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<div>Hi Chris,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>We're in similar conditions down here in San Antonio. Haven't had water since Sunday, and still don't. Power failed Sunday night, and was out for about a day. And when it came back - it would be on for a while, then off again. Its only come back reliably today, and this is the first time I've been able to check email since the weekend.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>Unfortunately, its snowing again - even though they predicted mid-40s today and everything melting. So it doesn't look like I'll be able to go on-site for anyone until maybe the weekend. Thankfully, my BlueOnyx server and those I manage have been reliable - with no outages at all.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>I've got two or three customers who might need some support for a time with these outages. I'll be sure to send them your way, and know you can take care of them.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>Stay warm buddy. And keep that cat as your "shop cat". If he's that good at pointing to alarms - he's worth the keep!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>Chuck</div>
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<br />
<br /><b>---------- Original Message
-----------</b>
<br />
From: Chris Gebhardt - VIRTBIZ Internet <cobaltfacts@virtbiz.com>
<br />
To: BlueOnyx General Mailing List <Blueonyx@mail.blueonyx.it>
<br />
Sent: Thu, 18 Feb 2021 09:51:08 -0600
<br />
Subject: [BlueOnyx:24782] OT: severe weather / power at VIRTBIZ
<br />
<br />> Hi Fellow BlueOnyxers
<br />>
<br />>
As the official host datacenter of all things BlueOnyx, I'm fortunate to
<br />>
count many of you as customers. Your support of VIRTBIZ helps us to
<br />>
continue the support for BlueOnyx. Accordingly, I occasionally like to
<br />>
update everyone here on our operations.
<br />>
<br />>
You might have seen in the news that the US in general and specifically
<br />>
Texas (where we are located) has been enduring fairly extreme weather.
<br />>
Extended sub-freezing temperatures with snow and ice are not conditions
<br />>
with which we are well accustomed or prepared for. Personally, we
<br />>
were no longer able to stay in our home as the power was out for the
<br />>
better part of 2 days, causing our pipes to freeze so we no longer had
<br />>
operational plumbing. We've moved (along with the cats) to the
<br />>
datacenter where things are warm and we have basic necessities such as
<br />>
sleeping quarters and hot showers. Many of our staff have not been
<br />>
able to make it into work because roads have been impassable.
<br />>
<br />>
At the same time, we've been taking in new customers who have found
<br />>
their offices to be without power or are otherwise unable to function so
<br />>
they have been moving their networks to our facility. In most cases,
<br />>
they're coming with servers. In other cases they're bringing in
<br />>
desktops and workstations as well so their staff can remote in and work
<br />>
from home.
<br />>
<br />>
I wrote an update to our customers yesterday and will share it with you
<br />>
here if you're interested.
<br />>
<a href="https://www.virtbiz.com/virtbiz-and-the-weather-power-crisis/" target="_blank">https://www.virtbiz.com/virtbiz-and-the-weather-power-crisis/</a>
<br />>
<br />>
I'm mindful that we're not alone in going through some difficult
<br />>
times. I'm thankful for the things that are going right, and, as a bit
<br />>
of fun, one of our cats is extremely interested in the operations of the
<br />>
datacenter and has been pacing up and down the rows of racks, stopping
<br />>
wherever he hears the beep of an alarm. That's helped us to send out
<br />>
some proactive alerts to customers that may have underlying hardware
<br />>
issues! Our other cat is more interested in being a paperweight.
<br />>
<br />>
Just thought I would share. Pardon the interruption.
<br />>
<br />>
--
<br />>
Chris Gebhardt
<br />>
VIRTBIZ Internet Services
<br />>
Access, Web Hosting, Colocation, Dedicated
<br />>
<a href="http://www.virtbiz.com/" target="_blank">www.virtbiz.com</a> | toll-free
(866) 4 VIRTBIZ
<br />>
<br />>
_______________________________________________
<br />>
Blueonyx mailing list
<br />>
Blueonyx@mail.blueonyx.it
<br />>
<a href="http://mail.blueonyx.it/mailman/listinfo/blueonyx" target="_blank">http://mail.blueonyx.it/mailman/listinfo/blueonyx</a>
<br /><b>------- End of Original Message
-------</b>
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