This year’s hot holiday gift may be the most 2020 thing of 2020 — standby residential generators, for those wealthy enough to afford them. The Houston Chronicle reports backyard generator manufacturers say they can’t keep up with demand for generators that cost $10,000 up front plus $300 per year in fees. In a year beset by climate disasters across the U.S. — from hurricanes along the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard to heat wave-caused and wildfire-prevention blackouts in California — and with more people working from home because of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, households that can afford it are seeking to insulate themselves from power outages. Generac, which says it builds more than three-quarters of US residential backup generators, says the median income of 70% of its customers is 175% the national median. (Houston Chronicle)