[don-code]

A few years ago, I had a three-day power outage. Unfortunately, at the time I worked for an e-commerce company, and Black Friday was in two weeks - not the time for me to be off work. (Mind you, this was 2021, and temporarily returning to the office was questionable at best at that time).

Most of my neighbors seemed to have up and left. The immediate neighborhood was quiet. I ventured out and saw what had happened: a large tree had come down, taking the power lines and the road with it. So I assumed the recovery process would be something like:

1. Remove the tree - one company on one schedule

2. Re-pave the road - another company on another schedule

3. Put the telephone pole back up - the phone company (the poles are owned by Verizon in my area)

4. Restore electrical cables - the power company

And I realized that this would not be a quick process.

I threw a 100-foot extension cord out my second floor window, and hooked it up to the 400-watt inverter in my car. (Yes, I know this is terrible for my engine. The silver lining was that somehow the folks at BMW made an engine that got up to operating temperature while idling.) The other end got plugged into the three monitors and laptop on my desk. I hotspotted my phone, and... just kept going at Black Friday readiness.

At one point, I got an interesting sideways glance from the CEO on a Zoom call, as if to say - "Why are you wearing a jacket and fingerless gloves indoors? Do we pay you enough?" I'm just glad the smell of not showering wasn't transmissible through Zoom.

Although I lost most of the contents of my fridge, and I ended up eating a lot of peanut-butter-and-jelly and protein bars, I did find some ways to keep it interesting during the day. I put my moka pot on the charcoal grill for coffee in the morning, and at one point I made a grilled-ish cheese on top of the engine block.

I used a handheld flashlight and an LED lantern for light after the sun went down. And I did treat myself to dinner with friends all three nights, charging up two UPSes at their homes while we went out, so that I could in turn run some other appliances without running the car. I seem to recall at one point watching the 10:00 news on TV thanks to those UPSes.

I would not have wanted this experience with a family like this person did, for sure, but I actually found it somewhat fun and interesting.

[01HNNWZ0MV43FF]

Could you tell me more about why the car shouldn't be used as a generator, why an engine might not warm up at idle, and how you kept jelly at room temperature? Thanks

[reillyse]

Jam is generally shelf stable. The sugar is really good at killing bacteria (deprives them of water iirc).

[01HNNWZ0MV43FF]

Huh! If "shelf-stable" means "refrigerate after opening" then yeah. But I'm confused whether it's "refrigerate optional" like ketchup

https://www.marthastewart.com/8269604/should-you-refrigerate...

> You can technically store opened jams and jellies at room temperature—but only in a cool, dark place and for about a week after opening, says Lee. Here's why: Jams and jellies have high sugar and acid levels, which protect against spoilage. But there are still certain microorganisms, called osmophiles, that are resistant to these conditions and can cause spoilage over time,

[swiftcoder]

I grew up on a boat with no refrigeration, and we kept open jars of jams for several months. As long as you don't contaminate it (don't use the same knife for multiple condiments!), it's generally fine.

Same thing with jars of Mayonnaise - that one gets you strange looks.

[Doxin]

Homemade jam, and some commercial jams will keep at room temperature for a looooong time. The main form of spoilage is mold growth, so try to keep the lid on as much as possible. Close the lid back before you spread the jam on your bread. It only takes a couple spores falling in to start it going moldy.

As I understand it the main thing is a lot of jams not having enough sugar in them anymore to prevent spoiling.

[unsnap_biceps]

Jams and jellies existed before refrigeration and were used to preserve fruit year round. Root cellars kept things cool and you would just inspect your food before eating. Pickles is another thing. They used to be stored in a big barrel and people would reach in and grab a room temp pickle, safe and preserved. Today, they're always fridge after opening. It's safer, but it's a spectrum of risk, not binary.

[01HNNWZ0MV43FF]

I do like a good non-binary pickle