June 30, 2008 at 3:41 pm
My dad has an old vertical windmill made out of a 44 gallon drum on his farm. The previous owners built it to pump water up from the creek to the house. It worked well until it some parts wore out and Dad couldn't find replacements. His farm seems to be in a bit of a wind prone area and he has been thinking about wind power. There have been a few reports in Australia about subliminal whine from windmills, that it is harmful to livestock and people. Has anyone got any scientific data regarding this? I would much prefer power that is the least harmful to the environment be that solar, wind, nuclear or hydroelectric.
I must also say that I like these non-IT editorials too. They broaden my outlook on life. Thanks.
Nicole Bowman
Nothing is forever.
June 30, 2008 at 3:48 pm
The LEDs don't get hot at all. After I shot the podcast, I could turn off the lights and immediately unscrew the bulbs. I shot with LEDs first for that reason, because otherwise I'd have to wait 15 minutes for the bulbs to cool.
The horizontal windmills definitely produce noise. Not sure about the vertical ones, but they're not supposed to.
July 1, 2008 at 4:15 am
I saw some CF bulbs at the weekend in a DIY store in the UK which claimed to be "dimming". Made by (I think Philips) and quite expensive $30 each.
July 1, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I'm very much in favor of more nuclear power. The US Navy has been operating nuclear power plants for decades without, to my knowledge, a single "meltdown". (I think we'd have heard about it if one of the big aircraft carriers sank because of that. Not so sure about if a sub sank.) Same for South Africa, if memory serves, and their pebble bed reactors.
I think it was Freeman Dyson who stated, "There is no safe place for nuclear power on the surface of the Earth... that's why you should bury them." Even a full meltdown doesn't much matter if it happens a mile deep, way below the water table. What's it going to do? Irradiate the deep magma of the mantle? Some of the old coal mines could be used, and some of those go a mile or more into bedrock. (Dr. Strangelove would really get excited about the idea.)
As for CF bulbs, I switched almost exclusively to them years ago. They reduced my electric bill enough that they paid for themselves in under 6 months. In five years, I've had to replace two.
I really like LED flashlights. Very bright, and the batteries last forever. The bulbs are a little harsh and a little oddly colored for most uses, but a good diffuser will probably handle that well enough when the price comes down to where I can afford to play with them more.
As for local wind power, I can think of few things better than supplying southern California with a little extra energy for air conditioning when the Santa Anna winds are blowing through. Don't live there any more, but have vivid memories of seeing fruit "baked" on the tree by the hot, dry winds. Brownouts during that are quite horrible. A few wind generators would greatly help. Of course, the experiements CA has done on wind power were all blocked by environmentalists concerned about bird slaughter, last time I checked.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
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