We got hit by a nasty electrical storm earlier and the overpower gut cut, it funny as a work colleague told me there Is never as any powercuts here.

You've either been drinking or you are typing on a phone.

On my phone as there is a blackout.

Never? We lose power at least once a year. Not a huge issue. Wind and ice storms do their damage. When I lived on an island it was very common to lose power. Sometimes for a week. We were not exactly high priority for the power company, being so remote.

There was a bad electrical storm when it went.

Let's see...wind, snow, lightning and earthquakes can cause us power cuts-so often that we always have a flashlight handy, at home in every room, at work, at play. Stephen, you must live somewhere very stable and predictable!

Hi Lynn,

I live in the Us Midwest which gets tornados, electrical storms and a lot of snow, I moved here 8 months ago from Europe and at the time my work colleagues told me the power never goes out here, they obviously have short memories :-)

Cheers,

Stephen

I thought you were talking about the site issues here with blanks where we should see info.
Duane

ditto on that and I also noticed that some threads have vanished

The last big blackout in San Diego county found people getting creative with solar sustainable lighting that would light up a large room . They used the solar powered lighting led light stakes that people use to light up walkway at home. They gathered up the light stakes put them in bunch in a vase like flowers to light up a whole room.

Blackout are really fun if you live in southern California beach town you get to see your neighbors out and about and talking to each other having barbecues .

What I found really funny with the was with all the technology out their people forgot the basic old communications technology. Almost everybody I met did not have small battery powered radio and their mobile phone batteries were dead. I had my small mini pocket Sangean radio powered by one replaceable "AAA" battery. I was the news station for all my neighbors when would the power would come back on. I also own a older plug in non wire less telephone so I was able to make phone calls when the new techie people could not.

My brother lives in a area that get a few black out a year He just fires up his two generators he use for his work and heavy duty extension cords and plugs in his refrigerator, television set, radios he also use his portable lighting for work during the blackouts.
Terry

Edited by socal-nomad on 10/18/2012 10:11:53 MDT.

Good idea in the solar lights, pocket radio and old style phone.

I can take gas out of one of my toys and fire up a generator. Go to the creek for water if the generator is down and can't run the well, grab wood out of the wood shed for heat when needed, shoot a neighbor dog/cat for meat. Fire up one of my 80+ stoves for cooking/atmosphere. I'm set. :)
Duane

It took a natural disaster for our town, and to a lesser extent the rest of our small country, to take 'preparedness' seriously. We have multiple means of lighting, heating, cooking and water. We also have around two months worth of food. We have an old school telephone, adapters to charge our cell phones from the campervan battery or solar, and a dynamo radio/light/battery charger. We are not doomsday preppers by any means, just have enough to see us through the immediate aftermath of loss of power, water and disruption to food distribution. We are also pretty good at alternatives to flush toilets...plenty of lime of hand to deal with deposits in holes in the ground.