XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: psperson1@ix.netcom.invalid   
      
   On Sun, 14 Jun 2020 06:15:08 -0700, Stan Brown   
    wrote:   
      
   >On Sun, 14 Jun 2020 07:38:46 +0200, Steve Hayes wrote:   
   >> At that point we left and went to the little guy up the road and   
   >> bought an electric one. Long cord, but fewer moving parts, so lasts   
   >> longer. And the little guy repairs it and services it, and only tells   
   >> us to get a new one when it's really unfixable.   
   >   
   >A trustworthy mechanic is worth his or her weight in gold.   
      
   Indeed.   
      
   >I wouldn't even consider a cutting-type appliance with a cord. Being   
   >Mr. Clumsy, I would sooner or later -- probably sooner -- cut right   
   >through the cord. But battery-operated ones are just right for me:   
   >enough juice from a charge to get the job done, fewer moving parts,   
   >very little maintenance, and no fluids!   
      
   Indeed.   
      
   >If it were physically possible, I'd have a battery-operated   
   >generator. (For those who don't know, in southern California the   
   >power company shuts off power in times of high wind, because   
   >otherwise their **uninsulated** transmission lines touch each other,   
   >spark, and cause wildfires. The shutoffs can last for days, so either   
   >you accept that you'll lose a fridgeful of food once or twice a year,   
   >or you buy a generator for backup power.)   
      
   Back when I had an "account" with /Consumer Reports/ (this was after   
   the theory that I was a "member of the Conumers' Union and the   
   magazine was a member benefit was replaced with a more ... aggressive   
   ... model), they had something to say about emergency generators:   
      
   1) Gasoline is the fuel of choice.   
      
   2) It should be able to fully power your home and everything in it. No   
   skimping on output, sooner or later you're going to need it all.   
      
   I don't recall if they explicitly recommended a concrete pad, but   
   chances are any contractor installing something that large would   
   include one as a matter of course. Or zoning law.   
   --   
   "I begin to envy Petronius."   
   "I have envied him long since."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)