[OT] How Proud I am of NYC

[Piratecat]

The last major blackout to affect NYC was in 1977. Although I was born 6 years after...

*blink*

You were born in 1983? I don't often get to say things like "Darrr, you were toddling around in nappies while I was trekking through the Amazon Jungle," but holy cow - in this particular case it happens to be true. And you were less than one year old when I got out of high school.

Dang. Time flies. I don't feel that old.

Sorry for the hijack; back to the thread!

 

[Datt]

On the news today I saw how the power grids of the US are connected. The entire eastern US is on one main grid. Evidentally somebody somewhere saw what was happening and shut the NE grids off before they could drain the rest of the Eastern US.

It also showed that Texas is on a grid almost completely by itself. So if something should happen down here like what happened up there only the state of Texas would be hit and no one else. They were also saying that we have so many power plants down here that it would not likely happen.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

wow PC, you're in your 40s? When I met you I thought you were no older then 27 or some such.

Yes, i'm "only" 20 years old. *grumble*

 

[Datt]

To continue the hijack.

I think he is around 37. 18 when graduating HS in 84. Add 19 years and that puts him around 37. But I must say he doesn't look a day over 27 by the pictures of GenCon!

 

[talinthas]

i don't understand. You're proud that people *didn't* steal and loot and destroy? You're proud that people acted like normal decent beings? Why, do they normally act otherwise?

I guess i never understood rewarding people for acting like they should.

And of course, one also has to wonder if pre 911 new york would have handled this the same way. If that horrible disaster accomplished anything, it was bringing people out of their selfish boxes and hammering a solid community out of it. That they are doing what any community should do is unsurprising.

 

[VorpalBunny]

Well, my wife just called me. MY HOUSE LOST POWER AGAIN!! <grumble>. We got it back at 1:30 AM last night and lost it again 10:00 AM this morning.

Seems a transformer or some such blew and now the whole southern part of SI is back in the 18th century.

ARRGH. I WANT TO WATCH MY BABYLON 5 THIRD SEASON DVDS!! I DO NOT WANT TO READ MY PHB BY CANDLELIGHT!!!

sometimes I really hate technology...

 

[VorpalBunny]

i don't understand. You're proud that people *didn't* steal and loot and destroy? You're proud that people acted like normal decent beings? Why, do they normally act otherwise?

I guess i never understood rewarding people for acting like they should.

And of course, one also has to wonder if pre 911 new york would have handled this the same way. If that horrible disaster accomplished anything, it was bringing people out of their selfish boxes and hammering a solid community out of it. That they are doing what any community should do is unsurprising.

I agree that the post 911 NYC is a very different place than the pre-911 NYC. But in *ANY* urban environment during an outage there are certain public safety risks that have to be adressed.

Add on that it's *hot*, people waited 45 min in their car to drive 2 blocks in Manhattan, subway service was suspended, and a million other little annoyances. And during it all *millions* of people for the most part remained civil and helped each other out. Yeah, it's a good thing and should be commended.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

i don't understand. You're proud that people *didn't* steal and loot and destroy? You're proud that people acted like normal decent beings? Why, do they normally act otherwise?

I guess i never understood rewarding people for acting like they should.

And of course, one also has to wonder if pre 911 new york would have handled this the same way. If that horrible disaster accomplished anything, it was bringing people out of their selfish boxes and hammering a solid community out of it. That they are doing what any community should do is unsurprising.

In '77 people degraded themselves to act like animals.

Today, it didnt happen.

I'm proud that people didnt just act "like they should" as you put it. But they stuck out their necks to help one another.

There is no "standard pattern of behavior" that peolpe HAVE to follow or SHOULD follow in life. I dont belive in that.

There is a natrual tendancy in people to react certain ways depending on the situation and I'm proud that people reacted the way they did, instead of reacting in a more negative way.

 

[Piratecat]

You're proud that people acted like normal decent beings? Why, do they normally act otherwise?

It's refreshing to see someone who isn't cynical.

t's been pointed out that while a person is a normal decent being, people are sheep, and the IQ of a crowd is approximated by taking the average IQ and divinding by the number of people. That's a little harsh, but it has been proven that people are much less likely to retain normal standards of responsibility when they're in a group or mob situation. It was hot, and tempers could have flared; I think it should be commended that this didn't happen. Whatever else you may say of 9/11, it expanded peoples' resiliance.

So yup, I believe in rewarding people for the kind of behavior you want to encourage. That's true even when it's "expected" behavior.

(And Arthur, I'm 36. Clearly, my life of debauchery is corroding the portrait I keep locked in my attic. )

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Re: Re: [OT] How Proud I am of NYC

You were born in 1983? I don't often get to say things like "Darrr, you were toddling around in nappies while I was trekking through the Amazon Jungle," but holy cow - in this particular case it happens to be true. And you were less than one year old when I got out of high school.

There was a time when I was about 8 years old (I was born in '66) when I was stunned to find out that people born in the seventies were capable of speech...