vBCms Comments

Welcome To Hunting Country

    Site News & Announcements (34)
    New Member Introductions (142)

General Hunting Forums

    After the Hunt - Recipes / Cooking (59)
    Waterfowl, and Small Birds (15)
    Big Game General (47)
    Turkey Hunting (60)
    Small Game (11)
    Whitetail / Mule Deer Forum (149)
    Pigs & Exotics (11)
    General Gear and Hunting Accessories (59)

Archery & Bowhunting

    Archery Gear Talk - Compounds (80)
    Archery Gear Talk - Accessories (28)
    Bowhunting (153)
    Archery Gear Talk - Crossbows (7)

Shooting Sports

    Gun / Rifle Target Shooting (17)
    Archery Target/Tournament Shooting (5)

Manufacturers' Corner

    Product Announcements (2)
    Promotions and News (6)

Firearms

    Black Powder (1)
    AR Talk (15)
    Guns & Rifles (88)
    Reloading (12)

Classifieds

    Fishing Gear (1)
    General & Misc (3)
    Archery Equipment (17)
    Guns & Firearms (11)
    Camping & Hiking (0)

Not Hunting / General Chit Chat

    Podunk Corner (1588)
    Photography (118)
    Fishing Chat (46)
1.) DParker - 02/09/2021
The upcoming high/low temperature forecast for this part of Tejas:

Wednesday - 42°F/32°F
Thursday - 39°F/29°F
Friday - 39°F/25°F
Saturday - 31°F/17°F
Sunday - 31°F/18°F
Monday - 26°F/14°F
Tuesday - 35°F/26°F <--- A reprieve

It's like I went to bed in TX and woke up in MN.
2.) bluecat - 02/09/2021
We used to dream of highs in the low thirties and forties.
3.) bluecat - 02/09/2021


I kept expecting a super bowl smoking extravaganza. Don't tell me you just ate cheetos.
4.) DParker - 02/09/2021
There was a football game on?
5.) DParker - 02/09/2021
Or are you talking about a different kind of bowl smoking?
6.) bluecat - 02/10/2021
You got me. I laid around with friends and got baked.
7.) Swamp Fox - 02/10/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63105]The upcoming high/low temperature forecast for this part of Tejas:

Wednesday - 42°F/32°F
Thursday - 39°F/29°F
Friday - 39°F/25°F
Saturday - 31°F/17°F
Sunday - 31°F/18°F
Monday - 26°F/14°F
Tuesday - 35°F/26°F <--- A reprieve

It's like I went to bed in TX and woke up in MN.[/QUOTE]



Minus 42!... That's crazy talk!
8.) Swamp Fox - 02/10/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63107]

I kept expecting a super bowl smoking extravaganza. Don't tell me you just ate cheetos.[/QUOTE]



Two lessons from this:


I will never live in Kansas.


Valentine's Day is even more painfully cold out there than in the rest of the kingdom ...
9.) bluecat - 02/10/2021
Meh, it's a dry heat.
10.) bluecat - 02/10/2021
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;63112]

I will never live in Kansas.

[/QUOTE]

"You might check the third base coach. I don't think he's waving you in."
11.) DParker - 02/10/2021
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;63111]Minus 42!... That's crazy talk![/QUOTE]

Forum software stripping embedded spaces from posts is a communist plot. Prove me wrong.
12.) Swamp Fox - 02/10/2021
"LOL To All That"...
13.) DParker - 02/11/2021
It's currently 26°F with a wind chill of 14°F and the lawn is covered in a crust of ice...and I still have to practically drag my dog (the old male) back inside after I let him out for a few minutes. He has the heaviest undercoat I've ever seen on a dog. He should have been pulling a sled in the Iditarod when he was young.
14.) bluecat - 02/11/2021
My wife is always concerned about our Australian Shepard being cold outside. Now understand when you touch him, it takes a few seconds to actually reach his skin because of his dense coat.
So last year I was doing some work around the barn and it was snowing. Alex went with me (probably to cool down). I'd been in the barn for awhile while Alex laid in the snow waiting for me to emerge. When I did, I couldn't find him.
He was completely covered in the fallen snow and still in the same position I'd left him. I think he would have stayed all day if I'd let him.

Some breeds are just built for this stuff.


Heard there was a big traffic pile up around Fort Worth.
15.) DParker - 02/11/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63139]My wife is always concerned about our Australian Shepard being cold outside. Now understand when you touch him, it takes a few seconds to actually reach his skin because of his dense coat.
So last year I was doing some work around the barn and it was snowing. Alex went with me (probably to cool down). I'd been in the barn for awhile while Alex laid in the snow waiting for me to emerge. When I did, I couldn't find him.
He was completely covered in the fallen snow and still in the same position I'd left him. I think he would have stayed all day if I'd let him.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, Buster (our male) is the same way, and I can't convince my wife that just because she can't tolerate temperatures below 70°F it doesn't mean that he isn't perfectly comfortable outside when it's freezing...even though he makes it abundantly clear that it's too warm in the house for him, by panting and constantly wanting to go and stay outside.


Heard there was a big traffic pile up around Fort Worth.[/QUOTE]
16.) DParker - 02/11/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63139]My wife is always concerned about our Australian Shepard being cold outside. Now understand when you touch him, it takes a few seconds to actually reach his skin because of his dense coat.
So last year I was doing some work around the barn and it was snowing. Alex went with me (probably to cool down). I'd been in the barn for awhile while Alex laid in the snow waiting for me to emerge. When I did, I couldn't find him.
He was completely covered in the fallen snow and still in the same position I'd left him. I think he would have stayed all day if I'd let him.

Some breeds are just built for this stuff.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, Buster (our male) is the same way, and I can't convince my wife that just because she can't tolerate temperatures below 70°F it doesn't mean that he isn't perfectly comfortable outside when it's freezing...even though he makes it abundantly clear that it's too warm in the house for him, by panting and constantly wanting to go and stay outside.

[QUOTE=bluecat;63139]Heard there was a big traffic pile up around Fort Worth.[/QUOTE]

Yep. And the same interstate (I-30) passes by just a couple miles south of our house, and there was a pile-up caused by multiple jacknifed semis there as well. We won't be going anywhere for a few days.
17.) DParker - 02/11/2021
Yeah, we're clearly not prepared for this kind of weather here.

[URL="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/traffic/traffic-updates-overnight-sleet-turns-north-texas-roads-into-sheets-of-ice/2548822/"]At Least 8 Dead, Dozens Hurt After ‘Sheets of Ice' Cause Travel Chaos Across North Texas[/URL]
18.) DParker - 02/11/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63139]My wife is always concerned about our Australian Shepard being cold outside. Now understand when you touch him, it takes a few seconds to actually reach his skin because of his dense coat.
So last year I was doing some work around the barn and it was snowing. Alex went with me (probably to cool down). I'd been in the barn for awhile while Alex laid in the snow waiting for me to emerge. When I did, I couldn't find him.
He was completely covered in the fallen snow and still in the same position I'd left him. I think he would have stayed all day if I'd let him.

Some breeds are just built for this stuff.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, Buster (our male) is the same way, and I can't convince my wife that just because she can't tolerate temperatures below 70°F it doesn't mean that he isn't perfectly comfortable outside when it's freezing...even though he makes it abundantly clear that it's too warm in the house for him, by panting and constantly wanting to go and stay outside.

[QUOTE=bluecat;63139]Heard there was a big traffic pile up around Fort Worth.[/QUOTE]

Yep. And another interstate (I-30) passes by just a couple miles south of our house, and there was a pile-up caused by multiple jacknifed semis there as well. We won't be going anywhere for a few days.
19.) bluecat - 02/11/2021


Wives...lol

Here's the little Himalayan snow bear. With his soot grey and black coat, a few inches of snow on him and he just disappears.


And Labs are damn near waterproof.
20.) DParker - 02/11/2021
That's a 4-legged Yeti right there.
21.) DParker - 02/11/2021
BTW, this Sunday and Monday...it will be warmer in Columbus, OH than in the D/FW area.
22.) bluecat - 02/11/2021
That's kooky.

Sunday it's supposed to bottom out here - about 10 below and 20 below windchill. I'm feeding lots of critters right now.
23.) bluecat - 02/11/2021
Nebraska is even colder.
24.) DParker - 02/11/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63148]Nebraska is even colder.[/QUOTE]

Stop trying to make it sound like even more of a paradise than it already is.
25.) DParker - 02/12/2021
It's a miracle even more weren't killed in this mess. This is just a tiny fraction of the pile-up, which involved 133 vehicles in all.

26.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
Whoa Nellie!
27.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
Most of that will buff right out.
28.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
+9 ...
29.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
That's fahrenheit, so it's pretty high ...
30.) DParker - 02/12/2021
"Come inside because it's 24°F out? Nah, I'm good."

31.) crookedeye - 02/12/2021
its suppose to be -30 windchill here this weekend, this cold really sucks
32.) crookedeye - 02/12/2021
i could of swore i lost an ear loff the othere day shoveling snow..i need to get a stocking cap
33.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63165]"Come inside because it's 24°F out? Nah, I'm good."

[/QUOTE]

lol, I"ve seen that look before.
34.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63165]"Come inside because it's 24°F out? Nah, I'm good."

[/QUOTE]

lol, "c'mon dad, 5 more minutes."
35.) DParker - 02/12/2021
We're supposed to see snow this weekend. I know he'll want to play in it, but his old man bones won't allow that. He'll likely just go out, lay down and take a nap in it.
36.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
"Who's a good boy?"

:cool:
37.) DParker - 02/12/2021
The local FB community page is blowing up with Karens bitching and threatening to call Animal Control over all the Siberian Huskies, Great Pyreness, Burnese Mountain Dogs, etc that they're seeing outside in people's yards today. They can't understand that some breeds are not just tolerant of this weather, but absolutely love it.

I finally had to bribe him with a slice of deli ham to get him to come inside. Sometimes I think he's not as dumb as he pretends to be.
38.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
This is what happens when you allow unregulated immigration from California ....
39.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
Worse, these are the same people that think meat comes from the Whole Foods ...
40.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63175]The local FB community page is blowing up with Karens bitching and threatening to call Animal Control over all the Siberian Huskies, Great Pyreness, Burnese Mountain Dogs, etc that they're seeing outside in people's yards today. They can't understand that some breeds are not just tolerant of this weather, but absolutely love it.

[/QUOTE]


I assume you have already created a false or at least anonymous identity to respond to this stupidity ...


Even your run-of-the-mill runt-of-the-litter Deep South deer or rabbit dog enjoys cold weather if he's let loose to do what God made him for ...
41.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63175]The local FB community page is blowing up with Karens bitching and threatening to call Animal Control over all the Siberian Huskies, Great Pyreness, Burnese Mountain Dogs, etc that they're seeing outside in people's yards today. They can't understand that some breeds are not just tolerant of this weather, but absolutely love it.

I finally had to bribe him with a slice of deli ham to get him to come inside. Sometimes I think he's not as dumb as he pretends to be.[/QUOTE]

There are three of those Great Pyrenees dogs that live close to where I travel. When I drive by they are all laying down or sleeping.
42.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;63177]Worse, these are the same people that think meat comes from the Whole Foods ...[/QUOTE]

Wait, What?
43.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63175]
I finally had to bribe him with a slice of deli ham to get him to come inside. Sometimes I think he's not as dumb as he pretends to be.[/QUOTE]

+4

I'm giving Buster points, setting a precedent that dogs can receive points for outsmarting their masters.
44.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63187]There are three of those Great Pyrenees dogs that live close to where I travel. When I drive by they are all laying down or sleeping.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=bluecat;63190]+4

I'm giving Buster points, setting a precedent that dogs can receive points for outsmarting their masters.[/QUOTE]






Well, Duh!
45.) DParker - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;63178]I assume you have already created a false or at least anonymous identity to respond to this stupidity ...[/QUOTE]

Nah. I've finally reached the "Don't give a damn" stage of my life with regard to what the townsfolk think of me. I'm never running for mayor, or even dog catcher.

[QUOTE=bluecat;63190]+4

I'm giving Buster points, setting a precedent that dogs can receive points for outsmarting their masters.[/QUOTE]

You're setting the bar kind of low here.
46.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63211]Nah. I've finally reached the "Don't give a damn" stage of my life with regard to what the townsfolk think of me. I'm never running for mayor, or even dog catcher.



[/QUOTE]


So what you're sayin' is you lost the tie for your bathrobe a while back ...
47.) DParker - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;63223]So what you're sayin' is you lost the tie for your bathrobe a while back ...[/QUOTE]

That might be why I'm no longer allowed at the city park.
48.) DParker - 02/12/2021
BTW, I just ran to the grocery store and bought, among other things, a half-gallon of ice cream....because screw you, Winter! (I keep hearing John Pinette in my head screaming, "You're not scarin' me!!")
49.) Swamp Fox - 02/12/2021
LOL .... :tu:
50.) bluecat - 02/12/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63190]+4

I'm giving Buster points, setting a precedent that dogs can receive points for outsmarting their masters.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;63223]So what you're sayin' is you lost the tie for your bathrobe a while back ...[/QUOTE]

+ 5 ...
51.) bluecat - 02/15/2021
Tomorrow's high is zero.
52.) bluecat - 02/15/2021
My sister just sent me a video of her husband throwing boiling water in the air. It vaporized immediately.
53.) DParker - 02/16/2021
After two brief (15-20 minutes) rolling blackouts at 2am and 5am this morning, it went out again at about 9am...and just came back on a couple of hours ago. And we're looking at the probability of more outages over the next day or so. It got a bit nippy in the house after hour 6 or so with no heat. Nothing to do but make Old Fashioneds, settle in and wait it out.
54.) DParker - 02/16/2021
It's currently 12°F warmer in Anchorage, AK than it is here.
55.) bluecat - 02/16/2021
You are in the deep freeze for sure.
56.) DParker - 02/16/2021
The legislative kabuki theater that is sure to result from the debacle that is the failure of the keepers of the TX energy grid to winterize the electricity generation facilities/equipment like they were supposed to is going to be....entertaining, I should imagine. We have many, many homes in our area that have been without power for nearly 2 full days now, and the situation is the same in most parts of the state. We've been comparatively lucky (so far) in that we've had 2 short blackouts of about 15-25 minutes each, and one long one that lasted just shy of 8 hours (though it gets surprisingly cold inside in that amount of time, in spite of the quite good insulation we have). Luckily we have gas appliances and the supply of natural gas to our house hasn't suffered like it has for some, so at least we could still cook when the lights were out. Others aren't so fortunate. Firewood has become difficult if not impossible to find, and some have been cleaning the local home improvement stores out of non-pressure treated lumber to cut up and throw in the fireplace.

It's like when 2020 did it's handoff to 2021 and bragged about all that had happened during the former's reign the latter said, "Hold my beer..."
57.) DParker - 02/16/2021
The good news is that we've closed our temperature gap with Anchorage to the point that it's only 8°F warmer there than here.
58.) bluecat - 02/17/2021
Do you think Swampy got sucked up by the twister?
59.) bluecat - 02/17/2021
Who's going to feed all those cats?
60.) bluecat - 02/17/2021
Tuesday morning we bottomed out at 21 below actual temperature. Today it was 20 and it felt balmy.
61.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
It finally stopped raining and the sun came out today ... We're not getting the really bad stuff ... Just the usual cold, wet nastiness that goes to your bones every winter here. Except that it won't STOP raining :bang: ....


We have had a few nights of thunder though, which while they haven't brought the legendary snow, might explain the tornado.
62.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63281]Tuesday morning we bottomed out at 21 below actual temperature. Today it was 20.00 and it felt balmy.[/QUOTE]


All I wanna no is how this is gonna affect the steaks coming out of the stockyards of Kansas City ...


LOL ...
63.) DParker - 02/17/2021
With all of the bursting pipes and people leaving their faucets trickling in order to prevent pipes from bursting the local water utilities are straining under the increased demand, and are beginning to shut down all "non-essential" water service (whatever that means). This just keeps getting better and better.

On a lighter note, it looks like the marketing folks at Shiner Bock really got ahead of the curve on this one.

64.) DParker - 02/17/2021
And on an even lighter, lighter note...this is the best wintertime thing I've seen all week. You'll need audio (NSFW language though).

[URL="https://twitter.com/TRHLofficial/status/1361652802104274947?fbclid=IwAR0NjTu60Ov_F7XqQFMycy6arYmCS7bYGwaaoKw1jxI3sTQrTxlD2SeDBsE"]https://twitter.com/TRHLofficial/status/1361652802104274947?fbclid=IwAR0NjTu60Ov_F7XqQFMycy6arYmCS7bYGwaaoKw1jxI3sTQrTxlD2SeDBsE[/URL]
65.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
LOL ...

I swear the coldest I've ever been while hunting was in Texas, and I don't think I was under-dressed.

It wasn't unusual weather, but it gave Carolina-Cold-And-Damp a good run for its money.
66.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63285]And on an even lighter, lighter note...this is the best wintertime thing I've seen all week. You'll need audio (NSFW language though).

[URL="https://twitter.com/TRHLofficial/status/1361652802104274947?fbclid=IwAR0NjTu60Ov_F7XqQFMycy6arYmCS7bYGwaaoKw1jxI3sTQrTxlD2SeDBsE"]https://twitter.com/TRHLofficial/status/1361652802104274947?fbclid=IwAR0NjTu60Ov_F7XqQFMycy6arYmCS7bYGwaaoKw1jxI3sTQrTxlD2SeDBsE[/URL][/QUOTE]


Couldn't view that.


Does that mean I need to buy a whole new computer?
67.) DParker - 02/17/2021
Hmmmm....the link works for me.
68.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
I'm sure it's a glitch on my end. I'm working with some ancient stuff.
69.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
I get "This browser is no longer supported" almost all the time when clicking on Twitter links ... Don't have the time to investigate further.

I just leave the insanity up to my imagination ... LOL
70.) DParker - 02/17/2021
Which browser are you using?
71.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
Chrome?


?



LOL ...


Like, who really nos all this stuff anyway? ....
72.) DParker - 02/17/2021
Chrome is definitely supported.
73.) Swamp Fox - 02/17/2021
I know... Which is what makes my eyes roll up into the top of my head.
74.) bluecat - 02/18/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63285]And on an even lighter, lighter note...this is the best wintertime thing I've seen all week. You'll need audio (NSFW language though).

[URL="https://twitter.com/TRHLofficial/status/1361652802104274947?fbclid=IwAR0NjTu60Ov_F7XqQFMycy6arYmCS7bYGwaaoKw1jxI3sTQrTxlD2SeDBsE"]https://twitter.com/TRHLofficial/status/1361652802104274947?fbclid=IwAR0NjTu60Ov_F7XqQFMycy6arYmCS7bYGwaaoKw1jxI3sTQrTxlD2SeDBsE[/URL][/QUOTE]

lol, well there you have it.
75.) DParker - 02/18/2021
His homey ditching him in the getaway vehicle was the best part.
76.) bluecat - 02/18/2021
I should have mentioned that.



Um...Smell you later. When those two met up, that might have been an awkward conversation.
77.) DParker - 02/19/2021
So what's killing me is all of the local moms desperately pleading on FB for info on which local store(s), if any, has/have bread because, although they have power and there's finally milk, eggs and most other stuff to be had, their precious little darlings are hungry but won't eat anything but PB&J or bologna sandwiches.

First off, if your kid(s) is/are that picky then they're not really hungry yet. Secondly, learn to be the adult in charge and teach them that they need to eat what you give them. Thirdly: [URL="https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=sandwich+bread+recipe"]https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=sandwich+bread+recipe[/URL]

OK, I'm going to go outside and yell at a cloud now.
78.) bluecat - 02/19/2021
It's sad and funny.
79.) DParker - 02/19/2021
I live a couple blocks from this lake. It's the first time it's frozen over in 31 years. I'm wondering if that will magically cause it to be stocked with walleye.

80.) bluecat - 02/19/2021
Do you have power?
81.) DParker - 02/20/2021
Yeah, we were pretty lucky. We lost power 3 times for a total of just under 9 hours on Monday, but once it came back after the 3rd time we never lost it again. We also don't live in one of the areas that ended up needing to boil their water because of burst water mains. Still, we tried to keep our usage of power and water to a minimum to do our small part to ease the strain on both utilities. We also had plenty of food and other supplies. Now exactly how lucky we were won't be known until tomorrow when everything thaws and we find out if any of our outdoor pipes that I know froze....burst.
82.) Swamp Fox - 02/20/2021
LOL ... Lots of problems caused--- as I've been sayin' --- by the fact that the wimmins don't no how to cook or bake anymore ... Gawd forbid you'd had to fill yer terlits with buckets of rainwater (or melted sno) ... :wink
83.) DParker - 02/20/2021
We actually did have quite a few people who were smart enough to use snow for purposes like that when they had to shut off their water due to pipes bursting...so not all hope is lost.

On the other side of the ledger were a few complaints about the food in their refrigerators and freezers going bad because of the power outages. Now, first of all...if you leave the fridge/freezer door closed it will stay adequately cold inside for hours, especially with the house temperature falling rapidly because your power is out. Secondly...if only there was someplace really cold you could move that food to in the middle of record low winter temperatures.
84.) crookedeye - 02/20/2021
i new you would survive..
85.) Swamp Fox - 02/20/2021
LOL ...



This is why camping is not for everyone,,,,And that's alright .... I enjoy my solitude ...

But I always hope CrOOkEdeye is not in the next good campsite over...
86.) Swamp Fox - 02/20/2021
CE posted while I was typing ... LOL
87.) crookedeye - 02/20/2021
you better i hope i am...if you want to survive.. in texas im just thinking about all the piupes frezzing
88.) crookedeye - 02/20/2021
i heard in texas they were starting to eat each other.. that isnt true is it ?
89.) crookedeye - 02/20/2021
i shouldnt be joking ..it would really suck having youre pipes frezze..hopefully everyone down there comes through it.
90.) Swamp Fox - 02/20/2021
LOL ... If you weren't joking, this wouldn't be HuntingCounty ....


:grin:
91.) Swamp Fox - 02/21/2021
Do y'all want me to start a thread where CE is my next-door neighbor?... LOL
92.) Swamp Fox - 02/21/2021
It would be like [I][I]Three's Company[/I][/I] except without the good-looking girls or a PG - rated plot ...
93.) Swamp Fox - 02/21/2021
Swampy: Prolly just some white privilege, but that doesn't help keep the kale fresh ...
94.) Swamp Fox - 02/21/2021
Okay .... Four hours without a nibble ... Maybe a sign I need to revise my elevator pitch.

I'll keep sloggin': I've got a lot of good lines written already for the pilot, such as:



[QUOTE=bluecat;63305]Do you have power?[/QUOTE]


[QUOTE][B]Swampy[/B]: Prolly just some white privilege, but that doesn't help keep the kale fresh___
[/QUOTE]





Have your people reach out to my people...
95.) Swamp Fox - 02/22/2021
....
96.) bluecat - 02/22/2021
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;63324]Do y'all want me to start a thread where CE is my next-door neighbor?... LOL[/QUOTE]

I don't think the world is quite ready for that.
97.) DParker - 02/22/2021
It hit nearly 70 yesterday, and will do the same today. It's suddenly as if the past week never happened.

Damn, but the weather here is weird.
98.) bluecat - 02/22/2021
I was hearing on the news this morning coming in to work about all the lawsuits that are going to take place in Texas. I also heard of the death of a child that froze to death. Horrible.
99.) DParker - 02/22/2021
Yeah, that one was pretty bad. The family lives in a mobile home, and even if they weren't without power for more than a day those things tend to be pretty poorly insulated, and would have gotten cold really fast. There were something like 30 deaths in total (so far), but most were due to things like carbon monoxide poisoning due to people trying to run generators, grills, etc inside of their houses/apartments.
100.) bluecat - 02/22/2021
As a parent, knowing it is that cold, don't you all just climb in bed together? Don't mean to trivialize it.
101.) DParker - 02/22/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63343]As a parent, knowing it is that cold, don't you all just climb in bed together? Don't mean to trivialize it.[/QUOTE]

That was my first reaction too. But then I though maybe they all went to bed before it got really cold and just didn't anticipate how cold it would get overnight. Ditto all the people who brought generators and such indoors without thinking about the carbon monoxide issue.
102.) DParker - 02/22/2021
2 days ago we were all freezing our asses off. Just now I had to open a couple of windows in my home office because it's too damned hot upstairs.

My male dog it most confused...and a little pissed off, I think.
103.) bluecat - 02/23/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63344]That was my first reaction too. But then I though maybe they all went to bed before it got really cold and just didn't anticipate how cold it would get overnight. Ditto all the people who brought generators and such indoors without thinking about the carbon monoxide issue.[/QUOTE]

That's a plausible explanation.
104.) bluecat - 02/23/2021
They were interviewing someone from Texas this morning on the radio and they were saying their electric bill for 5 days was 17,000. Apparently you have different grid providers and they were able to increase their rates without full disclosure on what they were doing. Sounds like the fun is only beginning.
105.) bluecat - 02/23/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63345]2 days ago we were all freezing our asses off. Just now I had to open a couple of windows in my home office because it's too damned hot upstairs.

My male dog it most confused...and a little pissed off, I think.[/QUOTE]

An 80 degree swing in temperature does that sometimes. Whenever I let my dog out he tries to find remnant snow so he can stretch out in it and cool down his belly.
106.) DParker - 02/23/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63351]They were interviewing someone from Texas this morning on the radio and they were saying their electric bill for 5 days was 17,000. Apparently you have different grid providers and they were able to increase their rates without full disclosure on what they were doing. Sounds like the fun is only beginning.[/QUOTE]

We have a "dergulated" system in which the electricity business is divided into 3 major components (actually more than that, but for this discussion only 3 matter to most Texans). It's a bit complicated, but this is the 50k foot view for consumers:

[LIST=1]
[*]Retail Electric Providers - The deregulated part. These are businesses that buy power at wholesale from #2 below and resell to consumers, theoretically at a profit to them.
[*]Distribution and Transmission - Still regulated. As it sounds, these are the entities that own and operate the power distribution and transmission hardware (power lines, substations, etc) that get the power from #3 below to your home/business.
[*]Power Generation - Also still regulated. These are the companies that generate the juice. How the business ($$) side of things works between #2 & #3, I don't really know. But again, for this discussion it doesn't matter.
[/LIST]
#1 is who you do business with as a consumer. You can pick and choose from any retailer who services the area in which you live (and if you're in a metropolitan area there are typical a LOT of options), as well as from different plans offered by each provider. So there's the competition part, and it has worked quite well to keep costs down for consumers. The problem is that you get to make your own choice between fixed-rate and variable-rate plans (of which there are multiple types), and some people chose poorly in this case. A couple retailers...of which "Griddy" is the most well-known...provide service on a wholesale-plus-fixed-fee basis. This means that you're charged whatever the current minute-to-minute wholesale spot market price for the electricity you use, plus a relatively small fee for the retailer. This is almost always lower than the fixed-rate plans because the latter builds in some padding to handle the fluctuations in the spot market, which allows retailers to provide you with a fixed rate for the duration of a contract (the term of which you can also choose) so you always know exactly what you're going to pay based on your usage. But with the wholesale-plus-fixed-fee plan there are no guarantees, and you're basically gambling that the spot market fluctuations are, over time, going to average out in your favor. And they usually do...except in cases like what happened last week, when the spot market prices increases something like 100x until they hit a cap established by law of $9,000/MWh (or $9/kWh). It is the consumers who are on these plans who are getting bent over and...er...charged huge amounts for 5 days of usage. Those of us (the vast majority of customers, or at least those of us lucky enough to actually have power) who opted for fixed-rate plans continued to paid our contracted rates...causing the retailers to take the hit instead of us. No doubt there will be some increases in rates seen when it comes time to renew contracts, as the retailers attempt to recover at least some of their losses, but spread out over some time, but those should be temporary as competition kicks back in to put downward pressure on those rates again.

Clear as mud?
107.) DParker - 02/23/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63353]An 80 degree swing in temperature does that sometimes. Whenever I let my dog out he tries to find remnant snow so he can stretch out in it and cool down his belly.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it's supposed to actually hit 80F in some parts of D/FW today. It's just nuts.
108.) bluecat - 02/23/2021
[QUOTE=DParker;63355]We have a "dergulated" system in which the electricity business is divided into 3 major components (actually more than that, but for this discussion only 3 matter to most Texans). It's a bit complicated, but this is the 50k foot view for consumers:

[LIST=1]
[*]Retail Electric Providers - The deregulated part. These are businesses that buy power at wholesale from #2 below and resell to consumers, theoretically at a profit to them.
[*]Distribution and Transmission - Still regulated. As it sounds, these are the entities that own and operate the power distribution and transmission hardware (power lines, substations, etc) that get the power from #3 below to your home/business.
[*]Power Generation - Also still regulated. These are the companies that generate the juice. How the business ($$) side of things works between #2 & #3, I don't really know. But again, for this discussion it doesn't matter.
[/LIST]
#1 is who you do business with as a consumer. You can pick and choose from any retailer who services the area in which you live (and if you're in a metropolitan area there are typical a LOT of options), as well as from different plans offered by each provider. So there's the competition part, and it has worked quite well to keep costs down for consumers. The problem is that you get to make your own choice between fixed-rate and variable-rate plans (of which there are multiple types), and some people chose poorly in this case. A couple retailers...of which "Griddy" is the most well-known...provide service on a wholesale-plus-fixed-fee basis. This means that you're charged whatever the current minute-to-minute wholesale spot market price for the electricity you use, plus a relatively small fee for the retailer. This is almost always lower than the fixed-rate plans because the latter builds in some padding to handle the fluctuations in the spot market, which allows retailers to provide you with a fixed rate for the duration of a contract (the term of which you can also choose) so you always know exactly what you're going to pay based on your usage. But with the wholesale-plus-fixed-fee plan there are no guarantees, and you're basically gambling that the spot market fluctuations are, over time, going to average out in your favor. And they usually do...except in cases like what happened last week, when the spot market prices increases something like 100x until they hit a cap established by law of $9,000/MWh (or $9/kWh). It is the consumers who are on these plans who are getting bent over and...er...charged huge amounts for 5 days of usage. Those of us (the vast majority of customers, or at least those of us lucky enough to actually have power) who opted for fixed-rate plans continued to paid our contracted rates...causing the retailers to take the hit instead of us. No doubt there will be some increases in rates seen when it comes time to renew contracts, as the retailers attempt to recover at least some of their losses, but spread out over some time, but those should be temporary as competition kicks back in to put downward pressure on those rates again.

Clear as mud?[/QUOTE]

Clearer for sure. What this couple was saying was there was a phone call that warned/alerted them of a switchover in which they either ignored or didn't have time to adjust. Not sure.

Variable rate seems like a red flag right there - just like those variable rate mortgage options years ago that ended up hurting a lot of hopeful/idiot homeowners.
109.) DParker - 02/23/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63357]Clearer for sure. What this couple was saying was there was a phone call that warned/alerted them of a switchover in which they either ignored or didn't have time to adjust. Not sure.

Variable rate seems like a red flag right there - just like those variable rate mortgage options years ago that ended up hurting a lot of hopeful/idiot homeowners.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, to Griddy's credit they sent out notices to their customers warning them of the rate hike that was coming and urging them to switch to a different retailer if they could. Unfortunately it was mostly too late by that point, as most other retailers stopped offering new contracts temporarily because there was no way they could do so at their regular rates, knowing that they would be taking big losses on them.
110.) bluecat - 02/23/2021
So is this couple going to have to pay the 17,000 or do you think the power companies are going to absorb it and pass this along to future consumers. Just curious. I realize it's just your opinion at this point.
111.) DParker - 02/23/2021
[QUOTE=bluecat;63359]So is this couple going to have to pay the 17,000 or do you think the power companies are going to absorb it and pass this along to future consumers. Just curious. I realize it's just your opinion at this point.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I don't really know. It's quite the hot-button issue right now, and there are a lot of torches and pitchforks standing by. I guess it'll depend to a large degree on how much value the controlling entities place on PR. On the other hand, the cases like Griddy customers are of customers who willingly chose to gamble on rates not spiking outrageously, and there was already precedent for this happening a few summers ago...though not quite to this extent.