Showing posts with label blackout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blackout. Show all posts

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Disastrous fires. KBR contract. Coincidence?

By GottaLaff


Well, well. Look what the Santa Ana winds blew in:
KBR Awarded Disaster Relief Contract by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Under Initiative for Emergency Power 11 Nov 2008 KBR today announced it has been awarded a disaster relief contract, valued at up to $75 million over a five-year period by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Pittsburgh District, for its advance contract initiative for emergency power for the Western region of the United States. The disaster relief contract was created by the USACE to respond immediately to power emergencies resulting from a natural or manmade disaster. KBR will provide all labor, transportation, equipment, materials, supervision and required internal logistics support to perform generator set activities in the Western Region, Geographic Area 3. KBR services will mobilize immediately upon activation by USACE to the "disaster" area. The company will work to quickly provide emergency power to the critical public facilities designated by the State and FEMA as directed by the USACE.
Timing is everything.

Los Angeles fears blackouts as wildfire burns --"The fire is threatening the power of the city of Los Angeles. We may have to move to rolling blackouts." 15 Nov 2008 A wildfire whipped up by hurricane-force gusts raged through northwestern Los Angeles foothills on Saturday, burning some 165 homes and threatening the power supply of California's largest city. More than 10,000 residents were under mandatory evacuation orders as the fire, which has burned more than 2,600 acres, spread westward fanned by dry winds. A separate fire burned a second day in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, where 111 homes have been destroyed. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the fire in the foothills at the edge of San Fernando Valley near Sylmar had destroyed more than any other in the past decade and that flames could take down power lines.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

11 hours without electricity

By GottaLaff


Here's what I learned today:
  • Going without electricity for 11 hours is horrendous.
  • Iraqis have it a lot worse than I did.
  • Buying a lot of refrigerated groceries the day before a blackout wastes money that we didn't have in the first place.
  • It gets hot inside without air conditioning, especially when it's over 90 outside.
  • You can't blow dry your hair. This is crucial.
  • The bathroom is dark and scary.
  • The walk-in closet is dark and scary.
  • My not-blow-dried hair is dark auburn and scary.
  • Cats are annoying if you share every minute of the day with them.
  • Mr. Laffy is the perfect person to be stuck with during a blackout.
  • There is no outside world when there is no electricity with which to run the computer, TV, and radio.
  • Hence, John Sidney McCain didn't exist today. Silver lining.
  • Hence, I couldn't post. Downside.
  • Hence, I got a lot of cleaning done. Silver lining.
  • Hence, I had to rely on the L.A. Times for all my news. Downside.
  • Hence, I spent lots of phone time with Paddy and Bucky. Silver lining.
  • The local power company is useless and shared no information about the blackout. I hate them.
  • No food left to cook. Hence, Mr. Laffy is buying us Pinkberry for dinner. Silver lining.
  • I missed you all very much. Please don't let this happen again. I need my Commenter fix.
Love,
Laffy

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