I'm Still Standing

As the morning light rises outside most all of Houston homes remain dark. The center of Ike is now near Huntsville but the outer bands are swirling across the southeast and central part of the state.

Our power in Ft. Bend went down at 1:50am and remains off. I have a a few small power converters and inverters that I can run small appliances on like laptops and a portable computer. Its times like these that will serve lessons to people to think about battery backup, wireless data cards and more in case of emergencies.

While the wind and rained howled for several straight hours all night we surprisingly came out well. No trees came down, no windows broken or water leakage but we still have a few hours to go before Ike totally leaves the area. If the worse thing that happens is a power outtage then we all can take a big, deep breath.

It's interesting to watch my kids figure out what to do with no electricity. No TV, computer, video games. I'm going to start calling them Gilligan, Skipper and Professor. I haven't yet told them I charged the portable DVD players - I'll wait until they are almost stir crazy.

One key concern that such emergencies will cause in the future...many people are now watching local TV on small, handheld TVs like I am. Come next February when the FCC shuts down over the air analog signals none of these TVs will work.

Radio continues to be king. ;)