Just call me "resource monkey". Here's another one: Supertherm, Ceramic Insulating Coating. Rust Grip, Super Therm

These are spray-on paint products that can achieve equivalent R values of up to R-19 when coated on one surface, and up to R-28 when coated interior and exterior.

Mom, Dad? That hot mobile of yours...?

Labels: resources

...via Stoo from here: "(T)he President finally made good on his claim that he is a uniter -- everybody hated that (amnesty) bill."

Labels: politics

He hasn't written a fresh word in over a year now. Time to let it go.

This animated cadaver act is creeping me out... Or rather maybe I should say, the one who's working the bellows and moving the scarecrow arms is creeping me out.

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing

Remember folks, when things get to feeling too bad, there's always that Nuclear Therapy link at the side bar to make you feel all chipper again.

Be sure to right-click, zoom full screen.

Update: I'm serious folks. You should try it sometime. Next time you're feeling glum and blue, just click on the link. It will help you realize: A) At least things aren't *that* bad yet, and B) How lovely it might be to rewind-erase-start over.

[misanthrope]
After all, there's no sound quite so satisfying as the thump of nuclear detonations heard from deep within the safety of one's own blast shelter.
[/misanthrope]

Labels: felicity and jocularity, misanthropy

Yet another for the "resources" category, this circuit is designed to operate a DC motor directly from a solar cell, with the speed dependent upon the solar input, without the use of a battery: Build this simple Mini Maximiser

Here's a practical application: solar evaporative cooler

More stuff here.

Update: here is where to get a kit for a 12 amp maximizer.

A source for automotive cooling fans, and a source for a 12 volt bilge pump

Labels: resources

Another one for the "resources" category: DC Breeze

DC Airco

12 volt refrigerators

Update: What they say about great minds...Passive evaporative cooling system, I've invented this already, both iterations of it actually--the one that operates solely on the buoyancy principle and the one that is wind-driven. Good to see someone else has come up with the identical idea. And for the circulation pump, one could use a 12v bilge pump, a solar panel, and the "maximizer" circuit linked in the above post. Way more stuff here.

Labels: resources

When I was on Maui I ordered a couple of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole albums from Amazon to have them delivered after I returned. One of them was E Ala E
, and I was listening to the album this morning as I worked.

I came to this song, written and sung in Hawaiian, and the words moved me to do a search for a translation. I felt there was something special there.

Sure enough:

I Ke Alo O Iesu
- Words & Music by Dennis Kamakahi

Hui:
E hele makou i ke alo o Iesu
E `ike i ka nani mau loa
E hele makou i ka poli o Iesu
I ka mehana a ke aloha
E hele makou i ke alo o Iesu
E `ike i ka nani mau loa
E hele makou i ka poli o Iesu
I ka mehana a ke aloha

Aloha ka hale kula o ka Haku
I ka lani, i ka lani kuakaha
I laila i ke ao
O ka hoku `imo`imo
O Iesu tu`u Hatu maita`i

Aloha ka `âina o ke Akua
I ka nani, i ka nani mau loa
I laila i ke ala
Onaona o ka rose
O Iesu tu`u Hatu maita`i

Chorus:
Let us go to the presence of Jesus,
To see everlasting beauty,
Let us go to the bosom of Jesus,
To the warmth of his love.
Let us go to the presence of Jesus,
To see everlasting beauty,
Let us go to the bosom of Jesus,
To feel the warmth of his love.

Beloved is the golden house of the Lord,
In heavens, in the highest heaven.
There in the light,
Of the twinkling star,
Is Jesus, my good Lord.

Beloved is the land of God,
In the beauty, the everlasting beauty.
There in the sweet
Scent of the rose,
Is Jesus, my good Lord.

Source: Copyright 1977 Naukilo Publishing - The joys of man are expressed, when he faces his Redeemer at life's end

May you rest in His presence forever, Iz.

Labels: art appreciation, spiritual

Guess who?

Redsugar Muse

Yes, Tanya!
Back on the blogroll you go, girl!

Man, could it get any better? First Rachel and now Tanya?

Well...ok. Yes, if Primal Purge Anna would return to something resembling regular posting, that would make it perfect.

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing

via Lone Tree on the Prarie

Labels: felicity and jocularity

Ok now, when I mentioned about blogging naked yesterday, I had no idea that the Third International Blog Nekkid Day was just around the corner: lonetreeontheprairie: 3rd International Blog Nekkid Day!!!

So while metaphorically I still have my pajamas on, I'm posting this buck nekkid. (No, no pics.)

Ready for that disaster? State wants you to be

The suggested stored servings of food for mom, dad and two kids for a month rivals the inventory of a small minimart: 780 of grain, 240 of fruit, 360 of vegetables, 360 of dairy and 660 of protein foods such as meat, dried beans and nuts.

"It's ridiculous. It's just way too much stuff for anybody to have at home. I can't imagine what they're having us prepare for," said Tracy Eberly, who lives in south Minneapolis. "If society breaks down to the point where we need all that food, trust me, we've got other problems."

Typical head-in-sand attitude.

Yes, doofus, there will be other problems in a case where deep stocks are required. That's the whole idea. In that case, at least you will have the ability to feed your face and not be one of the anguished masses starving to death, looting stores, and clamoring for "gubmit haip!!" to come to your rescue. The whole idea doofus! "Gubmit" is doing it's part now, urging you to do for yourself what it will not be able to do for you in such a disaster.

You may not be capable of imagining what they want you to prepare for, but trust me on this: there are plenty of people who have and do imagine it, and it ain't pretty. And the more of you slugs the "gubmit" can push into at least a minimal preparedness mode, the less scary it will be.

Why do I sound like a pest on this topic? It's because if everyone were to take the suggestions of the State of Minnesota to heart and do their basic preparations, people like me would sleep a lot better at night. Because it isn't the disaster itself that is so unnerving, it is the aftermath. Katrina was scary. But the hell that followed was scarier.

I am greatly encouraged however, to see this push by Minnesota. I would like to see this taken up by states across the nation and pushed until people take it seriously.

alicia bay laurel

Buried deep in the recesses of this conservative old cat is a hippie kind of wishing it were practical to come out.

Stuff like this appeals...

I'm tired of losing heartbreaking riffs...

Occasionally in a rare fit of inspiration I'll create one, and think foolishly I have it now. Every time it is gone like yesterday's dream when I sit down again.

Dad-gummed tired of that, I am. Because there was another one--the next phrase of the song that was just materializing when I quit last night. Had I a recording, or even had I some score sheets to jot it down, I could pick up where I left off.

Gone.

Gone.

Let me die in peace...

Labels: stream of consciousness

Let's see...487 site visits here today, 477 of which are hits from images.google.com for a Sharon Stone pic that I posted years ago and deleted months ago.

"Hi! Welcome. Take a look around. Stay awhile..."

Not.

If this trend keeps up, and real readers keep fading off, I might get comfortable enough to start blogging naked.

And NOone wants that to happen...


Update: And further, some of you bloggers on my reading list haven't posted in a while. Am I going to need to reopen my Blogger Hospice? Find new blogs to read?

There is something of a malaise in the blogosphere lately...

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing

...including reactivating fallout shelters, in response to the threat of nuclear terrorism.

"Day After" Workshop Report

So...you think it's just right-wing wacko survivalist sorts concerned about such things, eh?

If your government is taking this scenario seriously, perhaps the citizenry should too.

More here: Smuggled nuclear materials detected in Georgia

Labels: personal responsibility, watching the skies

Suffering from a bit of jet lag still, I took today off.

Suffering from a bit of depression, I want to just get in Doozey and drive. But no roads go to where I want to be. And that's not Maui necessarily. It's a bit more elusive...more like a dream not fully materialized, yet tantalizingly close--the fragrance of images hangs in the chambers of the mind, clouding the day with melancholy for what is not.

And what is not is what could be, save for time and space that tear at it with a relentless and insistent wind. Time and space are my enemies. Eternity is the tapestry upon which my dreams are woven. But eternity is not something I have the luxury of indulging in, not while on this banal earth. Time and space is part of the curse, part of the burden with which we are crushed.

The cats are mighty glad for our return, save for Bobby who seems grumpy and out of sorts. Poochie glues herself to me anytime I lie down, and Jasmine has been around countless times to confirm that yes, I am still here. Having found a great cat-sitter made a positive difference in their demeanor at our return, but they still missed us. Daisycat was moping about the cats most of the time we were gone, and almost spoiled our enjoyment of the last half of our vacation. She needn't have moped. They were all doing fine without us.

I am not looking forward here. It was nice, very nice, to completely forget for a couple of weeks. Not that I was unplugged from the news. But I studiously avoided all thoughts of work and all implications of the news and what I need to do. In a way I did take myself out of the stream of the times we are in, for a fortnight of indulgence in a dream of paradise eternity. Now I am rebirthed into the world, awakened from slumber, and staring face down into the cold hard surgical steel of the table I've landed on.

Allow me a moment of contemplating the fuzzy images reflected therein, before turning around again to sit up.

Labels: vacation

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No, thankfully. Otherwise I'd be George. As it is I named myself before I was born.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Sunday morning, church. The Spirit almost always does that.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? My printing, which is all I use, is fine.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Hard salami or pepperoni
DO YOU HAVE KIDS? no
IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think I'd get along pretty famously with myself.
DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not much, but it is a useful tool.
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? no.
WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? possibly. I wanted to take powered hang-gliding lessons on Maui, but the time available near the location was too short. Didn't learn to surf either.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? granola
DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? depends. If they're boots I have no choice. Otherwise not usually.
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? In what sense? Physically I have the muscle mass but I'm not in the greatest shape. Mentally/emotionally/spiritually, maybe a little above average. I seem to keep my head in a crisis pretty well.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? vanilla
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? their hair.
RED OR PINK? red
WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? being out of shape
WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Jesus
WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? tan leather slippers and dark blue sweatpants.
WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? rice hot dish
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the sound of my computer fan and the trickle of the pond outside my window.
IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? vivid indigo
FAVORITE SMELLS? hmm...so many to choose from... plumeria or tuberose blossom, creosote bush after a rain...
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my mechanic
FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I don't watch sports really. Probably tactical shooting lately.
HAIR COLOR[S]? light brown/blonde
EYE COLOR? green
DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? only when snorkeling
FAVORITE FOOD? pizza
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings, when I do watch a movie.
LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? been too long to remember, probably "Return of the King"
WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? dark grey
SUMMER OR WINTER? summer
HUGS OR KISSES? well both, of course.
FAVORITE DESSERT? I'm not big on desserts, but I totally lose control in the presence of a pan of rice krispy bars.
MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? To what, this post? K, I'm sure. :)
LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Osama Bin Laden, the decomposing turd.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I have a stack of books on the back burner, none of which I'm actively reading at the moment. Mostly related to preparedness.
WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? no mouse pad.
WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? I don't own a TV and haven't for a number of years.
FAVORITE SOUND[S]? Trickling water, insects in the tall grass on a sunny afternoon and/or cool evening.
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Amazon jungle, Iquitos, Peru
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? just my creative engineering skills
WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Minneapolis

via Cowboy Blob and Rachel Lucas

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing

More Dates and Alignments for the next few weeks, from the AnnaMatrix.

Now in case you forgot, June 21-23 is the EU summit. At the summit, the current president (Germany/Merkel) is going to present some things for voting. One of them is to end the 6-month rotating presidency and give it over PERMANENTLY to Solana. If this happens at the summit, the first day of ultimate power over the empire for Solana would be 7/1/7

Labels: watching the skies

Interview with Ron Paul

Democrats! Independents! Read this interview and consider the possibility of switching party registration for the primaries and voting for Ron Paul for the Republican nomination. I know a whole lot of you will agree heartily with most of Dr. Paul's positions, and we could use the help getting back to true conservatism and away from this run-amok statism that has infected the party.

Labels: politics

Though we're going to the Maui Ocean Center and the Sugar Museum today, we have to check out of our room this morning. So this will be my last post from Hawaii.

Aloha



Update: woofed. It is now something like 23 hours since I posted the above, and I haven't had more than a few minutes of sleep for more than a day.

Home. Time to crash hard.

Labels: vacation

I beg your pardon, mama, what did you say?
My mind was drifting off on Hana Bay.
It’s not that I’m not interested, you see;
The mainland is just no place to be.

I think Maui in the moonlight.
Sandy beaches, drinking rum every night.
We got no money, mama, but we can go;
We’ll split the difference, go to coconut grove.

No, I don't want to go home.

Don't make me...


I can find a job here...we can ship the cats over...find a little cottage with a small garden...

Labels: vacation

I hit paydirt today! We found more turtles, and this time the underwater camera cooperated.











It might seem as if we're doing nothing but snorkeling, but that's not true. Sunday and Monday were spent on an overnight excursion to Hana, and I have a ton of photos, including some amazing pix from a pool at the top of a 200 foot waterfall. But again, I'll have to post those later, as there's just too many to get uploaded from here.

Labels: vacation

Which is inevitable. We went to the best Lu'au on the planet yesterday evening, and I have pics *and* video, but there's no way I'm going to try uploading video on this sketchy connection.


Today we went in pursuit of big sea creatures that live on the outer edges of reefs. We spotted some Hihimanu (Whitespotted Eagle Ray), which I got photos of. We swam with some Honu (green sea turtles), which I didn't get photos of (because this cheap underwater camera I have eats batteries like a 10-year old eats Cap'n Crunch). We didn't see any Mano Lalakea (reef sharks) though, which would have completed the trifecta.

Anyway here's some pics from today:

Some Blue HeckIfIKnow Fish (not the real name, of course):



A Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (yes, that's the real name)--that's the fish with the yellow body and black racing stripe in the upper right quadrant of the pic:



A couple pics of the Hihimanu--there were at least three of them in the vicinity of the end of the reef in about 20 feet of water. I took more pics, but the combination of water depth and limited visibility made many of them hard to see clearly. These are the best of the pics. (Update--Ok, I learned today just how much post processing these underwater pics require to come out clearly. If you saw the two photos below yesterday, well...they're greatly improved now.)



Update: We took a stroll along the beach at sunset and caught some more pics of a kitesurfer doing his thing, as the sun set behind West Maui.



Sunset over West Maui from Kihei:

Labels: vacation

We've come home wiped out the last few days, and I haven't had the time/energy to post. Today is a breather day between bouts of furious activity, so here's my opportunity to catch up.

Yesterday was a trip into hell and back to heaven. Or alternately a stroll into Mordor or a walk through a Monty Python set. Whichever it was, it was an interesting hike.

When we got to the top of Haleakala it was misting and fogging. There were no views and in fact the views occasionally decreased to fifty yards or less at times. But we gritted our teeth and said "we're going to have fun, dammit!"

So, Frodo and his faithful servant Samwise set off across the grey plain of Mordor, two figures alone in the vast wasteland...


At every turn, I expected to see a troll-like creature declare "Stop! Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see!!"


I never saw the bridge troll, but I did find King Arthur's faithful servant Patsy:

"Show us your coconuts Patsy."



Onward they trudged through the gloom, until they came to the cracks of doom.

Peering over the edge they said "Ah, fugeddaboudit!"


Thus began the long, arduous trudge out of hell. Part way up I was encouraged by the sight of this angel, pointing the way:



Suddenly the clouds broke, and the Plain of Mordor came into view, far below:


Daisycat below Rainbow Bridge. No leprechauns or pots o'gold were spotted.


The Riders of Rohan appear on the trail below. "You guys could have showed up an hour earlier and spared Samwise and I a lot of trudging," scolded Frodo.


Finally breaking through into the clear blue sky, we've cleared the rim of hell and found ourselves again in heaven!


---

Ok, that was just yesterday and I've run out of time. (Naptime next, then beach, then Lu'au.) So the snorkeling and sunset photos from Tuesday, and our West Maui adventure of Wednesday will have to wait.

Aloha!

Update: I **thought** I saw a short, troll-like creature leaping from rock to rock, high above me in the mist as we hiked down the trail into Mordor. Sure enough, Cowboy Blob somehow followed us and caught a photo of me unawares:

Labels: vacation