I love it when the power goes out.

Any one have any special ideas for what they do when the forces that be leave us in the dark?

Thanks

When I hear that some snow's coming, and our ever-reliable weather man tells us it's going to be bad, what do I do?

I turn on Fox News and drool over their every word as I make my list of common household objects that I'll need to buy in bulk so I can survive the impending disaster in my stocked fortress. I transform my basement into Wal-Mart with stacks of duct tape, batteries, candles, toilet paper, canned foods, milk, water, and multi-purpose rope.

Then I sit down and wait it out.

*turns off sarcasm*

Sorry, I'll be serious.

I bust out a 12-pack, a lantern and monopoly.

I don't mind when the power goes out, except I wouldn't mind if the fridge could still magically work LOL If it's long enough, we get to barbeque everything and have a feast, and at night when the power's out, it's great for watching the skies.

I'm not too fond of the power going out because of the fridge and heater or AC. However, I do love 'roughing it' out in the wilderness without any electricity around.

well No but I do like survivorman.... one day ill learn how to make a firew/out matches

Ugh, last winter, in my area, we had a windstorm with 100+ mph winds and COLD weather, we (and over a million other residents) were out of power for almost a week--some as long as a month. I was less than happy about it. One night for a few hours doesn't bother me, but by the end of that fiasco I was feeling weak, exhausted, filthy, and cold. The final day before the power came back on, my living room hardwood floors had frost on 'em. I was just about to pack up the whole sha-bang and get in my car and drive 300 miles to my sister's house if it hadn't come on when it did.

No thanks... one night is ok... but no more than that.

You think you have it bad....

We are currently under 'load shedding' which means that almost every other hour you are without power.
So survival takes on a whole new meaning...

Candles, windup torches, gas stoves etc...

Several years ago we had an ice storm around Christmas time and was without power for around seven or eight days. We have well water which meant no pump power. Luckily there is a shower where I work. And I have backup heat and a Coleman camp stove. But I'll be honest, that was about my limit.

As long as it,s not too cold and i,m stocked up on candles, which i usually am since i rather sit in candle light than turn on a bulb! I love it! But if it,s freezing or i,m in the middle of cooking dinner it ticks me off but good!

I live in the remote Utah desert. Power outages are not uncommon here. The longest I've experienced is 4 days, most are half a day to 24 hours.
I don't mind power outages if it's cool or cold. I don't have to worry about the contents of the refrigerator, then.
But when it's 100 degrees (38 Celsius) then it causes problems.
I keep plenty of candles on hand. I also have my two-burner camping stove that runs on propane cartridges. And my barbecue has a burner on its side.
In the dark, I read by candlelight. I often read Poe, to get a proper "creep" going.
The longest outage I've experienced is 4 days in February. It was very cold. My cat slept in my lap while I read by candlelight. Cooking wasn't so difficult.
Behind the front door was a 20 gauge pump shotgun to discourage anyone who thought I was an easy mark.
I ate a lot of canned beans --- central heating!

Years ago I heard a comedian observe that whenever a major snowstorm or power outage hit his city, everyone ran out and bought milk, bread and eggs.
"Apparently, French Toast is the traditional meal to see you through catastrophes," he said.

I'm big on survival knowledge.I like being prepared for almost any eventuality.

For those interested in survival,I'd suggest the S.A.S. Survival Handbook,which shows how to survive in most any outdoor situation.

As for being at home during a power outage,I have frozen water bottles (old pop bottles,spring water bottles) that are put in a portable cooler with all of the food that needs to be kept cold.Putting a bit of ice in the bottom also helps.

Candles work for light and warmth...just remember to put them in safe places where they won't start a fire,and open a window slightly...if you don't,you could suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning.I am looking at getting a couple of the wind-up lanterns,and I already have some very small emergency lights which have a battery that lasts around 70 hours or so ( I use them even when camping,as I love to read in my tent late at night).They're not all that bright,but they help in the dark.Solar lamps can also help,although they're not all that bright either.Just take the top piece off the ground stand and set them somewhere they're needed.I also have oil lamps,but again,open a window.

A wind-up radio is also a big help...because you don't need batteries.This allows you to get news during a huge outage or when you're hiding in a safe place during a storm.I remember the big power outage several years ago,and since then I've been looking at all kinds of things to help out during these scenarios.Of course,I also enjoy my el-cheapo mp3 player which lasts for a while on a single AAA battery.

For those of us who are astronomy buffs,power outages in the city also allow us a great opportunity to view the stars without having to go out into the countryside.Therefore,we don't have to pack the telescope into the car...we can just sit outside and view the stars at our leisure.So yeah..although the general public can't stand power outages...some of us are always looking forward to them.

A camp stove is wonderful,although in cold weather,you really don't want to be outside when cooking.For inside cooking,I have a little portable stove,which is more like a large can of Sterno,but it has a crosspiece burner top that fits on the top of the can.When using these,remember to open a window.If you have several of them,you can cook several items at once...although they do cook a little slow.A small portable charcoal barbeque grill is also good if the weather is warm enough during an outage,but do not attempt to use it inside.This,coupled with a cast iron skillet or Dutch Oven is great for cooking outdoors if you aren't in a place where you can start a campfire.A large enough outdoor fireplace will also serve as a cooking area as well...just let the wood die down to embers before placing a Dutch Oven on it.I normally cook when I'm camping,and the Dutch Oven is great (as I tend to cook "one pot meals" while camping...because it saves time and energy).

Make sure you have a decent First Aid kit around in any circumstance,for you never know when an accident can happen.