Well, I just lost electricity (SE Conn.)

[NutmegYankee]

Good luck to everybody in the storm. I have to shutdown before the battery backup keeping the PC and modem going dies. The winds are starting to get gusty and I see sustained winds in the 20s MPH. We are not expecting the worst until later in the morning to afternoon.

[krispos42]

1. Well, shit.

Good luck.


I'm over here waiting for the same so I can turn the generator on.

[NutmegYankee]

15. I wish I had a generator.

I figured I might as well run the laptop while the modem battery backup is keeping it going. The laptop is of little use once the internet is dead.

[krispos42]

17. We need it to run the pumps.

Our driveway slopes downwards towards the garage. There's a drain at the bottom of the slope. It's clogged and been clogged for years... the pipe collapsed or something a couple of feet from the street.


So we have a pump.


And right now we have 3 pumps. If they don't work, we get a swimming pool in the basement.


I have to stay up and prepare to a) start up the generator when the power fails, and b) when the rain really hits, watch the end of the driveway and turn on the other two pumps as needed.


yay....




When I get tired, I can wake Dad up. But I'd rather just be in your situation, where if the power goes out it's not a big deal.

Then in the morning I could just start up the generator to keep the fridge and freezer cold.

:sigh:

I guess as a project I could move the computer and modem and router to the living room so I'm in range of the generator!

[Tx4obama]

27. Something that I didn't know about until a couple of days ago ....

Dc/Ac Inverter

Do a search on Google.com or Amazon.com for ' Dc/Ac Inverter '

It is a niffy thing that plugs into your car that you can plug a power cord or an extension cord into and you can plug in your cell phone charger or plug in your laptop to charge up the battery or even plug in your coffee maker or a can opener, etc into to.

It is NOT at all expensive and can really come in handy if the electricity goes out when you do not have a generator!

[Firebrand Gary]

2. Good luck my friend, hang in there and be safe.

[bigwillq]

3. Damn.

I thought it would hold off until a bit later. It's really just starting. I am in western conn. just north of New Haven. Still have power for now (Fingers crossed).
Stay safe.

:hi:

[mahina]

4. Good luck to you and to all,

we'll be thinking of you and sending good thoughts.

Seeing it pass. Aloha.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Good luck

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Take care of yourself and stay safe!

I'm here in NE NY and the rain and winds have started here, too. Here's hoping that we don't lose power, but it already happens a lot, here in the north country. Wishing you all the best... :pals:

[rocktivity]

7. Near Newark NJ, I'm expecting my lights to go at any second

But I've charged up my cell phone and downloaded an app which will extend my battery's life. I've got two nieces in Virginia -- near DC and Norfolk -- who I've been talking to through Facebook.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Rhiannon12866]

8. Thanks for checking in!

Here's hoping your lights stay on, but the winds are pretty high. I have family in both NJ and Conn and am hoping that they're all safe tonight. We're expecting the worst tomorrow here in NY, but the rain and winds have started. Stay safe! :grouphug:

[rocktivity]

19. That's why I haven't gone to bed.

If I DON'T turn out the lights, then they CAN'T go out, right?

Nonetheless, I'm stocked up on canned goods, water, ice, and chafing dish cooking gel, plus "the three B's" -- batteries, booze, and birth control!

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Rhiannon12866]

20. I'm the same way, LOL.

I discovered that I have half of the lights on, since if there are enough of them, they can't go out, right?! And I keep thinking that I ought to cook something, in case I can't tomorrow... With the exception of watching Paul McCartney on SNL, I've had the TV on hurricane coverage all day, as if I expect them to tell me what's going to happen right here tomorrow... :crazy:

You can't change anything, so you might as well get some rest, but I certainly know that's easier said than done... :pals: :hi:

[Dawson Leery]

9. Here's the outage map from CL & P.

http://www.cl-p.com/outage/OutageMap.aspx

[NutmegYankee]

10. That red town, Montville, is mine. 32% of customers offline.nt

[Dawson Leery]

11. I thought so.

[NutmegYankee]

14. It appears my entire subdivision is out. So that's about a third of the town. nt

[NutmegYankee]

12. Thanks for the good wishes!

I turned on my laptop and figured out that the modem is on it's own battery to keep the phone going. The wind and rain have picked up. I went outside and confirmed that the entire neighborhood is out of power.

I am well supplied to go without electricity for days, so it will just be annoying for however long it lasts. I have a camp stove with fuel, and plenty of flashlights and batteries. Once again, Good luck out there!

[krispos42]

22. If you can get a power inverter for your car...

...you could recharge your laptop battery with it. It converts 12 volt DC to 120 volt AC... house current.


I have a small one that fits in a cupholder. It has 2 120 volt outlets (I think it's 200 watts total), plus a 12-volt plug and a USB plug on it. You might be able to find one around.

[ohheckyeah]

13. Stay safe

and good luck. Know that we are thinking about you and all of those in the path of the storm.

[femmedem]

16. Here in New London, CT

We lost power early, around 10:00 pm. It's been back on about an hour.

[Tx4obama]

18. Here's a LIST for the folks that still have electricity / or for the 'next' hurricane.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1816752

[lindysalsagal]

21. I couldn't sleep. I guess you're all out of power or asleep now. It's getting scary.

My fence is wobbling pretty good. I don't expect any damage to the house. But this is really not fun.

I have friends down in the Bronx and Coney Island. I hope they're ok.

[ellenrr]

24. I'm awake. So far have not lost power (in NJ). Still could.

No wind here, heavy rain all night.

My flowers are damaged, but if that's all, then I've gotten off light.

I've turned off the sound on the tv, can't stand these idiot broadcasters and their fear-mongering, but from what I see, it looks like the hurricane,...err..tropical storm, is winding down.

Hope you who are still in the path make it ok.

[NutmegYankee]

23. Update: 6:30 AM

I can't believe my modem battery is still going! We are now getting some incredibly strong gusts. I'm watching mature ash trees bend in a U shape. Leaves and branches are scattered all throughout the yard. My vegetable garden has been leveled to the ground, with the tomato stakes and cages bent sideways. The power is still out and has now grown to 41% of the town. Rain has been light.

Update 7:20 - I live on a tall hill in New London County, about 540 feet above sea level so I'm seeing higher level winds. Torrential rains are now coming in. Stay safe fellow DUers!

[Raven]

25. SW NH here. Rain and wind woke me up at 5 this a.m. We are

several hours from the worst conditions here but the rain is very, very heavy and comes in waves. The forecasters up here are talking about 60 mph winds this afternoon and higher gusts. There is going to be a lot of tree damage, I think. It will probably happen later today or tonight after everything has been saturated. I still have public power which surprises me since a sneeze can shut the power down around here. My dogs are full basket cases now. I have one sitting on each foot and when I move, they move. :-)Stay safe everyone!

[malaise]

26. Damn I'd better call my brother and his family

Stay safe :grouphug:

[Bonhomme Richard]

28. Stil have it here in NW n/t