A SOLAR-POWERED SUMMER

Up here in Alberta, we don't get much sunlight during the dead of winter. That's why I love spring so much. But there's another reason I love the lengthening days besides more light in the evenings.

Over the years, I've purchased a number of radios with solar panels. Being able to charge them up in the sunlit windows of my home lets me make use of all that solar energy streaming down from our nearest star.

I also bought two solar-powered battery chargers, though one broke. I can now charge up my MP3 player's cells and enjoy hours of music as I work in the yard or walk to the post office. It also decreases the number of single-use cells I need to throw out or take to a recycling depot.

I recently used a solar panel to charge up my cell phone's battery. In the event that I need to charge it and the mains power is out, I can use the sun to get it up and running.

I also bought a radio in January which has a jack for charging cell phones. It doesn't recharge the battery all the way but it does give the phone enough juice for an emergency call. As power outages are a common event here in this rural hamlet, that will be a useful asset in the event that the phone line also doesn't work.

Solar panels aren't the only power-producing devices I have. The radio I just mentioned has a dynamo crank. It's tiring but I can at least get enough of a charge into my cell phone from cranking the radio to call 9-1-1 if I need to do so.

I have four other radios with dynamo cranks and LED flashlights as well. Those are most useful in severe weather since two of them have the weather band channels.

In addition, I have two dynamo lanterns and a number of wind-up flashlights. Those are most handy at night during thunder storms and power outages. I also have an adapter which connects up to my large solar panel so I can charge the lanterns with it.

When severe weather or power outages happen, I'm ready. I hope you are too. Instead of scrambling to find candles and matches, you'll be good to go. As a precaution, keep batteries in cell phones and lanterns charged up during stormy months. A water-purifying jug is also handy in case all you have is rain water to drink.

I mention my love of gadgetry in all three of my memoirs. Check out the Bruce Atchison's books page, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books for information about my paperbacks.

SPARKING DISCUSSION ON EMERGENCY GADGETS

Every once in a while, I come across a nifty little gadget that I wish I had known about years ago. While at the World Net Daily Superstore web page, I read about the Sparkie fire starter. Since they were only $10.00 each, I ordered two of them.

When the package containing my fire starters finally arrived, I immediately tried out the Sparkie. I didn't get the hang of it at first but I eventually figured it out. A short test in the kitchen sink demonstrated that it indeed gave off hot sparks which could light kindling.

There was a time in my life when I felt I might have to hide out in the wilderness. Back in 1986, I attended a house church which believed that the mark of the beast would be instituted  before Christ's return. Consequently, they stored up a large supply of canned goods against the day when nobody could buy or sell without the mark.

A novelty catalogue I received in the mail about that time had some exciting outdoor gadgets. I purchased a pocket-sized stove, a solar-powered cigarette lighter (useful for lighting kindling), a dynamo flashlight, and other useful items. The only problem with the lighter is that it wouldn't work during cloudy days or at night. The Sparkie would have solved that problem. As it was, I put some wooden matches in a waterproof container. I would have loved to have the Sparkie back then but I found no such fire starter in the catalogue.

Though I now believe that we need not fear this mark of the beast because it was a mark of character and that all events except for Christ's return mentioned in Revelation happened 2000 years ago, I still see useful applications for the Sparkie. It'll be handy when my pilot lights in the stove are blown out. If I do go camping, I could start the campfire. I might be invited on a picnic as well someday. Since the Sparkie relies on a flint rod, I don't have to worry about wet matches or lighters running out of fuel. According to the back panel on the product's packaging, the Sparkie lights kindling even if the device gets wet.

Though I enjoy practical emergency gadgets like the Sparkie, I'm glad I'm free from the paranoid teachings of that aberrant congregation. Some of the leader's doctrines were so incredibly wacky that I felt compelled to write a memoir about them. Please check out How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powell's Books. The end of the paperback is especially gratifying, plus it contains the secret of how to rid oneself of emotional baggage.

WHY I BOUGHT A GAS STOVE.

When I moved to the country in 2000, I didn't realize how frail the electrical supply to my home would be. Though they were a nuisance, I put up with both power blinks and blackouts. After all, neither lasted that long. The wind storm of October 25, 2008 changed my mind completely. As I ate sandwiches at lunch, the kitchen light went out. I finished eating and tried to call Atco Electric to alert them about the blackout. A recorded announcement reported outages in many areas of the province. The company estimated restoration of power in four hours. Having no power for the computer, I spent the afternoon tidying up my basement. About half past three, my neighbour knocked on the door and asked if my power had gone out. When he heard that it had, he asked if I'd phoned the company. When I said I did, he told me his cell phone battery went dead after ninety minutes of being on hold. I promised I'd get on the blower and find out what was taking them so long to restore power. My wall phone was still working so I dialed the Atco Electric number again. The recording gave me the same old song and dance about power being restored in a few hours and that I was to wait on the line for the first available operator. I gave up after a half hour and went back downstairs. The electricity still hadn't been restored by five o'clock. I was about to call Atco again when an idea struck me. I unplugged the cordless phone's power adapter from it's socket and plugged it into the computer's uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Then I dialed the power company again. This set-up let me work in the basement and stay on hold at the same time. After a half hour, a live operator spoke to me. I told her that I still was without power. She noted it and said somebody would come out to take care of it. Since I had an electric stove, I couldn't cook supper. So I opened a tin of stew and ate that. Then I listened to a battery-powered radio while I waited. By ten-thirty, I became concerned. The house was getting cold from the furnace not being able to run. I phoned Atco again and got the same announcement as before. I hung up after a half hour and hoped somebody would deal with the power. After I had placed extra blankets on the bed and dressed in several layers of long underwear, I heard the furnace start up. After eleven and a half hours, the ordeal was over. I vowed then and there to buy gas appliances which wouldn't fail in a blackout.