DannyboyO1 (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} dannyboyo1) wrote,@ 2007-12-14 08:20:00 |
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Yep, this has been a week.
No reviews this time, just an update.
It's not been a fun week. If you missed the news, the midwest got hit by freezing rain this week, tuesday. I tend to rank these things by danger and inconvenience. Couple dozen roadway fatalities, but after the storm, the road crews got sand and salt and plowing where needed. Honestly, driving around my neighborhood was worse before the storm. Damage to trees and power lines was a bit more severe.
The power company has just now gotten to us.
The rest of the neighborhood has been under power for over a day. We're just the lucky folk with a line that comes through the middle of the block... county block, so it's over a pasture, through the woods, and there's a creek in the middle. They can't get a truck back there with anything like ease. Typically, they bring out about three trucks and just seem to manpower it. Gotta be miserable work.
There's still 243 unpowered homes, including ours. They seem to get through 90% per day. Hey, if you've ever done a major project, the first 90% takes 90% of the time, and the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time.
Pops got a generator on day 2. Given the level of disruption, and the liklihood of pipes freezing if the power wasn't on by, like, last night, it seemed a good investment. 10°F ('cause it got COLD) is not a good time to do without. It's given us heat, then with a bit of wiring work, water, modem, and intermittant microwave access. Priorities. :)
The weather didn't do much damage to my car. 'Course, I'm told there were a couple dozen fatalities from the storm, mostly roadway. The driver's side mirror was a bit crusted, so I did my best with it... and I broke it. Doesn't stay pointed anything like up. It's now at a perfect angle for someone who can't actually see over the steering wheel... and it will point further down for some bizarre reason. No offense to any midget auto enthusiasts reading this... but you need a booster seat in this a lot more than the transparent door either of us would need to see that mirror at the extremes. I'm pretty sure it's just a spring inside the housing that's slipped, and not bent metal, since there's quite obvious stops to the mechanism to prevent such. There's not, however, an obvious way to get at the innards of this overengineered device, so I'm holding out for a warm day.
Which should also clear up the stuck windshield wiper. Black car, so any snow on it melts. Well, if doesn't totally melt, you get ice all over the windshield. And a dam of ice around the wipers. Looks like the ice got in the hole where the motor should sit. Pretty non-accessible. But we had good sunlight yesterday. May be clear by now.
Ooh, outtage is down to 217! Still not on here. And one of the trucks left, leaving... huh, 3. Well, that's the usual number. Not that this comes up that often, it's just that there's nothing else to remember when it does. As for my numbers, I've been tracking the county's stats at http://www.alliantenergy.com/docs/groups/p
Yes, I AM a geek.
I'm also really not liking this enforced bedtime of dark + no power. Been a little insomniac. So when you can't sleep and can't do anything... it's boring. And cold. And boring. And I couldn't even stay asleep 'till the power came back, for some reason. So, six hours sleep... that's why I'm cranky! Also, I'm hungry. I really want to fix a pizza, but that takes an oven. And that sucker's electric. Which'll be on "soon". Gah. Well, hope you are all having happy days.
No reviews this time, just an update.
It's not been a fun week. If you missed the news, the midwest got hit by freezing rain this week, tuesday. I tend to rank these things by danger and inconvenience. Couple dozen roadway fatalities, but after the storm, the road crews got sand and salt and plowing where needed. Honestly, driving around my neighborhood was worse before the storm. Damage to trees and power lines was a bit more severe.
The power company has just now gotten to us.
The rest of the neighborhood has been under power for over a day. We're just the lucky folk with a line that comes through the middle of the block... county block, so it's over a pasture, through the woods, and there's a creek in the middle. They can't get a truck back there with anything like ease. Typically, they bring out about three trucks and just seem to manpower it. Gotta be miserable work.
There's still 243 unpowered homes, including ours. They seem to get through 90% per day. Hey, if you've ever done a major project, the first 90% takes 90% of the time, and the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time.
Pops got a generator on day 2. Given the level of disruption, and the liklihood of pipes freezing if the power wasn't on by, like, last night, it seemed a good investment. 10°F ('cause it got COLD) is not a good time to do without. It's given us heat, then with a bit of wiring work, water, modem, and intermittant microwave access. Priorities. :)
The weather didn't do much damage to my car. 'Course, I'm told there were a couple dozen fatalities from the storm, mostly roadway. The driver's side mirror was a bit crusted, so I did my best with it... and I broke it. Doesn't stay pointed anything like up. It's now at a perfect angle for someone who can't actually see over the steering wheel... and it will point further down for some bizarre reason. No offense to any midget auto enthusiasts reading this... but you need a booster seat in this a lot more than the transparent door either of us would need to see that mirror at the extremes. I'm pretty sure it's just a spring inside the housing that's slipped, and not bent metal, since there's quite obvious stops to the mechanism to prevent such. There's not, however, an obvious way to get at the innards of this overengineered device, so I'm holding out for a warm day.
Which should also clear up the stuck windshield wiper. Black car, so any snow on it melts. Well, if doesn't totally melt, you get ice all over the windshield. And a dam of ice around the wipers. Looks like the ice got in the hole where the motor should sit. Pretty non-accessible. But we had good sunlight yesterday. May be clear by now.
Ooh, outtage is down to 217! Still not on here. And one of the trucks left, leaving... huh, 3. Well, that's the usual number. Not that this comes up that often, it's just that there's nothing else to remember when it does. As for my numbers, I've been tracking the county's stats at http://www.alliantenergy.com/docs/groups/p
Yes, I AM a geek.
I'm also really not liking this enforced bedtime of dark + no power. Been a little insomniac. So when you can't sleep and can't do anything... it's boring. And cold. And boring. And I couldn't even stay asleep 'till the power came back, for some reason. So, six hours sleep... that's why I'm cranky! Also, I'm hungry. I really want to fix a pizza, but that takes an oven. And that sucker's electric. Which'll be on "soon". Gah. Well, hope you are all having happy days.
