We can prepare to lose electricity, heat, water.
But what about Internet loss?

We bought an extra flashlight, lamp oil, and a week’s worth of food – unrefrigerated. We filled the bathtub, found winter coats and quilts, and put our solar radio in the window.

We were prepared if we lost electricity, or water, or heat, or if Hurricane Sandy took our landline down. We had workarounds.

Preparing to lose the InternetSo what happened in our neighborhood? Our home internet connection went down. Not the electricity, not the phone, just our internet.

I thought, “What should I have done? Did I forget the internet workaround?”

But unlike heat, light and water, I can’t think how to protect ourselves from Internet loss.

Or what we can get done without it! Instead of a normal day’s work, I vacuumed the house, ran a load of laundry, and did some errands. Not much forward motion – in my job or towards other goals.

Driving home I realized how much worse it could have been. Banks, gas stations, and supermarkets were processing transactions. The electrical grid didn’t crash. This was not The Big One.

And I found one Internet workaround. I drafted this post – offline. Maybe all of us should store up offline activities for when the Internet goes down. Tasks using our desktop applications, pre-downloaded training programs, an e-book we always meant to read, postal addresses of friends who’d appreciate a real letter . . . or just Solitaire on our hard drive.

What’s in your survival kit for short-term Internet loss?