The incredible adventures of Mr and Mrs Peabody

[MrPeabody]

Okay, so we just went on vacation like any normal people do. This may be a long read, but I will try to keep it interesting.

We drove to Las Vegas for a family reunion last weekend. Stopped overnight in both directions in Reno, where we get free rooms and other benefits. Highway 65 from Reno to Vegas is a drive I've always wanted to make and the scenery was indeed beautiful. Perfectly clear weather in both directions but severe headwinds on the return trip. Lots of practice on the art of passing trucks on a two lane highway. Went about 85 mph most of the way.

On the return trip, we know we were returning to a power outage. My wife's sister house and dog sat for us and things went okay. Our clubhouse has a generator, so basic necessities like coffee and cell phone charging were available.

So while in Reno we were thinking this certainly won't be our last power outage due to the idiots that run our power company, we decided that a generator would have to be on the list of appliances that a household should have. I have a grandson who is a small engine expert and motorcycle mechanic and since I know little about generators, we called him from Reno for advice. We figured maybe he could find us a good deal on a used one since he works on them.

He lives in Auburn, which would be on our way home. He called back within minutes and said he found one on Craigslist right in Reno. It's a Honda EU2000. He tells me they sell for $1,400 new and this one could be had for $725, but the guy wanted cash that night for that price. So we went to the casino cashier, got the cash, met the guy at a local gas station and after checking the generator out per my grandson's instructions we made the purchase. The thing looks almost brand new and works fine.

So we get home late yesterday afternoon, and I proceeded to set up the generator. It was able to run my freezer, refrigerator, TV, and a few other miscellaneous things. So got it all working just in time to watch the World Series, which was my goal. So I sit in my chair thinking I'm pretty lucky to have it all set up and feeling rather proud of myself, the game starts, and the power comes back on. Still on.

As for our stay in Las Vegas, we didn't take time for much Vegas type activities, just spent time with family and the reunion was great. I don't like crowded big cities, so for me Vegas is where you would put the hose if you wanted to give the USA an enema.

In before someone says too long, didn't read.

Cliffs. Bought a generator, got it all hooked up and the power immediately came back on after being off for five days.

[DAB]

keep that thing locked up, and have plenty of fuel on hand. i'd have several 5 gallon cans of gas in the garage.

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by DAB

keep that thing locked up, and have plenty of fuel on hand. i'd have several 5 gallon cans of gas in the garage.

True. Although a few local gas stations did manage to stay open during the outage. Plus I can always siphon from my car. I should also mention I was amazed at how quiet the thing is. Others in the neighborhood have generators because they are dependent on medical devices and they are very noisy.

[VITE1]

Do you have gas to heat or cook in your home? It's a 150.00 add on to allow that to be used to fuel your generator.

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by VITE1

Do you have gas to heat or cook in your home? It's a 150.00 add on to allow that to be used to fuel your generator.

No, all electric here. These so called "Public Safety Power Shutdowns" will most likely cease during the winter when it begins raining here and the fire danger goes down. It's the severe winds that happen this time of year that are causing the danger from poorly maintained electrical infrastructure. Seems that huge bonuses for executives and stockholder dividends were more important to the power company for the last few decades.

A small woodburning stove for heat would be a possible option here.

[mrvette]

It's the fault of the enviro nazi green weenies for not allowing ANYONE to cut the foliage away from the power lines....so it grew into an inferno over the years now.....PGE is just caught in the middle, they can't provide power without cross country power lines, those lines are high voltage, can't have tree limbs falling on power lines, and igniting all the crap accumulated on the stone mountains.....SO, it's that damn simple, the growth has to be cut down near the power lines.....DUHHHHHHH

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by mrvette

It's the fault of the enviro nazi green weenies for not allowing ANYONE to cut the foliage away from the power lines....so it grew into an inferno over the years now.....PGE is just caught in the middle, they can't provide power without cross country power lines, those lines are high voltage, can't have tree limbs falling on power lines, and igniting all the crap accumulated on the stone mountains.....SO, it's that damn simple, the growth has to be cut down near the power lines.....DUHHHHHHH

There are no California laws preventing anyone from trimming around power lines. There are 26,000 miles of power lines in Northern California alone. This is no small project once it's been ignored for so long. There are access issues sometimes on private property and the federal government owns most of the forest in California. They (The Feds) do prohibit cutting anything in their forests. Some legislation needs to be passed to address the private property issue. Between The Feds, corporate ownership and private ownership, the state of California owns approximately 1% of the forest in the state.

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

There are no laws preventing anyone from trimming around power lines. There are 26,000 miles of power lines in Northern California alone. This is no small project once it's been ignored for so long. There are access issues sometimes on private property and the federal government owns most of the forest in California. Some legislation needs to be passed to address the private property issue.

Well, how come the issue is one of growth getting now large enough in the last 5 years or so?? what about the previous 50 years?? never hear of Ca. catasstrofe' fires before that, so what changed???

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by mrvette

Well, how come the issue is one of growth getting now large enough in the last 5 years or so?? what about the previous 50 years?? never hear of Ca. catasstrofe' fires before that, so what changed???

Like I said, the board of directors of the power company (PG&E) literally decided that huge bonuses and stockholder dividends were more important. Another thing that changed is massive population growth over the last 50 years and people building where they should not have been allowed to. Fires have always happened here since the dawn of mankind. There is actually a type of pine tree here that requires fire for it's pine cones to eject seeds. If there were not fires here for hundreds of thousands of years those trees would be extinct. That's one of the ways we know fires are nothing new here.

Study the history of the Indians in this state. They knew better than to live in the forests. Probably learned the hard way thousands of years ago like some are learning now.

The next crisis that is beginning is fire insurance being cancelled for thousands of properties, and no new policies being written. My brother has a million dollar house he is trying to sell up in the gold country and nobody will touch it. He still has fire insurance for now, but no one will insure it for a new owner. There is a government subsidized fire insurance, jus like the only place you can get earthquake insurance, but the deductibles are high and it's expensive.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

There are no California laws preventing anyone from trimming around power lines. There are 26,000 miles of power lines in Northern California alone. This is no small project once it's been ignored for so long. There are access issues sometimes on private property and the federal government owns most of the forest in California. They (The Feds) do prohibit cutting anything in their forests. Some legislation needs to be passed to address the private property issue. Between The Feds, corporate ownership and private ownership, the state of California owns approximately 1% of the forest in the state.

What about raking the forests, AKA underbrushing? And what about prescribed, controlled burns when weather conditions are favorable? Why doesn't CA manage its forests the way other states do?

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

What about raking the forests, AKA underbrushing? Why doesn't CA manage its forests the way other states do?

The answer is in my post you quoted. California doesn't own much of the forest here.

[MrPeabody]

Another thing I should mention is my method of freezing water in gallon jugs that I described in a previous thread kept all my food cold for five days, which surprised me. Previously it only needed to work for two days. Last night I cut the jug away from the ice in one of them and the block was still about 90% intact. I busted it up with an ice pick so I had ice for my bourbon.

[snide]

For pics of rented Lambo used to impress the ladies.

[boracayjohnny]

I was watching the Getty fire coverage. The chopper camera zoomed in on the fire fighters in the over growth. The shit was taller than the fire fighters. I'd guess about 10 feet tall. Meanwhile, I seen plenty of homes all in that shit. The last I seen on the home loss count, eight. Moral of the story, if you don't take care of nature, nature will take care of you.

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by snide

For pics of rented Lambo used to impress the ladies.

Only takes a Nissan Sentra if you do everything else right.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

Only takes a Nissan Sentra if you do everything else right.

:breathe:

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by boracayjohnny

I was watching the Getty fire coverage. The chopper camera zoomed in on the fire fighters in the over growth. The shit was taller than the fire fighters. I'd guess about 10 feet tall. Meanwhile, I seen plenty of homes all in that shit. The last I seen on the home loss count, eight. Moral of the story, if you don't take care of nature, nature will take care of you.

At this time of the year, the end of the dry season, the firefighters in my county call it "standing gasoline."

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

Another thing I should mention is my method of freezing water in gallon jugs that I described in a previous thread kept all my food cold for five days, which surprised me. Previously it only needed to work for two days. Last night I cut the jug away from the ice in one of them and the block was still about 90% intact. I busted it up with an ice pick so I had ice for my bourbon.

5 daze the power went out a couple years ago, and I BET that is not possible in FLORIDUH.......

[Datawiz]

Originally Posted by snide

For pics of rented Lambo used to impress the ladies.

[Datawiz]

Originally Posted by MrPeabody

Only takes a Nissan Sentra if you do everything else right.

With show-quality detailing!