Emergency tech for disaster preparation

That's what 1 friend finally did.

I have an "emergency box" with unscented candles, lots of matches, sterno, lots of AA, and D batteries, and I have a small battery operated lantern that puts out a lot of light. I found a device on thinkgeek.com that I'm thinking about buying. It's a handcrank radio/flashlight, and I think can be used to give small charges to some devices. I also stock up on canned soups, etc... at the beginning of winter in case we have an ice storm, and I'm stuck for several days.

Most importantly, keep extra toilet paper, and make sure you have all of your meds

Because I have asthmatics in the house, I need to keep the HVAC powered up as much as possible. It's a gaspack, so I only need one electgrical connection for both heat and A/C, but the problem is if I hook it up directly to the HVAC power box, everything else in the house will want to run as well. Means I need electrical pros, darn it. NOT going to spring for a generator big enough to run the entire house, electrical stove and all.

BTW, I've got a hand grinder and a 12V coffeepot that works wonderfully to heat the water for the French press...

two people I know were without electricity and were jonesing for their coffee so badly that they went to extraordinary lengths to get it. One person trekked through a yard that was solid sheets of ice risking a broken leg to get to his RV to make coffee.

If you are a coffee addict, make arrangements to have some. Camp coffee if you have a fireplace, or, not just for coffee, if you have a good UPS with a good 30 minutes or more on it, use that to make coffee, recharge your cell phone and other mobile or game devices.