Rant #843: Odds and Evens

New York City and Long Island--Nassau and Suffolk counties--have implemented an odd/even gas system based on your license plate number.

They have done this to alleviate the long lines at gas stations since the coming of Hurricane Sandy and then the coming of the nor'easter afterwards.

Based on your license plate, if you have an odd number, you can fill up on odd numbered days; if you have an even number, you can fill up on even numbered days.

Those with vanity license plates can fill up either by whatever number is used on the plate--using the odd/even scheme--or if they don't have a number, they are considered to be odd (which isn't all that much off for people like this, by the way).

This program has worked in New Jersey, and hopefully, it will work in New York.

Last weekend, I waited a total of 10 hours on four lines, about two and a half hours apiece on these lines.

Only two of the lines proved to be worth it, as I was able to fill up my gas tanks--for my car and my wife's car--at two of the stations.

But I wasted five hours at two other stations, sitting there and doing nothing.

I am hoping that this process won't happen again, but since I am an even person, I can't get gas until Saturday, November 10.

My wife is an odd person (no, not really, but in this program she is), so she can get gas today or on Sunday.

This is the life we have to live now, and hopefully, it won't be that long before we get to normal.

But what is normal?

Is normal to be without electricity for more than a week and a half, like some people have been--my sister and my daughter included in that bunch?

Is normal to go to sleep in a house that is as cold as it is outside, in the 40s?

Is normal to see your house in ruins, and you are, in this instance, homeless?

Just what is normal now?

I don't know, but for those people whose lives have been incredibly changed by these weather events, I hope normal gets back to normal soon.

This is a catastrophe, one that will cost in the billions of dollars to fix. It has ruined lives, irreparably damaged our greatest resource, our people.

Maybe this is just a minor first step, but I think the gas rationing is a great idea.

Sure, it is a first step, but it could lead to something better.

Like getting back to the way we lived before these weather disturbances took that away from us.

Rant #842: Just When You Thought Things Couldn't Get Worse ...

I mean, the Northeast has had enough already.

First, we get Hurricane Sandy, our own Hurricane Katrina, and it tears apart our infrastructure like no other storm in my memory.

Then, yesterday, as if to add insult to injury, we get a nor'easter that dumps several inches of snow on us, brings massive winds, and further delays any normalcy that was brought down by Sandy.

What's a poor region to do?

My sister and my daughter still do not have any power in their respective living quarters.

My son has no school again.

It is a real mess.

I went out there today to clean off my car, and we got plenty last night.

It appears to be mainly wet snow, and as a further insult to injury, it will probably be all gone by the weekend, as it is supposed to hover in the 60-degrees range starting tomorrow.

We have had it up to here in my neck of the woods.

We can't stand it anymore.

And the frustration of people who have had nothing for the past week and a half is starting to show on their faces.

These are weather disturbances, so you really can't blame any one thing for them.

The people who have been entrusted with fixing things are doing the best they can under very trying circumstances.

Unfortunately, we just have to wait things out.

Things can only get better, because they can't get much worse.

Rant #841: Congratulations

Congratulations to President Barack Obama, who won a second term as our commander in chief yesterday.

I guess people like the "same old, same old," because the President won in a race that was close until about 11 p.m. last night, when he took the bull by the horns and thrashed his opponent, Mitt Romney.

I think we all know what "swing states" are now--I am sure that Romney certainly knows that now.

I think the problem with Romney is that he never really connected with the people, the common people, the people like you and me.

He came off as brash, aloof, looking down at much of the populace, even if that wasn't exactly true.

That is how the media portrayed him, so that is what he was.

The media was much more friendly with the President, and you just know that that helped his campaign tremendously.

Romney also did not connect with Hispanic voters, the voting block that is growing more than any other.

Bob Schieffer on CBS said something to the effect that one senator said to him that the country was having a "lower number of white guys" voting than ever before, but more and more Hispanics.

And he never connected with them, or a good number of the populace.

So what do we have in store for the next four years?

It is hard to say.

The economy remains a shambles, and unemployment is high.

We are still fighting overseas, and we are still dependent on others for oil.

Will any of these things change during the next four years?

I really don't know.

We voted for the "same old, same old," so will these areas remain the "same old, same old," and not move an inch?

Now that the race is over, my neck of the woods can concentrate on other things, like the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the coming nor'easter, which can't help matters that are already unmanageable for so many people in the Northeast.

My sister and daughter still are completely without power, gas lines are long, and people's nerves are starting the reach the breaking point.

Now that the campaign is out of the way, I don't know what President Obama can do about these things, but we need help here.

Let's hope things for the people in need get better real quick.

Rant #840: Vote, Vote, Vote

I have voted.

My polling place was lucky enough to be open and with power, and I voted there earlier today.

I am going to tell you who I voted for.

I voted for the guy that I felt could lead this country the most competently during the next four years.

I voted for the guy who I feel will make my life and the lives of my family and friends better over the next four years.

I voted for the guy who I felt most comfortable with, even though both major candidates give me the shakes.

I voted for the guy who I think can help us out of our economic doldrums, the guy who will lay down the law and tell big business what is right and what is wrong.

I voted for the guy who I believe will lead us out of Afghanistan, and let those people do their own governing ... and killing.

I voted for the guy who seemingly has a nice family, a solid marriage, and practices good values.

I voted for one of the two major candidates, because while I don’t really like either candidate, I feel that since the race is so close, every vote will, in fact, count this time around.

I voted for ———— as President of the United States.

And if he wins, I hope he can do the job.

I really do.

Rant #839: Over and Out

I am going to make this brief, because my eyes are bothering me big time once again.

But this weekend was bad, really bad.

As I predicted, getting gas was like finding a needle in a haystack/

I waited at a total of four stations for two cars. Two I was able to get gas at, two I wasted hours and hours of time and came up with nothing.

Most people were civil.

However, when I filled up my wife's car's tank, I had a slight incident that was perpetuated by the police who were there to patrol such things.

I was sent over to a specific pump, and someone cut the line and took my place.

I got out of my car, and screamed, "Someone cut the line!"

A cop came over and shouted to me, "This is a gas station, and there is no shouting here."

I reiterated what I said, and he told me to get back in the car or he would physically remove me from the premises.

The guy who cut me off not only fills up his car, but takes out a few gas cans.

I get out of my car, and talk to another person pumping gas.

The same cop tells me that if I don't get in the car, he would throw me out of there.

I went back into my car.

I should have known.

As I approached the service station, I asked another cop what price gas was here, because many places had been price gouging.

He tells me, "80 dollars."

Yes, I should have known.

Better luck next time.

But at least my wife and I have gas.

So many people don't, and the lines haven't gone away so quick just yet.

Hopefully, we will only have to bear with this until the weekend--when I probably will need gas again.

Rant #838: Gas Attack

Yes, I consider myself and my family to be very, very lucky when it comes to Hurricane Sandy.

Other than two hanging wires on our block that will have to be fixed, as well as a tree that toppled over on our neighbor’s lawn, we really didn’t have too many problems with the storm.

But just go about one-quarter to one-half mile away from us, and you will be in God’s Country. It really is that bad.

The one obstacle that we are going to have to face is the lack of availability of gas.

Lines are long, people are getting nervous, and gas deliveries are being handled as almost the second coming of the Messiah for those without gas.

I fueled up my car on Saturday morning, not because I felt the coming storm would disrupt matters so much, but I was most worried about the jacked-up price of gas after the hurricane.

Now, I don’t think too many people are really caring that much about the price; they just hope they can get the gas.

Right outside our window at work is a gas station, and the lines at this station have been something I haven’t seen since the gas crisis in 1973 or 1974.

And people’s tempers are starting to flare up. It’s one thing to wait for gas, it’s another to wait a whole day for gas.

The people who own hybrids are probably laughing their butts off now.

That is, unless, they need to charge their cars. With so many people not having electricity now, where does it leave these owners who don’t have any power?

It’s a mess, a real mess, and it doesn’t look like it is going to improve anytime soon.

Me, I still have a little less than three-quarters of a tank, so I am not in need of gas right now.

But come early next week, I will need to refuel.

Where do I do it and when?

I will probably be better off to find a 24-hour station that has gas and go late at night or in the early morning, which means I will have to fill up on Saturday evening-Sunday morning.

Me and a million other guys.

What a pain in the butt this is!

Rant #837: Back to Normal (?) Part 2

Everything is trying to get back to normal after the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, but it isn't going very quickly.

Mass transit is trying to come back to order. There are some limited trains--Long Island Railroad and New York City subway--but the going is still tough, as most of the lines are still out.

More and more people are now able to get back to work. This was a "vacation" that nobody foresaw or really wanted.

But there is still lots to go before we can be back to "normal."

For one thing, the schools have yet to open, and I seriously doubt that they will be open again this week.

In my community, many continue to be without power, and probably won't have power for days, if not longer.

Most banks are not open, so if you want to make a deposit or take money out or pay your bills, you may be stuck (my wife's bank is one of the few that is open).

Supermarkets are open, but most without power. You can forget about chill or frozen goods. You can't get them, and the availability of canned and shelf-stable items is dwindling.

Driving continues to be hazardous without lights to guide you.

People are doing funny things on the road, because they don't have the lights to slow them down.

And gas. That has become another problem.

Many people didn't take this thing seriously, and now find that their car's gas tanks are low. So they are filling up now, but so many are filling up, that gas availability is low and getting lower.

The lines are unprecedented, reminding me of the gas lines we experienced in the 1970s during gas rationing.

Right outside my place of work is a gas station that remains open, but after yesterday--with hundreds of cars trying to fill up--I wonder if they will be open again today.

Yes, I went to work yesterday. We were fortunate to have power, but no Internet or email, which hampered us to a degree. Most of us were there, and most of us still do not have power at our homes.

No, we are not even near normal right now.

It is going to have to take baby steps to get back to normal.

So right now, I don't even know when that will happen.

(And as a sidelight, this Sandy is a "he," not a "she." So why is everyone, including the so-called informed news media, referring to it as a "she"?)