IN WHAT’S EITHER A COINCIDENCE, OR BRILLIANT MARKETING, the copy of one of my regular tool catalogs that showed up in the mail on Saturday had home generators splashed across the cover. Paul Boutin has more on these.

I’ve never bought one, even though the idea of making my own electricity seems, well, very cool. One reason is that they’re somewhat dangerous — in fact, during the little-noted but massive Memphis power outage last month, the son of an acquaintance was asphyxiated when the people he was staying with ran a generator — indoors. Don’t do that!

The other is that you need a big honking generator to really run things like air conditioners or heat. I’d like one of those automatic start-up, tri-power (natural gas lines, backed up by propane, also capable of running on gasoline) versions, with about 15-25 kilowatts. I could’ve had one, too, if I hadn’t bought a car.

Short of that, well, I’ve got flashlights, and a big UPS to run the DSL modem and the wireless node for hours. But the generators Paul points out are kinda slick-looking. . . .

In the meantime, I’ve got more thoughts on self-reliance over at GlennReynolds.com.

UPDATE: Noted survivalist Amy Langfield has suggestions for what you ought to keep in your blackout kit.