Have you ever considered getting a few APC units? If the power goes out often there you might find them pretty useful. I've been considering grabbing one or two of them myself when I have the extra money, since I'd love to keep the power going to my PC for a few hours for the times when it cuts out. Obviously a generator would be better, but, it's probably more practical to have 2 or 3 of APC units hooked up to your modem and laptop/pc so you can continue to work until that horrible, lovecraftian looking network of wires is fixed.