Comments on: The night without artificial light https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/ A blog about political change, among other things Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:47:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: KBK https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96469 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:47:07 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96469 We were up to 30 candlepower Saturday night.

Temperature in the house got down to 55 at night, but we were able to keep it at 63 during the day with the fireplace.

Good time to catch up on reading. We did buy some LED headlamps later, after the power came back on, because the incandescent book lights really chew through the batteries.

Cooking was done on a camp stove, and our sleeping bags were opened over the bed. We were pretty comfortable, but concerned we would run out of wood. We don’t have much in our current place; certainly not compared to the several cords we usually have around, to say nothing of an excellent wood stove.

OTOH we had town water from the water tower (which I assume would have backup generators on the pumps).

]]> By: I am Thursday https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96399 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:49:48 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96399 I echo Neo’s and Melanie’s sentiments. I went to VA just yesterday and you just couldn’t get out from underneath all the noise.

The TV blared at uncomfortable decibels; people spoke in mid-range shouts to be heard over the TV; and the nurses and attendants shouted out names for the next patient over everything. It sounded like a bleeding madhouse.

If you notice, there is precious little silence in our world now. There is invariably a TV in the lobby, music in the hallways. While you eat, while you work, while you do almost every activity imaginable— noise and visual stimulation is a constant accompaniment. You have iPods, cellphones, text-messaging devices, laptops, navigating systems… all this can drive one mad with distraction.

So, yes, a couple days of candlelight and silence doesn’t sound too bad. But only for a couple of days.

]]> By: amr https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96372 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:12:49 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96372 Being at the end of the line for power transmission, almost anything causes us to lose power; two or three times for 5 days with a 1 day loss not being unusual. Note that one of the recent unintended consequences of more government regulation of power generation prices is less line maintenance staff. Being in the country, we have more resources that those in the cities or suburbs, but losing power is just as unsettling; we have a stream and a spring, which of course are all far downhill and therefore they are hopefully not needed reserves. Our new country kitchen has a wood burner and propane stove so we can cook on either and stay warm. We also have a 5k pull to start gasoline generator that can be run occasionally to operate the central oil heater to bring up the temperature in the whole house, run the hot water heater and operate the well pump to recharge the water pressure tank, refill the toilets and our 30 gallon water storage tank in the basement then take showers. The water heater and well pump pull too much power to operate at the same time. It would have been nice to have a gas/propane water heater but that is for another day. Take care and be safe.

]]> By: A fan https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96360 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:08:06 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96360 Yes, Melanie, it’s like the sound between the ears of a liberal…

(OK, that was cheap, but I couldn’t resist)

]]> By: melanie https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96331 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:02:53 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96331 oooh! I love power outages! The silence of the world can finally be heard. No humming appliances. No cd music. Just silence.

]]> By: Don https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96311 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:43:09 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96311 I envy your weather, your enforced changes in routine, your world that changes radically yet gently. Here across the continent, it’s chilly and mostly dry, with little hardship and no adventure, and yet again Californians (mostly immigrants from who knows or cares where else) will decry yet another drought and blame global warming and forget that we are subject to weather cycles of six years or so and not just one. I’d love to be forced into the 19th Century for a few days. But I’d have to be forced.

]]> By: chuck https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96291 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:22:36 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96291 I remember going two weeks without power after hurricane Carol came through Massachusetts. We had a well in the basement and, after putting a handle on the pulley, could pump drinking water. Toilet water we carried up in pails from the pond out back. The stove was mixed kerosene and butane, so there was no problem cooking meals, and to pass the evenings my dad read from his WWII diary by the light of an oil lamp. For a child it was more adventure than hardship.

]]> By: Steven https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96290 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:15:47 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96290 How have you kept your pipes from freezing?

]]> By: mizpants https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96285 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:36:00 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96285 You should read “In Praise of Shadows” by Junichiro Tanizaki.

]]> By: vanderleun https://thenewneo.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96258 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:00:25 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/12/15/the-night-without-artificial-light/#comment-96258 Enough romanticism! Get OUT! Get OUT NOW!

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