Curse you summer storm!

[boozilu]

(Title courtesy of boozi-kid #2 -- age 6)

We've been out of power for two days -- finally went to a hotel to escape our oven-like house, recharge our cell phones, and connect to the internet. "They" say we may be out of power for a week.

The kids think it's a grand adventure -- a new bed, pool, eating out every meal (through out the freezer contents -- every last freakin' bit -- this afternoon), woo hoo. I just want to sleep comfortably in my own bed.

[Digital is the new Analog]

Originally Posted by boozilu

(Title courtesy of boozi-kid #2 -- age 6)

We've been out of power for two days -- finally went to a hotel to escape our oven-like house, recharge our cell phones, and connect to the internet. "They" say we may be out of power for a week.

The kids think it's a grand adventure -- a new bed, pool, eating out every meal (through out the freezer contents -- every last freakin' bit -- this afternoon), woo hoo. I just want to sleep comfortably in my own bed.

Having gone through an extended power outage from Hurricane Wilma, I commend you on throwing out the food now instead of waiting until you get power back. I actually got my power back quickly, but had friends who were out of town. I ended up going to their house to clean out the fridge to make it easier for them. UGH.

"Enjoy" your adventure..


-D/a

[boozilu]

Just read my OP and realized I have a grammar error -- Curse you editing window!

Of course I meant I "threw" out the food, not "through" out the food. Way to sound like a maroon, me.

[EmilyG]

Here in Montreal, we had the Ice Storm in 1998. It was freezing cold, and no power for 2 weeks. We had to stay at a crappy shelter with many other families. Fun stuff.

[flatlined]

I was just going to start a thread hoping that you folks are OK. What a disaster! 6 million people without power and the temps are in the 90's.

You have my sympathy.

[Michael63129]

Originally Posted by boozilu

...(through out the freezer contents -- every last freakin' bit -- this afternoon)...

Not the ice cream too? When it happened to me in 2006 (5 days without power after a couple derechos, which is the name for those kind of storms, blew through in as many days), I wound up eating two 1.75 quart containers of ice cream over a few days; sure, it melted after a day or so, but I just mixed it with milk and drank it. I mean, what would you eat otherwise (that wasn't the only thing I ate; I normally never eat from McDonald's, etc, but I did during the period, along with other food that didn't need to be cooked; of course, a lot was still thrown out).

[Hypno-Toad]

My sister told me that many of her neighbors were cooking up stuff on their gas grills and that there was plenty to eat for anyone wandering around. At least, on that first night.

[lance strongarm]

Originally Posted by flatlined

I was just going to start a thread hoping that you folks are OK. What a disaster! 6 million people without power and the temps are in the 90's.

You have my sympathy.

More like the temps have now DROPPED down into the 90s!

[aceplace57]

I bought my generator last year. Haven't needed it yet, but news like this confirms we can't trust the power company's grid. Why they haven't buried all the power lines is just a mystery.

Hope everyone without power can find a shelter with AC or a hotel.

[TruCelt]

Two days, no power, 100+ degrees out. Miserable!

It really makes you wonder how this country could have ever been settled and farmed in the first place. I mean, it's not like I was out pushing a plow or picking cotton. Adn yet I am still physically sick despite having been in cool temps since about 2:00am.

How the frack did anyone ever decide this would be a good place to live?!? And for the love of all that is holy, what about Georgia and Alabama?

[cncdad]

No power since Friday nite and the heat continues. And to make things really crappy my dad was running a generator and it blew up. Burnt the entire house down to the ground. NOT a great weekend.

[BetsQ]

We were only without power for about 18 hours, so it wasn't too bad. Trying to get around town on Saturday was a nightmare, though. And the mall looked like December 23, except that no one was carrying any purchases around.

[Drain Bead]

Originally Posted by aceplace57

I bought my generator last year. Haven't needed it yet, but news like this confirms we can't trust the power company's grid. Why they haven't buried all the power lines is just a mystery.

Hope everyone without power can find a shelter with AC or a hotel.

IIRC, improvements to the grid, including buried infrastructure, was part of Obama's jobs bill that got summarily voted down in the House. Thanks a lot, guys.

[TruCelt]

Originally Posted by BetsQ

We were only without power for about 18 hours, so it wasn't too bad. Trying to get around town on Saturday was a nightmare, though. And the mall looked like December 23, except that no one was carrying any purchases around.

We went to a movie (Brave, we loved it!) and the theater had only just gotten their power back. They had trouble getting the server on line for the 2:10 show. At 2:35 they still hadn't gotten it working, but other shows were on line, so they gave us permission to hang out at whatever we wanted to see. We went down the hall and watched the first part of Madagascar (Which we'd seen before) which kept us laughing until the 3:30 when the next show of "Brave" started. It was fairly perfect timing to dump us back ont he streaat just as the temperatures started to go down again.

[Flyer]

Originally Posted by aceplace57

I bought my generator last year. Haven't needed it yet, but news like this confirms we can't trust the power company's grid. Why they haven't buried all the power lines is just a mystery.

They haven't buried the power lines because (a) it's incredibly expensive, (b) when a simple repair is needed, a buried line is more expensive and time-consuming to repair, and (c) no matter how many warnings are given, there's ALWAYS some idiot who doesn't bother to call before digging.

Originally Posted by TruCelt

Two days, no power, 100+ degrees out. Miserable!

It really makes you wonder how this country could have ever been settled and farmed in the first place. I mean, it's not like I was out pushing a plow or picking cotton. Adn yet I am still physically sick despite having been in cool temps since about 2:00am.

How the frack did anyone ever decide this would be a good place to live?!? And for the love of all that is holy, what about Georgia and Alabama?

Before air conditioning, foreign diplomats considered D.C. to be a hardship posting.

[Antigen]

Originally Posted by lance strongarm

More like the temps have now DROPPED down into the 90s!

We're lucky and have some family members living close enough to be convenient and far enough that their power is still on, so we brought perishables over to their freezers and fridges on Saturday morning. BGE isn't giving us an estimated time for our power to be restored, as usual. We were out for 6 and a half days after Irene blew through, and I'm expecting it to be at least as bad this time.

It wasn't this hot last year, though. We slept in the living room after the first night, because it was really hot upstairs, and the neighbor's generator is right by our bedroom windows and he left it running all night. Last night, though, we went home after spending most of the day with my in-laws, and found the house temperature to be 92 degrees. Packed a bag, gave the kitties some love and fresh water, and turned right back around to sleep at the in-laws.

So far the cats are doing okay. We're refilling their water bowls with cool water twice a day and they seem to be sticking to the lower levels of the house, sleeping on bathroom tiles. If they show any signs of distress, I'll haul them off to a friend's place, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

[lance strongarm]

Originally Posted by Drain Bead

IIRC, improvements to the grid, including buried infrastructure, was part of Obama's jobs bill that got summarily voted down in the House. Thanks a lot, guys.

And now we're paying even more, in repairs and lost economic activity, for failing to upgrade infrastructure.

[TruCelt]

Originally Posted by lance strongarm

And now we're paying even more, in repairs and lost economic activity, for failing to upgrade infrastructure.

agreed. There are these lovely things called pipes, through which you can run all manner of wires and cables and such. They can be made from all sorts of cheap and reliable materials, and you can even just lay them on the ground, they'll protect everything inside even without being buried!

Telephone poles should be a thing of the past - except where needed to get utilities across large stretches of road or geographic formations.

[Mama Zappa]

Originally Posted by Digital is the new Analog

Having gone through an extended power outage from Hurricane Wilma, I commend you on throwing out the food now instead of waiting until you get power back. I actually got my power back quickly, but had friends who were out of town. I ended up going to their house to clean out the fridge to make it easier for them. UGH.

"Enjoy" your adventure..


-D/a

That was ***nice*** of you. Yeah, that fridge would start to get real scary, real soon.

We're DC metro area (which I assume the OP is as well). We were extraordinarily fortunate, didn't lose power.

TruCelt: do you need a place to stay? You have my phone number, I think.

[lance strongarm]

Originally Posted by TruCelt

agreed. There are these lovely things called pipes, through which you can run all manner of wires and cables and such. They can be made from all sorts of cheap and reliable materials, and you can even just lay them on the ground, they'll protect everything inside even without being buried!

Telephone poles should be a thing of the past - except where needed to get utilities across large stretches of road or geographic formations.

Well, yes, but let's not forget that it's not cheap. It costs about $1 million per mile, and it involves digging up virtually every single street. Might still be worth it though.

[lance strongarm]

Originally Posted by TruCelt

We went to a movie (Brave, we loved it!)

We might have been at the same theatre.

[TruCelt]

Originally Posted by Mama Zappa

That was ***nice*** of you. Yeah, that fridge would start to get real scary, real soon.

We're DC metro area (which I assume the OP is as well). We were extraordinarily fortunate, didn't lose power.

TruCelt: do you need a place to stay? You have my phone number, I think.

You are extraordinarily kind, Mama! We're fine now, power came back on around 2:00am today.

[Hypno-Toad]

Just got a text from my sister that she has power now. I wonder if that means her home or her office.

She's in Alexandria.