2022-12-14
Someone in my tech network shared an ABC article saying "fears are growing about the health of [WA's] main power system and whether the lights will stay on over the
coming months" due to insufficient supply to the grid.
It's possible that this is a bit of scaremongering. The juxtaposition of supply issues and fossil fuel plants getting shut down makes me wonder if this is a cleverly positioned PR piece for a certain industry. But it does make me question our household habits around power usage and internet dependence.
If power goes out for an extended period, that means our all-you-can-eat broadband internet goes out too. And without the ability to plug our devices in, that means limited battery life for mobile internet and offline computer work.
Like a trusting fool, I got my clients into the habit of using Google Drive back in the late 2010s. Limited power and internet would make it difficult to work through this platform. Suddenly all the bells, whistles and 'little conveniences' start to seem superfluous and wasteful.
Is this where I should lean harder into plaintext, and figure out a decent pandoc workflow and asynchronous collaboration strategy? Should we prioritise getting solar panels and a household battery installed? Is low-power computing something I need to look at sooner rather than later?
NOT THAT I'M PANICKING BECAUSE OF MEDIA SCAREMONGERING!! I just wonder. How radical can a change be and still be practical? And is this actually driven from unfounded paranoia or a genuine concern that needs to be addressed?
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