Jason of RedPython posted a thread a while back of a guy who was surviving an ice storm.
I've thought about it ever since....
I found a deal on a brand new one off Craigslist.
Louder than crap and I'm happy as hell
I've always worried about what would happen during an outage. Granted it's not a home standby, it'll do for now.
The relief I feel is awesome.
You guys need to get one if you don't already!