Hiatus Announcement

Throughout the summer, I have consistently posted warnings that my blog might be temporarily dormant due to a power outage caused by a severe thunderstorm or a derecho-type weather system, and I'm sorry if I sounded like I was crying wolf, since the electricity never went off during any of these storms (although it looked pretty dicey during the September 18 storm).  But with Hurricane Sandy approaching, the threat of a power failure - no, blackout - has never been greater.  And if a blackout is all my mother and I get from the wind and rain expected, we might be one of the lucky ones.  The forecast for northern New Jersey calls for two to four inches of rain through Wednesday (Halloween). The ground isn't too terribly saturated right now, and the rivers in my area are below normal levels, so I'm not worried about the rain or flooding that much.  (We're on higher ground.)  But with sustained winds that could reach 50 mph and gusts over 70 mph, a tree could topple over and knock out the power lines . . . or do worse damage. :-O

Therefore, I am announcing that I am putting my blog on hiatus due to Hurricane Sandy and the possibility of a power failure that could last for seven to ten days.  This is obviously going to be a hiatus of indeterminate length, though the earliest I expect to return to this blog is November 7, 2012, the day after Election Day.  So you'll likely have to deal with the absence of my biting commentary for at least a week and a half.

Now, about my Music Video Of the Week feature.  In all the time this feature was on my now-defunct MySpace page (June 2007 to November 2010), I never missed a week, not even after the March 2010 nor'easter knocked out my power and my cable service.  I haven't missed a week since I began it again here in July 2011, not even after last year's October snowstorm.  I had to think about what to do - leave the Music Video Of the Week page alone, with the current video (currently Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising"),  erase the page and replace it with a message that the feature has been suspended, or schedule posts with embedded music videos to appear on my main page, with a message on my Music Video Of the Week page to check the main page for a new video every Friday until things return to normal.  I chose the third option.  Therefore, if I can't access my blog for awhile, you will see a new post with a new video pop up at 6:01 PM on Friday until I can access my blog, at which point I'll return my Music Video Of the Week feature to its own page.  So, if I have Internet access by this coming Friday, either at home or at my local library, I'll return my Music Video Of the Week feature to its own page before a video post is scheduled to be published. But even if I do have Internet access then, I'll likely keep the rest my blog on hiatus otherwise until November 7.  If my house is still blacked out on November 7 but I still have Internet access at my local library, I'll post a message regrading how I plan to proceed from there.  It's a matter of playing it by ear.  One way or another, you'll see a new video on this page each week. :-) 

I had planned to resume writing weekly record reviews next Sunday, November 4, but I have now postponed that resumption until the Sunday after next, November 11.  If my power and Internet access go out and I don't have either by Veterans' Day, I'll be utterly surprised.

So there you have it.  That's pretty much what to expect from me as Hurricane Sandy passes through my hometown.  One last thing,  I'm sure many of you who read this blog are also in the path of Hurricane Sandy - it's likely to affect sixty million people - so I just want to wish you good luck and godspeed as you deal with the storm, and if something bad does happen to you, I hope that a blackout is as bad as it gets.  Worse things can happen in a storm, especially a storm of this magnitude.  So I hope you'll all be fine.  I'm prepared. My house has lots of fresh bottled water and plenty of non-perishable food, and any outdoor objects that could blow away are safe and secure inside.  Also, I have plenty of batteries, especially for my portable stereo, and a lot of cassettes (yes, I still have those) and CDs to play on it.  Not to mention several books and magazines. I'll be all right.

So this is goodbye for now, though not forever.  If the power stays on through the storm, I might be back earlier than November 7.  Either way, I hope I'm not gone too long.