Topic: How is the weather?

[MusicTurner]

and yet another one, a tiny, frescoed church  at Vrangstrup dating back to the 13th century.

[Spotted Horses]

Yeah, he's doing as good a job as the situation will allow. People who are blaming him for this shit are way off base. I'm not a fan of his, but he can only play the cards he is dealt, and it's a pretty bad hand right now.    But the Feds are doing a lot to help, and Biden had already sent them in last Saturday, the day before the storms hit. So FEMA was already on the ground here when the bad stuff started. That is what we were talking about, do you think it would have been that way if it was 3 months ago? We would STILL be waiting for assistance, I expect.

Except for the bit about going on Fox News and blaming it on Windmills and the Green New Deal...

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yeah, he's doing as good a job as the situation will allow. People who are blaming him for this shit are way off base. I'm not a fan of his, but he can only play the cards he is dealt, and it's a pretty bad hand right now.    But the Feds are doing a lot to help, and Biden had already sent them in last Saturday, the day before the storms hit. So FEMA was already on the ground here when the bad stuff started. That is what we were talking about, do you think it would have been that way if it was 3 months ago? We would STILL be waiting for assistance, I expect.

Despite your comment, as you had brought up earlier, that your state had voted for him?     

[Gurn Blanston]

Despite your comment, as you had brought up earlier, that your state had voted for him?     

We voted for the Giant Orange Turd. I think he would have helped out here, after a suitable amount of time to allow the Gov to beg a bit. But no, I was thinking about the Blue states, or any territories. It only took 3 years for him to release funds to Puerto Rice, even though Congress had allocated them. They didn't suck up hard enough, plus brown-skinned people are notoriously pro-Dem...

[Gurn Blanston]

Except for the bit about going on Fox News and blaming it on Windmills and the Green New Deal...

Yeah, on the first day he was sadly misinformed. He did correct himself later though, and seemed more than a little pissed about having been told all that and repeating it. He did some local interviews here (Tyler) that were substantially different from what was reported from Faux News (which I admit I didn't see, only heard about).

[T. D.]

https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-winter-storms-2021/2021/02/21/969912613/after-days-of-mass-outages-some-texas-residents-now-face-huge-electric-bills
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-20/texas-homes-slammed-with-thousand-dollar-bills-after-winter-woe

Looks like quite a few Texans rolled the dice on risky power deals and got hosed:

After enduring a wretched week of Arctic storms, hunger and cold, several Texans lucky enough to have power were handed another pain point -- massive electricity bills.

Houston resident David Astrein, 36, a human resources director at a manufacturing company, said he’s been charged $2,738.66 for 20 days this month versus $129.85 for the whole of January for a three-bedroom home with a detached garage. He and his wife stopped using their dishwasher, washer and dryer, and turned on as few lights as possible at night. They kept the heat on for their 5-month old son.

His bill for the month is set to exceed $3,000, according to his provider Griddy Energy.

Astrein is one of a swath of consumers facing sky-high payments in the aftermath of the storm -- many took to social media to show electricity bills ranging as high as $8,000. According to their screen shots, most are customers of Griddy, a supplier with a unique business model.

The Macquarie Energy-backed company charges electricity based on real-time prices in wholesale power markets, therefore exposing consumers to the full swings. Griddy saw the problem developing and even urged its retail customers last weekend to switch to another provider. By Sunday last week, 20% managed to do so. But not Astrein.

“We were stuck with Griddy and those astronomical prices,” he said by phone. “The failure in Texas as a whole to plan for this adequately is now a financial emergency for all of these customers on a program like Griddy.”

[Mirror Image]

Do not ever underestimate the power of a storm whether it be a snowstorm, a tropical storm, etc. For those that may remember (or not), back in 2017 Hurricane Irma came barreling through NE Georgia even though it was downgraded to a tropical storm, it brought intense wind gusts that blew for two days straight (plus rain on top of all this wind). During the first night of these wind gusts, a neighbor’s tree was uprooted (quite possibly a microburst) and slammed into one of our trees thus creating a domino effect which landed right on the front of our house. Significant damage was caused and thousands of dollars of repairs (thank goodness for home insurance), but had the tree actually gone all the way through the house, my father and I would have died as my room and his office are two rooms in front of the house that got hit. We’re very fortunate nothing catastrophic happened, but it was a mess and we did lose a few material things (which thankfully could be replaced). To those members and everyone out in Texas who have been affected by this winter storm, I feel your pain and understand the hardships it brought. Things will get better in time as they say that time is a great healer and I honestly believe this to be the case.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-winter-storms-2021/2021/02/21/969912613/after-days-of-mass-outages-some-texas-residents-now-face-huge-electric-bills
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-20/texas-homes-slammed-with-thousand-dollar-bills-after-winter-woe

Looks like quite a few Texans rolled the dice on risky power deals and got hosed:

After enduring a wretched week of Arctic storms, hunger and cold, several Texans lucky enough to have power were handed another pain point -- massive electricity bills.

Houston resident David Astrein, 36, a human resources director at a manufacturing company, said he’s been charged $2,738.66 for 20 days this month versus $129.85 for the whole of January for a three-bedroom home with a detached garage. He and his wife stopped using their dishwasher, washer and dryer, and turned on as few lights as possible at night. They kept the heat on for their 5-month old son.

His bill for the month is set to exceed $3,000, according to his provider Griddy Energy.

Astrein is one of a swath of consumers facing sky-high payments in the aftermath of the storm -- many took to social media to show electricity bills ranging as high as $8,000. According to their screen shots, most are customers of Griddy, a supplier with a unique business model.

The Macquarie Energy-backed company charges electricity based on real-time prices in wholesale power markets, therefore exposing consumers to the full swings. Griddy saw the problem developing and even urged its retail customers last weekend to switch to another provider. By Sunday last week, 20% managed to do so. But not Astrein.

“We were stuck with Griddy and those astronomical prices,” he said by phone. “The failure in Texas as a whole to plan for this adequately is now a financial emergency for all of these customers on a program like Griddy.”

Good Lord! 

Do not ever underestimate the power of a storm whether it be a snowstorm, a tropical storm, etc. For those that may remember (or not), back in 2017 Hurricane Irma came barreling through NE Georgia even though it was downgraded to a tropical storm, it brought intense wind gusts that blew for two days straight (plus rain on top of all this wind). During the first night of these wind gusts, a neighbor’s tree was uprooted (quite possibly a microburst) and slammed into one of our trees thus creating a domino effect which landed right on the front of our house. Significant damage was caused and thousands of dollars of repairs (thank goodness for home insurance), but had the tree actually gone all the way through the house, my father and I would have died as my room and his office are two rooms in front of the house that got hit. We’re very fortunate nothing catastrophic happened, but it was a mess and we did lose a few material things (which thankfully could be replaced). To those members and everyone out in Texas who have been affected by this winter storm, I feel your pain and understand the hardships it brought. Things will get better in time as they say that time is a great healer and I honestly believe this to be the case.

So sorry to hear of the damage to your house.  And glad that your parents had insurance and that no one was hurt; alas, not everyone who goes through various types of storms, earthquakes, etc., has insurance.  And as Gurn brought up recently, aid in its various forms can be slow to arrive....and often too late to have averted more deaths and needless suffering.

PD

[Spotted Horses]

“We were stuck with Griddy and those astronomical prices,” he said by phone. “The failure in Texas as a whole to plan for this adequately is now a financial emergency for all of these customers on a program like Griddy.”[/i]

No one compelled him to pick that company, instead of a company that provided a contracted price. He exposed himself to huge risk in return for routinely lower prices. The deregulated environment allowed him to do something profoundly stupid.

All that notwithstanding, the governor has reportedly called the legislature into session to take the socialist measure of having the state assume the burden of those high bills. Imagine that, Socialism in Texas.

[T. D.]

No one compelled him to pick that company, instead of a company that provided a contracted price. He exposed himself to huge risk in return for routinely lower prices. The deregulated environment allowed him to do something profoundly stupid.

All that notwithstanding, the governor has reportedly called the legislature into session to take the socialist measure of having the state assume the burden of those high bills. Imagine that, Socialism in Texas.

As I originally posted, he "rolled the dice on a risky power deal".
In my state (NY, which is of course far from TX in many ways), floating-rate power deals are notorious scams*. Sold on commission by dopes who pretend to be from the local utility and don't know anything about their product, generally have nasty increases after a "teaser rate" period. I've gotten cold calls from such peddlers and briefly amused myself (before hanging up) by asking them to explain the formula by which their rate floats and prove that it offered savings. 

*Also alleged by TX parties in the NPR article I posted.

[Mirror Image]

So sorry to hear of the damage to your house.  And glad that your parents had insurance and that no one was hurt; alas, not everyone who goes through various types of storms, earthquakes, etc., has insurance.  And as Gurn brought up recently, aid in its various forms can be slow to arrive....and often too late to have averted more deaths and needless suffering.

PD

Thanks, PD. The problem was the waiting on the insurance to cough up the money to pay for the repairs. During that time, there was quite a large hole in the frontside of our house, which a tarp had been stapled down. We went through December with a lot of cold air coming through the front of the house. Thank goodness for heaters as our central heat and air couldn’t stop these cold wind drifts.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

and yet another one, a tiny, frescoed church  at Vrangstrup dating back to the 13th century.

Do you still have that lovely warm weather MT?  I just went for a nice walk yesterday.  It was bright and sunny here and not bitterly cold.  Felt good to be outside.  And I was fortunate to see my local hawks too so that put me in a good mood. 

PD

[BWV 1080]

Survived the polar vortex in Houston and was back swimming in the backyard yesterday.   Giving myself a big pat on the back for coughing up the do-re-mi to replace my old galvanized pipe with pex a couple of years ago - had a few freeze and thaw without any issues

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Survived the polar vortex in Houston and was back swimming in the backyard yesterday.   Giving myself a big pat on the back for coughing up the do-re-mi to replace my old galvanized pipe with pex a couple of years ago - had a few freeze and thaw without any issues

Smart guy!  And swimming?!  How warm is it there now?

PD

[MusicTurner]

Do you still have that lovely warm weather MT?  I just went for a nice walk yesterday.  It was bright and sunny here and not bitterly cold.  Felt good to be outside.  And I was fortunate to see my local hawks too so that put me in a good mood. 

PD

Yes, and we needed it now, it should be warm for about a week, and possibly more ... temperatures around 15 C in February are very unusual. Speaking of birds, yes, they're becoming more visible now, we saw two majestic cranes flying high above the pictured river, and I talked quite a bit with two birders, who were looking for colourful kingfishers there, but hadn't seem any yet ...  also glimpses of hawks, deer and a hare in the countryside ...  I personally hope that the winter is over, since from the 1st of March I'll have to work quite a lot outdoors for about two months, provided work schedules etc. go as planned.

The extreme Texas weather stories of course also made headlines here. At times, it's a small world these days.

[BWV 1080]

Smart guy!  And swimming?!  How warm is it there now?

PD

70, but heated the pool to 84

[Pohjolas Daughter]

70, but heated the pool to 84

Sounds wonderful!  Enjoy!

PD

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Survived the polar vortex in Houston and was back swimming in the backyard yesterday.   Giving myself a big pat on the back for coughing up the do-re-mi to replace my old galvanized pipe with pex a couple of years ago - had a few freeze and thaw without any issues

Good to see your report.  Well done!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

It's freezing here!  Glad, knock on wood, that plumbing is doing o.k.  One of the times in particular when I really miss my two cats (body heat).

How are the rest of you doing?

[MusicTurner]

It's freezing here!  Glad, knock on wood, that plumbing is doing o.k.  One of the times in particular when I really miss my two cats (body heat).

How are the rest of you doing?

Ouch. When do you expect Spring? Is the river scenery nearby wintery?

It's still rather mild here in DK, but we'll probably have to wait say 3 weeks for any tiny, early signs of blossoming and the oncoming foliage ... on the ground, winter aconites and small snowdrops have been around for long, though, but they're the only ones ...