Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Just A Stormin'

Good thing I didn't speak too soon. A couple days ago I was going to mention that the weather folks had a severe weather warning out for this area and south to Novato. Didn't look like it was going to happen so I thought it might be a case of the weather service hyping the forecast just to cover themselves.

This is pretty nasty. They say we could get wind gusts up to 50mph.

I've heard my electrical equipment clicking in this room twice over the last hour. That means the power might be going out. So far it hasn't. Glad I have a battery back up for the computers but that only helps you shut down the computer properly.

Please don't let the power go out. How will I entertain myself if the power goes out? Might I actually have to do something like clean the house? Let's hope not.

Oh, supposedly a hard freeze warning tonight so insulate your water pipes.

10 Comments:

At 7:50 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What forecast are you reading? Mine from noaa.gov states gusts up to 32mph, still without a special warning.

 
At 7:53 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

I was using weather.com's forecast. To quote:

Windy. Showers this morning with clearing during the afternoon hours. High 47F. Winds NNW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.

 
At 1:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You resent Government employees being paid competively but now rely heavily on Government produced weather forcasts to inform you and keep you ass safe.

Taxpayers like me who don't want forcasts have to subsidize people like you who get forcasts for free. A real Libertarian would be paying a private profit-making entity to provide them and not depend on Government handouts.

 
At 3:01 PM, Blogger Carol said...

I don't mind my tax dollars paying for the National Weather Service.

The power flickered off this morning, but was only off for a few seconds. Fortunately the computer was turned-off.

 
At 11:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am just glad one of the trees was not on my ozone burning SUV this morning and I could report to my much hated government job. Did I tell you I was grateful for all the hot water I needed and I could listen to the TV while dressing? Well I am. In case you were wondering. I recycled my plastic today too. Kissed the dog and the kids. Forgot to kiss the boss' ass...still working on that one.

 
At 6:32 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

Carol wrote, "Fortunately the computer was turned-off.".

Get a battery back up for the computer, Carol. They cost between $100 to $200 depending on how much power your computer uses.

The least expensive ones ($99 last I looked) might work just fine for you. They just won't keep the computer running for as long, but still long enough to shut it down properly.

 
At 8:30 AM, Blogger Carol said...

My laptop has a recharging battery, but the home computer does not. Where do you get the computer battery, Fred?

What a contrast this morning is from the last couple of days. This morning the sun is shining and the wind is still.

 
At 8:53 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

I got both of mine at the Eureka Staples. I believe the smaller one cost $89 (plus tax). I think the larger one cost something like $129. They have even larger ones that can go over $200, if memory serves me correct.

Price depends on how much back up time they give you and how many plug ins the unit is supplied with. Power requirements depends mostly, I understand, on your monitor size as that's what usually uses the most power.

My small UPS will accept 3 appliances for power back up (monitor, computer and one other application) and 3 surge protection only outlets (no power back up).

There's a table on the box that shows reserve power time vs. monitors and the various models available.
*******
Yes, it is quite a contrast, the weather this morning as opposed to the last few days. Weather service did get one thing wrong, at least for where I live in Eureka: The hard freeze never happened.

I didn't see any frost this morning although there was some ice on our cars out front.

 
At 9:50 AM, Blogger Carol said...

I talked with someone on the phone this morning. She told me that there was frost on her windshield this morning and she lives in Eureka. It was cold last night, but no frost this morning in Loleta.

Thank for the advice on batteries!

 
At 9:57 AM, Blogger Fred Mangels said...

I just noticed some ice on the roof of our cars. Don't believe I saw any on the windows.

Oh, those APC power supplys come with some software. It'll be on a CD. Whether you want to bother installing it is up to you. I ended up uninstalling it. I felt it was more of a hassle than it was worth.

One thing it does is log any power back up activities, and it can be set to shut down your computer should the power fail and you're not by the computer.

Since I don't leave my computer running unattended, at least most of the time, that's not an issue with me. The UPS works without the software, as far as delivering power. You'll need to manually shut down the computer, though, without the software.

 

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