> the scariest thing out there - apart from possibly downed trees and power lines - is other drivers I expected Linus to be more scared by an internet outage than SUVs!
Can an internet outage kill you and your family?
Give IOT time.
Heads up – effectively offline for now
41–50 of 83 posts
Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#42Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#43I cannot imagine losing power for an hour, let alone a week. I grew up in rural Australia and it's completely unfathomable to me that anywhere in the first world could go without power for so long.
Rural Australia has its own extremes, but does it get much severe weather?
I think blizzards, ice storms, tornados, and hurricanes are more common in North America and it's pretty tough to secure infrastructure against those with 100% uptime.
Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I grew up behind the iron curtain and power outages were a given, twice a day. Freezing temperatures in the apartments as well. But that was the Romanian communism and 50 years ago, not the USA today. Today I'm in rural Switzerland and never experienced outages, so I wouldn't accept arguments like "oh but everybody has outages on the countryside".
> "oh but everybody has outages on the countryside". Everybody definitely still has outages in the Romanian countryside now, my parents (who live in the countryside somewhere in South-Eastern Romania) did have one for two or three days when there was that freakish snow-storm around last November - beginning of December. Not to mention the constant light flickering, I'm wondering how come all the electrical appliances…
I honestly don't know if we can compare - is it a matter of extreme events, or being prepared for extreme events? You know there's that running joke in Romania about authorities being surprised that it snows in winter, although I agree the article shows something quite extreme. So, how "rarely" is "rarely", and is it worth preparing for it?
Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#45I live in Portland and power to my house has been out since Saturday at 7am. As of Monday morning there were still >50k households without power.
Much of the power infrastructure here is above ground lines with significant tree coverage. There were over 3000 separate power outages , each that needs repair.
This is not an unexpected outcome, and it does favor the prepared. I have a 42kwh battery system plus 20kw of Solar as well as a generator so I have not been significantly affected. Comcast internet also went down , but I have a Starlink backup link.
If your power comes above ground and you live in a forest, you are going to lose power during a storm… and your house is not going to stay warm when it is 10 degrees F outside.
Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#46I cannot imagine losing power for an hour, let alone a week. I grew up in rural Australia and it's completely unfathomable to me that anywhere in the first world could go without power for so long.
Majority of power lines in many countries are above ground in the air. Eastern seacoast areas in Canada and USA frequently lose power due to high winds - tropical storms or hurricanes making landfall. Similarly Winter blizzards. Thunderstorm do sometimes hit power infrastructure as well. North American grid is famously interconnected and fragile too. I am amazed at the crews that are rapidly dispatched for broken tre…
> Majority of power lines in many countries are above ground in the air
> I am amazed at the crews that are rapidly dispatched for broken trees and downed wires and fix it pretty quickly.
While power lines above the air are more susceptible to disturbances, they are also FAR easier to deal with.
Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#47Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
I grew up behind the iron curtain and power outages were a given, twice a day. Freezing temperatures in the apartments as well. But that was the Romanian communism and 50 years ago, not the USA today. Today I'm in rural Switzerland and never experienced outages, so I wouldn't accept arguments like "oh but everybody has outages on the countryside".
> "oh but everybody has outages on the countryside". Everybody definitely still has outages in the Romanian countryside now, my parents (who live in the countryside somewhere in South-Eastern Romania) did have one for two or three days when there was that freakish snow-storm around last November - beginning of December. Not to mention the constant light flickering, I'm wondering how come all the electrical appliances…
I didn't read the comment as "and this never happens anywhere", but "and when this happens, it's due to shit infrastructure, and you can and should demand better".
If you're in an environment that has strong enough winds to cause issues for power poles... you bury the fucking cables.
Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#49I cannot imagine losing power for an hour, let alone a week. I grew up in rural Australia and it's completely unfathomable to me that anywhere in the first world could go without power for so long.
Now imagine losing power and heat and the ability to drive anywhere in -10 degree weather, while your house slowly gets colder and colder.
Re: Heads up – effectively offline for now
#50I cannot imagine losing power for an hour, let alone a week. I grew up in rural Australia and it's completely unfathomable to me that anywhere in the first world could go without power for so long.
In last year's Montreal ice storm [1] (not rural, the heart of the city), I lost power for upwards of 7 days.