Generators and people.. they don't mix

So we were not too fortunate a few weeks ago when the big ice storm hit New England... In our small town here in southern NH about 7,000 customers were without power; and we were one of them. I could go into details of us shutting down the house, draining the pipes and living at my mother-in-laws for a week [we were w/out power for a total of seven days and 1 hour, ouch!] but those stories won't be interesting. You see, if I was to comment on those they would show the effort of kindness and help that many of our family, friends and neighbors put forward; a kindness that we will be always thankful for.

But instead I choose to write about Generator Idiots... If you've every lost power for some period of time you'll know exactly who I'm talking about. If not read on and be prepared to be entertained. As I stated earlier we bailed out of our house and went to live with family 60 miles from our home. We somehow managed to transfer 12 cubic feet of frozen meats to various freezers spread across a 10 mile radius (I believe there is a lost cube steak somewhere in eastern Massachusetts with my name on it). We drained our pipes, secured the house and poured alcohol into the drains to prevent the traps from freezing. While we were preparing to get out of Dodge many people decided to purchase a generator. Great idea if you buy it BEFORE the storm hits! Of course all of the stores had huge lines, they ran out of stock, prices went up, etc. But wait this is just where the fun begins...

First lets talk safety.. Do you know how many people decided to put their generators in say their basement or garage? HELLO!? Are we really that stupid as a society? The nightly news was priceless with "Idiot Generator Tips" and had live reporters following around town fire marshals who were inspecting generator installations. Come on people; haven't we all learned that anything gasoline powered is dangerous and deadly? Do you sleep with a running chainsaw next to your bed?

Next up, installation. So everyone that gleefully purchased their generators now had visions of being the only one on the block watching American Idol while others were camped around a wood stove. But wait, they get the huge 175lb box home; open it up and say "WHAT? No extension cords? What is this circular plug? How do we hook this up?" Ahh yes this is where the emergency call to an electrician comes in; in fact a person I know paid $800 for a generator and another $1100 to have the thing hooked up to his house. We'll review his costs in a moment.

Waste - I drove to the house one night to check on things... the roar of generators could be heard as I drove up the hill. All these generators and what are people doing with them? Christmas lights...porch lights.. and the top of it all, only a door bell light safely illuminated as the owners slept inside with their generator humming along. Lets see here, you're house won't freeze overnight; your food will be fine overnight in the fridge. Turn off the generator and go to bed!!

Cost - So our friend who paid $800 for a generator and $1100 for installation brings his tab up to $1900 plus lets say about $100 in gas and cans for the 5 days he had it. That is $2k! A local hotel has weekly rates for half that price.. then again this is the same person who's doorbell was illuminated.

Best Story - This comes from our propane dealer.. they visited a house that ran out of propane 3 days after the storm. This family had a 10kw generator (about 2.5x too powerful for the average home) and they ran it night and day w/the lights blazing; big screen tv, game consoles, etc. Their cost for 3 days of power $900 of propane and $150 special delivery charge.. Idiots.

Correct Generator Usage - If you have a generator please use it correctly. These devices are an emergency source of power and are not meant to be run 24x7 for a week straight. Get your house up to temperature, get the fridge cold, watch a little tv and then turn it off; lock the house up and go out for a bit. Play a game with your family by candle light. Tell stories; listen to a battery powered radio. And most importantly, be safe.

So there you have it, Generator Idiots.. I'm sure some of you have some stories to share. As for us, well we had planned to buy one in the spring. Only we will be hooking it up for a lot less money as I've researched the hell out of it; and we will run it off of propane so there is no need to store a lot of unsafe gasoline in the garage. And if/when we use it, we'll follow our own advice and stray from becoming a Generator Idiot...

Whatever...

Welcome to Whatever

So this is a place for me to sound off with random thoughts.. there is no rhyme or reason to this blog. In fact I won't even tell you how often I'm going to write on it because in all honesty, I have no idea. When I have a thought, need to vent, or just spill some stories out I'll do so here. Topics will vary from technology, society, meaningless rants, Microsoft product annoyances, etc.

The blog's name is whatever..because I'll end each and every column with the word whatever... i find that word fitting because this is my rant and once I've finished spewing all my words I'm done...meaning i'm done thinking, writing, and pondering that topic.. I then say "Whatever..." and turn it over to you the reader to decide if the column was worth it; has value, worth spreading news about, etc. Maybe if you are good I'll come along and respond to a question or a comment. Who knows...

Whatever...