Power outage/shutdown in CA

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Tantalum said:
Yeah the tourists ruin Potato Chip rock.. but there are plenty of places off the beaten path without people, you just have to explore and stay away from the Insta spots.. I took this 1.5 hr from San Diego, not a human in site:

Nice! Great view. Washington? Always wanted to do some sailing up there. Granted, I think you'll find that Oregon and Washington also get a fair bit of negative stigma from "some"
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Yea, but 1.5 hours from San Diego by car is like 5 miles. :) Although, honestly I dislike Portland traffic way more than I ever disliked San Diego traffic, that may be the fact that I go up there so rarely I almost never see any traffic any more.

I'm on the Central Oregon coast, chosen to be close to an airport with an ILS, because otherwise there's like 3 days of flying out here.

And, yes, we(the state) have our share of crazies, between Portland, and the rural east. Portland is rapidly becoming like Austin like Austin became Californiaized. The problem is Austin was smart enough to build/improve highways and try and improve infrastructure. Portland is going on the "if we don't build it, maybe they won't come" philosophy and failing dismally.
 
Wondering what everyone is paying for power. Here in Juneau residential Nov thru May is .12/kwh and June thru Oct is .10/kwh.
 
AKBill said:
Wondering what everyone is paying for power. Here in Juneau residential Nov thru May is .12/kwh and June thru Oct is .10/kwh.
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$24.00/month plus usage at flat $0.0774/kWh with no tiers or anything. Oregon Coast, Central Lincoln PUD.
 
geezer said:
...I probably should have capitalized judge, but not in the mood right now.
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My understanding is that there is no rule to capitalize job titles unless they are used together with the person's name.
 
IMG_2153.jpg
 
I have lived in california all my life, the area I live in has no wildfires, landslides etc. I am about 1 & 1/2 hour from the snow or ocean, on a good day. Unfortunately the state is becoming over populated, over regulated and heading down the wrong path for me. Wait until all the legacy costs come home to roost, it’s gonna hit the fan. As soon as my parents pass and I sell my business I’M OUT OF HERE.
 
It just seems crazy- there is no end in sight with no real solution in place.
The approaches of
“Let’s sue the only company that can fix this out of existence and at the same time hit them with crippling over regulation.”
Doesnt seem like it will ever get better.
What’s odd is you don’t read about this happening in other states??
 
benyflyguy said:
What’s odd is you don’t read about this happening in other states??
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Not saying it's not mostly PG&E's fault, but California does actually have some challenges.
Large numbers of people living in or in close proximity to high fire danger areas(Paradise, Santa Rosa, San Diego, etc) and they all want power which means both lines to get the power to the areas, usually through high fire areas, and lines in the areas.

For a counter example, rural Oregon is just that, rural. The parts that can burn have few people(East), and the rural places with people are unlikely to burn(Coastal). We still seem to have plenty of power caused fires, but they're unlikely to have nearly as much human impact.

One interesting question might be how the safety record of the for-profit power companies compares with the not-for-profit companies.
 
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Tantalum said:
Yeah the tourists ruin Potato Chip rock.. but there are plenty of places off the beaten path without people, you just have to explore and stay away from the Insta spots.. I took this 1.5 hr from San Diego, not a human in site:
...
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That picture pretty well describes my impressions of California. Everybody is jammed into a narrow strip along the desirable coastline, and the interior is mostly an empty desert, other than the Central Valley with its irrigated farms. (I have to admit I do like the area east of Sacramento, through Rancho Murieta, Placerville, Grass Valley, into the gold country).
 
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GRG55 said:
That picture pretty well describes my impressions of California. Everybody is jammed into a narrow strip along the desirable coastline, and the interior is mostly an empty desert, other than the Central Valley with its irrigated farms.
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Personally, I think this one sums it up better:
543ACC95-0E91-400C-8EBD-531CFF4D0D5E.jpeg

But that's Santa Monica, not San Diego.
 
chartbundle said:
Not saying it's not mostly PG&E's fault, but California does actually have some challenges.
Large numbers of people living in or in close proximity to high fire danger areas(Paradise, Santa Rosa, San Diego, etc) and they all want power which means both lines to get the power to the areas, usually through high fire areas, and lines in the areas.

For a counter example, rural Oregon is just that, rural. The parts that can burn have few people(East), and the rural places with people are unlikely to burn(Coastal). We still seem to have plenty of power caused fires, but they're unlikely to have nearly as much human impact.

One interesting question might be how the safety record of the for-profit power companies compares with the not-for-profit companies.
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Fair question. Con Edison is one of the predominant power providers for Southern California. You don't hear anything about them because nothing ever happens. Then again, what burns in SoCal.

As I have said before, the "for profit" companies make little to no more than public agencies. Peronaly? I think utilities should be a governmet service. Most are. And this is from someone that started out in a private utility.
 
Sort of sad. I lived in CA, several times, back in the day. Inland Empire, the central valley, and LA. When I've traveled back for work over the years, it seems "eroded" to me; the quality of life just a bit more reduced each time, like traffic, gov't over reach, infrastructure. Still plenty of great things, but nothing that can't be found elsewhere with less pain. If I went back west, it'd be New Mexico, perhaps.
 
Groundpounder said:
This also highlights the disadvantage of EV cars. If you have an ICE car, you can stash a few gas cans in the back of your garage if something like this happens. That is a little harder to do with kilowatts.
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If you like your EV, you can keep your EV. :p

I'm sure one of those natural gas Generacs or a diesel gen rental from Aggreko or CAT will charge that baby right up, while keeping the lights on inside the abode. ;)

Besides, without any power the pumps at the gasoline station won't work either. :mad:
 
GRG55 said:
Besides, without any power the pumps at the gasoline station won't work either. :mad:
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A few of the states in hurricane country require gas stations to have a hookup for a towed generator so fuel is available during an evacuation.

Some of the reporting about the blackouts leaves one with the impression that California is populated by children who are entirely incapable of taking care of themselves. 'OMG, OMG, the power is out, how am I going to charge my cellphone, and it's dark, I can't even find my glasses....'
It's not like these power cuts were not announced in advance. You would think normal humans would pick up a few bags of ice, a charging block and keep a flashlight on their nightstand....
 
kath said:
Nice weather year-round.
Redwood trees.
Good Asian food.
Multiple awesome National Parks.
Lively metropolitan centers with rich diversity and drawing culture and talent from all over the world.
Whales and sea lions.
Abundant fresh produce.
Sailing.
Good Mexican food.
Places where there's never snow.
Places where there is snow, if you want that.
Places where you can find acceptance if you're part of a societal out-group.
Condors.
Sunshine.
Surfing.
No tornadoes.

Well, that's a start, anyway... I grew up here, and adore the Bay Area. Except for the traffic. (Every place has its issues.)
Helps to keep perspective from time to time.
Currently sitting in Berkeley, where power is still on.
Was planning to fly today, but it's too windy. This morning, the air smelled distinctively of smoke, but now it's better.
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There is something missing from this list... just can put my finger on it, but there is something missing...
 
Last time we were in So Cal Mrs. Steingar pointed to all the condos and said folks were piled up like cordwood. Even then, years and years ago, a fire came within a half mile of my in-laws apartment, and they were in the city, not out in the sticks.

Where I live the weather sucks and it's really boring, i.e. it never makes the news. I'm good with that.
 
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1RTK1 said:
I have lived in california all my life, the area I live in has no wildfires, landslides etc. I am about 1 & 1/2 hour from the snow or ocean, on a good day. Unfortunately the state is becoming over populated, over regulated and heading down the wrong path for me. Wait until all the legacy costs come home to roost, it’s gonna hit the fan. As soon as my parents pass and I sell my business I’M OUT OF HERE.
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I feel pretty much the same way about New York, except for the overpopulation part. We're losing population, no doubt due at least in part to the absurdly high taxes. I can do my work anywhere in the Interweb-connected world, so that's not an issue. So once I have no family-related reasons to stay here, I may just pack up and move. It depends how old I am and whether it's worth the bother more than anything else.

I wouldn't head South or West, though. I like having seasons. I'd be more interested in temperate areas with lower taxes and less Big Brother ********. These things can change over time, however, so I have no specific candidates at the moment.

Rich
 
steingar said:
...Where I live the weather sucks and it's really boring, i.e. it never makes the news. I'm good with that.
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This morning we are experiencing the third snowfall of this just started winter, so I guess I shouldn't be too critical of sunny California. :cool:

At this time of year my business partner in Tulsa is fond of asking me "Why does anybody live up there?". I return the favor during tornado season.
 
chartbundle said:
Personally, I think this one sums it up better:
View attachment 79060

But that's Santa Monica, not San Diego.
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..a picture of a crowded beach proves little.. try any beach in any warm area / warm time of year. If you're looking for totally empty beaches you'll need to fly to Tahiti or some other. Incidentally while Boston had 55* temps this past weekend, 25 knot winds, and pouring rain, I spent much of Saturday here on the beach.. I didn't grab a photo because I had better things to do but there was at least 50 yards between me and the next person, and this is South Mission Beach, one of the more popular areas
 
Tantalum said:
Yeah the tourists ruin Potato Chip rock.. but there are plenty of places off the beaten path without people, you just have to explore and stay away from the Insta spots.. I took this 1.5 hr from San Diego, not a human in site:
View attachment 79057


Nice! Great view. Washington? Always wanted to do some sailing up there. Granted, I think you'll find that Oregon and Washington also get a fair bit of negative stigma from "some"
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Your pic reminds me of Dos Cabezas/Coyote Wells area. Reminds of a lot of good times years ago.

I left Kalifornistan years ago, after 3 tours home ported out of there. Went back to visit last year. Holy crap! Its hard to even find our old neighborhood. It has been completely swallowed up by literally miles and miles of low-end cracker box tract homes. Traffic and air quality is much worse than I remember.
 
wilkersk said:
...I left Kalifornistan years ago, after 3 tours home ported out of there. Went back to visit last year. Holy crap! Its hard to even find our old neighborhood. It has been completely swallowed up by literally miles and miles of low-end cracker box tract homes. Traffic and air quality is much worse than I remember.
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Every major city on the west coast is like that now. Used to be nobody wanted to move to Seattle because there were lots of other places in the country with nicer weather. One of my brothers lives just north of the metro in Edmonds, and we have an office near SeaTac. When I go back there now I find everybody I know plans their entire day around the traffic. It's ridiculous. I hear Portland is almost as bad.
 
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GRG55 said:
Every major city on the west coast is like that now.
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Every major city is like that everywhere. Suburban sprawl is an issue no matter what area of the country you live. One of the most depressing areas of the country to fly over occurs while approaching DFW from the northeast.
 
kayoh190 said:
Every major city is like that everywhere. Suburban sprawl is an issue no matter what area of the country you live. One of the most depressing areas of the country to fly over occurs while approaching DFW from the northeast.
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Agree. But I think the coastal geography of places like Seattle and San Fran makes the traffic and mobility issues far worse than the flat land freeways.
 
Everyone is different, I've been to Fullerton drove all over LA area. I had fun but really nothing more relieving than watching the scenery pass by while sitting in a window seat of cattle hauler when I left.

Its a state with great diversity alright, beautiful vacation destination in some areas and the largest humanitarian disaster in the making in others.
 
RJM62 said:
I feel pretty much the same way about New York, except for the overpopulation part. We're losing population, no doubt due at least in part to the absurdly high taxes. I can do my work anywhere in the Interweb-connected world, so that's not an issue. So once I have no family-related reasons to stay here, I may just pack up and move. It depends how old I am and whether it's worth the bother more than anything else.

I wouldn't head South or West, though. I like having seasons. I'd be more interested in temperate areas with lower taxes and less Big Brother ********. These things can change over time, however, so I have no specific candidates at the moment.

Rich
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NY is not losing population. Look at the last two ... censi? And then the estimated population for 2019. It has increased by 1.6 million in the last 19 years. This is a popular myth.

And for that matter, people love to hate NY and California, but they don't mind taking our money. We support half the country. Our taxes are what they are because we have to provide education, health care, infrastructure, and everything else for 25 other states with no taxes. They don't have their own taxes, they just mooch off ours.

Mind you, I'm not complaining. I'll gladly pay what I pay to live in New York. I've lived in "freedom" states before, where the roads and schools suck and the only jobs are at IHOP.
 
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GRG55 said:
Agree. But I think the coastal geography of places like Seattle and San Fran makes the traffic and mobility issues far worse than the flat land freeways.
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Ah I see. I agree with that.
 
Anytime anyone posts about California, the thread takes a predictable turn - usually along political lines. But the way I see it, the crap happening in cities in CA and along the west coast is already happening to cities everywhere. It's just happening in CA first. Talk to someone in Denver and you'll start hearing the same complaints about crowding, housing costs, homelessness, nanny state legislation and taxes. How much "it's changed." Austin. Nashville. Charlotte. Same thing.

So when I see people making the same predictable posts about how horrible CA is, unless that person is living in BFE they better take a good look because that same stuff is coming to their city whether they like it or not. :)
 
mryan75 said:
NY is not losing population. Look at the last two ... censi? And then the estimated population for 2019. It has increased by 1.6 million in the last 19 years. This is a popular myth.

And for that matter, people love to hate NY and California, but they don't mind taking our money. We support half the country. Our taxes are what they are because we have to provide education, health care, infrastructure, and everything else for 25 other states with no taxes. They don't have their own taxes, they just mooch off ours.
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It depends who you ask.

https://www.democratandchronicle.co...york-population-loss-steepest-u-s/2362167002/

Of course, a lot depends on how many people actually answer the census, which is debatable at best. But then again, those who don't answer the census probably aren't in a position to be turned off by high taxes, either.

Rich
 
kayoh190 said:
So when I see people making the same predictable posts about how horrible CA is, unless that person is living in BFE they better take a good look because that same stuff is coming to their city whether they like it or not. :)
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What I find interesting is how much of California is rural, compared to perception. Even when you look at the fire areas, much of the area burned is forest, with only occasional structures. The news gets more ominous when the fires approach towns and cities.
 
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