Back to The Thirties

Saturday 2:28 AM

Xwindowsjunkie Power & Light is running. Standard AC power went down at about 2AM. Reliant Energy wasn't so we've dropped back to the 1930's. That's when a lot of farms in the US were running generators if they were wealthy or candles and oil lamps if not.

We've gotten a lot of wind, little rain, the eye of the storm has just slipped most of the leading arc over the island of Galveston and is now working its way towards Houston.

The computer seems to not mind its power coming from a gasoline powered generator.

Saturday 7:00 AM

NOAA weather radar shows the eye well north of Houston so we're now on the bottom side of the storm. I and the family slept through the eye-transit.

It looks like I'll be running on the generator for some time. Its been running for nearly 5 hours. The TV news reporters just reported that Reliant Energy, the primary power distributor, reports that they've lost 99% of their customers through outages. Entergy another major supplier in the area is likewise "powerless". This was not from the satellite receiver. I've been "watching" TV by staying connected to the streaming video. That 99% number means that they have been talking to themselves for the most part!

Winds are up to 75 mph and gusting to over 100 mph. I've been hearing lots of bangs and booms as branches bang on the roof. Wind howling for the most part has been buried in the loud droning noise from the generator. That was an unexpected generator benefit! Its out on the back patio about 15 feet away with the power connections snaked through the dog door and under the cover. Its currently being water-cooled.