What in HELL do I have to complain about??

[jymbee]

In another thread I posted some details of our cold weather misadventures here in TX in the midst of their "historic" winter storm and cold.

But as frustrating as it was at times, what on earth do I have to complain about? I mean, here we sit in our home on wheels, generator running, refrigerator and pantry full of food & drink, a dozen gallons of drinking water, multiple TVs with Satellite and Amazon Fire stick, notebook computer online, etc. etc. Meanwhile, all you have to do is turn on the news for a minute to feel totally ashamed for ever feeling sorry for yourself for even a second.

There's so many out there around us who are genuinely suffering. Families with no heat at all, frozen or worse, busted water pipes with flooded homes. Hours in line to try to get food or gas or propane or medical supplies, or repair parts.

Some with medical conditions that require power they don't have to run medical devices.

There's been a number of serious injuries and deaths resulting from malfunctioning or improperly used heating appliances.

Videos on line of families with kids huddled around outdoor charcoal burners to try to get warm.

I only hope that all the finger pointing politicians and power company executives doing the interviews all over the media pay a price for this fiasco. When they say "well, no one could have predicted" I cringe. Really? That's your JOB, to predict and account for to the extent possible these types of circumstances!

Obviously there's bound to be issues with such a weather event no matter how well the planning, but there needs to be some policies and procedures put in place to help mitigate a similar event in the future. It will happen again.

[END RANT}

 

[Tom55555]

In another thread I posted some details of our cold weather misadventures here in TX in the midst of their "historic" winter storm and cold.

But as frustrating as it was at times, what on earth do I have to complain about? I mean, here we sit in our home on wheels, generator running, refrigerator and pantry full of food & drink, a dozen gallons of drinking water, multiple TVs with Satellite and Amazon Fire stick, notebook computer online, etc. etc. Meanwhile, all you have to do is turn on the news for a minute to feel totally ashamed for ever feeling sorry for yourself for even a second.

There's so many out there around us who are genuinely suffering. Families with no heat at all, frozen or worse, busted water pipes with flooded homes. Hours in line to try to get food or gas or propane or medical supplies, or repair parts.

Some with medical conditions that require power they don't have to run medical devices.

There's been a number of serious injuries and deaths resulting from malfunctioning or improperly used heating appliances.

Videos on line of families with kids huddled around outdoor charcoal burners to try to get warm.

I only hope that all the finger pointing politicians and power company executives doing the interviews all over the media pay a price for this fiasco. When they say "well, no one could have predicted" I cringe. Really? That's your JOB, to predict and account for to the extent possible these types of circumstances!

Obviously there's bound to be issues with such a weather event no matter how well the planning, but there needs to be some policies and procedures put in place to help mitigate a similar event in the future. It will happen again.

[END RANT}

Ditto

 

[thumped]

Didn't this happen 10 years ago (2-2011) and nothing changed because it would cost to much money. I think it was caused by lack of NG the same issue they had this time. From what I read they did add a LPG storage location that takes LPG, thin it down with air and pump it into the NG system to keep the system stable, but they still had to shut down the NG to power plants where they get a lot of there power.

The real question is what they will do this time to get ready for next time.

 

[John From Detroit]

Well there is much to complain about even though you are comfortable For one thing the wear and tear on your generator (not that it is much) but the biggest complaint is this. Though you are comfy in your emergency shelter... Many are not.. And they are not due to poor planning and leadership... Texas is very simply not prepared for this kind of weather in part because the leaders did not make it mandatory as leaders in other states have done. So your complaint is on behalf of your freezing their *@#Q@ off Neighbors.

 

[SpencerPJ]

Ditto, so many of us are blessed indeed.

It's all about the Tax dollar. No one wants to pay, everyone wants to complain. Prayers for those in Texas and elsewhere struggling for basic needs.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

And the complaints are quickly forgotten when tax time comes. When the tax man comes knocking, to hell with the broken roads, rusty bridges, and frozen power stations!

 

[glen54737]

All of it will be forgotten in the warm weather to come then it will be complaints of the lack of a/c

 

[phil-t]

Bad and troublesome times for some - I get reminded of it every time I drive for the DAV and make a trip to the VA medical center. Sitting in the waiting room, waiting for my veteran riders to complete their visits/appointments, I see young men and women that are way worse off than I would ever think of being - I drive home with those thoughts, thankful for my well-being, what I have of it.
Gary has it right, why would the taxpayer want to invest in something that "might" prevent some 10 or 20 or more year event when there is so much more to be done.

 

[thelazyl]

We're on day 7 without power in Oregon and I am grateful for our Class A. About half of my community is still without power. The backlog is so great that our local power provider can't estimate timelines for power restore, and some repair crews are getting hassled by neighbors who insist their street be restored first. There have been several deaths from carbon monoxide - some from running a generator from inside a shed attached to a house and one RV with a bad furnace.

 

[Ex-Calif]

My brother had a 3 week outage in the middle of winter in Montreal. Ultimately most families moved into one house pooled their generator gas and were burning furniture in a fireplace.

People pool together in times of crisis...

 

[Jaycomlok]

I think most people today relay on other so much they don't try and prepare themselves. We had a major ice storm several years ago. Power line down everywhere and without power for 9 days but you know what I had taken steps for things like that. I didn't like it but I was able to keep heat and the few things like the fridge- freezer running and some lights till power got restored.

 

[jymbee]

Didn't this happen 10 years ago (2-2011) and nothing changed because it would cost to much money. I think it was caused by lack of NG the same issue they had this time. From what I read they did add a LPG storage location that takes LPG, thin it down with air and pump it into the NG system to keep the system stable, but they still had to shut down the NG to power plants where they get a lot of there power.

The real question is what they will do this time to get ready for next time.

Indeed. From an article in The Atlantic;

Texas had ample warning that this system was vulnerable. A decade ago, another storm caused large (though smaller) failures, as the Texas Tribune explains. A report warned that the state needed to harden its grid to prepare for major storms. But the state’s regulators didn’t want to mandate upgrades. Instead, they issued voluntary guidelines to providers, and they offered financial incentives to make upgrades. This is by-the-book free-market governance: The government shouldn’t make requirements, but companies will do the right thing if it serves their business interests.

 

[ziplock]

What irritates me are all the thieves trying to fraud anyone, taking advantage of others misfortune to make a profit for themselves.

Does anyone here personally know someone who makes their living frauding others in times of crisis?

 

[thumped]

Does anyone here personally know someone who makes their living frauding others in times of crisis?

I know a few of these types of people and do my best to avoid them.

 

[John From Detroit]

Personally know them no.. (Fraudsters) Have met a few YES.

 

[X-Roughneck Strike 3]

Jym,

Read about the Mis-Adventures in Black Tanking you were experiencing down here in the Lone Star State. Sorry to hear about that. Did you get that problem rectified?

We do our best to Roll out the Brown erh...Red Carpet for our Giants and Jets Fans! (Does anybody watch NFL weekly anymore?)

Insert of Lame attempt at humor complete.

Insert of Rhetorical question complete.

Are you still in TX?

Are you hunkered down? Just curious to if you are on the Road what you are experiencing currently?

To Jym his Family both 2 and 4 legged, and all Ya'LL out there,.. hope all is well or getting better at your Globe GPS location.

We personally endured no real hardships here.

My Son and his family dealt with Power Related issues for a few days during all this in North Dallas.

Lot's of collateral damage to people's lives down here.


JD