TEOTWAWKI?!?

I was blithely typing along, and THUD… BEEP!! My UPS (uninterruptible power sources) sprang to bleeping life.

“It finally happened,” quoth I… or words to that effect.

Here at the SPTDV we have no electricity.

Since I just posted this, I gather that the whole grid isn’t down. Yet.

Posted from my iPhone.

UPDATE:

Boredom is my real challenge. I have great books, of course. Mr and Mrs Cardinal are at the feeder. Nice to see them.

UPDATE:

It is a fairly cool day. I just did a tech check: The Rosary and Breviary still work. iPhone charged this morning.

UPDATE:

There is a squad car and cop at the corner directing traffic.

Is this the beginning of total urban war?

UPDATE:

Still no power. I have my Kindle on text-to-speech reading me a dystopian novel set after a massive CME creates an EMP that takes out the grid.

Pacing.

UPDATE:

Well. This is it, I guess. Farewell, everyone. It has been swell.

It’s been a full FIFTEEN MINUTES!

UPDATE 29 July a.m.:

Still alive.

The power was restored to the area in the evening. It seems that some 2000 households in the area were blacked out.

Alas, since the blackout we have no internet in the building where the Steam Pipe Trunk Distribution Venue is situated. With the return of power, the network is still down.

I am, therefore, using a combination of phone and iPad.

This is exactly when my enemies will strike!

UPDATE:

Doing all my work from my iPad (aka Bug-Out Screen).

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About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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25 Comments

  1. Scarltherr says:

    Thank you for making me laugh today!

  2. acardnal says:

    Perhaps now is a golden opportunity to QSO on the 2 meter HAM bands!

  3. Bea says:

    Maybe somebody ran into an electric pole down the street.
    Not to worry. Not TEOTWAWKI

    If you have nothing to do, Could you pray that we get the TLM in our parish?

    Time to start a “lio” (though not in Rio).

  4. Liz says:

    :) About the time you get adjusting to not having the electricity and enjoying NOT having it, it will kick in. I assure you.

  5. acardnal says:

    For what it’s worth, my smoke alarm decided to activate last night at 0430 hrs for unknown reasons. It seems to enjoy doing this every four years! In 2010 it alarmed at 0330 hrs. It’s hardwired into the electrical grid. No batteries to blame. Upsetting ….but I still made it to the TLM/EF Mass at 0700 hours this morning. I am beginning to think its the devil.

  6. OrthodoxChick says:

    Maybe a squirrel got into a transformer. Here’s a little something to have handy, just in case I’m right. Might also help to ease the boredom.

    http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/menus/2008/01/varmints

  7. Supertradmum says:

    If Dante were alive and writing great cantos, he would have to have a place in purgatory with those who are impatient with technological difficulties. They would be pacing back and forth with dark screens and having burnt cords wrapped around their ankles. They would wail, “Do you not recognize us, the names of blog, tweet and facebook, now forgotten in the gloom of no fiber optics.”

  8. acardnal says:

    Fr. Z, I hope you can still cook dinner w/o electricity. We have not had the joy of experiencing your cooking endeavors for some time now. I hope you cooked something nice for your clergy friends while “up north”.

  9. tioedong says:

    such things are an everyday occurrence here in the Philippines. So at our house have a backup generator, our own water pump, and if the phones/internet is out, well, we blog via our smartphones.

  10. Cantor says:

    The kids at church have no clue what a mustard seed is, so when I discuss the topic of ‘what is faith?’ I use electricity.

    It’s a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a lightning bolt shatters the dark, nails a nearby transformer, and your house is plunged into darkness. You shrug, decide to hit the bathroom, and as you enter, what’s the very first thing you do? That’s right. You hit the light switch! You know there’s no power to the house, but you’re nonetheless startled that the light and the fan don’t come on. THAT is faith.

    One difference between faith in God and faith in the electric company? Just try turning off the faith in God. Sorry. No such switch.

  11. Charivari Rob says:

    For heaven’s sake – just connect some dancing bishops to a flywheel or windmill or something.

    After all, it’s not rocket science.

  12. Former Altar Boy says:

    Funny, Father. Must be a sign to work on your dissertation for awhile!

  13. Supertradmum says:

    How about captive squirrels?

  14. shin says:

    There’s nothing like no electricity. :)

  15. Lin says:

    Pope and nuns to be on 60 Minutes now

  16. acardnal says:

    Lin,
    it’s a repeat.

  17. Charles E Flynn says:

    I was recently surprised to learn at the GardenWeb Forums that many modern gas ranges cannot have the oven lit without electricity, because the thermostat is electric. Fortunately, the gas burners can still be lit with a match or a spark lighter.

  18. lsclerkin says:

    Folks with preps will help you, Father. :)

  19. traditionalorganist says:

    Well it’s been more than 15 minutes since Father last made an update…maybe his UPS is dead…perchance he’s trying to rig up an exercise bike to generate power? If you succeed, Father, you’ll know that you can survive Teotwawki!

  20. Kathleen10 says:

    Father Z you need to get away from the technology every day then, if it being down drives you crazy. It’s a sign you need to break free from bondage, the bondage to which we are all bound to some degree or other. How did this happen so quickly, since most of us lived quite a long time without this technological stuff.

  21. Elizabeth D says:

    I have 2 vegetarian MREs here for me and my parrot, and after we eat them we will die, like the widow of Nain and her son. You can have one of them though. I will imagine I am helping Elijah.

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  22. Nan says:

    Today the guy who can fix your neighborhood’s electricity was at my mom’s house, diagnosing a light fixture which is bad so changed it out for a new one. He doesn’t usually deal with mickey mouse things like electricity in a house; he’s the guy who puts power back on in neighborhoods, gets sent to do so when other areas are in need, troubleshoots problems and deals with the electric company’s internal maintenance.

    I’m sure it’ll be fine. Paper books are awesome. You have enough prepper stuff that you should have something to eat. Many parts of the pine tree are edible if not.

  23. AnnAsher says:

    Do not fear the enemies. Fear the noise that crowds out the Lord.

  24. StJude says:

    Watch out for Zombies!

  25. jameeka says:

    Our power was out this am, luckily my inner alarm clocked in, now coffee. Father Z, I think someone has to find the internet router and unplug and plug it back in, so the building can get internet again. at any rate, that’s what I have to do

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