Still have some time before we have to head out. Figured I'd noodle around here a bit.
Houston is struggling with the aftermath of a Category 1 Hurricane Beryl. Thousands of people still without power, more than a week after the hurricane in the middle of a heatwave. People are threatening line crews with AK-47s.
Awesome.
But it does make me feel better about having the rooftop solar array and battery storage. We wouldn't be able to necessarily run 100% of the normal household loads, but I'm fairly confident we'd be able to keep the house comfortable and refrigerator running.
That said, I do think FPL, as shitty a corporate citizen as it may be, has done a better job with its grid infrastructure, burying much of it underground. I don't know how JEA would fare, as much of their system remains above ground, and older neighborhoods have a lot of old trees.
I think I've written before that, "We're all preppers now." If you haven't made a sincere effort to evaluate your readiness for an extreme weather event or some other unexpected disruption, you should probably do so. I haven't gone so far as to stockpile food, but I'm thinking about it. I'll probably get some pushback on that, but I'll figure something out.
Frankly, the thing that troubles me the most is sanitation, specifically human waste. If the power is on, and fuel is flowing, I'm not too worried. But if the disruption is significant enough with regard to fuel deliveries, the emergency generators that keep the sewage lift stations running are going to be useless. Florida is flat, there is not "downhill" for shit to flow.
Apparently, one of the home solutions is a 5-gallon bucket with a lid and sawdust. How to ultimately dispose of that is another question.
I guess some Republican senators harassed and bullied the director of the Secret Service at the Republican Convention. That's awesome. I thought that was what the House of Representatives was for. But the Republican Party is little more than a mob these days, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Sad and frightening at the same time. To me, anyway. I suppose the MAGA crowd love that.
Well, time to get ready to go I guess. It is a lovely day out there. I'd have taken a walk if this place made that worthwhile.
Originally posted at Nice Marmot 08:21 Thursday, 18 July 2024