Our power went out Saturday night 9:07pm and as of now, 7pm Monday, is still not “restored.” Restored. Implies something magical had to be done to bring it back to life. Near as I can tell, nothing ever went wrong.

But let’s suppose that shutting off power to so many people in Northern California did, in fact, serve a good purpose. I mean, other than to remind us of how badly mismanaged PG&E is, such that a mild California weather scenario (because we don’t really get anything that isn’t “mild” in California, by world-wide standards) can kill our power grid. Let’s say it actually prevented some fires.

OK. So why do lines have to be individually visually inspected for damage? We don’t have a low-power/current way of testing them, to see if there are any breaks in the circuits? For what each transmission pole must cost, not to mention sending people to check them, there isn’t a way to assess their condition remotely?

Something seems really amiss here. I’ve heard that this is a “power play” by the PG&E Board of Directors to get a bill passed absolving PG&E of responsibility if there’s a fire. If true, how can that not enrage people enough to march on PG&E’s offices en masse?

Phil Collins approaches the stage using a cane, walking feebly and reminding one of Peter Garbriel playing a very old man in one of his costumed theatrical moments. But no, this wasn’t for show, this WAS the show. Phil Collins entertained my wife and I pretty much sitting in a chair the entire two hours of the show.

Funny thing is, we expected to see old people in the audience… really old people… and we saw a few. But overall, the audience actually seemed younger than at the Genesis concert we attended in, what, 2007? A very long time ago.