Power Outage!

We had a beautiful day yesterday...followed by a 12-hour power outage(!). 

It was nearly a hundred degrees yesterday then at around 3:30pm there was a massive windstorm followed by a power outage that lasted until about 3am.  We have never had a power outage that lasted longer than an hour so this was quite shocking for us.  We did the following:

• Kept the doors and windows closed to keep the cooler air in the house and keep the hot air out.
• Broke out the battery bank (300 WH) that we keep with our emergency supplies and started experimenting with it.  We hooked up a small fan to circulate the air which had a nice cooling effect; the big fan we had drew too much power and we wanted the battery bank to last as long as possible.  We hooked up our big TV to the power bank but it too drew too much power so we set up the smallest TV in the house and were able to watch TV in the evening for a few hours (thanks to an over-the-air antenna; if we relied only on our wi-fi/cable TV we would have had nothing to watch since that was out).
• I was able to cook dinner because our stove is gas (using a match to light the burner) and wash dishes (also a gas hot water tank).  I had bread rising and ready to bake but while I could have lit the gas oven with a match, the temperature controls were electronic so that wouldn't work.  I ended up flattening the bread and making a kind of Indian fry bread which didn't come out too well (doughy and scorched). 
• Hubby was able to play a couple of hours of online poker using his laptop which was fully charged and using his cell phone as a hot spot.
• We used several flashlights that we had on hand to light our way through the house and while cooking.
• We slept downstairs in the living room because the second floor of our house was HOT (heat rises and all that I guess).
• I also read a book for a while (I need to build up my library of real books again), listened to a portable AM/FM radio, and tried to listen to a battery-operated short-wave radio (reception was not good). 
• The battery bank lasted until about midnight then no more fan, fortunately by then it wasn't so hot.
• I kept using my cell phone to check outage reports, the news, and the local subreddits to see how others were faring.
• We didn't need to use our portable battery banks to charge our cell phones because they are always charged up in the morning, but it was good to have these on hand as well.
• We didn't go walking or driving around like many of our neighbors did because we didn't want to add to the fray--downed trees, four-way stops at all traffic lights, etc.
• Fortunately the power came back on around 3am and we woke to a cool house.
• If the power would have remained out, I would have charged up the battery bank with solar panels but that takes sun (it was pretty overcast today) and a lot of time (several hours for a full charge).
• There were cooling stations set up for those who needed it which may have been an option if there was a long-term outage.
• Overall, it was an interesting experience.  My next purchase will be a 1000 WH battery which will last much longer than the small battery bank we have.  We may also consider a larger battery to dedicate to the refrigerator since it started to lose its coldness later in the evening.

5 Fabulous Finds and 1 Creepy One

Some things I stumbled across recently...

1. I was in a meeting today and one presentation focused on preparing for planned power outages.  I learned that many power companies have special programs to help medical patients who rely on their medical equipment at home having an uninterrupted supply of power.  One company provides free battery banks to help these customers, another company will send a special notice to these customers ahead of time so they have time to plan.  So if you or someone you know must have power for vital medical equipment, contact your power company to see what services they offer.
2. As I was checking my local energy company's website, I saw that they offer several useful programs.  I then checked my other utility company's websites and found they all offer extra useful services as well (examples here and here).
3. I have been binging this lady's YouTube videos lately.  She has so many great videos about how to save money on food and how to make cheap yet nutritious meals for the whole family!
4. Apparently I am old since I remember several of these "old school" pictures.
5. I guess No Buy July is a thing?  I'd never heard of it before but it sounds like a good idea.

Then there was this creepy thing...

• This popular YouTuber is a polyglot which means he speaks A LOT of languages.  His channel is usually entertaining as he films himself talking to (and shocking) the locals when he starts speaking to them in their own language.  Lately he has spoken to monkeys and dolphins in their language (?) which was also entertaining.  However, in his video today he spoke to ChatGPT in a computer language (hexadecimal) which was weird because #1, the ChatGPT sounds so real in both its conversational tone and choice of words, and #2 the ChatGPT seemed to dislike taking in this computer language (my questions would be why the dislike and how was this programmed into the language model).  I think in a few years we won't be able to tell what is real and what is fake anymore.  eeekkk

10 Things from Today

In no particular order...

1. Happy Summer Solstice day!  Today is the longest day of the year, daylight-wise, and now the days will begin getting shorter.
2. Hubby's chronic back pain is flaring up so he was only able to bowl one game on his league today.  It usually works itself out eventually but I hate seeing him in pain.
3. Does anyone know how Linda from Practical Parsimony is doing?  She usually blogs pretty regularly but I just realized I hadn't seen her posts in a while.  I haven't really been paying attention to my blog feed over the past few weeks because we have been so busy, but I always worry when my bloggy friends just disappear.
4. I got the annual bill for our house insurance today and it increased dramatically from last year.  We haven't made any claims and we live in a reasonably safe area so this bill was pretty shocking!
5. The Gmail app on my phone hasn't worked all day.  Sometimes stuff like this happens but the long duration is odd.  Then I saw this article about a major password breach so I guess I will spend the weekend changing all of my passwords :(
6. Work was eerily quiet today.  Yesterday was a holiday so it looks like everyone just took a very long weekend but our next fiscal year starts week after next and our budget/contracts are still in severe limbo!  Next week at work should be interesting...
7. People seem to be losing their shit today.  Drivers seem to be driving more insanely than usual here, people out in public seem to have an odd affect, and even the very nice girl at my favorite coffee drink place was super rude to the customer ahead of my and she is always nice to everyone so I was utterly shocked!
8. It's hot here.  Even though we are a third of the way through the summer, it looks like we still have MANY more triple-digit days ahead. Ugh
9. Grocery prices continue to climb.  We usually only shop loss leaders, but I noticed a regular whole chicken in the meat section was $20, eggs were around $7 a dozen, and a loaf of bread was $5...how are these prices even sustainable for the average family???  If we need a chicken we will get a $5 chicken from Costco, five dozen eggs for $15 from Sam's Club, and bread for $1.50 from the Dollar Tree but not all people have those shopping options.  Craziness!
10. It's hard to believe it is almost the 4th of July already! 

It's Been a Wild Couple of Weeks!

I don't even know where to start!

• We are getting ready to go on an Alaskan cruise next month.  So far it looks like about 15 friends and relatives will go (hubby's family travels in packs so when one person says they are going somewhere, before you know it, a dozen more people say they will go with you!).  I am hoping to see the Northern Lights and lots of nature since we have neither where I live; we are not looking forward to the typical 60-degree summer weather in Alaska!
• We had a step-in shower installed in hubby's bathroom and he loves it.  This is much safer when it comes to hubby getting into and out of the shower.  The cost was nearly $12k which is much more than it would have cost only five years ago, but ALL construction costs have increased exponentially over the past few years.  OTOH, it only took two days to complete and the installer did a great job.
• Politics is a complete shitshow--our president is semi-deranged (but so is the Mayor of LA when she was on the news stating they had no problem in her city while on the split screen we were seeing rioters throwing concrete blocks and e-scooters on the cops below the overpass!).  Add to that political assassinations, Israel starting a war with Iran for no good reason, the possibility of being pulled into WW3, a do-nothing Congress, people rioting against deporting illegal immigrants (if I went to another country and decided I was moving there whether the government liked it or not, I would expect to be deported immediately!)...everyday bring something new and absolutely crazy... :(
• My job (and the jobs of several people in a similar position to mine in other parts of the state) is in a perilous position.  We had a come-to-Jesus meeting with our state funders, expecting a 10% budget cut for our office, and ended up with a 35% budget cut.  Everyone is in shock.  I'm just glad hubby and I are debt-free, including the house and car, and have been saving and living below our means all of this time that I have been working.  While I can go back to being retired if worse comes to worst, many of the people I work with seem to live paycheck to paycheck,  tldr; never depend on one job for your financial survival, especially in this day and age.
• The AI situation looks pretty dire...eeekkk

Here are some pictures from our shower remodel...

5 Things from This Week

In no particular order...

1. Our weather has been pretty stormy this past week.  Maybe it is an early monsoon season?  Either way I love storms in the desert!
2. Tomorrow (June 6th) is National Donut Day.  Here are some places to get free donuts tomorrow.
3. Here is where you can get a $5 coupon for Great Clips.
4. From the 'people have lost their damn minds' file, we have had a ridiculous amount of crime/police responses in our area (examples here, here, and this case from near where my teams work in Washington State).  What is wrong with people these days???
5. Finally, on a happy note, some cute cat pictures.

10 Things from This Week

It's pretty quiet around here today.  I'm done with cleaning the house and doing laundry (Saturday is my normal cleaning day) and now we are just relaxing for the rest of the day.  In other news...

1. I just love owls in towels!
2. And of course I love the animal live cams: eagles, snakes, and bears oh my!
3. It is 101 degrees right now and it's supposed to reach 104 degrees by this afternoon...eeekkk!
4. We will be going on a cruise to Alaska this summer.  After not traveling anywhere for the past several years, it will be interesting (concerning) to see how travel has changed since then.
5. Equally concerning (terrifying) is how fast AI is developing.  Eventually AI won't need humans to maintain it.  Then what?
6. Another mystery...why don't delivery drivers (Amazon, UPS, etc) ever knock or ring the doorbell?? They just toss my packages on the porch and I am somehow supposed to know it is there?
7. Yet another mystery (to me anyway) is how people can live in tornado alley and not have a NOAA weather radio that alerts you with an alarm when there are tornadoes in the area.  I have sent three of these to people in tornado-prone areas because, while they say they "will just rely on alerts from their cell phones", what happens when high winds wipe out cell towers?
8. Speaking of disasters, here are some good disaster apps to put on your phone.
9. From the "this is creepy but very interesting" file.
10. Finally, an informative YouTube channel I have been binging over the past couple weeks...Captain Steeeve!

100+ Free and Cheap Things to Do in Las Vegas

We have had several friends come through Las Vegas over the past few months and nearly all of them have commented on how expensive Vegas is now. Las Vegas used to be a bargain vacation destination with cheap hotel rooms, cheap buffets, cheap entertainment, etc. but these days, it is the exact opposite—the city tries to wring every last coin out of your pocket through inflated prices, fees upon fees, upon fees, and there are hardly any inexpensive options on anything remotely related to tourists.

Here are 100+ ways the locals still save money on everyday items, food, entertainment, etc.

1. Monday is dollar day at the Goodwill. One tag color will be $1 each Monday so we only shop that tag color and often end up with 20 nice items of clothing (shirts, pants, jackets, artwork, electronics, etc) for $20.

2. The Shelby Museum is free and fun for car enthusiasts as well as people looking for an interesting way to spend an hour or so.

3. Bingo at Southpoint Casino (and probably other casinos as well) costs around $8 for an hour's worth of bingo play with the added bonus of two free drinks and the opportunity to win money.

4. Rodeos and other community events are also free at the arena at Southpoint Casino. Some events you need to pay for, but nearly all events offer a free time/day for people to attend.

5. Other free/cheap things we like at Southpoint: $4 matinee movie tickets for seniors on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; $1 per game bowling in the mornings; inexpensive Vegas-style shows, their famous $1.50 hot dogs, and other free shows and events.

6. Our library system is amazing! Even tourists can get a temporary library card and enjoy free book/movie check out, free movies shown in the library, free concerts, free passes to the local state parks, etc.

7. Our Nevada state parks can be a real bargain (they also have lots of cool community events on the weekends and amazing scenery!). You can get a free pass for the local state parks at the library or just pay the minimal $2 to $7 per car fee to enter.

8. Our community parks, many of which include splashpad for the kids, are free and a great place to spend the day.  Nearby Henderson NV has a similarly impressive set of community parks.

9. Vegas also has a number of public pools which only cost a couple of dollars to use.

10. As well as a number of senior centers with fun activities, discounted meals, etc.

11. The Ethel M Chocolate Factory is free to tour, you get a free sample of their candy, and they have a wonderful, free, cactus garden to wander through.

12. Mt Charleston is a great place to for hiking, camping, playing in the snow in winter, etc.

13. Camping is also free on the BLM land that surrounds Las Vegas.

14. There are a myriad number of free hiking trails to check out around the city/county.

15. The 7 Magic Mountains outdoor art exhibit is free and a wonderful photo op.

16. The Henderson Bird Preserve is free to wander around (although they sometimes charge a fee for special events) and it is literally an oasis in the desert for migrating birds.

17. Pickleball is super popular in Vegas and there are free pickleball courts all over town.

18. The Clark County Museum is only $2 and, IMHO, one of the best museums in Las Vegas.

19. The Cannon Aviation Museum is also free.  Be sure to check it out as you arrive or leave as it is located inside the airport.

20. If you are heading out to Laughlin, the Searchlight Museum is a free, interesting place to stop and check out.

21. Then there is the Marjorie Barrick Art Museum, which is free and fabulous and is located on the UNLV campus.

22. The Bellagio Resort on the Strip has a free, and again fabulous, Bellagio Conservatory which is updated seasonally with thousands of beautiful flowers.

23. Also at the Bellagio, don’t miss the famous and free water fountain/music/light show which plays several times throughout the evening

24. Just down the street from the Bellagio at the Flamingo Casino is the very cool Flamingo Wildlife Habitat which has lots of fascinating birds and fish to check out for free.

25. The Silverton Casino offers a small, free aquarium with all kinds of cook fish as well as regularly-scheduled mermaid shows.

26. Just outside of town you will find the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge which is free to visit and is a quiet, fascinating, and relaxing place to visit.

27. Also, just outside of town (the opposite direction) you will find the old west town of Goodsprings with a cool desert cemetery, short walking trails, and the fascinating Pioneer Saloon.

28. The Fantastic Swap Meet is an indoor venue that only costs $2 per person and is a great place to people watch and features all of the unique vendors.

29. The Broadacres Swap Meet is a wonderful outdoor venue with lots of vendors, food stalls, and live music on the weekends.

30. Speaking of live music, the Fremont Experience in downtown Las Vegas is famous for its overhead light show and nightly live bands, not to mention some of the most unusual people you will ever see, and it is all free.

31. Just inside of the Golden Nugget Casino which is next to the Fremont Experience you will find the world’s second largest gold nugget and a very cool shark tank to check out (from a slight distance (unless you pay to enter the pool area).

32. First Friday is a free community arts festival which takes place in downtown Las Vegas on the first Friday of each month.

33. The Smith Center is home to performing arts in Las Vegas and offers regularly scheduled free walking tours.

34. If you love public art, the 18B Arts District in downtown Las Vegas has numerous murals, graffiti art, and other art pieces to check out all over the downtown area.

35. There is a free parking area next to the airport where plane spotters can watch airplanes take off and land.

36. Cactus Joe’s is a garden store and is a great place to shop/window shop at as they offer so many cool kinds of desert plants, cactus, displays, etc. 

37. For those with military ID, the Nellis Air Force Base has a fascinating, free Thunderbird Museum.  The base also has a (huge) free gym, Space A travel, MWR/ITT services, commissary, etc.

38. For those without base access, there are still plenty of opportunities to see the military jets practice which are easily seen from just outside the base.  Red Flag is a scheduled event but it seems like the jets practice nearly everyday.

39. Area 51 and the Extraterrestrial Highway, which may or may not contain aliens, is an hour-ish drive north of Las Vegas and makes for an interesting road trip.

40. For people who enjoy cemetery walking (it’s a thing!), we have several cool cemeteries/famous graves to check out.

41. A popular and free souvenir for many Vegas visitors is to take a picture at the famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign (get there early to avoid the line).

42. The Circus Circus Casino has a daily schedule of free circus acts to check out.

43. Caesars Palace has a free, regularly scheduled ‘Fall of Atlantis’ show.

44. There are a handful of TV shows filmed in Las Vegas that offer free tickets to be in the TV audience.

45. Check out events related to your favorite hobbies/sports/etc (I enjoy genealogy so just by Googling Las Vegas genealogy, I found this group to check out).  Whatever your interest or hobby, Las Vegas probably has clubs/events for it!

46. Consider volunteering. YMMV but I have been able to volunteer at random events one time only (ie: The National Genealogy Conference took place in Vegas one year and by volunteering one day, I could attend all of the other days of the conference for free.  I volunteered to help out at a running event and met some amazing people.  Even major annual events need volunteers and they get rewarded with free tickets to the rest of the event).

47. Check out free and inexpensive transit options to get you around the city including the Downtown Loop, the RTC, the Aria Tram, and the Monorail. Note that parking fees at Strip properties are ridiculously expensive.

48. Always ask for a discount wherever you go...senior discount, military discount, locals discount, AAA discount, etc.

49. Check for discounts to various events/services on Groupon, My Vegas, restaurant apps, etc.

50. If you will be in Vegas for an extended period of time, consider subscriptions to Fill A Seat and/or House Seats for free daily tickets to shows, etc.

51. A good list of food/restaurant discounts can be found here and here.

52. Spas on the Strip are super expensive, the off-Strip Imperial Korean Spa is much, much cheaper (Groupon sometimes has half-price tickets for this places).

53. The Lake of Dreams is a regularly scheduled free show at the Wynn.

54. The District at Green Valley often has free community events throughout the year.

55. Downtown Summerlin offers similar events on the other side of town. 

56. The Downtown Container Park is a lively venue which offers many, often free, community events.

57. Interesting places to walk: The Strip, The Venetian, Lake Las Vegas, etc.

58. The College of Southern Nevada has a fascinating, and inexpensive, planetarium show.

59. We also have an old fashioned drive in movie theater in Las Vegas.

60. The old Tropicana Cinema has generally inexpensive matinees and a monthly showing of the Rockey Horror Picture Show on the first Saturday of every month.

61. Best (inexpensive) buffets in Vegas: Krazy Buffet, Buffet at Asia, Southpoint Buffet, Taj Palace lunch buffet, and Rampart Marketplace Buffet.

62. Other great food deals in Vegas

63. For a distant road trip from Vegas, check out Tonopah, Oatman (free wild west show and donkeys waiting to be fed included), and Laughlin.

64. For some old timey fun, grab a roll of quarters and check out the Pinball Hall of Fame.

65. Find a free labyrinth to check out in Las Vegas here.

66. Watch the Golden Nights ice hockey team practice for free at City National Arena (call for details).

67. Check out Boulder City; free sites include a museum, Hemenway Park, a walk across the Pat Tillman Overlook for a great view of the Hoover Dam, and a haunted pet cemetery.

68. For people who have seen Pawn Stars, it is free, but a bit underwhelming, to visit the famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in person.

69. You can visit free hot springs near Las Vegas (note you often have to hike into these places which is not safe to do in the summer).

70. Check out the October 1 Memorial in downtown Las Vegas.

71. Speaking of memorials, there are several interesting memorials in the area including the Nevada State Veteran's Memorial, the Henderson Veteran's Memorial Wall, and the Las Vegas Police Memorial Park.

72. Check out holiday-specific Las Vegas events: the Strip for New Years Eve, Easter Service, Cowboy Christmas, watch the Great Santa Run, etc.

73. Check out annual Las Vegas events: watch the Las Vegas marathon, the LVMPD K9 Trials, watch poker players win millions at the annual World Series of Poker, etc.

74. Get a highly discounted massage at a massage school.

75. Get a highly discounted haircut or beauty treatment at a local beauty school.

76. Get a highly discounted dental treatment at UNLV dental school (you need to be here for a while as this usually takes several appointments).

77. Play a game--Vegas has a big community of Pokemon Go players, geocaching, Letterboxing, etc.

78. Cheaper entertainment for the kids (and/or parents): roller skating, ice skating, library activities, etc.

79. Unusual social activities: watch a wedding (there are several chapels downtown; hang around for a bit and watch the wedding parties come and go), sit in on a trial (just go in and sit in the gallery), go on a police ride-along, etc.

80. Drive out into the desert to get away from the lights of the city and watch a meteor shower.

81. Skip the expensive Raiders or Golden Knights pro sports games and go to an Aviators or Lights game instead.

82. You can watch Las Vegas rugby clubs practice--for free--at Frias Park.

83. Las Vegas also features up and coming athletes at UNLV and high school games.

84. You can get reasonably priced tickets to college and high school performing arts events throughout the year.

85. Watch a parade—Helldorado Days parade, MLK Day parade, Veterans Day parade, etc.

86. Visit the Las Vegas Farm and feed the barn animals.

87. Visit Gilcrease Orchard.  This is a huge, productive, u-pick farm in Las Vegas.

88. Help out the community and get out in nature by participating in a Get Outdoors Nevada event.

89. Visit the website of the activity you want to do and see if there are any free or discounted tickets (ie: National Parks free days, Mob Museum free events, etc).

90. If you are in Las Vegas on October 31st, Google around for events celebrating Nevada Day (example here).

91. If you will be here on your birthday, sign up for some (or all!) of these birthday freebies.

92. Go on free guided hikes or walks here, here, and here.

93. Visit the Nelson's Landing ghost town (cliff jumping into the Colorado River is optional).

94. If you have your bike with you (or rent one) there are miles and miles of bike trails around Las Vegas.

95. While some events at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway are eye-wateringly expensive, they often have events like Midnight Mayhem which are quite reasonably priced.

96. Chinatown in Las Vegas is a fascinating place to check out.  They have unique shops, great food, and several free community events throughout the year.

97. Many casinos offer free "how to gamble" classes.  Obviously gambling isn't free and IMHO is a complete waste of money but the classes are a free, enjoyable way to spend some time.

98. Take a free photo with a million dollars at Binions.

99. We haven't tried this yet but free line dancing lessons sounds like a great way to spend the evening!

100. Save your money by avoiding rip offs! These include being trick rolled, fake dispensaries, taking photos with the "showgirls" in tourist areas, playing three-card-Monty--or any other gambling outside of regulated casinos, or any of these other scams.

101. The Nevada State Railroad Museum located in Boulder City offers inexpensive entrance fees as well as inexpensive train rides for the whole family.

102. Buy drinks/snacks/food at the grocery store then take these things with you when you go out for the day instead of buying expensive restaurant meals.