We had a MAJOR thunderstorm rip through St. Louis yesterday that knocked out power, telephone and other services for much of the entire region. Many large trees were literally snapped in half. Tower Grove Park looks like a giant went through it with a baseball bat and started knocking down trees left and right.

Reason #206 to own a Treo 700p and have Sprint service here in St. Louis:

We’re sitting here in Northwest Coffee in Clayton, they have power (thankfully), air conditioning (it’s supposed to be over 100° F today) but their DSL is down. No WiFi, no Internet.

I simply hooked up my Treo 700p, enabled USB Modem mode, enabled Internet sharing on my Powerbook, and now I’m serving this small corner of the planet as the only Internet connection.

So, if you have a Treo 700p and EVDO service, you too can be an emergency ISP.

P.S. Tip your barristas.