Where were you when the power went out?

[Artisan]

We were on the way to Long Island for the weekend. Had been listening to CD's the whole way from Philadelphia and only turned on the radio to get a traffic report to decide on the expressway or the parkway after the Verazzano bridge. It was 4:05... Spent the next 2.5 hours on the L.I.E. crossing just Brooklyn. Watched as thousands of people walked across Brooklyn Bridge. Some people were starting run out of gas. We were going to Shelter Island, which only lost power for about 2-3 hours. Along the way there were isolated spots with power. Gave me the impression that the "grid" is not really gridlike more like the web of a retarded spider.

[Dragonfly]

Here's another political problem: centralzed utililities. At one time in a large city, the various counties had utilities offices scattered around the city to serve the community. Because there were management decisions to bring it all together to keep policies 'consistent' throughout an organization, they centralized Utilities into one large facility usually per each state. That concept took off and centralized even further to having most all big decisions and the whole utility centralized into one state; so for instance, Cincinnati Ohio would have all the control for Utilities throughout several states.

It is and was and ever will be a bad bad bad idea. It jeapordizes everything, and creates a 'user unfriendly' environment.

Today, with eveyone having acess to computer networking systems, it's possible to run corporations in a decentralized fashion like in 'the old days', using network systems to keep policies consistent.

If having control is the issue, then the whole thing needs to be revamped.

[Mr.Piccolo22]

At work watching my work for the day disappear from my computer screen. That was a fun day...

[Inquartata]

Well---no, not such a bad idea, really. There are definite economies-of-scale savings, ie lower rates for consumers eventually, to be had from large combines. And it permits generating surpluses and shortages to be traded, smoothing out the peaks and valleys as it were, which makes for more reliability, predictability and again lowers costs ( example: APS in Arizona has generating facilities which produce way too much power for its customers in the winters, which are mild, and too little during the blazing summers; PG & E has the opposite problem; so they trade power, which they could not do if each were operating in autarky ).

It's not only in the US that this interconnection goes on, either---it's the rule in most of the industrialized world...

[Soldier]

Originally posted by rukovsoft
because of the "black out". last time there a blackout occured there was a rise in natality after ...
interesting thing

That might be linked to the post "what would you do at the end of the world"...answer: SHAG

As I've heard it put, "I'd go out with a bang..."


However: You'd be surprised how little gets done at the Academy when email's down because the Outlook servers went with the power. Last year, I guess, they had a serious email problem, and the whole place fell into near-chaos.

It's been really hot here recently, with a lack of air conditioning. Never lost power over more than a small part of the campus, but the air conditioning just decided to quit. Of course, I just spent three weeks at the end of basic out in the desert hell they call Jack's Valley, living in a tent city. So I'm pretty much used to heat all the time, including in full BDUs.

[Zelda]

Hey Solider,
You are at the same place as another of the board members. You aint the same person are you?

[Soldier]

Who, me...?

Naw...

[pkt]

Blame Canada.
Mayor Mike did.
President Dubya did.

Then Uncle Jean (Prime Minister JC) pointed his finger to the Midwest.

Then it was EnergyFirst in Ohio!!!

PK

[arcon]

My lights didnt go out but i saw the lights out from my tv.

What is strange though ....is i called friend of mine in New York about two hours before the blackout. I had nt spoken to him in about 6 months(was out of the country for 4)when i tried to call back during the blackout.......no way.....could not get through.

Zelda, youre right .....all that candlelite......there will be a baby boom in 9 months.