Good Morning!!!! 54F @ 5:15AM here in Orcutt, CA. Foggy this morning, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 77F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
I haven't heard anyone ask the question of where all the new electricity demand is coming from. Sun belt states like Texas have seen significant population growth, and that will put more demand on the grid. But that also creates more income for the utilities, income that should have been used to create more capacity. Has that not happened, perhaps because of "green" thiinking? As I recall, the green movement has only had a significant say for the past few years, and as Frits pointed out, construction plans should have been in the making for much longer than that. But the bottom line is this: If you want reliable, 100% always on electricity, you've got to make it yourself. And you won't be saving any money in the process.
Good advise on the power meters, Ken. Also need to make sure that the UL sticker is genuine, too. You can check on their website.
I know a few people that helped found the Burning Man event, and none of them are happy with how it's being run today. I didn't read the Car and Driver article, but the description sounded like tearing up the road through excessive horse power was justifiable. It's not, and behavior like that will only enable the authorities to justify cancelling the event in the future.
Found a used love seat on Facebook Marketplace and picked it up first thing yesterday. The young man that was selling it said he was moving to Thailand, and that his two internet based businesses could be run from anywhere, so why not? I wished him good luck on that adventure. He'd originally priced it at $400, but over the three months it had been for sale, dropped it to a dollar. He said he only paid $20 for it, so that's what I gave him. Figured that he'd need every bit of that and more for his trip.
Had to get the big boots out yesterday and provide some motivation. The guy making the new engine harness for the VW was first on the list. He was just full of apologies, but he's been that way since May. Now he's promising to ship by 9/11, and I've asked for a refund if he doesn't. My motorcycle shop buddy is sure he can fix the old harness, and he may get a chance.
Then it was the bank's turn. I've been trying to get a check cashed that came from the escrow several weeks ago, but the bank insisted it had to be deposited in an account owned by my family trust. No such account existed, so I asked them to create one. And that led to delay after delay and more excuses. The worst part was the horrible behavior of the person responsible, not returning phone calls and not doing what they said they would. I finally went to the branch and cornered him. And shortly thereafter two clerks were getting the account opened. The A-hole never apologized, but he'll be sorry when he has to explain my poor review of his performance. The experience was enough to get me to researching a new bank, but that turned into another case of who do you believe. Forbes thinks US Bank is wonderful, but customer reviews are horrible. None of the national banks get great reviews, either. Just another example of how difficult it is to discipline poor behavior, and how easy it is to get paid while still being an A-hole.
Then it was off to Home Depot to get some paint. They had one poor woman working the paint department, and there was a line of people waiting for her to mix their paint. I just had a couple questions, so I ran down some other items and came back to her. She was helpful, but obviously harried, and only put my bucket on the shaker for a minute or so. I'll know today how good a job she did when I go to stir that five gallon bucket.
After all that running around, I only got one box unpacked yesterday. But it was the one that had accumulated the parts to do several projects, little jobs like longer chains on a ceiling fan or putting away some kitchen utensils. Good for maybe an hour of activity, but at least I felt like I got something material done. And finally got a chance to hook up a larger but older plasma TV to a new AppleTV and an ancient stereo receiver. That was a huge upgrade from the little borrowed LCD and even tinier speaker I have been using here. Tried to get through a movie, but woke up sprawled across the love seat and went to bed before I got to the end. Not a very good movie, and I don't recommend falling asleep on a love seat.
TGIF, gang!
