I have just set up a personal computer of mine to interface using MS
XP's Remote Desktop.  The software works great.  Here's my problem,
and my question: what happens if I am out of town, using a client
computer to access my home computer using Remote Desktop.  Then, for
whatever reason, there is a power failure at home.  When the power is
restored, my home CPU boots back up, but Windows gets stuck at the
password log-in.  Now, I can't access this home computer with Remote
Desktop, because the home computer is not logged-on.  Is there a work
around to this?  I way to disable the log-on on startup without
removing password protection (which I think is required to make Remote
Desktop work).

No workaround is required.  When Remote Desktop is enabled it loads as
a service, meaning that it loads even when no user has logged in to
the computer.  So even if the host reboots and is at the login screen
the Remote Desktop service will load and the system will be accessible
to you.

Details of how to enable your computer as a Remote Desktop host are
availble here from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/enableremote.mspx

Some other frequently asked questions about Remote Desktop are
available here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/rdfaq.mspx

Hibiscus

The workaround is probably either set up auto logon *OR* use something
else like www.tightvnc.com run as a service.