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I got a mid-size portable one rated for 4500w. It doesn't run the whole house. It's enough to keep the downstairs fridge and freezer going, the internet up, and the phones/laptops charged. In the wintertime it can also be used to run the furnace. We lost power for 18 hours overnight this past winter when it was 11 degrees out, so getting one that will run the furnace was on my list of requirements. We get multi-hour outages several times a year, during the worst of covid we had a transformer blow a couple streets over and they couldn't get a replacement for days, so I think it was an overdue investment. While it does have a connection available to wire into the breaker box, my breaker box is not set up for it. So for me, it was just stringing orange extension cords under the garage door and out the living room window to plug into the unit in the driveway. We got power back for a short time at 11 p.m., then again at 3 a.m., I was able to power down the generator at 3. Last I looked, there were still 134k without power, over 400k at the worst of it. They're saying more bad storms tonight.

Yep, game over for Tesla and others in the real world outside of US borders.

I learned of this today. This is interesting and even hilarious. https://news.delta.com/media/image/60136 Delta will soon start flying from JFK to Sicily daily through early fall. It makes sense and eliminates that extra step. Instead of Palermo, the island's capital, it will go to Catania, the second city but busier airport, since the beach resorts and Mt. Etna are on that side of the island. I'm betting the passengers will be quite a bit more colorful than on the JFK to Rome flight.

This shows that we must never forget the history of how lying men can destroy a country. Kill others all to justify a personal blindness to the multi-cultural society that the planet is and will always be. It was interesting to see the Mercedes Benz, BMW and Volkswagen logos all over. Clearly these three companies played a big roll in arming Germany and hurting the world. Yet we also can see some amazing technology that was created and used in the auto industy.

I am buying a car in 2029.

These companies are playing on both sides of the party line. Ford donated more to Harris than Trump. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/ford-motor-co/summary?id=D000000182 Same with GM. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/general-motors/summary?id=D000000155 Toyota contributed a little more to Trump than Harris. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/toyota-motor-north-america/C00542365/candidate-recipients/2024 Hyundai: https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/hyundai-motor-co/summary?id=D000042381 This is just fascinating information to me. It's also comical how these companies are trying to play good to either party who wins.

Interesting the news on this: Project 2025: Full List of Organizations Behind Proposals - Newsweek Toyota, Ford and General Motors join sprint to donate millions to Trump's inauguration fund Breaking down list alleging companies like McDonald's and Walmart donated to Trump | Snopes.com Trump inauguration donors include Meta, Amazon, Target, Delta, Ford Crazy all the companies that have invested in Trump and the whole Project 2025 for destruction of America Democracy and the growth of dictatorship.

You have a list of auto companies and who they donated to?

This will affect the auto industry to an enormous extent...

Why hold the other auto companies hostage because of the government?

...and the pain of authoritarianism on actual human lives. Nothing going on now will end well for any of us... I so want to see Italy. Want to spend some time there, will be one of the first stops when I retire. Likewise... More bad weather coming... I own almost everything I need, and buy tools I want used, usually. Folks can suffer for the idiotic election. Maybe I need to heed your advice.

It will be like the VW TDI fiasco, cars sitting unsold for a year due to the stupidity of our government. This will make the US appear less stable, and people will be LESS likely to trust us or want to build plants here. Honestly, all of this makes me want to own a BYD or Hyundai product....

In about 90 days when dealer lots start to run dry, those Hornets might actually start finding customers. I have only seen a few on the road. Mostly they just sit on dealer lots.

WOW, Sorry to hear the storm is so bad. All the best for riding it out.

This is too funny and I HOPE HOPE HOPE Amazon moves forward with this as all the auto's on Amazon for sale will have a TRUMP TARIFF line that shows how much TARIFF tax they will pay. Trump’s ‘Pottery Barn rule’ problem

I'm laughing. There are always reasons why things are "discounted." With me, it's DFW and Austin that give me heartburn. San Antonio, too, even though I don't know it as well. I just don't like the look of the DFW area, whether natural or built. I don't like Austin for being the governmental engine of a big red place next to a massive university with over 50,000 students that is a big blue place. I'm more of a moderate and don't want extremes in either element. I also don't like the "way cool" leanings in Austin. Houston has its negatives, but I'd take it for nearby Galveston, and water in general, the extensive pinewoods, the dark red brick homes, an attractive downtown, and for being America's most ethnically diverse city that has always rolled with that spirit. There is no "you shouldn't be here" factor. IIR, I've heard of a saying about Madrid that goes, 'When you're in Madrid, you're from Madrid.' Having lived in various places, I pay attention to those subleties.

Very cool to see This Hyundai Ioniq 5 Owner Managed 413,991 Miles In Under Four Years, With One Big Catch

Ughhhhhhhhh UPS cuts 20,000 jobs, GM delays investor call as Trump's tariffs create corporate chaos | Reuters The Companies Lowering or Ditching Guidance Amid Tariff Chaos - Business Insider Trump tariffs: Pepsi, Chipotle, P&G cut earnings forecasts Major companies face a difficult task in estimating the impact of tariffs on their business | RochesterFirst Interesting reads on the auto industry. Cox Automotive Forecast: First Quarter New-Vehicle Sales Expected to Increase Year over Year as Market Momentum Shows Signs of Fading - Cox Automotive Inc. The rush is over from Q1, expect everything else to slow dooooooooowwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnn. Tariffs will lead to 2 million fewer auto sales in US this year, auto advisory firm forecasts | Reuters 5 Predictions For The Auto Industry In 2025

That is a tough question, GM has stopped importing and those that have come in are being kept at the ports till this issue gets resolved. I honestly can see plenty of auto's from Europe, Asia sitting at our ports for months and eventually having to be discounted at the end of the year to be sold due to this stupidity. In regards to Mexico and Canada, I have not seen any clear message on how the auto companies are dealing with the models that are built there to come here. As far as I can see, they have paused production, but not 100% sure on all of it as it is such a birds nest mess. Hopefully Drew might have some other insight I have not seen yet.

We got walloped here in Pittsburgh last night. Power company is saying 5-7 days before power is restored. No damage to my property. I ran out and bought a generator first thing this morning. T Mobile cell network is struggling and I lose service once I leave my WiFi connection. 70 mph winds and lots of destruction.