Ongoing But Better...For Now

 At 11:00 last night, the electricity went out. The supplier started at having it on at 5:30 am. As time went on, the time moved to 11:00 am this morning. That didn't happen. 

At 1:00 this afternoon, after waiting way too long, I uncovered the generator, pulled out some extension cords, and started heating part of the house with a space heater. I was kicking myself in the ass for waiting so long, since the house had reached 46 degrees, and it was just barely above freezing outside. I could have avoided some misery, if I hadn't had so much faith in the power coming on sooner. 

The power did come back on at about 2:00 pm. It blipped after a few minutes, and shut down again. After about 15 minutes, the power came back on, and has remained on for over 2 hours. The house is warming, no pipes froze, the hot water heater is full of hot water, and a hot shower is soon to be undertaken.

Tonight, the forecast is for a temperature of about 28 degrees, and freezing rain. Hopefully the power stays on, and I can get some sleep. The last three days allowed only cat naps, and it's starting to catch up with me.

Energy, and Stupidity

 Deep down here in Texas, one of the largest refineries can't stay running, due to the cold. Controls don't work, processes are affected, and the safety of all involved becomes an issue. Refineries are dangerous critters, and some problems lead to disaster. 

All refining operations will suffer over the next few days. Freezing weather leads to problems that don't go away, until the temperature rises - which it will. The workers will be faced with starting units again, and that itself is a dangerous operation. Pipes get cold, contract, might crack, or a flange may start leaking. With the high temperature of hydrocarbons being processed, all that's needed to start a fire is the atmosphere. Little leaks can turn into huge fires, and those on site have to take care of the problems as they occur. 

I read the wind farms are having problems. If I had to guess, the turbines down near the Texas coast weren't designed for the cold, and the result is gear box, and other lubrication problems. That guarantees a reduction in power capacity, and the overall effect is a strain on generating facilities that use hydrocarbons to create steam. Otherwise, the "green" energy isn't working, and I'm sure the tree-huggers are all complaining about the cold. They probably don't understand the heavy synthetic fibers they wear are the result of the oil they think is evil. They'll be busy complaining on social media, which they access through their computing devices made out of plastics, which are made from oil.

Another thing: Local electric generating plants anticipate a lightened load during the winter. This leads to maintenance, and a loss in capacity during the winter. With this outbreak, regardless of demand, there just isn't enough electricity to satisfy this demand. Roving blackouts are being used to prevent complete large losses of electricity, and many are finding long periods of time without electricity. 

The stupidity is soon to arise. Someone will demand a solution, politicians will form committees, and huge amounts of money will be spent talking about problems that can't be solved by those in power only because of "diversity". In the end, nothing will change, and taxes will go up to pay for the bureaucrats hired to "solve" the problem.

I'm Not Used To This

 It's around 20 degrees, and there's about an inch of snow on the ground. We're still having a few flurries, but the weather wizards said it should be over about thirty minutes ago. 

When I was five, we had a similar event. Temperatures reached single digits, snow stayed piled for days, and we had all the fun kids can have, even if we didn't understand the water pipe in the attic was frozen, and in the future, the ceiling would fall in. 

They're calling this a once in a lifetime event. Since I'm on the second one, that either means this is unique, or I've lived longer than they thought.

It Begins

The temperature finally reached freezing about two hours ago. The light rain left a thin coat of ice, and the heavier precipitation is arriving. So far, it looks like we'll see more snow than freezing rain. That's a relief. The light snow will not influence the power grid.

The Path Not Taken

 It's not surprising the Senate voted to not have witnesses, and decided to have a vote. The outcome was the usual outcome with all the Marxists voting to convict, and the others to not. It shows the majority of those wanting to convict knew that witnesses, and presented evidence, would show not only culpability in sedition, but some acts a rational jury would find as treason. They knew their precious media couldn't hide their actions, and when in aggregate, their actions could only be considered criminal conspiracy. 

It's business as usual in the capitol, but business is looking bad for those that pursued wealth, instead of representing their constituents. Regardless of what the alphabet networks report, there's more outlets of information, and they're digging into the rot we call national politics, and even states are starting to question the authority so long abused. With states deciding they will exercise their power, the federal government is faced with the fact it only has two decisions, and the decision to flex its muscles will only result in failure. Otherwise, the next two years will be a feckless clown circus. All the mandates will end up in court, and the path to the Supreme Court takes years to travel.