Bob Simon wrote:
On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:39:18 -0500, Bob Simon
wrote:

Last night, the reading light and clock on my headboard both went out
at the same time. I jiggled the extension cord plug and they
momentarily came back on but would not stay on. I figured there
might be a lose wire in the socket and since I didn't want to deal
with it at the moment, I moved the extension cord to another outlet
on the other side of the bed. Once again, the connection was
intermittent and would not stay on.

Right about then, my laptop started complaining that the battery was
about to die so I plugged its power supply into the wall socket where
I had moved the extension cord to. No power. So I started to plug
it into a third outlet and before I could even insert the plug half
way, the reading lamp and clock came back on.

What's going on here? Can someone give me some tips to troubleshoot
this situation?

Those of you who suggested that I had daisy-chained, back-stab outlets
were exactly correct. Thank you very much. The repair was quick and
easy so even though fixing the upstream outlet may have solved the
immediate problem, I did all three anyway.

The only tool that I wish I had for this job is a flashlight that
mounts on a headband. Can anyone recommend a lightweight one,
preferable one that uses LEDs?

B&D "Snake Light" is a bit more versatile. While you can't wrap it around
your head, it works quite well around the neck.