Real Time View

If you have followed Margo and myself on LinkedIn or even on Facebook you would know all about our recent travels. And yes, also of travels yet to take place. The NonStop community is keeping us busy of late and it’s proving to be a welcome distraction to what we are in the middle of, as you might say. Moving; none of the glamor and all about the pain. It is not a unique situation we face, but one that many others have apparently succumbed to; a lingering COVID ailment that we are managing, but with consequences. Living in mountainous Colorado for all of its beauty is no longer part of any long-term plans. Indeed, our vision for the future is to live somewhere closer to sea level where increased atmospheric pressure will work its magic. With this in mind, what has been the center of our frequent travels between our former home in Windsor and a newly acquired condo accommodation is that it’s not just about the pain of boxing and unboxing your possessions – it is that while we have a vis...

Car racing was in its infancy in Australia back in the 1950s and for the majority of readers of this blog, the name Jack Murray likely means very little. What captured the minds of many Australians was the idea of a round-Australia car rally when few roads were to be found in the harsh interior of this oldest of all continents. And yet, “the thought of driving around Australia was unheard of, and they were concerned that there would be blockages on narrow roads of trees and so forth," (Jack’s son), Phil Murray said. A solution came from an unlikely source. “Jack's navigator, a construction expert, suggested they take along some gelignite for quick removal. This never occurred, but after all who's going to cart three boxes of gelignite around the country without letting off a stick or two?" Mr. Murray said. But then again, it was reported in the July 1954 issue of the Canberra Times “that police questioned Mr. Murray and his co-driver Bill Murray ‘concerning a myster...

In times when it seems defining what’s coming next has become a sport, it’s even more important to stress what NonStop means for uptime whether total outages or simply brownouts! Stepping into the garage and checking on our hybrid powered vehicle, it’s always good to see that it is fully charged and ready to go. Margo and I are now onto our second plug-in hybrid vehicle and it’s encouraging to see the range of our second generation extended beyond the original 12 to 15 miles to where it’s now more than 35 miles. Doesn’t sound like a lot but in the world of plug in hybrids, relying solely on electric power isn’t what it’s all about – electric power augments a traditional combustion engine thereby considerably increasing the savings in fuel costs. We have enjoyed fuel consumption dropping to where on one occasion we eked out almost 80 mpg on a trip from Windsor, CO, to Dallas, TX. Seeing the vehicle fully charged is a not too subtle reminder that I too am fully charged. I’v...

Call it the new normal, the not normal or even the new abnormal, our world as we knew it when we celebrated the new year is long gone; on the other hand, for IT and NonStop things are becoming clearer, with a meaning … One of the more enjoyable aspects of spending my days writing is that it is a legitimate excuse to leave the family and go hole up in my office. In so doing, I can switch off and put the rigors of daily life behind me. I can escape into a world of my own making, right? Well, not exactly! More like only after I have helped clean up after breakfast, assisted in making our bed and even taking out the trash. Yet, it goes without saying, the escape is real even as the opportunity to lose myself in my work overrides all else. For the record – my wife’s view on all this is totally different to mine – Margo claims I use my writing as an excuse to retreat to my office leaving the breakfast mess for her to clean up. Statistically she is probably right, but t...