Sandy:The Aftermath (Here Comes November)

Near My Place

Desktop Mona Lisa

I did a lot of blogging the last few days. If you want to see them while waiting for the plane or watching paint dry, I would be gleeful. I am a show off when I get in my blogging and coffee moods. Its one of the things I hope I can do when I get to retire. Well that IS 9 YEARS from NOW! My blog is the FEMA Food Stamp program last year. I have to wonder if we at DPW are gong to run the program and IF so, will it be better run?  Anyway here is a video from West Philly at Chestnut near 42nd street near my place I am drinking coffee and getting ready to start my latest blog. I am a geek !

Today I did not do much but do Facebook messaging. I am now at Pat's just sorting out photos to post,

then I will be meeting my sponsor. 
Next weekend I hang with 2 of my friends and their families. They will be visiting me and then we  will be going to the Olive Garden for Saturday night dinner where we celebrate my 51st year on planet earth. 

5 pm at 19rh Street

58th St.Long Beach Island

On Nov 10, I am visiting a friend in Maryland for a party. I got a ride to go to her party. The weekend of Nov 17 and Nov 24 I take a class on Auto Safety all day. Then there is Thanksgiving  Last year I went to my brother's place in Towson MD. He and family were left unscathed by Sandy.  Boy 2012 is going fast.  They are actually talking about postponing  the Election since Ohio got creamed just like New Jersey. Long Beach Island (LBI) was hit hard by Sandy. My sister found this Tumblr site with a bunch of photos of LBI under water or under sand.  Speaking of New Jersey, Gov Christie has looked good. He declined a Romney Photo Op. Umm. If Romney loses, then the door is open for a possible run for President.
Next I read that the NY Islanders are moving to Brooklyn NY . As usual, the owners could not get the new arena they wanted. That is a surprise that a team dedicated to folks living in Nassau County now will have fans going all the way to Brooklyn. Very interesting for sure.  Here is raw video of Spray Beach and south

Pat and Sketch

To close out this entry. I wanted to let you know that Pat did a really nice sketch for a retiring co-worker. Here he is with his creation. That was nice of him for sure. 

Well, back to reality. It was a good break for me it,s sad for others who have to clean up the mess that Sandy left.

REM: Songs for This Moment

 REM- Feeling Gravity's Pull

I decided that after the waiting watching, reading and writing about Hurricane Sandy on this blog 3 times I was tired. I noticed that Sandy (aka:FRANKENSTORM) was not quite all that it was hyped here in West Philadelphia, I decided that the song Its The End of the World As We Know it was a good song to put on Facebook. I then put it up on my Facebook page.

I just wanted to find some oddball non-hits from REM after that. I found 2 that fit the bill and who's lyrics fit the theme for the last 48 hours.

I like this song Feeling Gravity's Pull. Its got a cool tune and somehow the lyrics fit the times.

It's a Man Ray kind of sky

Let me show you what I can do with it

Step up, step up, step up the sky is open-armed

When the light is mine, I felt gravity pull onto my eyes,

. REM- Oddfellows Local 151


- 

One of my favorate REM songs since it heavy and so strange kind of like this weather we are having in the last 12-24 hours. Some of this is just hard to understand. One is why is there such a calm at 12:12 AM today October 30? I am sure the storm is still upon us since it has a band of gale force winds 400 miles wide.

I had heard the storm was to remain dangerous till today after 11am or so. Why do you think the Commonwealth closed my office for 2 days.

Well, enjoy this song and enjoy the comments on the YouTube page as well.

truly one of my favorite R.E.M. songs, and without a doubt my favorite album by them. i thought that document was their "opus", while they would have a hit songs on other albums, there truly is not a bad track on this album. i thought this album captured what R.E.M. originally saw as their musical path, and i think every album since they have been stumbling to find it again.

jjam002 1 week ago

My bro still has Document on a record. I love this song. 

lululover333 3 weeks ago 

It's my personal favourite.

Pee Wee - Firehouse

Pee Wee - Playhouse

Coincidence?

Methinx not.

On October 3, 1982, Honda brought drag-strip maestro Jay "Pee-Wee" Gleason and a standard V65 to Southern California's Orange County International Raceway to find out. Gleason's 10.92 — second 1/4-mile sprint made the V65 America's fastest production street machine, inspiring ads with one powerfully simple headline:

Bad News Travels Fast.

And the band played on.

th0rH 4 months ago

Haunting. Riveting. Another REM gem.

ldolphin34 6 months ago

Its late now time to go to bed

October 29th Sandy Makes Landfall

Its now 5:30 PM and news has it that Sandy has made landfall. Reading Facebook, the NJ Shore has been hit hard. Atlantic City has lost some of its Boardwalk and in Ocean City the ocean and the bay have met.

FRANKENSTORM

There are now power outages being reported at this time. The storm has just really started and some loony tune says that the "homosexual agenda"  is to blame for hurricane Sandy. I am not going to say anything. The political blame game can wait.

42nd and Chestnut 6:32 PM

This May Survive

At this time 7:15 PM the rain has mostly stopped. There are on and off again gusts but not a consistent blowing that I would expect in a hurricane or a FRANKENSTORM. It did beat up the shore areas due to rain and the high tides. Already there are folks making fun of the storm for the hype while others say that the other half is coming. Here is one person who is not buying the hype

I think it swung north actually. all we're getting is pretty much a run of the mill rainstorm

 At this time I can only speak for conditions in West Philly between 42nd Street and 44th Street bordered by Market and Spruce. Conditions are stable though fire engines and trees are blowing. I went to the Weather Underground just now at 8pm. This is the one of the peak hours of the rain and wind. Here is a chart for
today

2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM
Temperature / Dew Point (°F):
52 / 52	54 / 52	59 / 52	57 / 52
Humidity (%):
100%	91%	78%	80%
Pressure (in):
28.79	28.34	28.13	28.26
Wind (mph):
42 mph NNE (20°)	46 mph NNE (24°)	48 mph NNE (27°)	\37 mph East (87°)

As you can see from the chart. The max winds are less then 45 MPH. Not enough for a

Catastrophic storm that would widespread damage. This of course does not lessen the impact on those who live near the ocean creeks, or rivers. It now 9:25 PM things have settled down. We are getting only gusts that are about 30-40 MPH and there is little if no rain. I think we are going to make it with power intact. It will remain to be seen but I think we are past the half way point here in the 4200 Block of Chestnut Street. I hope all my friends and others are safe. We still need to be careful.
More good news from outside the FRANKENSTORM bubble, Paul McCartney said in an interview that will be in Al Jazeera English that  Yoko Ono did not break up the Beatles.

In an interview to be published next month on Al Jazeera English with the veteran British journalist David Frost – (and previewed by the British media this past weekend) — Sir Paul claims Ono was not the reason The Beatles came apart in the early 1970s. “She certainly didn’t break the group up, the group was breaking up,” he tells Frost.

Chillin at 9:45

There don't you feel better. I know I do. Let's hear it for those Bitts I have the day off and I did not lose power at all as of 10pm tonite. It will be nice to sleep in and have coffee with friend or even by myself. The routine has been broken and that is real nice. I had no control and I just let it be. Well,  until tomorrow have a sweet evening and meet me sometime.

October 29th: A Day Off AM Update

Its now 9 am and outside its mostly rain with some wind gusts.  According to what I am seeing the worst is just beginning at this time. Here is a really nice map that shows the path of Sandy. So it appears it has yet to really begin. Well, at around 9:30 I just saw the first looter arrested right outside my kitchen widow.

Man NOT at Work :)

 What you see is an authentic photo of my " office" or as I like to say my orifice. Therefore I am the Oracle or the  Oriole or the Ovaltine of West Philly or at least 44th and Sansom.
Say did you know that Ovaltine was developed in Berne, Switzerland, where it is known by its original name, Ovomaltine (from ovum, Latin for "egg", and malt, originally its main ingredients). Is that not cool or what. There is a double entrendre somewhere or I just left it on the 21 bus....DARN!!
I plan to hunker down till the power goes out or I go back to sleep. Sometimes as an intrepid blogger, I have to lose my sleep. At least the Commonwealth had the decency NOT to have us come in for work. They did not communicate well but hey that is just standard operating procedure for the state. Its good to have the day off.
According to Bryan Norcross, Hurricane Specialist at The Weather Channel the storm is following the weather models that we have seen for the past 3 days. Here is his latest observations.

And so it begins. Mega monster Sandy, with 40+ mph winds 900 miles across and embedded hurricane-force winds is going to hang a left and smash into the Northeast on Monday - a maneuver we've never seen before from system that originated in the tropics. There's no good news from the Hurricane Hunters or the computer forecast models. If anything, the storm is providing more drama in its first act than was expected.

Water is coming over sea walls. Flooding and whipping winds have already started. Just from the fringe of Sandy.

At the coast, by far the worst of this is going to come at high tide at the Jersey Shore and points north. The tide will peak along much of the Northeast coast around 9PM and 9AM, but around noon and midnight on the ocean side of Cape Cod. The difference between low and high tide can be 3 feet and more... a really big deal.

Here is the 11am update!

This one might meet the high/low hype of the media. I saw pictures from Facebook that the shore is already being pounded as of 10am today. The 11AM NHC update has just come out and everything is still pointing towards a landfall between Cape May and Long Beach Island. That means Millville is right in the cross hairs of this massive storm. Some maintain that this storm is a sign of things to come due to global warming!
I conclude this AM edition of French Toast Update with a video I took from my front porch at 11:18 am this very morning.

Have a good day.

Old Web Address: New Companies in Japan

Since the Hurricane is a bit late, I decided on a random topic.
It appears that some  companies  from Japan are taking expired URL (e.g web addresses) and using them. Here is another one I  was linked to: http://www.eriecountycaregiver.org/
This is a blowfish store in Japan but at some point the web address was with a place from Erie County.

Recommended seafood

• Abalone, turban shell
• Senzaki squid
• Flounder, filefish
• Buri, Thailand, and Spanish mackerel
• Other seafood

Search keyword

Fugu courier, courier blowfish, blowfish courier, courier blowfish, blowfish mail order, mail order fugu, fugu discount mail order, mail order fugu, fugu mail order, mail order cheap fugu, Gourmet Stock Now

Our shop is a shop that worked on our chef Courier seafood specialties at Senzaki Fishing Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture is known as the home of the tiger blowfish cuisine. Thanks to you, the sum of the puffer fish was ordered home delivery to date of more than 10 005 thousand, we have good reputation all over the country to everyone.

Shop fugu, fugu courier │ Recommended! Popularity Rank

- "Tiger fugu sashimi set pot with benefits other choice albino"] our most popular 
secret of popularity of chefs cooked alive tightening. Delivery will be to put the benefits from fishing port gorgeous pot fugu fugu sashimi and tiger tiger of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

With Google Translate the old URL for the RRCA in Millville NJ  http://www.riverfrontcenter.org/ is a
BLOWFISH FACTORY located in Japan!

Shop Blowfish (The advertisement above!!)

Shop for Blowfish Blowfish Delivery
We have gotten very popular in practical shop online! Not only is still, the point of choice "mail order fugu" is just cheap, I was stuck in Yamaguchi quality!

You visit, Thank you very much.
It is a shop that is going delivery of seafood specialties at fugu-Senzaki Fishing Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Blowfish, but has been around quite cheap, Our shop is stuck in the "taste" of Yamaguchi Blowfish home.
When ordering, please feel free to use the world!
Boat license renewal.

Sunday Oct 28 Sandy: The Beginning

3 Cans in My Meal I Made

Front Window

Today is October 28 and the rain has started as of about 3 PM it's about 430 now. Earlier I went to the Satellite Cafe st 50th and Baltimore Ave. We talked about Stinking Lizaveta She has jury duty for 3 WEEKS starting Monday. (the City of Philly is closed till Weds October 31st due to hurricane Sandy.) after we split our separate ways,

Lending My Neighbor a Transpass

I went to the State Store and made it though the storm driven crowd to fetch some cheap red wine and also an umbrella at a PACKED CVS. Last errand, was to get Indian food for my rice surprise?. . I pulled out my air conditioner. I have been face I pulled out my air conditioner booking and e-mailing quite a bit at Pats place before I started cooking my dinner and lunch for a few days. now I am cooking up some rice Indian surprise and then I plan to go to pats house and hang out meantime I have to remember to charge my phone up in case the power does go out. Now my phone is charged up and I will at some point go to Pat's

Well, Its now 6:40 and the Commonwealth of Pa has not DECIDED us state employee if we are to report to work. I mean Corbett declared a STATE OF EMERGENCY! In my 20 years Republican or Democrat, every governor dithers on giving us the day off. He says folks to stay home and be safe, yet he is considering having us slog though the wind and rain of this FRANKENSTORM!!  I mean REALLY....REALLY??
This is from the Harrisburg Patriot News as of 7 PM  tonite:

Corbett was having an evening meeting with Cabinet members to discuss the preparations their departments are taking. He said that's when it will be discussed whether state employees should report to work tomorrow. For now, he said employees should plan on coming to work.

As for schools, he said school officials are well practiced at knowing what to do in weather emergencies.

“Be prepared to stay in your homes for an extended period of time, a few days and possibly without power, without water,” he said, to citizens.

I do not see any reason for non-essential state government employees to report. None of my clients are going to make it. SEPTA is going to be shut down, schools are closed, the City of Philadelphia is closed. Come on Governor, you declared a STATE OF EMERGENCY. Lets just call it a day.
Its now going on 7:30 pm and so far it seems to be pretty calm right now. Even the presidental election is being affected by this storm. This storm is going to Virginia, Ohio, and Pa
Boy, my Indian Surprise is SPICY. Its so delicious that I will share with Pat and whoever wants to visit my humble abode.
I talked to my old temp roommate tonite while eating my meal and he told me about this musician called "Rodriguez"  His full name is Sixto Rodriguez. I was URGED to check him out, so I went to YouTube and found this tune. Its pretty cool.

I think I am not going to work. I am tired and need to sleep in. Its now 9pm and here are some more highlights of early today. Enjoy them and be safe.

Saturday Oct 27

Sunset Last Night at 44th and Sansom

Takin Care of Business

 This write-up concerns it's self with a certain today October 27th. I first met my sponsor. This was the kind of sponsorship that I needed to move forward from my rut. I met several people from the program as we were having coffee at Saxby's at 20th and Walnut Streets. I then  came home and cooked up some pasta. I was quite hungry and ate quite a bit. I felt very tired and  took a nap. Boy oh boy was that really nice! When I woke up 2 hours later, I dispensed with my recycling.  I decided to do a few unfinished errands.

To the Rooms

I went to the U Do We Do to drop  off laundry  and next went to Fresh Grocer to drop off a bunch of plastic bags for recycling. Next I went  to the Post Office to mail in my fines and restitution that I  owe. I paid a part of it. I was NOT able to get the online payment website to work after several frustrating attempts to do so. To finish my SEPTA trip, I went downtown to meet a friend at a book signing at the book trader. His wife writes horror novels and won an award at the Terror Film Festival that I reported on last week.. We then went to their condo nearby and watched Criminal Minds and Law and Order SVU. We got the the weather report...

At Friend's Condo

As you all know, we here in the East Coast are gonna get whacked by hurricane Sandy. By the time it gets here in late tonite and Monday, it will not be a hurricane BUT will collide with a Nor'easter and cold air to cause a possible Clusterf^%ck!!
Well, Obama still has a slight lead in the Battleground States. Its really too close to call and it seems its a matter of which poll suits my support for the President.
Well, got to meet a friend at the Satellite Coffee now.

Mischief Making Hurricane (Sandy)

Hurricane Sandy is set to arrive Sunday night into Monday  but the hype is in full-swing. I saw NBC10 News show a radar view of the the hurricane during Law and Order while I was at a friend's house. I will not go into a rant into how the media especially the local newscast just scares everyone to buy eggs, milk and bread. Is EVERYONE going to have French Toast (e.g Freedom Toast)?? I think not!  I think of Hurricane Irene last year. I lived in Millville NJ at the time and it was going to be very bad but at least in Millville and Philadelphia it was not that bad.  A NY Times blogger Nate Silver examined the media coverage of various hurricanes and the actual damage. You might find it surprising how hurricane Katrina ranked in Media Coverage. By the way this blog gives excellent polling data.
Here are some photos I captured about the hurricane. This is dated 3AM October 28th

The Expected Path of Sandy

I was linked to the Capitol Weather Gang from the Washington Post. They seem to have a good reputation for calling the weather without the excess hype. My buddy who lives in Silver Spring MD confirmed this with me tonight on the phone. Here is the report as of October 27th:

A simpler explanation: the clash of the cold blast from the continental U.S. and the massive surge of warm, moist air from Hurricane Sandy will cause the storm to explode and the pressure to crash.

These historic low pressure levels simulated by the model are equivalent to a category 3 or 4 hurricane, which have peak winds over 115 mph. But Sandy’s winds will not be that high, because as it transitions into this hybrid hurricane-nor’easter, its core will unwind. So its peak winds will diminish, but strong winds will be felt over a vast area. Think of a compressed slinky expanding as you let it go.

WJLA meteorologist Ryan Miller notes 66,549,869 people live in the National Hurricane Center’s track zone for Sandy. A large percentage of these people will likely contend with tropical storm force winds - 40-60 mph, if not somewhat greater.

I’ll conclude with this note posted in the blog by AccuWeather senior Vice President Mike Smith:

A very prominent and respected National Weather Service meteorologist wrote on Facebook last night,

I’ve never seen anything like this and I’m at a loss for expletives to describe what this storm could do.

The biggest problem is the power going out sometime Monday. My neighbor here on Sansom Street states during hurricane Irene last year, the power was out for about 6 hours. He said it was not too bad. It will be bad if.the power is out longer then 12 hours. In that case, food in the fridge will spoil and I will have to throw it out. This would suck since I am not going to try to apply for FEMA money like so many did last year at my welfare office. The overtime was a big plus though! Mischief

This shows the EXTREME Low Pressure

I will close with more statements from the Capitol Weather Gang about Sandy:

At 11 p.m., Sandy was 360 miles east southeast of Charleston, South Carolina with sustained winds of 75 mph according to the National Hurricane Center. The central pressure was down to 960 mb. Tropical storm force winds extend up to an unreal 520 miles from the center.

Reading through blogs and recent statements from the National Weather Service,         I’m presently most impressed by two things:

1) Sandy’s incredible size and its associated wind field

2) The amount of water it’s going to push ashore at the beaches

Sandy’s size and associated wind

Meteorologist Angela Fritz of wunderground notes Sandy is now tied for the second largest tropical cyclone since 1988.

“Sandy’s tropical storm-force winds now extend 450 nautical miles [520 miles] from the center on the northeast side of the hurricane,” Fritz writes. “This is a very, very large storm, and I suspect the #1 spot (Olga of 2001) is in jeopardy, as well.”

Evidence of the storm’s unusual size? It’s more than 300 miles east of South Carolina, and in eastern North Carolina, the National Weather Service has logged its first reports of downed trees.

Well, I will report on this as long as the electricty and my battery hold up. Enjoy your Sunday, the last dry day for awhile! Enjoy your Sunday before Sandy!