Let it snow

According to a CNN report, nearly 75% of the contiguous US is covered with snow today. The only states with zero snow are Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. 

There are also reports that temps in Texas today are actually lower than temps in Alaska. 

I had an employee on my team call in today because he lives in Texas and currently has no power. There is another consultant I used to work with who lives in Houston, and he hasn't had power since 3 AM yesterday.

It's times like these when I'm happy to live in Arizona. Sure, the oven gets turned on during the summer months, but today it will be sunny and a high of 68. 

I made a rare exception to look at the news today to figure out what's happening, and already I see the stories popping up of climate change activists going head-to-head with climate deniers. Never let a tragedy go to waste as they say.

Why isn't the state of Texas more prepared? It would be like Arizona suddenly plunged into freezing temperatures with ice and snow. Our infrastructure, like the infrastructure in Texas, is designed to handle the heat of the summer. Good planning does not account for these once-in-a-generation events. The hits just keep on coming, and some people just can't catch a break.
Good planning does not account for these once-in-a-generation events.

Is that a typo? Good planning does not?
2021-02-16 19:56:56
Nope. Good planning is for the 80% and you just have to wing it for the 20%, and certainly seat-of-your-pants when a black swan event happens. Good planning is having my AC system serviced in the spring to reduce the chances that it goes on the fritz during the summer. Bad planning would be creating some sort of plan for when my house is hit by a meteor or malfunctioning Starlink satellite.
2021-02-16 20:14:22
Do you think the type of planning -- the kind that protects against black swan events -- is not worth it for the most part?
2021-02-16 21:21:37
I haven't read Taleb's book on the subject, but yes in general I take a probabilistic approach to planning and decision-making and do not spend much time on events that have low probabilities of occurrence. 
2021-02-16 23:17:06
Greetings from sub-freezing Texas. Our power has stayed on so far. Most of my friends have lost power, most of them nearly continuously for the last 2 days
2021-02-17 00:40:02
Greetings from snowed-in Indiana. It's a pretty sight here at least. It's good to hear that you haven't yet lost power, Daniel. Hope the power stays on until this thing is over
2021-02-17 15:41:14