Posted: 5/29/2017 8:08:47 PM EDT
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So we are under our third power outage this weekend and it reinforces that it can happen anytime and anywhere. It's been said ad nauseum how critical our utility infrastructure is to our everyday lives and minor disruptions can and do happen and our own preparedness can make it bearable or not.
My wife was making her delicious homemade spaghetti right when the power went out, again. No problem, I fired up the propane burner outside, finished the sauce and meat then boiled the noodles and we enjoyed it all under camp lanterns. 3+ hours now into the third outage and we are ok. Had to crank the generator to power the house yesterday after a neighbors tree snapped and knocked power out, Saturday nights outage went by while we slept. No idea how long this one is but it can't be said enough, be prepared. Not so Happy Memorial Day but in reality, it's not a happy day for rememberance our war dead but a solemn one. |
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I was in the midst of grilling brats and dogs when a storm came in outta nowhere just to fuck with me. Blew my grill over, recycling containers went flying, and on top of it, it kicked off with some hail. I've 24 or so tomato plants and a bunch of broccoli and Brussels sprouts I started from seeds, so the last damned thing I want to see is hail. Luckily small enough to not cause damage (hopefully).
But yeah, if that's my biggest concern, I've probably got some others to thank for this luxury. |
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Quoted:
This is a good example of why we should always prepare fore the most likely first, least likely last!  |
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Power outages are great to shake down your plans.
Thankfully I haven't had any problems recently but the past couple years I've had a couple extended outages (long, but under 24 hours.) One of the things I discovered is that my backup power systems are better than my ISP or cell provider, as I had working equipment and watched as they dropped offline (ISP at 3 hours, cell at about six hours the first time it happened, and the second it never dropped.) Also since these happned during the summertime I realized I needed to make a "safe room" that was served by a window AC to have any chance of comfort (>115F outside temps and still, hot air equals misery.) I now have an emergency AC that's set up to slide into a window and powered by either solar or a honda generator. |
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All good posts. Mostly in line what I was thinking at the time, good way to shake some things out.
Running the generator under a good load, cooking unconventionally and no lights inside. Had too much work going on around the house to really pay attention we actually had no power. That really wasn't that big of a deal, except needing it. |