Saturday 29 October 2011

Peak oil!?

I've just finished listening to (as opposed to reading) Alex Scarrow's Last light and Afterlight, and I'm scared.
These books are fiction, but I started Last light when the English riots in August were happening (the looting, the arson, the loss of control by the police), were in fact paralleling the book, hence my apprehension & fascination with pilchards in tomato sauce.
The story was recommended to me as another in the post-apocalyptic theme. It takes a relatively common gist, our reliance on oil, but takes the premise up a notch.
I'm not that keen with how some of the deaths come to pass, or a generation-encompassing conspiracy, but the scenarios as the publicity states - is as real as tomorrow, and how long would you last.
Not wishing to ruin the story for others, but essentially it primarily follows the members of the Sutherland family after a massive oil crisis - what happens to them and to the rest of the world at large.
All I know is I'm stocking up the pantry with non-perishables!
Be prepared.

Thursday 13 October 2011

In the Shed

The interior of the Stick Shed
The Murtoa Stick Shed spans the length of five Olympic swimming pools. Built in 1941, it is the last remaining of the sheds constructed in Australia as a solution for grain storage during the World War II wheat glut. The Stick Shed demonstrates Australian ingenuity during a time of hardship, some of the purlins and rafters were connected with twitched wire - the farmers' answer for holding things together.
Unfortunately the Stick Shed was only open to the public on the Big Weekend, work is underway to enable more frequent Open Days, but nothing has been announced yet - watch this space.