Will never forget Feb 2021 being without power for 12 days. After 4 days of misery; most of the time in bed under piles of covers since too cold and boring to do much else, splurged for next few days in hotel to warm up and get showers. Son drove to almost Canada to get a baby generator (none around here for miles) and that limped me through until the angels of mercy from PGE arrived to get the power back to our rural area. When the lights and furnace finally turned back on, I actually cried.
Jan 15Liked by Pamela Fitzsimmons, Richard Cheverton
"Electricity as a source of power is much more recent than the telegraph, and has not yet had all the effects of which it is capable. As an influence on social organization its most notable feature is the importance of power-stations, which inevitably promote centralization. The philosophers of Laputa could reduce a rebellious dependency to submission by interposing their floating island between the rebels and the sun. Something very analogous can be done by those who control power-stations, as soon as a community has become dependent upon them for lighting and heating and cooking." - Bertrand Russell
Jan 14Liked by Richard Cheverton, Pamela Fitzsimmons
I have a couple small portable power units from Wattfun, I think your Rainbow is the same model for about a 100.00 bucks cheaper. I have used a couple of these attached to a 150 watt solar panel for a couple of years now in my small greenhouse and they are very reliable still holding a 100% charge after being charged daily. They would certainly run a heater and filter for a few hours in a small aquarium and keep your phone charged. On this cloudy day they're drawing in over 30watts of solar power. We were lucky not to lose power but sometimes it's good for us to be reminded of our plush life when we are thrown into the 19th century by a power outage.
A couple-three years ago we lost power (PGE) for almost 2 days. We had all the right stuff, battery radio, flashlights, candles, way to cook outside. But it was bitter cold inside. Was never so happy to see anyone as we were seeing those PGE linemen trudging around yards at 2 am with flashlights looking for where the problem was. About an hour later we had power.
Those PGE guys (all men, go figure - lol) were heroes to us.
I hope your fish came through the blackout safely. My heart is much more vulnerable to stories of animals' suffering than it is to the plight of humans, who tend to bring misfortune upon themselves.
Jan 14·edited Jan 15Liked by Pamela Fitzsimmons, Richard Cheverton
After 40 years of experiencing Oregon's Columbia Gorge ice and windstorms, we graduated from wood fires to natural gas and, finally, a 72% efficiency rated natural gas fired insert with a battery operated remote. On the "low" setting, it recently kept our living quarters a toasty 63 degrees for six days in our otherwise dark house. Our gas-fired 50-gallon water tank gave us a never-ending stream of hot water. Battery-operated clip-on book lights allowed us to read. Cooked on the natural gas-powered BBQ unit on the deck. Charged our iPhones by plugging them into the car's charging receptacle and running the car's engine for 30-45 minutes. These storm-related energy deficiencies will be common in America's future if Joe Biden's green energy mandates banning fossil fuel become law. Without dependable energy, our electrically powered economy, communications devices and homes won't function efficiently. If we can't depend on our everyday energy sources, we can't depend on anything to work. Perhaps that's precisely what Joe Biden and the Democrats have in mind as a method to control us.
Exactly! Democrats want to control everything. Natural Marxists. Always been. Always will be authoritarians. I'm ashamed it took me most of my life to see that.
Hey, Richard, I forwarded you a text message from Kamala Harris — reaching out in anticipation of Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Didn’t you get it? Kamala would’ve kept you warm. And it would have cost you only $5.
Wonderful writing. I love your perspective and your humor. I’m still furious. It got down to 55 degrees in the house but that can’t be right because it felt more like 40. My cats were cold, my dogs confused and we all piled on the king size bed and climbed under piles of comforters and blankets. Over 9 hours with no heat. It will take five hours to get the house warm again. This is the pitts. 🤬
Jan 14Liked by Pamela Fitzsimmons, Richard Cheverton
This is why every home needs a back up heat source like you guessed it ----- WOOD. We used to have the greatest wood stove; a Fisher with a nickel plated trim front. We had (and still have) a readily available source of wood. In the old days we had to cut it, split it and bring it home. Now we let the loggers leave us a few slash piles to work on. Take that any of you eco terrorists sitting home in the cold with your newly installed heat pump which is not going to provide heat even if the power is on at your house in temperatures like this. Right now my forced air gas stove is chugging away at 71--this is about 2 degrees warmer than normal. If the power goes out I can even take a nice hot shower with my wonderful gas hot water heater.
Will never forget Feb 2021 being without power for 12 days. After 4 days of misery; most of the time in bed under piles of covers since too cold and boring to do much else, splurged for next few days in hotel to warm up and get showers. Son drove to almost Canada to get a baby generator (none around here for miles) and that limped me through until the angels of mercy from PGE arrived to get the power back to our rural area. When the lights and furnace finally turned back on, I actually cried.
A bad situation described in an informative and entertaining and sort of pleasingly sarcastic way. Good job!
"Electricity as a source of power is much more recent than the telegraph, and has not yet had all the effects of which it is capable. As an influence on social organization its most notable feature is the importance of power-stations, which inevitably promote centralization. The philosophers of Laputa could reduce a rebellious dependency to submission by interposing their floating island between the rebels and the sun. Something very analogous can be done by those who control power-stations, as soon as a community has become dependent upon them for lighting and heating and cooking." - Bertrand Russell
I have a couple small portable power units from Wattfun, I think your Rainbow is the same model for about a 100.00 bucks cheaper. I have used a couple of these attached to a 150 watt solar panel for a couple of years now in my small greenhouse and they are very reliable still holding a 100% charge after being charged daily. They would certainly run a heater and filter for a few hours in a small aquarium and keep your phone charged. On this cloudy day they're drawing in over 30watts of solar power. We were lucky not to lose power but sometimes it's good for us to be reminded of our plush life when we are thrown into the 19th century by a power outage.
A couple-three years ago we lost power (PGE) for almost 2 days. We had all the right stuff, battery radio, flashlights, candles, way to cook outside. But it was bitter cold inside. Was never so happy to see anyone as we were seeing those PGE linemen trudging around yards at 2 am with flashlights looking for where the problem was. About an hour later we had power.
Those PGE guys (all men, go figure - lol) were heroes to us.
Also, we learned. Got a generator.
I hope your fish came through the blackout safely. My heart is much more vulnerable to stories of animals' suffering than it is to the plight of humans, who tend to bring misfortune upon themselves.
After 40 years of experiencing Oregon's Columbia Gorge ice and windstorms, we graduated from wood fires to natural gas and, finally, a 72% efficiency rated natural gas fired insert with a battery operated remote. On the "low" setting, it recently kept our living quarters a toasty 63 degrees for six days in our otherwise dark house. Our gas-fired 50-gallon water tank gave us a never-ending stream of hot water. Battery-operated clip-on book lights allowed us to read. Cooked on the natural gas-powered BBQ unit on the deck. Charged our iPhones by plugging them into the car's charging receptacle and running the car's engine for 30-45 minutes. These storm-related energy deficiencies will be common in America's future if Joe Biden's green energy mandates banning fossil fuel become law. Without dependable energy, our electrically powered economy, communications devices and homes won't function efficiently. If we can't depend on our everyday energy sources, we can't depend on anything to work. Perhaps that's precisely what Joe Biden and the Democrats have in mind as a method to control us.
Exactly! Democrats want to control everything. Natural Marxists. Always been. Always will be authoritarians. I'm ashamed it took me most of my life to see that.
How does one become a trillionaire? Understanding Climate Change: 97% of scientists agree with whoever is funding them: https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/understanding-climate-change
Hey, Richard, I forwarded you a text message from Kamala Harris — reaching out in anticipation of Monday’s Iowa caucuses. Didn’t you get it? Kamala would’ve kept you warm. And it would have cost you only $5.
Wonderful writing. I love your perspective and your humor. I’m still furious. It got down to 55 degrees in the house but that can’t be right because it felt more like 40. My cats were cold, my dogs confused and we all piled on the king size bed and climbed under piles of comforters and blankets. Over 9 hours with no heat. It will take five hours to get the house warm again. This is the pitts. 🤬
We live in the best country in the world. Easy to complain about little inconveniences.
This is why every home needs a back up heat source like you guessed it ----- WOOD. We used to have the greatest wood stove; a Fisher with a nickel plated trim front. We had (and still have) a readily available source of wood. In the old days we had to cut it, split it and bring it home. Now we let the loggers leave us a few slash piles to work on. Take that any of you eco terrorists sitting home in the cold with your newly installed heat pump which is not going to provide heat even if the power is on at your house in temperatures like this. Right now my forced air gas stove is chugging away at 71--this is about 2 degrees warmer than normal. If the power goes out I can even take a nice hot shower with my wonderful gas hot water heater.