In case anyone is wondering...

[attach=1]

I haven't been on here posting anything vinyl related lately because around this time of the year, I spend most of my time getting ready for the holidays. Each year, I setup an elaborate Halloween display and it takes me a few weeks to get everything setup. It's a fenced in graveyard with a computer controlled light show.    I Usually start mid September and begin pulling everything out of storage and I clean, paint and repair anything that wore out the year before.

This usually takes up most of my time during October, but it's fun and the neighborhood seems to enjoy it on Halloween night.

I haven't had a chance to listen to my turntable or any vinyl for the last month. I am trying to finish a new video for my YouTube channel of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' - a song I use in my Halloween show. 

This year, my stereo FM transmitter died, which I use to broadcast the audio for the show so people can listen while staying in their cars. I tried replacing the main chip (BH1415F) that I thought went bad, but it still has the same problem - the left channel is dead. I might end up buying a new one since it's too late to send this one out for repair. it really sucks since the one I use is (was) very high quality with a wide frequency range (20hz~15khz) and 1/2 a watt, which can be heard clearly for almost a mile.

Maybe by the end of next week I'll have the new Michael Jackson video done and posted on YouTube.

Well, last night was trick-or-treating for my area, so essentially, Halloween is over. We gave out almost 100 bags of candy and had a fun night scaring the kids. 

I had to use my backup FM transmitter since my good transmitter was still out for repair and won't be back until Monday.

[attach=1]

The next issue I'm facing is tropical storm Sandy, which is heading my way starting tomorrow night. The storm track keeps shifting, but it looks like I will be within 100~200 miles from the eye of the storm. I'm roughly 120 miles inland from the coast line and I'm in an elevated location, so I don't have to worry about coastal flooding or the initial impact of the storm once it makes landfall, but it's the high winds that I'm most worried about - and the direction of those winds.

All of my records, turntables and recording equipment is on my enclosed back porch. The windows are single pane storm windows and the entry door is a simple screen door. If the winds come from the west, I should be OK but if they come from the east, I'm screwed. I'm going to move my most valuable items indoors and cover the rest with plastic and hope for the best. The latest word was that the storm strength had diminished a bit and the track had shifted south, but either way, it will still pass dangerously close to my location.

I have a generator and plenty of food and water. I was lucky last year during hurricane Irene and didn't suffer any damage at all. I did loose power for nearly a week during the freak snow storm of October 29th, 2011. Since then, the power company has come out and trimmed the trees and replaced the lines so risk of a tree shorting the lines near my house have been reduced; but they are still expecting the storm to cause power outages over a large area.

I'm going to be busy preparing for the storm in the next few days and riding out the effects for the next week so I don't think I'll have time to finish the Michael Jackson video I was working on in time for Halloween. 

Time to get busy, prepare and hope for the best! 

I wish you're OK. The news is devastating...

CAN'T wait for the Thriller video BTW 

So are you OK now?

I'm back! 

The last week or so has been really tough around here, but things are just starting to get back to normal. Hurricane Sandy hit my area on Monday afternoon. The rain and wind increased after 6pm and really started howling after 8pm. I lost power about 8:30pm. I have a small backup generator and kerosene heater, but it was too windy that night to set anything up so I sat in the dark, listening to a battery operated radio.

By Tuesday morning, things calmed down enough to get the generator hooked up and running. The back end of the storm brought cold air down from the north and things began to get chilly by the afternoon. By 6pm, I was back on the internet with my laptop and warm and cozy with my kerosene heater.

Sometime around 8pm our power came back on, but at the same time, the internet went offline. It's like they pulled the plug on the internet to fix our power. My internet connection is also my phone since I use VOIP. Luckily I had my cell phone charged - but the nearby cell tower also went down and I went from 5 bars to no bars for a signal.

Then, the crap really hit the fan when I found out my mom had a seizure and fell on the floor, breaking her nose, cutting her lip and bruising her eye. She was rushed to the hospital and I had to stay there with her until 1am, when they decided to keep her overnight for more tests and observation. All of the tests came back negative, but they found the reason why she fainted was because her heart was stopping for long periods of time; at one point for as long as 25 seconds! They decided she needed a pacemaker put in to regulate her heart and she was scheduled for Thursday afternoon for the operation. The operation was successful and she was discharged on Friday afternoon. I spent most of the week traveling back and forth visiting my mom in the hospital. She's home now and is getting better each passing day.

All week, the phone and internet was out and much of my area was still in a blackout. I was lucky and grateful to have power, but frustrated not having the internet or a phone to use.

My sister's power was out until Wednesday night and my brother's power is still out, but it should be back on by later today.

There was some damage in my area, lots of trees down, roof shingles ripped up and damaged siding but I lucked out - I only had one small piece of siding come loose. Some of my neighbors suffered a lot more damage. Before the storm came, I packed up my records and turntables, taped the windows on my back porch and covered everything else up with heavy plastic sheets in case the windows broke. The porch and all my audio equipment survived unscathed and the porch windows held up to the 80mph winds without breaking, which really surprised me.

I took a few photos of some of the damage in my area:

Sorry for your mom. At least she's ok now. 

So you had no damage. Luck protects babes, fools, and vinyl collections owners