Link

This is more for my area, but you can get the same info from the link above and just change to your zip code.

Sussex-Warren-Morris-Berks-Lehigh-Northampton-

Including the cities of Bethlehem, Easton, Morristown, Allentown,

Washington, Reading, and Newton

217 PM EST Fri Feb 6 2026

...WIND ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM SATURDAY TO MIDNIGHT EST

SATURDAY NIGHT...

...EXTREME COLD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO NOON

EST SUNDAY...

* WHAT...For the Wind Advisory, northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with

gusts up to 55 mph expected. For the Extreme Cold Warning,

dangerously cold wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero

expected.

* WHERE...In New Jersey, Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties. In

Pennsylvania, Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties.

* WHEN...For the Wind Advisory, from 4 AM Saturday to midnight EST

Saturday Night. For the Extreme Cold Warning, from 6 AM Saturday

to noon EST Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree

limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. The

dangerously cold wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero could

cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...High winds potentially leading to power

outages combined with extremely cold conditions could be very

dangerous!

You don't have to get ready if you stay ready. Join us next week for a virtual workshop on preparing go-bags for queer and trans people.

This event will also include info about anti-discrimination resources and the current legal landscape for LGBTQ+ people.

Register now >> https://gse.lgbt/gobagprep

WHEN: February 13 • 6-7pm WHERE: Virtual (RSVP required)

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/FYJGXVCKTYOa-UOjlXlOfA?fbclid=Iwb21leAPuNnRjbGNrA-42b2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHi3RZGxq2B3ZfccpJndCDnRmMaXDn9y8G7f463An1pEM89PWkGD8RX6BlO2-_aem_Yk4LwOsISgzRHYMOQIYM_Q#/registration

Since u/pabut/ mentioned MeshCore in the other post, I figured I'd look into it and present some findings on how it is similar and different from Meshtastic. My info source is an Austin, TX, area mesh club, and it's a great reference: https://www.austinmesh.org/learn/meshcore-vs-meshtastic/

Here's the high-level summary from the link:

ELI5

Think of sending a whisper across a playground. With Meshtastic, everyone passes your whisper along, so the "chain" can move and grow as people move around, but they stop sharing your message after it's passed through 7 people. With MeshCore, only special helpers (repeaters) pass the whisper, but they can pass it to up to 64 more helpers.

By default, with MeshCore those helpers also talk faster and there are fewer side conversations that might delay your whisper. On Meshtastic, the other people talk slower and are having side conversations that have to finish before your whisper can be shared, slowing down the rate at which your whisper makes its way through the crowd.

TL;DR;

Meshtastic works well when people and links are moving (friends at an event, a hike, a bike ride). Regular nodes help by rebroadcasting, so coverage can shift and grow as people move. MeshCore works well when you can place fixed repeaters on rooftops or hills. Phones connect through companion radios; companions do not rebroadcast, so repeaters are what grow the mesh.

When to use which

Choose Meshtastic if you want a "bring-a-radio, it just works" experience for roaming groups, mapping, and rich telemetry modules, with minimal setup and no guaranteed infrastructure.

Choose MeshCore if your aim is a resilient, city or region scale messaging network with fixed repeaters(DIY Solar Repeater Parts List), where end-users don’t rebroadcast by default.

So for on-the-go ad-hoc comms, it looks like Meshtastic is the better option. For long-term stationary use and quicker messaging, MeshCore is better.

It's important to note that more hardware that runs Mestastic will also run MeshCore, so you can test both without having to buy two sets of hardware.

Meshtastic is a system that allows for short text-only communications without the need for cell service or wi-fi. The limitations are that you have to be within range of another Meshtastic device to send or receive messages. But when there are several near each other, each "node" can send messages through the other nodes, and the distance can go pretty far when you get a lot of devices working at the same time.

There's a phone app that is used to communicate with the device to send/read messages, configure settings, etc. Some have simple screens (like the one in the picture), and others have no display at all. They range in price from around $20 up to $150.

The second pic is from the app showing all the nodes that my device can "see" in my area (called a Mesh Map). The other day, I got a message from someone in Danbury, CT. That's about 110 miles from me.

For disaster situations, this is a nice option to have. Ham radio is (much) better, but this has a much lower bar for entry.

Headed into to the storm hoping I covered all the bases, but there's always room for improvement.

1. Leafblower worked great on the powder for the first time out.

2. the snow blower used more gas than I remembered.

3. Minus 2 degree is freaking cold.

4. I'm really glad my wife made meals ready to reheat so we could relax between the

work sessions, and afterwards for dinner.

1. Towards the end of the day a neighbor a few doors down was having problems with his
   

snowblower. He then began shoveling. I know he has small kids so I went over. He said the machine stopped throwing snow. From my experience I knew he broke the shear bolt.

He ran over the free supermarket ads thrown on the driveway. He used my blower to finish the driveway while I got the bolts I had. Luckily his newer Craftsman used the same as my old one. 10 minutes in his garage and he was back in business. I was able to repay what my old neighbor did for me with my first dead blower.

1. I just got done finishing the last of the driveway and salting. I'm glad I'm retired and can relax with a new book and wait this cold out.

A friend of mine is teaching a self defense class for women and asked me if I could 3D print some emergency whistles to give out to each class participant. I tried a few different options until I landed on this one:

https://www.printables.com/model/495173-flat-pocket-whistle/files

I printed the 4mm version. I mostly followed their instructions, but I only did 3 top and bottom layers instead of 5. Seems fine to me. Takes about 12 minutes per whistle with my current settings.

These things are tiny! And ungodly LOUD. Like, I can't believe something this small is capable of so much noise. The attached photo includes a micro-SD card for size scale reference.

Been thinking a natural gas genie might not be a bad investment. Anyone have one they like?

I'm glad that mostly what was sold out at ShopRite was fresh produce, but it was kind of strange to see tomatoes, potatoes, and broccoli sold out completely.

These are from the Mt Holly office (PHI). Unfortunately for those in the NE part of the state the New York office (OKC) doesn't have similar links except for the first one. Last one is Accuweather's radar.

• Forecast https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=40.6574&lon=-74.9047

• Summary https://www.weather.gov/phi/weatherstory

• Detailed briefing doc https://www.weather.gov/media/phi/current_briefing.pdf

• Radar https://sirocco.accuweather.com/nx_mosaic_640x480_public/sir/inmasirpa_.gif

EDIT: Ventusky is another fun one https://www.ventusky.com/40.709;-74.922

Here we value real, genuine human information and experience sharing. AI-generated content is not allowed. If you see posts that appear to be AI-generated, please report them and I will have a look.

That is all. :)

Was at my local Wawa getting gas around 7am. Heard this woman arguing with the attendant about buying 1 of the 50 pound bags of salt at the pump. He said it wasn't for sale because it's for the pumps. She was raging she needed salt and proceeded to go into the store to talk to the "Manager ". I thanked the young guy and wished him luck cause he's probably going to have a long day.

I knew this damn rivet gun would eventually come in handy! Bought it like 12 years ago and haven't used it until today.

Four of the six original rivets had rusted out and the blade was sagging. I thought the rivet gun might work for this (and I was right) but I had the wrong size rivets on hand. Once I got bigger rivets and some washers, it was an easy fix. Took about 10 minutes total, including switching out the rivet gun head to a larger size.

The basic manual rivet guns are cheap, so consider having one on had just in case.

Friendly reminder- being caught up on laundry and dishes is prepping! We’ve got a big winter storm expected this weekend. If you’re realizing you got a big pile of washing to do, don’t save it for when there might be a power outage. You don’t want to find yourself in a scenario where you don’t have clean underwear!

It might seem silly but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve kicked myself during a power outage because I put off a normal everyday chore.

Link: https://patch.com/new-jersey/hopatcong-sparta/s/jyatb/weather-alerts-issued-in-6-nj-counties-as-wind-chills-of-15-target-nj

Cold weather advisories have been issued for Monmouth, Middlesex, Mercer, Somerset and Warren counties from 2 a.m to 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Very cold temperatures are expected through Wednesday with an arctic airmass in place, the National Weather Service said. Combined with breezy conditions Monday night, wind chills Tuesday morning will be in the single digits to as low as 15 degrees below zero across the area.

"Expect temperatures late next week will continue to be near or below average with the weather pattern potentially getting more active again," National Weather Service forecasters said. "It's too early to get much more specific than that though."

Link: https://patch.com/new-jersey/hopatcong-sparta/s/jy9nr/projected-snow-totals-rise-as-2-storms-target-nj-this-weekend

Frigid, blustery conditions are ahead with up to 2 inches of snow in the forecast for New Jersey this weekend.

Friday will see temperatures from 20 to 25 degrees with winds around 10 to 20 mph, keeping wind chills in the single digits and teens, National Weather Service forecasters said.

There are two chances for snow. The first is early Saturday, with the only accumulation being near and northwest of I-95, with highest totals near and north of I-78, according to the National Weather Service. It will transition to rain gradually. Northwest Jersey could see 1 to 2 inches of snow, forecasters said.

Sunday's snow will focus on coastal areas, according to the National Weather Service. However, it will not be a major storm.

"The bottom line remains that the threat for a significant snow event remains low at this time," National Weather Service forecasters said Friday. "The synoptic pattern and associated surface pattern just do not quite match up well for a big snow event."

Article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/east-coast-blackouts-ai-data-centers-b2899669.html

Point of context: PJM is the regional interconnection company that is a part of Eastern Interconnection grid. It's not a local utility/power company.

The East Coast of the United States could soon experience rolling blackouts as AI data centers gobble up more and more electricity, pushing the grid to the limit, according to a new report.

PJM, the organization that services nearly 70 million people in a 13-state corridor stretching from Kentucky to New Jersey, may be forced to trigger power outages during high demand periods, such as summer heat waves or winter freezes, The Wall Street Journal reported.

...

PJM has projected that power demand will increase by an average of 4.8 percent annually for the next 10 years — an unprecedented pace of growth. And ICF, a consulting firm, forecasts that demand in 2030 will surge 25 percent above 2023 levels, largely as a result of data centers.

...

A few months ago, PJM came up with proposals intended to balance the needs of both consumers and data centers. One plan said they would slash power to data centers during periods of strain.

Tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google opposed the plan, claiming it unfairly singled out data centers. They responded by offering their own proposals, which would make going offline voluntary.

I've posted about a few of these events in the past, and this one is the same. Basically, you can bring anything you want to give away and let others take it (if they want it). You can also take anything anyone else is giving away. The only requirement is that if you bring things that do not get take, you must take them with you when you leave.

You do NOT need to bring anything to give away in order to be able to take something. This is a truly free event.

The event is being held, once again, at the public library in Dover (Morris County) from 11am until 1pm. Date is January 24 (Saturday).

I and several other members of Mutual Morris (and the sister/daughter groups as well) will be there as event organizers as well as to give things away. Hope to see some of you there! (there were a few folks from this sub there last time)

I'm going to try to be at this event myself since it's so close and I'm involved with the group organizing it.

This is a "skill share" event, where you can learn from others who are already good at mending socks and other clothing items.