A SALE ON OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT, including free shipping on generators. I really need to get one of those . . . .

UPDATE: Reader Kevin Chustz emails:

I suggest you look here for better deals:

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/brand/guardian.php

My friend put a 7,000 watt natural gas standby generator in his mother in-law’s house and it performed perfect during hurricane Ike. I would personally put in a 17,000 to 20,000 watter to run everything in the house, including the central air. The great thing about these models is their automatic operation during an outage. No worries about going outside during a storm or other event.

You will have to hire a professional electrician for installation and maybe get a permit, but believe me, these generators are quieter and there are no extension cords snaking through your house while your using them.

I’ve actually thought of that. It’s not cheap, but it’s not as expensive as I had thought.