Power and phones are back. I've managed to set up a temporary AOL account, so I wanted to pop in and touch base.
I don't know when I will be back online in any reliable capacity. Damage was far worse than we realized at first. Major appliances were lost, as well as most of my A/V and computer equipment. Directv is a total loss as a couple receivers literally fried, and the dish is toast. My laptop is shot, etc. etc. To be honest, we're lucky the house didn't catch fire to boot. The lightning struck at the South end of the roof, manage to travel through the length, and come out on the North 1st floor at the phone junction box outside, which exploded and was destroyed. But it turns out we had explosions in the house too, Vince went to wash some clothes, and discovered wiring and the heavy outlet for the washer and dryer had blown up as well, scorched walls, more damage, etc.
I was literally installing the pick'em hack when this all happened. An explosion like you wouldn't believe, then fire alarms going off all over the house followed by the distinct smell of melted electronics. The worst for me was having no power (and thus no A/C) for around 3 hours. In terms of my health issues, that has set me back severely, and that's going to be another factor in terms of my availability.
Needless to say, we're having a ball, and I suspect most of you are rolling your eyes at my sob story by now, lol. We do figure to miss the game, but I'm holding out hope. Someone is coming out to look at the DSS equipment tomorrow, but it seems like everything is going to have to be replaced, including the wiring.
When I get back online, I'll wrap up the pick'em hack, and we'll figure out how to work in people's scores then.
Hope you Miami through Tampa types are prepared for the storm. It goes without saying I hope we don't see much of a hit from it. With an already damaged roof, I'd be concerned about our problems snowballing. But that's life, a big slice of shit pie.
