« first day (1810 days earlier)      last day (3503 days later) » 
00:00 - 17:0017:00 - 18:0018:00 - 00:00

allquixotic
allquixotic
00:20
@DragonLord I have no love for Verizon at all. They told me in 2007 that it would be "weeks" (quoting a rep, there) until I'd have FiOS. It's been several hundred weeks and I'm still waiting. Apparently they forgot about our community because it wouldn't make them enough $$$ to bring us FiOS, so it's only available like 1/8th mile away.
ISPs will not get my respect until they stop trying to milk the world of every penny they have, and get out of the way of consumers and businesses trying to build a world on top of the Internet. Right now they are an impedance, just like the power companies were in the early days of electricity. It took something ridiculous like 60 years to make power companies behave.
Then it took several decades again to make phone companies behave. Every time a new industry is created, the first guys there always want to milk it while delivering as little as possible - basically they're always run by assholes.
The default mode of treating other humans in a capitalist society is equivalent in every way to totalitarianism.
Bob
Bob
@User95050: unless gravity suddenly goes out of whack, floor tiles cannot possibly fall on the tub. — Martha 3 hours ago
@allquixotic ISPs? Ha. Try the governments (too).
(Though, in all fairness the US fed gov seems to have at least tried, and apparently some local govs are setting up fibre networks.)
Michael Frank
Michael Frank
@Bob Ha
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob Well, yeah. But your governments are being rudely "captured" by corporations, so that they're basically one and the same.
Bob
Bob
00:38
@allquixotic And yours isn't? :P
Also, when I said local govs I meant US local govs.
AU local govs are doing jack all.
 
2 hours later…
Bob
Bob
02:12
Hey, I just found @MichaelKjörling on oldnewthing :P
 
2 hours later…
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
03:56
lol
so that's why I keep changing my handle every decade or so ;p
Michael Frank
Michael Frank
@JourneymanGeek I changed from my first handle cause 'the_bomber_man_2001' stopped being appropriate...
Also, cause I was no longer 13 :P
Bob
Bob
@MichaelFrank O_O
now that's a username to cause arguments
Michael Frank
Michael Frank
@Bob Yeeeeeep. To be fair, I had just started intermediate school, and we must have been playing a lot of Bomberman at the time.
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
lol
good game.
Lets see, blizzard of brick (In my lego fanatic stage. I miss lego, but I don't have the space for proper mucking about), geek and other RPG charecters I played in the past.....
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
04:28
I need to remember to cancel one of my VPSes when I get the time. So darned busy T T
Bob
Bob
04:42
@JourneymanGeek I still need to move my server and cancel the old one!
That's 70 USD per month O_O
should prooooobably do that ASAP
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
lol. this is ~23USD a year. and I can cancel the database too. Prolly keeping the super cheap vps tho
@Bob: heh, most of my necessary moves are off stuff I don't pay for, or run at home
I need to move znc, and the stuff I run on allquixotic's server. Tho, it I could make sense of multimaster postgres clustering, tempted to try running ttrss on top of that, and having it as a HA setup ;p
Bob
Bob
o.O
and here I am procrastinating on kvm
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
lol
I'm procrastinating on most of these things. And ipv6 for the new server
(tho the ipv6 setup I want will prolly need an SU question. Pity Its not SF's scope, even if its a dedi. )
Bob
Bob
05:04
@JourneymanGeek depends how you ask it
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
05:21
True. But its less enterprisy than wierd and badly documented :p
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
05:32
But been busy with the new monitor/setup the last few days so.... ;p
Bob
Bob
05:42
@JourneymanGeek still waiting for my RAM :(
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
lol
currently in the saving/planning phase ;p
Bob
Bob
>
Your package is delayed in the customs clearance process.
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
/me is still not decided on his new GPU
And I'll buy it locally so, semi instant gratification ;p
Bob
Bob
Expected to arrive next Wednesday.
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
Man. I've NEVER had that here
Bob
Bob
05:44
1 AUD = 0.73 USD ... yea it went down a lot
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
tho, if its >400 dollars it sometimes gets detained by customs, and you need to pay at their office and pick it up, or pay singpost to do it for you.
Bob
Bob
Mine is only something like 150 USD.
The threshold for GST is 1000 AUD, I think
unless they changed it
1 AUD = 1.01 SGD
So, yea, parity there :P
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
Oh, here you don't have GST for overseas purchases under 400sgd
but meh. I rarely buy stuff online that's that pricy. Most of it is random bits off dx or such
Oh and clothes, can't always find pants that fit here
Bob
Bob
o.o
they don't sell dog pants in Singapore?
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
06:00
._.
No? ;p
None that fit anyway ;p
 
5 hours later…
Bob
Bob
10:48
sigh
CloudFlare's Sydney network is currently all but down
user2284570
user2284570
11:29
@Nick Less clear but more attracting title and still same topic :
area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/89327/…
HackToHell
HackToHell
12:11
github.com/robertdavidgraham/masscan
 
2 hours later…
Oliver Salzburg
Oliver Salzburg
14:09
One of those moments again...
I've been wondering why my Nagios graphs no longer contain GPRINT directives
And suddenly I find this:
1
Q: Why are my GPRINT directives not being drawn into my graphs?

Oliver SalzburgI'm using NagiosGrapher 1.7.1 with our Nagios installation. We're using the packages from the official Debian repositories. The graphs I've been building work fine so far, except for any GPRINT directives I use. They're simply not processed at all. An example of a graph definition would be: de...

debian-wheezy rrdtool nagios
Journeyman Geek
Journeyman Geek
;p
allquixotic
allquixotic
15:08
So I'm pretty annoyed that right now Windows 8.1 is resisting all attempts to fix Windows Update.
Bob
Bob
o.O
What's wrong with it?
And didn't MS release some repair tool a while back?
Oh here it is windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/…
allquixotic
allquixotic
15:22
sfc /scannow can't fix corrupted files. dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth fails because Windows Update is broken. dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:C:\win81\sources\install.wim:1 /LimitAccess tries to clean up from an unpacked iso with the .esd converted to .wim, but it fails because it claims not to be able to find the source media. the StartComponentCleanup flag returns Operation completed successfully, but it doesn't actually fix anything.
@Bob the Windows Update repair tool says it fixed stuff, but even after rebooting, Windows Update still hangs indefinitely upon trying to install even the most trivial update.
I tried repairing both BITS and Windows Update itself.
Bob
Bob
o.O
@allquixotic hate to ask this, but have you checked the logs?
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob not sure what logs to check - the sfc scannow logs? the DISM logs? not sure where Windows Update logs would be.
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic support.microsoft.com/en-au/kb/902093
might help to know which step it's failing on
rather than guessing it's BITS or other
allquixotic
allquixotic
I should probably also do a RAID array integrity check while I'm at it - our mains have been relatively unstable of late (as in, not constant brownouts, but we've lost power enough to turn off the PC about 6 times in a month)
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic you need a UPS
allquixotic
allquixotic
15:26
@Bob don't remind me. I have my sights set on a 1500 VA Online Pure Sine Wave PSU, but I can't afford it right now
Bob
Bob
that MS KB article is actually amazingly thorough
allquixotic
allquixotic
this thing is incredible:
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic which one?
allquixotic
allquixotic
amazon.com/CyberPower-OL1500RTXL2U-Online-1500VA-100-125V/dp/…
Bob
Bob
O_O
allquixotic
allquixotic
15:26
it's not line-interactive at all
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic that doesn't make much difference, really
pretty sure I've had this discussion in here before, too
line-interactive switchover is fast enough that the vast majority of PSUs will never notice
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob my Corsair PSU is pretty damn sensitive to tiny perturbances that barely make the lights flicker, and things like alarm clocks, microwaves and fans are like "what? did something happen?"
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic If you notice it, it's not tiny.
line-interactive switchover is something like 5ms
Human-noticeable blips are generally at least an order of magnitude larger
allquixotic
allquixotic
still, I'd rather not skimp on UPS quality, and an online one is probably the best in breed
Bob
Bob
Jun 15 at 15:19, by Bob
@DragonLord again, negligible benefit. it's better on paper, but in practical situations you won't notice a difference apart from extreme edge cases
@allquixotic even then, not really!
Jun 15 at 15:30, by Bob
@DragonLord You might find this APC white paper interesting.
allquixotic
allquixotic
15:30
that one is also upgradeable with extended battery packs if I ever decide I want them, and you can replace the primary battery pack - I'm sure there are some line interactives that let you do that too, but meh
Bob
Bob
if you click through and read from there, that entire discussion was basically discussing exactly this
allquixotic
allquixotic
anyway, it's not like I'm trying to spend $5000 for a 1500 VA power supply - at most it's $200-$250 more than an equivalent line-interactive PSU, and some line interactives are just as expensive as this one
I can't get anything higher than 1500 VA, either, because then you switch over to the NEMA plugs that demand 20 Amps mains input, and I don't have any of those on the top floor of my house and I'm not willing to install one just for a PSU
Bob
Bob
> SMPSs are the power supplies found
in virtually all mission-critical equipment. They
must have a “ride-through” time of 10 milli-
seconds or more to comply with international
standards (see Figure 3).
allquixotic
allquixotic
(we have 20A outlets in the utility room in the basement)
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic We just use 10A @ 240V :)
> Advantages of line-interactive topology
:
•
Lower electricity consumption (less costly to
operate) – More efficient because less power
conversion is performed when acceptable AC input is present.
•
Theoretically higher reliab
ility – Lower component count
and lower operating temperatures. (See later section
Reliability Considerations
.)
•
Less heat load on the facility
– Less heat is produced by
the UPS.
allquixotic
allquixotic
15:33
@Bob heh. standard is 15A @ 120V. most/all houses built since the 1970s in the US also have at least one 20A receptacle somewhere, but they're usually for things like refrigerators, (electric) stoves, and washing machines.
Bob
Bob
> Things to watch out for:
The line-interactive UPS may not be the appropriate choice for
installations where
•
AC power is unstable or highl
y distorted, because battery
power will be used too oft
en to keep the UPS output
within specifications.
•
Power Factor Correction (PFC) is required and the load
equipment does not perform this function.
You don't really need to worry about PFC in a home environment, and your PSU does it anyway.
Your power (8x a month) is not classified as unstable by their standards.
They're talking multiple times a day.
@allquixotic We go 15, 20, 25A for the really beefy things, but you won't find them in most homes.
Maaaaaybe some (older) resistive electric stoves.
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob I'm also not sure if my power has a tendency to drop below the rated voltage - I don't think it does; generally it's either on, or briefly tripping off (for between a few tens of milliseconds to several seconds for more significant problems). I'd imagine the US power standards are probably pretty good at preventing extreme undervolt conditions?
Bob
Bob
> MYTH
: On-line UPSs offer better protection
against Common-Mode (CM) noise.
REALITY:
Even though it is possible to design
both on-line and line-interactive topologies with
galvanic isolation, they both typically use passive
components to
reduce
CM voltage. Neither
on-
line
nor line-interactive topology offers a
fundamental advantage in this respect. SMPSs
already have galvanic isolation, so external
isolation is unnecessary. See APC White Papers
#9 and #21 for more information.
@allquixotic A slight drop is fine. It's only the really big drops that cause issues. And they're generally very rare in developed countries.
(We did have two ~120V brownouts a year apart, lasting several hours... that was a couple years ago now)
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob if it gets that low, wouldn't the transformers or whatever at the mains source just turn the power off?
(for safety)
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic Depends how they're designed and set up.
DragonLord
DragonLord
15:36
My Roccat Tyon seemed to have experienced a glitch (likely in firmware) this morning.
Bob
Bob
Often they'll keep them on. Why? I don't know. Maybe so people still have light?
DragonLord
DragonLord
The issue seems to have sorted itself out after a firmware update, driver reinstallation, and reboot.
Bob
Bob
They did kill two of our laser printers, though.
They paid the replacement costs.
@allquixotic I'm talking an actual configured low-voltage mode.
I don't think it was a coincidence we went from 240 to 120.
DragonLord
DragonLord
It affected one of the auxiliary buttons (the upper right one), causing it to not respond unless I hit Easy-Shift[+], where it then becomes stuck on.
Bob
Bob
A sag on the line is somewhat different.
@allquixotic Anyway, gist of what the UPS manufacturers themselves (APC, TrippLite, the big ones) say is: don't bother with online at home unless your power is ridiculously bad.
DragonLord
DragonLord
15:39
The problem cleared up by the time I rebooted into WinRE in an attempt to diagnose the issue.
Bob
Bob
Costs more both short and long term, too (efficiency losses, need to replace parts more often)
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob What needs to be replaced more often? The power electronics, or the batteries?
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic Both.
> Double-conversion on-line contains
more components that run conti
nuously at higher temperatures
and, with all other things being equal, have less servic
e life than similar parts
found in line-interactive.
Primarily the power electronics, but the heat will adversely affect batteries too.
> For line-interactive, the small number
of components and cool operati
on of the main power stage
both tend to
increase
operating life and reliability. For double-
conversion on-line, c
onstant operation and
higher operating temper
atures both tend to
decrease
operating life and reliability.
DragonLord
DragonLord
@Bob 240V AC power has its own idiosyncrasies. Here in the US, the 120V grid doesn't malfunction in the same manner.
Bob
Bob
There is the caveat:
> In practice, however, reliability is generally determi
ned by how well the manufacturer designs and builds the
UPS and by the quality of the com
ponents used, regardless of topology.
Because quality is vendor-dependent,
there can be high quality double-conver
sion on-line designs and poor quality li
ne-interactive designs, and vice
versa.
@DragonLord That has nothing to do with 240 vs 120 V
That would just be what the local power company did.
There is nothing inherent to the line voltage that would define how a brownout looks.
allquixotic
allquixotic
15:42
@Bob This complexity is compounded by the fact that money doesn't always equal better. A shoddily built product can be priced high, and a very efficient manufacturer can produce great quality stuff at reasonable prices.
Bob
Bob
(Except that a 240 V brownout is more likely to let some SMPSes continue to operate - our networking equipment stayed up through the last two.)
allquixotic
allquixotic
for the first example, look at Beats
for the second, Meelec ;p
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic As a rule of thumb, you basically gain no advantage from online and you lose out on efficiency if nothing else.
Unless your power is extremely dirty.
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob It sounds like that's more true In the US (and other such developed countries) than, say, Pakistan.
DragonLord
DragonLord
A while back I was looking into a double-conversion UPS:
Jun 15 at 15:14, by DragonLord
This is the UPS I want for my future PC build: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842111478
Jun 15 at 15:14, by DragonLord
Online double-conversion 1500VA / 1350W.
Bob
Bob
15:44
@DragonLord Yea, the stuff I linked to above was basically from that conversation :P
DragonLord
DragonLord
One of the reasons for this choice was the much higher wattage rating.
The line-interactive model (Tripp Lite SmartPro) is good for only 900W despite the 1500VA rating.
Bob
Bob
Bollocks. The only relation between watts and VA is the power factor.
DragonLord
DragonLord
On a system with active PFC, there might be a problem under very high load.
Bob
Bob
Especially with active PFC (and pure-sinewave line-interactive), I suspect they'd be nearly equal.
DragonLord
DragonLord
tripplite.com/…
Bob
Bob
15:47
The entire point of PFC is to bring the power factor as close to 1 as possible, such that W ~= VA
DragonLord
DragonLord
^ this is the line-interactive equivalent.
I'd be limited to the 900W number.
Bob
Bob
@DragonLord Apparently because it's not available in my country I can't even look at it.
You're gonna have to screenshot it.
DragonLord
DragonLord
There were some discussions about a gaming PC potentially needing more than that, but I guess those were overblown.
Bob
Bob
@DragonLord No you wouldn't.
UPSes are rated in VA. Period.
The W number is the manufacturer's guess, and the relationship with VA will depend on the PF.
Where the PF = Watts / VA
> SMPSs with passive PFC can achieve power factor of about 0.7–0.75, SMPSs with active PFC, up to 0.99 power factor, while a SMPSs without any power factor correction have a power factor of only about 0.55–0.65.
That would be where the 'normal' PF guesses for UPSes come from.
900 W would be assuming a PF of about 0.6.
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob So is the power factor based on whether or not the device using the power downstream has active PFC?
Bob
Bob
15:51
@allquixotic Yes.
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob Example. Take a line-interactive 1500VA pure sine wave PSU. Separately, and after a full charge, plug in a PC with a great active PFC power supply. Then repeat the test anew with a PC whose PSU has no power factor conversion. Will the second one drain the batteries faster?
Bob
Bob
@DragonLord I notice that that UPS does not specify that it is pure-sinewave.
DragonLord
DragonLord
user image
Bob
Bob
Active PFC has been reported to have issues with the simulated sine wave typical of traditional line-interactive units.
DragonLord
DragonLord
@Bob I was wondering if "PWM sine wave" is going to be a problem.
It's not quite the usual simulated sine wave, give me a moment to pull it up
Bob
Bob
15:54
@DragonLord @allquixotic I'm not too comfortable with recommending purchases based purely off my understanding of how this works. But I am reasonably certain that this is correct.
@DragonLord Well, "pure" isn't really pure.
They normally mean better than usual.
DragonLord
DragonLord
This might be the better solution: amazon.com/APC-SMC1500-Smart-UPS-Interface-Uninterrupted/dp/…
Pure sine wave output.
allquixotic
allquixotic
So now I just need to find a power cord for my computer that is long enough to run across the room to the UPS. My room gets hot enough as it is; I don't need a heater UPS in there at the same time.
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic My UPS is barely warm.
Actually, it's not warm at all.
Probably because it's basically asleep.
Meanwhile, an online UPS is probably losing 5-10% of the power flowing through it as heat.
DragonLord
DragonLord
apc.com/products/resource/include/…
Bob
Bob
Mine has a minor warm-ish (i.e. not freezing like the current room temp) patch at the back.
At the end of the day: online would certainly work, and is less likely to have compatibility issues with equipment. However, you pay more both at the start and during their lifetime, for questionable benefit.
On the other hand, a modern line-interactive unit (rated/tested/guaranteed to work with active PFC!) is unlikely to have issues anyway, and is cheaper.
If you were to pay the same amount, you could probably get a better (higher-end) line-interactive.
As for rated VA vs W, with active PFC the circuitry should be able to handle W near VA. However, there are two possible issues: a lower W rating might imply a smaller battery, and they might have already accounted for the discrepancy with some PFC on the output side of the UPS (in which case I question the implicit assumption of a PF of 0.6...).
Unfortunately, there is little to no discussion on this anywhere that I can find.
So basically I'm making this up as I go along based off the definitions of PF, PFC, W, VA and what I can find individually on those :P
(i.e. I'm not really qualified in that area.)
...come to think of it, I actually know a guy who is qualified there. Maybe I should just ask him O_O
> APC has addressed the issue of running Active PFC PSUs on their line of consumer, stepped sine-wave output UPSs. Basically, their advice in such cases is to size the UPS according to the maximum rated output of the Active PFC power supply (due to potential power rushes), not according to the peak power consumption of the PC.
@DragonLord @allquixotic ^
Another potential issue. Peak (inrush) current draw when powered on, or bouncing back from the 5ms switch.
That's where online might perform better.
But a single PSU isn't going to draw enough for that to be an issue...
More interesting stuff: emersonnetworkpower.com/en-ASIA/Products/ACPower/NetworkUPS/…
> Liebert GXT3 rated output power factor of 0.9 better matches up with switch-mode power supplies used in today's IT equipment. A higher output power factor allows for a more efficient utilization of the UPS.
So here we have a non-1 PF output from the UPS o.O
Seems like they did that intentionally under the assumption that the average computer has a PF < 1
i.e. they do some form of (probably-passive) PFC internally (?)
The "more efficient utilization" seems to confirm my assumption about active PFC on the PSU (bringing it near 1) helping, assuming most UPSes are expecting (rated according to) an optimal PF of 1.
Heh, looks like @Sathya made the same assumption: superuser.com/questions/45138/…
allquixotic
allquixotic
16:20
ahh, I just learned of a potential use case for online PSUs
Bob
Bob
Though, reading a bit more, it looks like the watt rating on some UPSes might also determine the heat dissipation capability... that could be a problem.
Safest bet is just to not exceed either rating.
@allquixotic Hm?
allquixotic
allquixotic
diesel or gasoline generators sometimes start-up and provide very dirty power during the early milliseconds to seconds of supply, then level out somewhat - but during that beginning stage, it might be ugly enough to disturb a line-interactive system
Bob
Bob
Ah.
DragonLord
DragonLord
apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SMT1500
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic Do you mean disturb as in force them to switch to battery (which is what the white paper above was talking about, too much switching) or cause them to cut out?
I vaguely recall hearing of the latter.
allquixotic
allquixotic
16:22
@Bob the latter - not so much that the UPS couldn't handle it, but the power delivered to your sensitive PC would cut out and your PC would turn off :P
the UPS would be fine, in the end, and so would your PC, but you'd lose whatever work you were working on at the time on your computer
DragonLord
DragonLord
SMT1500 is more expensive than SMC1500 but has higher watt rating (1000 W) and wider input voltage tolerance
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic :A good UPS should detect and switch on dirty input power.
True, by their nature an online UPS should never let that through.
Whether a line-interactive does or not would depend on how well it's designed.
DragonLord
DragonLord
Runtime is also longer
I guess I'll use this model for my next PC. 1000W is plenty.
allquixotic
allquixotic
we are planning to possibly install a natural gas generator supplied by the residential gas pipeline, since we live in an area that is on the actuary tables for worsening hurricane, thunderstorm and tornado risk over the next 25 years
Bob
Bob
@DragonLord Interesting tidbit: that's actually the UPS (or very similar to) that we're running a T620 server on :P
@allquixotic That sounds... pointless.
If it's supplied by utilities that can be interrupted in the event of a disaster.
A generator with an independent fuel source (usually diesel) sounds more useful in such an event.
allquixotic
allquixotic
16:26
@Bob howso? AFAIK the gas keeps flowing when power is lost, so it would take something like an earthquake (which we're not at especially high risk of) to damage the gas pipelines
Bob
Bob
What's the chance that you'll be without power but with working gas?
allquixotic
allquixotic
@Bob Depends on the nature and extent of the disaster. If power lines are down because of lightning or a localized tornado, we'll still have gas.
If it's a category 5 hurricane affecting the entire area, yeah...
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic Lightning tends to be a pretty quick fix.
allquixotic
allquixotic
Might be able to get one that relies on the gas pipeline if available, and if not, we just store a barrel full of boom (KSP reference) in the backyard
Bob
Bob
Tornado... not so much, but they can often reroute around the affected area.
Assuming you aren't actually directly hit.
But gas itself... what's your source?
Is it piped in?
Shipped? Trains? Trucks?
Unless it's piped from all the way outside the potential disaster area, gas could be affected too.
And most large pipes are also above-ground...
I dunno.
allquixotic
allquixotic
16:31
@Bob Actually, that's complicated. Residential natural gas and electricity are both deregulated in my state, where you have the supplier and the infrastructure owner. Constellation Energy is the infrastructure owner, they own the pipes that run from my house to wherever the gas comes from. Then we selected a supplier who is responsible for getting the actual gas and delivering it through the pipes.
I imagine there are multiple sources, including trains, boats, and probably a pipeline to some other area.
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic In that case, it would be to a reservoir somewhere.
allquixotic
allquixotic
I believe (don't quote me on this) that the majority of our gas comes in huge bulk quantities through the Port of Baltimore on barges.
Bob
Bob
Then, question is, how likely is a disaster to knock out your power while leaving the gas unaffected, knowing that they both have similar weak points?
allquixotic
allquixotic
They buy it from wherever it's gathered (e.g. in the same place we get crude oil, usually) and order it in large batches to be stockpiled then delivered.
Bob
Bob
(you need to ship in resources, you need to generate/store it somewhere...)
allquixotic
allquixotic
16:34
@Bob Again, depends on the severity and duration of the disaster. Most of that industrial equipment is going to be very resistant to actual physical damage from any weather related phenomenon (excluding major geological events), but if there's a long-term (weeks) shutdown of the Port of Baltimore, we may lose gas even if we still have power from the nuclear station.
Bob
Bob
if you're planning for the eventuality where you're physically untouched but power goes down (i.e. disaster is localised to other area or you survived a massive disaster)... probably better to make sure you aren't completely relying on utility gas
allquixotic
allquixotic
You aren't going to see natural gas tanks exploding because of a hurricane. They're very sturdy.
Bob
Bob
@allquixotic Not exploding, but a large storm could potentially flood out the pumping facilities?
Maybe.
Just throwing random (pessimistic) possibilities out there.
But as long as you're preparing for a disaster, might as well make the prep complete as possible.
allquixotic
allquixotic
Yeah. Like I said, the most robust solution would be to have a tank of gas on-premises that (if rationed) could last us a given period of time, plus also connect to the pipeline.
That would also allow us to automatically "refill" the on-site gas reservoir in case it gets used up. They'd probably install an automatic valve to do just that.
Or a manual one *shrug*
SarahofGaia
SarahofGaia
16:53
Is "Root Access" the name just for the computer reference or is this chat room only about root access?
allquixotic
allquixotic
@SarahofGaia It's just a name. This is the "official" (ish) chatroom for the Super User Stack Exchange Q&A site.
SarahofGaia
SarahofGaia
Ah, I see. Thank you. :)
allquixotic
allquixotic
Don't think of it as being about any particular topic. The actual room may as well be called "Chatroom for people who are interested in the Super User site".
SarahofGaia
SarahofGaia
Oh lol ok
Could you point me in the right direction for something?
Bob
Bob
!!tell 22919648 meta
allquixotic
allquixotic
16:59
XD
Bob
Bob
Damn, Cavil is still down :P
SarahofGaia
SarahofGaia
What is 22919648
Bob
Bob
@SarahofGaia Sure. What do you need?
SarahofGaia
SarahofGaia
What? o.o I'm confused.
I thought you were referring me to another place...
Bob
Bob
@SarahofGaia Nah, that was just a chatbot command.
SarahofGaia
SarahofGaia
16:59
ohhhhh
okies
so anyway
00:00 - 17:0017:00 - 18:0018:00 - 00:00

« first day (1810 days earlier)      last day (3503 days later) »