August 27, 2011

"Power could be shut off in Lower Manhattan, hitting Wall Street, a precaution against storm surges as Hurricane Irene strikes..."

Reports the Wall Street Journal.
"The most important thing is to make sure their facilities aren't damaged, which would take a long time to repair. If saltwater gets into the underground cables and those cables are carrying electricity, there is a real chance of damage to those lines," [said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.] "There is a lot less chance of damage to the lines if those power cables are not carrying power."

117 comments:

Wince said...

"If saltwater gets into the underground cables and those cables are carrying electricity, there is a real chance of damage to those lines," [said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.]

Bloomberg, again, with the salt!

Carol_Herman said...

Back in 1954, it was Hurricane Carol.

Hit around the 30th of August.

But we get so many hurricanes nobody even remembers them. Only the newer ones. Where Katrina devastated the Dubya's administration.

Maybe, that's why there's so much media prep?

Or? Maybe, it's smart to keep the roads free of traffic entanglements? IF IRENE turns into a "big one?" They'll retire the name. (Oh, the last "I" was IKE. I think.)

Anonymous said...

Bloomberg is a cute little tyke. Every time I see him I just want to ruffle his hair.

Lincolntf said...

No matter what happens, Bloomberg and Obama will be hailed as life-saving geniuses. The fact that NYC's public transportation system is shut down a half a day before the storm even hits is great nannying, but it's shit leadership.

traditionalguy said...

Irene is not that bad a tropical storm. The winds are 30 mph and the storm surge is 5 feet.

The danger is the Politicians are screwing up life so they can get TV face time.

mRed said...

Shutting down the power will also piss off all those New Yorkers that are laughing at Michael "Snowstorm" Bloomberg.

ricpic said...

Wall Street. Ain't that where them malefactors of great wealth malefact?

...you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.

Thought I'd throw in a little William Jennings Bryan, one of the great Dem con-men on the subject.

chickelit said...

It would be so sad to see the WTC pit filled with water.

edutcher said...

What tg said. Right now it's a weak Cat 1 and will be a tropical storm by the time it hits DelMarVa, much less Philadelphia.

Bloomie is going to look like the hysterical ass he is.

And so will Cuomo.

(too bad, all that same-sex marriage bribery to be the nominee's VPOTUS, shot to Hell)

Carol_Herman said...

Back in 1954, it was Hurricane Carol.

No, dear, that was Hazel. She blew down trees where we lived (Bryn Mawr) - as in snapped them in half - and power was out for several days.

I remember having to eat out those nights.

Carol was '53.

But she never went away...

Palladian said...

What pit?

They're deliberately filling the two "pits" with water. To test the fountains.

Michael Gersh said...

What I have to wonder is, how did NYC ever survive before Magic Mike became mayor? I was there for Hurricanes Donna and Gloria, which were MUCH worse than Irene, and the subways ran, the power stayed on, and life went on. I really believe that the Irene hysteria and overreaction is related to global warming, not the fantasy of it as a phenomenon, but the mental state of those who are in its thrall. like Blumanthal and Christie.

Palladian said...

"Carol was '53.

But she never went away..."

Her torrential downpours long ago breached the levees, causing massive, destructive flooding of every thread.

m stone said...

Actually Carol was '54, not '53. I was a tyke in Islip in Suffolk county which really caught the wrath.

Fascinating experience to have the eye of the storm pass over you as it did us. Much destruction but a narrow storm that did not affect NYC all that much.

Anonymous said...

The run-up to this storm has been the biggest superhyperoverreaction I've ever seen. Up here in Massachusetts, we have thousands of National Guard troops at the ready. I hope they brought a few decks of cards or a travel Scrabble game or something.

MadisonMan said...

Over-reaction.

Anonymous said...

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge tide gauge is already 3 feet above normal...

NOAA Tide Gauge

It looks like the winds are keeping the tide from flowing out of the bay...

Robert said...

The whole town is closed down. Everything is closed because people can't get home with the trains and buses closed. It's raining, does it all the time. The storm won't hit for over twelve hours but Cuomo, Bloomberg, Walder have shut the town down. For the first time ever. They've called out the National Guard, plan to cut electricity. Funny, no one I know is evacuating even in Rockaway. Irene will be nothing compared to the inconvenience these guys caused and you have to include Christie who closed the Jersey beaches with nary a big wave in sight and the sun shining.

ndspinelli said...

One would need a 25 person team of fact checkers to cover the horseshit Carol Herman spews.

Go over to Trooper York's page..he rips her a new asshole.

MayBee said...

The overreaction is costing a lot of people a lot of money in lost business.

I feel sorry for kids moving into the eastern colleges Monday. Or I guess I mean the kids who were going to move into their college dorms on Monday.

ndspinelli said...

And.. this category 1 hurricane is nothing. I can't believe this sky is falling coverage.

Palladian said...

"The storm won't hit for over twelve hours but Cuomo, Bloomberg, Walder have shut the town down. For the first time ever."

Apparently you weren't here on 9/11/2001. Or during the blackout of 2003.

jungatheart said...

I figured it would amount to nothing much in NYC when they said it was weakening before it was to make landfall in NC.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The boy (or media) that cried wolf.

This constant breathless over reaction to practically anything and especially to the natural world (storms, earthquakes) only makes people less and less willing to take their hysterical warnings seriously.

One day there WILL be a serious event and no one will pay any attention until it is too late.

Ho hum...just another false alarm...ooops!! maybe not this time.

Too late.

MisterBuddwing said...

One day there WILL be a serious event and no one will pay any attention until it is too late.

Like Katrina?

WV: anedsc

Dust Bunny Queen said...

One day there WILL be a serious event and no one will pay any attention until it is too late.

"Like Katrina?"

Yes. Katrina is a prime example of the hysterical breathless over reaction on the part of the media.

(I know that wasn't what YOU meant, but it is exactly the right example)

Palladian said...

Why is everyone acting like the storm is already over and nothing happened? It isn't even going to hit New York for many hours. It's legitimate to say that the "authorities" overreacted; it's a bit premature to say that everything is fine at this point.

MadisonMan said...

I suspect the damage is horrific on the Outer Banks, however. Wonder if a new inlet was cut today.

Palladian said...

"Yes. Katrina is a prime example of the hysterical breathless over reaction on the part of the media."

Absolutely. But it also destroyed a lot of people's lives and property and caused financial devastation. Again, it's legitimate to criticize fantasy but it's not legitimate to pretend that nothing bad happened.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I used to be a Christie fan but he is showing bigtime promise to be Governor Nanny ala Mayor Bloomberg Nanny.

My nephew and his buddies are surfing today in New Jersey- I say good for them and screw these elected bully wannabe dumbasses.

Lincolntf said...

The Outer Banks damage was no where near "horrific". Typical sand movement that one would expect from any low grade hurricane or winter storm. The whole OBX is a sand bar, they move and change shape literally every day. There are some "vulnerable" brackish areas behind the main bars that can be totally drained (or created) by a big storm, but it would take a lot more than Irene to do it.

Lincolntf said...

Just goy our first (and probably last) taste of Irene here in central NC. The winds had been up all day, but we hadn't gotten any moisture at all until a little rain-shower just now. Amazing the difference a couple hundred miles makes.

Cedarford said...

In more important news than Yankees facing a big tropical storm, Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan.

Go Obama! Like Nixon going to China...only he could get the ACLU, the Progressive Jews of the media, the Black Caucus, and the Euroweenies to all shut up about GITMO, the soldier casualties the Bush-haters pretended to weep over, and of course the "extrajudicial assassination of innocent until proven guilty by a civilian jury - Islamoids.
They can't even bring themselves to cry over terrorist wives, friends, and 'little brown babies' Obama wastes to get the Islamoid reverted to room temperature!!

Oh, and NY and New England will pay big time, but from lack of their shallow soil and streams constricted in valleys compared to the South..and their overgrown trees they can't bear to cut down toppling in the mud.

(The Sacred Pit of 9/11 might fill with water??? Yawn..)

Franklin said...

They're shutting off the power so people suffer an appropriate amount...otherwise Nanny Bloomberg et al will look right foolish.

The Dude said...
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edutcher said...

m stone said...

Actually Carol was '54, not '53. I was a tyke in Islip in Suffolk county which really caught the wrath.

Take your word for it. This is what I get for using Wiki.

Palladian said...

"Carol was '53.

But she never went away..."

Her torrential downpours long ago breached the levees, causing massive, destructive flooding of every thread.


She inundates us all every day.

ricpic said...

...brackish areas behind the main bars...

is where the action's at!

Anna said...

Are we sure Bloomberg and Coumo have not been replaced my Muppets. They are running around, waving their arms about, and screaming like Muppets. Just saying.

jungatheart said...

True, Pall, I just meant that once they make landfall they weaken.

Robert said...

The politicians didn't shut New York down on 9/11 or in a blackout. A terrorist attack and a power failure did. What pray tell has happened today to shut New York down. Let me guess, absolutely nothing.

DaveW said...

I can hardly believe so much garment rending over what is little more than a tropical storm.

At least down here we know when to get our panties in a wad over one of these events - and that is definitely not for anything less than a Cat 3.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

This how Bloomberg became a billionaire..

(nttiawwt)

Robert said...

To put things in perspective let's compare what happened on 9/11 with today. True on both days the subways didn't run. But on 9/11 the entire downtown are was evacuated on foot. Thousands of people walking out of the financial district on foot and over the bridges. Police and police trainees guarded just about every intersection so that vehicles could move north. You couldn't walk within blocks of a police station which were cordoned off. At every hospital, St Vincent's, NYU, Beth Israel to name a few, scores of doctors and nurses stood on the sidewalk outside emergency rooms to treat casualties. Anyone seen anything like that in New York today?

Chef Mojo said...

Seems like there's a lot of stupid Yankees on this thread.

Irene is going to move back out to see over Cape Charles and come up the coast over the water.

Do you morons really think there's an over reaction?

Over 15 inches of rain in Eastern NC and Tidewater, VA. Massive power outages. And it's moving back out over the water and headed to you.

You wouldn't scoff at a strong Nor'easter. And a Nor'easter isn't going to have the storm surges that Irene has at high tide.

Go ahead and stay on Staten Island and Lower Manhattan. The fewer morons, the better.

Lincolntf said...

Whether it'll be dangerous tomorrow isn't the issue. Mass Transit is shut down NOW. That's the failure in leadership.
Anybody else notice that nobody's talking about it being a "100 year storm" or a "50 year storm" any more? That's because when it's all said and done, it'll turn out that NYC has weathered far worse without ever shutting down anything.

The Dude said...
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jungatheart said...

Alrighty, then!

"700 PM EDT SAT AUG 27 2011

...IRENE RE-EMERGES OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN...WATER LEVELS RISING
IN THE VIRGINIA TIDEWATER REGION..."

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4+shtml/221302.shtml

jungatheart said...

Lincoln, I think if you're going to shut it down it must be done ahead of time, not at the last minute when people will become stranded (transportation-wise).

Lincolntf said...

I've weathered hurricanes up close at least a half-dozen times. In Central MA, on Cape Cod, and in NC. I know what they can do, but I also know what happens when they dissipate. Irene is dissipating as we speak. Doesn't mean she won't pick up more energy later, but for now she's a dwindling menace. NYC remains paralyzed nonetheless.

Palladian said...

"Whether it'll be dangerous tomorrow isn't the issue. Mass Transit is shut down NOW. That's the failure in leadership. "

Do you people think that the New York City Transit System can be shut down by flipping a switch? It actually takes a long time to get every bus the whole way through its route and every train on every line the whole way through its run.

Lincolntf said...

Palladian, it could be a dangerous storm that requires a shutdown, but I doubt it. It's certainly been a massive waste of productivity to shut Mass Transit down for a day. Was it worth it? We'll see.
I'm guessing that NYC has dealt with 75 mph winds and multiple inches of rain per hour many times in it's long history. The only things different about this time is Bloomberg and the pre-emptive shutdown.

Palladian said...

And I hate to sound like a typical New Yorker, but the shit would hit the fan for ALL of you if something major happened to New York (as it did on 9/11/2001). There's a reason for extra caution. Again, I'm not saying that Bloomberg isn't a complete asshole (he is), nor am I saying that people are perhaps overreacting (remains to be seen). But IRENE HASN'T ACTUALLY HIT THE NEW YORK AREA YET. Save your dismissals for tomorrow.

Chef Mojo said...

@Sixty Grit:

Chef, it is a bit awkward to write "Irene is going to move back out to see ...", then follow that with "you morons".

Irony much?


Gosh. Yet another dumb asshole who equates typographical errors to irony.

Did the word "see" throw you off the meaning of what I was saying, Sixty? Did it somehow confuse you? Really? I think that says much more about irony than anything I wrote in the previous comment.

Stupid much?

rhhardin said...

WABC is warning against standing next to windows, because they may blow out and suck you out with them.

Most important of all, don't tune away. They sell you to advertisers.

It's another confluence of politician and media interests.

William said...

A quick walk around the east side of Manhattan reveals that the Irish bars, Chinese restaurants, and Korean grocers are all open. These are the essentials of urban living and I'm confident that we will survive.

The Dude said...
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Palladian said...

Lincolntf, the big concern is the possibility of flooding (especially of the subway system) from a storm surge. The southern Manhattan flood walls could easily be topped by a surge, especially since it may happen at high tide tomorrow morning at 8. I don't begrudge the decision to shut down the system at all.

jungatheart said...

They must be having kittens on The Weather Channel.

Lincolntf said...

I'm not dismissing Irene, I'm describing her accurately. A minor hurricane hundreds of miles away from a pathologically self-obsessed City filled with news anchors pretending that they're in mortal peril.

HT said...

I've got mixed feelings about the overreaction, overhype. The second I begin to think yes, it's been overhyped, some wind comes up that makes me wonder if I need to go spend the night somewhere else. Looking at the coverage from North Carolina, no it does not seem to be the mega storm hitting the east coast that Max Mayfield had such nightmares about. It's not over yet. As far as NYC, I think I will remain out of that one for the time being. I will say that I think weather.com truly tried to scare everyone, whether to get eyeballs for advertisers, I'm not sure. I've heard it's worse on their tv station, but I don't have cable. They even hype the diminishing predictions. They just can't say "not as bad as we thought." On the other hand, people in Va have been killed and there has been substantial damage and it will continue as the ground is saturated, will only get worse and even 50 mph winds can bring down trees in such conditions.

The bloggers at the Post weather blog do note that no one complains about hurricanes like northeasterners (of which I am not one), so that explains a lot.

Still, this thing is not over.

Chef Mojo said...

@Sixty Grit:

Ah, shit. Did I misinterpret your comment?

Sorry bout that.

Comparing me to Carol Herman is punishment enough. That shit stings.

It gets frustrating to see people condemned for erring on the side of caution in these circumstances, even if the object of their ire is an asshole like Bloomberg.

edutcher said...

FWIW, the projected track of Irene shows her moving up the coast over land, not water, if Fox and the NHC are to be believed.

The righthand side of it is over water, but the eye seems to be following the coast.

Robert said...

The politicians didn't shut New York down on 9/11 or in a blackout.

The metrosexuals weren't in charge then.

Lincolntf said...

It's the weather, nobody can accurately predict what will happen. But we can see how people react. Bloomberg threw in the towel before the first gust blew.

HT said...

But Lincoln, when he "threw in the towel" as you say was precisely when he should have, to evacuate the zones he wanted to. As someone else said, you can't do that at the last minute. I guess I would say you can question his decision but not the timing of it. But I might be wrong, that's just my educated guess.

jungatheart said...

Makes sense, ed, after it passes over the eastern tips of NC and VA it would end up partially over water.

rhhardin said...

Better safe than sorry.

If so, why doesn't everybody drive no faster than five miles an hour?

Because safe has high costs.

Those costs are not borne by the politicians or the media.

Lincolntf said...

That makes no sense to me. Shut down the City to prevent the City from being shut down by the storm? Beyond meteorology there is a political angle and a social angle to the shutdown, and that's what interests me. I see the storm on radar, read the wind readings, etc. and I see a big storm hitting NYC. No catastrophe, no disaster. I also see news and Govt agencies doing their best to pretend that the strength of Irene isn't cratering before it hits "pay dirt" in NYC. That's where the real facetime lies, and that's what they all want.

(Seriously, I've lived through hurricanes, hauled boats out of the sand, chainsawed limbs out of roofs, etc., so I do respect what they can do, but this has all the earmarks of a fizzler.)

Ambrose said...

Our mayor loves nothing more than calling a press conference and using the word "must." It's his favorite word. We "must" shut down the subway (first time to my knowledge). You "must" evacuate. you "must" cut down on salt.

Carol_Herman said...

The Battery Park problem.

When the site for the two World Trade Center Towers was excavated ... Battery Park was built.

It's nothing more than gravel and sand.

Laugh all ya like.

Mother Nature can be a tyrant.

rhhardin said...

Battery Park also is made of radio stores, Leeds and Harrison's being the chief two wiped out by the construction of the WTC, leaving no reason to visit NYC.

Jeff Boulier said...

DaveW wrote: "At least down here we know when to get our panties in a wad over one of these events - and that is definitely not for anything less than a Cat 3."

That's because us more hurricane-prone types have *experience* dealing with these storms. We build our buildings expecting them, we have an idea of what to shop for, emergency services have detailed plans and equipment, we know we shouldn't drive through deep water on the roads (OK, every year a number of people learn this lesson), and so on. Irene is bad because it's heading toward an area where no-one has experience with this kind of storm.

You know how some school districts in the southern states will cancel school for under 2" of snow? And how people in Rochester, which has three snow plows and sixteen tons of sand for every inhabitant (*) giggle and point at our ineptitude? Not fair of them, not fair of you.

(*) Numbers pulled out of my butt.

Lincolntf said...

From Twitter: "Lower deck of George Washington Bridge has been closed even though the shut-it wind threshold of 60 MPH has not been achieved."

Awww, how sweet. Bloomberg changed the rules to make himself seem more "dynamic". And the drooling idiots who vote for him will probably be impressed.

The Dude said...
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HT said...

Shit. Flickering. And our electricity is underground.

Anonymous said...

Well, here outside of Philadelphia (about 60 miles inland from Atlantic City), we've had about 2 inches of rain, with the storm still about 8 hours away - with 8 to 10 more expected.

The problem here is that the ground is thoroughly saturated from 13 inches of rain in August. Widespread flooding is expected, and some place are already starting to flood. I don't think its going to be the end of the world, but I did spend the past two days preparing for flooding.

Anonymous said...

Weather here at Medford LI is temp. 75, humidity 100%, 10 minute wind speed avg. 2 mph and we've only had .33 inch of rain since midnight.

test said...

I'm outside of DC in MD, and we've had nothing but light rain so far. But lucky so far is not the same thing as nothing. All it takes is one tree blown into your house and nothing becomes disaster instantaneously.

Even here we're getting this odd liberal fascination with NYC. I'm trying to find whether any rain bands are coming and every one of the news channels is carrying a Bloomberg press conference. WTF?

edutcher said...

t-man said...

Well, here outside of Philadelphia (about 60 miles inland from Atlantic City), we've had about 2 inches of rain, with the storm still about 8 hours away - with 8 to 10 more expected.

Where outside Philly, if I may ask?

Lincolntf said...

Bloomberg about to speak. Will he demand that turbo fans and water spritzers be trained on him during his press conference? Probably. It's what the people of NYC want!

jimspice said...

I'm just glad none of you naysayers are actually public decision makers. You're clueless.

And I'm kind of surprised that no one drew the "obvious" conclusion that Obama is shutting down NY so his espionage teams can go in and bug the entire Wall Street district. Surprised and disappointed. I've come to expect so much more from you guys.

Kev said...

(the other kev)

Lindsay. Ran up the city's debt with grandiose dreams, then just ran off. Gave a generation of grateful comedians a two-word punchline: Fun City.

Beame. A green eyeshade stuck with paying Goodtime Johnny's tab. Spent his career looking for a city's worth of spare change beneath the cushions.

Koch. Got the job by out-nastying Cuomo, which had been previously thought impossible. Biggest accomplishment was not being Bella Abzug.

Dinkins. The pre-Obama example of a feel-good-about-yourself incompetent. Woke up every day wondering if he was in the wrong house.

Giuliani. Treated the city the like an occupying general. Which was what it rated in the '90's.

Bloomberg. Like everyone from Manhattan, he knows better than you. Unlike everyone else from Manhattan, you can't ignore him.

Say what you will about New Yorkers, but they always get the mayor they deserve.

Lincolntf said...

Idiots with an idiotic trust in the idiots that they idiotically elect. That's NYC in a nutshell. From shitbag Rangel to shit-for-brains Bloomberg. The City That Never Sleeps shuts down for a freaking rainstorm.

Robert said...

Shit for brains is right. The Staten Island Ferry ran across the Upper Bay for ten, count em ten, hours after buses running up and down Fifth Avenue through the rock solid center of the City in absolutely no danger of flooding under any scenario were pulled off the streets. Ya think those buses could have run all afternoon? You bet they could have, on each and every route they run on. Incidentally, because of terrorist concerns, the subways were shutdown immediately on 9/11. At best it takes only enough time to get the trains actually in service, today on the reduced Saturday schedule, back to the yards. This has been an exercise of egotism.

Mutaman said...

I'm trying to figure out why somebody (Lincolntf) out in Bumfucket Nebraska is spending his Saturday night writing post after post complaining because the subway is shut down.

Anonymous said...

Weather here at Medford LI is temp. 75, humidity 100%, 10 minute wind speed avg. 2 mph and we've only had .33 inch of rain since midnight.

Heh, I'm in Medford* too, nothing happening yet (and I don't think it will). Of course all the panty piddling paranoid politicians will absolutely deny they overreacted and won't face any punishment.

* = a town of 20,000 people with no downtown. Go figure.

Peter

Ralph L said...

Obama is shutting down NY so his espionage teams can go in and bug the entire Wall Street district
Why would he? Half of Goldman is officially on the payroll at Treasury, the other half finances the DNC.

Can we send Bloomberg to New Orleans for a few years, or would that precipitate the Apocalypse?

Robert said...

Another Bloomberg press conference, stay away from windows. Anything else asshole. Oh yes, say it in Spanish. So get this, he can give us his instructions to what? not take our kayaks out. No shit, that's what he says, don't take your kayak out. Got that. The police commissioner looks like he's gonna puke.

Ralph L said...

Presumably, they need the extra time to protect the subway with sandbags and for the workers to walk home before the storm.

Palladian said...

"I'm trying to figure out why somebody (Lincolntf) out in Bumfucket Nebraska is spending his Saturday night writing post after post complaining because the subway is shut down."

It's a good question, isn't it? All the "It's only a flesh wound!" bravado being piled up in here is starting to stink worse than the toilets at the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.

Here in Brooklyn, it's raining buckets, and has been for hours, and the gutters are already overflowing over the sidewalks.

But it's nothing!

I'm Full of Soup said...

I can admit when I am wrong. It is relentless rain and wind here in Philly area and the worst is yet to come. So maybe Mayor Nanny did the right thing.

wv = sogie [how we spell soggy]

Robert said...

Hey mutaman I'm a short walk from Bloomberg's press conference. If he didn't shut the town down I'd have better things to do, but this nonsense pisses me off. There will be minor flooding here, that's about all. I can tell you where it will be, the East River Drive, Brooklyn shoreline, Rockaway Beach. No one will be washed away, could be a localized power failure or two. But shut the City down for there days? Even in Nebraska you can see the stupidity of it. Why do you wonder in Nebraska, if it doesn't concern you anyway.

Mutaman said...

"but this nonsense pisses me off."

So go stand out in the rain for a few hours. That'll cool you off. I can imagine what "better things" you have to do. Maybe you can still hitch a ride to Times Square-I bet the booths are still open.

HT said...

Palladian, perhaps you will be more in the eye than we are and will be in DC, but honestly we have winter days and nights that are windier than this. Yes, it's been raining all day here, but so far we have maybe a little more than an inch. One day in March it rained more in two hours than it has all day here. But our star local broadcasters didn't see fit to stay with us through that night.

I guess what galls me most is that no one will ever say, "wasn't what we thought." (If it turns out that way.) And really, they should.

Palladian said...

"Maybe you can still hitch a ride to Times Square-I bet the booths are still open."

Geez, you must live in Bumfuck, Nebraska too. There haven't been any "booths" in Times Square for almost 15 years.

I guess that today is, finally, the day a real rain has come and is washing all this scum off the streets.

Palladian said...

"I guess what galls me most is that no one will ever say, "wasn't what we thought." (If it turns out that way.) And really, they should."

I hope that circumstances give them the chance to say that. We'll see.

Mutaman said...

"There haven't been any "booths" in Times Square for almost 15 years."

Not true,there are still a few. -just follow your wife when she goes to work one day. She's not really a cleaning woman.

MikeinAppalachia said...

If Con-Ed's cables are so deteriorated that a few days of water-brine or no-is a major problem, they have a lot bigger problem than this storm.

Palladian said...

"-just follow your wife when she goes to work one day. She's not really a cleaning woman."

I'm a gay man, darling. Your heteronormativity is embarrassing.

HT said...

You could still be married.

Trooper York said...

This is a disaster. A man made disaster. A Bloomberg made disaster.

He did not have to shut down the subway. Now he wants to shut the electricity to Lower Manhattan because of the chance...THE FUCKING CHANCE....that the water will mess up the Con Edsion lines.

Do you realize how much money the people who have businesses will losed if they do that. all of the food in the restaruants and bodegas and pizza joints and bars. Lots of buildings down there were converted from offices to condos. All those people will lose all of their food. No air conditioning. Old people and pets will suffer and who knows maybe die.

Because this fuckin asshole Nanny thinks he knows better.

This is a disaster. A man made disaster.

Mutaman said...

Who said your "wife" had to be a woman.

Trooper York said...

Oh and as far as peep booths go....you can usually find them in conjunction with strip clubs as Guiliani zoned out the sex trade.

Not that I know anything about that you see but I have heard things.

I hear the best one is in the sex toy shop next to the Paradise Club on 33th Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway. Ask for Tiffany or Sable.

Not that I know anything about that.....I just hear things.

HT said...

I still don't really want to weigh in on NYC, but why is no one questioning the advice the mayor is listening to? He is not making these decisions by himself. There are people telling him what to do. Who are those people?

Anyway, perhaps it's better to wait.

For the news, around here mid Atlantic. We need to juxtapose their banal chatter we are enduring now with the "STORM OF THE CENTURY" advertising they did pre-storm.

Trooper York said...

As much as Guiliani liked to channel Mussolini he never would have pulled this shit. This is beyond moronic. This is the nanny state gone viral. I hope Bloomberg gets impeached when this turns out be nothing more than a big rain storm.

Mutaman said...

"Because this fuckin asshole Nanny thinks he knows better."

You've been upset ever since he banned public masterbation.

Mutaman said...

Guiliani - now there was a big wind.

HT said...

Reading scenarios now for NYC, mostly stuff about shattering windows in tall buildings. No idea if it is more advertising or not.

Mutaman said...

Speaking of Rudy, I wonder if they'll give Bernie Kerrick a day pass to take part in the 9/11 stuff.

Trooper York said...

Mayor Bloomberg never outlawed Public Masturabation because if he did that fuckin jerkoff could never come out of the house.

Trooper York said...

If Guiliani were mayor he would do what he always did. Roust the homeless and arrest minorities.

Then we could all feel safe. Just sayn'

HT said...

Uh oh.

Now I want fried chicken.

Robert said...

Booths in Times Square? Wives working there? What syphillitic fuck would think like that? Don't tell me, it's of absolutely no consequence, not worth a piece of dog shit on the curb. Haven't the time or interest to respond to psychotics.

Trooper York said...

Well everyone knows that
Laura Bush used to work at the Peeps at Showworld at the Duece.

Lincolntf said...

Oh cry me a river, Palladian. The networks spend all week screaming and crying about NYC, but nobody's supposed to comment on NYC? By the way, I'm in North Carolina, not Nebraska. You know, NC, where Irene actually did do damage.
I expect that NYC will now shut down for every rain storm until Bloomberg's term is over. Let those proles know that it's the Government, not the weather, that controls who comes and goes in NYC.

rhhardin said...

I blame the NYC hurricane for thin clouds dimming the sun occasionally in Central Ohio this morning, when the Sunday forecast had a picture icon of pure sun yesterday.

I wonder if the turnpike is open.

gerry said...

The stock exchange has its own backup power system.

If anyone can get to work Monday, the exchange will be open.

Hopefully, no one will be hurt in this (thankfully) reduced- intensity storm.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

A minor hurricane hundreds of miles away from a pathologically self-obsessed City filled with news anchors pretending that they're in mortal peril.

Once again. The boy who cried wolf. Or a better visual from earlier in the thread. Muppets running around waving their arms in the air.

This is NOT to say that there couldn't have been damage and danger. It is just that the media and some government lackeys are hysterical. Pretty soon people ignore the hysterics and then a REAL disaster strikes.

If nothing else maybe it will wake some people up to the idea that they should be prepared AND that they can't trust the government to save their butts.

Could there be damage? Of course. Is it the end of the fucking world as we know it. Hardly.

Trooper York said...

Nanny Bloomberg it the ultimate government criminal. This hurricane was the biggest fucking joke. The only places that got flooding are the usual places where people shouldn't live anyway.


Fuck him a thousand million times.