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The Dead 4/15/09 John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA Click below to preview tracks from this show DOWNLOAD THIS SHOW

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Worcester tonight, woohoo!

An Old Rhode Island Story

While we're waiting for the turbine to start spinning it's wings I thought some of you might get a chuckle out of this story -

An old Italian lived alone in Rhode Island . He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament: Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days. Love, Papa A few days later he received a letter from his son. Dear Pop, Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried. Love, Vinnie At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son. Dear Pop, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances. Love you, Vinnie

Portsmouth turbine's TV debut

My friend John put up a new post on his blog "Hard Deadlines" covering this evening's news coverage of the Portsmouth Wind Turbine Generator, complete with vid., check it - Link

Portsmouth WTG Second Tower Section Erection

It was a great day for hanging out in the fields and watching progress unfold on the Portsmouth WTG, word has it that we may see the blades turning by week's end.

more details and pictures - AAER wind energy and Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC)
and of course on my Flickr page.

"tilting at windmills"

"tilting at windmills", originally uploaded by B42.

At 340 feet this wind turbine will stand 100 feet taller than the 240 foot turbine at Portsmouth Abbey, with a blade length of 123 feet compared to 77 feet. (corrected)
AAER wind energy- The A-1500 turbine is a three-blade, horizontal-axis turbine, designed for optimal use of wind resources in all types of sites.

It has a variable rotational speed and full span pitch control, which means that it can be operated at optimum aerodynamic efficiency throughout the operational range. The A-1500 reaches its rated output at a wind speed of 11 m/s.

The combination of electrical torque control and pitch control allows the wind turbine to be operated at a wind speed of 4 m/s, with a virtually constant power output from 11 through 20 m/s.
Rotor Diameter, m 70 / 77
Swept area, m2 3.848 / 4.657
Rotational speed, rpm 11.0-22.0 / 9.7-19.0
Wind class I-II / II-III
Number of rotor blades 3
Power regulation Pitch
Pitch system type Gearbox & servo motor
Brake System
Primary braking system - Full span blade feathering
Service / Emergency brake Disk brake
Tower
Hub Height - m 65, 80
Type of generator - Wound rotor induction generator
Rated power, kW 1500
Rated voltage, V 690
Frequency, Hz 50 or 60
Rated power Output, kVA 1670
Type of inverter IGBT, 4-quadrant
Power factor (cos ø) Controllable
Grid soft start connection Converter controlled
Harmonic Distorsion Imperceptible
Gearbox
Type of gearbox Planetary & Helical
Control System
Type of construction PLC, free programmable
Yaw System
Type of bearing Sliding bearing
Type of drive Gear motor
Number of drive units 4

more details and pictures - AAER wind energy and Portsmouth Economic Development Committee (PEDC)

also the details on Portsmouth Abbey's turbine which has been operating since March of 2006 supplying more than 40% of the Abbey's needs can be found at portsmouthabbey.org

Leopards and Tigers and ? oh my

I've been hankerin' to check out iPhoto '09 for some time now but had to have the Leopard OS to get it. Still being in Tiger it meant having to upgrade and I knew Snow Leopard is due out eventually, soooo...eventually being what it is never seems to come soon enough so I broke down and bought the Mac Box Set the other day, iLife '09, iWork '09 and Leopard for a reasonable (?) 180 beans. Did an upgrade install as opposed to a clean install after reading all of the back and forths on this and everything works just fine, the time it took was less than an hour.
Glad I did, very happy with the minor tweaks and added ease in Leopard but especially happy about the unexpected upload to Flickr in iPhoto. It uploads as a dated set which is pretty cool for automagically keeping Flickr a bit more organized as the number of photos posted grows. (it also works for Facebook but I don't go there, I already have more than enough time suckage out here), I know it's a small thing but it's usually the small things that get me most excited.
What type of photo software are you using? I don't edit very much and not into major efforts involved in photoshop but just wondering.

I'm sure glad I don't understand economics

Symbol	Last	Change
Dow	7,888.88	381.99 (4.62%)

Because if I did I might be really pissed off...

Photography, Music, Work, Money and Life

I've been using this Canon Powershot S5 IS for over a year now and I've learned more about it in the last month than I have in all of the time I've owned it. After being invited to an online photography course, a very small group, (that I have yet to be very involved in), I looked in to other sources of info. and the web being what it is filled me with more than I could possibly digest with just a couple of clicks and a few keywords; found a Flickr group and another forum totally dedicated to just S5 IS users. I must have spent twenty or more hours going back and forth learning all kinds of new tips and tricks, bought and made a few goodies, started learning about firmware that I can use with this camera to do even more and who knows I may even step up to a dslr someday but for now I'm more than satisfied with the setup I've got.
morguefile.com
s5users.com/forum
flickr.com/groups/canonpowershots5is/
What else is happening? Not really working enough and a bit concerned that things might not pick up as much as they usually have come springtime. This is normally a slow time for carpentry anyway but we rebound in the spring and summer months and with the economy being what it is only time will tell, worrying never has gotten me anywhere so I don't imagine it would help to start now. (Still would love to find a new occupation but too stubborn for school and too lazy to search...)
It's been pretty much decided that S will get c4 c5 fusion to possibly rid her of the head and neck pain she's been suffering with for way too long now, the disc is showing enough degeneration to warrant the operation but it has not been definitely diagnosed as the root of the problem, not typical, meeting with another doctor next week...
On another note went up to Fall River last week to watch Michelle Shocked perform, she is such a great entertainer. The playlist was a mix of old and new stuff, she seems happy with hubbie and looking forward to collaborative efforts. Keep on the lookout for her new album coming soon, includes the song - "I Love You America, But I Think We Should See Other People", and she had bumper stickers available with this slogan.
What else? Not feeling especially bloggy of late, playing the anti-social-networking game I suppose you might say.
Can you say SDDS? (Seasonal Depressive Disorder Syndrome), let's just call it the "blahs" or the "blues" if you prefer. Nothing that a little more sunshine and fresh air won't cure.

No Bailout for AT&T, Comcast and Verizon

Take Action: President-elect Barack Obama’s plan to connect more Americans to an open and affordable Internet is under siege by phone and cable lobbyists who seek to turn our economic stimulus into a blank check written to AT&T, Comcast and Verizon -- with no strings attached.

read more | digg story

Jerry...

The Dormer - you pay for what you get

I got a call a few weeks ago from a customer I hadn't heard from in awhile, the brother of a good friend of mine. Most of the work I had done on their house several years ago was just small stuff, some rot replacement and painting, customizing a space for a new fridge, relatively simple stuff.
The call sounded a bit frantic, worried, seems they were having their roof replaced (a "roofover", which I would never recommend), and while they were at it had decided to add a dormer addition to the third floor. Things didn't appear right, would I come over and look at it?
This is what I saw -

from this view it didn't look too bad, the pitch wasn't matching anything else on the house and the cheap pine that was being used for the trim wasn't primed or painted, and it appeared to be framed awfully close to that roof valley, but I wasn't going to criticize another man's work too hastily, I didn't take part in any of the original conversations or know what they were spending so I held off in forming an opinion based on just what I was seeing from the outside. Now it was time for a walk upstairs for an inside inspection.
After tearing away some sheetrock and insulation -

What is this? Scabbed rafters, two by fours on the flat, angles not even close to meeting up, no top or bottom plates, out of plumb and out of level, framed into the roof valley sure enough, with hardly any nails holding this mess together, everything about it was wrong, dangerously wrong. Not even the sheetrock (3/8 instead of 1/2") and insulation (unfaced and under rated) were properly installed. What were they thinking?
Now this is a really nice old house with nothing between it and the waters of Narragansett Bay besides the howling winter winds, the occasional hurricane, a few trees and a lot of birds. It was built for Lizzie Borden's lawyer in 1896 and has oak panels and mouldings throughout, a servants apartment with seperate stairs, etc... you get the idea.
It would have been harder to snap open the lid on a can of cat food than for this "dormer" to go flying off into the wind or collapse under it's own unsupported weight.
Upon further inspection I realized that they had used 3/8" sheetrock throughout and 16" wide R-13 insulation in the ceiling which were 24" bays @ 8" deep!!! And they put the kraft paper side up!!!

Need I say more?
So the owners decided to have us tear out the mess, reframe the dormer, reinsulate, and put up new sheetrock, they're paying the price.
Moral of the story? Do your homework, hire qualified contractors, and if you can't really afford to have the work done wait until you can instead of trying to get away cheaply.