This subject matter (er, title) could make good sermon material for Chris some day.

Consistency - not as the term is used for measuring texture, but as the term is used for describing "the absence of changes".

Balance - not as the term is used to describe a piece of equipment, but as the term is used for describing "not too much" and "not too little".

About consistency - you may recall that on occassion I have opined regarding the lack of hot water in our house.  Well, that was finally resolved - not sure how, but it was.  I can only presume that the hot water heater inlet or outlet was closed or plugged, the pump wasn't working, or the thermostat was turned WAY DOWN.  No matter the reason, we now have abundant hot water.  But ... there is catch ... consistency (or the lack thereof).

First, you have to understand that water systems here are not like the US ... we have city water (with little to no water pressure) ...and we have well water (which requires a pump).  These water streams are mixed together (somehow), run through a water purification system, stored on the roof, then brought into the house as needed.  There are booster pumps in/around the house that provide us with the water pressure for water usage - sometimes the pumps work .. sometimes they do not, and when they do work, they may be intermittant pumps vs constant pressure pumps - I do not know.

Now comes the challenge ... there are so many pieces to water system that it is impossible to maintain consistency of pressure of the cold water line and the hot water line .... imagine you are in the shower ... get the water balance just right .... jump into the water stream and start washing your hair (be imaginative if you are thinking about my hair) ... suddenly hot water pressure drops ... water turns colds ... so you jump out of the water stream ... finish washing your hair ... and wait for the pressure to rebuild ... ahhhh ... perfect ... so you jump back in ... rinse your hair ... but before you finish rinsing the hot water pressure is full bore again ... so now the water is scalding .... so you jump back out of the water stream ... lather up ... wait for the temperature to drop ... ahhh ... perfect ... jump back into the water stream to rinse off ... but then the hot water pressure drops again ... and you are getting iced !!!

A key challenge is setting the faucets so at least "on average" the temperature is reasonable ... and the extremes are manageable ... quite a challenge at 330am ... especially given that the temperature swing is probably 40-50 degrees.  Another key challenge is maintaining the self-discipline to NOT continually reset the hot water / cold water mix .... it is better to set it and leave it.

Now - about balance.  As we all know, an automobile has two primary controls for it heating and air conditioning system.  One control is the temperature control - on some cars this is an actual thermostat (such as is on our Fortuner) - on other cars it is a hot/cold slide bar or spin dial (such as on our CrV).  Now recognize, in Indonesia you do not need a heater (unless you are at 6,000 ft or higher elevation) - so most folks in Jakarta (sea level and below) don't ever use a heater.

Adjusting the A/C on our Fortuner isn't too bad, because you can set the temp you like and just raise and lower the fan speed as appropriate.  On the CrV, however, this is bit of a challenge sometimes ...

During the non-rainy season it is consistently hot here ... say 85-90 degrees.  During the rainy season (and especially after a hard rain) temperatures can drop to 75-80 degrees. This is where the challenge comes .... at the borderline between needing A/C and not needing it.

Yesterday, is a good example, it had rained all day .. it was borderline between needing A/C and not, and I was in the CrV .... our driver Yono had the A/C temp slide bar on the coldest position (where both drivers always keep it) ... as it kept getting colder and colder in the car ... I requested that the A/C be adjusted downward .... so, the fan speed was lowered.  Still being too cold, I asked for another adjustment ... however, Yono (and Mustafa is the same) doesn't realize that to do that requires RAISING the temperature, not just LOWERING the fan speed.  Unfortunately, the "next lower" fan position was "off" ... so that is what was done ... it was turned off.  Within 10 minutes, Yono was sweating to death because of the heat coming off the engine ... so we turned the A/C back on .... and we promptly swung to freezing again.

The above has happened several times.  There is no way I can explain the "proper use of the A/C" in bahasa and the drivers can't understand English.  Hopefully, Decy will be able to explain to both of them how the two functions work together .... of course, once on the rainy season ends ... the borderline situation will go away .... until next rainy season.

 ciao ciao ...