Some heavy weather coming

[Retired Spook]

Winter storm Uri, Feb 2021, spooked millions of Texans. We were without power for 72 hours straight. Couldn't cook even if we had food. No food in area grocery stores. Very little in area restaurants. Thousands of dollars damage to my pool equipment.

ERCOT was beaten unmercifully and told to fix the problem. Not sure if they did anything useful, like add fossil fueled power plants to the grid, but they, together with the news media, have adopted a fear-mongering approach and do their best to scare people now every time a storm threatens. I've lived in Texas for a relatively short time -- 40 years -- and never saw this kind of "cry-baby" behavior before Uri.

The latest reports from ERCOT suggests that this storm will be a nothing burger, that people should calm down. But after almost two weeks of fear-mongering, that message isn't being received.

Very frustrating, for sure.

I love the winter - always have since I was a kid. Texas is challenging for me 98% of the year but I love when we get a cool tease like we are about to get.

I am a history junkie and I have read everything I could find on Texas since the Alamo and one thing is for sure - the Texans of today got nothin whatsoever on the real Texans of yesterday.

I am currently reading The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense by Walter Prescott Webb, and while I will never know if I had the grit those folks had, I wish I could have lived then, and found out.

Another great book - Empire of the Summer Moon. When real men walked the Earth, on both sides...

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I love the winter - always have since I was a kid. Texas is challenging for me 98% of the year but I love when we get a cool tease like we are about to get.

I am a history junkie and I have read everything I could find on Texas since the Alamo and one thing is for sure - the Texans of today got nothin whatsoever on the real Texans of yesterday.

I am currently reading The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Defense by Walter Prescott Webb, and while I will never know if I had the grit those folks had, I wish I could have lived then, and found out.

Another great book - Empire of the Summer Moon. When real men walked the Earth, on both sides...

Well, I must say I hate winter. I grew up in Chicagoland and spent 5 years in Minneapolis. I got to experience many days in a row where high temperatures were below 0F. I remember one day between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the high where we lived near Minneapolis was -15F. Spit into the wind and your spit hits the sidewalk as ice. (And don't spit into the wind!)

Increasingly, I'm challenged by Texas weather in the summer, roughly from April/May through September. Otherwise, I find it delightful. The occasional crispy fall day is very enjoyable and maybe one day with enough snow to make a snowball and toss it at my granddaughter (and get one tossed at me) is enough winter for me.

I haven't read enough history to understand how people survived here in the summer before air conditioning. I'm pretty sure I couldn't.

Right now we're having a beautiful but windy winter day, temp in the upper 50s under crystal clear skies, bracing for Armageddon to come tonight. Then below freezing for 3.5 days and back to normal. With any luck, that will be the end of winter for us this year.

We'll be just fine as long as the geniuses running our power grid can keep it running.

 

[Retired Spook]

Well, I must say I hate winter. I grew up in Chicagoland and spent 5 years in Minneapolis. I got to experience many days in a row where high temperatures were below 0F. I remember one day between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the high where we lived near Minneapolis was -15F. Spit into the wind and your spit hits the sidewalk as ice. (And don't spit into the wind!)

Increasingly, I'm challenged by Texas weather in the summer, roughly from April/May through September. Otherwise, I find it delightful. The occasional crispy fall day is very enjoyable and maybe one day with enough snow to make a snowball and toss it at my granddaughter (and get one tossed at me) is enough winter for me.

I haven't read enough history to understand how people survived here in the summer before air conditioning. I'm pretty sure I couldn't.

Right now we're having a beautiful but windy winter day, temp in the upper 50s under crystal clear skies, bracing for Armageddon to come tonight. Then below freezing for 3.5 days and back to normal. With any luck, that will be the end of winter for us this year.

We'll be just fine as long as the geniuses running our power grid can keep it running.

You should read Empire of the Summer Moon. It is very good.

 

[chopsaw]

It just got the next degree of nasty . A lot of moisture in the air . Went out to get firewood , and when I touched the handle to open the door to get back in , my damn hand froze to it . Like that kid that stuck his tongue on the pole .

 

[DougE]

Had to do an edit for the right pic. lol

 

[TNJAKE]

It just got the next degree of nasty . A lot of moisture in the air . Went out to get firewood , and when I touched the handle to open the door to get back in , my damn hand froze to it . Like that kid that stuck his tongue on the pole .

Maybe I’m the only one wondering……….did you pee on it to get loose?

 

[BXMurphy]

I'm ~10 pages deep in a weather thread and my email is totally bombed with weather jokes and anecdotes. Can I turn off email notifications for just one thread or do I have to shut them all off? If so, how?

(Man, I seem to remember that if I posted a message, a checkbox would be available to turn off notifications. Where'd that box go?)

 

[Fueling Around]

I'm ~10 pages deep in a weather thread and my email is totally bombed with weather jokes and anecdotes. Can I turn off email notifications for just one thread or do I have to shut them all off? If so, how?

(Man, I seem to remember that if I posted a message, a checkbox would be available to turn off notifications. Where'd that box go?)

Top of the page Click the "Unwatch" button

 

[BXMurphy]

Top of the page Click the "Unwatch" button

Ugh. It's that easy?!? Thanks brother! You saved my sanity!

Whew! I owe you one...

Murph

 

[Retired Spook]

I use a DeLonghi oil-filled radiant heater to supplement the heat in my computer area and I can not express how much I love that heater. I have no idea how they figured out how to get so much heat out of a 110-volt device. The best thing about it, in my opinion, is that it is like a mini wood-stove with respect to the dry concentrated heat it puts out.

I look forward, every year, to plugging that bad boy in!

When I was a youngster back east, for a while I lived in a place that had a small - maybe 30" tall? - "Franklin" pot bellied wood burning stove, and I absolutely loved that thing - the best heat source I have ever experienced bar none.

I have looked and looked on ePay, a hundred times, and never found another like it that was in usable condition. Truly, a rare commodity, and I am not even willing to give the Chinese junk imitations, a look.

But man would I love to have one of those stoves again - even though I would only be able to use it maybe 2-days a year here in the Ninth Circle of Hell.

I am all set for the forecast 13-degree low on Tuesday night - I dug my electric blanket out and made sure it still works and man there is nothing like getting into a bed warmed up by an electric blanket on a chilly night!

I love this weather and I hope that you are all doing well!

 

[Brokenhandle]

I use a DeLonghi oil-filled radiant heater to supplement the heat in my computer area and I can not express how much I love that heater. I have no idea how they figured out how to get so much heat out of a 110-volt device. The best thing about it, in my opinion, is that it is like a mini wood-stove with respect to the dry concentrated heat it puts out.

I look forward, every year, to plugging that bad boy in!

When I was a youngster back east, for a while I lived in a place that had a small - maybe 30" tall? - "Franklin" pot bellied wood burning stove, and I absolutely loved that thing - the best heat source I have ever experienced bar none.

I have looked and looked on ePay, a hundred times, and never found another like it that was in usable condition. Truly, a rare commodity, and I am not even willing to give the Chinese junk imitations, a look.

But man would I love to have one of those stoves again - even though I would only be able to use it maybe 2-days a year here in the Ninth Circle of Hell.

I am all set for the forecast 13-degree low on Tuesday night - I dug my electric blanket out and made sure it still works and man there is nothing like getting into a bed warmed up by an electric blanket on a chilly night!

I love this weather and I hope that you are all doing well!

I might have said a curse word or two at my phone when I saw the actual temp lol! But then again I live in Iowa and it's to be expected... will say when we get a week or two of high temps of below 0 weather it does get old! On the other hand I'm lucky... don't raise any outside livestock that needs to be cared for in these temps... it takes alot more work and time.

Would be a great time for a wood stove for sure!

Ryan

 

[normanaj]

use a DeLonghi oil-filled radiant heater to supplement the heat in my computer area and I can not express how much I love that heater.

I have a DeLonghi Safe-Heat space heater.Has thermostat,hi/med/lo heat setting and two speed fan.I found it at a local discount store for $29 about 15 years ago.Its virtually impossible for this to start a fire as it has no heat coils.The ones they make now are more than a $130 more than what I paid and are nowhere near the quality.Easily the best space heater I've ever had.

 

[chopsaw]

.Its virtually impossible for this to start a fire as it has no heat coils

I had one too . No worries about leaving it on in my basement . Heated up a 700 sq. ft space . Usually took it a couple days , but after everything got warm , it was just comfortable heat .

 

[Brokenhandle]

I had one too . No worries about leaving it on in my basement . Heated up a 700 sq. ft space . Usually took it a couple days , but after everything got warm , it was just comfortable heat .

Do they still make them? Would love to have one for our back porch... crawlspace underneath so quite chilly in this weather and wind from the north. We have a space heater but only use it while home and awake.

Ryan

 

[chopsaw]

Do they still make them?

I'm not sure . I don't remember what happened to the one I had .

 

[DougE]

I might have said a curse word or two at my phone when I saw the actual temp lol!

Layers of clothes is how you gauge how cold it is. If you have too many layers of clothes on to go pee without whizzing on your clothes, it's effen cold.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Layers of clothes is how you gauge how cold it is. If you have too many layers of clothes on to go pee without whizzing on your clothes, it's effen cold.

Worse yet, I'm over 50! Too many layers to trust a fart!

Ryan

 

[TNJAKE]

Pretty good snowstorm happening here right now. I’ll take the drone out tomorrow for some pics

 

[Brokenhandle]

Watching the game but during commercials I channel surf... ended up on the weather channel. I must be getting old or old fashioned... didn't know they now have to name winter weather. OMG ...Heather? Doesn't sound like the power grid in Texas has been improved. Feel bad for those of you that live down there!

Ryan

 

[Retired Spook]

17-degrees right now - 11-degrees real-feel. A little brisk - I actually had to turn the heater on when I woke up!