Yesterday we lost power for about four hours. I’m keeping track of the number of times we lose power this summer. If it goes over a certain number, I plan to get a generator.
When the electricity came back on, I restarted our network and noticed something puzzling. My main PC, the fastest, most power one I have and the one I usually use for writing my posts, on rebooting successfully updated Windows for the first time in six months. I had tried every trick in the book to get it to update but no luck. And today it just updated on its own.
I can only speculate that Microsoft finally got around to fixing a problem that had prevented some small number of users including me from updating.
Works best just to think that the computer gods have decidedly to randomly bless or curse your computer. Makes more sense than most of the explanations son gives when fixing our stuff.
Steve
My city’s still under a state of local emergency from severe straight line winds on Thursday that took out the power grid and a lot tree tops. There was a tornado about five miles from here, but it didn’t go through the city. We only lost power for a little over 2 hours, but my phone broke a couple of weeks ago and this is when you learn how dependent you are on a phone.
That’s why we still have an old fashioned landline. The phone company has its own power generation subsystem. Even when ComEd goes out the phone still works.
I dropped my land line a few years ago for non-use. I lost use of my Google Pixel 15 days ago, and while Google is going to replace it with a new phone (though it was only in the repair warranty period), I think if I knew it would take this long I would have bought a new phone two weeks ago.
Some of my issues (warning for the unprepared) were the number of apps/on-line accounts that have gravitated towards text messaging as an essential part of security. I had not set up my text-messaging for on-line accessibility, which it appears I can do once I have my new phone. Am going to check on voice-mail availability. My existing clients communicate with me by e-mail; prospective new clients call, so I’ll find out if this has cost me anything.
I get hundreds of texts and emails a day. Lots of them need quick attention. Being without a phone would be awful. I asked and was told it is not possible to have 2 phones with he same number. If I could I would always have 2 so I have a back up.
Steve
Check out “digits” by t-mobile, which covers the very scenario desired (a phone number accessible by multiple devices).
@steve: Couldn’t you simply keep an older phone around and swap in the sim card?
@ Dave: A large generator that powers maybe 2/3 of the house, including the network, refrigerators, and whatnot, was installed by the previous owners. It’s an awful nice luxury when the power goes out but definitely not cheap. Last I priced one, they started at about $8000 and the whole-house ones were closer to $12,000 for a large home.
@steve, that was another path I didn’t take. I was offered a loaner phone at the repair place (ubreakifix), but it was about an hour-and-a-half drive from home and I was more concerned about getting back and didn’t want to commit to another trip if the new phone was coming soon. I had a trial later that week and this trip was reluctantly made in the first place. I didn’t ask whether it was free or confirm that it would take my sim card. I wanted to go back and check my e-mail and snail mail for a pre-trial doc drop.
Right now 14% of city customers are without power, presumably that’s been the case since Thursday. I stopped at a grocery store yesterday, and the refrigerated and freezer units were 50-70% empty. My son is working at a different grocery store and said they hadn’t lost much, but they had a lot of customers angry that all the freezer doors were locked or taped closed. Apparently they had emergency power for the registers, not the coolers. Probably makes more sense than the other way around.
James- Sure, but I am most likely to either have mine lost or stolen.
Steve
I could not go more than a couple of days without a phone. Most of the important online places I need to access have 2FA ties to my phone, for example.
We have stable power where we live, although after an almost 2 day outrage a couple years ago in the middle of winter, I seriously considered a generator. But the expense was too great.
We do, too. Or at least we did. I think we’ve had more power outages in the last two years than in the previous 30. Those ghost payrollers don’t pay for themselves, you know.