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Author Topic: Too Tied to Technology??  (Read 2245 times)

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Offline Thor

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Too Tied to Technology??
« on: July 28, 2009, 01:08:12 PM »
While I'm sitting here at my computer, I am reflecting on an experience I had last Sunday. I went up to the nearby reservation on Sunday. I drove up to the store to buy some things and discovered that it was closed. I went across the highway to another store and it was closed. People seemed to be frenetic, driving around confused and dazed. I finally found a store employee to ask what had happened? She said that the electricity was out. She said that some squirrel chewed the electric line to the entire complex, which included a major Casino. I was thinking, "what the Hell??" A squirrel can do damage, but to take out an entire 200+ acre complex?? No way. On my way back home, I observed that this wasn't exactly a local problem. All the way from 2 miles south of Durant, OK to the Texas border was dark. NOBODY was able to do ANY business.This appeared to be some 200 sq mile area affected by the power outage, maybe even more. Places that relied on sales were dark and desolate. It was almost as if I had entered the Twilight Zone. It occurred to me that in the past, as recently as the early 80s, most places would still be able to conduct some semblance of retail sales, without electrical power. No longer, it seems.Today, we rely on a constant current of electricity to keep our lives going. Pen and paper no longer seem to be adequate. Old fashioned cash registers seem to have faded into a dark, distant memory in lieu of the fully accountable electronic registers. I also wondered why such a huge complex and the various other highway retailers that were of any substance didn't have any back up generators. My conclusions came to be that we can no longer operate without some sort of technology. It seems to me that IF our country ever had an EMP bomb,or just lost part of or the entire power grid that we would be crippled because technology wouldn't work. How would the people of this nation act if electrical power were out in large areas and nothing would work? It seems to me that people have forgotten (or are just too lazy) how to use a pen and paper to account for their transactions. Fuel pumps don't seem to have some sort of alternate method of dispensing their goods. So, in my mind, what will Americans do when the power goes off for any length of time? Will we starve, loot, ransack, and raid places? Just what IS in store for us when the technology doesn't work??
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Offline djones520

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2009, 01:52:28 PM »
A few years ago the AF did a huge drive to go as paperless as possible.  We where actually penalized in an inspection for maintaining paper copies of our SOP's.  It's getting kinda ridiculous IMO.  A strong power outage, well placed EMP, any of those situations could just seriously cripple us like you wouldn't believe.
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Offline NHSparky

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2009, 02:15:34 PM »
Try doing it for a few WEEKS, Thor.  Thankfully, my power was only out for about six days during last December's ice storm.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2009, 02:40:42 PM »
It's been something that has concerned me as well.  Back in April, when I wasn't sure where we'd be living, we got rid of TVs, stereos, extra computers and the like, and invested in deep cell batteries, solar cells and a wood stove for our tent.  Now, we have this laptop as our primary communications system (streaming audio, Hulu, e-mail, Skype and Facebook), and the only other electricity-dependent devices we maintain now are the wheat grinder and the bread maker, all of which can be powered from the battery bank through the same inverter, no matter where we are.  There were withdrawals when we first did this (my wife is an admitted NCIS junkie, and my son kept asking for us to let him watch Playhouse Disney), but the family communication and harmony we have fosteres in the few months since have more than made up for "missing" our favorite shows.  (Besides ribbing y'all when ya get to whining over something you saw (or missed) on TV never getes old, in my perspective.)  :cheersmate:
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Offline Thor

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2009, 03:19:27 PM »
An additional thought that came to me was what if the sunspot cycles got really active and massive. Satellite communications, to include Cable TV (they use satellite receivers at their head end) would get interrupted. Cellphone usage, to include Crackberries, etc would become sporadic, if not completely unusable, GPS wouldn't work, etc.

Jonesy, I'm surprised that the AF wouldn't want some sort of paper back up. NO computer system is infallible or unable to be compromised. This would especially matter when it comes to their aircraft. I don't think that electronic aircraft logbooks have become acceptable, yet. I could be wrong.
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"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

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Offline Ralph Wiggum

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2009, 03:29:34 PM »
Quote from: djones520 on July 28, 2009, 01:52:28 PM
A few years ago the AF did a huge drive to go as paperless as possible.  We where actually penalized in an inspection for maintaining paper copies of our SOP's.  It's getting kinda ridiculous IMO.  A strong power outage, well placed EMP, any of those situations could just seriously cripple us like you wouldn't believe.

I've been hearing for nearly 20 years that the accounting and finance worlds would become virtually paperless eventually.  In actual real world practice, nothing could be further from the truth.  Work cannot be done without consuming lots of trees on a daily basis.  I'm so proud of myself when I go through two reams of paper in a day that I often stop off and club a baby seal on the way home just to celebrate. :-)
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Offline NHSparky

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2009, 08:23:14 AM »
Quote from: Thor on July 28, 2009, 03:19:27 PM
An additional thought that came to me was what if the sunspot cycles got really active and massive. Satellite communications, to include Cable TV (they use satellite receivers at their head end) would get interrupted. Cellphone usage, to include Crackberries, etc would become sporadic, if not completely unusable, GPS wouldn't work, etc.

Jonesy, I'm surprised that the AF wouldn't want some sort of paper back up. NO computer system is infallible or unable to be compromised. This would especially matter when it comes to their aircraft. I don't think that electronic aircraft logbooks have become acceptable, yet. I could be wrong.

There are warning systems for that.  It would also affect the grid.
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Offline Celtic Rose

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2009, 08:34:38 AM »
Our network was down for a good half hour once at work and we couldn't get our computers to even turn on all the way.  We all just stood around chatting because our work is so dependent on computers that we couldn't do anything but file stuff away. 

The longest power outage I've ever had to deal with personally was less than 24 hours, and I did fine for that little period, but I imagine that life would start getting tough around here not too long after that.  All of our cooking methods seems to rely on electricity.  I have a cell phone, but that would only work as long as the battery is charged.  I suspect that there would be massive rioting if we had wide spread, extended power outages. 
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Offline LC EFA

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2009, 08:50:10 AM »
It has been said that humanity is only 3 meals from anarchy.

While this is an exaggeration - it isn't exaggerated by very much.

I say 3 days. 9 meals before there was complete anarchy in the streets of most cities and towns.


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Offline thundley4

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2009, 09:01:40 AM »
Quote from: LC EFA on July 29, 2009, 08:50:10 AM
It has been said that humanity is only 3 meals from anarchy.

While this is an exaggeration - it isn't exaggerated by very much.

I say 3 days. 9 meals before there was complete anarchy in the streets of most cities and towns.




Don't most people have more than 3 days worth of food in their house?
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Offline Chump

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #10 on: July 29, 2009, 09:09:11 AM »
Quote from: LC EFA on July 29, 2009, 08:50:10 AM
It has been said that humanity is only 3 meals from anarchy.

While this is an exaggeration - it isn't exaggerated by very much.

I say 3 days. 9 meals before there was complete anarchy in the streets of most cities and towns.




I completely agree, but I don't put a time limit on it like that.

I would say as soon as someone goes to the store and sees no bread, milk, or eggs on the shelves, and no one knows when or if another shipment is coming, all bets are off.  The city streets will run with blood, literally.

Out here in the country?  Eh, we'll get by I imagine.
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Offline Flame

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #11 on: July 29, 2009, 09:10:07 AM »
Quote from: thundley4 on July 29, 2009, 09:01:40 AM
Don't most people have more than 3 days worth of food in their house?

Yeah, in cans or boxes that require the stove to turn on to fix...most people, especially in cities, would have no clue how to function if powere were out for an extended period of time.
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Offline LC EFA

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Re: Too Tied to Technology??
« Reply #12 on: July 29, 2009, 09:45:38 AM »
Quote from: thundley4 on July 29, 2009, 09:01:40 AM
Don't most people have more than 3 days worth of food in their house?

No they don't. Even if they did, many have no mechanism to prepare it or maintain storage of frozen products without technology like a microwave and freezer.

I live in a town that is in a Cyclone prone area - The southern hemisphere's version of a hurricane.

Come the 12 hours before the storm and the shops are complete chaos as people rush to stock up on LPG, canned food , batteries etc.

This doesn't effect me - except the lines at the bottle shop to stock up on booze , as I have about 3 months of food, gas and other non booze essentials on hand at any given time.
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