Winter blackout contingency planning

ariarnia

elsien said:

wittynamegoeshere said:

ariarnia said:

i dont drink alcohol and do get headaches if i don't drink enough tea. but im also quite happy drinking cold tea (as long as it was originally made with hot water)! and a flask of tea or coffee is perfectly drinkable several hours after it was made. i would never go anywhere on the train otherwise (tiny cups of expensive tea on the carts). but during a blackout we would probably just use the stove top kettle on our woodburner (and heat beans/toast bread for dinner). 

That does sound like addiction, speaking as a former smoker who once couldn't imagine not smoking.

I'd wean myself off or just stop for a week if I was so dependent on something.

Could just be dehydration.  I pretty much only drink tea and get headaches if I don't drink enough but it's not due to addiction, it's due to just not taking in enough liquid when I'm working and don't make time for it. I know this because I went on holiday for the other week, didn't drink any tea and didn't get any headaches. 

no he's right its an addiction for me at least. i've given tea and coffee up for lent before and both times i was pregnant. i was drinking plenty of other liquids and had the headaches/withdrawl symptoms even with a gradual tapering. i don't think it's a 'problem' though. i can give up if i want to (as i have before) and there's no long term health consequences (i sleep fine) and not like smoking in that it's a problem for other people. worst happens is i can't get my fix in the morning and i'm grumpy with a bit of a headache. it provides more comfort than any negatives for me. 

wrong about 'just stopping' though. someone who habitually drinks a lot of tea or coffee shouldn't just stop unless they want really bad withdrawal symptoms and potentially a worse addiction if they ever start again. 

matelodave

I'm sure any of us could go without a cup of tea, coffee, bovril or any other beverage (including water) for 3-4 hours. Same with food - we manage it overnight, so why not during the day.  It's really only babies and small toddlers who need a drink or feeding every couple of hours, for most others its a habit. I like 4-5 cups of coffee a day but it doesn't bother me if I dont get any, even over a couple of days - water does just fine if I'm thirsty.

Possibly those with a medical condition might need to eat or drink a bit more often but it's not difficult to make a sarnie and get water from the tap.

Chrysalis

I own 2 UPS for PCs which as long as I power down the PCs quickly, can keep a phone in use for a while.

MattMattMattUK

Pretty much anyone without fairly severe medical issues can go 12 hours in normal conditions without water or other liquids, although they might get thirsty and they can survive indefinitely without anything but water. Adults without medical conditions should be able to last several days without food, with the only ill effects being hunger and lethargy.

I regularly go through phases of only eating one meal a day due to having a hectic time working, I can often go from Saturday night (when I will have been drinking beer in a pub) to the following weekend having drunk nothing but water, I can also on occasion drink 10 mugs of tea or coffee in a day. 

EssexHebridean

The thread isn't about endurance, it's about making life a bit more acceptable during a possible planned power outage. If a hot drink makes someone feel a bit less carp about life, then that sounds grand to me!  

MattMattMattUK

Chrysalis said:

I own 2 UPS for PCs which as long as I power down the PCs quickly, can keep a phone in use for a while.

Will they? Most require a draw large enough to recognise it and is the few watts from a phone enough to make it kick in?

Chrysalis

MattMattMattUK said:

Chrysalis said:

I own 2 UPS for PCs which as long as I power down the PCs quickly, can keep a phone in use for a while.

Will they? Most require a draw large enough to recognise it and is the few watts from a phone enough to make it kick in?

If the power draw is too low and a power cut happens, the switch over can be too slow to prevent a power cycle, but they certainly can power just a phone plugged in as I had to do it last year when I lost power to my home during a water leak.

You are right it struggles to register the usage though so e.g. if my router is the only device plugged in, the UPS reports 0W usage, however it still gets power even on battery.

MattMattMattUK

EssexHebridean said:

The thread isn't about endurance, it's about making life a bit more acceptable during a possible planned power outage. If a hot drink makes someone feel a bit less carp about life, then that sounds grand to me!  

I think the issue is that some seem to be worrying a lot about the potential issues of having a three hour period when they cannot make a hot drink, which seems to be causing a level of worry/anxiety out of all proportion. The level of worry about something that will probably not happen likely exceeds any possible impact when it does actually occur. 

mmmmikey

EssexHebridean said:

The thread isn't about endurance, it's about making life a bit more acceptable during a possible planned power outage. If a hot drink makes someone feel a bit less carp about life, then that sounds grand to me!  

I was a child at the time of the last rolling blackouts and have fond memories of the lights going out, and sitting round the dining table with Mum, Dad and brothers playing Monopoly by the light of a Campingaz lantern. In a similar vein, making sure elderly relatives have access to a mobile phone and know how to use it so you can give them a call and have a nice long chat with them whilst you've not much else to do would be a happy, positive way to look at the prospect of rolling blackouts. And if you have kids make it a family adventure

ariarnia

MattMattMattUK said:

EssexHebridean said:

The thread isn't about endurance, it's about making life a bit more acceptable during a possible planned power outage. If a hot drink makes someone feel a bit less carp about life, then that sounds grand to me!  

I think the issue is that some seem to be worrying a lot about the potential issues of having a three hour period when they cannot make a hot drink, which seems to be causing a level of worry/anxiety out of all proportion. The level of worry about something that will probably not happen likely exceeds any possible impact when it does actually occur. 

i think you;re mistaking a sensible discussion about what we can do to prepare and be more comfortable in the event there are blackouts with 'worry and anxiety'. 

if you don't want to have the discussion then that's fine but i don't see why you think we shouldn't have it if we want to.