph, left about 696,000 without power January 1998 New York, northern New England, parts of Canada A massive ice storm leaves 3 million people without electricity in upstate New York, northern New England, and parts of Canada. January 1999 Southern United States Hurricane Georges ripped through Florida Keys and central Gulf Coast, leaving about 669,000 without power. July 1999 New York City, New York A spike in power demand led to a 19-hour blackout affecting 200,000 people in Manhattan. June 2000 California Governor of California imposed rolling blackouts in different parts of the state. December 2002 South Carolina Massive ice storm tore through the Midwest and southern states, leaving at least 1.2 million without power.

― Al Andalous (Al Andalous), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:39 (twenty-two years ago)

checkit

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:43 (twenty-two years ago)

is this connected to the flashmob thing at all? should it be?

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 15 August 2003 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

New York hubris in evidence on CNN just now. Reporter mentioned looting as a possibility, and local official laughs condescendingly, says "Well you know, New York has the best police force in the world!"

Was watching the BBC news earlier, on my TV in Chicago, and they announced that power was out in Chicago. WTF?

Finally, Gray Davis on TV. Wow. He really is unappealing. You can hear him breathing in between every sentence. Also, sibbilance.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 15 August 2003 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

bbc in unreliable shocker!

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Friday, 15 August 2003 00:33 (twenty-two years ago)

― RJG (RJG), Friday, 15 August 2003 00:36 (twenty-two years ago)

This reminds me of the enforced blackouts we had several years back (ie they purposely turned off parts of the power grid in sections over several days as the power levels were being hammered by aircon etc). We knew it was coming, but when it hit we couldnt do jack shit work (being in IT) so they made us stay in the damn stuffy non-airconned building and DO FILING. FUxxors.

I bet it happens again this year. I may be talking out of my arse but I think this is the start of some serious shortages in energy that arent gonna get better unless something's done about alternative fuels quicksmart...

Hope y'all are ok though!

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 15 August 2003 00:43 (twenty-two years ago)

(explanation time:

I just launched into panic mode when I realized this was going to reach beyond the NY area and indeed affect people I care about deeply.

Need to amend to: ... affect people I've cared about deeply for many years. Cheryl went to HS with me and is a sweetheart, and Nia is a great Duranie penpal friend of mine.)

Ok, heard back from Cheryl. Her neighborhood was affected for only about three hours and by 7:00 p.m. my local time had power fully restored. Am grateful my longtime friends are ok now. Now I'm waiting on the REST of you lot here.

― Just Deanna (Dee the Lurker), Friday, 15 August 2003 01:59 (twenty-two years ago)

My mom said her commute home was crazy, what with closed Lincoln & Holland tunnels, and the lack of functioning traffic lights on a couple roads. My dad is bummed out that he isn't going to have to eat the whole pint of dulce de leche ice cream that he bought yesterday, since their home still has power. They're about straight west from Manhattan in NJ, so I guess parts of NJ are re-gaining power.

― lyra (lyra), Friday, 15 August 2003 02:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Indeed they are. The striking image on MSNBC is of the dark silhouette of the empire state building backlit by a twinkling New Jersey. Who ever thought NJ could look more inviting than Manhattan?

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 02:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, the photos on nytimes.com are kind of pretty. But it's all an illusion, NJ sux.

― lyra (lyra), Friday, 15 August 2003 03:01 (twenty-two years ago)

the one of the sunset reflecting off the building was pretty

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Friday, 15 August 2003 03:18 (twenty-two years ago)

A satire website here called Crikey! apparently pointed out that Iraqis, who have been without power in some parts of the country for weeks, must be bemused at the irony of this...

(sorry I cant locate the actual quote though)

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 15 August 2003 03:54 (twenty-two years ago)

bemused or perhaps pretty angry. at least stuff like this hasn't been happening in the us or canada during the power outages.

― angela (angela), Friday, 15 August 2003 08:58 (twenty-two years ago)

actually that's interesting since i just mention to spencer a few hours back how...

...just what if, you know, this is the negative American karma of experiencing a massive blackout due to America's role in Iraq's power problems? an eye for an eye? all I know is that most vedic astrologers agree that from 1998-2008, America is enduring the dasha (sanskrit for planetary period) of the 8th house-connected (in the national horoscope, even though the specifics are quite contested) Moon, and that karmically this is a very negative period (as already evidenced by the major even happening each year since such as impeachment, '00 election, 9/11, war, economy/recession, etc,) - anything negatively we do now may come back to us swiftly; remember nations and races have karma too just like individuals

― Vic (Vic), Friday, 15 August 2003 09:45 (twenty-two years ago)

*event, should say extraordinary event, i guess

― Vic (Vic), Friday, 15 August 2003 09:46 (twenty-two years ago)

vic you california hippie.

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 15 August 2003 10:05 (twenty-two years ago)

=) teeny where are u again? yeah i should just shh or else my thoughts might me misunderstood as "its our own fault" which = "it was NY's own fault" which isn't what i meant by extension really

i just saw gov pataki on tv and he looked like he had been up all night....i'm sure he's not alone there..

― Vic (Vic), Friday, 15 August 2003 10:26 (twenty-two years ago)

hello! power just came back in Hoboken, NJ ... i'm alive and well, and i hope my fellow NYC/NJ ILXors are too!

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 10:35 (twenty-two years ago)

original rumors were that entire northeast were knocked out ... a half-hour after blackout, i was able to call my parents in Princeton, NJ, who told me that they were fine ... not long afterwards, found out from family in philadelphia and suburbs that they had power ... then found out it was from canada ... it was a long and hot night, didn't get to sleep till 2:30 AM. cellphone service on and off, as is public transportation. as you can imagine, things were chaotic (but nowhere near as bad as 1977, or so i've been told -- no riots or looting, at least not in NJ).

but as i said, i am fine.

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 10:40 (twenty-two years ago)

hi Tad!! nice to hear you're safe

― Vic (Vic), Friday, 15 August 2003 10:42 (twenty-two years ago)

i have no idea what's going on in manhattan ... only had rumors, and from some people who came back to NJ via the ferry ... apparently, it was chaotic. traffic snarls, people out in the streets trying to get out however they could, subways and trains shut down. only way out of manhattan to points west were ferries. so i don't know how any ILXors in NYC itself have fared.

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 10:43 (twenty-two years ago)

CNN: times square - power just came back

― Vic (Vic), Friday, 15 August 2003 10:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Rah for Tad and hope the rest of the NYC bunch checks in soon! But let's not forget folks in Toronto and Detroit and thereabouts, haven't heard much from them in a bit! Stay well, all.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 15 August 2003 11:37 (twenty-two years ago)

hooray. Pizza Christ came up on the wrong weekend. We could've wrecked some serious shop!! Oh well.

― Millar (Millar), Friday, 15 August 2003 11:38 (twenty-two years ago)

wherefore the toledolXoR massive :(

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 15 August 2003 11:39 (twenty-two years ago)

tom & crew in NYC during blackout = APOCALYPSE PHEAR!!

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 11:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Very interesting reading this now, after having been out last night and missing it as it happened. Snatches of reports on FiveLive last night at midnight made it sound like the apocalypse had hit; 50million people without power?- the whole Eastern Seaboard? I'm assuming it's actually noweher near as dramatic as that?

Gosh Exeter is boring today.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 15 August 2003 11:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark, Toledo was actually back on by 7:15 EDT last night. Good thing too as I was driving from Detroit -> Cleveland and was on empty by the time I hit Toledo. No electricity -> gas pumps don't work.

No major problems getting out of Detroit, though I would like to call out the owner of the Shell station at I-275 and Sibley Rd. who was
jacking up his gas prices by (at least) $1/gallon as I drove past.

Cleveland slowly coming back online -- we just got power back at 7 AM EDT, though my ISP is still dead.

― Jeff Wright, Friday, 15 August 2003 11:58 (twenty-two years ago)

50 Million sounds almost low.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/maps/us/blackout.map/pop.blackout.map.update.gif

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:01 (twenty-two years ago)

pretty much connect the dots on the map that Kenan posted ... central NJ and Philadelphia metro area weren't effected at all (and since Tom's been posting, i assume the same goes for Maryland).

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Yay, good news, keep it coming! I can't wait to hear Ally's stories. The Post has some great trademark breathless coverage: http://www.nypost.com/

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:04 (twenty-two years ago)

WTF? The power is back on in Times Square, but most of the rest of the city is still out, and they're asking people not to use too much electricity as the power comes back on. Hey, pal, why don't you turn off those HUGE FUCKING ADVERTISEMENTS. How important could those be?

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:09 (twenty-two years ago)

hi everyone. i have power again. (i got it uh four hours ago if you go by my still-unreset alarm clock.) last night i drank scotch and listened to wnyc -- broadcasting via phone -- by candlelight after i got home, which actually wasn't so bad, because one of my coworkers who lives in the bronx drove in (!!). aside from the blacked-out skyline, the best sights were the people directing traffic -- there were people in rego park who were doing it with the assistance of sparklers.

i would have gone to a bar, but i was planning on taking out money after work (and before meeting up with geeta, who i tried calling like twenty times) and so i had a grand total of NINETY-SIX CENTS on me. at least at work they gave us some free water.

i still have no cable though. but my paper showed up hooray!

― maura (maura), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Rah for Maura!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:20 (twenty-two years ago)

power-out actually caused by the 347, 032 platinum-filament fairylights on the giant geodesic dome that geeta has built up-town

(when it's lit up you can see it from space: it looks like a giant lychee)

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Any word on Toronto? I'm guessing they ain't back up yet.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Sean, Sundar and Kim are leading the ILX Strike Force against the toque-wearing mutants currently attacking the city.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Clevelands coming back. About 100,000 people left without power but a million have been restored. The phones just went dead though.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 15 August 2003 12:57 (twenty-two years ago)

You people are all really overexictable, innit.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Baby!

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

You must tell us stories!

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:15 (twenty-two years ago)

overexictable

mmm hmmm

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Four male coworkers tried to convince me to play spin the bottle. Ever tried to walk up a spiral staircase five flights in pitch blackness? It's frrreeeeaky. I was on the phone with Tom and saw some young ruffians trying to break into my office, that was pretty good. Unfortunately they failed. My power came back on about two hours ago. Now we're all sitting around, confused as to what we're meant to do.

My company outing was thankfully cancelled. I LOVE LACK OF POWER! THE FUTURE IS GONE!

Oh, and Felicity, you shoulda come to the uppa west siiide--the beers were free. The ice cream was free. The water was free. The entirety of Balduccis was free. It was like Christmas and my birthday all happened at once and my boss brought pizza as a extra special Hannukah gift on the side. Oh and no one can find C****? Last anyone heard from him he was "protecting the server" so soccer might be indefinitely cancelled.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Do not make fun of the spelling, I drank enough for an entire air force last night. Hangovers!

Dude my boss didn't even like wash his face this morning, he is so scroungy. JOSEPH IF YOU ARE READING PLEASE GO TO MY HOUSE AND TAKE SHOWER IMMEDIATELY. Hahaha my crappy ass building is apparently the only one in the neighborhood with hot water because we are not high tech and fancy. BOOYAH rich ass motherfuckers.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:20 (twenty-two years ago)

GodDAMNit! I knew you guys were having more fun than me! Even in the dark, New York is more fun! I hate you people!

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, duh.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:22 (twenty-two years ago)

The thing is, right, it was really v. creepy once the lights went down in the sky. It was all amazing fun and games when we were wandering the streets Warrior-style hoisting 40s and smoking and walking in the middle of the road and being all "Fuck Bloomberg! Yeah!" but then when the sun went down it kind of went all "We Don't Need Another Hero".

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I avoided this as I thought it said Power Outrages on the East Coast and was imagining people being outed for leaving lights on overnight, or boiling a kettle with way too much water in for the cup of tea you are about to make.

― Dave B (daveb), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought you were anti-cheap beer, Ally.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:37 (twenty-two years ago)

???? I was drinking imported beers and Bacardi Silvers! I didn't say I specifically was drinking a 40.

Subways are still down and 1010WINS just said that they aren't coming back til tonight? WTF am I going to do all day?

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

What's up with all this "World's biggest city without power" bullcrap I keep hearing?
Last I heard that's a daily occurance in Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Beijing?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:42 (twenty-two years ago)

They just turned the a/c off in my workplace to conserve power but as I look out the window the Jumbotron is going full tilt at Browns stadium. The game starts in 10 hours.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:47 (twenty-two years ago)

it's situations like these that reveal our society's true priorities.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Best line from last night with my drunken coworkers:

Chuck: You know, this really shows just how much we've come to rely on power. It's a terrible sign of the times.
Scott: Yeah, we should just stop using it. Fuck power.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

WTF am I going to do all day?

You could always sit around and post to ILX all day.

One of us... one of us...

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm so jealous!! I feel really left out. Disasters that don't kill lots of people are always fun (tornados, snowstorms, etc.).

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:54 (twenty-two years ago)

H is saying in chat how Addis Adaba had to deal with two weeks of rolling blackouts just now, so he's inured to all this. He did agree that bars are the best place to go in such situations.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, I think we should not only stop using power, but also deodorant and tampons. Get some of that pioneer spirit back that made this country great!

Are steam locomotives still okay?

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm starving. Perhaps the plan of "eating all the food in the world before it goes bad" that we apparently all came up with last night was a bad one.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Surely you still have a small hunk of sweaty cheese somewhere.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

No, we ate that last night.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 14:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe it's time for NYC to go cannibal.
Of course then all the other cities (namely Toronto) who wish they were NYC would go cannibal.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 15 August 2003 14:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I think cannibal is a good new style though.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 14:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Hi Ally and Tad and rosemary! Hope everyone else is fine. I SHOULD have come up to Tony Danza. I stayed home and did laundry. It was boring. I went to work this morning on the free MTA bus but my part of Midtown is still out so I came home.

Ally, are you supposed to work today? What is going on?

― felicity (felicity), Friday, 15 August 2003 14:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm at work right now and fuckwads keep giving me things so yeah, I guess so. They can eat me.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 14:49 (twenty-two years ago)

but is the indians game happening? this is urgent & key

― maura (maura), Friday, 15 August 2003 14:50 (twenty-two years ago)

...powering baseball games but leaving lower manhattan in the dark...?

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 15 August 2003 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

it's the American way.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 15 August 2003 15:25 (twenty-two years ago)

...classic or dud?

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

KINGFISH SAFE IN MICHIGAN STOP ALL POWER STILL OUT IN ANN ARBOR STOP MY AC IS OFF GODDAMMIT STOP ESCAPED TO PARENTS HOUSE IN FLINT STOP AM CURRENTLY FEEDING SANDWICHES TO PARENTS DOG STOP TOO HOT TO HOLIDAY IN ANN ARBOR STOP STOOGES AND SONIC YOUTH SHOW RESCHED TO 25TH STOP HAVE FREE TIX MUTHAFUCKA SO THEY BETTER HAVE DONE SO STOP STOP STOP

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 15 August 2003 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Is power in Boston effected at all? Because I am expecting a job offer to come from an office out there, should have happened yesterday, but didn't, and now I need to know if I should sit around expectantly all day or wait until next week.
Because national crises are ALL ABOUT ME.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Friday, 15 August 2003 15:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes the Indians will be playing tonight! The freakin mayor held a press conference to address the issue of sporting events while I swelter in no a/c.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Friday, 15 August 2003 15:35 (twenty-two years ago)

it's wicked. best disaster ever here in toronto. waaaaay better than SARS.

parkdale was a giant snoop dogg video last night. still no power in p.dale 21 hours on. sadly, I'm at work now where everything's running. stars were shining bright last night. walked around til 2 am went to a punk rock barbq, a candlelit greek orthodox midight mass, and a bonfire on a beach by the sunnyside bathing pavilion.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Friday, 15 August 2003 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I live fourty minutes from Boston, and I don't think power has been disturbed at all here. Most of us New Englanders get our power from generators located along the Merrimack River, or from the Seabrook nuclear power plant.

― The Man they call Dan (The Man they call Dan), Friday, 15 August 2003 16:29 (twenty-two years ago)

UPDATE FROM KINGFISH STOP DOG ATE ALL SANDWICHES STOP AM NOW FEEDING HIM APPLESAUCE STOP FOOD CRISIS SOON STOP WILL FEED COOKIES TO DOG IF FORCED STOP NEED SUGGESTIONS FROM ILX FOR OTHER FOODS TO FEED TO DOG STOP STOP STOP

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 15 August 2003 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

BUY A CAT STOP SORRY SARAH STOP

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 15 August 2003 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)

YOUR SPLEEN FULL STOP

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 15 August 2003 16:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Power is back on in Toronto in a number of places, and my ISP has finally gotten an uplink to the rest of the net; not sure how long that'll last. I could only read up to a certain point of this thread, earlier, using my mobile browser, so ended up starting another thread here to post a few updates about the Toronto experience.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Friday, 15 August 2003 16:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Power outage traced to dim bulb in the White House

― Kerry (dymaxia), Friday, 15 August 2003 16:58 (twenty-two years ago)

power came back at 8am, cable service came back sometime this afternoon while i was out. whoopee!

― The Four Singing Beatles (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I still have no power and am operating on AOL and a 33% battery. I was actually doing laundry when the power went out. I was all "Fuck! I just blew out the power in my building by using the dryer." It wasn't until my dad called me an hour later asking if I had power that I found out I could go on with a guilt free day. I just threw out a ton of soggy bananas that I keep in the freezer for smoothies. I hung out on my roof all last night and slept in my underwear because it was too damn hot.

― Carey (Carey), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:51 (twenty-two years ago)

yay JBR and Carey!

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:52 (twenty-two years ago)

(i think that this is YET ANOTHER SIGN FROM G*D, "Tad, get the hell out of Manhattan!" i.e., the philly job-hunt will start in earnest on Monday.)

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:54 (twenty-two years ago)

this is amazing:
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20030815/i/1060972452.2751479848.jpg

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:56 (twenty-two years ago)

that of course is normal light visible from space on left, yesterday's on right.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I was thinking along similar lines as Tad. "San Francisco? Earlyish 2005? I'm there." After 9/11 and THE BLACKOUT OF '03, I can handle an earthquake or two.

― The Four Singing Beatles (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:57 (twenty-two years ago)

that is cool, and surprising how much light there still was.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:58 (twenty-two years ago)

if i can put up with 9/11 and the 2003 blackout, then the PA bar exam will be a breeze in comparison!

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 17:59 (twenty-two years ago)

parkdale was a giant snoop dogg video last night

I demand details!

― oops (Oops), Friday, 15 August 2003 18:04 (twenty-two years ago)

That piece was excellent Kerry, thanks a load for the link!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 15 August 2003 18:05 (twenty-two years ago)

hurrah!!

(haha when it happened i thought it was cuz i was late with the electric bill!!)

― geeta, Friday, 15 August 2003 18:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Fleshy headed mutants - Oh no!

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 15 August 2003 18:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Finally, I have electricity like almost 24 hours later. My yogurt has gone to hell.

― Carey (Carey), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, geeta, it's just that your specific utility company is just VERY STRICT. They make you feel guilty by shutting down the entire north east because YOU FUCKED UP.

― donut bitch (donut), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:04 (twenty-two years ago)

< /AlexSF >

― donut bitch (donut), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:04 (twenty-two years ago)

my mini-fridge was leaking when i got up today.

so i leaned it against the wall. hope nobody opens it up whilst i'm gone.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:08 (twenty-two years ago)

This thing affected over one third of the entire Canadian population. That's crazy.

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:38 (twenty-two years ago)

why doesn't he just shut the fuck up, already? nobody here voted for this asshole, who cares what he has to say?

President Bush, during a tour of a California national park, said part of the problem was "an antiquated system" to distribute electricity nationally.

"It's a wake-up call," Bush said. "The grid needs to be modernized, the delivery systems need to be modernized."

said "delivery system moderniz[ation]" being more enron-stylee deregulation. put good $$$ on it.

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Dubya? That Dubya? Calling this shit out as an "antiquated situation"?

*heart explodes of irony overdose*

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

He's just restating the emerging conventional wisdom, in such a way as someone might believe he thought of it independently.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 15 August 2003 19:59 (twenty-two years ago)

My cable still doesn't work. There are no stores open. The subway doesn't work. I'm losing my mind.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Here, Ally. You can train to be a spy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/spooks/spy_academy.shtml

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I want to venture out but if there is nothing open I will just walk around the city aimlessly and I do that everyday anyway for work.

― Carey (Carey), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I want to do anything, anything at all, Carey walk across the bridge and we'll go get tattoos together on Christopher Street, oh my god anything that doesn't involve being on the upper west side staring at things that have signs that say closed.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I will come over only if you get a tattoo of a smurf with a huge penis coming out of his pants.

― Carey (Carey), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, I had to break up with a chick who told me that.

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Nevermind, didn't see the "over."

― Tep (ktepi), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:53 (twenty-two years ago)

That would be a cool tat. Especially if that smurf was Smurfette.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not getting that tattoo, so I guess I'm flying solo on this one.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 20:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Ha ha so is the be-wanged Smurfette!

― okay it's time for nickalicious to get the fuck outside now (nickalicious), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, power just went back on in my neighborhood about 5:55. I've got lots to tell, I guess, but I think it'll be wiser if I just shut my computer off ASAP.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:04 (twenty-two years ago)

that of course is normal light visible from space on left, yesterday's on right.

The thing is in normal light Toronto still looks like it's powered only by candles.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:18 (twenty-two years ago)

What's freakish is that the blackout photo made me think of similar shots of N + S Korea at night. I gotta get me a new job.

― Millar (Millar), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, there is something off about that photo Ned. It makes Ottawa look far larger than Toronto?! The Golden Horseshoe should normally be lit up like an X-mas tree (it's a densely populated area). Maybe it's got something to do with the angle from the satellite or sumfin'. Odd.

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:29 (twenty-two years ago)

isn't the big canadian blob montreal?

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

oh yep doh! I think yr right - but again, it should be smaller than the GTA here though. Also it wasn't even affected by the blackout as far as I know, so why is it smaller in the second photo?

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:35 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe they just turned the lights off early anyway, cz it wz, like, thursday, or something

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:37 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm apparently not the only one who is reading in between the lines re bush and his sudden "concern" for electric grid modernization.

― Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 15 August 2003 21:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Power is still out at my apartment and a large part of SE Michigan (but it's working here at my gf's)... I'm about ready for things to return to normal thank you.

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Friday, 15 August 2003 22:13 (twenty-two years ago)

"montreal: the big canadian blob"

― s1utsky (slutsky), Friday, 15 August 2003 22:29 (twenty-two years ago)

MAH POW3R JUST CME ON 10 MINUTES AGO1!11 OMG WTF

― bnw (bnw), Friday, 15 August 2003 22:34 (twenty-two years ago)

dude, i thought i was the last.

― Carey (Carey), Friday, 15 August 2003 22:35 (twenty-two years ago)

bnw! You're alive!!!

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 22:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Ally, I nearly called you but your number was in my cell and my cell was dead. The worst part was having no water today. Also all the parties in the street last night, jesus fuck this community "we're all in it together" hippy bullshit and shut up so I can sleep.

― bnw (bnw), Friday, 15 August 2003 23:04 (twenty-two years ago)

My neighborhood was anticommunity last night. There was no one one the street besides me, Jackie, Donna and our 5 bottles of wine.

― Ally (mlescaut), Friday, 15 August 2003 23:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Most funny/scary thing witnessed while watching BLACKOUT 2003 coverage on battery-powered TV: woman walking away from crazy gas station situation with an open BOWL of fuel. Ppl were trying to fill antifreeze and laundry detergent containers.

Walked across Woodward this AM and were shocked to find other side of street transformed overnight into a carnival. Kids were riding a ferris wheel and eating elephant ears but my frozen fruit was melting in my freezer.

I could use a shower.

― Andy K (Andy K), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:11 (twenty-two years ago)

There was a mini-baby-boom in 1966, obviously.

No, the birth rate actually was down 12 months later, not up.

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:37 (twenty-two years ago)

There was no one one the street besides me, Jackie, Donna and our 5 bottles of wine.

Wait, so you were actually hanging out with two girls named Jackie and Donna!?

― Dan i., Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:41 (twenty-two years ago)

A little ditty, bout Jackie and Don-naaaaa...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Ned Raggett Mellencamp

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Why would I make up that I was hanging out with people named Jackie and Donna? Am I missing something?

― Ally (mlescaut), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

The 70's show, I guess.

― bnw (bnw), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, good point.

― Ally (mlescaut), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

So I still don't have power. Word is my hood (LES/Chinatown) won't get it until as late as the end of the weekend. Suck city. So I hiked over to Brooklyn to my grrl's house this evening. When the power went out I was in Chelsea interviewing the Rapture. Some good stories from there, but I'll save 'em for the piece I'm writing.

Last night: bonfires and street parties on Ludlow. Drunkeness everywhere. Loads of fun. But I'd kinda like to see when I'm showering, Con-Ed, so fix this soon? Thanks. XOXOXO

― Yancey in Brooklyn, Saturday, 16 August 2003 01:10 (twenty-two years ago)

The worst thing that happened on my block is that my 42 year-old next door neighboor fell on her stoop while holding a wine glass and got a bad cut in her leg. We all stayed up waiting for the ambulance (which didn't come), then someone drove her to the hospital. I think she's okay, mostly embarassed.

I didn't know any of my neighbors until yesterday.

― hstencil, Saturday, 16 August 2003 01:27 (twenty-two years ago)

There was a mini-baby-boom in 1966, obviously.

No, the birth rate actually was down 12 months later, not up.

Nationwide? Could be. Not in the Boston area. (I don't mean the year 1966 in total; I mean 8-9 months later.)

― Tep (ktepi), Saturday, 16 August 2003 01:41 (twenty-two years ago)

i just spoke to my next-door neighbors. they had a close call ... apparently, their son stumbled in the dark and knocked over a candle on a table with a tablecloth. luckily, they acted quickly and there was no fire.

so be nice to me, because had things not turned out so fortuitously i wouldn't be here now!

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 16 August 2003 01:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Glad everyone's okay! I'm back at my apartment in Ann Arbor which now has power. I saw the same thing on TV as Andy K, methinks. The best was the woman who, after rambling about waiting in line for gas, said something like, "But Jesus Christ IS coming back!"

― Aaron W (Aaron W), Saturday, 16 August 2003 02:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Blackout Babies!

― rosemary (rosemary), Saturday, 16 August 2003 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

It's not an urban legend! (I know, I know, so says everyone when they're first told something like that, etc.) My mother proofread a book on it when she still worked as a proofreader/fact-checker/etc. That's why it came up so often when I was a kid. (Granted, all the stuff on that page is about NYC; this was Boston.)

― Tep (ktepi), Saturday, 16 August 2003 02:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Jesus Christ?

― Ally (mlescaut), Saturday, 16 August 2003 02:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Damm Fritz, I walked home from 10 till about midnight and saw jack shit in the way of party. Though some folks int he studenty area of the annex were on their doorsteps drinking. Even in the middle of an state of emergency Toronto was pretty calm.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Saturday, 16 August 2003 02:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Just got power at 9 pm, was expecting to go another night. Ah AC . . .

― Mary (Mary), Saturday, 16 August 2003 02:40 (twenty-two years ago)

yay Mary!

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 16 August 2003 02:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Last night was so wack. There was like a vodoo ritual in Tompkins Square Park which consisted of African drumming, a huge bonfire encircled by a large crowd, and two men taking turns *jumping over the fire*. Why why why? People began drinking heavily at 4 pm. I went to a bar with people from work but wasn't really in the mood to celebrate. I was a bit freaked out after seeing the smoking Con Ed building and the swarms of people lining the streets. Fireworks, shotguns, and streaking began in the EV after dark, replete with a group of 40some candy ravers on bikes. I wish I knew about Felicity's super sanctuary . . .

― Mary (Mary), Saturday, 16 August 2003 03:22 (twenty-two years ago)

b-b-but that sounds totally awesome!

i walked down to the ev to see what was going on...i didn't see any 40something candy ravers on bikes :(

― geeta (geeta), Saturday, 16 August 2003 03:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I forgot I saw Hanson playing "unplugged" (haw haw) this morning outside channel 11. It was like me and 5 other people watching.

― bnw (bnw), Saturday, 16 August 2003 03:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Were three of them Hanson?

― Tep (ktepi), Saturday, 16 August 2003 03:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I wish I could have hooked up with you Geeta. I had no methods of connecting to the ILX massive. I guess our elusive South Indian brunch was postponed, eh? I am getting a cell phone asap -- text messaging here I come. I forgot: the acoutic jams by the ritual de lo habitual hispanic jane's addiction cover band.

― Mary (Mary), Saturday, 16 August 2003 04:07 (twenty-two years ago)

oh yay, my power's back on.

― phil-two (phil-two), Saturday, 16 August 2003 05:01 (twenty-two years ago)

yay 4 phil-2!

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 16 August 2003 05:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Well so I was coming home from work, just got off the R train at Union Square, and went downstairs to connect to the L. The L train pulled out just as I got to the platform and I was cursing my bad luck - then the power went out 2 mins later. Thank God I missed it - I wasn't even about to climb out into the subway sludge in my Paul Smith shoes, yo. Then walked down to Houston to have a few drinks at my friend's bar. We had dinner at Lil' Frankie's where they have wood-burning pizzas, walked to the Williamsburg Bridge at around sunset - but we decided, fuck it. when's the next time we're going to be able to see new york at night without lights, so we wandered around the Lower East Side. Had a few beers at Welcome to the Johnsons [$2 PBR's] and the crowd was spilling onto the street. Afterwards, walked over to Ludlow/Stanton and there were hundreds of kids out on the street drinking, dancing, and being actually pretty friendly. Max Fish ran out of beer, Puerto Rican thugs danced with stolen flares, dirty hippies drum circled, etc, etc, etc. Was great! One of my favorite nights in New York ever. Then walked across the Williamsburg Bridge around midnite, etc, etc, etc.

― phil-two (phil-two), Saturday, 16 August 2003 05:09 (twenty-two years ago)

oh! and I had to work tonite for dinner since the Times Square area was one of the first to have power restored. We only had a limited menu, but people were pouring in just grateful that we had anything. Made tons of money.

― phil-two (phil-two), Saturday, 16 August 2003 05:10 (twenty-two years ago)

'I live fourty minutes from Boston, and I don't think power has been disturbed at all here.'

So, to the disappointment of all the world's 200 remaining Bee Gees aficionados, the lights didn't all go out in Massachussetts....

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Saturday, 16 August 2003 09:03 (twenty-two years ago)

if this happened in london
i. everyone wd just have switched to mobiles and met up anyway
ii. we don't have A/C anyway so meh
iii. bonfires in the street = already there mosts nights
iv. THE TUBES AND BUSES ARE AT A STANDSTILL = dog bites man weekdays
v. the spirit of the blitz
vi. :b

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 16 August 2003 09:28 (twenty-two years ago)

i think mark is jealous

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Saturday, 16 August 2003 13:05 (twenty-two years ago)

"The first instinct of most New Yorkers was to seek caffeine, but coffee was almost impossible to find. The general mood was just beginning to turn grumpy."

are detroit and cleveland still out?

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 16 August 2003 13:34 (twenty-two years ago)

i love how after the initial fingerpointing between NY and Canada they've now shifted the blame to the midwest

― H (Heruy), Saturday, 16 August 2003 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

i still blame geeta

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 16 August 2003 13:44 (twenty-two years ago)

no mark, cleveland is back on. I got my power early Friday morning. The water is unsafe to drink but living on Lake Erie that's old news.

Sure, blame the midwest. But don't come running to us when you need an authentic Trucker Cap.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Saturday, 16 August 2003 15:49 (twenty-two years ago)

if this happened in london
i. everyone wd just have switched to mobiles and met up anyway

With those solar powered cell phone towers?

― bnw (bnw), Saturday, 16 August 2003 17:15 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, my cellphone coverage was touch-and-go throughout the blackout. even though i was able to get through to my folks in central NJ and family in PA, in both cases i had to keep redialing. and i couldn't get through to my boss's cell in NY till late yesterday afternoon.

― Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 16 August 2003 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes - it was the regular phone system that was far more reliable here too.

― Kim (Kim), Saturday, 16 August 2003 17:24 (twenty-two years ago)

we power our cellphone network by burning xtian virgins in vast wicker men

― lord summersle (mark s), Saturday, 16 August 2003 17:32 (twenty-two years ago)

The power here in the East Village finally came back on last night a little after 9pm. By that time, I had already resigned myself to another night of listening to the radio by candle-light in a warm, muggy apartment. Anyway, apologies for the inaccurate thread title. When I posted this, the news reports were still very vague about which areas were affected.

I missed out on most of the excitement, I guess. The most excitement I had was walking down 30 flights of stairs and then 50 blocks to get home. The traffic and sidewalk congestion in midtown was pretty unreal on Thursday afternoon. I wasn't brave enough to go outside once it got dark, so I missed out on the fun. Glad that there was so little crime this time though.

― o. nate (onate), Saturday, 16 August 2003 17:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Fuck electricity, drinking 40s in the street was way better than, like, going into work and shit like I did Friday.

― Ally (mlescaut), Sunday, 17 August 2003 06:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I really enjoy the way this has kickstarted all the old Philadelphia and Montauk experiment theories

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Sunday, 17 August 2003 07:12 (twenty-two years ago)

The movie theater I went to tonight blew a few fuses and the house lights weren't working, nor were the lobby lights (the projection booth was, thankfully). I'd like to think it was sympathy pains.

― amateurist (amateurist), Sunday, 17 August 2003 08:44 (twenty-two years ago)

My power came back on around the same time as Daddino's though my parents' place nearby was on, unknown to me (they're out of town), 8 hours earlier. Work was on backup generators almost immediately and there were a few radios going around, so I stuck around until dark, after buying food at the grocery nearby (letting people in one by one and escorting them by flashlight) and buying flipflops at the SOuth Street Seaport (where the party got started early) to replace the shoes I wasn't going to make it a mile in, and considering sleeping there because there was a/c and I wouldn't have to walk 5 miles. The flipflops did some damage of their own. Walked with two guys from work about two miles north along the FDR, by headlights and Mag Lite. Along the way, heard people in housing projects shouting across their courtyards to each other, and what sounded a hell of a lot like gunshots. Around 20th st, I managed to get a cab home after dropping into a bar to check out the scene. Everyone looks much better in the dark, especially me. I live next to a fire house, and the engines were leaving like every half hour. Every time one pulled out, a big cheer went up from the party going on on the steps of the brownstones on my street - acoustic guitars, people singing like the worst songs of all time. At home, I pulled my guitar out for the first time in probably 3 years and discovered I can still hack my way through a bit of "More than Words" and "Alive". The next day I was information-less, though I could see out the window that the streetlights were still out and the subways closed in my neighborhood. I had offered too much $ for the cab, and was down to a few bucks and late in the day I thought I might have to spend it to get more food, but then I went to my parents' place and found the power on, and ate their frozen bagels and then the power came back on at my place. Walking around the neighborhood, I kept coming across people who were very sunburnt.

Flights descended - probably ~60
Flights ascended - probably ~50
Number of Warriors references made - 1
Best story - my friend had a job interview by candlelight with a judge in New Jersey
Best quote - "they should do this every couple of months!"

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 17 August 2003 14:57 (twenty-two years ago)

''Pay attention to the graph posted from dieoff.org a few posts up. This is a taste of the future, a preview of things to come.
-- fletrejet (fletreje...), August 14th, 2003. (later)''

this fella is my fave goth.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Sunday, 17 August 2003 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

for the record – anyone watching coverage on cnn when they talked about toronto – was way off. i got power on friday eve and flipped onto cnn to see some of the most inacurate news reporting i had ever seen. they made it sound like toronto was plunged into complete hell. ramant looting and massive fires–i'm not saying there weren't some fires and looting (a liquor store)–but it was like cnn was going out of their way to make my city look bad. then after going on about how shitty tdot was they went on about how great new york was coping and how everyone was "pitching in"–wtf¿

― dyson (dyson), Sunday, 17 August 2003 18:40 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe they don't like all those yuppies on Queen Street?

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Sunday, 17 August 2003 19:01 (twenty-two years ago)

We were pitching in. Pitching in to destroy everything possible in a short period of time.

― Ally (mlescaut), Monday, 18 August 2003 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

were you successful?

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 18 August 2003 00:33 (twenty-two years ago)

The rugs in my office got covered in beer and wine. That was about it.

― Ally (mlescaut), Monday, 18 August 2003 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

should offer an interesting collection of scents tomorrow

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 18 August 2003 02:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Infinity's WFAN/New York was off the air for two hours following the blackout and ultimately used an engineer's Volvo to charge the generator at its transmitter site...

This rocks.

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 18 August 2003 12:17 (twenty-two years ago)

"power outtages caused by aging infrastructure"...how about intentional on the part of power companies so they can use the "aging infrastructure" excuse to raise rates????

― jameslucasakarroland (jameslucasakarroland), Wednesday, 20 August 2003 20:24 (twenty-two years ago)

This is an interesting blog entry for anyone who was wondering what it was like to be trapped in the subway during the blackout:

http://amylangfield.com/2003_08_10_archive.html#106095130760216097

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 20 August 2003 20:48 (twenty-two years ago)

jameslucaserickarros is right - plus the obv. montauk experiment coverup! "blackout" my ass

― nnnh oh oh nnnh nnnh oh (James Blount), Wednesday, 20 August 2003 20:51 (twenty-two years ago)

The rugs in my office got covered in beer and wine. That was about it.

How to explain that? "I got so scared, I couldn't help dropping my hidden bottle of Bolly"? Mind you, there are worse ways to get over fear.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 20 August 2003 20:56 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

Looks like my wild speculation may be pretty much OTM.

http://news.com.com/2010-7343-5117862.html?tag=nefd_gutspro

― Dale the Titled (cprek), Thursday, 11 December 2003 14:50 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

Revive due to this.

The report says reliance on voluntary industry standards meant that many problems were simply not addressed.

...

The final report at the end of a seven-month investigation by US and Canadian experts says the blackout was preventable.

The power failure first occurred in Ohio and the investigators say the local power company there, FirstEnergy Corp, didn't keep trees clear of their power lines.

Nor did FirstEnergy have alarms in place to warn that the power grid was in danger of overloading.

In short, they didn't recognise or understand the deteriorating condition of their system.

The investigators recommend that mandatory standards be introduced immediately, that a federal agency have the power to ensure the grid is maintained.

And wouldn't that be nice?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

whenever power outages can be avoided, its a good and nice thing.

― todd swiss (eliti), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:32 (twenty-one years ago)

*shocked* you mean those big power corporations aren't self-policing like they're supposed to be?

― webcrack (music=crack), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:36 (twenty-one years ago)

The 2004 blackout will, of course, occur during election day.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:48 (twenty-one years ago)

</kaspirazee>

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 04:49 (twenty-one years ago)

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