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Running on Laptop Battery and Candle Power
Today when I went over to my girlfriend Kymberly's house the power went out just as I got there. She exclaimed that I made the power go out with my very presence. It is sort of like the times that she blames me of the TV reception going out on here Rabbit ear antenna. We are watching the Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds and she claims it is a strange energy thing around me just like the actress and birds.
This was right after noon. The wind has been pounding the peninsula and whenever we have a windstorm it will knock down trees and power lines. We spend some of the day out shopping and were waiting for the power to come back on. It never came back on and it is probably going to be out until tomorrow.
Her neighbors have a gas powered generator that is annoyingly loud. It sounded like a chainsaw and leaf blower. I guess they had it on all day to watch the basketball tournament on TV.
It was a bit cold and rainy but not especially cold so it was a rather nice day to cozy up and hang out at home with the kitties.
It is interesting to spend a day without power and see how it impacts you. When we were out we got some Teriyaki takeout so we had a fresh hot meal. The kitties had their food out of a can and as since we have a hand cranked can opener we did not need any power. The plumbing still works but I might have to have a cold shower tomorrow morning. My electric razor has a cordless battery so it I can look clean shaved without having to get out the shaving cream.
There is a wood burning Franklin stove in the center of the living room since the house was build in the 1930s. We made sure to stock up on some fire logs and the place is nice and warm despite being very dark. The kitties are passed out around the glow of the fire. I boiled some water in a tea kettle and had some lovely instant hot Cocoa.
We have my PC notebook over here and my iBook. My digital camera is on rechargeable batteries and I was able to download the pictures off it to show her. We had a good time watching Alfred Hitchcock's The Rope. The room is barely with candles and we have a flashlight just in case. We have enough battery power in the laptops to watch two more movies and since we had some battery powered clocks we can get up in time tomorrow. My iPod Mini has a charge that lasts 18 hours, I have my Gameboy Advance here and some good books to read. The phone and modems still works.
We had an interesting conversation on energy conservation and renewable energy. I can't wait until the day that the New Apollo Program is the national energy policy. I read that we are tied with Oregon for the most expensive gas in the nation. It would be slick to have a solar powered house and to make energy conservation more a everyday activity. My father is an Atomic Scientist. I look forward to the future with affordable hydrogen and electric cars powered by renewable energy and responsible nuclear power so we can stop having to import 60% of our oil. The fact that it is the twenty first century and we are still burning coal and oil for power is counter to the visions of the future that I grew up on.
It is getting rather cozy in here. Since the power outage is localized hopefully the damage to the grid will be repaired tomorrow. Days like this can be fun but it would suck to go a long time without power. I have the urge to flip the switch on the wall when I pass it. It really gets to be second nature.
While I was typing this article my first iBook battery ran out and it went into forced sleep mode but I was not able to plug it in and switch batteries since the damn power was out.
Jake at March 20, 2005 
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Comments
You mentioned the fact that we still burn coal and oil for power even though it's the 21st century, and i just wanted to comment on that.
The reason why we are still burning fossil fuels, is because of money. We have the technology to use a new and different fuel source, but while there is still a good amount of fossil fuels, the powers that be will sell it to us.
And being such a neccessity, we consume it like there is no tomorrow. What we really need to do, is choose an alternate fuel source, and go with it. We should switch as soon as possible, before we completely use up our current resources, because when that happens, it will be much more difficult to make the transition. Just my two cents.
-Nick
Posted by: Nick at March 22, 2005 12:03 AM
'It is interesting to spend a day without power and see how it impacts you.'
What exactly was the impact? For the rest of your post you seem to while away the hours eeking out the battery on every battery powered item.
Not exacly Robinson Crusoe.
Posted by: dan at March 22, 2005 4:36 AM
I agree Nick. We can't go into the 21st century with the same Oil and Coal dependancy that we have had since the 19th Century.
Well Dan this was not some reality show but it was just a weekend with no power.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at March 22, 2005 8:01 AM
I notice you mention your GBA but say nothing about that shiny new Nintendo DS - buyer's remorse or just not on hand?
Posted by: InsaneDavid at March 22, 2005 12:02 PM
Not on hand. It was back at my place. I keep my GBA over at her place so I will have something to play there sort of as a game system in reserve.
I like the Nintendo DS and I do think the games are going to get better
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at March 22, 2005 6:58 PM
I still think it is going to be acouple months before the kick ass games start to come out for the Nintendo DS. Same thing with the PSP. I am not going to get a PSP until probably the fall when the really good games start to come out once the developers get a good amount of time with the hardware and Dev kits.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at March 22, 2005 10:03 PM
Get a solar panel, a battery converter (one that conver 12vDC or 24V DC ), and a bike generator. Thebike generator normally fit on the back wheel and rest on thetyre. If thepower goes you can use a car battery with the invertor to charge the laptop battery or even run thelaptop. But a car lighter extension and add some clips on the plug end. Keep the old car battery in the garadge, it has enoth juice to charge a laptop
Posted by: Chulangj at October 22, 2005 7:22 AM
