I invited a neighbor over to my house recently. We have had a fruitful discussion back and forth about all kinds of things in the decade Lali has lived here. We just click and it’s been a few days (while i was in Tbilisi), since we’ve slipped into conversation mode. He came in, I poured coffee, and then we started talking.
As usual, the topics covered were quite diverse. He is very educated and open. We discuss religion, morality and politics, as well as local affairs, family issues, and the environment.
I’ve been adamant that Upper Svaneti – which has had free power for longer than I’ve been in Georgia – would be a great place to mine bitcoins. I won’t go into the technical details of this esoteric, but very current process. You can Google it if you wish. It’s enough to say that, out of pure curiosity, a few years ago I began researching what kind of computer would be best for this type of number-crunching. The goal was to make money (called cryptocurrencies) electronically.
I realized very quickly that my laptop, or any other standard or even souped up home computer, would not be sufficient for bitcoin mining. The calculations are extremely intensive and require a lot of computing power and speed. Also, such machines generate a lot of heat and require a lot of electricity to keep them cool. I gave up before I even started: it was out of my budget. You need to be wealthy to get into bitcoin-processing.
Funny thing… the rumors were persistent that such things are being done here, where electricity was free and winters were long and cold. (This may help with cooling; perhaps generating USEFUL Heat in the process!) The law is slipping backwards to the chaos and corruption of the Aprasidzes’ Wild West that existed before President Saakashvili abruptly put an end to them.
I’ve lived in this house for a decade. Infrastructure should be improving. This is the worst winter I’ve ever experienced, and we’re not even halfway through it yet: we’re getting RAIN, not snow, as I type this. The worst thing is the amount electricity available at my house and reportedly to my neighbors. We all use electric heaters in some form, along with the ubiquitous and largest wood-burning Svans. The peripherals that should be able run with them are struggling, so there’s a noticeable change. We have to turn off the heaters to get our microwave, under-counter lighting strips, and other items to work as they did in other winters. More than ever before. My friend has had to turn off all electric heaters to run the washer!
I don’t write this to complain about my life of luxury, (ha ha, still not there), or that I have less access to the things I am used to. Poor me. The worse electricity right now is not only a sign of a system that has not been maintained, but also one that is being strained beyond its normal and intended limits.
Look at the new kindergarten that was built three years ago and has been hardly used until recently. All the new wiring, except for the one in the director’s office is burned out, making it useless, dangerous, and in need of replacement. As part of the construction project, a new transformer was installed nearby for the area of our village. It is nearly four times more powerful than the transformer that serves my house and a lot more houses. It too, had mysteriously burned out and needed to be replaced while our old one continues to work. This stinks. So far, there has been no public outcry; the only thing that is happening is a quiet slap on the wrist. This is a perfect environment for rumors, suspicions and crazy theories to grow. Bitcoin mining in Upper Svaneti is one example. It will fatten the fat cat even more while demoralizing the lives of everyone else. (That’s just a word I made up).
I asked my neighbors and other villagers how their electricity supply was this year compared to last. All agree: the power supply is much lower. One benchmark is the need to turn all heaters off to run a washer. Only a few households are connected to the powerful new transformer in the kindergarten. They have plenty of power!
What more can I say about this than what you’ve just read? The regional government is a rotten structure that is not known for its restraint. I am comforted by the belief that 1) God is neither stupid nor blind, but only patient and always just in the end. 2) One can only die one time.
Should I claim intimidation or should I just call it a coincidence? The former would require that my phone conversations in English and my typing on the laptop (ditto), be monitored. This is a level of paranoia I am loathe to suggest.
What do we want to achieve? What do we want? Thank you and good luck to all of us.
I hope my modified Bitcoin Logo doesn’t appear too comical. The effect is meant to be sinister.
#mishavs is a term that has been used in Georgian politics for years. It means “It’s important to me”.
BLOG by Tony Hanmer
Tony Hanmer is a writer and photographer who has been working for GT since 2011. He has lived in Georgia and Svaneti, respectively, since 1999. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with nearly 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
Read More @ georgiatoday.ge