Perri Nelson's Website 

Wind storms, power outages and cable outages

Yesterday (10/18/2007) we were hit with a wind storm. It wasn't unanticipated, we get one or two of them every year. You would think by now that with several days warning the powers that be… or at least the power companies would be ready.

We lost power at work. Whole neighborhoods near mine were dark when I got home. My neighborhood at least still had power thankfully. It's one of the last to lose power in these sort of things.

My cable was out though. No television (not a big loss, I've got tons of DVDs). No telephone (we've got Comcast digital voice). Again not a major loss, we've got cell phones so we can make outgoing phone calls if we need to, and we don't have to put up with random telemarketers or rude people calling into the wee hours of the morning.

But also… no Internet. Now THAT irked me.

And if you're interested, having the cable go out in a wind storm is strange. Our cable service is delivered via underground cables. It had to be out over a widespread area, because the only aboveground cable has to be a good ways away.

Well, DVDs got me through the night satisfying my entertainment needs in some way. It could have been worse. We could have been without power too. Why then I might have had to read a book by the light of an oil lamp. At least I would have still been warm, we heat our home the old-fashioned way — with a wood burning fireplace.

Everything's back to normal at home now, and I'm grateful for that. Still, writing this has got me thinking.

Once, several years ago, shortly after my wife and I were married, we had a serious winter wind and ice storm. We were without power for a couple of weeks.

That meant no television, and no radio. Since we had an electric water heater it meant showers at a friends house or very stinky bodies. After all who wants to take a shower in ice water? It also meant cooking outside on a small propane grill. Try doing that in the wind and boiling water to wash dishes on one.

We managed then with a lot less. I guess I can survive a few hours without the Internet.

Update: I do like to read… really, I do. I read all the time, even when I'm watching television.

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Orbusmax responded with: Contact Info

Perri - I wanted to email you directly but can't find your address. Please email me at orbusmax@orbusmax.com, in regards to a post you made at NWBloggers.

Thanks,

Orb

Angel responded with:

glad youre ok..welcome back Perri!!:)

David responded with:

" It could have been worse. We could have been without power too. Why then I might have had to read a book by the light of an oil lamp."

*heh*

How well I remember the days... why, it seems like it was just... last January when my Wonder Woman and I had no power, no cable (hence no internet and no VOIP--Packet8), but--three days into two weeks+ w/o power--DID still have our POTS land line (after the guys came by and strung a temp line for us... which is still the one we have our POTS line over *heh*).

Read by oil lamp? Lots n lots of that. Slightly better: had a spare car battery that'd just been recharged and ran a 5volt light off it for the two weeks, in the evenings, sitting bundled closely on our loveseat.

Was almost nice, except for NOT having a fireplace and having to keep the pipes from freezing anyway. :-) Cleanup was fun (downed branches, some as thick as both my thighs put together). Cooking food stored on the deck (sub-freezing weather clear through the whole blackout) on gas camp stove, actually SEEING the stars, not washed out by any light nearly county-wide. Some good things, indeed.

Going outside the county to charge up Wonder WOman's notebook, find WiFi hotspots (and come back to use our backup dialup connection over the POTS line) made for some fun stuff. Still, having the POTS line was a good thing. I never use it, except in such emergencies, but every now and then it's nice to have--especially since we live in a cell phone dead zone. *G*