I was in the UK and Ireland during this "ruckus", Kirk, but reading your "Goodbye For Now" blog post convinced me to re-examine whether I really need my Mac, router, or cable modem to be on around the clock. What really convinced me was not a sense of responsibility to my neighbors, but the thought that I might save a few bucks on my power bill.

I used to set an old Mac to come on every day just before I got home from work, just in case I needed it, and because, for several days out of the week, it was set to record radio shows via my radioSHARK. Since the Mac only offered wakeups on Every Day or Weekdays, but not, say, only on Monday and Thursday, that was the only way to be sure it was up and running to record the shows.

Why did I stop? Ran out of storage. I have more copies of those shows than I'll ever find time to listen to, and they'll keep me happy for a few years.