Living like a pioneer in the wake of Northeast ice storm

By John Keller

Posted by John Keller

I've got an overwhelming desire to wear solid colors, suspenders, and a tall, wide-brim hat after spending the last few days without electricity after last Thursday's ice storm that has paralyzed large chunks of the Northeast.

That was Thursday. Today is Sunday, and the local power utility says we'll be lucky to get our electricity back by next Wednesday. Lucky. I gotta tell you I'm not feeling all that lucky.

I'm writing this from the office in Nashua that, thankfully, has power. A colleague just sauntered in -- toddler in tow -- who said, "I'm just here to get contact with the outside world."

The power went out Thursday night as my wife and I sat up most of the night listening to trees snapping and limbs breaking that sounded like gunshots, and electric utility circuit breakers giving way that sounded like grenades. Flashes of lightning in the distance lent to the feeling of being in a war zone.



The sight outside on Friday morning was more of the same. Trees were across the road outside, which had taken down the electric, telephone, and cable TV wires of several neighbors. Near-panicked motorists were just trying to find a clear route out of the neighborhood.

I'm glad I have a chain saw, because I put it to good use Friday and Saturday -- first helping to clear my street, then to get downed trees out of the yards of two neighbors, and finally to start cutting up the limbs and trees littering my yard and threatening my ugly brown shed.

At least the electric wires are still connected between my house and the physically intact (I think) power line that runs down the street. Neighbors were not so lucky. One big tree sheared off the wires to a neighbor's house but left the connections into the house. A friend a couple of streets over had falling trees snap a power pole in two, ripping off all the wires to her house and taking the electric meter with it.

We're going to be hunkered down for a long while. We have heat from the wood stove, thankfully. The big problem is water. We have well and septic, and no power means no water. We're hauling buckets for flushing and buying water by the gallon when and where we can find it.

I got a refresher course last night in the joys of taking a sponge bath from a pan of water heated up on the stove (at least the gas stove works). I suppose it could be worse.

I'm not missing television. I do miss the Internet, I have to admit. But when we're warm, it's not so bad to enjoy the calm, golden glow of candlelight. We have a hand-crank radio we used last night to listen to A Prairie Home Companion. My wife said, "I feel like we're back in the '30s."

It was kind of a peaceful feeling. Lose power and water, and it brings your priorities into focus very quickly. Keeping wood for the fire close by is one. Finding water is another (our neighbors own a shop in town that still has water).

At least I don't have to worry -- for the time being -- of missing that e-mail or paying bills.

Previous Blog Posts

The haunting bugle call Taps is 150 years old this summer

The Navy's solid-state laser weapon

High-performance embedded computing (HPEC) gaining market traction, but its definition remains elusive

Did I say $114 million mistake? I meant $351 million.

Continuing the conversation

Lockheed Martin experimental stealth surface vessel to be scrapped after yielding valuable technology

Air Force competes in National Collegiate Cyber Defense competition

Will Intel 3rd Generation Intel Core processor make a big splash in embedded computing applications?

The $114 million mistake

Iran under attack once again

High-performance computing for rugged mobile military applications is becoming a hot design issue

Is the U.S. getting ready for conflict?

Historic obsession about the Titanic sinking 100 years ago wipes Bread and Roses strike from popular memory

The future of UAV technology aims high

Conference combo

We can thank a self-absorbed Congress for hurting national defense if deep automatic defense cuts happen

Securing the military network

FAA's impending rule on small UAVs may usher in a new era of civil aerial warfare

Boeing and Airbus both claim victory in WTO Appeal? That can't be right...

The defense industry may be adjusting to a new age of financial austerity

What's up with all the anti-tamper technology?

Effects of 2013 DOD budget cuts already being felt with program cancellations

Top ten technologies the U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force is looking for

The Aerospace & Defense Bloggers

Ernesto Burden is the publisher of PennWell’s Aerospace & Defense Media Group, including Military & Aerospace Electronics, Avionics Intelligence and Avionics Europe.  He’s a father of four, a runner, and an avid digital media enthusiast with a deep background in the intersection of media publishing, digital technology, and social media. He can be reached at ernestob@pennwell.com and on Twitter @aero_ernesto.

John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.

Skyler Frink is an Assistant Editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Intelligence. Skyler graduated Cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire with a BA in Journalism and a Minor in Information Technology in 2011. He has contributed to many different publications both online and in print throughout his career as a Journalist. Skyler can be reached skylerf@pennwell.com.

Courtney E. Howard, as executive editor, enjoys writing about all things electronics and avionics in PennWell’s burgeoning Aerospace and Defense Group, which encompasses Military & Aerospace Electronics, Avionics Intelligence, the Avionics Europe conference, and much more. She’s also a self-proclaimed social-media maven, mil-aero nerd, and avid avionics geek. Connect with Courtney at Courtney@Pennwell.com, @coho on Twitter, and on LinkedIn.

Mil & Aero Magazine

May 2012
Volume 23, Issue 5