Archive for December 16th, 2008
The Solitude of Snow
Well, we’ve had our first couple inches of snow this season. And it’s incredibly cold for the generally more mild Pacific Northwest: the weather here won’t get above 31 degrees this week….ouch!
But I love the way snow slows everything down. I got out of going to Portland for two meetings today. There was a calm to the vacant streets and powdered landscape. But I shouldn’t have ventured out on a bike. Amen for my helmet when I hit that patch of ice!
We’re still trying to wrap our heads around Oregon’s snow chains law. You are technically required to carry chains while highway driving in the winter months. In very bad weather, ODOT signs can require you to put them on.
I’ll pick some up before we drive through the Coastal Range next week. Then apparently a lot of folks end up returning them unused to the local tire center in the spring.
A “Gift” from Baltimore Gas and Electric
Being under-employed, I was grateful and surprised to receive a $128 check from Baltimore Gas and Electric in Corvallis today. I assume that’s our part of BGE’s $2 billion settlement with parent company Constellation Energy that I forget we were due. Too bad those credits were barely expected to cover the increased heating costs this year.
So far, Pacific Power here in Oregon seems slightly-more consumer friendly. At least being a Pacific Power customer entitles us to an Energy Trust home efficiency audit, which we are having performed tomorrow.
BaltimOregon to Maine 