....Great....and Small!!!

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I came across a wonderful piece written by a senior brother of mine, Kunle Durojaiye. I thought I'd reproduce the post here in it's entirety.

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....Great....and Small!!!

By Kunle Durojaiye


It’s such a wonder to realize how we forget so easily that we weren’t born as 5 or 6 footers. Some would even as much as remember their infant days, back in kindergarten or primary school, secondary or high school (depending on your background, “butters’ went to high school’ or “paki’s’ did the secondary/grammar school”); but not many have actually embraced the fact that as grown as we may be currently, we evolved from a very minute embryonic form in a woman’s womb.

No man was born full grown (apart from the likes of Sat Guru, who claim to have just appeared on the scene). Nobody just appeared! Every big thing started from an inconsequential, seemingly insignificant beginning.

• Forests grew from a small seed sown in the ground. Seed gave birth to a tree, to produce fruits with more seeds, to eventually grow a forest or plantation.

• The sayings still holds that oceans are formed from a gathering of little water droplets.

• The journey of a thousand miles begins with the very first step.

• Every business venture started with the initial paltry investment.

• Large families originated from one small phrase that passed from a man to a woman “Will you marry me”. Generations have been created from a single phrase of ultimate intention.

• Great networks and years of devoted friendship have been kindled by one of the shortest words in the English dictionary – Hi!

• Large edifices and infrastructural installations have been consumed by huge conflagrations just by a single small spark.

• The four stroke engine is ignited to produce power for motion also by a spark.

• The information age was birthed by the discovery of an infinitesimally small piece, the chip.

Apparently, every great achievement in life is simply the full grown version of an initial small embryonic idea, thought, or chip. Everything great started small. This is essentially the paradox of life. One of the greatest discoveries still reshaping the way we live and work in the 21st century, is the chip (microchip).

Literally speaking, a chip is defined as a small piece of wood/stone, or a small piece of food e.g. potato chip. To a wood worker, the chips are the tiny pieces that are seen to fly off the main wood, while the saw-man slices the log. To an electrician, a chip is a miniaturized electronic circuit that has been manufactured in the surface of a thin material. Chips, by physical appearance and size tend not to be reckoned with as major contributors and the tendency to dispose of them is pretty high. After all, they’re just chips.

And basically, that’s what we tend to do with our personal chips. They become just passing thoughts, unrealistic ideas, far-fetched imaginations, and the likes.

However, it is obvious that our world today is changing and modifying continuously premised on one factor - the emergence of small pieces, not just of electronic circuits, but small ideas, small thoughts, small phrases, small concepts, small opinions, small imaginations, small muses - The very small things!

Rather than sweep them off and dispose of them as superfluous, or over bloated, you and I need to begin to gather our chips, thoughts, concepts, and ideas together, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

Your little idea, almost swept away and discarded, when fully developed, may be the ground breaking strategy to address the complexity of traffic in Lagos.

Your infinitesimal thought, so reticent, yet so latent, may be the final piece to fit in the Nigerian democratic puzzle.

Your microscopic opinion, though never heard, could be a solution to the syndrome of bad roads in our country.

Your miniaturized chip could be all you need to change your world.

Your minute concept could modify societal and cultural styles and create a better world for us all to live in.

Your chips, when fully grown, will announce you, advertise and publish you, and take you to places. You see, it’s all about those little things deep rooted in each of us.

Pen down your thoughts, gather your chips, document your ideas…..everything great starts small.
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Inverters - a solution to Nigeria's power problem?

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The last few months have been really dreadful with the near closure of PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) in my estate. It has gotten so bad that we barely have two hours of light everyday. My small Elemax generator was so overworked that is finally gave up in April. We used to switch it on at 7pm and switch it off at 12 midnight. At a time the heat at night was so terrible, my kids would wake up crying and itching from the heat rash. Sometimes I would wake up at 2am and wouldn't be able to sleep. Some of my estate people alleged that PHCN was diverting power to other neighbourhoods that were paying bribes. We hoped the situation would improve but alas it only got worse. So what did I do? I got an inverter.

"An inverter is a power conversion and conservation device. It converts electricity, which essentially comes in form of alternating current (A/Current) into a stable form of current known as direct current (D/Current) so that the D/Current can be stored in batteries for use during power outages. The system works by converting the A/Current which is the normal current supplied by PHCN (or a secondary source i.e. generating sets) into direct current which is a more stable form of electricity that can be preserved in batteries. During outages, the inverter converts the stored current back into A/Current for use in the home, office or business place. " (Culled from Top-M Nigeria)

I had planned to buy one for a while so I called a couple of companies to find out about the cost of their inverters.

Su-Kam inverters are made in India while Xantrex and Outback are American. I decided on the Budtron inverter which is made in Nigeria because of the low cost and also the ability of the manufacturers to provide after-sales service. I wasn't convinced that the other vendors had the technical know how to provide the required support. Installation took about 2 hours while the initial charging took about 8 hours.

Xantrex Inverter/Charger and Auto-Switch

SuKam Inverter

So basically what I do is to run my generator for 3-4 hours between 7pm and 11pm at night if there is no power from PHCN. At 11pm we shut down the generator and the inverter automatically takes over. If at any point in time PHCN restores light, the inverter's in built change over switch changes back to PHCN. So we use two or three fans throughout the night and pretty much swithc eveything else off. During the day it powers the TV, decoder, home theatre and s few low power electronics. The wiring is done such that the inverter does not power the ACs and iron. On a full charge and depending on what is switched on, we have power for the next 20-22 hours. However, if the fridge and/or all the lights are switched on, it lasts only 8 hours. An alternative setup can be to add solar panels to the installation. This means that during the day, if there is no power supply from PHCN, you can still charge the inverter.

With the cost of diesel at N135/litre it it certainly has its advantages. If I were to run my generator without shutting it down and assuming PHCN stopped working altogether it would cost an additional N270,000 to enjoy constant power supply. It is also noiseless and doesn't require starting up, oil, water or plugs. It is almost zero maintenance. The disadvantage is that if you use wet cell batteries, you have to top up the distilled water every 6 months. Even with dry cell batteries, you have to replace the batteries every 3-5 years depending on the level of usage. I suspect mine will need replacement in 3 years because of the poor power supply from PHCN. The initial cost is also quite high when compared with a generator of comparable power rating.

Overall I have enjoyed using it for the last three months and highly recommend getting one. Now my kids don't wake up crying in the middle of the night and my wife is cheerier!