Sounds like my power should be back on when I return Sunday evening, although a native New Yorker who lived through the '03 blackout warned me that my building might not see power restored for another week or more (because it's a century old). 

I made sure to completely empty my refrigerator and freezer before I left this afternoon, to make sure I don't have any fun science experiments waiting for me when I return.

Walking through the West Village this afternoon, I saw a few scrappy vendors selling flashlights and batteries. If power is restored tomorrow, this may be a very short-lived enterprise.

11:45am

Had a great dinner last night with my gracious Brooklyn host and a friend who lives nearby in Park Slope. Both of them, like so many others in Brooklyn, have been working from home this week, with Manhattan office locations still out of power. We talked about how our survival instincts have kicked in this week — the evidence of which is:

• Eating more than normal — our dinner last night, for example, was a celebration of carbohydrates
• Sleeping more than normal
• Vivid dreams, not all of which are pleasant Continue reading →

The Think Coffee location nearest me lost its awning in the storm – took this photo yesterday. This morning as I walked south towards the Manhattan bridge, I saw several awnings and signs in similar condition.

One would hope Sandy would change things — I guess we’ll see. Good article in BloombergBusinessweek on this topic today:

The issue was MIA during the presidential debates and, regardless of who wins on Nov. 6, is unlikely to appear on the near-term congressional calendar. After Sandy, that seems insane.

3:38pm update — just after posting this, I read that Sandy has impacted Mayor Bloomberg’s endorsement for President.

I walked south from Chelsea last night and into the dark zone. I thought, at some point, I’d see revelers, people in costume, something Halloween-y. I’m sure that all was going on somewhere, but not where I was.

Which is suprising, because I was walking through the heart of Manhattan — down Broadway, to Union Square (which is occupied by local utility and police right now), and southeast into the East Village. And it was truly empty, dark, and quiet.

I walked past Webster Hall to see if they were gearing up to hold their Halloween party. Not a soul there or even around there, save a few people talking by candlelight across the street.

A friend of mine had been planning on visiting me this week, to come check out how NYC celebrates Halloween. He wisely canceled, but if he were out here this week, he definitely would not be witnessing a typical Halloween here. 

I’m at a friend’s place in the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, and, if I may be given the liberty of briefly anthropomorphizing them, my devices (laptop / phone / ipad) are greedily lapping up the power available here. 

My phone had been drawing a full charge from my hibernating laptop, but my laptop ran out of power last night and my phone died soon after. Fortunately my friend had sent basic directions on how to walk to her place from Flatbrush Ave and I (for the most part) committed those to memory. I’m so used to letting my phone guide me wherever I go; it was an unusual experience to be walking “blind” into an unfamiliar area. Continue reading →

I’m in Brooklyn for the day and I’m reading the news online for the first time since Monday. Just read through a couple articles that underscore the experience I’ve had over the past few days:

• “The boundary between 39th and 40th street has become the border that separates the haves and the have-nots of Manhattan: the northern portion which has electricity from the southern half that’s without.“

• “At a time when people need each other, they’re getting to know each other,” Watson said, noting that not one argument has broken out over the power strips. “