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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Louis
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 6, 2006 - 08:40pm PT
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After 7 dark cold days, I have power. I now fully appreciate electricity.
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Louis
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 6, 2006 - 08:45pm PT
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I really am psyched! Celebrating by doing laundry and staying up late with the lights on - yay electricity.
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Standing Strong
Boulder climber
jumpin' on the bed to white stripes
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sweet!
now you can have lots of good ideas!
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Standing Strong
Boulder climber
jumpin' on the bed to white stripes
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illustrated posts are the illest.
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Louis
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 6, 2006 - 09:07pm PT
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hee hee - my favorite character (I have several in my office) is the Abomidable Snowman. (spell?) :)
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john hansen
climber
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You dont know what you got until it's gone.
One time we had a big windstorm and the power was out. On the third day I finally went to a store (that had power)and got a little gas stove , some extra flashlights and candles and a lantern. Right about the time I lit of the stove to cook dinner.. The power came back on.
At least I'm ready for next time.
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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I don't need that stupid electricity because I just installed one of these:
Crimpie, did your birds make it? Do they hate you now? Whatever. Here's a digipic of my dog, Zacho, out for a hike with me this morning:
No electricity needed.
We were out to get a photo of this:
Enjoy,
Mal
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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what is amazing is that the US has had ubiquitous electricity only recently... starting in the 30's and 40's and largely as a US government program.
We do appreciate electricity, but we might not appreciate the fact that there are still vast numbers of people in the world who do not have it... imagine that being the norm!
What is odd, perhaps, is the change in perspective... "progressive" thinkers believe that the dams are bad... but Woody Guthrie wrote wonderfully progressive songs... and hailed the event of electricity from hydropower to rural US... who had none before.
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Ouch!
climber
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I wish Woodie was around to write a song about deregulation.
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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" Abominable " :-)
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Ouch!
climber
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OOPS!! Never know when the lights will come back.
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Louis
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 7, 2006 - 12:28pm PT
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Oh God OUCH! That is fantastic! I had to do what I had to do to stay warm.
Thanks for the spelling lesson Al - knew I had it wrong. Still too lazy to look myself. Appreciated...
I hope that those people who don't have any power have enough sense not to live in the frozen tundra of St. Louis. At least it's getting up to 19 degrees today. Much nicer than the 8 degrees we've been subjected to lately. Friggin' hell.
And Mal, I don't really understand what installing a steer skull in your living room does to keep you warm. Weird.
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TradIsGood
Happy and Healthy climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Crimpie, how could you tell it was a steer from just the skull?
Please advise.
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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Yo Crimpsicle - Hope you & the flock are warm. Sorry for the knee jerk anal spellcheck.....you'd think I was a teacher. Bet you're on a first name basis w/your local National Guardsmen! Maybe Santa will bring you a generator for Xmas.
St Louis Cheers annd Jeers :
Home of World Champion Cardinals - yay!
Most Dangerous City in America - oy !!
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Euroford
Trad climber
chicago
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dogs, woodstoves and flatirons.
mr. daley is livin it up.
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Louis
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 7, 2006 - 02:26pm PT
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Didn't meet any guardsman, but met some nice electricians from North Carolina! Rugged men...manly men... they're the best!
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TradIsGood
Happy and Healthy climber
the Gunks end of the country
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Not likely radical. If you want to sell power back to power company you have to be connected to the grid. If you are connected to the grid, the solar panel connection cuts off when power goes off - apparently to keep lineman safe - So you would still be out power (at least it works that way in NJ).
Maybe someday they will improve on that. Seems like it would be pretty simple.
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Crimpergirl
Social climber
St. Louis
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 7, 2006 - 03:15pm PT
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Riley:
Both are ugly. I went five days without power this summer. We had temps over 100 with heat indices of 120. It was heinous. If it was just me, meh, no biggy. But with the parrots, it is much more difficult to deal with in terms of their health and moving them around. (Plus, if it were just me, I'll take the heat. I like the heat being a Texas girl and all).
One thing many people say is to get in the car and go somewhere. This is a nice thought, but keep in mind, when the city has no power, gas pumps do not work. Lots of things we don't consider that power drives.
Neither - extreme heat and exteme cold - are good situations - I know.
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Ouch!
climber
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When a widespread power incident occurs, crews are brought in from all over the US and even Canada. They are unfamiliar with the local system. That's why safety procedures in lockout and clearance are so important. Local utilities will try to provide guides who are familiar with the system. Each feed to each house must be eyeballed and repaired after the transmission lines and substations are put in order. That's what takes so long. Crews make good money by working brutally long shifts. They will often run low on wire, transformers, insulators and poles. They have to make do with what they have. One ice storm I worked took down so many poles, we bought a pole factory.
Preventative maintenance in right of way clearing and tree trimming can help mitigate the damage to the system. Like everything else, this is very expensive and will eventually show up on your bill.
The situation will no doubt get worse, thanks to the sham that is deregulation.
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