I’m feeling very lucky right now - here in Meridian Township we still have full power. The lights went out in downtown Lansing and were down all the way home. But my apartment, the corner gas station, and the supermarket across the street still have power.

Too funny - the local news station is out of power, but still appear able to broadcast somehow - they’re broadcasting from what appears to be the back lot of the station where there’s still sunlight! They’re sitting around this makeshift desk that the top keeps falling off of, the anchors have their jackets off and ties undone, and oh the dread - no teleprompter!

Update 8/15

Being a state employee is like being a kid in school - they announce if you have to go to work on the morning news! Unfortunately power is back on in Lansing so I’m here working today. Drat! I feel bad for the rest of ya’ll who are still out - we’re too lucky here. At the apartment it spiked once right at 4 but has been on ever since.

Still no word on the true cause. I find it very disturbing that the power grid is so interconnected that the entire thing can be taken down at once. It seems like in a situation like this the localities with the real problems should be down, but the rest should still be able to get by - guess not. It will be interesting to see what the eventual outcome is. I heard this morning that the majority of the plants to go down were nuclear - don’t know if that will be important or not - just interesting.

So, I got to meet our Governor of Michigan, Jennifer M. Granholm this morning - handshake, intro and everything. We were invited to briefly attend the monthly cabinet meeting for the presentation on our project. She’s got a heck of a handshake too! We decided she must have some massive forearm muscles built up from years of handshaking with constituents and handwaving at events. Needless to say I was duly inspired to put in even more effort during my remaining week and half or so here.

In college, several people insisted I looked like a young Dustin Hoffman (as in The Graduate), now I see that my birthday and his are the very same, is that weird or what?