Jul 24, 200602:09 PMThe Life

The Grid

...is somewhat stressed today.

Here in Palm Springs, we're in the midst of our annual temp spike, so everybody's A/C is cranked up to eleven.

We broke Saturday's record temperature (117°F, set 54 years ago) by four degrees.

And according to the California ISO (Independent System Operator), that red line over there indicates how much electricity we're using today.

[Click image for up-to-the-minute readings. But don't expect too much: their website is stressed, too.]

If we reach the green line, we're totally f***ed.

I'm pretty sure that's the technical term.

In layman's language, it's when we'll be forced to fry our eggs on the sidewalk.