Yesterday I painted at two jobs before playing music for 6 hours. I grosed about $50 for my skill and labor, and probably spent $5 in gas while I helped beautify houses that are already in the top tier of real estate in the USA, and even more so world wide. Some of the houses on the way to Point Venture feature the worst displays of ostentatiousness that I've seen. Along the road are signs advertising "million dollar views."
Relief (or torment) comes in the form of Rock'n Roll. As soon as I turned on the Marshall, I fired off into a frantic version of REO Speedwagon's Riding the Storm Out, to which I was soon joined in by the drummer and bass player while everyone else stood in amazement. It's hard not to get excited when you can slash at the guitar with abandon and yet have it sound like music, very loud music. The Marshall's 8x10 cabinet screams like a 747 taking off while I stand in front absorbing the energy along with the guitar as the feedback creates a nuclear reaction of energy which explodes into a furious lead. It's like being able to grab a 10,000 volt wire and yet you don't get hurt. After hours of musical ecstasy, suddenly the last song has ended, and all the equipment is quickly packed up. I drive back to the place I will park the van and spend the night after heating some tortillas on the camp stove for dinner.
This morning was very cold. I noticed during the night that I had condensation on my moustache. The sky was perfectly clear for the first time in at a week if not two, and it quickly warmed things up into the 60's. I got to take a leisurely morning and then went back out to PV to work some more. I have to be thankful for some work, but it sucks to be working in the same neighborhood doing the same thing I did when I was 16 and 17 years old, and hardly making any more money, while everything else costs more and the houses have turned into bling bling. I could do anything, and I've done so many things, and here I am back where I started doing the same old thing, playing the same old songs. This too will pass.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Inverter Power and the Boogie Man
It was too cold today to work for money so I worked around the house. I cleaned up the carport considerably, and got a better vision of how to set up the water heater and peripherals, including a firepit for testing a heat converter that I built out of 20' of 1/4" copper tubing.
I found a small piece of extension cord in the yard with the male end still attached. I fitted a second male plug to the other end and then used the resulting cord to plug a 12v inverter into the outdoor outlet on the porch. I turned the inverter on and nothing blew up (yeah!) and then opened the front door and turned the lights on (presto). Curiously nothing seemed to work outside of the living room circuit, so I'll look into that another time -- probably on another phase of the bus.
While gathering firewood from the nearby woods, I met a neighbor who was also gathering wood. He was quite curious, without coming straight out about it, as to what I was doing at the house. Two nights ago someone drove past, turned around, sat up the hill looking at the house for about 5 minutes then drove into the driveway. As soon as I turned on the headlights on my van, they quickly left. Security has been on a little higher alert since then (what does that mean?), so it's nice to have some working lights and wood for the fireplace. I also happened to use some scaffolding to reach the exaust vent upstairs to plug it so that the warm air will have a chance of staying in the house if I actually light up the fireplace and spend some time inside the house instead of the van.
I found a small piece of extension cord in the yard with the male end still attached. I fitted a second male plug to the other end and then used the resulting cord to plug a 12v inverter into the outdoor outlet on the porch. I turned the inverter on and nothing blew up (yeah!) and then opened the front door and turned the lights on (presto). Curiously nothing seemed to work outside of the living room circuit, so I'll look into that another time -- probably on another phase of the bus.
While gathering firewood from the nearby woods, I met a neighbor who was also gathering wood. He was quite curious, without coming straight out about it, as to what I was doing at the house. Two nights ago someone drove past, turned around, sat up the hill looking at the house for about 5 minutes then drove into the driveway. As soon as I turned on the headlights on my van, they quickly left. Security has been on a little higher alert since then (what does that mean?), so it's nice to have some working lights and wood for the fireplace. I also happened to use some scaffolding to reach the exaust vent upstairs to plug it so that the warm air will have a chance of staying in the house if I actually light up the fireplace and spend some time inside the house instead of the van.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Direct Current
Well the other week I got a 45w solar panel kit from HF, and today I finally got a fresh deep cycle battery to go with it. I also got a 12v DC power supply for the laptop I'm writing this on, it's cool because now I don't have to use an AC inverter -- more efficient. Solar to 12v battery, then battery to DC powerboost at 19v for the laptop. Supposedly 85% efficient step up conversion.
What all this means is that I am at the first stage of successfully living off the grid! From now on its just a matter of increasing capacity, and convenience. Even as I was purchasing the new battery, the solar panels were powering an AC inverter to provide juice to an 18v battery pack for a drill. Most importantly I'll now have enough power to run the laptop during the day and work on the heliostat controller routines some more. Yeah, testing can resume!
Also now in the picture will be using the inverter to power the Taco circulation pump that I've got, which is key to getting some solar hot water happening -- and developing the first heliostat target product.
It may be crazy dangerous, so I'll think about it a few more days, but I'm thinking about plugging in 12v to the house wiring and running some 12v lights and stuff off of the outlets scattered about the house. I realize that the breakers sharing the same phase of the buss will be the only ones sharing power. As long as no AC devices are hooked up it may be safe - provided I'm sure to run through at least one breaker.
What all this means is that I am at the first stage of successfully living off the grid! From now on its just a matter of increasing capacity, and convenience. Even as I was purchasing the new battery, the solar panels were powering an AC inverter to provide juice to an 18v battery pack for a drill. Most importantly I'll now have enough power to run the laptop during the day and work on the heliostat controller routines some more. Yeah, testing can resume!
Also now in the picture will be using the inverter to power the Taco circulation pump that I've got, which is key to getting some solar hot water happening -- and developing the first heliostat target product.
It may be crazy dangerous, so I'll think about it a few more days, but I'm thinking about plugging in 12v to the house wiring and running some 12v lights and stuff off of the outlets scattered about the house. I realize that the breakers sharing the same phase of the buss will be the only ones sharing power. As long as no AC devices are hooked up it may be safe - provided I'm sure to run through at least one breaker.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Testing 1,2,3
Well the first test was getting the prototype working. This week I realized that I had be running the prototype set to Daylight Savings time, which caused the solar calculations to be off. With that little tidbit out of the way, tracking is now in the +/- 1foot accuracy range which is ideal.
The second test has been finding a place to live and work on the project. Two weeks ago I was abruptly kicked off the ranch after only my second day of outdoor testing. The last two weeks have been pure van living at it's finest, hanging out in the suburbs of Austin and bathing in a local creek. Fortunately I found an old friend with a shop where I've now done a couple days of testing and seem to have most of the kinks worked out.
The third test is going to be turning this great idea into a business. I need a pilot site, and at least one business partner to help some capital to make things take off. I'm drafting up an ad that I'll try floating on Craigslist to see if I can find any partners that way. Plan B in the wings is to find a place (park, flea market?) I can set up and see if I attract anyone interested in being a pilot site or investor.
The second test has been finding a place to live and work on the project. Two weeks ago I was abruptly kicked off the ranch after only my second day of outdoor testing. The last two weeks have been pure van living at it's finest, hanging out in the suburbs of Austin and bathing in a local creek. Fortunately I found an old friend with a shop where I've now done a couple days of testing and seem to have most of the kinks worked out.
The third test is going to be turning this great idea into a business. I need a pilot site, and at least one business partner to help some capital to make things take off. I'm drafting up an ad that I'll try floating on Craigslist to see if I can find any partners that way. Plan B in the wings is to find a place (park, flea market?) I can set up and see if I attract anyone interested in being a pilot site or investor.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Once Again
What is it with these carnivores? All the sudden, one day, for no apparent reason, they decide that they hate you and they say "Get the f**k out. Now!" Honestly, this never happened to me before this year, but now it's happened twice. If I didn't already meditate a lot, I'd have to meditate about that just to figure out what the heck is going on. The Vedas say that eating meat destroys compassion. Stepping stones aren't meant to be foundations, you just stand there till you take the next step. It looks like the ranch was just an incubator for the prototype since as soon as it passed level zero tests, it was time to move on.
12 to 16 hours later everything is packed in the van and it's off I go again: on the road, destination unknown. It was quite a bit of work packing up the electronics this time, but practice makes perfect. The environment is always beneficial, so what's next Srila Gurudeva?
12 to 16 hours later everything is packed in the van and it's off I go again: on the road, destination unknown. It was quite a bit of work packing up the electronics this time, but practice makes perfect. The environment is always beneficial, so what's next Srila Gurudeva?
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Closed Doors
I'm sitting here watching the show "Who Killed the Electric Car", and besides making me want to rant against companies like GM, it's making me realize that I'm going to have an incredibly hard time bringing heliostats to the masses. Since I'm not independently wealthy, I'm going to have to find big investors, who will naturally gain control any company that would be based on this, and they are most likely going to take it and sit on it so that no one can use it. This is probably the same reason that you can't find any sterling engines on the market.
Did you know that Toyota currently is using more than 50% of the precious metals production available worldwide in its hybrid vehicles? Anyone touting hydrogen fuel cells as a solution for alternative energy is ignoring the fact that there just isn't enough platinum to give everyone fuel cells. The government continues to pour billions of dollars into research programs controlled by the existing petro-chemical oligarchy that has no intentions of changing the status quo anytime soon. Have I mentioned before that these same companies established patents for heliostats back in the 70's and 80's and then DID NOTHING with the technology. Fortunately most of these patents have since expired, but unfortunately it's hard to build a business plan around a product that can't be protected by patents. Hopefully some of my concepts are unique enough to be patentable, but without funding for patent lawers, I won't know. Ask Leo Gerst who spent tens of thousands of dollars only to see his own heliostat patents die a slow death.
Last week I found a place called the Clean Energy Incubator in Austin Texas, which is affiliated with the University of Texas, and part of the I2C consortium. At first I got really excited. They've got a venture summit next week where 5 inventions will get selected to receive funding to move them to market. The expressly stated purpose of this organization is to help nurture new ideas in clean energy and bring them to market. I sent an email with basic information and have yet to receive a reply. I called and got no answer. I drove there and couldn't in the door without an appointment. I can't even get through to the receptionist. Nice job guys.
Did you know that Toyota currently is using more than 50% of the precious metals production available worldwide in its hybrid vehicles? Anyone touting hydrogen fuel cells as a solution for alternative energy is ignoring the fact that there just isn't enough platinum to give everyone fuel cells. The government continues to pour billions of dollars into research programs controlled by the existing petro-chemical oligarchy that has no intentions of changing the status quo anytime soon. Have I mentioned before that these same companies established patents for heliostats back in the 70's and 80's and then DID NOTHING with the technology. Fortunately most of these patents have since expired, but unfortunately it's hard to build a business plan around a product that can't be protected by patents. Hopefully some of my concepts are unique enough to be patentable, but without funding for patent lawers, I won't know. Ask Leo Gerst who spent tens of thousands of dollars only to see his own heliostat patents die a slow death.
Last week I found a place called the Clean Energy Incubator in Austin Texas, which is affiliated with the University of Texas, and part of the I2C consortium. At first I got really excited. They've got a venture summit next week where 5 inventions will get selected to receive funding to move them to market. The expressly stated purpose of this organization is to help nurture new ideas in clean energy and bring them to market. I sent an email with basic information and have yet to receive a reply. I called and got no answer. I drove there and couldn't in the door without an appointment. I can't even get through to the receptionist. Nice job guys.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Been a long time
It lost the thrill long ago. All the troubles with blown up motor drivers and mysterious bugs have been worked out. The mysteries of error analysis and rotational translations have been solved, and over 6,000 lines of finished C code have come together into a heliostat.
Been a long time since I rock and rolled
Been a long time since I took that stroll
Days, weeks, and months have gone by while I've toiled away 7 days a week in total isolation except for an occasional trip to the grocery store. Staying up till 3 or 4 am, getting up at 9:00. Soldering and routing hundreds of little connections, trying not to hook up anything backwards, and occasionally succeeding.
Been a long time since I spoke of love
Can't take the tears of a life with no love
And the final challenge is the biggest: to get rid of the anger and sadness that comes from having my faith in people reduced to ashes. I don't like other people, and I don't like myself. It seems that humans, though arguable the most advanced of the millions of life forms on the planet, are the lowest form of life with the ability to worship God. In fact most people aren't even at this level, and most of those that think they are worshiping God are just trying to reverse the roles and have God satisfy their own selfish material desires.
Been a long time
Been a long time
Been a long...
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time.
Been a long time since I rock and rolled
Been a long time since I took that stroll
Days, weeks, and months have gone by while I've toiled away 7 days a week in total isolation except for an occasional trip to the grocery store. Staying up till 3 or 4 am, getting up at 9:00. Soldering and routing hundreds of little connections, trying not to hook up anything backwards, and occasionally succeeding.
Been a long time since I spoke of love
Can't take the tears of a life with no love
And the final challenge is the biggest: to get rid of the anger and sadness that comes from having my faith in people reduced to ashes. I don't like other people, and I don't like myself. It seems that humans, though arguable the most advanced of the millions of life forms on the planet, are the lowest form of life with the ability to worship God. In fact most people aren't even at this level, and most of those that think they are worshiping God are just trying to reverse the roles and have God satisfy their own selfish material desires.
Been a long time
Been a long time
Been a long...
Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time.
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