g’evening pups — how’s everyone doing tonight?

Suz! How are ya?

senator! i’m hanging in – chu?

Me? Taking care of Ron. He hurt his back a week or so ago. It was better yesterday but got really bad tonight. Doctor time, me thinks.

Aloha, Suz and senator…! ;-)

CT!

Ya don’t mess around with one’s back that’s for sure, mary…!

oh no! *hands on monitor*

aloha tut — how’s paradise tonight?

Suz!

He needs vicodin, or something. Should have gone to the doc much sooner. Stuborn.

Hey Mr. Newt!

Hello, Senator!

Wally and the new kitty.

Gorgeous day here, I’ve got a scalloped potatoes and ham dish simmering away in the oven, a lovely aroma is emanating from it now…!

hiya Suzzz, CT, firegods

newton! how’s the sf west bay tonight?

awwww do they know you are trying to find a home for the kittah?

hey ppd — how was your day?

*tummy growling*

Humid! We’re in a sauna!
How’s the deal up yonder?

mmmmmmmmmmmm.
I have been eating solid for three days. Can’t stop. It is cause it is too hot to exercise. I made myself take a long walk this evening. The dogs and I thought we were gonna die.

Stuborn.

Most guys are…! Especially moi…! I only go to the Doc when I’m on death’s bed…! ;-)

i’m fogged in again — i heard it was humid in pdx and only 88 instead of in the 90′s like yesterday.

Aloha, PPD…!

firegods. I love it.

I was on the coast (again) for a few hours today, but alas, no fog.
The surfers were all over the freakin place.

spent the morning at the doctor’s with mom, but otherwise, pretty good thanks, Suzzz

when i went into tillamook this afternoon, it was sunny there … tis only foggy along the coast.

surf is still up?

…when i went into tillamook this afternoon…

I like the sound of that. Brakes are holding up.

Wowsers…

Mass blackout hits California, Arizona and Mexico

A major power outage knocked out electricity to up to 5 million people in California, Arizona and Mexico on Thursday, bringing San Diego and Tijuana to a standstill and leaving people sweltering in the late-summer heat in the surrounding desert.

Two nuclear reactors were offline after losing electricity, but officials said there was no danger to the public or workers.

It’s now been cool enough to sleep for two nights in a row. I expect snow any minute now. We had no spring, so it only figures we will have no fall.

I suppose it’s bad form to link back or the Great Orange Satan, but there’s a nice climate change diary:

Record Low Arctic Sea Ice Volume & Area Hit, Methane Found in Ice Free Area

Mid-September sea ice volume (minimum) fits an exponential decline curve that hits zero in 2015.

I made it to yoga tonight, first time in several weeks. Endurance decent, balance marginal, flexibility still good.

Dinner of champions: pork tamales and raspberry sorbet.

i saw on twitter earlier that over 5 million people were without power in the us and mexico

hey dave — been down into the 40′s here at night and i’m loving it :) how was your day today?

I’ve been off-grid for 12 years now. My first gut reaction about big power outages is “how can the power be out when the sun is shining?”

You know these surfer types – They will head on out there at the drop of a…

i bet you have seen that technology really improve in those 12 years

dood!

Somewhat groovy.

My “song that won’t stop playing in my head” from yesterday (“Spooky”) was sharing time with “beer, beer, beer, tiddly beer, beer, beer”, so I guess that’s progress.

I pulled up Dusty Springfield singing Spooky. I lurves me some Dusty.

I’m bringing out the big guns. Someday We’ll Be Together. That will usually drown out any other tracks playing in my head.

doodette

Coolio…! Mostly solar or a mixture…? I know beaucoup people here, that have been off the grid for years too…! My ultimate goal too…! ;-)

I think the prices for panels have come down. Lead-acid batteries haven’t changed in 100 years.

Once they get lithium-air batteries with nano-tube carbon anodes, it will probably be worthwhile to replace the charge controller and inverter and run the whole thing on some new voltage. But the batteries are still in the lab. By the time they are available, we’ll all be dead from climate change. Or I’ll be a slave laborer on a pineapple plantation in the Yukon.

when i’m in dire straits with an ear worm, i’ve got to think of a worse ear worm that i know how to break — for me that is either that dreaded disney ride song or a bubblegum pop song by a group named for jughead’s friend

i thought i remembered reading somewhere that the panels produce more electricity than they used to

surfer dood

I’m shocked.

nahant loves his system — and the selling of his excess electricity to the utility company

bird

PV for electric, propane for heat and hot water. It’s a 1 kilowatt array, which gives me around a 5 kWHr per day energy budget. I take a lot of conservation things for granted now. Like I bought a hot-air popcorn popper this summer. It’s 1400 watts, but only for 3 minutes, so it works fine.

I go to my nephew’s McMansion and they turn on a huge array of 500 watt incandescent floods in the kitchen to make enough light to pour a bowl of cereal and my heart nearly stops. That’s after I pass a train hauling coal to a power plant to run them.

another bird

…a pineapple plantation in the Yukon. Bwhahaha…!

I’ve been to the Yukon and picked Pineapple…! ;-)

Power per square meter really isn’t the issue (I’ve got 40 acres here). It’s power per dollar. That’s been coming down, and will continue to. As long as we don’t run into rare earth shortages we can keep cranking out panels and get economies of scale. If rare earths become an issue, there is always solar thermal (not so much for home power).

Homepower Magazine used to say, in answer to the question “how long does a solar panel last?” was “we don’t know, none of them have ever worn out”.

Every little bit of renewable power we can set up is that much power we will continue to have.

blackbird

Damn. That means you’ll be a supervisor. I better stay on your good side.

freebird

how do the winters impact you?

You mean as far as solar? If the sun is out, power is adequate. Two weeks of thick clouds and things get pretty iffy. I don’t have backup power. I just tough it out.

I lost about half my battery pack last winter. I still need to get out and work on batteries before cold winter sets in.

…they turn on a huge array of 500 watt incandescent floods in the kitchen to make enough light to pour a bowl of cereal…

Sad no…! I’ve lived on a solar system too, and totally agree with ya…!

anyone actually watch the Bush 44′s speech tonight?

how did you lose them? did they wear out or get damaged?

free surfing

i did not… i had no desire for a fancy speech with no action other than compromise and caving…

surf jazz

Nope. I was yoga-tating. I assume it was about tax cuts, deregulation, and trying to print bonds to sell to the Fed who prints money to buy them, then giving the money to the private sector to create jobs for non-existent demand.

Black Reagan’s jobs plan. And the Neo-Confederates will have the nerve to call him a socialist. They wouldn’t know a socialist if one bit them on the ass.

…a fancy speech with no action other than compromise and caving…

That nicely sums it up, Suz…! ;-)

I’m proud (or is it deeply ashamed) to say I took the David Vitter route this evening.

Krugman’s analysis of Obama’s speech in Friday’s New York Times is disappointingly shallow. He calls the plan “bigger and bolder than expected.” He completely misses that Obama intends to make the plan revenue neutral by slashing Social Security and Medicare.

Some of the cells died. They don’t last forever. I didn’t maintain them as well as I should have, so I’ll get a few less years on them. You can’t expect much more than 10 years.

I really need to get them out and see if I can convince them to take a charge. Winter closed in on me when they died – I had to haul 120 pound batteries to the basement through two feet of snow before it got cold enough to freeze them and rupture the case. They are still sitting down there.

would that be hooker or diaper?

hey caleb36 — how ya doing tonight?

memories of posts gone by

brrrrr

i forking love that song mary mac *laughing* thanks, i needed laughter

I’m glad you were the first to jump at it, Suz.
Big-scoring NFL-apolooza.

you left yourself wide open — twould be a crime not to take ya up on that purty invitation…

Clown car

snake dance

Bob Marley – Exodus

I have new found respect for Salma Hayek.

You use the deep-cycle Marine batteries, 4c…?

sweet tune dave

L-16′s. Three cells, six volts. About 120 pounds each, maybe 2 feet tall. I can move them by myself, but they bang the crap out of my knees.

great, thanks for asking! how about you?

There is a town in Avernum 5 named Exodus. So that song stuck in my head for a couple of days. But that’s OK, I like that one.

Better late than never.

Salma Hayek is a frequent participant in my fantasy life, but I suspect you meant something else.

EDIT: actually, I saw a clip of an interview she did on a beach somewhere, she and some other women, sitting in tall captain’s chairs. A big snake visited the set, and the ladies shrieked and were climbing the furniture. Salma not only managed to climb onto the one-inch wide arm of one of the captains chairs, she did it in three inch heels. Very impressive.

i’m doing ok thanks — whereabouts do ya hang your hat?

maybe, maybe not…..

Aah, the big boyz…! Do you invert all your juice or do you have some DC fixtures too…?

Ian Welsh has Obama’s number:

http://www.ianwelsh.net/the-short-on-the-presidents-job-plan/

wow…. climbing in heels *and* keeping her balance :) double win

AC only, except for the well pump.

makes that snow trip even worse dood

lady bird

The sugar buzz from the raspberry sorbet is wearing off. Time for some blissful sub-100 degree sleep.

Goodnight, peeps. Be good to one another.

g’nite dave

Springfield, Illinois. and where is your hat hung?

on the north oregon coast, on netarts bay which is just south of tillamook bay and a couple hours due west of portland oregon

Pleasant dreams, 4c…!

*heh* I saved your bacon tonite, Missie…! ;-)

congrats on snagging the happy lucky 100 tut!!! (and snapping my streak)

sounds like a lovely place to live

congrats, CT

tis — i put pictures up of the view from my desk over at my place – the most recent is clamming in the fog

gotta turn in now, be back tomorrow, good night!

g’nite caleb

I am out of here, too. Nite all.

g’nite mary mac

Hi Suzanne and everyone,

Krugman’s analysis of Obama’s speech in Friday’s New York Times is disappointingly shallow. He calls the plan “bigger and bolder than expected.” He completely misses that Obama intends to make the plan revenue neutral by slashing Social Security and Medicare.

I really like Krugman, but IMHO he’s been slipping lately. For example, he claims that we have a soverign fiat currency and “printing presses” that can print money to pay our bills, but he insists that the reason we collect taxes is to prevent insolvency. It can’t be both ways: either we have those printing presses or we don’t!

I can’t let tonite pass without saying…

Hippo Birdies, Trekkies…!

Star Trek: 45 years of exploring the final frontier…

hey wigwam — how ya doing tonight?

Sweet dreams, sleepers…!

Evening.

Suz, are the clams big?

hard to believe its been that long ago…

hey sunny — how ya doing tonight? they can be

Thanks, CT.

*heh* Too bad Spocko didn’t make an appearance tonite…! ;-)

God damn that was a long blackout.

Oof…! So you fell victim to it, Hannibal…?

he’s probably off partying with bones

hey hannibal — how long were ya down for?

just had this come across the twitter machine:

SDGE SDG&E
Power back on to 325,000 customers now. #sdoutage

Great!

About a week ago that one of the academics from your former region of employment went “on the lam.” He’s accused of being involved in the manufacture restricted substances and of being the head of the Berdoo chapter of the Devil’s Desciples.

Quite a few hours, I think since a little before 4 PM. Was more worried about my grandparents out in Yuma though. Bad health, elderly, all that heat, can’t be good for them.

no way! i had not heard a thang — altho my ear is not as close to the wire as it used to be.. gotta link? i used to know some of the local cops down that way

do they have power yet?

Just about everybody I know fell victim to it, thought it was just localized, until my mom called me from Vegas. Grandparents had called her in Yuma, and she’d heard it went up into Palm Springs as well. All because of one knocked out transmission line in AZ.

I hope so, a little too late in the evening to call them and check. The source of the trouble was in Arizona though, so if we have power in eastern San Diego, hopefully they have it.

night all – be well

gotta link? i used to know some of the local cops down that way

Yep. Here’s the link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/college-professor-allegedly-led-motorcyle-gang-drug-ring.html?track=lat-pick

The Professor that was accused of being the the head of a Motorcycle gang…?

g’nite ppd

*heh* Ya beat me to it, ww…! ;-)

holy moly — name’s not ringing any bells

That’s kind of awesome, college professor by day, drug dealing biker gang leader by night.

The Guardian article I linked to above said it knocked out some of the Nuke plants transmissions offline too…!

and doing it for years… wow – that article tut linked to has comments from neighbors about how he would occasionally have the driveway filled with visiting bikes but everyone was well behaved.

fingers and toes crossed its back on for them hannibal

tis about time for me to head out pups. thank you for letting me hang out with ya tonight — hope to see ya tomorrow night for muppets friday

g’nite all

Yep. That the guy.

Over the years, I’ve known of a few chemists (academics and/or graduate students) getting involved in the manufacture of drugs and/or procurement of the precursors. But, this guy was in kineseology, which generally doesn’t involve wet labs and access to the precursors.

Hey CT, so how about them Turks?

I’d heard that, made me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy about the reliability of nuclear power plants. Also, according to the LA times, it’s all thanks to one asshole who screwed up a routine procedure. I’m guessing he’s hoping nobody ever learns his name.

It was good for some lulz though, like seeing all the people lining up at the gas stations. Apparently unaware that those pumps require electricity.

*heh* They’re fed up, and, they’re not gonna take it anymore…! ;-)

Fear not. A couple of years ago, Toshiba was planning to market nuclear reactors small enough to power apartment buildings. If they’re planning to do that, you’ve just got to know that it has to be safe.

In the words of a Palestinian I spoke to: “It’s about fucking time!”

Ok, according to the Yuma Sun, they’ve got power back, that’s good.

And we’re worried about Iran spinning their centrifuges for 20% enrichment…? *gah*

I just loved Erdogan’s pledge to ‘escort’ the next Gaza freedom flotilla…! ;-)

Sigh! The hell of it is that fossil fuel is a sure global disaster, while nukes are possible local disasters. We’ve got to get out of that either/or. Otherwise, nukes will win in the long run.

Yeah, because big business would never ever steer us wrong. Before you know it, it’ll be Brawndo time, with some Hardwired thrown in for kicks.

He’s a member of NATO. If a.n.y.o.n.e fucks with him, he has treaties to invoke.

Maybe someone will finally figure out Nikola Tesla’s fuelless generator. In the meantime, a solar panel and a wind turbine on every roof in America seems like a good way to lessen the problem.

You rang?
Tonight I watched the parallel universe episode of Enterprise. Hilariously bad. Kind of bumped noone had goatees, but
T’pal and Hoshie has bare midriffs! We also got to see Hoshie in a her bra. The episode before that was scantily clad Orion slave girls!

He wouldn’t even need to invoke any treaties. Turkey, unlike the Palestinians, can really fight back. Just ask Australia.

No doubt, Hawaii is looking at some serious Tidal, Wind, Solar, Geothermal, and others to stem our high dependence on Oil…! I’d like them to look at what the Danes are doing in mixing sea water with fresh water…! It’s a chemical reaction that’s producing some serious juice at a low price…!

I had a friend who lived off-the-grid for few years. He didn’t need a lot of air conditioning, so it worked out pretty well for him.

That’s a new one on me. I’ll have to check it out.

I saw quite a few wind turbines the last time I was in Maui.

*heh* Sorry, bro…! No cake for you…

BonesMcCoy Leonard McCoy
Everyone on the Enterprise received birthday cakes with the number 45 on it for some reason. I hid Spock’s cake to make him feel left out.

Hat Tip to Suz, naturally…! ;-)

Several years back, I lived off the grid for a few months. But that was because I couldn’t pay the electric bill.

SDG&E’s a bitch.

They can be, though they’re a lot more forgiving than AT&T.

Amen to that.

BTW, I’ve been hearing some good stuff about Sprint and Virgin Mobile (a Sprint reseller) in terms of their good deals on wireless contracts.

I like the Virgin mobile plan they’re offering here in the Isles for ‘smart’ phones…!

Pleasant dreams ya’ll…! Aloha Oe…!

Take care, CT and everyone.

G’nite

Oh snap…! Apparently Avi hasn’t done enough damage…

Israel to ‘punish’ Turkey

Jerusalem fights back: Foreign Minister Lieberman formulates series of tough moves in response to Turkish steps; Israel to cooperate with Armenian lobby in US, may offer military aid to Kurdish rebels…

What a supreme Dick head…! *gah*

IIRC, the Turkish Prime Minister called Israel “the spoiled child of the Eastern Mediterranian.” I wonder where he came up with that.

Hey Suzanne, here is an FDL article about the renegade professor: http://my.firedoglake.com/somethingthedogsaid/2011/09/03/water-cooler-is-your-college-professor-neighbor-a-secret-bikerdrug-kingpin/

Go to the doctor sooner? That sounds vaguely unAmerican.. come to think of it just going to the doctor anymore sounds vaguely unAmerican..