Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 6,955
axiomite
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OP
axiomite
Joined: Oct 2006
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In an attempt to stay awake on this horribly irrelevant conference call, I thought I'd read the boards. That's not working so maybe typing will.
Been a hell of a week after the Ice storm Monday and Tuesday. Over 200,000 without power at the peak and we had more phone equipment without power than generators to keep them running. I've been spending my days and nights in our Emergency Operations Center coordinating generators, fuel and manpower, etc. Short breaks for sleep but with most everybody sent into the field there wasn't many left to make a restful schedule for the ERC.
A big thanks to our sister Bell-Aliant provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for sending over over 20 additional generators, as many trucks and probably 30 men to help out!!!
our biggest scare was yesterday when something happened (which I am unable to speculate on in print) at our main generating plant and the entire province went black for about 4-5 hours. If that hadn't been fixed, the next call was the Military. Luckily, they got it back on.
We are currently down to only 7 pieces of equipment out there on generators keeping dial tone and cell coverage going for their respective areas but most of the Island has power again.
Well, most except my road. My area came back up yesterday afternoon but my little stretch of road is still down. My drive in this morning I spotted a tripped fuse on one pole. I wonder where I can buy a 30' fiberglass rod??? With 4000 still in the dark (Maritime Electric did awesome work to get this down from 200k,) I doubt my one tripped fuse is anywhere near the top of the list.
Nice day today but a bit more freezing rain on the way tonight and maybe tomorrow. Driving is no longer like playing hockey but there are surprise sections of chunky ice fields in sections of roads that flooded over then froze. Very dangerous surprises, especially at night.
Oh well, if you got this far, sorry for the depressing story. If I wasn't so tired, I'd say its actually a fun adventure (until someone gets hurt.) I appreciate the place to vent. Nobody to vent to here as we are all in it. heh heh.
We are shutting the ERC down so I have more conference call to go then I am heading home to sleep. At least this next call will be more exiting.
Keep it fun,
With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,488 Likes: 9
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,488 Likes: 9 |
Hang in there! Ice storms can be pretty devastating. In Montreal, we just "celebrated" the 10th anniversary of the 1998 Ice Storm. Not particularly pleasant memories...
See Mojo's signature
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 868
aficionado
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aficionado
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Dave
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 601
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 601 |
freezing rain here this morning
Made on a Mac
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
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You guys take care up there, we'll be thinking of ya.
Rick
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
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Wow, Murph. That's amazing. Take care of yourself, and thank you for telling us your story.
bibere usque ad hilaritatem
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,463 Likes: 1
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Mar 2005
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Hang in there, Murph. Being from Southern California, I think the only way I can replicate your situation is if I turn off all the lights in the house and then stand in front of the open freezer door.
*********** "Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,210
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Feb 2005
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Whoa, that sounds like some extremely nasty stuff. Take care up there Andrew and good luck.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
I almost fell on my ass when leaving my house today due to the freezing rain path of death in front of my house, if it makes you feel any better.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833 |
I shoveled myself out of a foot of snow this morning. It's still a heck of a lot better than an ice storm though.
Rick
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488 |
Peter, that would probably have made me feel better if there was video.
bibere usque ad hilaritatem
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,210
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,210 |
...and no *almost*.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
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That front step of yours is hazardous no matter what the weather, Peter. I don't know how you handle it in the ice. All y'all take care, ok?
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
Speaking of ice... My family took advantage of the pleasant weather yesterday and went for a hike on a nearby mountain hill. Little did we know what would be waiting for us when we arrived. Despite the fair overnight weather at our house, there must have been quite an ice storm just 15 minutes away from our house, because the entire forest was coated with a glistening layer of ice. Even though the sky was mostly clear, it was raining in the forest due to melting ice. About midway through the hike, the sun really came out and accelerated the that. In addition to water droplets, pieces of ice started falling. Thankfully they were no bigger than coin size pieces and didn't hurt that much when they hit a body part. Here I am enjoying the surrealness with Gracie on my back. (You can only see her cool pink boots.) I'm sporting trekking poles, since the ground was a bit slippery and I didn't want to fall and smoosh my passenger. Here's Steven pointing out an ice-encased young tree. Here's another small tree not far from the bush. And here's Steven holding up a piece of ice shaped like the leaf it was just clinging to. The only one who didn't have a good time was our dog. She's under the impression that trees shouldn't drop things on her.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,602
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,602 |
I've never seen anyone use two hiking poles before... odd.
Bren R.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,210
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,210 |
Did anybody ever accuse Peter of *not* being a bit odd ... ever?
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
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When you have two kids, you need a pair of everything so seach kid can get one when one inevitably asks if he/she can use it and the other wants one, too. (These poles are height-adjustable.)
But the dual-pole thing is pretty handy in challenging terrain. It was a bit overkill for this hike and they did quickly end up in the kids' hands. When they really came in handy was when I was hiking in Zion National Park (southwestern Utah) back in early 2003. The terrain is almost entirely sandstone, which can get slick when wet, and especially slick when icy. It the middle of a hike with some rapid elevation changes, a quick storm came through that unloaded a couple centimeters of snow pellets. My wife and I had an interesting time getting back down to the ground.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,301
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Dec 2005
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Southern California, I think the only way I can replicate your situation is if I turn off all the lights in the house and then stand in front of the open freezer door. Sean you need to drive a couple hours North. [img] [/img] This is the 4th snow day in the last 6 school days.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 6,833
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
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We had a thunder snow storm here last night. It was freaky watching the lightning and snow at the same time.
Rick
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Mar 2005
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axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Mar 2005
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That looks cold, Michael! We've managed to hold onto the snow in the mountains for a good couple of weeks down here. Looks nice from far away, but not something I'd want to deal with on a daily basis.
*********** "Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,602
connoisseur
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connoisseur
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*laughs* I wasn't calling you a two-pole wussy or anything... just never occured to me to use two poles for hiking (and not just skiing)... bro uses a collapsable fiberglas one, I've always just found a suitable tree limb and carried it through, redepositing it at the trail head for the next guy... I should actually get one, I guess - for when my luck runs out.
Where we hike it's a lot of "shield" - rock face that gets slick with moss and wet so I'd probably faceplant with both hands full.
Bren R.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Oct 2006
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axiomite
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OP
axiomite
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Thanks for the support folks. The good news is that nobody got seriously hurt as a result of the ice. Over 200,000 without power at it's peak. I understand there are still pockets of a few dozen customers without power here and there. That would make day number 8 for those poor souls. My power was off from Monday night to Friday afternoon. Borrowed a generator from my parents to save our pipes from freezing. Because we live about 2 hours away we thought we could share the generator as it would be unlikely we would both be without power for long. While they were OK in the eastern end of PEI, this did teach us that that might not always be the case so I guess I know my next big purchase... HT room budget dipped into one more time. Here is a few pics from our line crews. They are small but they were taken in low res. I want to add some more of my own tonight. I have some interesting ones of trees bent down over the road to the point they washed (scraped) your car on both sides when you drove between them. Ice Storm Pics Thanks again and Peter, falling down, without getting hurt, did make me feel better. Can I count on you to take a spill every time I need it?
With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,301
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Dec 2005
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I'm not much for snow, but sometimes it's worth it. My wife took this picture in our front yard this morning with her little Canon.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
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That ain't Caleeforneeyay.
Can't be.
Michael, what is the elevation where you live?
bibere usque ad hilaritatem
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
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Damn, that's pretty. I'm envious.
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,463 Likes: 1
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,463 Likes: 1 |
For "Caleeforneeyay" it's been pretty cold lately. Nothing like the rest of the country, but cold for us nonetheless. I can't complain, though, it's been clear and sunny out as well.
That is a pretty picture.
*********** "Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,301
connoisseur
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connoisseur
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Tom, we are about 4300 feet above sea level. I've spent most my life farther south in Ca. where the temps rarely dropped below 50F, I'm not a big fan of cold weather so it's hard for me to imagine how our brothers to the North can even deal with what they go through in winter.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
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Re: Ice.... Everywhere....Sleep......Nowhere
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 868
aficionado
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aficionado
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The brain gets numb from the cold and we cease to notice winter. LOL
Dave
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