One boat project done and a couple more show up

Posted By on June 24, 2012

enginecontrolsThe list of boat related projects continues to grow. Just as I knock a couple off the list, a few more pop up. First the “stop engine” cut-off cable broke  and although I can climb to the bilge and manually move the lever to choke of air, it is much more convenient to do it from the helm.
Winking smile
That said, I was able to shorten the existing cable enough to get the old cable to work again, but it began the thinking process regarding the existing engine gear control lever and throttle. It is well pitted and the rubber is cracked. Yes it still works, but then so did the stop lever until I pull on it a little hard. Perhaps it is time to start looking around for replacements (cable too.) A quick Internet search pointed me to Teleflex/Morse controls looks like it might work since I couldn’t find Technoflex control parts on the web.

As for a few other project before putting Encore on the hard, I replaced the Spinlock line clutched that I repaired at home (previous post 1 and post 2). Besides that, a few electrical issue hard me rewiring the fuse that runs to the meter that measure output (it gets a little too hot???) and the manual switch and fuse for the electric bilge pump (and after fiddling down there, looks as if I’ll be doing a little bilge cleaning).

Category: Sailing | 1 Comment »
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The tropical disturbance is messing with my plans

Posted By on June 23, 2012

gulfstorm120623

Since I’m hanging out at the boat this weekend getting Encore prepped for tropical weather/hurricane season, it is rather fitting that the chatter at the marina is about what is brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. A couple neighboring boat have added a couple extra dock lines and removed some canvas. I’ve taken down the sails and intend to remove the bimini … but all that was planned.

I’m not particularly concerned about ‘this particular storm’ except that I’m planning to move a boat with a friend on Monday morning and am wondering where the wind and rain will be?

One forecasting model has the slow-moving system heading west toward Texas by midweek, weather.com reported. A less reliable model has it swinging back east over Florida and then along the mid-Atlantic. A third model has it surging north into Louisiana-Mississippi.

sailsdown_whatamess120623
Not the optimum way to store sails below, but doing it alone is challenging. (I’d like to take them to a loft for some re-stitching but need a few references.)

Category: Sailing, Weather | 1 Comment »
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Ugly numbers when looking at unemployment

Posted By on June 23, 2012

Photo

WSJ graph showing how unemployment has impacted the nation’s mature workforce. This can’t be good since many are only a few short years away from not even being able to work.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303506404577448751320412974.html

Category: Financial, News, Politics | No Comments »
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Are we closer to electric current inducing solar windows?

Posted By on June 23, 2012

Yes, according to a news release from Colombia, Maryland’s New Energy Technologies, Inc. Unfortunately I still think we are faced with the “it is a drop in the bucket” producer of electricity in comparison to what we Americans use … not to mention the cost of windows. Still, it is interesting to explore the advancements in solar power and energy efficiency.

New Energy Technologies Inc. and National Renewable Energy Laboratory Create Improved Process for Technology Capable of Generating Electricity on See-Through Glass

Columbia, MD – June 18, 2012 – New Energy Technologies, Inc., developer of see-through solar cells for generating electricity on glass, today announces an improvement in its manufacturing technique that should lead to higher speed, lower costs and greater durability.

Teaming with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, New Energy Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: NENE) has developed the use of low-cost materials and a special application technique that could help optimize the movement of electrons within the ultra-thin solar cells. This should increase the amount of electricity produced when New Energy’s see-through SolarWindow™ prototype is exposed to natural or artificial light.

Importantly, the improvement to the technology can be executed at ambient pressure and low temperatures, allowing researchers to avoid the use of materials that must otherwise be deposited using high temperature vacuum deposition. Vacuum deposition is both expensive and time-consuming and, thus, not practical for high speed and large-scale applications. Today’s innovation promotes low processing temperatures, enabling high-speed roll-to-roll (R2R) and sheet-to-sheet (S2S) manufacturing. This large-area, R2R and S2S fabrication capability and improved durability of SolarWindow™ technology are crucial for production of market-ready electricity-generating coatings on see-through glass and plastic.

Previously, New Energy, with assistance from University of South Florida and NREL, developed important improvements to New Energy’s SolarWindow™ technology, capable of generating electricity on see-through glass. These improvements include enhancements that address advancing durability, power performance, and cost-effective manufacturability – all important to the eventual commercial deployment of New Energy’s SolarWindow™ technology.

Today’s announcement marks the latest in a series of technical accomplishments that Company and NREL research teams have recently achieved.

“Over the past few months, our researchers have unveiled a virtually invisible conductive wiring system, which collects and transports electricity on SolarWindow™ prototypes, and have fabricated a large area working module, which is more than 14-times larger than previous organic photovoltaic devices fabricated at NREL,” stated Mr. John A. Conklin, President and CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc. “Earlier, we developed our first-ever working SolarWindow™ prototype using a faster, rapid scale-up process for applying solution-based coatings.

“Together, these achievements have moved us closer to our manufacturing, scale-up, durability, and power production goals – all important factors to advancing our SolarWindow™ technology towards commercial launch,” Conklin added.

To generate electricity on SolarWindow™ prototypes, researchers creatively layer and arrange unique, ultra-thin see-through solar cells onto glass. Each of these cells is arranged in a network and interconnected by way of a virtually invisible grid-like wiring system.

Within these ultra-thin solar cells, the light-induced movement of electrons generates electricity. When SolarWindow™ prototypes are exposed to light, the light’s energy prompts electron movement through specific physical and chemical mechanisms leading to power generation.

Dr. Scott R. Hammond, Principal Scientist at New Energy Technologies, Inc., believes the discovery announced today could also favorably improve durability and shelf-life of the Company’s future SolarWindow™ products. “NREL scientists have previously published unrelated results that demonstrate dramatic improvements to the operational and shelf-life of unprotected (i.e., non-encapsulated) photovoltaic devices utilizing related materials when subjected to continuous illumination. No doubt, this is a promising and significant advancement.”

Currently under development for eventual commercial deployment in the estimated 85 million commercial buildings and homes in America, SolarWindow™ technology is the subject of ten patent filings and is the world’s first-of-its-kind technology capable of generating electricity on see-through glass windows.

Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

Category: Energy, Misc | No Comments »
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Noticing gas prices easing in Ohio, even lower in Florida _

Posted By on June 22, 2012

Gasprice3

I filled my tank on Tuesday in southwest Ohio for $3.59 which I thought was 10 cents cheaper than other stations, but noticed pricing dropping rapidly this week and even lower while fueling a rental car in Florida (which is usually higher than Ohio). In fact, I just noticed stations at $3.09 and had to do a double take.

Yes, I know the tension have eased in the middle east (questionable), and that OPEC decided not to cut production even though supplies are plentiful … and economies around the globe are slowing reducing the demand … but I’m still surprised to see the drop at the beginning of summer and during peak travel season. I suppose that is good news for vacationers and those earning their living on summer tourism. As for the economic slowdown, the U.S. is no exception and even the Fed admitted this week that we aren’t recovering from the long recession as quickly as expected. For those disagreeing with President Obama and the Democrats’ policies, we are not all that surprised, and unless some kind of change in Washington DC encourages business growth and public sector cost containment (ie. reducing deficit spending), I think the odds of a double dip recession are increasing. We can’t continue to grow government, tax, regulate and spend our way to prosperity.

Gas prices to dip below $3?

2012 started with fears that gas prices could spike to $5 per gallon and beyond, but a new report suggests that gas price could actually dip below the $3 mark by year’s end.

Turmoil in the Middle East had many analysts calling for $5 gas by the summer driving season, but tensions have eased and so have fuel prices. Add in a world economy that isn’t recovering as fast as first hoped and we could see prices below $3 per gallon by this fall.

Across the country gas prices now average $3.47 per gallon, down $0.47 cents from this year’s high in April. In some parts of the country prices have fallen even farther, with a gallon of gas averaging $3.06 in South Carolina. Moreover, 30 percent of the state’s gas stations are charging less than $3 per gallon.

MORE

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Tech Friday: Cleaned up my tweetstream this week

Posted By on June 22, 2012

I’m probably not the only one who has “excessively” followed people on Twitter over the past few years … so I am trying to clean up my tweetstream with TwitCleaner. So far so good.

Twit Cleaner [web] (free)
If you follow a large number of people and are looking to clean up your timeline, Twit Cleaner can help you out. Twit Cleaner is a great web app that recommends people you should unfollow on Twitter based on a number of things such as how often they tweet, how often they post links, their follower/following ratio, etc.

LIN K

Category: Advice, Computer, Social Media | No Comments »
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UFC’s Dana White opens up about his Meniere’s Disease

Posted By on June 21, 2012

I appreciate high profile Meniere’s Disease sufferers commenting on how debilitating it is to deal with abrupt attacks and ongoing balance/sickness issues, especially when they are as tough as UFC’s Dana White. He commented that he is “not a normal patient” while in an interview about his struggle – although I don’t think he exhibits any traits of “being patient” = capable of calmly awaiting an outcome or result; not hasty or impulsive. It will be interesting to follow what treatment path he eventually takes or how quickly he recovers from a Vestibular Nerve Section.

Category: Entertainment, Health | No Comments »
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More “Operation Twist” from the Fed

Posted By on June 20, 2012

Of course … it is also an election year. Hmm?
How much will the market move when Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke speaks this afternoon?

Operation Twist, in which the central bank sells short-term securities and buys the same amount of longer-term debt to lengthen the average maturity of its holdings and keep borrowing costs low, is set to expire this month. The difference in yield between two- and 30-year securities was 249 basis points. It has narrowed from 304 basis points on Sept. 20, the day before the central bank announced the plan.“No one can say with any degree of certainty what the Fed might do,” said Christopher Sullivan, who oversees $1.9 billion as chief investment officer at United Nations Federal Credit Union in New York. “Given the pace of growth in the U.S. and the failure of the U.S. economy to generate sufficient jobs to bring down the unemployment rate and inflation easing, one might feel the Fed is obligated to do more. But growth is continuing in a modest way, and the risk of contagion in Europe has eased some, so the Fed might hold some policy in reserve against a further flair up later down the road.”

LINK

Category: Financial, News, Politics | 1 Comment »
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More little fishies from the sea

Posted By on June 20, 2012

howfastcanyouswim

I may have started a trend the last couple days in posting the shark and ocean photos … so here are a couple more from a link forwarded by a friend. Hmm, how fast can you swim … or below a meeting between a not so friendly Bull Shark and a diver doing her best to discourage him … yikes!

bullshark
http://www.oceandefenderhawaii.com/

Category: Environment, Nature, Photos | No Comments »
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U.S. markets up again, but likely on Fed stimulus speculation

Posted By on June 19, 2012

There's way too much speculation in the thought the Federal Reserve will again "try" to prime the economy when serious regulation and tax changes are what we need from Washington DC. If Bernanke and crew sit quietly on their hands or even suggest the economy doesn't need additional stimulus, we'll most likely see another stock sell-off.

The Dow tacked on 114 points, or 0.9%, to 12855 in late Tuesday trading, pacing for what would be the third rise of more than 100 points in four sessions.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 15 points, or 1.1%, to 1359, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 37 points, or 1.3%, to 2932. Both benchmarks were on pace to notch four-session streaks of gains. For the technology-heavy Nasdaq, it would be longest winning streak since February.

LINK

Posted via email from RichC’s posterous

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Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
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