Cleaning Up

It was the Tornado - Macroburst exacta, though the latter was apparently the main culprit here in the Forest Hills area of Queens. The cleanup continues around the clock....literally. It was around 2:30 AM this morning when we were awoken by the sound of chain saws, and since I haven't heard of any overnight mass murders, I'm assuming that a crew was working on some fallen telephone poles or trees. I called Verizon yesterday to try and get an idea of when our phone service might be restored, and the automated message assured me that they are committed to resolving the problem by "Thursday.....September.....30th.....at.....6PM."

Cable service in the area is out too, so the satellite dish is coming in handy. However, that means no internet service, so thanks to the person with wireless network 05B408567068, which provides me with on-and-off halting service when I sit in the very back portion of our backyard. Not sure what kind of connection they might have that's still working, perhaps courier pigeon. In any event, posting will continue to be limited until further notice. This connection is too weak for me to utilize Formulator, and barely strong enough to download the results charts; so I have no brilliant insights on this weekend's races at Belmont.

Walking and driving around the neighborhood, we come across blocks with incredible devastation to trees, sidewalks, and cars; and then adjoining ones which look completely untouched and normal. Without at all minimizing the tragedy of the one reported fatality, it's absolutely mind-boggling that there was not more serious injuries nor damage to homes.

Home with a cold on Saturday night and with no surfing or blogging to distract me, I actually watched a college football game in its entirety. Wow, what a revelation! Great game too; I'll have to try that more often. And three cheers to the NCAA's overtime system. They can't implement that in the pros soon enough as far as I'm concerned. All football fans, and even those of you who just appreciate good writing with clever snark, might want to check out Mike Tanier's weekly NFL previews in the New York Times; great read. Anyone who can work early Clash B-sides into a football column is OK with me. And with that, I'm off to the Jets game, good luck in all of your wagering endeavors, and have a great day.