All is well -- I am back online!

[Patsy Stone]

Hi, kids!

The power just came back and I wanted to stop in and tell you all that everything's good.

I've been out of the loop of real news, but finally caught up this morning. Each day I stuck my head out of my hole to find out if it was Fitzmas, but, like Scrooge, I find I haven't missed it after all!

I'll see you guys tonight, come hell or high water.

Thanks for worrying. Don't believe the hype: FEMA did fine, the bureaucracy sucked, but they got it fixed the first day, and all those people in Dade County you see waiting for water are wasting their time because they've had water the whole time. Also, other than formula and insulin, wtf do you need a bag of ice for three days after the storm?

Supermarkets are open, restaurants are open, I've had a hot meal and coffee every morning. If the national news is telling you everything sucks, they're lying.

And, just to make my day, CCB is on the way... Blecch!

:loveya::loveya:

[gkhouston]

1. Yayyyy!

So pleased to hear you're okay. Some of the news reports have been :scared:

Very considerate of Fitz to wait until you could rejoin us. ;-)

[Patsy Stone]

2. Hey, Gina!

Yes, the damage to big buildings and glass was unsightly, but most of downtown Miami had power late Tuesday night, and Broward (who really got the worst of it) is coming on slowly.

In Broward, they need water. There was a "Boil Water Order" for all of Broward and only for us in Miami Beach in Dade. But even the water is better in about 40% of Broward by now. That's why that footage from the Orange Bowl and Homestead is so stupid. Also, not sure why all these people need gas. I think it's survival/siege mentality where you gather all you can and hoard it in case. Of course, they should have done that before. That's what hurricane supplies are. That's why we all have boatloads of water and batteries and canned food sitting in the corners since June. But I know you know this.

I was very happy that Fitz waited, although it's been harrowing waiting for the word. Luckily, I've had other things to do. Now I have cable, and I can see their facs in living color. :)

[gkhouston]

4. I was kind of surprised about the gas shortages, too

since a lot of the folks who lose power get it back in 2-3 days and many of the others can't afford the generators to put gas into, anyway. And you're right about the hurricane supplies. We usually load up in April or May and eat down on 'em during the winter and October's too early to have started doing that. The pre-Rita shopping I did was for bleach, of all things: I thought we might be coming back to a house with standing water in it and we only had a small amount of bleach in the house at the time; just enough for sanitizing cutting boards, etc. I saw a lot of people in the store that day, though, who were getting canned goods because they'd donated most of theirs to Katrina victims and hadn't re-stocked yet. Great irony: no gas cans to be had for love nor money before Rita, but when I went to the hardware store to buy an extra fan shortly afterwards (when we came back and the A/C was broken) voila!, a bumper crop of gas cans. The clerk said they were the first they'd had in stock since before Katrina. Thanks, they're real helpful now. :eyes: Got a couple sitting empty in the garage for the next time.

So, do you think Fitz will extend as well as indict? I'm almost hoping he does, if that means going after Cheney and/or Bush as well, since I believe they're also involved.

[Patsy Stone]

5. I thought I heard that he can't extend

He'd have to impanel a new one, but that was half listening to AAR this morning. I think tomorrow's the day. Someone on CNN reported that people from his Chicago office had flown into DC. I also think that's why Miers withdrew. One firestorm at a time.

Bleach is good because you can add it water so it's potable, if you really have to. I was sad that I hadn't bought bleach, because I only had the scented kind, and you can't use that for water.

Can't wait to see the next psycho CCB nominates to the SCOTUS. :scared:

[gkhouston]

7. I think he'd have to get extra special permission to extend

but it's probably not completely impossible. Or he could impanel a new jury, which would cost some time but might be easier on the jurors. Bless those people for all the time they've given, and for their discretion.

It will be interesting to see what gets nominated next, particularly with the WH in such a precarious position. On the days when it's particularly :scared:, I imagine what it's going to be like for kids in high school 100 years from now, reading about this stuff for class. Hopefully, they'll use the good paper for the textbooks so the books will smell better than the events depicted therein. What do they put in some books to make the paper smell that awful? You'd think Scholastic had a bindery next to Double Stink Hog Farm or something. Then again, it will all probably be electronic in 100 years... which makes you wonder what the weird kid's gonna eat when there's no library paste to be had...

[crispini]

3. Yay! Patsy will be online!

Glad you're OK!!! You KNOW tomorrow's going to be a big and exciting day! Yippee! We know that it's finally Fitzmas Eve!

[Patsy Stone]

6. I don't think I'll be able to sleep.

Waiting for the sound of reindeer on the roof and all!

Yay! It's nice to have power. Not a big deal, since the weather's been gorgeous, but I've missed watching the news and reading DU. :)

[WolverineDG]

8. PATS!

Glad to hear you're ok!!! BTW, I'm headed to Miami on Saturday for my cruise on Sunday, so I'll pm you my cell # if you want to get together for dinner or something (or can because of the curfew).

::clinkies::

dg

[Patsy Stone]

9. That would be so cool

Dinner sounds like fun. All is well, except today Max Mayfield stood way too close to * for my liking. I hope he washes really well. :)

Curfew on Miami Beach is midnight, because South Beach is up and running.

[CC]

10. Great news.

Good to hear you are doing ok and have power. So where are those poor people they are saying won't have power until mid November? But most important, is good you are doing ok and have had it relatively easy compared to the news reports.

[Patsy Stone]

11. They are out in the western suburbs

and in Broward County. About 800K in Dade are still without power, and about the same in Broward, and the way they do it is they start by narrowing it to the sub-stations and when they are checked and okay, they turn on the power. They've been going at a rate of about 60K per day per county, so do the math. Also, once all the power is restored to the main lines, they have to narrow it to the individual house. Thus, the November date. That's when every last person will have power. That sucks.

I wish I'd seen the reports. I have a feeling they took the Mayor's frustration and blew it out of control. The first day the City of miami were the ones distributing ice and water. They ran out at the end of the day and there were lines.

The next day, when the mayor made that statement, it was because he had to call and wait for an answer. That was quickly straightened out and in that time, more of the area had power and there was food and water to be had around.

All in all, I think the first day the FEMA trucks were late, but in reality, no one was dying of thirst or hunger on the second day.

See you later, CC! Say hey to the menagerie for me.

[bunny planet]

12. Yeah, welcome back Patsela. We were worried.

So glad you won't be missing Fitzmas, we were worried about that too.
My computer went down for a minute two days ago while I was obsessively refreshing some new minisclule new scrap of information on the internets and I became an instant crazy person, like someone without her methadone dixie cup. Turns out Dusty Springfield, my kitty had jumped off the computer and hit the off button on the power strip so it was all back up in a minute. It was Wednesday, the day we thought he would announce and he was in the courtroom, so I was loony tunes for a minute thinking I'd miss it.

Glad to hear FEMA didn't fuck things up this time, quelle surprise, it's Jeb country. Jeb Crow was out blaming the Louisiana local and state authorities though on day one after Wilma hit, so he was politicizing up a storm. Interesting that national news is telling us it sucks, could it be they want to further embarrass the Bush boys, now that's encouraging if it's true.