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Pat

Retro SciFi Movie of the Week...

War of the Satellites (1958)

This film was made to exploit the news frenzy surrounding the launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957. Filming began while the satellite was still orbiting the Earth.

It was a low budget film, but they used real actors so the film is watchable and even entertaining at points.

It was released as a double feature by Allied Artists, along side “Attack of the 50-foot Woman”.

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Pat



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Energy saving tip number 7
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Install solar panels…

If you live somewhere that isn’t cloudy all the time and you get direct sunlight, it makes sense to install solar panels. The prices have dropped considerably compared to a decade or so ago, so they can pay for themselves quickly.

A grid-tied system hooks up to the utility company’s system through a special inverter and can send excess electricity back to the utility grid when you aren’t using all of the energy that the panels generate. Think of the grid as being a giant battery that can store all of your extra electricity. Some companies will help finance the purchase or installation of a solar system. Others will act as a utility company themselves and charge you a monthly fee. Sometime the utility company will pay you for the extra electricity that your panels generate for the grid.

You could also have an off-grid system that uses batteries to store extra electricity when the sun shines and then provide power when it doesn’t. Or you can have a combination system that is grid-tied with local battery backup. A system with battery backup is nice if your electricity supply is unreliable.

If solar is not practical for your location, consider helping to finance a system for someone else who is in a sunny location.

If you can’t afford a complete system for all of your energy needs, you can install just a few panels to help offset your energy usage. Every little bit helps.

(Image: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, CC-BY-SA-4.0)

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Pat

Largest blue diamond to go under the hammer in Hong Kong...

hurriyetdailynews.com/sothebys

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Pat



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Energy saving tip number 5
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Insulate...

Make sure the exterior walls of your home and business are well insulated. A well-insulated home can stay at a comfortable temperature without using a furnace or heater even when it gets down to 0C-5C or lower outside. Just your body heat and the waste heat from appliances is enough to keep it cozy inside. If your home can’t do this, here’s what to do…

Use a hand-held infrared thermometer to check the temperature of all of areas on the exterior walls of your home, looking for excess heat. (It’s best to do this in the early morning, before the sun heats up the exterior.) Usually, upstairs and the attic/roof are where heat leaks most because those are the warmest parts inside the home. If you use a warm room, that will naturally show more heat, also. Once you find out where the trouble spots are, you can address those by adding insulation to those areas. If all of the walls are even and you still lose too much heat, then your home may not be properly insulated at all and you’ll need to add insulation throughout all of the walls and attic/roof.

Insulation is rated with an R-value, the higher the number the better the insulation is per cm thickness. It’s usually better to use better or more insulation in the attic and roof, because that’s usually where it is warmest.

You can get creative with insulation – it doesn’t have to be regular building material. You can use bails of straw stacked against the outside walls, or you can shovel or gently plow fluffy snow against the exterior in the winter. Here’s link to a list of various insulation material. Remember it’s not just the R-value, it’s the thickness, too. So it may make sense to use a lower R-value material if it is cheaper and you are able to use a lot of it.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-value_

(Image commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, CC-BY-SA-3.0)

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Pat



In a gesture of good faith to facilitate negotiations, the US Congress is poised to begin using the Russian language in place of English on all future federal legislation. The exact vehicle they will use to implement the change has not yet been decided, but they will likely just replace English with Russian in pending bills.

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= A statement that is logically or literally true (or partly true), but seems to imply something that isn’t true or is just plain weird. (for rhetoric, logic or propaganda studies… or just for fun)
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(Video courtesy C-SPAN, fair use, from:
c-span.org/video/?518629-3/was timecode: 2:52)

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Pat



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Energy saving tip number 11
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Save on hot water heating…

- Use cold water for all clothes washing. It works just as well with modern laundry detergent.
- Wash your hands using cold water and soap instead of hot water.
- Use an electric shower head. It’s much more efficient than using a central water heating system that loses heat in the pipes.
- Replace a storage tank system with an instantaneous (on-demand) water heater.
- Set the water heater to the lowest temperature that you can tolerate for your applications. If you find yourself adding cold water at the tap to get the right temperature, then it’s set too high. You can usually set the temperature lower in the warmer months.
- Insulate the hot water pipes that run from the water heater. (This is often very inexpensive and easy to do.)

If you must use a storage tank water heater:
- Cover your hot water tank with an insulating blanket and mylar over the blanket to prevent heat loss. Make sure the blankets don’t get near any heat source, though, like the burners or the exhaust flue.
- Shut off the water heater when you are not going to use hot water for more than a day. This prevents it from wasting energy as it constantly tries to heat the tank. Most systems can get the water up to temperature in about 15-30 minutes when you are ready to use hot water again. (Note: The water will stay “warm” in the tank for a few days, so if you don’t need “hot” water, you can wait and just use “warm” water until you are ready to turn it back on again.)

(Image: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, CC-BY-SA-4.0)

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Pat


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Energy saving tip number 2
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Replace your oil or gas-powered furnace with a heat pump…

A heat pump runs on electricity and works like an air-conditioner, but in reverse. An air-conditioner takes heat from inside and moves it outside so that it is cooler inside. A heat pump does the reverse, it takes heat from outside and moves it inside to make it warmer inside.

Even if it is below freezing outside, a heat pump can take energy from the outside air and move it inside to make it warmer. This is much more efficient than burning fuel to make heat and it doesn’t burn any oil or gas. It only uses electricity, which can be generated from just about any source.

A heat pump is relatively inexpensive, easy to install and usually pays for itself in about a year or two.

(image: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, CC-BY-SA-4.0)

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Pat



The truth is...

"Youtube" is derived from CRT.

= A statement that is logically or literally true (or partly true), but seems to imply something that isn’t true or is just plain weird. (for rhetoric, logic or propaganda studies… or just for fun)

(image: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, CC-BY-2.0)

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Pat

Retro SciFi Movie of the Week...

The Bicentennial Man (1999)

Starring Robin Williams, this is a great science fiction film that nobody under 30 has ever heard of.

tubitv.com/movies/650102/bicen

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Pat


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Energy saving tip number 6
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Use a clothesline...

Clothes dryers that run on gas or electricity waste a lot of energy, especially in the summer when the waste heat that they generate needs to be removed in order to cool the living space.

Clotheslines can be used year-round. When the weather is nice, clothes can dry outdoors faster than they do in a mechanical clothes dryer. When drying outdoors is not possible, a clothesline still works fine indoors, it just takes a little longer, but it saves a ton of energy.

(image commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, CC-BY-SA-3.0)

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Pat


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Energy saving tip number 4
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Avoid driving...

During the Syrian war, I dreaded having to drive my gas-guzzler. I knew that ever time I got into that old putt-putt car and turned that key, I was partially responsible for the deaths of all those Syrian babies who were poisoned during that oil war.

Every chance you get to avoid driving, you help save the life of someone who lives in the war zone of one these oil wars.

Instead of grocery shopping every week, go every two weeks or once a month and stock up. Car pool if you can do so safely during the pandemic. Work remotely. If your boss won't let you work remotely, find a new boss.

Hitchhike, ride a bike, walk... do whatever you can to avoid burning more fuel and contributing to all those deaths.

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, CC-BY-3.0

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Pat

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Pat

When I die, I want a natural funeral. Take my body deep into the forest and lie me down in the cool grass surrounded by the majestic pines. The next day, as the night mist gives way to the morning sun, birds will flutter down to my side. Then they'll peck at my eyeballs as a raccoon continues to gnaw on my intestines.

image: (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil), „Dülmen, Rorup, NSG Roruper Holz -- 2021 -- 8187-91“, creativecommons.org/licenses/b

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Pat


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Energy-saving tip number 3
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Fill containers with water and keep them inside the living space for thermal mass. This will dampen the temperature swings so your heating/cooling system will use less energy.

You can use water bottles or a plant aquarium... anything with water. You can even store it inside a buffet or dresser.

It's best to have it near the center of the living space away from exterior walls, but somewhere where it can absorb the heat of the day. The amount varies, but a good estimate is about 3-6 liters per square meter of living space.
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pics mediawiki commons; File:Buffet d'angle polychrome-Musée alsacien de Strasbourg (1).jpg, File:Water bottles - Su şiseleri.jpg, File:Waterfall (2914716743).jpg (CC-BY-SA-4.0 and CC-BY-2.0)

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Pat



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Should Putin be given an "off-ramp"?
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Pat


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Energy saving tip number 9
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Slow down...

Drag increases as the square of speed increase, so when you drive faster, you use much more fuel than you may realize.

Driving slower can save up to 40% or more in fuel.

So...

Slow down and enjoy the scenery.
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video edited from:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil, creativecommons.org/licenses/b

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Pat

Marathon Man (1976)

A marathon runner, Babe (Dustin Hoffman) becomes unwittingly involved with Nazi war criminals.

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Pat

Reseachers document the first deer-to-human transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

arstechnica.com/?p=1837439

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Pat


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Energy-saving tip number 12...
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When you cover your windows at night to keep the heat in, use thick window coverings and place a mylar blanet over them on the side facing the room to reflect the heat back into the living space.

In the morning, don't uncover the windows until the space between the window and the covering is a higher temperature than your living space is.

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Pat

Retro SciFi Movie of the Week...

The Absent Minded Professor (1961)

More well-known as a comedy/fantasy, this one actually has a pretty cool scifi narrative.

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