Drive-by Posting: Shoulda Gone with the Countertop Zero-Point Generator
... and of course, leaving the hospital for the first time in thirty-two hours, discover my entire neighborhood outside the medical center has no power.
First clue was the total traffic snarl in front of the north gate of the Wash U med complex and the complete absence of streetlights -- which took me a moment to notice in my post-call state. Then the complete absence of lights in all the restaurants up Euclid -- some shuttered for lack of power, some merrily serving food outdoors. And so on all the way back to my apartment building which, like every other building in a three zip-code radius [1] outside of the Wash U medical center complex, has no power.
Fortunately, I always carry a flashlight with me -- my physician's penlight is a nearly indestructible industrial model manufactured by Energizer that can light up a room [2] -- so I could actually *get* back to my apartment through the now dark hallways and stairwells of my building, lit only by the occasional emergency light. For all the good that does, given I don't dare open the electric freezer and refrigerator; I can't cook with the electric microwave or stove; I can't do my piles of laundry in the electric washer and dryer; I can't get my car out of the electric-powered garage door; and even though I can boot my computer on internal battery power, there's no working wireless node within ten city blocks, except back at the hospital.
Which is where I find myself back again, since there was a phone number I *had* to call this afternoon, and it was, of course, in my e-mail.
See, now, this is where a counter-top Zero Point Energy Generator would have come in *so* handy...
[1] The local power company has a neato widget which maps all power outages in their coverage zone. Of course, the people who most need the information don't have any power to their wireless nodes and cell towers, but it's the thought that counts. :-)
[2] After wearing out or breaking lots of the cheap plastic penlights, I decided to invest the few extra dollars to buy a solid, professional, won't-wear-out model. As an additional plus, the LED light consumes far less power than the usual tiny light bulbs, doesn't shatter, and produces a remarkable amount of light for the tiny bit of energy consumed. Marketed for mechanics and other professionals who need lots of light in tiny places, I figured it would do just fine for my "hey, do those pupils shrink?" and "hello, Mr. Uvula!" needs.
Fortunately, I tested said penlight on myself before I used it on a patient. After a few minutes of blinking away the afterimage from the almost-sun-bright light, I proceeded to tape multiple layers of protective masking tape *over* the end of the LED light so it would avoid frying my patient's retinas. :-)