Froze Over

[Uncle Al]

This pretty well sums it up

Hell Froze Over 2021-02-17.jpg

Luckily, this hasn't happened to me - yet

Uncle Al

[crfriend]

I don't know about that. In these here parts nothing has really been out of the ordinary. We've had several feet of snowfall by now, the temperatures have been the negative territory (F) for several days, and we've had a fair share of icing.

That said, we know that it happens so we take precautions. Our outdoor generator sets have antifreeze in the liquid-cooling loops, we have decent insulation in the walls (which actually helps reduce electricity consumption during cooling season), we have capable heating systems, and we have pipe-draining capability if we lose heat and know that the pipes will freeze if we don't drain the water out.

The idiot thing with Texas -- and most of the citizenry have no say in the matter -- is that these sorts of weather events happen every 20 years or so -- enough for one generation to have retired and take their understanding with them, leaving the next generation on their own who then get caught with their pants down.

I am reminded of a Texas bumper-sticker from the 1970s when the major oil companies slammed the US with a series of entirely manufactured "fuel shocks" in the 1970s where New England wound up in some trouble because of it and which read, "Let them freeze in the dark". If not for the fact that I have friends there, I'd be very tempted to replay that notion in the current setting to see how it sits. In the '70s, I was entirely happy with the notion of defunding the TVA and "letting them broil in the sun".

[moonshadow]

So far, the 2021 winter is getting off to a somewhat "traditional" start. I wouldn't say it's been bitterly cold, but we have had a ton of moisture (wet almost every day) and a minor snow system seems to blow through at least once per week.

This is really not unlike the winters I knew 15 years ago, and not much has changed in the way I prepare for them, other than perhaps being a little better off and actually having a 4 wheel drive for the first time in my life.

We've not had a major power outage here yet, and I don't anticipate one, but in the event one strikes, we have enough propane in the tank to carry us well into April.

Our house is old and drafty, but it's very small (>1,000 Sq ft), and this makes it manageable during trying weather.

So far the coldest day I've seen this season was actually in 2020, Christmas day, where it got so cold I found myself in the driveway thawing the car doors open with a hair dryer to get them loose.

For the most part Appalachia seems exempt from common natural disasters, our winters and summers are predictable. Wildfires aren't usually too bad here, earthquakes are barely felt, hurricanes fizzle out before they get this far inland, flooding is only in the low lying areas. Tornados are becoming more common, but we're no where near as bad as the mid west.

Or maybe it's just that us hillbillies are so accustomed to the hard scrabble way of life, we just don't really notice Mother Nature's tantrums the way they do in more developed parts of the continent.

[denimini]

I just heard on the news that refrigerated food was going bad because of lack of power.

[Jim]

I just heard on the news that refrigerated food was going bad because of lack of power.

Yes, too many people are unfamiliar with iceboxes. Folks just have to think of bringing ice in from outside-or put food in boxes you take outside.

[Fred in Skirts]

If the temperature is below 35F sitting food in boxes outside will keep them fresh the same as a fridge.
If the temperature is below 25F sitting food in boxes outside will keep them frozen the same as a freezer.

Most all outdoors-men learn this early on. Smart people will learn this in areas that have bad winter storms where power is lost often.

[crfriend]

Here's some food for thought from the past. It's a link to the entire archived Connections series by James Burke starting with series one in the 1980s. The first episode is particularly compelling in this instance and is called The Trigger Effect and starts off with a particularly nasty technological failure in the USA in 1965 and is an incident I vividly recall, not because I was stranded anywhere, but because I was very young, dealing with chicken-pox at the time, and had adults around at all times informing me, "You don't itch." Well, of course I itched like bloody Hell, but to actually scratch would have brought wrath, and my family could be particularly wrathful.

The 1965 event was accidentally triggered; the recent one in Texas has been entirely and completely man-made by putting profit above resilience. And it happens with shocking regularity -- about every 20 years. That's roughly a human generation, and that works out to that one generation realises that it got caught with its pants down, solves the problem, and then it's quiet for a long time. Run forward by 20 years, and the elders have retired or are being ignored by the kids as being "in their dotage" so the kids relax all the rules to reflect what they know is truth -- and then when the event hits again are caught with their pants down. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Texas, at the moment, is teetering on returning to the 18th Century in a physical sense. Will they learn from this? History indicates, "no".

[Sinned]

Thank you for the link on James Burke's Connections series, Carl. I remember watching them with awe at the apparent dissonant connections between things. I shall watch them again with relish. The publication date is shown as being 1978 but in my mind I thought the series was aired well before that. I married in 1976 and I thought that I was single and at home with my parents when I watched them as my dad had a penchant for technology. Funny how one's memory can deceive.

As for Texas I see that Senator Cruz attempted to escape your freeze but was caught with his trousers down when he was recognised at the airport. His justification was, to say the least, in the ROTFL category. Like most politicians, completely useless, irrespective of their party affiliation before anybody gets on my case.

[Uncle Al]

FYI - Ted Cruz was on a pre-planned family vacation.
It just happened to co-inside with the weather problems.
He had already left before the severe weather hit Texas.
Besides, what could've he done He' a U.S.Senator not
a local politician.....Geez

Uncle Al

[PatJ]

The "pre-planned" part of your post is not the issue.
Many people cancel vacations or other plans when an
emergency occurs.

As a US Senator, he should have been in contact with
people at the Federal level to get help or aid as soon
as possible.

Sheesh! Why are people elected into office if they
are not ready to make sacrifices for the people they
are supposed to represent and help?

(And this post should apply to all who are elected -
not one party or the other!)

[Fred in Skirts]

Did Ted Cruz make the temps drop to record lows....NO
Did Ted Cruz make the snow pile up so high to stop the turbines... NO
Did Ted Cruz make the winds so high that they tore down power lines and wind mills.....NO
All the man did was take a pre-planned vacation, could he actually do anything to stop all of the cold,wind and snow....NO

The problem lies with the power companies them selves who did not take advice to upgrade their plants and lines two years ago. When they were told it was not going be able to handle this type of weather. They wanted to save money instead so did nothing.

So stop blaming Ted Cruz for something that was not his doing and he had no control over........

Instead lets look at New York State and City and all of the deaths at the nursing homes........


I'll say no more!!!

[Sinned]

I agree with PatJ, he should have cancelled. Anyway his "pre-planned" holiday excuse seems a bit lame when his own statements make it appear as a late-minute decision. Also his wife's broadcast about anyone wanting to get away from the cold weather via a trip to Calcun hardly makes it seem preplanned. On his return his excuse was that his daughters made the suggestion as school was closed a holiday might be a good idea hardly makes the trip appear pre-planned. None of the news reports I have seen have mentioned a pre-planned aspect to the holiday. Sorry, your platitudes don't work.

[Faldaguy]

FYI - Ted Cruz was on a pre-planned family vacation.
It just happened to co-inside with the weather problems.
He had already left before the severe weather hit Texas.
Besides, what could've he done He' a U.S.Senator not
a local politician.....Geez

Once again, rather than jump carte blanche defenses of a party -- give it a bit of time and research, as Dennis noted -- even his own wife's emails clearly states is was not-pre-planned, but a hoped for escape from the cold. And Cruz falls to a new low throwing his own kids under the bus claiming they wanted this trip!

US Senator -- Yes, that is a key reason he should be sticking around -- no he did not make the weather (albeit his stands on climate change have not helped the world make the changes needed to slow this trend) but aiding coordination with Federal relief would be part of his bailiwick among a number of other things.

Below is my comment, somewhat related, in the thread Moon started on TX electric prices:

Not completely an anomaly; other companies as well, but Griddy seems to have earned the candle. But if you look at their list of Executives, ex Finance company loan sharks; ex Bit-coin and Coin Desk folk -- no surprise. They aren't really an electric company -- just a gimmick re-seller, first registered in CA, but operating in States with little regulation. They take a deposit and auto pay authorization bank card to start along with a monthly fee that is ostensibly their only profit! However, it is the cap on Electric within the limited regulation TX offers that grants the $9000.00 per mwh! The history of this dates back to Ken Lay, CEO of Enron! His buddy George Bush, now Gov. Greg Abbott, Rick Perry are all co-trumpeters for this deregulation-- that I'm told Texan's cherish and will happily do without power to keep the Feds out of TX -- except right now they seem happy to have Fed help from the Biden administration and that horror FEMA coming to their aid.

[moonshadow]

Maybe Ted Cruz just needed to kill the circuit box for a few days... God knows it probably would have cost a million dollars to heat a home of his size...

[crfriend]

Maybe Ted Cruz just needed to kill the circuit box for a few days... God knows it probably would have cost a million dollars to heat a home of his size...

Cruz is a United States Senator. He suffered no privations whatsoever. (Well, save for poor judgement and a complete dereliction of duty in a time of public need.)