Interesting and well-timed thread.
This past weekend (when it was hotter than f*ck out here) we lost power on Saturday afternoon. Called CA Edison and reported it and sat and waited, and waited, and waited. After talking with a few of my neighbors and figuring out who did/didn't have power it became apparent that the problem was the pole-mounted transformer that feeds our building and about 6-7 others around it. This thing was a relic - very old, 50s vintage and charred black from years of hard use. It obviously had done its time and could no longer handle the demands of a modern society.
So Sunday morning (after a restless night's sleep with no fans and no break in the torrid heat/humidity) the Edison guy finally shows up and replaces the fusible link from the transformer to ground - evidently what blew. All was well and I went back to my air-conditioned, fan-blown-cool-air bliss for the next several hours.
Then it blew again. Fury ensued. I was like "f*ck this" and went out and bought a portable generator (one of the 1.8kW Coleman/Subaru ones). Went home and set it up on my balcony. In the middle of rigging everything up my neighbor (the obnoxious one) came out of her place and gave a dirty look asking "what IS that?", to which I replied simply "a generator".
The look of horror was priceless.
I've been dealing with her and her two a-hole roommates for the last 3-4 months sitting on our balcony blowing their cheap second-hand cigarette smoke into our living room window, depriving us of being able to keep it open and enjoy the nice sea breeze we pay the better part of two grand a month for. On top of the unknown "friends" of theirs stomping back & forth at all hours, carrying on loud conversations right outside our window (the balcony is literally about two feet from our living room window), etc. She recently broke one of our flowerpots (a fairly large one with a double-walled "self watering" feature - about 40 bucks) and yes, I saw her do it, confronted her and she promised to locate a replacement or pay for it. Nothing (of course). Then was the day she decided to "help herself" to our chairs that we keep on the balcony for a couple of her friends to sit on - without asking of course.
Sometimes payback is a b1tch and I have to say I GREATLY enjoyed sitting in air-conditioned comfort with my lights working while my inconsiderate neighbors got a taste of their own medicine courtesy of my new 72 dB, 1800 Watt (2500 Watt peak) buddy humming away as they sat in their place in the sweltering heat - until Edison FINALLY showed up and replaced the transformer with a newer, higher-capacity unit like all the other ones around the neighborhood. . .
Maybe I should feel badly about this but I don't. Haven't heard a peep out of 'em all week. I think maybe just MAYBE they're taking the hint. FINALLY.