Skip to content

New Ice Age!!

Political Discussion
103 13 2.8k
  • @canton-dawg said:

    We’re currently experiencing a “Solar Minimum”.

    The MMGW won’t admit that big ball of fire called the sun, ultimately determines the temps on this 3rd rock.

    Exactly true. Brother in law in Fort Worth called - said -1 degree chill factor, and rolling blackouts - they lost power last night, got it back, and then it went out again. Their house is down to 58 degrees.... I hope we don't have that up here. I'll have to go restock the firewood in the rack......

    @calfoxwc said:

    Exactly true. Brother in law in Fort Worth called - said -1 degree chill factor, and rolling blackouts - they lost power last night, got it back, and then it went out again. Their house is down to 58 degrees.... I hope we don't have that up here. I'll have to go restock the firewood in the rack......

    They aren't ready for the cold down there.  Up here we rarely get power outages in the winter.  

  • @calfoxwc said:

    Exactly true. Brother in law in Fort Worth called - said -1 degree chill factor, and rolling blackouts - they lost power last night, got it back, and then it went out again. Their house is down to 58 degrees.... I hope we don't have that up here. I'll have to go restock the firewood in the rack......

    They aren't ready for the cold down there.  Up here we rarely get power outages in the winter.  

    @diehardbrownsfan said:

    They aren't ready for the cold down there.  Up here we rarely get power outages in the winter.  

    Many years ago, we were done in Texas, and went to see this really fancy shopping mall./lodge.... and it snowed a tiny bit - and a lot of kids in the open area ran out to see the snow. They were amazed to see it.

       Now, they are getting a LOT of snow. and dangerously cold weather. Sadly, a lot of folks are in danger - they aren't used to those temps and the snow. Here, the worst has been a temporary blip with electricity going out.

    Always fixed before ya know it. A big storm in coming in, I will be hoping for a blizzard because I will be using my beautiful cool snow blower again. lol

  • @canton-dawg said:

    We’re currently experiencing a “Solar Minimum”.

    The MMGW won’t admit that big ball of fire called the sun, ultimately determines the temps on this 3rd rock.

    Exactly true. Brother in law in Fort Worth called - said -1 degree chill factor, and rolling blackouts - they lost power last night, got it back, and then it went out again. Their house is down to 58 degrees.... I hope we don't have that up here. I'll have to go restock the firewood in the rack......

    @calfoxwc said:

    Exactly true. Brother in law in Fort Worth called - said -1 degree chill factor, and rolling blackouts - they lost power last night, got it back, and then it went out again. Their house is down to 58 degrees.... I hope we don't have that up here. I'll have to go restock the firewood in the rack......

    We have been lucky so far only the one outage. But my son and daughter have both been out about an hour and a half now. They both know that if it gets below 40 to go turn off the water to the house and open as many outlets as possible. They are supposed to be rolling blackouts intentionally alternated, but one friend's kid has no service for 12 hours. That does not appear to be a part of the rolling process. Anyway I drug in a bunch of firewood just in case. It's sunny but 22F which will be the high before heading back to 5F again for several hours tonight. One thing for sure is that my Subaru Outback loves this deep snow. It was me and high 4WD pickups out on the road this morning when I left to help my son unthaw 2 outside faucets.

    @diehardbrownsfan said:

    They aren't ready for the cold down there.  Up here we rarely get power outages in the winter.  

    6F last night and 5F tonight will be the two lowest I have ever seen. Same for the 6 inch snow. Never seen it here.

  • May be a Twitter screenshot of 1 person and text that says 'Errol Webber For CA Governor @ErrolWebber JUST IN: Wind turbines freeze and cause blackouts in Texas. How's that green energy working out? Maybe they should put a gas heater on the turbines. 8:56 AM 2/15/21 Twitter for iPhone'

  • Our electricity was off for about 4 hours overnight. Came back on but lasts for short periods, just enough to move the inside temp from 58F to 60. They are having trouble making things roll back on apparently. We get partly cloudy and around 29F today. So decent sunshine. Will that be enough to melt some of the tree ice? I ask because they as calling for about 4-5 hours freezing rain overnight in round 3 of this thing. Trees are already just holding the load now. And I think this has killed off most of the migratory birds who were coming through and likely a lot of native birds & animals who are not made for this extended low temp stuff (5F as I type).

  • Also:

    Probably a good idea to leave the garage door up if you're going to sleep in the car with the motor running. Word to the wise tex.

    WSS

  • Hang in there Tex. I hate to be the guy asking dumb questions, but what do Texans typically use as heating systems? Particularly the southern parts? Natural gas? Electric? Oil? I gather this is a once in a generation type thing that many are unprepared for.

  • image.thumb.png.6f4982b64e43d6d26e507ce121ee6626.png

  • Well, it probably isn't good that most? folks in central/eastern  Texas don't have basements. The ground is so dry, that when it does rain, the ground dries back up and cracks - it would ruin a basement. So they are slab - and there isn't any air pocket to protect the floors from freezing at least around the edges of the houses.....

    If it gets too cold, Tex, you can refer to my survival thread, build an igloo in your backyard, start a fire with a ferro rod, and drink up some pine needle tea......(also helps to put candles in depressions in the igloo walls. )

  • Our electricity was off for about 4 hours overnight. Came back on but lasts for short periods, just enough to move the inside temp from 58F to 60. They are having trouble making things roll back on apparently. We get partly cloudy and around 29F today. So decent sunshine. Will that be enough to melt some of the tree ice? I ask because they as calling for about 4-5 hours freezing rain overnight in round 3 of this thing. Trees are already just holding the load now. And I think this has killed off most of the migratory birds who were coming through and likely a lot of native birds & animals who are not made for this extended low temp stuff (5F as I type).

    @texasag1969 said:

    Our electricity was off for about 4 hours overnight. Came back on but lasts for short periods, just enough to move the inside temp from 58F to 60. They are having trouble making things roll back on apparently. We get partly cloudy and around 29F today. So decent sunshine. Will that be enough to melt some of the tree ice? I ask because they as calling for about 4-5 hours freezing rain overnight in round 3 of this thing. Trees are already just holding the load now. And I think this has killed off most of the migratory birds who were coming through and likely a lot of native birds & animals who are not made for this extended low temp stuff (5F as I type).

    Joe Biden and the green new deal will have you fixed up in no time, Joe will solve all of your problems never fear.

  • Also:

    Probably a good idea to leave the garage door up if you're going to sleep in the car with the motor running. Word to the wise tex.

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    Also:

    Probably a good idea to leave the garage door up if you're going to sleep in the car with the motor running. Word to the wise tex.

    WSS

    So far we are getting just enough attempts at restoring electricity for my heating system to keep it around 58-62 inside the house. I have a bunch of firewood that I brought in for our fireplace as an ace in the hole if we start to get closer to 40F. Plus (and I know this will be hard to believe) I had enough foresight to keep about half a cord under a large plastic tarp held down on the edges for some two year old firewood that is well dried out enough to burn easy. My son and I used hot water poured over an outside faucet of his to free it up enough to put on a far faster dripping speed, so now it's fine. We may hit above freezing tomorrow which well help get the thaw started. In the upper 50s by Sat. Back to the normal upper 50s & 60s beyond that. I

    I'm keeping water in the garage to know whether it starts to freeze. I have a water pipe to an outside faucet that shares and inner wall in there with a bedroom. I keep that pipe on a higher drip and it's been fine. Now an then I flush all four outdoor faucets for about 30 seconds just to be certain. So far they are fine with a drip per second rate.

    That Subaru was a champ in the snow to go help my son out. Just saw other Subarus and trucks with 4WD and monster tires.

    Thanks for all the advice. Much appreciated, even the igloo. But we would settle for taking a fully gassed up Subaru for a nice warm winter drive.?LOL!

  • @westside-steve said:

    Also:

    Probably a good idea to leave the garage door up if you're going to sleep in the car with the motor running. Word to the wise tex.

    WSS

    So far we are getting just enough attempts at restoring electricity for my heating system to keep it around 58-62 inside the house. I have a bunch of firewood that I brought in for our fireplace as an ace in the hole if we start to get closer to 40F. Plus (and I know this will be hard to believe) I had enough foresight to keep about half a cord under a large plastic tarp held down on the edges for some two year old firewood that is well dried out enough to burn easy. My son and I used hot water poured over an outside faucet of his to free it up enough to put on a far faster dripping speed, so now it's fine. We may hit above freezing tomorrow which well help get the thaw started. In the upper 50s by Sat. Back to the normal upper 50s & 60s beyond that. I

    I'm keeping water in the garage to know whether it starts to freeze. I have a water pipe to an outside faucet that shares and inner wall in there with a bedroom. I keep that pipe on a higher drip and it's been fine. Now an then I flush all four outdoor faucets for about 30 seconds just to be certain. So far they are fine with a drip per second rate.

    That Subaru was a champ in the snow to go help my son out. Just saw other Subarus and trucks with 4WD and monster tires.

    Thanks for all the advice. Much appreciated, even the igloo. But we would settle for taking a fully gassed up Subaru for a nice warm winter drive.?LOL!

    @texasag1969 said:

    So far we are getting just enough attempts at restoring electricity for my heating system to keep it around 58-62 inside the house. I have a bunch of firewood that I brought in for our fireplace as an ace in the hole if we start to get closer to 40F. Plus (and I know this will be hard to believe) I had enough foresight to keep about half a cord under a large plastic tarp held down on the edges for some two year old firewood that is well dried out enough to burn easy. My son and I used hot water poured over an outside faucet of his to free it up enough to put on a far faster dripping speed, so now it's fine. We may hit above freezing tomorrow which well help get the thaw started. In the upper 50s by Sat. Back to the normal upper 50s & 60s beyond that. I

    I'm keeping water in the garage to know whether it starts to freeze. I have a water pipe to an outside faucet that shares and inner wall in there with a bedroom. I keep that pipe on a higher drip and it's been fine. Now an then I flush all four outdoor faucets for about 30 seconds just to be certain. So far they are fine with a drip per second rate.

    That Subaru was a champ in the snow to go help my son out. Just saw other Subarus and trucks with 4WD and monster tires.

    I've been a Subaru devotee since 1998 the only new car I ever purchased. I got three hundred thousand plus miles out of her.

    On the other hand we have this kind of shit on and off all winter hahaha.

    WSS

  • @texasag1969 said:

    So far we are getting just enough attempts at restoring electricity for my heating system to keep it around 58-62 inside the house. I have a bunch of firewood that I brought in for our fireplace as an ace in the hole if we start to get closer to 40F. Plus (and I know this will be hard to believe) I had enough foresight to keep about half a cord under a large plastic tarp held down on the edges for some two year old firewood that is well dried out enough to burn easy. My son and I used hot water poured over an outside faucet of his to free it up enough to put on a far faster dripping speed, so now it's fine. We may hit above freezing tomorrow which well help get the thaw started. In the upper 50s by Sat. Back to the normal upper 50s & 60s beyond that. I

    I'm keeping water in the garage to know whether it starts to freeze. I have a water pipe to an outside faucet that shares and inner wall in there with a bedroom. I keep that pipe on a higher drip and it's been fine. Now an then I flush all four outdoor faucets for about 30 seconds just to be certain. So far they are fine with a drip per second rate.

    That Subaru was a champ in the snow to go help my son out. Just saw other Subarus and trucks with 4WD and monster tires.

    I've been a Subaru devotee since 1998 the only new car I ever purchased. I got three hundred thousand plus miles out of her.

    On the other hand we have this kind of shit on and off all winter hahaha.

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    I've been a Subaru devotee since 1998 the only new car I ever purchased. I got three hundred thousand plus miles out of her.

    On the other hand we have this kind of shit on and off all winter hahaha.

    WSS

    I have the 2021 Crosstrek limited with the bigger 2.5 engine.  Even with stock all season tires it is great in the snow.

  • Geez, and I just had to mow the stinkin lawn. 🙁

  • AxeA Axe

    Geez, and I just had to mow the stinkin lawn. 🙁

    @axe said:

    Geez, and I just had to mow the stinkin lawn. 🙁

    Hey I Just shoveled the walk. ❄??

    WSS

  • @texasag1969 said:

    So far we are getting just enough attempts at restoring electricity for my heating system to keep it around 58-62 inside the house. I have a bunch of firewood that I brought in for our fireplace as an ace in the hole if we start to get closer to 40F. Plus (and I know this will be hard to believe) I had enough foresight to keep about half a cord under a large plastic tarp held down on the edges for some two year old firewood that is well dried out enough to burn easy. My son and I used hot water poured over an outside faucet of his to free it up enough to put on a far faster dripping speed, so now it's fine. We may hit above freezing tomorrow which well help get the thaw started. In the upper 50s by Sat. Back to the normal upper 50s & 60s beyond that. I

    I'm keeping water in the garage to know whether it starts to freeze. I have a water pipe to an outside faucet that shares and inner wall in there with a bedroom. I keep that pipe on a higher drip and it's been fine. Now an then I flush all four outdoor faucets for about 30 seconds just to be certain. So far they are fine with a drip per second rate.

    That Subaru was a champ in the snow to go help my son out. Just saw other Subarus and trucks with 4WD and monster tires.

    I've been a Subaru devotee since 1998 the only new car I ever purchased. I got three hundred thousand plus miles out of her.

    On the other hand we have this kind of shit on and off all winter hahaha.

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    I've been a Subaru devotee since 1998 the only new car I ever purchased. I got three hundred thousand plus miles out of her.

    On the other hand we have this kind of shit on and off all winter hahaha.

    WSS

    I was a Toyota fan for 30 years and bought a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek.

    The old lady was always driving it and loved it.

    She went out and bought a 2021 Ascent just before Christmas, and that’s her baby.

  • @axe said:

    Geez, and I just had to mow the stinkin lawn. 🙁

    Hey I Just shoveled the walk. ❄??

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    Hey I Just shoveled the walk. ❄??

    WSS

    And I raked up about 20 30+ gal bags of leaves and filled about 20 more loads in my wheelbarrow and took them to the Outback. At least all that ice then snow and then freezing rain will water the yard really well when it all melts. Too bad I had not put fertilizer down yet.

  • @westside-steve said:

    I've been a Subaru devotee since 1998 the only new car I ever purchased. I got three hundred thousand plus miles out of her.

    On the other hand we have this kind of shit on and off all winter hahaha.

    WSS

    I was a Toyota fan for 30 years and bought a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek.

    The old lady was always driving it and loved it.

    She went out and bought a 2021 Ascent just before Christmas, and that’s her baby.

    @canton-dawg said:

    I was a Toyota fan for 30 years and bought a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek.

    The old lady was always driving it and loved it.

    She went out and bought a 2021 Ascent just before Christmas, and that’s her baby.

    After driving mine in all kinds of deep snow when she borrowed it for a Colorado family ski trip, my daughter and son in law came back and bought an Ascent as well. They have a trip planned to Monarch ski area in Colo. over spring break. She loves that thing. Says using mine in those conditions sold her immediately.

  • @canton-dawg said:

    I was a Toyota fan for 30 years and bought a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek.

    The old lady was always driving it and loved it.

    She went out and bought a 2021 Ascent just before Christmas, and that’s her baby.

    After driving mine in all kinds of deep snow when she borrowed it for a Colorado family ski trip, my daughter and son in law came back and bought an Ascent as well. They have a trip planned to Monarch ski area in Colo. over spring break. She loves that thing. Says using mine in those conditions sold her immediately.

    @texasag1969 said:

    After driving mine in all kinds of deep snow when she borrowed it for a Colorado family ski trip, my daughter and son in law came back and bought an Ascent as well. They have a trip planned to Monarch ski area in Colo. over spring break. She loves that thing. Says using mine in those conditions sold her immediately.

    I’ve recently retired, and the wife bought the Ascent for some long vacation road trips.

    She’s currently got us heading to Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida at the end of this month.

    We both feel a little more comfortable in a larger vehicle.