Doing What You Have To

Petrol seems a bit scarce at the moment. All of a sudden, everyone is topping up, but is it really surprising?

The petrol supply system covers our day to day needs. There is no point providing more (good ‘ole demand and supply) I guess that every ones cycles of filling up, and various rates of petrol consumption means that there is a pretty static rate of petrol sales, day to day/ week to week.

If some one suggests that there will be a shortage in a couple of days, it shuman nature to ensure that you have enough. In 2000 I was lucky, I happened to fill up ion the way to work the day it all kicked off, and so I had enough to see me through. But if i had had a couple of more litres and not wanted to fill up till it ran out? then i wold have had problems….

The thing is everyone will try to self protect. And that means suddenly demand will surge. as this surge is above our daily requirements, this will then cause supply problems. Now we are having problems, everyone is justified in stocking up (see, we have a shortage now. so its just as well i did stock up….)

Obviously all us sheep are to blame. filling up our cars. But this si all game throery. Its all very well, only buying to suit my everyday needs. BUT if everyone else rushes out and buys the fuel, and I cannot get fuel, then I have lost. If i stock up unecessarilly I have lost nothing – it is fuel I will buy at some point, all i have done is move this forward. So if i could stock up, it was the best outcome for me that I did.

Maybe minimum purchases are a way to stop this. But i think talking about them certainly contibuted to this problem….

We are far too relient on petrol it seems. We proved that last time. The convenience of the car – allowing us to live one place and work another – becomes a necessitiy, if we now dont live next to our work we must now rely on the car to get there.

Of course public transport might be the solution, but you see, that is more expensive than running my car (once I have one) and as soon as i want to make one journey of any length that is not possible by public transport, a few taxies and i can easilly justify the cost of a car….

The question is whetehr petrol should rise in cost, so we move to other options. or should the other options be cheaper? The economics of travel currently still say petrol is the cheapest option.

Never enough resources?

I wonder if for a moment somethign is broken, it took Live for me to find that Sam had been complainaing about having too many computors I kind of know the feeling….

My Laptop is for checking lotus notes, and using Internet Explorer (i wouldnt if i didnt have to. but still…) and for viewing data on the company network. It is also the bridge for taking anything i need between company and project networks…

The other three PCs (2 on my desk, one on the nextdoor one, with its monitor turned to face me)) comprise a Human Machine interface, and two data servers. One of the data servers runs so the HMI can access it, and the other acts as developemnt. THe HMI flits between developemnt and testing….

The HMI is a 17″ touchscreen, and is one of 6 in the room. the other 5 are mounted on a wooden frame. Some are configured as HMI, and some are configured temporarilly to impersonate other items of kit in the eventual finished system for testing purposes.

Next door are two propper servers, happilly next door as they were making alot of noise in the corener of this room….

And in the absence of my collegues, all this is mine. Amazingly i am making quite a lot of useage of the different systems. Unamazingly i am beginning to go quite mad up here…..

Let there be light

I knew that I ought to shut down at least one of my PCs. I had just copied a file to USB key and shut the application when there was a bright flash

Kzzzt….

Silence

The room lights didnt come back on…. mobile phone light got a candle lit on my dining table, and then i had light to see by. I had only just boiled the kettle, so was going to chill out with a cup of tea and a book for a bit before bed. but i wanted a little more light. I have some candles in a cupboard for just this purpose afterall. What i had not thought about was what to put the candles on. In the end i settled for a glass that has been cracked, and was serving as a holder for some pens. Must get some candle sticks some time….

As I was speakign to vicki on the phone, the lights came back on. Which was nice. But this pleasure was very shortly lived, as the sound of many alarms started going off…. Including the sales office right outside my window. This meant I had to shut the windows to carry on my conversation. Happilly though they all seemed to give up after 20 minutes, it could have been worse…. some fire alarm, or something kept going all day once.

I can cope with utilities occasionally going on the blink. Candles and torches cover electricity failiures. And as long as it is only short, it is not goign to affect my fridge/freezer. I dont have a header tank for my cold water, so if the water went off then my taps (both hot and cold) would instantly not work. I do have some bottled water though that i have not seen need to drink yet. so I wouldnt go thirsty…. If i lost the gas, then i would have electricty. if i only lost electricity, i can still cook on gas (though ofcourse the heating will not run….)

This isnt really all planned. Its just simple steps to avoid life’s little inconveniences. In my cycle panniers, i now make sure i have puncture repair bits….