Friday, November 16, 2012

Writing in the Dark

I type much faster than I can write in longhand. For our extended power outage I wrote using my old Alphasmart Neo with a Mighty Bright booklight clipped on the side. I did not use my iPad because I did not know when or where I would be able to charge it. (I intend to get an power inverter for the car for the next power outage.) I also read books with the booklight, too.

My Alphasmart and my booklight were great to have when the lights went out. If I sat right in front of the fireplace, I was nice and cozy. :^)

8 comments:

Janet Lane Walters said...

I also wrote in the dark. Used a high power battery operated lantern and pen and pencil. An obsession with creating words does drive us.

MarkD60 said...

This is the first time I ever heard of the Alphasmart Neo. Pretty cool. Like a paperless typewriter.

Penelope Marzec said...

Janet,
I've got to get one of those high power battery operated lanterns!

Penelope Marzec said...

Mark,

The Alphasmart has been around for quite a while. It uses batteries, but the batteries will last for a long, long time.

When the power went back on, I just connected the USB cord from the Alphasmart to my computer. The computer sucked in all the words. Very cool.

Here's a link http://www.neo-direct.com/default.aspx

Pat Marinelli said...

Penny, I have the AlphaSmart3000. I've had it at least 10 years. Would never part with it. Why? I talk it to the dock on the summer time because you can see it in the daylight. I gotta get me one of thoses lights though. Never thought of it before because we'd never had power problems but after Irene and Sandy, I assume we will always have them now.

Oh and yes, it runs on 3 AA batteries for a 700 hours. In ten years, I have replaced my batteries three times. You can't beat that.

jenny milchman said...

Wow, I am going to check out an Alphasmart right now! So it's kind of like a word processor--no internet connection using up charge? Hope you got great writing done, Pen.

Penelope Marzec said...

Jenny,

Yes, the Alphasmart is a word processor--plain and simple. There is another model with a rechargeable battery but I would never get that because when there's no power, you cannot recharge. As Pat Marinelli said the batteries last forever.

I did not get much writing done when the power was out because I spent a lot of time feeding the fireplace--but I did some writing and that made me feel better. :^)

Chicki Brown said...

Until I bought a laptop, I used my Alphasmart when I worked away from home, but I discovered it can also be a lifesaver. I had issues with my desktop for a few days and Alphie served as my backup. :D