The media vs. hurricane

I have to admit, I was a little scared at first. The first hurricane to hit New York in a really long time. And we took some precautions, got some extra rations, put away all the little things that might go flying around if one of the windows gave, unplugged all electronics, and put a lot of stuff we didn't want to get wet in the upper storage areas of the closet just in case one of the windows gave, and the rooms became inundated with water.

And we watched the news. Between each commercial break, you'd see a interstitial flash of stock video footage of tidal waves, lightning flashes, and palm trees waving around like pompoms. But if you listened closely to what the anchormen were saying, you could tell things were actually getting better.

- "This could still be a category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of up to 74mph." Basically, the weatherman is giving the definition of a hurricane, a hypothetical situation rather than an impending one.

- In one interview, the reporter asks an emergency crewman if people can use sandbags for the next hurricane if they don't use them this time.

- And of the major selling points, millions of people will be affected. While this is true, really, any storm over Manhattan would affect millions of people. It doesn't mean the world is going to end.

Meanwhile, rain was falling gently outside. What was supposed to be the worst of Irene got pushed out from 2am, to 6am, to 8am. Looking at a couple weather websites showed sustained wind up to 60mph. While that's nothing to sneeze at, it's not catastrophic either.

So long as a stray branch doesn't go crashing through the window, and depending on how much the subways are going to get flooded (it really doesn't take much to flood the subways), I'm guessing things won't be so bad. I understand the need for authorities to take the most conservative precautions when lives are at stake, but really this doesn't seem like that bad of a situation at all.