This started out as a comment in another thread, but I thought I'd throw it up a flag pole and see if anyone salutes.
I'm in Buffalo, and as you may know, we got socked hard by a freak snowstorm last week. I had no electricity from Thursday evening until late Saturday night, and many people still don't have power.
I urge you all to have an emergency kit ready in case your power goes out for an extended period. That means the standard candles, matches, flashlights and fresh batteries, as well as blankets (you might not have heat) cash (if the grid is down your credit cards are useless) first aid kit, food and bottled water (the generators at our water pumping station were running at 30% capacity at one point, and water was in short supply). Get a spare battery for your cell phone or be more vigilant about keeping your phone charged. Don't let your gas tank get too low. Get a portable radio (the crank kind that doesn't need batteries is ideal). You might even want to get a generator of your own. Have a plan in place for your family to cover contingencies. Don't forget your pets, either. Be sure cats and dogs have tags with accurate phone numbers on them. Friends of mine learned this the hard way... they were out of town when the storm hit, and a fire destroyed the kennel where their dogs were staying. All the dogs got out safely, but a few got loose including one of theirs. There's a happy ending as they got her back, but they could have avoided a very stressful couple of days if the dogs had tags.
I know these are common-sense things, but it's too easy to say "oh, I'll do that some day" and just not get to it. Then when you need it you're unprepared.