re: What new things did you learn after being hit by a hurricane?

That you can get by for quite a while (TV, window unit, fridge) on one of the little $500 Ryobi generators. Quiet, sips gas a gallon at a time and easy to move around. The 18V batteries that I use for my yard tools can power an inverter for a full day (router/modem) and Ryobi sells a number of shop lights/work lights/flash lights that can more than light your house.

I also learned that there a frickton of idiots trying to baw it out and run their whole house (all the lights, 2 AC units, 12 TVs, three fridges and all the appliances) on six 2000 watt generators and requiring 30 cans of gas a day to make it happen. These people are morons.