Subaru Crew - Meet The Members II

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  • rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    edited August 2011
    Fortunately the storm has lost some of its intensity. The winds are not as bad as predicted, although there have been quite a few gusts causing the entire house to creak. The rain comes in torrential bands then stops. The power was off for a couple hours. Nothing bad up here. Just hiding inside till it's over.
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    edited August 2011
    We lived with the threat of major hurricanes most years while living on the Texas Gulf Coast. I have been through a number of tropical storms (including one in February!), and gotten brushed by a few hurricanes.

    In 1983, we were hit by Hurricane Alicia. We lived about 20 miles north of Galveston Island, and about 10 miles west of Galveston Bay. I had children who was barely 6, barely 3, and 10 mo old. The storm hit the mainland at 115 mph. We were far enough inland that I was most concerned about tornadoes that are more of a threat as the hurricane moves onshore. And ... it came ashore in the middle of the night. I don't know when I've been more scared than sitting in the dark, trying to listen to a battery-powered radio, and hearing the shriek of the wind and the pounding of the rain. Yes, the house did creak and moan a LOT.

    We were lucky. We had part of a fence blow down, lost a porch light that broke, and had some water seep in around doors and windows (although I was mopping it up almost as fast as it came in). Neighbors lost parts of roofs, a couple of houses looked as if they may have been briefly touched by a tornado with part of the roof decking gone as well.

    The worst part was after the storm. Imagine going from the shrieking, howling winds to dead calm. It really does feel as if the hurricane has taken every breath of moving air right along with it as it moved through. You are left with unimaginable heat and humidity and no stirring air at all. And remember ... no power. No ice, no cold water, no fans, no A/C, nothing ....

    Lines of frustrated people trying to GET those things and all in short supply in the 1st place. Everyone has gone to get supplies before the storm hits and cleaned out store shelves. Now there is a wait of a day or two - or more in some cases - for the trucks to be able to get back into the area to restock supplies. More frustration, and more short tempers from people who are just exhausted and can't get relief from the heat and humidity.

    Yes, we were lucky. We had our house ... we had our cars, our kids, etc.

    Very interesting to 'live through' with a baby and 2 little ones! On the 5th day after the hurricane, we still had no power. I ended up taking the kids across town to a friend's house where they had power restored. We took nice baths, sat in the AC, and ate a hot meal! The next day our power was on, so we went back home.

    I vowed then to NEVER stay during another hurricane ... ever!
  • rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    edited August 2011
    Wow, Brenda! I'll take the Northeast any day!!! Actually for us, a hurricane (or reminants) is typically no worst than a good old Nor'easter, minus the huge amounts of snow. What makes it so painful is the hype and anticipation and panic created by everyone and everything related to the impending storm. And yes, sometimes the storm damage ...

    As with all other New England weather, once it started, it hit fast and hard and now almost quickly as it started, it's over. I ran errands yesterday morning - it was totally mental out there. There were lines at the gas stations, food stores and Home Depot. The ATM had no money. Common courtesy was gone.

    Today, there was a lot of hard wind and heavy rain. We did lose power early this morning, but surprisingly, it was back before we expected. It was nice to just read a book and re-connect with the family (not that the three of us haven't spent a lot of time together this summer ...). And now this evening, all my neighbors are outside, just hanging out.

    Tomorrow, back to work. Mikey starts school on Thursday. Then it's Labor Day and the official end of Summer. Life moves on ...
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    I don't know; a loose trampoline makes a really good offensive weapon under these conditions. The smart thing is to turn them over and then tie them down so that wind does not get under the cloth.

    Although turning it over sounds like a great idea, ours has the integrated 6' poles to attach the mesh sides to. I didn't even think of having to secure the trampoline until my wife mentioned a co-worker whose trampoline took out 3 fences down the street before landing in a pool a few years ago.

    I used 3/8 rebar I bent around a lally column and then staked into the ground.
  • dcm61dcm61 Member Posts: 1,567
    The hurricane itself wasn't too bad in SE PA ... wind and rain from late yesterday afternoon through around noon, then just wind 'til early afternoon.

    But ... 20 hours and counting without power at my house. :cry:

    Dave
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Same here in MD; lots of rain and wind--and also 20 hours and counting without power. Limping through with a generator though.

    Daughter and son-in-law went to beach today. What a difference a day makes!

    Bob
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    edited August 2011
    It was a long night of rain and wind. All of the UPS units around the house chirped in unison as the power cycled on and off, so I was constantly jumping up to see if it was just the UPS units or the basement water alarms sounding. Multiple trips to the basement, but it stayed warm and bone dry. I guess the work I did Friday night on the cracks paid dividends!

    The 'eye' passed over late morning, and it was bright sun for a bit. I shot some video of the stream in the ravine that now looked like the Colorado River, and some down trees. One thing was particularly funny. The tree that split and nailed the house last month - the other half broke off but went in the opposite direction. This time it is purely Toll Brothers to worry about.

    Other than a few brief periods, power is up. Cannot say the same for some of the other houses on the street. I have a lot of cleanup and two trees to assess whether to take down tomorrow. Way to windy this afternoon to work safely outside for any big jobs.

    All things considered, we made out great. Its been a long two days, and I really need some sleep!
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    Remarkably pleased to hear how many have got through this one okay.

    One thing which does mystify me is the human behaviour where risk control has been effective. Pundits always say that the risk was overstated because the damage was less than the experts warned and hence they were alarmist. I saw it repeatedly in the UK during the 1990's where the Police would clear an area, after receiving a bomb warning, avoiding casualties. The logic went something along the lines of; "There were no casualties; therefore there was no risk!" This entirely missed the potential human catastrophe avoided.

    Did anyone score a new greenhouse in their back garden; that was our winner for the weirdest claim after the 1989 storm in England. Poor guy was mystified to look out the back as he did not own a now, neatly planted greenhouse in his rear garden

    Cheers

    Graham

    Cheers

    Graham
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Monty Python: loudly singing "Spam, lovely Spam, wonderful Spam."

    First post from a new spammer.....
  • dcm61dcm61 Member Posts: 1,567
    32 hours and no more counting ... power is back on. :)

    The power company status of my outage:
    As of 08:35 AM on 08/29/2011 we are working to restore your service as quickly and safely as possible. Currently we are working to identify the cause of the outage. We expect to have service restored by 11:00 PM on 09/02/2011. Thank you for your patience.
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Brenda, I realize that 1983 was 'early' for the general availability of portable generators. I didn't buy my first unit until the late 1990's, although we had talked about it at length prior to that having lived thru a number of severe winter storms.

    Today, you can buy one of the little portable units that you see vendor use at the flea markets. The most basic unit from Harbor Freight was on sale last week for $89. $250, or about the price of a lawn mower will get you an entry level unit more than capable of supporting a refrigerator, a few lights & fans, boiler/furnace even a shallow well pump (not all at the same time....). By the time you get to $400, you are into pretty serious 240v units for deep wells, etc.

    Today, a basic generator should be a staple in everyone's garage. Its an essential part of your disaster preparedness kit.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Good call on the folding hard top, far more secure.

    You know what's funny? I went with Bob to that dealer, and we checked one out in the parking lot. In fact it was open, so I remember climbing inside that car.

    That was a while ago, but the funny thing is it just may have been your car, if that was unsold.

    We were there to look at Subies, the new Impreza wide-body had just come out and we also wanted to see some new colors.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    We dodged a bullet, I think. The size of the storm was incredible yet all we got was rain and wind, and neither was that intense in Potomac, MD.

    Even our condo in Ocean City, MD, was OK.

    I think both the Outer Banks and some parts of Jersey got hit harder, though.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    No power for us yet. See many BGE trucks out there, so I know they're on it.

    Bob
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    If you want a hot meal, wrap food in tin foil and do some engine bay cookin'!

    Turbo cooked Turbot? :D
  • hondafriekhondafriek Member Posts: 2,984
    edited August 2011
    I hope all of the crew came through the hurricane relatively unscathed.
    Cheers Pat.
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    luckily I no longer live on the coast and don't worry have to deal with the storms (just worry about parents and my oldest daughter's family) ...

    we have talked about getting a generator here ... while we rarely lose power .. ours would be because of a winter snow storm and we'd have no heat! ... we'd really like a large one ....
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Glad you all are ok!

    From the news footage you would think the East Coast was under water!!!

    Sorry all, we had a sunny weekend in Seattle- 80 degrees!

    Hope there's not too much to clean up for you guys!

    tom
  • rob_mrob_m Member Posts: 820
    Today was beautiful, sunny and 80 degrees! No damage here other than my entire yard is completely covered with twigs, leaves and most of my flowers. Total power loss was two hours early on. I'm amazed that it stayed on for the duration. My cellar stayed dry which was amazing for the amount of rain. Now looking forward to enjoying the long weekend!
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    edited August 2011
    And a wintertime power outage can lead to pipe freezing and a whole additional layer of damage to your heating system & domestic running water. Replacing a baseboard heating system and dealing with the water damage can run $10k or more. Again, you don't need much more than a 2000w generator and a transfer switch to avoid huge new expenses and heartache. Prevention is far better than any insurance policy.
  • lilbluewgn02lilbluewgn02 Member Posts: 1,089
    From June 1 to Nov 30, we here in the lovely(?) state of Florida listen to the weather every night to see whats coming down the pike. Irene decided to bypass us completely. We had some rain but nothing out of the ordinary for this time of the year. I spoke to Michael the day after Irene hit Philadelphia, and his area got rain and winds but no power outages and no flooding. In fact, he and his house mates were watching Weeds when I called. I read that Center City got hit really bad.

    The last time we got hit badly was Wilma, when it come right through Coral Springs. The house had all its shutters up and it's like twilight with a bit of light coming in from the tops and bottoms of the shutters. The eye was a strange period with a silence like in a sound room. We all ran outside to see the damage, running around the house and making sure everything was still tight, then running back in before Part 2 came. We ended up losing power for 3 days. We were lucky as parts of Coral Springs had no power for weeks. Driving around was very disorienting as all the trees that provided you with landmarks were gone. It was as if you were in a different city; nothing looked familiar.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Well, in a wild twist - I was impacted, today in fact.

    My sister is under contract to buy a house, and today she was supposed to settle.

    Was.

    Due to Irene, the tenants were not able to move out. They had planned to do so this weekend, but Irene pretty much wiped out half of Saturday and Sunday, so the property is not vacant!

    Yikes. Reboot, try again. We will do another walk-through on Friday. Our bank said no problem, just hoping their bank is OK with it (it's a short sale). Given they probably can't wait to be rid of this property, I doubt they'll object.

    So it delayed my sister's American Dream, for now at least.

    Our cousin is still without power, too. I think they got a generator, though.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Hahah; well, it certainly could be worse than a small delay!

    We're feeling the effects from that storm a bit this week as well; trying to do business with "East Coast" companies this week is a real nightmare. :cry:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 267,780
    Same here!

    I tried to call the dealership in Silver Spring, and got their off-site call center.. Dealer is open and power is on, but all computers and phones at the dealership are out..

    I'm not sure how I'll get through the day... ;)

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  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    edited August 2011
    Power came on about an hour ago! Life is good. :)

    Bob
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    one of my schools had one of the worst things I can think of happen ... one of the students died unexpectedly over the weekend .... it's a tough, tough time for adults and children both ....
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    That does top all. So sorry to hear that.
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    The evening around here is still disturbed by the sound of generators running. We have an underground feed, but most of my neighbors have lines on poles that run thru the trees, and a number of them got hammered.

    One of the technicians that work for me lives in one of the hard hit areas on the other side of the Hudson. He's out, and his mom's house in NJ is under water. I've also talked to some friends who work at our sister plant in Essex Junction, VT - another area hard hit by floods.

    Still plenty of misery to go around, unfortunately.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    My cousin still has no power. It came on and then went back out, what a tease! They have no hot water, but at least a generator for the fridge.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Indeed.

    We were struck by a tragedy yesterday at a local school when a driver went berserk (still not sure what was the issue) and not only failed to stop at an intersection where school children were crossing on their way to the elementary school across the street, but accelerated through it, hitting a child, and continuing through a neighboring yard to hit parked vehicles, fences, etc., before finally coming to rest.

    The child is still alive, but it is sketchy at this point.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Well, at least they're alive! The rest of it is simply a matter of convenience.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    Every parents worst nightmare.....
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Indeed, though she is among the last 324 people to get power...still dark.

    They're coming over tonight for an electricity fest and probably some hot showers!
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Sure is. The boy who was struck died today of his injuries. :mad: :cry:
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,735
    Cool! Isn't it amazing how something we come to take for granted can quickly become a luxury?!
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • lilbluewgn02lilbluewgn02 Member Posts: 1,089
    Last summer, one of our teachers, 35 years old, died suddenly. To this day, none of us are sure how he died, and his family hasn't disclosed it. Then this summer, one of our security guys, a wonderful gentleman who had served in the UN security group, covering many presidents (he gave me a copy of a letter to him him from Nancy Reagan), died while on vacation in St. Martin of a massive heart attack. He was older, around 72 or so, but seemingly always in good shape. Two deaths in 2 years has definitely shocked our school.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Power is back for them, finally.
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    edited September 2011
    Sudden deaths of colleagues is always hard to handle. Our lab complex is on the far side of the site from our main customer base, so we are kind of isolated. The fun part is that I wear shorts and other inappropriate business attire most days as I rarely have to see management of any importance. We also tend to be 'lifers' at this company, and those who work in labs generally like the closed quarters and rarely move to other positions. The good / bad side is that we become a close knit family and share each others pain.

    Some years back we went thru a really bad spell of 'early departures' of workers & spouses. One to a seemly random murder, three to freak accidents (car crash, falling tree, and electrocution), two heart attacks, one to MS, and a good half dozen slowly to cancer. After a while you become a bit numb. Thankfully the spacing between events has increased quite a lot in the past few years.

    Fun note - Someday, I need to get our OBW fleet together for a picture. Me = '02, Bruce = '03, Gene = '03 & Chuck = '04.
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    Yeah ... I know we all have these things ... just always seems a lot 'closer' and 'harsher' when it happens in our own circle, doesn't it?

    Overall, life is moving on. Unfortunately - due to lack of funds, etc - the child's funeral won't be held until next Wed. Seems like a long time to begin 'closure' ... I really do feel for the child's family ...

    On a brighter note ... if you'd like to read some 'entertaining' and 'thought-provoking' ideas ... try this blog ...

    tardybelle.blogspot.com ...
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    You guys stay safe ... have a great time with families ... I'm definitely going to savor it ... we have no more days off til one the very end of october ...

    Blueberry Festival here locally ... at some point over the weekend ... husband and I will go 'eat our way through it' ... lol
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    edited September 2011
    for all the 'friends of education' in any form ...

    Ode to Teachers

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/opinion/blow-an-ode-to-teachers.html?smid=fb-s-
  • ladywclassladywclass Member Posts: 1,713
    Notre Dame stadium was evacuated at half time due to thunderstorms ... a second line continues the delay of game ....

    on another note ... while I'm not an ND football fan (and don't watch much sports at all) I do enjoy the jet flyovers before the games ... the jets scream right over my house and are flying low as the stadium is only a few miles away ... when I was a kid my mother and I would run out of the house to watch the jets fly over when we lived in Ft. Worth near an AF base ... I still run out to see the jets fly over ... lol (and then I had to call her and tell her she 'trained me well' ...)
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    As a birthday gift I did an intro to racing course down at Laguna Seca this past weekend and spent a morning doing laps in an MX-5 cup car. LOTS OF FUN!!!! And while I cannot imagine driving this track at really fast speeds like the racers, I will say the Miata was a little too slow. Wish I had my STI! Or one of the 6 MB SLSs parked outside (AMG driving school) ;)

    The Corkscrew is neat- you crest the hill and can't see anything until the nose of the car just drops and you hope you aimed it in the right direction before going down! It feels like the top of a roller coaster!

    It's definitely a challenging track- lots of elevation change. I had 3 other drivers spin out in front of me which was also challenging to avoid them!

    It was a good and fun learning experience. Driving on the street is kinda boring now though!

    tom
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    Sounds like fun Tom. Oh, and Happy Birthday!

    Bob
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Sweet, sounds like fun. Must've been scary to see them spin. I hope they have good insurance!

    Anyone actually crash?
  • tsytsy Member Posts: 1,551
    Thanks Bob! Getting older is not fun, but sometimes it can be!

    It really was fun- not fast enough to be scary!

    2 guys spun but never left the track. One guy spun off the track at turn 10 into the dirt but was still far from the barriers. Left a nice cloud of dust though!

    We were driving the skip barber MX-5 Miatas and you could purchase insurance for the cars. Probably a good idea. ;)

    tom
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Yeah, else learn exactly what "drop throttle oversteer" means first hand! :D
  • fibber2fibber2 Member Posts: 3,786
    edited September 2011
    Like so many around the world, I watched segments of the 9/11 ceremonies on various networks this morning. A sad day of remembrance.

    Now about the OBW. Everything stopped on Tuesday, 9/11. Commerce ground to an abrupt halt and the fear that gripped the nation threatened to do more long term harm than the attacks themselves.

    I'm no fan of GW Bush, but one thing he said struck a cord. Paraphrased, we needed to spend our way out of malaise. Two days later while driving between our sites on the way back from giving a presentation at a forum on UPS installations for critical equipment, I stopped in to my local Subi dealer. I hadn't planned on buying a car that September, but we'd discussed replacing the Toyota wagon sometime in 2002/2003. We didn't close the deal for another two weeks as the 2002 models were just arriving, but that's how it came to be.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I remember meeting up with paisan on that semi-off road trip. We decided to go ahead and not let it interrupt our lives.

    Also took the kids to Sesame Place that weekend. Besides some extra security, it was fun, and lines were short.

    For me the lesson was enjoy life while you can, life is short, have fun, spend quality time with the people you love, doing the things you are passionate about.

    I also remember worrying about NYPDBlue, a Subaru owner on these boards, who turned out to be OK after all. Phew.

    Peace.
  • volkovvolkov Member Posts: 1,306
    We were heading to our 10 year Med School Reunion that Thursday. It was was a nightmare getting through the aftermath and all its slapped together hypersecurity with 3 3year olds. We arrived late, but made it for the Friday. Many, including basically everyone living in the US at the time cancelled last minute.
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