Hurricane Sandy

We lost power 8:30 PM on Monday night as a result of Hurricane Sandy and just got it back after 39.5 hours.

We ended up being extremely fortunate when you consider the destruction around us. Two trees fell in our backyard but the only damage was to a shed. One of the trees just narrowly missed the house, had it fell in another direction by a foot it would have ended up in the master bedroom upstairs or the living room downstairs. There are houses in our neighborhood with trees on top of them. There are trees and power lines down all over the place. Even though we were without power all this time we have to be thankful that there wasn't as much rain as last Irene. That storm had caused flooding despite us not losing power. If the same had happened again mixing with power outages that would have made sump pumps useless the damage from flooding would have been far worse.

All this led me to think how people who live in areas that are regularly struck by hurricanes manage to cope with the the destruction? Sandy was barely a Category One storm by the time it hit us yet the damage is almost unthinkable.

I have to applaud Governor Chris Christie. I was one of many who spoke out when both he and the Lt. Governor went on vacation at the same time during a major snow storm but his handling if Sandy has been fantastic.

I was thinking late Monday night about the deaths Sandy has caused long before it even reached the US. I believe I ready that it had killed 60 people before it reached the US yet in typical American fashion those numbers were largely ignored in our news broadcasts. As I sat in this crazy storm last night with the loud noises coming from outside that kept us awake most of the night I also had to pause and think about the people of Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine who have seen their neighborhoods bombarded for years and have endured so many more sleepless nights.

Take a moment to be grateful for what you have because they are so man people out there who are in situation far worse both in and out of this current storm.

In closing, major kudos to PSE&G. Having power restored to us in under 40 hours after this destruction is very impressive.

This tree barely missed our house.

Neighbor's tree fell into our yard

That same tree completely crushed the shed in our backyard

Kudos to PSE&G for having our power back in under 40 hours.

See the yellow caution tape? That is how power cables our.

Down tree on Easton Avenue in Somerset completely blocking one side.  

Downed cable a block away from me. 

This is the bottom of a downed tree in my neighborhood. 

Downed tree by New Brunswick Senior Center

Downed tree on a house in Somerset, NJ

Hurricane Sandy (#Frankenstorm!)

I did a couple of posts on this last year during Irene but figured I'd throw this up there again. 

Living in the Northeast we are amateurs at dealing with Hurricane threats but there are some common sense thing everyone should be doing to prepare.


Here they are in no particular order:

• Have plenty of bottled water available. If there are power outages because of flooding it will get hot inside the house. 
• Have plenty of non-perishable snacks. We loaded up on chips, crackers, cookies, etc. These are things that won't go bad and if nothing happens these aren't things that will go to waste. No sense throwing away money at canned goods that you will never use. 
• Flashlights and a battery operated radio should be a must although I have to be honest I don't know if any radio of ours actually work. 
• Car charger for your cellphones is a good bet. If you lose power at least you can go charge your phone in the car. 
• If you're from a part of the country that regularly experiences hurricanes, stop mocking people in the northeast for how they are acting. We know how you guys act with a quarter of an inch of snow. 
• I set up text alerts from the local police department through Nixle since I don't have a land line and would not have received any "Reverse 911" calls.
• If you are asked to be evacuate....DO IT! It makes no sense to risk your life or that of any first responders. 
• Have a bag packed and ready to go. Make sure you keep all important documents and medical supplies. 
• Here's one I saw on twitter last year. Fill up your bath tub with water. You can use it to flush your toilet if need be. Had plenty of water in buckets and stuff but again...just to be safe. 
• Is your gas tank topped off? Filled up our car yesterday and there like 8-10 cars lined up at each pump. 
• Don't dress up like a bear and go to the beach. 
• If you a reporter covering the storm DO NOT embarrass yourself and your organization by reporting from ankle deep water.
• FEMA says to put your freezer and refrigerator at the coldest possible temperature setting. 
• Update people on how you are doing via social media (facebook/twitter) periodically so family and friends can check in on you. Red Cross has a pretty good iPhone app. 

As always you can leave a comment here, reach me by e-mail or .

Alex Rodriguez

What will the Yankees do with Alex Rodriguez?

At some point they will just have to eat the contract and trade him right? I mean what alternative is there when you have Eric Chavez pinch hit for him? He is owed at least $116 million for the next five years.

I don't understand the people saying Ibanez should have hit for him in the 8th inning tonight? How does that make any sense? The Orioles would've intentionally walked Raul Ibanez to face Nick Swisher. So the question really becomes would you rather have A-Rod hit or Swisher? Cano, Granderson and Swisher should be thankful that A-Rod as usual will get all the blame when they have done absolutely nothing.

As always you can leave a comment here, reach me by e-mail or .