Michael gets an explanation from NSTAR on why his power went out Monday: A transformer blew under extreme loads:

Let me say from the outset that I could very well have my facts wrong, but from what I understand, NSTAR hasn't done the upgrade they've really needed to do on our transmission lines over the past few years. Basically, it's a large capital expenditure to upgrade everything, so instead of fixing it all at once they've simply patched it as problems arose. Needless to say, this results in a system that in the long run, costs more money to fix. ...

Samara reports on a blackout on her street last night:

... What we thought was a transformer (which would have been a much much louder bang), turned out to be an extremely loose wire connected to the transformer. Nice to know they're keeping up maintenance. That wire fell off **LIVE** from the pole right next to the house across the street. Good times. All kinds of flashing and fun stuff. Luckily, we live 1/2 block away from the fire station and there is a cop always around at the Star Market around the corner. ...

NSTAR sure knows how to pick the right night to suddenly tell people it's cutting power to some 2,000 homes:

A few minutes ago we received a phone call from City Councilor Denise Simmons. NSTAR informed her that tonight they would shut down power to Area 4, affecting 2000 households with no warning. They claim that 'it's gonna go out anyway' and that they need to make undefined 'repairs'.

If you think this might be a bit on the unacceptable side, there's a community meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Area 4 Youth Center at Harvard and Essex.

Reports are filtering in of scattered blackouts across the region last night:

When the power went out last night at the James's Gate pub in Jamaica Plain, they didn't shut down - they broke out the candles. And Abby was there with her camera.

The power also went out in Borderline's corner of Newton, but he was not amused, especially since the border of the blackout zone was apparently a line right down his street - people across the way had lights and AC. Still he manages to find solace in the fact that he still has a dial-up account with which to post his travails:

So nyah nyah nyah wireless power users with your useless newfangled access points! They don't work in these parts!

In Brookline, Michael sweated through a blackout:

... The air conditioner had been running in the bedroom, so it remained cool in there for about an hour afterwards. But once the heat filtered into the bedroom, there was no escape. I grew up with air conditioning, and I have little tolerance for heat. We read for a while, but no matter how I positioned myself, I simply could not get comfortable. I kept wishing for a large, battery-powered fan.

Somehow I managed to get to sleep, but then at about midnight the phone rang. Nomi picked it up. It was a recording from NSTAR, telling us that the power would be restored by 2:30 AM. Never mind the fact that I had pushed the buttons on the voice mail limiting such calls to hours we'd actually be awake...