Comments rrrandy has made

  • When I was a kid (living in Olympia, WA at the time), a neighbor down the street had one of those 6' tall aboveground pools.  His crafty father had built a little wooden box that was about 3' wide, 2' tall, and maybe 6" deep.  It had a glass front (facing the sun) with black visqueen lining the inside.  He had run a black flexible tube through the box, coming in at one corner, snaking back and forth across the box like a big S, and then out the opposite corner.  He put this in-line with the water pump/filter, so that the water ran through the black flexible tube in the box just before it re-entered the pool.  On a sunny day, the water was so hot when it actually entered the pool that you couldn't hold your hand in front of it.  It even worked fairly well on overcast days.  It provided enough of a thermal bump (for green-free!) that the swimming season was extended by a month or two, no small feat in Washington State.

    On Ask Umbra on solar pool heaters posted 4 months ago 9 Responses

  • electric bikes!

    If you're interested in using a bike as a commuter vehicle (or just a getting-around-town vehicle), but are a little concerned about distances, hills, and travel times (and think it will take too long to develop that Armstrong-esque physique), consider this:
    http://www.electricrider.com/
    Convert your bike to a sweet (and very efficient) DIY EV craft.  Charge at home and/or work, cruise the city streets at up to 35 mph.  One enthusiastic EV biker built a cart, which he uses for cargo transportation around town (up to 150 lbs, I think).  Basically, this means switching out your current front (or back) wheel with one that has stronger spokes and an in-hub electric motor.  You'll add a throttle control, a power controller, some batteries and some wire -- pretty straightforward for anyone with moderate technical abilities and a bit of interest.

    Randy
    On Umbra on the impacts of biking posted 1 year, 5 months ago 21 Responses

  • I second the thermos idea

    As a coffee snob, we've found a great solution to this -- the thermal carafe.  It's glass-lined and insulated with a vacuum -- the coffee gets made and immediately transferred into the carafe.  From there, it will stay hot for hours and hours -- and since it's not continuing to be heated externally, the yucky acid which is the hallmark of old coffee doesn't become an issue.  I've poured out the last of a pot, which was in the carafe for 14+ hours, and found it still fairly hot!On Umbra on reheating coffee posted 2 years ago 20 Responses

  • the best part about the packaging: it's optional

    I've been a fan of Dr. Bronner's soap for years -- partly because it's multipurpose (soap, shampoo, and a zesty shaving cream), and partly because it's a staple product that I can buy in bulk.  It easy to transfer between containers, which means it makes traveling a lot less complicated -- a small bottle takes care of several product needs.  (tip:  if you do travel with it, store the bottle in a plastic ziplock bag, just in case)

    As for the packaging verbiage, I've read it and thought it was interesting (if a little wacky).  Strange or not, it's hard for me not to be moved by his sincerity and his obvious good intentions.

    RandyOn A documentary about a crazed man and his love of soap and humankind posted 2 years, 4 months ago 8 Responses

  • Seismic oil mapping has nothing to do with this?

    One of the techniques used by the oil industry to find these hidden reserves of "black gold" is to use high-energy vibrations and powerful concussive blasts -- by setting up an array of microphones and using these to feed a huge computational source, the hidden geological formations can be deduced.  It's surprising to me that there was no mention of these energetic exploratory techniques and the triggering of earthquakes.  It's not beyond my imagination to envision a mapping effort like this happening far out at see, which dislodges some underwater shelf (which may have been storing up the tension required for a good earthquake for quite a while), which displaces a few million tons of water, which in turn creates a devastating tsunami.

    Of course, this may just be the product of my fluid logic and a desire to crucify those greedy, repressive jerks at the oil companies.On Umbra on oil drilling and seismic activity posted 3 years, 2 months ago 2 Responses