The power is out...

[w9496]

I can't remember the last time the power went out at my house, but usually I just take a nap and hope its back on when I wake up.

I keep thinking the power is going to go out during these past few days though. Minnesota weather seems to be more pissed off than usual.

 

[wintercoat]

My iPad has a half dozen books, about a day of music, and three movies on it most of the time. Power outages aren't a big deal. My biggest issue is when they happen at night, and thus frak up my alarm.

How long does an iPad's battery last?

OT: I read when the power goes out. Got plenty of books to hold me over for several weeks, possibly months, so no worries for entertainment. Got these little battery powered lantern thingies for at night, too. I have trouble sleeping without the soft hum of a fan going, so I'd suffer from some insomnia, which is a pain in the ass. Least I got plenty of books to read while I'm not sleeping...

Oh, and since the gas was shut off last month, there'd be no way to cook the food in the fridge, so if the power's off for a couple days, there's a bunch of meat that'd go bad.

Why would your meat go bad?! dig a hole in the ground and cook it for 3 days.. best tasting meat you will ever have

Sadly, that would be out of the question. My apartment building has no dirt to dig in, and I hear cooking meat in a pit is frowned upon on other people's property, especially for three days. Though...now you've got me wanting to try that.

 

[wintercoat]

I can't remember the last time the power went out for me. I guess I would just read a book.

Can't speak for everyone, but last time ours went out for a very prolonged period of time I found out unless it's in the middle of a clear day, reading is not fun without any power. Reading by candle or flashlight was awful.

I used to read by moonlight. Read The Lord of the Rings by moonlight, matter of fact. I was one of those weirdos who stayed up late after bedtime and read, but i didn't have a flashlight, so had to make due. Reading by candlelight is easy compared to that.

Also used to stay up playing my Gameboy. Actually much harder than reading...

 

[hutchy27]

Goes searching for candles and torches then go to the Winchester and wait for this whole thing to blow overlight said candles and then proceed to read until the power has returned or if it is really late go to bed. Last powercut was seven hours at my house, so ended up having some takeaway in the dark.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Whenever the power is out I just read a book. When it gets too dark I kust light some candles and keep reading. The last time the power went out, it was out for about 12 hours so I spend a few hours reading then my girlfriend came round and we spent the rest in bed. Great day.

 

[Da Orky Man]

I've got a Kindle and a rather large supply of books as well as a wind-up torch in my room, so I could stay not-bored for quite possibly weeks.

 

[piinyouri]

I can't remember the last time the power went out for me. I guess I would just read a book.

Can't speak for everyone, but last time ours went out for a very prolonged period of time I found out unless it's in the middle of a clear day, reading is not fun without any power. Reading by candle or flashlight was awful.

I used to read by moonlight. Read The Lord of the Rings by moonlight, matter of fact. I was one of those weirdos who stayed up late after bedtime and read, but i didn't have a flashlight, so had to make due. Reading by candlelight is easy compared to that.

Also used to stay up playing my Gameboy. Actually much harder than reading...

Man , even on a full moon that would give me a headache.
I guess I just have bad eyes.

Original Gameboy?

 

[sky14kemea]

That actually happens fairly often at my house. Whenever my brother has a long shower the water trips the breakers downstairs (Don't ask how, we have no idea).

I keep a flashlight by my bed at all times, and I have a large pack of tealight candles in my cupboard, as well as several boxes of matches around the house. (Mostly the kitchen and my bedroom.)

Why do I have these things so ready? Because I'm massively paranoid, so I always prepare for every possible situation. I even have a stash of food and drinks upstairs that should last me a week if I ration it.

As for things to do, my laptop is always plugged in so I usually have about 2 hours of battery life, usually to watch a movie or just listen to music and read using the screen as a backlight.

 

[wintercoat]

I can't remember the last time the power went out for me. I guess I would just read a book.

Can't speak for everyone, but last time ours went out for a very prolonged period of time I found out unless it's in the middle of a clear day, reading is not fun without any power. Reading by candle or flashlight was awful.

I used to read by moonlight. Read The Lord of the Rings by moonlight, matter of fact. I was one of those weirdos who stayed up late after bedtime and read, but i didn't have a flashlight, so had to make due. Reading by candlelight is easy compared to that.

Also used to stay up playing my Gameboy. Actually much harder than reading...

Man , even on a full moon that would give me a headache.
I guess I just have bad eyes.

Original Gameboy?

Pocket, actually. And later Color and GBA. The backlit GBA SP was a godsend, let me tell you. I've actually used a backlit SP to read a book, speaking of which. I've used a DS, too.

 

[DanielBrown]

Wrote this in a simular thread a long time ago, but this is what happened when the power went out the last time(it's for real):
Sat at my computer when it happened. Sighed and figured I'd play some PS3 until it came back on. Playstation didn't work. Couldn't figure out why for at least a minute. Decided to watch some TV instead.
Fucking thing didn't work either.
"Bah, I guess I'll just go to my bed and read then..."
*tries to light bedside lamp*

I've never been so stupid in my entire life. Must've been really fucking tired or something.

 

[Kaymish]

the power went out for 2 days (i think) where i live a couple of years ago except it went out for the whole city the largest in the country and people were just losing their shit
i am ok my cooking is on gas and the guy who owned this house before me was a paranoid old sod and had a backup generator suitable for long term use its a steam turbine with a coal fired boiler that i keep maintained there is also an escape tunnel and gas bottles in the basement he put in large water tanks in under the lawn too but i keep them empty to reduce upkeep
other than that i have a reasonably sized library that i can re read if the power goes out

 

[an annoyed writer]

Huh. the power went out yesterday night for me, actually. It was dumb. There were all sorts of big-ass storms and shit ravaging the place. My response? I just curled into a ball and slept. I had to reset the time on a bunch of things, but other than that everything was fine when we got our power back.

 

[Scarecrow]

Well first of all I hope you yourself are joking, otherwise that's stupid. Normally I read a book...lots of books. It's the best time to get reading done, when there are no distractions.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

My iPad has a half dozen books, about a day of music, and three movies on it most of the time. Power outages aren't a big deal. My biggest issue is when they happen at night, and thus frak up my alarm.

How long does an iPad's battery last?

OT: I read when the power goes out. Got plenty of books to hold me over for several weeks, possibly months, so no worries for entertainment. Got these little battery powered lantern thingies for at night, too. I have trouble sleeping without the soft hum of a fan going, so I'd suffer from some insomnia, which is a pain in the ass. Least I got plenty of books to read while I'm not sleeping...

Oh, and since the gas was shut off last month, there'd be no way to cook the food in the fridge, so if the power's off for a couple days, there's a bunch of meat that'd go bad.

Why would your meat go bad?! dig a hole in the ground and cook it for 3 days.. best tasting meat you will ever have

Sadly, that would be out of the question. My apartment building has no dirt to dig in, and I hear cooking meat in a pit is frowned upon on other people's property, especially for three days. Though...now you've got me wanting to try that.

Well if you ever find some ground you can use be sure to find a recipe that uses agave leaves. Agave leaves > Banana leaves.

 

[Killclaw Kilrathi]

It can depend on the type of blackout for me. I live in an area with an electrical substation that's apparently prone to overload, and I live close enough to hear when it happens. So if I hear a loud bang and the lights go out, I'll assume it's down for maybe a few hours and drive somewhere for dinner. If I don't I check the fuses, then call the power company to find out how long I've got. Then probably do the drive around thing if it's going to be longer than half an hour or so.

Sometimes I try to sleep, but I find it really hard to do that with the power out for some reason, even if I wouldn't normally have anything running. Weird...

 

[Xanex]

I'm usually ready for the end of the world a power outage. Got 2 Mag lights, one in my car and candles with lighters near them(scented but meh). And I prefer my book reading as a physical media. Got shelves and shelves of books. Most of my food is in cans (not preparing just cheaper than way)quanity varies on how close to grocery day it is. And I got a propane grill in the back. As for protection, several guns with ammo hovering around a dozen or so for each. Unless I plan on going to the range soon and then I'm loaded with rounds.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

It's one of the few times I feel motivated to do some Photoshop on my laptop, which is basically my computer, so chances are I'm already on it when the power goes. And I get whatever OSTs I've bothered to find outside of Youtube going. I haven't had a blackout long enough to outlast the laptop, so beyond that I don't know.

Ehm...I mean, I sharpen a stick and surround myself with furniture. Yeah.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I prefer reading over videogames anyway so I'm not too bothered.

And we have plenty of candles and flashlights and whatnot. I'll be fine.