Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #84

Originally Posted on 09/25/2003 by Jeff Harris

You know, it's funny.

You fall of the face of the Earth, losing all sorts of communication only to find that the world has changed. TOM's not at the helm of Toonami, AOL Time Warner has dropped that gadly three-letter word from their name and stock ticker (which will be TWX once again, because we all know that the letter X means you're cool, or something), Alexander Graham Bell didn't invent the telephone, FUNimation has a new logo sequence for the first time in almost ten years, and Hellsing's coming to Action next month, perhaps that network's first new anime acquisition since, like, Akira and Metropolis (hopefully Knocking on Heaven's Door will come later in the year).

Oh, and a big mother of a storm hit my homebase. Hurricane Isabel made a b-line to my neck of the woods a week ago today, and as expected, it hit us hard. You know how they said Y2K was supposed to be? That was reality in the NMB (that's Norfolk Metro Bay area for you outsiders and those within who are sick of that generic Tidewater nickname and that unpopular Hampton Roads moniker). People driving around town looking for ice, gas, and food (and the countless sleazoids taking advantage of the situation by bulking up the prices on essentials), people without power, phone services, and cable. Without power, ATMs were unavailable, denying many people funds for their disposal. Trees scattered all across the roofs and roads of the area. Tornadoes popping up, not to mention questionable water supplies. Those guys and gals up north who didn't have power for about a couple of days, I sympathize with you. We didn't have power for three and a half days and phone services for about six in our neigborhood, and we were some lucky ones. As of the time I'm writing this, 2/3 of the area is still without electricity and phones. Schools are still closed and food that were once in freezers is going bad (or being sold by money-hungry store owners who want to get rid of their bad foods).

Did I mention the fact that Hurricane Isabel destroyed numerous buildings and created a brand new 50' wide/10' deep inlet in Hatteras Village?

All my family is well and accounted for. Things are slowly getting back to normal, but some things are going to have to be getting used to, like the slow arrival of new groceries and the gradual return of full power. Hopefully, everything will be better next week.

That's all for now, and I'll see you guys later with a real update.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris
The X Bridge Creator/Webmaster
September 25, 2003