Hurricane Ike has come and gone, but Houston will be feeling the effects for a long time to come.  This is Day 7 with no power in our half of the city.  I’m very grateful that this is our only damage and I understand that priorities are set by the electric companies.  I can wait. 

Yet it has become surreal in many ways.  Even those who have power do not know what to expect when they venture out.  Will they be able to find an open grocery store or gas station?  Some of the downtown businesses are open, but not all employees can get in because of the gas scarcity. 

While I’ve stayed at home this week, I have a few technology pieces on which I’ve relied.

• Small voltage converter
• Laptop & charger
• Cell phone & auto charger
• Air card for internet access

The best investment right now is a small voltage converter.  I can run my car in the garage and use the converter to charge my laptop each day.  This converter had previously been purchased in anticipation of a week’s driving trip, but it’s real value is now apparent.  For a small price, it is worth having on hand for emergencies.

While the car is running and charging my laptop, I can also charge my cell phone with its auto charger.  There was a big run on the phone stores by people who did not own a car phone charger.  If I did not have a car charger, the small voltage converter would have worked for my phone too.  However having a car charger minimizes the time my car needs to be running, since the laptop and cell phone can charge together.

The third thing I am using to keep in touch is an air card through my phone company, which is currently Verizon.  In the past, it’s been great for all the travel I do, speaking at conferences and working with companies on effective time management and organizing work flow.  I don’t have to rely on finding a wireless connection somewhere.  Right now having this allows me to access my email once a day after charging the laptop.  During the repairs from the hurricane damage, it hasn’t always been able to establish a good connection for more than a couple of minutes, but it worked.  Now at Day 7, I’m able to stay online for ten or more minutes at a time. 

In your business, if a natural disaster struck, what would you need to stay in touch?