Cross-post 196 and NonCredibleDefense. Sh.itJustWorks

  • papalonian@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Imagine being a Texan trying to brag about having your own power grid, after dozens of people froze to death because of how shitty that power grid is.

    • onion@feddit.de
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      9 months ago

      Why are you guys not connected to the rest of the US in the first place?

      • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        Because they are so strong and independent would rather funnel money into their own pockets than follow regulation to make sure people don’t freeze to death in winter.

      • Duranie@literature.cafe
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        9 months ago

        Not a Texan, but as I understand if a state connects to other states then there are federal regulations that need to be followed.

        • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          9 months ago

          This is exactly it. Because ERCOT is fully contained within the state of Texas they don’t have to follow any of the federal rules that would cover interstate connections in the Federal Power Act. The state can fully manage it without outside influence, and they’ve chosen to fully deregulate the entire market. Because fuck you it makes money.

          • body_by_make@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            9 months ago

            Yep, a friend of mine there says he calls up different suppliers every year to shop for that year’s current best price because they all regularly jack it up.

            • TunaLobster@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              It’s a normal thing in Texas. Annual plan are typical. Longer and shorter term ones are available. Never pay month to month. It’s just like Internet plans.

              Texas Power Guide does a nice job of analyzing a lot of plans based on your location and usage.

              Do NOT use Power To Choose. The electricity retailers purchase positions on that site. There is usually bias in the plans its shows.

      • scoobford@lemmy.zip
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        9 months ago

        Because we didn’t want to follow federal regulations due to cost. Some of said regulations included winterizing measures. It was peak “leopards ate my face” material.

    • NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I don’t brag about it. I fear each winter that it will happen again. Or that we will be woefully under prepared for natural disasters when they do strike.

      • MrVilliam@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        There is no safe season in Texas. It gets tornadoes in Spring and hurricanes in Fall. And because every year is getting hotter and hotter, Summer in Texas is probably also gonna get pretty rough soon. And every time ERCOT struggles, the price of energy soars because of their bullshit predatory small print. I truly don’t understand why anybody would choose to move to Texas these days.

        • NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Summer will get rough soon? Didn’t we have two back to back years with heat dome dominated summers and people collapsing on the concrete? I distinctly remember being told by my job not to go outside due to extreme risk of heatstroke. It’s already bad. If ercot can’t handle winter now, they won’t be able to handle summer as AC system loads spike higher and higher.

          I have lived here for 31 years. I don’t get the pride I’m supposed to have for being a native Texan. If I weren’t trapped here by the economic forces pressing all Texans down, I would live somewhere with a functional government at least.

          • The Stoned Hacker@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            Come to Chicago. Rent is fucked I won’t lie, but you can still find some cheap places. Depending on what you do (or are willing to do) there’s plenty of work here. Our city is a far cry from perfect but we have a mayor who actually has the people’s best interests in mind, we’re politically active and quite progressive, there aren’t enough free community resources but far more than most places, we have multiple forms of slightly shitty but fully functional mass transit, and weed is legal. Also, portions of the city are extremely walkable and bikeable.

      • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        Or that we will be woefully under prepared for natural disasters when they do strike.

        Texas is always prepared to receive handouts, I mean welfare I mean, their legitimate entitlements from the federal government.

        • NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Right. What happens to Texas if it secedes and is subsequently hit by a substantial hurricane? Fuck those people in particular I guess. That’s the general stance of our state government.

    • brodrobe@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      It is definitely not a Texan. The choice of words and points they’re hitting is very Russian.

    • FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Hilariously, Texas is all about giving people the freedom to freeze to death with their substandard electrical service in the name of “freedom from government oppression”, but they can’t just let trans people decide to transition because it could be a mistake and they might regret it? All while supporting child labor where kids could get crushed or heinously injured in massive industrial equipments? Amazing.

      • frezik
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        9 months ago

        What’s your definition of superpower?

        Russia has not met any definition since the Soviet Union evolved. China is more debatable. It’s not a military superpower–it can’t project much power outside of its own region–but you can argue for economic superpower.

          • frezik
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            9 months ago

            I think that’s a reasonable take. Same with the EU.

            I see people throw around the term “superpower” too much without thinking what the term means. Russia is most certainly not a superpower, and hasn’t been for some time. It’ll be lucky if it can avoid being a Chinese vassal state at this point.

          • frezik
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            9 months ago

            Being able to project power outside its immediate region in both soft and hard ways.

            Nukes exist for retaliation. They are a terrible first strike weapon. Having them also doesn’t mean you can deploy them wherever. There are so much more important aspects to a military than those.

            China has a major effect on the world economy, but it doesn’t have a military to extend that influence. It’s an economic superpower, but not a military one. Diplomatic options are improving, but far from the influence the US has.

            Russia has a shit military and could previously dictate the fossil fuel economy in Europe, but not much else. It lost much of that economic influence while invading Ukraine (backroom deals continue, but it’s not anywhere near what it was). The Soviets built the perfect counter to the US Navy by focusing on submarines, but those old subs are badly outdated. It’s not a superpower at all.

            The EU (taken as a whole) also has lots of economic and diplomatic influence. None of its constituent powers has much ability to project military power, though. UK and France both have aircraft carriers, but neither country can solve two problems at the same time with its military, and may even struggle with just one problem if they’re on their own.

            The US has both a military that can project worldwide, plus economic and diplomatic power to go along with it. Its collection of carriers can solve five problems at the same time and still have some left in reserve. A major multilateral world treaty without the United States would be considered incomplete. That’s a superpower in a complete package.

            • dmnknf@lemmy.ml
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              9 months ago

              Today, I learned that in order to be a superpower, you have to actually bomb poor countries in the Middle East and Africa to prove you can “project” your power.

              • frezik
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                9 months ago

                You have to have the potential to do so, at least. Superpowers aren’t necessarily good for humanity.

    • brodrobe@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      It is an actual Russian “divide and conquer” troll. A “warm water port” is exactly how you string that sentence together in Russian. A Texan would first of all call it a harbor (port is the word for it in Russian, so likely a direct translation), secondly wouldn’t mention that at all, since an “ice port” isn’t even a thing anywhere in the US, except for Alaska, and having an ice free one is nothing to brag about. In Russia it is a big deal and is a matter of national pride, hence the Crimea takeover. It’s more than just land to them.

      • AggressivelyPassive@feddit.de
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        9 months ago

        Ehm, warm water port is absolutely the correct term for it. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port

        Also, a Texan with a bit of knowledge would absolutely call it a port, especially if they’re talking about the Port of Houston, for example: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Houston

        I don’t know where this guy is from, but maybe you should be slightly more cautious with your linguistic judgements.

        • brodrobe@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          My point was - “warm water port” (which is precisely тепловодный порт) is nothing to brag about in the US, most ports here are. But it has been a largely discussed point by Russians in Russia, and primarily has been mentioned by Putin as a point of pride for Russia, as they have only 2 of those in the country.

          You’ve gotta agree, it is very odd to hear somebody who wouldn’t have been exposed to Putin’s speeches regarding the importance of “warm water ports” even mention it as a first point, especially being from Texas. Every port up and down East and West coast is a “warm water port”.

          • AggressivelyPassive@feddit.de
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            9 months ago

            I’m not saying that this is what I would call a stereotypical Texan argument, but framing it like the wording immediately makes them a Russian troll is just pretty far fetched. Especially claiming that port is a weird word in its own.

            • brodrobe@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Perhaps I should have prefaced my argument with the fact that I’m bilingual, I spent half of my life over there and half in the US and I tend to pick up on the slight wording differences. But I do see where you are coming from with the skepticism. I appreciate you fact checking me on this. I agree, port is not specifically a Russian word, but it would be a primary choice of a word for a Russian speaker, as well as the primary bragging point.

              • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                You aren’t wrong. I am an average american in the southwest and no one says “warm water port”. None of them freeze south of Alaska. Its a useless distinction for 95% of the country.

              • fkn@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                Most Americans on the west coast call any place a shipping container can unload or an aircraft carrier to dock a port.

                A grand total of zero Americans would ever think to disambiguate a warm water port or not. Especially from Texas. That’s the weird part. Not the word port itself.

                Harbor is usually reserved for non-commercial or fishing use only.

        • TragicNotCute@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          No Texans call it a “warm water port”. Definitely a port, but the warm water part of this is mega strange.

        • flicker@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Alright, I’ll bite.

          I grew up in Oklahoma and Texas. Didn’t move to Tennessee until my 20s. No, we would not call it “warm water port.” I’ve literally never seen anything bigger than a pond with ice on it. Why would it occur to me to mention it’s warmth?

          And where I’m from a sentence like “be slightly more cautious with your linguistic judgements” is the kind of pretentious nonsense that gets you disinvited from the barbecue so I recommend being slightly more cautious your own damn self.

          • AggressivelyPassive@feddit.de
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            9 months ago

            Yeah, see, if you can’t read my comment correctly, you might not be the best audience.

            I explicitly wrote, that warm water port wasn’t an usual term and that Texans wouldn’t call such a structure harbor, but port since their port is literally called - wait for it - port.

            Maybe a bit less BBQ and more reading comprehension would do you a favor.

            • flicker@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Suuuuuper pretentious. Needlessly so.

              I can tell you’re one of those people who likes to believe they pride themselves on their intelligence, but the truth is, you pride yourself on using it like a cudgel in a vainglorious attempt to feel better than others.

              I think we’d be better off if we disengage here.

        • prayer@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          “warm water port” is a term I exclusively associate with Russia, because the only time it was ever mentioned for me was in a world history class, talking about Russian expansion to secure one.

          While “port” might be a normal word, the phrase is a key to know where it comes from.

          • 𝔼𝕩𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕒@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            I know this one! It was mentioned specifically as Port Arthur, a contention of the russo-japanese war, at the turn of the 1900s. Specifically would call your attention to the part where they lost their main fleet, and called upon the Baltic Fleet (yes hoho THAT baltic) that made a trip around Africa in what became known as the Voyage of the Damned for all of the absolute chicanery and Lethal stupidity that took place on that nearly 9 month trip that culminated in catastrophic losses for the russians, and is one of the major pressures on Tzar Nicholas II to get involved in ww1.

            Anyway that’s one of the parts of the story as of how we’re all in this fucking mess.

      • CurlyMoustache@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        It is very a arctic way of speaking/writing. “Isfrie havner” (ice free ports) is a norwegian way of saying “warm water port”

    • OttoVonNoob@lemmy.caOP
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      10 months ago

      It’s real, unfortunately it’s working as well as there is a massive portion of west that bites into this shit. I mean look at Orban or any alt right Republicans in states.

  • toastal@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    This is how the capitalists & oil barons will sell your government on Global Warming like: “actually it’s a good thing the world is warming”

  • Gork@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    The interesting thing is that Russia already has two ice free ports on the Western side of the country: Kaliningrad in the Baltics and Novorossisk in the Black Sea, just East of the Crimean peninsula. There’s no real need for another port in Sevastopol. And on the Pacific they’ve got Vladivostok and much of the Kamchatka peninsula.

    • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Sevastopol helps them keep firm presence on the Black Sea and from that the Mediterranean so long as Turkey allows them through the Bosporus and Dardanelles to the Aegean. They don’t want their presence being dependent on Crimea’s holding

      • Justin@lemmy.jlh.name
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        9 months ago

        Too bad they messed that up by invading Ukraine. Russia had a lease on Sevastopol up through 2042, now they’ll be lucky to keep it for the next 5 years.

    • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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      9 months ago

      iirc the Novorossisk port is kind of bad, right?

      Regardless, Baltic Sea access isn’t super great when you’re entirely choked out by Denmark for access to the Atlantic. Same goes for Black Sea and access to the open seas - Turkey and arguably also Spain/UK block several times on the way.

      The Pacific ones freeze over and are kind of blocked by Japan, essentially.

      It’s going to be interesting to see how much Russia’s geopolitical position improves from rising global temperatures - if their pacific ports become ice-free, then that changes the game quite a bit.

      • lud@lemm.ee
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        9 months ago

        Regardless, Baltic Sea access isn’t super great when you’re entirely choked out by Denmark

        Not only Denmark. Norway, Sweden and probably Germany could also shut down access if they wanted.

        Norway and Germany couldn’t do it very well alone though.

        • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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          9 months ago

          That’s true. Atlantic access via the Baltic Sea is on heavy lockdown from all sides.

          Not to mention that Kaliningrad also is kind of cut off by land in a dire situation as well, making this even more of a struggle.

    • BakerBagel
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      9 months ago

      Kaliningrad is an exclave and not connected to the rest of Russia. Good relations with Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus is the only thing thay allows goods to pass through Kaliningrad. Sevastopol is a superior port to Novorossisk for many reasons, but the biggest one is the crntral location in the Black Sea. The Black Sea Fleet can quickly deploy anywhere in the Black Sea from Sevastopol.

      Vladivostok and the Kamchatka usually get iced in during the winter as arctic sea ice moves way down to the Japanese islands. Obviously that is becoming less and less of an issue, but that’s why Russia claims the Kuril islands.

    • Thomrade@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      There is a vast untapped natural gas field southwest of sevastopol. On top of giving Russia another warm water port, it also gives them rights over the slarwa of the black sea where the gas field is. the argument has been made that this was the reasoning behind the Crimean annexation in 2014.

  • drmeanfeel@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Having nearly died experiencing that power grid first hand, and their only two state exports of Bucees and Whataburger being picked up in other states, it’s not looking good

      • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        I’m aware of that, believe it or not. Purely a joke on my end. I legit love canada.

        In my limited experience, 1/10 Canadians I’ve encountered were assholes. That’s 9/10 for my fellow Americans. Best ally any country could have, too. Canada is fucking awesome. If I had to move away from home to another country, it would be my pick

        Which is kinda silly to say, I guess. But it’s true.

        • AstralPath@lemmy.ca
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          9 months ago

          I think you might be wearing rose colored glasses when you’re thinking about Canada.

          As a Canadian I think the ”crackhouse above a meth lab” joke is pretty apt. Canada is just America Light®. These jokes are especially poignant nowadays as our political landscape seems to be obsessed with doing its best American impression.

          Of course Canada isn’t a horrible place to be but it gets way too much praise from outsiders. We have a lot of problems just like everywhere else and instead of learning from the mistakes of others we seem to be more interested in following them off the same cliff.