Our local Costco (Fredericksburg VA) has had Xantrex 1000W inverters for sale for about $65. Xantrex bought Trace, which was the top of the line company in inverters.

Grab a 120 amp-hour deep cycle marine battery from Wally-World and some #2 or #4 battery cables, and you're all set for some alternate energy.

I fired mine up tonight when bad thunderstorms rolled through. I hooked up the kids' PS2 and 13-inch color TV, and my laptop so I could continue surfing uninterrupted and without fear of frying my computer.