Thanks to the intrepid work of my wife, we're back! She found a generator at 6am yesterday and we had it in-hand at 6:45am (tip: Home Depot expects to receive more Tuesday if you're looking). Like the famed Cabbage Patch craze, my wife called down lists of Lowes and HD stores (among others) from the hotel last night.  CraigsList failed us as we looked.  Thanks to everyone for their well wishes.

Our area was among the hardest hit in the storms.  Not directly thankfully (though I did awaken at midnight with other neighbors to help secure the home of a friend who had a maple tree hit their house and blow out all the windows on the backside.

It's amazing how scary and liberating it can be when you are forced to unplug from the grid. No net access, no power, no phone communication, only AM talk radio for 60 hours can get to you.  The lines at the gas station (and the civil yet

I'm on Cingular's EDGE network right now on my Sony VAIO laptop.  It has built-in EDGE so I just popped the SIM card in and away you go. 

This entire experience though minor in comparison has made me think about the plight in Darfur and others war, famine, and poverty stricken areas.  This holiday season, it's reminded me to do what I can to reach out to others and help in their time of need.

Update: We got power this afternoon. Thanks again to everyone for their help and research- it means a lot!