Yup. Many are the times I surf the Dope on my iPhone while…well let’s not go into detail. As Dag Otto said, some people are really attached to their phones.
Thank you. I’ve heard of iPhones. But I have little idea how they differ from ordinary cell phones.
Having recently suffered through a two-day power failure, I sure would like to give the OP’s problem some thought and maybe some discussion. It’s useful to think about how one can prepare for similar calamities because there are several different kinds of disasters that can affect large numbers of people.
In an earthquake, large numbers of people could become immobilized and possibly get stuck in one room in their dwelling - perhaps under a pile of debris. It’s worth thinking about that and perhaps discussing how to plan for that. There are several useful things to know about planning for such an emergency. I found that the information currently available about dealing with a power failure is questionable - at best. I just wish I knew what to do about that. Let me give you one example.
About a year ago, I thought it would be clever to prepare for a power failure. So I bought a hand cranked radio just in case there was ever a power failure. When the power failed, I was feeling terribly proud of myself for being so clever as to buy this radio - even though I had never tested it or tried it. WRONG! THAT WAS NOT CLEVER IN THE LEAST!
When the power failed, I thought I was just so clever for buying this radio. But it was terrible - just awful! I had to crank it 25 revolutions in order for it to play for six seconds. So, I basically just sat there in the dark cranking my guts out and half of what was broadcast were commercials. Even worse, aside from the commercials, the radio stations kept telling people to check their web sites for info about how to handle things like their kitchen appliances during a power failure. Unfortunately, that advice was all useless to me because during the power failure, I could not access the Internet since the only browser I have is a PC. But when the power was restored, I thought I would look at their web site. WRONG AGAIN! I was able to use my PC alright. But my ISP was still down and it was not restored for another two hours.
This was a very important lesson. People need to try these things before they actually rely on them. The info on the radio’s web site told people the most important thing to do with their refrigerator in a power failure was to NEVER OPEN IT. But this was just very wrong. The reason that info is wrong is because there are many degrees to food thawing and, it’s a long story, but telling people to throw out all the meat they have in their freezers during a power failure (if the refrigerator was ever opened) is just one extreme position and a huge waste of money. There are many circumstances in which it’s safe to eat meat that was not fully thawed. It’s also safe to refreeze meat under many other circumstances. But before doing that, people need to know the facts. This is not the place to describe all those circumstances. That would violate the thread topic and might even be considered hijacking this thread. I do have the info and I’d like to post it somewhere. I’m just not sure where or how to post it.
My basic problem with the radio station is that they were just protecting themselves against lawsuits by telling people to throw out all the meat in their freezers. It may have been safest for the radio station to tell people to do that, but the truth is far more complicated than that. Once again, a corporation was telling people what was best. But what they really meant was that it was best for the radio staion - not necessarily best for their listeners.
IMO, the radio stations were largely “out to lunch” when they told people to keep checking the radio stations’ web sites for info on when the power would be restored and on what people should do with their appliances and other matters during the power failure.
But that is a much longer discussion and it probably deserves posting in a different thread. Planning ahead for any kind of disaster is certainly the most important thing to do about these things and it deserves to be done in a different location. Any suggestions?
The iPhone is pretty much just like any other cell phone. There is no way you could take a photo, upload it, or post to a message board with one. And you would be totally unable to check a website to see when power might be restored. And the crank on an iPhone sucks.
I thought you were just fooling me when you spoke of a crank for the iPhone. But I Googled “crank iPhone” and sure enough! You are correct.
That’s not much of a big deal. I was just surprised because I just couldn’t believe my eyes. The iPhone is touted as such a new kind of technology while a crank is supposedly such an old piece of technology.
Heh. Heh.
Oh sweet Jesus Christ.
Why do you shut the door of your bathroom to take a shower when you live alone?
So the room doesn’t get cold? I pretty much always shut the door for this reason, whether I am alone in the house or not. Otherwise, there’s a cold draft.
I shut mine to keep the cats out.
A new door? Why on earth would you? Just buy a new handle set (about 40 dollars) for your door handle and replace it.
The problem probably is that the pin holding it together fell out. You can replace that with a ordinary nail (0 dollars) you’ve got lying around.
I leave mine ajar to let them in.
A door can be ajar but I’ve never seen a jar be adoor (although some jars are a-door-able).
Yeah, get an iPhone.
Or any kind of smartphone with web access - they don’t need your ISP, they use the cell phone network if you’re not in an area with WiFi. Then you can listen to the radio, visit a website, call your mother or order a pizza. You can also ask The Dope for help or call 911 if you have to.
If you’re going to be without electricity, get yourself a solar or handcrank charger, or a battery pack booster so you can charge your iPhone.
Of course this only works as long as the internet holds out. But who really wants to live after that’s gone, anyway?
When I take a bath or shower I put my phone on the floor next to the tub. Just in case.
This is because of a lesson I learned years ago when I dashed into an office to retrieve something, slipped on some acorns and fell and broke my ankle. This one time I had left my phone in the car 'cause I was just gonna run in for a second. It was a side street in a quiet area and a rather long time before anyone found me.
I also close the door when I’m in the tub in the winter, and it’s an old, uneven house, so I have to lock it, otherwise the dogs will push it open and let the cold air in. No need to close door in the summer.
But it lets you make crank calls!
Phew, that was exciting. Glad you’re ok Demian! What presence of mind to ask the Dope.
Ok this is making me laugh so much, sorry! WHY were there acorns on the floor of the office??! (No, I really am sorry about your ankle… but why were there acorns on the floor of an office?)
:rolleyes: They were in the parking lot. As I lay there, I threw acorns at the windows of the office, to no avail.
Aaaaah, I see. I was imagining an office floor strew with acorns as a cunning trap. I really am sorry about your ankle, and now I feel very bad for laughing. 
Look on the inside of the hole. Try to get a feel for how the mechanism works. Look at your handle for clues as well. Try to improvise with the things around you.
It might work also to put the handle back in the door and give it a tru.
Be sure the bottom lock is unlocked too or it won’t work
If need be just call the locksmith and tell him that you don’t have clothes on, or put a towel on.
He will probably understand. He doesn’t have to look at you if he is opening the door from the other side. It might be your best option if nothing else is working for you and you don’t want to kick in your door (which you would do by kicking directly at where the handle broke off, as hard as you can ) Or you could rush the door multiple times at the same spot with your shoulder. The faster you go the better (because force = mass times acceleration. That’s why a bullet is powerful even though it’s small)
He’s already out, so it’s moot now, but rushing the door is probably just going to break his shoulder since not only would he have to break the bolt, but also the entire stop molding since the door opens out.
Also, ‘they’re’ now advising against running and slamming against the door like that when trying to break it down since you can do so much damage to your shoulder, but rather planting one foot against in the ground and kicking it with the bottom of the other foot. Granted, that would be hard to do with no shoes.