Still Here!

Yes, Dear Readers, Agnes and I appear to have escaped Mother Nature's wrath ... so far, anyway. This is what we all faced yesterday ...

As predicted, the brunt of the storm came through our area between about 8:00 last night and 2:00 this morning, with howling winds and heavy rain. We were concerned because of the very large trees that back up to our house, knowing that some of them have come down in storms before; up to now, they've always fallen into the woods, but if they should fall the other way ... well ... it'd be bye-bye house. So far, they're all still standing. The rain is still coming down, but the winds have diminished and are no longer the fearsome steady roar of last night.

We live at the bottom of a hill on a cul-de-sac that is drained by one meager storm drain, plus we have a stream in the woods behind the house that can get large and fierce when there's a lot of rain, but we appear to have had no flood problems ... the storm drain did yeoman service, and while we can hear the stream thundering through the trees, it didn't rise enough to get close to the house.

We lost power twice for brief periods of a minute or two, and had a lot of flickering and short brownouts, but for the most part our power stayed on through the storm. This is good, because over 100,000 people here in Northern Virginia lost theirs.

So far, so good! (Crosses fingers)

A few related thoughts ...

The news is making much of the fact that Hurricane Sandy has caused at least 16 deaths. While this is, of course, a tragedy, I can't help but think that we're very fortunate ... every time a hurricane/typhoon/monsoon/cyclone hits someplace like Bangladesh, the deaths are numbered in the tens of thousands and whole towns are wiped out. I think this reflects the wisdom of things conservatives viscerally despise ... things like job-killing^TM building codes and safety regulations. It also reflects the reality that, in spite of all other differences, Americans are able to pull together and do the right thing for each other in the face of disaster.

In other news, GOP presidential wannabe Mitt Romney blamed the failed policies of the Obama administration for the storm, while President Obama laid the blame squarely on the Bush administration.

Here we go again ... and election day is still a week away. At least now the wind will consist of political hot air, and its ill effects will take months to manifest themselves. Sigh.

Have a good day. Stay warm, safe, and dry. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

P.S. - I think I may know why I can comment on some blogs, but not others. It seems that the blogs which allow me to comment are those in which the comment posting opens in a separate window, rather than as an extension to the bottom of the post. Not sure why this should make a difference, but it looks like this is the common denominator.

B.

Hurricane Update, etc ...

Just a quick note to let you know that we're still here, and have not yet been blown out to sea.

The time is now about 5:00 PM, and the news tells us that the bulk of the storm will roll through the area between now and tomorrow morning, with the worst coming between 8:00 PM and 2:00 AM.

It's been raining steadily and occasionally heavily all day, and the wind has been increasing in strength through the afternoon ... outside my study window, the trees are waving wildly in the cold, howling wind.

So ...

All is well so far. The gin supply is holding, we have plenty of food and other necessities (except for those pesky D-cell batteries that are nowhere to be found), and as of now (and as you can see) we still have power. Wish us luck!

Break, break ... new topic ...

For some reason, for about the last week I have been completely unable to leave comments on some of your blogs ... Blogger seems to not want to accept the fact that I have an account and am logged in, and petulantly refuses to let me leave comments. I can comment on Mike's blog, but not on Angelique's or Heidi's ... and I've had some wonderful comments to make over the last few days. Anybody have an idea what's going on?

And that's all for now. Stay happy, healthy, and dry. More thoughts later.

Bilbo

So Far, So Good ...

We're now about eight hours from the expected arrival of the full strength of Hurricane Sandy. The Federal Government has shut down for the day, our Metro rail and bus system has shut down, and things are temporarily quiet. It's been raining steadily since yesterday evening - not the torrential rains we'll be getting later*, but a steady downpour to get us in the mood. So far, no winds beyond stiff breezes*. Even the presidential wannabes have calmed down the rhetoric to avoid charges that they're taking advantage of the situation.

Oy.

So ... how about a little rain and wind music?

Glenn Yarborough reminds us that Baby, the Rain Must Fall ...

We can listen to Rain on the Roof with The Lovin' Spoonful ...

Don't Let the Rain Come Down with The Serendipity Singers? Too late! ...

We may as well start Singing in the Rain with Gene Kelly ...

Or we could go Walking in the Rain with The Ronettes ...

It's Monday, and it's raining ... how about Karen Carpenter singing about Rainy Days and Mondays?

And let's not forget the Four Strong Winds with Neil Young ...

What are your favorite rain and wind songs? Leave a comment to let us know!

Have a good day. Stay safe and dry. More thoughts later, as long as the power's on.

Bilbo

* Five to 10 inches predicted so far.
** Gusts up to 70mph are possible.

As If We Had a Wind Shortage ...

By now all of you (except, perhaps, for Heidi and Kristen, who live pretty far out of the area of concern) have heard about Hurricane Sandy - the so-called "perfect storm" of 2012. Here's what it looks like in an infrared satellite image ... Cuba is under there somewhere ...

Depending on which scenario plays out, the East Coast could get pounded with heavy rain, high winds, and - in some of the mountain elevations of Maryland and New England - heavy snow. This article presents three possible scenarios for the DC local area, ranging from "I thought we were supposed to have a hurricane" to "head for the ark NOW!".

Oy!

Okay, Mother Nature, I understand you are seriously pissed off over our management of your planet. But can't you just take it out on, say, Republicans and other climate change skeptics? Don't you think we've suffered enough wind damage after three presidential and one vice presidential debate and a year of raucous political speechifying? Don't you think enough trouble has been caused by the flood of misleading (if not downright false) ads? By the blizzard of flyers stuck in doors and signs in yards? Give us a break, already!

 That is all. I think I'll go out later today and join everyone else in the tri-state area to buy vast quantities of lunch meat, toilet paper, beer, and other critical storm supplies. After all, in this area, if a single flake of snow has a 30% chance of appearing, everyone panics. Why should I be any different?

Have a good day. Batten down your hatches, and come back tomorrow for the Halloween edition of Cartoon Saturday. See you then.

Bilbo