2023-2024 Winter Weather

[InkaUtexas 25,876]

Good time to check in on anyone who could be vulnerable, remind them what is coming. Talking mainly about the olds and young people who took  the brunt of the last go around.

[Red Five 40,847]

HEB at Brodie/William Cannon was the most crowded I've ever seen at about noon. Meat and eggs all gone. 

[Covri 6,246]

My favorite part about the panic buying is when people grab shit they never eat and think they need 10 of them.  Sure you’re erasing 16 cans of Campbell’s condensed soup in 3 days. Eggs? 4 dozen sounds about right. Bread? Check. Tortillas? Check. Crescent rolls? Check. Biscuits? Check. French bread? Check. Texas toast? Check. Naan? Check. Sourdough starter because I’m totally making bread while we’re home to go with all our other carbs we just bought? Check.

[Newdoc 3,439]

38 minutes ago, Red Five said:

HEB at Brodie/William Cannon was the most crowded I've ever seen at about noon. Meat and eggs all gone. 

Meanwhile, stuff that could actually sustain a family in a power outage remains on the shelves.

[phdhorn 6,224]

Someone tapped me from the grave to see if I was alive c/o this thingy whatever.

Looks like y'all got the typical things covered: panic buying (seen plenty of that myself the last 36 hours) are we going to die, 10 ton chunks of ice falling overnight Sun/Mon, -450 in the sun, the grid, Old faithful sized pipe bursts, drip vs non drip, people at the stores are assholes, Noadic flooding, 500 day supply of chili, etc.

Me: going to get really cold, then it won't. Brief cold event, zero or very spotty ice event, always spotty issues with power or burst pipes, don't see any statewide power problems, mostly sporadic local, yes take it seriously but for the most part just a few vrry cold days, fortunately almost no precip to speak of with it. Shouldn't stand out from  many we've had before. That's all I got.

I'll look in here later tonight. Otherwise, good luck, we're not counting on you.

 

[Pato del Muerto 52,487]

This thing is fucking allsome

 

can dial that flame amount right in

[F250 28,766]

7 minutes ago, Covri said:

My favorite part about the panic buying is when people grab shit they never eat and think they need 10 of them.  Sure you’re erasing 16 cans of Campbell’s condensed soup in 3 days. Eggs? 4 dozen sounds about right. Bread? Check. Tortillas? Check. Crescent rolls? Check. Biscuits? Check. French bread? Check. Texas toast? Check. Naan? Check. Sourdough starter because I’m totally making bread while we’re home to go with all our other carbs we just bought? Check.

Damn, that's a lot of carbs.

[Surly Bevo 24,908]

6 minutes ago, Covri said:

My favorite part about the panic buying is when people grab shit they never eat and think they need 10 of them.  Sure you’re erasing 16 cans of Campbell’s condensed soup in 3 days. Eggs? 4 dozen sounds about right. Bread? Check. Tortillas? Check. Crescent rolls? Check. Biscuits? Check. French bread? Check. Texas toast? Check. Naan? Check. Sourdough starter because I’m totally making bread while we’re home to go with all our other carbs we just bought? Check.

If people hoarding toilet paper during the early days of a novel respiratory virus didn't tell you people were stupid....

[Covri 6,246]

1 minute ago, F250 said:

Damn, that's a lot of carbs.

[Not that Bob 735]

16 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

This thing is fucking allsome

 

can dial that flame amount right in

Does that fan dealie work? Looks interesting.

[Willfully Horn 8,002]

“Loss of electricity” was included in the weather warning I saw on tv. I’d say more, but snowflakes.

Edited January 13 by Willfully Horn

[Pato del Muerto 52,487]

Just now, Not that Bob said:

Does that fan dealie work? Looks interesting.

It started spinning when it heated up so I guess so. I have the blower running as well. 

 

they make a hearth insert also, for those that have a conventional fireplace. 
 

Quadra Fire if you can’t make out the brand. 

[Homercles 10,205]

Just checked to see if the RRISD Facebook page is inundated with parents calling for schools to be closed next week…they’re out there, I know it.  

[Gatorubet 30,189]

What kind of sick bastard puts a dog head in the oven?

[Gatorubet 30,189]

Anyone who is bored can build my MacGyver ‘d outside water inlet insulator, heater gadget. 

It uses a reptile terrarium heat lamp stuck in an old throwaway ice cooler. The pix will show the outside temperature in the low 20s but somewhere in the 40s in the middle of the box near the faucet.    37 degrees where the box met the bricks

[Fudge Nuggets 19,189]

Why do you have a toilet seat and lid attached to the wall of your house, and why do you feel the need to keep it heated?

[Pato del Muerto 52,487]

20 minutes ago, Gatorubet said:

What kind of sick bastard puts a dog head in the oven?

How do you dispose of your excess dog heads?

[Gatorubet 30,189]

1 minute ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Why do you have a toilet seat and lid attached to the wall of your house, and why do you feel the need to keep it heated?

?????   Everyone on Surly thinks that they are all involved in really hot shit. 

[Gatorubet 30,189]

Just now, Pato del Muerto said:

How do you dispose of your excess dog heads?

First, you make a roux….

[Fudge Nuggets 19,189]

4 hours ago, Hate said:

Heb is The Woodlands is no issue at all. Well stocked and not too crowded. Potato Soup up tonight for dinner.

Low tonight is supposed to be 40F.  Don't know if we're going to survive.

[Tailgate 3,021]

Continues to blow my mind the madness that goes on with a couple days of freeze.

[jimmyjazz 45,894]

24 minutes ago, Tailgate said:

Continues to blow my mind the madness that goes on with a couple days of freeze.

It's a new thing.  People are gun shy after multiple grid failures.

I'm not entirely sure I did shit to prep my pipes 10+ years ago when something like this was in the forecast.  Got lucky, maybe.

Edited January 14 by jimmyjazz

[Newdoc 3,439]

11 minutes ago, Tailgate said:

Continues to blow my mind the madness that goes on with a couple days of freeze.

Human beings conditioned from 2021 and not taught basic reasoning skills. Interesting to watch us regress as a society.

[Hefeweizen 5,310]

Everyone breaking furniture down to burn yet?

[bolverk 29,659]

Drove out to West Texas for the next few days.

Just after 6 pm when I was getting ready for an HEB run, the temp was 49F. By the time I got in a spot at 6:35 for curbside pick-up, it'd fallen to 31F, and the wind was blowing. Currently, the temp reads 25F and, apparently, the winds are about to go crazy.

Expecting to get down to 9F by 9 am (real feel of -9F) tomorrow morning.

Edited January 14 by bolverk

[miguelito 11,256]

Can I have your watch when you are dead?

[bolverk 29,659]

1 minute ago, miguelito said:

Can I have your watch when you are dead?

I haven't worn it in about ten years. If you can find it shoved in the back of some drawer back at the casa in Austin, you're more than welcome to it. You'll have to guess my address though.

[InkaUtexas 25,876]

HEB in Buda is well stocked. Plenty of beer and veggies. Meat is a little light. No one is touching the canned food.

Had to go to an art show and stopped to get some wine. People were a bit frantic but no Karen's in sight. They had toilet paper. Just PSA to the Surl in South Austin.

[RMac5 1,551]

4 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

This thing is fucking allsome

 

can dial that flame amount right in

I want one of those for my home shop. Suckers are expensive!

[Neonmoon 38,129]

45 minutes ago, bolverk said:

I haven't worn it in about ten years. If you can find it shoved in the back of some drawer back at the casa in Austin, you're more than welcome to it. You'll have to guess my address though.

[HOOKEM4 5,036]

2 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

Everyone breaking furniture down to burn yet?

Furniture is all burned. Starting to use my post oak wood now. Not gonna smoke anything for a few days so I figure I am safe.

[Cap33 384]

3 hours ago, Newdoc said:

Human beings conditioned from 2021 and not taught basic reasoning skills. Interesting to watch us regress as a society.

Add to that 100 hours without power in 2023. I'll admit, this shit triggers me. But I'm not rushing to the HEB because if/when we lose power again, I'm not taking my Texas toast and toilet paper with me to the Marriott.

[BrickHorn 18,217]

3 hours ago, Tailgate said:

Continues to blow my mind the madness that goes on with a couple days of freeze.

In retrospect, we might have resorted to cannibalism too quickly. 

[utee94 15,810]

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

It's a new thing.  People are gun shy after multiple grid failures.

I'm not entirely sure I did shit to prep my pipes 10+ years ago when something like this was in the forecast.  Got lucky, maybe.

It's nothing new.  I've lived in Austin my entire life and idiots have panic-bought before the first cold blue norther every single winter I've been here.

 

[Cap33 384]

9 minutes ago, utee94 said:

It's nothing new.  I've lived in Austin my entire life and idiots have panic-bought before the first cold blue norther every single winter I've been here.

Yes. And hurricanes* (see e.g., Rita, 2005).

*Hurricanes that never get within 100 miles of Austin.

Edited January 14 by Cap33

[InkaUtexas 25,876]

Chicken stew in the crockpot. Pissed off the wife because I asked if she could make rolls, she wants dumplings. If that is the worst thing, oh well. Reason I wanted rolls if for sammiches as well, but I am a selfish bastard.

We have 5days of good food, about 21 days of aw shit food, and I can go drop a squirrel if it gets real bad. Live on a grid that goes down all the time, so expect to lose power. Have a model to build to keep myself occupied and already made it sound worse to my overseas clients so if I want to fuck off for a few days I can. 25gallons of water (rain water not included) stored for toilets and we know if the rule, if its yellow leave it mellow.

[Bevo 13,570]

Without fail it seems every year, I plan a vacation and the weather goes to shit as I'm leaving. Plan for bad weather again around Valentines Day.

[jimmyjazz 45,894]

42 minutes ago, utee94 said:

It's nothing new.  I've lived in Austin my entire life and idiots have panic-bought before the first cold blue norther every single winter I've been here.

 

Eh, I respectfully disagree.  I've lived here since 1985 and it's definitely gotten worse.

[Orange&White 5,522]

There are just far more idiots here now than in 1995.

[Wilcox Cummingtonite 2,937]

Front has arrived here in Smithson Valley. Nothing like fresh arctic air.

[InkaUtexas 25,876]

8 minutes ago, Wilcox Cummingtonite said:

Front has arrived here in Smithson Valley. Nothing like fresh arctic air.

just rolling into San Marcos. Watching the temps drop and saying yep, lets do this!

[atomheartbevo 89,630]

8 hours ago, Covri said:

My favorite part about the panic buying is when people grab shit they never eat and think they need 10 of them. 

What I like is that so many of them are buying refrigerated stuff.  Buy some bread, peanut butter, chips, granola bars, fruits, cereal you can eat dry, veggies, cookies, sports drinks, whatever you can buy and not refrigerate.

But filling up your fucking fridge and freezer?  If the thing they are worried about happens, they’ve got full a full fridge/freezer of food that they are going to have to haul to a relatives, or put outside and hope the temps stay cold until the electricity comes back on, and that there are no critters around.

 

 

[InkaUtexas 25,876]

10 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

What I like is that so many of them are buying refrigerated stuff.  Buy some bread, peanut butter, chips, granola bars, fruits, cereal you can eat dry, veggies, cookies, sports drinks, whatever you can buy and not refrigerate.

But filling up your fucking fridge and freezer?  If the thing they are worried about happens, they’ve got full a full fridge/freezer of food that they are going to have to haul to a relatives, or put outside and hope the temps stay cold until the electricity comes back on, and that there are no critters around.

 

 

Um but if it freezes you can put it out there.... Gotta think man. I come from New England stock and was always a trick.

[atomheartbevo 89,630]

2 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Um but if it freezes you can put it out there.... Gotta think man. I come from New England stock and was always a trick.

That would work last time around (and I’ve done it before), but this little stretch will have temps hitting the 30s and above part of the time depending on where you’re at.

Edited January 14 by atomheartbevo

[InkaUtexas 25,876]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

That would work last time around (and I’ve done it before), but this little stretch will have temps hitting the 30s and above part of the time depending on where you’re at.

So fire up the MRE's and heating them on your grill. Cold PB sucks.

[atomheartbevo 89,630]

Just now, InkaUtexas said:

So fire up the MRE's and heating them on your grill. Cold PB sucks.

I’ve only got about 20 MREs, and the kids ain’t eating those unless we are camping and having to hike in.

Thankfully no real precipitation and the worst of the wind was last week, so power should be good, and Austin won’t lose water again.  And the creek by us has water, so I can haul water for a toilet.

[InkaUtexas 25,876]

Understand. I keep enough for the house for 21 days and if you touch them, well......

[WBT 20,561]

8 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

It's a new thing.  People are gun shy after multiple grid failures.

I'm not entirely sure I did shit to prep my pipes 10+ years ago when something like this was in the forecast.  Got lucky, maybe.

Multiple?

[Armybrat 40,826]

Brushy Creek - 78717 (West side of Round Rock)….

 

[TornACL 7,698]

The people hoarding groceries are the same people running their heater at 79 degrees the entire week to keep their house warm.