Texas Storm been hard

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I am one of the lucky few here in North Texas that kept power. Have friends that have been without power for over 2 days now with frigid temps while others get 10 minutes of power every couple hours. This is Sad! Supposedly part of the problem was the Power Co had to get permission to run at 100% before storm hit from government due to pollution regulations and this process takes time. Also the wind generators froze up.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Then theres my caring Boss that been upset because people have not been coming into work. He sent out a group message saying he made it in and thought others should be able to. I got to get about 50 replies since no way to turn group messages off that I know of. Last night he message that working this weekend is mandatory. .

 

[justplainbob]

we lost power for 2 weeks years ago
thats when i decided on a "whole house" generator

 

[Cajun Smokes]

we lost power for 2 weeks years ago
thats when i decided on a "whole house" generator

What a mess they left yall in. Prayers out for you & the boss with no empathy my friend

 

[hewl35]

I used to do this work for more than 30 years. The story I’m getting is the operating companies elected not to do preventive maintenance on the generators since they didn’t believe the weather reports.

 

[tx smoker]

It's been rough here Brian. Rolling power outages for several days and we totally lost water 2 days ago. Our water is pumped out of the lake and through a treatment facility. When the power to the grid was turned off Sunday night the pump stopped running. It was 4 degrees and the main water line froze up. They have not been able to get it thawed out so no water. We had 4 consecutive days of sleet and ice then 7" of snow Sunday night. Temp have not come even close to going above freezing for a week now so it's just a solid sheet of ice. Starting last night we have 2 more storm fronts dumping more ice, one of those storms is in progress now and we couldn't get out anywhere if we wanted to. The second storm will hit this evening. The only road to get to our area from town is impassable and has been since Friday. I can handle the power outages but sure would like to take a shower and shave. All day yesterday was spent melting snow and boiling it for potable water. I didn't bother boiling what was brought in and melted to flush the toilets though. I did learn a valuable life lesson however: it takes 15 gallons of snow to melt in order to flush a toilet one time Sitting here in the dark, unshaved and needing a shower while typing on my tablet. I didn't even bother getting Tracy up for work. It's pointless so may as well let her sleep. The positive side of the situation is that I saw this coming and was well prepared for it. We have plenty of food, beer, bourbon, and margaritas....hey, gotta have your priorities straight, right? Our cook top is propane and we have our own tank buried, which is full so we can cook. There are numerous cookers on the patio also that I can cook on so no issues there. The only one I can't use is the Rec Tec but that's ok. The folks on the other side of the community where all the multi million dollar Lake front houses are have it way worse. Their propane for heat and cooking is on a public system and provided by way of a large community tank. Heating their 15,000 square foot homes takes a LOT of propane. The tank is empty and the company that fills the tank for them can get down that evil little road to refill it....and they snub their noses at us living on the poor side of the tracks My biggest fear is this: with no water the commercial ice machine out in the garage can't make ice. I'm scared to death I'll run out of ice for my afternoon margaritas. That would be tragic. Oh well, typing this way is difficult so gonna wrap it up. Hopefully things will start to turn around pretty soon. See y'all later....hopefully from a real computer.

Robert

 

[gmc2003]

Robert, we used to use water from our pool to flush our toilet when the power went out. Just a thought.

 

[chopsaw]

Robert , when I first saw your post with the ice and tree damage one thing I thought was " I hope their building codes support this weather " Good luck , and you guys hang in there .

 

[tx smoker]

Robert, we used to use water from our pool to flush our toilet when the power went out. Just a thought.

Great idea Chris but only one problem....and talk about bad timing. All of the drain covers in the pool are 2 years past due for replacement. Being a CPO (Certified Pool Operator) I'm very anal about making sure the pool is in top notch order all the time. A couple weeks ago, before anybody saw this coming, I drained the pool to replace all the covers and power wash the plaster. It is nothing but a large concrete lined hole in the ground right now. At the time I drained it the timing seemed perfect. We were having 80 degree temps and had plenty of time before Spring to get the covers replaced, power wash it, refill it, and get the pool started back up. Every time I look outside and see the empty pool I kick myself, but we never saw this coming at the time and who would have ever thought we'd get hit this hard. Oh well....live and learn.

Robert

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

What a mess they left yall in. Prayers out for you & the boss with no empathy my friend

I trying to leave on good terms but getting hard. Could of waited a week and give people a chance to recover from this! Only one week left!

 

[tx smoker]

Robert , when I first saw your post with the ice and tree damage one thing I thought was " I hope their building codes support this weather " Good luck , and you guys hang in there .

Building codes be damned I grew up in an area where snow and bad weather were commonplace. Then spent 5 years in northern IL before moving to TX. I've seen more than enough nasty weather to know not to take anything for granted. When we decided to build this house I designed it, engineered it, and built it. Believe me sir, this place is built like a fortress

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Only one week left!

Hey congrats Brian!! Kudos for trying to keep things civil but apparently other people have different ideas.

Apologies for hijacking your thread. Although we have power right now, for a few minutes at least. I've been up for over three hours with nothing do do but sit in the dark typing on my tablet. You have provided me a source of entertainment and something to occupy my time.

Robert

 

[chopsaw]

. Believe me sir, this place is built like a fortress

I was thinking more in general .

 

[Winterrider]

Brian, sounds like it will be a relief when you walk away from the workplace. I realize business has to continue on, but your boss seems kind of heartless.
I feel for you guys down there. Hang in there!
We got an automated call at 10:20 last night stating to be prepared, we may lose power (we didn't), but could have been ugly at -18° last night. We are electric heat in our home. I have a couple heat sources I could cobble to maybe keep pipes from freezing.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Damn guys im sorry to here of your troubles. My family and I have been facing some of the same hardships. So I sympathize.
After replacing the Pump and the Water Heater that died because of our Spring going dry back in November, we finally all got our first showers in 3 1/2 months. Felt amazing. Still no Furnace, but getting by on small electric heaters and burning wood.
Robert, I totally understand the feeling of needing a Shower, hang in there Buddy...JJ

 

[Brokenhandle]

I feel for all that you are going through! One thing really pisses me off... government bulls...! But don't worry, they will soon be there to take credit when weather warms up and power comes on. So this is global warming huh? Brian... you should go to work! Knock your bosses ass to the floor and be done with that place.

Robert, I can tell you are bored... it's time for arts and crafts time. Now get your hammer and chisel out, it's time to fill the ice box. You have all that ice outside.

Best wishes for ya, and hope power comes back on soon and you get water

Ryan

 

[gmc2003]

After replacing the Pump and the Water Heater that died because of our Spring going dry back in November, we finally all got our first showers in 3 1/2 months. Felt amazing. Still no Furnace, but getting by on small electric heaters and burning wood.

Well that certainly explains that strange odor wafting up here from the south west.

Chris

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Brian, sounds like it will be a relief when you walk away from the workplace. I realize business has to continue on, but your boss seems kind of heartless.
I feel for you guys down there. Hang in there!
We got an automated call at 10:20 last night stating to be prepared, we may lose power (we didn't), but could have been ugly at -18° last night. We are electric heat in our home. I have a couple heat sources I could cobble to maybe keep pipes from freezing.

We lost production through the holidays because not enough people volunteered to work through them so had everyone work two weekends in a row. I did not go in because I all ready decided to retire. Got in trouble but Oh well. I will work this one for some extra money before I go.

 

[Winterrider]

Hard pill to swallow sometimes, but just don't do anything that may alter/affect your retirement/pension. Best of luck !

 

[chef jimmyj]

Well that certainly explains that strange odor wafting up here from the south west.

Chris

Hey Now! That wasn't me. Every couple of days, had to go Old School. Boil a gallon of water. Add cold water and a shot of Body Wash, and wash head to toe with that. Not much fun.
My Mom told a story about when she was a young child, growing up during the Great Depression. Baths were once a week. Grandma filled the big Galvanized Tub you could sit in, Grandpa washed first, then the Six, at the time, kids, oldest to youngest and Grandma went last. They didn't get a proper Bathroom Tub and Toilet until after the War. Can't imagine walking to the Out House in NEPA, during the Winter!...JJ