Discombobulated

[digitS']

To ire of many, Perry claims Texans would suffer blackouts to avoid feds

Former Texas governor Rick Perry suggests that going days without power is a sacrifice...

www.houstonchronicle.com

 

[Ridgerunner]

Steve, when we temporarily relocated to Houston after Hurricane Katrina we had 10 different electric power suppliers to choose from. As that article says, Texas keeps it's power grid entirely in-state so it doesn't have to follow Federal guidelines, and self-regulates. It's pretty much the wild west where different electric companies compete for your business. One result is low rates. One result is that they don't do any more maintenance than they have to or else they'd have to raise rates. Another result is that they don't have the Federally mandated excess capacity to handle emergencies. Texas is not the only state with rolling brownouts or blackouts, this was an unusual event down here. Louisiana had some problems too. The reason Texas is in the news so much more is that the other states were better prepared because of the federal regulations requiring them to be. That's one result of deregulation. Rates are lower but reliability drops. It's a tradeoff.

Part of their ability to avoid federal regulations is that the natural gas pipelines that supply a lot of their power plants are also all in-state. That's also a decent part of their problem. Some natural gas pipelines froze up so they could not supply the fuel to some power plants. I worked in the oil patch for over 3 decades, some of that on gas pipelines and gas transmission piping and compressors. I believe that they could freeze up because of the weather. But you say that natural gas pipelines don't freeze up way up north where these temperatures or below are normal. No they don't because you design for it. But that costs money. Companies don't spend money unless they have to. Some wind turbines had issues too but that's not where the greatest loss of power came from. But people that don't like green power will of course try to put the whole blame there. Why be honest, that might force you to find an honest solution.

So what do I think will happen in Texas. Democrats and Republicans will point fingers at each other and make false claims. Everybody will score political points off of the Texas regulators. There will be a lot of shouting and posturing, but nobody will do anything. Nothing will change because that would lead to higher rates. So everybody will score what points they can but be happy when it all blows over and hope the next event that tests their system doesn't happen on their watch. That's a pretty common formula. I see it in New Orleans all the time, especially with the Sewage and Water Board because of the heavy rains we see.

As seldom as these events happen it may not be that bad of a formula, it depend on how soon the next event happens. Unless you happen to be one of those that suffers substantial loss, like the loss of life as has happened. I'm glad I'm not one of the people making those decisions, it is not an easy one to make. There is going to be some hardship and loss of life in these freak events no matter what you do.

 

[flowerbug]

...
As seldom as these events happen it may not be that bad of a formula, it depend on how soon the next event happens. Unless you happen to be one of those that suffers substantial loss, like the loss of life as has happened. I'm glad I'm not one of the people making those decisions, it is not an easy one to make. There is going to be some hardship and loss of life in these freak events no matter what you do.

an entirely too realistic assessment of the situation IMO. sad, but true.

 

[digitS']

Last Sunday I asked my young granddaughter "Do you know what day tomorrow is?" She replied that it would be President's Day. Pretty good for one so young. I then asked what is President's Day. She said that's when the president comes out of the White House. If he sees his shadow we are in for another year of BS.

Good to know my son and his wife discuss politics in front of their kids.

@Ridgerunner ,

"Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you."

~ L. Mosley

Steve

 

[Marie2020]

One Half of 2020

US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting.

apnews.com

Thank you for sharing

 

[flowerbug]

One Half of 2020

US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a staggering one year during the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic caused its first wave of deaths, health officials are reporting.

apnews.com

i hadn't had a chance to look at this closer until a few minutes ago. wow, what a sad statement about our society as a whole beyond the deaths themselves. i hope we can do better for the future.

 

[flowerbug]

MI continuing the trend in the right direction:

2/18

866

220

110

536

44,800

15,273

1.93%

833

for vaccinations:

almost 12% have first dose almost 6% have had their 2nd dose.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

My Grandson went back to middle school today. First time there.

My Granddaughter goes back to High School in 1.5 weeks. First time to be there.

 

[digitS']

Ninth grade might have been rather tough for me, certainly the few years prior so I have empathy for that middle school kid. By the 10th and beyond, adjustments were easier.

That's me, I don't know about the girls and what they might have to adjust to, @Rhodie Ranch .

For a kid who lived on a farm for more than half of my childhood, I had the rather unusual experience of going to 4 different schools with different classmates before I graduated from high school. In college, I had the absolutely surreal experience of meeting someone that I went to high school with 1,000 miles away. We met in a hallway. Totally unexpected and I didn't really know either him (younger than me) or his older brother (older than me). So many years around kids that I didn't know and then going home a mile from town probably set me up to be something of a recluse. And, that I am.

Steve

 

[digitS']

I was reading an article about virtual training for empathy. Ain't that something?!

Well, it works for companies like this: they pay for the one-on-one classes for employees who require a good understanding of the clients that they interact with. The classes are with the employee and a "virtual" other - animation!

The programing is such that the other is able to respond to how the student interacts. There were actors behind the programing and responses are anticipated and guided by the programing of the virtual clients. Apparently, more and more companies are signing up employees for this training. It boggles my mind that this is 21st century reality ...

Steve