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Author Topic: OT: Where were you when the lights went out?  (Read 6240 times)

Offline krissel

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« on: August 14, 2003, 06:30:28 PM »
I'm really amazed that I got through online. I guess the net has better redundancy than our power system. Perhaps a lesson to be learned.

For some reason the western and southern portions of NJ aren't affected by this, fortunately. Our power blinked off for a few seconds when this started and when it came back I could only get three TV stations so I knew something was up. Oddly it was over a half hour before any of the major stations still running started to cover this.

Anyone remember 1965 blackout?
I was playing volleyball indoors and had just tried to save a poor shot and hit the ball really high up towards the ceiling, then.....darkness.
I thought the ball had hit the lights and knocked out the power in the gym and building. We had a single flashlight to share to undo our combinations locks and get our clothes. Feeling very guilty I left the building and saw that everything else around us was dark as well. Only then did I realize that I was not the cause of the Great NorthEast Blackout.

 rolleyes.gif

Just remembered my Dad telling me he was driving back to NJ from a business trip in Connecticutt that day and as he drove around a bend to a spot where he ususally saw a panoramic view of NYC lights he was shocked to see nothing where the city was supposed to be.

eek2.gif

You can imagine what was going through his mind.   unsure.gif
« Last Edit: August 14, 2003, 11:25:38 PM by krissel »
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Offline Bobun

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2003, 06:59:53 PM »
Confirming your reference to the blackout, I never imagined you would remember. Now that I think about it, I should really not be surprised. Your recall has always been "total". Hats off to you, Kris. 1965? I have trouble remembering yesterday.
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Offline Bill

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2003, 06:59:54 PM »
Just now heard (abc news) that this is the biggest power outage in US history.

I was at a costco store when I received a call from a friend who heard on the car radio that all of the east-coast was having a blackout. After a few minutes every Tom-Dick and Harries phone rang in the place. Few minutes later the TV section was way over crowded with folks wanting to see what was going on. This Costco's does NOT have a conventional TV antenna on their roof,nor cable.!.
Stood in line paying for my goods ... went outside and the parking lot was full of folks listening to their radios.

While driving home listening to my radio, don't know why my thoughts kept thinking about Jennie and that switch of hers. <gr>
« Last Edit: August 14, 2003, 07:00:39 PM by Bill »
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Offline Bobun

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2003, 07:08:33 PM »
Just to update our area. As in 1965 I was not aware of the
failure being that I was out on the road, again, not still. We had no idea of the happening until Mom & I stopped at our
bank , in town, and learned of the stoppage.
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Offline Dreambird

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2003, 07:14:41 PM »
Was just flipping by our "Shopping Channel"... (and NO I was not buying everything in sight!!) wink.gif when some lady called in and said her power was out, she's somewhere in Ontario.
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Offline jepinto

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #5 on: August 14, 2003, 07:27:35 PM »
QUOTE(Bill @ Aug 14 2003, 7:59 PM)
While driving home listening to my radio, don't know why my thoughts kept thinking about Jennie and that switch of hers. <gr>

 I'm not in the NE!  I dinna do it!

Been on the road all day, what happened?
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Offline Gary S

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2003, 07:44:35 PM »
Power went down in New York, Detroit, Cleveland and into Canada this afternoon.

I keep thinking of the people in elevators.  huh.gif

Krissel,

Out here in the Midwest they called the 1965 outage as a Brownout. rolleyes.gif

So I take it you have power in NJ?
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Offline krissel

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2003, 08:20:41 PM »
Hi Dad (bobun),

Of course I remember everything you ever told me...   biggrin.gif

Gary, it's hit and miss here in NJ.  My immediate area and my folks are OK so far. But just to the south of me an area is out and having water problems already. I was talking on the phone to my sister who is in the northwest part of NJ and we both experienced a power blink at the same time about a half hour ago so something is going on, good or bad we don't know.

All my relatives and I are on well water so we run around and fill up extra buckets of water for flushing purposes.
 wink.gif

Aside from half the TV/radio stations being dead, I've so far escaped the worst of it, knock, knock, knock.  unsure.gif


SOAPBOX:

This is an excellent opportunity for our government to take heed of how easy it would be to take down our entire country by an attack on our power grid. So simple to do. And while they say there wasn't any computer hacking sabotage in this case, it's fair warning that standardizing on Windows will put this entire country in great risk for just such an attack. It doesn't have to be a  plane, missle or nuclear bomb that causes chaos...

...a system bomb will do it.

 sad.gif
« Last Edit: August 14, 2003, 11:29:53 PM by krissel »
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Offline Bill

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2003, 08:35:19 PM »
On top of that Krissel, apparently the source of this blackout very well could of been 'outside' the boundaries of U.S of A.
Doesn't matter what caused it [lightening .. whatever], fact is that it's slightly beyond our full control.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2003, 08:52:29 PM by Bill »
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Offline Bill

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #9 on: August 14, 2003, 08:42:59 PM »
QUOTE
I'm not in the NE! I dinna do it!


biggrin.gif biggrin.gif
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Offline ljocampo

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2003, 09:26:10 PM »
I'm in downtown Buffalo NY and we did not loose our power, but just when it happened I was on the computer and the lights dimmed like I've never seen them dim before, so I shut the computer and put on the cable TV to see what happend.

They said some funny looking guy in a red teletubby suit went over the falls in a barrel and knocked out the power station.     blush-anim-cl.gif

In '65 I was a teenage dish washer in a resturant and the boss aked me to stay and watch the place until they restored the power.   police.gif
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Offline RHPConsult

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2003, 09:29:01 PM »
I'll ask it, before Harv gets on line . . . maybe some of Maryland is "out", too.

So the question is . . .

Where was Bernie this afternoon?

That could explain a lot! Devilish2.gif
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Offline Bernie

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #12 on: August 14, 2003, 09:51:26 PM »
unsure.gif  whistling.gif
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Offline RHPConsult

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2003, 11:23:15 PM »
A word of caution . . .

All of you in the Northeast should plan to be very careful during this massive power outage.
 
Don't you remember the last big one in Nov 1965 ? -- the number of babies born the following July and August was extraordinary.
 
So, do be careful how you amuse yourselves in the absence of TV...
  whistling.gif  Devilish2.gif



PS: OTOH, you're not reading TS either, are you?
« Last Edit: August 15, 2003, 01:05:13 AM by RHPConsult »
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Offline kps

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OT: Where were you when the lights went out?
« Reply #14 on: August 15, 2003, 07:22:14 AM »
Most of Ontario lost power at 16:10...rush hour! Subways stoped, streetcars stoped, traffic lights went out. I was still on the road doing my job and it was a nightmare. It's amasing how many people forget to drive. I work till 21:00 and had to fight the traffic all that time.upset.gif

My biggest problem was I left my car on fumes and all the gas stations were non functional. I had to get my gilfriend to pick me up.
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