A planned blackout is on the way from Central Maine Power, why am i *not* happy?

CMP is going to be shutting down the grid here in York County, so we'll be getting an induced power outage, so as a Flashaholic, why am i *not* pleased?

It's simple, really....

first off, CMP is the most *INCOMPETENT* power company on the planet, if not the entire known *UNIVERSE*

secondly, the outage is going to be from *midnight* to 8:00 AM, an EIGHT HOUR outage, just so they can "fix something on the grid", how completely frakked up does the grid have to be that it takes *EIGHT HOURS* to fix, especially considering the fact that the grid seems to be working just fine *NOW*

thirdly, CMP is *INCOMPETENT*, they can't keep the power stable on a normal sunny day (momentary outages are commonplace, all my electronics are protected by Uninterruptible Power Supplies), let alone under inclement weather, so i have *zero* confidence that CMP will get the grid back up after eight hours

not to mention the sheer incompetence of CMP's line crews (wich are 98% staffed by Chimpanzees, the other 2% are knuckle dragging, mouthbreathing MORONS)

anyway, i'm ready, all my NIMH's are charged up, my PowerBook G4 is fully charged, as is the UPS that it's plugged into, so i can at least watch a couple DVDs before going to bed, a Coleman flourescent lantern with fully charged NIMHs is hanging from a ceiling hook to provide area lighting, and i have about 30 CR123a primaries, which if used in my SF L1 Lumamax on Low, should get me through the CMP-Incompetence induced blackout with power to spare, if the outage lasts a few days (which it probably *will*, this *IS* CMP after all, Incompetence is their middle name) i also have a Candella candle lantern and an oil lamp

I'll lose my Broadband connection during the outage, but at least i'll be able to use my PowerBook off the UPS so i can play games and watch DVD's, speaking of which, i should probably move a copy of The Sims 2 Nightlife to my 'Book so i can make some virtual people's lives miserable with me....

Luckilly, i have a good supply of long running lights at the ready;

Minimag 2aa with Red Nite Ize LED and IQ Switch (use the Low setting)
CMG Infinity Cyan LED
Ace Hardware rubber body light with MJLED PR
Brunton 4 LED camping lantern (Low)
Coleman flourescent lantern (Low)
Princeton Tec EOS headlamp (Low)
Fenix L2T (Low)
Fenix E0
Fenix L0P SE (Low)
SureFire A2 (Low)
SureFire L1 Lumamax (Low)

Bring it on, CMP, you bunch of incompetent prats!

Sounds like fun, I'm jealous.

Nows a good time to test all your lights

MacTech said:

*INCOMPETENT*... are 98% staffed by Chimpanzees, the other 2% are knuckle dragging, mouthbreathing MORONS ... incompetent prats...

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Aw, c'mon! Let us know how you really feel! :laughing:

I dunno if I could handle that. I'm a night owl... I'd be bored!!! I guess you could go out side in the woods with your lights! or play solitaire with yourself! lol.

Good luck, I hope it is just the 8 hours, and I hope no emergencies arise from it. I know a lot of us think we want power outages, but they are not games for most people. Good luck guy.

Hope you manage to pull through If the sky is clear that night... you might want to pop your head out the window and notice the sky full of stars. And even if it is cloudy... it's a great time to step outside and test the flashlights in "real world dark settings".

Sounds like a good time for some CPF'ers to come round and party ! :laughing:

I think this is a good excuse to buy yourself an HID, so you can drive around to find some power crews and then light them up! hehe

LOL, funny post, but I do hope you wont suffer from the blackout or that it will last.
On a sidenote, do you watch Battlestar Galactica or is this term actually spreading?

MacTech said:

...how completely frakked up...

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MacTech said:

I'll lose my Broadband connection during the outage, but at least i'll be able to use my PowerBook off the UPS so i can play games and watch DVD's, speaking of which, i should probably move a copy of The Sims 2 Nightlife to my 'Book so i can make some virtual people's lives miserable with me....
Bring it on, CMP, you bunch of incompetent prats!

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If you plug your router (modem) into the UPS with your macbook you *should* maintain power via your phone and cable lines, I know that if I had a UPS and a lapotop that is how I would roll.

I've only experienced 1 power outage in the last 10 years, but like you, I hate my power company too. lol

Lobo said:

LOL, funny post, but I do hope you wont suffer from the blackout or that it will last.
On a sidenote, do you watch Battlestar Galactica or is this term actually spreading?

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Yep, i'm a fan of BSG, how could you tell?

however i *DO* believe the term is spreading anyway, my co-workers have picked it up, and they don't even watch the show....

MacTech said:

Yep, i'm a fan of BSG, how could you tell?

however i *DO* believe the term is spreading anyway, my co-workers have picked it up, and they don't even watch the show....

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Haha, I thought so. Awesome scifishow. I usually dont like scifi shows on tv, they are often too corny and nice for me (star trek, farscape etc). Only one I liked so far is BSG and Firefly. Planning to see the last 7parts of season three on my on my expected hangover tomorrow.

Lee1959 said:

Good luck, I hope it is just the 8 hours, and I hope no emergencies arise from it. I know a lot of us think we want power outages, but they are not games for most people. Good luck guy.

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I dont normally make '+1' posts but for this subject I'll make an exception..

+1

I work in the OR of a busy hospital. Yes, we have a back-up generator but the thought of having to rely on it for 8 hours fills me with dread:thumbsdow A hospital with no electricity is a whole collection of bad things about to happen all at once.:help:

Simon

Heh, how unreliable is CMP?

they couldn't even get their planned blackout right, that's right, i worked myself up into a nice, foamy rant for *no reason*, there was *no* planned blackout last night, power stayed on without a hitch (which is amazing in and of itself, given CMP's sheer incompetence)

it's because i was prepared, most likely, since i was prepared for the planned outage, we never got one.....

i still think CMP is incompetent though...

Couple months ago I ran into a similar situation. Our electric company announced it was going to shut off electricity to our area because the generators were running hard & they feared it will overload. So immediately I charge up the lights & everyone starts to come home to prepare food, etc.

In the end there was no power outage. But I didn't really care.

Around here, we had one power outage for a few hours. besides that no unstable voltage, no anomalies - in the past _27_ years.

What does that mean? I certainly pay too much for electricity.

BBL said:

Around here, we had one power outage for a few hours. besides that no unstable voltage, no anomalies - in the past _27_ years.

What does that mean? I certainly pay too much for electricity.

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Yeah, I believe blackouts are pretty unusual in most of Europe (at least the west and in urban locations). I have maybe experienced 5 in my life, and only one that lasted longer than one hour, it usually don't take that long until the power is back. Usually it's a thunderstorm that is behind the black outs, not the power company "frakking up".

Around here it seems if two raindrops fall we have a power failure for anytime from 3 minutes to 3 hours. Yall should feel privileged to get a warning to outages at all.