Currently Obsessed with:

This video. I can't wait to go to Australia, or even just get out of college and move to the coast.
http://adrenalinfeed.com/1424

from the kiteboarder.com

Boy Meets World

Thought experiment time.
What does everyone anyone will do have in common? Their motivation, ie: themselves. Everyone goes through life largely doing their own thing, and that's totally how it should be. We as humans, and basic animals at heart, always look out for number one. And I don't mean that to say we be ruthless and use any means possible to get ahead, I just mean the motivation for doing something should always be within yourself. Like pack style animals, they won't ruthlessly kill their brother just for being in its way, but at the end of the day when hunting, the animal is hunting for itself. It looks to fulfill its needs first, but not so much to take away from others or gluttonize.
I don't think this is much of a stretch, its pretty easy to see and accept. Everything we do should be to better ourselves ourselves in some way, as long as it doesn't negatively affect other people.
Unfortunately for the last 100 years or so or popular culture, this kind of puts a stake through the idea of close relationships.

You mean this isn't normal?

Oh don't worry baby bird, I'll feed you. This philosophy works great on people superficially. Many people love to help others, me included. But look at their motivation. It makes them feel more satisfied to help people, it allows them to interact with different people, etc. In essence all of those are personal reasons at heart. You help people because it makes you feel happy to do so, or talking with new people all the time entertains you. Maybe there's some kind of chemical release. Going back to the wolf analogy it makes sense to encourage cooperation and assistance. But ultimately, they, you, and I are all doing it because it satisfies an urge.
Humans interact with other people everyday because it mutually satisfies a personal desire for social bonding.
This all works great in everyday life. Each wolf is working to feed itself, and so if another ten wolves have the same desire, they can team up and work on accomplishing it together. That's why we are social creatures, because when we have the same goals, its smarter and more enjoyable to work together.
Now delve into the part about 'not negatively affecting other people.' If you ask a wolf to stay home and not eat today so that the others can have more and indulge?
That wolf will be like absolutely not, fuck you Balto.

Asshole           source

And he is totally right in that respect. You should never do something to give up or hurt your own goals. Like I have said before, you shouldn't go to the other extreme and have no regard for others goals, but you should never hurt yours either.

IDEALLY, everyone should pursue their own life goals and experiences, living their life how they want. We mutually help each other when its beneficial for us, and if not we just move on and keep doing our own thing. That's what EVERY other animal does.
So where does marriage come in?

Hint: It doesn't.

I think I wanna marry you!    -from online express

No, B-Dog, I really don't think you do.

Ok..

I'm going to live my life doing my own shit. I should not self hinder or give up on my own goals because of some broad. Dating, and sex, and a relationship is fine in its own right. As long as the two of you share the same goals and ideals you should totally take advantage of a good thing.
But people CHANGE. Whether you are 10 or 50, you will change everyday, your dreams will change, your ideals will change. This is constant.
So while you very well may match up with a girl this month, statistically that will not last. You met this person because of whatever goal you were pursuing at the time most likely. That was the winter you pretended like you could ice skate and you fell and cut your face off with her skate. Now that's an icebreaker. Or that was the time you formed an Anti Joey Alliance and by god if seeing a strong minded leader uniting people against his suite mate for no reason other then to be annoying doesn't turn a girl on.
But after a few weeks, you are not going to care about that as much, and you'll be moving on to other things. And she will too.
Now as we already well established, you should move on to other things you want to do. And sorry to tell you the truth, but that will not be the things the love of your life you met two weeks ago at Chuckie Cheese will want. Which dictates that you should just go your own ways. You'll start something new and you'll end up meeting someone at your first "Lyrical Expression of John Mayer through Interpretative Dance and Butterfly Mimicry." class.
And that's how it should be. You stay tied down to the original girl and you will go through your entire life meeting people that could potentially change your life and you'll never even interact with them because of the shining beacon of love waiting for you to get home one minute past curfew before they Incredible Hulkify into some scary, condescending arachnid.

She'll wait in your shoe till morning to yell at you for not calling.

Moreover, its just plain wrong for you to ask a girl to stick around once this has happened. Or the other way around. Because inevitably, one person in the relationship will continue living their life, while the other takes the passenger seat and is along for the ride. And I'll tell you I certainly am not giving up the wheel. Besides, I drive stick she probably couldn't even do it if she wanted. But I would never want to hamper someone else in that way.
            We have to admit that at the heart of the matter we are polygamous.
So that's how I have been trying to live my life the last few months. And its been working ok. I largely stopped thinking about forming relationships myself, and just opened myself up to hanging out with everyone I met. Which honestly has garnered me a lot of attention. I take it, what guy wouldn't but I don't look into it and I let people come and go as they please pretty much. Which usually results in things being cool for a while and then they start bitching cause they want something exclusive, and I'm just not interested enough to put in the effort when my schedule is already so packed.

Now I know someone is probably thinking, "Well Rob, isn't marriage an experience, isn't raising a family together an experience?"

Well, yes and no.
Kids, definitely. Looking at the animal analogy again though, definitely not as long as we do though. Most animals stay with their families until they are mature and then go off on their own. The idea of being a kid for upwards of mid twenties these days, and spending your entire life devoted to a few family members or a spouse is mainly just modern convention.
            Not that I am saying that should change. I am very close to my family and regardless in this part of the world to not conform to that is just not realistic.
I do want to experience having kids and a good marriage. You can ask anyone around me I am itching to be on my own and have a grown up house with kids and a white picket fence. But the issue is that's it, I want the EXPERIENCE. When I think about my life when I am getting upwards of 50 or 60, I have ideas that I like, but none of them take into consideration having a wife and kids.
                I have a lot of interest in trying different jobs. Being in health care would give me some flexibility in my later years, that I could semi retire to owning a restaurant, becoming involved in the community, working as a WEMT again.
In the very end, I see myself either really involved with my area and helping programs or something for kids, or on the opposite side of the spectrum secluding into the woods to live simply.
            The point is neither factors in a wife. But I can't just assume she'll die off can I.

source

With a wife, I see myself trapped in the house my kids grew up in for years watching TV and slowly sinking into an armchair, pinned there as a nostalgic stock character. With a family worrying about me, I can't move around. I can't go on a trip myself unannounced. You basically switch places with your grand kids, having to report and get permission for everything you do like a five year old because otherwise you'll fall and break your hip. A family is a shit-ton of compromise and you will never be on the clean end of the stick from the moment you say 'I do. '
                 I never used to think this way either. As recently as last semester I was all about love, and the idea of marriage as a team, and all I did was look at girls wondering if I was going to marry them. I have taken a complete 180, and aspects of it still baffle me. I'm confused as hell still.  The girl I first told all of these ideas to, because she is the only one I have met who somewhat shares some of these ideas and is actually totally cool with not pushing a relationship on me, predicts that out of all my friends I am going to get married first, and that I only say these things because I've been hurt. Which true or not, its pretty damn perceptive of her considering we have never discussed our pasts in depth, and she predicted what a lot of people have said about me before, while she has only known me for a few months.
And then despite all these conclusions that everyone should ultimately be happy with me myself and I, you meet people who can tear everything down. Make you wonder if you have it all wrong, and put you right back at square1, without passing go or collecting 200. So then you start thinking about that possibility and how they both seem to make sense and it gets more complicated then the duality properties of light.You meet people in your life, be it close friends, family, or someone else, who whaddaya know, you actually want them in your life 10, 20 years down the line.
I know which one my friends and family would choose, obviously. I'll probably get an angry text for 'disowning us on the internet' or a hysterical call from my mother because her son has lost hope in marriage. But I am not saying anything like that, I have said I care for them all a great deal. Its very hard to rationalize in a 20 year old's mind the line between rewarding social circles and growth through compromise, and staying true to yourself and maintaining personal autonomy.

Harpurs Ferry

 

One week in, I am CPR pro certified.

Two weeks in, I am starting AFAEC and ambulance driver training :)

Matty P

You called me on Thursday.

Why the hell didn't I pick up.

Anyone who has met you once remembers how amazingly kind of a person you were and how genuinely fun to be near you were. Imagine how hard this is for the people who saw you every week, every day. Talking to other people doesn't make it feel any better. It forces the idea down through your skull. But avoiding the truth and letting it creep up on you during the day where it overwhelms you and leaves you feeling you're stomach's been removed is worse.

We are gathering tomorrow for our weekly Outdoors Club meeting. You would think nothing was out of the ordinary and I'll walk in to you're giant smile and tye dye sweatshirt shouting my name.
Its going to be really hard to see everyone tomorrow, but I know every other person filling that room (and we know its going to fill the whole hall too) feels it too.
You can probably feel the emotion yourself, you know its autumn here?

Munchies and Booze (Chocolate strawberry brandy cupcakes)

I went home this weekend, and cooked EVERY single night home. I made my signature dish, honey chicken stir fry. Everyone needs a signature dish and this is mine. It started from a recipe from allrecipes.com and morphed from there so now its more my own creation then anything else.
I really love cooking, so much that I would love to try my hand at owning a restaurant as my semi "retirement" project.
My next culinary task was eggs over easy, over toast. A meal I have become obsessed with since having it for the first time this summer after a camping trip. It tasted as good as it looks. And considering its practically ejaculating out of the white in that picture, it looks like its feeling pretty good.

And finally, the reason for this post.
I
MADE
CUPCAKES.


...but not just any cupcakes. These were spectacular cupcakes in my opinion. I got the original idea way back in January, and in the months since I assembled the best of the best of the cupcake world to create the greatest recipe ever. You ready for the sexy,  sensual description?

"Your tastetastical journey begins with an extra moist double chocolate cupcake, made with heavy cream, coffee and sugared strawberry puree to massage the palate with a variety of sources of sweet to create a complicated but complementary taste. This cupcake is filled with chocolate liqueur ganache, made from cream, fine dark chocolate and brandy to form a chocolate lava center. The dessert is topped with a chocolate liqueur Chantilly cream. Created from fine coco, Baileys, essence of vanilla and hand whipped cream to form a light and decadent pillow of flavor. Drizzled over this concoction is a homemade strawberry sauce made from half a pint of fresh strawberries caramelized with sugar and thickened to a sauce. To top the presentation off we have a dried pineapple flower, and of course a strawberry. No ordinary strawberry, this hollowed out strawberry is marinated for one hour in a mixture of honey, sugar, and brandy, and filled with brandy, and finally lit on fire for an elegant appeal."

Fucking yea.
I of course took some pictures of the trip. Below is the dry mix for the cupcakes.

 Here is the strawberry sauce just beginning, with the sugar starting to caramelize and the strawberries still softening.

 The pineapple flowers, drying in the oven.

 Mashing up strawberries to use in the cupcakes.

 The strawberry sauce at full boil.

 The star of the show. I've never had brandy, but damn is it good. It is like a better tasting version of whiskey.

 Heavy cream for the Chantilly.

 Strawberry sauce in the corner, and the cream for the ganache simmering on the stove.

 The cupcakes baking, and the flowers being shaped.

 Finally, the assembly of the cupcakes. Note, this is not a food blog. I did not make them all fancy looking to take pretty pictures.
Here is the cupcakes filled with the ganache, chocolate lava. Which was ridiculously good btw.

 With the Chantilly added.

 Strawberry sauce

 Brandy strawberry

 Next I filled the strawberries with brandy. And attempted to light them on fire. It didn't work, though one lit for about half a second. I think it was a combination of the relatively low proof, and not using already heated brandy. So basically we had shots. The pineapple flowers didn't turn out too hot either. But, it was only a first try and I have years to perfect it before it becomes a dessert at Robo's Ristorante.
Here, a usually very critical food critic dissects my creation. It actually shut him up for about fifteen minutes.
Mission accomplished.

Recipe after the drop:

Fancy Ass Strawberry Double Chocolate Cupcakes Like A Mofuckin BOSS

(plus alcohol)

(for  non alcoholic, its safe to assume wherever you see a call for alcohol you can do the same with milk)

(Makes  about 18 cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

1 ¾ flour--

2 cup sugar--

¾ cup unsweetened coco powder--

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda--

½ teaspoon baking powder--

½ teaspoon salt--

2 eggs

4 tablespoons canola oil

¾  cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

¾ cup coffee

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ cup? Roughly mashed strawberry

Sift all dry ingredients, add wet ingredients one at a time, add to cupcake liners in tray. Badda bing badda boom.

With the strawberries, add as much as you want. Spritz a little sugar over them and let them soften for an hour, then mash with a fork. Enough so there is mostly paste with a small pieces. Mix this into the batter for a uniform strawberry flavor, and the small pieces will give little bursts of strawberry as you eat.

Chantilly Cream

1 pint heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons coco powder

Baileys to taste

Using mixer, whip cream until it forms slight peaks. Add Baileys, sugar and vanilla and beat until it is correct consistency. Be careful that you do not curdle the cream, if this happens add a bit more and slowly whip until it becomes creamy again.

Ganache Filling

2/3 cup heavy cream

8 ounces bittersweet choc o latte

2 tablespoons butter

1-2 teaspoons brandy

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put in separate bowl. Heat the cream stirring constantly until simmering. Pour over chocolate and mix until smooth. Add butter and brandy and stir well.

Strawberry Sauce

Fresh strawberries

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

¾ teaspoon lemon juice

water

Mash strawberries into complete paste. Add all ingredients except water, mix well. Add water slowly while stirring, until desired “sauce” like consistency is reached.

While heating, like a boss.

Brandy Strawberries

Strawberries

Sugar

Brandy

Honey

Assemble cupcakes of death

MAKE CUPCAKES

Use a small knife or apple corer and cut out a reservoir In the middle. Fill this with ganache.  You want this to be hot when they get to it, so I through it in the microwave for twenty seconds before adding it to the cupcakes. Replace top of cupcake over hole and seal with ganache. Top with Chantilly. Drizzle strawberry topping over everything, fancily. Add the brandy strawberry of doom.

Light that mother fucker. Coat with shredded chocolate, a mint leave, or pineapple flower.

Ain't No Rest for the Weary

I got back at 6 from my first (and hopefully not last) shift with Harpur's Ferry. The interview process has gone through 3 tiers of interviews and over 250 applicants. This final part, a six hour ride shift is the last part where they narrow it down from 25 to about 10-12.
I think mine went great. I had a lot of fun, its a really cool group down there. Technically there was only 4 people on call but when I went in at midnight there were probably 15 people there hanging out.
Getting involved with EMS is like the best decision I have ever made. From the point last year during backcountry medicine when I decided I wanted to look into it, actually doing it is EXCEEDING my expectations. It is amazing how much I retained, and how useful BC was. I was on call, and knew so much about the acroynms and names already and it felt great. Before all of this I was very shaky around the thought of blood, and hearing all these insane medical terms was totally lost on me. On the ambulance doing a rig check with Tristan and Nate, seeing all the equipment, and recognizing a lot of it, I was so excited at the prospect of getting to the point where all this was secondhand like for them. As they are telling story upon story of calls here and in their home towns, I was eating it up.
Although its never good to have a call, I was grateful that I got to see some action while I was there. We had a call to a local nursing home, for an 94 year old woman who had fallen. We got there and found her on the floor with a pool of blood around her head. While Mike did the assessment, I held her head stable while Brandon bandaged her, and then we rolled her onto a backboard. It was very exciting, to be a part of it. It literally was a real life application of BC, and it felt very satisfying to apply the things I had learned and put them to use.
The last few hours of the shift were spent helping Alexandra study for Bio, and drinking more coffee then I have ever had. I am so wired now, and its going to continue because I can't sleep until 1030 tonight after my Calc 3 test but I FUCKING LOVE THIS! Even though I have had to piss three times already in the last half hour. Have you ever been so happy and confident with what you are doing with your time? It's like getting a hit of ecst every time I move on to the next thing on the schedule, I am so busy with all these things I love.
I'll find out if I am hired next sunday. Harpur's Ferry is literally one of the best more selective collegiate services in the country. We are one of the very few who have an actual ambulance, and I am pretty sure the only one with full ALS. Most collegiates are in their own words "glorified bandaid givers, " but HF is the best. It is actually more stringent and advanced then the Vestal, and Chenango EMS. ie The actual EMS services for our region. You should see the office. Harpurs ferry has its own building and garage, fully stocked, with 2 full ambulances with ALS, and 2 flycars. Thats more then most small towns.
I have to go pee again. And then get ready for class soon. HAHAHAHA

PS. I love how I deleted my facbook a while ago and as soon as that happens, pandora changes their layout to try something new...that looks just like facebook. I mean really, what is a music feed. And what happened to all my bookmarked songs? There is a difference between 'liking' something and wanting it to play again, and wanting to bookmark something to catalog it away in the ol illegally download at some point pile.
Btw, its 1:30 in morning right now. I didn't even have time to eat today. This was my lunch:

Notice I didn't say that I was opposed to this fact

But its all ok, because I am on vacation. We have thurs and friday off for some random reason. I only have one class tomorrow, and all my classes on wed have been canceled already.
Time for some chillage. I've been awake for 38 hours and honestly while 20-24 was absolutely horrible, once I hit 30 hours I think my body resolved that this was how it was going to be.

Binghamton Susquehanna Flooding Part 4: updates

Update:
"- A letter from President Magrath

As I’m sure you know by now, tragic flooding has once again struck the Southern Tier as it did just five years ago. This time, the floods affected a much broader geographical region and displaced even more families than it did in 2006. As the flood waters begin to recede, we are left once again with the devastating aftermath and the opportunity to reflect upon how Binghamton University and the Southern Tier have become partners, in both good times and bad.

This morning, I had the opportunity to tour the emergency operations centers at the Events Center and West Gym. Of all the lessons learned on a university campus, none has quite the impact of the one playing out there right now. What I observed impressed me so deeply that I wanted to take a moment to share what I saw there today. Faculty, staff and students were filling plates for the evacuees and setting up cots for their temporary residence on the gym floor. Community members — some of whom were displaced from the flood themselves — worked diligently to maintain a clean, organized facility and provide toiletries for people who no longer have the luxury of showering in their own homes. Volunteers from the American Red Cross and state and federal agencies worked in unison to provide essential services to more than 1,800 individuals. Meanwhile, supplies arrived by truck and by car, some of which were then quickly reloaded onto two Blackhawk helicopters, which thundered away to deliver them to another nearby shelter that had become a virtual island, inaccessible by other means.

Looking over rows and rows of families lying on cots, some thoughts came to mind.  While no one is happy by any means, they are all content that their essential needs are being met. Evacuees flash a friendly smile as a volunteer delivers diapers or a blanket. A dozen kids romp on each other with swords made of tied balloons, while a physics professor performs magic tricks. The Harpur Jazz Ensemble played from above to lighten the mood across the Events Center and finished to earnest applause from the audience. There were, indeed, many bright spots like this among the darkened skies.

Although Binghamton’s main campus was largely spared in the flooding, the University Downtown Center suffered significant damage and will be out of commission for an unknown amount of time. Classes have already been cancelled for two days as well as through the weekend, and there will be countless inconveniences as students, faculty and administration recalibrate their course schedules, classrooms are moved and facilities are occupied by evacuees or re-purposed to support the recovery efforts. 

With that in mind, I ask for your continued patience as we continue meeting the needs of our community. Though the timeline and challenges before us may be somewhat opaque, we expect to begin tracking back toward our primary academic mission early next week. I’d also like to extend my gratitude and admiration to those folks — you know who you are — who have contributed to this colossal endeavor in ways for which I cannot compensate. It is at these moments that I am both humbled and proud to serve as president here. And I am proud of the individuals — from both campus and community — who work tirelessly to support the needs of the Southern Tier. It is at these moments when the proof is truly in the pudding. 

Cordially,

C. Peter Magrath"

Update: A few fires have broken out across the Triple Cities area as well. The good news is that the flood waters isolate them somewhat so hopefully they have not been spreading. The bad news is that the fire department can't reach the houses due to the water so there is not much that can be done right now. If anyone has any information about more current developments, contact me and I will post them.

Road closings for saturday

A boil water advisory is in affect until further notice.
A conserve water order has been issued for Broome County until further notice.

10 am-Johnson City residents are asked to refrain from using water the next few hours as firefighters respond to a fire on Crocker Ave.
County Updates

3pm -A lot of people are asking about the "PetCo incident" so here is the link.
Here are some really comprehensive aerial photos of the whole region, along with some cool shots of the helicopters used. Link to facebook album

Binghamton Susquehanna Flooding Part 3

aNext I went across the 201 bridge again into JC. I went via Floral to get around the flooding on the first half mile of Riverside and then cut back across to Riverside and tried to get as far down as I could. I got to Riverside and Front St intersection, passing a lot of people evacuating on the way. This intersection was the farthest you could get.

memorial bridge, covered in water

Two riverside houses at the very end of front street

A few hundred feet down Riverside Drive is a large apartment complex. When I was in this area they were in the process of evacuating it, with only a few dozen or so people left in the building. They were all leaving on this rickety old 'bridge' made of random debris and two by fours that spanned about 6 feet between the back entrance and dry land. I earned my Boyscout badge by grabbing a box some woman was trying to carry over so she get over easier, and ended up spending about twenty minutes carrying stuff that was being salvaged and helping a few people get across the bridge. It was one of the best experiences of the day.
I got a call from my friend Kevin who lived about a mile away in Johnson City. They were away from the floodwaters, but the rain had flooded their basement. They had no hot water, and it was likely that they would lose power as there were rumors of cutting power to the west side. I went over to their house for a little while to talk to them as they got their stuff out. He has a bunch of pictures as well. I guess they went up Front street to the river walk, around ten this morning when the waves were just starting to crest over the flood walls. That must have been a sight.
Here is a video he sent me from Front street looking towards the river and downtown.

On the way back to campus I saw that the waters were getting closer to Riverside Drive in places

Such a pretty house too

As people were telling me, the Oakdale mall suffered major flooding too. Even though it is over a mile from the river, it is located at the bottom of its own little gully so it got demolished by runoff. Here is another facebook picture of the parking lot.

This picture above, and the next several below are from the Binghamton flood page on facebook. They are not mine, but I want to include them to cover some of the places I did not go.

Struble Rd

The event center, housing over 1800 people tonight.

This is a great picture

Conkling Highschool

Broome County Veterans Arena

Later at night I went down the west side of the parkway, past walmart. I would show you a picture but its just completely dark. You know its a disaster when the walmart is silent. I went into Vestal, and tried to get to Endicott but the road leading to the bridge was flooded. I went back and visited some people in the event center to help out, and finally headed home.
Here are some resources to read more. I would definitely suggest joining the facebook group, there are some unbelievable pictures.
Binghamton
Aerial shots
Floodwater receding
Evacuations- 20000
Downtown Binghamton pictures
Governor Cuomo to Residents:Get out now
 Flood Info and Media FB
Wilkes Barre
Everything else

At the end of the day, keep these people in mind. There very well may be someone out there important to you that's been affected.
Update:
"- A letter from President Magrath

As I’m sure you know by now, tragic flooding has once again struck the Southern Tier as it did just five years ago. This time, the floods affected a much broader geographical region and displaced even more families than it did in 2006. As the flood waters begin to recede, we are left once again with the devastating aftermath and the opportunity to reflect upon how Binghamton University and the Southern Tier have become partners, in both good times and bad.

This morning, I had the opportunity to tour the emergency operations centers at the Events Center and West Gym. Of all the lessons learned on a university campus, none has quite the impact of the one playing out there right now. What I observed impressed me so deeply that I wanted to take a moment to share what I saw there today. Faculty, staff and students were filling plates for the evacuees and setting up cots for their temporary residence on the gym floor. Community members — some of whom were displaced from the flood themselves — worked diligently to maintain a clean, organized facility and provide toiletries for people who no longer have the luxury of showering in their own homes. Volunteers from the American Red Cross and state and federal agencies worked in unison to provide essential services to more than 1,800 individuals. Meanwhile, supplies arrived by truck and by car, some of which were then quickly reloaded onto two Blackhawk helicopters, which thundered away to deliver them to another nearby shelter that had become a virtual island, inaccessible by other means.

Looking over rows and rows of families lying on cots, some thoughts came to mind.  While no one is happy by any means, they are all content that their essential needs are being met. Evacuees flash a friendly smile as a volunteer delivers diapers or a blanket. A dozen kids romp on each other with swords made of tied balloons, while a physics professor performs magic tricks. The Harpur Jazz Ensemble played from above to lighten the mood across the Events Center and finished to earnest applause from the audience. There were, indeed, many bright spots like this among the darkened skies.

Although Binghamton’s main campus was largely spared in the flooding, the University Downtown Center suffered significant damage and will be out of commission for an unknown amount of time. Classes have already been cancelled for two days as well as through the weekend, and there will be countless inconveniences as students, faculty and administration recalibrate their course schedules, classrooms are moved and facilities are occupied by evacuees or re-purposed to support the recovery efforts. 

With that in mind, I ask for your continued patience as we continue meeting the needs of our community. Though the timeline and challenges before us may be somewhat opaque, we expect to begin tracking back toward our primary academic mission early next week. I’d also like to extend my gratitude and admiration to those folks — you know who you are — who have contributed to this colossal endeavor in ways for which I cannot compensate. It is at these moments that I am both humbled and proud to serve as president here. And I am proud of the individuals — from both campus and community — who work tirelessly to support the needs of the Southern Tier. It is at these moments when the proof is truly in the pudding. 

Cordially,

C. Peter Magrath"

Update: A few fires have broken out across the Triple Cities area as well. The good news is that the flood waters isolate them somewhat so hopefully they have not been spreading. The bad news is that the fire department can't reach the houses due to the water so there is not much that can be done right now. If anyone has any information about more current developments, contact me and I will post them.

Binghamton Susquehanna Flooding Part 2

Next I headed up through campus to drop off some stuff. I get on to campus and I see the most people outside since the first weekend, you know, helping out and talking about what's going on. Oh wait never mind, they are playing Frisbee and basketball and yelling at passerby "WOOOO classes are canceled brahhhh yeaaa!" After talking to a few people, its safe to say the vast majority of people who live on campus have absolutely no clue what is going on. Like I said, if you just look around the living communities on campus, you would think its a beautiful day. All of these people genuinely are completely ignorant of the outside world which I feel just confirms all that I have complained about college kids in the past.
I went into the nature preserve to see how flooded the marsh pond was. The entire lower basin was a swamp, but pictures didn't really capture the scope so I didn't take any. But one positive that came out of it was OH look the autumn olives are in season!

Next I went to Stair Park just outside the SE corner of campus. This is the same park I went polar bear swimming in. Some of my friends have been telling me to take them here the last few weeks and I have been holding off because in the fall, the water fall is barely a trickle.
LOL.

Next I went down Vestal parkway towards downtown Binghamton. I was trying to get to confluence park where the two rivers meet in the heart of downtown, cause I knew that was probably the center of all the flooding.

This used to be a parking lot.

You could get barely out of sight of the university before the flooding became evident.

Vestal Parkway, just past university plaza (1)

1

View from Old Vestal Rd (1)

More people draining their basements

Fields at MacArthur Elementary (2)

2

2

2

2

Notice the amount of dry land around the doors 2

What I found about now was that the water levels were still rising. Viewing all of this, I was under the impression that it had reached it's worst this morning and was dropping. But no, as makes sense, all of the rain from the hills surrounding Binghamton was draining down into the river, meaning that even around noon it was still rising. I don't remember where I heard this, but some point in downtown was at 23 feet, and was expected to rise to 25 by 7 tonite. The flood line is 13 feet.
But it was definitely rising. As mentioned in the caption, pay attention to the water lines at MacArthur. That picture was from 1230.

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The three above pictures are from the intersection of Vestal and Park Ave. About 1200 feet away from the river. This is as close to downtown as you can get from this side. There were quite a few people trapped in this region, and there were multiple boats going through houses getting people out. The water came in here very fast, just over the course of the last two hours apparently. By the end of the night, another block or so would be under water.

At some point down here it struck me how much the scene looked like your stereotypical disaster movie or something. This whole time, there were helicopters passing by every 5 minutes, both civilian press and military. Later in the night the governor would survey the damage from the air. The president would declare Binghamton along with countless other areas a federal disaster area. And it definitely deserved that distinction. Troopers, and paramedics were all over the place. All over the city, people were milling around aimlessly, displaced from their homes. Everyone watching the waters rise ever more.
Despite the grim circumstances, many of the people I saw handled it beautifully. They accepted the fact that there is nothing you can do in this situation. One man set up a lawn chair in the single patch of open grass on his lawn and cracked open a beer. The ability of people to cope is pretty amazing.

Here is the elementary school on the way back towards campus at 105:

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This next picture is not mine, I found it on facebook and do not know who the original author was. It shows the school a few hours later still:

vestal parkway (1)

This was dry on the way down this morning

I headed back towards Bing to try to get to the other side of the river via the 201 bridge again. I stopped for a few minutes to get closer to the Vestal Parkway flooding. In the five minutes I was there the water went up another foot.
Here is the map for this portion: