Well, we all learned a lot during the Blackout of 2003. I learned, for example, that I can walk 80 street blocks and seven avenue blocks carrying 20 pounds of gear - barely. But what I learned tech-wise is as follows.

• CARRY A SPARE CELLPHONE BATTERY: Keep it in your bag, purse, pants pocket - just have it on you. While you're at it, invest in a travel charger - a smaller version of the standard desktop charging unit.
• GET BATTERY-OPERATED LIGHTS FOR THE HOUSE: In addition to a flashlight (or two), have an emergency lantern you can place on a table or near a bed. You can also get simple tap-on, tap-off lights (usually $10 for four or better) that are very useful.
• DON'T RELY ON A CORDLESS HOME PHONE: For anywhere between $10 and $20 you can get yourself a simple, old-fashioned phone you plug into the phone jack; no electricity required, unlike a cordless phone.
• GET A BATTERY-BACKUP CLOCK RADIO: Many models will give you battery backup which means you will have two things: the ability to tell the time and listen to the radio. Also nice to just have around the house if you worry about missing a morning alarm, as I often do.
• DON'T FORGET YOUR DIAL-UP CONNECTION: Many Americans - 37.8 percent, according to the latest numbers from Nielsen/NetRatings - have a broadband Internet connection via DSL or cable modem. But it can happen (as it did in some areas) that the power comes back on, but your cable/DSL service does not. For those times, it's important to know how to connect the old way by dialing up.
• GET A UPS: No, not United Parcel Service, but an "uninterruptible power supply." It isn't quite a generator, since these only give you a few minutes of juice, but still very useful so that if you are working on your computer when the power cuts out, you have a few minutes to save your work (perhaps even onto a disk) and then turn off the machine. While these used to be very expensive, you can get one for as little as $40 from American Power Conversion, the leader in the business.
  Here's an excellent link that allows you to calculate what kind of UPS to get.

Write to techguru@sree.net and let me know your thoughts.