Fall 2003 Edition 

Where Were You When The Lights Went Out? By Fred W. Holzsager   When the lights went out on August 14, 2003, I was in my car on the way to a potential client.  I was listening to the radio when the signal went dead.  I changed the station from 1010 AM to 104.3 FM, thinking that it might have been the reception, but the second station also was “gone.”  Hmmm, what was going on here?  As I drove down the street, I noticed that there were conspicuously more people on the street than usual.  It seemed odd, but it was fortunate, because I was looking for an address which was new to me and there were, conveniently, plenty of individuals to ask.  (Yes, I am an atypical male that will stop and ask for directions when lost.  Machismo is still alive, but the price of gas clearly has an influence upon my practical side.)   Driving through a major intersection, I also noticed that there was more traffic than usual.  Why was there such a backup on in the middle of the afternoon?  Then it occurred to me, the traffic lights were not working, the storefronts were dark, and the police sirens were heard more and more.  Oh, boy!  It’s a blackout.  Well, hopefully, it will be short and we can get back to normal soon.   I arrived at the business around 4:30 p.m., for some reason, the area was only experiencing brown outs.  I sat with the prospect, discussing his business and the computer systems as the ceiling lights flickered on and off.  As he showed me the issues that he had with his system, the computer shutdown.  It was not a smooth power down, but an abrupt cut in power.  We decided to postpone the meeting.  While parting, I suggested to him that he ought to consider purchasing a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) for each of his computers.  Although we both recognized the suggestion as ex post facto, he recognized that the idea was worthy of consideration.    Heading back to my office in Fair Lawn, I tried to plot the route with the least amount of traffic lights and intersections.  Traffic was heavy, but flowing on Routes 21 and 20.  My first intersection, per se, was Fair Lawn Avenue and River Road:  Great!  The Fair Lawn Police Department was directing traffic through the intersection.  It was smooth sailing.  When I got home, the house was dark, but the sky was bright.  Being in a profession which is dependent upon electrical power, I decided that a vacation had just been declared until power was restored.   We did our best to avoid opening the refrigerator and freezer.  I was very happy to find matches in the house.  (I guess having been a Boy Scout growing up in Fair Lawn paid off!)  We would need them to light the stove (gas burners with electronic ignition).  It was almost a nostalgic feeling as my family and I sat down to a quiet dinner, relaxed with an evening constitutional, chatted with neighbors and retired early.  Wow!  We got the children to bed without an argument about when to turn the television off—what a treat!  After getting the children in for the night, my wife and I followed suit.     It was fortunate that we got to bed early, for the next day was very busy with businesses calling for help to recover from corrupted data and other issues associated with the blackout.   How will I remember the blackout?   Probably as the single, most recent event that gave my clients a conscientious approach to computer power management.  Seriously, I shall remember it for the unfortunate expenses borne by many businesses as they discarded spoiled food that turned during the power outage—the grocery stores like ShopRite; restaurants like Perfect Pita; Drugstores like CVS; and the homes that had all of their perishables go bad.  I shall remember the concern of families worried about their loved ones stuck in a horrendous commute home and of those, stuck in The City, seeking a place to stay for the night without the benefit of running water or elevators.   It is always after emergency situations that folks stop to assess their wealth in terms of family, friends and personal comforts.  Perhaps, now, we can appreciate how good things are: how fortunate we are to live in a land of liberty and freedom.     If you have a question or would like to have a computer concept explained, please feel free to send an email to support@tech4now.com or see http://www.tech4now.com.  (This web site includes an article on uninterruptible power supplies).      See Fred's Previous Columns Controlling Your Computer  (Summer 2003) High Speed Internet  (April 2003) Just when you thought it was safe…(February 2003) From Your Friends -- A Virus (October 2002) Backup, Backup, Backup.  (August 2002)