Power Outage 1/4-5/08

["Mad" Miles]

Greetings Waccanoodles,

I just want to relate some of my observations about being powerless (electrically speaking) from when I got up around 10:00 a.m. yesterday until 12:30 p.m. today.

At first it was no biggie, had to run to SR to get a service, new shocks and oil pan gasket for my pony. (It's good to have a little extra money. How could I have gotten along for forty years without it? No wonder I was so frustrated and felt trapped a lot of the time!!!)

Driving to SR on River Road the river didn't look too high yet. Walking from 4 Wheel Auto to Carlos's Cook House for brekkie was pleasant enough. After walking back to the garage, Moses, the counterman (and veteran of fifteen years doing customer service at Big O's in Sebasto) gave me a ride to the Rialto where I was just in time for the matinee showing of "The Savages" (Click on title for my latest Miles on Movies, my first hyperlink in a waccobb post, whoohoo!).

Only one disappointment, my trusty bumbershoot, my brollie, that I've had over twenty years, has finally given up the ghost. After all those hours of rethreading the spine posts back onto the cover, and straightening the spines as best I could when one got bent, metal fatigue took out one of the spines and it broke at the support hinge point. I'll miss it. Saw me through ten years in Chicago, six months in Taipei, and ten years here in the West County. Anybody have any suggestions as to where to get a quality, self-opening, gentleman's umbrella? I mean a really good one, that'll hold up another twenty years. Ricin poisoned microball injecting tip optional!

Anywhoo, after determining that the Toad was shut down, I returned to my darkened apartment in F'Ville around 6:00. (Try the combo Seafood Pho at Simply Vietnam, N. Dutton and Maxwell Court, it's scrumptious and just what is called for on a cold rainy day. I think it headed my scratchy throat off at the pass because I'm not into the normally consequent sinusitis today.)

What to do? No email? No waccobb? No electric light? I'm lucky to have a natural gas wall heater as my main source of warmth, it doesn't depend on electricity to work.

I've been here, done this before.Not for over a year, but it generally happens during the winter storm(s).

(My landlady warned me when I moved in back in November of '05 that I might get cut off, or have to camp out at a friend's in SR when I'm not able to get home due to River Road flooding.)

I'd already spoken with another couple of Forestville refugees at Carlos's Cook House about PG&E's projection that power wouldn't be back on any earlier than 2:00 p.m. tomorrow (today, they beat their estimate by an hour and a half!)

I have candles, I have a propane camping lantern (just in case I need some real bright light), I have flashlights, I have food. Should I run the bathtub full of water? Nah, not if it is only going to be thirty-six hours or so. Flush conservatively, run water briefly. No worries.

Yesterday evening I got to stare at and play with melting beeswax (thanks Beekind!) from one of four candles on my coffee table. In between reading Sherman Alexie's, Flight, (a kick-ass novel, as usual from Mr. Alexie).

Drank two-thirds of a quart of Haagen Daz coffee before it completely melted. Yum!

I've a nice Abelour a'bunadh (The Source, specifically The Ancestors who first distilled "The Malt") in and enjoyed its pleasures and comforts. Course I do something like that of an evening on a regular basis. But the candlelight, quiet and drumming rain (outside, while inside warm and dry) added to the sweetness.

I listened to the quiet, to the rain. I enjoyed the natural dark without neighbors front "porch" lights and without the street light down the hill on Champs. At times I could even see a patch of stars through the overcast, and the glow of Santa Rosa's lights to the east gave a false sense of early dawn.

Went to bed early, got up a couple of times in the night. Slept in until 10:00. Checked in with my landlady/upstairs neighbor. She confirmed the 2:00 p.m. possible update from PG&E.

Pulled out the emergency push button phone I'd stocked for just such an occasion after the last time. Checked with PG&E myself, called my Credit Union (Redwood) and made a transfer. Found my boombox and put the C Cell batteries in that I'd stocked for just such an occasion.

Finished reading the paper while listening to the KRSH. Can't get KOWS-LP 107.3 in because I'm just over the hill to the north. I can get it in the car and love to listen as a supplement to KRSH/KPFA/KRCB.

I felt that the PD dissed Forestville because all the news about outages was about Bennett Valley, Sebastopol, Guerneville and parts further distant. What is F'Ville? Chopped Liver?? I guess "Winter Storm, Power Out in Forestville" is such a regular thing that it bears no reference in the paper.

Was thinking about going back out to eat and shop, but then, what's that sound besides the radio? Oh yeah, the fridge! Powers back!!

Reset the electric alarm clock, the VCR clock and the answering machine clock/calendar. Didn't lose my outgoing message or my speed dial numbers on the cordless phone answering machine. Had to reprogram the stations on the alarm clock radio. Then time to clear the email and new posts on waccobb. Been at that until now, two hours and forty-seven minutes of text management. Am I connected or what!

So here's what I've been thinking, in case you've been wondering why I'm bothering you with the trivial details of my personal life.

Would I really miss it if it was all gone?

The internet, TV, recorded and broadcast music, email, online community, all the electronic interconnectivity and communications? Electric light? Electric razor?

I know modern day Luddites from the crunchy crusty punk-anar community who swear by the advantages of rejecting electronic convenience. More time for face to face conversation, for making one's own live music, for reading and writing, etc.

But I don't want to haul water, chop wood, hand wash my clothes and bedding, hitch up the horse and buggy and go to town only once a month for bulk supplies, etc..

I love that I can sit here typing and once I'm done, after a little proofreading and format checking and tweaking, I can hit "Submit New Post" and some unkown subset of five thousand five hundred people might read this, a few might respond, and a conversation might start.

Hmmm, Life after the oil runs out? Hmmm......

"Mad" Miles

[Sara S]

Gee, all I had to do was run the generator for an hour or so, just to keep the charge level of my (normally solar-charged) batteries between 80-100 %, since the word is that they'll last longer if I do that.

My propane fridge, cookstove and water heater were fine, and the woodstove works fine all the time.

Granted, it's pretty much do-it-myself out here: I did have to suit up and go ditch the water off the driveway, and I'll have to go clean out the springbox later on, and I have to keep bringing the firewood in, but none of my ice cream melted, and none of my electronic thingies were down.

What I find funny these days, after being here for 31 years (and slowly getting the solar power trip together) is that years ago people would look at me with horror and say "What? You don't have ELECTRICITY?? How can you live?"
But now they say (with envious awe) "Oooh, you're off the grid?"

It took 25 years or so for my "lifestyle" to become "cool".

It WAS kerosene lamps for the first 7 or 8 years, since there wasn't much alternative power available (and I didn't have any money) and I probably would have hooked up to the "grid" if PG&E hadn't quoted me a price of $32,500 to do so, but now I don't even know it when the PG&E system is down, unless I turn on the radio or talk to friends in town.

So, you see, there's an alternative choice for you, Miles!!

["Mad" Miles]

So, you see, there's an alternative choice for you, Miles!!

Thanks for the suggestions, but I rent. And my newfound "wealth" is just that, newfound. And comparatively speaking it ain't wealth, I was writing/speaking facetiously.

I'm always bemused and amused by those who own land and other property who say to those of us without, "all ya gotta do is go solar, grow your own food, etc., etc."

Not everyone is in a position to do so. In fact most people are not in a position to do so.

Yeah, I know I could join a community garden, or some such, but who has the time? I don't even cook much at home, so what good would a bunch of labor intensive vegetables* do me?

Come the 'pokylypse, well, then, if I'm not on the run from the cannibals, I'll start a garden, won't have much other choice then, will I?


To quote a great patriot, "We had best hang together, or else we will surely hang separately!" (A paraphrase, B. Franklin, I think.)


*("a bunch of labor intensive vegetables...." hmm, what, or who, could that refer to? Mykil?! Sic.)


And I think I know what a springbox is (the collection box for spring water?) but I'm not absolutely sure. Could you confirm or deny, and further elucidate?


My fantasy for a long time has been to own, and live in, a tidy little house in the midst of a valley surrounded by forested hills, with no neighbor closer than five miles, and no more than a two hour drive to the big city where I have a piedàterre in some funky neighborhood for weekend play. Haven't worked that one out yet. Hence my calling it a fantasy.

And it goes without saying, but I'm going to write it anyway, all of my buildings will be permaculture pristine, sustainable, green, environmentally ethical and hunky-dory, copacetic, etc. when it comes to crunchy ethos! Assuming I can afford all that... Ahh, Fantasy...

Onward,

"F" On!

"Mad" Miles

[alanora]

I wonder how many waccoteers rescued their HagenDaaz upon waking and finding themselves powerless?! Mine was carmel cone...a flavor appreciated by many as evidenced by the fact that sfwy often runs out of it first......I enjoyed Dr.Joy Brown and closures on ksro with my still mostly frozen confection. Mindy

["Mad" Miles]

Dearest Waccopudlians,

In my first account of my recent day, evening and morning without electricity I forgot the most exciting part. This was about 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

While on the phone, I forget to who, actually I think I was about to dial someone, lightening struck just to the north only about one hundred feet away.

The flash was big and the thunder was instantaneous and deafening. Rain wasn't falling, but it was misty and very overcast.

Needless to say I quickly hung up the phone and worried about lightening coursing through my electrical and phone wires.

I can honestly say that that was the closest I've ever been to a lightening strike. I love lightening and thunder, find them very beautiful and exciting.

But this time I was both exhilarated and a wee bit scared.

What fun!





Remind me sometime to recount the night in Brixton while the thunderstorm approached Cowley Housing Estate and Mick and I were up on the metal roof repair scaffolding relishing it's approach.

Of course, our judgement was slightly impaired by the substances we had ingested, but not enough to keep us up there as the rain started and the lightening was getting pretty close.

This was in late June of '81 and the creepy delusions I was having before, during and after our adventure on the roof are the stuff of psychoactive legend!


Work in less than twelve hours. Whoopee....

"Mad" Miles

[Sara S]

Yeah, the springbox collects the water from the spring, and it's up above the house so that the system is gravity-feed, hence no need for a pump.

Good that you got away from your 'phone during the lightning; some neighbors of mine had the phone actually melt during a storm, but I think they were living in a metal trailer at the time...

Dearest Waccopudlians,

In my first account of my recent day, evening and morning without electricity I forgot the most exciting part. This was about 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

While on the phone, I forget to who, actually I think I was about to dial someone, lightening struck just to the north only about one hundred feet away.

The flash was big and the thunder was instantaneous and deafening. Rain wasn't falling, but it was misty and very overcast.

Needless to say I quickly hung up the phone and worried about lightening coursing through my electrical and phone wires.

I can honestly say that that was the closest I've ever been to a lightening strike. I love lightening and thunder, find them very beautiful and exciting.

But this time I was both exhilarated and a wee bit scared.

What fun!





Remind me sometime to recount the night in Brixton while the thunderstorm approached Cowley Housing Estate and Mick and I were up on the metal roof repair scaffolding relishing it's approach.

Of course, our judgement was slightly impaired by the substances we had ingested, but not enough to keep us up there as the rain started and the lightening was getting pretty close.

This was in late June of '81 and the creepy delusions I was having before, during and after our adventure on the roof are the stuff of psychoactive legend!


Work in less than twelve hours. Whoopee....

"Mad" Miles

[nicofrog]

we were out of power in Green Valley for almost a week!
still working on the alternatives! Great chance to check out emergency Camping systems!
I WILL TAKE OLD REFRIGERATOR FOOD FOR COMPOSTING
please empty food from containers and plastic bags into a 5 gal plastic bucket,a lid is good to keep critters and rain out,e mail me with your location and directions for pickup,if its to far I'll let you know.I give advice on composting. If you have no other recourse ,bury your food don't put it in Landfill. Thanks Nico 707 684 0341