The good ole days July 30, 2009
Posted by joedob in personal.trackback
“What did we do before computers?”
For those of you who don’t live in this area, and don’t have access to weather or news reports, it’s been horrific these past few days. Severe storms have been wrecking havoc throughout the Garden State, complete with heavy rain, high winds, tornadic activity and the ever popular power outages.
Such was the case last night. We had just finished feasting on Shake N Bake pork chops, cleaned the few dishes and pots, and I had cozily settled into my comfy recliner to partake in my favorite pasttime ”Mindless TV”. Recently, I’ve taken an interest in an inane show called WIPEOUT, where various contestants risk life and limb to pursue the grand prize of $50,000. Albeit, a fine undertaking, the torture inflicted by the sadistic producers of this show nowhere near compensates for the physical pain and suffering.
But I digress. The show was almost over, the 1st team had set the benchmark time to beat, and the 2nd team was on their way. It was at this point that Mother Nature showed her mean streak. As I found myself rooting for the current competitors, BANG!!! A loud clap of thunder, a bright flash of lightning, and darkness. Was it Armaggedon? Had the world come to an end? Was it ’The Big One’? No, just JCP&L. We lost power.
After a few minutes of darkness, a change of underwear, and a re-evaluation of the situation, I realized everything was OK. Or was it? Granted, I would never know who actually won the grand prize, but since I wasn’t in the running for $50,000, no big deal. The next blazing question was: What do I do now? No power means no internet, no TV for DVD playback, no light for reading (not really an option), no computer, NOTHING but solitude.
So, after making a mental note to keep my laptop battery charged at all times, I proceeded to do the only logical thing that was available to me: GO TO SLEEP. Mental note #2: after a power outage, shut off all ligths and TV’s. Power was restored within about 20 minutes (YAY JCP&L), and since everything was left status quo before the outage, all lights, TV’s and alarms came to life. I was able to resume the mindless pasttime of TV watching, just in time to catch the evening news and receive a recap of what I just personally witnessed.
Fortunately, this is not a regular occurence, but it does give one pause to ponder the reliance we all have on electricity and the many conveniences it affords us. It also brings to light the need for contingency plans in the event of another such occurence… Install a gas powered generator !!!!!
Or buy an iPhone. Last night when our lights flickered I realized that assuming AT&T can keep up their network, I’d at least have my connection to the outside world (oddly, I hate people, so I’m not sure why I’d want to). Even if the network went down, the battery would still last hours playing the mindless little games I have installed on it. Anything to avoid being alone with my thoughts.
You two need to get a life and stop fiddling with computers… what will you do when they hit the big button and wipe out EVERYTHING. Or will you to warlocks/wizards have that cb radio ready to go?
By the way the TV show WipeOut Rules…I knew you would like a show were people are inflicted with pain