This is only a test.

[beetiger]

The phone rang about 9:30 this morning, with a recorded message telling me that they would be testing the siren for the Indian Point nuclear facility at 10:00. Except for occasional bouts of activism every year or two, I usually try to forget that I live moderately near a nuclear plant with known safety issues. I groaned, since that's just about baby naptime, then proceeded to fret about how I would hook up with bard_bloom in an emergency, how we've laughed about the ridiculousness of the local government trying to convince people not to jam up the roads by placing a sign for a "nuclear evaculation bus stop" down the road from us.

It's the first time I've thought about having to get out of the area in a hurry since the baby arrived. Not only that, 10 am is baby naptime, so I figured we'd be off-schedule.

10:00 came and went with no siren sound. About 10:15 or so, there was a quick noise that sounded a little like a small truck beeping its horn once in a friendly way, which I suppose might have been the siren. I wouldn't have even noted it if not for the phone call. So the result of the siren test, from my point of view, is this: I'm worried that if there's a nuclear meltdown, I won't notice.

Comments

[secanth.livejournal.com]

Sounds like our tornado siren here. If I happen to have the doors open or be outside, I can hear it. Otherwise, not a sound. And this house isn't insulated worth beans. *sigh*

Re:

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Huh. The only neighborhood I've been in that had a tornado siren, you could hear it clear over the hill and through the walls. Scary thing, too. :P

[supersocks.livejournal.com]

*sniff* Ah, memories. Our escape route was over Storm King. Yeah, that's gonna work. :D

[en-ki.livejournal.com]

Perhaps someone should pester the local government to use the automated phone dialer to call people and tell them that they are about to die.

[serenainverse.livejournal.com]

They don't want the siren to be TOO loud and alarming during the tests, because there are going to be a lot of people they simply won't be able to contact and warn about the test. Those people would panic upon hearing the alarm.

I can only hope that in the event of a REAL emergency, it'd be the same siren much louder. But somehow I have my doubts.

Parenting Tip For Quick Motion

[allessindra.livejournal.com]

I read this post to Otter, and he asked me if I had mentioned this Important Parenting Preparedness tip to you. Since I think I didn't, here it is:

Have a small bag, with one or maybe two changes of clothing, a few diapers, one of those tiny portable boxes of wipes (the clamshell plastic kind, you probably can get them as 'samples'), and any meds the kid consistently needs (like the gas drops). Put one in *EACH* vehicle. This is not your diaper bag -- that comes in and out. This bag lives in the cars -- constantly. This is for those days when you're suddenly out of the house longer than you thought, or the kid is working overtime on their 'Cause Laundry' skill.

This has the added benefit of meaning you *can* just duck and run without worrying about grabbing anything else.

[schitzie.livejournal.com]

It's a nuclear meltdown... Lil' Mothra would have already mutated into the giant 50 foot version by then, so even without the siren, you'd notice!