I'm watching the City of Austin press conference:

Judge Andy Brown says today's ice storm made roads incredibly dangerous, so please stay home if possible.

.@austinenergy : we are starting to get more power and are prioritizing turning on the power for people who have been without power the longest. if we can sustain this level, we can do true rotating blackouts
.@austinenergy : we have crews out in the community trying to fix things, but they are having people screaming at them and throwing things at them. Jacquie Sargent asks that people let them do their jobs and not harass them.
.@AustinWater : we ask that you DO NOT drip your faucets, stop using laundry machines, dishwashers, and if you know how to take care of a burst pipe please do.
City Manager Spencer Cronk: We know this is frustrating and I'm sorry this is happening. We have shelters open.

(Here is a list of the various shelters, some are for warming, some are for staying the night

https://t.co/wOKkumvdok)
.@MayorAdler : I know people are scared, frustrated and confused. 5 mill people in TX without power is a huge failure of the grid and the management of power in the state. We weren't ready for a sustained storm like this, but we need to be
@MayorAdler .@MayorAdler : we might not get power back on until things thaw, which isn't until Friday.

Today we need to talk about water. We are using 300 million gallons on water, which is more than we've ever seen. We need to not use major appliances and not run water.
@MayorAdler .@MayorAdler : we know we told you to drip faucets, and that was the right advice before today. Now, we are asking you to shift gears and conserve water.

We are also calling for volunteers. The city's website has a form you can fill out if you are able to help
@MayorAdler .@MayorAdler : if you have power, act like you don't. if you got power back on, don't count on it staying long term.
@MayorAdler Q AND TIME. now we get to the good stuff
@MayorAdler Q: Why were other power companies in central TX able to do rotating blackouts and Austin Energy couldn't?

A: Austin has more areas that include hospitals and critical areas, that needed power to stay on. We maxed out and had no ability to rotate because nobody could be cut
@MayorAdler Q: what can Austin Energy customers expect in terms of their upcoming bill?

A: I can't give you what the impact is right now because we buy energy from @ERCOT_ISO. But there will be impacts.
@MayorAdler @ERCOT_ISO Q: why can't shutdowns be more granular, like block by block?

A: we have to shut off large blocks of power and can't shut off meters one by one. We don't have technology to do that.
@MayorAdler @ERCOT_ISO .@AustinWater : we are having water main breaks. it's hard to see them because of the snow and the ice is preventing us from traveling as fast as we need.

One main break was in Circle C, which is why SW Austin is struggling with water today.
@MayorAdler @ERCOT_ISO @AustinWater How to boil water without electricity:

@AustinWater : If you have gas you can boil that way. But if you have an electric stove, you'll need bottled water or other liquids to do this.
That's all folks.

More from Government

Let me take a stab at this after years of reporting on Marine One, HMX-1, Continuity of Government, etc. None of this is definitive, but it could help explain what folks are seeing:

1.) HMX-1, which flies the VH-3D and VH-60N 'White Top' helicopters used to move... 1/X


the President and VP around, those helos being called Marine One or Two when either is onboard, need to train. The urban landing zones, including WH and VP Residence, are not simple to get in and out of. So, crews need some currency training. They are not just tasked with... 2/X

moving POTUS and VP to get them around the region and to Andrews AFB for long-haul flights, they are essential to Continuity of Government operations. This means that if a threat were to emerge, they need to be ready to snatch POTUS and VP in minutes. This is partially... 3/X

why they have a full forward operating location at Naval Support Activity Anacostia, just 3 miles from the WH. As such, practice is important and considering the state of things, it is critical now more than in any recent memory. 4/X

2.) Considering what happened last week, including mobs of Trump supporters screaming in unison to hang the VP for doing what the constitution states, absolutely despicable in every way, security has been tightened just as it has been all over. Using the helicopters instead.. 5/X
If you're curious what Trump's defense will look like, all you have to do is turn on Fox News. My latest at @mmfa

The tl;dr is that for years right-wing media have been excusing Trump's violent rhetoric by going, "Yes, but THE DEMOCRATS..." and then bending themselves into knots to pretend that Dems were calling for violence when they very, very clearly weren't.

And in fact, this predates Trump.

In 2008, Obama was talking about not backing down in the face of an ugly campaign. He said "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."

https://t.co/i5YaQJsKop


That quote was from the movie The Untouchables. And there's no way anybody reading that quote in good faith could conclude that he was talking about actual guns and knives. But it became a big talking point on the

In 2018, Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder was speaking to a group of Georgia Democrats about GOP voter suppression. He riffed on Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high" line from the 2016 DNC.

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"I really want to break into Product Management"

make products.

"If only someone would tell me how I can get a startup to notice me."

Make Products.

"I guess it's impossible and I'll never break into the industry."

MAKE PRODUCTS.

Courtesy of @edbrisson's wonderful thread on breaking into comics –
https://t.co/TgNblNSCBj – here is why the same applies to Product Management, too.


There is no better way of learning the craft of product, or proving your potential to employers, than just doing it.

You do not need anybody's permission. We don't have diplomas, nor doctorates. We can barely agree on a single standard of what a Product Manager is supposed to do.

But – there is at least one blindingly obvious industry consensus – a Product Manager makes Products.

And they don't need to be kept at the exact right temperature, given endless resource, or carefully protected in order to do this.

They find their own way.