I have a UPS wired into the outlets in my office. It provides great peace of mind, even though it has never been used. -- KentBeck
A UPS provides better power conditioning against voltage spikes and the like than one of those little plug-in outlet strips.
Also, if you live in California, our semi-third-world electrical network gives a UPS a good workout, with frequent failures.
And when you're taking a printer into the shop, it's a lot more fun unplugging a UPS than unplugging a CPU :) -- JoeTennis
A laptop with a surge protector (do they make little surge protectors?) might be a more portable option.
If you plug a UPS into itself, will it power itself forever?
No. Energy lost in the form of heat will quickly result in the unit discharging.
Well damn. Mine's been going for like two years like that.