Think about it. In this case a scheduled power outage, but some are
unplanned.

The smoke alarms start beeping, there are three small children in the house,
and not a single line-powered phone to dial 9-1-1.

Hot pipe with no thermostatic fan switch was outgassing. Kids were fine,
treated mom for hyperventilation.

Have to wonder how many of us are so gadgeted that we don't have a
line-powered phone, though. Good thing she finally found her cell phone in
the dark.

I remember this group and others losing touch with a few members when
hurricanes went through different areas.

They were using the new internet phone services, and with cable out
they just didn't miss HBO, they didn't have a phone. An insurance
construction coordinator friend of mine told me that some folks went
for 3 months without their cable/internet phone, and when they finally
got it back it didn't always work.

Another tidbit: here in Texas the State Attorney General filed suit
(and in turn started a huge class action suit) against Time Warner
because they were not hooked up to the 911 system for about two years.
So you dialed 911, and nothing happened in most parts of the state.

Of course you were never told this at the time you were saving
thousands by changing to one convenient bill. If I remember correctly,
the spur that go the whole thing started was an older lady that lost
her husband because she kept calling 911 to get an ambulance for him
and when she finally figured it out, it was too late for him.

I understand they have the 911 line situation all ironed out, but
still, if your cable goes out, or gets interfered with, or someone
screws with the pedestal to get those free premium stations, you could
be SOL.

Robert

"George" George@least wrote in message
...
Think about it. In this case a scheduled power outage, but some are
unplanned.

The smoke alarms start beeping, there are three small children in the
house, and not a single line-powered phone to dial 9-1-1.

Hot pipe with no thermostatic fan switch was outgassing. Kids were fine,
treated mom for hyperventilation.

Have to wonder how many of us are so gadgeted that we don't have a
line-powered phone, though. Good thing she finally found her cell phone
in the dark.
========================

I agree completely! Since I had to spend a lot of time in bed when my leg
first started to fail, and we're in rural Texas on co-op power, phone
service became much more of a necessity. We have a couple of wireless phones
for convenience, but always had a hard line connected. SWMBO has suggested
replacing home phones with only cell phones, but they're way too
undependable in emergency situations. Hard lines forever!

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

"George" wrote: (clip) Good thing she finally found her cell phone in the
dark.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Do the cell phone towers have their own power?

At our house we have self-generating flashlights in a central location. I
HATE groping for a flashlight in the dark, thinking "This would be easier if
I had a flashlight."

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 18:56:21 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:


"George" wrote: (clip) Good thing she finally found her cell phone in the
dark.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Do the cell phone towers have their own power?

At our house we have self-generating flashlights in a central location. I
HATE groping for a flashlight in the dark, thinking "This would be easier if
I had a flashlight."

we bought 3 florescent double-tube lanterns from good ol' harbor "fright"...
They were about $20 each and if you leave them plugged in and turned on, they
light when the power goes off and run for about 2 hours.. longer if ya go to 1
tube..

We both have cell phones and a nice 4 phone cordless system, but since we have a
lot of short power outages here, we have one "old fashioned" corded,
non-electronic phone for those times...
(it's a bitch when you're talking to a client and the phone goes off when the
power does)



mac

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