Traversing the Alps in support of BRACE

 

Watch the ride - D908 French Alps - Altitude 2247 m

 

BMW being the motorbike of choice in the Alps.

 

ONA specialists in #liquoricestrands, #structurecable in the Bristol, Exeter and South West region.

 

Rush hour in the ALPS in support of BRACE

 

Rush Hour

 

ONA specialists in #liquoricestrands, #structurecable in the Bristol, Exeter and South West region.

“Power is nothing without control!’’ - Pirelli

UPS - A specialism!

 

 

In this case we are talking a different type of power. Mains electrical power, that fickle natural phenomenon that we rely on so much for our I.T. systems. The same applies as the Pirelli slogan, ONA just do it with UPS systems and not tyres.

UPS stands for Uninterruptable Power Supply, in other words a big battery that keeps your power on for a period of time, which ultimately protects your system.

NO mains power means NO I.T.!

You use UPS to keep power on to critical I.T. equipment such as your server, broadband router, data switches and your telephone system. UPS conditions the power; keeping the supply voltage to your equipment constant by eliminating “Spikes” and “Dips” in the voltage supply and prevents surges getting through to your equipment. Sudden removal of power, even for a second, will crash a server or PC (unless it is a Laptop as this has a battery!), with the possibility of the loss and/or corruption of your or clients data.

A UPS can be smaller than a desktop PC or as big as a wardrobe, it all depends on how much equipment you need to keep going and for how long. We can calculate the size of UPS needed based on what your critical equipment is and the longevity of service (how long you need it running for?). We can advise on what equipment “really” needs protecting based on a review of your system and level of your equipment. Some systems have the ability to automatically shut a server down as soon as it senses the supply voltage has gone, this will allow an automatic shutdown procedure to be instigated, so protecting the server from a crash and therefore your or your clients data. Any other equipment will just loose power, but smoothly.

Yes, yes, yes, one of the most common things we hear, other than the irritating buzz or beep coming from the UPS,  is “the power went the other day and the UPS did not work”. Remember if it’s buzzing or beeping it has a problem! They do need annual inspections, but where required, the UPS batteries can be replaced easily without having to change the UPS itself. By doing this you will know if your UPS is in top condition and if it is not you can do something about it before you get a power cut!

 

ONA specialists in #liquoricestrands, #structurecable in the Bristol, Exeter and South West region.

 

Roy

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The sun partially sets on our Meeting of ‘MINDS’ charity tour

In September we set out on our charity tour in support of BRACE and for me …..

“…. we created a unique opportunity to raise awareness for BRACE by simply doing something I love, riding my motorbike!” 
 

It was a great experience. It opened our eyes to the issues of researching medical conditions and not just in this ‘cerebral’ scenario. Also we learnt there is a definite hierarchy of charities. In doing their ‘thing’; raising awareness, collecting funds and by generally doing good, they also compete for our fiscal attention. It is very competitive.   

The tour was very much a Meeting of ‘MINDS’, as it “was a journey to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s.”

We spent time with Mark Poarch (CEO of BRACE) and got to understand his concerns and aspirations in his continual quest to raise funds for Dementia research. We also spent time with those at the ‘rock face’ of research, those trying to make a difference, which was a great privilege.

Attached are a ‘cerebral’ selection of interviews we undertook.

• Mark Poarch and Roy interview - Part i
• Prof. Pat Kehoe and Roy interview - Part i
• Doctor Claudia Mezler-Baddeley and Roy interview - Part i

A lot of what was said had a ‘mutual’ resonance with each Professor or Doctor that we interviewed, although each had their own concerns and issues that they had to address daily.

We also got to see some beautiful scenery whilst we traversed the 2,500 miles over 11 days with 70 hours in the saddle from Bristol through to Cardiff, London, Dover, Dunkirk, Lille, Dijon, Briancon, over the Alps, Genoa, back over the Alps, Castellane, Montpellier, Limoges , Caen, Portsmouth and back again. 

Finally, a very big thank you to the following people who have helped us with our charity tour.

Mark Poarch for resisting the pressure to get into the saddle and tour with us.

His team of Tweeters and Retweeters.

Our research interviewees and associates:

· Professor Pat Kehoe – Head of Section for Metabolism & Clinical Neuroscience – Brain Bank Southmead Hospital Bristol

· Doctor Claudia Metzler-Baddeley – Neuroscientist at CUBRIC (Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre)

· Professor Clive Ballard – Professor of Age Related Diseases King’s College London

· Professeur Florence Pasquier – Professseur CHRU de Lille chez University Hospital of Lille – CHRU Centre Hospitalier Regional Universitaire de Lille

· Doctor Flavio Nobili - Clinica Neurologica con Centro Ictus

· Professeur Jacques Touchon - Chief of Neurology at the Montpellier University Research Hospital 

Whitehall Press for POS design and production.

For BMW, GoPro and Ride the World Magazine, family and friends for social media support.

So the fight goes on, and we have only just scratched the surface with what we set out to achieve. But do look out for A Meeting of ‘MINDS’ tour 2016, as you never know!

Roy