We had hoped to place a 3.0Kw system, but 2 roof vents and a skylight limited us to only 2.0Kw. This should be enough to provide 33% to 40% of our electricity needs.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
FYI
Scientists plumbing the depths of the Mariana Trench -- the deepest part of the ocean on the planet -- have identified gigantic amoebas lurking miles and miles beneath the waters.
The creatures are called xenophyophores, and scientists from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego spotted them in the cold, crushing depths 6.6 miles beneath the white caps.
"They are fascinating giants that are highly adapted to extreme conditions but at the same time are very fragile and poorly studied,” said Lisa Levin, a deep-sea biologist and director of the Scripps Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation.
Scripps scientists said xenophyophores are among the largest individual cells in existence, often growing longer than four inches. Recent studies indicate that by trapping particles from the water, xenophyophores can concentrate high levels of lead, uranium and mercury and are thus likely highly resistant to large doses of heavy metals. They also are well suited to a life of darkness, low temperature and high pressure in the deep sea.
“The identification of these gigantic cells in one of the deepest marine environments on the planet opens up a whole new habitat for further study of biodiversity … and extreme environment adaptation,” Levin said.
To reach the bottom of the ocean requires special equipment. Levin worked with Eric Berkenpas and Graham Wilhelm -- Remote Imaging engineers from the National Geographic Society -- to build and launch “dropcams."
“Dropcams are versatile autonomous underwater cameras containing an HD camera and lighting inside of a glass bubble,” Berkenpas explained.
By wrapping high-resolution cameras in a thick-walled glass sphere, scientists were able to drop cameras capable of withstanding the extreme pressure of all that ocean. At a depth of 6.6 miles, the water above can cause more than eight tons per square inch of pressure.
Life is surprisingly abundant at these extreme depths, despite the cold and pressure. According to Dhugal Lindsay of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the Dropcam movie also depicts the deepest jellyfish observed to date.Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/21/strange-form-life-discovered-in-oceans-blackest-depths/?test=faces#ixzz1bTkidwNm
The creatures are called xenophyophores, and scientists from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego spotted them in the cold, crushing depths 6.6 miles beneath the white caps.
"They are fascinating giants that are highly adapted to extreme conditions but at the same time are very fragile and poorly studied,” said Lisa Levin, a deep-sea biologist and director of the Scripps Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation.
Scripps scientists said xenophyophores are among the largest individual cells in existence, often growing longer than four inches. Recent studies indicate that by trapping particles from the water, xenophyophores can concentrate high levels of lead, uranium and mercury and are thus likely highly resistant to large doses of heavy metals. They also are well suited to a life of darkness, low temperature and high pressure in the deep sea.
“The identification of these gigantic cells in one of the deepest marine environments on the planet opens up a whole new habitat for further study of biodiversity … and extreme environment adaptation,” Levin said.
To reach the bottom of the ocean requires special equipment. Levin worked with Eric Berkenpas and Graham Wilhelm -- Remote Imaging engineers from the National Geographic Society -- to build and launch “dropcams."
“Dropcams are versatile autonomous underwater cameras containing an HD camera and lighting inside of a glass bubble,” Berkenpas explained.
By wrapping high-resolution cameras in a thick-walled glass sphere, scientists were able to drop cameras capable of withstanding the extreme pressure of all that ocean. At a depth of 6.6 miles, the water above can cause more than eight tons per square inch of pressure.
Life is surprisingly abundant at these extreme depths, despite the cold and pressure. According to Dhugal Lindsay of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the Dropcam movie also depicts the deepest jellyfish observed to date.Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/21/strange-form-life-discovered-in-oceans-blackest-depths/?test=faces#ixzz1bTkidwNm
Friday, October 7, 2011
12/21/12
OK so in the interest of freshening up the board for Matt let's consider for a moment or two the ever approaching end of the world as we know it. At least according to the Mayan calendar. The first order of business is to attempt to lend credibility (or lack thereof) to the Mayan capability of accurately predicting global cataclysm.
On the one hand the Mayans are known to have been brilliant astronomers, mathematicians & natural scientists. On the other hand they were well, Mayans. A culture that closely tied the success of their annual harvest to the number of heads that could be separated from the bodies of enemies and under achieving laborers. A civilization that virtually evaporated in the course of months. Vanished. Where in the fook did all these people go?
I have a calendar on my wall that ends on 12/31/11. Even after a few Budweisers (or Hamms Ric) I still cannot reasonably proclaim that this foretells the ghastly implosion of Mother Earth. No, more likely it simply means that I will soon need a new calendar.
That said, for the sake of discussion let's for a moment weigh the benefits and drawbacks of an end of the world type scenario that some say the end of the Mayan calendar portends.
Benefits
-I can tell my wife that she's getting a new mercedes for Christmas.
-An end to annual prostate exams.
-No more American Idol.
-Donald Trump will at last learn that you indeed can't take it with you.
-No more mosquitos.
-I may at last make some use of my stockpile of canned goods & ammo.
Drawbacks:
-I am due a promotion January 2013
-My 5 year CD matures that April.
-The Jack Daniels Distillery would likely cease operations.
-There would be no one to feed my cats. Although, I suspect that the area bird population would put this in the top category.
-It would probably suck.
Discuss. Please feel free to add to either list. It's only 14 months. Time's wasting.
On the one hand the Mayans are known to have been brilliant astronomers, mathematicians & natural scientists. On the other hand they were well, Mayans. A culture that closely tied the success of their annual harvest to the number of heads that could be separated from the bodies of enemies and under achieving laborers. A civilization that virtually evaporated in the course of months. Vanished. Where in the fook did all these people go?
I have a calendar on my wall that ends on 12/31/11. Even after a few Budweisers (or Hamms Ric) I still cannot reasonably proclaim that this foretells the ghastly implosion of Mother Earth. No, more likely it simply means that I will soon need a new calendar.
That said, for the sake of discussion let's for a moment weigh the benefits and drawbacks of an end of the world type scenario that some say the end of the Mayan calendar portends.
Benefits
-I can tell my wife that she's getting a new mercedes for Christmas.
-An end to annual prostate exams.
-No more American Idol.
-Donald Trump will at last learn that you indeed can't take it with you.
-No more mosquitos.
-I may at last make some use of my stockpile of canned goods & ammo.
Drawbacks:
-I am due a promotion January 2013
-My 5 year CD matures that April.
-The Jack Daniels Distillery would likely cease operations.
-There would be no one to feed my cats. Although, I suspect that the area bird population would put this in the top category.
-It would probably suck.
Discuss. Please feel free to add to either list. It's only 14 months. Time's wasting.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
For what it is worth Matheeeew....
On our vacation this year, Teresa and I drove out to Idaho from New York. There were 2 high lights that I want to share. One, my brother Dave and his family took us camping in a Ghost Town in Montana (that was sooooo awesome). Secondly, I was able to purchase and sneak a case of Hamms Beer back to New York!!! Still got a few left in the fridge!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
