These electricity pylons reminded me of how dependent we are on those billions of electrons that flow across wires to our homes. We had a short power failure at work earlier in the week - and though I was lucky (I was working on a laptop and had UPS power for my other monitors) several others in our office building could simply not continue with their work. Now, while that may sound appealing, it's not ideal when you really have work that you have to get finished.

About two or three weeks ago I bought 18 kilograms of LPG (liquid petroleum gas), and a two-plate portable gas hob - in case we have unforeseen power shortages this winter. There's no way I'm risking having to wake up without a cup of hot coffee!