We have 'gone metric' in terms of currency, temperature, linear measurement, weight and so on. But what about time? Our present system of measuring time is antiquated and illogical. Where's the sense in having two five o'clocks in every day? Why is the day divided into twenty four hours which are subdivided into sixty increments of one minute, then those minutes into sixty increments of one second? Strangely, to measure time smaller than one second we do adopt a metric system - milliseconds, microseconds, nanoseconds etc.
Suppose we adopted a full metric system with each day divided into one hundred 'units' of whatever name? Each unit would be 14.4 minutes long - quite a handy time interval near enough to a quarter of an hour. Dividing by ten, the next subdivision would give a unit equivalent to 1.44 minutes then 8.64 seconds and so on. Now that would create some employment!
Why do it? Well, for the same reason other units of measurement have been decimalised; it's a far simpler system once you get used to it. You and I probably never would get used to it, but following generations would. It's almost bound to come eventually - except in the U.S.A., of course, where they still use the old Imperial standards which, ironically, were legally established in Britain. (Quote from the Macquarie Dictionary.)
We rented a lovely little cottage - Murray Cottage - in the village of Pokolbin (pronounced Puh kol bin with the emphasis on the 'kol'). Using the cottage as a base we carried out raids on wineries over a wide area, carrying back the spoils to drink in the evening.
Do you remember how I finished Page 93? No, of course you don't. I boasted that I was not on the scrap heap yet in relation to finding employment. Well, I may have spoken too soon. As you'll be only too aware, the whole world is in recession and employment has become almost impossible to find as more and more workers are laid off. I found the following quotation, which came in by email, particularly poignant:
Notification:
Due to recent budget cuts, the rising cost
of electricity and natural gas, health care expenses, as well as current
market conditions, the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned
off. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Never mind, it was probably just a train
coming the other way.
I probably told you that I had applied to do voluntary driving for the
local Community Centre. First I had to get a doctor's certificate to say
I am fit to drive the public. Well, the doctor has decided I am not. Not
for six months, anyway. See what I mean? I can't even get an unpaid
job.
As an alternative I became a volunteer carer which involves assisting
elderly and disabled people to go into a town centre shopping mall once
a fortnight in a community bus. I was amazed at the memory of one blind
lady who directed me around Woolworths. My task was to steer her trolley
to ensure we didn't collide with anybody. She would regularly stop, point
to the shelves and ask for a specific product which I would find almost
where she pointed. As a reward she insisted on buying us both a coffee
and donuts. All the passengers on the bus were elderly, all ladies, all
very pleasant, friendly and grateful too. It was a pleasure to help them.
I am also a guide at Tamworth's Power Station Museum; I just hope I don't
get to show anybody knowledgeable around; not at first, anyway.
Not a lot was understood about the efficient use of 'elec-trickery'
in 1888 and the system used 240 volts D.C. (as opposed to A.C. which is
universally used today). As a result, when the cable feeding the electric
street lights was strung out along Peel Street they discovered that the
available voltage reduced as the distance from the power station increased.
Bulbs rated for 240 volts worked fine close to the generators but lower
voltage bulbs were required to obtain the same light output from those
further out.
Who invented the first incandescent electric light bulb? American Thomas
Edison was working on this project at the same time as Englishman Joseph
W. Swan. The two men worked independently and came up with very similar
light bulbs. Swan demonstrated his invention a few days ahead of Edison,
but Edison's design was more practical. Instead of wasting money on a
court case to decide which man was to take the honours, the two men combined
forces and manufactured bulbs under the brand name, "Ediswan".
Generally, outside Britain, Edison is given the credit for inventing the
bulb.
A working Belliss and Morcom compound high speed
steam engine (in black) driving an A.C. alternator (painted green). A
pair of engines similar to this were added in 1907 to supply the first
electricity to houses and shops in Tamworth though those engines drove
D.C. dynamos. The engines' rotational speed was so high that direct coupling
to the generators was possible. It was run at night to light homes and
also charged a bank of batteries which supplied current to the town during
daylight. Remember, electricity was only used to power lights at that
time - no other electric domestic appliance existed.
When
electricity was first made available to houses and shops it was for lighting
only. In 1907 there was no other use for it! Radios, televisions, air
conditioning, electric irons, fridges, electric stoves, water heaters,
washing machines, clothes driers, fans, pumps, microwaves, computers and
so on, didn't exist.
Allow me to use my father's life to put electrical progress into perspective.
He was born five years after Tamworth made electricity available for lighting
to houses and shops. When he died in 2004, all the items on the list above
- and many more - were commonplace. In his lifetime he had seen them all
invented, marvelled at them, and in due course seen them all accepted
and taken for granted.
Right:
In 1882, D.C. current was fed beneath the streets of New York
through Edison copper conductors. The three conductors were kept
apart by jute rope twisted between them. A thinner rope was wound
around the whole bunch to prevent it touching the steel pipe.
Pitch was then injected to lock everything in place and
prevent the ingress of moisture.
In 1907 the dynamos were run at night to supply lighting current. During the day, when the demand for power was low, Tamworth was supplied from a bank of batteries situated near the dynamos. The batteries were recharged by the generators each night.
Did you listen to the Federal Treasurer handing down the
2009 budget? Did you notice how the words 'million' and 'billion' were
bandied around with abandon? Do you really appreciate the immense
difference between a million and a billion? Listening to the radio a day
after the budget, I heard this difference beautifully emphasised:
One million seconds is equal to 12 days.
One billion seconds is equal to 32 years.
It's true, check it for yourself. It gives a whole new meaning to the
size of the budget deficit, doesn't it?
(The above uses the broadly accepted definition of a billion as one thousand
million.)
Also at the lookout there was a pedestal declaring that
the lookout had been officially opened on 31st May 1963 by His
Excellency, the Governor of New South Wales, Lieutenant-General Sir Eric
Woodward, K.C.M.G, K.C.V.O., C.B., C.B.E., D.S.O., K.St.J.
Sir Eric's title and decorations took up three full-width lines on the
plaque.
The lookout was just the first stop on the Tour Director's list. Next
was the Quirindi Heritage Museum and what a fabulous place that was. Just
out of town, at the side of the road, we came across a miniature railway
(not operating) and several large sheds. An elderly couple, Eric and Marjorie,
seem to have inspired the museum and are still the driving force behind
it. They proudly told us that the site was just grass ten years ago. Two
years ago the size was doubled.
I've already shown you enough museum photos on this page so I will just
show you one here. Well, two, but in the form of a roll-over image. You
know the sort of thing, one image with the mouse cursor over the picture,
another when you move it off. Hint: Don't click the mouse, it takes you
to the top of the page.
Pointer off the picture:
A Kenworth prime mover semi with a flatbed trailer.
Pointer on the picture: It's
really a 7/16 full size model with a 2 litre diesel engine.
Now isn't that something? The man who built it borrowed
the real thing for two days and measured everything. The scale was set
by the size of the wheels he was able to obtain. The driver, of course,
has his head and shoulders protruding through a hatch in the top of the
cab. The story is that the truck used to be registered, making it legal
to drive on the road. The man standing at the side of the truck is Eric.
The exhaust stacks were the same height as I am (5' 8" in the old
money.)
On leaving Quirindi we took a different route home along a minor road
to Wallabadah where we visited the First Fleet Memorial which was a garden
containing 'headstones' for every member of the first fleet and a wall
which listed every name. There was a picnic area with shade sails over
it which had been cleverly designed. The next page starts with a picture
of it. From Wallabadah we took the New England Highway back home.
