TEXAS STILL SUCKS

[jsharr ★]

But at least I am in my own home with power and water.   I am blessed to have some awesome friends, both real and imaginary.  I thank you all for your well wishes and laughter inducing posts during what has been a crazy week.

Tomorrow I will shower and go back to my office I hope.  Letting the hot water heater play catch up tonight.

That and I have a 7 pm Scout call, during which call my coffee mug may contain rum, but I will still pretend to blow on it like it was full of hot coffee.

[Airehead]

There is no place like home. How many walls need repair now?

[bikeman564™]

I didn't check into a lot of posts, so I don't know what's going on. I hope you, your family, and home will be okay

[jsharr ★]

18 minutes ago, Airehead said:

There is no place like home. How many walls need repair now?

One and the repair will include some sort of access to avoid this in the future.  A pipe had a pressed on Shark Bite cap that failed.  The other was about to fail.  They have been cut off and proper copper caps have been soldered on.  Once it warms up and dries out, I will repair the wall and put in a new piece of bead board with an access door to the pipes.  

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

Ask for help with the repairs. It’s easier, and sends the message that they mean enough that you would ask. 

[jsharr ★]

3 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

I didn't check into a lot of posts, so I don't know what's going on. I hope you, your family, and home will be okay

Texas had every county in the state under a winter weather advisory.  Has never happened before.  ERCOT, the org in charge of our power grid made the decision to shut off power to hundreds of thousands of people, and our power grid shut down in places.  Water utilities could not treat water.  Gas lines could not get gas to power plants.  Improperly winterized power plants, transmission center, etc. shut down.

Temps dipped to 0 or below across much of the state.

It has been a chaotic week.

My family was without power for two days and we had a water pipe freeze and break, but we are home now, water fixed, power on and this too shall pass.  Got to see the best in my friends and neighbors and you guys here.  

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, Old No. 7 said:

Ask for help with the repairs. It’s easier, and sends the message that they mean enough that you would ask. 

I did, and repairs are done.  Two Scouter friends showed up and we opened the wall and fixed the pipes.   I can repair the wall, but if I asked, they would be right back to do that too.

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

I saw that on the Faceybook. Glad you had real frens too. I’m too stubborn n dumb to axe for help.

[Randomguy]

Ok, so what is wrong with TX?  I know the traffic sucks and it is as hot and humid as gorilla balls in a sauna and you don't really have a football team and all, but there has to be a reason that people live there.

What is the deal?

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

58 minutes ago, jsharr said:

my coffee mug may contain rum, but I will still pretend to blow on it like it was full of hot coffee

It's good to see things are getting back to normal for you.

OK, kidding aside, I am truly glad you and your family are back in your house! 

[Bikeguy]

13 minutes ago, jsharr said:

a pressed on Shark Bite

I only used those once at my old home.   A copper pipe failed, corrosion from the sulfur in the water (not cold) and the joint I needed to sweat was in a horrible location.  So I made the connection with Shark Bite connectors.  I was always concerned that they could fail.  

[Bikeguy]

3 minutes ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

It's good to see things are getting back to normal for you.

OK, kidding aside, I am truly glad you and your family are back in your house! 

This^^^

[BR46]

16 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Ok, so what is wrong with TX?  

They don't go ice fishing 

[Some Old Guy]

1 hour ago, jsharr said:

TEXAS STILL SUCKS

Which still in Texas?  I imagine there are a lot of them.  And most of them probably suck.    

[Dottleshead ★]

Great news.

[Kirby]

Glad you are home.  My friends in TX who were without power are up and running again too.  Glad you also had friends who let you stay and who came to help you with the repairs.  People are what make any place good and it sounds like you have some very nice people around you.

[jsharr ★]

2 hours ago, Randomguy said:

Ok, so what is wrong with TX?  I know the traffic sucks and it is as hot and humid as gorilla balls in a sauna and you don't really have a football team and all, but there has to be a reason that people live there.

What is the deal?

We are inbred and stupid and we act like it is great to fool ourselves and others to joining us in this God forsaken Country.

Davey Crockett summed it up best years ago, just before he came here to be executed by the Mexicans at The Alamo.

[jsharr ★]

2 hours ago, BR46 said:

They don't go ice fishing 

We do now!!!!!

[Some Old Guy]

2 hours ago, BR46 said:

They don't go ice fishing 

They don't need to.  They have plenty of it hanging on their houses and trees.

[jsharr ★]

Opted for some "bourbon" distilled in South Oak Cliff.  Texas sucks so bad we have to make our own bourbon.  

[dinneR ★]

@jsharrSorry man. I really had no idea shit could get so bad from cold weather, snow, and ice. I've never lived in the south. In the north, we just call this winter, ski season, or Monday. I hope you come through this okay, it seems like you have it under control. It will certainly cost Texans a lot. That sucks. Stay strong.

Leadership matters. Abbott kicked the can, crazy ass mayor Boyd went bonkers and quit, and Cruz(his house was cold) fled to Cancun. WTF?

"No one owes you [or] your family anything; nor is it the local government's responsibility to support you during trying times like this!" he said. "Sink or swim it's your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I'm sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout." 

 

[jsharr ★]

17 minutes ago, dennis said:

@jsharrSorry man. I really had no idea shit could get so bad from cold weather, snow, and ice. I've never lived in the south. In the north, we just call this winter, ski season, or Monday. I hope you come through this okay, it seems like you have it under control. It will certainly cost Texans a lot. That sucks. Stay strong.

Leadership matters. Abbott kicked the can, crazy ass mayor Boyd went bonkers and quit, and Cruz(his house was cold) fled to Cancun. WTF?

"No one owes you [or] your family anything; nor is it the local government's responsibility to support you during trying times like this!" he said. "Sink or swim it's your choice! The City and County, along with power providers or any other service owes you NOTHING! I'm sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout." 

 

These are the times that try men's souls.   Adversity can bring out the best or worst in us.  Tonight I encouraged our youth Scout leaders to check with the Scouts in their patrols to see how they were doing, if they neeeded help that our Scouts could give.   I sent the same message to the parents in our troop and called a church elder to see if our Scouts could shovel the snow for the church to hold their outdoor service on Sunday.

When I could not find caps to solder onto the busted pipe, I posted on our neighborhood facebook page and within minutes had more than I needed.   

Sadly, the good stories don't get told enough, and the bad ones do.  That mayor needs to be run out of town and Cruz as well, if this is really a spur of the moment trip and not something planned long ago.  Even if planned long ago, you stay and fight with and for your people, you don't leave.

We do not build to handle 120 hours of frigid temps.  Freezing we can handle but zero is different.   Had temps stayed in the 20s I think we would have been okay, or is only 2/3's of the state was affected.  Problem is that our big cities of Austin, San Antonio and Houston all got the same thing as Dallas got and that overloaded our system.

[dinneR ★]

21 minutes ago, jsharr said:

These are the times that try men's souls.   Adversity can bring out the best or worst in us.  Tonight I encouraged our youth Scout leaders to check with the Scouts in their patrols to see how they were doing, if they neeeded help that our Scouts could give.   I sent the same message to the parents in our troop and called a church elder to see if our Scouts could shovel the snow for the church to hold their outdoor service on Sunday.

When I could not find caps to solder onto the busted pipe, I posted on our neighborhood facebook page and within minutes had more than I needed.   

Sadly, the good stories don't get told enough, and the bad ones do.  That mayor needs to be run out of town and Cruz as well, if this is really a spur of the moment trip and not something planned long ago.  Even if planned long ago, you stay and fight with and for your people, you don't leave.

We do not build to handle 120 hours of frigid temps.  Freezing we can handle but zero is different.   Had temps stayed in the 20s I think we would have been okay, or is only 2/3's of the state was affected.  Problem is that our big cities of Austin, San Antonio and Houston all got the same thing as Dallas got and that overloaded our system.

I figured the Scout leader in you would shine. That is the kind of leadership that will bring Texas through this. Politicians will look to blame others. Stay Strong.

[Allen ★]

I have two spare rooms If you want to escape to Georgia. We fall apart when it snows too, but we didn’t get any this time. 
And you can eat my trout. 

[Parr8hed]

14 hours ago, jsharr said:

But at least I am in my own home with power and water.   I am blessed to have some awesome friends, both real and imaginary.  I thank you all for your well wishes and laughter inducing posts during what has been a crazy week.

Tomorrow I will shower and go back to my office I hope.  Letting the hot water heater play catch up tonight.

That and I have a 7 pm Scout call, during which call my coffee mug may contain rum, but I will still pretend to blow on it like it was full of hot coffee.

Water heater.  You don't heat HOT water.  

[Razors Edge ★]

2 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

Water heater.  You don't heat HOT water.  

I guess "technically", it depends where you draw the line on cold, warm, and then hot.  I assume a water heater recirculates the water in the tank as it slowly cools?  That water is likely at least "warm" and maybe even "hot", just not quite as hot as the thermostat is set for?

Tankless water heaters definitely fit your comment, though!

[jsharr ★]

7 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

Water heater.  You don't heat HOT water.  

You do in Texas.  You know why?

One Word.

TEXAS SUCKS.

[Parr8hed]

4 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I guess "technically", it depends where you draw the line on cold, warm, and then hot.  I assume a water heater recirculates the water in the tank as it slowly cools?  That water is likely at least "warm" and maybe even "hot", just not quite as hot as the thermostat is set for?

Tankless water heaters definitely fit your comment, though!

It's still not a HOT water heater.  It's a WATER HEATER!!!

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Parr8hed said:

It's still not a HOT water heater.  It's a WATER HEATER!!!

But sometimes it is just heating hot water, so, in theory at least, is can sometimes be both a water heater AND a hot water heater!  It's mind boggling, but it can happen!

[Parr8hed]

Just now, Razors Edge said:

But sometimes it is just heating hot water, so, in theory at least, is can sometimes be both a water heater AND a hot water heater!  It's mind boggling, but it can happen!

[Razors Edge ★]

Just now, Parr8hed said:

Hey, I don't make the rules!!!!  That's more in @roadsue's corner for the semantics, and likely @Thaddeus Kosciuszko or @bikeman564™ for the mechanical/electric stuff. 

[Parr8hed]

Just now, Razors Edge said:

Hey, I don't make the rules!!!!  That's more in @roadsue's corner for the semantics, and likely @Thaddeus Kosciuszko or @bikeman564™ for the mechanical/electric stuff. 

[jsharr ★]

5 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

It's still not a HOT water heater.  It's a WATER HEATER!!!

usually even the cold water in Texas is hot, you just heat it more.  Either way, Texas Sucks.

[jsharr ★]

1 minute ago, Parr8hed said:

Can  you really blame Bill for some of his indiscretions?

[Razors Edge ★]

3 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Can  you really blame Bill for some of his indiscretions?

And why would you?  I always wonder about folks who get all up in other folks business.

[Parr8hed]

15 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Can  you really blame Bill for some of his indiscretions?

[TrentonMakes]

I'm glad things are getting better for you, jsharr. This whole situation is unbelievable. 

Also kind of strange that here in NJ (latitude 40 degrees N) I dont think our temperature has even reached the single digits, all winter.

[Randomguy]

52 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Can  you really blame Bill for some of his indiscretions?

No.  Hillary is...something or other.  I bet she was bitchy as hell to Bill, although it was a good strategic move to stay with him to advance her political options during his whoring it up with interns stage, which may have been a bit extended.

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

2 hours ago, Randomguy said:

which may have been a bit extended.

Nice pun, RG!

I would guess that 'extended' is about the most appropriate word anybody could have chosen to describe the 'situation'.  

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

11 hours ago, jsharr said:

Tonight I encouraged our youth Scout leaders to check with the Scouts in their patrols to see how they were doing, if they neeeded help that our Scouts could give.   I sent the same message to the parents in our troop and called a church elder to see if our Scouts could shovel the snow for the church to hold their outdoor service on Sunday.

Truly, how awesome is this?  No doubt the Scouts' families are in similar predicaments as jsharr, yet there is equally as little doubt that if called upon all of them would pitch in - cheerfully and energetically - to help someone else in need or another organization in need.  And no doubt that the Scouts had reached out to their neighbors individually, already.  It's where the investment in time by the Scout leaders and examples they give through their character are reflected and multiplied through the Scouts they mentor.

This is how Texas will get back on its feet - thousands upon thousands of small acts of generosity, kindness, selflessness - people helping their neighbors despite whatever difficult situation in which they presently find themselves.

Which, in turn, provides proof that Texas does not suck and even more so that people do not suck despite how much we might hear to the contrary (as jsharr so accurately points out).  I contend that the vast majority of people are basically good and the proof is exemplified in the way people band together to help each other in difficult times.

[jsharr ★]

15 minutes ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

Truly, how awesome is this?  No doubt the Scouts' families are in similar predicaments as jsharr, yet there is equally as little doubt that if called upon all of them would pitch in - cheerfully and energetically - to help someone else in need or another organization in need.  And no doubt that the Scouts had reached out to their neighbors individually, already.  It's where the investment in time by the Scout leaders and examples they give through their character are reflected and multiplied through the Scouts they mentor.

This is how Texas will get back on its feet - thousands upon thousands of small acts of generosity, kindness, selflessness - people helping their neighbors despite whatever difficult situation in which they presently find themselves.

Which, in turn, provides proof that Texas does not suck and even more so that people do not suck despite how much we might hear to the contrary (as jsharr so accurately points out).  I contend that the vast majority of people are basically good and the proof is exemplified in the way people band together to help each other in difficult times.

Look, that is nice and all, but Texas still sucks, maybe just not in all caps.  

[donkpow]

He is what that mayor said, more completely.

[12string]

My SiL has a sister in Texas.  Mid 70's, lives alone on a ranch.  No electric or heat, running out of food and water.  She put a "can anyone check on my sister" post on social media, by the end of the day her drive was plowed, she had food and water.

The Texas gummint might have screwed the pooch (or whatever they likewise do to dogies down there) but the people are gittin it done

[Randomguy]

1 hour ago, donkpow said:

He is what that mayor said, more completely.

Imagine having a mayor that can't spell to save his life, and is too stupid to edit his own work.

[jsharr ★]

8 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Imagine having a mayor that can't spell to save his life, and is too stupid to edit his own work.

Pretty Covfefe isn't it?

[Dottleshead ★]

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/18/texas-power-grid-outage-ercot/

 

Hmmmm... El Paso who didn't go at it alone is doing fine.

[Prophet Zacharia]

1 hour ago, Dottles said:

El Paso who didn't go at it alone is doing fine.

El Paso isn’t even in the same time zone as the rest of Texas. 

[Dottleshead ★]

15 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

El Paso isn’t even in the same time zone as the rest of Texas. 

It's not my fault they have a Texas address. 

[Dottleshead ★]

Hey @jsharr get ready for your $7000 utility bill.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/20/business/texas-electricity-bills-griddy-puct/index.html

[Prophet Zacharia]

2 hours ago, Dottles said:

Hey @jsharr get ready for your $7000 utility bill.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/20/business/texas-electricity-bills-griddy-puct/index.html

But living free of government interference in the regulation of utility companies is priceless.