Will you be able to see the “ring of fire” eclipse?

| October 12, 2023

Mark your calendar for a couple of chances to see the Moon cast a shadow as it crosses the contiguous United States during the annular solar eclipse: October 14, 2023 and then a total solar eclipse in the spring on April 8, 2024 (images above from The Old Farmer’s Almanac). These dark paths across the […]

Tech Friday: Wyze Cams satisfy my gadget addiction

| November 18, 2022

My older Canary Cams are still working but will eventually be retired as lower priced and higher quality Wyze Cams and Wyze Cam3s have become the “go to” products to fill my gadget addiction. On Wednesday a male cardinal trigger one of my cams and it reminded me to check on my subscription, re-read the […]

What is the mining environmental impact of going green?

| March 19, 2022

Sometimes people are too politically invested in climate change and environmental policies that they “can’t see the forest through the trees,” as John Heywood’s 1546 proverb propends (an idiom). This is not to say we can’t improve … or that we should be resist/thwart the shift towards renewables and improve our environmental footprint, BUT we ALL […]

Opinion: We need an all of the above energy plan in the U.S.

| February 25, 2021

As an advocate of renewable energy, be it biofuels, hydro, solar, wind, etc for decades, I don’t understand why Americans can’t come together on a united “all inclusive” energy plan? I know a few anti-solar/wind energy types, but usually they are just pushing back against the extremist wanting to do away with all fossil fuels […]

Semi-Tech Friday: Solar Telescope view of our the Sun

| January 31, 2020

A wide-angle view of the solar surface from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope is the highest-resolution image of the Sun ever taken, showing details as small as 30 km wide. Seen here are granules, the tops of giant convection cells. Credit: NSO/NSF/AURA Whether it is gazing at the millions of stars night sky (the […]

Smarter investments than solar energy for most homeowners

| September 10, 2017

For homeowners considering energy use and investing in solar … take a look at these FIVE solutions first from nuwireinvestor.com (although still one of the best investments for your home is "insulation") Some of the smartest investments you can make in your home are ways to maximize the energy efficiency of your heating, ventilation, and […]

Quick time-lapse attempt to photograph Solar Eclipse 2017

| August 22, 2017

For the good photos check in with NASA (above) or a professional photographer who travels to the optimal locations and spends more than 5 minutes taping a welding filter to his camera … for a less than perfect “time-lapse” solar eclipse attempt, check my photos below. It was at least fun to mark the occasion; […]

Ready to check out the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse?

| August 21, 2017

The last time our continent had a total solar eclipse was 1991 and so getting a chance to view 2017’s is a rare opportunity. Not everybody will be traveling to the “belted area” across the country, but most will have a chance to see a partial eclipse. According to NASA, “an estimated 500 million people […]

A few more photos for the Encore archive

| February 12, 2017

Posting a few leftover photos from my last trip to the boat. One is a waterproof fitting to bring the solar cable thru Encore‘s deck (eventually a new project) … and a couple more of an early morning sunrise at the dock at Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce. Really the trip was a quick getaway […]

TechFriday: New to me IoT High-Power 110 volt AC Relay

| January 20, 2017

A friend of mine has been brainstorming the components and options for a project that I’m tinkering on for both the sailboat and improving my back up power at the house. Basically the idea is to use a minimalist single board computer like the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Pine64 or maybe just the new IoT Photon. […]

Generator, Curtain, Solar and overheating diesel on Encore

| December 11, 2016

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Renewable low cost hot water idea for a sailboat

| October 9, 2016

Archiving another project idea for living on the hook (someday) yet still having hot water for dishes, cleaning and SHOWERS (a freshwater shower is a luxury for most sailboats).

Athens Ohio bakery continues effort to move off-the-grid

| August 5, 2015

If you are in Ohio and are looking for an interesting weekend drive now that gasoline prices are down (diesel too), take a drive to the Village Bakery and Café in Athens, Ohio. (of course that seems as counterproductive as Al Gore flying in a private plane if you are really thinking “green”?) They are […]

Thoughts on the constant force in nature to produce energy

| February 5, 2015

Years ago back when I was in high school and college, I still had an uninhibited imagination when it came to what mechanical innovations were possible. I wasn’t yet tainted by the words “no, can’t, impossible, unrealistic, etc.”  In those days I was studying engineering and all things mechanical, I thought by now it would […]

Encore weekend, LED Navigation lights and Solar Nicro Vents

| November 24, 2014

A little damp where I’m at, but at least it was far warmer than points north this past weekend. I’m sure glad not to still be closing up my mother-in-laws farmhouse in western New York … whew, just missed traveling in the “Snowvember.” One of the projects I worked on was installing new LED navigation […]

Can a Kyocera 135 watt solar panel produce enough juice?

| October 24, 2014

The last 24 hours I’ve been running a two person battery test to see just how comfortable we can be on minimal amp hours. Obviously we need to do better since even with a fair amount of sun hitting Encore’s single Kyocera 135 watt solar panel our battery bank is depleting. The clouds are passing […]

Sunseeker Duo: a solar airplane for the summer skys

| June 2, 2014

The solar powered Sunseeker Duo airplane made it’s first two passenger test flight last month as Eric and Irena Raymond prepare for longer flights this summer. Gizmag.com posted a few more photos in their article … what an interesting aviation project. Solar Flight says that the Raymonds took off together in the company’s third powered […]

Are we closer to electric current inducing solar windows?

| 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 […]

Finished up the Nicro solar vents on Encore just in time

| March 10, 2012

  Not much writing here, but wanted to add a couple of the solar vent project photos and the rebedding of the hatch (since it was raining, it was a great time to check the seal).    And of course the fidgety Taylor just waiting for the rain to stop …   I’m including a […]

Planning a couple Nicro Solar Day/Night vents for Encore

| March 2, 2012

This week I unboxed a couple of the Marinco Nicro Solar Day/Night vents and added a couple of new tools to my box in preparation for my next boat related project. The plan is to keep the a little bit of air circulating inside of our sailboat in order to retard the musty smell and […]

Controlling solar power onboard Encore

| January 9, 2012

Although I’m not at all disappointed with my current single 135W Kyocera solar panel, I don’t want to be wasting amps and not returning them to my battery bank. I was reading an article debating the different controllers regulating charging and began doing some of my own research since I’m thinking about adding an additional […]

Tinkering with my old Garmin GPS 75 and an old solar panel

| February 20, 2011

While doing a few chores around the yard on a bright and warm-ish Saturday afternoon, I decided to hook my old Garmin GPS 75 (early 1990s) to a solar panel scavenged from the boat to see if they both still worked. Besides being  clunky, and slow to acquire the satellites, the GPS worked after putting […]

Windows that generate solar electric power with “buckyballs”

| November 9, 2010

Where would you install photovoltaic solar panels if they were clear? Perhaps they will be in the not so distant future as contemplated by Alyssa Danigelis in her Discovery News article. And here’s a new word of the day: buckyballs – spherical or ellipsoidal cages made up of covalently bonded carbon atoms discovered in 1985 […]

Tiny solar powered sensor that supply power forever

| February 12, 2010

Gadgets, particularly those with microchips are getting more and more ‘micro’ all the time. For the most part, this leads to improvements in electronic gizmos that serve us daily for convenience and even health. I read an article in TechNewsDaily about a solar-powered sensor that is small enough to supply endless power, yet powerful enough […]

Portable, flexible but costly solar panel set-up

| March 5, 2009

Powerenz.com makes a very portable set of solar panels that looks to provide a great way to charge or power low wattage electrical devices while away from conventional power sources. The flexible panels can be easily toted in a bag or backpack and will provide up to 180 watts of power. They can also be […]

FutureCar episode on Discovery Channel

| February 27, 2007

According to the Treehugger website, the Discovery Channel will air a FutureCar episode on Wednesday, February 28th … it might be worth recording. One of the cars worth considering is the Opel Eco Speedster. Its a concept car, but shows just was a sleek high performance diesel is capable of doing. The powerplant is a […]

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

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog