Thawed Out in Austin

 Last week was quite unpleasant.  We lost power in the neighborhood for 77.5 hours (so much for the "rolling" blackouts we were told to expect).  My house (a 1950's pier and beam; fortunately re-insulated in May) was down to 41 degrees inside on Thursday morning right before the electricity returned.  At least we had water the whole time (many people I know lost it at some point) as well as natural gas.  We had hot water and could cook on the gas range, but the central heat didn't work without electricity.  Add into this mix the fact that Austin is not equipped to clear icy roads, thus our cars (RWD sedans) were unable to go anywhere until our street was sufficiently melted on Friday.  

Fortunately, I own ski and cold weather camping gear.  I also have a lot of camp lighting.  All of these things made dealing with the blackout better; however, we're buying more equipment to handle the next blackout that occurs (I hope never, but of course I'm sure it will happen again).  I'll probably post about such things here.

Next time I need gas, I'll be filling our cars up at Sonny's market/Exxon at the corner of Lamar and Lamar Square.  They were about the only place open (in walking distance) on Thursday; the snacks I procured from them were a huge morale booster at the house.  Shake Shack and Southside Flying Pizza were up and running Friday, and Maudie's was back in operation yesterday.  They too provided a huge morale booster (especially Maudie's with those tamales smothered in chili con carne).  

It will be interesting (and probably infuriating) to read the post mortems on the power grid failures.  Everything I've read/heard points to the conclusion that the blackouts were - if not completely preventable - at least much worse than they would have been with adequate planning and preparation.  Sadly, none of this information has thus far been surprising.  Good times.  At least it's 75 degrees and sunny today.  

[Note: If you are looking for updates on where to find water, check out my Twitter at @wdfloyd.  I recommend following some of the links I have retweeted, as I'm only retweeting sporadically.  Also, breweries and restaurants have been giving out water, so check the linked article to see if water is available at one of the listed places near you.]