Hurricane Sandy...the Blogger on the Beach, So to Speak...

2:56 pm, Eastern time...I'm back at my house, after spending the morning and balance of the afternoon out and about.  As I have no specific duties until tomorrow, I've made my preparations to ride out the storm, before I have to ride into it.

I wrote earlier about the cycle of madness when people go out of their minds and buy out the store; based so far on what little I've heard from the eastern shore of the US, we might well have a reason to be a bit worried.

I was up and out early this morning to...and yes, I railed about this, and here I am being a part of it...to replace my cell phone.

Let's just say it was lost in an unfortunate accident and a bit of my own foolishness.  Anyway, I zipped over to the Galleria (Deatheria, some call it) Mall near my house.  I wondered if it would even be open.

Rain had been falling much of the night, and it was steady but not unusual.  The ground was pretty saturated, and there as a little wind.

Well, thanks to the Verizon guy, he was there, and got me fitted out with a new one...a "free" upgrade on my account, so that took no time.  While getting my data transferred, he noted a text that the Capital City Mall in Harrisburg was closing.

I wondered if most of the stores in the mall would even open today.

Anyway, I took a ride up Route 30 to the Office...they were open, and from there I watched as things unfolded.

I even managed a quick workout at the gym; Morebucks closed at 2 pm, the gym closed at 3, and other than convenience stores and gas stations, just about everything else has already shut down.

So far, no real concerns or worries.  I did not detect anyone being really flipped out, like some seemed to be the during the buyout.

So I'm home, and as long as I have power of some sort, I'll be transmitting.

Some shots of the property I just took...the rain is falling steadily still, with a few gusts but nothing serious as of yet.

http://www.noaa.gov/stormcentral/

NOAA is on top of the situation as well...this gives you a pretty fair look of how it's doing.

NPR and one of my employers, WITF have been keeping tabs on the storm as well.  None of the alarmist, Frankenstorm bullshit; we'll have enough time to get into that later.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20121635

This link is to the BBC, and they are keeping a close watch as well.  Doing a good job.

So, you may ask, why am I not out there reporting?  Well, this is where I am.  I will be on duty for WITF tomorrow, and I am essentially the extra pair of hands.  If they need me, I come off the bench.

I am again "on the beach," but figuratively.  You feel like you should be out there, or doing something, but that's how it goes.  I'll have enough to worry about and do later.

I must be a real geek...while traveling through Harrisburg recently, I realized I was listening to AM 1670.  In that area, that is the NOAA Weather Radio relay station.  If you don't have a specific Weather Radio (as I do at home), you can the National Weather Service forecast and other related information from there.

I found that infinitely more interesting than anything that was on the radio at that moment!  My presets are to the sports stations and the weather channel, because there is NOTHING worth listening to on the AM other than that.  And the sports stations are barely tolerable.

I don't listen to FM radio hardly at all; my car presets are WITF, whom I work for, 91.7 in Philly (NPR, Jazz) and 95.3 (ESPN).  I used to have an XM radio, but no more.  (If you'd like to buy mine, let me know, heehee)

So now I'm listening to NOAA, and the robot voice.  My main plan is to check stuff out online, and my friends on Facebook, Twitter and other places and see how it goes.

Already the New Jersey coast and parts of New York, etc., are getting it.  A tall ship has apparently been lost, and two crewmen are missing.  I'm afraid we're gonna hear more like that.

I picked up the New York Times today, and I have something else to read, so I'll not be idle.  This is kind of how I am...you never stop being on duty, never stop wondering about how it's going out there.  And you be ready, in case of whatever.

So Baldrick is sitting beside me on the desk while I type; my coffee is brewed and I'll keep myself watching and waiting.  Our area is probably gonna get it tonight; I do hope we keep power; my landlady next door is up there in numbers, but I'm glad to see she had visitors, likely her son.  

I'll add more photos to my Facebook page as time goes on:

http://www.facebook.com/tory.gates

In any case, I understand some are trying to ride the storm out in the danger zone.  I certainly hope they're going to be all right; I honestly don't want news of peril, doom, and "if it bleeds, it leads."  

One person interviewed on NPR today said something that portends a not-good situation:  he was either on Long Island or New Jersey, I can't remember where he said.  He had lived through Hurricane Irene, and he said, this already is worse.

Uh-oh.

I am glad I don't have cable...I can just imagine what the major networks are doing right now.  

Well, that's all for now, blurkers...let me know where you're at and what's going on...stay dry, stay safe, and stay cool.