The After Effect of Irene

Since August 28, 2011 States along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America continued to be battered by the after effects of Irene, the destructive hurricane turned tropical storm. About 2.5 million people were believed to have been left without power from North Carolina to the New England States including Vermont, and Massachusetts. More than 40 deaths were reported in thirteen states around the country.

However, one of the most affected States in the nation is Vermont where residents who in many cases, still have no power, no telephone service and no way to get in or out of their towns because of damage roads. Below is a report from the Associated Press (AP) written by one JOHN CURRAN?

Eleven towns — Cavendish, Granville, Hancock, Killington, Mendon, Marlboro, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Stockbridge, Strafford and Wardsboro — remained cut off from the outside as of late Tuesday night.
Vermont National Guard choppers made three drops in Killington-Mendon, Pittsfield and Rochester Tuesday while 10 other towns received truck deliveries of food, blankets, tarps and water.

Residents stand on line waiting for food in Vermont

Eight Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters from the Illinois National Guard are expected to arrive Wednesday to bolster the number of flights.
Up to 11 inches of rain triggered the deluges, which knocked houses off their foundations, destroyed covered bridges and caused earthquake-style damage to infrastructure all over the state. Three people were killed and a fourth is still missing.

About 260 roads in Vermont were closed because of storm damage, along with about 30 highway bridges. Only a handful of them have been reopened.
Vermont Deputy Transportation Secretary Sue Minter said the infrastructure damage was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

A bridge washed away in Vermont

Residents trapped in inaccessible communities used cell phones and computers to reach out to others.
"As soon as we can get help, we need help," resident Liam McKinley said by cell phone from a mountain above flood-stricken Rochester on Tuesday. He said the town's restaurants and a supermarket were giving food away rather than let it spoil, and townspeople were helping each other.
"We've been fine so far. The worst part is not being able to communicate with the rest of the state and know when people are coming in," McKinley said.

Wendy Pratt, another of the few townspeople able to communicate with the outside world, posted an update on Facebook using a generator and a satellite Internet connection. She sketched a picture of both devastation and New England neighborliness.

"People have lost their homes, their belongings, businesses ... the cemetery was flooded and caskets were lost down the river. So many areas of complete devastation," Pratt wrote. "In town there is no cell service or internet service - all phones in town are out. We had a big town meeting at the church at 4 this afternoon to get any updates."

In Woodstock, Vt., Michael Ricci spent the day clearing debris from his backyard along the Ottauquechee River. What had been a meticulously mowed, sloping grass lawn and gorgeous flower beds was now a muddy expanse littered with debris, including wooden boards, propane tanks and a deer hunting target.
"The things we saw go down the river were just incredible," Ricci said, “Sheds, picnic tables, propane tanks, furnaces, refrigerators. We weren't prepared for that. We had prepared for wind and what we ended up with was more water than I could possibly, possibly have imagined." He said the water in his yard was almost up to the house, or about 15 to 20 feet above normal.

The Storm is Coming

Today August 27, 2011 is a very confused and unpredictable day in the United States of America with a massive hurricane called Irene moving into the coastline of the country. Coming in from the south and moving into the easting states, Irene is said to be very massive. One of the many chilling factors of this hurricane is that, it is aiming straight towards New York City and is said to cause flood in some parts of the city when it hits. In fact, for the very first time in many years the mayor has declared a state of emergency and has order evacuation of some parts of the city. New York City, Hurricane….wow!! isn’t that scary?

In fact, as I write this post, it is reported that Hurricane Irene has slammed into North Carolina near Cape Lookout with winds clocking 90 mph after battering the Carolina coast. Thousands have already lost power as the storm begins its way up the East Coast.

Getty Images by Mark Wilson,

(An emergency vehicle patrols the boardwalk in Ocean City, Md., early Saturday.)

The emphasis for this storm is on its size and duration, not necessarily how strong the strongest winds are.

The storm made landfall at 7:30 a.m. ET. Wind and rain knocked out power to nearly 200,000 customers along the North Carolina coast, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano said Saturday "We expect significant power outage up and down the Eastern Seaboard."

At least two piers on the Outer Banks were wiped out, the roof of a car dealership was ripped away and a hospital in Morehead City was running on generators.

"Our plan is executed now, our shelters are open, our search and rescue teams are all over the state," Perdue said at a news briefing.

Those of us on the east coast are running helter scatter preparing for the worst and praying for the best as Irene is expected to hit us by tomorrow Sunday August 28, 2011 between 4-5 pm depending on the proximity to its source.

About 8,000 people already have checked in to 81 shelters. Thirty emergency teams are stationed around the state along with 285 members of the National Guard.

Flash flooding already is a problem and some areas have gotten up to 8 inches of rain the governor said. In a plea to residents Perdue said bluntly: "Please stay inside."

Perdue said there were still some people who opted to stay behind but "the good news is our tourists evacuated very quickly."

She said the storm may not be nearly as bad as anybody predicted, but "get ready, she's still a hurricane and people need to respect her."

"There's nothing you can do now but wait. You can hear the wind and it's scary," said Leon Reasor, who rode out the storm in the Outer Banks town of Buxton. "Things are banging against the house. I hope it doesn't get worse, but I know it will. I just hate hurricanes."

More than 2 million people along the East Coast have been warned, or ordered, to flee the storm's path. Millions more as far north as Maine hunkered down for a weekend of historic wind and rain.

The storm was forecast to reach the mid-Atlantic states later Saturday and New York and New England on Sunday. A hurricane threat this severe is new territory for some northern areas.

"I'm from Atlanta. I spent 10 weeks in Mississippi after Katrina and four weeks in Miami after Andrew," said Teresa Caver, a Red Cross official in Binghamton, N.Y. "I was not expecting to come to New York and have to deal with hurricanes or earthquakes."

The storm already was having an effect north of Cape Lookout in Virginia Beach, where driving winds and high winds were battering the city.

Powerful winds wobbled stop signs, shook light poles and bent trees. As a group of workers at a Hampton Inn stood chatting under the portico, a loud crack, like a thunderbolt, made everyone jump: It was the 10-foot-high plastic sign at the Grand Ocean Hotel across the street, which had been sucked off the face of the building and fallen eight stories to the street.

Rain was falling horizontally. About the only people venturing onto the beach were rain-soaked news crews shooting footage of crashing waves for top-of-the-hour newscasts.

Local officials said about 300 people already were settling in at five shelters around town, but that no major injuries or emergencies had been reported.

"Actually our calls for service are down," said Tim Riley, a battalion chief with the Virginia Beach Fire Department. "We think people are heeding our call to shelter in place."

Hours before the storm was to hit in earnest, about 4,000 homes had already lost electricity, according to Dominion Virginia Power.

U.S. airlines have canceled thousands of weekend flights. Dozens of airports, including New York's three major ones, were closing or curtaling schedules.

Local Red Cross chapters have put volunteers on alert to be ready to travel to the Carolinas or other East Coast locations to help deal with the aftermath of the hurricane.

"I have been sending out alerts to our volunteers in the entire region, putting them on standby that Irene is heading this way. History has showed us that our effect has always been flooding," said Sharon Aswad, chief program and response officer for the American Red Cross South Central New York region.

Many governors have ordered mandatory evacuations, making it clear that those who stay behind will have to fend for themselves.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urged 1 million Jersey Shore vacationers and residents to leave: "I saw news feeds of people on the beach in Asbury Park… Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park and get out.. You've maximized your tan. Get off the beach, get in your cars and get out of those areas…. Do not waste any more time working on your tan. Get off the beach.''

Even President Obama, who cut short his vacation in Martha's Vineyard on Friday, said the storm was shaping up as a "historic hurricane" and urged residents to "be prepared for the worst."

"Don't wait. Don't delay," Obama said. "We all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news briefing to emphasize how serious the storm is for the city.

"It's heading basically, directly for us,'' he said, announcing manadatory evacuations for low-lying areas of the city.

"We've never done a mandatory evacuation before and we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think this storm is going to be serious, Bloomberg said. The storm was expected to churn up the coast, with high winds and drenching areas from Virginia to New York City before a much-weakened storm reaches New England.

In New York City, nursing homes and five hospitals in low-lying areas began evacuating Friday. Bloomberg said subways, buses and railroads would shut down beginning at noon Saturday and "may or may not be restored" by rush hour Monday.

Delaware's governor pleaded with people to "get out of the way" in case officials have to respond to emergencies.

"We know the roads will be impassable, bridges may have to be closed, emergency vehicles may not be able to get where we want them to get, so it is important that people get out of the way," Gov. Jack Markell told MSNBC.

Already, Irene has destroyed hundreds of homes on small Bahamian islands but largely spared the capital of Nassau as it tore over the sprawling archipelago Thursday. There were no immediate reports of deaths, but some small settlements reported up to 90% of their homes damaged. Assessments from other islands were not in because telephone lines were down.

Forecasters issued a hurricane warning for much of New Jersey.

Irene could be "one of the most devastating storms on record in New Jersey," said David Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University.

Gary Szatkowski, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Mount Holly, N.J., office, agreed: "If this pans out as the track suggests, this will be the worst storm in anyone's lifetime in New Jersey," he said.

Visiting

Just visiting after a year and some months!!

Bloom Energy - A Breakthrough to Electricity Generation

Bloom Energy – a start-up company that appeared on Business Week list of “Fifty Best Startups” in June 2009 is set to give real power to the people and change the world.

The CEO and Co-founder of the renewable electric energy company Dr. K.R. Sridhar said his motivation is to improve the lot of more than 2 billion people who live in the dark parts of the world at night with no electricity.

Bloom Energy has come up with a new way of producing electric energy that has never been done before. The company produces a refrigeration size box (server) that is fully equipped with solid oxide fuel cell technology that is capable of converting fuel into electricity through a clean electro-chemical process rather than dirty combustion.

The server will provide 100kw of power, enough to meet the basic needs of 100 average homes or small offices…day and night.

When that happens and made affordable to the common people in remote place of the world, that will be real power to the people and it will surely change the world.

This piece of article written by Regina Brett was e-mailed to me by a dear friend and I would like to share it with you.





By Regina Brett, The Plain Dealer
Originally published in The Plain Dealer on Sunday, May 28, 2006


To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.
It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:



1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. it’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, wills this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
To reach this Plain Dealer columnist:

The People of Liberia

I came across this picture of Liberian watching the Arm Forces Day parade , a national holiday celebrated every February 11 in Liberia to honor men and women in arms. The picture looks so amazing and I thought to share it.

One Down Three To Go

Today is January 28, 2010 and I am starting my first post on my blog at exactly 10:55am Eastern Time.

Yesterday, President Obama delivered his first State of the Union Address to the National Legislature. In his almost 90 minute’s speech, the President focused on Job creation as the main focal point of his administration for the year 2010. He clearly stated that he understands what the middle class of America is going through; where almost one out of every ten American is unemployed. He then underscored several measures to tackle the problem including making funds available from the amount repaid by the banks from the bank bailed-out to be given to small businesses as loans.

On his health care program the President simply told the Legislatures “I am not a quitter". He pledged to fight on until those Americans who cannot get medical help because of several reasons can afford to do so. He said he will not turn his back on them.

When I heard this part of his speech (which I watched from start to finish on TV), I was reminded of the great American hotelier and founder of the Hilton Hotels chain, who once said, “Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."

I was especially pleased when the President emphasized this to the Legislatures...making it very clear that he is not a defeatist. Although, he is experiencing set backs from many angle especially, from those who for some reasons do not want to see him accomplish a promise he made to the American people and specifically, to the late Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy.

Abandoning efforts to complete this particular task, at this stage of his administration would have been very detrimental to his entire administration. It would have surely come back to hunt him in many ways.

Therefore, I wish the President and his hard working code of staff very well as they embark the three crucial years of the administration. As most political observers have put it, the first year was only an adjustment period, where all of the learning and perhaps, most of the planning were done. Going forward is the implementing journey; BRAVO Mr. President and I wish you well! One down, three to go.