<< I'm wondering what will be the death toll from the heat or from no AC and or riots and such that may break out. >>

Hey. This ain't Paris, man. Nobody sat in their offices waiting for some "authority" to tell 'em what to do; no one died of heat stroke waiting for some government program to come rescue them; no pompous trades unionist with a bad haircut and a bullhorn told us when to riot. This is North America, man! The New World! We don't wait for authority - we ARE the authority. We don't.......

Oh.

Guess my lithium wore off. Sorry.

Seriously though, that's the first REALLY big story here - what didn't happen. Imagine - the largest city in America, a city who made the middle finger gesture into an art form, a city that gave "attitude" it's attitude - looses the mother's milk of the post-industrial age - power. And what happens? Food Riots? Nope. Wholesale looting? Not that. Massive pillaging? Big zero there. Headquarters of ConEdison stormed? How about Gracie Mansion? Nor even. NYC goes dark, and Dan Rather has a SLOW news night. Imagine. What did happen though, is that New Yorkers, and many others in many other places, for the most part went through this with spirits high, helped out complete strangers who were out of luck, had mass sleep-ins in parks, and generally got on with life!

What we saw was how America (and Canada), post 9/11, now takes on adversity. One person at a time. Our friends in this world should take note; our enemies should be loosing sleep over it.

And the other REALLY big story here? Why, the agony of low battery life, of course. But I think we've already pummeled that expired equine rather well, so my comments are on it are superfluous.


.....CLIFF

To err is human; to really, spectacularly screw up takes technology. Really expensive technology.