POWER UPDATE: Reader Steve Hornbeck emails: “Power is on in a lot of Albany, N.Y. Thankfully, the power in my neighborhood was only off for 30 minutes so my first beer of the Great Northeast Blackout is satisfyingly frosty.”

Meanwhile, Crooked Timber links to a paper on cascading failures that may be relevant, though most readers will prefer a frosty beer.

UPDATE: Hossein Derakshan reports that “Toronto is dead, almost,” and observes: “Ok, I just have to say this: The whole concept of modern society is based on electricity and when it goes out, big cities would be worse than deserts.”

Charles Donefer, on the other hand, uses the occasion to draw regional distinctions.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The Corner is reporting that some power has returned in New York. And here’s the best conspiracy theory so far, from reader Douglas Brosz:

Maybe someone at the NY Times will pick this up but my hunch is that this blackout was orchestrated by the White House to lower electricity expectations in Iraq.

Of course! It’s all Karl Rove’s fault! He sure is tricky. . . .

MORE: Max Rosenthal emails at 9:45:

For general reference, power’s now back in Fairfield, CT. The sections near the Bridgeport grid seemed to have come back on a while beforehand; all of the town was congregated in the lighted westward areas having dinner when we drove out for pizza. But the New York-side areas seem to be kosher again as well.

Kosher pizza? I know where you can get some in Grenoble. . . .