chunks of flommus
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things learned during the (first?) sacramento blackout of 2023

“Several communities around Sacramento are still without power as a deadly storm hit Northern California and continues to flood streets.”
—abc10, 2 January 2023

These are things I learned, and already knew in my attempt at “primal” (for us weak humans) survival during the blackout —

1.
That the Mr Heater Buddy is spectacular. The Big Buddy is even better. Mr heaters have a oxygen depletion switch that will shut the heater down if oxygen levels get too low. Quite frankly it would take a very long time in a large space for the air to become even remotely hazardous so not to worry.

2.
I’ve known for decades that Coleman propane lanterns were the bomb!

3.
That my free Coleman camping grill that I pulled out of the dumpster was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.

4.
That it’s not a good idea to grill a steak or make pancakes indoors because of the smoke!!

But I was hungry so what the fuck.

5.
That the best thing to have on hand is lots of delicious soups that you can heat up without smoke.

6.
French press, of course what else would you use, a stupid pour over that takes too long?

7.
That Goodwill always provides. 12 large column candles for 14 bucks!

8.
That the best item you can get when you have propane heaters and stoves and lights is the refill adapter for a 5 gallon tank so you can refill your 1 lb cans for only a dollar each instead of $9 each at the store.

9.
That the best thing to do when power goes out is it go for a drive and enjoy the trip, just exploring in the lovely dark.

10.
That the rivers in Sacramento are beautiful in the dark.

11.
That older cars are the best because their cigarette lighters work without having to have the car turned on so you can recharge your phones and no time at all in your car.

12.
That rechargeable LED flashlights are truly the best.

13.
That I should have brought my LED headlamp for my shop so I could have read in bed.

14.
Then after driving through Sacramento where half the city is dark, that the other half uses way too much electricity to light empty buildings and billboards and even streets.

15.
That I can be perfectly content at 66°F, not 68° in my house.

16.
That the only downside to a demand gas water heater is that it doesn’t have a manual igniter it uses a piezoelectric instead so it’s useless in a power outage.

18.
That I need to take my portable shower unit that I used while camping and adapt it to the house for the garden hose.

19.
That if I look at a power failure as an adventure instead of an inconvenience that I actually enjoy it and find humor in it.

20.
That my own company ain’t so bad after all.

—Louis Warfield