This has been a very strange day indeed:

I was here on my comp, lights flickered for a second, comp shuts down and a horrible noise blasts from my speakers... Reboot, internet's down; decide to watch TV. Flick on FOX News for a bit, about 15 minutes later they start breaking in reports that New York City, Albany, Buffalo, New Jersey, Toronto, Ottawa, Detroit, Cleveland and Toledo have all lost power. (I'm 150 miles from Detroit)

Try making calls to my family, (who all live in Metro Detroit), my cell phone can't make any calls. Check the LAN line, it's up, but I cannot contact any family. I call work to let my employees know what's happening in the country and to contact the owner immediately if they lose power.

Like many Americans, when you hear that much power is out the first thought that crosses your mind is "terrorism". At this time, the News isn't sure what happened, they're talking about a fire or possibly an explosion in a plant that knocked down the entire regional grid.

Finally some family members manage to contact me, so I know what the situation is there. No power obviously, but even worse, water is barely coming out of the faucets.. they probably wont have it much longer. My parents are filling bathtubs, pitchers, buckets, containers, anything that can hold water because it looks like they're going to lose it soon. No ATMS are working in the area, which is hard because my parents didn't have a lot of cash on hand, so buying supplies proved to be a tough endeavor.

I decide to head out on the town, see what's happening. It's then I realize my city has been hit pretty damn hard. Majority of businesses are closed, people are literally wandering aimlessly. What's strange is that one of the McDonald's was dark, without power. But the Burger King next door has it and because of that there is line all the way out into the street for food. Some gas stations are closed without power, some are open, those fortunate enough to be open have incredibly long lines for gasoline.

It's then, (about 8:00pm), my cell phone rings, it's work. It seems they were the only location in town with power, and one of a small handful of restaurants open. They call in a panic because they're literally running out of supplies. Luckily, the only restaurant supply store in town is open, so I'm able to buy what's needed.

After that I went to Meijer, (a Wal-Mart clone for those outside the Midwest), to buy a few supplies in case I lose power at home. No water, no flashlights, nothing important is in stock. The only thing I could salvage was one of those analog phones that doesn't require electricity in case I lose it myself, at least I have a way of contacting people.

It's now 11, the town is dark, looking outside I don't see streetlights or many lights from homes... it's eerie. But the good news is, somehow I still have water and electricity. I guess if I disappear for a few days, you'll know why, lol.

This was long, but this actually is one of the strangest days that I can remember.. They're calling it the largest blackout in history.

To the largest black out!

I'm only 50 or 60 miles north of you Mano and we had one brief flicker causing my comp to restart as i hit "Enter" and freaking me out, besides that its life as usual while we goggle at all the ppl walking the streets on TV during the power outage.

ouch mano, a difficult time, but i hope to hear from you soon

We have a well, so when our power went out we had nothing. No water, no electricity, no nothing! Age of inconvenience...

At the foul factory in which I spend a third of my valuable time, I sat in a dark room with a few other people (the alternative was to go to a light room filled with smoke and people) for hours until they finally let us go home. I barely had enough gasoline to make it home; all of the gas stations were down. I had planned on getting gasoline after work.

So, yeah... Power outages suck. Yellow Hair and I were playing - get this - chess. It's not at all as fast paced as Rune, but there's some similarity; she kicked my ass.

Was talking on MSN to Szerdi when I got hit, electicity flickered off for a second, then came back on... went down completely about half a minute later.

Had been planning on going to a friend's house that day, but because of traffic control and street lights out, not to mention the outpouring of factory and business people, desided to stay at home. No lights or appliances working, internet down, no water, no nothin'.

Supper was a drab affair of cold leftovers... perishable items such as ice cream and popsicles were consummed immediately to prevent loss.

Played chess with Rhoedd when he came home, because there wasn't anything better to do... ahh, a fine time of "family bonding," when siblings are forced together due to massive inconvenience, to occupy their time moving small pieces of wood around on a larger square of wood.

I think I'm going to forsake the internet and become Amish.

My dad works for the Post Office, I've seen them deliver mail the day after a few feet of snow... He went to work this morning and got sent home; only about 5 other people made it in. Don't tell anyone but my dad said when he was on his way home from work he saw a UPS truck, lol.

My brother is without power and water either, he has a one year old daughter, and since he lives inside Detroit city limits he's a little worried about looting and his families safety. So he's making the drive up here for a bit. My place is practically a half-way point from Detroit to the family summer home, so he'll head up there for the rest of the weekend.

I feel sorry for all of you. But when the power companies advertise power saving tips they mean it. We Northern Canadians save our power for the winter when we need it. Well I hope all of you are ok. Without water, power and communications you are screwed in this day and age. But pull together and you will find that it is only temporarily. As fast as these things go down the sooner they are repaired, improved and maintained.

Today we had a half-day at work. I'm not complaining. You see, a factory uses a lot of power, and I don't think we were really supposed to be running at all. But we were barely running.

Last time in 1965,

“a series of three articles appearing in the New York Times from Aug. 10-12, 1966, reported larger-than-average numbers of births at several area hospitals, leading many to declare that the ten-hour overnight blackout the city experienced nine months earlier had led to an unusually high number of conceptions that evening.”

Sweltering?

well, from personal experience at delivery suites, there are faster deliveries during weekends and at nights, especially in the season of autumn...

so guess what mummies and daddies were doing 30-odd weeks previously?

oh yeah, the season for 'fractured penises' and viagra-related heart attack emergencies hits high tide, again from seeing admissions personally, around late-ish winter...

must be the impending pollination...