Like Many, I’m Still Without Electricity
I was lucky, not receiving any damage beyond a fallen section of privacy fence. Last night I wasn’t feeling lucky as I attempted to sleep in the summer heat but this morning I got a greater appreciation for just how bad the storms were.
This morning I spotted this truck just two blocks from my house. I have no word on the condition of the driver but the fact the truck remains in place many hours later is not a good sign. I hope the driver is doing well after what must have been quite a hit to the cab of the truck.
This morning I’m still without power. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without electricity in my life. It is amazing how dependent I am on air conditioning! I’ve even been riding my scooter the past few days but it is not so bad when you are moving. Trying to sleep last night without A/C was brutal, a breeze was not to be found. Some decided 3am was a good time to hang out in the street and have a conversation and listen to music. After two phone calls to police they decided it was time to go home.
As I sit at the lovely, and very busy, Hartford Coffee I realize just how much I need electricity. I began thinking last night as my power went out I need battery backup units not only for my desktop computer & printer/scanner/fax but also for my modem and wireless device which are in a separate room. Excessive?
I’m also concerned about food in the fridge spoiling although thankfully I didn’t buy too much this week. This all brought up for me the book I read last year Better OFF: Flipping The Switch on Technology by St. Louis resident Eric Brende. He and his wife lived a year in an Amish-like community without the use of electricity, see post.
I’ve done better of late by not keeping the thermostat so low and by riding my scooter rather than the air conditioned car. Still, when the choice of power is taken away I feel a bit lost. I can’t imagine going through what gulf coast residents endured last year.
Funny thing, most are saying “We lost our power” or “Do you have power?” We all know what we mean — electricity. But is there more to the word, power? Electricity in our society does translate to power. I’m going to try to retain my “power” even though I don’t have electricity.
– Steve
The old cliche goes “Knowledge is Power” which has ring of truth to it, but your post illustrates that he or she who can provide power has POWER! (and usually gobs of $$$)
Hang in there man. Last August when 250k people lost power(by the way people refer to electricity as power because power is a measure of how much electricity you are using in a certain amount of time) in a storm, I was without it for 3 days. You’ll make it!
You taunt me by saying that electricity is on a mere three blocks from my darkened and rapidly heating house. Phooey.
Kudos to all the ground crew workers at Tower Grove Park at 7:00 a.m.
Any word as to whether or not the Switzer Building can be saved?
no, taunting is looking out your window at the houses ACROSS THE STREET that sill have electricity, and nice cool, A/C blowing…
I slept out in my Westfalia because it was about 10 degrees cooler there than in the house!
Another reason to live Downtown, where we keep our powerlines underground. 😉
heard an Ameren official today on 90.7 say it may be 3-5 days for full restoration.
I went on a big grocery shopping trip about 3 hours before the power went out…damn.
The Switzer building will come through all of this better than expected. We’ve already had reps from our office there this morning. There is some stabilization work taking place right now, but the building is still there. 🙂
Stay tuned for more news to come on the project, and the rehab…
Adam
(w/ rosemann… the architects for the Switzer renovation)
If the fallen east wall of the Switzer building can’t be rebuilt, I wouldn’t mind a blend of old and new, if a tastefully modern eastern facade took its place. Despite the Landing’s many historic brick buildings, the modern Port St. Louis development is to be built there as well.
Adam, thanks for the report on the Switzer building. I’m glad to hear it’s gonna be okay . . . I was worried after I read about it in the paper.
The allee of trees in Forest Park across Kingshighway from me really got ripped up . . . limbs everywhere. Why is it that the living trees get damaged and the dead ones are still standing there untouched?
Hope those of you without power are staying cool.
Good luck on your power. Two thumbs up for UPS – look for one that has voltage stabilization. Will cost a few $$$s more but well worth it considering the power variations we have.
I was lucky insofar as my power came back on around 1am – but then, we didn’t have that much damange. I never was able to get into UE’s outage line even at midnight last evening. This made me suspicious that the half-million figure being quoted might be artificially low simply because either folks couldn’t get into the system or had much bigger worries.
I’ve been monitoring the outage map off and on throughout the day. While I’m certain UE is making progress, the overall number isn’t moving much. Was 503K at 1am, 507K at 3am, 442K at 6:45, 496K at 1pm and now at 3:55 pm its at 493K.
Its going to get ugly so I’d suggest that UE put their top PR person on this; otherwise its going to get very, very ugly.
After that, the PR person can focus their attention on the school board! If there’s any group of 4 people who must be smiling today … the media now has a bigger disaster to report on
=)
For those worried about their food, chances are you can make a claim on your homeowners insurance, especially if you have other damage that meets a deductable.
What happened to the storm sirens? My wife thought we should go downstairs, but since there were no sirens I hung out on my porch and watched the carnage.
Feels weird to actually have power after that, we are usually the first and longest to go without power after a biggest storm.
No tornado= no sirens.
Still have my power as well.
We had the sirens in North County (I live in Overland, you know, crazy city hall) for about 5 minutes after the initial wind blew through.
When the wind really came through the first time about every dead limb in my two trees fell at once. Luckily I got my hammock inside since it would have acted like a nice sail and flew across the neighborhood.
Here’s some photos from last night’s game:
stltoday forum photos
Cardinal nation photos
No electric in my entire south side neighborhood.
The first night was fine… reading by candle light, early to bed, early to rise, very Ben Franklin. But I’ve had to pack up the cat and stay out in Overland until power comes back.
NOW is the time to address the enormous task of moving all power lines underground. They’ll crab about cost and effort, but just how much is this current mess costing Ameren?
Yesterday was the time to put our needed power/data infrastructure underground and out of harm’s way. Instead our local leaders find the need to spend hundreds of millions on highways for trucks and autos instead of protecting much more important assets.
But it is never too late to start… the highway of tomorrow should be based on power and information. Instead our leaders want to spend our tax dollars on removing/repaving existing highways designed to reduce our quality of life.
These latest problems should make the point obvious to all. But where’s the MSM in establishing the forum for such a needed public debate?
Think, folks! Why do dead trees stand and live trees get ripped apart by high winds in summer? The leaves provide wind resistance, act like sails.
The past couple of days have given me a sense of what life mustÂ’ve been like for people in the early 20th century. Without TV, computers or air conditioning people have been spending more time in the evenings out on the sidewalks, streets and front porches. Steve, IÂ’ve seen you mention small private living spaces as a possible requirement for active street life, I think we can add stagnant air and boredom to the list.
“Community” seems to be the latest buzzword among developers today, whether it’s in New Town St. Charles or Washington Ave., but I seriously doubt that putting a coffee shop or farmer’s market within walking distance will create the sense of community people are looking for, not as long as people have their widescreen TVs, internet, and 72 degrees of processed air. The lively street life we admire in cities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was created by people pouring into the street for relief from the factors mentioned above, and a strong sense of community was the byproduct. We simply don’t have the same *need* for the streets and sidewalks as they did.
Until the power goes out that is.
[REPLY So true, great observation. – SLP]
The man driving the truck down S. Compton DID SURVIVE. He managed to make it to a porch on Dakota Street. Reports were that he might have had a concussion.