Sandy is not much fun, Only lack of competence and corruption can explain LIPA
We are here, our house is intact, and we have access to food and water. That's the good news.
We have no power, meaning no lights, heat, kitchen equipment, hot water, computer. Even my cell phone does not work. We do have land lines and we do have gas in the cars because I filled them all up before the storm hit. We have flashlights and batteries. We have down sleeping bags and that's a very good thing because it's getting COLD --- 32 F last night, 28 tonight, with a storm on the way Wednesday, not a hurricane but I'm not sure if our largest tree can take another pounding, lost two huge limbs in Sandy but they missed the house but how safe it is now who knows. Tree services are all busy with bigger problems.
This is not fun, one could even say hard on the spirit and even the body, cold is not a friend. Our life has come to a standstill. Certainly we are much better off than many others and that is something to remember. This will not make us stronger, as the stupid saying incorrectly attributed to Neitsche(sp?) goes, but is will certainly make normal life seems glorious whenever that arrives.
Now in a local school, internet access is available on a rationed basis. Other comments:
--- Long Island Power Authority(LIPA) should have its management sacked(put them in shackles at the town squares) and be taken over by the state government. The Con-ED utility running Queens towns just four miles away from us(Little Neck, Douglaston, Bayside) all have power, most of Brooklyn has power, most of Manhattan has power, older daughter never lost hers in Brooklyn. Still 900,000 homes without power on Long Island. LIPA, like the Long Island Railroad, and the Long Island county governments, is rife with corruption, cronyism, patronage, nepotism, incompetence, a corrupt sourcing process, and unions that are a huge burden. Is my opinion clear, I guess so.
---The Red Cross was so busy raising money, as always, that they did not show up in the NY region until Friday afternoon and seem to be just piggybacking on the already significantly underway activity of local residents and responders, as well as FEMA. Yesterday they had shipped Red Cross members from Mexico to walk around our town in their fancy uniforms with their highly visible insignias identifying their nationality but doing nothing. How much did it cost to fly them here and house and feed them? Their many overpaid administrators and their track record incompetence and inflexible administrative bungling from Katrina to Haiti to other spots suggests that it should relieved of its non-profit status and relieved of the funds it raises. Maybe overseas they are better in some places. Last I heard, five years ago, the head of the Red Cross made $600,000 a year, travel, car, home expenses all paid for as well. Looks like a for profit, but it's just not as efficient as many private taxable concerns are.
---Must sign off as my computer at the local school is time up for me. More at another time.
We have no power, meaning no lights, heat, kitchen equipment, hot water, computer. Even my cell phone does not work. We do have land lines and we do have gas in the cars because I filled them all up before the storm hit. We have flashlights and batteries. We have down sleeping bags and that's a very good thing because it's getting COLD --- 32 F last night, 28 tonight, with a storm on the way Wednesday, not a hurricane but I'm not sure if our largest tree can take another pounding, lost two huge limbs in Sandy but they missed the house but how safe it is now who knows. Tree services are all busy with bigger problems.
This is not fun, one could even say hard on the spirit and even the body, cold is not a friend. Our life has come to a standstill. Certainly we are much better off than many others and that is something to remember. This will not make us stronger, as the stupid saying incorrectly attributed to Neitsche(sp?) goes, but is will certainly make normal life seems glorious whenever that arrives.
Now in a local school, internet access is available on a rationed basis. Other comments:
--- Long Island Power Authority(LIPA) should have its management sacked(put them in shackles at the town squares) and be taken over by the state government. The Con-ED utility running Queens towns just four miles away from us(Little Neck, Douglaston, Bayside) all have power, most of Brooklyn has power, most of Manhattan has power, older daughter never lost hers in Brooklyn. Still 900,000 homes without power on Long Island. LIPA, like the Long Island Railroad, and the Long Island county governments, is rife with corruption, cronyism, patronage, nepotism, incompetence, a corrupt sourcing process, and unions that are a huge burden. Is my opinion clear, I guess so.
---The Red Cross was so busy raising money, as always, that they did not show up in the NY region until Friday afternoon and seem to be just piggybacking on the already significantly underway activity of local residents and responders, as well as FEMA. Yesterday they had shipped Red Cross members from Mexico to walk around our town in their fancy uniforms with their highly visible insignias identifying their nationality but doing nothing. How much did it cost to fly them here and house and feed them? Their many overpaid administrators and their track record incompetence and inflexible administrative bungling from Katrina to Haiti to other spots suggests that it should relieved of its non-profit status and relieved of the funds it raises. Maybe overseas they are better in some places. Last I heard, five years ago, the head of the Red Cross made $600,000 a year, travel, car, home expenses all paid for as well. Looks like a for profit, but it's just not as efficient as many private taxable concerns are.
---Must sign off as my computer at the local school is time up for me. More at another time.
posted by John Borden at 10:46 AM
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