My Sandy experience November 10, 2012
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, DVD, Health, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Photography, Radio, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.5 comments
The nightmare known as Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy was thrust upon my attention on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24, hours before seeing pianist David Benoit perform at the Iridium Jazz Club. The first report I read about the storm had a few scenarios, which included turning east out to sea and taking a sharp westerly turn toward the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S, combining with an approaching cold front. By the second report, the latter scenario became more likely. With each passing report, until it made landfall in South New Jersey on the evening of October 29, more and more models showed that worst case scenario. And with each passing report, I grew more and more paranoid and fearful of what would happen.
Sandy was so large that its effects were first felt through cloud cover on Saturday, October 27. The following day, October 28, showers and minor wind gusts began. I couldn’t stand hearing the wind plowing into the windows and wall from my Wantagh home’s east-facing bedroom. So, I slept in the basement that night.
When I woke up early on October 29, the worst still hadn’t arrived, but the wind was still strong, around 30 miles per hour with gusts in the 50s. Somehow, the power did not go out during the morning. By 1:30 PM, the power began to flicker off and on, and at 1:45, the power went out to stay and wouldn’t return until nine days later. Back in the basement, as the wind continued to howl upstairs, now approaching sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts to 60, I used my Sennheiser studio headphones to listen to audiobooks on my CD-playing Walkman. But spoken words were unable to completely drown out the sound of wind. So, rather than waste battery power on my iPod, I used the Walkman, which runs on AA batteries, to listen to music. I took two pairs of CDs that I used for my two recent WCWP Homecoming Weekend shows and a dozen albums. When I wasn’t listening to news radio for the latest on Sandy, or sports radio to forget about Sandy, I was listening to my CDs.
My parents, sister, and I were prepared with plenty of bottled water, bags of food, canned goods, AA batteries, C batteries, D batteries, and a generator. We didn’t use the generator until after the height of Sandy, which came around 8PM, shortly after it transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone. While the worst winds pummeled the house, gusting as high as 85 mph, we congregated in the living room where an extension cord ran from the generator in the backyard to the middle of the room. There, I plugged in a power strip and we plugged in a table lamp for light, and all our rechargeable electronics. For a time, we watched DVDs on my sister’s laptop. After a couple of hours, my dad turned off the generator and we all went to sleep. I returned to the basement for that.
Outside of a tree falling in my next-block neighbor’s back yard, two shingles falling off our roof, a toppled-over garbage pail on the side of the house, and branches and leaves on the grass, I was clueless about the extent of damage in my area. But a tree fell a block east of our house, which is why our power went out, and a few trees fell one block north and west.
At around 11AM on October 30, I walked around the exterior of my house to take aftermath pictures.
I began at my front patio, worked my way around the house, and then to the curb:
The pails on the west side of the house:
I fixed the pail that blew over about half an hour before taking pictures.
The container that covered the gas cans for generator fuel blew off:
When the power strip wasn’t connected to the extension cord, either the microwave or coffee maker were plugged in.
I turned this table upside down on Sunday and removed the tiles, stacking them on the ground near the wall:
The tile-less table was moved slightly by the high winds.
There had been a tree in the center of this empty space:
Part of it fell into our back yard:
Or it may have been from this tree which fell at around 6:00 the night before:
I was in the basement listening to a CD on my Walkman and could hear my dad in the kitchen saying “Tree down!”
You can barely see a tree down up the road to the east:
To the west, a utility poll was slanted (not visible in pic):
A week later, my sister took the following pictures on our street from east to west:
As bad as things looked on our block, the absolute worst hit areas were waterfront communities. Main floors and basements were destroyed. House and building fires that started after flooding began couldn’t be contained and had to burn out. Knowing all this gave me survivor guilt. I felt guilty that my house was hardly damaged and all I lost was power, while my friends in places like South Freeport, Baldwin Harbor, Island Park, Long Beach, Lido Beach, and Massapequa lost everything that wasn’t on the second floor or higher. The Rockaways and Staten Island were hit just as hard.
An example of how hard Freeport was hit can be seen in this video of damage to the Nautical Mile (Woodcleft Avenue), via The Weekly Freeporter YouTube channel:
Guilt aside, I developed cabin fever after two days at my powerless house (outside of generated power). So, on the night of Halloween, after riding out Tuesday night in my increasingly cold bedroom, I made the trip to a family friend’s house in Rockville Centre (power had just returned after only two days). I would spend the next week there while power was out at home. Of all the times for power to come back, on the afternoon of November 7, it was as a wet snow-producing nor’easter began to affect the Northeast. Unlike Sandy, however, the center of this nor’easter was far offshore and the winds were not too strong on Western Long Island. The wet snow bent but somehow did not break tree limbs, and it gradually melted or fell off the following day.
While power returned on November 7, cable did not come back until two days later.
After experiencing the March 2010 Nor’easter, Irene, and now Sandy, I can only hope that it’s a very long time before another major storm of Sandy’s magnitude hits the East Coast.
We’ll conclude this post with a few pictures in Rockville Centre on November 7 as snow began to accumulate…
…and a picture on November 8, hours after shoveling the driveway at home:
Also:
Laura Donovan: The Domino Effect Of Hurricane Sandy: Why One Natural Disaster Changed Everything For Me (dead link as of 10/29/18)
Peter Hoare: How Hurricane Sandy Ravaged My Town (Long Beach)
11/13 UPDATE: Yesterday, I walked my street from east to west to get a close look at the cut-up downed trees, and the damage caused by them:
As I took this last shot, Town of Hempstead sanitation trucks were making their way up the street to remove debris:
Spring 2009 pre-order update #2 May 6, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Jazz, Media, Personal.add a comment
In recent weeks, I’ve had so many things to listen to, watch, and read, I feel pressured to review all of them. On top of that, I haven’t posted anything in two weeks. So, here is what I’ve been listening to, watching, and reading between April 23 and today:
- Joyce Cooling, “Global Cooling” (CD)
- Bernie Williams, “Moving Forward” (CD)
- Dennis Miller: The HBO Comedy Specials (DVD)
- Down to the Bone, “Future Boogie” (CD)
- Spyro Gyra, “Down The Wire” (CD)
- Suzy Welch, 10-10-10: 10 Minutes, 10 Months, 10 Years; A Life-Transforming Idea (hardcover book, CD)
I enjoyed all of the above and learned a few things in the process. What more could you ask for?
“Dad Side” reading/listening complete! December 9, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Personal.add a comment
Moments ago (4:42 PM EST), I completed reading and listening to “Tales from the Dad Side” by Steve Doocy. As I said on Thanksgiving night, it took two months (just over two months, actually) to complete “A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity” by Bill O’Reilly. I ate up “Dad Side” (so to speak) in just under two weeks! Precisely, twelve days.
Now, if I could just finish reading “The Power of Body Language” by body language expert Tonya Reiman. I started that in January, but never finished it. If it had an accompanying audiobook, I probably would have finished it by March. To give you an idea of how long it’s been since I started, the book comes out in paperback this month! If that isn’t reason enough to hurry up and finish reading my hardcover copy, I don’t know what is.
“Bold, Fresh” reading/listening complete! November 27, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Personal.add a comment
It took me two months of reading and listening on and off, but tonight, I finally completed “A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity” by Bill O’Reilly.
Next up for me, “Tales from the Dad Side” by Steve Doocy.
Finally, a new post! November 16, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Bowling, Jazz, Media, Personal, Technology, TV, Video Games.3 comments
I have not posted anything to my blog in a week and a half. So, let’s get a few things out of the way:
1. Last Saturday afternoon, I went to the Barnes & Noble in Carle Place for a book signing and discussion event. The author was Steve Doocy, co-host of “Fox & Friends,” the Fox News Channel’s daily morning show. The book is “Tales from the Dad Side.” I had purchased the unabridged audiobook on Amazon a few weeks earlier, but I bought the book itself before I went up to the discussion area.
When it was my turn to have my book signed, a female employee was nice enough to take a picture of Steve and me:
It was a pleasure to meet him in person. Thank you very much, Steve.
2. Last Saturday night, I bowled another 200+ game playing Wii Sports’ Bowling for Nintendo Wii. You may remember back on August 31, I bowled a 257. On this night, I wasn’t able to match that score, but I did come close: 219. Here’s the final scorecard, as seen from a picture of the TV taken after the game:
3. Though I had said in early June that my computer was working and “back to normal,” nothing could have been further from the truth. The blue screens of death (BSODs) continued, becoming a matter-of-fact occurrence. I would get at least one per day. On some days, I would get up to four BSoDs! I mistakenly believed they were the result of my NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA drivers not working with Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1. Then, in mid-October, it finally hit me: it’s faulty memory causing the BSoDs. That’s what I get for buying four discounted 1 GB (gigabyte) memory DIMMs in late May. I replaced two of them with Dell DIMMs after ordering them from the Dell website. They were made exclusively for my computer, a Dell Dimension E521, based on my Service Tag. I have not had a blue screen since installing them (knock on wood).
4. Since my last pre-order update, I’ve ordered a few more CDs:
Tom Scott, “Desire” (Wounded Bird; re-release)
David Benoit, “Jazz For Peanuts” (Peak)
Kim Waters, “I Want You: Love In The Spirit Of Marvin” (Shanachie)
Saxophonist Tom Scott’s “Desire” was originally released in 1982 on Elektra, but was re-released on October 14. The tracks on the album are: the title track (re-recorded on “Them Changes” in 1990), “Sure Enough,” “The Only One,” “Stride,” “Johnny B. Badd,” “Meet Somebody,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and “Chunk O’ Funk.” I’m hooked on “Stride,” and also like “Chunk O’ Funk” and “Johnny B. Badd.”
“Jazz For Peanuts” was released on October 29. Six of the tracks were newly recorded by David Benoit:
- “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown” (Vince Guaraldi); This track features horn player Christian Scott on trumpet.
- “The Great Pumpkin Waltz” (Vince Guaraldi)
- “Wild Kids” (re-recording of track from “Urban Daydreams” in 1989); This track features pianist Taylor Eigsti. 2:16 into the song, David and Taylor kick into a lively improv section. Like Tom Scott’s “Stride,” I’m hooked on this section.
- “Be My Valentine” (Vince Guaraldi)
- “Rollerblading”; This track also features Christian Scott.
- “Re-Run’s Theme”
The non-Benoit tracks were:
- Wynton Marsalis Septet – “The Buggy Ride” (unreleased, recorded for “This is America, Charlie Brown: The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk”)
- Dave Brubeck – “Benjamin” (from “Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!” in 1989; recorded for “This is America, Charlie Brown: The NASA Space Station”)
- Kenny G – “Breadline Blues” (from “Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!” in 1989; recorded for “This is America, Charlie Brown: The Smithsonian and the Presidency”)
- Vince Guaraldi [Trio] – “Linus and Lucy” (from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in 1965)
Kim Waters’ “I Want You: Love In The Spirit Of Marvin” was also released on October 29. I just got this in the mail today. So, it’s too soon for me to review it. But I like the instrumental tracks I’ve heard so far. The “Marvin” is the late, great Marvin Gaye.
5. Tomorrow, I turn 27 years old (or young).
I think that covers everything that needs to be covered for now. Hopefully, it won’t be another week and a half until the next post.
Summer pre-order update #3 September 24, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Jazz, Personal.add a comment
On the second day of Fall, here’s another Summer Pre-Order Update. I got a booty of goods yesterday (Tuesday): the book and audiobook for Bill O’Reilly’s “A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity,” Fourplay’s new album “Energy,” and Spyro Gyra’s “A Night Before Christmas.”
So far, I have listened to five of the eight instrumental tracks on “Energy” and like them all. And I’ve completed the introduction for “A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity.” Now, on to Chapter 1. I’ll likely get around to “A Night Before Christmas” today or tomorrow.
Summer pre-order update #2 August 27, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Media, Personal, TV.add a comment
For the first time in the 3 1/2-month history of these pre-order posts, I’m reporting that I’ve pre-ordered something other than a music CD. I have pre-ordered a nonfiction book and unabridged audiobook (CD):
Bill O’Reilly, “A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity: A Memoir” (9/23)
Courtesy Amazon.com
Here is the book synopsis:
In 1957, in the heart of the Eisenhower years, in the third grade classroom of Sister Mary Lurana in Saint Brigid’s parochial school in Westbury, Long Island, was a mouthy, obstreperous kid by the name of William O’Reilly. Quite a handful he was, and so one day Sister Lurana bent over him in exasperation in response to some piece of mischief and told him to his face, “William, you are a bold fresh piece of humanity.” Little did she know that she was, early in his career as a troublemaker, defining the essence of Bill O’Reilly and providing him with the title of his brash and entertaining issues-based memoir.
In his most intimate book yet, O’Reilly goes back in time to examine the people, places, and experiences that launched him on his journey from being a working-class kid to an immensely influential television personality and bestselling author. Readers will learn how his traditional outlook was formed in the crucible of his family, his neighborhood, his church, and his schools, and how his views on America’s proper role in the world emerged from covering four wars on five continents over three-plus decades as a news correspondent. What will delight his many fans and surprise many others is the humor and self-deprecation with which he handles one of his core subjects: himself, and just how O’Reilly became O’Reilly.
MikeChimeri.com 
Bolder & Fresher Tour at Westbury recap August 21, 2011
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Commentary, Media, News, Personal, Politics, Radio, TV, Weather.11 comments
(2/22/13 UPDATE: For those that found this post by search engine, this is a recap of the original Bolder-Fresher show at Westbury in August 2011. There will be another show there on June 1 of this year, but I won’t be attending that one.)
(12/6/14 UPDATE: On the other hand, I will be attending the Don’t Be a Pinhead Tour show at Westbury on May 2, 2015. The new name for the tour is the result of retooling.)
(Update at the bottom with viewer e-mails from audience members at 10/29 Mohegan Sun show, 11/2 Miller Time segment, my quick review of Killing Lincoln, and highlights from the 10/29 show.)
Last night, I returned to what is now the NYCB Theatre at Westbury for the debut of the Bolder & Fresher Tour starring Bill O’Reilly and Dennis Miller.
I went with my dad and we were joined later by family friend Joe Falco. Joe is a former FDNY firefighter who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center’s south tower on September 11, 2001. My college senior project was a documentary featuring his recollections and a return to Ground Zero where he retraced his steps.
The show was at 8:00, but since it was nearly sold out, Dad and I left the house at 6:45 to be safe. It took about fifteen minutes to arrive. Once in the theatre, we sat down for 50 minutes. Our seats were adjacent to the aisle where Bill and Dennis walked to and from the stage. A few minutes after 8:00, the lights dimmed, and Bill, via the public address system, introduced “the fresh part of the Bolder Fresher Tour, Miller!” My dad said he and Dennis made eye contact during his walk down to the stage.
Dennis’ material was toned down a bit. In TV ratings terms, he was TV-14-DL; no s- or f-words but suggestive dialogue. His 35-minute set touched on many topics, including:
Then, it was Bill’s turn. Among his topics were:
After a 15-minute intermission, Bill and Dennis returned for 35 minutes of Q&A. At this point, the two sat in stools while the stage rotated. It took Dennis a few minutes to notice that and then he acknowledged it to the audience. They each had stories to tell. Dennis talked about:
Bill talked about his upbringing, from Levittown to The O’Reilly Factor, and everything in between: working as a lifeguard for the Town of Babylon, going to St. Brigid’s, Chaminade High School, Marist (to which Dennis made a Marist/Roger Maris joke), working his way up in TV news.
It was a great show. Bill and Dennis both entered and exited to standing ovations. To be honest, I enjoyed this more than the Bold & Fresh Tour show last year.
If you’d like to see Bolder Fresher for yourself, check the tour’s website for upcoming dates and venues. You’ll be glad you went.
8/23 UPDATE: Three e-mails from audience members were read tonight on The O’Reilly Factor:
Keith Warhola, Mineola, NY: “Bill, you and Miller killed at Westbury. Loved the show.”
Bill’s response: “We didn’t actually kill anybody. It means that–[in] show biz–we were good.”
Gina Serra, Syosset, NY: “Bill, the Bolder-Fresher show was great! You were charming and Miller was a riot.”
Caryl Taylor, Briarcliff, NY: “Officer O’Reilly, we salute you and Dennis Miller. We were fully entertained by your observations and Miller’s stories.”
Bill’s response: “Well, thank you for all the nice mail, guys; got tons of letters. Clips from the show are now posted on BillOReilly.com for premium members. Next week, we’re gonna open ’em up to everybody. So you can see about 15 minutes of the Bolder Fresher show on BillOReilly.com. Info on upcoming shows in Connecticut; Richmond, Virginia; and Atlantic City available on BolderFresher.com. BolderFresher.com.”
In addition to those e-mails, a few clips were shown last night in the Reality Check segment. I compiled that and tonight’s e-mails into this video:
9/9 UPDATE: The latter half of August 24’s Miller Time segment was devoted to the Westbury show:
I would have posted this sooner, but Irene set me back and then I forgot.
11/1 UPDATE: Saturday night, the Bolder Fresher Tour came to Mohegan Sun. As the winds howled and snow mixed with rain here in southeast Nassau, I wondered if the show would even happen, but this tweet confirmed it did:
O’Reilly and Miller weren’t going to let a pesky snowstorm/Nor’easter stop them. I’m sure everyone got back home, or home away from home (i.e. hotel room), safely.
One viewer e-mail from an audience member was read tonight on The O’Reilly Factor:
Lynda Hanratty, Selden, NY: “Hey, Mr. O, we drove five hours to Connecticut in that snowstorm to see you and Miller. And it was worth the white knuckle ride! You two were hysterical! Was that your limo that passed us on the ride home?”
Bill’s response: “No limo for me, Lynda. I drove up there, just like you did, from Long Island. Glad you liked the Bolder Fresher show. Watch out, Richmond, Virginia; and Atlantic City. We’re comin’ to you Thanksgiving weekend. Details on BillOReilly.com.”
11/2 UPDATE: Tonight’s Miller Time only made a passing reference to Saturday’s show at Mohegan Sun. Here’s the video, anyway. And here’s another viewer e-mail:
Mark Underhill, East Aurora, NY: “Bill, my wife and I drove seven hours to see you and Miller in that snowstorm on Saturday. To make the trip go faster, we tried to buy the Killing Lincoln audio. It was sold out everywhere. So we bought the book and my wife read it to me. Excellent.”
Bill’s response: “Your wife’s a trooper, Mark, and I’m sending you the audio for your ordeal. Killing Lincoln is selling out everywhere, but we are printing them as fast as we can get ’em out to you. More than 900,000 copies of ‘Killing Lincoln’ in print right now. Thank you all.”
I pre-ordered the audio of Killing Lincoln before it came out and began listening to it September 28, the day after it was released. It got me through my daily walks and I finished it in two weeks. It reads (or is read by Bill) like a thriller. I vividly remember where I was walking while listening to key passages.
11/3 UPDATE: Highlights from Saturday can be seen on the BillOReilly.com video page. Look for “Bolder & Fresher Tour at Mohegan Sun” and click to play.
For the third night in a row, a viewer e-mail from an audience member was read:
Kathleen O’Gorman, Meriden, CT: “Mr. O, we lost power in the storm and it’s been rough. You and Miller were the only bright spots as we caught the Bolder Fresher show.”
Bill’s response: “[I] appreciate that, Kathleen. The power situation in the Northeast is gettin’ desperate. A clip from the Bolder Fresher show on Saturday [is] posted on BillOReilly.com. And Miller and I will see everybody in Richmond, Virginia; and Atlantic City at the end of November.”
11/4 UPDATE: Another day, another update. Psychotherapist Dr. Karen Ruskin was in the audience Saturday night and tweeted Dennis this afternoon:
An audience member viewer e-mail all the way from Montana!:
Margot Belden, Missoula, MT: “Bill, I came from Montana to see you and Miller in Connecticut! It was worth the ordeal. You were so funny, I had tears in my eyes.”
Bill’s response: “I hope from laughing with me, Margot, and not at me. Signed copy of Killing Lincoln coming your way for that big trip. …” That was followed by another reminder about the Richmond and Atlantic City shows in a few weeks.