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Six Days in the Dark

tonyyo11.github.io

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Re: Six Days in the Dark

#41

Post by swiftcoder »

01HNNWZ0MV43FF wrote: post #28
reillyse wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jam is generally shelf stable. The sugar is really good at killing bacteria (deprives them of water iirc).

Huh! If "shelf-stable" means "refrigerate after opening" then yeah. But I'm confused whether it's "refrigerate optional" like ketchup https://www.marthastewart.com/8269604/should-you-refrigerate... > You can technically store opened jams and jellies at room temperature—but only in a cool, dark place and for about a week after opening, says Lee. Here's why: Jams and jellies have high sugar and acid levels, which prote…

I grew up on a boat with no refrigeration, and we kept open jars of jams for several months. As long as you don't contaminate it (don't use the same knife for multiple condiments!), it's generally fine.

Same thing with jars of Mayonnaise - that one gets you strange looks.

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#42

Post by franga2000 »

mk_stjames wrote: post #4

Post wants to talk about money spent and smart ways to prepare... and then goes and links the portable battery system used and it is a 4kwh battery+inverter+solar charger combo with a few 200W solar panels that costs... get this.. $4399. These stupid 'home battery' units are just stupidly, stupidly marked up for what they do. You can buy a ~5.2 kwh 48v battery for People are getting fleeced by these cutely packaged b…

They definitely don't make any sense for home battery storage, but the vast majority of even electrical engineers couldn't build something as reliably portable as these things. We used one of the bigger ones on a film shoot to power pretty much everything but the camera out in the field (literally in a field) and I wouldn't have even considered a DIY option. Even something as simple as weathersealing is surprisingly hard to get right and I doubt most even experienced electrical engineers could achieve these absurdly fast charging rates safely.

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#43

Post by brianpan »

mindslight wrote: post #27
reillyse wrote: post #10

This all seems like an insane overreaction. I question what gets someone into this level of panic. Just chill out for a couple of days and enjoy reading some books and have an adventure. Unless you’ve got a medical emergency and need to have power for some devices just relax and wait for the power to be reconnected. I get that there are emergencies in the world but not having power at home is an inconvenience.

I would guess the biggest stressor is having kids. Also wanting light to be able to see at night, which we've become accustomed to. And wanting communication to the larger world which we've become very accustomed to (and we can bemoan this as much as we want, but still can't deny it's a thing). Then not wanting to waste the various stocked up food in the fridge/freezer. You could forgo this and consider it lost, but…

100%

I lost power for a few days because of a downed power line in my backyard. The stress comes because all the "automatic" decisions that were made by organizing a system for your life fall apart. And you are overwhelmed by needing to continuously make new, suboptimal decisions and balancing trade-offs multiplied by the size of your family. And all your neighbors are trying to make the same decisions with the same lack of infrastructure.

Check into a hotel so the kids can have internet to do homework? Nope, hotels are already booked or also in the dark. Find somewhere farther from school and work and on top of that also puts more pressure on EV charging times? Ugh.

We were fortunate to have so many resources to help us and thankfully no one was injured, but even then, it was the most stressful week of my life in a long, long time.

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#44

Post by teekert »

What would be the reason to get batteries that are so much more expensive and have much less capacity than the generator? They’re cleaner and easier to use/maintain. But for quite a short term, right?

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#45

Post by mindslight »

decimalenough wrote: post #34
rconti wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And $600 to rent a pickup (!!) to haul a generator that looks like it would fit in the back seat of a Civic.

OP had two cars, but they were both trapped under downed power lines. $600 is still ridiculous though.

If I wanted to come out balls-swinging like half the comments in this thread, I'd point out that those are likely just 170 volt power lines, and you could just take a length of dry plastic pipe and maybe some improvised arc flash protection and just move them. But there are damn good reasons why we repeat the mantra to not go near any downed power lines, especially in emergency situations where ad-hoc solutions tend to compound problems.

I'm thankful for OP writing up his experience. Did he do some ridiculous things due to stress? Yes! The whole point of writing it up is so that others can learn from it with cool heads, to avoid repeating those mistakes.

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#47

Post by prmoustache »

cryptonector wrote: post #29
rconti wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. Most people don't have a generator because they're on the grid, and no power is not life and death for them. If it _is_ life and death, sure, get a generator.

In February, 2021, it was close to life or death for millions in Texas. We probably still don't know how many died.

This is overly exaggerated. Access to electricity is a must for a minority of people with medical need but it doesn't account for millions of people in Texas.

The key points for survival is access to non contaminated water, shelter and food. Lack of electricity is only an annoyance.

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#48

Post by 000ooo000 »

reillyse wrote: post #19
nancyminusone wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Am I alone in thinking it's a bit silly to be concerned about breathing in 6 extra days of naturally occuring radon, of all things? It's cool that we can get these air sensors things, but they sure give people who worry about numbers some additional ones to worry about.

I really wonder if there is something else at play here. None of this is normal behavior and it's very strange for it to be normalized. Day 4 no more deliveries but we still have takeout! For real, you can still order food from your local restaurants and you are in a panic about things. Instead of spending $4,500 on a generator you'll never use again maybe just pack the kids in a car an go to the beach for the weeken…

This absolutely reeks of privilege

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#49

Post by dfe »

Animats wrote: post #20

This is the new normal in the US. FEMA is being dismantled.[1] Until a few years ago, being prepared for loss of services for 48 hours was considered sufficient. That's not enough any more, because there will be much less help coming from outside the area. [1] https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/politics/fema-payments-staffi...

As someone who lived through a flood caused by a hurricane, without power for 10 days, I have first-hand experience with FEMA.

Some fat-ass government worker showed up with a tablet, checked a bunch of boxes on an electronic form to gather statistics on all the damage, gave us some information on government-backed loans, then left. This about 2 or 3 days after.

I will never forget how absolutely useless FEMA was.

Re: Six Days in the Dark

#50

Post by prmoustache »

reillyse wrote: post #10

This all seems like an insane overreaction. I question what gets someone into this level of panic. Just chill out for a couple of days and enjoy reading some books and have an adventure. Unless you’ve got a medical emergency and need to have power for some devices just relax and wait for the power to be reconnected. I get that there are emergencies in the world but not having power at home is an inconvenience.

Also, the authot mention sharing power from his newly purchased generator but doesn't seem to take account of mutualization of resources and solidarity.

Peopke can talk in a neighbprhiod and plan accordingly. Not everyone need a power generator, more than one family can cook from the same gas stove, etc etc

Even when total devastation happen, the radius tend to be limited and unless you live in a small island you can always find food/water and medical supply within a day of walking/cycling from the epicenter if no one is injured. When the DANA brought devastation in an area around Valencia in Spain, people would tak their bike from the main city to bring essential medical supplies to people living in places that weren't drivable too. So sure I always keep several liters of water and a few days worth of non perishable food at home, as well as a portable gas stove and a water filter I bought for hiking trips, but I would have no issue relocating me and my family for a while if needed. Adults and teenagers can easily carry 50kg worth of stuff with something as simple as a bicycle they push by hand, like people in congo do with much more capable chukudus. Electricity would be the least of my concerns.

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