Power outages

March 18, 2006 - 18:42
Originally uploaded by Hugo*

We've been having periodic power outages here in Portsmouth the last week or so. And with the heat, it's been unbearable.

But I don't mind, too much.

I'm helping cause them.

A group of us have been hitting electric infrastructure, causing power outages. Our main purpose hasn't been to make our own lives unbearable, but to hit the Republic forces. I've talked about the former Portsmouth Federal Building before, but there are other former federal facilities in Portsmouth that we've been trying to hit. They are, after all, centers of gravity in the old Clausewitzian paradigm. There's what used to be the naval hospital, and there's the old naval shipyard, and across town is the old coast guard base.

I went out the other night to help strike at the power leading to the old naval hospital. There's still a hospital there, but it also serves as a detention facility. We had this notion that with the power down, some of the detainees might be able to get loose. Well, we took down the power... but didn't figure they'd have the whole place rigged with back-up generators.

The bad news is that the neighborhood outside the facility doesn't have back-up generators; well, at least the whole neighborhood isn't rigged for back-up.

Sucks to have no power when the heat climbs to over a hundred.

Of course, at least I'm still alive. A couple of us weren't so lucky. A buddy of mine, I'll call him Paul H., cut his fuse a little too short and became engulfed in the explosion of the substation. And, as we were heading back to the rendezvous point, we came upon a fairly substantial patrol from the ISF. Randy was shot in the throat. I was able to evade by actually jumping in Scott's Creek...er, it's not called Scott's Creek anymore... now it's Nu'man Creek.

When I got home, dawn was just breaking, and I looked like a drowned rat. But at least I was alive.

Trip to the mall; a bridge too far

P4230159
Originally uploaded by Tidewater Muse

This week with the summer upon us, my wife wanted to take the boys to the park to run some energy off. But, since it was so hot, and because Jack has just yesterday started to crawl, Jenny decided taht she'd go to the mall and the indoor play place.

Remember how over at MacArthur (Now named the Mojhamid Mall), there's that play area for children... right near the food court

Anyway, we hadn't been to the mall for nearly a year. With the Downtown Tunnel out from the attack on our infrastructure, the Midtown Tunnel (you may remember the attackers headed for the Midtown got caught in traffic. When the alert went out, they closed the Midtown, and the guys caught pulled over by a cop. So, anyway, Jenny and I headed to the Mall.

Going through the Midtown Tunnel -- still called the Midtown Tunnel... I guess they only changed offensive names -- took 90 minutes, what with the security backups. When we got to the Mall, we had to pass through a security checkpoint in order to park in the lot. They even had a bomb sniffing dog check out our car.

Going from the parking garage to the Mall was another checkpoint. They have the latest technology in scanners. They use the one that can actually peel back layers of fabric and metal, layer by layer, while at the same time it's sniffing for bombs (they tell us its both bombs and drugs, but I know that the machines actually don't check for drugs; they'd rather have us cracked-up and dying from drugs than actually having to deal with us, but I guess that's what happens when you are able to walk in almost by magic.

Once we were inside, it was okay, except women have to be fully clothed with just eyes showing. I think it's a bit extreme, but that's the way it is.

I heard of a new company, Bathing Ape, which sells cool hoodie-tops that hide all but the eyes. They're hip and cool, and women of all ages are willing to shell out $400 for a single top.

The boys played for about an hour, and then we headed back home... We didn't have to pass through an examination point to get out of the Mall or the parking garage, but there was a nearly 2 hour wait at the tunnel. There's been some sort of threat posted on the Internet and the Office of Transportation Security is taking it very seriously.

Understatement of the day: It's not like it was in the old days.

I can remember when this would have been the way it was

In the "old days"
Originally uploaded by THNguyen

But that time is not anymore. July 4th is just another day; this year it's just another Wednesday. Some people are celebrating what it used to mean, but they're not doing it in public. Any picnics and sparklers are being held behind closed doors.

There was a protest near the old federal building here in Portsmouth, but it lasted all of about 45 seconds from what I've been told. A group of people, including parents and their children, attempted to stage something of an Independence Day rally. From what I've been told, they unfurled a couple of stars & stripes, and were unmercifully attacked by a group of black-stocking-headed jihadists. My understanding is that provincial and central government law enforcement officers literally turned their backs to the attack.

This is what has become of our country. This is what has become of our country because we thought the world was ours. What some of us have learned is that the world is not ours, and neither is our own land anymore.

This evening, I reread the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, all the while wondering where in former USA these documents still mean something other than a hope or a distant dream.