Bliz-Tex Adventures on Holiday Monday

Sure – this site is about finance.  

Dispensing with that:  Bitcoin is still absurd ($47.5K ea.) and the stock and bond markets in the U.S.  are closed in honor of my upcoming 72nd birthday  Presidents Day.

Markets are open elsewhere in the world:  Europe was up modestly earlier.  And Japan was up almost 2% to the  30,000 area on the Nikkei.

But before you declare three Hallelujahs and a Hosanna, remember the Nikkei’s all-time high was in 1989 around 39,000…  Talk about long-term bear markets.  Still, Japan has been a dandy test-bed for making up money.

Texas Weather Sucks

Stories like “Icy weather chills Texas wind energy as deep freeze grips much of U.S.” give you only a smattering of the ‘boots on the ground’ view of life in the Lone Star this morning.

We’ve had the power up – and down – and back up, again several times now and as I write, we’re just coming up on 3 AM local.

The ice pellets (dry snow?) has been falling steadily and the outlook for 6.4 inches overnight might just come in.

Our preps have been doing well with two exceptions;  Our cheap (offshore) dial-up (back-up) phone – for calling in outage reports – chose this morning to decide not to dial.  Damn rude.

And, long-ago I made the mistake of buying one of those “fancy electronically controlled heaters.”  Except, come to find out, when the power fails – for however brief an interval – they stop working and will not return to their “ON” state, automatically.

Appliances Built for Failure

Buddy up the hill from us found this out the hard way:

A few months back, they (wife, him, son) were planning on a nice crockpot dinner.  Off to work.

Came how to uncooked, cold, meat and veggies.

Like good American consumers, they’d bought a really good pot (might have been a wedding present a few years back).  When we had a power bump, the pot went off.

So, in our plans around here, any appliances have a new benchmark:  What is their “recovery mode” on power failures.

It will limit your choices.  But, like having a year of backup heating in the form of 500-gallons of propane, there’s a certain comfort to having the survival edge.

It beats the “convenience” angle, any time.

Snow and Blackouts

Here’s how the outages are being handled in our area:

Electrical outages will be implemented in [their] service area as required by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

Wait!  Reliability Council?  We see the name as a poor joke:  Turning off the power when people need it most seems the antithesis of reliable.  A renaming to something more accurate like the “Electric Predictability Council” would be less misleading.  A least then, we would be able to tell how close to done our coffee might be.

OK, end of whine, back to problem:

Beginning at (TIME) [seems random] members may experience outages as a result of load-reduction requirements implemented by ERCOT.

We expect these outages to be about 8-10 minutes in any given area, and the amount of time will vary depending on how much electrical load we are required to go down.

How you can help:

Please note that due to the severe winter weather, restoring outages can take longer than normal. You can help ensure that the power comes back on smoothly by turning off heaters and other appliances until after power is restored. This reduces the effect of “cold load” causing problems when power is restored.”

Near as I can figure it, the outages are just long-enough to barely get a pot of coffee made before plunging into darkness again.

Thank God for the battery backup system portion of our solar lash-up.  Makes it possible to work even in the middle of the night in Blizzard II of 2021.  My, ain’t that human progress for you?

All while CNN reports Half of America is under winter weather advisories as freezing temperatures grip the countryYah think?

After playing “smart heater-dumb heater” shuffle, I’ve got the door to the guestroom bathroom set about right:  Heater inside rolling along and the door open just enough (hope!) that enough warm air will keep the stored canned goods from freezing.

2021, huh?

Short Takes

The radical’s war on the working class continuesDeSantis cites hypocrisy of Biden’s reported domestic travel bans amid immigration orders: is just one example.,  Do as we decree, not what’s lawful.

Ready for another global pandemic?  How about New Ebola Deaths In West Africa Declared “Epidemic Situation”.

Can they get pizza and some brewskis to go? Russian cargo ship heads for space station, loaded with supplies.

Off to play power company roulette.

Have a fine Presidents Day and remember back to a simpler, more values-based and ethical time… We used to be a contender.

Write when it warms up,

George@Ure.net

57 thoughts on “Bliz-Tex Adventures on Holiday Monday”

  1. I thought President’s Day was postponed until we get one.

    We have more than 6″ of white stuff on the ground so far, and it’s still coming down. Worse, looking at freezing rain, sleet and more snow Wednesday.

    No power issues here YET.

  2. I believe “third (or turd) worldly” is a dandy description. The entire country seems to have taken out their brains to play with them.

    Earl, the gas man, came by to top off the tank Friday. Watching him work is an example of precision and focus. He has a set procedure and usually does not chat until after the hose and tools are wiped down and stowed and the receipt is ready. Says he is having a hard time getting to all his customers on time since both his 2 employees are in quarantine. Working a lot of hours. He looked pretty tired. Topped off his coffee jug and Momma gave hime a couple fresh cookies before he left.

    Driving the backroads with a big ol’ propane bomb strapped to your back tired is not something you would want to do. Same all over I am sure.

    73

    • “I believe “third (or turd) worldly” is a dandy description. The entire country seems to have taken out their brains to play with them.”

      So thats what that smell is… heck I thought someone passed a bad bubble… LOL

  3. Yo Mr. Ure, In regards to the JFK assassination, the most thorough article I have found on the net is at the following:
    https://wakeup-world.com/2015/12/03/who-how-and-why-jfk-assassination-why-it-still-matters/
    The article ties up quite a few loose ends. As I have said before: the truth is out there, just need to separate the wheat from the chaff. Stay warm and toasty my friend. Lastly, prunes work like a champ for correcting the opiate constitution problem.

    • There is also the book by Jim Marrs “Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy”. It’s still available on amazon. I have heard this man give interviews on radio several times and he has a well researched explanation of the events in the assassination.

      • The late Jim Marrs was a Dallas newspaper reporter for many years. The JFK movie directed by Oliver Stone was largely based on his book which was quite well-researched. And he wrote many others.
        Another conspiracy-busting author we’ve lost is Michael Ruppert. His was a suicide.

  4. The rolling brown outs are a real possibility and so is a permanent black out.
    If a couple of coal plants go down, there are NOT enough power plants to make enough electricity to fire the grid up again.
    Contrary to popular belief, especially democrats and globalists, solar and wind will never carry this country.
    George, I hope your solar panels are not froze up
    Overall the wind turbines don’t work well with ice and no wind.
    Solar needs a lot of sun
    Spot for a Kw of electricity a few months ago was $30 American
    Spot last night for a Kw of electricity was $2500 American
    Looks like there is barely enough to go around
    I found out the local coal plants are operating at 100% and can’t do much more.
    Hope you are ready
    Hope this goes away, but, you can always blame Trump

    • Most people don’t know but Coal Plants power the white house and all the Government buildings in that area and have for over a hundred years. Lol. You comment reminded me of that little known factoid.

    • “I hope your solar panels are not froze up”

      They are fine I’m sure Schwilly… if theres snowdon them just brush them off..

  5. George,
    We’ve had a popular brand whole home power generator system for the past 8 years. Since our heating, HW and stove are all supplied by propane and we are located in a semi-rural area, the choice to go with a whole house generator was a no brainer. We have a buried 500 gallon propane tank which requires 900-1000 gallons a year for everyday use with four adults (daughter and son-in-law stay with us). It comes on automatically when power goes off for more than 1 minute, and has paid dividends at least a dozen times, with the longest outage being over 3 days. It sucks down approx. 2 gallons of propane for every hour of use, so I usually turn it off at night (food still stays cold/frozen in the fridge & freezer over night without opening of the doors) and we stagger daytime usage during outages to keep our deep well cistern full, allowing the taking of long, hot showers, using A/C and (in the winter) the furnace for a warm house. We also augment our heating with a large wood stove in our basement. For a smaller scale and cheaper setup, my neighbor wired-in a gas powered generator to supply his kitchen and power to his furnace. That setup works fine for him, aside from having to roll the generator outside, get it started and then plug it into his breaker switch box. He also has a dandy wood stove for auxiliary winter heating. Stay warm!

  6. Hang in there Chief ! – body heat, nut to butt baby!

    Was hoping U would be telling the “tribe” how U were spinning the dial backwards and selling watts needed back to the power companies..

    Peaked roof on the Uretopia mansion? how much snow & ice U getting..

    Couldnt help but be reminded of you & E in one my favorite kids videos from the 90’s.
    – Rescuers Down Under, all-star cast, great storyline..still catch myself singing George C Scotts version of Give Me Home Where the Buffalo Roam when out target practicing – anyway is this not Elaine & George depicted in this clip? https://youtu.be/kF13LSRygqg

    BTC consolidating price before moving higher..
    Dont look -Silver – something smells really bad, like nastier than MBS debacle of 2008, more gross than even dot com bubble – “someones” started detonation countdown of THE silverclusterfuckbomb – this baby is what will take down the bullion banks and eventually the central banks.

    Ready for Ure daily dose of Silver market news? – deny/deflect/obfuscate/renunciate/refute/rebuff/reject/disavow..

    – No Physical Silver – Extraordinarily Short Comex “paper” Silver = for every 1000 ounce of Silver basket – supposed to be in the SLV – blackrock custodian, there is an outstanding paper short for that EXACT amount on the Comex held by SLV “participant banks, and rolled over every month = “naked short” by ANY other definition
    – but ONLY for the “fin elite” – ya know like capo Vinny V of Virtu Financial – why would a high freq algo trader be a Participant bank for the SLV ????
    Shell game/funny money/3 card monty – a massive paper chase – with nothing but a piece of paper with some numbers printed on it. hmmm familiar ring…Coupled with huge industrial demand from EV, solarpower, SurgicaI/Dental, Electronics. tickticktick

    • There’s still no made market for selling silver for more than a touch over spot! Spot is still flopping around the mid-20’s. It might break upwards, though I’ve seen this stuff before. Silver is just weird, and everyone in the field is lying to each other.

      Butcoin is still a mystery to me. Where to buy/sell/mine? Who to trust? Everyone has an agenda. Sure, I can afford a fling, but not in something I can’t understand at least as clearly as machine code.

  7. WarHammer –

    Brings back memories….

    I once lived in a mountain house where the wood stove was, far and away, the most reliable heat source. It didn’t take me long to figure out that a 15 inch fan blowing on the back and side of the stove moved 2-3x more heat from the stove and into the air. A pan of water on top kept the humidity comfortable as well.

    A small inverter running off a space car battery would run the fan for more than 15 hours if house power was down. The standby generator would recharge everything in about 2 hours, and keep food/etc cold as well.

    Worked like a champ!

    • You ever build one of them rocket stoves? My grampa had one that would warm the whole shop. Burning willow branches. Pretty cool stuff.

      • “ever build one of them rocket stoves? ”

        Andy take a look at the dragon stove at northern tool.inposted it above..and they ship a fan with it I’m jealous lol ( that’s what they originally called it…yet you can touch the exhaust ) everything I’d burnt double afterburners.. I have wheels on mine so when its needed wheel it in and put the pipe on it.. the ashes maybe a cup..

  8. Interesting as this energy thing kind of popped up out of no where, but I suppose for people tracking this kind of stuff, it may not be a surprised. What is surprising to me is the very rapid Venezuela like fall of America. We have no real functional government in DC now, a powerful military that appears to just ignore their soon fate as the next great military to actually rust to death (research the quick fall of the Soviet military after the Rubel collapsed. Ships rusting in port, planes rusting, former Soviet officers driving cabs in Moscow).

    I suppose this tracks with Hemmingway…did he say ‘One goes bankrupt slowly, then all at once’ or words to that effect?

    I suppose soon it will be – ‘Dude, what happened to my country. It was here last week?’

  9. The PNW was hit pretty hard with snow and cold this past weekend. Where we are on the border or unincorporated King County (at our age – the age where RMDs are non-negotiable – with medical issues, one has to near high quality hospitals), the temps dipped to 19 degrees overnight lows and it dumped nearly 19 inches of snow (but with the howling winds, the snow drifts made it seem much more). We don’t live off grid, thus have all the utility conveniences and even in this crappy weather, we can walk 4 blocks to the nearest grocery store. Didn’t lose power once this storm but others were not so lucky.

    But, being someone who is prepared, we have a natural gas generator that runs 75% of the entire house, including heat, lights, electronics, etc. Always made sure each of our homes in the past 35 years has had one of these. The ones we have come on automatically when the power goes out, and then will turn off automatically when the power comes back on. Even turns itself on once a week to check itself out. With an annual maintenance, it is dependable and we don’t worry. In fact, back in 2006 during the mini hurricane storm we had in the PNW, our trusty generator ran 24 hours a day for 5 days straight until power came back on. This particular generator company also makes one for propane and diesel. On the pricey side of finances, but dang, when you need it, you got it.

  10. ” I made the mistake of buying one of those “fancy electronically controlled heaters.” Except, come to find out, when the power fails – for however brief an interval – they stop working and will not return to their “ON” state, automatically.”

    emergency heat…
    Now before you just discount this unit.. take a good look at the design of it… and the efficiency of it burning.. you can make your own pellets or saw dust small wood chips etc..
    one little fan and you are set..

    https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200844732_200844732?cm_mmc=Bing-pla&utm_source=Bing_PLA&utm_medium=Heaters%20%26%20Stoves%20%2B%20Fireplaces%20%3E%20Corn%20%26%20Pellet%20%2B%20Multi-Fuel%20Heaters&utm_campaign=US%20Stove%20Company&utm_content=4340571&msclkid=96821ee3f0731b302c667ec97f4cb355&gclid=96821ee3f0731b302c667ec97f4cb355&gclsrc=3p.ds

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Outdoor-Camping-Ultralight-304-Stainless-Wood-Heat-Stove-Multipurpose-Tent-Stove/143886521568?hash=item21804e14e0:g:LncAAOSwN3xf15iM

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/223895257681?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blichmann-RIMS-Rocket-120v-with-HopRockt-Beer-Brewing-Homebrew-Electric-Heater/273550211188?hash=item3fb0dcf874:g:bc8AAOSwj-Rb5Feo

    as a welder.. you could make anyone of these.. I actually being a tool slut.. have backup heat to backup heat LOL… my multifuel stove will heat everything except the back two bedrooms and the wife won’t let me put in an adaption to the furnace. with all the new construction going on you cannot hire a plumber around here to do simple repairs.. they will come out and give you a bid.. but doing a leak repair is not going to happen..there is more money in new construction.. ( I have told all the kids to become a plumber then sell service contracts ten bucks a month .. ) . the hot water rocket heater is nothing more than the steam cleaner coil.. if you have some copper tubing it can be made in a few minutes.. the old cook stoves had them built in.. I had an old cook stove was going to hook it up in the garage.. sold it at an auction.. and only got a hundred dollars for it.. dam them.. LOL.. I instead went propane but have the wood alternative..
    if you have a few trees lets say.. and a chipper grinder.. then this is the trick.. I had one traded it off. I was going to use ground up corn stalks and coal dust….

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/PTO-PELLET-MILL-150MM-PELLET-PRESS-PTO-drive-To-HEMP/254104429903?hash=item3b29cde54f:g:kJMAAOSwVCpcU4ll

    simple and easy to use.. just make sure you run it for about ten minutes before you add the sawdust.. the reason the die has to heat up from the friction..

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Home-Manual-Birds-Fishing-Bait-Granulator-Pellet-Maker-Animal-Food-Maker/254715437349?hash=item3b4e392125:g:PnYAAOSw2WBfM5KC

    this one I kept.. I use it all the time because I make dog food.. it is cheaper to make your own dog food than buy it.. and you know exactly what is in it..
    I can also make pellets for fuel.. with it.. I acutally thought about buying a second one just for making fuel pellets.. crank them out then dry them.. the big industrial sized pellet machine. that is the cats meow if you plan on selling the pellets or if you raise chickens and use it to make feed pellets.. but for what little a home uses.. crank them out.. you can even use the dust..
    as far as winnowing the grains.. I used the ancient chinese way.. and made a couple of boxes.. I plan on making a bigger one .. but the one I have works pretty slick the way it is..
    http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h432/HackneyedScribe/Han%20dynasty/Han%20Agriculture/EasternHanwinnowingmachineandtilthammer_zpse46becf0.png

    anyway.. just some ideas on how to have good emergency heat… and the products I have and use..or have stored for the what if day..

    • “with all the new construction going on you cannot hire a plumber around here to do simple repairs.. they will come out and give you a bid.. but doing a leak repair is not going to happen”

      the reason for that was our furnace broke down.. I couldn’t get anyone to fix it for four years.. I had to shame them into fixing it.. dam them.. they wanted to sell a new system.. which we eventually got.. but anyway.. for the four years we heated the whole house with the multifuel stove… average cost the first year to use corn was seventy five dollars.. now corn is up but it still is cheap..
      wood pellets… make your own or buy bulk.. I use coal made a different burn basket to get the efficiency of an after burner and now use three wood to one coal pellet..
      someone could make a killing to make wood coal mix pellets.. use the dust they throw away.. and sawdust.. three to one mix.. then sell them.. coal dust is cheap.. I mean cheap haul it away for free cheap.. and sawdust almost the same..

    • “this one I kept.. I use it all the time because I make dog food.”

      OTFLMAO…. ok.. you all are going to think this is SICK….but I have to make up a bunch of dog food today.. chicken and rice.. a few onions… carrots , green beans chicken breast of course and some sage.. chicken bone broth.. well I taste it before I finish making it to make sure it is palatable to the dog..
      LOL LOL LOL LOL .. without thinking I found myself having a small bowl . then it dawned on me.. its the dog food.. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL….

  11. “Snow and Blackouts”

    We had an ice storm.. took out the power for a couple of weeks.. the power company stopped by to see why we still had power .. they didn’t realize I have backup power.. the only downside.. the tv isn’t hooked up to it.. let me tell you that was a jolt…that is why I want to get a couple of tesla power walls.. nice battery backup that takes half of the space.. found them on alied express for reasonable..just gotta wait for some money now..

  12. With you buddy,
    On top of the -35 Celsius temps up here in Saskatchewan, our high efficiency furnace decided to die. Thank God for the wood stove heater we have in the Livingroom for just that purpose. Guy can’t get here until Tuesday because so many furnaces are dying up here. You can go through a lot of wood at these temps.

  13. My location is predicted to get about a foot of snow, and that has everyone, incapable of driving in an inch of snow, terrified. I went to the local town’s Aldi’s yesterday to get some milk, fresh green veggies, and potatoes (we were out). The whole bread section — wiped clean. Milk and eggs was nearly the same. Now, I ask, what is the point for the mad scurry for bread, eggs & milk? Best guess is winter weather makes them all go nuts for french toast. I was partly raised in the Pacific Northwest, and deep snowdrifts were the norm. As a kid, I’d play in the taller ones made by snowplows. Normality for that region. But here in S. Indiana? That foot of snow predicted to be here soon has them all absolutely petrified. Last week’s ice storm gave us a power outage between 8 -10 pm. Pitch black and no heat. We just rolled with it. Played a couple of games of Clue with the kids. We figured that it might be a while with no heat, and piled blankets on the beds. Best we got till the power came up. People lived this less than 100 years ago and survived. But I do not think that little history lesson is taught in school these days. I will admit, this has reminded me that a decent generator backup will be in the forefront of major purchases to buy this year. The one we have is now much too small for our current home, and probably in dire need of a tune up. Stay warm and well down there! :)

    • They have Aldi’s now in S. Indiana? I expected you to say you went to the “Jay C” store!

      • I love Aldi’s. They carry name brand, but it isn’t their main selling point, and off brand is fine by me. I’ve heard of JayC, but never seen one. Maybe I’m too far north for one, eh?

  14. Oh, but we’re all supposed to plug our cars into nice, safe electricity. Good luck with that grid.

    • You could always tie a string to a kite, hang your key fob on it and tie it off on the power receptical on the car.

      Worth a try. Lmk how that goes.

  15. A friend who lives in Texas, Dallas area, said they were having rolling 30 minute windows of black out.

    Except his neighborhood decided to go dark at 2:30 this morning and hasn’t come back yet. I imagine crews are stressed to the limit. We might have to send some power folks down there from here in Minnesota. Haha.

  16. There is a LOT to be said about systems that do NOT require any electricity to operate!! Just check how the Amish do it in the north country to see how easy it is to do (though it can cost some money) (go to https://www.lehmans.com/kidron_store if you want to drool)

    Growing up the big old house across the street had an 1880’s gravity furnace that had been a coal burner but had been converted to a natural gas burner with a blower added. When the power went out for our neighbor it was easy … he just went downstairs, turned off the blower, bypassed the thermo coupler and set the burner on a continuous, but lower level, burn. VOILA his house stayed a nice comfortable 72 degrees with no drafts, including the time our entire town was out of electricity for almost a week, while everybody else was scrambling to stay warm (that was the days before there were affordable generators to buy).

    After one 5 day stretch without power in a micro village in New Hampsire my uncle just bit the bullet and put in an automatic full house generator system. They used oil heat, but a propane stove, so they just increased the size of the propane tank and plumbed the generator into the tank … voila after that electricity outages in his rural New Hampshire location (which were a several time a winter event for them – and could last up to a week every other year or so) were just a Ho Hum affair.

    What surprises me living in the north is that most expensive homes do NOT have automatic generator back up systems plumbed into their house’s natural gas line (here natural gas is widely available, including way out into the countryside miles from town in many places). I have seen MANY 6 figure repair bills when the power goes out on those expensive homes and some water pipes break as a result of freezing. When you are talking about a million dollar house why are you worried about the $15,000 installed cost of a decent size AUTOMATIC home house generator? Even for just a $350- $400,000 house (which around here is just a typical 4br 2stry 2.5bath 2100sf house) a $5000 generator set up on wheels that could be rolled outside from the garage would seem to me to be a reasonable expenditure.

    But hey … what do I know? What I have done for my own place is to keep a couple of GOOD kerosene heaters around … and with only running one at a time they kept my house’s downstairs a reasonable mid 60’s temp, upstairs about 10 degrees cooler, with the power off for several days running with temps running 0 to 5 f at night and 25 f during the day. (plan on about 5-6 gallons a day per heater for those round 24,000+- btu kerosene heaters – also always start, then let them stabilize, and shut them down OUTSIDE so you don’t have evaporated unburned fuel stinking up your place – and YES, you CAN safely move them while they are burning, they are built to have that done)

    If using ANY alternative inside heat sources or cooking devices be sure you have TWO or more battery powered working Carbon Monoxide Detectors!!
    (battery powered Smoke Detectors are another good idea since those hard wired in generally will NOT work if the power is off)

    Stay warm and stay safe everyone!!

    • I shop there all the time.. love that store.. did you know you can get gas lamps there.. when I was a boy.. my parents bought a house before it was modernized.. and we had gas lamps in the house.. it was cool my sister and I would fight over who got to drop in the carbide or the water LOL… My wife would shoot me if I put in gas lighting LOL.. but I have considered it..

    • “What surprises me living in the north is that most expensive homes do NOT have automatic generator back up systems”
      We take the services we have and rely on for granted..
      I get razzed all the time because I am the way I am.. my wife would give me crap.. the kids. A friend that lived in a gated community that worked in the high tech field. He teased me often…then hurricane hit.. he called two weeks later to apologize. he was cooking in his own home.. the technology he was dependent on gone..
      I think it’s that we are spoiled. We have technology that makes our lives good. High end homes are not wanting to see a gaudy backup power system and those with them are dependent on the resources to always remain flowing.( how many have a still to make fuel or know how) We turn on the tap and the water and fuel is there..people in the depression was confident that their money was safe.. then the banks closed.
      Those visited with that survived the camps or escaped the ghetto had no clue it was going to happen.
      They were good people.. decent people living at the top.. the shizt doesn’t hit the sidewalk in their neighborhood. The conveniences that we are accustomed to will be there.
      It took my wife us having to survive a year without an income to seemy point.it took covid-19to get the kids on board..there isn’t any questions on why I have an oil expeller to crank out cooking oil or diesel fuel.. or an aed..
      George can tell you how frustrated I was..the moment its gone..everyone yes. Everyone you thought would stand beside you is gone. You now have the plague..
      Then you discover all those free money programs you thought were there are not there..and to qualify you really have to be destitute.
      Until you live it you don’t have a clue..we take for granted and even plan on our survival in a shtf scenario that we will have the very services we take for granted available..
      It took me almost starving to death and having to walk 12 miles to work in winter.. opening the door to an unheated hall to get the warmth from that hall.. cooking on Coleman campstove the grain gathered from the farmers wagons that I beat to a crude gruel.. for food.. no one expects it to happen.. how many are considering the third of american households that are still on the eviction list..you dont hear about it. It’s not news number one..those in the upper end homes dont even know it exists..or the potential effects..like our legislators we all live in a bubble of security.

  17. George
    “So, in our plans around here, any appliances have a new benchmark: What is their “recovery mode” on power failures.”

    The problem with the newer appliances is that most of them have an Enbedded Microcontroller. That’s a chip with a small microprocessor core, some memory, and input/output pins to manipulate the device it’s wired into. When these chips lose power the Program Counter in the microprocessor might reset to zero. When this happens the chip is waiting for somebody to hit the Run switch when power returns. These microcontroller chips are very cheap when bought by the thousands and vendors love the fact that they can replace hard wired controls on an appliance with a cheap snap dome switch array. Your typical microwave oven is set up like this. The lawyers also love the fact that the appliance goes to this mode of operation!

    You might have to roll your own controls to get away from this. If so don’t forget an Emergency Stop switch! There a standard device on all automated systems.

  18. I am traveling in Memphis, TN ostensibly to work as a psych nurse, but really to get away from Kansas weather. It was nice the first couple of weeks. Last week, bitterly cold winds and ice that I had to chip off my windshield every time I went out for two nights. This week, temps in the teens with winds of about 10-15 MPH. Oh yeah, let’s not forget the gusts. I left my long underwear at home, but, luckily, I kept my de-icer windshield wiper fluid, heavy plastic windshield cover and ice scrappers in my trunk. “Just in case.” There was a young guy with TN license plates trying to figure out how to get the ice off. He was – kid you not – knocking at it with a plastic spoon. I gave him one of my three scrappers. He hadn’t even started his car. I gave away a pair of gloves. Thank God, I have a collection of those in the car, too.

    Yesterday, the Fruits and Veggies at Kroger across the street were about 25% full. Some of the canned goods isles (especially peanut butter) were becoming sparsely filled. They had plenty of bread and milk.

    Today, we are to get about 8 inches of snow to top off the ice that didn’t really melt. That should be a great drive to work. I figure the normal 10 minutes will be 30 since there are two hills to get up. I have a pair of pajamas that could act like long underwear since it is a bit of a hike from the parking lot to the unit. I am taking extra scrubs and healthy food since the hospital put out a notice that they have beds available for people who don’t want to drive in this mess. Or can’t. Thinking maybe a can of good, ground coffee might make me some friends, too. Just in case.

    “Man plans, God laughs.”

    Tamarah

  19. Yes the elite facists have attacked all of us . And we are so stupid we push sheetcoin and yellow dog gold to give them more power on us . Everybody has lost their mind

  20. Wheel thee be sitting here long enough. My rah call needs to be made. Fun in the sun. First i bes go do what I’m supposed to be doing. Laundry and vacccuming, then excersise the body and mined. Uhem mind. Been sitting ear, Sounding it out on the $owned. Lol I note iced a portion of wereds sound quite a bit as other words.. and groups of were d’s.

    Cue: ~One and a Million ~
    Guns and Roses.

    https://youtu.be/kgIRClKD4RI

    Uhem one in a million. Lol

    They don’t make songs like that anymore. Every one is so sensitive. I was on a group chat and summon or sum won posted a picture of a “Snow man”. I responded nice snow being. They they said it is a snow man dude. I said well I don’t know who all is on the group text and I’m really politically correct I grew up on mel brooks movies. Like Blazing Saddles. They way things are now days it could be a snowmosexual now days. He said I built it in King County. I said you better they don’t hit ya with a fine for building without a permit and misapropriation of community resources.

    He laughed and said thats it! I’m packin the family and moving to Idaho. Hahahahhah

    Catch on the Bee side George.

    • Cue: ~One and a Million ~
      Guns and Roses.

      Axel made my night working at a 7/11 hell..his concert was a sell out and I was busting my azz.. afterward it was after hours and their limo pulled in.. wanting some refreshments..the driver came in and asked.. nope your to late and how do I know that’s whose in there.. I need I’D check. he went out pretty soon the whole band came in.. we joked about how busy it was and some small talk they left with their refreshments..lol.
      Nice guy .

  21. Seems an appropriate song since the now ex (can’t say a bad thing about her. She is a super good woman. Does alot of service, had perfect body, screws like brand new Makita roto hammer, purrs like a kitten and is all around wonderful) has two of my guns and I probably have to get some roses to get them back. Ones my mussel loader I made i was 12.

    I just ain’t built to do long distance relationships. Move back to Idaho ain’t in my schedule. Visit time to time. But I need a ride or die next to me. And she ain’t ready for all that and when I looked at my cards, I told her, go fish.

    So I’m labeling that file. Guns and Roses. Lol I want my guns and women like roses. Damn thinking with my little brain and I forget two rifles.

    Who knows? Maybe she will be back 5-6 months from now. Becuase she cant live without me. I really liked her. But there is more to life than a relationship and if it’s meant to be. Its meant to be. Ms playboy bunny my ex flew to LA to be cast in up coming Amazon Prime Movie. Wanted to come by and play before she left and I told her nahhhh. I’m busy thinking. She just laughs and says. I love that you take time to think.

    When it’s released on Amazon Prime I will be sure to let y’all know. She is quite the beautiful woman. Mis may on the Harley Calander this year. The only reason she still wants me is because I’m the only dude who doesn’t put up with her shit and the only man in her life that broke up with her, packed my stuff and walked out in her whole life. “nobody beaks up with me!” Well I just did. So, Welcome to the club. Hahahhahah.

    Alright enough blah blah blah. There is bitcoins to be mined. Hahahahahha. Power grid goes down. Doh!

    • … but I would rather know who is this “dude,” in your live Andy, you call “God?” Do you indeed communicate with him, and how could a low-brow like me meet this fabulous “dude” in my spirit?

    • “But there is more to life than a relationship”

      Perhaps, but there’s nothing in life without one – other than work and stuff.

  22. The prophecy is people will live in cities. To save costs the utilities may orphan the countryside and cut the lines, for the good of the nation.

    1. All products will have become services. “I don’t own anything. I don’t own a car. I don’t own a house. I don’t own any appliances or any clothes,” writes Danish MP Ida Auken. Shopping is a distant memory in the city of 2030, whose inhabitants have cracked clean energy and borrow what they need on demand. It sounds utopian, until she mentions that her every move is tracked and outside the city live swathes of discontents, the ultimate depiction of a society split in two.

    – World Economic Forum

    • All resources are limited, and zero price means infinite demand.
      The only way to resolve this is for the bureausaurus to forcibly allocate resources. Does that include women and sex?

      WEF could have written the “Brave New World” TV series.

  23. A lot of comments today, I tried to read them and then got distracted more than usual. There are several points I wanted to cover, the first being that it hasn’t gotten real cold here. . . yet. Just some rain and overcast for now.

    When I got the contract for electrical service in 1975, there was no guarantee that power would be on. Only that when it was on, it would be 60 cycles plus or minus 1/2 cycle. That was about the time “cycles” was being replaced with “hertz” in the backwoods lexicon. Since I am an (old school) electrician, there is a generator out in the barn. But the battery is bad now and the fuel is old. I could get it started if I had to. But it would be a handful.

    As far as heat, I have fallbacks for the backups. All “short term” but good for a month or so. Natural gas, propane, and kerosene before I need to cut trees. My furnace is natural gas, what is called a “floor furnace” locally. The thermostat / gas valve is a “thermopile” device. No electrical connection, just connect the two wires to each other and the heat comes on. So far(40+ years) we haven’t lost gas. The backups are just in case. . .

    Fortunately, the weather in Birmingham doesn’t last long. If you don’t like it, just hang around a day or two. Being on the western side of the Appalachian Mtns, it changes so much so quickly, I can’t get acclimated to it. But that’s just babbling now, and I’ve forgotten the rest of the points I wanted to cover. Old age is a b***h, ain’t it?

    .

  24. Dammit! SE Alabama, SW Georgia, FL Panhandle under a tornado watch, with one confirmed. If only I could get there…

    A tornadic blizzard has to be one of the rarest meteorological events to ever occur…

    • Plasmatic! – training how talk & steer one of those bad boys?
      Ever notice how angry tornadoes get with f-ed up nrg on the ground ..like mobile homes constructed of various layers of metal/insulation/metal/wood = unnatural/angry nrg.
      versus tornado passing over a “old’ stone circle- untouched as the surrounding conducive nrg = “happy’
      AirFarce dont have squatta versus the “plasma cowboyz”- they work atmospheric heaters – cowboyz work Qi.

  25. So far my electricity has only been off for half an hour with the rolling black-outs. Internet on both the cell phone and ISP were down from 3 AM until 4 PM, and are now intermittant. Roads are passable, but the wind chill is dangerous. It is supposed to be in the sixties next week. Texas weather.

  26. Friends,

    It’s brisk times such as present that one wants to toss a couple of lumps of coal in the fireplace and watch that ageless animated 1959 gem of a not so original Hollywood studio film release “The Snow Queen”. Princely sums were realized from the unwitting crowds watching a fairy tale of hand-drawn pictures produced in a Moscow studio founded before The Great Patriotic War and overseen by The Russian Ministry of Culture. Everyone lapped it up like modern day bitcoins mined in China.

    Speaking of China, in the greatest sweepstakes raffle since Ed and Dick plied the airwaves, Comrade Z and Dr. Honey’s $350 million “donation” last fall from their capital gains-proofed LLC to the Center for Technology and Civic Life awakened a previously moribund Obama era, Chicago headquartered(?) charity. Save a stamp? Please have deposited your ballot(s) into the charitably-supplied video surveilled dropboxes in your ‘hood! If you’re drawing a blank, they know someone who can help color inside the lines?

    Sxigning off till next time!

  27. “We’ve had the power up – and down – and back up, again several times now and as I write, we’re just coming up on 3 AM local.”

    WTF? I thought Texas had all its own juice?

    I was watching The Weather Channel earlier, purely for comic relief, mind you, and this spokesgal from Dallas came on, talking about the rolling blackouts, and how Texans needed to bundle up, maybe wear blankets, “but please, wear masks and social-distance…”

    AYFKM!??
    ____________

    “The ice pellets (dry snow?) has been falling steadily and the outlook for 6.4 inches overnight might just come in.”

    Sleet is a mixture of ice and rain, ice pellets are a mixture of ice and snow — like BBs made of ice. Ice pellets can be as slick and dangerous as crushed snow on roadways.
    ____________

    “Our preps have been doing well with two exceptions; Our cheap (offshore) dial-up (back-up) phone”

    Suggest you pick up a Western Electric off eBay…

    “And, long-ago I made the mistake of buying one of those “fancy electronically controlled heaters.” ”

    Fix this now with a “milkhouse heater” or a vintage space heater. I favor Titan, Lakewood, and Toastmaster, because of all the space heaters my parents (and later, I) have gone through, those three brands never crapped out. My old little Titan is still going strong after 35+ years. They’ll have a tilt switch but no electronic kill switch or other junk. Toggle or rocker switches and rotarys or rheostats are more-reliable than electronics, which is why they’ve been replaced by electronic switches. I prefer the ca. 1960s and 1970s vintage because those have bimetallic limit switches (or none, at all. Space heaters never overheat unless they’re covered-up or they suck up a bunch of dust.) The new ones have a “one-and-done” limit cutout that costs more than a new heater.

    My $23 (real) Crock-Pot has a mechanical switch, too…
    ____________

    “You can help ensure that the power comes back on smoothly by turning off heaters…”

    Yeah… Record cold temps from Brownsville to Paducah and the shitheads who control the switches expect John and Jane Q to shiver under their blankets while wearing every piece of cold weather gear they can find, and maintain social distancing, THEN turn the heat off?

    Let me know how THAT works out…

  28. Guns and roses? Nah crash and burn. Long weekend of sheet shoveled into veges . Don’t forget to get jabbed now!!!

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