The Gaming Den

We don't have a dedicated thread for this storm and it sounds like it is going to be something pretty newsworthy and relevant, so best start one so people can share how it has affected them or just random thoughts on the storm in progress.


I've been fairly isolated from all this what with being in the Midwest, not watching broadcast TV and even missing out on much of my internet news since myself, wife and both kids have done battle with a nasty flu-like entity for the last 4 days.

I'd caught snippets about a big storm treading up the eastern seaboard that was going to make for a cold Halloween, and am only now collating data.

Holy crapsticks.


It sounds like it is gonna be very bad. After I get done worrying about immediate damage and trauma upon people and infrastructure, my mind wandered to what this is going to mean for the election. My pessimistic nature leads me to worry that turnout will be lower among those worst affected (i.e. the poorest people, democrats). A new flavor of October Surprise.

My dad has spent the past few days watching the news screaming "YOU CANT PREDICT THE FUCKING WEATHER!" every time they mention the hurricane.

Your dad's not really playing with a full load of buckshot is he?

Ted the Flayer wrote:My dad has spent the past few days watching the news screaming "YOU CANT PREDICT THE FUCKING WEATHER!" every time they mention the hurricane.

Fun fact in some Islamic countries the fundies actually oppose weather forecasts on religious grounds.

It's a hurricane 1, so wind damage isn't -too- much of a concern. I've gone for a walk in a Category 1 storm before. If your house is really damn old and/or creaky, by all means, get the hell out of there and go hang with some friends. Bring food and a deck of cards.

The storm surge looks like it'll fuck NYC up. That's more worrying than the wind damage.

Power outages are gonna happen. If it wasn't so damn cold, I'd suggest what -we- do for hot water: Fill up a bunch of gallon Ziplocs with water, then put them in a black garbage bag and leave it in direct sunlight for a few hours with a knot tied at the top. Given how I've never been in a hurricane where it was cold, I don't know how effective that would be.

Yeah, I'm hard pressed to know what a hurricane is like when it hits "up north"...hurricanes here are a mess, but no big deal.

On the other hand, a quarter inch of snow and sustained 31 degree weather in Louisiana is enough to shut down everything.

So, I'm going to guess even a level 1 hurricane hitting where it doesn't normally hit is going to be much worse than a level 1 hurricane hitting here.

Hmm, "level" instead of "category"...if it kills enough people, maybe it'll make level two.

So, of course, there's some minister saying that Hurricane Sandy is divine punishment for "the gays."
Here's, just, a random thought.... We haven't legalised gay marriage. Not on the grand scale, anyway. So far as I know, it's illegal in most states. Meanwhile gay marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.
Now... who's getting the supposedly divine retribution natural disasters? The places performing gay marriages, or the places which aren't (by in large)?
That's right, it's places which aren't allowing two dudes to get up and exchange vows and call it marriage.

...I think, if this hurricane is divine retribution, it's because God's pissed that we're keeping the gays down...

Yeah, my mother's in Newark working in the hospital. She can hear the wind. It's deafening. My wife's having a c-section tomorrow (she's like 4 days from delivery and it has to be done). I"M hoping that shit doesn't get worse. I'm fairly inland in Jersey. but it's windy. My buddy's out-of-ground pool got ripped off its chains and flew into his fence.

He said that he's going to play league of legends until the power goes out.

Not to mention, if God were meting out retribution, I think he could arrange it so we'd never see it coming, instead of a predictable hurricane that gives people time to get ready.

In words of Frieza from DBZ Abridged:

"Nice shot, try bringing your A-game next time!"

Cynic wrote:Yeah, my mother's in Newark working in the hospital. She can hear the wind. It's deafening. My wife's having a c-section tomorrow (she's like 4 days from delivery and it has to be done). I"M hoping that shit doesn't get worse. I'm fairly inland in Jersey. but it's windy. My buddy's out-of-ground pool got ripped off its chains and flew into his fence.

1) The weather will get worse.

2) Congratulations!

3) That's the lot of above-ground pools in a hurricane. Probably the thing to do would have been to fill it halfway or three-quarters. Takes a lot of time and water but saves on property damage.

4) Stay safe.

Maxus wrote:The storm surge looks like it'll fuck NYC up. That's more worrying than the wind damage.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the main concern is the water. Flooding a major city is a major deal.




Okay, currently it looks more like this.

Prak_Anima wrote:So, of course, there's some minister saying that Hurricane Sandy is divine punishment for "the gays."
Here's, just, a random thought.... We haven't legalised gay marriage. Not on the grand scale, anyway. So far as I know, it's illegal in most states. Meanwhile gay marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.
Now... who's getting the supposedly divine retribution natural disasters? The places performing gay marriages, or the places which aren't (by in large)?
That's right, it's places which aren't allowing two dudes to get up and exchange vows and call it marriage.

...I think, if this hurricane is divine retribution, it's because God's pissed that we're keeping the gays down...

It's legal in Massachusetts, I believe, and that's where I live. I'm not saying that that minister douche is right, I'm just noting.

We're currently beset by high-speed winds, torrential rain, and such-like. We're predicting that we will lose power sometime this evening.

And there's also a lot of idiot people on the telly standing stupidly on beaches, testing the wind and what not and basically saying, "C'mon, Sandy! Come and get me!"

Oh, and a tree just fell outside my house just this second. Fun.

Prak_Anima wrote:So, of course, there's some minister saying that Hurricane Sandy is divine punishment for "the gays."
Here's, just, a random thought.... We haven't legalised gay marriage. Not on the grand scale, anyway. So far as I know, it's illegal in most states. Meanwhile gay marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.
Now... who's getting the supposedly divine retribution natural disasters? The places performing gay marriages, or the places which aren't (by in large)?
That's right, it's places which aren't allowing two dudes to get up and exchange vows and call it marriage.

...I think, if this hurricane is divine retribution, it's because God's pissed that we're keeping the gays down...

Probably. If you think about it, we've gotten far more hurricanes before we started legalizing gay marriage than afterward. I don't think it has anything to do with the first time period being much longer than the second, either.

Maxus wrote:Not to mention, if God were meting out retribution, I think he could arrange it so we'd never see it coming, instead of a predictable hurricane that gives people time to get ready.

Lord works in mysterious ways.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Mysterious ways.

Why does God dole out punishment in large swaths arbitrarily, seemingly sparing others randomly, using natural phenomenon that apparently could have happened on their own, all while giving us plenty of warning? Mysterious ways.

Here in PGH, it looks like we'll be on the edge on the inland boomerang. So we are going to get a whole bunch of rain, some of which is already here, and probably some high-but-not-out-of-our-normal experience winds.

I'm prepped for a day or two without power, but the only real dangers I expect here are falling tree branches and flooding. And the topography is such that flooding is gonna be more of a property damage and pain-in-the-ass-cleanup deal than an actual danger. At least aside from the dumbshits who just gotta drive Washington Boulevard and ain't got the sense to run uphill when the ancient and poorly-engineered storm drain backs up.

sabs wrote:Your dad's not really playing with a full load of buckshot is he?

he is a good person who has helped me out a lot, but he is a bit eccentric.

Does a full moon make the hurricane worse or better?

So, this could be useful for East Coasters:

FEMA wrote:"Many states along the Mid-Atlantic and the East Coast have shelters open in response to Hurricane Sandy. Search for an open shelter by texting SHELTER + a zip code to 43362 (4FEMA). Here’s an example text message: Shelter 01234 (standard rates apply)"

Cynic wrote:Does a full moon make the hurricane worse or better?

seeing how a full moon is only less of the earths shadow on the moon, there should not be that much of a difference in the gravitational pull. at least strength wise . . maybe a bit in terms of direction though.
a moon overhead means there is a high tide usually, so more water that the storm can make use of.

I read on one of the many various sites this day that since it was a full moon the tide was going to be about 3 feet higher for new york. Puts it in squarely the 'worse' category.

Here's a handy link for tide related knowledge.

Man, Chris Christie is such an ass but he's got a point.

He was talking about A.C. and how it's impossible to get out of there now. "To all those people who didn't listen to admonition, you'll have to live with it."

That's a paraphrase but yeah.

Agreeing with a right-wing douchebag is hilariously alien to me.

The photo of the shark fin in the middle of the flooded street isn't from this storm and likely isn't from New Jersey.

The storm is completely over where I live (Boston, Mass), and we didn't even lose power. One day of high winds and heavy rain, and one fallen tree, and then, done. Clear sunny skys as far as the eye can see.

Storm's still around in Cleveland, not doing much damage but making going outside thoroughly miserable. I have to keep re-angling my umbrella to keep the wind from inverting it.

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/ ... ama-sandy/

One metric for 'effectiveness of natural disaster response' could be mortality. Lets rate Bush vs. Obama, shall we?

Well, "Heckuva Job Brownie" is probably the American with the most relevant experience for botched disaster response, so he oughtta know.