Sissy stuff to keep warm with during the "VORTEX"?

[Betty]

Just hit 100F there

[Betty]

~

[Betty]

We had a mild winter compared to the previous 2 winters. Spring was average so far... better than the past 2 springs.

After several days in a row in the 50s F (above 10C), tonight it's very a windy 29F (-2C) and snowing! 2-4 inches of snow & a low of 23F (-5C) expected. More snow Sunday & Monday too. Lows in the teens to 20s F (-6C) with snow expected all week.

Spring has been cancelled as the polar vortex returns.

[andyg0404]

Hi Betty,

Bizarre weather here too. April 1st it was 80 degrees, yesterday, on the second, it was 64 degrees although it was chilly and wet in the morning. Today, I just went out for my morning walk and to buy the newspapers and it's 36 degrees with 30 mph winds that make it feel like 23 degrees. The wind was so strong that at points during my walk it was impeding my forward movement. My two bags of newspapers were blowing behind me and I thought I might be airborne at any minute. I think we will be able to avoid the snow you're experiencing as the forecast called for it to be North of us. Wild weather for sure.

Andy G.

[Betty]

We never got more than the 2" last night in the Allentown Arts district of the city (right next door to the Theater district). Currently a breezy 23F with a wind chill of 11F, but not as windy as last night. It's cold but sunny right now. More snow expected soon, with 1-3" of the stuff expected tonight. They changed their forecast a little. They say after Monday, no more snow until Wed.

The weather peeps really need to proofread & check their facts better. They're saying the the low will be 27 today, & the high will be 32. But if it's already 23F, shouldn't the predicted low be at least 23F? One may say that the prediction was written before it dipped down to 23F. But a quick check of their temperature logs show that 24F is the warmest it got so far today.

Some may have thought it was time to change our wintery backgrounds at Betty's. But many areas in N. USA, & S. Canada have been getting snow for the past few weeks. When it looks like the white stuff is not coming back for a few months, I'll consider repainting Betty's for spring.

We run into a news & weather vacuum on weekends locally. The local media either don't broadcast news on weekends, or broadcast very little, & never broadcast it at their scheduled times on weekends. The few that broadcast a little weekend news, postpone/delay or cancel it in favor of a ball game, infomercial, or some preacher endlessly rambling. When it does finally come on, it turns out to be a re-broadcast from 6-16 hours ago, & not up to date. The local newspaper is done printing at 5am, so is quite pointless for today's news. Apparently the local broadcasters all decided that the world stops & time freezes on weekends, so there is no news. What little they broadcast on weekends are human interest stories, walk-a-thons, a far-away small town parade, or about the ball games. There are no criminals, terrorists, politicians, earthquakes, volcanoes, or storms on weekends according our local news.

Of course half of what is on local media on weekends is garbage anyway. Except for prime jock sports, it's all infomercials, preachers, or some way out of focus jittery B&W film with terrible sound that nobody ever heard or, & never wanted to hear of. If they've already decided nobody is watching on weekends, why not save the energy, money, & just shut down the station for the weekend? Who came up with this rule that when not running sports, that they must run the worst stuff ever produced, along with the most annoying preachers & infomercials on weekends? And why when they're not running that garbage, must they run sports, even if it's a minor league or school game that nobody ever heard of locally?

Maybe it's a conspiracy to get us all out on our day off to mow our lawns, & paint our houses, or go spend some money on the local economy. But what if it's raining or snowing outside, or we get outside plenty through the week anyway? Sometimes after a long hard week we'd like to take it easy on a day off rather than run our ass off some more. A quick check of the video streams shows there's plenty on TV but local USA media is just not carrying it.

[Angela M...]

Yes Betty, 23 F when I went out today to check my Lottery numbers. Wasted trip and it has been snowing off and on all day here. Should have stayed home and saved gas. I have been playing the same numbers for almost 30 years and the only thing that keeps me doing this is that a guy won $60 million not long ago and said he was playing the same numbers since the Lottery started almost 40 years and new he would win someday. We have about five inches of snow on the ground now and it is still coming down steadily. A neighbour just went by with his garden tractor/plow and cleaned off the sidewalk for two blocks both sides. Great guy and he has done this in the past but I don't know for sure where he lives, just up the street from me.
I enjoyed all the gardens around my neighbourhood with flower bulbs coming up, crocus, tulips and daffodils but now they have been covered again.
 

[Betty]

And freezing many of those plants when they're ready to bloom may kill them, or portions of the plant dies, rots, & the rot spreads to the surviving parts. I'm reading of farmers & gardeners not even bothering to plant until May or early June anymore because the seasons are too unstable. But even plants that are supposed to survive dormant through the winters, are getting killed off because they're being frozen during their blooming times.

[Betty]

We got about 6" of snow overnight in the city. It's a breezy 26F with a 12F wind chill. It got down to 22F yesterday. They say it will go down to 19F tonight.

Sigh, the local bird & squirrel population was just on the rebound after being almost wiped out by extended arctic-like weather during the previous 2 years.

Judging from the fur in the cat's hair brush, the kitties have already shed their winter fur. Although I keep my place cool because I can't afford a lot of heat, the kitties prefer it cool, so they are in no danger of being uncomfortable. They're sociable kitties too, so even if it does get a little chilly they will cuddle up with me or around each other.

If they stay on schedule, there will be another shedding around early June.

But there goes my heating bill. It was just a little cheaper than last year, but this, with the high winds will probably jack it back up. For some reason my electric bill is higher than last month, & higher than last year too.

I got some LED light bulbs for free to review. They are supposed to draw less than my CFL bulbs did. I replaced the CFL bulbs I use the most with them. I suspect their power consumption claims are exaggerated. The LED bulbs get pretty hot after they've been on a while, giving off more heat possible for what their power rating is. Another thing I got in for review was a single cup coffee maker. It makes a single cup of coffee in about 2 minutes, & claims to consume 450 watts. I was making my coffee in my microwave in about 2 minutes, & it draws 700 watts. Maybe they lied about their power too. Most coffee makers of any size draw around 900-1200 watts to make coffee.

I use caffeinated coffee to help treat my COPD, so I drink several cups throughout the day, & even weak cups at night or before bedtime to help me breathe better.

My electric bill went up almost 25%. So the LED bulbs & probably the coffee maker have lied about what they consume.

I suspect they took the current rating for the 220 volt European model of the coffee maker, times the 110 voltage of the USA version to get the 450 watt rating, but it's really a 900 watt coffee maker. Almost all LED makers grossly exaggerate their claims too. I see LEDs claiming 1500 lumens on only 1 or 2 watts of electricity. They haven't invented an LED that efficient yet, & if it gets so hot that it's giving off 25-50 watts of heat, there is no way it's only using 1 or 2 watts.

The LED bulbs I got to review claim 1200 lumens at 13 watts. They get way too hot to be only 13 watts... to hot to touch after 10 minutes. But they're only as bright as my 800 lumen CFLs at 4 watts. But my CFLs weren't those cheap $1.99 horrid orange-yellow 2700k CFLs that poorly try to imitate the color of an incandescent bulb. These were long-life 5000k natural white bulbs (no green hue). The higher quality bulb gives off a more natural daylight, & last a lot longer. All of my CFLs are 8-9 years old & still burning bright. If most LEDs or other cheap CFLs are still working after a few years, they've grown too dim to be useful anymore. It's actually cheaper to spend $5 on a good CFL that will burn bright for 8-9 years, than a $1.99 one that will last a year or 2 or quickly dim. And those cheaper CFLs & LEDs will cause radio, TV, blue-tooth, phone, & wifi interference because of the poorly designed power supplies!

There was a lot on the news this winter about LED Christmas lights causing Wifi & phone interference. NOT true!!! There is nothing inside an LED that can cause interference on your devices. However, on a few of the cheap, poorly designed power supplies to run some of those lights (that small box inline with the cord, or built into the plug) or other devices, may cause interference. Also your phone, tablet, & laptop charger can be causing more interference than those cheap lights.

I find I can double my Wifi, blue-tooth, & cordless phone range by charging my devices through my computer's USB port, rather than using those cheap chargers that came with them because those chargers generate too much RF interference. Your device's battery will last longer too, because the power coming out most computer USBs is well regulated, & better controlled than the wildly varying power coming from those cheap chargers.

[Angela M...]

Well I attempted to shovel all our snow by hand this morning, not a great idea with a bad back but it had to be done. When I looked at all the snow in the side yard where my snow blower is kept it would take me more time to dig to it than doing the walk and drive so I went that route instead. Today the neighbours would just have to dig out themselves instead of me doing it before they even get out for the day but I just don't have the stamina to do it. The guy with the garden tractor must be at work because he is nowhere in sight and his trip down the street last night was a wasted effort as you could not even tell he had gone by. Betty, I had switched to the CFL bulbs awhile ago too and noticed longer life and a little less power consumption but then I got some LED bulbs on special. and one out of the four quit working about a week or two into usage. tried to send it back but lots of red tape involved so I left it for now. The others are working and the light output is 1200 Lumens at 13 watts but as you say they burn hot and I don't notice any real savings in hydro usage with seven of them in the fixtures that are on the most. I also have the single serve coffee maker for about four years now and bought it primarily to save coffee although the price of coffee pods is expensive but with the old coffee maker I was throwing out half a pot and it would sit on the warmer for and hour so this was costing me also. I just don't drink more than one or two cups a day anymore so making a pot was just wasteful. I do drink a lot of tea each day though and buy the tea in bulk to save money. Three of my monthly bills have arrived and they have all gone up quite a bit so I will need to rethink my spending habits again. My phone, wireless and Internet bill is more than $250 a month now and on a fixed pension it is just too hard to justify having a Cell phone I don't use much and a home phone package that includes discounted long distance calls that I don't seem to make more than once a month anymore. With most of my family in England gone now I only talk with the remaining cousins by email or Facebook. After talking for an hour with my cable TV provider and getting nowhere   
about their erratic service and billing, they offered me $20 off my monthly bill if I promised to stay with them for a two year contract. No dice there must be a better way. Some of my friends have given up their home phones in favour of just a cell phone and switched to other providers with discount packages so I may check this out also. Anyway I am not nearly as strapped for cash as you Betty, so I should not complain. I do have a good pension but I need to scale back my expenses like you have and perhaps rethink staying in my house much longer as the expenses rise almost monthly now. Maybe I need another kitty to cuddle with and turn my heat way down at night. I do miss mine but she has been gone about five years or so now and I just put on my tights and and extra blanket in cold weather.

[Betty]

When I looked at all the snow in the side yard where my snow blower is kept it would take me more time to dig to it than doing the walk and drive

You just stomp & climb right through it to get the blower. I'm sure the deer, rabbits, & squirrels don't shovel when they need to get somewhere after it snows. Shoveling is not a good idea at our age, there's safer & healthier ways to get your exercise. Will they lock you up in a Siberian prison for being elderly, & not shoveling today?

My phone, wireless and Internet bill is more than $250

That's waaay too much with so many alternatives available these days.

If you get your internet through the cable TV, they do offer internet cheaper without the TV. I got a new amplified indoor antenna for free to review back in fall. It costs about $20 in the stores. I now get over 40 channels on a good day for free right off the air, including 4 channels from Toronto. On the worst days, I still get over 30 channels. But if I skip the overwhelming amount of religious channels, & infomercial/shopping channels, it's still over 20 on a bad day, & over 30 on a good day.

With the internet, most cable channels stream their shows right from their websites a day or so after they air, plus there's tons of free streaming sites that stream just about anything that's on TV & lots of movies. On a slow connection you can usually set a buffer for the stream to store a few minutes of the stream before it plays, so it's storing the programming while it's streaming it. You're watching what's in the buffer while it streams more to keep it full.

You can cut your internet costs by selecting a slower speed tier. You should be able to surf anywhere fine, & stream HD video with only 5-7mbs download speeds. Most streamers offer lower resolutions of DVD quality or 360p which looks good but only need 1-3mbs download speeds. Beware your machine, the apps or programs in it, & useless crap sites are dumping in your machine consumes your internet speed/bandwidth. Blocking the apps from using your connection, & sites or modern windows from consuming your bandwidth for their own purposes is a fairly easy task. It's built into OS's & respectable browsers as an option or setting, but not always easy to find.

I've got a pretty slow Verizon DSL connection, but I can watch anything I want any time I want most of the time in 720p HD. But if it's just a regular TV or less than visually spectacular movie, I usually have the option to watch it in DVD or 360p resolution, to save on bandwidth, & speed things up so I can still surf, & use the internet while watching a stream.

Unfortunately they don't offer DSL in "Dry Loop" anymore even though it's always been technically possible. Dry Loop is a DSL internet connection through phone lines, without actually having to pay for a phone service (land line service) on the line, & internet life was wonderfully cheap.

Now they force everyone to pay for an active land line phone service on the DSL line even if you never use it. So for over 4 years now, I'm paying $50 extra a month for telephone service on my DSL line, even though a telephone has never been connected to it. I can get cable internet a little cheaper for the same speed but verizon DSL knows it's got some it's customers by the balls. The local cable company (time warner) doesn't allow torrenting, & will threaten to cut you off if they find out you have torrent software on your computer... even though torrenting & the software is not illegal anywhere in the world. Many Linux OS's, free or new software, & unsigned bands or entertainers rely on the torrents to distribute their stuff LEGALLY.

Indeed, some of my income is related to reviewing & testing Linux stuff, new or unknown software, & unsigned bands, movies, or videos. I was one of the first people in my area to test the various versions of Windows 10 before it was released. They referred me to torrents of the beta versions to test & review them legally back then. Time Warner & other ISPs also block access, & even searches for unusual or underground stuff. So about 1/3 of what's on the internet would be missing with TW, & the rest would be watched or censored if I visited them. There's ways around those restrictions if you get stuck with them, but it will cost you extra work, time, & some money on a VPN, off-shore cloud, or seed box.

I've had the same cell phone number since 1998. After the fire, it was the only number people could contact me from. So the land line number is useless to me. Everyone worldwide still texts or calls that cell number. I rarely get a call though. Everyone texts, & land line phones don't get texts... even though it's easily possible, they just won't do it, because they all want to sell you a mobile connection too.

Fortunately in most cities wifi is everywhere. I was able to cut off my T-mobile service to my mobile phone, keep my 1998 cell number, & use it as a wifi phone. I got an excellent wifi router last year for free to review, so I even have nice wifi at home... before that, every computer had to be wired directly to the ethernet connection. Over a month ago I got a decent android quad core tablet to review. Via wifi I have a free phone number to make calls or text internationally through google voice on it. But it's a tablet, not a phone, so there's no earpiece on it. So I can only use it as a speaker phone. I've seen similar tablets like it selling on sale for as low as under $50.

There are also unlocked smart phones going for under $50 that will work as wifi phones through free google voice & other services. There's also no-contract, or pay as you go wireless phone services for seniors over 55 that charge $5-$10 a month for 80-300 minutes a month, but they charge every text as 1/3 a minute & if you want data, it's extra. But through your own wifi or free wifi of course, all data is free.

Unfortunately my 6 y/o phone is no longer compatible with much anymore. So if I want to save more money & be safe, I'll have to get a newer phone. If the power goes out during an emergency, wifi won't work. If the lines aren't down, the land line phones may still work because the phone companies use backup battery or generator power. The cell towers also use back up power to keep them going at least for a short time after power failures.

$250/mo is way too much just for phones & internet, plus the cost of cable TV. Keep the internet. Get free a wifi number & calling, then get a cheap mobile phone with basic senior service for power failures, or just the most basic emergency land line. Tip: Your cordless phone will not work on the land line during a power failure, because the base/charging unit needs power. You need a regular phone powered by the phone line connected for an emergency if you keep a land line.