October 25, 2005

• These (and to a lesser extent solar panels) are a great first step onto 'getting off the grid', at least to have a self-sufficient backup energy source when the pumps go dry and the meter stops. Of course, I can already see bureaucrats salivating at the thought of taxing those to death.
• which part is a good idea? The home wind turbines, yeah I could see that - but the other part? Not on my list.
• Agreed, it's a great idea, but I'll pass on fucking you, not least because it would involve a painfully expensive airline ticket. I spent a bit of time in the very remote Big Bend region of Texas (Google Terlingua, Texas) helping shoot a documentary a couple of years ago, and saw all kinds of cool off-the-grid tactics being used by folks down there -- building with adobe (to keep out the warm/cold), rooftop rain collection, etc. There are lots of ways we could be living smarter. What's also interesting to me is how these ways would have the side benefit of putting people more in touch with nature and natural forces, along the lines of how we homo sapiens lived in concert with nature until very very very recently.
• Wind power-energy def. needs to be brought into the mainstream. It works, and its clean and sustainable, unlike oil. Once people get by the "thats for hippies, it doesnt really work" mentality, the major obstacle has been visual concerns. People don't want them because they think they're ugly. A lot of people, like VT's governor, don't object to these little ones, but don't want the big commercial ones. The thing is, you'd need about 1,400 little ones to get the same output as a commercial one. If your town refuses to put a big one in though, the little ones are a good idea.
• What I would like is a method to capture the electricity that leaks from the 250kW power lines that run next to my house. The idea of harvesting Texas sunshine with solar cells or solar heaters is looking more attractive as the price of gas goes up.
• Sorry, Chy, but I will never fuck you.
• Monkeyfilter: fuck (Chyren), what a great idea!
• Hasn't there been evidence to suggest that wind turbines in sufficient numbers can change the climate? That may be right out of my ass (along with some wind), but I could have sworn I'd read that was one reason why many are hesitating to use them.
• Ah. But the study was only for big windfarms, nothing on smaller home models.
• Windmills are cool. I never understood why people would think they're ugly. Those huge metal blades, hundreds of feet long, spinning in the wind. Science!
• If I had a fucking windmill on my home over the past month or so I would still be looking for a nice place to land my house.
• Right, so is this the Big Dicksuckathon?
• *waggles eyebrows* You know, it's kitfisto's birthday...
• fuck me, what a great idea! ...posted by Chyren Mmkay, everybody line up behind me.
• Okay, how many of these do y'all want?
• They're exspensive like a mother beep. And whos Chyren, what's she look like and when do I get my turn?
• I'd prefer not too.
• Drol, very drol, you beeps. Remind me not toplay poker with any of you beeps
• Perhaps we can chip in and get one of these to fuck Chyren with. (NSFW)
• Wow.
• I'll fuck you, Chy, but only cos I'm in a good mood today...
• I use to have a link to a company that made small turbines for homes. It was based in Boulder Colorado, if I'm not mistaken. But these were small wire mesh enclosed, and the idea was, instead of having one large turbine generator, you would install a bank of about twenty of these on your roof. It was the best idea I've seen for home wind turbine system, but I can't find the link or the company that it was. And the cost was about the same as just having one large turbine.
• Wow indeed. I hate to think what archeologists of the future will conclude about us after finding that Tower of Pain.
• There's a fella living out in the desert between Mountain Home and Boise (ID)who has brought up three of old CA wind turbines, refurbished them, and got 'em up and running. Wind blows like a sunnabidge out there. He was doing quite well selling clean, sustainable electricity back to the power stations, when the asshats at Idaho Power decided that "small" producers and non-contract producers wouldn't be able to sell their power surplus. Bend over and take it from the Man.
• Wow that's professional grade evil, there.
• I'm trying to find out right now if it's possible to sell surplus power to the companies here. We've got a place on a hillside in the Marlborough Sounds and it has no power, despite lines running about 100 metres away. We could build a wind turbine, use the power from it while we're staying there and sell it back when we're not, giving us some money to pay the rates and maintenance costs on a place we visit maybe twice a year. It would be perfect. Power companies have, well, too much power. It sucks. I know of a lot of people around the Santa Cruz mountains that use a combo of solar and wind energy, selling it back to the grid. Goddamn hippies. :P
• It breaks down in seconds into three pieces for compact storage or transportation. Truck stops screeching at residence's driveway; claxon plays La Cucaracha, employee climbs down with electronic signature gizmo. Mr. Plow delivery! I've got an Extreme for Mr. Smith... *shudder* who actually uses those things..?
• Well it's better than, say, a horse!
• I take it the Plow comes with instructions on how to power it with your home wind turbine? For the environmentally-sensitive perv? Just curious. I don't really need to know myself. Seriously. And by 'curious', I don't suggest that I'd be curious enough to try. Stop looking at me like that! Quittit, allright?
• Monkeyfilter: Well it's better than, say, a horse!
• The plow uses 1/12 horsepower, apparently, which is a mere 62 watts. You could run five of these in tandem with a single wind turbine!
• Ooh, partaaay!