Friday, August 22, 2003
Czechs-Russians-Beer
Blogger Petr Bokuvka of The Daily Czech marks the 35th anniversary of the end of Prague Spring by reminiscing what it was like to be born under Communist rule in a military town run by the Russians.
The bad part was that they didn't live just in their military installations but some of them, especially lower-rank officers with their families, lived in apartment bulding in the city. These were called "Russian houses". Nobody talked to them, the wives had no friends here but other Russian women. When they came to a "Czech" store they didn't get the typical service. But the clerks had to serve them because they were afraid of the consequences.
Still on the Czech Republic topic, Doug notes that the Czechs "now lead the world in per capita beer consumption, ahead of such heavyweights as Ireland, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain." Doug says the British have fallen in the survey because so many of them are now drinking wine. However, I think it may have more to do with the fact that some so-called British pubs think 11 p.m. is an acceptable time for last call. (Still mad.)
Print vs. Online
My friend Heesun Wee - most recently a reporter with Business Week online, ABCNews.com and Dow Jones wires - spent the past weekend at a journalism convention in California and e-mailed me about her frustration. She said the newspaper recruiters have developed an unhealthy sneer for time spent at dot-coms and even the wire services. In calculating her eligibility, most counted only her five years at newspapers but ignored her five years covering energy, Enron, the stock market and other business topics at the dot-coms and wires. They left her the impression that she would have been better off even writing briefs at a small-town paper for the past five years - just so long as she stayed in print.
Super-Secret Blackout Refunds
Scott McCartney, who writes "The Middle Seat" airline column for the Wall Street Journal, reports that almost every major airline is offering refunds to any passenger left holding a ticket after the blackout.
What no major carrier said in its press releases and public statements was that customers could get refunds if their flights were canceled. Yet that is the case: You are entitled to a refund, even on a nonrefundable ticket, in the event of a weather disruption, labor action or some event out of the airline's control. It's in the fine print. Look under "force majeure."He catches some airline reps in doublespeak and also gives a nod to Cheapseats.com which "alerted people about the refunds over the weekend." He ends the column this way:
You can't blame airlines for wanting to hang on to revenue, especially when their finances are already so bad. Announcing to customers that refunds were available probably would be a costly action.
Then again, lousy customer service -- and outright deception -- have a heavy cost, too.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
NY Times on LA's 'Feeling of Inferiority to NY'
Bernard Weinraub of the New York Times jumps on the LA-bashing bandwagon in his story about the opening of the Frank Gehry-designed Disney concert hall set to open in Los Angeles:
Earlier:
The opening may also help alleviate the city's feeling of inferiority to New York, that it is a backwater of the arts.
Totally California vs. New York
Casio's Handheld TV
Yesterday I ordered a battery-powered TV from Amazon for $119 and paid no shipping since I chose the slow delivery method. Magically, UPS delivered it this morning.
So here's the lowdown. It's a Casio color TV the same size as a Palm Pilot. It takes four AAA batteries. In my apartment (where I get lousy reception on my Sprint cellphone,) I could get seven VHF channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS but not CNN. I took it outside and the reception was incredibly good. Then - the subway. Not so good. I had to go into the West Village on the red line and the only place I got any reception was at the Hoyt and Nevins stops in Brooklyn. Sitting in Sheridan park in the Village, I could get seven VHF stations and seven clear UHF stations. Later, while sitting on a bench in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, I could get seven VHF stations and 10 clear UHF stations.
Considering our cable was a lot longer than our power last week, I'm glad to have this as a backup. However, I'm not sure I'll be toting it around in my purse a lot -- unless of course it's supposed to feel like 100 degrees outside and the officials haven't yet determined what caused the biggest blackout in U.S. history.
As for other blackout gadgets, Jim Treacher e-mailed me to recommend a flashlight that needs no batteries ever. You just shake it for 30 seconds to give it 20 minutes of power.
Carl Huffman, who admits to living in tornado/ice storm country, also sent me a list of recommendations: a hand-cranked short-wave radio, an emergency worklight, other LED lights and headlamps, a Scorpion flashlight, plus a candle for cooking to use with the $6 Kwik-Cook Metal Folding Stove.
OK, I think I've just overdosed on emergency supplies.
100 on Thursday?
Well, heck. I subscribe to Emergency E-Mail Network and this just landed in my box:
HIGH PRESSURE ANCHORED OFF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC COAST IN COMBINATION WITH A LARGE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM ALOFT WILL BRING HIGH HEAT & HUMIDITY BACK TO THE METROPOLITAN AREA FOR THUR & FRIDAY. HIGH TEMPS ON THUR AFTERNOON WILL RISE INTO THE LWR 90S WITH DEW POINTS INTO THE LWR 70S. THIS WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDICES IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA REACHING 100 DEGREES THUR AFTERNOON. THEREFORE.A HEAT ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED FOR NY CITY.
If it Didn't Happen Here, it Didn't Happen Anywhere
ESPN's Jim Caple has a very good spoof of New Yorkers thinking the blackout only happened here. (via Information Leafblower)
Wait a minute ... It's difficult to get details from outside the city because of the antiquated tin can-and-string communications system linking the Midwest and Canada, but there are now reports -- still unconfirmed but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they turn out to be true -- that there are pockets of cannibalism in Toronto. And in one particularly disturbing report, we hear that dogs and cats are sleeping together in Toledo.
Totally California vs. New York
Early last week, when there was nothing but "Governator" coverage in the news, I wrote about a segment of a WNYC call-in show where New Yorkers bashed "California culture" as an oxymoron. My point, being a native Californian (albeit the wrong part of California,) is that people from SoCal do not know or care that NoCal and New Yorkers spend a lot of energy hating them.
Apparently I was wrong, based on the nasty comment threads that have sprung up. Some of them do care. Not that I really care that they care, but I'm wondering if they aren't really from California. On the Internet, no one knows you're from Iowa.
History:
Anti-California Arnold-Backlash? (Amy Langfield, Aug. 11)
Editor's Letter: Gawker -- The LA Edition (Gawker, Aug. 11)
Editor's Letter: Gawker LA Edition Pt. II (Gawker, Aug. 12)
Gawking L.A. (L.A. Observed, Aug. 13)
Why People Who Bash Southern California Usually Look Stupid (Matt Welch, Aug. 15)
Blackout (Turks Head Review, Aug. 15)
Spelling it Out (Elizabeth Spiers, Aug. 16)
First Biggie and Pac, Now This (Jim Treacher, Aug. 16)
Catfight! (Jeff Jarvis, Aug. 17)
Blog Wars (Late Final, Aug. 17)
Still talking about Gawker (L.A. Observed, Aug. 18)
Hollywood Speaks Out About the Blackout; We Respond (Gawker, Aug. 19)
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Amy Pictures via Buzznet
Hey, check out my new feature over in the right column of the blog. I've figured out how to syndicate images from my photopage at Buzznet. The images on the right will automatically grab the five most recent pictures I send via e-mail to Buzznet. I have just posted a few images I took with a throwaway camera during the blackout. You can even see that legendary Two Boots rib dinner I keep going on about.
More Blackout Gadgets
Thanks to the folks who have been e-mailing me with more blackout gadget suggestions. Three people recommended the Photon Micro Light, which can attach to your key chain or even the zipper on your jacket.
Gizmodo readers are now posting "Gadgets for surviving the next blackout."
A mom in Houston has posted advice about what she keeps in the go-bags for her family.
The master list is of course at The Red Cross. They also have an online store.
One really nice thing about shopping for disaster supplies now is that you can let yourself think you're only preparing for a blackout. When I put my kits together earlier this year, I couldn't help but feel a little victimized and thinking something like, "If I spend $150 on bottled water, duct tape, first aid kits, plastic tarps and energy bars I may never use, does it mean the terrorists are winning?"
Couch Surfing: Sport, Art or Career?
Gothamist links to a New York Post story about "couch surfers" - people who overstay their welcome in friends' New York couches. Among the people complaining about the practice is one of my college paper co-workers, Morgan J. Freeman.
Over the past 10 years, filmmaker Morgan J. Freeman grudgingly hosted many a couch-surfer - including, he says, "an Oscar nominee from 'Good Will Hunting,' who needed a floor to sleep on when he was playing at Brownie's."
Their friendship hasn't been the same.
Monday, August 18, 2003
BackUp Dial-Up
For you folks using Roadrunner, be sure you download their software so you can use dial-up if cable goes out again. I actually could have blogged before my power came on if I'd been smart enough to remember I could dial-up.
The Q
The directory of New York City blogs (which I wrote about for the NY Times when the site launched a year ago,) now has more than 2,500 blogs. To be precise, they're up to 2,556. You already know I'm on the Q train.
Survival Fashion
Welcome Instapundit readers. You need to scroll down a bit for the emergency kit advice. Also, I should clarify one thing. If I was a real "noted survivalist" I wouldn't have been wearing sandals and a Laura Ashley dress Thursday in the subway tunnels under Brooklyn.
$25 Flashlights
Matt Welch finds a guy who's actually bragging about selling cheap flashlights for $25 during the blackout.
On a more cheery note, my friend Ken Basart in LA e-mailed me last night with a list of hand-cranked flashlights. I especially like the look of this $40 fancy thing from Sharper Image. It has a radio, floodlight, flashing light, alarm clock, solar panels and a hand-crank. I'm pretty sure it has also has an espresso-maker attachment. (UPDATE: I'm returning the Sharper Image thing.)
Sunday, August 17, 2003
And Now the Floods ...
So this really intense rain started about an hour ago. And now - I'm not making this up -- stuff is bubbling up in our kitchen sink.
Rethinking the Emergency Kit
One way to view the Thursday blackout is that it was a great trial run for whatever’s next. So here’s my list of what I’m putting in the emergency kit before it goes back in the closet:
Dollar bills. I think I had about $50 in ones. This was a huge, huge relief when the power was out. The merchants who were open were only taking cash and the ATMs were down.
I think it’s impossible to have too many batteries. Especially the D size.
Small water bottles. I happened to have one in my purse (half-full) when the subway stopped. Although our water was working at the apartment, it was key to have a small bottle rather than the jugs, which would be too heavy to carry while outside.
Little radio with batteries.
I really want a battery-powered TV. My husband had these at work and he said they worked great. They want more. … Plus, since cable was out until Friday night, I still couldn’t see TV once the lights were on. (I probably could have unhooked the cable but it was far too much for me to figure out at the time.)
Better food. Luckily my kitchen happened to be well stocked and food was being sold in the neighborhood. However, I did try a bite of the six-month old energy bar in my emergency kit. Very happy BBQ ribs were for sale a few blocks away.
Penlight for my key chain. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted one of these at 5 p.m. on Thursday when our subway car momentarily was plunged into total blackness. Passengers were actually planning on using the tiny lights from our cell phones to lead us all out the tunnels if help never arrived. One guy had a penlight on his backpack and he had lots of friends very quickly.
Blackout Slogans
Today's New York Times has a picture of a sidewalk vendor selling snappy "I Survived the Blackout" T-shirts. (You can see it in "The City Recovers" slideshow.) I preferred The Post's front page picture yesterday: a woman in Bryant Park holding a sign that read: "I slept with all these people last night."
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