Frozen In…..
Back to the above ground electric lines….. Here, in Oklahoma, they are on the ground…. Over 600,000 customers without power, which includes yours truly since Sunday night around 10 pm….. That’s households and businesses, not people…. You would need to multiply by 2 or 3 or so to get a ballpark figure on the number of actual people affected by this….. Needless to say, I’m very irritated at the power companies….. I don’t care how much it would cost to place the lines underground, I think it would be cheaper in the long run, and, around here I think that would be a short run….. we have had major outages 7 times this year….. The most critical time that you need power and it’s guaranteed you won’t…. Arghhh!
I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be posting few and far between until I have power back at the HQ, which, by the way, has a huge 30 foot branch of a hickory tree laying on top of it….. The cause of all this is a major ice storm, which is still going on, with 3″ to 6″ of snow predicted for this week-end….. I really don’t expect power to be back up for at least 7-10 days…. I am using the computer at work to post this and might just have to move in here as the power is still on…… So, it’s up to those of you with power to keep things going….. I’ll post when I can…..
December 12th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Abandon all hope. Catch a plane up here where our water is not frozen, just flooding.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I’ve already abandoned all hope, and, I would love to do that very thing, unfortunately, if I could get a booking, they are very few flights in or out…… I hope it’s clear enough for my flight on the 24th….. That would make me very unhappy if it gets canceled…… Come and rescue me, Anon……
December 12th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
I’m sending a dog sled today. Pack your things.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Randalf is now in the tree and brush removal business. I would appreciate it if any of you guys around OKC would spread the word. I’m pretty busy already, but as of now (10pm wednesday) I can still get a few more jobs in before Christmas. I can be reached at; (405)
692-3875. I’m used to working in the snow. Between my remodeling work and the ice storm, I’m as busy as a three-legged cat in a sandbox, but I guess that was the reason I moved back here. MR, me and my trusty chainsaw could do some pro bono work for you. Give me a call if that hickory branch is “getting your goat”.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
We were forecast to have the same bad ice 300 miles north of you and a day later, but it ended up being 33 degF during the strongest precip. Dodged that bullet. Stay warm and keep the powder dry.
December 14th, 2007 at 9:39 am
This is Friday the 14th – Five days and counting – Still no power and no indication of when it will be back on…… I think I’m in the lowest priority area in the OKC Metro….. There are still around 140,000 customers in OKC without power….. This would all be cool and fun if I had electric….. I could go out and play in the ice and snow and then come in, kick back, watch the tube and forget about it….. Thank you, OG&E – Power to the people – just not when you need it!…. Oh, well, what can you do?…. On top of all of this, it looks as if they are going to be right about the snowstorm that is due to hit this afternoon dropping 3″ to 6″ inches of snow on top of all the un-melted ice….. It was Tuesday before I could cut and move enough downed branches to get my Raider out….. RtG, I did get the Hickory tree off the HQ with the help of a chainsaw, a chain and my 4WD Raider…. Yanked that thing right off of there and sawed it up….. Still have acres of downed trees though….
December 15th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Did you guys get hit again?
December 15th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Everyone, I talked to MR this morning, and still no relief in sight. The city did not have more Ice storms this day but the snow was falling when I talked to him. Is is staying with a friend for the time being and dreaming of his flight out on the 24th. I agree with him totally about the power lines being buried. The Electric co. told the Corp Comm that it would cost several millions to do so which is utter BS. It was just a ploy to bilk more money out of us poor consumers. I don’t know how they get around the anti trust laws since we have no other option to choose from. anyhoo stay warm everyone and keep us in your thoughts this weekend.
December 16th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
I spent the early afternoon helping to get the HQ back on it’s feet. Power has been restored, and phone service is rigged up for the time being. MR will be back in HQ tomorrow, leaving his super secret alternative bat cave. Still a lot of work to do, it looks like a bomb went off out there. So RtG when you get caught up trimming trees on the other side of town we have a lot of work for you at the MR central Campus.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
OG&E gets around the anti-trust laws by being a utility who’s rates are regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. I don’t know if this is still the case, but I was reading up on the OCC a number of years ago when J.C. Watts was a member and was taking wads of cash under the table, and at that time, Oklahoma utilities were guaranteed a 13% profit. If this is still the case, I don’t know why they wouldn’t want to bury all the lines, pass the cost on to us and still make their guaranteed profit. Seems like a no-brainer.
December 18th, 2007 at 7:54 am
As J.J. commented, the power is finally back on at the HQ and I have a temp phone line ran to it…… Got to sleep in my own bed last night for the first time since Sunday the 9th….. Still have stuff all over the place since I stayed at two different locations during the week-long ice siege….. I am now trying to get ready for my Seattle trip on the 24th…… Busy, Busy, Busy….. Will try to Post something before I head out to the Great NorthWest….