ice storm of 2009

[dead_man]

Well, after about three days of no power and no work, I was going nuts. It started on the 27th with about six to eight inches of snow (depending on where you were) followed by a half inch to three-quarters inch of ice, followed by downed power lines and trees. A tree hit a transformer in our back yard and lit up the whole damn house, I was kinda cool to watch, but that feeling like I might die really sucked. here is a pic of the ice.

sorry it's blurry, camera phone.

 

[mu mike]

Ice is nasty, especially after it's covered in snow. Glad to hear you got your power back.

 

[MrMaduro]

Glad you made it through that mess!!! Our power came back on yesterday around 10:00 am.

I'm ready for the warm weather!!!!!!

 

[opusXmarco]

I don't miss the east coast weather.

 

[Marco-Polo]

I was in Kingston, Ontario for the 1998 ice storm ... it's beautiful to have all the ice around, but a pain in the ass in all other respects. My apartment didn't have power for 2-3 days; one of my friends didn't have power back for 3-4 weeks after the ice literally ripped the meter off his house; the weight of the accumulated ice actually crushed the windshield on my girlfriend's car.

Clearly, ice goes best in bourbon and hockey rinks, well on trees, but poorly on roads and houses.

 

[dead_man]

Glad you made it through that mess!!! Our power came back on yesterday around 10:00 am.

I'm ready for the warm weather!!!!!!

I'm at work right now, but customers are telling me it's calling for 7-12 inches of snow monday and tuesday, pleas tell me the are over-reacting.

p.s. this summer, your coming to my place for a smoke and I'll provide the cigars

 

[Macion Grey]

You want warm weather? How about 131F? We are in the middle of a mega heat wave. Train tracks are warping, cars are breaking down left and right due to fuel evaporating in mechanical fuel pumps, rolling blackouts are prevalent, with no shelter from the heat.

This is absolute hell. No air conditioner works properly, and I was stuck pushing my car on the hottest recorded day in 70 years. When you need to go outside, it feels like you are standing inside an oven because of the hole in the ozone right above us, which makes UV extreme.


So there.

 

[MrMaduro]

Glad you made it through that mess!!! Our power came back on yesterday around 10:00 am.

I'm ready for the warm weather!!!!!!

I'm at work right now, but customers are telling me it's calling for 7-12 inches of snow monday and tuesday, pleas tell me the are over-reacting.

p.s. this summer, your coming to my place for a smoke and I'll provide the cigars

I watched channel 5 news tonight and they said it looked like the worst of Mon. and Tues. would go well to the south and east of us. I can only hope.. As soon as it gets warm enough to be outside after dark let's burn a few. Be safe brother

 

[Shooter]

My yard looks like a tornado came through. I have a few days of chainsawing when the weather warms up. Sheesh. I am grateful we never lost power.

 

[jgohlke]

Hey Marco-Polo, I was in Montreal on business just after that storm. They delayed my arrival for 3 days because they wouldn't let me check in because they had no power. I spent 3 weeks there. I was up pretty high in hotel and looking out over the city, it was so "quiet"...no smoke, no steam, a city with no power.

The ice was like 6-8 inches thick on one side of the hotel. They used a giant jack hammer on a back-hoe to bust it up. Then they loaded it in dump truck in giant sheets. Of course, they did all this in the middle of the night and it was very LOUD! I don't think I slept for the first 3 or 4 days.

The hotel had a metro station in the basement and it connected to all kinds of underground shopping. I remember leaving my room with just a long-sleeve shirt on, being gone all day and never going "outside".

I spent 3 weeks there and went back for shorter trips several times during the winter and spring. My goal was to say "good morning" in French at the local cafe and get the "Good morning, whaddya want" back in French (they just switched back and forth between English and French, depending on the customer). No matter how much coaching I got on my French or what I wore, I always got an English response. I remember the coffee and breakfast bread being very good though.

Using MS Office in French was a hoot, particularly with that expanded keyboard.

Stay warm!

 

[jgohlke]

If you guys know of anybody that is desperate for a generator, I have an unused Coleman Powermate 8750 (with Honda 13hp motor). I bought it the fall of 2004 just after we had our 3rd hurricane that year. Just like washing your car causes it to rain, buying a generator, stops the hurricanes. :laugh: It's way overkill for running a few lights, the TV and (for us) a window A/C unit, but it's all I could find at the time.

I put oil in it and give the pull cord a slow draw a couple of times per year, but I've never put gas in it and it hasn't ever been started. I did put an hour meter on it so I could monitor the run time. It still says "00000".

It isn't really for sale, but if somebody you know is going without heat/electricity, I would part with it for the original cost (you pick it up) or if it's a real emergency, I could met you halfway (Atlanta?), you pay for my gas/food. It's a good-size unit, so you would need a pickup or trailer to get it home.

I have about $1200 in it (tax, delivery). If I help with the delivery, it's probably about another $200, depending on where we meet.

I saw a piece on the news about people lining up at HD/Lowes and it reminded me of what we went through...and it was no fun. I'd hate to think of somebody suffering when I have an unused "just in case" generator in the garage.

PM me or shoot me an email if interested.

Cheers,
Joe

 

[Yojimbo]

Still out of power where I am, and possibly no water soonish. We're well stocked enough. Kerosene heater went on the fritz last night, so I'll spend the afternoon after work trying to fix it. Luckily work has power and net, so I can get warm and check up on things. :laugh: